Thinking of purchasing the P170EM

Sh3rlock · 17 Jan 2013 at 13:54

To all current owners of this laptop whats the performance like in games?

I am literally on the fence at the moment. I want to get back into gaming and am after a laptop over a tower to suit my current needs.

Any feedback/advice would be great.

vegarda · 17 Jan 2013 at 14:14

I got mine last week, with the following specs:

OcUK Limited Edition P170EM 17.3" LED Full HD Intel Processor, 1600MHz DDR3, SSD + HDD, ATI HD 7970M 2GB GDDR5 Graphics Card - Windows - Black
Intel Core i7-3630QM 2.40GHz (Ivybridge) Mobile Processor - OEM (SR0UX)
Corsair Vengeance SODIMM 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz SODIMM Kit (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10)
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (VTX4-25SAT3-128G)
Samsung SpinPoint M8 1TB 5400RPM SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HN-M101MBB)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 License 32/64-Bit

I haven't tried any real demanding games yet, but WoW runs as smooth as anything. I just had to set the switchboard graphics to choose high performance graphics (i.e. the 7970M), as initially it chose the Intel graphics for some reason.

With the SSD, cpu and memory specs, everything is also loading really fast and multitasking doesn't affect performance.

Personally, I'm very satisfied with the performance so far, but someone into professional gaming might have more relevant experience to share.

drakioned · 18 Jan 2013 at 09:16

I have the model above the P170EM, the P370EM, it works really well, but it's a bit heavy.

dave2kdh · 18 Jan 2013 at 11:31

I have the P170EM (see spec in sig) and i play Battlefield 3, Natural Selection 2, CS:GO etc and it performs brilliantly. I would not hesitate to recommend it, for both performance and build quality.

MartynB85 · 18 Jan 2013 at 11:45

I have this laptop too, slightly older spec with a 6990m, can play anything with decent frames, i even play Planetside 2.

CEUOTC · 19 Jan 2013 at 01:28

P170EM with either the 7970M or 680M you can't go far wrong

Fallen god · 19 Jan 2013 at 02:06

Have a 15" and it really is amazing how far Laptop gaming has come, they do weight a bit though and the adapter is a brick and then some.

tereu5 · 21 Jan 2013 at 18:44

But then again - when buying one of these you know that the power comes at a cost of mobility - still much more mobile then carrying the desktop tower is it?

Sh3rlock · 28 Jan 2013 at 15:57

Thanks guys, will be purchasing one this weekend.

Genoma · 29 Jan 2013 at 12:53

Can you guys comment on noise under load? I'm considering this in the future but a key feature of my Samsung gamer 7 is low noise under load.

Jerec · 4 Feb 2013 at 16:07

Genoma said:
Can you guys comment on noise under load? I'm considering this in the future but a key feature of my Samsung gamer 7 is low noise under load.

My Clevo is pretty loud, but I'm curretly investigating whether there is something wrong with her at the mo.

tereu5 · 5 Feb 2013 at 13:05

Is the heating issue think of the past with the new Clevo's ? Some mention here that that was one of the major flaws and stopped many people buying them (as well as keyboard - unless changed to seteelseries?)

jemyclarke · 6 Feb 2013 at 04:19

I have also used this laptop and Its too heavy but I like it's keyboard and I played lots of games on that laptop. It has really nice features which attract to everyone and I bought this laptop with very affordable price.

Sh3rlock · 24 Feb 2013 at 13:42

Got the laptop a few days ago.

Not had a chance to get some proper gaming done but ive fired up a few to monitor FPS.

I can say that I am massively impressed with the spec ive chosen. So far Skyrim, Fallout 3, Deus Ex and Dead Island have all run maxed out at pretty much 60FPS. Initially I was really optimistic coming from a crossfire tower but I now I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this laptop to anyone wanting a pocket rocket.

Pabl0 · 24 Feb 2013 at 15:59

'pocket rocket'?

You must have some massive pockets!

HarryPainful · 24 Feb 2013 at 16:50

Did you get the 17" one? what spec was it, can you comment on the noise when gaming?

Sh3rlock · 24 Feb 2013 at 17:41

Pabl0 said:
'pocket rocket'?

You must have some massive pockets!

An apt expression considering I have come from a crossfire rig with 3 x 25" monitors.

HarryPainful said:
Did you get the 17" one? what spec was it, can you comment on the noise when gaming?

No, I went for the 15" in the end purely for mobility. I may be attending police training soon and wanted something I could move between training accommodation and home without it being a task.

As far as noise whilst gaming well I had an hour long session on dishonored early and not once did I find the noise of the fans offensive. Nothing but a dull hum in the background if anything. Card remained nice and cool so had no concerns the fan wasn't doing its job.

I have a DB meter in work. I will record them full chat and let you know what the noise compares too.

Spec; I7 3630, 8GB Corsair Vengeance, 7970m, 500GB seagate momentus XT.

Here's some pictures of the machine;

L33 · 25 Feb 2013 at 10:24

Out of interest what keyboard is that Damien? Looks like the P150HM but can't be as you have a 3rd gen i7 rather than 2nd.
Either way, completely different style/layout to mine:
Bad photo for a comparison, but the only one I have on my phone:

Space Monkey · 25 Feb 2013 at 12:46

@ OP,

How do you find the build quality? Also is the screen ok, as from the pics it looks washed out? Could be the camera though? Any other thoughts as well as I'm looking at the same laptop?

Thanks

Sh3rlock · 25 Feb 2013 at 14:29

L33 said:
Out of interest what keyboard is that Damien? Looks like the P150HM but can't be as you have a 3rd gen i7 rather than 2nd.
Either way, completely different style/layout to mine:
Bad photo for a comparison, but the only one I have on my phone:

I opted out of the back lit keyboard.

I purchased my Clevo from a site that allowed for a little more customization.

It allowed me to save £40 and spend it elsewhere on the machine.

Space Monkey said:
@ OP,

How do you find the build quality? Also is the screen ok, as from the pics it looks washed out? Could be the camera though? Any other thoughts as well as I'm looking at the same laptop?

Thanks

Personally I cannot fault the build quality.

My friend has just purchased a brand new Alienware and whilst the build quality is higher, I felt it actually looked cheaper than the Clevo. This is all down to personal opinion and preference though. I have shown a few people the Clevo and all are impressed and instantly comment that it must have cost a small fortune before even mentioning internal specifications.

Screen is beautiful. Provides a good quality picture and is immensely sharp. It looks washed out because I have the brightness turned right down and opted for the matte screen so I guess it didn't photograph too well.