MYTHLOGIC Pollux 1400: Clevo's W150HR Tested
by Jarred Walton on August 23, 2011 12:00 AM ESTTesting Wireless Display 2.0
One thing we didn’t cover in our Bigfoot review is the potential trump card in Intel’s wireless deck: Wireless Display 2.0, aka WiDi 2.0. The idea is pretty simple: connect a wireless receiver to your HDTV, and using software you can send your laptop’s display output over to your HDTV. With the price of the HDTV receiver hovering around $80 online, I’m not sure how this technology is all that amazing, but it is sort of cool. You’ll still want to plug in your laptop, since sending HD video over wireless will drain the battery pretty fast. Using a Blu-ray disc in particular will suck up your battery in under two hours, although playing 1080p HD content from an HDD/SSD shouldn’t be quite so stressful.
So what’s the catch with WiDi 2.0? You need an Intel wireless adapter for it to work, since it uses Intel’s drivers and software. MYTHLOGIC sent us over the necessary equipment to try it out, consisting of the Netgear Push2TV HD adapter (PTV2000), a BD-ROM combo drive for the W150HR notebook, and PowerDVD Blu-ray playback software. Here’s a gallery of the Netgear unit and accessories.
Where WiDi 1.0 was limited to 720p content, WiDi 2.0 can stream 1080p video. Of course, you need a good signal (e.g. you’re not at the other side of the house), and overlapping wireless networks can create problems. We tested a 720p video first (running stretched to fill a 1080p display resolution), and everything worked fine. We then played a 1080p video, and all was initially well, but when I started streaming Internet video to a separate PC over wireless…well, I ran into problems with WiDi. The connection initially synced up at 130Mbps, but with the second PC streaming Hulu content (at around 500KBps), the WiDi dropped to a 54Mbps connection. Not surprisingly, such a connection proved insufficient for streaming a 1080p display—even typical PC use caused the display to flicker and render slowly.
The above issue occurred with a 2.4GHz router (Netgear WNR3500L), however, and that appears to be the root of the problem. When I switched to a Linksys E4200 router with a 5GHz connection, I didn’t have any problems with WiDi. I tried pulling data to a second laptop on a 5GHz radio while watching HD content, and WiDi continued to work as expected.
Now here’s where things get a bit confusing. 1080p video streaming works; I ran several H.264 videos without any issue. Blu-ray on the other hand introduces another variable: HDCP support. I tried two different displays, a Dell S2309W panel and my old Toshiba 46H84 1080i HDTV. Both displays had HDCP errors with WiDi, although connecting directly to the laptop via an HDMI cable worked fine. Chalk up another win for the anti-consumer HDCP lobbying groups I guess. Others have had similar issues, but it looks like at least some people have managed to get Blu-ray streaming working, so the right combination of drivers, WiDi software, firmware, and display should work, and hopefully Intel will get all HDCP compliant displays working properly in the future.
How about gaming? WiDi 1.0 apparently had latency of around 0.5 seconds, which makes it practically useless for anything more than viewing movies and perhaps browsing the web (though even with browsing, using the mouse and seeing a half second delay would be super agravating). WiDi 2.0, at least on this particular notebook, appears to have trimmed latency down to around 0.1 to 0.2 seconds. This makes it far more useful if you're using the mouse, but even then there's a noticeable lag. For FPS gaming, the delay is unacceptable. RTS games would probably be out of the question as well, unless you're not into measuring your CPM (clicks per minute). I did try both types of games, and I quickly stopped playing after feeling a bit motion sick because of the difference between when I expected things to happen and when they actually happened on the screen. Yuck. One type of game still worked alright, however: driving simulations (and potentially flight sims as well). I played a few races of DiRT 2, and because turning, stopping, accelerating, etc. aren't instantaneous, the .1 second delay didn't bother me much. Of course, YMMV.
With the right hardware (e.g. a wireless network running on 5GHz with a decent router), things worked well enough. There’s certainly a lot of compression work going on—Intel’s Quick Sync technology converts an approximately 2000Mbps stream of 1080p30 content (1920 * 1080 * 30 * 32-bit) to something WiDi can handle, which appears to mean around 50Mbps max and closer to 15Mbps average. There’s some loss in quality and latency is still present, but the latency doesn't matter if you're just watching movies, which is appears to be the main point of WiDi.
I still end up back at the big question of: why? You have to buy an $80 peripheral, and all it does is let you get a compressed version of your 1080p content on a display "without wires". Except, you’ve still got a wire connected to your laptop for power. And you still have to worry about issues like the HDCP stuff I had problems with on two different displays, as well as wireless signal quality. For the 2.4GHz router testing, WiDi 2.0 definitely left me wanting more. With a 5GHz capable router, it was better but still not what I would consider perfect. Perhaps I’m just not the target market, but I rarely find myself wanting to show my laptop content on an HDTV where I can’t just plug in an HDMI cable. If the idea of wirelessly sending your display content to your HDTV sounds like something you'd like to use on occasion, WiDi 2.0 could be what you're after. A better long-term solution would be if all HDTVs started incorporating WiDi receivers, but that would be another added cost in a fierce market, for a feature only a small number of users would likely want.
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chinedooo - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
my hp dv6t blows this thing outta the water. Its thinner lighter, and the 6770m is a better card than the gt 555bji - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
The HP dv6t is several hundred dollars more expensive at a comparable configuration, and I don't know if the screen is as good as the Clevo (not saying it isn't, I just know that the Clevo screen is one of the best, and I don't know anything about the HP). So I wouldn't say it 'blows the Clevo out of the water', it's better in some areas and worse in others (like price).That being said, the Clevo sucks for many reasons (see my previous comment) so it may be that in useability the HP does blow the Clevo out of the water; I don't know as I have never used the HP.
lolthisisfunny - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
Just made an account so I could tell you that you are way wrong. The dv6t has REGULAR 30% coupons that bring the price of a 6770m laptop to as little as 800 bucks.I used to have a dv6t, sold it, but for 1000 bucks with tax I got:
1080p matte screen
quad core 2630qm
amd 6770m
You won't find a better deal for raw specs anywhere else.
This mythlogic costs 1637. LOL
bji - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
You are right, that is a better price. However, is the screen the same quality as the Clevo's screen?JarredWalton - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Take your dv6t price, add $250 for the 120GB Intel SSD, another $150 to upgrade the CPU from the 2630QM to the 2720QM, and an additional $120 to upgrade from the AUO B156HW01 v1 to the v4 -- both are matte, but the v4 is 95% NTSC gamut with slightly better viewing angles and better overall color.You're at $1674 for the basic setup, minus a 30% coupon (if you wait around for one to show up), and you still have to pay $250 for the Intel 120GB SSD since you can't configure it from HP that way. Or, you can take the Clevo, drop the SSD, downgrade the LCD and CPU, and you'd be looking at closer to $1200.
Basically, it's the same price minus the 30% coupon you mention, which isn't always available. As for the graphics... well, that's a whole different can of worms. 6770M is faster than GTX 540M, but against the 555M it's a toss up. NVIDIA's Optimus versus AMD's discrete graphics however ends up woefully lopsided in favor of NVIDIA, unless you don't care about battery life?
GSNorby - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
Nice review on the Pollux 1400.I would point out one fundamental difference between the other Clevo customizers and MYTHLOGIC: The Phoenix Upgrade Policy is unique in my experience.
What this policy does is to assure people like me, who often agonize over component choices, that they won't be left in the cold when newer, better components come available. (In my previous experience, that happens about 26 seconds after the sale is final.) With MYTHLOGIC, you can upgrade very inexpensively, for the life of the system.
From their webpage:
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You will be responsible for all shipping and handling charges (to and from MYTHLOGIC), plus our component cost plus 5% (limited to MYTHLOGIC approved hardware). All labor and testing is on us as part of owning a MYTHLOGIC computer.
The PHOENIX Upgrade process also includes your MYTHLOGIC computer going through the assembly, pre testing, software configuration, benchmarking and recovery disk creation quality checklists.
In addition your MYTHLOGIC computer will also receive extra pampering via interior and exterior case cleaning, software updates, driver and firmware updates and a fresh OS install topped off with a brand new Recovery Kit (At your option of course).
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I have never seen this sort of policy offered by any other vendor. It really adds value to the system, and is the difference between investing in a system and paying over and over for the base unit when new stuff comes along.
bji - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
The shell and most of the components are identical to several other Clevo models; I bought and sold a very similar Clevo W150HN laptop recently. I bought it because, like the review mentions, it is hard to get better bang-for-the-buck value than with this generation of Clevos. The cost of the entire laptop is not much more than the cost of the constituent parts, and you are getting lots of horsepower and a great display for your money.I agree that the display is just incredible (I also got the 95% color gamut matte display and agree that it is among the best laptop displays available). And the laptop itself was fairly well built.
However, that's just about all that I can say that is good about this generation of Clevos. They run a bit hot and have very annoying fan noise (although it is my understanding that the W150HR has better fan controller firmware and runs the fan quieter and less often than the ridiculous W150HN). The keyboard is TERRIBLE. I know these things are subjective but seriousy, I could not imagine a more flexy, squishy, looser and more awkward feeling keyboard than that on these Clevos. Also they have a really dumb number pad layout that is nearly useless and wastes real estate (from what I understand; I never use number pads anyway but I did find the placement of several keys that I do use like delete and page up/down annoying). The speakers are regarded as some of the worst available on any laptop. And the headphone jack, at least on my unit and running under Linux, was not able to drive my headphones more than maybe 1/2 normal volume at the highest volume setting. The touchpad has a very unpleasant feel and is so super sensitive that just having your palms above it while typing is enough to send your pointer randomly off into no man's land frustratingly often.
Make no mistake, these laptops are ALL FUNCTION, and absolutely ZERO FORM. Meaning, that if you just need raw horsepower in the most ungainly package possible, then these are a really great value. If you care at all about the experience of using the laptop, then move on. These just suck. I was so disappointed that I sold mine after 2 months at a $400 loss. I was lured by the specs and excited to receive it but my excitement quickly wore off in the face of all of the useability issues with the laptop I found myself almost never using it, because it was so unpleasant.
sablar - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
I bought the MSI GE620DX which is very similar in terms of specification (555m, 144, 128-bit, 1080p) and in being kind of a budget gaming notebook.Pretty happy with it overall. Mine settles in the low 80C and isn't very loud but I got the i5-2410 instead of i7 version for a good price so that kind of explains it. GPU is clocked higher and around same temp. Also has a good screen. Bad part is the touchpad which is awful with hard-to-press buttons and poor scrolling, you can't open it without voiding warranty if adding RAM or so, Could be an option for those looking at the clevo.
JLM - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Had three criterea for a laptop. 15.6 inch FHD display. Fast graphics and a solid chassis.Bought an HP dv6t and returned it for a horrible flex on the keyboard and cheap tin-can design and material joins.
Bought an XPS15 and returned it for a whimpy graphics card.
Looked at Alienware and rejected immature design.
Finally bought a Sager (this model) from xoticPC and could NOT be happier. Fast graphics, perfect display, no flex on the keyboard, no bloat, port positioning...
As far as build, better than the HP by far, about on par with the XPS. Design is completely understated and businesslike. Pressing down on all spots of the keyboard there is no flex like the HP...
Best of all, totally understated design. This thing could belong in an office environment no problem.
I bought three years parts and labor warranty and had them put on arctic silver. I guess if it gets too hot they will have to fix it. I can play games with it on my lap. It does heat up on the left side, but doesn't burn.
Highly recommended. Check out the notebook check review as well.
bhima - Thursday, August 25, 2011 - link
I have the 540m MYTHLOGIC version of this machine and its been running strong. You can't beat that 95% gamut matte screen, I don't think I'll ever go back to a crappy base-model panel again.