Optimus, some thoughts

skakruk

Active member
Hello everybody,
I have purchased this Optimus before Christmas. Been enjoying it ever since :)
Specs:
Chassis: Clevo B7130
Processor: Intel i5-460 (2.53-2.80 GHz)
Screen: 17.3”, 1600x900
Motherboard: HM55
Ram: 1x4Gb 1333 Mhz
Graphics: nVIDIA 425m
Hard Drive: 500GB, 7200 rpm

+ The laptop is not heavy for its size.
+ The plastics and build quality seem great! I really like the coarse texture of the hand rest.
+ The touchpad responds well (but I use mice most of the time, so can’t really be the judge of that). The keyboard is very good: you will not be able to accidently tap 2 keys as they have enough space in between (unless you got really big fingers), it feels comfortable while typing.
+ I’ve only used 15.6” screen laps before so a bigger screen is a nice improvement for me.
+ The gaming performance of your machine will depend on the components you pick in addition to the nVIDIA 425m. I’ve ran quite a few 2010 games on mine and it handled them beautifully on High settings (with some tweaks in nVidia control panel).
+ The battery life is decent for a laptop with a 17.3” screen, just be sure to poke the VGA button to green thus disabling the nvidia gpu.


- It’s really noisy if you’re running it on full throttle (those i5/i7’s really need some cooling as does your video card), it’s quiet while idle or running less demanding software (it won’t keep you awake if you left a full antivirus scan running for example, in fact i find that light hum quite soothing...).
- It’s hot (well compared to the laps I used before anyway):
Cores:
Idle 39C, Heavy Load 83C
GPU:
Idle 39C (optimus switches to intel), 75C Heavy Load.
This of course does not mean you will have the same temperatures (you might have a different core, a cooling station, or be willing to apply your fav brand of thermal paste)
- You WILL need to install the drivers provided in order to run this machine (those provided by windows – simply won’t do). The disc provided by pcs contains all the drivers needed. Nvidia “automatic” driver detector either gives you the wrong one or tells you to visit the manufacturers site. Driver updates for this particular model can be found here: http://www.clevo.com.tw/en/e-services/download/ftpOut.asp?Lmodel=B7130&ltype=9&submit=+GO+
- The webcam, mike are ok, but the maximum sound level is a tad low compared to my older lap (though a pal told me that new laptop models are quieter for some reason). You will be topping your volume settings during gameplay to hear screams and shooting over the cooling fans :)
- The cover has no lock, it keeps shut pretty tight though.

Aside from some problems of a more individual nature (I think), I’m very pleased with the purchase. Feel free to point out any mistakes I’ve made in my post :)


album
http://s667.photobucket.com/albums/vv36/skakruk/ (the A4 paper sheet is used as a scale)
 
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