Clevo X580 TBA at CES 2025 - 18", 4+4 drives and memory, 2xTB5

[win32asmguy]

X580 listed on Sager:

 

3249usd - https://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP9580S.html with 5080m

3899usd - https://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP9580S.html with 5090m

[1610ftw]

No 5070 option is unfortunate.

[br2]

Ugh, 275 cpu. Looks like it's Msi for me. 😢

[1610ftw]

On 3/13/2025 at 2:29 PM, br2 said:

Ugh, 275 cpu. Looks like it's Msi for me. 😢

 

285 and 275 seem too close to me to make that a decisive factor. I fully expect better gaming performance from MSI due to better cooling and only two memory sticks but not due to the slightly higher single core speed of the 285HX.

[br2]

7 minutes ago, 1610ftw said:

 

285 and 275 seem too close to me to make that a decisive factor...

Maybe, but i only care about compile time. I'm not going to pay 5-6k for less than the top model.

[1610ftw]

2 hours ago, br2 said:

Maybe, but i only care about compile time. I'm not going to pay 5-6k for less than the top model.

 

Understood but then the Clevo does not really cost that much anyway, it is starting at roughly 2.2K in Europe 🙂

The way I see it this is a relatively cost effective way to get these (for me) attractive features with a GPU that is not completely oversized:

 

24 Cores that are less power hungry than last gen

4 drive slots

4 memory slots

QHD screen

TB5

relatively understated / plain design

 

TB5 should also be interesting for an eGPU solution with something like a 5080 or better so when docked at home or in the office the cooling solution will only have to cool the CPU and not the GPU.

 

Of course if you want to compile with multiple cores the cooling may be an issue unless the cooling solution of the X580 has improved significantly over last gen. 

 

 

 

[br2]

Just now, 1610ftw said:

 

Understood but then the Clevo does not really cost that much anyway, it is starting at roughly 2.2K in Europe 🙂

The way I see it this is a relatively cost effective way to get these (for me) attractive features with a GPU that is not completely oversized:

You're right, the difference is pretty minimal and i may talk myself into your point of view. With the specs i want, it won't be too much cheaper than the Titan. But i do love a full keyboard... I am expecting much better temps than what @win32asmguy got with the one he had.

[the jg89]

2 hours ago, 1610ftw said:

 

Understood but then the Clevo does not really cost that much anyway, it is starting at roughly 2.2K in Europe 🙂

The way I see it this is a relatively cost effective way to get these (for me) attractive features with a GPU that is not completely oversized:

 

24 Cores that are less power hungry than last gen

4 drive slots

4 memory slots

QHD screen

TB5

relatively understated / plain design

 

TB5 should also be interesting for an eGPU solution with something like a 5080 or better so when docked at home or in the office the cooling solution will only have to cool the CPU and not the GPU.

 

Of course if you want to compile with multiple cores the cooling may be an issue unless the cooling solution of the X580 has improved significantly over last gen. 

 

 

 

Shouldn't it be cooler since it's using the ultra i9 series? On a side note I really wish we could get some benchmarks early to see how they would perform compared to the 40 series.

[1610ftw]

17 hours ago, br2 said:

You're right, the difference is pretty minimal and i may talk myself into your point of view. With the specs i want, it won't be too much cheaper than the Titan. But i do love a full keyboard... I am expecting much better temps than what @win32asmguy got with the one he had.

 

If it is not much cheaper then I would get the Titan myself as it is just a more solid build and also has 4 drive slots and superior vapor chamber cooling.

 

I would think that if you max out the CPU you will not have better temps. Of course you can get more performance at a given wattage but again these CPUs scale pretty well past 250W so there will also be some additional performance to be had south of maybe 150W that you cannot realize.

 

 

 

14 hours ago, the jg89 said:

Shouldn't it be cooler since it's using the ultra i9 series? On a side note I really wish we could get some benchmarks early to see how they would perform compared to the 40 series.

 

For sure cooler at a given performance level so for example it looks like 40000 CB R23 with some undervolting may be doable with 200W when the 14900HX would need more like 275W for the same score. But then even 200W will be beyond what we should expect from the X580 when the predecessor struggled with sustaining 150W to the CPU. 

[br2]

10 hours ago, 1610ftw said:

... I would get the Titan myself as it is just a more solid build and also has 4 drive slots and superior vapor chamber cooling...

The entire reason i like Clevo is the full keyboard. Used to be the desktop cpu but those days are long gone.

Most of the time it will sit on a cooler plugged into a big monitor but when i'm on the road, keyboard compromises are a constant annoyance.

[1610ftw]

1 hour ago, br2 said:

The entire reason i like Clevo is the full keyboard. Used to be the desktop cpu but those days are long gone.

Most of the time it will sit on a cooler plugged into a big monitor but when i'm on the road, keyboard compromises are a constant annoyance.

 

Have you had a look at the new MSI keyboard?

 

For the first time in ages they have a full sized numpad, no more hobbit keys.

Currently using the Raider 18 HX and the keyboard is so much better with full sized keys from left to right.

 

BUT: The Titan in the last gen had a mix of mechanical and membrane keys which I did not like, not sure if it has been adressed.

[br2]

1 minute ago, 1610ftw said:

Have you had a look at the new MSI keyboard?

Yeah, it's usable, and it has software mapping for the missing keys i want. I've been living with it for 2 years.

The compromise is i have to sacrifice some other key for the one i want.

[1610ftw]

So you already have a Titan 18?

Somehow I thought you had a GT77 with the tiny numpad.

[br2]

On 3/15/2025 at 11:03 AM, 1610ftw said:

So you already have a Titan 18?

Somehow I thought you had a GT77 with the tiny numpad.

No, the 17.3 from 2 years ago. The numpad's fine, it doesn't have dedicated Home, End, Page Up/Down keys, or the context menu key.

Pictures of the 18 look the same.

[1610ftw]

5 hours ago, br2 said:

No, the 17.3 from 2 years ago. The numpad's fine, it doesn't have dedicated Home, End, Page Up/Down keys, or the context menu key.

Pictures of the 18 look the same.

 

Hmmm - wasn't that the GT77 HX?

 

Anyway, I was really annoyed by the small three row numpad and luckily the new generation has a 4 row version with combined home/end and page up/down keys which is different.

Unfortunately it also has a wasted key that now is dedicated to Copilot.

 

Have not yet seen the keyboard of the Clevo but if it has single function keys for all the 5 functions you mention I would be very surprised.

 

[br2]

8 hours ago, 1610ftw said:

... wasn't that the GT77 HX? ... I was really annoyed by the small three row numpad ...

 

Have not yet seen the keyboard of the Clevo but if it has single function keys for all the 5 functions you mention I would be very surprised.

 

Yeah, 77hx 13. I had no issue with the numpad itself.

Titan 18 pics look the same to me.

Surprise! ... 😜 Clevo keys are the same as always.

[1610ftw]

58 minutes ago, br2 said:

Yeah, 77hx 13. I had no issue with the numpad itself.

Titan 18 pics look the same to me.

Surprise! ... 😜 Clevo keys are the same as always.

 

 

Well the Titan 18 keyboard has a 4 row numpad so it is actually quite different, including the combined Home/End/PG Up and Down keys:

 

https://www.msi.com/Laptop/Titan-18-HX-AI-A2XWX/Gallery#lg=1&slide=3

 

Clevo still has the edge as it does not "waste" keys for power and copilot.

 

And nobody can say that Clevo is not consistent - looks like the same layout as my P775TM from many years ago 😄

[br2]

2 minutes ago, 1610ftw said:

Well the Titan 18 keyboard has a 4 row numpad so it is actually quite different

 

That's the same keypad i have.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[1610ftw]

How can it be the same when clearly it has less and smaller buttons in the numpad area?

 

 

The Titan 18 keyboard actually has 3 physical buttons more so not sure if we are talking about the same laptops here ???

[br2]

1 hour ago, 1610ftw said:

The Titan 18 keyboard actually has 3 physical buttons more so not sure if we are talking about the same laptops here ???

OK, you're right, i couldn't make out that top row in Msi's pic. That's a tick on the pro side...

[1610ftw]

Haha, yes you cannot expect a decent quality picture for a $5K + laptop - that would be too much to ask 😄

[win32asmguy]

On 3/14/2025 at 10:59 AM, br2 said:

Maybe, but i only care about compile time. I'm not going to pay 5-6k for less than the top model.

 

My thought this time around is the uniwill id-y model will do the best as it will have a well tunable CPU and memory. A 285hx may have higher clocks but the design must allow those to be sustainable.

 

The 18 inch zbook is also quite interesting. If anything because I really like physical touchpad buttons over clickpads.

[br2]

7 hours ago, win32asmguy said:

... A 285hx may have higher clocks but the design must allow those to be sustainable.

The 18 inch zbook is also quite interesting. If anything because I really like physical touchpad buttons over clickpads.

😘 Oh man, that's the holy grail. Full keyboard and physical buttons. 

Even Velocity Micro's spam email has the 18/275. I'll have to look at the z-book.

 

Ed: Man, why do they make 18" with 3k resolution? Too bad, probably costs more than the Msi dragon edition anyway.

[1610ftw]

14 hours ago, win32asmguy said:

 

My thought this time around is the uniwill id-y model will do the best as it will have a well tunable CPU and memory. A 285hx may have higher clocks but the design must allow those to be sustainable.

 

The 18 inch zbook is also quite interesting. If anything because I really like physical touchpad buttons over clickpads.

 

Uniwill / Tongfang are always interesting and would have warranted a closer look for me if they had gone 18" but sadly they are stuck at 16".

Still, if 2+2 memory and drive slots plus 16" are sufficient it would be my choice - love the liquid cooling concept and the split boards.

 

Shame about the HP as their non-defeatable AI Cooling crap together with the rather modest power limit is something that I won't risk buying again.

I currently use a Zbook 17 G6 on the side and the stupidity of their "intelligent" fan adjustment that I have also encountered in the 16" Zbook Fury is infuriating for people who have substantial power demands. The up and down of the fans and the throttling is a no-go.

Not being able to use third party fan control or undervolt is just the icing on the poo cake for me, so overall very disappointing to see great hardware being sabotaged by bad software and a system that is locked down excessively.

 

But hey, maybe they change their ways, the hardware surely looks tempting including an Asus-style third fan:

 

Still the most interesting 18" cooling concept in this generation is the Aorus Master 18 from Gigabyte with a vapor chamber, 270W TDP and proper internal cooling that cools everything else and not just the CPU and GPU:

 

 

As you know there are many parts that can get very hot in our laptops these days and temperatures way above 80 degrees for the memory or the chipset are bad news and should be addressed by all manufacturers. Asus was the first company to do that and now HP and Gigabyte are following but with more memory and drive slots.

 

Unfortunately I have not heard that many great things about their laptops nor do I find their design to be very understated but I really would like to see how well this one performs, especially in CPU-heavy loads.

 

[win32asmguy]

On 3/22/2025 at 12:37 PM, 1610ftw said:

Shame about the HP as their non-defeatable AI Cooling crap together with the rather modest power limit is something that I won't risk buying again.

I currently use a Zbook 17 G6 on the side and the stupidity of their "intelligent" fan adjustment that I have also encountered in the 16" Zbook Fury is infuriating for people who have substantial power demands. The up and down of the fans and the throttling is a no-go.

Not being able to use third party fan control or undervolt is just the icing on the poo cake for me, so overall very disappointing to see great hardware being sabotaged by bad software and a system that is locked down excessively.

 

I agree about the fan curve issues. While the Zbook 15 G4 did not have this problem the Zbook Studio G3 definitely did and probably every generation going forward. Fan oscillation at idle speeds and in generally just annoying bursts of noise from day to day use. Of course tuning is also locked down so helping the situation by taming the CPU was not possible. I would even say the Precision models just have annoying fans, the only workstation that is a pleasure to use noise wise has been the Thinkpad P16 G2.

 

We dont really know how Arrow Lake HX will feel or work yet. It could be the case that the previous gen 14900HX / 13950HX may have a better experience for quite some time.