**D900F (Sager 9280) Owners Lounge**

I take it these have started shipping? Gophn- I got my NP 9750 right after you got yours. Was your (and Albastors*sic*) review(s) that sold me. Would be awful nice if you did something similar this time 'round.

 

writing up a review that will be up soon.

and many other articles from E3 as well.

 

I would say you should get 3 500gb in Raid 5 To give you speed and safety. If you got some extra cash you should get an external to put all the movie and stuff like that on it.

 

Big files that won't change much like movies and musics should be burned onto DVDs.

 

I would say get the ssd with the additional spinners, the load time is incredible.

I mean your speeding a good chuck of change to be on the latest technology processor and memory wise and the hard drives have been a huge bottleneck for the last decade at least.

 

I believe ur right..but SSD now still quite expensive on the market...for me, I would rather wait a bit longer till the price goes down (Hope so)

 

On the notebook I ordered I went with one SSD as my primary HD. The idea being that it will hold my host OS and some primary VMs (XP, Linux).

I am planning on using two 500gb's in the 2 and 3rd slot primarily for large less accessed programs/data/backups.

I've found that the HD has always been the major bottle neck on notebooks. The benchmarks of intel's SDD is really very impressive compared to SSDs lifetime drawback. The fact that these notebooks run desktop CPU + GTX280M and can also get desktop HD performance from SSD-HDs is very exciting indeed.

I've tried RAID-5 on my existing notebook D901C, it was okay. Though Vista-64 and encrypted VMs really murders its performance.

I am hoping for allot better performance from a single SSD. I’ll have to wait and see.

 

I also ordered a Intel SSD as my primary drive for Windows. Then a 360GB drive for Linux and another of the same, for storage.

SSD cost a lot, but their performance in multi-tasking is amazing.

 

Hey Grey. Where did you get the list of the drivers used to find out which ones you needed updated? The Sager website does not have the 9280 up there yet.

 

I got this link from XoticPC:

Nvida Driver 185.81 Beta
http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_x86_185.81_beta.html

Otherwise, I went into device drivers and checked each device to see if there was an update. But, all were current.

I am going to wait a few weeks until I start loading "beta" drivers. Mostly, cuz I'm going to be racing my HD NightRod Special at the Streets of Willow Springs this weekend and then riding my bike from LA to NY. YeHaw! Just me, my bike and the open road.

 

Thanks for all the help. It seems like solid state drives are superior in most ways other than price and storage space. I'm curious as to whether or not solid state drives are worth it to put in raid. I'm now considering this setup:
2x HD 160GB Intel X25-M Solid State in raid 0, 3rd hard drive 500GB 7200RPM.
What do you guys think? Is this setup worth it compared to getting just one SSD and two 500GBs? Or are any there disadvantages to solid state that I might not be aware of?

 

Yes the SSD is expensive that's why I only ordered the 80gb ssd and the 500gb 7200 spinner, I will also throw in the 160gb out of my Asus g1-s as the video card fried herself (8600M).

I would cut back elsewhere to get an SSD as the boot/os drive. I went down from the i7 950 to the i7 920 to stay in budget and will throw in a new chip in a few months hopefully intel will bump up the transfers to 6.4gt/s on some non "extreme" chip. All though you could do the same and throw in an SSD later. But i have seen my buddies dell 1730 with an ssd in it and it's like a whole new generation laptop it make a crazy huge difference and he had raid 0 7200rpm before.

 

The only downside to SSDs are that they have Limited write (erase) cycles.

SSD Explained: Limited write (erase) cycles

In a nutshell, you can only write to SSD flash-memory cells so many times, but odds are you will be replacing your notebook way before you reach that point. The SSD hardware cycles the flash-memory cells writing, so the whole disk gets used equally "hard". So by the time your flash-memory cells have worn out, the whole disk will be ready for replacement. Besides, SSD will warn you BEFORE it reaches that point .. unlike normal HD which may just die out of the blue without warning.

On the other hand SSD is extremely reliable. So in theory you could run them RAID-0 without extra risk of data loss.

SSD is very exiting, though a bit pricey.

 

I don't think SSD RAID necessary though.
Better 1x SSD for OS and Apps and 2x HDD 500GB (No RAID) for storage.

 

Wait so If I get one SSD as the master and then a 500 gb 7,200 rpm I can put them and raid?

 

Nope, your HDs have to be the same.

 

That's what I thought, lol I heard someone talking about buying SSD as masters and then having a 500gb 7,200 as a slave while in raid.... I was like what!!! THATS NOT POSSIBLE... is it? lol

 

Wait.. I'm a bit confused. I know that raid between SSD and non-SSD is impossible, but it is possible to get 2 SSDs in raid and have a third non-SSD outside of raid but still in this notebook, right? Just clarifying.

 

Holy Cow! I've been on phase 2 since 28 May! is Xoticpc this slow with everyone or is it just me? I called yesterday and someone, (Justin maybe?) told me that phase 2 should have wrapped up by the end of yesterday (it didn't) and then off to the skinning facility for phase 3!

I pre-ordered this thing on 11 May and have now been waiting for almost a month! I just want the dang thing!

 

there is a massive backorder of the system.... apparently its very popular (like the previous D901C)

they are shipping as many as they get in from Clevo.

 

Woohoo! On order:

i7 920
GTX 280M
6GB DDR3 RAM
500GB 7200RPM Drive
Blu-Ray R/DVD R/RW
Vista Ultimate
2 yr parts/labor + no dead pixel guarantee

Can't wait till I get my hands on this baby

 

I would have to close up my lappy for that too...Sounds like a fun filled weekend...Have fun!!!

 

Anyone know how is is the screen of this notebook? Like brightness (nits) and color wise? I'm going to buy a notebook and i'm thinking between these 3 notebooks:

core i7 clevo
allpowerful alienware
dell precision m6400

The only thing that is stopping me from buying the clevo is the screen. I want dual lamp or led screen, because i'm a graphic designer, and i dint have much luck with my current m570RU screen (its not so bright, 200Nits).

 

with the i7/920 and 6GB Ram and everything at stock I got:

3D Mark score P6717
CPU score 34625
Graphic score 5295

Very close

 

I can give you Oile's overvolted bios if you want to try overclocking the 280M.

 

I never said anything about SSD + HDD getting RAID.

 

Yeah I'd like to know the same thing, Clevo has a bad rep for bottom of the barrel dim screens with a grainy sparlely look. If this hasn't changed and if the Clevo screens are still not on par with everyone else, I will pass on them this time around.

 

http://www.wepc.com/discussions/view/6655/The_most_powerful_gaming_laptop_ever__Alienware_M17x

any of you guys with the D901F Sager 9280 seen this..?? what do you reckon.?

 

The M6400 E2E LED RGB is the best laptop screen I've ever seen or used. Next up would be the LED screen on the 17" Apple followed by the dual lamp screen in the HDX9000 (20.1" WSXGA+).

Clevo Screens are ok. Not spectacular, but ok from the ones I've seen first hand. Asus, Clevo, MSI.....their screens are decent.

I, too, am curious how the 9280 screens are compared to some of the top dog screens out there or even against the Asus/ Other Clevo/MSIs out there.

Can anyone with a 9280 report the screen ID under device manager so we can get an idea of what WUXGA+ panel these beasts are shipping with?

 

GreyReaver,

I've got a 2008 NRS. First one on the island, now there are three driving around (all of us black) and one more on dealer floor. Guess great minds run in the same circles!

 

You can have drive 1 and 2 SSDs and in RAID-0, and the 3rd drive 500GB for example. If you want this configuration, just contact your vendor.

 

i've been checking my email alot for the past few weeks. how long do i have to wait

 

It just came out and who knows the number of people who pre-ordered it.

 

So the front page review says this is one of the loudest notebooks under load with the fans ablazing.

For those who got 'em, how would you rate the noise level when under load (game, CPU intensive, both)?

 

This doesn't make me happy either. I am phase 2 supposedly, although it sounds like I was demoted without being notified. How can I be backordered when I preordered on May 11!

 

You must have just missed the first go around...I ordered mine on the 8th of may and just got it yesterday...But, I ordered from PCTorque...Which probably don't make any difference

 

That shouldn't have made any difference as the system would have been drop-shipped direct from Sager to you unless you ordered something like a custom paint-job, in which case the system would have gone to the reseller first (but then again, if you'd ordered a custom paint-job you'd still be waiting to get yours 'cause those things can take a while ). The biggest difference probably has to do with how Sager allots each batch it receives from Clevo among the resellers who purchase from Sager, and whether or not your order made it into PC Torque's allotment from the first batch received.

 

I'm not to stressed out about the additional wait. Before I would have gotten the 965 CPU, but now I get the 975 for the same price. As I used it mostly for development running multiple VMs, I'll take any additional horse power I can get.

 

I ordered my 9280 on May 13th and......

"I am pleased to notify you that your notebook was shipped yesterday via USPS. Thank you again for your business and for shopping at PC Torque!"

Oh man, my girlfriend is going to be jealous of the attention I'm gonna give this machine.

 

you're damn lucky! i ordered mine the same day as you did and i still have to wait

 

did you order from pctorque or xoticpc?

 

How do I post Images directly into a post. I wanna post some of my pictures of this baby.

 

Here is a list of questions hopefully incoming NP9280 owners can answer. Answer any or all if you like.

So in summary, the questions asked are:

#1. How does the noise level under load compare to other notebooks. The review indicates the system is rather loud. How does the noise level compare to the Whitebook and the NP9280's predecessor the NP9262? Would you feel comfortable using this notebook in a social/quiet setting? (IE Library, living room, Starbucks'esque?)

#2. What is the screen/string ID string under device manager to accurately identify the WUXGA+ panel these are being shipped with?

(Control Panel->System->Device Manager->Monitors->Properties->Details)

#3. Are the extreme chips unlocked as reported earlier and can be OC'd via BIOS?

#4. Are the Northbridge and Southbridge cooled independently or do they share a heatsink? If so, with what other component(s)?

#5. Is it possible to stress test the system using Prime95 multicore or similar for CPU? DX Real time or another torture app for the GPU? Simultaneously to get an accurate heat/noise level under maximum load would be greatly appreciated. Let the system run for at least 15 minutes (longer the better) and post results.

#6. What are dimensions and weight of the Power supply unit? Pics?

#7. Are the temperature readings with the unit sitting flush? With a NB cooler? Elevated?

#8. Same question as #7, but in regards to the system under load.

 

I think you click on "Go Advanced" under the quick reply box and click the Insert Image button underneath the undo button. then browse from there.

 

Another question to add to electrosoft's list would be battery life. How long under load and off load. Obviously depends on the specific specs of your system. I'm not expecting very much but I'm curious to see anyway.

 

I seen a guy's post on another forum which claimed that he watched movies on low performance in battery settings, and the Battery lasted lasted 1 hour and 4minutes before it discharged.

 

Where are your guy's user reviews??? Lol KY I was expecting one out of you at the very least!

 

Believe me if i was home I would be working on it...I'm sitting in Shangahi China right now and i won't be home untill next weekend

It's just sitting in my closet collecting dust...in the box of course..lol

Sooner or later a review will be here

 

Wow sweet, what are you in china for?

 

I'm here for work...Engineer/Machinist/Boss...little bit of everything...Can't wait to come home!!!

I have been here since January 3rd...That is a long time to be away from home