Qal51

[Quarzac]

So I'm looking for a gaming laptop/desktop replacement for college, and CyberPower has a rebrand of the QAL for a pretty good price. So I've been wondering- how's the build quality of Compal computers in comparison to say, Sager/Clevo, or brands like Lenovo. I ask because I'm also considering the N6165 and the Lenovo Y580, since they're all in the ballpark price wise. Thanks!

[Dr.Colossos]

The Compal FL90 is a great notebook - however, it came with the Nvidia 8600M GT which had a major design flaw, which resulted in a broken grafic card. Many other manufacturers had the same problem, including IBM, Dell, etc.

Other than that, I am really happy with it, even after 5 years of using the very same laptop.

[loudgas]

I'm not sure if you can even compare Sager/Clevo to Compal as they have both been known to rebrand Compals in the past. Perhaps that is a testament to the build quality though. Lenovo bought 51% of Compal so it wouldn't surprise me if that model you quoted has been built by Compal too.

I have a lot of experience with Thinkpads, they are a different class of laptop, but at a premium. I don't think you will be disappointed with a Compal, if you choose to go that route.

However driver support can be a challenge, hopefully that will be resolved in time.

[Quarzac]

I'm not sure if you can even compare Sager/Clevo to Compal as they have both been known to rebrand Compals in the past. Perhaps that is a testament to the build quality though. Lenovo bought 51% of Compal so it wouldn't surprise me if that model you quoted has been built by Compal too.

I have a lot of experience with Thinkpads, they are a different class of laptop, but at a premium. I don't think you will be disappointed with a Compal, if you choose to go that route.

However driver support can be a challenge, hopefully that will be resolved in time.

Are drivers specific to Compals for all of them?

[loudgas]

The components are for the most part name brand, Nvidia, Broadcom, Intel etc.. However I found when first installing Windows 7, the video defaulted to the i7 integrated graphics, and any attempt I made with generic Nvidia driver installs failed.

Once I installed the drivers included on the Compal install DVD it could see the Nvidia card. I have found if I extract the generic Nvidia drivers and update the video card in device manager (browsing to the extracted folder) it will update. But running an upgrade with the generic driver after the Compal default driver is installed will also fail.

The Compal support website isn't well maintained which doesn't help either.

[Quarzac]

I wonder if that holds true for the QAL51. Is that the notebook you're referring to, or the FL90 referred to previously?

[loudgas]

I can only speak to the model I have (Compal PBL21), the Compal website will be a problem for any model it supports. Just make sure you get a driver DVD with the laptop.

Just had a quick glance at the QAL51, that's a beauty! Mind me asking the price?

[Quarzac]

Configured correctly, I got it down to $888 with an i7-3610QM and 8GBs of RAM. The only thing that I'm hesitant about is the glossy screen. I really prefer matte screens.

[loudgas]

Likewise on the screen, when I use my laptop in my office I get a lot of glare from the window.

Which video card came with yours? Excellent price in my opinion btw!

[Quarzac]

Nvidia GT650m with 2GBs of VRAM. It should be able to handle most things at a decent resolution, I think. It comes with enough freebies that I think I'm gonna pull the trigger. I am a bit worried, since the model isn't even on that driver site, but I'll figure something out if I need to. They should theoretically include a driver CD with the notebook.