Both laptops feature different screen sizes, but they share one big similarity, too. Tucked away inside is NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 330M graphics card, also featuring Optimus technology. That means that your computer will automatically optimize your graphics needs, when you need them, making sure that your game plays at its fastest frames per second, and still looks good doing it. It will also extend your battery life, should your next gaming session draw you away from that wall outlet.

Both laptops also feature the ability to shove an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor inside, just for good measure. You can also configure both models to feature upwards of 8GB DDR3 memory. The Clevo B5100M features a 15.4-inch HD display, while the B7100 has a 17.3-inch HD display. They’re available right now for order, so head on through the source link below to start configuring your new toy.

[via AVADirect]

With a laptop like this, the spec sheet is king. Intel’s quadcore Core i7-820QM 1.733GHz processor takes center stage, paired with 4GB of Kingston DDR3 memory and a Seagate Momentus XT 500GB Hybrid hard-drive (that uses 4GB of onboard flash memory to speed up performance). Graphics are courtesy of NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 480M with 2GB of discrete GDDR5 memory, and then there’s a Blu-ray burner, 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD glossy display.

Connectivity includes gigabit ethernet, WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a modem and HDMI, along with S/PDIF digital audio output and analog audio in/out. There’s also a USB 3.0 port, three USB 2.0 ports, eSATA, FireWire, DVI-I, an ExpressCard 54/34 slot and a multiformat memory card reader.

As for the chassis it’s all packed into, Clevo have sensibly avoided go-faster stripes and outlandish graphics. Instead the W880CU is relatively sober, dominated by the large 16:9 aspect display (with a 2-megapixel webcam above it) and a full-sized chiclet style keyboard. Build quality for the hefty 4kg machine is very high, surpassing Alienware machines in our opinion, with great keyboard spacing and a tactile, responsive multitouch trackpad. Clevo has squeezed in not only four speakers but a subwoofer, too.

First things first: performance. We kicked off with Geekbench, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance, and the Clevo W880CU scored a healthy 6490. That’s almost 200 points higher than Apple’s Core i7-620M dualcore MacBook Pro. We then turned to PCMark to put the 2D/3D graphics and multimedia performance of the W880CU through its paces. Overall, the Clevo score 6445 PCMarks, with stand-out categories being gaming (8453), productivity (7240) and music (6623).

It’s also worth remembering that the W880CU’s everyday performance will likely improve somewhat over time, thanks to the Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid hard-drive. As we found when we reviewed the Momentus XT a few weeks back, its so-called Adaptive Memory technology learns to prioritize commonly accessed programs and data, shifting them into its 4GB of flash memory for speedier recall. That’s the sort of thing that won’t show up in regular Geekbench testing, but will definitely be noticeable in everyday use; for instance, we found after a few reboot cycles in our Momentus XT Hybrid review, Windows 7 ended up booting in just half the time.

Clevo and AVADirect bill the W880CU as a gaming notebook, and unsurprisingly it’s a strong performer when it comes to the sort of modern titles most notebooks might blanch at. The NVIDIA GPU is easily capable of full-framerate play, and with the sort of hardware that a decent desktop wouldn’t be ashamed of – together with great keyboard action – the W880CU doesn’t disappoint.

As for multimedia performance, the W880CU’s Blu-ray drive and surround-sound speakers do a decent job. We saw no ghosting while watching high-definition action footage, and both viewing angles and brightness are impressive. Unfortunately sound doesn’t quite live up to the visuals, with audio being crisp but – despite the subwoofer – a little lacking on the low end. Still, given the space Clevo have to work with, it’s probably expecting too much for true home theater audio from a laptop.

It feels almost criminal to use the Clevo for everyday browsing and email duties, but of course it handles them without breaking a sweat. Windows 7 Home Premium’s HTPC functionality was also welcome, though the internal TV tuner card option wasn’t fitted to our review unit. The W880CU is supplied admirably bloatware-free, which is very welcome in a world where most Windows machines arrive overloaded with trials and demos.

The W880CU’s main shortcoming is its battery life, with Clevo estimating a mere 90 minutes of unplugged runtime with the NVIDIA GPU active. In practice, that estimate is pretty accurate with general use; if you’re trying to do any serious gaming then expect it to dip beneath 60 minutes. Really, this is a portable desktop replacement rather than a laptop in the traditional sense, something you can realistically move to another room or the nearest LAN party but not intended for gaming on the go.

Its likely audience is well aware of that, however, and prioritizes performance over battery longevity. They’ll probably also dip further into the customization options: as well as the TV tuner you can specify a second hard-drive with optional RAID setup, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, CPUs up to Intel’s Core i7-940XM, and even what thermal compound is used. Altogether it’s relatively straightforward to come up with a machine that makes the $2,975.26 sticker price of our review unit look halfway to a bargain.

For most, the Clevo W880CU is overkill. Everyday tasks are just as easily performed on machines less than half the price, while the gaming experience can be ostensibly similar on significantly more affordable rivals. Nonetheless, with its combination of sturdy build, quietly confident styling and hardware not just sufficient for today’s breed of high-end games but titles around the corner too, we can’t help but find the W880CU appealing. Niche, certainly; expensive, undoubtedly; but the Clevo makes perhaps the strongest case to date for bypassing a traditional desktop PC.

Both the G51JX-3D and W860CU 3D have 15.6-inch HD displays and NVIDIA graphics cards – a GeForce GTS 360M 1GB on the ASUS and a GeForce GTX 285M 1GB on the Clevo – while the former gets up to 6GB of DDR3 memory and the latter up to 8GB.  The ASUS is outfitted with a Core i7-720QM processor as standard, but there’s more flexibility with the Clevo: that can have any of a range of Core i5 and i7 chips, together with optional SSDs.

Both systems come with a pair of 3D Vision glasses, and the Clevo can be custom painted (for a fee).  The ASUS G51JX-3D starts at around $1,600, while the Clevo W860CU 3D starts at around $1,800.

Press Release:

AVADirect Introduces Two New 3D Gaming Notebooks

AVADirect, a recognized leader in the computer industry, introduces two innovative 3D notebooks to its lineup of mobile platforms.

Just like the latest movies and televisions, notebooks are evolving from 2D to 3D. Powered by revolutionary NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ technology, hundreds of games, photos, movies, and websites can now be experienced in 3D today! Both the Clevo W860CU 3D and the ASUS G51JX-3D have all of the components necessary for 3D Vision™ integrated into a sleek, portable form factor. With the included pair of high-tech active shutter glasses, users can now experience crystal-clear 3D wherever and whenever they want.

The Clevo W860CU 3D 3D features a 15.6” HD display and blazing fast NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. Users can choose from the latest Intel® core i5 and i7 mobile CPUs and customize nearly every other facet of their 3D notebook, including the addition solid state drives,custom paint, and up to 8GB’s of superfast 1333mhz DDR3 ram. Pricing for the new Clevo W860CU 3D starts around $1800.

The Asus G51JX-3D features a 15.6″ HD display and a super-capable GeForce® GTS 360M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. This is coupled with an Intel® Core i7-720QM processor and a massive 6GB’s of DDR3 ram. Pricing for the Asus G51JX-3D starts around $1600.

Both notebooks come with all the components necessary for 3D Vision™, and are entirely compatible with 3D Vision™ Ready desktop monitors and projectors.

“Thanks to this impressive 3D technology, and our commitment to innovation, we are able to offer our customers the ultimate mobile 3D experience,” says Misha Troshin, CMO and Co-Owner of AVADirect.

There’s also a huge range of storage choices, from a measly 160GB HDD through to triple-bay HDD/SSDs in optional RAID configurations.  Other options include Blu-ray burners, Bluetooth (to go along with the WiFi a/b/g/n), various sound cards and TV tuners, while a 3-megapixel webcam and four built-in speakers are standard.

Connectivity includes S-Video, DVI, VGA, FireWire, USB 2.0 and audio in/out, and you can even have the D900F painted in various custom colors.  A maxed-out Clevo D900F could easily set you back several thousand dollars, so choose your options wisely.

There’s also room for three hard-drives – which can be set up in RAID 0 or 1 configurations – together with more connectivity than you may have cables for.  As well as HDMI, DVI and VGA video outputs there are three USB 2.0, FireWire, eSATA and gigabit ethernet, audio in/out (including a separate S/PDIF port), ExpressCard 34/54 and an input for the TV tuner antenna.  Wireless options include WiFi a/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

A 2-megapixel webcam and five integrated speakers round out this gaming behemoth, as well as some nifty user-customizable color changing LEDs.  The Clevo X8100 kicks off at $2,496.81, but that’s liable to go sky-high when you start getting option-happy.

What we do know about the mysterious machine is that it’s intended as a cost-effective – and more functional – alternative to a cheap netbook.  Based on AMD’s M690G chipset, they have a full-sized keyboard, optical drive and webcam.

Price, model number and full specifications are still unknown, as is release date and whether the rest of us will ever get a chance to paw over the notebooks.  AMD have kicked off a new “channel blog” where they comment on the Clevo machines, but still manage to do so without telling us anything we’d actually like to know.

Video demo

The Toshiba dynabook SS RX2/WAJ is perhaps the most interesting of the three, with a Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor paired with a capacious (and expensive) 512GB SSD.  It will go on sale in Japan at the end of July, priced around 438,000 yen ($4,444).

Meanwhile the Samsung NC10 WiMAX gets a 10.2-inch 1024 x 600 display, Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard-drive. As well as the WiMAX there’s WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, plus a 1.3-megapixel webcam and 6-cell battery.  It’s listed with an MRSP of $519.99.

Finally, the Clevo M811L is physically designed to resemble a book, and has the usual netbook hardware.  No word on exact specifications, pricing nor availability.

Clevo M811L Netbook with WiMAX:

[via Akihabara; via Gadgetmix]

Lazion reviewed the TN70M in the shape of the rebadged Hansung Sparq M7(parts one and two), finding it to be a reasonable machine with plenty of upgrade flexibility.  While the chassis as a whole might be small, there’s ready access to the RAM, 1.8-inch hard-drive and PCIe Mini card slot.

For the price - $520 pre tax - it’s going to present an interesting challenge to the Viliv S7.  Mobilx apparently have stock of the TN70M in now, and the first batch of orders have been shipped.

[via UMPC Portal]

Video demo after the cut

Other specifications include up to 1GB of RAM, an accelerometer for screen orientation changes, two USB 2.0 ports, VGA, audio in/out and ethernet, plus a 5-in-1 memory card reader.  There’s also an ExpressCard slot and internal MiniCard slot.  A webcam is optional, as is a fingerprint reader, and the battery is a 4-cell 5,200mAh pack .

According to Clevo’s own product page, the Intel Atom Z540 1.86GHz CPU is an option; however it’s only the Z520 version that has gone on sale through importers mobilx.  It’s priced at $623.64, though that doesn’t include WWAN.

[via nDevil]

MSI’s model is expected to slot into the X-Slim X340 range and is codenamed the MS-135X.  It has a 13.4-inch display and uses the Celeron 723 processor and GS40 chipset; integrated WiMAX will be an option, and shipments are expected in June.  Clevo will also use the Celeron 723 and GS40 in their two models: the W8x0V has a choice of 13.3-inch or 14-inch display, while the R130x has a 13.3-inch panel, and production will begin in August and June, respectively.

Meanwhile ECS will use the Celeron 723/GS40 pairing for its 13.3-inch ECS 130 model, hitting mass production in August, and the 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo SU9600 and GS45 chipset in their T30, production of which kicks off in June.  Compal will have their own 13.3-inch ultraportable, codenamed NTUCO, about which little is known aside from the production schedule, which begins in September.

Pegatron have already demonstrated their CULV notebooks, the 13.3-inch DC3e, RX8 and DC2, as have Mitac with their 13.3-inch 9213 and 12-inch 9212 (which both use the SU9400 CPU and GS45 chipset).  However Mitac will follow that in June with the 13.3-inch 9223, which has the SU2700 processor and GS40 chipset.

As well as the 1024 x 600 touchscreen, D-pad controller and integrated speakers, there’s Bluetooth 2.0 and a fingerprint reader for security.  Clevo were showing the device with an attached hand-strap, which fits over the hand like a glove and allows for use of the device when walking.

No word on pricing for the touchscreen slate, but we’re expecting it to hit the market in early Q3 2009.  We’re hoping to have more specification details today.

As you might guess, this makes it very much a desktop replacement rather than an ultraportable.  That’s given Clevo room to slot in an HD-friendly 17.1-inch WUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD and a TV tuner, together with an HDMI output, Dual-Link DVI and eSATA, among plenty of others.  There’s also a Blu-ray burner.

Buyers will be able to choose between Intel’s  2.66, 2.93 or 3.2GHz Core i7 CPU, while RAM for the D900F is Intel’s Turbo memory with up to 8GB of DDR3 available.  Users will be able to choose between RAID 0, 1 or 5 for the three drives.  No word on pricing, but expect it to be expensive when it lands in Q4 2009.

You can have up to 4GB of DDR2 packed inside, it has GM965 graphics built in, and both the HDD and the optical drive are changeable. The HDD is a SATA HDD (no size mentioned) and you can also have an Intel Turbo Memory module installed for Windows Vista.

It has a touch pad as well as a stylus for use on the screen and it does handwriting recognition and auto complete on the fly. It has a 7-in-1 card reader, and ExpressCard 54/34 card slot and 2 mini-card slots. Those mini-card slots can be used for wireless agn or abg, USB, PCI-E, or Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. You can also get a fingerprint scanner, a 1.3 or 2 megapixel camera built in, and you can also get 3.5G UMTS/HSDPA built in. No word on price, but they are available now, and they have offices in the US, UK, Germany, China, and Taiwan.