EVOC PA71HS-G Review

[mayu]

I started searching for “gaming” laptop in July. And after sale in July, where I suggested my friend to get Asus GL502VS with GTX 1060, I was almost set on GL702VS with GTX 1070. But after some interactions on forums, 1^st with LTT and then on NBR, after reading through Glam’s guide and so many posts I decided to get Clevo from HIDEvolution. I was set on P670 with GTX 1070, with PA7xxx rumors at that time.

By the time I was set to confirm order, they had stopped selling those and it was replaced by PA71HS-G. I wasn’t sure initially, with this being newer model and Asus also showing off GL703 with Ryzen. But later decided to go for this, as Ryzen offerings were with RX 580 at that time, so no signs of pairing Ryzen with more powerful GPU in near future.

This is my 1^st review, so apologies in advance.

 

Specifications

 

Model – PA71HS-G

Screen – 17.3” 1080p IPS 75Hz Gsync (optional upgrade 4K UHD)

CPU – i7 7700HQ (no option of 7820HK, I believe Sager offers that?)

RAM – 2*8 GB 2400MHz DDR4 Samsung

Graphics Card – Nvidia GTX 1070 8 GB

Audio – Sound BlasterX Pro-Gaming 720, Built-in two 2W speakers with a 4W subwoofer

SSD – Samsung 850 EVO.2

HDD – Hitachi HGST 1 TB 7200 RPM

WiFi – Intel Wireless-AC 8265

Keyboard – RGB keyboard with 3-zoned backlit customization and macro capability

Battery – 4 cells 66WH

 

Ports

 

Front – 8 LED indicators towards left.

Right – 3 audio ports, 1 DSD/MMC Card reader, 2 USB 3 ports, Ethernet port, Kensington lock

Left – 2 USB 3 ports, 1 Thunderbolt port, 2 mini Display ports, 1 HDMI port, power in

Back – Air intake on right, exhaust accents on both sides

 

Dimensions and Weight

 

16.48”(W)*11.3”(D)*0.98”(H) / 418mm(W)*287mm(D)*25mm(H)

6.61lbs / 3 KG

 

Appearance

 

PA71HS has slight “gaming laptop” look without being too flashy. There are 2 LED’s on side of power button which are lit when system is on, kind of gives them look of eyes. Cuts on top side as well as on side of the keyboard adds to that. But all this is too subtle. It seems to be good balance of some non-business design and not being too flashy.

 

Top https://imgur.com/tLGaFwl

Bottom https://imgur.com/dZTuDKA

Size comparison with 14” laptop https://imgur.com/Mfo42Oq

In 17” Sleeve https://imgur.com/YfXZh03

 

Screen

 

Having used 14” laptop for work this screen size is certainly welcome. 1080P resolution seems fine at this size (especially considering price of 4K screen upgrade). I haven’t seen 120Hz or 1440P options so far.

Aida64 reports panel as LG173WF4-SPF5.

I don’t have good screen to do comparisons. But compared to a budget work laptop, image quality is easily noticeable.

Here is comparison between those 2 laptops.

Windows wallpaper https://imgur.com/ZbsIX7b

Youtube homepage https://imgur.com/fV9g8WF

 

Sound

 

Comes with Sound Blaster Connect 2 software per-installed which has bunch of profiles even based on different games. I haven’t played around with it yet. But so far paired with HD 598SR, audio has been great in Game of Thrones Season 7, Witcher 3, Battlefield 3, Witcher 2.

 

CPU & GPU Benchmarks

 

3D Mark benchmarks

 

TIME SPY 1.0 - 3791
https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/21986920

 

SKY DIVER 1.0 - 25882
https://www.3dmark.com/sd/4798856

 

Fire Strike Ultra 1.1 - 3845
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/13517517

 

Fire Strike Extreme 1.1 - 7231
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/13517502

 

Fire Strike 1.1 - 13534
https://www.3dmark.com/fs/13517480

 

Cloud Gate 1.1 - 23741
https://www.3dmark.com/cg/4099533

 

Ice Storm Extreme 1.2 - 97192
https://www.3dmark.com/is/4223187

 

Ice Storm Unlimited 1.2 - 142353
https://www.3dmark.com/is/4223188

 

Rise of the Tomb Raider Benchmark

Mountain Peak: 135, Syria: 101, Geothermal Valley: 100, Overall: 113

Max CPU temp: 70, Max GPU temp: 71

 

GTA V Gameplay

Avg FPS: 78

Max CPU temp: 72, Max GPU temp: 68

 

Batman Arkham Origins Benchmarks

Avg FPS: 90

 

DiRT 3 Complete Edition Benchmark

Avg FPS: 188

 

GRID 2 Benchmark

Avg FPS: 156

 

Fans & Temperature

 

During individual furmark and Aida64 stress test no thermal throttling or overheating was observed, with gpu and cpu maxing out around 84c and 76c respectively. 7700 HQ was able to boost to 3.4 GHz on all 4 cores.

Running furmark and Aida64 stress test together though leads to thermal throttling with temps reaching 95c on CPU, which leads to clock speed lowering under 3 GHz. GPU temperature didn’t exceed 85c though.

Room temperature 25c

 

Witcher 3 is probably most demanding game in my library and after half hour of gameplay in different areas of the game got below temperatures.
CPU max temp 77c, GPU max temp 79c, room temp 21c

 

Fans do get loud when system is under load, but that is expected. While gaming wearing headphones I didn’t notice them, even with open headphones. In silent environment you will hear them though.

When system is not under load, I didn’t notice them either. Also I believe this can be configured as well.

 

I haven’t tried undervolting or setting up fan profile, everything so far is result of stock settings.

 

Surface Temperature

 

Area near left side exhaust gets too warm, so WSAD keys and area around that also gets warm, and little uncomfortable. This happens only while gaming, when system is under load. I guess this is due to overall design. I don’t really notice it as far as my hands are only on keys. I would suggest get input from other users of this laptop if you are extremely serious about comfort.

 

Keyboard & Touchpad

 

Keyboard seems pretty good to me. I wrote this complete review on it and I don’t feel I am missing anything.

Keyboard supports 3 zoned LED backlit with full set of RGB options with some effects.

There are posts about light fading out from top to bottom of the keys, but I don’t really notice it in my keyboard even if I try to look for it.

Touchpad has nice feel to it. Good enough I guess. I am mostly desktop user, and prefer mouse over touchpad even for just browsing and regular use.

Fingerprint scanner is also present on touchpad itself.

 

Conclusion

 

I would have preferred some things to be different, Ryzen or Coffee lake cpu, 1440P screen option, lower surface temps near exhaust towards WSAD. But those CPU’s aren’t available anywhere right now, 1080P resolution is fine at this screen size, and temps around WSAD keys area is something that I can get used to.

If I have to choose again right now, I would end buying this same laptop with same specs.

 

Let me know if you have any questions, I will try to answer if possible.

[dizmo]

That's a very in depth review...to the point I'd say it rivals what LTT does. Very nice.

It's a shame the battery is so small.

[mayu]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

That's a very in depth review...to the point I'd say it rivals what LTT does. Very nice.

It's a shame the battery is so small.

Thanks, I guess that's too much LTT influence on me then.

I tried to present my experience and opinion with laptop so far.

 

Battery is small, but I guess they are not expecting many people to carry something this big and "powerful" to run on battery

[dizmo]

8 minutes ago, mayu said:

Thanks, I guess that's too much LTT influence on me then.

I tried to present my experience and opinion with laptop so far.

 

Battery is small, but I guess they are not expecting many people to carry something this big and "powerful" to run on battery

I've often wondered why they bother with a battery at all on desktop replacement laptops. Take the battery out and give the system better cooling and an internal PSU. That's what I'd do. I should design a gaming laptop. 

[mayu]

Just now, dizmo said:

I've often wondered why they bother with a battery at all on desktop replacement laptops. Take the battery out and give the system better cooling and an internal PSU. That's what I'd do. I should design a gaming laptop. 

I agree, I always run it plugged in. You can't really "game" on battery anyways. So why waste that valuable space

[Xsais]

I am thinking of getting this laptop (from HIDevolution) and was wondering if there are any hardware issues that you have had so far (backlight bleed, dead pixels, hardware stopped, etc.)? Also when you say 'hot' do you mean hot enough to cook food or a slight heat? And most importantly what is the build quilty like(screen/keyboard flex, etc.)?

 

Sorry for all of the question, it's my first time buying a 'Gaming Laptop' and my first time buying from a not top-tier company.

 

BTW great review very detailed and to the point

[mayu]

I haven't had any hardware issues so far. They do offer additional warranty on "panel with minimum backlight bleed", "zero dead pixel warranty", but those services felt too premium for me :P.

HIDEvolution do have good quality control testing from what I have read. Maybe you can have discussion with them if you want system tested in specific way.

Area near exhaust gets hot while gaming, as in slight heat. Can't rest fingers there without filling discomfort. When system is not under load, it's not hot.

Build quality is good. Screen has very little flex to it if pressure is applied on sides. Keyboard has no flex.

For me also this was first time buying 'Gaming Laptop' and that too a newly released model without any hands-on experience.

[Xsais]

2 hours ago, mayu said:

I haven't had any hardware issues so far. They do offer additional warranty on "panel with minimum backlight bleed", "zero dead pixel warranty", but those services felt too premium for me :P.

HIDEvolution do have good quality control testing from what I have read. Maybe you can have discussion with them if you want system tested in specific way.

Area near exhaust gets hot while gaming, as in slight heat. Can't rest fingers there without filling discomfort. When system is not under load, it's not hot.

Build quality is good. Screen has very little flex to it if pressure is applied on sides. Keyboard has no flex.

For me also this was first time buying 'Gaming Laptop' and that too a newly released model without any hands-on experience.

Thank you, this helped a lot.

 

As of now, I'm debating whether to get the 3-year Limited U.S. Warranty or just keep the 1-year. Did you opt for the extended warranty?

[mayu]

I opted for 3 year US warranty. I hope I never have to use it, but better feeling safe than sorry.

Replacement of parts if ever to be done without warranty will be very costly compared to cost of extra warranty as per my understanding.

[Xsais]

Was a USB or CD with all of the drivers included in the box?

[mayu]

57 minutes ago, Xsais said:

Was a USB or CD with all of the drivers included in the box?

HIDEvolution from whom I bought this charges 25$ for bootable reinstallation media which also includes drivers. That is what most of laptop builders are charging from what I have seen.

A 32 GB pen drive came in the box, I think there is some CD as well.

[Xsais]

Have you tried sideloading Linux? If so can you explain the experience (Drivers, Hardware issues, etc.)?

[mayu]

13 hours ago, Xsais said:

Have you tried sideloading Linux? If so can you explain the experience (Drivers, Hardware issues, etc.)?

No I haven't tried sideloading Linux. Not much of a Linux user, at least not as a primary OS, as gaming is my primary usage.

I may try it via VM, but in that case it won't be full experience.

[Xsais]

36 minutes ago, mayu said:

No I haven't tried sideloading Linux. Not much of a Linux user, at least not as a primary OS, as gaming is my primary usage.

I may try it via VM, but in that case it won't be full experience.

If you end up using VMs can you see how many you can run simultaneously and also multitasking while VM(s) are open in the background?

[mayu]

1 hour ago, Xsais said:

If you end up using VMs can you see how many you can run simultaneously and also multitasking while VM(s) are open in the background?

I don't have any immediate plans for trying out VM's. I am not entirely sure what exactly you are looking for here, CPU performance?

[Xsais]

On 10/25/2017 at 6:06 PM, mayu said:

I don't have any immediate plans for trying out VM's. I am not entirely sure what exactly you are looking for here, CPU performance?

Real world CPU performance