Clevo M570RU or Dell XPS M1530 Dilema

--ki-- · 26 Dec 2007 at 13:35

Hi all,
I am off to the US end of next week on a 4 week business trip and will be in need of, as such will buy a laptop when I get there, I game quite often on a 24” with almost max settings on all games (the almost part is for Crysis), and need mobility, as such I have narrowed my choices to the following 2 laptops. The Dell XPS M1530 with 8600M GT 256 GDDR3 and the Clevo M570RU with 8800M GTX 512 GDDR3. To add an extra level of difficulty o the decision I can buy the Dell online with my CC but with the Clevo I have the added hassle of wire transfers. Delivery for both is approx 10 days. Since the prices are so appealing that’s why I included the Clevo its equivalent here is £1000 more expensive + VAT.

DELL XPS M1530 $1687
CPU T7500 2.2Ghz 4MB Cache
OS Vista Home Premium
MEM 3GB 667Mhz
LCD 1680x1050 Glossy 15.4”
GFX 8600GT 256 GDDR3
HDD 160GB 7200rpm Sata
OPTICAL Slot loading DVD +/-RW
WIFI Intel A/G/N mini card
BLUETOOTH Internal 2.0+EDR
BATTERY 6 Cell + Spare 9 Cell
Dimensions 357(W) x 263(D) x 24 - 35(H)mm
Weight 2.86KG
Battery life ~3.5Hrs on balances normal usage with wifi on.

Clevo M570RU $2057
CPU T7250 2.0Ghz 2MB Cache
OS None
MEM 2GB 800Mhz
LCD 1680x1050 Matt 17” -$83 or 1920x1200 Glossy 17”
GFX 8800GTX 512 GDDR3
HDD 120GB 7200rpm Sata
OPTICAL DVD +/-RW –RAM Dual layer
WIFI Intel A/G/N mini card
BLUETOOTH External 2.0+EDR
BATTERY 8 Cell
Dimensions 397(W) x 284(D) x 22 ~ 44(H)mm
Weight 3.95Kg
Battery life ~1.5Hrs on balances normal usage with wifi on.

redeye · 26 Dec 2007 at 13:44

Easy decision for me ... the Clevo. Mainly because of the vastly better graphics card (infact the best mobile card available). The 8600is quite frankly rubbish in comparision. I'd suggest the 1920x1200 LCD display as well.. they are very nice chassis. If you can stretch to a faster CPU I would.. and take the memory down to 667MHz as the 570RU doesn't support 800MHz RAM (it'll just run it at 667).

The only downside of the Clevo is battery life.. as you note it'll be around 1hr - 1hr 30, but that depends on how mobile you want it to be!

Cheers

--ki-- · 26 Dec 2007 at 14:18

redeye said:
Easy decision for me ... the Clevo. Mainly because of the vastly better graphics card (infact the best mobile card available). The 8600is quite frankly rubbish in comparision. I'd suggest the 1920x1200 LCD display as well.. they are very nice chassis. If you can stretch to a faster CPU I would.. and take the memory down to 667MHz as the 570RU doesn't support 800MHz RAM (it'll just run it at 667).

The only downside of the Clevo is battery life.. as you note it'll be around 1hr - 1hr 30, but that depends on how mobile you want it to be!

Cheers

A the graphics is swaying me, as well as it only being 1cm thicker at the thickest part or 1 cm thiner than the XPS M1530 with the 9 Cell battery, 1kg shouldnt matter, but that battery life is really dire.

I thought the 570U supported 800Mhz as it takes an 800Mhz processor plus the option to upgrade to it. I thought all 965 Santa Rosas were 800Mhz??

redeye · 26 Dec 2007 at 16:04

--ki-- said:
A the graphics is swaying me, as well as it only being 1cm thicker at the thickest part or 1 cm thiner than the XPS M1530 with the 9 Cell battery, 1kg shouldnt matter, but that battery life is really dire.

I thought the 570U supported 800Mhz as it takes an 800Mhz processor plus the option to upgrade to it. I thought all 965 Santa Rosas were 800Mhz??

Yeah the battery life is a bit rubbish but unfortunately with an 8800M GTX that's what you get. Think you have to weigh up whether you can put up with that sort of limitation? or whether the speed of the GPU sways you. For most people who would use that type of laptop I wouldn't think it an issue as it's really knocking on the door of a desktop replacement.

Correct the 570RU is based on the 965 Santa Rosa platform with an 800MHz FSB however the motherboard is limited to 667MHz memory. Clevo themselves only say it supports upto 667MHz.. tbh it's purely a money making exercise on behalf of the manufacturers who offer 800MHz memory. The decent manufacturers don't offer 800Mhz memory.

--ki-- · 26 Dec 2007 at 16:50

ahhh, oki I get you. A spare battery ill cost me another $120 which starts to push it out of the budget abit... hmmmm....

ZXSpectrum · 26 Dec 2007 at 17:10

We have sold the Clevo stuff in droves lately.. Ours mainly have the Quadro cards in though. They are great pieces of kit and the M570RU is a lot nicer than the old M575 Chassis. Dunno if they would be classed as a competitor but steer clear of Rock supplied ones. They go through 0% testing before shipped and thier support is pants on a good day.. Hope that helps...

redeye · 26 Dec 2007 at 17:14

Skyline said:
We have sold the Clevo stuff in droves lately.. Ours mainly have the Quadro cards in though. They are great pieces of kit and the M570RU is a lot nicer than the old M575 Chassis. Dunno if they would be classed as a competitor but steer clear of Rock supplied ones. They go through 0% testing before shipped and thier support is pants on a good day.. Hope that helps...

Lol same here! Although we sell more 8800's as we're more gaming orientated! Agree with your assesment of Rock!

--ki-- · 26 Dec 2007 at 17:34

I am buying from the Canadian distro beginning with E. Only reason I am even considering a Clevo is because the price is immensly appealing.

Since you guys sound like UK distros the A company? how much are the batteries usually, might put off buying a battery until I get back here.

Dont suppose you know of when the M15x is out as another consideration is size (yup I know the Dell is barely smaller) and if its out while I am over state side I might pick that up instead.

redeye · 26 Dec 2007 at 17:50

Yeah I know the guys in Canada..no probs buying from them. Make sure you can access warranty support if you need it, I don't know how things work if you need it when in the UK (I know Clevo have a service center here but I've never used it). With high end laptops and a lot of other normal components $ = £.. ignore the exchange rate! A lot of us wish the components were cheaper here but I gave up wishing that along time ago!

I can't for the life of me remember battery prices.. would have to check at work but I'm not back 'til the 2nd. Sorry! (I don't work for a disti btw!

) Afraid I don't know about the M15x.. maybe someone else?

--ki-- · 26 Dec 2007 at 17:59

Oki cheers for the info, yup in this case £ = $ works out great for me, guess I might as well buy battery there as well as it is likely to be cheaper there too.