[Review] EVOC PA71HS-G

I started searching for “gaming” laptop in July. And after sale in July, where I suggested my friend to get Asus GL502VS with GTX 1060, I was almost set on GL702VS with GTX 1070. But after some interactions on forums, 1stwith LTT and then on NBR, after reading through Glam’s guide and so many posts I decided to get Clevo from HIDEvolution. I was set on P670 with GTX 1070, with PA7xxx rumors at that time.

By the time I was set to confirm order, they had stopped selling those and it was replaced by PA71HS-G. I wasn’t sure initially, with this being newer model and Asus also showing off GL703 with Ryzen. But later decided to go for this, as Ryzen offerings were with RX 580 at that time, so no signs of pairing Ryzen with more powerful GPU in near future.

This is my 1st review, so apologies in advance.
Thanks to Donald as well as Ted, for all the help provided before purchase, during ordering and follow ups after deilvery.

Specifications

Model – PA71HS-G
Screen – 17.3” 1080p IPS 75Hz Gsync (optional upgrade 4K UHD)
CPU – i7 7700HQ (no option of 7820HK, I believe Sager offers that?)
RAM – 2*8 GB 2400MHz DDR4 Samsung
Graphics Card – Nvidia GTX 1070 8 GB
Audio – Sound BlasterX Pro-Gaming 720, Built-in two 2W speakers with a 4W subwoofer
SSD – Samsung 850 EVO.2
HDD – Hitachi HGST 1 TB 7200 RPM
WiFi – Intel Wireless-AC 8265
Keyboard – RGB keyboard with 3-zoned backlit customization and macro capability
Battery – 4 cells 66WH

Ports

Front – 8 LED indicators towards left.
Right – 3 audio ports, 1 DSD/MMC Card reader, 2 USB 3 ports, Ethernet port, Kensington lock
Left – 2 USB 3 ports, 1 Thunderbolt port, 2 mini Display ports, 1 HDMI port, power in
Back – Air intake on right, exhaust accents on both sides

Dimensions and Weight

16.48”(W)*11.3”(D)*0.98”(H) / 418mm(W)*287mm(D)*25mm(H)
6.61lbs / 3 KG

Appearance

PA71HS has slight “gaming laptop” look without being too flashy. There are 2 LED’s on side of power button which are lit when system is on, kind of gives them look of eyes. Cuts on top side as well as on side of the keyboard adds to that. But all this is too subtle. It seems to be good balance of some non-business design and not being too flashy.

Top https://imgur.com/tLGaFwl
Bottom https://imgur.com/dZTuDKA
Size comparison with 14” laptop https://imgur.com/Mfo42Oq
In 17” Sleeve https://imgur.com/YfXZh03

Screen

Having used 14” laptop for work this screen size is certainly welcome. 1080P resolution seems fine at this size (especially considering price of 4K screen upgrade). I haven’t seen 120Hz or 1440P options so far.

Aida64 reports panel as LG173WF4-SPF5.

I don’t have good screen to do comparisons. But compared to a budget work laptop, image quality is easily noticeable.

Here is comparison between those 2 laptops.
Windows wallpaper https://imgur.com/ZbsIX7b
Youtube homepage https://imgur.com/fV9g8WF

Sound

Comes with Sound Blaster Connect 2 software per-installed which has bunch of profiles even based on different games. I haven’t played around with it yet. But so far paired with HD 598SR, audio has been great in Game of Thrones Season 7, Witcher 3, Battlefield 3, Witcher 2.

CPU & GPU Benchmarks

3D Mark benchmarks

TIME SPY 1.0 - 3791
https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/21986920

SKY DIVER 1.0 - 25882
https://www.3dmark.com/sd/4798856

Fire Strike Ultra 1.1 - 3845
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/13517517

Fire Strike Extreme 1.1 - 7231
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/13517502

Fire Strike 1.1 - 13534
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/13517480

Cloud Gate 1.1 - 23741
https://www.3dmark.com/cg/4099533

Ice Storm Extreme 1.2 - 97192
https://www.3dmark.com/is/4223187

Ice Storm Unlimited 1.2 - 142353
https://www.3dmark.com/is/4223188

Rise of the Tomb Raider Benchmark
Mountain Peak: 135, Syria: 101, Geothermal Valley: 100, Overall: 113
Max CPU temp: 70, Max GPU temp: 71

GTA V Gameplay
Avg FPS: 78
Max CPU temp: 72, Max GPU temp: 68

Batman Arkham Origins Benchmarks
Avg FPS: 90

DiRT 3 Complete Edition Benchmark
Avg FPS: 188

GRID 2 Benchmark
Avg FPS: 156

Fans & Temperature

During individual furmark and Aida64 stress test no thermal throttling or overheating was observed, with gpu and cpu maxing out around 84c and 76c respectively. 7700 HQ was able to boost to 3.4 GHz on all 4 cores.
Running furmark and Aida64 stress test together though leads to thermal throttling with temps reaching 95c on CPU, which leads to clock speed lowering under 3 GHz. GPU temperature didn’t exceed 85c though.
Room temperature 25c

Witcher 3 is probably most demanding game in my library and after half hour of gameplay in different areas of the game got below temperatures.
CPU max temp 77c, GPU max temp 79c, room temp 21c

Fans do get loud when system is under load, but that is expected. While gaming wearing headphones I didn’t notice them, even with open headphones. In silent environment you will hear them though.
When system is not under load, I didn’t notice them either. Also I believe this can be configured as well.

I haven’t tried undervolting or setting up fan profile, everything so far is result of stock settings.

Surface Temperature

Area near left side exhaust gets too warm, so WSAD keys and area around that also gets warm, and little uncomfortable. This happens only while gaming, when system is under load. I guess this is due to overall design. I don’t really notice it as far as my hands are only on keys. I would suggest get input from other users of this laptop if you are extremely serious about comfort.

Keyboard & Touchpad

Keyboard seems pretty good to me. I wrote this complete review on it and I don’t feel I am missing anything.
Keyboard supports 3 zoned LED backlit with full set of RGB options with some effects.
There are posts about light fading out from top to bottom of the keys, but I don’t really notice it in my keyboard even if I try to look for it.
Touchpad has nice feel to it. Good enough I guess. I am mostly desktop user, and prefer mouse over touchpad even for just browsing and regular use.
Fingerprint scanner is also present on touchpad itself.

Conclusion

I would have preferred some things to be different, Ryzen or Coffee lake cpu, 1440P screen option, lower surface temps near exhaust towards WSAD. But those CPU’s aren’t available anywhere right now, 1080P resolution is fine at this screen size, and temps around WSAD keys area is something that I can get used to.
If I have to choose again right now, I would end buying this same laptop with same specs.

Let me know if you have any questions, I will try to answer if possible.

 

I'm sure @Donald@HIDevolution didn advice you to run Furmark. A very good advice... Stay away from this Virus, if you hope for longest possible lifespan for your graphics!!

 

Advice for not running this didn't came into discussion as far as I remember, but he did provide me list of benchmarks they use for testing, which didn't include Furmark.

I wasn't aware of this bad reputation, now that you have mentioned it found some threads and info about it

I have no intention to run this again, apart from testing it initially for thermals.
But now I will stop using it.

 

I expected so.
If you haven’t seen it... @Phoenix Software Updates thread

 

I have seen Phoenix's thread, switched to GeekUninstaller only after reading about it there
Now I know why Furmark is missing there

 

Some very decent numbers there, thanks for sharing

 

I'm happy to see a review of this notebook, I was waiting for it!

Thank you for your work mayuk!

I have a couple of question:

1) is it a fingerprints magnet? I'm always disappointed with black notebook due to this u_u...

2) this is a curiosity: can you make a couple of Tomb raider benchmark in a row and tell me if the temperatures become hotter?
I've got an Asus GL702VM (with a 1060) and if I do a test with the "cold" laptop it reach 85°C on CPU and 78°C on GPU. If I do another one CPU reach 91°C and GPU 84°C (yeah, not the best cooling system for sure). This without making downvolt or removing turbo on CPU.
I was wondering if your laptop become much hotter too or the cooling system correctly hand it.
(I know that this is not a correct comparison, but I have only this one to compare!)

Thank you!

 

1) It's not a fingerprint magnet, I can tell it's "touched" if I look for it, but it is for from being a fingerprint magnet
2) Are you referring to Tomb Raider (2013) or Rise of the Tomb Raider?
Results I have posted above are from Rise of the Tomb Raider. I will do some runs and will post results tonight.
I have Tomb Raider (2013) as well in my library, but I will have to download it again if you want results for that. Let me know if that is what specifically you are looking for.

I am also trying Overwatch this weekend. Will post results for that as well.
Does it have some in-game benchmark tool or anything? Or is it just gameplay benchmarks?

 

Thank for your answers!
I'm happy about fingerprints!
I was referring to the rise of the tomb rider benchmark, that you already did !

 

It's certainly like some piano black finishes which need a cloth everytime your eyes focus anywhere near it

 

Ok, so I did 12 runs of benchmarks back-to-back. As I saw temperature rising as well after each run, by a degree or so.

Idle : CPU - 44, GPU 37
Run 1 : CPU - 66, GPU 66
Run 2 : CPU - 67, GPU 68
Run 3 : CPU - 68, GPU 69
Run 4 : CPU - 70, GPU 70
Run 5 : CPU - 72, GPU 71
Run 6 : CPU - 72, GPU 71
Run 7 : CPU - 72, GPU 72
Run 8 : CPU - 73, GPU 72
Run 9 : CPU - 74, GPU 72
Run 10 : CPU - 74, GPU 73
Run 11 : CPU - 74, GPU 73
Run 12 : CPU - 75, GPU 73

 

Been looking at this laptop as well, was wondering if you are running stock BIOS or is the Prema BIOS out for it already?
If not out yet did you get a ETA for it?

 

What's thermal compound?

 

I don't think one exists for this model yet.

 

I got another question: when the notebook is in idle or while doing simply tasks (browser, documents, etc) are the fans running? Or is it totally silent?

 

IC Diamond on both CPU and GPU

 

While browsing web or watching Youtube, fans aren't running loudly. I can hear them if I put my ear near keyboard/exhaust area. Otherwise I don't really notice them.

 

Stock BIOS, no I haven't got any ETA for it.
I haven't played around any other settings as well yet

 

If you have a chance, could you check battery runtime?

I'm specifically looking for Hybrid graphics (basically Intel) light duty portable runtimes,
as I'd plug in for intensive graphics / cpu loads (games, etc). Hoping this works as a double duty laptop.

I'm sure others might be interested in other runtimes for portable gaming as well, guessing under 2hr though.

Thanks!

 

I am not expecting great battery life, even on onboard intel graphics.
Let me see what can I do for runtime benchmark.

 

Which AC Adapter did they send: 200 Watts or 230 Watts? Curious because some places have it as 230 Watts and others as 200.

 

Anything would be great, not expecting much either but so few have the option to switch between G-sync and Hybrid.

 

Can u test how good the speaker is? At least try to give your opinion on how the speaker performs during normal entertainment usage (watching videos, musics, etc) & also during gaming. I do have a p670rp6-g and I found that this laptop doesn't sound good for gaming (need to adjust/tweak the sbx software to get decent sound) , but still good enough for normal entertainment usage. I also owned an msi ge62 2qf previously, and it has rather a decent overall speaker for a comparable chassis to clevo p650/p670. I really hope that clevo's Onkyo speakers do improve with the latest & upcoming models since the competitors like (hp & dell) do have good speakers on their laptops, and MSI I think is among the best in audio department due to their Dynaudio speakers (based on what I have saw & tested on some demo displays)

This might be weird but I do appreciate good sounding speaker on gaming laptops since I like playing games with my friends around spectating. Lol..

 

HIDEvolution listed on site as well as invoice as 200W

On adapter, I see Delta Electronics, Model ADP-230EB
Is it 230 W? I don't see 200 written anywhere

 

I don't see Onkyo branding anywhere on laptop or in spec list. Pretty sure P6xx had that branding on laptop as well.
"Tuned By Sound Blaster X Pro Gaming 720" I can see on laptop as well as spec list. It comes with "Sound Blaster Connect 2" software preinstalled, which has some customizations options as well as profiles like CS:GO, Dota 2, Cinema etc.
Watching Netflix and Youtube, my roommates appreciated speakers.
IMO they are doing good enough job. But I never use them during personal use. Headphones are always plugged in so I don't disturb anyone around.

I remember old days when I was the only 1 or 2 people will have computer that can run games, and rest used to gather to spectate. Been on both sides

 

Look at the OUTPUT marking on the adaptor... Multiply the output voltage by output current. My 180 W adaptor has 19.5 V * 9.23 A = 179.985 W ≈ 180 W.

 

I guess that confirms it being 230W then
On adapter I see 19.5 V 11.8 A ~ 230.1

 

Yep, that's correct.

 

is there a 15.6'' version of this?

 

Not that I am aware of. Unless P950HP6 is expected to be 15.6" version,
Also I only see 17.3" version listed.
Wondering if @sicily428 knows anything about 15.6" version

 

Hi! that PA50 was mentioned in a clevo document but there aren't infos

 

After some days of use what do you think about temperature in the WASD keys? While gaming are they only "warm" or they become really hot? I wonder why they put the processor exactly in that position on a gaming laptop... That's not really bad, but it's not the best position... And what about the area near the left exhaust? You said temperature was uncomfortable, but maybe there is no reason to put hands in that place so it doesn't matter...

 

WASD keys themselves aren't getting warm. Part of chasis or keyboard backplate (if that makes sense) gets warm. I may have gotten used to it now. And unless I touch the keyboard part between keys, I don't notice that this keyarea is warmer than rest of the keyboard.

You are right about left exhaust area, that there is no reason to put hands there in first place. But sometimes my hand goes there naturally, while taking it off keyboard or when I am searching for key etc.

 

It would be the PCB of the keyboard rather than the mechanism and key.

 

You mentioned your screen is 75hz? Is that standard? would this https://www.amazon.com/PROSTAR-PA71...F8&qid=1507235512&sr=8-4&keywords=pa71hs&th=1 have the same screen?

 

It doesn't see 75Hz being mentioned on Amazon listing, Prostar, HIDEvolution, Sager sites. It's not mentioned anywhere weather it is 60 or 75
Better confirm from seller

 

Can you do me a huge favor if you have the time. Can you download heroes of the storm - its a free game - and see what your average fps is on ultra while playing. Also if you experience fps spikes or what your low and high is. I would really appreciate it thanks.

 

I have a problem with the audio in my new ge73vr and I will have to return it. Deciding again on whether to get the pa71hs. I think msi screens also look worse during whites than clevos - like you can see the pixel rows and faint magenta color.

 

You will get a nice uptick in GPU performance too

 

why? Both are brand new and have the 1070

 

...

 

Why does the 1070 on the PA71 perform better than the GE73vr? According to user feedback, it would appear the 1070 runs cooler on the GE73 than on the PA71.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

I am not sure about how GTX 1070 performs differently on PA71 vs GE73VR
But since you have mentioned about screen, 120Hz TN vs 75Hz IPS should be deciding factor as well

 

Let me see if I can try this tonight. Is this game even that demanding?

 

From the reviews I saw the 3d performance of the GE was lower leading me to believe a lower TDP level is in place.

 

Don't worry about it. I am getting all kinds of fps from hovering around 60-80 with drops down in the 30s which is quite surprising. I'm worried its optimus but I can't seem to find out how to make the game only use dgpu in geforce experience - everywhere its telling me to go to nvidia control panel which I don't have.

NVM - couldn't find it when I searched for it but its there when you right click on desktop...

 

Hi! I got another test for you, if you want! I know temperatures are already good, but I'm curious how they could be removing the turbo boost on the CPU! From what I've read this will not significantly affect game performance (only high demanding CPU tasks).

The fastest and easiest way to do this is by setting CPU usage to 99% max (easily reversible).

You can do it following this instruction I found on Google

To set the max processor state, open the Advanced setting panel of the Power Options:

Control Panel > Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings:



(I don't put the link because I don't know if it's allowed, it was the first result I found. There were also other methods to remove turbo boost while keeping 100% CPU usage, but this was the easiest method)

You can try making some comparative tests to see how temperatures will change !

 

Hey @mayuk I was wondering if you could comment on the build quality. The P650 (and I assume the P670 as well) had a reputation for have slightly bad lids but otherwise pretty sturdy design. Does this new version continue this tradition?

Also, have you since tried any under-volt out? And do you think the 1060 version of this laptop will be cooler?

Thanks! And Thanks so much for the review.

 

Lid seems sturdy enough to me. I haven't personally seen P6x0 laptops, so I can't make exact comparison.
I haven't tried undervolting yet
GTX 1060 should run cooler, but 1070 is also not running too hot during gaming loads

 

Thanks for the reply! Might I also ask one more question. Im thinking of getting this as a work machine as well. This would mean taking it to the office in a backpack in the morning. Do you think that's comfortable or does it feel too heavy or bulky for that?