[Review] Clevo/EVOC PA71ES-G

Make sure you have the 'Intant Mode' box checked on the toolbar, and it is advisable to watch or read a basic tutorial on how to use EqualizerAPO with the config editor. It's not a very user-friendly program, but it is very effective, and one of the only ways to have global control of EQ settings on windows.

 

Have you tried j95's modded Audio drivers for Clevo? That program also unlocks the eq in Realtek Console and also installs the Creative Soundblaster suite. I don't personally use the speakers much and haven't really changed anything but its nice to have it nonetheless. I cannot compare it to EqualiserAPO since I haven't used it but I guess it is much more in-depth

 

That sounds familiar, but I can't be sure. Do you have a link for that driver?

 

Here it is. Try it out and let us know your thoughts!

 

Looking at the Clevo PA71EP6-G (possibly thru HID)... curious if Clevo got the Control Center software fixed?

Also... can anyone confirm if this is worth the $95 upgrade: Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut on CPU + GPU, and Fujipoly Extreme Thermal Pads on heat sensitive surfaces – BEST PERFORMANCE – installed by HIDevolution +$95.00

I don't game, but I run a lot of programs at one time. I am currently using a Dell Latitude 5570 and it is quiet as a mouse and cool... but I need a 17.3" screen.

 

Gave it a shot, and although the Soundblaster GUI is much more attractive than EQAPO + Viper, I think the end result is pretty similar to what you can achieve regardless of which software you're using to achieve it. The speakers themselves just don't have the sonic range to produce a crazy margin of difference period, so it kinda just comes down to whatever software experience you prefer. Since I already spent a lot of time perfecting my EQAPO profile to suit my needs, I'm pretty happy sticking with that, but seeing more options out there is always nice!

Clevo will probably never really 'fix' the abysmal experience that is CCC, but thankfully the community has heard the cries of anguish, and the dev angels at Obsidian have released a complete control center package that works with a lot of Clevo models to great effect. I can't speak from first-hand experience, as I've been pretty happy running everything on stock since dumping CCC awhile back, but the reviews have been really positive, so when I DO have time to get back into gaming, I would gladly spend the $20 to regain the fan profiles and keyboard lighting options. More info here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/clevo-drivers-update-utility-by-obsidian-pc.801464/
https://code.obsidian-pc.com/clevo-software/

RE: Upgrades, if you can afford it, getting the best thermal paste on this machine is almost imperative as thermals become a big issue with ANY of the 'slim gaming' laptops. I didn't spring for the pads after looking into what they were and determining they were a pretty minor addition, but the LM makes a huge difference. My gaming temps were just good enough to keep it in the reasonable range with the Conductonaut, and HID is one of the best at applying it properly. Anything else and you will be severely limiting the lifespan of your machine especially if doing a lot of heavy gaming (which I don't, but I'm still all about maximizing the life of my devices). I typically run a bunch of design apps at the same time: After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Bridge, 2 chromium browsers (Vivaldi and Chrome) with dozens of tabs between them, Spotify, Office suite, and Thunderbird, and this machine eats it up and stays cool doing it - with an external pen-input display attached that functions as my second monitor no less.

After a little over 6 months of ownership now, I'm extremely confident I made the right purchase, and even more so after recently having the chance to mess around with a bunch of the competing options at Best Buy (Asus ROG STRIX, Alienware 17, MSI GS65 among them). Having logged a few thousand hours on this machine doing some pretty heavy design work on a daily basis, I'm very very happy with the overall performance and package. The only thing I liked better was the keyboard on the GS65; hard to beat the low-profile mech SteelSeries keyboard, but other than that the Clevo package as customized by HID (and now having installed an extra 16GB RAM + 1TB SSD since my HID purchase) is just a great all-rounder; a true Goldilocks that is almost unbeatable in hitting the sweet spot for performance, size, components, and user-serviceability while still staying relatively light and definitely mobile.

Though it would be nice if the 17" IPS had wider gamut coverage (a la the AERO 15x), it's passable for design work and looks great for most games. Lightbleed is of course a factor on all IPS screens (I've got a patch in the left-corner and along the top-edge) so it's a compromise to have the more accurate color representation, but you can spring for the 'minimal backlight bleed' option from HID if you want to spend the money on that rather than an external monitor (that will invariably be better than the PA-71 display no matter how little lightbleed you get).

And last but not least, I'd be remiss to mention how much I appreciate the completely stealth look of having ZERO branding on the all-aluminum shell. Makes me happy every time I clean it at the end of the night; it is a fingerprint magnet, but a small price to pay for the heat dissipation benefits and bulletproof spaceship appeal.

In the words of Ferris Beuller, "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

PS: If you have any specific Q's, don't hesitate to ask the reps; they are all extremely helpful and knowledgeable and I believe @Donald@HIDevolution can still get you hooked up with an NBR discount.

 

Thanks LeiEn... I appreciate the detailed info... very helpful. You sound like you use it similar to what I'll be using it... lots of apps open and photo design, etc.

 

I'm entertaining the idea of giving this laptop a shot, I just am still quite nervous about the thermal issues/throttling issues. Is it possible for you to post an updated graph/chart of your clockspeeds and temperatures under say Prime95 or similar? I've also read some reports of inconsistent framerates inm games with the GPU clock freezing itself at around 1450Mhz and/or the CPU bouncing around between 1.8Ghz and 3.6Ghz or so. Is this something you've experienced?

 

Got my laptop in and starting to set it up.

Can someone tell me where I can find instructions on setting the keyboard backlighting? Dimming, changing color, etc.

Thanks!

 

You should be able to download the manual for your your Clevo model in Clevos drivers download page. Probably under different model name but you’ll find it.