New laptop time! - Page 3

Originally Posted by SadistBlinx 

@ msremmert,
I have the Clevo P150EM (Extremely similar to the P170EM, just minus 1x bay slot and bios overclocking) ....Yes its possible to OC the non EE mobile cpus, Well at least in the Clevo P170EM's in AUS
You can see in my SigRig the specs, The Clevo was an upgrade from my Vostro 1500 that i have been using for years, kinda like what you are doing so i understand the hours and hours of research
Now I'm unsure if you have read any of the AnandTech reviews but there has been some issues with the ATI GPU's as you were worried about (Sorry fan boys i got burned by ATI thats why i paid the extra $$ for my 680M without thinking twice)
These links are mostly about the switchable graphics, performance etc. I am aware that these articles are somewhat dated now to the driver versions that are out so i am not 100% sure what was 'fixed'.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6243/amds-enduro-switchable-graphics-levels-up
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6343/avadirect-clevo-p170em-amds-hd-7970m-got-game
The 3820QM is around the same speed as a 2600k so i have not found any CPU bottlenecks as of yet, Friend with the same laptop opted for the 3610QM and i can hardly tell the CPU performance difference for normal use and games, only noticeable on benchmarks. So imo you should be fine with the 3630QM
(My 3820QM and my friends 3610QM have been replaced with faster models for the same price, around 100mhz faster)
The drivers so far for the 680M have been pretty rock solid, I used the beta driver 304.79 for a while until the 306.97 WHQL came out the other week. I really enjoy the 'Nvidia Optimus' support for the seamless DGPU to IGPU switching keeps my laptop even cooler and provides more battery.
Now i can highly recommend the Clevo laptop range but i will admit they are not perfect.
ISSUES
The DVI output on the laptop is only SINGLE LINK not DUAL,
The speakers are pretty crap tbh but i normally use 5.1 surround from the output on the side,
The Keyboard has a limited key push hardware problem that i have found, I can get the keyboard and touch pad to lock up until i release keys that are pushed on the keyboard. Combination of W +E + Space bar will do it every other time. (I use external USB keyboard and a USB mouse, so this really is not that big of deal for me)
INTERNAL mSATA - The sata port speed is not SATA 6 Gbit/s is it actually SATA 3 Gbit/s. Now even with this Sata limitation that the mSata SSD i have my OS installed on is stupidly fast and real world performance has been fantastic with it 7.8WEI, (If that means anything to you)
The P150EM is possible to RAID between the internal 2.5" bay and the ODD bay (I have the bay drive that lets me insert a hdd), The only down side is that the speed will be reduced because the ODD runs on Sata 3 Gbit/s. (CANNOT RAID FROM THE MSATA TO THE 2.5" BAY)
This will only effect you on the P170EM if you choose to use the ODD to put a HDD into and then RAID with the 2x 2.5' bays and the ODD - HDD placement. So not specifically a major issue, its just one that people don't normally think about if they want more storage into a laptop.
I don't believe the e-Sata port has a 'port multiplier' on it either so it will not detect more than one drive in an esata enclosure, but i don't know of any laptops that do have a built in port multiplier so not specifically a con on Clevo.
Overall i would recommend the first option you had in mind with the Nvidia 680M, its extremely fast.
Get a 265GB or 128Gb m-Sata as an OS drive, than get one or two 1tb 2.5" mechanical drives for storage, or the 750GB versions (7200RPM)
The Bluray drive would be nice /Envy from me as I cannot have that as a viable option because of the lack of a 2.5' bay i use the ODD port for additional hdd
RAM wise..You could most likely find some of the "corsair Vengeance CMSX8GX3M1A1600C10 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 SODIMM" Ram sets, It's only $55 on AU, im not sure the price for a single 8Gb stick in the UK tho ><<br /> It's a shame that on the website you first provided they don't offer the 72% Gamut Matte screen or the 90% Gamut Gloss options. When i got my P150EM i went with the 95% Gamut Matte screen, I can say by far that its the best looking screen i have ever used, Way better than any other internal laptop screen i have seen. Plus i love the Matte screen finish no more glare of death!
If you have got any questions just send me a PM and i will try to answer as best i can.
PS. the 680m overclocks like hell.
http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/Sadistblinx/Pc%20pics/HeavenCpuzGpuz.png (Note this is default clocks) i will upload OC ones when i have time, i'm swamped with work atm haha