A few questions about the Optimus IV (17.3")

P

pobishere

Member
I'm thinking about purchasing the 17.3" Optimus IV with silver warranty and 1 year pixel guarantee.

Having read through a number of posts on this forum regarding the Optimus IV, I have a few questions. A lot of the technical issues I've read about seem to stem from

a) components coming lose (in transit) and causing BSOD or other ad hoc problems, e.g. fan noise, etc.

b) driver related problems (I intend getting Windows 8).

While some of these can be easily fixed, e.g. re-seating the RAM or installing drivers, some would need a return and I'd rather do that before I start installing the bulk of my software.

So with that in mind:

1) Can someone recommend some software I can run to test for problems, especially GPU/CPU heating issues?

2) Are there any unresolved Windows 8 driver issues with this model? Does anyone have this model with Windows 8 with no issues?

3) I've read a few reports of the speakers being not very good at all. While I'm not expecting them to be brilliant, I'd like at least average. (I guess these reports could have been due to driver issues.)

Can someone objectively assess the speakers for me? I'm used to my ageing ASUS F3r laptop's speakers which is adequate for daily use, so anything similar or above would be fine by me. For gaming/DVDs I tend to use headphones.

Also,

4) Is there any flex in the keyboard and palm rest area?

Many thanks for your help.
 
K

Keithg

Enthusiast
I have an optimus 4 running windows 8 and everything is perfect for me (baring usb3 until intel sort out drivers). Clevo have sorted drivers for the couple of devices that require them and they are available from their site.
CPUID.com has a few good tools including hwmonitor (which will give cpu and gpu temps) which can combine with the programs steaky suggested.

The speakers are probably a bit below average, or at least compared to my old hp pavilion dv6. They are a little thin/tiny but headphones are good. There have been suggestions to use the realtek drivers rather than clevo but i have not had a chance to try this.
No problems with fan noise, currently the system is silent and the fans only run during gameplay.
keyboard and trackpad are very good. Zero flex from either and very slight on the palm rests either side (and i mean minimal)
 
P

pobishere

Member
steaky360 and Keithg, many thanks for your replies.

Edit: Just read teuchter's review of the Optimus IV in another thread. I'm now looking at the Vortex III and wondering if the chassis is of better, sturdier quality; does anyone know?
 
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Pagey

Pagey

Bright Spark
I've got the Optimus IV and I've had a few issues with it and I'll do my best to answer them for ya.

a: I've personally not had a problem with this, but this can be easily remedied by examining the laptop before you power her up for the first time.

b: Drivers are perfectly fine, but PCS don't ship out a Win8 driver disk and if that's the case when you get yours, they are easily obtained from the Clevo website itself.

Only issue in this respect to drivers would be the Bios issue that effects the audio, hopefully they're now doing the fix before it's shipped it will certainly save a lot of hassles.

1: Temps are actually fine on mine, I have a 15" version, so I'm not sure how that applies to the 17" version. Only temp issue I have is with the bad cooling for the second HDD, (I have a 7,200rpm WD and it gets a LOT warmer than even the GPU and CPU.) Not sure on monitoring software, but others will have better info than me.

2: I have no issues whatsoever now, (after Bios issue.)

3: The speakers aren't that great even compared to my old Dell Inspiron 1520, but I did do something that improves the sound levels, so it can be made better if you want. The headphone audio is equal to that of my Dell which is very good in itself. Audio level wise it's about 3/4 of my Dells output.

4: I don't have any issues with flex, though if you're using it on a flat surface I don't see a problem anyway.

Basically I have the 15" version and I love it, wasn't happy at first with the issues I had but hopefully they should be fixed pre-shipment. If you use "Optimus" correctly you can get a lot of life from the battery as long as you're only doing light stuff, which is extremely handy.

Hopefully this is enough information for ya, but if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.
 
P

pobishere

Member
@Pagey, thanks for the helpful comments. I'm wondering if there's a difference in the flex depending on the size of the chassis.

@Keithg, do you have the 15 or 17 inch version of the Optimus IV?
 
P

pobishere

Member
@Keithg, Thanks for the reply.

For anyone who is interested, here's the spec of the laptop I'm looking at:

Here’s the spec of the laptop I’m looking at.

Chassis & Display
Optimus Series: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLURAY ROM, 8x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® N135 802.11N (150Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
USB Options
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor
1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs (£19)
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft

(I’ll get an SSD elsewhere; the SSD market looks very good at the moment with some excellent bargains around.)

Here are my thoughts on the pros and cons of the Optimus vs Vortex III for my use...

Chassis: The Optimus chassis seems fine, but there are various reports of flex in the keyboard and Vortex’s seems to be better overall. The Vortex also offers much more upgradeablity.

Keyboard: The Vortex has a backlit keyboard, but this isn’t a deal breaker and I’m not going to be typing in the dark. I can also touchtype so don’t really find myself looking at the keyboard.

Portability: The Optimus is definitely more portable. I tend to move my current laptop between several rooms of my house, seldom using it anywhere away from home (e.g. at a friend’s/family/workplace). The Vortex is heavier and its power adaptor is a real brick. I really don’t fancy lunking that around each time I want a change of scenery. The length of cable between the adaptor and the laptop connection also seems very short to me. I don't know if this is the case with the Optimus's adaptor.

Graphics card: I'll use the laptop for some video editing, Photoshop and HDR stuff, music-making, YouTubeing, internet and a lot of MS Office. I will game but I’m not a heavy gamer. I’d like to play the new FIFA offering, Farcry 3, BF3 and lookout for the new Total War game due next year. I think the Optimus will play these on High well enough for me. For the extra few hundred pounds, and because I wouldn’t call myself an extreme gamer, I think the extra graphic power of the Vortex would probably be wasted on me and the Optimus would be sufficient for my needs for the next 4-5 years, which I’m hoping is going to the lifespan of this laptop. I know the Vortex’s GPU and CPU can be upgraded but I really don’t think I’d find myself needing to do that. And if I did need to upgrade the GPU after a few years, I’d probably be looking to buy a new laptop or PC.

Noise: The Optimus would appear to be quieter. I think I prefer this to the Vortex, which by default, because of the GPU, would kick in its 2 fans much more often. Not a deal breaker, but because I’m probably not going to be using the GPU for all its worth those extra dBs might be a niggle.

Heat: The Optimus is the cooler due to its lower spec. I’m sure the Vortex manages its heat well (see Noise above), but those power GPUs do seem to heat up more.

So on utility/price balance, the Optimus appears to offer me the best choice.

Any thoughts anyone?

I haven’t really looked at the SkyFire II. Have I missed anything there?

Many thanks
 
P

pobishere

Member
Update:

Just ordered one! Same spec as above except I bumped up the Wireless option.

I'll post a review once I've got it and played around with it a bit, hopefully before the end of the year.

Thanks to all who've helped me decide.
 
C

colosc

New member
Hi all,
I've just ordered an Optimus IV last week with these specs:

Chassis & Display Optimus Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3630QM (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 4GB)

Change to: 8GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 750GB SEAGATE MOMENTUS XT HYBRID, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
RAID NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 4x BLURAY ROM, 8x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ 1103 WIRELESS GAMING 802.11N NETWORK CARD
USB Options 3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery Optimus Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Power Lead & Adaptor 1 x UK Power Lead & 120W AC Adaptor
Operating System Genuine Windows 8 Standard Edition 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software FREE 60 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 2010 Professional Edition
Anti-Virus BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Laptop Cooling Stands NONE
Carry Case NONE
Monitor NONE
Keyboard & Mouse INTEGRATED UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Mouse INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam INTEGRATED 1.3 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Home Installation NONE
Dead Pixel Guarantee NONE
Insurance NONE
Data Recovery NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Pricing Information

Price (excluding VAT) £822.50
Price £987.00

I've just changed the ram from the Kingston HyperX 2 x 4gb to the Samsung 1 x 8gb. I did this cos I was thinking about possible future upgrades to the ram being easier.
There are 3 ram slots in the optimus, so to have 2 full with 4gb each, leaving one slot.
It doesn't seem like you can get a 1 x 4gb or a 1 x 8gb stick of the Kingston ram.
Or am I wrong?
Also, a question about the Seagate Hybrid Drive. Will I see any benefit by using this as the second storage drive over a WD Scorpio Black 750gb?

Any help or advice would be appreciated.
 
W

waynedance

Gold Level Poster
I asked the question about the 2nd hard drive and was told the hybrid would be a waste and go for the Scorpio Black which I did. Spend the extra on something else like ram.
 
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