Mythlogic Callisto 1512 (Clevo W550EU) Ultrabook Review
by Dustin Sklavos on May 24, 2013 12:01 AM ESTApplication and Futuremark Performance
The overwhelming majority of notebooks we've tested with Ivy Bridge have been either based on ULV parts or 45W quad core parts, leaving us with a gap in our information. Thankfully, the Mythlogic Callisto 1512 shipped to us with a 35W dual core chip that starts at a higher nominal clock speed than the ULV kit but also is able to turbo up to higher speeds on the integrated graphics. This should result in a modest performance increase for the HD 4000 and a much more noticeable one on any tasks that are CPU bound.
The Futuremark results bear this out. The extra thermal headroom allows the HD 4000 in the standard voltage i5 to run at higher speeds and for longer, giving us a roughly 10%-15% improvement in performance. PCMark 7 benefits from both the stunningly fast Samsung 840 Pro SSD and the increased CPU speed.
Bounce over to our CPU-limited tests, and the only one that doesn't show a healthy improvement is the first pass of our x264 test. That first pass generally doesn't put the squeeze on the CPU quite as aggressively as the second one does, giving the ULV chips a little more thermal headroom. Once the second pass starts, the standard voltage i5 breaks away.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
26 Comments
View All Comments
Flying Goat - Friday, May 24, 2013 - link
Yea, I thought the same. Currently, the ASUS Zenbook (http://www.anandtech.com/show/6923/asus-zenbook-ux... is the only system I'm aware of that's really light and has a discrete GPU.SanLouBlues - Friday, May 24, 2013 - link
I've been using a Maingear branded Clevo W150hrm). Looks exactly like the one in the image. It's fast and the display is great. It's not super durable (a battery tab broke and something else broke loose inside the case that I haven't gotten around to fishing out yet) and there's no latch. My biggest gripe is that I still screw up typing on this thing all the time. Right shift, right control, and the arrows are all way too easy to mix up and make development typing a real trial. I miss my Dell keyboard so much. Also it doesn't include the lucidlogix software to let the embedded and nvidia gpus work together. At least it uses regular old phillips head screws.Electromikey - Friday, May 24, 2013 - link
Doesn't the ASUS UX51 cover the bases as far as good display, good graphics, lightweight, etc.? Plus, they often offer two-year comprehensive warranties on a lot of their laptops, so there's that. I know there's a bit of a price difference, and there may be some other things as well, but I'd look towards that direction rather than a "custom-built" ultrabook if I was still in the market.Darkstone - Saturday, May 25, 2013 - link
I don't understand why the sony S15 isn't mentioned in the article. In my county, the S15 is cheaper than the equivalently specced clevo. (unless you opt for a quadcore option, because the quadcore is only available in the GT 640m 2GB model, which is an €170 upgrade).What do you get for that? A vasly superior keyboard and touchpad. Much longer battery life, superior cooling, 300gr lower weight, and probably better build quality as well.
Clevo once again managed to create a system that is just surpassed by the competition in every possible way.
Hrel - Friday, May 31, 2013 - link
The thing with ultrabooks is, if I'm spending over 1K on a laptop I expect a dedicated GPU. I should be able to run, at a minimum, every modern game at 1600x900 with smooth frame rates. I don't expect the detail settings to be all the way up, but I don't want to run 720p. MAYBE this will become reality with haswell and the integrated GPU RAM; but honestly I'd rather have an Nvidia chip in there for MANY more reasons than just gaming performance.Hrel - Friday, May 31, 2013 - link
I LOVE the Clevo design, I'm entirely happy with it the way it is. Except that keyboard. WHY didn't they use the same one they've been using on their newer 15.6" GTX660M laptops? That keyboard layout is great! This one is damn near useless because of that stupid offput 0 key. Hey laptop people, arrow keys are almost entirely useless, YOU CAN MAKE THEM SMALLER!