Mythlogic's Clevo W110ER (Chaos 1212) review and share of thoughts

Since there are plenty of reviews of this machine online I mostly want to share some thoughts about most discussed issues of this laptop as well as try to give details specific to Mythlogic. Maybe someone out there considering getting this computer and searching online for information, like I did two months ago, will find this opus somewhat helpful.

Finally got my W110ER from Mythlogic last week. It took them one month and one week to ship it, which was quite longer than their average 10-day turnaround time, but at least Ground shipping from Michigan to DC took only one day and a half. Since I was bothering their reps every week on their live-chat I knew that they weren't getting the chasis for a month, hence the delay, so at least I was glad that I didn't have to jump through hoops in order to find out what was taking so long.

The packaging for the computer was quite impressive - a rather large box, jam packed with styro-foam beads containing the actual "double box" that most of the resellers ship the laptop in. In addition to the laptop itself Mythlogic included a thin brand mousepad, which was put between the screen and the keyboard to provide additional protection I suppose, a fancy leathery CD binder with a huge Gargoyle on it, original Windows 7 disc and a utility disc, containing a backup image, Linux, and all the drivers. Finally there was the Check list, that included all the steps of the building and benchmarking process, each of them crossed out in pen by a busy hand and a signature of the "Golem" responsible to bringing my machine to life. It's a little detail, but having such a list gives the item much more "hand-crafted" feel. I still keep it around just to stare at it lovingly from time to time.

On to the computer itself - I haven't used a decent rig in about 5 years, surviving on Netbooks mostly, therefore I'm not spoiled. At the same it's hard to surprise me these days - seeing a powerful computer that can run everything on max is no big deal to me plus I'm pleased enough with the graphics that my Xbox dishes out so I'm not hooked on max quality at all. But OH BOY did this little W110ER made me stare in Awe - seeing something like Just Cause 2 run at max on a tiny little netbook-looking thing still seems pretty miraculous to me. The last time I was so impressed by technology was in 2002 when I got my first gaming rig and could launch GTA3 on High in all its blocky glory... I'm still fascinated about the fact that I can pull my W110ER out on the Metro and play Arkham City on High. Of course it won't last longer than an hour and a half, but then again DC metro doesn't run that far...

Mostly I would like to address three main issues raised by many who are considering getting this laptop- screen, heat and a minor one - keyboard. I omit talking about the battery, because 1) it does run short, no longer than 4 hours on everything slowed down 2) I don't really need battery life, except the upper mentioned show-off on the metro, I usually game or work around outlets.

Screen
I've consciously went with a Glossy screen, since I got tired of all the Matte monitors and Matte netbooks that I have around my place and I don't regret it one bit. The screen is bright and colors are very vivid, at the same time it's much less glossy than many Mac Book screens that I've seen. There is glare of course, but I've been mostly using this computer sitting next to a huge window with no shades, hot DC sun baking my room constantly, or with a reading lamp working directly behind me, and I've had no troubles using this laptop, especially when browsing or using Word and Excel. Of course it will be troublesome playing something like Splinter Cell this way, but it will be just as troublesome when connected to a matte screen under similar conditions. Before actually buying the computer I was considering getting a Viewguard Matte screen protector, but now I'm doubting that I will need it.

As for colors Mythlogic provide free color calibration service and Hell Yeah that paid off - the screen is amazing in this regard. I use a 27 inch Samsung monitor, which gives great picture with both Xbox and PS3, but when comparing it side by side with the Clevo's screen in Clone Mode- the colors on the monitor are just not as perfectly vivid and bright as on Clevo's screen.

Heat
Mythlogic automatically apply IC Diamond Thermal compound so it might be playing it's role. My CPU idles at around 65. Propping the laptop on a thin pen from behind drops that down to 59-60 degrees. When playing, I think I maxed out at 85 when playing Arkham City non-propped, and my GPU doesn't go above 80 with anything including ARMA2. Actually Mythlogic Benchmark states that BF3 on high had an average CPU temps just above 80 on my machine. While these temps are no problem for using it on a desk, it does feel quite too hot when resting on my lap. For that reason I've got this little Monoprice Colling bag/pad. I can't tell how much those crystals help me cool it, but it does prevent me from blocking the exhaust fan with my leg and I can't feel that much of the heat on my lap. Right now actually, while having 10 Chrome tabs, a Word and an Excel file open on High Performance this Bag managed to keep the CPU temps at 62-64 degrees for about 2 hours and it's still not that warm. It's pretty neat considering that it doubles as a sleeve for the laptop and costs 4 dollars.

Keyboard
Finally the keyboard - this one could have been better. Of course I'm comparing it to a Samsing NC10, which, while being only a 10' netbook has a keyboard with full sized keys and a regular layout. W110ER while being a bigger laptop has a smaller keyboard with smaller keys. It's still easy to use for typing and using shortcuts in productivity programs such as Excel, but sometimes it just feels like some buttons are not there completely, like the right arrow button and the right Fn buttons, which only register if you press them in the very middle. However all the other buttons click appealingly and many times I've opted to use this built-in keyboard for typing, instead of going with my regular external full-sized one.

Outro
All in all I still haven't realized all the power that this machine is capable of dishing out - I still have Prema's Bios to install and try some overclocking, but with a little Nvidia inspector OC and Turbo mode enabled in Throttle stop I'm incredibly psyched about this laptop. [EDIT] - Ok just realized that Throttle stop was not working properly... And even then I was super psyched!!!

 

+1
Very nice, thanks for the read! Nice little story in the beginning.

Prema's BIOS should have you going all up and down (especially with the newly added UV)
Oh and congratulations with the newly born little beast heeh

P.S. You sound like a guy that loves Just Cause 2.. so do I! Check THIS out! see you around

 

Thanks a lot!

I'm postponing installing Prema's bios since I want to get to know this computer a little better as it is now. Plus I'm already suffering from the classic PC gamer's problem - instead of playing my games, I spend all of the time dedicated to gaming tinkering with Video settings, bench-marking FPS, installing optimization tools etc If I install that Bios it feels like I will be lost in tinkering with OC options forever.

Great link, thanks. I've been following that mod before I had a capable computer so finally gonna try it. Since I've played through the game on my Xbox already I use this mod to keep things interesting: JC2FPS - THE JC2 First Person Mod

 

That's it for replies??? Sure is quiet around here unless it's a discussion about overclocking a 486 to run Halo or something.

Anyway, thank you kindly for the review. I have been researching like crazy, and I'm definitely thinking Mythlogic is the only way to go. I'm glad I discovered them.

What kind of specs did you go with? I'm planning to stick with 8GB RAM (don't think I'd ever use 16GB, and it would be easy to upgrade in a few years if I wanted), but I'm upgrading the processor since Mythlogic gives way more than just two choices. I know you really like the gloss screen. I've only ever had gloss and am quite interested in trying a matte screen. I hope I don't regret it! I'm upgrading the wireless card as well to the "Killer". And going with a Crucial 512GB SSD! I want this little puppy to last me a while.

Would be curious to hear about your specs and your continuing experience, and if you ever played with the BIOS. I'm not a power user really and am hesitant to flash the bios and stuff like that. (I do spend way too much time tinkering with graphics settings, though, like you mentioned.)

My main reservation at the moment is the fact that there might be a new GPU and chassis in April, and maybe I'll regret having purchased now, near the end of this year's life cycle.

Thanks for the review!

 

Oh, you list the specs in your sig! Sorry about that!

How do you like the SSD? My first thought was to get the highest-capacity HDD I could, but the 1TB seem to only run at the slower RPM. So, I thought about the 750GB hybrid drive. And then I thought, well, if the hybrid is a little nicer, might as well go with the full SSD and really enjoy the benefits.

 

Very sweet! Thanks for the great review, enjoyed reading