[Review] Sager NP9758-G / Clevo P750DM-G Early Initial Impressions

Do you mean that it wouldn't boot from either of those drives, and no 2.5" drive; or that they couldn't coexist for some reason?

 

As they told me, When One PCI-E m2 is populated the other m2 can't be populated (system won't power on)
On the other hand Two sata m2 can coexist.

 

Sorry it's taking me so long fellow NBR users. I have a review forthcoming, just personal issues keep getting in the way, and for the first time in a long time I lost most of my benchmarking results and review I started writing so have had to start from scratch again (sigh).

However, I have an issue with drivers. The latest driver 358.50 won't detect the GPU properly, and I wanted to test Ashes of the Singularity with DirectX 12, but apparently the G-sync version of video card isn't supported yet with the latest WHQL. If anyone knows how I can get the latest WHQL drivers installed, it'd be much appreciated if you could help out. Thanks.

 

I'm sure people will appreciate this is a free service and it takes time to do a proper job

 

As the technical service wrote to me:
"At the moment we can't offer two PCIe M.2 drives, it either doesn't work in a stable fashion or it simply won't detect both drives. Clevo know about the issue and are working on a solution, but we have no idea if this will be a hardware revision or a BIOS fix at the moment."

 

I just got the NP9758-S and sometimes whenit starts there is a weird pixellation of my font. Start screen and loginscreen all look smooth but the windows desktop and even chrome have a weird pixellated font. restarting seems to fix it, but not sure why its happening on an expensive machine. Is it a 980M issue, a Win10 issue, Sager issue? anyone else experience this?

 

You can install latest drivers with moded inf file; do it yourself or just grab them from laptopvideo2.go. Just search their database with the hw id of card.

 

I have that as-well, or had it to be more precise. It happened about 10-12 times in the beginning but hasn't done at all in the past few weeks (I have the laptop since about 1 month ago). I haven't figured out why it was doing so, but I'm glad it doesn't anymore. If it helps I got the pixelated images while running video drivers from mysn (354.06 or something along those lines) but now I'm running 353.62 and no issues to date.

 

Thx. So its probably a driver issue and one that was added recently. I'm letting xoticpc know.

 

This happens to me too, very annoying. Seems to happen more after a cold boot. Haven't upgraded or changed video drivers. Don't have my computer with me at the moment but think it's nvidia 354 driver (can update this later).

EDIT: Confirmed the driver is 354.06 (my notebook is from Mythlogic).

 

If you had contact with the service team already, I'm sure they always appreciate updates on what has worked for people to resolve issues. Even if you just contact them to have a ticket in the system, it basically makes a history of the issue and what has worked and not, in case you need to RMA it at some point (hopefully not).

 

I was wondering what advantage there is to disabling the integrated graphics. Does it allow you to squeeze a tad bit more out of the processor? Does that extra processing power outweigh the disadvantages? I always thought optimus was great, since it reduces power consumption and heat in the laptop when you don't need 3d graphics, and gives the nvidia gpu a break rather than having it be used 100% of the time (I would speculate this might even improve the gpu lifespan).

Are you able to re-activate the integrated graphics and thereby enable optimus in the np9758, if you wanted to?

 

nope, the igpu is not physically connected to the display, so u would have to basically solder a connection from the cpu to the display and activate the igpu via the (modded) bios in order to be able to use it

lack of optimus has several advantages: less display input lag (mostly relevant in games and/or VR), display refresh rate being overclockable (not possible on optimus systems, since all display output goes through the igpu and its not capable of other than native refresh rates), and,most importantly, far less hassle when updating the gpu drivers! (trust me, the reports ive seen, ugh...)

naturally, advantages include lower power consumption / longer battery life (which i dont really care about since i only use my DTR connected to a power outlet) and the option to have a backup once the dgpu fails (unfortunately thats only in theory, as ive explained above).

so yeah, im not really missing out on optimus tbh

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

good to know, makes me feel a lot better about not having it, thank you

 

hi, can i install linux on this laptop and use KVM(Kernel-based Virtual Machine) vga passthrough?

 

That's why I really liked having a Xeon in my older Batman v1.0 - it simply didn't have an iGPU, and didn't waste any die space/power consumption on it.

If I'd had an option for a Xeon in my P770DM, I would've gotten that rather than the 6700K.

I really don't know why Intel insists on putting an iGPU in a high-performance desktop chip. I mean, an iGPU makes perfect sense for most laptops (excluding high performance gaming notebooks like this one) because of the added battery life. But for a desktop chip? If anything, it would make more sense to put the iGPU on the Xeon, and remove it from the 6700K.

It's just wasted space on the die/PCB.

I think you also missed one of the biggest draws of not having Optimus, and that's G-SYNC. Optimus is not compatible with G-SYNC, since that technology requires the NVIDIA GPU to be directly connected to the display panel.

Also, keep in mind that Optimus is not required to use the iGPU on systems that have the iGPU enabled. Take my Alienware 18, or the new Clevo P650 series - they have a physical switch that enables you to swap between the iGPU and dGPU. Granted, that requires a reboot, but it's still an option.

Optimus is just a way to be able to have the system automatically switch between both GPUs for you without requiring a reboot, but as @jaybee83 mentioned, that comes with several drawbacks.

On ultrabooks and other thin portable machines, having Optimus is almost a necessity if you want to have any kind of battery life. But on big machines like this one, let's be honest - battery life is of a secondary concern, if at all.

 

You have to remember, the 6700K is considered a mainstream desktop chip. Intel only considers their HEDT (X99 - 5820k/5930k/5960X) high end and those do not have iGPUs.

It sucks that intel is forcing their Xeons to only work with the server chipsets.

 

Light Bleed Issues, has anyone had any issues ever with Light Bleed on the Sager NP-9758-G model, I just bought it from Powernotebooks and now I have had it about a week or so and notice there is good amount of light bleed coming from the bottom right and top right corners, some on the left corners but not as much as the right, there is a yellowish tiny coming from each corner basically, do I send this back to get this problem fixed or is there a way to fix myself, please advise as to what I should do next to get this light bleed to go away, I have a 4K Samsung display on my model, it should not have any light bleed, the blacks just aren't that black in the quadrants I listed above, let me know what I should do. Thanks!!!

 

ah well, g-sync hasnt really wont me over yet, thus far its more of a gimmick than a must if u ask me, so i kinda left it out on purpose

also, the new p6 series only has options to switch between dgpu and switchable graphics, theres no igpu only mode, unfortunately. that would actually make the most sense in terms of battery life, if u ask me...

unfortunately, light bleed is a general issue with ips type display (such as ur sammy 4k). u can tweak it urself by removing the plastic bezel holding the display in its place and check if u can adjust the screw pressure on the light bleed spots. i did that with my machine and it helped get rid of like 90% of my light bleed

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Hey jaybee, the thing is I just bought this guy last week and I know I could easily do what you say I just don't want to knock it out of warranty or anything, I feel like I should send it back and have them just replace the bad screen instead of me going in and taking it apart and everything, do you know if that is a possibility, if I send it in will they replace the screen or will they just do what you just said and tighten where the light is bleeding, thanks for your reply, let me know what you think about sending it back and if Sager would replace the display or just tighten some screw...

 

It's not the screen that is bad, its probably just the screws/bezel applying too much pressure.

 

replacing the screen wont help, if the follow-up is also an ips type panel. it would only help if the new display is a TN panel, but with that ull have worse color reproduction (but at the same time better overclocking ability concerning refresh rate and basically no light bleed).

thing is, there are almost no shops out there that specifically check for light bleed, because clevo sends out the barebones with the display preinstalled, so its actually up to the ODM rather than the reseller/vendors caring to the actual customer.

so yeah, u basically got two choices: swap ur display out for a TN panel or take care of the bezel/screw pressure urself!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Hey folks! figured I'd post my stock and OC numbers for the sake of comparison:

CPU: i7 6700k
GPU: 980m (8GB), driver 354.35
RAM: 16GB PCI 2133 - 15-15-15-2
SSD: 512 GB Samsung 950 Pro (NVME)
Windows 10

All tests done at 100% fan:

Stock:

3DMark Fire Strike:
Score: 8802
Graphics Score: 9975
Physics Score: 12814
Combined Score: 3744

wPrime 2.10 (8 threads):
i7-6700K 4GHz 202.603

Cinebench R15:
i7-6700k 4GHz / 842 cb / 165 cb

XTU: 1218 marks
max package temp: 84

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPU Overclock: 41x cache ratio, 45x core ratio, stock voltages.

3DMark Fire Strike:
Score: 8799 (+0%)
Graphics Score: 10009 (+.3%)
Physics Score: 12652 (-1.3%)
Combined Score: 3724 (-.5%)

wPrime 2.10 (8 threads):
i7-6700K 4GHz 189.138 (7.1% improvement)

Cinebench R15:
i7-6700k 4GHz / 905 cb / 189 cb (7.5% / 14.5% improvement)

XTU: 1271 marks (4.3% improvement)
max package temp: 89

So overall about a 7% improvement. I was able to run a 46x core ratio, but it crashed at 47x, and 46x was throttling a bit, so I went with 45x. But I'm not planning to keep these overclocks in, it doesn't seem worth the extra stress on the machine. Maybe at the two-year mark I'll do a re-paste (presently diamond IC from the factory) and try again. Planning to keep the machine as my primary laptop for at least 5 years. (RAM upgrade is next, once the faster sticks become cheaper).

Quick question - what's your process for tweaking cache ratio vs core ratio? I hear mixed recommendations online, some saying to keep it at 1:1, other saying not to increase cache above 4.4 GHz. I saw no improvement in XTU or wPrime benchmarks by increasing it so left it at the default 41x. Thoughts? Just curious really.

Next I'll look to see how much I can undervolt while remaining stable, but will spend much more time confirming stability since I plan to run the machine at that undervolt from here out.

 

I also am having this issue with the bottom-right corner of the screen. Thanks for the solution, @jaybee83, I will try reducing the screw pressure when I return home in a couple weeks.

 

@bfishman

You should really post that in the owner's lounge, much better than here.

That being said, what were your stock settings for the CPU? In terms of Turbo Boost Power? Mine came at 53W, so I got a Cinebench score of 691. I then upped it to 95W and my score went to 862, stock clocks with a -185mV.

I really don't know why my stock Turbo Boost was set so low.

 

I would only worry about the cache if it is impacting the core speed you are trying to reach.

 

nvm, was actually a dumb question figured it out

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

What kind of benchmarking might determine this? In the XTU CPU benchmark and wPrime benchmark, the cache clock seemed to have no impact on results.

 

Exactly I have found it does not really, I more mean your peak frequency.

 

ah, gotcha. Haven't encountered that, but I will keep it in mind. Are you suggesting the actual clock ratio slider in XTU might not advance any higher (or apply the settings) without also increasing the cache ratio?

 

I have not played with it, but as a tweaker that's the sort of relationship between the two that I would check.

 

I did but they didn't have answer. Fortunately I got the answer here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/nvidia-game-ready-358-50-or-higher.784181/

 

Hopefully Nvidia gets the ID officially added in

 

They are supposed to be doing something about it, just no where near fast enough :-(

 

They have never been the fastest at it.

 

Well yeah..........

 

With this i7-6700k & a 980m are the copper cooling pipes needed for a moderate gamer who may overclock at some point? IOW is it an automatic add-on?? Thanks

 

All machines ship with copper heat pipes The copper upgrade some sites offer involve sticking copper ramsinks onto the existing heatsink.

 

Thanks for the info. .........So is that addon really necessary?

 

Depends if you intend to start modifying the bottom cover and using a cooler pad to blow air over it.

 

No it's not necessary... All it does is slows down the build up of heat... Eventually you reach those temps... I would instead raise the bottom of your machine and that will give you much lower temps compared to this..

 

Sorry for the silly question, what is the difference between the P750DM-G and the P750DM? What does the -G stand for? The Sager NP9758 seems to come in regular and -S flavors, which one would be the -G ?
Thanks

 

The "G" models will give you a model where the internal display and GPU are GSync capable. The "S" model will have more suped up options for memory, could, drives, etc. using the more popular config/customization options.

 

I could use some help here. I have this laptop, and it is a very nice model. However, whenever I try to calibrate it, I get truly awful Delta E: like 6 average, with plenty of spikes. I am a novice at display calibration. Do I need to use some sort of correction matrix? Some sites indicated that those were mainly useful for high-gamut monitors.

 

What are you using to do the calibration? Which panel did you get?

 

I am using dispcalGUI, along with a ColorMunki Smile calibrator. I have the Samsung 4K panel.

 

Can you post up the results?

 

You mean the results of the calibration? As a Sager representative, would you have suggestions for the correct calibration settings in dispcalGUI? (I know some such companies profile/calibrate before sending out laptops).

 

Professional calibration really requires adjustments over time so it's not something we offer from the factory ourselves, it was more to see if I or other users could perhaps spot something or compare it to reviews online.

 

how can i control gpu fan ?