Easy serviceability has always been a hallmark of the Clevo chassis. The bottom panel is secured by 13 screws and a Philips screwdriver is all that is needed for it to pop right off. Users have direct access to most major components including the cooling system, all storage bays, two SODIMM slots, internal battery, and both WLAN and WAN M.2 slots. Additional disassembly is required to access the other two SODIMM slots on the other side of the motherboard. 

Keyboard

The full-size keyboard (34.5 x 10.5 cm) is softer in feedback than initially expected and exhibits low clatter as a result. It's not necessarily poor especially if users prefer a quieter typing experience, but individual keys feel spongier than on the XPS 15 and could have been firmer.

Full RGB backlighting is available and is split into three separate zones. We hope to see individually-lit RGB keys from more Clevo barebone systems as this is becoming common amongst enthusiast gaming notebooks.

Touchpad

The adequately-sized (11.0 x 6.5 cm) trackpad is larger than on the Alienware 15 R3 and has a smooth glide with a firm surface that barely yields to applied pressure. Its onscreen cursor is responsive with no jittering and can recognize up to four-finger gestures. We especially appreciate that the trackpad has defined edges and corners unlike on the completely flushed trackpad of the GT72 series. Overall, the trackpad works as one would expect with no notable issues. Some lighting options around the perimeter would have been a neat aesthetic addition.

The dedicated mouse keys are deeper in travel than on most gaming notebooks with softer and quieter feedback when pressed. The plastic keys feel slightly spongy as a result, but we still prefer this over systems with integrated clickpads.

Color coverage is approximately 87 percent and 57 percent of the sRGB and AdobeRGB standards, respectively. This is very similar to the LG Philips panel on the Predator 15 and is indicative of a high-end TN panel. While relatively unimportant for gaming, certain manufacturers like Gigabyte and Razer offer wider color gamuts for deeper and potentially more accurate colors. 

Further measurements with an X-Rite spectrophotometer reveal very inaccurate grayscale and colors prior to any calibration efforts. Color temperature is much too cool against the sRGB standard and all colors are negatively impacted. The display improves dramatically after calibration with a low DeltaE average as shown by our CalMan measurements below. Blue and orange colors are represented slightly less accurately than others.

Outdoor visibility is acceptable when under shade due to the matte panel and brighter-than-expected backlight. The narrow TN viewing angles and 140-degree hinges are not as impactful to the experience since glare is not a huge issue. This all changes if using the notebook under direct sunlight as colors and glare become more washed out and apparent, respectively, even when the display is to maximum brightness. Still, we can't imagine anyone using the Sky MX5 R3 under sunlight for too long as it was not built to be an outdoors machine.

CPU performance is underwhelming as scores for the i7-7820HK in the Eurocom are lower than other systems sporting the same processor even after repeat runs. For example, the similarly equipped Alienware 17 R4 handily outperforms our SKy MX5 R3 SKU by about 10 percent in both single-thread and multi-thread CineBench workloads. The reason for the below average scores is the processor's inability to maintain very high Turbo Boost speeds as detailed in our Stress Test section below. Running CineBench Multi-Thread in a loop will result in steadily falling scores for the first couple of runs before plateauing in the 740 range. In comparison, the Alienware 17 R4 CPU is able to maintain maximum speeds under similar testing conditions.

Overall performance is subsequently not unlike the much cheaper i7-7700HQ and so users who have no intention of overclocking the i7-7820HK will be better off saving themselves a couple hundred Dollars. Meanwhile, enthusiasts who want even more performance can consider the Sky X7E2 and its desktop i7-7700K for a 20 percent increase in raw CPU power.

See our dedicated CPU page on the Core i7-7820HK for more technical information and benchmarks.

PCMark 8 scores are essentially identical to the Acer Predator 15. We've also provided PCMark 10 scores below without any comparisons as the benchmark is only a few weeks old. Our Eurocom test unit ran without any notable software or hardware glitches when gaming or web browsing.

3DMark benchmarks show the mobile GTX 1070 performing nearly the same as our reference GTX 1070 desktop build. Thus, we can confirm no hidden under-clocking or power impediment that manufacturers like Razer may employ in order to fit GPUs onto thinner designs. Users moving up from the Maxwell GTX 980 can expect a raw performance boost of 40 percent while going one step higher to the GTX 1080 will bring a 20 percent performance boost over the GTX 1070.

See our dedicated review on the GTX 1070 for more technical details and comparisons.

We stress the notebook in High Performance mode in order to identify for any potential throttling or stability issues. When under Prime95 load to stress the processor, clock rates will sustain a maximum of 3.5 GHz only for the first minute or so before falling to a steady 3.1 GHz. This observation is in line with our steadily decreasing CineBench loop scores from above and is very disappointing to see in a gaming notebook. The i7-7820HK CPU itself is rated for a base clock rate of 2.9 GHz and a multi-thread Turbo Boost of up to 3.5 GHz, so a steady clock rate of only 200 MHz above the base is definitely not impressive. Processor temperature remains relatively low for a gaming notebook in the 73 C range.

Running FurMark to stress the GTX 1070 will bring GPU temperature to a steady 77 C. Perhaps more interestingly, running both Prime95 and FurMark will inexplicably lift the CPU clock rate to its maximum 3.5 GHz. Perhaps the notebook automatically switches to a "Turbo Mode" once heavy GPU activity is detected as we were able to repeat this phenomenon with the same results. Note, however, that CPU temperature will scale up to 96 C to be dangerously close to the ~100 C safe operating limit of the Kaby Lake processor. Thus, users who choose to overclock the CPU may not have much headroom given the record temperatures.

Witcher 3 is more representative of gaming loads and core temperatures can be observed stabilizing in the mid-to-high 70 C range. The CPU will only boost when needed while the GPU maintains a clock rate of 1670 MHz compared to its base of 1480 MHz.

Running on batteries will severely limit both CPU and GPU performances. A 3DMark Fire Strike test on battery power returns Physics and Graphics scores of 5407 and 11567 points, respectively, compared to 11201 and 18373 points when on mains.

The cooling solution consists of triple 50 mm fans and six heat pipes between them. As usual, the GPU and its surrounding GDDR5 VRAM modules take up the bulk of the cooling.

Fan noise is a mixed bag due largely to the fact that the fans are very sensitive to onscreen loads. If idling on desktop on Power Saver, the fans are barely audible over ambient noise. Light loads like browsing or video playback will ramp fans up to 35 dB(A) regardless of the power profile. The fans become even more sensitive if on the High Performance profile and so we highly recommend setting Windows to Power Saver and the GPU to "Optimal power" if word processing, checking email, or streaming movies. Otherwise, the pulsing fans will be bothersome during day-to-day use and the fans themselves will take longer than usual to fall back down to quieter RPMs.

Gaming loads as represented by 3DMark06 and Witcher 3 show a steady fan noise of 47 dB(A) to be significantly louder than many competing notebooks like the Predator 15 and GT62VR. While the low 40 dB(A) range is somewhat more tolerable, the higher 40 dB(A) range can be very distracting especially when playing quieter titles. Headphones are definitely recommended for a better gaming experience.

The less expensive i7-7700HQ configuration is not overclockable and has a chance to run cooler and quieter than our i7-7820HK SKU.

A very small hint of electronic noise can be heard if placing an ear directly next to the keyboard. Otherwise, it is essentially unnoticeable during regular use.

Surface temperatures when idling are noticeably warmer around the keyboard keys than the frontal palm rests and trackpad by about a few degrees C. If running very high loads, the palm rests remain cool while the rear quadrants above the top of row keyboard keys can reach 50 C. Users are less likely to touch these hot spots and we don't find the hot surfaces to be of any concern when gaming. Due to the placement of the CPU directly underneath the WASD keys, however, the left side of the keyboard will be significantly warmer then the NumPad and this is generally unfavorable when playing games. Excess heat exhausts through two sets of ventilation grilles on the left and rear edges of the notebook. Temperature development on the Eurocom is not as symmetrical as on the Alienware 15 or MSI GT62VR, but it is at least cooler on average than the super-thin and less powerful MSI GS63VR.

The 2 W stereo speakers are disappointing in both sound quality and maximum volume. Bass is underrepresented as shown by our microphone measurements below likely due to the lack of a dedicated subwoofer. The SKy X7E2, for example, exhibits a wider and more stable pink noise graph than the less balanced MX5 R3. Fortunately, higher volume settings will not introduce any static or reverberate the palm rests since the speakers are located towards the rear of the notebook instead of the front edge.

The same ESS Sabre HiFi DAC as found on the MSI GS and GT series is also here on the Eurocom to support professional-grade headphones. Mainstream users will likely not take notice, but streamers and audiophiles will appreciate the wider impedance range and higher SNR.