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

Welcome to the forum potanx! I would think that you should be able to get that long out of it. It's always hard to say how well it might be able to play them, as it really depends on what requirements the games have. The 970m card is one of the best options available right now, and I would think you could get some good life out of it before it would struggle to play games on low settings.

 

Anyone having issues with the built-in microphone since upgrading to Win10? Mine doesn't register any noise at all despite being properly configured (as far as I can tell).

As for fingerprint scanner I used the ones from Eurocom and are working great.

Thanks in advance for any help on the microphone issue!

 

thx for sharing sir, i think i will just go with mxm 3.0 b

 

We are still due the refresh of this generation yet so it's still fairly early in the gpu cycle.

 

actually i confused about the amount of VRAM

it is 3GB! from what i read in the web the next gen or console sooner will use 8gb VRAM

is that some how connected? make the developer of pc game increase the minimum amount of vram so they can stay in the race.

 

Consoles currently have 8GB of ram to share for the system and GPU also some is eaten for live recording.

So it's not as simple.

 

owh, so i missunderstand the information i read

thank you sir for make it clear

 

It can get complicated, that's why we are here

 

Hmm, can i ask what scores you guys are getting in various GPU benchmarks with the 970M? My new P650SE kinda seems to be underperforming in various games and i wondered whether there's an actual issue with it.

 

I suggest running a benchmark on 3dmark firestrike and posting the comparison link it gives you (free downloadable benchmark).

 

Ah, excellent idea. It was easy doing that because i already had 3DMark installed on here. I have attached the link to my result below, in the Fire Strike v1.1 benchmark i managed an overall score of 6637 points. Would this be considered normal for the P650SE's 970M and i7-4720HQ? I'm curious at to what scores other people are getting. It seems to be about right when looking at the similar specification section, so i'm perhaps being overly cautious because my 14 day return window is close to expiring.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/8307706

 

I have similar score with you when I did benchmark few months ago. It's pretty normal for stock I think. I bet you're looking at other's higher score than yours but those are overclocked GPU and CPU so if you like those number then you go oc yours too

 

Alright, well that's a relief about the graphics. Some of my games seem to be stuttering all the time though, which is worrying.

Anyways, i have another problem unfortunately and it's quite a difficult one. I'm trying to remove the rear maintenance cover but it refuses to come off. There were 14 screws holding it down which i've removed, but when i lift the cover from the Ethernet port it seems like there's some resistance coming from the headphone port area. I'm nervous about breaking something and so i don't want to apply a massive amount of force. Is there a certain method to getting it off?

 

Had to think for a while about this when i popped my own open. There is a series of plastic clips which hold the covers together in addition of those 14 screws (they go around the laptop), you'll need to carefully inserts something plastic and slim and try to wiggle those clips open while not breaking them. Also, double check every screw is really taken off before attempting this.

 

Hooray, i managed to do it but that was a lot more difficult than i had expected. Once the cover is off it's easy to do all sorts of upgrades and maintenance, but it's a pain in the ass to undo all those screws. It's a shame this laptop doesn't have a proper easy access maintenance cover like on the MSI GE60, for example. The hardest part for me was putting the cover back on, getting it aligned correctly was a complete nightmare. The weird port at the rear next to the power port was sticking out and so the cover kept catching on it, but if i tried putting it on this way to begin with then there was a massive gap at the front. Thankfully it's all back together now, maybe next time the procedure will become a bit easier for me to manage.

 

Hello, my sager np8651 recently gets an error with restarting. After the restarting loading, the screen turns black instead of showing the bios picture/settings. It is only showing black like it's turned off but the light indicators are still on. So I need to turn it off by pressing the power button for a few seconds. I did test it out by restarting it after turned it on, it restarted normally. I think it happens when I've done some works on the laptop then trying to restart it. Do you guys can give me a clue here? I'm using an ssd for booting fyi. Thanks in advance!

 

How often is it happening? Have you tried restoring back to factory defaults to see if it's software you have installed?

 

It seems that I've found the source of the issue. My laptop has been undervolted, I tried to lowering the undervolt from 141mV to 101mV, the restart problem was solved by that. Then another problem occured, I got bluescreen says driver_overran_stack_buffer after bios screen that makes my laptop boot looping to the bsod when i restarted it, until I forced to shut it down. Turned it on again, the bsod problem didn't occur. Do you have any idea what cause this?

Edited: I've finally solved it.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for places from which to buy the NP8651-S? I'm experiencing a lot of delay and bad communication from XoticPC right now and I'm considering cancelling my order and shopping around. I'm worried that everyone else is just as bad.

 

Yeah, unfortunately everyone is going to be under the same delays right now. Since Sager models are all built at their facility, any reseller is going to be delayed until the same date basically.

If I can help with anything on your order though, please let me know what I can help with. I apologize about the delays on it, but let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

 

Always worth mentioning any non stock conditions if you are having issues.

 

Sorry, I thought it wouldn't be the cause of the problem since I've successfully tested it out with a few stress test and benchmark. Though it looks like it was the main problem, I've also updated some newer drivers (which I hadn't noticed yet)to replace the stock ones. Thanks for your attention though, appreciate it.

 

The undervolt applies to all clock conditions, it was likely too low for the lower clock settings in the 800mhz-1.2ghz region.

 

Whats the best way to cool/lessen the heat the bottom cover?
I wonder if putting thermal pads on top the cpu/gpu heatsinks lessens it..

Its really just hot when i put on my lap even though i am not playing and set to power saver. Using laptop cooler sometimes really gets rather annoying.
I guess the 8652 was much cooler bottom cover being coated with plastic rather than pure alluminum... is it?

 

Ok, I had my P650se for a week now and I have some issue with it.

1) 2 finger scroll doesn't seem to work on the trackpad. Using stock Win 10 driver and the gesture will get picked up about 1 out of 10 times. Edge scrolling works fine.

2) The CPU fan keeps spinning up and down even when the machine is at idle. Also, the idle temp seems a bit high and it keeps changing as if the CPU is doing some work.

Also, does anyone know how to get the Synaptic driver to play nice with Logitech mice? If I tick "disable trackpad when mouse is connected", I'd have to remove the USB receive when the machine is not asleep for the removal to register. I wonder if there is a way where simply switching the mouse to off will make the Synaptic driver register that the mouse is disconnected.

 

Hi, I am looking to buy Eurocom M5 Pro, they are giving lot of different option for display panel to choose from. Any suggestions which one would be the best option to choose for this laptop. thanks

http://www.eurocom.com/ec/configure(1,257,0)ec

 

The display panel is a very personal thing. Some like them glossy, others matte. Some want 4k, others prefer 1080p.

 

Have you tried getting the Synaptic driver directly from their site, or changing out the drivers at all? You should be able to enable that in the advance settings and maybe play around with the sensitivity there too. For the mouse option, the driver might be worth checking again. Otherwise, on my computer, I don't have that option checked anymore. But I will use the function key to turn it on and off when I actually need it. Fn+F1 I believe for the p650se. I have a logitech mouse and was having about the same issues.

What are your temps? Do you have anything going on in the background like antivirus, back up, or updates going on that you might not be noticing?

 

(Sorry for making two posts on accident)

What are you using the computer for? If it is more of a work station, then you might want a different screen compared to if you are using it for gaming mostly.

Do you plan on working / gaming at 4k, or do you think you might like that option? Gaming or doing content creation at 4k resolution is going to require more on your system than if you were running it at 1080.

Do you have a preference on matte or glossy screens? If you plan on using the computer in an area with a lot of overhead lights or sunlight through windows, then you might want to avoid glossy as they show more reflections on the screen.

Otherwise, that stock screen is a pretty solid screen, as long as you don't mind the semi-glossy finish.

 

I think it's the way my logitech mouse works, there is no way to get it to transfer over to the trackpad when it is turned off unless I unplug the usb donge. I managed to fix the sensitivities by lower it in the synaptics drivers. It works as intended now.

It seems the fan is only quiet in the "Quiet" mode from Clevo Control Center. Setting the computer to performance mode makes the idle temps go up and causes the fan to spin up and down. I just have to swap the mode when not loading the computer.

 

I am buying this laptop for some gaming and regular browsing the web day to day. I don't have any special work or programming that I will be using this laptop for. I have read several places that the 4k display is overkill and gaming is just fine on 1080p but when I look at eurocom website they are offering free upgrade to 15.6-inch 4k QFHD IPS 3840-BY-2160 semi glossy display. I am just concern about scaling issues and battery problems if i go with this display. Other option is FHD 1920x1080 , AH-IPS matte display.

 

Personally as a gaming orientated machine I would stick with the 1080p.

 

Hi I am leaning towards just the full FHD display of 1920x1080. I was getting little greedy since eurocom is offering free upgrade to 4k display. I did call them and ask them about the brand of FHD display they will put in the laptop and they inform me its AUO brand, can anybody tell me if this is good quality FHD display or what are some feedback on these display from previous owners. thank you

 

Have a look at my review in my sig.

 

Thanks Ramzay that answered the question regarding display. Few other questions I have, should I get one stick of 8gb ram or 4gbx2, also they have another upgrade for just $10 more and the difference in the description I see from the stock DDR3L-1600 to DDR3L-1866, i am not sure what performance difference I will see in that upgrade.

For Wifi option they are offereing 2in1 with 1525 AC Killer and Bluetooth 4.1 should I stick with that or downgrade to other ones as they are offereing some minus $$ from total.

For Windows 10 should I get it from Eurocom or can I get a good deal some where else? I know there is no optical drive so should I be getting windows copy on usb.

Thank you.

 

If you are just going to stay with 8GB of RAM, get 2x4 so they'll operate in dual channel mode.

I'd say get Windows 8.1 from them, then if you want you can upgrade to Win10 for free.

Killer wifi has better wifi performance, while the Intel 7265 has better Bluetooth performance. Though they both work just fine for general casual use.

 

If I get windows 8.1 they are giving with DVD option, so can I get it on usb or what are my option in future if I have to reinstall the operating system then I will need to have optical drive?

Also in near future is there a upgrade coming to this model soon? like should I wait till around Christmas time for better deal or new model to come out? Will this be the latest model until some time till next year.

 

There is a refresh coming out in November.

You can download windows and create a bootable USB drive.

 

You can make a bootable USB drive, or when you order you can ask if they can make one for you.

 

So what do you guys think should I wait till November, will the price go down? what is the best option.

 

So eurocom can only give dvd at this time with Windows 8.1, only if I get the Windows 10 then they can provide bootable usb. How hard is it to make a bootable usb once I get the laptop. Also is it guaranteed I will be able to update to Windows 10 even if i didn't buy the windows 10.

Also I found out that Glossy display is from LG brand, if we exclude the glossy or matt preference what is ur guys suggestion is LG display better then AUO.

thanks

 

Just take the Windows 8.1, its cheaper and it's very easy to make your own Win10 bootable USB drive.

 

Yes, any copy of Windows 7 or 8.1 will be able to take advantage from the free upgrade. You just have to do it before July of next year basically.

 

One thing to note with getting 8.1 and then upgrading to 10. From what I've read the free upgrade locks 10 to your hardware so you can't move it to another machine. If you buy windows 10 you can move it to different hardware.

 

Not if you buy the OS directly from the vendor with your laptop. In this case, its an OEM version and is licensed only on the machine it came with.

If you want to keep your OS and move it around, you would need to buy a consumer version separately. Though I expect most people who buy a used laptop in the future would expect it to come with Windows, so I'm not really sure about the value of being able to move your OS around.

 

I am undecided on the display only. I am not sure if I should go with LG or AUO, I don't care if its glossy or matte but just want the best display. Is there some where I can read about the comparison review done by somebody on the forum. thanks

 

I don't know if anybody's actually compared the two, but from general impressions, they appear to be about equal.

You'd need to know the exact model # of the LG to look it up.

 

According to eurocom

This is Glossy: LP156WF4-SPU1

This is Matte: AUO B156HAN01.2

 

I did not know this, good to know, thanks.

It depends on how you upgrade equipment. For desktop I like to move my windows installation to a new desktop and setup the old desktop as a file server. But for laptops I do sell them with the OS it came with.

 

Also, if you check Eurocom's website, they now sell the OS with both a DVD and a USB key.