Eurocom Racer Clevo P150HM Screen, Speakers, Keyboard and Touchpad

Screen and Speakers
Eurocom offers the Racer (P150HM) with several different screen options but just one resolution: 1920 x 1080.  The display in our review sample is a FHD 95% Gamut screen with LED backlighting and a fantastic matte surface. We simply cannot stress enough how great this screen looks. If you're a serious gamer then you'll really appreciate being able to view the action on the screen without the distracting reflections from a glossy screen. The display's quality is top-notch and Eurocom even offers factory color calibration with an .icc profile saved on your choice of a CD-ROM or USB flash drive. The backlight is nice and bright making it easy to view what is on the screen even if you're sitting outside under direct sunlight. Horizontal viewing angles are good with just a hint of distortion. Vertical viewing angles are less impressive as colors quickly shift if the display is viewed more than 20 degrees off center either up or down.

The Racer's built-in speakers are located above the keyboard and a subwoofer on the bottom of the notebook helps produce a deep sound quality that fills a room without much distortion at high volume levels. The inclusion of S/PDIF out means serious audiophiles have more options for digital audio than just HDMI.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The P150HM has a full-size keyboard with separate (albeit cramped) numeric keypad. This is a "Chiclet" or island-style keyboard with flat keys raised above the keyboard's surface to provide extra space between each key and help prevent typos. The keyboard has a decent support structure with minimal flex but you do hear a bit of that previously mentioned hollow sound if you type quickly with heavy pressure. The key feedback is pretty shallow with a short throw to each key but typing accuracy is a nonissue. We like the matte key surfaces, which should wear well over time.

One of the two downsides of the keyboard is the lack of dedicated home, end, page up, and page down keys, which are integrated as secondary functions in the arrow keys. The second potential failing of the keyboard is the lack of a keyboard backlight. It's 2012 ... ALL premium notebooks should at least have the "option" of a keyboard with LED lighting to help you see the keyboard in a dark room or airplane.

The touchpad is a mixed bag. While it is responsive, the use of the same rubber-like surface as the palm rests and lid means that your fingers sometimes catch or skip while you're moving the cursor. That's not an acceptable problem to have on a notebook designed for gamers. The discrete touchpad buttons have a shallow throw but are quiet and responsive. You also get a fingerprint reader if you don't want to bother remembering passwords.