assalamualaikum and good day all. This here is my personal review for Clevo P670SG aka Illegear S7.

I bought it a week ago and only get to personal pick up at Illegear's office at Empire Damansara on the 31st Jan 2015
the first day that i went there, straight away fell in love with the unit. sleek brushed metal feel. damn nice one. decided for it because the differences in price between 15.6 and 17.3 is not much. it's better for me to go with 17.3. damn nice size also.

Here's the spec for my unit;

ILLEGEAR S7
Details :
Display: 17.3" Full HD Anti-glare Display featuring 72% NTSC Color Gamut (1920 x 1080)
Tune Your Screen: Professional Color Calibration, Guaranteed no dead or partially-lit pixels for first 180 days of purchasing.
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4720HQ (6MB L3 Cache, 2.60GHz)
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M 4GB GDDR5 with Optimus (Maxwell)
Thermal Compound: IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU & GPU (RECOMMENDED)
RAM: 8GB DDR3L RAM 1600MHz - 1 X 8GB
Storage Drive RAID Options: Non-RAID
Primary Drive: 1TB Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drive
Secondary Drive: None
M.2 SSD RAID Options: Non-RAID
Primary M.2 Solid State Drive: None
Secondary M.2 Solid State Drive: None
Wireless Network Card: Killer™ Wireless-AC 1525 M.2 - WLAN & Bluetooth 4.1 Combo
Operating System: Windows 8.1 Professional
Warranty: ILLEGEAR 3 Year Carry-In Warranty
Accessories: ILLEGEAR Backpack & Velvet Sleeve
Custom Painting Services: None
Keyboard Backlight Color: Custom Keyboard Backlight Color
W.A.S.D. Backlight Color: Purple

initially, i wanted to get me a 256gb ssd as the primary os drive and the 1tb sshd as secondary drive. after few days, they told me that mu unit cannot stack both disk drive due to insufficient space as this clevo is a slim type. then i decided to get me 2 x 128gb m.2 ssd to configure raid-0. they told me that it was not compatible with OS installation. want to buy 2 x 256 m.2 ssd is too expensive la... i die wallet explode to bits.

After a deeper thought about it, i decided to get me a 256gb m.2 ssd instead however got no stock. such a waste actually if we buy 128 because 256 is much more cheaper. plus raid-0 will get you into trouble if one of them fails. it's not going to be like you'll be running whole lot of VM too right?

after the unboxing, i forgot that my unit here does not have optical drive. use the lanun windows dvd and use win to flash on my pendrive. installed the windows on my unit through usb drive. Drivers included in the CD provided are adequate.

items concern;
1. GTX980M included drivers give windows scores of 7.3. after being updated through nvidia's website, the score went down to 5.3. however real time test with cod modern warfare 3 with highest setting does not affected

2. keyboard backlight appears to be leaking. is this normal? refer to keyboard pictures attached. if it's normal, i'm cool with it. Somebody please advise on this

3. usb 3.0 drivers given when installed fails to start. after certain experiment with the settings in device manager and several drivers downloaded from the net, everything runs smooth.

4. fingerprint scanner fails to start when installed. solve the issue with the same way as the usb 3.0 issue, all become smooth.

my unit is running really cool. no warm or heat issues at all. load the unit with heavy multitasking opening tabs of browsers, several excel books, words, powerpoint, photoshop, games, playing blu ray video all at the same time, it didn't even reach 70 degrees and everything runs smoothly. these are not even on ssd. couldn't imagine more on what it could do with 512gb ssd.

onkyo speakers plus subwoofer is totally awesome. when i say it's awesome, it really does. no distortion at all even if it runs on maximum volume.

the standard LCD that came with the unit is so freaking awesome. wondering how 4k screen will look like on this if available

Did not have the chance to do benchmark test. will update later on. if you want me to test anything else, let me know.



Games Benchmark;

Settings Used
- All Full HD Resolution
- All Optimal Settings

Battlefield 4 - 100++ FPS
COD Advance Warfare - 100++FPS
DOTA 2 - 100++ FPS
NFS Hot Pursuit - 100++FPS
Crysis 3 - 100++FPS
COD Black Ops II - 100++FPS
Prototype II - 100++FPS
Darksiders II - 100++FPS
COD Ghosts - 100++FPS

Temperatures does not exceed 80 Degree Celsius during gaming in room condition without aircond.


OWNERS LIST;

adibyusoff
boku
WildChai

Drivers Link:
Intel VGA
Realtek Audio
Airplane Mode
Chipset
Card reader
Hotkey
Realtek Lan
Intel Management Engine
Synaptics Driver
Realtek WLAN & BT
Intel 7260 WLAN & BT
Atheros Killer 1525
Intel Rapid Storage
Intel Rapid Start
Fingerprint
Sound Blaster

Windows 8.1 Professional Original Key - Refer to this seller.
Very Cheap plus original some more. Terbaik la bro.
MYR 30.00 Only!!!! Found him at Lelong.
Nicholas Lai

update as of 1st June 2015;
the Illegear backpack has badly damaged. all i carry within the backpack are laptop, power brick, 3 pieces of external hdd, hdmi cable, hdmi to vga cable, some letters, phone charger, mouse, pendrive and other small things. i was surprised that it couldn't handle all the load given.

i've replaced it with Hyper Gear Dry Pac Pro Gold 30L. really feels nice but the price is walawei MYR350. but it's worth it. with the illegear backpack, it felt like i was carrying 30kg worth of load. with the hyper gear, it felt like i'm carrying just the laptop itself. totally worth the money. waterproof some more.

illegear should consider providing laptop owners with something premium such as the Hyper Gear Dry Pac Pro Gold 30L or something such as everki beacon since the laptop price is in the premium category.

This post has been edited by adibyusoff: Jun 1 2015, 10:36 AM

pictures of unit;

This post has been edited by adibyusoff: Feb 2 2015, 04:31 AM

unboxing package;






pictures of display;




This post has been edited by adibyusoff: Feb 5 2015, 02:15 AM

congratulations!

as for SSD, you can always upgrade it later, or buy your own and ask the folks to install, or install on your own (depending on the warranty terms) M2 drives are really expensive!

as for OS, I think you can get the standard price (Rm300?) or maybe cheaper if you're still a student (there are legitimate offers for students of any institutions)

and if windows is blurry, remember to adjust DPI settings in windows control panel! (microsoft's own fault)



add on:
colour profile, read the instructions properly. Else you'll find weird colours.

from time to time, head to Clevo website for updates (if you're using rarrr! version windows)

This post has been edited by hyperyouth_firepower: Feb 2 2015, 06:16 AM

Congratz!!!!
Damm, ILLEGEAR defintely improved a lot!
Kinda wish i jumped the bandwagon later, although i am very statisfied with mine, still alive after 2 yrs of heavy nonstop daily workstation loads. <(I wrecked my WD BLue drive LOLS TOO MUCH WRITE)

Thank you bro. huhuhuhu.

yesss. currently still doing some savings for that 1tb m.2 pcie ssd. wish me luck broooo. huhuhuh.

for os, student price really have meh? sad not a student anymore

the weird colour you said earlier do occur during few startups. gradually over times, the colour become okay till now.

will check clevo website for that. huhuhuhu

btw, i'd like to ask you about the keyboard backlight colour leaking out from individual keys. is that normal bro?

oo yeah brooo. our rigs aren't to be played around. damn expensive one that's why i have to eat maggie. huhuhuuh.

got any 512gb ssd to let go cheap cheap one kah bro??? hehehehehhehehehee

Depends on what you say is leaking. Mine comes preconfigured (from factory) so i'm not sure about yours as either its "changeable" or dead set to only one.

But if there are backlight colour leaking from individual keys, just see if you need it fixed. I haven't got any (or haven't noticed) yet, (touchwood) but of course probably worksmanship issues. Take a picture, and then everyone can see.



edit: Just saw the pictures you uploaded on the keyboard.

The "leak" isn't exactly a leak, so to speak. Even I can see "leak" on my keyboard if I position my viewing angle "properly". Its normal. Nothing to be worried about.

This post has been edited by hyperyouth_firepower: Feb 2 2015, 05:31 PM

according to your picture of keyboard light.. i think it i normal.. my z5 also comes like that..

But my Z5 packaging doesn't come as luxury as yours xD

And no exclusive illegear control panel..
anyway.. Gratz on your unit !!!

The light leak on side of the keyboard key actually make the keyboard look cooler.

If the light is only on the "character" is not cool.. You can't really "feel" the light

Haha yea.. But I tot all backlit keyboard is like that, having a light "leak" at the side of the keycap.. lol
no sure though..

alright bro. i'll just take it as a normal condition though if you say so. thank you bro. any chance for further improvement of my unit? hehehehe

sure normal eh bro? huhuhuhu. if eveybody also said normal then i'll just take it as a normal matter then.

ahahahahahaa. luxury you sure ahhh. huhuhuhuu. same thing only all illegear packaging comes as that. huhuhu.

thank you so much for replying all my questions so far bro. i appreciate that

cooler is it? hehehehe. i'm just worried that it might be a defect.

thank you bro

The hinge looks like a bit worry...

Anyway, a good purchase for GTX980M laptop.

Does your Clevo 670sg suffer from random cpu throttle while playing games ?

I get random cpu throttling when playing Watch Dog. My is from Aftershock

May I know what is your bios version ? Can check bios (press F2) while booting ?

Looks a bit worried right? when you use it in real time, it is rock solid. minimal movement even when you're shaking it hard.

good purchase right? hope that this will last me for years ahead

bios version is 1.03.05RNS1 AMERICAN MEGATRENDS INC.

i do get some stuttering after i updated my nvidia driver to the latest one. re roll the update using included drivers makes everything runs smooth

This post has been edited by adibyusoff: Feb 3 2015, 12:28 AM

At least Illegear provide upgrade service in future in case if you want to upgrade to xx80M

Luckily I dont play 1st person view games, so save a lot of money

technically it depends on the motherboard. A modified BIOS can do most magic, however, its not something you should do within the first two years.

Then again, everything's swap-able. Even the motherboard.

Hi adib,

Your keyboard backlight looks extremely fine.

Nice review btw.

Nop.. the packaging for z5 is different.. it is a lot simpler than ur s7
Still good purchase.. run some game and benchmark.. tell us how cool it can be under full load

all slim model can't be upgraded anymore since the cpu and gpu were soldered on the mobo.

i fwant to upgrade, have to pick the thick model. upgrade also doesn't mean it could be compatible with the mobo

Well, the S7, or in the case of the Clevo model will be the staple for their "all in one mobo" styled thin laptops.

Consider it this way, after 2-3 years, just ugprade the mobo, which means you'll upgrade the CPU and GPU, but you can still get the other stuffs re-used. Heck, you may and can even change the screens (or in this case, re use them) and all the parts that came along)


which should be cheaper overall than buying a brand new s7 version xxyyzz in 3 years time.

Not bad, I should say.

I think changing the mobo + cpu and gpu will cost about RM3k ? Assume you're getting a high end cpu + gpu..
But I still prefer getting a new laptop after 3 years, a fresh start ma XD
The RAM, SSD, HDD and even screen is re-usable also..

True but also depends if the future mobo can fit into current chassis.

We did help some users to upgrade their RE-15 and RE-13 PRO mobo from GTX 765M to GTX 860M. They fit perfectly though.

Yeap that's the only point to note. Assuming if the new MOBO fit into the chassis. Hopefully it does. Its still a win-win for both Illegear and customers, I'll say.

tis laptop boleh main ape2 game???

The S7 comes with GTX970M (3GBVRAM) / GTX980M (4GB VRAM). The lack of RAM is because its a factory spec soldered on, not using MXM card.

I don't see how you can't play games with this.

This post has been edited by hyperyouth_firepower: Feb 11 2015, 07:51 AM

We use 3GB/4GB VRAM in S series to improve the cooling capability.

There are also soldered GPU with 6GB/8GB VRAM in slim form factor for e.g. GIGABYTE P35W and P35X v3.

COD Advance Warfare runs at 150fps with optimal setting sets to full hd.

dual channel your laptop and u can see significant increase in performance while gaming. benchmark with dual channel in web page given.

http://forum.notebooktalks.com/threads/off...763159/page-253

This post has been edited by skan2: Feb 20 2015, 02:43 AM

Thinking of getting this laptop this coming week. Any other reviews/opinions?

this here worth every penny of your pocketbook bro

If you actually can get ALL of the freebies given, for the same price its very good, assuming EVERY freebie is still available

If you can top up to say, RM6000 (since you'll pay for windows 8 unless you've got your own), you'll find the upgrades MUCH more worth it.

e.g: the Hitachi drive (should be a HTS7k1000), which is an exceptional HDD in its own right (you can throw your OS into the 256GB SSD, its worth it)

Get a dual channel RAM instead of the original 4/8GB single channel (8GB on a 2pcs configuration is good enough)

maybe a backlight modification.



And its light too.

Yea I've gone for all that. They mentioned that the killer lan module is having some driver issues and advised me to go for the stock Intel wireless card.

Anyone else having issues with the killer lan card especially with drivers?

Should have no problems, you can Google both the killer and Intel models, and decide. I'm using intelligent 7260 and have no issues, albeit I think they supply the 7265 for the S series which should be better.

Killer module has issue when you use drivers that came with the CD. download latest driver at http://www.killernetworking.com/support/driver-downloads and your problem will be fixed.

My experience with S7 Killer™ Wireless-AC.

The Killer Hardware cannot get detect twice. First time, happen after installing Windows 7 for first time. Installing every Driver from the CD provided. But can't install Killer driver because cannot detect the Hardware. Killer Wireless Adapter Hardware ID is "PCI\VEN_168C&DEV_003E&CC_0280". This was fixed after re-install the Windows and re-install all the drivers, this time can detect the Killer hardware.

Second time happen that the WAN was not working after restarting. Only work if connect to LAN. Again, in Device Manager, the Hardware ID no longer in there. Tried reformat Windows 3 times, each time connect to LAN. At Third time Windows Installation, connect to LAN, suddenly the Hardware ID appear again. (Dun ask me how, it just happened like performing a magic show).

ILLEGEAR has sent this question back to the factory, now waiting their reply on this. At the same time, ILLEGEAR is offering to switch to Intel 7265. But I would like to wait for the answer from the factory before change it.

Hope this info helps.


And I do not think is Driver issue because the Hardware itself can't detect at all. Even there has a correct driver, but cannot detect the Hardware, Windows can't install the driver. At least, this happen to my case.

This post has been edited by skevelim: Feb 24 2015, 05:19 PM

Hi skeve,

Yep we have escalated this issue to the factory

Apparently this issue is related to the compatibility so it doesn't happen in our D series.

Please let us know if you face any disconnection again.

Killer 1525 issue has been fixed on EC 1.03.06 update, please check your EC version in BIOS and you can come back to us for updating your BIOS.

hey there....cool rig. Sorry if i'm hijacking your thread. I want the same spec laptop as yours but just a concern (out of mobile gaming awhile)

Can this laptop or mobo upgrade to the next generation GPU? post 9xx series?

i am concern of upgradability...

thanks

This post has been edited by WildChai: Mar 1 2015, 11:03 PM

no, the GPU is soldered on.



If you want a modular piece, go for the D series (desktop CPU, mobile GPU), the RS series (mobile CPU, mobile GPU) , or the RX series (mobile CPU, dual mobile GPU)

- Double post -

This post has been edited by WildChai: Mar 2 2015, 02:44 PM

Ahhh...thanks. How about future upgradability? would the sockets be compatible? or unknown?

The RS series si-beh thick wooo

That's the trade off. MXM slot adds thickness to the laptop.

RS-17..si beh heavy...4kg. lol..back breaking

Prince J...are you with Illegear or independent? This promo till 5 Mar and time is running out...still looking. And aftershock price is close...very close

Sooo...future upgradeable?

This post has been edited by WildChai: Mar 2 2015, 02:47 PM

Prince J is the rep of ILLEGEAR in this forum.
Aftershock is also using the same Clevo model as ILLEGEAR, but it is based in Sg. ILLEGEAR is Msia brand.
As long as the MXM type you bought is the same as your laptop, it should be upgradable. But do take note other component like RAM may be outdated by the time you want to perform the GPU upgrade.
Eg: you get RS-17 in 2014, after 3 years you upgrade the GPU to new one. But during 2017 maybe a lot of people is using DDR4 ram already, while you're still using DDR3. If you switch your whole mobo to get DDR4, it defeats the purpose of MXM

The thickness is okay, its the weight.

I carry my laptop every day


Everki Titan (bag) = 2KG empty
Laptop + charger + mouse =3KG++ (no more than 3.5)
documents = 1KG? maybe? its as thick as 1 ream of "Double A" A4 paper, or more.


Total? LOL


Yeah, weight matters. But for the performance, okay lah!

Damn.. 1kg of documents.. Why don't just use soft copy XD
haha

No can do. Its all on demand.

Just wondering, anyone have a similar issue laptop illegear S5 (with GTX 980M) shutting down suddenly without any notice?

Watch movie on my laptop (at the same I opened an "Intel Extreme Tuning Utility" to see the CPU Temp).

The laptop just shuts down with no warning notice. It didn't restart automatically.



FYI, I didn't do any overclocking or change the default settings except install the latest update for Windows 8.1, Intel Extreme Tuning Utility & Geforce Nvidia, Install Avast Antivirus, Adobe Creative Suite 6 and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

I didn't run my laptop 24 hours... only 2 hours.


This is typical of an overheating issue??




MODEL: ILLEGEAR S5 WITH NVIDIA Geforce GTX 980M





P/S: My old laptop SONY VAIO.....no problem so far....

This post has been edited by Kenji_Hayashi: Mar 4 2015, 12:04 AM

Hi Kenji,

How many times does this happen? What's the BSOD error code?

Hi WildChai,

I am from Team ILLEGEAR.

Yes promotion is till 5th of March, it's basically an incentive for customers who don't want to get charged for GST April onwards.

Hi, I have told you yesterday...

As per your request, I will test it... will let u know if got problem again..

hi,

want to know why you did not upgrade the ram? 8 is all good?

Probably 16gb dual channel is very expensive. RM300++

8gb ram is more than enough unless you are performing memory intensive tasks like virtualizations, handling big data etc

Well I just explain to him one of the reason
For me 8GB is hardly enough for me. I open Android Studio + Visual Studio already eat up 4GB minimum of ram. Haven't include virtual machine yet. haha

You can try using 8GB first, if it's not enough then come back to us for upgrade

advantage of having a x1 8gb ram stick in it after all eh

no extra freebies ah? will make swiping my credit card a little easier....less sakit.

already discussed with the sales rep...will drop by tomorrow for a touchy feely session and make payment. sticking to 8gb ram also...read some reviews online about ram. during my days of gaming...needed more ram only can churn out more fps.

Ok do drop by and chit chat with us

http://www.illegear.com/getting-here

dropped by the other day...chit chat-ed...contemplated a long time between S5 and S7...finally bought!

Now....just matter of waiting...able to be ready by the date is requested?

Really tough choice between the S5 and S7...weight and screen. Wish the S7 have an IPS upgrade option...THEN it would be the portable gaming laptop!

my s7 also have this issue. all you have to do is just uninstall it. download a fresh new one updated from the net. installed and restart. worked like a charm there bro

s7 if you want to puas hati big screen damn nice. but for accessories a bit issue la. 17.3 inch laptop hard to find accessories. even screen protector been searching for months now but still haven't found one. laptop sleek also hard to find. the laptop sleeve given by illegear is too thin. pretty but thin. huhuhu

my s7 idle mode eats 4gb of ram. even if im doing heavy multitasking it tops out at 6.5gb. got 1.5 gb some more. more than enough la. just need to upgrade to ssd then it'll be tron-like machine

my s7 idle mode eats 4gb of ram. even if im doing heavy multitasking it tops out at 6.5gb. got 1.5 gb some more. more than enough la. just need to upgrade to ssd then it'll be tron-like machine

screen protector? I have never used them before... don't. think I need it since it's not a touch screen.

maybe the sleeve would be a nice idea.

Just collected my laptop. Heavy monster... Patah leher carrying it long.

Bro, where you got your drivers? In case new version out and wanna update. Only place I can find is at the Sager website... Not even on own Clevo website got.

Maybe Prince J can put links to all his laptop drivers on his site. Easier and convenient

Hi WildChai,

There are a few reasons why we didn't put download links online but instead giving drivers DVD in the package.

Anyway, you can send your email to support@illegear.com with your serial number and we will get back to you about the driver links.

No worries bro. Drivers have been updated on my first post. Check it out bro

Thanks man. Managed to get all of them except the fingerprint driver off the sager site.

I realised playing crysis 3 at full settings... Once temp hit very high just before fan kicks in....my fps drops to <10 and after a few seconds jumps back to normal.
Found out it was temperature.... Turn on full fan constantly eliminates this.

really bro?

i've tried playing crysis 3 in normal room and room with air cond. no lags or differences in fps at all bro but the heat is noticeable la. however, the temperature does not reach 80 degree celcius.

i've noticed that max fan starts to kick in every time i play games.

your's is the same as mine right?

better you use windows 8.1 bro. i previously install windows 7. huge difference in performance. 8.1>>7

I am on 8.1 pro. I always play in ac room. Weird.. The temp hits almost 90. prince j

90C is your CPU or GPU temperature? If it's CPU temperature, try to disable Intel Turbo boost.

its the GPU....the temp log below is when playing crysis 3. the fan was set to kick in at 80% when temp hits 60deg. this is the default setting in the Custom option in the Hotkey control center

This post has been edited by WildChai: Mar 17 2015, 02:38 AM


Attached thumbnail(s)

Hi WildChai,

What's your EC and BIOS version?

Bios 1.03.05RNS1
Ec 1.03.06

Hi WildChai,

You can drop your laptop here for us to test the temperature.

gonna be after a few weeks. currently overseas

Bro....still gaming? Come to a point wanna upgrade the SSD...tambah a 128gb just for games. I forgot our lappie can masuk regular Sata SSD or must M.2?

Wow congrats on the buy!
How does the keyboard feels like? just curious.

must M.2 la I think. it can only fit 1 Hybrid drive, 2 slot for M.2