[P650RS] Clevo Center Experience

Hey guys, just want give some praise to Clevo Center from my experience so far.

21/9/16

I was looking for competitively priced builds for the P650RS but I also wanted the possibility of Prema without voiding my warranty.

PC Specialist was a no go because they're very strict about that, and while HIDevolution had good prices, the cost of warranty was a dampener which is understandable since it's from the US and I'm in the EU.
That and turnaround time. I don't want to be without my PC for too long as I need it for work.

I took a chance and popped into the Clevo Center (Prema partner) Live Chat wondering if anyone spoke English. I got the pleasure of talking to Paulo. Since it wasn't available on the site, I asked about the P650RS and they do have it in stock.

He was easy to talk to, and won my confidence quickly when I asked him about acceptable light bleed with IPS and if it's really bad, do I get an exchange. His response? "We do not send really bad units". He even offered to send pictures before shipping to confirm if it is of satisfaction.
They also offer a choice between repasting the machine with Gelid GC-Extreme or Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut for free. They haven't charged for thermal paste since last quarter (according to him).

22/9/16

I placed my order and I've sent the money.
LCD: Matte LG IPS 1080p
CPU: 6700HQ
GPU: GTX 1070
RAM: Crucial Ballistix LT 1x 16GB
SSD: 275GB MX300 M.2 SSD
HDD: HSG 1TB 7200rpm
Paste: Kryonaut
Wireless Card: Killer 1535
No Windows
Keyboard: White LED, US-International

Including 1 day shipping from Portugal to Ireland, it came up cheaper than PCS and even HIDevolution's total costs!
Granted, warranty outside of Portugal is extra, it's still cheaper than the other two options, AND you buy from a Prema partner!

My money will arrive there in 2-4 working days and Paulo told me that the build will start tomorrow, with or without my money. I've never been happier giving someone that amount of money. The laptop should be here next week when it clears.

---------------------------
Later in the day I found out that I can't fit more than one normal sized (9.5mm?) HDD in the same area and was told I should get 7mm HDDs so I can fit two if I wish. Contacted Paulo and they have quite a large selection of HDDs. Was able to change my order no problem.

26/9/16

My laptop has been built and is now going through testing. I should have pictures sent to me tomorrow. HypeHypeHypeHype.

27/9/16

There's something about really good customer service that gives me the warm fuzzies. Today I popped by the live chat to check in on how my build is doing. It has been assembled, and is now going through testing and get some pictures of it.

Unfortunately, there was good news and bad news. Good news is, my payment went through. Bad news, there is quite the backlight bleed on the top right hand corner of the laptop. The bleed, Paulo explains, is caused not by the screen but the pressure that the cover puts on it. But not to worry, Paulo to the rescue!

They are working on the screen cover with a dremel job to reduce the pressure. I could either have it tomorrow, or wait one more day to get it with the bleed fixed. I trust Paulo with a dremel more than I trust myself so why not.

That right there is great service and quality control.

28/9/16

Checked into live chat to see how their work on alleviating pressure from the screen is coming along.

Paulo was very honest with me, they tried but it didn't make the slightest difference. I was given a choice if I'm able to live with it and have it shipped, or give them another day to try. I figured why not, other people have to wait much longer than I have to for their machines, I get mine much sooner so I can wait a day.

He is gonna go deeper with the dremel and compensate with some foam. I asked him if he could possible provide me with pictures of the process so I can share it in the P650RS thread and he said that's fine, but of course only if it works.

29/9/2016

The attempts at the fix didn't work out, unfortunately. I requested to have it shipped today. I should have it some time tomorrow.

30/9/2016

Through no fault of Clevo Center, the shipment was delayed again. The package was available for collection yesterday before TNT's cut off point but they claimed it was 15 minutes after. Oh well, I can wait two more days...

 

even cheaper than PCS? can you link me with that seller? AFAIK PCS is the cheapest reseller in EU - I'm not sure about their quality .

 

Yeah, it's on http://www.clevocenter.com/

Site is in Portugese though, but go straight to live chat when they're available.

As with PCS, oh god where do I start... Mind you, I haven't ordered from them, but the information I got was more than enough.

1. I called into Live Chat one day to ask about the presence of the Sabre DAC in the P650RS (1070 versions). Support said no.

2. Did some research and came back the next day to ask support if they are sure about the question, because P650 with 1070 will always have the Sabre DAC unless they actually physically remove it which makes no sense. Support wasn't sure, which is fine, so support and myself teamed up to look for info. Turns out, they use the same configurator for the P650RP and P650RS! Which means when the rep checks on specs, it will turn up as a P650RP. Well, okay then.

3. I asked if I could pick what screens I get (LG vs Chi Mei, or as the rep says, Chimae). Basically, you can't, but, you can call before you order to see what screens they have in stock, then if that's satisfactory, you place your order, but that doesn't GUARANTEE it, because if they run out of stock, they will use whatever else they have.

4. You HAVE to order with their limited selection of RAM and HDD. Their reason is "How else are we supposed to test the machine?". While that logic is flawed, I (personally anyways) can kind of allow that, but if their selection is crap I'm not going to waste my money on parts I will throw out as soon as I get it.

Whereas with Clevo Center, it seems more professional and enthusiast-grade especially with their choices in parts (compared to PC Specialist anyways)

 

To explain this from the point of view of a reseller or System Integrator; when you order from Clevo you order the chassis which included the LCD panel, mainboard etc etc. It's not possible to order the chassis without LCD panel and then fit your own, it would only be possible to change that panel for a different model once you recieve your delivery from Clevo (by Clevo I mean the ODM in Taiwan, no other companies which use the name Clevo have any direct affiliation).

The only FHD panels that Clevo offer in the P65*RS are the LG LP156WF6 (supports G-Sync) and the LP156WF4 (doesn't support G-Sync), therefore this is the only panel that could be offered by anyone unless they decide to swap it out themselves. Therefore technically it's not possible to run out of panels for Clevo chassis (unless you decide to swap them all out), because running out of panels means that you've run out of chassis which the panels are in ;-)

Hope this helps.

 

Ah now this makes more sense. Thanks for that! So what about the Chi Mei/Chimae/Chimae panels that the rep told me about? They would fall under the 15.6" G-Sync category because that's the only option for 1080p in the configurator.

 

Thanks for letting me know this, and please update when you receive the laptop from Clevo Center .
I would like to know about the ordering process if you don't mind.

 

They have a site under construction which I stumbled upon. Their main site doesn't have the P650RS but the new one does. The prices aren't set properly though.

You order through live chat, look for Paulo. Paulo will go through the process with you, or you can just ask him the price of the build you already have in mind. Not exactly difficult since it's the same process most configurators go through:
CPU
Screen
GPU
RAM
HDD/SSD
Wireless card
Keyboard + Language (I opted for the US - International, but they didn't have it in the RGB one, so I went for the white LED version. Don't mind since I prefer that over the UK one just for code syntax)

He'll go through prices with you. You can ask for other parts if you have any preferable ones. They seem to have a large selection so feel free to find model numbers or links to show him what you want. He's also really friendly and is rather cordial with you, though sometimes things get lost in translation since Clevo Center and Paulo are Portugese.

You'll be given a final price and payment option. Like most resellers, wire transfer gets you a small % discount. I was sent an invoice and I brought that to the bank near my office to make the transfer.

 

Great review, keep us posted. It's always good to hear first hand experiences like this, and good service deserves to be called out just as much as bad service.

XMG, thanks for the info, that helps and makes things make more sense. Do you have any advice that can help us swap our own panels? How to make sure we get the right size, right cables, mounting if that's an option, etc? I've swapped panels before, but that's been within the name brand of a vendor so you can order what somebody else has already verified as compatible.

 

I'm not XMG but I'm told as long as you order the right panel it should be fine. I'm told by Clevo Center if I wish to get a new panel/compatible one down the line just ask and they can help me fish one out. Same applies to any easily changeable part like the keyboard.

I hopped onto tracking today and it has arrived here since Saturday morning. I wish they had a depot where I can pick it up instead of wait till Monday. At least it'll be shipped to the office so there is no chance of me missing it.

 

I feel this is long overdue, busy with work lately.

So I received the laptop on Monday 2/10/16 and everything is great! Since this is a reseller review, I won't go too in-depth with the laptop itself, just my overall experience.

Firstly, I'd like to say thanks to Paulo for being so great with the order and being incredibly flexible with my requests regarding the order. Props to him for taking the time attempting to fix the light "bleed" with a dremel. To quickly touch on that: removing the bezel on the panel removes the bleed entirely. I'm going to see what I can do with that myself.

The laptop was perfect otherwise, up to spec, everything worked right out of the box. The fact that this came out cheaper than PC Specialist with better quality with regards to choice of thermal paste (got Grizzly Kryonaut) and parts (in sig) makes them such a great choice. That and the quick build time compared to other users in the forum, PLUS being a Prema partner, makes them IMO the best choice for someone looking for a Clevo build in the EU.