MALIBAL's Lotus P150HM: GeForce GTX 485M Gets Its Game On

By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Using the latest advances from Intel and Nvidia, MALIBAL attempts to prove that portability and performance are no longer mutually exclusive. Can a fully-loaded Lotus P150HM meet the needs of performance enthusiasts and gamers at a more reasonable price?

MALIBAL’s Lotus P150HM

With a combined notebook and power brick weight of only 8.8 pounds, the Lotus P150HM is different from every other Clevo-based design we’ve tested. Those differences aren’t limited to weight, as the entire unit is given a grippy texture that feels like rubber, rather than the traditional polished or anodized aluminum panels for which the manufacturer is known. MALIBAL’s logo is proudly displayed below a 1920x1080, LED-backlit panel.

A 2.0 MP webcam is situated in the familiar location, within the display panel’s bezel.

Two USB 3.0 ports are surrounded by gigabit network and a USB 2.0 ports. Clevo’s 9-in-1 flash media drive is standard.

An IR receiver cover is found on the P150HM’s front edge, but this version didn’t include a remote to use with it.

A second USB 2.0 port is found on the right edge, along with the optical drive and audio ports.

HDMI, dual-link DVI, and eSATA connectors are all conveniently placed on the P150HM’s rear edge.

We were surprised to find CyberLink’s BD and DVD solutions bundled separately in the Lotus P150HM’s support kit. Clevo includes the platform driver CD and a DVI-to-VGA adapter, while MALIBAL adds the OS and upgraded wireless controller disk.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
24 Comments Comment from the forums
  • cable4
    Sweet laptop!
    Now all I have to do is plan a bank robbery to afford it ;)
    Reply
  • Crashman
    cable4Sweet laptop! Now all I have to do is plan a bank robbery to afford itI think you can save around $1500 and still keep the good graphics card if you're willing to give up the fast processor, SSD, and extra RAM :)
    Reply
  • lee3821
    CrashmanI think you can save around $1500 and still keep the good graphics card if you're willing to give up the fast processor, SSD, and extra RAMGood point.
    With that taken off price, it looks really appealing, honestly.
    Size+Wieght+Power+Price+Battery=great!
    ...if I wanted a gaming laptop.
    For me, the HD6550M and i5 480M serve me well enough at 1366x768 until I can get back to my kickass desktop.
    Reply
  • Bigmac80
    I have a pretty good gaming laptop Asus G73. I remember when i bought it i was thinking to myself that this can really change everything because of how fast and how portble it was. But even though i have a fast laptop i still prefer gaming on a desktop.
    Reply
  • neiroatopelcc
    Too bad you made no comparisons to desktop midrange systems. So we still don't know if it's worth going for only a laptop like this, or getting a cheap i3 laptop for the road and a proper gaming system for stationary use.
    Reply
  • Maziar
    Impressive results. 1:38 is quite good for a gaming notebook like this.
    to neiroatopelcc
    GTX 485M performs between desktop GTS 450 and GTX 460
    Reply
  • bhaberle
    I wouldn't say only seven pounds mate. That is on the heavier side for notebooks. =) But I am glad that laptops are finally not going to be a huge compromise.
    Reply
  • oz73942
    The batterly life on the review is no where close to what owners are getting. 3 hours under typical daily use ;)
    Reply
  • WyomingKnott
    Am I just stupid? What is "Clevo?"
    Reply
  • JackNaylorPE
    WyomingKnottAm I just stupid? What is "Clevo?"
    Most of the brands you heard of don't actually make any laptops. The vast majority of laptops on the market are manufactured by a small handful of Original Design Manufacturers (ODM).

    Major relationships include:

    * Quanta sells to (among others) HP/Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, Acer, NEC, Gateway and Lenovo/IBM - note that Quanta is currently (as of August, 2007) the largest manufacturer of notebook computers in the world.
    * Compal sells to Toshiba, HP/Compaq, Acer, and Dell.
    * Positivo Informatica sells to Samsung, Sony, Siragon, Toshiba, HP
    * Wistron (former manufacturing & design division of Acer) sells to HP/Compaq, Dell, IBM, NEC, Acer, and Lenovo/IBM.
    * Flextronics (former Arima Computer Corporation notebook division) sells to HP/Compaq, NEC, and Dell.
    * Itautec sells to Siragon, LG, Samsung, Sony
    * ECS sells to IBM, Fujitsu, and Dell.
    * Asus sells to Apple (iBook), Sony, and Samsung.
    * Inventec sells to HP/Compaq, Toshiba, and BenQ.
    * Lanix sells to Sony, Compaq, Toshiba, Siragon, Itautec
    * Uniwill sells to Lenovo/IBM and Fujitsu & PC World UK own brand Advent.
    * Clevo sells to known boutique brand OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)… notably Sager, VoodooPC, Falcon Northwest, Eurocom, Xoticpc, Prostar, etc.

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/91510-clevo-guide-v2-0-faq-reseller-info.html

    They are also considered (by whoever knows about notebooks) to design and manufacturer the best of the best notebooks in terms of superior build quality and innovative designs
    .
    Reply