Darkshado's P151EM Photo Album and Technical Review

So I said I'd post some pictures and a technical review soon. Well, better late than never.

Plus most of the pictures I've seen were for the P150EM, so hopefully this'll help answer some questions about the 151.



Box 1:


Box 2:


Included laptop bag:


PSU and battery:


PSU close-up:


Lid with protective film:


Bottom:


There were foam blocks between the screen and keyboard:


Keyboard panel with protective films:


Bottom - Open:


SIM slot - One of these days I'll have to check if the mSATA slot can be switched to MiniPCIe to support a cellular modem card... (Does the P150 have that?)


Keyboard underside:


Memory card reader, wifi card, upper RAM slots:


With added RAM:


UEFI BIOS screenshot:


Out with the old, in with the new:


The plastic finish looks good and seems scratch resistant. It doesn't attract fingerprints or smudges.

Although I'm ok with it, the case's edge is sharp and they should seriously consider giving it a milder contour in their next generation. You can feel it when resting your wrists.

The screen bezel's glossy finish clashes, is a fingerprint magnet, and gives off reflections from my surroundings which can be distracting. They should have stuck with the same material throughout.

The combination of stiff hinges (good, the thing could loosen over time and the screen won't wobble around like my old rig did) and "flexier" screen frame means I'd advise against opening it from a corner with a single hand.

The keyboard is quite good, all the keys move nicely and register properly. No W+E+Space ghosting issues either. No flexing. The motherboard connection is a simple ribbon cable-ZIF connector affair. The chiclet keyboard is made by Chicony, one of Clevo's sister companies, whereas the backlit one is made by Sunrex.

The trackpad is smooth and responsive, the buttons have a nice soft click sound. The fingerprint reader is a little more recessed than on my previous Acer, and I liked the latter's configuration more. The sensor itself works well, I have been using my copy of Protector Suite 2011 instead of the provided software, so I can't comment on that.

About the graphics card: I have been using the stock AMD drivers, and they've worked OK. I can tell there are some issues and a lack of polish, but the card has done the job very well for the few games I've played. (Plenty of GTA IV lately.) The temps are a bit on the high side, staying in the 85-90°C range according to Afterburner's on-screen display. None of the 95-100°C some people have seen, and I have yet to do any repasting or foil-mod. Besides, my tools and ICD are in another city at this time so I'll just keep an eye on the temps while gaming for the next little while.

So feel free to send a few questions my way and I'll see what I can do.

Goodbye,

Darkshado