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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7Enigma - Thursday, October 15, 2009 - link
Jarred,Ignore these people. They exist in a bubble that revolves around only what they perceive as useful....to THEM. For the rest of us, even though many of us will never need/want a system like this, it is enjoyable to read about how far (and how far left) they have come.
What's funny is some of these same people will ooh and ahh over the latest $600+ gpu or $1000+ cpu knowing they also will never buy one of these.
This is a tech site. The purpose is to review and discuss new technology, regardless of what mainstream appeal it has. If that was the case you should only be reviewing sub-$300 cpu/gpu and sub $500 monitors as that is what the vast majority of us purchase. While your at it, forget about hydravision, large capacity SSD's, 3D LCD's/goggles, etc.
Keep up the good work and try to ignore the trolls. That extra 10min you use to respond to a post like this could be better used GETTING SOME OC NUMBERS ON THE LATEST GPU! (hint...hint) :)
hybrid2d4x4 - Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - link
I, for one, appreciate the review, even if the products are not relevant to me- I'm sure there are people out there that do want a high-end all-in-one/laptop. At any rate, I did want to chime in with a suggestion of what I'd like to see in upcoming mobile reviews: non-cookiecutter netbooks such as the ION-based ones (ex: HP Mini 311), or ones that stand out from the crowd by virtue of better screens (matte), battery life, passive/quiet cooling, etc. Basically, keep doing what you're already doing, as you've already had articles on the Asus 1005HA and CULV. Also, any word on the next-gen Atoms with the new chipset and IGP?mac2j - Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - link
I understand the difficulty in getting samples of new high demand models.But if you want to know what a really useful comparison would be:
High-end Core i7 laptops (Envy 15, XPS16, M15x, MSI etc):
Aesthetics vs performance (business v multimedia v games) vs battery life vs extras vs cost
I'd be willing to bet that would be extremely useful for a lot of people and widely cited across the net.
Personally I ordered a Studio XPS 16 (820QM) almost a month ago and I'm still waiting for it so I'm sure it would take you a while to collect all the samples from the relevant companies... but it would be worth it IMO.
5150Joker - Saturday, November 7, 2009 - link
All the laptops you listed are junk. None of them can hold a candle to the Clevo W860CU and they aren't anymore aesthetically pleasing.HP Envy: overheating mac rip off that doesnt have an optical drive.
Dell SXPS 16: gets so hot you can cook on it while using it. Say goodbye to your sperm count.
Alienware m15x: competitor to the clevo series and fails. Overpriced, underperforming and poor quality control.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - link
Here's me posting my comment for the laptop makers to please offer better choices on LCDs. Its about time to replace my T43, am I really going to have to move from a matte IPS screen to something worse?mac2j - Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - link
Why compare a bunch of notebooks that no one buys? The total 2009 sales for every notebook in this article will be in the thousands.How about comparing high end notebooks people are actually (trying to) buy.
HP Envy 15 vs Dell Studio XPS 16 vs Alienware M15x vs MSI Core i7s etc ....
The choice of systems and the timing of this article makes it a useless waste of space.
TheQuestian - Tuesday, December 8, 2009 - link
Irony.5150Joker - Saturday, November 7, 2009 - link
Your post along with several others here is a waste of space.GeorgeH - Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - link
Super-CPU? Check.Super-GPU? Check.
Super-HDs? Check.
Super-RAM? Check.
Super-LCD? Wait, what?
The LCD situation on these laptops is ridiculous. The most important component in any laptop is the LCD screen, and the second is the chassis and keyboard - component specs come in a distant third.
As long as I have a choice I will never, ever own a laptop with a glossy screen and a native resolution less than 1920x1200 (for ~15" and up.) I don't care if a laptop has the fastest components ever, if you interact effectively with it you might as well be using a "regular" laptop. If you're using these for work, the few seconds you save using faster components to render and compile your projects will be lost many, many times over in human inefficiencies due to interface issues. If you're using them for gaming, you'll get awesome FPS and ability to use super high detail settings that'll be wasted on a dull, reflective screen.
It's crap like this that makes people switch to MacBook Pros. The components are lousy, the prices are lousy, and the company's policies are lousy, but you get a laptop that's a pleasure to own and interact with. Regardless of your feelings towards Apple, you have to admit they know how to build a laptop - as a complete piece of hardware the MBP is matched by only a handful of PC laptops (mostly "business class" models that the average consumer doesn't even know about), and surpassed by none.
warezme - Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - link
Uh, hello??Macbook Pro's have glass glossy screens. You just contradicted your own statement. And for convenience and ease of use, Apple needs to master how its touchpad works and right clicking because it just doesn't work. But if you are going to give points to your system on aesthetics alone I suppose you will learn to live with it dude.