*** Official CLEVO P950ER/EP6/ETx Owner's Lounge ***

The ORIGINAL CLEVO P950EP6 thread

Reviews, owners experiences, or indeed ANY information on this thin and light 8750h Clevo laptop are welcome. This model has options for 1060 and 1070 Max-Q, 144hz 1080p or 60HZ 4K screen, is less than 2cm thick and weighs just under 2kg...happy chatting!

Here it is for sale in the UK, under the name Defiance XS II -https:// www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/defianceXS-II-15/

 

This is my first comment and since I couldn't find any info on this device when I was buying, I want to say a few words. I have this laptop for a week. Well, I have the version called P955EP6, but it is basically the same device except a design difference. The chassis and the cooling solution is the same with the previous generation P95xHP6 series so there is not much to comment on that. Good sturdy aluminum alloy chassis. I have the 144hz panel and it does not have any bleeding. I like it but I don't have much experience with the panels. It looks good to me.

Performancewise, I am very happy with it. I was able to undervolt the CPU about -0.150v and it runs smoothly. In a demanding stress test like Prime95, the CPU stays at 3.4 ghz on all cores at around 90 degrees. I think for a test like P95, you cannot get any better than this among 8th gen i7 laptops. It scores 4987 on single core, 22214 on multicore geekbench test. If you check the scores for new XPS 15 ( https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/search?dir=desc&q=xps+15+9570&sort=multicore_score), this is really at the high-end of the distribution. In Cinebench, it scored 1255 while maintaining 3.9 ghz on all cores throughout the test. So even though it has gtx 1060 instead of a 1070, the score is really good and in some cases even better than a 1070 laptop. Fans could get loud but it is a compromise if you want it to run your components at their best. I really tried to find something bad about it since I am really picky in this stuff but I couldn't. Great value-performance.

 

You can also have a look through this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/official-clevo-p950hp6-sager-np8950-owners-lounge.804747/ - it's the previous generation model of the EP6.

 

Hi Hegel, thanks for the details here. The 950 comes with Max-q gpu's, so maybe that's what distinguishes it from yours - in fact I really wonder what distinguishes it (any ideas)? Hopefully the max-q's will help keep the temps low. But that Cinebench score is seriously excellent, better than most others i've seen. Key question for me is: what's the keyboard like? Would loved to have got the new TongFang thin, bezzleless laptop, but the keyboard looks terrible, a complete deal breaker. And also, on the PCspecialist uk site it lists 1 x M.2 drive and an option for Intel Optane...I thought Optane used M.2 slots, or is this slot Optane only?


Oh, and two other questions. How much of a fingerprint magnet is it? Is it silent on idle?

 

Thanks XMG - do you sell this newer model of the EP6, and if you do can you confirm how many M.2 slots it has and also, how it differs from the older model featured in the link you sent?

 

WE sell the P955 version which is cosmetically different, as the Schenker Key 15 - this is with the 1060 and 1070 MAX-Q options.As with the P950 versions, it has 1x M.2 and 1x 2.5" driove spaces. The main difference is the CPU update from 7th Gen to 8th Gen. At least on the P955 side which we sell, the versions are basically identical apart from the CPU. AS @hegel said - though all are with the MAX-Q versions.

 

Ok, thanks. My uk supplier (PcSpecialist) are offering 1 x M.2, 1 x 2.5" drive space AND an option for Optane?!? This is odd, right? Surely the Optane slot requires an M.2 slot so could be filled another M.2 drive if needed instead of the Optane?

Also, i don't suppose you know if the model is completely silent on idle? (all the other models, except the MSI Stealth (35DB on idle), have reported low (40-ish DB), but audible, fan noise). I'm hoping the Max-Q's would help on this aspect.

 

I can't see where PCS are offering Optane, but the chassis supports it. There is however definitely only 1x 2.5", 1x M.2, 1x mSATA WLAN and 1x 3G modle (factory option from Clevo).

Noise - if you have a look in the review of the previous gen model https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-Technologies-Key-15-Clevo-P955HP6-Laptop-Review.284500.0.html you can see that at idle all the models listed under "Noise Emmissions" seem to beat the MSI one you mentioned. On load there are of course differences. I could share our own DB readings on idle and load, but they're conducted in the proper fashion rather than what most review sites do which is at the user head average distance at say 45cm and not 1m.

 

It is perfecty quiet when idle. When you are not gaming, the laptop switches to integrated GPU so it sucks little power and creates less heat. I had a Thinkpad before, of course that was an excellent keyboard for typing. This is not as good as a Thinkpad. Most important thing for me to feel the pressing. I like good travel distance and rigidness. In that sense, the keyboard is definitely not a deal breaker. It is okay for my taste. I have fingerprints all over the device all the time. To be honest, I don't care. But yea.

 

You're right, it's my mistake there is no Optane option. Not sure which notebook I was looking at!

But yes, was reading the review on NBC. The fans seem to have odd curves, and given the 8750h runs hot, i'd like to see a review of that specific model.

Just curious, considering the Neo 15 is still my favourite out of the bunch with the keyboard being the only dealbreaker, do you know if TongFang plan to make one with no mech keyboard?

 

Thanks for the info. I'll probably get the laptop late June, so have a bit of time to see if anything new appears on the market, but for now this seems like the best one for me.

 

Travel distance is important for me too and this model looks fine in that department.

 

Unlikely in that time frame

 

Yeah, probably true

 

There's several threads on this laptop model at the moment so info is getting lost in the mire! No problem to explain though - the mechanical keyboard is one of the design brief features of the laptop (Tong Fang's design brief, not ours) and thus it's very unlikely that there will be a different keyboard offered in this generation of the laptop. I know it's something that quite a few customers would like, I include myself in that group, but for now it's mechanical only. I should also note that there are two versions of the keyboard - or to be more specific, we (Neo 15) have more rounded and comfortable key caps than the original version which I think everyone else stocks. It doesn't change the mechanical part, but having used both the one we have is definitely more comfortable and fluid to type with.

 

​

Specifications:

Spoiler

Processor:

• Intel Core i7-8750H processor (14nm, 2.2GHz, DDR4 2666MHz, 9MB Smart cache, TDP: 45W)
• Intel Core i5-8300H processor (14nm, 2.3GHz, DDR4 2666MHz, 9MB Smart cache, TDP: 45W)

Core Logic:

• Mobile Intel HM370 Express Chipset

Display:

• 15.6” (39.62cm) UHD (3840x2160) / FHD (1920x1080) 16:9 panel, 3.2mm

Memory:

• Dual channel DDR4
• Two 260 pins SODIMM sockets, support DDR4 2400/2666 MHz (Real operation frequency depends on processor)
• Expandable memory from 8GB to 32GB, depends on 4GB/8GB/16GB SODIMM module

Video Controller:

• Intel UHD Graphics 630
- Dynamic frequency
- Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology
- Microsoft DirectX 12 compatible

• P950ER: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1070 with Max-Q Design
(N17E-G2 with Max-Q Design)
- 8GB GDDR5 Video RAM
- Support PCIe x16
- Microsoft DirectX 12 compatible
- NVIDIA PhysX
- GeForce CUDA technology

• P950EP6: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (N17E-G1)
- 6GB GDDR5 Video RAM
- Support PCIe x16
- Microsoft DirectX 12 compatible
- NVIDIA PhysX
- GeForce CUDA technology

• Microsoft Hybrid Graphics mode
• Support 4 active displays
• Support NVIDIA Surround View via HDMI x1 and miniDP x2

Storage:

• One changeable 2.5” 7mm(H) HDD/SSD, SATA interface
• (Factory Option) One M.2 2280 SSD, SATA/PCIe Gen3x4 interface

Audio:
• High Definition Audio
• S/PDIF digital output
• Built in array microphone
• Built in two speakers
• Sound BlasterX Pro-Gaming 360˚

Keyboard and Pointing Device:

• Multi languages full color illuminated full size keyboard with numeric pad
• (Factory Option) Built in Secure pad or Touch pad with Microsoft PTP multi-gesture and scrolling function
• (Factory Option) Multi languages white-LED illuminated full size keyboard with numeric pad
• W/A/S/D gaming key (color keyboard only)

I/O ports:

• 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 port (Type-C)
• 3x USB 3.0 port (USB3.1 Gen 1, 1x powered USB port, AC/DC)
• 2 x Mini Display port 1.3
• 1 x HDMITM output port (with HDCP)
• 1 x 2-in-1 Audio Jack (Headphone / S/PDIF optical output)
• 1 x Microphone jack
• 1 x RJ-45 LAN port
• 1 x DC-in jack

Card Reader:

• 6-in-1 Push-Push Card reader
- MMC / RSMMC
- SD / mini SD / SDHC / SDXC up to UHS-ll

Slot:

• Three M.2 card slots
-1st for WLAN Combo M.2 2230 Card with PCIe / USB / CNVi interface (E key)
-2nd for SSD M.2 2280 Card with SATA / PCIe Gen3x4 interface (M key)
-(Factory Option) 3rd for LTE M.2 3042 Card with USB interface (B key)

Communication:

• Built in 10/100/1000Mb Base-TX Ethernet LAN
• (Factory option) Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 9560, 2x2 AC + BT M.2 2230 (Jefferson Peak 2)
• (Factory option) Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 9260, 2x2 AC + BT M.2 2230 (Thunder Peak 2)
• (Factory option) Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 9462, 1x1 AC + BT M.2 2230 (Jefferson Peak 1)
• (Factory Option) Qualcomm Atheros Killer Dual Band Wireless-AC 1550i, 2x2 AC + BT M.2 2230
• (Factory option) LTE M.2 3042 Card module
• 2.0M FHD video camera

Power Supply:

• Full Range AC adapter, AC in 100~240V, 50~60Hz, DC output 19V, 7.89A , 150W
• Embedded 4 cells Polymer battery pack, 55WH
• Battery life: 440 minutes (with UMA mode, 55WH Battery)

Security:

• Security (Kensington Type) Lock Slot
• Intel PTT for system without Hardware TPM
• (Factory Option) Area fingerprint
• (Factory Option) TPM 2.0

Others Design:

• Metal Chassis (A/C/D)
• FlexiCharger
• Virtual Reality ready
• Support Windows 10 Cortana with Voice
• Intel OptaneTM Technology (For Intel core processor family)
• Microsoft Mixed Reality Compatible

Dimension:

•380(W) x 252(D) x 18.6(H)mm

Weight:

• 1.98Kg, Including Barebone and 55WH Battery

 

Can we use this m.2 slot for any type of SSD's SATA/PCIe?

 

I've got my eye on this, it's just pulling ahead of the Tongfang GK5CN5Z for me (I presume all the models listed in the title are exactly the same?).

The main area of concern will be fan noise (i read it has weird curves) keyboard (looks fine from pictures) and heat dissipation for the CPU (cinebench is a good benchmark for this)

Any responses to these issues would be welcome.

 

FYI, I kind of restructured/repurposed this thread into the owner's lounge thread until/if I figure out what happened in the other thread.

Charles

 

The slot is wired for USB only on the PCB.

 

I have the P950ER and looking to undervolt to control heat a little better. I haven't done that before though. How did you undervolt? Or, generally, what's the best way to do this?

 

Intel xtu or throttle stop can edit the cpu voltages. MSI afterburner lets you play with the frequency/voltage curve.

 

I've had my sager NP8851(P950ER) for a few weeks and I used the Intel XTU program. I've undervolted by 100mV and found the average temperatures have dropped about 8 degrees. However, i too would like to hear from anyone who's done some more detailed settings than I've had time to test out. I'm fairly new at this.
I also am curious if anyone has had problems getting the benchmarking to run on XTU with the 8750H CPU? I run it and it just keeps running and running without any results. I've let it sit for over an hour before I gave up. Is it perhaps because Intel says this particular CPU is not supported yet in the program? Its says only K type processors

 

Hello, not sure if this is the thread to ask, but I'm currently tempting on whether to get this laptop since my previous one has a motherboard breakdown :S

Essentially, I'm looking for something that's reasonably portable, has enough performance to run triple-A games smoothly at medium to high settings, as well as a decent build quality. Right now I'm debating between P955ER (Eurocom Q6) with i5-8300H and P751TM1-G (Eurocom X4C) with i7-8700, both can be purchased at a budget of around 1900 cad (~1500usd) after tax with student discount from Eurocom, even cheaper if I could trade-in my old laptop.

Any suggestions will be appreciated

Thanks

 

Despite both being 15.6", those two machines have very different portability and performance profiles.

 

Yes, I am aware of that, it's just that I'm not really certain of which one of these two laptops would meet these requirement better - I mean, P955ER certainly does seem decent, it's thin and light, with enough performance for gaming and other tasks, can even being used on lap or carry to school everyday, however it's cooling solution seems rather sub-par in its category? I am also a bit worry about longevity etc.

While on the other hand, P751TM1-G certainly seems to have better build quality, and doesn't seem that non-portable either? Plus it offers more cooling, stronger performance, with modular hardware that can be upgraded when new hardware come out, etc.

So yeah... :S

 

Performance-wise the P751TM1-G spanks the P955ER, but aside from being much chunkier, it also has significantly lower battery life, despite a much bigger battery, due to lack of Optimus.

 

I see, lack of optimus is definitely a big thing, as I am also hoping to bring my laptop to school and to work, even during travel :|

What about heat/fan and build quality? I am aware that P751TM1-G offers way stronger CPU and stronger GPU options, but it also generate more heat right? So in the end do P751TM1-G and P955er offer pretty much the same level of noise? Beside, seeing from reviews, is P955er also built more rigid, as it seems to use more metal in its chassis?

Thanks for the reply.

 

It generates more heat, and has more cooling hardware to compensate, part of why it's thicker. With something like the 751 it's pretty robust in the main case, it doesn't need more metal in the design.

 

Thank you for the insight.

So I guess I'll be getting P955er afterall... one last thing: I heard from somewhere that i58300h actually runs warmer than i78750h, due to points of contact and such, therefore it is unfeasible to get the i5 and expect a laptop could runs cooler, is this true?

sorry for this to seem like a dumb question, I'm fairly new to all these hardware stuffs

 

I hadn't heard that about the i5, but it might depend on a number of factors, like how hard the testing ran the system, whether they were in the same form factor of machine, etc.

 

Under the same conditions the i5 will run cooler due to the lack of hyperthreading (but also run slower).

 

Hi everyone,

I recently posted, maybe on the wrong part of the forum, about getting advice on this specific laptop. I'm interested in buying it for video editing and I'll be happy to have some insights of you guys if it is possible.
Here is the original thread : http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/clevo-p950ep6-or-er-review.818100/

Thanks a lot in advance !
All the best,
R

 

Hi again everyone. Nothing ?
I'll be really happy to have feedback from users of this laptop. The only infos I found where about the older model, so here are my question, if I may :

1/ The quality of the screen. The website (pcspecisalist) says 72% of NTSC...but is it really 100% of sRGB or REC709. I have the choice between FullHD and 4K. Any advice from regular users ?

2/ Battery life. Not really when editing (I'll have a power source), but for productivity (word, excell and internet), and watching movies. Can I really expect 5h as the website claims with a 55Wh battery ? Will it be more like 3h1/2 ?

3/ Noise. Is it loud (when idle or when productivity tasks are running) ?

4/ And overall build quality ?

Thanks a lot to everyone, that would help me a lot in my choice !

 

Good day everyone!

TL;DR: There is image in the post. Would you be so kind and explain to me meaning of each driver and what for is it needed?

Fresh and new user of Clevo P950ER (brought to me by PCSpecialist.co.uk).
I'm not quite satisfied with their QA software wise (it was great hardware wise though) and also I prefer knowing exactly what I have and what I don't on my computer.
The drivers provided by the creator might be good, but with first Windows installation (I hope it will be only one for now) I went with Clevo drivers provided from their website. However, I don't exactly know what they're doing (some of them).


In the image I have a sum-up of drivers I know about, i don't know about and i'm not sure about.
The main question and search for assistance is for RED drivers, because from their name I don't have any idea, what they're responsible.

How I went with my PC right now:
1.) Clean drives, w/o anything.
2.) Clean Win10 installation.
3.) Win10 automatic updates.
4.) GeForce Experience drivers.
5.) Killer official drivers.
6.) Clevo Control Centre drivers.
7.) Synaptics driver (needed to combine this driver with Windows Precision driver).
8.) SDCard reader/fingerprint (didn't test the functionality at all prior to installing).

Right now I don't really understand, what for are Killer & Intel VGA/Networking drivers required and if I need to install them. And all the rest of red ones, that I don't know at all.

So far i'm definitely missing Sound Blaster software/drivers, but for some reason I didn't find it in testing windows I had. How does one access it?

Thanks everyone in advance!

 

Chipset drivers are for the motherboard chipset so it understands all the I/O capabilities like USB. This should be installed first before others usually.

LAN drivers are for the ethernet controller.

Intel HID driver is to reduce conflicts with I/O devices like touchpads.

Speedshift is for rapid turbo clock switching so the CPU can change clock speed quicker.

Intel SGX:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Guard_Extensions

The others should come up easily enough with a google search. This is a pretty bloat free base set of software.

 

Chipset drivers were installed after all I mentioned before. Shall I engage and reinstall whole computer once again or not?

What is the difference between REALTEK Ethernet controller from LAN driver on Clevo against Intel/Killer drivers?

And yes, that is the point. I want only necessary drivers and stuff. I will load enough of my own "bloatware" .

And thank you very much for such a fast response!

 

Unless you are experiencing issues then a re-install is not needed.

As I said, LAN drivers are for your ethernet port, also WLAN drivers are for wireless cards (build options can change which is appropriate).

Basically you are way over thinking this

 

Wise words

Another question/problem I have - screen doesn't seem to be adjusting the brightness. Is any specific driver for that as well or due to what could it be?

 

Usually that happens in Hybrid mode and is down to the intel driver.

 

That clue with Intel driver assisted me in a way.
First of all I didn't know, what you meant with Hybrid mode. At first I thought it was about battery saving, but I tested with different settings as well as un-/plugged and this didn't do a thing. I "downgraded" the driver, according to dialog window.
The driver, which was provided by clevo said to me, that it is not the latest one and I have newer already installed (most probably during connected to internet Win Installation process.)
As I said, it didn't help and I went in and installed the driver provided by Clevo and Oh-God! It works.

After I updated the driver for Intel via Driver Manager (search online) and it's broken once again. I'm not quite sure, but this makes me think about future updates from Intel... Will need to make it common for me to check for drivers on Clevo site every once in a while.

Side-report. I will now begin testing, however, previously I wanted to engage with XTU and CPU undervolting, however, I lost all the monitoring tools I had. XTU forced a restart during installation process and finished it right after. When I launched it, it didn't see temperatures and frequencies of CPU as well as ControlCenter by Clevo lost visuals of current CPU load & Voltage information (had temperature). At the same time HWMonitor managed to see all the information. To me it is most probably not properly supported by XTU processor (8750h - not mentioned on the download page of Intel) or it was just some awkward corruption during installation process.

Anyways, I really appreciate your help, because you were responding to me at my 2AM time, whereas I had actually free time. Thank you very much for all your assistance and support!

 

Here is review from Europe of our Q6 model: https://digitalportal.sk/recenzia-eurocom-max-q6/
We are shipping Q6 with 180W AC adapter (or 200W) and this helps to reduce throttling.

 

No problem, that's why it's nice to have a more international community.

 

Correction: This is a WMI filter driver used to catch FN trigger combinations (such as Airplane mode enablement, Webcam toggle switch, etc).
These are the so-called "hot key events".

On Linux, this is exposed by the kernel configuration option CONFIG_INTEL_HID_EVENT.

On older Clevo systems, the WMI platform driver for hotkey events was handled by the vendor Insyde.

 

The manufacturers making the Ethernet bits will differ, based on the configuration(s) available from your Clevo reseller.

Typically:

(a). Killer Networking enabled systems come with both the WLAN & LAN modules based on Qualcomm Atheros reference designs customized by Rivet Networks,LLC (with the exception of the newer Killer 1550 which is an Intel component re-purposed to work with Killer's driver suite).

(b). The Realtek Ethernet Controller is a generic Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

In terms of feature parity:

(a). On a system retrofitted with both WLAN + LAN solutions from Rivet Networks, LLC, you'll get all the functionalities offered by the Killer Networking suite, such as Killer Doubleshot Pro, a proprietary network filter driver that bypasses the Windows networking stack for traffic shaping and prioritization purposes, albeit at the cost of increased DPC latency and the unintended consequence(s) of memory leaks (with older drivers).

(b). On a system with the Realtek LAN controller, you could still swap out the wireless module for one from the Killer networking line (1435/1535/1550). However, you WILL NOT get access to features such as Killer Doubleshot Pro.

TL-DR:

If you like the Killer Networking hype, get on its' bandwagon.
For practicality, you'd be better getting a system without Killer Networking components.

 

Hello,

I got a Clevo P950ER and since the beginning I cant get the monitor brightness to work.... I got the 144Hz FHD panel.
I tried almost all drivers combinations (Intel graphics - nvidia graphics - chipset) from latest to the ones in the manufacturer site.... with or without control center (witch I hate), and in control center the CPU frequency and voltage are not displayed... but my problem is the brightness, I cant adjust it in any way.... and I don't want to mess with gama or other fake-brightness software that messes with gama...

I also followed almost all googled tutorials to solve the problem and without any luck...

thanks for listening...

 

Have you updated the BIOS/EC at all?

 

Clevo told me there are no new bios yet....

 

Clevo? What about your reseller?