Introduction
Clevo’s 70R line of laptops is an affordable, sub-£800 and sub-2.5kg range of high-performance consumer laptops. They are intended as the heart of corporate fleets.
To stay within that budget, the models have low performance components – an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400T processor running at 2.4GHz, backed up by up to 512MB of DDR2 memory. The screen has a 15.4-inch (250 x 228-pixel) Super-TFT panel, but it lacks a dedicated GPU, relying on integrated Intel graphics. There’s also a small amount of storage space available – a 160GB hard drive and 4GB of internal memory. The standard Blu-ray drive is missing, but there is a 16-inch model available, with a VGA-out.
About clevo NH70
At the front of the Clevo has the usual array of on-board connectors – three USB 2.0 ports and a DVGA port, as well as FireWire, eSATA and VGA-in. The right-hand edge houses the power button, a switch to mute the speakers and an Ethernet port. On the back is the optical drive, two more USB ports, a serial port, and a VGA-out.
Benchmarks
Battery life: 154 minutes
MobileMark 2007: 305
3DMark 2003: 1335
For business users, Windows Vista Business (2GB of memory) is installed, along with the company’s quickStart software, which provides access to Microsoft’s server software. On the display, we found that it wasn’t a bad panel, but not one of the brightest. Brightness of the Super-TFT screen, however, is a major plus.
The Clevo suffers from a number of connectivity shortcomings. There’s no Ethernet port on the top of the case, for instance, and the USB 2.0 ports can only accommodate micro drives. Also absent from the right side is an SD card slot for backing up files, but the left-hand edge features an ExpressCard slot, which can also be used to access hard-drive-based storage.
Specification list of clevo nh70
Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g, 2x USB 2.0, WiDi, HDMI, ExpressCard/SD card reader
Display: 15.4-inch TFT display, WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels), matte finish
Memory: 1GB DDR2 memory, 2GB eMMC
Screen: 15.4-inch, HD Super-TFT screen, 15.4-inch
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400T 2.4GHz processor, Intel GMA HD Graphics 2000
Storage: 160GB hard drive, 4GB system memory
Card reader: ExpressCard/SD card reader
Ports: Four USB 2.0 ports, LAN, 3x VGA, microphone and headphone sockets, FireWire, eSATA, VGA-in, Ethernet port, ExpressCard/SD card reader, 2x mini-HDMI
Dimensions: 360 x 238 x 27mm
Weight: 2.5kg
Maintenance: Five-year extended guarantee
The keyboard, which benefits from a slightly better key action than we’ve seen on rival laptops, provides an acceptable level of travel.
Conclusion
While there are definitely aspects that the Clevo NH70 manages to deliver – such as the strong battery life, DVD playback and a good weight to the chassis – there are also features that ultimately let it down. For instance, it doesn’t come with an optical drive, while the lack of a dedicated GPU hurts the Clevo’s ability to run modern games.
The Clevo is a good-looking and well-made laptop, but if you’re looking for a machine for multimedia use, it’s worth considering some of the other laptops around this price point.
