D901C / Sager 9260/9262 / Pro-Star 9191 Owners Thread

I went the SSD boot drive about 1-1/2 years ago. It was fast enough, but only worked for about six months before it died on me.

 

Try them again, they are much better today then they were back in the Gen1 days.

 

Since the first post hasn't been updated since 2007 I'll just go ahead and ask. First off, I love this computer. IMHO it's the best purchase I've made since my car. Well I'm the type of guy that wants only the best he can get his hands on. With that said I'm interested in new graphics card s. What is currently, not quite the best, but what are some really really good cards that are SLI compatible. That is if Windows 7 can support SLI.

Thanks for any help I receive.

 

The only upgrades you can do are:

get a 2nd 9800m GT for SLI
get a pair of 9800m GTX for SLI

The GTX's will have more shaders (112 vs 96) and 1GB of ram over 512MB otherwise they are very similar performing cards

 

Okay, so I take it those are the only 2 cards that fit? That's fine by me. While I'm at it, should I get or do anything else to the computer? I was thinking either more RAM or storage or both. Is the most RAM and/or storage always best? Recommendations? Side note: I have tens-of-thousands of songs, and about a thousand movies so maximum storage is a must.

I already want to switch out the 40GB SSHD with a 160GB and put my OS and any games I have on it, mainly WoW, then ditch the 40 and get 2 more hard drives.

When I was in Iraq I remember reading about the Raptor, supposed hold 1TB and operate at 10,000PRM. Are those still being made? Do they make them for laptops?

 

They are the most recent cards that will work in sli in your laptop. You could put in a single GTX 280M (but only the MXM 2.1 version NOT the MXM 3.0 one) and get a good upgrade, but only a single card.

For hard drives, the biggest standard latop size drivesare 750GB, so 2 of them + an SSD would do you well.

Raptors have now been superceded by velociraptors, but they do not make them for laptops.

 

Cool cool. I only have a couple more questions.

What are the benefits of running an SLI configuration vice just a really good single graphics card? I guess what I'm asking is, if you were doing it, would you SLI the 9800m GTX or go with a single 280m. That is if you were looking solely for best graphics and optimum performance.

Lastly, when looking at hard drives, should I base my decision solely on RPM vs. disk space?

 

A single GTX 280m is only a slight step up from a single 9800m GTX so 2x 9800m GTX in SLI will perform considerably better than a single GTX 280m

For hard disks, I would figure out how much space I need and then get the fastest disks that are available at that space requirement

 

Well maybe one more question. When I look on newegg and tigerdirect I find the 9800M GTX+Video Card, is this what I'm looking for? I take it I just get 2 of these PNY VCG98GTXPXPB GeForce 9800 GTX + Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDMI Support, VGA Support at TigerDirect.com and call it a day? Is there some sort of connector that links them together? Will my motherboard support SLI?

Sorry for bombarding you with noobish questions.

 

That is a desktop card. You have a notebook. Your cards are about $800 each (retail) and much harder to find.

 

Well I'll look around and see what happens. Do you know if the 9262 motherboard supports SLI? Do I need an SLI bridge or anything?

 

It does support SLI and you will need a bridge cable. If you buy a set of cards though there is a good chance one of them will have the needed cable attached

 

Good deal. I leave for Afghanistan in a week or so, so I don't mind looking for the graphics card I want.

Man, the more I think about it the more questions I come up with.

Here's where I stand.
Graphics card upgrade - check
Storage - Check
RAM - ...

Is more ram necessarily the the best? I noticed seeing gaming laptops with 16GB of RAM. Would I want the most RAM my computer can hold?

 

4GB is more than enough for games. I have 4 in my laptop and have NEVER regretted it

 

Well the good news is I found the 9800m GTX cards on eurocom but there's no way (that I have seen) to purchase from the site. Or a way to contact them. You wouldn't happen to be able to shine any light in the right direction would you? And yeah, it's $1600 and some change for 2 cards but it doesn't specify whether or not it includes the SLI cable.

 

NVM, found it.

 

Just to add to the potential confusion. A Qx9650 will run in your Laptop, and with Throttlestop running, you should be able to hit 3.3 processor speed. The Video Card upgrade will get you better overall Gaming performance. But the processor upgrade will be way cheaper, a very simple install and will run cooler too if you step the voltage down slightly.

What is the "best" video driver to be running with the 8800 SLI set up? Any input?

 

Can ThrottleStop change the vcore in the D901c? It can for my QX9300.....is how I benched it at 4.16 GHz

I would expect the QX9650 to be able to accomplish the same as it is nearly the exact same cpu

 

The Chip cost me $315 through Amazon [including shipment CONUS]. Was supplied by Komputerbay LTD for Amazon.

With the multiplier to 9.5x and the voltage at the 1.200 setting, with CPU allowed to throttle back to 6x multiplier at light loads and the 8800GTX SLI slightly OC'd, the keyboard no longer feels warm. I have gone back and forth between 3.0 and 3.2, and I am sure that in a blindfold test, I can tell you which set up the Laptop is running.

There is a bit of discussion about the heat rating of the Qx9650. Let me be clear about this... you cannot violate the laws of physics. If the Qx9650 is a hotter running chip, the Laptop would feel warmer and report warmer temps. It does not!

I haven't moved onto a 10x multiplier as yet because the bearings in the CPU fan developed a scraping rasp with the last air purge of dust. I tried a light application of WD40, but the bearing has failed and I feel the fan is not reliable. I have a new fan in from Sager [and have a spare also] and will install this weekend. I will then jump to the 10x setting [3.3 cpu speed] to check that out.

This will put me back to the speed of my E8600 processor. And BTW, my experience with the E8600 cpu was that while it felt faster in most of the Software I run, it ran very hot. The keyboard was warmer with that CPU than the Q9650 ran.

Hopefully the Qx9650 will run happily at 1.200 or the 1.21 voltage settings. I think it's the 1.25 voltage that turns the Laptop so warm....

The hottest that this Laptop has run, was with the X6800 and 7950 GTX SLI set up. Of course the Laptop Coolers didn't perform as well back then also.

 

$315 through Amazon? How long ago was this? I just looked on Amazon and they're ~$1,100. I've wanted to replace my processor for a while now. The last time I benchmarked my computer, my precessor was really holding my score back, and the Q9550 isn't overclockable either. I'd rather switch out my processor and spend $300 than replace my graphics card and spend $1600.

 

You do realize though that upgrading the graphics will have a MUCH more measurable effect on game performance.

And on ebay there are several QX9650s for around $325

 

Amazon.com: Intel Cpu Core 2 Extreme Qx9650 3.00Ghz Fsb1333Mhz 12M Lga775 Extreme Tray: Electronics

The above link is for Amazon/Komputerbay/Qx9650 search. Price is now $405. Watch for price drop again... I picked up 02December2010.

Sometimes the scroll list towards the bottom will show the same item with a different prices at times. Shipment was very fast, but the processor looked like it was pulled. Currently I am still running 3.2 speed. Tried low volting at 3.3 and it can lock up. I never had a issue at 3.2 as yet.

 

scook9, you are totally correct. But you can't upgrade the video easily for a $300 to $400 investment.

The video upgrade path on this laptop is a short path...

 

Amazon.com: Used and New: Intel CPU Core 2 Extreme QX9650 SLAWN C1 with Unnlocked ultiplier 3.00Ghz FSB1333Mhz 12M LGA775 Extreme

StarMicro. $310+6.49 shipping.

 

Using the latest video drivers did help improve performance, but at the expense of additional heat. To that end, I have not found that swapping the Qx9650 with a E8600 has any adverse effect and dramatically reduced the heat generated.

I locked the Phsyx feature onto the first video card [checkbox in the nVidia device driver], which has eliminated some game loading [SLI] issues...

 

i'm considering picking up a D901c, qx9650 model, i want to run sli, but i was wondering what would be the most maximum cards i can get in there, i'm pretty sure i'd have to replace the power supply to sustain the TDP obviously. Some input would be great, can it be done with 5870m crossfire gtx 285m sli maybe 460m sli? 470m sli?

 

9800m GTX SLI (comparable to GTX 260m SLI)

It is an MXM 2.1 Type HE notebook. All the cards you listed are MXM 3.0b (different physical slot)

 

i've read somewhere in the thread gtx 280m is supported possibly even sli but something about a connector

 

There has never been a MXM 2.1 GTX 280m with an SLI connector. So only a single card would be possible.

 

maybe a 280M MXM 2.1? I would like some more info about this...

 

Just what Soviet has said: one 280M MXM 2.1 for 3D rendering and one 280M MXM 2.1 (or lower) for Physx/CUDA.
The result will be better than just a card, but not very close to the SLI performance.

 

The Qx9650 and Qx9770 are c0 or c1 stepping which may not be overclocked well.

The mobile version Q9 such as Qx9300 can be overclocked further coz they are E0 stepping...

Things get ugly coz desktop Q9 / X33x0 with E0 stepping such as Q9650 or Q9550 does NOT have an unlock multiplier.So we can't use ThrottleStop to overclock.

BTW: An exception is QX9750 (333x9.5,the counterpart of X3380) with E0 stepping. It is so rare that I only saw an ES version..Not sure whether Intel had release a retail one.

 

I believe the QX9770 and QX9775 were both 400x8 actually.....one on 775 the other on 771

Neither will work in the D901c due to the 1600 MHz FSB. As far as I know the x3380 @3.16 GHz (9.5x333) is the best the D901c can take

 

You are right. Qx9770 and Qx9775 are both 400x8.

Qx9770 400X8 C0 or C1
Qx9775 400X8 C0
X3380 333X9.5 E0 (NOT an extreme one, the multiplier is locked)
Qx9750 333X9.5 E0 (rare and only ES maybe).

Anyone have the Very Rare QX9750? - CPUs - CPU-Components

 

hello everyone, its been a while since my last post
wondering if these bad boys would work with my laptop?


post image

NP9261 / D901C
5.2T MoBo Revision
Latest BIOS update

thx in advance

 

They are DDR2 so I would imagine they will.

 

u sure there isnt anything else i should check besides it been DDR2?

 

They are DDR2-800, should be a supported speed. If not they will just run at DDR2-667. The D901c should be able to handle 8GB if I remember correctly

 

well it does seems everything its in order.
DDR2, PC2-6400S, 800MHz.
they are So-Dimm so shouls be 200pin.

thx scook. feeling more comfy about purchasing those.
once i install em will post results in here

 

Just realize that adding ram past 4GB will not effect game performance much at all

It will help in productivity apps though like cad or photoshop (maybe with rendering? but no experience there myself)

 

After getting loads of helpful info for my NP9260 over the years on this forum I'm finally posting here!

My current processor is the E6700 Conroe CPU ( this one). I'm trying to find out if I could get the newer E6700 Wolfdale CPU ( found here). The main difference I see between the two is that the Conroe CPU is 65nm and the Wolfdale is 45nm.

I used BIOS update version 1.00.22 (and EC/KBC update .13N) to flash my BIOS to the newest version possible. But will that allow me to use a 45nm processor to replace my 65nm processor?

By the way, the BIOS update history for this computer (found HERE) shows that BIOS version 0.20 added support for the Q9550 ( found here). The Q9550 is a 45nm CPU, but also runs at 95W (the older non-"S" version).

Before anyone asks, I have no idea what MB revision I have. I would really love to know how to find that out, because using CPUZ doesn't seem to help me with that.

I've seen this 45nm/65nm question asked in several different places online and I can't seem to find an answer.

Thanks in advance for any help on this!

 

The motherboard revision # is found on top of the bottom memory slot (you will have to remove the cpu heatsink fan & the top stick of memory). It should say 4.x or 5.x.

Mine is a v5.0. From what I read v5.x are NP9261? What advantages do the NP9261's have over the previous v4.x NP9260's? Would I be able to run an 8800/9800 card, or am I stuck w/ a 7950GTX?

 

Ok, I have an video issue with my Clevo D901C. I believe it is the LCD inverter because the machine powers on and goes through its Windows start up routine. The only problem is the screen does not light up but I can faintly see the Windows logo once it is completely booted up. If it was the dual Nvidia graphics cards that were bad then I would not be able to see the Windows logo at all, right? If it is in the inverter does anyone know where I can get instructions for disassembling the LCD to get to it?
Ok, nevermind the disassembly instructions. I found a copy of the maintenance manual.
Now I need to know if anyone knows where I can get a replacement for the inverter. I have looked on Ebay, Ava, and RJtech and there is non available. Any other suggestions?

 

Hey, I have a question. I currently have a single 9800m GTX card, and was wondering if anyone knows of a place that sells that card so I can do SLI? Or is there a better card I could stick in (like the 280) that would be better than that? Is there a guide somewhere how to do this?

Also, I have a Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16 GHz, is there a better processor I could get? Already have 4GB RAM. Thanks.

EDIT: Would this work? --> Dell XPS M1730 Nvidia 2GB 9800M GTX SLI SEALED NEW | eBay

 

the xps card will not work

you need a 2nd 9800m GTX as well as the heatsink and SLI cable

 

what about the processor? I have a Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16 GHz, i know I can get a quad core but whats the highest I could get?

 

E8600 would be the top dual core (3.33 GHz)

X3380 would be the top quad core (3.16 GHz)

 

I contacted xotic pc and they said they would ask sager but that they needed the serial number for the card. Anyone know where I can get that?

 

Is this thread still going? Talk about a timewarp!

 

I have both the E8600 and the X3380 [and have had a Qx9650 in for a short time] and can confirm that they all work. The E8600 runs very very cool and performs very well, followed by the X3380, which stills feels cooler at the keyboard than the hard drive. The Qx9650 can run a little hot.

Running a Xeon currently with temps; 34,40,33,40
Ran Furmak 1.8.2 before and after E8600 swap to Xeon. 3500+ with E8600 and 3200+ with the Xeon.
AlanP