The Highest-End Notebooks, 2009
by Jarred Walton on October 14, 2009 3:10 AM ESTClevo W870CU Design
There are definitely aspects of the W870CU design that we appreciate. Besides being less bulky, we are pleased that most of the surfaces aren't highly reflective. The palm rest and LCD cover are covered with matte plastic instead of glossy plastic, which is a nice change; they'll still show fingerprints, but it's not as bad as high-gloss models we've tested previously. The LCD is still glossy, naturally, as it appears most notebook manufacturers are convinced users aren't interested in matte LCDs anymore. If you disagree with their assessment of the market, please leave a note in the comments! Besides the good aspects of the design, there are several areas where we feel the W870CU is flawed.
Expansion options are similar to the M980NU and D900F. There are four USB ports, an eSATA port, and dual digital outputs -- DVI and HDMI. Accessing the ports on the left and right sides isn't a problem. Unfortunately, we can't say the same for the rear panel. In striking contrast to the other notebooks, Clevo includes two of the USB ports along with the Ethernet port, HDMI port, and power adapter on the back of the notebook. This in itself isn't a problem, but the cheap plastic cover only serves to get in the way. Every time we need to connect/disconnect the power or Ethernet cable, it was inconvenient and we are very concerned about the long-term durability of the plastic cover. Considering the poor battery life, blocking access to the power socket isn't beneficial and shouldn't have been done.
The construction on the notebook also feels somewhat chintzy in another area. The raised plastic section below the LCD isn't firmly connected to the rest of the chassis, with the right edge loose on our notebook. The remainder of the notebook is fine, but the rear panel and "Style-Note" bar should be re-examined. We also did not like the touchpad; for some reason, it just didn't work as well as we're used to.
In another change from previous Clevo designs, access to the internals is provided by removing one large panel on the bottom of the notebook. This is useful if you want to upgrade several components at once, but if all you need to do is upgrade memory it's less convenient. Since most users will probably get 4GB of memory and stick with that for a long time, this isn't a serious concern. On the bright side, the bottom panel is secured by quite a few screws and plastic latches, and it fits snugly into the rest of the chassis.
The battery compartment is another oddity, with a strange geometry. Considering the size of the battery, the capacity is more than a little surprising. We would have expected at least 65 Wh or more for this sort of system, but our test unit came with a 42 Wh battery. That's smaller than many other notebooks, including entry-level laptops like the Gateway NV52 and NV58! One of the hard drive bays is under the battery, so if you order a system with a single hard drive/SSD it will hopefully go into the other location, allowing you the ability to easily add a second drive.
Cooling for the CPU, chipset, and GPU is provided by two HSFs, with a rotary fan similar to what we see in the M980NU and D900F. There's definitely a difference in the cooling arrangement, however, as one large HSF cools the GPU and chipset while the second HSF handles the CPU. While the W870CU isn't as large as the D900F or M980NU, the reduced size actually appears to put more pressure on the cooling subsystem, with the result that the system tends to run louder than the other two notebooks. Of course, if you're looking for a silent notebook, you wouldn't be happy with any of these high-end options.
Finally, you may be experiencing a feeling of déjà vu looking at the keyboard. Yes, it's another standard Clevo reference keyboard. We've seen the same keyboard from Clevo for at least a couple years, and we complained about the layout back then. It's not the worst keyboard in the world, and we actually acclimated ourselves to using the Fn + Cursor Keys combination for Home/End/PgUp/PgDn. The number keypad layout on the other hand continues to baffle us. Perhaps we're the only people who actually use the number keypad on occasion?
Ultimately, while the W870CU has some good features, the design and layout are definitely our least favorite of the three notebooks we're looking at today. This is a case of two steps forward, two steps back. The W870CU has matte panels on the palm rest and LCD cover, which is great, but they're still plastic. Unfortunately, the cheap plastic cover over the rear ports and cheap construction on the "style" bar counteract the other elements. Performance and battery life are also lackluster, and while you can't do much to improve the performance short of adding a second GPU (something that would require a completely different internal design among other things), Clevo never should have shipped this with a 42 Wh battery. We see that size battery in netbooks that consume about 1/10 as much power! What's the point in trimming a few ounces from a nine pound notebook anyway? It's still heavy any way you slice it.
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MonicaS - Friday, October 30, 2009 - link
I think the best way to get a high end laptop is to build one. Obviously you are very limited in what you can with a laptop over a desktop, but still the options are enough. The obvious upgrades are HD and Ram. On that note you can Raid to SSD's and put in some serious ram on a 64 bit machine and have a incredibly fast machine. The other benefit of this is that you can basically pick your own laptop to upgrade and not have to buy fugly one.Monica S
Los Angeles Computer Repair
http://www.sebecomputercare.com">http://www.sebecomputercare.com
Shadowmaster625 - Thursday, October 22, 2009 - link
"Unfortunately, 60GB isn't enough space to install even a small subset of our gaming benchmarks"All you have to do is move the game folders to the big drive when you're not using them, and move them back over to C:\Program Files when you need to use them. It takes all of 2 minutes (or 10 seconds for a multitasker) and is surely smarter than wasting hundreds of dollars on bigger SSDs, no? Are we that lazy?
Draxanoth - Thursday, October 22, 2009 - link
I see a lot of complaints for no good reason in these comments. If you don't like them, don't buy them. Complaining about something you don't own nor want sounds like bitterness at the price tag.I have an M570etu, which is the dual core version of the GTX280 Clevo model with the orange trim. It's a lot better looking in person, those pictures are awful. 3.2ghz I think but I'd have to check. My battery life is 3 hours non-gaming. It easily functions as both a mobile and a gaming machine. I don't have any problems with Call of Pripyat in HD either. i7 in a laptop is overkill, and if you want one with a decent battery life that's a poor choice. Why is anyone surprised by that?
Meaker10 - Saturday, October 17, 2009 - link
You can already get official mobile drivers for all laptops for windows 7 the same version as the desktop set for the HD 2,3 and 4 series.JarredWalton - Saturday, October 17, 2009 - link
True, but the real question will be whether this is a one-time thing (because Win7 is launching and ATI has to have valid drivers or they'll be in deep trouble), or if this is a change going forward. I'm inclined to think it's just for the Win7 launch, since they don't provide mobile drivers for anything besides Win7. Vista and XP users are still the vast majority of people and will be for a good while to come, and there are laptop users that literally haven't received updated ATI drivers in years.I'll keep an eye on things, and hopefully ATI will change their stance officially at some point. At present, searching for ATI Mobility Radeon drivers for XP and Vista only gives you the choice of X1800 or earlier GPUs. It looks like perhaps the integrated HD 3200 on laptops might also have up-to-date drivers in XP/Vista, but discrete GPU laptop owners are out of luck for now if they don't upgrade to Win7.
jmhorridge - Saturday, October 17, 2009 - link
I and my work colleagues must regularly fly to other countries for a week or two, and there perform computations (economic forecasting) that can occupy a quad-core for 2 or 3 hours. These big DTR laptops (or luggables) are the only way to get the job done. Battery life is not an issue -- always used plugged in.An mATX system (with monitor) would weigh twice as much, might not suit all voltages, and, in a suit case, would bust the flight weight allowance. However, everyone is allowed to carry on a laptop -- no matter how big.
I'm very pleased to see such machines reviewed.
Mark Horridge
Kishkumen - Friday, October 16, 2009 - link
"it appears most notebook manufacturers are convinced users aren't interested in matte LCDs anymore."Then they are wrong and I will not buy their product. I've passed up some pretty awesome notebooks over the past couple of years. Looks like I'll be passing up many more. If I'm the only one who can't stand glossy displays, then so be it, but I'd rather go without then pay good money for something that is the visual equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard for me.
EBH - Thursday, October 15, 2009 - link
Falcon NW should have been in the review. Their machines > than any Aienwarehttp://www.falcon-nw.com/">http://www.falcon-nw.com/
JarredWalton - Friday, October 16, 2009 - link
I'm not sure why you say Falcon is so much better than Alienware. They're basically the same thing as AVADirect, but with far fewer options.Fragbox DRX = Clevo D900F with custom paint.
Fragbox TLX = MSI MS-1722 (GX720) with custom paint.
I/O = MSI MS-1361 (X340)with... yup, custom paint.
AVADirect also offers all three of those, with optional custom paint. Pricing definitely isn't in favor of FNW, though perhaps they have better customer service. Let's see, using as close to identical options as I can get (including custom paint on the AVADirect models):
D900F AVADirect = $4545
Fragbox DRX = $6086
MSI GX720 AVADirect = $2229
Fragbox TLX = $2625
MSI X340 AVADirect = $1292
I/O = $1727
I think the main draw of Falcon is if you want a special paint job with some custom image (i.e. not just the Exotix Single Color option). That can add over $1000, but at least then you have something truly unique. Anyway, inasmuch as performance and features are concerned, Falcon was in this review, albeit indirectly. The same goes for WidowPC and ProStar and anyone else that uses whitebook chassis.
nortexoid - Thursday, October 15, 2009 - link
I'm sure most would be better off buying a desktop (of the same caliber) and a cheap netbook for mobility, and for the same price as these ghastly beasts.The only market I can see for these things is someone who goes to LANs more often than he should, and who would rather port around a 10lb+ notebook than a desktop + LCD or all-in-one. But this has to be a very small niche market.