Eurocom Monster 1.0: Clevo's Little Monster
by Vivek Gowri on May 18, 2012 4:55 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Clevo
- Eurocom
- Ivy Bridge
- Kepler
Good Things in a Small Package
I love the Eurocom Monster. There’s no other way to say it. This isn’t to say that it’s a perfect system, because it isn’t close. The design is dull, the screen is miserable, and apparently the design team forgot that cooling is part of thermal design. It’s crazy that this system exists, and that’s why I love it. Like I said in the introduction, the spec sheet reads like a pipe dream—it’s the kind of thing that makes me giddy inside. The power/size ratio of the Monster is absolutely mind boggling. Having a 4 pound laptop that has nearly as much power as my desktop? Sign me up, yesterday.
It used to be that this kind of insanity was routinely served up by the likes of Alienware—anyone remember the original M15x from 2008 with the 8800M GTX? That one was also a 90C special, something with way more horsepower than cooling. That Alienware doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Between killing off the M11x and the relatively tame M14x (it’s potent, but not as out there as it could be—the GT 650M and IVB quad match the W110ER, but it’s two size classes up), I think Dell’s bean counters are putting a bit too much sense into a brand that used to be all about pushing boundaries (not to mention thermal envelopes).
I’ve been torn by the Monster. I’m a guy who really appreciates industrial design—I’m a fan of Apple notebooks, I loved the Razer Blade, hell, I even own a Dell Adamo. The Clevo appeals to absolutely none of those senses—it’s boring, doesn’t really look great, and generally doesn’t feel like ID was a huge part of the design process. It’s not an offensive design, but not one that’s particularly pleasing in any way. However, I’m also someone attracted to the crazy and unusual things in tech, and the Monster exemplifies those qualities in every way. It’s quirky and weird and in some cases not particularly functional. The computing horsepower is probably overkill. And I want one immensely.
Should you buy one? That depends. The upcoming Ivy Bridge replacement for the Sony VAIO SA will probably be a more well-rounded system (in fact, I’d argue that the current one is as well) with a better screen, a better design, better battery life, more portability, but way less computing power. And I am certain that there are a number of other upcoming IVB-based systems that similarly combine portability and GPU power, but I predict that none of them will hit upon a combination this potent in a package this portable. If it meets your needs and you know what you’re getting into from a design and thermal packaging standpoint, you’ll be as thrilled as I am.
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ijozic - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
Yes, I remember it (and the purple-ish tiger stripes on the lid?) as I was seriously considering it at the time (and the M1330). I bought neither because of the manufacturing flaw those GPUs had. Then I decided to go for a small portable + workstation combo to have both the battery life and the business performance (Acer 1810TZ and Dell M6400). The M6400, the charger and the backpack are so heavy that carrying the Acer as well doesn't make a big difference (extra 1.5 kg).ijozic - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
Actually, I did find the P300 in some shop like a year later (might have bought it to compensate for the time spent wanting it), but it was still at full price and was rather outdated by that time.I also remember wanting to buy that Fujitsu Siemens with an ATI external card (Sa 3650), but when I saw it in shop, the case was made from some tacky glossy white plastic and the whole thing was rather thick).
yhselp - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Not only carrying a DTR but another laptop as well - more power to you, mate! That's truly amusing for some reason. There was this guy from the institute that used to lug around (probably still does) 15 pounds of tech, he said it didn't really bother him.I remember there was a website that offered the LG P300 initially, seemed a bit murky but people were happy so nothing wrong with that.
That Fujitsu with the external GPU was very quirky, wasn't it? If I'm not mistaken, initially you could only use the dGPU with a monitor; when they enabled using the built-in display it didn't seem to work very well - there were all sorts of artifacts and anomalies on-screen. Poor overall quality couldn't have helped either.
SodaAnt - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
I'm just curious what the battery life would look life it you tried to go for full power saving instead. I'd think that the HD4000 would be enough for many 720P gaming tasks, and I'd think you might get reasonable battery life out of it if you tried.yhselp - Sunday, May 20, 2012 - link
I absolutely agree - there hasn't been much choice when it comes to a gaming-able portable system; and, yes, the M11x is the only one that capitalizes on that. I actually know a marketing exec (not consumer electronics) who is a fan of Dell and uses an M11x as his business portable, despite not doing any gaming - he just thinks it's cool. The price - again, I agree - it's what salvages the whole thing, $799 for the Core 2/335M was a good deal. The Core i ramped up prices, but it never got too high. Price always plays a major role - just take a look at the M14x and the Razer Blade.Thinking along those lines, I can't help but agree with your statement. Perhaps, I was too quick to dismiss the first paragraph and didn't give it a second thought - I apologize. It's just that I'd really like companies to spend more on R&D and optimize their thermals, and thus give us better products with better components. If consumers don't create a demand (and remain happy with what is available) that change is unlikely to happen. I used to give the 330M VAIO Z as an example when people asked me what was wrong with the M11x - sure, it had a slightly lower gaming performance but it was essentially what we now refer to as an 'ultrabook', yet with a regular voltage CPU and a decent dGPU. Insane price, but an engineering accomplishment nonetheless.
I never said 'excellent review' which is definitely the case, and thanks for responding - I appreciate it.
JoeDirte' - Sunday, May 20, 2012 - link
This is a brilliant laptop except for the lack of a backlit keyboard and it has a VGA port. I bought a M11X R2 and when I got it I was on the fence about how I felt having something so small for screen and I really wondered about the performance of the laptop as a workstation. To my surprise the M11XR2 has been a great laptop for portability, performance, gaming, and I love being able to hook up two digital displays without a docking station. That makes this an excellent workstation for on the go and working between several offices. The Clevo isn't as professional in my opinion with it still having a VGA port and not offering a backlit keyboard.junky77 - Thursday, May 24, 2012 - link
HiYou didn't write the drivers version you used