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

Well the main thing is no retail units seem to be doing this, I'd much rather it was this way round and not the other!

 

Problem is users read the reviews and think "wow, that runs hot". But we'll set 'em straight Meaker!

 

Thank you for the video. Another difference between your test result and theirs is that in your test the max power consumption of CPU is 46.6W, while in their test the power consumption is 52W, However, I thought the CPU could not consume more than 47W? Perhaps they were overclocking the CPU when they tested?

 

47W isn't necessarily the power consumption it's *thermal* power, which is close to power consumption, but yeah, running higher Wattage would likely mean higher temps. Maybe they were fussing with OC and forgot to reset it.

On another note, it shows my LCD was in my regional post office today, hopefully to go out tomorrow. Problem is if they try to deliver it tomorrow, I will be at work and it requires signature, and likely won't be able to get it until Wednesday anyhow.

Gah. I just don't want to have to rush the install, but don't want to wait a week until after vacation.

 

If you're talking about NBC review, that CPU was the 4870HQ, and that iris pro is crap with 4k. From what I've read over the web the 4710 + 1080p is pretty stable and runs like wingnut's review showed us.

 

I didn't pay attention the CPU type on their review (shame on me), mainly because I didn't realize they were shipping with other CPU's. But yeah 4870HQ will run hotter.

 

What was the battery life with scenario 2? The picture with the results is not showing for me... Thanks

 

Just FYI, LPC-digital now offers the NP8651 with a LG IPS screen for only +$45. Prices seem very competitive too (cheaper than the overseas Metabox or Eurocom IPS offerings).

Too bad I placed my order elsewhere yesterday, along with the AUO screen from fleabay. It's okay, I don't really mind DIY anyway...and the AUO panel might have slightly better specs than the LG anyway

 

I think the AUO panel has a better response time of 25m/s while the LG is 35 m/s. I think these are the same panels being used over in the Lenovo Y50 Display replacement thread.

Here is a link showing the different panels on the Y50: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ide...ement-displays-compendium-86.html#post9826438

I think I'm going to order from LPC-Digital in a few days and pick up the LG IPS.

 

Here's some additional pics showing the LTN156HL01.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ide...ement-displays-compendium-19.html#post9719864

 

wow, screen replacement is opening a whole new can of worms on that thread. And thats just reading 5 pages back. Much of the cost from errors and mistakes will fall back to the reseller weather they like it or not. They should just listen to the consumers from the beginning and avoid all these problems. I noticed some have started and this will be cheaper for them in the long run. I applaud the ones who have already started to offer more choices.

 

LCD came today! Wow, 15 minutes later and installed and it is a beauty!

Here's my quick how to on installing the LCD. Sorry it's so heavily edited, but I was in a rush and my kids kept interrupting me. (It may take another 30-60 minutes to process to the higher res video, it should be 1080p)



Here's images of the LCD as well. Unfortunately the camera shows a blue hue, but it doesn't exist on the LCD that I see.

Spoiler

 

How is the brightness and response time is 16ms OK?

 

Where is the how-to?
Edit:

Found it, thanks HT looks super easy... Or maybe it was just you... I don't seem to have that luck. Knowing me I'll find a way to break something... Lol I'm willing to give it a shot tho.. Did u have to break in the screen. I read somewhere that at first the screen acts real weird and then will start working perfect after it turns on for first time

 

Click on the YouTube video...

 

1. Watches video
2. Sees that you went with the LTN156HL01-102
3. Sees the samsung logo
4. My search is finally over!
5. Checks bank account.
6. Still didn't get paid yet.
7.

 

I'm using Tapatalk I'm not sure if I'm being retarded or if its my phone... Either way I found it by a quick search on YouTube

Update:
Swear to god I'm not mental... It was tapatalks fault I see it when viewing in a standard browser

 

So Mythlogic is reporting the TN 1080p display uses LVDS instead of eDP. Doesn't look like the case here, so maybe Sager specifically is using eDP displays instead of LVDS? Myth sources their hardware right from Clevo right, so maybe that's the difference?

Either way, this looks awesome. Glad it's a quick and painless process without the tons of glue I'm used to on Apple's notebook displays. If I could give you more rep, I would Wingnut!

 

Actually, that's a really good question. HTWingNut, you mentioned that when you made the video, you'd already done the swap... when you were removing the bezel on the original screen, was there any tape or anything that you had to worry about?

 

Maybe it was mentioned earlier and I missed it....where did you pick yours up Wingnut? Ebay? Link? I don't feel like playing a panel lottery or dealing with the return of a 'compatible' screen.

 

I believe HTWingNut purchased from the same vendor I did, which was the nbkit.com ebay account, and specifically this listing.

 

That's it. Just make sure to ASK before you buy.

 

Ha thats the exact listing I was looking at. Waiting to hear from the seller. This guy sure is making some business this year! XD

 

Would love to know this too....notice any motion blurring.
New screen looks lovely.

 

HTWingNut, can you help me? I just got this laptop, and no matter what I do I cannot get games to run using the 970m. It never turns on. I've tried reinstalling drivers, forcing it to use the 'High performance NVIDIA Graphics' in the control panel, which it just resets back to 'Automatic' the second I do anything. This is very annoying. I tried to PM you but didn't see an option!

 

What game did you try? And you can't have PM until at least 5, maybe it's 10 don't remember, "quality" posts. In other words, don't spam posts just for the sake of posting.

Brightness is good, better than my W230SS, although full brightness still doesn't feel as bright as it could be. But I played some BF4 and no issues whatsoever. I limit my FPS to 60 and zero ghosting or other blurring issues.

 

XoticPC is also offering an FHD IPS screen now, the same type as LPC-Digital and the same price. They also added a new Samsung 4K screen, 100$ cheaper than the other 4K one.

XOTIC PC | Sager NP8651 (Clevo P650SE) - 15.6" Gaming Notebook

 

Samsung rgbw is worse than anything out there, so unless you want 4k without it being really 4k you can go for it and "save" money.

 

Have tried Far Cry 3, Kerbal Space Program, Borderlands 2 & The Pre-Sequel, Far Cry 4.

The 970m doens't even turn on. When I pull up MSI Afterburner or NVIDIA Inspector, everything is either 0 or greyed out.

To give you a list of what I've tried (for better or worse!):

• Uninstalling GPU Drivers and Reinstalling through GeForce Experience
• Uninstalling GPU drivers in safe mode
• Disabling Intel HD Graphics & Rebooting
• Reinstalling old GPU driver that came with the laptop
• Reinstalled Windows 8.1
• Setting 'Per Application' settings to force it to use 'High Performance NVIDIA Graphics'
• Setting Global Settings to use 'High Performance NVIDIA Graphics' (Both this and 'Per Application' just reset themselves to immediately)
• Right-clicking the program and selecting 'Run with High Performance NVIDIA Graphics' (oddly enough, the Integrated Graphics option shows as default)

To clarify when I try to change things in the NVIDIA Control Panel, in the Global Settings, I will change it to 'High Performance NVIDIA Graphics' and click 'Apply'. It looks like it hangs for a couple seconds, then shows the new setting with the 'Apply' button, which I assume means it applied the change. If I close out of the Control Panel and go back in, it changes the setting back to Automatic Switching, with never actually switches.

This is very frustrating, as the entire reason I bought this was because of the good price and high performance I've seen the 970m achieve.

 

hm might be a defective board where the 970M is completely shut off / non-functional...?

 

Have you contacted your reseller yet? Either that or ship it back for an exchange .

 

Pictures for reference:





I guess it's not literally off, but it doesn't report temp, power, or any kind of GPU load at all.

And yes, I have contacted GenTechPC but they haven't responded yet.

 

install driver 344.75 just to test. (check clean install)

Update your intel HD drivers too

 

Have already updated drivers, this was just a reference to what I meant when I said it's off. That was just when I attempted to use the driver from the disc that came with the laptop.

And the Intel HD drivers have been through the same boat, installed the ones from the disc, as well as the newest from Intel's website.

 

Sounds like a malfunction to me, not just a software bug.

something is disrupting the optimus (MUX mode), my guess is that the 970m is malfunctioning, contact your reseller, i don't think we can be useful at this point .

 

Dang! I was hoping I was just overlooking something. I really don't want to be without a computer for weeks lol Thanks for your help everyone.

 

See if they will do a cross exchange, where they ship you a new laptop and you ship back yours when the new one gets there. They may require a credit card to hold the cost of the replacement until the get the broken one back then credit your account.

But definitely looks like something isn't functioning. Run GPU-z and select the sensors and run a game and check out the clock speeds.

 

why is it that notebooks that come with sub par LCDs these days are so easy to swap screens? I took less than 30 sec to unclip the bezel when I swapped the panel for my y50 and the whole process took less than 5 minutes including me screwing up a few place. HT did his like it was a joke, correlations here?

 

quick question because I have never really delved into overclocking laptop GPU's but this one is begging for it with its temps. I have a stable overclock at 135 mhz core and 700mhz memory. Is this going to reduce the life of my card even though it never goes over 70 degrees celcius?

 

Its due to the fact that the companies of these computers realize that most gamers care more about performance than a pretty screen. Note how higher resolution screens (4k) tend to output worse ms than say TN screens. This can suck if you are really competitive and need it to lag as little as possible on your display while ranking up those first-person shooter kills.

Graphic designers and animators need the color accuracy, which is why we pay a premium for the fancy screens.

 

You spelled killz wrong

 

I wouldnt mind a notebook like this with that steam sale going on now.

 

What screen should I order mine with?

 

FHD TN if you want the low response time, sharp 4k if you want the best screen.

The FHD IPS LG isn't as good as the one other users have been replacing the TN with, so for me, as I want FHD IPS myself, I would still get the TN and replace it later.

 

What about the IPS offered by Mythlogic?

 

There's also the Panasonic 3K matte IPS.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

I just want a quality 1080p panel. After reading the entire owners lounge thread seems like most people are just buying the stock "Okay" screen and replacing it down the road. I don't have a problem with that but being a newb to laptops I'm confused on what model to buy (screen) and if my cable (30-40pin EDP?) will need to be changed? Ram and storage are easy to change, coming from the PC building world that should be simple enough, but screen changing seems to be a little more involved. I'm going to use it for gaming so low response is more important than anything; I think?

3k & 4k, it would be nice to step into this new tech; however I've heard to many arguments that it doesn't apply to gaming which is my primary use. My primary games are going to me WoW, LoL, Dota, and some FPS like CoD, BF... So I figure opting for the SG with 980m is going to be my best bet, bet even then I don't know if 3k or 4k will be best. It would be really nice to hook this laptop up to a 3D monitor, but I've also heard that the DGPU outputs through the IGPU and the IGPU will only suffice to 60hz.

If anyone has time to clear any of this up for me that would be great. Currently I'm waiting for pricing on the SG with 980m at Xotic to be announced, and reviewed (cooling)

 

Go with a IPS screen, for gaming 4K is not an option to be honest (you play DOTA and BF which won't work good with a 4k screen), for a sharp display forget about upscaling 1080p on 4K.

Plus, on 4K gaming, with 4gb of video Ram it will be another obstacle for a smooth gameplay experience.

If you order a 1080P P650SG go with a 30 pin eDP 15.6 display. My choices are :
LP156WF4 SPB1 IPS LG MATTE
B156HAN01.2 IPS AUO MATTE

Always ask the reseller which screen does he have precisely. (if you buy the screen on alibaba / Ebay / laptoscreen etc)

 

Thanks for the advice Wickette;
Xotic has a LG brand IPS screen upgrade, I'll have to ask them which model it is & hopefully they release pricing and ordering on the SG soon

 

I'm sorry but this logic just makes no sense. currently nothing is solid when it comes to 4k, so there's no point of having a 4k panel for gaming anyways and the problem isn't even with 4k. why can't they use those 16ms PLS panels instead so you get both wide viewing angles and decent response times? both MSI and ASUS have also started adopting IPS panels for their flagship models, you really think the problem is them worrying about response time for us or do you think that's just some marketing bs?