Guest article by Richard Knausenberger
After my previous notebook, a 15" MacBook Pro from the beginning of 2011, is now a bit outdated, it was time for a new notebook. Important to me were: 100% Linux compatibility, good battery performance (at least 7 hours browsing), a good, sufficiently large touchpad with very good gesture recognition, enough power to be used for the next 8 to 10 years as a device for everyday use (mainly office and browsing), quiet fans for normal use, an aluminum case, and a Thunderbolt 3 port.
After a long search I came across the Clevo N151ZU. But since the support didn't want to answer my questions (due to a lack of sufficient article description at clevo-computer.com), I waited. And the waiting was worth it! A few weeks later TUXEDO Computers added the Clevo N151ZU as InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 to their product range. As usual with excellent and detailed article description, so I bought the device a few weeks later. How the device performs and whether it meets my wishes and requirements can be read in this review:
!Important: Since the basic device is from Clevo, not all of the criticisms mentioned in this review apply to TUXEDO Computers!
Configuration:
TUXEDO Computers offers the following equipment:
- an i5-8265U or an i7-8565U
- 1x 8 GB, 1x 16 GB, 1x 32 GB, 2x 8 GB, 2x 16 GB, or 2x 32 GB RAM, each with 2666 MHz
- a Samsung 860 EVO SSD in 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB, alternatively a Samsung 970 EVO Plus (NVMe PCIe) SSD in 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB or a Samsung 970 Pro (NVMe PCIe) SSD in 512 GB and 1024 GB
- the WLAN & Bluetooth network card (Intel Dual AC 9260) can be omitted
- Keyboard layouts with Linux Super key: Germany [DE-DE], United States of America ISO [EN-US international], United Kingdom [EN-UK], Switzerland [DE-CH], Belgium [BE], Denmark [DK], France [FR], Italy [IT], Portugal [PT], Spain [ES], and Sweden [SE]
- Keyboard layouts with Windows key: United States of America ANSI [EN-US international]
- power cable of the power supply unit: EU [F C6], UK [G C6], CH [J C6], IT [L C6], and US [B C6].
- Warranty: 2, 3, 4 and 5 years
- pre-installed Linux distributions: TUXEDO_OS 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, openSUSE 15.1 (Gnome, Xfce and KDE), optionally with full disk encryption
- pre-installed Windows versions: 10 Home and Pro (German) as virtual machines in Linux, 10 Home and Pro (German and English) normally installed, optional also without license
The device is also optionally available in red (Clevo N150ZU).
As a special feature TUXEDO Computers offers a 54 Wh battery instead of the usual 36 Wh. This also eliminates the additional 2.5" slot for another SSD or hard disk. Of course, TUXEDO Computers also supplies the necessary cables, etc., in case you want to upgrade to a smaller 36 Wh battery, but with a 2.5" hard disk/SSD.
From the other manufacturers, who also sell the Clevo N151ZU, TUXEDO Computers also stands out due to the faster 2666 MHz RAM, of which only 2400 MHz can be used "correctly", but according to TUXEDO Computers still delivers a performance gain of approx. 5%.
Furthermore, TUXEDO Computers offers its own TUX logo on the Super button, the "TUXEDO" lettering under the screen and the TUXEDO "X" logo on the lid. This makes you stand out visibly from all other Windows notebooks. ;)
Also included is a TUXEDO WebFAI USB stick, which can be used to reinstall the Linux distributions offered for pre-installation (this allows the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 to be reset to factory settings). Also included is an optically very appealing manual from TUXEDO Computers, a code for permanently free 10 GB cloud memory at TUXEDO Computers own cloud "MyTUXEDO", as well as the original description of Clevo and the original Windows drivers on CD (limited useful, since the device itself does not have an optical drive, but such a drive can be retrofitted externally via USB, e.g. at TUXEDO Computers such are available). The Windows drivers are also available as USB sticks from SCHENKER Technologies. A cleaning cloth is also included.
TUXEDO Computers has included 2 TUXEDO ballpoint pens and a round mouse pad with a TUXEDO penguin.
BIOS updates can be downloaded from www.tuxedocomputers.com in the profile area under "Downloads for your TUXEDO". Don't get confused, "InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 BIOS" seems to be some Windows program (but I didn't take a closer look, a pack of .exe files scared me off immediately). "InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 EC", the option one below, is what you're probably looking for.**
**Editor's note: The customer account contains the files for Flash under Windows and those for EFI Flash. So EC and BIOS downloads are available separately as downloads.
I chose an i7-8565U, 2x 8 GB RAM and a 1024 GB Samsung 970 Pro SSD (of course with the Dual AC 9260 network card from Intel and a German keyboard). All tests were done with a self installed Ubuntu 19.04 (Kernel 5.0.0-20-generic) with the tuxedo.sh script
Packing:
Like all other notebooks from TUXEDO Computers, of which I have seen an unboxing, the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 comes in a rather limited packaging (to be careful). You shouldn't be deterred by it, no you didn't buy a G3 Clamshell iBook (if that's supposed to be a notebook on the package at all).
However, the package still fulfills its function, it is stable and offers a carrying handle. Inside, the notebook is additionally packed - so everything is perfect.
Case:
The case of the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 is only partially made of aluminum. The lid, as well as the inside around the keyboard, are made of an aluminum block, with a narrow plastic strip on the bottom of the lid. The edge around the display is made of high-quality plastic. The underside is made of rather rough plastic, which at least doesn't feel cheap. It's a shame that it's not also made of aluminum, but a plastic underside also has some advantages: it's a bit more stable and doesn't get that warm, which means you can have your notebook painlessly on your lap when it's running under maximum load for a longer time.
The rubber border is pulled through in one piece (with recess for the camera).
The distance between the screen and the edges is only 0.8 cm at the sides (left and right), 1 cm at the top and 2.9 cm at the bottom.
The case is 36 cm wide, 24.5 cm deep and 2 cm high (folded down, or 1.3 cm when opened, without lid). It has 4 status LEDs for power, battery, flight mode and the data carrier. Unfortunately these can't be deactivated via the BIOS, but you can easily unplug them after opening the case.
To open the case, a few more steps are necessary compared to most other notebooks I have opened so far (beginning of 2011 15" MacBook Pro , 2011 13" MacBook Air, Thinkpad T420, Thinkpad X220, Aspire V3 772G, ...). First the 2 middle screws on the bottom of the case have to be loosened (recognizable by the keyboard symbol next to them). Then you have to e.g. use a screwdriver to pierce the hole created by removing the screw (with the keyboard lift symbol) to lift out the keyboard (make sure to open the notebook first!) Then you have to loosen 2 screws under the keyboard, which hold the bottom of the case in addition to the other screws on the underside that have to be loosened as well. Then you can take it out, but like most non-MacBook notebooks you have to lever it out with a screwdriver.
Luckily TUXEDO Computers uploaded a video to explain this process in detail at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFan2eTm_QU&t=350s. Although this is for the 13"/14" versions of the InfinityBook Pro, it works the same for the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4.
Unfortunately, the lid can't be opened with one hand. Although it can be opened with one hand on a soft surface with a little swing, I doubt that this is the healthiest thing for the hinges. At the front of the lid, the screen border protrudes slightly, so that the lid can be easily grasped to open it.
The power button, illuminated in white (in one brightness level), is 2 cm x 0.7 cm and can be pressed comfortably. What's striking about the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 is that you have to hold down the power button a little to switch it on, pressing it only briefly doesn't work.
According to my kitchen scale, the device weighs 1.601 kg, whereby the weight can vary slightly due to the configuration (e.g. if you decide on only one RAM bar and/or omit the network card).
The screen can be opened about 145°, so you can easily use the device on your lap.
Connections:
The InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 has two USB 3.1 (Type A) ports, one USB 2.0 (Type A) port, one Mini DisplayPort 1.3 (maximum 3840 x 2160 p at 60 Hz), one HDMI 1.4b port with HDCP (maximum 2560 x 1600 at 60 Hz, maximum 3840 x 2160 p at 30 Hz), a 3.5 mm jack microphone connector, a 3.5 mm jack 2-in-1 headset connector, for headphones/loudspeakers and headsets with only one connector, a Gigabit LAN connector, a 9-in-1 card reader (for MMC/RSMMC, SD/SDHC/SDXC/Micro SD [with additional adapter] and MS/MS Pro/MS Duo), a connector for a Kensington anti-theft device and a Thunderbolt 3 connector (USB type C, including Displayport with maximum 3840 x 2160 p at 60 Hz) with charging function (requires 19 V - 20 V power supply), which also supports eGPUs (external graphics cards).
Even in standby mode, the USB ports still provide power, e.g. charging a smartphone is still possible even then (in the shutdown state, of course, they remain off).
Unfortunately only one Type C port is installed, for 2019 a bit thin. What the USB 2.0 port is supposed to do is a mystery to me, clearly 2 USB 3.1 Type A and another Type C port are enough for data transfer, the 2.0 port can be used e.g. for a mouse, where it doesn't matter if it is a 2.0 or 3.1 port. Nevertheless: What you have, you have! For example, another Type C port would have been nice.
Display:
The InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 has an anti-glare 1920 x 1080 p monitor (60 Hz) with IPS panel (brightness: 300 cd/m², contrast: 700:1). At maximum brightness, everything can be seen sufficiently well on the screen even in direct sunlight.
Even at the lowest brightness level, the display remains on.
Power supply:
The power supply is the second big optical disappointment after packaging. Unfortunately it doesn't fit at all to the silver InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 with aluminium case. One would have expected this power supply rather for a black 500 € notebook with a plastic case. Too bad!
It is 1.85 m long + 0.9 m mains plug. For the transport there is a reusable cable tie at the power supply.
It is a 65 W power supply (19 V at 3.42 A).
With mains plug it weighs just 360 grams. It is therefore easy to take with you.
Further 65 W power supplies for the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 can be purchased at TUXEDO Computers: https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/de/Netzteil-65-Watt-Ersatz-/-Zusatz-Netzteil-inkl.-Stromkabel-als-Reisenetzteil-fuer-alle-TUXEDO-Books.tuxedo#.
The power supply is very easy to plug in and out, but still holds well in the notebook.
A magnetic power supply could be retrofitted via a USB type C port, but this would block the Thunderbolt 3 and thus the only USB type C port (well, of course the hobby solution always works, but I don't want to drill into my new 1,500 € InfinityBook afterwards).
Fans:
The fans stand still or are inaudible during normal operation (office, normal surfing, watching YouTube videos, etc.). Even at maximum speed, the fans are pleasantly quiet, even if you can clearly hear them.
Unfortunately, it's only while charging the battery that the fans often "jump" (quickly turn on and then go out again). By installing "tuxedo-fan-control" from TUXEDO Computers (https://github.com/tuxedocomputers/tuxedo-fan-control) the problem could be mitigated a bit, but is still there. According to TUXEDO Computers, the problem will most likely be solved with the next BIOS update.
Keyboard:
Although every new keyboard is a change again, I got along very well with the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 from the beginning. It's very smooth-running, flat, very quiet and offers a pleasant typing experience.
Especially in the middle and partly also at the edge it can be pressed down a bit, but for that you need a lot of power, so that it can't happen during normal use.
The normal keys (letters, numbers, etc.) are approx. 1.6 cm x 1.6 cm. The ESC and F keys are approx. 1.5 cm x 1.1 cm. The keys on the numeric keypad, on the other hand, are somewhat smaller, the normal numeric keys are only approx. 0.9 cm x 1.5 cm. What looks particularly good optically are the arrow keys, which integrate seamlessly into the keyboard despite their full size. Only the slightly narrower number pad keys above the normal sized arrow key (right) are a bit noticeable, but the distance to the normal keyboard is otherwise quite practical, so that you don't accidentally press a key on the number pad.
The keyboard brightness can be controlled via the key combination Fn + Plus (numeric keypad) or Fn + Minus (numeric keypad), from quite over 10 levels to the maximum brightness. The key combination Fn + Multiplication (numeric keypad) can be used to switch the keyboard illumination on and off. It has many different colours such as blue, turquoise, red, green, white, money, pink and purple, which can be switched over using the key combination Fn + Division (numeric keypad). Alternatively, the brightness, colour and mode can be controlled via the TUXEDO Computers "tuxedo-keyboard" program(https://github.com/tuxedocomputers/tuxedo-keyboard) so that the brightness, colour and mode are automatically applied again after a restart. To make this work even after standby, you need a small fix https://github.com/tuxedocomputers/tuxedo-keyboard/issues/9#issuecomment-462775212. Unfortunately, the keyboard illumination goes off after 30 seconds of non-use (it is switched on again as soon as you press a key, moving the mouse e.g. over the touchpad is not enough), in the BIOS there is no setting for it. Finding a similar solution to the XPS 13 from Dell via Linux was also unsuccessful. TUXEDO Computers is working on a solution to the problem.
The keyboard offers the key combinations:
-Fn + F1: Touchpad on/off
-Fn + F2: Display switch off
-Fn + F3: Sound on/off
-Fn + F5: Decrease volume
-Fn + F6: Increase volume
-Fn + F7: Switching screens
-Fn + F8: Reduce screen brightness
-Fn + F9: Increase screen brightness
-Fn + F10: Camera on/off
-Fn + F11: Flight mode on/off
-Fn + F12: Standby
Unfortunately, these key combinations can only be accessed via the Fn key. There's no way to reverse their behavior, so for example to decrease volume you only have to press F5 and for the normal F5 function (e.g. refresh page in browser) then Fn + F5, as is the case with Macbooks, XPS' and some Thinkpads. Also the BIOS does not offer a setting for this.
-Fn + ^: Pause/Play
-Fn + 1: Fan at full speed/automatic
-F7: Bootmenü
-F2: BIOS
Touchpad:
It was already clear to me in advance that the touchpad would be a challenge for my requirements.
It measures 10.8 cm x 6.3 cm, plus two buttons (left and right click) each measuring 5.4 cm x 1.3 cm. The surface is made of aluminium (including the two buttons) and feels very good, as expected. The fingers glide over it very well. It doesn't give way a millimeter, it sits firmly in the case. Even when touched more strongly, nothing rattles.
The two keys click very quietly. Each of the two keys has its own click tone, so that you can also tell by which key you have just pressed.
Single-taps (left click), 2-finger-taps (right click), scrolling vertically and horizontally with two fingers everything works ex works and is perfectly recognized. Awesome!
Also a middle click via 3-finger-taps is recognized by default, but to get it reliably requires some practice. Only a short touch is detected, the fingers must no longer be placed on the touchpad. Therefore, a middle click by typing requires a very fast movement, which is sometimes recognized as normal typing (left click) or sometimes even as a zoom gesture (more about this). Therefore it is advisable to use a little trick: One leaves two fingers lying on the touchpad like when scrolling and then taps only once briefly with the third finger. This is then recognized as a middle click. Alternatively, one can also press both keys of the touchpad at the same time, one can even press both keys in the middle with only one finger.
The heel of hand recognition is quite good, but I had to add the option "acpi_osi=Linux" in the line "GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=""" in the file /etc/default/grub (remember: Run sudo update-grub once and restart). Nevertheless, it can be helpful to switch off the touchpad completely during longer typing sessions (using the key combination Fn + F1) or to move the pointer to an empty position in the control bar/panel of the system to prevent accidental clicking by typing.
With the program libinput-gestures (https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures) further gestures can be set. Zooming with two fingers is activated by default. Forwards and backwards (Alt + left/right arrow key) were unfortunately not recognized here. With a maximum of three fingers it is possible, but is unfortunately too often recognized as a middle click. The InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 doesn't seem to recognize gestures with more than three fingers.
Speakers:
The integrated speakers of the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 are quite loud. The quality is also really good for notebook loudspeakers. The speakers are located on the underside and share the tabletop. On solid surfaces, like desks, the sound is best, on softer surfaces, like a bed, for example, or on none at all, like when you have the device on your lap, the sound is much quieter. So if you move the device between bed, desk and lap more often, you will have to turn the volume up or down more often.
Microphone:
For an integrated microphone, the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 has a decent quality. As with any notebook microphone, you can't expect studio quality, but for normal use, such as making phone calls via Discord and Skype, it's quite enough.
Camera:
The InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 has a 1280 x 720 p camera (30 FPS). The quality is fine for an integrated notebook camera. It also performs quite well in poor lighting conditions. If a program should deliver a rather unhealthy looking black and white image, you should check whether the IR camera responsible for face recognition is set instead of the normal webcam.
Face recognition:
One of the main features of the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 is face recognition. With the program howdy (https://github.com/boltgolt/howdy) it can easily be used under Linux, e.g. for login and sudo.
Note on installing howdy: During the installation, howdy briefly activates one camera at a time. You will then be asked if the correct camera has been activated. But first I activated the normal webcam (white signal light), so I answered with N. Then howdy activated the right camera (red signal light). With this camera the face recognition works, too.
The face recognition works very well (even in the dark), but it can be helpful to save your face from several angles, so that the recognition works more often and faster without having to move your head back and forth in front of the camera.
Cooling & Performance:
Not completely uninteresting for notebooks is the question of how good the cooling is. The fact that TUXEDO Computers uses a self-developed heat-conducting paste naturally sounds promising. In order to test the cooling, I used the program stress to load the processor to 100 % (stress -c 8). I monitored the temperatures with Psensor, the clock of the processor I monitored with watch -n 1 'cpufreq-info | grep "momentary clock frequency"' (of the packet cpufrequtils).
During normal operation, the CPU runs at a temperature of approx. 52 °C.
During the stress test the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4 could not hold the original 2.5 GHz for long, after only two to three minutes the clock rate was reduced to 2.0 GHz. On the other hand, the temperature dropped from approx. 80 °C to only 72 °C. The fans remained surprisingly quiet.
It is clear that these are, of course, extreme conditions and not everyday situations. To test an everyday situation, I rendered a 720 p video (30 FPS) with Kdenlive (with all 8 threads). But even here the initial 2.5 GHz could not be maintained during the almost three-minute render time (80% - 90% CPU load), the clock rate went down to 2.0 GHz again.
As a final test I did a small gaming test with the CPU performance test game Minecraft. But even here the clock rate of up to 3.4 GHz cannot be maintained for long, it goes below 2.0 GHz, up to 1.7 GHz, after only a few minutes. Minecraft nevertheless ran in over 100 FPS. ;) All tests were of course carried out on the power supply, with a fully charged battery (so that there is no additional heat, unwanted during the test). I also took longer breaks between the tests so that the notebook could cool down again.
Even switching the performance profile to "Performance Mode" in the BIOS didn't change anything.
Battery performance:
To test the battery performance, I repeated the stress test for the processor (stress -c 8). The result was a battery life of about 2 hours and 45 minutes (screen brightness at maximum, WLAN on, Bluetooth off, keyboard illumination off, no external devices).
After that I ran the already mentioned YouTube video for opening an InfinityBook from TUXEDO Computers in a continuous loop. The result was a battery life of almost 10 hours (screen brightness at lowest level, via WLAN, Bluetooth off, keyboard illumination off, speakers off, no external devices).
(The tests were done on my installed system. With a fresh installation, a longer battery life can also occur.)
Gaming:
If you really want to gamble on the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4, you will of course need an external graphics card. Nevertheless I tested some games on the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4:
Payday 2 (lowest settings, 1336 x 768 p): 30-45 FPS
Minecraft (Vanilla): 100-130 FPS
Battlefront 2 (antialiasing off, shadow on low): 80 FPS
Left 4 Dead 2 (lowest settings): 75-90 FPS
Problems with 5.0 Kernel:
As also confirmed by TUXEDO Computers I can report problems with the hardware under Ubuntu 19.04 (Kernel 5.0.0-20-generic). Sometimes the keyboard (after standby) doesn't work anymore. Also the key combination Fn + F1 (switch touchpad on/off) remains without function. Therefore it is advisable to use a version tested by TUXEDO Computers such as Ubuntu 18.04, or to wait for newer versions where the problems do not occur.
Conclusion:
In summary, I am very satisfied with the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4. It fully met my expectations and requirements. In my opinion, the slightly higher price (compared to some others who sell the Clevo N151ZU) is quite justified (54 Wh battery, penguin button, Linux support, 10 GB cloud memory). At www.laptopzusammenstellen.com it's even more expensive!
At this point I would like to thank the support of TUXEDO Computers who helped me with all my questions about the InfinityBook Pro 15 v4. As usual with TUXEDO Computers very fast (mostly the answer was there a few hours later) and good. So: a clear buying recommendation!
Thank you Richard Knausenberger for your detailed review!
Here you find his Twitter account Twitter-Account.
