Review Clevo P150SM (One K56-4N) Barebones Notebook

Since Intel's Haswell generation has been on the market for a while, we will only briefly describe it.

Besides Hyperthreading, which simulates virtual cores, the majority of the 22 nm family features automatic over-clocking called Turbo Boost. The clock rate of the reviewed Core i7-4700MQ ranges from 2.4 to 3.4 GHz. Furthermore, the quad-core CPU features six MB L3 cache and a TDP of 47 Watts (dual-core CPUs: maximum of four MB and 37 Watts).

The integrated DirectX 11 capable HD Graphics 4600 is also noteworthy. It is not surprising that the One K56-4N features AMD's Enduro technology, which ensures moderate power consumption while idle. If you select an Nvidia GPU, you will get a more mature graphics switcher with Optimus. 

Currently, the Samsung 840 EVO is very popular among notebook and PC manufacturers. This is not surprising since it delivers first-class performance for a reasonable price.

The 500 GB model, which is used in our test model, shines in nearly all aspects. Be it the performance with small files or the sequential read and write rates, maximums of 508 and 493 MB/s hint of ultra modern innards. Many 2.5-inch competitors only achieve maximum write rates of 300-400 MB/s (e.g., the 840 Basic in the One K73-3N). The AS SSD benchmark displayed access times of 0.09 and 0.03 ms, which is a usual value for the 840 EVO (compare to the Notebookguru Earth V).

As mentioned above, the One K56-4N is optionally also available with mSATA SSD and/or HDD. Both combined will bring the advantages of both worlds, i.e. high performance (Windows on SSD) and big storage capacity (data on HDD).

The Radeon R9 M290X performs very well in gaming. Unless you run demanding games like Crysis 3, the 15-incher can also handle maximum details and active anti-aliasing. The graphics chip achieved more than 30 fps in 11 of 14 games with our ultra settings. A few years ago, only a dual GPU solution could achieve this.

As expected, the R9 M290X is exactly on par with the old HD 8970M. It is about 30% faster than the GeForce GTX 770M, while the GeForce GTX 780M performs just under 10% better. Unfortunately, the driver of the new generation does not work flawlessly. Although the R9 M290X is nearly identical to the predecessor, we had to struggle with various bugs, which we have already observed for months or years. A short list:

• Sometimes the graphics card crashes after booting with the error message “the display driver has [...] recovered”. Rebooting usually fixes this problem.
• SPECviewperf 12 hangs at a certain scenario.
• The OpenGL test of the Cinebench R15 also crashed with an error message.
• Far Cry 3 produces strange shades in DirectX 11 mode. Frame rates were much too low in DirectX 9 mode.
• Guild Wars 2 ran much too slowly despite correct Enduro settings.
• We could not get F1 2013 running at all (according to the task manager the game was opened, but it was not displayed).
• Thief only reached the expected performance in the second benchmark run. We faced the same problem with the Notebookguru Earth V.

We used the preinstalled GPU driver version 13.151.0.0 in our test, which is no longer up-to-date. The barebones manufacturer Clevo should upgrade drivers more often. We did not manually upgrade the driver because of bad experiences (see review of the Radeon HD 8970M). Too bad, AMD did not master the driver problem. There are hardly any AMD notebooks running without problems...

An important advantage of the loud fans is the cool case surfaces. Average temperatures of 26 °C (78.8 °F) while idle and of 33 °C (91.4 °F) after prolonged stress are impressive and are oriented towards the Schenker W503's, which was equipped with a Core i7-4800MQ and a GeForce GTX 765M in our test. Most of the competitors get significantly hotter. Even thick 17-inch devices like the Toshiba Qosmio X70 often reach higher temperatures. It is especially noteworthy, that the palm rests even remained below 30 °C (86 °F) after one hour under full load. A maximum of 39 °C (102.2 °F) close to the fans is also moderate.

Despite hotter temperatures inside, you do not need to worry about the components. Since the cooling system runs at maximum speed as soon as CPU and GPU temperature reach about 80 °C (176 °F), the critical level of 90-100 °C (194-212 °F) is not exceeded. While the Core i7-4700MQ had a temperature of 75-80 °C (167-176 °F) after our stress test (according to CPUID HWMonitor), the Radeon R9 M290X reached about 78 °C (172.4 °F), while the core clock erratically fell to 450 MHz (for a few seconds).

Considering the enormous performance the battery life is acceptable. With minimum brightness, up to 4.5 hours are possible while idle. Most buyers will also be satisfied with 3.5 hours Internet surfing via Wi-Fi (70% brightness). Since the Classic test of the Battery Eater Classic ended after above two hours, a similarly long gaming session should be possible.

Everything remained the same: This sentence fits perfectly to the Clevo P150 SM (One K56-4N). By that, we not only mean the performance of the Radeon R9 M290X, but also the relatively simple P150SM barebones. Despite a rather thick design (above four centimeters; ~1.6 inches) and the failed rubberized touchpad, the chassis performs well.

Hardly any high-end notebook can be maintained and upgraded as easily. Further pros are the keyboard with several light zones, low temperatures and various interfaces. The lack of glossy elements is also positive in use. It is also not a matter of course that the One comes without bloatware and that the customer can configure it in detail.

Meanwhile, Clevo should improve the sound and fan control. Regardless whether idling or in 3D mode: in our opinion, the P150SM barebones is too loud. In addition, it struggles with temporary driver problems. Meanwhile, we doubt that AMD will ever produce a flawless version. The performance is poor and error messages come up: Compared to Nvidia, the drivers appear quite immature. The best and fastest hardware is useless like this. To summarize, if you want to play without problems, you had better take a GeForce. Reviews of the GTX 870M and the GTX 880M are already planned.

Note: The Clevo 150M (One K56-4N) was one of the first notebooks we tested with our new and noticeably harder rating system (v4 instead of v3). In the past, the total rating would have been 86%. Generally, the ratings should differ more greatly in the future. We e.g. introduced a sound category.