Mobile workstation needed

[Siddhartht]

Yeah, I'm not too sure of the quality of the 1080p screen on the ThinkPad since it is a TN panel and there are hardly any reviews of it. Thinking of dropping down the processor to a 4710mq and upgrading to the 3K IPS screen, but then I have heard of Windows having text scaling issues with very high resolutions (I'm a developer, so I'll be staring at text all day).

Check for the review on notebook check. Also, you can try contacting Dell about their M2800 workstation. Pretty solid entry level offering near 1K.

 

[bikramjitkar]

Kahaani mein twist!

After seeing the new Thinkpad X1 Carbon, I'm in love. I don't really need all that raw power of a workstation most of the time and may have to travel a bit this year. The new XPS 13 also looks amazing, but the Thinkpad just looks so pro. Almost settled for the 1080p, i5, 8GB, 256 gig SSD model.

 

[Siddhartht]

Kahaani mein twist!

After seeing the new Thinkpad X1 Carbon, I'm in love. I don't really need all that raw power of a workstation most of the time and may have to travel a bit this year. The new XPS 13 also looks amazing, but the Thinkpad just looks so pro. Almost settled for the 1080p, i5, 8GB, 256 gig SSD model.

More than a twist; this is a complete rewrite. A word of caution. You can forget virtual machines with good performance on Carbon.....and all GPGPU acceleration Firepro/Quadro can give.

 

[$hadow]

Kahaani mein twist!

After seeing the new Thinkpad X1 Carbon, I'm in love. I don't really need all that raw power of a workstation most of the time and may have to travel a bit this year. The new XPS 13 also looks amazing, but the Thinkpad just looks so pro. Almost settled for the 1080p, i5, 8GB, 256 gig SSD model.

I would still insist on carbon X1 2015. Will be getting one foe my Dad as well.

 

[bikramjitkar]

Ok, so I got a call from Azom (AZOM SYSTEMS) today. I had almost decided upon the Thinkpad W541 cos the Carbon was a bit too light on power. The Azom guy seemed to be quite knowledgeable and courteous, and sent me the following quote for their base model:

Laptop - Exigo
Display - 15.6” Full-HD 1920x1080 16:9 Matte (anti-glare)
CPU - Intel Haswell i7 4710MQ 4C 8T 6 MB 2.5-3.5 GHz
GPU - NVIDIA GTX 870M 3GB GDDR5
RAM - Patriot Viper 2x8GB 1600MHz DDR3
Wireless - Intel Wireless-N 7260 2x2 + Bluetooth 4.0
Sound - Onkyo 2xspeaker, 1xsubwoofer, Sound Blaster Xi-Fi MB3
Card Reader - 9-in-1 MMC/SD/MS
Storage1 - mSATA 128GB SSD
Storage2 - SATA 500GB 5400rpm HDD
Optical - DVD/CD RW
Keyboard - Backlit
Camera - 2 MP HD
Battery - 8 cell

Operating System - Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit

Price - 92,600/- plus tax @5% VAT
Warranty - 1 year

Also, apparently they have their warehouse and main office in Kolkata (where I live), so replacement parts and service should not be an issue. A demo can be arranged, and I can monitor the build process too. They also do custom laser etching.

Thoughts?

 

[SaiyanGoku]

^ Ask them to bump up the HDD to 1 TB without extra cost. Even 30k laptops have it as a standard.

 

[bikramjitkar]

^ Ask them to bump up the HDD to 1 TB without extra cost. Even 30k laptops have it as a standard.

They are quoting extra Rs 2400 for 1 TB 7200 rpm HDD. Anyway, I will try and get a demo this week. This system is based on Clevo P150SM-A barebones. Here's a video review of a Sager that they sent for comparison : *www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVIew-_hiUw

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Clevo P150SM-A comes with a 1 TB 7200 rpm HDD by DEFAULT. Link them this page:

XOTIC PC | Sager NP8268-S (Clevo P150SM-A) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook

 

[bikramjitkar]

Clevo P150SM-A comes with a 1 TB 7200 rpm HDD by DEFAULT. Link them this page:

XOTIC PC | Sager NP8268-S (Clevo P150SM-A) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook

Yeah, that one also comes with a 970m and Blu Ray combo. Theirs is more like this one : XOTIC PC | Sager NP8268 (Clevo P150SM-A) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook

With the same config, the price is pretty close to that in US. Just need to check the build quality.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Yeah, that one also comes with a 970m and Blu Ray combo. Theirs is more like this one : XOTIC PC | Sager NP8268 (Clevo P150SM-A) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook

With the same config, the price is pretty close to that in US. Just need to check the build quality.

I had the previous one bookmarked.

 

[bikramjitkar]

Alright folks, so I met with one of the Azom guys a couple of days back. Had a good look at the Clevo barebones that they use. Good, sturdy (and pretty heavy) build quality and responsive keyboard. Nice big vents for heat dissipation. The guy knew his stuff and we spoke for more than hour about my requirements and computers, overclocking and how Tier 1 manufactures are selling overpriced stuff to Indians *cough*MSI*cough*. They are a young start up formed by some friends who worked in various IT companies and finally decided to do their own thing. After listening to him and checking out their user testimonials, I feel they are genuine guys and have ordered the following config from them today :

Laptop - Exigo
Display - 15.6” Full-HD 1920x1080 16:9 Matte (anti-glare)
CPU - Intel Haswell i7 4710MQ 4C 8T 6 MB 2.5-3.5 GHz
GPU - NVIDIA GTX 870M 3GB GDDR5
RAM - Patriot Viper 2x8GB 1600MHz DDR3
Wireless - Intel Wireless-N 7260 2x2 + Bluetooth 4.0
Sound - Onkyo 2xspeaker, 1xsubwoofer, Sound Blaster Xi-Fi MB3
Card Reader - 9-in-1 MMC/SD/MS
Storage1 - mSATA 128GB SSD (Samsung 841 evo)
Storage2 - SATA 1TB 7200rpm HDD (Hitachi)
Optical - DVD/CD RW
Keyboard - Backlit
Camera - 2 MP HD
Battery - 8 cell

Operating System - Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit

Price - 99,800/- (including 5% VAT)
Warranty - 1 year

The pricing is quite fair as the exact same machine is being sold by Sager for almost the same price in US (XOTIC PC | Sager NP8268 (Clevo P150SM-A) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook). The CPU and GPU are also upgradable, so this machine can be expected to have a good lifespan. Expected build time is around 2-3 weeks and I can go to their place and see the build process. They also do custom laser etching for an extra 1500 bucks.

Thanks to everyone for their input in this thread. Will post a review when I get the system.

 

[Siddhartht]

Alright folks, so I met with one of the Azom guys a couple of days back. Had a good look at the Clevo barebones that they use. Good, sturdy (and pretty heavy) build quality and responsive keyboard. Nice big vents for heat dissipation. The guy knew his stuff and we spoke for more than hour about my requirements and computers, overclocking and how Tier 1 manufactures are selling overpriced stuff to Indians *cough*MSI*cough*. They are a young start up formed by some friends who worked in various IT companies and finally decided to do their own thing. After listening to him and checking out their user testimonials, I feel they are genuine guys and have ordered the following config from them today :

Laptop - Exigo
Display - 15.6” Full-HD 1920x1080 16:9 Matte (anti-glare)
CPU - Intel Haswell i7 4710MQ 4C 8T 6 MB 2.5-3.5 GHz
GPU - NVIDIA GTX 870M 3GB GDDR5
RAM - Patriot Viper 2x8GB 1600MHz DDR3
Wireless - Intel Wireless-N 7260 2x2 + Bluetooth 4.0
Sound - Onkyo 2xspeaker, 1xsubwoofer, Sound Blaster Xi-Fi MB3
Card Reader - 9-in-1 MMC/SD/MS
Storage1 - mSATA 128GB SSD (Samsung 841 evo)
Storage2 - SATA 1TB 7200rpm HDD (Hitachi)
Optical - DVD/CD RW
Keyboard - Backlit
Camera - 2 MP HD
Battery - 8 cell

Operating System - Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit

Price - 99,800/- (including 5% VAT)
Warranty - 1 year

The pricing is quite fair as the exact same machine is being sold by Sager for almost the same price in US (XOTIC PC | Sager NP8268 (Clevo P150SM-A) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook). The CPU and GPU are also upgradable, so this machine can be expected to have a good lifespan. Expected build time is around 2-3 weeks and I can go to their place and see the build process. They also do custom laser etching for an extra 1500 bucks.

Thanks to everyone for their input in this thread. Will post a review when I get the system.

Great purchase. It is good to support Indian companies whenever we get a chance. Now all we need is a review.
Personally, I would have preferred Clevo P651SG for all-rounder systems, but yours will do fine too.

 

[SaiyanGoku]

Alright folks, so I met with one of the Azom guys a couple of days back. Had a good look at the Clevo barebones that they use. Good, sturdy (and pretty heavy) build quality and responsive keyboard. Nice big vents for heat dissipation. The guy knew his stuff and we spoke for more than hour about my requirements and computers, overclocking and how Tier 1 manufactures are selling overpriced stuff to Indians *cough*MSI*cough*. They are a young start up formed by some friends who worked in various IT companies and finally decided to do their own thing. After listening to him and checking out their user testimonials, I feel they are genuine guys and have ordered the following config from them today :

Laptop - Exigo
Display - 15.6” Full-HD 1920x1080 16:9 Matte (anti-glare)
CPU - Intel Haswell i7 4710MQ 4C 8T 6 MB 2.5-3.5 GHz
GPU - NVIDIA GTX 870M 3GB GDDR5
RAM - Patriot Viper 2x8GB 1600MHz DDR3
Wireless - Intel Wireless-N 7260 2x2 + Bluetooth 4.0
Sound - Onkyo 2xspeaker, 1xsubwoofer, Sound Blaster Xi-Fi MB3
Card Reader - 9-in-1 MMC/SD/MS
Storage1 - mSATA 128GB SSD (Samsung 841 evo)
Storage2 - SATA 1TB 7200rpm HDD (Hitachi)
Optical - DVD/CD RW
Keyboard - Backlit
Camera - 2 MP HD
Battery - 8 cell

Operating System - Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit

Price - 99,800/- (including 5% VAT)
Warranty - 1 year

The pricing is quite fair as the exact same machine is being sold by Sager for almost the same price in US (XOTIC PC | Sager NP8268 (Clevo P150SM-A) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook). The CPU and GPU are also upgradable, so this machine can be expected to have a good lifespan. Expected build time is around 2-3 weeks and I can go to their place and see the build process. They also do custom laser etching for an extra 1500 bucks.

Thanks to everyone for their input in this thread. Will post a review when I get the system.

Great. Looking forward for the review.

Edit:
All of this, including VAT (and whatever shipping and customs Azom guys paid per piece) for 100k?

MSI overpricing their laptops in India isn't unheard of.

 

[bikramjitkar]

Great purchase. It is good to support Indian companies whenever we get a chance. Now all we need is a review.
Personally, I would have preferred Clevo P651SG for all-rounder systems, but yours will do fine too.

Thanks. They do have some user reviews on Amazon and also their official blog - Azom Systems

Great. Looking forward for the review.

Edit:
All of this, including VAT (and whatever shipping and customs Azom guys paid per piece) for 100k?

MSI overpricing their laptops in India isn't unheard of.

Yup, even I was amazed that they could manage a price of under 100k, while other big companies are offering far inferior systems for much more. They said that they had managed to get a great deal from Clevo who were trying desperately to enter the Indian market but were not finding any good partners. Reliance(yuck!) were also bidding for the Clevo contract but their bid was very low as they had either no clue about these systems or wanted to keep all the profits to themselves. Azom have also struck deals with Patriot memory and are their only partner in India. Another thing that impressed me was the confidence they had in their systems so that when I asked for an additional 1 year warranty, they said that it would cost an extra 5000 bucks but they would not recommend it since they have hardly ever had any issue with these systems. Other companies thrive on useless warranties that they don't even honor when the time comes. Anyway, since they are based out of my home town (Kolkata), finding replacement parts should not be an issue. Also, they are trying to get a good deal on GTX 970m based systems from Clevo, but right now the price of the upgrade is way too much (42k).

 

[bikramjitkar]

Finally got my Exigo laptop from Azom this Sunday. Arindam from Azom met me at a cafe and personally delivered the laptop to me. Haven't got the time yet to write a full review so I'll just post my initial impressions. This thing is big and fast! Looks and feels solid and sturdy. The display is quite good for a TN panel and viewing angles are also pretty good, certainly way better than a Y50. Keyboard is really nice and responsive and the backlight colours are fully customizable via software. The finish is matte, rubberized plastic all around which feels really nice and does not show fingerprints. The power adapter is a brick.

Performance: Boot time for Windows 8.1 Pro is hardly 10 seconds. Did a bit of benchmarking with 3D mark and got around 4500 in FireStorm and 14900 in SkyDiver benchmarks, which is just a tad lower than my desktop. Got around 25-30 fps in Witcher 3 at Medium settings, again just a little lower than my desktop but still very good for a laptop. Fans are nearly silent at idle and can only be heard under load. Max temperatures were around 65 for the CPU and 80 for the GPU running 3D Mark but the laptop never felt very hot, so the cooling seems to be good. Speakers are ok but not very loud, though I've read that the sub-woofer really kicks in with external speakers.

Overall, really liking the machine thus far and feel the money was well spent. Also got a free code for Hitman Absolution for paying through NEFT.

Some pics:

*i.imgur.com/xyzhoPT.jpg

*i.imgur.com/SgacGMl.jpg

*i.imgur.com/Z7y62hi.jpg

*i.imgur.com/hJ672lK.jpg

 

[Hrishi]

Awesome laptop for this price! Particularly the upgradeable gpu and cpu.

 

[manu_saraswat]

Guys its been quite a while that you all have purchased this laptop.. So what are ur views now on buying this? Are you content with the built and services that Azom is providing/provided?

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