Clevo P150HM/PCS Vortex II 15 Review by Rebel

Introduction

Hey this is my review of the Clevo P150HM/PCS Vortex II 15 Laptop. This is my first time buying a Clevo computer my last computer was a Dell XPS M1730 which I bought in 2008. It worked flawlessly during that time until the dual 8800MGTX graphics card decided to die on me a few months ago. Luckily I managed to fix it with a nice baking but it’s only a temporary fix so I sold it quickly. Anyway I really needed to get a new computer because I do a lot of web/graphic design work and I believe this model has the perfect balance between speed, power and portability.

The fact that it’s a gaming laptop in such a small chassis made it even more appealing to me. I’m not really a PC gamer, part of the reason I bought this computer was so that I could do rendering if need be, but it’s good to know that if I ever wanted to game on this machine I have the capability to do so. My Xbox 360 is my gaming machine but if I was to ever buy a PC game in the near future it would most likely be Battlefield 3 and Elder Scrolls Skyrim because the PC versions will be superior to that of the consoles!

The computer I bought had the specification below:

Vortex II 15.6” Full HD LED Backlit 16:9 Widescreen (1920 X 1080) Super Glossy
i7-2720QM
GTX 485M
16GB RAM
250GB Intel 510 SSD
Intel 6230 + BT
BLU Ray RW Drive

Price £2,120.00 with a 3 year gold warranty

Buying Experience

The experience I had trying to buy this computer the first time round was not good. For those of you that don’t know my story you can read it here http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/583492-disappointed-kobalt-computers.html

Anyway second time round I bought it from pcspecialist(PCS) PCSPECIALIST.CO.UK - Custom PCs, Custom Computers, Custom PC, Desktop PC, Custom Built Computers, Gaming PC who are a fairly big UK Clevo reseller. I’ve got to admit at first I was a bit sceptical because I had not heard of them before but then I started to do some research and came across their review on reviewcentre PC Specialist www.pcspecialist.co.uk Reviews | Online Computer Shops | Review Centre. They have 4.5/5 stars and you know what its fully deserved because this has been the BEST buying experience I have ever had when buying a computer! It only took two weeks for them to build and ship my computer!

Production Dates

Processed Date 06/06/2011
Pre-Production Date 07/06/2011
Build Date 14/06/2011
Test Date 14/06/2011
Awaiting Dispatch Date 14/06/2011
Dispatch Date 14/06/2011
Received Date 15/06/2011

I went with standard delivery which is 5-7 working days but they even offer a fast track option of 3 and 5 working days which means you will get priority in the queue and get your computer even faster! Their website is well designed and they can be contacted via phone, forums and they even have Live Support! I rate their service very highly it’s by far one of the best I have ever dealt with the customer service is excellent.

I was kept informed about EVERY stage and received emails and text messages so I knew what phase my build was in and when it was dispatched. You can even request RMA on their website and so much other useful stuff too which some resellers are lacking. Oh and one last thing they are very competitive with their prices they actually offer some of the best deals around! For those of you in the UK looking for reputable Clevo reseller look no further I highly recommend PCS!

Unboxing

The computer came in one box which had another box inside of it which had the computer. Overall it’s well packaged and very secure I don’t think it’s likely that the computer will take any damage its well protected and sealed inside. The box contained the computer, adaptor, manuals, drivers and Nero.



Screen

The screen that came with it was the LG Philips LP156WF1. PCS currently do not offer that matte screens but you can negotiate and have them put one in for you. I was planning on buying one off ebay and installing it myself but I don’t think I’m going to do that anymore. This screen is actually a LOT better than I thought it would be. Compared to the 1920x1200 WUXGA screens that I had in my old XPS M1730, I would have to say that this one is just slightly better and honestly I don’t see it as a drawback. The glossy screen just pops and looks so bright and vibrant. Sure you have to worry about glare and reflections but I am yet to have any problems maybe it’s because I have just got so used to using glossy screens. Viewing angles are not too bad either.




Chassis

The build quality I would say is very good the whole computer feels well-built and has a nice weight to it. Compared to my old XPS which weighed like a brick this computer is not that heavy it’s a lot easier to manage which is amazing considering the power of this thing. Not bad for a 15” gaming laptop I think and it is one of the smallest and lightest out there. The chiclet keyboard is very easy to use and I don’t think it’s that loud when typing. They keys are well spaced and coming from the normal type of keyboard that I have been using for years I have to say that there is pretty much no learning curve I got used to it on the first day.

The track pad is rubberised like the rest of the chassis and has some resistance when you use it but I don’t see that as a deal breaker. You get used to it after a while it’s not really that big of a deal to me even though I do use an external mouse. I would have no problems using the track pad. I’m also glad that this computer has such a wide array of ports it’s good to know that you can connect just about anything it has USB 2 and 3 ports as well as eSATA and a HDMI so no problems with connectivity. The finger print reader is actually pretty cool it works just how you expect it would and you can even use it for passwords too.

I think the best thing I like about this chassis is the overall minimalistic design. My XPS was big and flashy and would draw a lot of unwanted attention but with this laptop it looks normal. It’s kind of like a sleeper it blends in with everything. The average person would think it’s just a normal laptop they have no idea what kind of hardware it’s packing underneath. One of the most powerful gaming laptops you can buy in an ordinary looking chassis which I have to say is extremely well designed anyway, the aesthetics look so much better in person.



Temperatures

This computer runs very cool the cooling system is by far one of the best I’ve seen in a laptop. It rarely gets warm due to the fact that the fans do such a good job at keeping the system cool. Now noise is sort of subjective. My fans cycle up and down but that is most likely due to my current BIOS and EC firmware. Depending on the environment you won’t notice them that much and they tend to turn into background noise. As for battery life I’m yet to give it a proper testing but I did manage to get about 2 hours under moderate use with the screen brightness at full.



Accessories

I bought a Cooler Master NotePal LapAir and a Targus Essential Notebook Backpack 15.4-16". I tend to use the laptop on my lap when I am at home so opted for a lap rest type. This model has a built in fan too and is powered via a USB port and it not only drops temperatures but is comfortable to use on the lap also. Now as for the backpack I wanted to make sure I got something that was small and not too obvious so that everyone would know that I have a computer in my bag. I also did not want to look like so many other commuters out there with bags so big that they look like they are going camping! This bag fills those requirements it’s small, thin and it fits the computer and power brick and does not feel that heavy on my back. This is such a relief because with my XPS and power brick it felt like I had bricks in my bag!



Conclusion

This computer is everything I imagined it would be and more. This is the best purchase I have made in a very long time. There is very little wrong with it and I would not hesitate to buy it again if I had the choice. Because of the Intel 510 SSD I have installed, everything is so fast! This thing boots and shuts down within seconds and programs load almost instantly! Read and write speeds are also very fast too. Once you have experienced the speed of an SSD you don’t ever want to have a mechanical hard drive as your primary drive again.

A few drawbacks that I have noticed so far are the fan cycling which should be easily fixed with an update and also the sound quality could be a little bit better. I have played around with some of the settings of the THX software so maybe I will find something that works but to be honest I think my XPS sounded better. Also the blu ray drive can be loud at times but my XPS was pretty much the same too so I guess I’m used to it. Lastly the chassis can be a dust magnet but that’s not a big issue for me just yet anyway because I’ve only had this laptop a few days. I think if there was one more thing that I would want added to this laptop it would be a backlit keyboard but it’s in no way a deal breaker.

Thanks for reading my review!