Clevo M770CUH
Review Summary:
Good looks and has great build quality but offers low gaming performance.
Pros
- Good design and color scheme
- Very good build quality
- Comfortable keyboard
Cons
- Low resolution for a 17-inch screen
- Underperforming graphics card
AVADirect Clevo M770CUH Full Review
AVADirect’s Clevo M770CUH is a gaming notebook configurable with the latest Intel Core-series processors. Packing the ATI Mobility Radeon 4570 graphics and a 17-inch WXGA+ display, the system is a desktop replacement capable of watching HD movies or playing some of the latest games. Read the full review to see how this system performs in our tests.
Our AVADirect Clevo M770CUH Specifications:
- Intel Core i5-540m dual-core processor (2.53GHz, 3MB Cache)
- 4GB PC3-10666 DDR3 RAM (2 x 2GB)
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
- 17-inch WXGA+ TFT Glossy LCD (1440x900)
- 500GB 7200RPM 7200.4 Seagate SATA Hard Drive
- ATI Mobility Radeon 4570 with 512MB DDR2
- Intel 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth, 1Gb LAN
- 6-Cell Li-ion 48WH battery, 90W Power
Supply - Dimensions: (W x L x H) 15.64 x 11.12 x 1.56”
- Weight: 6.39lbs
- Starting price: $1,090.48
- Price as configured: $1,257.53
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The Clevo M770CUH has an almost silhouette-like appearance with a glossy black cover and bright white keyboard, palmrest, and touchpad. The top cover is spotless with no company logos or added design elements outside of a mirror-like black finish. Inside the entire typing surface is white with a silver tray surrounding the keyboard and thin silver border outlining the touchpad. If there was ever a Storm Trooper inspired notebook, it’s this one. The bottom of the notebook is matte black plastic and generally blends in with the background when it is sitting on a desk surface.
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The M770CHU is easy to upgrade with two access panels located on the bottom of the notebook. The hard drive is located under one panel and the CPU, wireless card, RAM, WWAN slot, and SIM card slot are located under the other. No warranty void if removed stickers were seen anywhere.
Screen and Speakers
For such a large notebook, the Clevo M770CUH has a lower resolution than we would like to see – 1440x900—instead of something with a higher pixel density such as WUXGA. This usually comes down to the buyer’s preference since with higher resolution, the screen becomes more difficult to read for people with poor vision. The screen has very good color saturation when viewed head on but the contrast levels seemed lacking even at a perfect 90-degree angle from panel. Backlight levels were more than acceptable for indoor viewing in a home or office, but did seem weak in very bright office conditions. We measured a peak brightness of 160cd/m2 in our lab with the screen brightness turned to 100%. Viewing angles were average with colors starting to wash our or invert within 15 degrees of tilt forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles were perfect with little or no color distortion, even at steeper angles.
For such a large notebook, the Clevo M770CUH has a lower resolution than we would like to see – 1440x900—instead of something with a higher pixel density such as WUXGA. This usually comes down to the buyer’s preference since with higher resolution, the screen becomes more difficult to read for people with poor vision. The screen has very good color saturation when viewed head on but the contrast levels seemed lacking even at a perfect 90-degree angle from panel. Backlight levels were more than acceptable for indoor viewing in a home or office, but did seem weak in very bright office conditions. We measured a peak brightness of 160cd/m2 in our lab with the screen brightness turned to 100%. Viewing angles were average with colors starting to wash our or invert within 15 degrees of tilt forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles were perfect with little or no color distortion, even at steeper angles.
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The speakers are forward and lap-firing with outlet ports on the front edge of the palmrest and below the notebook. Peak volume from the speakers was more than enough to fill a small room with music, but they did leave something to be desired in terms of bass and midrange. Users who watch movies on this notebook might want to invest in headphones or connect the system to a stereo through the SPDIF or HDMI-out connections.
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With its spacious 17-inch form-factor Clevo has no problem fitting a full-size keyboard with a three-key wide number pad on the M770CUH. The layout was easy to follow, including the preferred control key in the corner key position, with generous spacing around secondary keys like the direction buttons. The typing surface itself was comfortable to type on with very responsive keys. Individual key action was smooth with a light click emitted with fully pressed. If you spend hours typing, you will love the M770CUH’s keyboard. The only thing we felt was missing were multimedia keys around the keyboard. Touch-sensitive volume controls would have been a nice addition.
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Ports and Features
Port selection on this notebook seemed uninspiring with plenty of open space along the back. In total, the M770CUH included three USB ports, one eSATA port, HDMI and VGA-out, LAN, modem, analog in/out, and digital audio out. A combo USB/eSATA port would have gone a long way to increase the port availability.
Front: Speaker vents
Rear: Battery
Left: AC-power, VGA-out, LAN, eSATA, HDMI-out, two USB ports, ExpressCard/54 slot, SDHC-card reader
Right: Audio jacks, one USB port, optical drive, modem, Kensington Lock slot
Performance and Benchmarks
The Clevo M770CUH is offered with a wide range ofIntel Core processors ranging from the Core i3 all the way up to the Core i7. Our particular configuration included the 2.53GHz Core i5-540m processor with an ATI Radeon Mobility 4570 graphics card. To help with system load times and file transfers AVADirect gave us a 500GB Seagate 7200RPM hard drive over a slower 5400RPM model. In our multimedia tests, the notebook had no trouble keeping up with 720P or 1080P movies played locally. Also, there were no problems with HD Flash video played from sites like Hulu or YouTube.
The Clevo M770CUH is offered with a wide range of
Gaming performance was below average compared to other gaming notebooks and instead could be better compared against some of multimedia-oriented desktop replacement models. The ATI Radeon Mobility 4570 gave less than impressive results in Left 4 Dead 2 when played at the notebook’s 1440x900 native resolution. With detail settings set to high, we saw an average framerate of 16.6FPS and when settings were turned down to medium, it had a small jump to 25.4FPS. We consider 30-35FPS playable for most games, and for this notebook to reach that level, it would require running the game at a lower resolution or reduced detail configuration.
It might seem odd to compare a massive 17-inch notebook to an 11-inch ultraportable like the Alienware M11x in our benchmark tests, but we wanted to illustrate the fact that an impressive processor doesn't always deliver a better gaming experience when paired with a weak graphics card.
wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):
PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):
3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):
CrystalDiskMark storage drive performance test:
Left 4 Dead 2 gaming performance (frames per second during game play):
Heat and Noise
Thermal performance of the Clevo M770CUH was good, although it wasn’t overly stressed with the midrange processor and dedicated graphics. If this notebook was configured with a Core i7 processor, things may have been slightly warmer. Under light loads like surfing the Web, listening to music, or watching movies, the system stayed very cool and barely above room temperature. Under a full system load like playing games, the notebook still remained cool in key contact areas. The system fan remained quiet during most conditions, only spinning under higher loads. At its worst it was still within the range of most 14-inch and 15-inch consumer notebooks, right above a whisper level.
Thermal performance of the Clevo M770CUH was good, although it wasn’t overly stressed with the midrange processor and dedicated graphics. If this notebook was configured with a Core i7 processor, things may have been slightly warmer. Under light loads like surfing the Web, listening to music, or watching movies, the system stayed very cool and barely above room temperature. Under a full system load like playing games, the notebook still remained cool in key contact areas. The system fan remained quiet during most conditions, only spinning under higher loads. At its worst it was still within the range of most 14-inch and 15-inch consumer notebooks, right above a whisper level.
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Battery Life
Power consumption was high on the Clevo M770CUH with its 17-inch display, dedicated graphics, and Core i5-540m processor, consuming as much as 16 watts of power at idle. In our battery test with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Windows 7 on the balanced profile, the notebook stayed on for two hours and 32 minutes. This system probably isn’t the best choice if you plan on doing a lot of traveling and need something to work for extended periods of time away from the wall.
Power consumption was high on the Clevo M770CUH with its 17-inch display, dedicated graphics, and Core i5-540m processor, consuming as much as 16 watts of power at idle. In our battery test with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Windows 7 on the balanced profile, the notebook stayed on for two hours and 32 minutes. This system probably isn’t the best choice if you plan on doing a lot of traveling and need something to work for extended periods of time away from the wall.
Conclusion
The Clevo M770CUH is a 17-inch notebook with a slim design and great color scheme. Build quality is superb with a strong body and very rigid plastic panels. We found no flex in any area including the areas around the palmrest and keyboard. Based on our benchmarks, classifying this notebook as a gaming system is probably the wrong thing to do. Compared to other systems on the market, the performance was underwhelming even with a strong processor. Most of the blame in this case rests on the ATI Radeon 4570, which couldn’t keep up with games like Left 4 Dead 2 unless you reduced the resolution or tweaked the detail settings. We feel this notebook fits better with the desktop replacement or multimedia notebook categories where users might not be looking for solid gaming performance, but for playing movies, listening to music, or surfing the Web.
The Clevo M770CUH is a 17-inch notebook with a slim design and great color scheme. Build quality is superb with a strong body and very rigid plastic panels. We found no flex in any area including the areas around the palmrest and keyboard. Based on our benchmarks, classifying this notebook as a gaming system is probably the wrong thing to do. Compared to other systems on the market, the performance was underwhelming even with a strong processor. Most of the blame in this case rests on the ATI Radeon 4570, which couldn’t keep up with games like Left 4 Dead 2 unless you reduced the resolution or tweaked the detail settings. We feel this notebook fits better with the desktop replacement or multimedia notebook categories where users might not be looking for solid gaming performance, but for playing movies, listening to music, or surfing the Web.
Pros:
- Good design and color scheme
- Very good build quality
- Comfortable keyboard
Cons:
- Low resolution for a 17-inch screen
- Underperforming graphics card
Individual Ratings: *
Software & Support
Upgrade Capabilities
Usability
Design
Performance
Features
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
Software & Support
Upgrade Capabilities
Usability
Design
Performance
Features
* Ratings averaged to produce final score
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