Vortex II. UK. Built by PC Specialist

[Yiddo]

Finally got round to do a review of my Clevo P170HM or Vortex II as they call it in the UK which was built by PC Specialist who seem to be the only UK supplier of Clevo/Sager Gaming Laptops at least for a reasonable price and professional service. I usually try and pick up second hand gaming models and imports but my old model was stolen last year so decided I would use the insurance money and get a new model. I was overall very happy with my build from the options available to the service and the price not to mention upon receipt its build quality and performance.

The Purchase:

Chassis & Display - Vortex II: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) - Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2760QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) - 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card - 2GB AMD® Radeon® HD 6990M - DirectX® 11 (17.3" Vortex II)
Hard Disk - 120GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive - 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader - Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste - ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card - Intel 5.1 Channel High Definition Audio + SPDIF/MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities - GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options - 2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Battery - Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor - UK Power Lead & 220W AC Adaptor
Laptop Cooling Stands - Zalman ZM-NC3000S Ultimate Cooler, 220mm fan, upto 17.3inch (£35)
Mouse - INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam - INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty - 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Dead Pixel Guarantee 1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days

Price (excluding VAT) £1,247.50
Price £1,479.00

I chose the finance option which is very good. You pay around £45.00 a month for 12 months and then are given the chance to either pay off the remaining £700 odd left over or carry on for a further 2 years and pay interest. If you clear the 700 odd left you dont pay a penny extra.

The Build:

Very important was the build time, I decided not to pay any extra for the speedy service and glad I didn't as I was very pleased with the fast build and despatch times. You are given order status updates and also a lead time guide to the current last 7 day despatch times for all different types of models being built, this really helps keep your nerves calm as you can watch the build every step of the way and meant I had no need to bother them with questions.

Processed Date - 28-11-2011
Pre-Production Date - 29-11-2011
Build Date - 02-12-2011
Test Date - 02-12-2011
Awaiting Dispatch Date - 02-12-2011
Dispatch Date - 03-12-2011

The Laptop's Arrival:

Build quality with these models is superb and I was very happy with the alluminium coating and the fact it was not labelled. One of the biggest factor's for me was the touchpad which I am very pleased with coming from the G73JH which had numerous issues and was never really 100% fixed it was a vital part of the model and it pulled through very nicely. The keyboard is comfortable although not the greatest, it could really do with being backlit which is why I think the newer models will do very well however as I did not need a backlit keyboard I was happy to pass on this. The screen I went for is glossy because I have no need to game by a window and find that the brightness/contrast and general visability a beautiful thing to behold in glossy, for my work and internet usage I have my netbook with a matte screen and the two go hand in hand. The one worry I had was the size of these things and again I was very pleased to see like most Clevo/Sager models it was nowhere near as heavy or bulky as I expected or saw from my friends 18 inch model, I think this is due to the single card setup but it can still house 2 HDD in RAID an optical drive and excellent cooling facilities all shown in the pictures below. Click to enlarge.

The only reason PC Specialist did not get a 10/10 from me was because of a couple of problems which reared their ugly heads shortly after arrival. Firstly a stuck pixel got through their testing and although this is the screen manufacturers problem it appeared as soon as I fired it up and not soon after so should have really been caught at their testing stages. Secondly my GPU temps skyrocketed as soon as I pushed it through a stress test and I noticed that I had only received the paid for Thermal Compound on the CPU and there was a thick layer of stock paste on the GPU DIE which meant that I saw temps of 115oC within around 10 seconds of the test, I reapplied ICD which was very simple to do with the ease of access on these models and have not seen above 80oC on any part of the DIE since.

Even so the RMA was quick and successful and luckily I chose the 1 year pixel guarantee so it was all paid for and dealt with free of charge. One thing I will say is that it may seem quite expensive to people viewing in the US, we suffer in the UK from high taxes on imported goods and so the UK sellers can charge us what they like. At release an Asus G74SX with a 560M was near £1800 which made Pc Specialist a very good option to be able to get one of the high end cards at release which are pretty much non existent from most sellers over here.

The Performance:

The speed is only really comparable by seeing it yourself, coming from a 1st Gen 920XM and a SATA II SSD I noticed a severe jump in performance, responsiveness and boot time so if you are coming from less it will be a very worthwhile upgrade. I cannot see why I would need anything more than what I have at the moment for a good few years at least and the only reason I went for a better CPU was because it was on deal otherwise I would have stuck with the 2670QM at stock. My jump from the 5870M to the 6990M was huge and not only that I was running on a 900P screen so the jump is even bigger. Temperature wise the max temps are pretty much the same as my G73JH although the bottom end temps are much lower as I use to idle around 50oC for both and now I am between 30-40oC.

3DMark06 - 20221
Vantage - 14797
3DMark11 - 3583

Windows Experience Score \ Idle Temps \ Load Temps

Conclusion:

I was overall very pleased. As earlier mentioned I could not give the entire process a 10/10 however from puchasing to building to recieving and general usage it earns its 9/10. I got exactly what I wanted with only a few slight issues which were quickly corrected and I now have a perfect setup which I intend to use until my finance deal is up and then I will see how long I can last before upgrading again

The 2760QM paired with the 6990M is fantastic performance wise and is all you really need to be able to game in the comfort of your own home without having to sit at a desk or table. I only showed my stock results above but also have an image of my overclocked results here, which reap the full glory of the ability of the 6990M.

PC Specialist were very good throughout the entire process and their customer service is next to non, I was kept fully if not a little over zealously up to date of exactly what they were doing when they were doing it and the website is so well laid out and accessable the next step could only have been to have webcams showing me what the technician is doing as he does it.

The RMA was very quick and easy within an hour of applying for it online it was approved and they would either collect it next day or I could drop it off which I did. I was put into a queue and kept upto date and then it was despatched and returned next day in pristine condition with the problem solved.

PROS:

- Excellent options, customisation and features available
- Excellent Performance and capabilities, more than enough input/outputs
- Excellent customer service
- Easy to read and understand website with plenty of information
- The Quality is the best I have seen in a laptop
- The cooling for high end components is top notch
- Upgradability / No warranty stickers

CONS:

- Still have to say the price is too high the UK needs to up its game
- Sadly it should have had a backlit keyboard too little too late for me to wait for the 270HM
- The keyboard feels a little cheap even for a chiclet
- Dead/Stuck pixels at despatch should not be included
- Technicians should be testing the GPU for gaming capabilities in terms of heat before despatch

Will I consider going back to Asus with their mid range hardware with high end looks for a high end price? Not a chance.

9/10

[MrDJ]

great review. thanks for posting.

[jaug1337]

indeed, a very great review. was actually looking at PC Specialist, which is expensive due to VAT in the UK, but guess what, it's even worse in the DK, but a slightly better in GER (mySN) oh god, so many choices, better off waiting for the newest Clevo line.

Still wondering if you've had any problems with the 120GB HyperX SSD?

[Yiddo]

Still wondering if you've had any problems with the 120GB HyperX SSD?

Thank you I knew I missed one thing in my review racking my brain trying to think of it. Its a pro mind you

All of the BIOS and Firmware was all updated before my laptop was dispatched another thing I was quite impressed with so not one BSOD with the hyperx it has worked flawlessly since arrival!

[pau1ow]

Great review. Prices in the UK are damn expensive though but your P170hm is maxed out so I think that's a more or less fair deal.

Note: 7.8 Graphics WEI is reached only with a ~high overclocking, 7.6 default otherwise.

Good temps also.

[smokingjam]

whats the performance of games like on 6990m?
im soooo stuck whether to order with amd or nvidia 580m or wait for refresh. but i did speak to one for pcs forum members who said as long as its th eright gpu and heatsink they would upgrade gpu if i wanted!

[Yiddo]

Note: 7.8 Graphics WEI is reached only with a ~high overclocking, 7.6 default otherwise.
.

7.7 actually a mistake I will correct.

whats the performance of games like on 6990m?
im soooo stuck whether to order with amd or nvidia 580m or wait for refresh. but i did speak to one for pcs forum members who said as long as its th eright gpu and heatsink they would upgrade gpu if i wanted!

It goes back to the old saying if you choose to wait you will be waiting forever because once the IVY is out people will be waiting for the refresh of the IVY just like they did with the Sandy and then you will want to wait for HASWELL and then BROADWAY and before you know it its 2014

The 6990M is a better choice for bang vs buck and the price drop will happen for both cards so it will always stay like this because the 580M is overpriced. The new 270 Clevo model is only going to have a refresh of the CPU to begin with so there is really no point in waiting, you are going to be paying release price on something that will not make anywhere near a big enough difference for gamers because the I7 is more than enough for any game. 1st Gen I7's still game perfectly fine.

If you can wait and have the money to get a new model at release good for you, personally I will just wait till they drop in price and release the newer IVY models as they did with the SANDY 2760QM/2960XM etc. I dont think I have ever paid release price on anything, its good to wait and see how the model develops and the problems associated with it. The G73JH was a prime example I waited a year after its release when all of the issues had finally been addressed and by that point it was dirt cheap.

[smokingjam]

7.7 actually a mistake I will correct.



It goes back to the old saying if you choose to wait you will be waiting forever because once the IVY is out people will be waiting for the refresh of the IVY just like they did with the Sandy and then you will want to wait for HASWELL and then BROADWAY and before you know it its 2014

The 6990M is a better choice for bang vs buck and the price drop will happen for both cards so it will always stay like this because the 580M is overpriced. The new 270 Clevo model is only going to have a refresh of the CPU to begin with so there is really no point in waiting, you are going to be paying release price on something that will not make anywhere near a big enough difference for gamers because the I7 is more than enough for any game. 1st Gen I7's still game perfectly fine.

If you can wait and have the money to get a new model at release good for you, personally I will just wait till they drop in price and release the newer IVY models as they did with the SANDY 2760QM/2960XM etc. I dont think I have ever paid release price on anything, its good to wait and see how the model develops and the problems associated with it. The G73JH was a prime example I waited a year after its release when all of the issues had finally been addressed and by that point it was dirt cheap.

ill prob not wait if im honest the diffference with upgrades on the gpu surely will be minimal. i cant see amd or nvidia managing squeezing any more power and if they do im sure the cost will be high.
if you manage to game on it (as that is prob the main thing for myself) let me know how 6990m performs. settings on games etc. the price of this gpu is the biggest seller for me. drops the price by over a £100 from the 580m.

[Yiddo]

ill prob not wait if im honest the diffference with upgrades on the gpu surely will be minimal. i cant see amd or nvidia managing squeezing any more power and if they do im sure the cost will be high.
if you manage to game on it (as that is prob the main thing for myself) let me know how 6990m performs. settings on games etc. the price of this gpu is the biggest seller for me. drops the price by over a £100 from the 580m.

The 6990M will max out any game at 1080p dependant on how well you deal with FPS the majority of games will run at 60fps, aside from some of the latest ie Battlefield 3 and Skyrim if you intend to run it maxed out at 1080p you will need to accept 35-45fps which is what I see.

As a desktop replacement it is fantastic and once overclocked it pushes boundaries, the refresh is going to be focused on releasing a CPU that can run at lower temps from a lower power consumption at higher performance but as this laptop is made to be plugged in around the clock and has excellent cooling the only thing left is performance and the Sandy bridge is way ahead of the curb in that area so there is little point spending a whole lot more money for little gain unless you are doing something solely focused on the CPU.

The Cedertrail on the other hand is going to be awesome!

[smokingjam]

thats all i want is to max out games. i understand about skyrim lowering certain aspects of details.
the clips ive seen of the 6990m in action the performance looks excellent