SamuelGillies886
Member
Hi All,
After a solid 3 weeks of deliberating on a new laptop, an order attempt that resulting in me returning it within the evening of receiving it (Dell Inspiron plastic-y bleurgh), I am happy to say I received my Fusion IV 14" laptop- and so far, am delighted. There doesn't seem to be much around the net on these TongFang chassis laptops compared to the other Clevo offerings - particularly for music production - so I wanted to provide an insight for others. It's worth saying I haven't had a Windows machine since 2011: since then I've had one beloved Macbook Pro (early 2011) and was ultimately going to be very picky about my next laptop: I wanted to spend about a grand, and for it to last a good few years at the least. Goes without saying I now feel Apple have had their day. I wasn't going to touch their new product range to pay ridiculous prices for outdated tech, IOS updates forcing upgrades, touchpad rubbish, DDR3 RAM, soldered components... I also looked into the 'Z' books (not sure I can mention competitor's names? Hopefully that complies with forum rules!)
I was torn between the Fusion IV and Lafite Pro: the Lafite appears better in musical terms (twin RAM slots, no dedicated GPU), but went for the Fusion as I am an architect and do the odd bit of 3D modelling and rendering so the MX250 may come in handy some day. Plus, the Fusion has an extra USB slot, and just looks better in dark grey IMO.. I'm glad I went for the Fusion now as it is such a looker. As a note, I don't game: this isn't really a gaming laptop in any case.
I've had it a full day so far, so these are opening thoughts more than much else. I have to thank the PCS staff who kindly answered a few queries prior to the purchase. The below might in several instances compare to the 13.3" MBP - for those who might have been in a similar position to me more than anything.
Look/Feel:
Well, the pictures don't do it justice. It looks stunning, is tiny and feels as well built as any laptop I've ever used! The chassis is solid and reassuringly mettalic (matte gunmetal, drool..), a got a tiny amount of flex on the bottom but you wouldn't notice unless you really prodded for it. Screen opens reassuringly, no real issues with flex across the screen unless you really went for it (note: don't). It is smaller and (much) lighter than my 13.3" MBP. The bezel is 5mm at the sides - it's very impressive. The chin looks big in the PCS photos, but it's really not.
Keyboard:
Feels surprisingly good for how it looks! I've always had a chicklet style and was worried about lack of spacing between keys but it's been totally fine. Decent key travel indeed. Certainly not worried about it. The fan options key is pretty cool (note: it will make loads of noise when powering up: it's in gaming mode. Hit fn+F5 and it'll simmer into a completely silent office mode). The caps lock light is pretty funny as the only indication it's on is an extra light under the keys: I entered a few wrong passwords before noticing. It's fine. The keys are set above the chassis but that gives you extra travel. This = good. Altogether a solid feeling keyboard. I'm not a fan of the 'gaming' font, but that's so picky there's no point reading into it..
Trackpad:
I haven't had the stuttering/jittering issues other people have noted, but it's not as accurate as, say, a MBP trackpad. It's certainly not a best-in-class, but I don't mind at all (and I do photoshop work etc.) - it's still pretty good and the multi-finger gestures are very responsive (I had no idea Windows supports 3-key swipe up/down: I use it loads, it's brilliant.). The chassis meets the keyboard beautifully at the bottom of the trackpad and it's actually one of my favourite parts of the design: it's gorgeous.
Screen:
So very sharp (compared to what I'm used to anyway). I've not had a matte screen before but I've got to say it's great - no reflection. I can't vouch for brightness - as too bright, and I get migraines - but I'm actually pleased with how dim it goes for that very reason. Haven't gone looking for backlight bleed; it seems fine. Will do some visual work at some point and report back..
Components:
I was minded to go with a custom build with 500GB Samsung 970 EVO SSD, however when I saw there was a pre-built option that had exactly the specs i wanted but with 512GB intel SSD, I just went for it as I could get next day delivery and save £150 overall. I can only assume the saving is to do with not needing to custom assemble it, but I feel happy with the responsiveness of this build. It's the i7 10510U processor and single stick of 16GB RAM. It's not going to rip apart the latest games, but for a notebook solution it feels capable.
Battery:
Seems pretty good - it's reporting 5 hours on pretty intensive use: I got about that today doing work on a remote desktop, playing music etc. I did have issues with it out the box as it said it was charged at 100%, so I removed the charger. It lasted 5mins, then kaput. Well, the battery reading was off. Anyway I left it to charge for an hour or so then it's been fine ever since.
I/O:
Well, I can't find another laptop for this size and money that has 3 USB a ports and one USB C. It's great. I can get USB sticks in all of them without issue: a bit snug, yes, but I can't see how that would ever be a problem. The port locations on both sides are a bit odd once you've plugged in a mouse, the charger, USB interfaces etc. but it's alright. The charger angle is one downside; it's a weird angle but to be honest, that's being picky.
Drivers:
Ah, Windows. This is more for people transitioning back from the dark side. I haven't missed the world of drivers but actually setting up Ableton and the Focusrite was completely painless. For me, Asio4all has not been as good as the Focusrite interface in Ableton (if helpful for anyone - to most, this will have been obvious as the Foscurite is a dedicated soundcard.. It took me some trial & error..).
Audio Latency:
Big one for musos. I'm not going into DPC latency as I don't completely understand it. I use Ableton Live 10, have a Focusrite Scarlett and make psychadelic / electronic music - as I've discovered, using a shedload of (mainly native) plugins, audio and MIDI tracks. I'll have about 6-8 vocal layers with a chain (w/ compressors, EQs) on each. I'm usually around 20-30 tracks. I was slightly nervous about switching from Mac due to dreaded latency issues and found I needed to do some tweaking. I got some pretty worrying Latencymon results to start with, then found with some battery/power setting tweaks, then disabling the Wifi adaptor had me happily in the green. I disabled the graphics card for the worse reading: it didn't appear to be the issue anyway. I can report recording vocals on a blank-ish track at 32 samples pop free. That's astonishing. I should say that even without tweaking the system I had no real issues: the CPU seems to be strong enough to power through. The single slot of RAM doesn't appear to be an issue.
CPU:
..Well, in Ableton anyway! I duplicated all the tracks in the Ableton demo song three times and chucked a load more compressors and reverb on top; it reported around 25% CPU with a few dropouts but otherwise fine. I tried this on my MBP and it hit 85% CPU then very quickly 125% and struggled. I know I'm comparing old tech with new - but again - for those who might have been in a similar situation to me. I know I will probably the ceiling at some point, but I'm well aware if I want to do very heavy work I'll buy a desktop. It's not got to that point yet thought.
Summary:
So this is 24 hours in - I can't really think of anything else to report but I plan to update as I go. I meant to try the webcam and mic but work was too busy today (ironically, without the usual frequent video calls..). I hope that's helpful anyway for some people considering the Fusion IV for music and I can't recommend PCS enough for their prompt response times and prompt delivery. I guess the biggest caveat to all this is I'm not professing to be hugely knowledgeable on really any of the subject matter, but can nerd out to a reasonable extent.
Altogether, I can't see how you can buy a better build for the money. I'm pretty picky - particularly in the build quality department - and I'm keeping it. Hopefully that should be a sway for anyone considering it. I've got it in front of me - if anyone else is considering buying it I hope I can answer any questions!
Sam
After a solid 3 weeks of deliberating on a new laptop, an order attempt that resulting in me returning it within the evening of receiving it (Dell Inspiron plastic-y bleurgh), I am happy to say I received my Fusion IV 14" laptop- and so far, am delighted. There doesn't seem to be much around the net on these TongFang chassis laptops compared to the other Clevo offerings - particularly for music production - so I wanted to provide an insight for others. It's worth saying I haven't had a Windows machine since 2011: since then I've had one beloved Macbook Pro (early 2011) and was ultimately going to be very picky about my next laptop: I wanted to spend about a grand, and for it to last a good few years at the least. Goes without saying I now feel Apple have had their day. I wasn't going to touch their new product range to pay ridiculous prices for outdated tech, IOS updates forcing upgrades, touchpad rubbish, DDR3 RAM, soldered components... I also looked into the 'Z' books (not sure I can mention competitor's names? Hopefully that complies with forum rules!)
I was torn between the Fusion IV and Lafite Pro: the Lafite appears better in musical terms (twin RAM slots, no dedicated GPU), but went for the Fusion as I am an architect and do the odd bit of 3D modelling and rendering so the MX250 may come in handy some day. Plus, the Fusion has an extra USB slot, and just looks better in dark grey IMO.. I'm glad I went for the Fusion now as it is such a looker. As a note, I don't game: this isn't really a gaming laptop in any case.
I've had it a full day so far, so these are opening thoughts more than much else. I have to thank the PCS staff who kindly answered a few queries prior to the purchase. The below might in several instances compare to the 13.3" MBP - for those who might have been in a similar position to me more than anything.
Look/Feel:
Well, the pictures don't do it justice. It looks stunning, is tiny and feels as well built as any laptop I've ever used! The chassis is solid and reassuringly mettalic (matte gunmetal, drool..), a got a tiny amount of flex on the bottom but you wouldn't notice unless you really prodded for it. Screen opens reassuringly, no real issues with flex across the screen unless you really went for it (note: don't). It is smaller and (much) lighter than my 13.3" MBP. The bezel is 5mm at the sides - it's very impressive. The chin looks big in the PCS photos, but it's really not.
Keyboard:
Feels surprisingly good for how it looks! I've always had a chicklet style and was worried about lack of spacing between keys but it's been totally fine. Decent key travel indeed. Certainly not worried about it. The fan options key is pretty cool (note: it will make loads of noise when powering up: it's in gaming mode. Hit fn+F5 and it'll simmer into a completely silent office mode). The caps lock light is pretty funny as the only indication it's on is an extra light under the keys: I entered a few wrong passwords before noticing. It's fine. The keys are set above the chassis but that gives you extra travel. This = good. Altogether a solid feeling keyboard. I'm not a fan of the 'gaming' font, but that's so picky there's no point reading into it..
Trackpad:
I haven't had the stuttering/jittering issues other people have noted, but it's not as accurate as, say, a MBP trackpad. It's certainly not a best-in-class, but I don't mind at all (and I do photoshop work etc.) - it's still pretty good and the multi-finger gestures are very responsive (I had no idea Windows supports 3-key swipe up/down: I use it loads, it's brilliant.). The chassis meets the keyboard beautifully at the bottom of the trackpad and it's actually one of my favourite parts of the design: it's gorgeous.
Screen:
So very sharp (compared to what I'm used to anyway). I've not had a matte screen before but I've got to say it's great - no reflection. I can't vouch for brightness - as too bright, and I get migraines - but I'm actually pleased with how dim it goes for that very reason. Haven't gone looking for backlight bleed; it seems fine. Will do some visual work at some point and report back..
Components:
I was minded to go with a custom build with 500GB Samsung 970 EVO SSD, however when I saw there was a pre-built option that had exactly the specs i wanted but with 512GB intel SSD, I just went for it as I could get next day delivery and save £150 overall. I can only assume the saving is to do with not needing to custom assemble it, but I feel happy with the responsiveness of this build. It's the i7 10510U processor and single stick of 16GB RAM. It's not going to rip apart the latest games, but for a notebook solution it feels capable.
Battery:
Seems pretty good - it's reporting 5 hours on pretty intensive use: I got about that today doing work on a remote desktop, playing music etc. I did have issues with it out the box as it said it was charged at 100%, so I removed the charger. It lasted 5mins, then kaput. Well, the battery reading was off. Anyway I left it to charge for an hour or so then it's been fine ever since.
I/O:
Well, I can't find another laptop for this size and money that has 3 USB a ports and one USB C. It's great. I can get USB sticks in all of them without issue: a bit snug, yes, but I can't see how that would ever be a problem. The port locations on both sides are a bit odd once you've plugged in a mouse, the charger, USB interfaces etc. but it's alright. The charger angle is one downside; it's a weird angle but to be honest, that's being picky.
Drivers:
Ah, Windows. This is more for people transitioning back from the dark side. I haven't missed the world of drivers but actually setting up Ableton and the Focusrite was completely painless. For me, Asio4all has not been as good as the Focusrite interface in Ableton (if helpful for anyone - to most, this will have been obvious as the Foscurite is a dedicated soundcard.. It took me some trial & error..).
Audio Latency:
Big one for musos. I'm not going into DPC latency as I don't completely understand it. I use Ableton Live 10, have a Focusrite Scarlett and make psychadelic / electronic music - as I've discovered, using a shedload of (mainly native) plugins, audio and MIDI tracks. I'll have about 6-8 vocal layers with a chain (w/ compressors, EQs) on each. I'm usually around 20-30 tracks. I was slightly nervous about switching from Mac due to dreaded latency issues and found I needed to do some tweaking. I got some pretty worrying Latencymon results to start with, then found with some battery/power setting tweaks, then disabling the Wifi adaptor had me happily in the green. I disabled the graphics card for the worse reading: it didn't appear to be the issue anyway. I can report recording vocals on a blank-ish track at 32 samples pop free. That's astonishing. I should say that even without tweaking the system I had no real issues: the CPU seems to be strong enough to power through. The single slot of RAM doesn't appear to be an issue.
CPU:
..Well, in Ableton anyway! I duplicated all the tracks in the Ableton demo song three times and chucked a load more compressors and reverb on top; it reported around 25% CPU with a few dropouts but otherwise fine. I tried this on my MBP and it hit 85% CPU then very quickly 125% and struggled. I know I'm comparing old tech with new - but again - for those who might have been in a similar situation to me. I know I will probably the ceiling at some point, but I'm well aware if I want to do very heavy work I'll buy a desktop. It's not got to that point yet thought.
Summary:
So this is 24 hours in - I can't really think of anything else to report but I plan to update as I go. I meant to try the webcam and mic but work was too busy today (ironically, without the usual frequent video calls..). I hope that's helpful anyway for some people considering the Fusion IV for music and I can't recommend PCS enough for their prompt response times and prompt delivery. I guess the biggest caveat to all this is I'm not professing to be hugely knowledgeable on really any of the subject matter, but can nerd out to a reasonable extent.
Altogether, I can't see how you can buy a better build for the money. I'm pretty picky - particularly in the build quality department - and I'm keeping it. Hopefully that should be a sway for anyone considering it. I've got it in front of me - if anyone else is considering buying it I hope I can answer any questions!
Sam
