Clevo X7200 Review

If you're looking for the highest performance custom notebook for gaming then a company called Clevo has you covered. Clevo notebooks are available from multiple custom-order stores and in this review we took a look at the new Clevo X7200 from AVA Direct.

This 13.4-pound monstrosity might be the world’s fastest laptop. It features a desktop Core i7 Extreme processor with six cores, dual Nvidia GTX 480M 2GB graphics cards, and 12GB of RAM.

Our Clevo X7200 review unit, courtesy of AVA Direct, has the following specifications:

• 17.3-inch 1080p (1920x1080) glossy panel with LED backlighting
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Core i7-980X six-core desktop processor (3.33GHz, 12MB L3, 6.4GT/s QPI, 130W TDP)
• Intel X58 desktop chipset
• DUAL Nvidia GeForce GTX 480M graphics cards w/ 2GB GDDR5 memory each
• 12GB DDR3-1333 triple-channel RAM (3x 4GB)
• 256GB A-DATA S599 SSD
• 500GB 7200RPM Seagate Momentus XT secondary storage drive (ST95005620AS)
• Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN wireless LAN
• Blu-ray reader (HL-DT-ST BDDVDRW CT21N)
• 1-year standard warranty
• Li-poly battery (78.44Wh)
• Weight: 13.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 16.5 x 11.3 x 2.2~2.4 inches
• MSRP: $4,700

The base price for a Clevo X7200 customized from AVA Direct is $2,150; our test unit’s insane configuration includes the latest bleeding edge components. The most notable part is the desktop Core i7-980X processor, which has six cores and runs at a blistering 3.33GHz (which can turbo boost to 3.60GHz); it commands a $764 premium over the base Core i7 quad-core. Next on the list are the dual Nvidia GTX 480M 2GB graphics cards, which are $963 extra over the single base GTX 460 1GB. Rounding out the list are the 256GB SSD ($401), 12GB of RAM ($178), and the Blu-ray reader ($90). The only thing our test unit is missing is a custom paint scheme, which is available from AVA Direct.

Build and Design
The X7200’s defining physical characteristic is its immense footprint. At about two and half inches thick and almost 13.5 pounds, it is simply massive. Beyond its physical size the X7200 is reasonably well-appointed with an aluminum-covered palm rest and a sprinkling of blue LED indicator lights; however, as is the case with other Clevo notebooks, it was not designed to be fashionable (and isn’t).

The build quality is solid; the palm rests and other surfaces resist flexing under pressure and the chassis does not bend when twisted. The lid is more flexible than I prefer despite the fact that it has an aluminum backing. Fortunately no ripples appear on the screen when pressure is applied from behind. Fit and finish is satisfactory; the parts making up the notebook fit together with even spacing and no one area of the notebook seems of better quality than another.

The X7200 is largely constructed of thick plastic; most of it has a matte coating with the exception of the screen surround and area directly above the keyboard, which attract fingerprints and dust too easily. The display surface is also glossy, which adds to the problem. Manufacturers should take a hint and dispense with glossy plastic altogether.

Ports and Features
As expected with a “notebook” this large, the X7200 has an abundance of input/output ports. It has everything from HDMI and DVI to USB 3.0 and e-SATA. It strangely lacks an ExpressCard slot. All picture descriptions are left to right.

Front: Intake vents, status lights

Rear: Vents, AC power, and more vents

Left: DVI-I, CATV jack (enabled with TV tuner option), Ethernet, HDMI out, 2x USB 3.0, e-SATA, IEEE-1394 Firewire, 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS PRO/MS DUO/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RSMMC), optical drive (bottom)

Right: S/PDIF, Optical out, microphone, headphone jacks, 3x USB 2.0,Kensington Lock slot

Keyboard and Touchpad
The X7200 has a full-size island-style keyboard with separate numeric keypad; unfortunately it is the X7200’s biggest failing. The keyboard has a cheap plastic feel and rattles with each keystroke. It does not feel well-seated at all. Furthermore it has a strange layout; the number pad has a three-column orientation as opposed to the usual four; many keys are out of place. Another annoying attribute is how the home, end, page up, and page down keys are embedded in the directional keys; the [Fn] key must be pressed in conjunction to access them. They can exist as dedicated keys if numlock is turned off; however that defeats the purpose of having a number pad in the first place.

The touchpad fares better though not by much. The matte surface is appreciated although a bit too grippy; it is like very fine-grit sandpaper (1500-2000 grit). The touchpad buttons are poor; they also feel cheap and are very loud – people across the room will know you clicked. The touchpad supports some multi-touch gestures such as two-finger scrolling and circular scrolling. There is a biometric fingerprint reader between the touchpad buttons, which works as expected.

Overall this notebook should come with much better quality input devices; the keyboard should have a standard layout and have backlighting. Additionally, the touchpad buttons need work.

Screen and Speakers
The X7200 has a 17.3-inch screen with a 1080p (1920x1080) resolution and LED backlighting. It is a TN panel and has above average image quality. The display has a slightly cold temperature (blue hue) at default. Brightness is somewhat below average at just 180.8 nits as measured with our Gossen Mavo-Monitor light meter. The contrast ratio on the other hand is outstanding; we measured it at 1272:1. The glossy screen coating helps clarity but means annoying reflections; it also attracts a considerable amount of dust and is difficult to clean. The backlighting is generally uniform with the exception of some bleed at the bottom, which does not noticeably affect picture quality. The viewing angles are typical for a TN-type panel: horizontally the screen maintains its image quality, though when viewed past 20 degrees off-center vertically colors start to distort.

The X7200 has five built-in speakers under the display and on either side of it plus a small subwoofer underneath the chassis. They sound reasonable – not great and not anything close to the Harman/kardon speakers on Toshiba Qosmio notebooks but passable. There is a hint of bass from the subwoofer. These are the best speakers I have heard on a Clevo notebook.

Performance and Benchmarks
Ah, time for the fireworks. With the fastest desktop processor on the market, two of the fastest mobile graphics cards, a SandForce-based SSD and 12GB of RAM, this beast showed our benchmarks no mercy.

Let’s take a moment and look at the Core i7-980X processor; it has six cores and runs at 3.33GHz (Turbo Boost is up to 3.60GHz). Intels’ fastest mobile/notebook processor is the i7-940XM, which runs at 2.13GHz and has just four cores. According to our benchmarks, the desktop i7-980X has nearly 50% more power. To the right is a CPU-Z screenshot of the i7-980X. The X7200 has a desktop Intel X58 motherboard chipset to support the desktop processors. This enables it to support triple-channel memory as well, just like desktops. The X7200 has three slots for RAM.

General performance of the X7200 as equipped is, well, outstanding. Thanks to the SSD, opening files and programs is more or less instantaneous. Photoshop was a dream with the six-core processor and 12GB of RAM; complex filters applied even to large images in no time.

One other interesting fact about the X7200 is that it can support three hard drives; our test unit came with an SSD and a secondary hard drive. I like this setup: use the SSD for programs and other commonly-accessed files and store data on the hard drive. The X7200 supports RAID 0, 1 and 5 with two or three drives.

I ran a full suite of benchmarks on the X7200 to demonstrate its performance capabilities:

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

PCMark Vantage measures overall system performance (high scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark Vantage measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:

Gaming Performance
3DMark is a synthetic benchmark and not necessarily an indicator of real-world gaming performance. I ran several game benchmarks on the X7200 includingLeft 4 Dead 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Crysis. All games are run at 1920x1080 resolution, 8X antistrophic filtering, and high settings. For reference, 30 frames per second (FPS) is considered the minimum required for a smooth gaming experience – below that and it starts to look like a slideshow.

Left 4 Dead 2:

I did not see the frames go below 100 at any given point even when I enabled anti-aliasing (not reflected in this benchmark). These numbers are easily double and even quadruple those of other gaming notebooks we tested in the past.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2:

Crysis:

Clearly the dual Nvidia GTX 480M 2GB graphics cards have no problem producing playable FPS in these games. Rendering nearly 60 FPS average inCrysis is impressive even for a modern gaming desktop, let alone a notebook. This is the fastest gaming notebook we have tested.

Heat and Noise
The cooling system is functionally outstanding; no surface of the notebook got more than lukewarm even under heavy load. It kept the internal components within their recommended operating temperatures, which is quite a feat given how much heat the six-core i7 Extreme processor and dual Nvidia graphics cards produce. The external case temperatures shown below are listed in degrees Fahrenheit:

Four large fans push a great deal of hot air out the back of the X7200, which is essentially one giant vent. At idle the X7200 has an acceptable noise level and blends into background noises; however, once under load this machine gets loud – very loud. Our sound decibel meter measured over 60db under full load, which is several magnitudes louder than any other notebook we have tested (and even some desktops). The fan noise sounds like a low-grade jet turbine engine.

Battery Life
The X7200’s battery, while rather powerful, only sustained the X7200 for 29 minutes idling; it functions more like a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) rather than a battery. I am not surprised. Speaking of power, it is worth mentioning that the X7200’s massive power brick is rated for an astounding 300W and weighs about three pounds by itself; for comparison, the power supplies that come with most notebooks are rated for 65-90W. Using my Kill-A-Watt I saw the X7200 pull 296W under full load; at idle it consumes between 120 – 150W. A typical notebook consumes about 20-30W of power at idle.

Conclusion
The Clevo X7200 is the fastest notebook we have tested, bar none. The sole focus of this machine is performance; there is no other reason to even consider buying it. With such power come formidable compromises. At 13.4 pounds and 2.5” thick, this monstrosity is more of a portable desktop than a notebook. The X7200’s four fans generate a ton of noise under load (although they do a good job of keeping the notebook cool). The battery life is laughable; I measured not even a half hour of battery just idling. Lastly, this kind of performance is incredibly expensive; starting at $2,150, options quickly raise the price - up to $4,700 in the case of our fully-loaded test unit.

Highlights of the X7200 besides its performance are immense storage capacity (up to three hard drives/SSDs), high-contrast 1080p screen (which could use a brightness boost), and plethora of input/output ports like USB 3.0.

A major complaint about this machine is its poor keyboard and touchpad; they feel cheap and do not inspire confidence. 
In conclusion, the Clevo X7200 is tough to recommend simply because it has none of the qualities that make notebook computers desirable in the first place: portability and ability to operate unplugged. The X7200 will serve its small target audience quite well – namely, those that need as much power as they can get in a package smaller than a desktop; for everyone else, it is not a sensible choice for the above-mentioned reasons.

Pros:

• Insane performance
• Decent build quality
• Good cooling system
• Good speakers

Cons:

• Huge and heavy
• Subpar keyboard
• Half-hour battery life
• Very loud fans
• Options add up quickly

Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support 
Upgrade Capabilities 
Usability 
Design 
Performance 
Features 
Price/Value Rating 

* Ratings averaged to produce final score