Experience with HIDevolution - EVOC P750DM-G

Introduction
I figured it would be good to document my experience with HIDevolution. I ordered an EVOC P750DM-G.



I have previously ordered Clevo notebooks from both XoticPC (W230ST and P650SG) and Prostar (P650RE) through to final delivery. I have placed orders that were eventually canceled due to time constraints, stock availability or, just wanting a different model with both XoticPC (Aorus X7 Pro and P640RE) and Mythlogic (P640RE). I feel that since all resellers and system builders are essentially offering the same product, a Clevo, the main differentiating factor comes down to the price and after-sales service. That is, I advocate for the prospective buyer (that's you!) buying the seller rather than the product. For me, another important factor is the availability of a modded BIOS.

Nevertheless, the main question that I seek to answer: does HIDevolution live up to the hype?

Specifications as Ordered
HIDevolution EVOC P750DM-G (Prema BIOS factory installed)
Intel Core i5-6600K
32GB G.SKILL Ripjaws @ 2666MHz (originally ordered with 16GB, reference May 6, 2016 entry)
GTX 980M 8GB (Prema vBIOS factory installed)
Intel Wireless-AC 8260
Samsung 950 PRO 256GB NVMe SSD (customer supplied)
FHD IPS G-Sync Panel
Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64 (customer supplied license key)
Extended 2 year warranty

Timeline of Purchase
March 11, 2016
Called HIDevolution since they had the P750ZM listed on their website. Talked to @Donald@HIDevolution who confirmed with me it is listed in error but they had the P750DM-G in stock. Not interested in this model at this time and am hellbent on getting the Haswell model.

April 20, 2016
Decided to call HIDevolution again seeing they had a new lineup of EVOC P750DM-G's complete with modded BIOS that are covered under warranty. Talk to Donald who remembers me from calling the previous month about the P750ZM. I have a few questions. HIDevolution lists a Windows 7 option for $0 with no license key. I ask him what this means, and it is clarified that this means they will install Windows 7 but will not install a license key and that I can provide one. I state that I have a retail key and Donald tells me they are more than happy to use it. I ask if I can send in my own Samsung 950 PRO NVMe SSD for installation. Donald quotes me a service fee for Windows installation onto my provided drive and states that it will not be covered by HIDevolution warranty. I agree to this service fee. I ask Donald if they provide discounts for active Notebookreview members. Donald is not sure but says to put it into the comments field along with the quoted fee for installation of the drive. I discuss my previous experience with other resellers/system builders and Donald pledges to me that HIDevolution treats their customers as customers and not as a number.

I place my order online later that night. I provide details of the quote Donald gave me and my Notebookreview username into the comments section of the order, along with a request for a final invoice though PayPal. Within an hour of placing the order, sales adjusts my order for the service fee and Notebookreview discount, then sends me an invoice through PayPal. I pay within 5 minutes of receiving the invoice. Sales marks the order as payment received 10 minutes after.

I contact order support about where to send my SSD and Windows license key. Support replies within 4 hours with a mailing address and instructions to e-mail back with my Windows 7 license key.

I did not know it at the time, but Donald owned PowerNotebooks, which filed bankruptcy earlier this year.

April 21, 2016
Order is marked "Pre-Production"

April 23, 2016
I send the Samsung 950 PRO SSD by USPS Priority to HIDevolution. I reply to my support ticket with the tracking number, Windows 7 license key, and special instructions for my Windows 7 install (username request, request not to install the Soundblaster driver, and request to avoid the Windows 10/telemetry update KBs in Windows Update).

April 24, 2016
Support appends the instructions I submitted to my order as a note for the technician.

April 25, 2016
The Samsung 950 PRO I sent is delivered to HIDevolution and is signed for.

May 2, 2016
This post is written. I have not received any further information from HIDevolution, but I have not bothered to inquire about it. I await my laptop patiently - I am not in any rush or time crunch, nor did I pay for expedited service - and will update this post with continuations of my experience as needed. Will HIDevolution deliver? Will it live up to @Phoenix's hype? One can only hope it does!

May 4, 2016
Donald calls me before HIDevolution closes to tell me they ran slightly behind schedule on the production of my machine. He offers to upgrade my order to USPS Priority from standard FedEx Ground. Donald projected a final delivery date of Monday May 9, 2016 when shipped by USPS Priority. Note this call and offer was made without any prompting on my part.

May 6, 2016 - In Production!
Donald calls to tell me that their distributor sent them the wrong 8GB sticks of G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR4 RAM and wanted to know if I was ok with substituting the 2x8GB kit (as ordered) for a single stick of 16GB. I didn't want to do that, so I asked what would be the charge to upgrade to 2x16GB sticks. Donald got back to me with a quote with significant discount for my trouble. I quickly did some research and found that this discount made the offer very competitive. I accepted this offer and asked him to invoice me by PayPal. I pay within a minute of receiving the invoice. Sales marks the order as payment received less than 5 minutes after and makes a change notice to my order of the upgrade to 2x16GB - 32GB of G.SKILL Ripjaws @ 2666MHz. After this, my order status was set to "in production."

May 7, 2016
Donald forwards me an e-mail from Vivian, the technician who is building my laptop. On April 23, 2016, I provided instructions to avoid specific Windows 10 & telemetry updates. Vivian describes that when Windows 7 is installed normally (i.e. without skipping the specified updates), the GPU performs as expected and passes all tests and burn-in. When Windows 7 is reinstalled without these updates, GPU performance immediately tanks. Donald wants to know how I would like them to proceed. I provided information about the updates, how they can be uninstalled, about a pack of updates that can be downloaded for offline installation (which I've used before - installing Windows updates normally sucks from a base SP1 installation!), and finally authorization to disregard my request if they 100% cannot get it working without the updates. I am glad that HIDevolution fully tests their systems as-configured to any special requests and works with the customer to resolve any issues before final delivery.

May 9, 2016
In the afternoon on today (I'm in EST so this would be around 9 AM PST) I replied all to Donald's reply of the May 7, 2016 e-mail (which he had Vivian and Ted CC'd to) asking if they had the GPU performance degradation sorted out.

May 10, 2016 - Order Shipped!
Received an automated e-mail that my order has shipped by USPS Priority right before close of business today. Donald personally e-mailed me to assure me that it is performing beautifully and to let me know that Vivian thanked me for the instructions I gave in my May 7, 2016 e-mail.

May 12, 2016 - Laptop Received!
Currently finishing up my initial setup and will do a final thoughts/conclusions for now.

May 13, 2016
Finished up my initial setup. I'm guessing they sysprep'd after finishing the burn-in as it went through the whole OOBE. Vivian didn't install any Windows updates, letting me decide what I wanted. I used simplix UpdatePack7. I uninstalled both X-Fi MB5 and Killer Network software, reinstalling the standalone Killer driver. Included with the system was the usual included Clevo stuff (paper manual, driver DVD, HDD "sled" and screws, M.2 standoff, unknown thermal compound) but they had also thrown in a 8GB flash drive with Windows 7 64-bit on it, a nice touch.

First, have a look at some pictures.


There is no HIDevolution/EVOC branding externally or on any internal surfaces of the laptop. The initial Windows installation had the default Windows wallpaper (I applied the EVOC wallpaper). There is HIDevolution/EVOC branding in the custom BIOS and vBIOS by Prema.

Heaven bench running at stock with all the Windows updates applied. No evidence of performance degradation.

Okay... This IPS glow is really excessive. The brightest spots are visible during normal use on black screens. I'll deal with it. This IPS glow problem affects all of the resellers and integrators, so I can't really fault them as I didn't ask them to specifically check for it. I rate it just as 'annoying.'

Note - this is NOT a review of the laptop (if you want that go on Notebookcheck), this is strictly a review of my experience with HIDevolution as a company.

While they did not necessarily follow my Windows 7 installation instructions to the T (they installed X-Fi MB5), they did work with me to resolve the VGA performance degradation to ensure flawless performance at delivery.

I would definitely deal with HIDevolution, Donald, and Vivian again. Thanks for delivering a great laptop!

 

nice detailed pre-review I may say as you didn't receive the machine yet

From the above post, I see everything is in order with speedy updates.

Good luck, keep us updated and feel free to ask if you have any concerns when you get your system.

This is a great thread where you can get tips from us on how to reduce your CPU temps in case you ordered a Skylake CPU since the default voltage for Skylake CPUs is high, it causes a lot of unnecessary heat. We can help you undervolt it while still being stable so you can run at the full speed with no throttling yet still have lower temps.

Clevo Overclocker's Lounge

Also, if you need a small walkthrough of the Prema BIOS since yours has it, here it is:

 

BTW, can you tell us what configuration did you order?

 

@Phoenix I updated the OP with the configuration as ordered, which is also in my signature (at time of writing).

 

you didn't put the speed of your G.Skill RAM in your sig brah


Edit: Nevermind, I see it now

 

Updated OP with additional information from today.

 

Cool! They are pretty good on their promises. I have had a very good experience with them so far.

 

This is the kind of superior service I was talking about!

 

OP updated, after some tense moments from this past weekend, laptop shipped at CoB today.

 

from what I am seeing so far, nothing but excellent service from HIDevolution.

Can't wait till you get it so you can give us more details about its quality, gaming, etc.

 

Updated OP with pics and final thoughts.

 

great review!

 

@EmberV

When you need help with your system, I am here for support if you are experiencing any troubles with temps, overclocking, etc.

Will send you a PM with my Skype details

 

beautiful system and i'm looking to purchase something similar myself real soon. thanks for the report