[Review] Sager NP8651 / Clevo P650SE with GTX 970m HTWingNut's REVIEW

It's a clevo factory option which sager has not gone for due to lack of demand.

 

Read the first post!
Heck, it's almost 50 pages, which I'm not reading -.-
Any salient points that weren't discussed in the first review?

 

If there is anything major HTwing usually goes back and edits the first post.

 

Cool. Is anyone who bought this regretting this choice, or do you still believe this to be one of the best choices for the price? Is the missing dvd reader a problem?

 

No regrets here and haven't missed an optical drive for over 4 years...

 

same here, havent really used an OD in the past 6 years or so. old tech!

 

Plus; you don't need an optical drive to have an UEFI Windows install.
Just pop any Windows 8.1 ISO on USB with software like Rufus for example and the system will see the UEFI subfolder on the stick and install it in the UEFI way. Optical drives are obsolete.

 

My current notebook which I've had for a couple years now does not have an ODD and I haven't missed it either. However I do burn discs from time to time but do that on my desktop. If you don't plan on burning discs then you should never miss it.

 

If it's just the odd disc you need having an external one that you can just grab when you need it means you don't have to lug around with you.

 

For all of you with a 3k screen, how good is it?
I mean, do you have any problem seeing the text without scaling? (I currently the w230st without scaling)
Do you play games at 3k or lower resolution? How many fps do you get on average at 3k?
I'm currently willing to buy this model, but not sure which screen to choose. I wanted to get the 3k, but not sure if there is any reasong over the1080p screen.

 

u can calculate the fps ull get quite easily when comparing to FHD res: on 4K ull get about 20-30% of the fps, whereas 3K would give u around 50% of the FHD performance.

 

Hi - I'm very interested in this laptop (though possibly with a GTX 980m, if funds allow), I was originally put off by the comments about the quality of the TN LCD screen in the review, but it looks like PCSpecialist (the UK-based reseller that I would most likely use) is now offering this with a choice of screens, all of which are IPS or PLS LED:

1) A 1920 x 1080 Matte IPS LED Screen (60Hz refresh) - model "N156HGE-LA1" + £0

2) A 2880 x 1620 Matte IPS LED Screen (60Hz refresh) - model "Panasonic VVX16T029D00" + £59

3) A 3840 x 2160 Glossy 4K PLS LED Screen (48Hz refresh) - model "LTN156FL02-L01" + £159


Should all of these screens be better than the one reviewed? Also would it would worth going for the Panasonic 2880 x 1620 display over the base 1920 x 1080 one? I'm not so interested in the 4K screen

As I'll be spending alot of time in front of the screen it's important that I get a laptop with a decent one!

 

Anyone?

Dispute what I posted above, I've read elsewhere that the base N156HGE-LA1 is actually a TN panel, not IPS, which puts me off

I'm verging towards the Panasonic VVX16T029D00 2880 x 1620 display, is this a decent display and will there be any scaling issues with this? What desktop resolution would this display crisply? 1440x810?

 

as far as i know (based on user reports) the panasonic is in the same ballpark as the sharp 4K screen, and thats definitely a good thing considering its basically the best of the best out there thats why i also opted for it, especially since i didnt want to wait until april when my vendor finally receives their stock of matte sharp 4K screens.

also, with a 3K res theres more potential for not having to scale, thus running native if u have good eyes. scaling to 1080p was reported to be very crisp, which is of course important for games that a 970M/980M wouldnt be able to handle at 3K. but even so, the performance penalty of a 3K display is just around -50%, whereas a 4K robs u of about 70-80% of your fps on a FHD panel.

hope that helps!

cheers

 

Thanks, that sounds encouraging! Once you receive your P75xZM "Batman", perhaps you could post here what you think of the 3K screen, as I'm sure others would be interested too

 

sure can do, although im still about a week out

 

A 17" 3K IPS pannel would be perfect for me.. Hoping that we have the 1st few by September/October..

 

I like the configuration for this laptop. Was going to order this with the 4 K display upgrade with the Sharp IGZO display, 60Hz. Does anyone have any input on the IGZO display by Sharp. Any thoughts on how this compares to the Samsung IPS display?

 

The IGZO display is much better then the Samsung one.. Both are good but IGZO tech is way above the Pentile tech Samsung uses...

 

Thanks TomJGX for your reply. I ordered from Xotic PC. Have people here had a good experience with them?

 

Hi,

I recently bought Np8651 from xotic PC. Im trying to install OSX 10 in it.

Since intel wifi is not supported in OSX , im planing to buy BCM94352Z M.2 card.

My Question is, can install both the cards at once, since i have empty M.2 slots.

Thanks

 

How was your experience with Xotic PC?

 

it was good, and i definitely recommend them

 

Really you want to use OSX on a windows laptop? Obviously it's not going to work and even if it does, it will be in a massive roundabout way..

M2 slots wise, your laptop has one wifi card slot.. The other M2 slots are storage ones so you'll have to remove your old wifi card..

Also XoticPC have some good rep here.. LPC Digital, GentechPC, Mythologic also have some good rep around here... I bought my G73JH from GentechPC in 2010 actually.. great service and never had any problems with my laptop..

 

You can on some machines, however you need to ensure the machine uses all the same chips as apple as their OS is a closed platform and does not have a wide variety of drivers.

 

Is there any official BIOS update released for this model? Other than the mod....

If no official BIOS updates. Is there any good reason why I should use the Prema modded BIOS? I don't really do any overclocking or that sort. Does the modded bios have other advantage/fixes apart from overclocking options?

 

sure, just go to premamod.com, under the section "important" u can find the latest stock bios and ec versions for ur machine premamod bios updates and unlocks all sorts of things and functions, just have a looksie looksie at the respective changelog

 

If you are not tweaking or dont have issues leave your bios as is.

 

Has anyone tried Ubuntu 14.10 on a 4K display? Does it scale worse or better than Windows 8.1?

 

based on user reports and reviews ive seen linux should generally scale better than windows...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Linux supposedly scales better due to vector based scaling lol so 4K should better then in Windows

 

thanks Tom JGX

I got this laptop couple of days ago (Sager NP 8651, 4K Sharp IGZO display), ordered from Xotic PC.
Was very happy initially and ran great yesterday when I used it plugged in (tried Crysis 2 yesterday, runs at 50-60 FPS on Ultra settings, 1080p)
Today when running on battery it just went to sleep without any obvious reason (battery was at 80%) three times, had to reboot it. Was working on it when it would just suddenly have the screen shut down and the computer would go to sleep. When I opened the Event log in Windows 8.1 there are various 'Kernel Power' errors, one said 'low power' the other two said something else. But the battery was at 80% so should not have happened.
This has not happened when it is plugged in.
Should I return it back to Xotic? Or is there some thing simple I am missing/can do?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

First thing you'll want to do is get a hold of our service team so they can assist you in narrowing down the problem. They'd be able to advise you as to the best course of action.

 

Shutting down at 80% is odd. There is a setting where you can tell the computer what battery % to shut down at.
It should be found in Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change advanced power settings > Then expand the Battery > See if any list 80% and adjust to a lower number you prefer.

 

Thanks for the suggestions but when I reviewed the settings you asked in power management they are set at 5%, none are abnormal. I mistakenly said shut down, it actually goes into hibernation, happened several times now. I will email the support team now.

 

How do I turn on the Bluetooth on this notebook? I'm lost

 

Its usually Fn + F11

 

Turn off hibernation.. problem solved... Hibernation eats up space especially if you have an SSD...

 

I'm considering upgrading from my W230SS because I'm finding 13.3 way too small.

Hoping to get similar to my W230SS from this- likely?

Is anyone bothered by the lack of USB port's on this? And the lack of d-sub?

 

Just an update on the issue I was having about the computer going to sleep on battery. I spoke to the Sager service, highly impressed, someone answered in a few seconds and there was a very knowledgeable guy who helped me through the process. The problem was that the screen would shut down and the computer would stay running which is what I was calling 'sleep' , it was really only the screen shutting down, the laptop itself was working. After a few steps that the tech support guided me through it appears that this only happens when the laptop display is set at 4K and on battery. The 4K res is fine with the power adaptor plugged in, no issues. But on battery and 4K res on the display it would just turn the screen off after a few minutes despite the battery being >80% and the screen would not restart despite any input on the touchpad or keyboard.

If I set the screen on a lower resolution (anything under 4K) it works fine on battery and has no issues, gets about about 2 1/2 to 3 hours on battery. I have the 4K Sharp IGZO screen (60 Hz). It appears that there is some issue with this screen at 4K on battery (at least on my model). The tech support person said it is a new screen they just started shipping out a few weeks ago and so far they have not had this complaint but he would look into this and see if there was a fix.

I have update GeForce drivers so this does not seem an issue.

I am just relieved it is not a battery or major hardware issue. I am fine running at 1080p or lower than 4K res on battery. It seems that defeats the purpose of having the 4K version but this runs fine with the adaptor plugged in if you need to. Like a lot of people have already pointed out here you probably should stay away from the 4K and just buy a good 1080p screen to avoid all scaling issues and all these other strange problems (my mistake to go for a 4K).

I must say that despite this flaw the screen itself is beautiful with great colors and clarity! I just wanted to post this update in case anyone else happens to be thinking about getting this particular display on the laptop.

Appreciate all the help received and kudos to the support team at Sager!

 

Not working for me. I'm using Intel 7265 wireless card with bluetooth. Driver is already installed since it's on the Device manager for bluetooth device but really not sure how to make it work.
FN+F11 not working, ain't that airplane mode? Anyhow pressing it nothing happens even I have the hotkey app installed.

Anyone know how to use bluetooth on this thing?

 

try settings in charms bar - change PC settings - PC and devices - bluetooth and see if u can connect to a device from there

 

Now that what I call well knowledgeable help. Now bluetooth is on and I got my bluetooth mouse to work. Thank you very much

Though I was lost a bit where is PC Settings, I got used to Windows 7, on Windows 8 it's via Windows icon on task bark > Apps > PC Settings > PC and Devices > Bluetooth. Will surely look here next time rather than on control panel.

 

Hi,

I'm considering upgrading from my W230SS (mainly because I find the 13.3" screen too small/uncomfortable to use).

The P650SE I'm looking at (EuroCom) has the B156HAN01.x screen. Will any better/worse than my W230SS (I think it's Chimei CMN1343)?

 

yeah thats the problem with win8/8.1, they divided up the settings into the control panel and charms bar. some of the settings are redundant, others are unique to each. theyre planning to change that in win10 though

 

Thanks for your reply.

i develop both android and ios apps , and i want to use one laptop for both gaming and development.

can please give me these info too.

1)Is there any key and length specifications for M.2 wifi
2)Can i install one M.2 PCIx4 ssd and one M.2 sata ssd at the same time?

 

I believe WiFi card is 2242. And yes.

 

almost correct, its 2230

 

is there any info on wifi card keys?

 

Do you have your "Batman" yet? Was wondering what you thought of the 3K screen on this - can't decide if a 1080p IPS panel or the 3K panasonic one is the way to go, if buying a Clevo P650 SE