AVADirect Clevo W110ER

Objectively speaking, the AVADirect Clevo W110ER ($1,129.05 direct as tested) is an impressive feat of engineering: a compact, 11.6-inch laptop with enough chops to pump out impressive frame rates in visually intensive games without so much as breaking a sweat. In reality, though it faces some pretty stiff competition, with other contenders in its class sporting similar form factors while also boasting higher benchmark scores. That said, out test unit as configured costs less than its competitors, so for gamers on a budget who choose performance over cool designs, it's worth checking out.

Design and Features
Like the Maingear Pulse 11 and the Eurocom Monster 1.0, the Clevo W110ER is built into the Clevo W110ER chassis, so it's not the most distinctively designed system available. Far from the striking design seen on, say, the Alienware m11x r3, the Clevo W110ER's industrial, utilitarian aesthetic is almost aggressively bland, and doesn't feature so much as a logo or inscription to indicate its make or model (by contract, the Maingear Pulse at least features a logo on its lid). Regardless of its aesthetic leanings, though, at 8.5 by 11.5 by 1.5 inches (HWD) and weighing only 3.76 pounds, the AVADirect certainly earns plaudits for portability despite its thick, slab-like profile.

The dark grey-finished chassis sports a rubbery texture on the lid, palm rest, and, curiously, the trackpad. Though a rubbery trackpad theoretically increases accuracy in gaming by providing a grip, it was fairly frustrating for ordinary use. On more than one occasion, I inadvertently selected text or dragged and dropped icons due to the extra pressure I was forced to exert on the trackpad to counter the friction created between my fingers and the surface. On the other hand, the mouse buttons, though somewhat clacky, were mercifully smoother, providing my fingers with a welcome tactile respite whenever the rubber texture became a source of frustration. While the chiclet-style keyboard takes a little getting used to because of its understandably small size, it's solidly built, exhibiting no noticeable flexing and boasting springy keys with quick response rates.

The Clevo W110ER's 11.6-inch display has a maximum resolution of 1,366 by 768. Even though its glossy?and thus, highly reflective?finish isn't ideal for gaming, the screen looks great, exhibiting bright colors and crisp text. Likewise, the speakers, which are tucked away in the right and left underside of the system, confounded expectations. They pumped out sounds at a louder volume that one would normally expect from such a diminutive system. Naturally, they won't tip the Richter scale, but they do a more than adequate job of filling a small room with sound.

The Clevo W110ER doesn't have much by way of ports, which is understandable given the limited real estate available on the chassis. There's a multicard reader on the front as well as a USB 3.0 port on the right side. Most of the action's on the left side, where you'll find a full-size HDMI port, VGA, Ethernet port, and two USB 3.0 ports.

One of the benefits of purchasing a system from a custom outfit like AVADirect is that you won't get a system bogged down with the kind of preloaded software that gamers immediately uninstall. Accordingly, the Clevo W110ER's 750GB 7,200RPM hard drive is mercifully free of bloatware and ready for gaming right out of the box.

Performance
Our review unit was outfitted with a 2.30GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM processor and a whopping 16GB DDR3 RAM. Like the rest of its class (with the exception of the Alienware M11x r3), it also packed a 2GB Nvidia GeForce GT GPU. Its score of 3,412 points on our PCMark 7 test landed it behind the Maingear Pulse 11 (3,985 points) and, by an even wider margin, the Eurocom Monster (4,273 points). As far as multimedia tasks go, the AVADirect's benchmark scores hovered in the vicinity of its peers. It completed our Handbrake video encoding test in 1 minute 18 seconds, the same amount of time as the Alienware M14x R2 (1:18) and only slightly behind the class-leading Eurocom Monster (1:14). Meanwhile, its Cinebench R11.5 score of 4.66 points trumped both the Maingear Pulse 11 (4.20 points) and the Alienware M11x R3 (1.69 points), but ultimately lagged behind the Eurocom Monster (5.26 points). The AVADirect completed out Photoshop CS5 test in 4 minutes 41 seconds, outpacing both the Maingear Pulse 11 (5:03) and the Alienware M11x r3 (5:23) but still trailing behind the Alienware M14x R2 (3:20).

Naturally, graphical prowess is the paramount consideration when purchasing a custom-made gaming rig. In that regard the Clevo W110ER didn't disappoint?even if it doesn't always come out at the top of its class. Its 3DMark 11 scores (3,828 points in Entry-level settings; 726 points in Extreme settings) hovered near the top of its class, coming within striking distance of the class-leading Eurocom Monster (3,964 and 726, respectively) and the Maingear Pulse 11 (3,868 and 724, respectively). In our Crysis benchmark test, the AVADirect performed with gusto, and its 74 frames per second (fps) in medium-quality settings at 1,024-by-768 resolution surpassed that of the Maingear Pulse 11 (69fps) and nipped at the heels of the Eurocom Monster (86fps). Similarly, the Clevo W110ER performed well on our Lost Planet 2 benchmark tests; in medium quality-settings at 1,024-by-768 resolution, its DX9 performance (67fps) surpassed all of its competitors, save for the class-leading Alienware M14x R2 (86fps), while its DX11 performance (61fps) fell squarely in between the Alienware M14x R2 (62 fps) and the Maingear Pulse 11 (60 fps).

The Clevo W110ER is equipped with Nvidia's Optimus technology, which is meant to extend the life of its removable 62.16Wh battery by automatically turning off the discrete GPU whenever executing non-3D-related tasks. We didn't notice a difference. Its battery life was lackluster even by the low standards of gaming standards, lasting a scant 3 hours 17 minutes on our MobileMark battery rundown test. While this was roughly on par with both the Maingear Pulse 11 (3:29) and the Eurocom Monster (3:30), it was school by both the Alienware M14x R2 (4:40) and, to a much larger extent, the Alienware M11x r3 (8:03).

Although the AVADirect Clevo W110ER isn't the quickest in its class, it's still a formidable and highly portable gaming rig that costs less than its competitors, making it a good choice for budget-conscious gamers that place performance over designs. Gamers who have extra cash to spare, though, should stick with Maingear Pulse 11, whose overall faster performance justifies its slightly higher price tag as well as its status as our Editors' Choice for ultraportable gaming laptops.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the AVADirect Clevo W110ER with several other laptops side by side.

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