Clevo NH70 Laptop Review
Most people have never seen the Clevo name on a laptop. Yet many gaming laptops sold by smaller brands are built by Clevo. The Clevo NH70 is one of its best known models. It is a 17.3 inch gaming laptop that offered strong power at a fair price when it came out in 2019.
This review explains what the NH70 is, what is inside it, how it did in a full lab test, and who it suits today. We also look at the slimmer Clevo PC70HS, which the old version of this post mixed up with the NH70. The old post had many wrong specs, so we have corrected them using a hands on review, reseller spec sheets and Clevo’s own background.
Table of Contents
Who Is Clevo?
Clevo is a laptop maker from Taiwan. It started in 1983 under the name Nan Tan Computer and began making laptops in 1990. Later it took the Clevo name.
Clevo works in an unusual way. It mostly does not sell laptops under its own name. Instead it makes “barebone” laptops. A barebone is a laptop body with the main board and cooling already in place. Shops and smaller brands then add the parts the buyer wants, such as memory, storage and sometimes the graphics card. They sell the finished laptop under their own brand name. Brands such as Schenker XMG in Germany, Prostar in the United States and Dream Machines in Europe have sold Clevo machines.
For a buyer, this is good news. You can often pick the exact memory and storage you want, and the price tends to be fair for the power you get.
Clevo NH70 at a Glance
The NH70 is a family of 17.3 inch laptops, not a 15.6 inch one as the old post said. There are a few versions, with names like NH70RCQ and NH70RDQ. The version tested by the Romanian tech site lab501 in August 2019, sold there as the NH70 SE, had these parts:
| Part | Clevo NH70 SE (as tested) |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7 9750H, six cores, 2.6 to 4.5 GHz |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 480 GB SATA SSD |
| Screen | 17.3 inch IPS, Full HD, 60 Hz |
| Battery | About 49 Wh |
| Weight | 2.5 kg |
| Thickness | 32.5 mm |
Other sellers offered similar setups. For example, Prostar sold an NH70RCQ with the same Core i7 9750H, a GTX 1660 Ti, 16 GB of memory and a 500 GB NVMe SSD.
Ports and connections
The tested unit had plenty of ports. It came with USB 2.0, USB 3.1 and a USB C port with Thunderbolt 3. It also had HDMI, mini DisplayPort, a wired network port, a card reader and two audio jacks. For wireless, it used Intel dual band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0. The ports sit on the left, right and back edges. There is also a 720p webcam and Sound Blaster Cinema 5 audio software.
Design and Keyboard
The NH70 looks plain and neat. There are no loud gamer designs. The main signs of its power are the air vents on the sides and back, the brand logo under the screen and the colourful RGB keyboard lights.
The keyboard is full size. The lab501 reviewer liked how it felt, with short and precise key travel. The touchpad was fine too, but its two buttons felt too stiff and shallow for the reviewer’s taste.
At 2.5 kg and 32.5 mm thick, it is quite slim for a 17.3 inch gaming laptop. Still, it is heavy to carry every day. The old post called it “about four pounds” and “great for travelling”. In truth, it is closer to five and a half pounds, and it is best kept on a desk most of the time.
Performance and Gaming
The Core i7 9750H and GTX 1660 Ti were a popular pairing in 2019. Together they could run most games of that time well at Full HD. The lab501 team called the NH70 SE a real “best buy” for anyone after a 17 inch gaming laptop, praising its strong performance for the money.
Heat and cooling
In their tests, the processor reached a top of 91°C and the graphics chip stayed under 69°C. These are high numbers, but the reviewer found that speed did not drop, which is not always true with gaming laptops. They also noted the test was done in the middle of a hot summer in Bucharest.
Screen
The screen impressed the reviewer. It reached about 354 nits of brightness with a contrast of about 1000 to 1. Colours were also good, so the screen worked for both games and light photo or video editing.
Battery life
Battery life was only average. The battery is small, at about 49 Wh, and the reviewer said this shows the NH70 is meant to stay plugged in. The old post claimed three to four hours of gaming on battery and said you must recharge it monthly. We found no test that backs these claims, so we have left them out.
Weak Points of the NH70
The lab501 review listed a few trade offs, as this was one of Clevo’s cheaper models:
- The touchpad buttons are too stiff.
- The tested unit had a single memory stick, which runs slower than two sticks working together.
- It used an older style SATA SSD, which is slower than an NVMe drive.
- The processor cannot be changed, as it is fixed to the board.
The good news is that memory and storage can be chosen when you order. So a buyer could fix the second and third points simply by picking better parts.
How much could you change?
This is where the barebone idea really helps. The Romanian seller let buyers build the NH70 SE in many ways. The base version started at 4,499 Romanian lei. The top setup had three storage drives with 6 TB in total, 32 GB of memory and Windows 10 Pro, and cost 14,049 lei. The tested unit sat near the lower end at about 5,999 lei. Only the processor was fixed, as the Core i7 9750H was the one choice for this model.
What About the Clevo PC70HS?
The old post also talked about the Clevo PC70HS, but mixed its details with the NH70 and added specs that do not exist. There was no “AMD Ryzen 950H” chip, and the NH70 never came with a GTX 1070 as the old post claimed.
The PC70HS is a newer and much slimmer 17.3 inch model from 2021. Notebookcheck reviewed it as the Schenker XMG Pro 17. The tested unit had an Intel Core i7 11800H, an Nvidia RTX 3080 with 16 GB of video memory, and a 4K screen. Buyers could also choose a fast 300 Hz Full HD screen. It weighed about 2.43 kg and was just 19.9 mm thick, with Thunderbolt 4, WiFi 6 and a fingerprint reader.
Notebookcheck gave it about 85 percent. It praised the build and features, but found clear limits. The graphics chip was held to 105 watts to fit the thin body, so it could not run at full speed. The fans got loud, the base got hot under load, and speed fell sharply on battery. The tested setup also cost over 3,300 euros, so it was a premium machine, not a budget one.
To see how price and parts are linked in laptops, read our guide on what factors affect laptop prices.
Should You Buy a Clevo NH70 Today?
The NH70 came out in 2019, so it is now an older laptop. New units are hard to find, but used ones still appear. The GTX 1660 Ti can still handle older games and light online games at Full HD. Newer, heavier games may need lower settings.
If you find one at a good price, check a few things first. Look at the battery health, the fan noise and the temperatures. Find out how much memory it has and whether the SSD is SATA or NVMe. Also remember that support will come from the brand that sold it, not from Clevo itself.
If you want to compare it with well known gaming laptops from the same time, read our Dell Alienware 17 R5 review and our Razer Blade 15 review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who makes the Clevo NH70?
Clevo, a laptop maker from Taiwan. It sells the NH70 as a barebone to other brands, who fit the parts and sell it under their own names.
What is the screen size of the Clevo NH70?
It has a 17.3 inch Full HD IPS screen. The old claim of a 15.6 inch screen was wrong.
Is the Clevo NH70 good for gaming?
In 2019 it was a strong value pick for Full HD gaming. Today it suits older and lighter games best.
How long does the battery last?
Battery life is average, as the battery is small. It is meant to be used plugged in most of the time.
Is the Clevo PC70HS the same as the NH70?
No. The PC70HS is a newer, slimmer and much costlier model with far more powerful parts.