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MagyarNexoc M731 III (Clevo W670RCQ) (i7, GTX 950M) Notebook Review
The Clevo Barebone W670RCQ is an old acquaintance, which we reviewed last in 2014 in the forms of the Schenker B713 (Clevo W670SZQ1) and the Nexoc M731 (Clevo W670SJQ). This time around, we are taking a look at the Nexoc M731III.
The weight, looks, and the build quality have not changed at all - a shame, since there's still room for improvement in our opinion. The silver-gray pattern does much to improve the drabness of the dark-gray plastic, but the flexibility of the lid and optical drive are throwbacks to 2014. The 17-inch notebook, which sells for a price of 1170 Euros (~$1287), looks rather outdated, since many manufacturers now offer brushed metal surfaces or aluminum frame parts, which improve the look and feel significantly.
Experienced notebook buyers might say "you can't have it all" - and of course there's truth to that. What's impressive though is what hardware components Nexoc integrated inside the unassuming exterior: a sixth-generation Skylake Intel Core i7, an upper middle-class GeForce GTX 950M GPU, and a storage combo of a 250 GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO and 1 TB conventional Hitachi hard drive. The notebook doesn't come with an IPS display, but the matte TN panel is very bright with high contrast (972:1) and sRGB coverage of 96%.
The performance of the 6700HQ processor is unquestionably high and matches other notebooks with the same CPU. Our tests revealed a slightly lower performance during the single-core portion of the benchmark, however.
The gaming performance of the GTX 950M lags behind a Radeon R9 M295X or GeForce GTX 960M, but that is to be expected. Compared to the GeForce 940M - which Nexoc also offers for this chassis - the performance plus of 70% is quite significant. Since this is an update review, we didn't check the gaming performance in detail. For more information, please take a look at the spec sheet of the GTX 950M. We recommend taking a look at systems with this GPU and the Haswell 4720HQ, which can be considered the predecessor of the 6700HQ.
Case & Connectivity
Display
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 350 cd/m²
Contrast: 972:1 (Black: 0.36 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 10.17 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 11.58 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
96% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
60% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
65.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
95.5% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
63.8% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.46
Performance
| Cinebench R11.5 | |
| CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Acer Aspire E5-473G-59QT | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Medion Erazer X7841 Pre-Sample | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
| Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) | |
| CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Acer Aspire E5-473G-59QT | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Medion Erazer X7841 Pre-Sample | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
| Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) | |
| Cinebench R15 | |
| CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Acer Aspire E5-473G-59QT | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Medion Erazer X7841 Pre-Sample | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
| Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) | |
| CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Acer Aspire E5-473G-59QT | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Medion Erazer X7841 Pre-Sample | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
| Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) | |
| Cinebench R10 - Rendering Single 32Bit (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Acer Aspire E5-473G-59QT | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
System Performance
| PCMark 7 Score | 5629 points | |
Help | ||
Storage Devices
GPU Performance
| 3DMark 11 | |
| 1280x720 Performance (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Acer Aspire E5-473G-59QT | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
| Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) | |
| 1280x720 Performance GPU (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
| Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) | |
| 1280x720 Performance Physics (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
| Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) | |
| 1280x720 Performance Combined (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Clevo P651RE | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
| Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 4589 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 57367 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 14319 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 2802 points | |
Help | ||
Emissions & Energy
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 34 / 34 / 34.4 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 37.4 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 46.1 / 46.7 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 48.4 °C / 119 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 45.3 °C / 114 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.3 °C / 85 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(±) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 37.9 °C / 100.2 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-9.1 °C / -16.4 F).
Power Consumption
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB | SCHENKER XMG A706 GeForce GTX 960M, 6700HQ, Samsung SSD 850 EVO M.2 250 GB | Acer Aspire E5-473G-59QT GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive | Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) GeForce 940M, 6100H, Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB | Lenovo ThinkPad T550 HD Graphics 5500, 5600U, Samsung SSD PM851 256 GB MZ7TE256HMHP | Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT GeForce GTX 960M, 4720HQ, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3256GD | Alienware 15 (R9 M295X) Radeon R9 M295X, 4710HQ, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-75JC3T0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 15% | 53% | 7% | 69% | -12% | -24% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 9.9 | 5.4 45% | 4.6 54% | 12.7 -28% | 3 70% | 7 29% | 10 -1% |
| Idle Average * | 16.6 | 11 34% | 6.3 62% | 17.8 -7% | 6 64% | 16.5 1% | 15 10% |
| Idle Maximum * | 22.4 | 16.5 26% | 8.8 61% | 19.3 14% | 6.8 70% | 26.1 -17% | 28.2 -26% |
| Load Average * | 81.4 | 77.8 4% | 43.3 47% | 53.9 34% | 24.3 70% | 120 -47% | 117.2 -44% |
| Load Maximum * | 104 | 137.7 -32% | 61.5 41% | 80.5 23% | 30.4 71% | 129 -24% | 165.1 -59% |
* ... smaller is better
| Off / Standby | 0.2 / 0.4 Watt |
| Idle | 9.9 / 16.6 / 22.4 Watt |
| Load |
81.4 / 104 Watt |
   
| |
| Battery Runtime | |
| WiFi v1.3 (sort by value) | |
| Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ) | |
| SCHENKER XMG A706 | |
| Acer Aspire E5-473G-59QT | |
| Nexoc M512 III W650RB (i3,940M) | |
| WiFi (sort by value) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T550 | |
| Acer Aspire VN7-791G-79GT | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Technical update of a tried-and-true concept or new wine in old wineskins? With the M731III (W670RCQ), it might look like Nexoc is placing a bet on an old horse, but we are not talking about a worn-out mare here considering what powerful hardware this 17-inch notebook packs. The standard-voltage Core i7 CPU ranks towards the top of the performance charts - most mainstream gaming notebooks with a GTX 950M GPU usually come with a significantly less powerful 15-watt SoC (e.g. the i7-5500U).
The use of an antiquated chassis - which does a very good job keeping the heat in check - certainly has advantages as far as the price is concerned. Comparatively equipped competing notebooks from large manufacturers can end up costing quite a bit more than the review notebook, which sells for less than 1200 Euros (~$1320).
The most significant disadvantage in our book in this price range is the TN panel. It's not low quality by any means, but the response times just don't justify the older technology. Current IPS panels can already at least match the response times of 32/22. The Clevo barebone also lacks USB-C, which is one of the technical advances of the Skylake CPU-generation.
Nexoc M731III (W670RCQ)
-
10/14/2015 v4(old)
Sebastian Jentsch
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