The best 2070 gaming laptop?
In this article, we'll take a look on Level51 Nova 15 laptop. Will it meet or even surpass my expectations? Let's find out.
Main specs:
- i7-9750H
- RTX 2070 8GB
- 16GB 2666MHz RAM (dual channel)
- 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD (Phison E12)
- 144Hz IPS with GSYNC
External reviews (NBC):
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Eurocom-Nightsky-RX15-Clevo-PB51RF-Core-i9-4K-OLED-Laptop-Review.431869.0.html
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Eurocom-Nightsky-Ti15-Clevo-PB51RF-Laptop-Review.430289.0.html
1. Build quality, input devices
Build quality is excellent. Most of the laptop is made of aluminium which feels premium.
The keyboard is a new, upgraded Clevo membrane keyboard which can also be found in Forge 15 series. Like Forge 15, typing on it is very pleasing - it has good actuation force (~50g) and key travel (~2mm). Keys are very clicky. You can set keyboard lighting via included software: Control Center.
The touchpad is a glass touchpad which can also be found in Slate series. It uses Precision driver, it’s adequately sized and has a smooth surface. However, wet fingers will make the surface rougher. The dedicated L/R clicks are very tactile and feel high quality. The touchpad is slightly aligned to the right of spacebar to make it more centered. One highlight to note is, there is a hidden fingerprint scanner located on the top part of touchpad for Windows Hello, which can be used to unlock the device.
2. Display, Audio, Battery
The 15.6 inch display is a 144Hz IPS panel with GSYNC – AUO80ED. Fast pace movements looks smooth as expected. It gets bright enough, colours are vibrant, and contrast is good. It has thin bezels. With GSYNC, I could feel that CSGO runs silky smooth even it’s capped on 144 FPS compared to no GSYNC with 300+FPS.
The 2 down firing speakers with a subwoofer has above average audio even if it’s not tuned via Sound Blaster software. Note that it uses BlasterX driver instead of the regular driver. Audio profile I used: Surround 80, Crystalizer 70, Bass 35, Smart vol 80, Dialog+ 75, Reverb 70. There is some bass, and the volume is loud. Overall, sound quality is quite rich and balanced. I kinda enjoyed it. It’s not high tier level but definitely better than many gaming laptops out there.
There is a 62Wh battery installed. Note that the battery is removable from outside. Also, if you wish to have longer battery life, you can turn on MSHybrid (aka Optimus) via BIOS since it has MUX switch.
3. Thermals
The cooling design consists of 2 medium sized shared heatpipes on CPU+GPU, 1 small heatpipe on CPU and 1 small-medium heatpipe on both GPU heatsink and GPU VRM. There are 4 exhaust vents in total (rear and sides). Note that the 1660Ti/2060 version of this chassis has downgraded cooling (1 medium shared heatpipe, 1 medium heatpipe on GPU and 1 small heatpipe on CPU).
Before going into the test, I need to address the main issue of this model. PB50/PB51 chassis is known for its poor airflow due to short rubber feet on the bottom (basically no room). As a result, thermals will be worse: CPU temp can be as high as 10C more without any modification. I decided to conduct all tests with the bottom raised for more airflow (~1cm space). Just keep that in mind if you’re interested in buying this laptop.
Also, because Control Center isn’t working properly, I had to use manual power limits for all the testing. I will state what are the power limits I’ve used for each of the test.
Notes on all thermal testing:
CPU temp - Cinebench R15 multi core (cold run), PL1 80W
76-78W, max 92C, mostly 4GHz, ~1280cb
66-68W, max 86C, 4GHz, ~1280cb
CPU temp - Aida64 FPU, PL1 70W
Max 94C, 3.3-3.4GHz
Max 94C, 3.5-3.53GHz
GPU temp - Unigine Heaven (extreme profile)
1545+MHz, max 70C, ~115W
FPU + Heaven (extreme) with max fans, PL1 60W
CPU: Max 94C, ~3.2GHz, 50-53W
GPU: Max 78C, 1515+MHz, ~115W
There aren’t any noticeable uneven core temps (<5C) despite the tripod heatsink.
There are 4 power profiles to choose from:
Quiet, Power saving, Entertainment, Performance
(Power limits: 15W, 30W; 45W, 56W; 45W, 78W; 55W, 90W)
In short - stick with power saving or entertainment (balanced) profile. Only use performance profile for CPU only load. Quiet profile can be used for light loads / while on battery.
The included power adapter is a 230W unit from Chicony. Take note that temps will be a little higher when running dual channel memory.
4. Miscellaneous
This laptop weights at ~2.5kg and has ~30mm thickness. The laptop is compact for a 15 inch (fairly small dimensions).
It has IR camera for Windows Hello. There’s an optional 240Hz or 4K OLED panel upgrade, however you’ll lose GSYNC.
Ports (from left to right):
L: Kensington lock, USB A 3.0, mic, headphone
R: USB C with TB3, USB A 3.0
Front: Full size SD card reader
Rear: RJ45, HDMI, mDP, USB C, USB A 3.0, power
Other settings in Control Center software besides power modes and led keyboard setting:
- Flexikey for Macros
- Fan speed control (2 points only, can drag anywhere to adjust fan speed and target temperature)
Tuned fan curve:
CPU: 40C 20%, 60C 70%, 74C 99%, 100C 100%
GPU: 45C 20%, 60C 70%, 69C 99%, 100C 100%
Original fan curve:
CPU: 40C 20%, 60C 52%, 80C 80%, 100C 100%
GPU: 45C 20%, 60C 58%, 80C 99%, 100C 100%
Fans do run while idling (cannot turn off) but it's very quiet. TBH max fan noise isn’t that loud either, not sure it’s due to BIOS/EC version.
Conclusion
This is one of the best 2070 15.6 inch laptop you can get IMO. It’s a very solid machine in almost every aspects, only major downside is the airflow issue. If you’re looking for a 15 inch 2070 laptop, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Pros:
- Excellent build quality
Based on Clevo PB51RF-G chassis (aka PB50RF-G)
Product page:
https://www.level51pc.co/welcome/Productinner/nova-15
Product page:
https://www.level51pc.co/welcome/Productinner/nova-15
External reviews (NBC):
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Eurocom-Nightsky-RX15-Clevo-PB51RF-Core-i9-4K-OLED-Laptop-Review.431869.0.html
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Eurocom-Nightsky-Ti15-Clevo-PB51RF-Laptop-Review.430289.0.html
1. Build quality, input devices
Build quality is excellent. Most of the laptop is made of aluminium which feels premium.
The aluminium lid has brush finish on top of it. There is some flex when the lid is twisted, but rigidity is decent, and the flex will be locked out at certain point - I would say it’s better than P960 (Slate-15) and NH58 (Forge 15). Applying force on the middle of the lid results in minor flex. The lid has minimal wobbling and you can open the lid with 1 hand. The aluminium keyboard deck feels solid. There’s basically no flex when pushing down the whole C body, including keyboard area.
The keyboard is a new, upgraded Clevo membrane keyboard which can also be found in Forge 15 series. Like Forge 15, typing on it is very pleasing - it has good actuation force (~50g) and key travel (~2mm). Keys are very clicky. You can set keyboard lighting via included software: Control Center.
The touchpad is a glass touchpad which can also be found in Slate series. It uses Precision driver, it’s adequately sized and has a smooth surface. However, wet fingers will make the surface rougher. The dedicated L/R clicks are very tactile and feel high quality. The touchpad is slightly aligned to the right of spacebar to make it more centered. One highlight to note is, there is a hidden fingerprint scanner located on the top part of touchpad for Windows Hello, which can be used to unlock the device.
2. Display, Audio, Battery
The 15.6 inch display is a 144Hz IPS panel with GSYNC – AUO80ED. Fast pace movements looks smooth as expected. It gets bright enough, colours are vibrant, and contrast is good. It has thin bezels. With GSYNC, I could feel that CSGO runs silky smooth even it’s capped on 144 FPS compared to no GSYNC with 300+FPS.
The 2 down firing speakers with a subwoofer has above average audio even if it’s not tuned via Sound Blaster software. Note that it uses BlasterX driver instead of the regular driver. Audio profile I used: Surround 80, Crystalizer 70, Bass 35, Smart vol 80, Dialog+ 75, Reverb 70. There is some bass, and the volume is loud. Overall, sound quality is quite rich and balanced. I kinda enjoyed it. It’s not high tier level but definitely better than many gaming laptops out there.
There is a 62Wh battery installed. Note that the battery is removable from outside. Also, if you wish to have longer battery life, you can turn on MSHybrid (aka Optimus) via BIOS since it has MUX switch.
3. Thermals
The cooling design consists of 2 medium sized shared heatpipes on CPU+GPU, 1 small heatpipe on CPU and 1 small-medium heatpipe on both GPU heatsink and GPU VRM. There are 4 exhaust vents in total (rear and sides). Note that the 1660Ti/2060 version of this chassis has downgraded cooling (1 medium shared heatpipe, 1 medium heatpipe on GPU and 1 small heatpipe on CPU).
Before going into the test, I need to address the main issue of this model. PB50/PB51 chassis is known for its poor airflow due to short rubber feet on the bottom (basically no room). As a result, thermals will be worse: CPU temp can be as high as 10C more without any modification. I decided to conduct all tests with the bottom raised for more airflow (~1cm space). Just keep that in mind if you’re interested in buying this laptop.
Also, because Control Center isn’t working properly, I had to use manual power limits for all the testing. I will state what are the power limits I’ve used for each of the test.
Notes on all thermal testing:
- GPU driver tested is 436.30
- Test is conducted in an A/C room (ambient 25C-27C)
- Custom fan profile is used (more info later) – auto fans are too quiet
- BD PROCHOT for CPU is 93C
- Max fan noise is ~49dBA (~4100-4400 RPM)
- Laptop is plugged in
- The fan speed changes slowly according to the load
- There is undervolt applied out of the box: -50mv
Undervolt profile: CPU core+cache -100mv. I didn't undervolt the GPU, however you can undervolt it if you want. Blue highlighted part is the undervolted result.
CPU temp - Cinebench R15 multi core (cold run), PL1 80W
76-78W, max 92C, mostly 4GHz, ~1280cb
66-68W, max 86C, 4GHz, ~1280cb
CPU temp - Aida64 FPU, PL1 70W
Max 94C, 3.3-3.4GHz
Max 94C, 3.5-3.53GHz
GPU temp - Unigine Heaven (extreme profile)
1545+MHz, max 70C, ~115W
FPU + Heaven (extreme) with max fans, PL1 60W
CPU: Max 94C, ~3.2GHz, 50-53W
GPU: Max 78C, 1515+MHz, ~115W
There aren’t any noticeable uneven core temps (<5C) despite the tripod heatsink.
There are 4 power profiles to choose from:
Quiet, Power saving, Entertainment, Performance
(Power limits: 15W, 30W; 45W, 56W; 45W, 78W; 55W, 90W)
In short - stick with power saving or entertainment (balanced) profile. Only use performance profile for CPU only load. Quiet profile can be used for light loads / while on battery.
The included power adapter is a 230W unit from Chicony. Take note that temps will be a little higher when running dual channel memory.
4. Miscellaneous
This laptop weights at ~2.5kg and has ~30mm thickness. The laptop is compact for a 15 inch (fairly small dimensions).
It has IR camera for Windows Hello. There’s an optional 240Hz or 4K OLED panel upgrade, however you’ll lose GSYNC.
Ports (from left to right):
L: Kensington lock, USB A 3.0, mic, headphone
R: USB C with TB3, USB A 3.0
Front: Full size SD card reader
Rear: RJ45, HDMI, mDP, USB C, USB A 3.0, power
Other settings in Control Center software besides power modes and led keyboard setting:
- Flexikey for Macros
- Fan speed control (2 points only, can drag anywhere to adjust fan speed and target temperature)
Tuned fan curve:
CPU: 40C 20%, 60C 70%, 74C 99%, 100C 100%
GPU: 45C 20%, 60C 70%, 69C 99%, 100C 100%
Original fan curve:
CPU: 40C 20%, 60C 52%, 80C 80%, 100C 100%
GPU: 45C 20%, 60C 58%, 80C 99%, 100C 100%
Fans do run while idling (cannot turn off) but it's very quiet. TBH max fan noise isn’t that loud either, not sure it’s due to BIOS/EC version.
Conclusion
This is one of the best 2070 15.6 inch laptop you can get IMO. It’s a very solid machine in almost every aspects, only major downside is the airflow issue. If you’re looking for a 15 inch 2070 laptop, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Pros:
- Excellent build quality
- Good thermals (2070 GPU in a 15 inch can be hard to be cooled)
- Excellent input devices, per key RGB KB
- Above average audio quality
- 144Hz with GSYNC, optional 240Hz / 4K OLED
- MUX switch
- TB3, plenty of ports
- Fingerprint reader and IR camera for Windows Hello
- Excellent input devices, per key RGB KB
- Above average audio quality
- 144Hz with GSYNC, optional 240Hz / 4K OLED
- MUX switch
- TB3, plenty of ports
- Fingerprint reader and IR camera for Windows Hello
- Compact chassis with subtle look
- Removable battery
- Removable battery
- Supports up to 3200MHz RAM with XMP profile, optional i9 (not sold by Level51)
Cons:
- Poor airflow (easy fix)
- Fan profile needs tuning (though max fan noise isn't that loud)
Gallery
Cons:
- Poor airflow (easy fix)
- Fan profile needs tuning (though max fan noise isn't that loud)
Gallery
Thanks for reading!
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