**D900F (Sager 9280) Owners Lounge**

Gophn, thanks for testing.

Grounding sounds like a good thing to check. When I am home, I'll test by plugging into my UPS, and will test my power sockets with a circuit tester.

It is odd though that the exact same power supply in the exact same wall socket on my D901C makes no noise, but when I plug my D900F into the same power brick and socket, I get the noise.

Anyways, it will have to wait till Friday before I can test.

 

Agreed it is more than just a grounded issue. Same base adapter on my Whitebook and zero noise.

 

Power supply noise tend to go away after they have been in use for a while - if it's a mechanical noise, at least.
Maybe it is more noise with the D900F because it draws more amperes or something.

 

Yeah, I was thinking more it is a power draw issue. Like I said, I've been able to reproduce the noise in multiple locations and with multiple power strips now from $9.99 powerstrips to top of the line Belkin model.

 

Hmm, I do get a soft noise from my power adapter at, but it's not that loud, and it goes away after. I only experience it when I boot up and load windows. The spare adapter at work doesn't make a sound either.

So far I'm loving this laptop, running Windows 7 RC, everything is going smoothly. Also running CentOS VM in the background as a web development server.

I do have a couple tad annoyances. When I disable the trackpad (Fn + F1) then when my screensaver goes off, I move my mouse to turn off the screensaver, my trackpad is enabled. I have to press Fn+F1 twice to disable it again. It could be a Windows 7 issue though. I can also hear the ticks from my hard drive once in a while, and a click less often. Starting to get a bit paranoid (suffered a big hard drive crash on my desktop years back and was pretty depressed for a couple months).

My day consists of 8-9 hours of work followed by 3-4 hours of WoW time, in my office! Then I get home and my laptop is on all night. In fact, the only time my laptop is off is when I leave home for work and vice versa. CPU and GPU stay around 65C with my fans on auto-speed and no notebook cooler. I can't give you definite temp numbers for Ulduar 25 since... well, I'm too focused into the game I get into the 60s with max fan speed. As for loudness, yes max fan speed is quite loud. I have earbuds on anyways (since I play at work) so I don't even notice them. The palm rest under your WASD keys will be fairly warm as well, something I had to get used to.


Overall I'm quite happy with this machine. Also, nice name for your 9280, electrosoft

 

"Cough" Alienware M17x... "cough"

 

Unfortunately WoW is more CPU dependent than many other games and its SLI support is pretty poor at that. It really shines on the NP9280 which was perplexing till I did some research and ran some CPU scaling clock tests with my desktop in Dalaran along with enabling and disabling my second GTX280 in my desktop SLI.

I fear, for WoW, the M17x would find its 2nd 280M greatly wasted and better performance could be achieved moreso with emphasis on the CPU and a top dog single GPU versus a second GPU.

 

Hahah my friend no... wow is known for it's programming not being the greatest... and Wow is not CPU dependent in the slightest it is not a multi-threaded application... doesn't have multi core support... The only reason I am even getting a Qx9300 with my M17x is becuase I got it for 400 and becuase I do video rendering and encoding, as well as playing GTAIV etc... the truth is the I7 will not improve gaming in the slightest over the Qx9300 or even the higher end Dual cores... So you may want t rethink you choice PM me about the M17x as I don't want to spam this thread... I think there are alot of features you would be interested in...

In case you hadn't noticed I created this thread as I was going to order the 9280... but as I spend more time on NBR and learned more I realized the M17x was a better laptop for me... the 9280 is really a Mobile Workstation for people who do compiling of data etc and want to do gaming as well

 

Yes I am getting exactly the same temp readings as your setup ...

the fan goes on and off and on and off just like you said ...

Thing is my second hard drive is a Western Digital Scorpio 5200 which is only about 39 Degrees and 40 at most ...

and Yes I am also getting the strange electronic whining noise from the power brick ...

 

Actually, if you followed the tech forums, you would see WoW is now multi-threaded optimally for dual cores and testing has confirmed low SLI support (whereas before SLI enabled actually hindered performance) and more CPU dependency especially in areas saturated with players which is pretty much everything end game (Raid/PvP).

Personal testing via single and SLI GPUs followed by overclocking my CPU on a ~700mhz scale (2.83->3.53ghz) shows better gains via CPU than the SLI addition. This was done because running a single 280M + i7 showed excellent game play counter to what was experienced previously on SLI and single GPU laptops I tested personally and most importantly gameplay was much better versus my old M6400 (which ran WoW rather decently in Northrend), and it was equipped with a FX3700 + QX9300 which is basically a GTX280M just a little larger die size and mildly slower. This is what prompted not only my research but personal testing.

Basically, the i7 loves WoW. HWmonitor shows running WoW, not only are two cores pushed, but power consumption shoots to max (~144W) while raiding confirming the addition of multi-core support and CPU usage. On the other hand, on my desktop, the second GPU is disproportionately underutilized with much lower temps and power consumption.

Trust me, I eat/sleep/breathe WoW.

FYI, EQII is also now multi-threaded and supports dual core CPUs.

So if you want to go SLI, make sure your games or applications are efficiently coded for SLI support to merit the extra weight, heat and power consumption. If gaming is a priority AND your games are coded with decent SLI support, go that route. In this case, the gains via SLI for WoW do not merit going SLI, so the burden of performance then lies within CPU scaling. That is also why I am able to run WoW on the 9280 at 1920x1200 with everything to max, shadows to zero and have great frame rates while raiding and stay at 30+ in Dalaran on busy nights.

I'm not going to yank my second GTX280 from my desktop, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have probably opted to go with an i7 subsystem replacement versus adding another GTX280.

 

Yes, I definitely concur with Electrosoft on this.. It's the reason I am trying to find another system after buying the W90vp and getting extremely disappointing results in 25 man raids and 40 man battlegrounds.
My frames increased 10-15 fps in WoW only when I overclocked the quad core to 15% and even then, it wasn't enough to make me want to use the w90 for raiding end game content. Wrath of the Lich King is amazingly high stress on a CPU.

 

Has it got integrated Wi-Fi or not? 'Cause when you order barebone from RJtech - you have an option not to get it and it's $40 to get (Intel 5300). At Xoticpcs you can not not get it. It says it's internal. I'm confused. RJtech's D900Fs come with different mobos then Xoticpcs?.. Or there is a mistake at RJtech's site.

 

Different vendors have different options.
Mine give me 2 options - Intel 300Mb/s or Intel 450Mb/s WLAN. There is no option to not have it, though.

 

I ordered a barebones from RJTech, and it comes with no WiFi. It is literally devoid of every add on component down to the WiFi.

RjTech is about the only US vendor that sells real barebones systems that are stripped to the bone. Fast, prompt and answered my emails very fast and very accurate updates and shipping.

 

Hello all, I have been scowering the forums here, and elsewhere, for an answer to my question without much of any luck.

I know the formus have a 'which laptop I should buy' section, and that's not what I am doing here I am trying to help my non-nerd cousin with her laptop purchase, and I need to know if the GPU in the D900F can be upgraded with a Nvidia Quadro fx 3700M (MXMIII). Or better yet if someone has already done so. I have found some quadro gpus on ebay, particularly this one: http://tinyurl.com/n9b4py

Thank ahead of time for any relevant replies

 

The D900F should suport the quadro gpu's when they are released in MXM 3.0B format (the one you linked is mxm 2.1 version III - not compatible)

 

Question -
Is a BluRay player recommended if the screen isn't a 1980x1080 HD screen? I heard the 1980x1200 on the 9280 is bright and crisp, but would it take advantage of bluray or just read it with DVD quality?

not yet ordered but specs will be :

I7 950
6 gigs DDR3/1066 triple channel
500GB HDD@ 7200 ( 16MB cache)

and scrutinizing if i need the No-Dead pixel warranty for $200.

:-D

 

A BluRay player will display HD movies in HD quality on a 1920x1200 screen. You will however - if the movie is in 16:9 HD format (1080/720 p/i) - get black borders on the top and bottom of your screen. Because 1920x1200 is 16:10 format.

 

In my opinion, BluRay player, if you are just going to use it to watch movies on your laptop screen, is a waste. The screen is too small to give any real advantage with HD material.
If you are going to use it to plug into a big screen HD TV however, now that's another matter.
A BluRay burner would be much more useful.

 

Yes, you will get a very small ~5.5% top / ~ 5.5% bottom black border which really doesn't make or break the 1080 experience.

That's a good solid config. I find a single 500gb HD @ 7200rpm is plenty fast IMHO. 950 is a good sweet spot price/power wise.

I ordered without the dead pixel policy and my screen is perfect. I had already planned on swapping out my panel for a 1680x1050 or 1440x900 if it had bad pixels or was subpar, but the LG panels are very crisp and I was pleasantly surprised and opted to stick with the WUXGA+.

 

I went with a DVDRW because I don't use BR that much. Most HD content I watch I DL, and for my 60" Sony, I use a PS3 and Media PC to stream. But if there is any chance of watching rented/purchased movies or using the HDMI out to view movies on an external display, the BR options is very nice.

 

And don't forget, many movies do not have the 16:9 format anyway, but the much wider Panavision or Cinemascope formats. That means you will get black borders whatever your screen's format is.

 

One question - I'm getting a Intel SSD for my lappy - does SSD's need defragmenting? And if so, does the Vista take care of that just like with regular HDD's?

 

That means that RJtech offers 2 different mobos - one with built-in WiFi and the other without??? Or is it just a $40 Wi-Fi chip that they plug in the mobo if you order one??

 

The WiFi module installs underneath the keyboard via a mini-pci slot (1 of 3 of them nice), so it is most likely the same unit but sans the wifi adapter. I suspect the other VARs configure their units with them or install them on site based on cost and have their configurations locked to certain options with no option of changing the WiFi.

 

Thanks for the replies about bluray everyone.

I found some info about the processors and I may go with a 920 instead of the 950, considering the price vs. actual gains in speed . Now the 975 -- that would be awesome! But out of my budget completely at this time. lol

 

If you can OC the 920 your better off with that anyway to save a little cash....

I got the P8600 for my M17x and OC'd that baby to 3.06GHz (basically got a 3MB cache version of the T9900 )

 

^ you can't overclock D900F.

 

Electrosoft, I was wondering, how's your 9280 going for you? I just ordered one myself and I'm waiting for it to come, hopefully by next week, but I'm still looking for an actual *review* from an enthusiast on what it's like. I've heard the fans are silent, it's cool and it works great so far. I'm someone who leaves my laptop on well 24/7. Think that might cause any problems? Or would it be able to handle that no problem? And of course, how is it playing Street Fighter 4 =P

 

It idles pretty quiet, and under normal, expected loads, the fans kick up maybe one notch. It isn't dead quiet or near it like let's say a single or smaller dual fan system, but the 9280 is packing some serious heat producing hardware and I am really pleased it keeps everything pretty cool for what is running under the hood. Definitely with all fans at max (Fn+1), it becomes audible but still not on the level of my old Whitebook which was insanely loud under load.

The only thing that *might* get on your nerves is the occasional firing up of one fan in small bursts which seems to burst to full speed for a split second then simmer down for a few more seconds then stop. This happens when the system is near idle while surfing and such. In gaming and any other load bearing capacity, it is in use.

I don't see any problems leaving it on 24/7. I usually just put mine to sleep with a lid close and it goes to sleep in ~5 seconds and wakes up in less than 15-20 seconds.

You can overclock the Extreme chips with some utilities since it IS a desktop X58 chipset and CPU in a portable package, but the non extreme chips are locked with no memory overclocking to effectively simulate FSB overclocking in the BIOS. I know Gohn said he was pushing Clevo/Sager to entertain more functionality in the BIOS.

Like a QX9300, the i7 quickly throws the 280M against its threshold and it scores ~5300 in Vantage GPU as expected (with a QX9300 or ANY of the i7's, the GPU is definitely the bottleneck).

 

All the i7 options are great chips at great prices, imho. You can't go wrong with any of them.

 

SSD's do NOT need defragmenting, and in fact defragging them is detrimental as it uses up read write cycles unnecessarily.

If you have an SSD, make sure to disable windows auto defrag on it.

 

"Narrowing the tests further to GPU-only results proves that the GTX 280M is in the same performance class as the HD 4850." - Tom's Hardware

really? that close to a 4850 huh...

rotflmao

 

I don't mean to go off topic -

Are the 4850's better than HD 4870's? I've been trying to get an understanding of what I am buy with the 9280 since my experience with ATI in the W90vp was less than favorable for the game I mainly play. Lack of driver support from ATI has sent me running back to Nvidia

I read this article
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-280M-Review.14565.0.html

The conclusion sums it up in favor of the Gtx 280M .

 

Personally, I think the 280M is still top dog if only by a hair. You have ATI fanboys who, without even having the card in posession and the fact it hasn't been released for months now, proclaim the, "Phantom 4870 GDDR5," as the king of the hill.

I laud them for their amazing time machines.....

With that being said, the 4850/4870/260M/280M/9800GTX are all within 10% of each other and you can't go wrong with any of them. ATI just recently caught up with their 48XX mobile parts, performance wise, to the 2yr old G92 mobile part and that is great for the consumer as evident by Nvidia's pricing on their 260/280 parts vs. their older 9800M GT/GTX parts.

The edict, "Software determines the hardware," still stands true to this day IMHO. Determine which games and applications are critical to you and select your hardware based on that criteria.

A 4850 is an underclocked 4870, since the GPU core is the same. The difference lies within the GPU clock and memory speeds. That is why everyone is waiting for the 4870 GDDR5 cards to be released. They are the "real," 4870's.

 

I have made up my mind and went with 9280. All thanks to electrosoft!

Going to order from oxticpc, hope they can give you a % of the sells electrosoft.

 

I agree. I wouldn't get a BR reader OD, to play BR movies on a laptop screen. However, another reason to consider a BR reader upgrade, (as opposed to a BR burner), would be for ripping BR movies with something like AnyDVD HD/ CloneDVD. Some folks want to rip their movies and store them on a home file server, and then play them back with something like a Networked Media Tank (NMT) player like the Popcorn Hour, to their TV.

 

Hi electrosoft i just bought the clevo d900f, i was wondering if they well make a stronger gpu to match the i7 strength, that would make this laptop a dream machine.

 

Well shadow, I'd say that as long as a new GPU comes out and uses the same MXM3 socket, then it'll fit in just fine and you can upgrade. For me that might be what I do, as I won't need more than an i7 for anything I'm sure. The RAM will be upgraded too... one day.... when I have more money....

 

rotflmao!
that has been going on since november of last year..next month..next month..two months and so on...here it is the middle of july and still nothing.lol

 

lol, ayup......

"ATI Radeon 4870 GDDR5 - Phantom Edition"

 

"ATI Radeon Mobile 4870 GDDR5 - Phantom Edition"

if you don't put that in..people think you mean the already selling desktop card, which we all already know exist...lol...but there will be alteast one trying to do post corrections. hahaha

im still debating...AW or the i7..i already have a i7-920 and 975 memory & hard drives...i may just grab one of them. and have the fastest single gpu on the planet. (as laptop's go)..but that alienware would be one serious big toy for me with all them over clocking avenues it has....

 

Can I have D900F in M17x chassis, please?

 

so how much faster is the mobile 4870 phantom over the gtx280m ???

would you say 5 or 10 % faster ???



and when will they start making them for the mxm 3b ???

so that i can use it on my d900f ???

thanks

 

D2 Ultima what ram would you upgrade? Will the d900f handle a 12gb 1600mhz or 2000mhz ?

i7 975 extreme
6gb 1066mhz
2 ssd intel 80gb on raid 0
280m gtx
bd reader
vista 64 bit

 

I say the D900f in the 9850 chassis and I would be doing the happy dance.
However, I think the cooling in the D900f chassis is what makes it work -- Anyway, if I could order it in a deep plum or burgundy red , that would be a dream too! Yes, I'm a girl and I can have a purple notebook if I wanna -- LOL !!!! Anything to spruce it up a bit

 

I love when girls come on these boards and talk techy....

Sorry, you are really after my heart

Women + Laptops = BEST.CHICK.EVER.

 

AVADirect and maybe some others do custom paint jobs for your laptop. The M98 and D900F both have paint job options via their website.

 

say, mind if I ask what line of work do you do ?

 

^ and a phone number.