MYTHLOGIC Pollux 1400: Clevo's W150HR Tested

Meet the MYTHLOGIC Pollux 1400, aka Clevo W150HR

Today we get to meet a newcomer to our laptop reviews. MYTHLOGIC (yes, the name is supposed to be in all caps) is one of several boutique computer vendors that sells rebranded whitebook notebooks, along with companies like AVADirect, Sager, and Eurocom to name just a few (Eurocom is probably supposed to be all caps as well). MYTHLOGIC sells customized desktops as well, but today we're looking at their Pollux 1400 notebook. One thing you can always say about Clevo designs: they're distinct. We've reviewed plenty of Clevo models over the years, and even without knowing the ODM it would be obvious that this is a Clevo. The keyboard is the first giveaway, but superficially the W150HR looks almost like the P150/P151 we've looked at this year. When you start delving a little deeper, though, there are plenty of differences. First, let's hit the spec sheet.

There are plenty of configuration options available, and we've bolded the components in our test units. Yes, that’s plural “units”—we tested Bigfoot's Killer Wireless-N 1102 recently, with a competing Intel Advanced-N 6230 in an otherwise identical notebook. MYTHLOGIC teamed up with Bigfoot to get us the test hardware, and while performance in most areas is the same, wireless performance and battery life are potentially different. We'll get to that later, but let's run through the other specs

Starting with the CPU, we've got what is arguably the most cost-effective high performance Sandy Bridge offering in the i7-2720QM. Depending on the task, the 2720QM ends up anywhere from 10 to 20% faster than the i7-2630QM, thanks to a higher base clock and more aggressive Turbo Boost modes. There's nothing wrong with the 2630QM, of course, and you can shave $25 off the price if you're willing to downgrade that component. The next step up, the i7-2820QM, is another 5-10% faster for a $205 increase, which is why we see so many 2630QM and 2720QM notebooks—and we have yet to test anything with the i7-2920XM; hardly a surprise given the $1000 price tag. The GPU is no slouch either; while the GT 555M 2GB card can't keep up with the GTX 560M, it's still a healthy upgrade from the next step down, the GT 540M. Also note that this is the DDR3 version, thank-you-very-much; we wouldn't want the castrated GDDR5 version that's really just a higher clocked GT 540M with more memory bandwidth..

With a fast CPU and a decent GPU, you'll want good components elsewhere and MYTHLOGIC doesn't disappoint. Storage comes courtesy of Intel's 120GB 510 SSD, and what it lacks in capacity it makes up for with impressive performance. For maximum performance you would want a 240GB SandForce 2200 25nm SSD, or potentially a 120GB SF-2200 with 34nm NAND, but the jump from an HDD to any modern SSD is so significant that the differences between SSDs pale in comparison. There's also a healthy 8GB of DDR3 memory, a couple USB 3.0 ports, eSATA, and all the other modern conveniences you might want (other than Firewire).

And how about the display options: 1080p all around, but you get to choose between a standard 1080p glossy display, or you can pay $120 more and get a 95% NTSC gamut in either glossy or matte finish. I'm a sucker for matte panels, and outside of IPS-equipped laptops like HP's DreamColor EliteBooks, this is this best laptop LCD I can recall using. You do get some oversaturation with sRGB content, so outside of imaging professionals the default LCD might be better, but I'd rather get oversaturation and matte than undersaturation and glossy.

Needless to say, with a loadout like our test units, the price ends up being pretty steep. As configured the MYTHLOGIC Pollux 1400 checks in at $1637 (with a free Bluetooth upgrade)—$240 of that goes to the SSD. It's reasonable for the components you get, but we're definitely not in the mainstream market anymore. The starting price for a base Pollux 1400 (i5-2520M, GT 540M 1GB, 4GB RAM, 500GB 7200RPM HDD, and a glossy 1080p LCD) is a far more palatable $1000, but then such a notebook won't be as fast or as snappy as our test system. Checking out other similar vendors, MYTHLOGIC's pricing is right for the Clevo W150HR—AVADirect’s W150HR costs $1600 but without Bluetooth, making it an ever so slightly less expensive option (Bluetooth adapters usually go for around $20); Sager’s NP5165 comes out to $1639 with Intel’s Advanced-N 6230 wireless card, and Eurocom is at $1717 USD for an identical setup. Alienware’s M14x lacks a 120GB SSD option, but with a 750GB HDD and otherwise similar specs (and a lesser LCD, though it’s not bad), you’ll pay around $1700—so around $1850 if you do the 120GB Intel 510 SSD upgrade on your own.

It’s difficult for us to rate customer service, but MYTHLOGIC’s support page shows they provide reasonable contact and help options. They’ve got a perfect score on ResellerRatings.com, but unfortunately they only have 17 lifetime reviews, most within the past five months. The company has apparently been around since 1999, and with our experience in chatting with them throughout the process of the Bigfoot and this laptop review showed that they were very knowledgeable and eager to help out. If you’re in the market for a notebook like the Clevo W150HR, they’re certainly worth a look.