HTWingNut's Sager NP6110 / Clevo W110ER First Look & Review

Really looking forward to some overclocking results. I wish the GPU boost could be disabled and just overclock the main GPU clock.

 

Is there no other way to disable Turbo? I'm waiting for an HP dv6 with the GT650m GDDR5 so I'm assuming your vBIOS won't work with my laptop.

 

Hey HTWingNut,

Is there any difference getting the Sager NP6110 over the W110ER from Eurocom? Because Eurocom offers the option for a matte screen.

 

They're the same machine for the most part. The Sager is the W110ER just it's tested and assembled by Sager.

 

Thanks!
I'm looking at your specs. Is there any reason you stuck with 8gb over 16gb for gaming? I am planning on grabbing something like Corsair Vengeance but don't know if getting 16gb over 8gb will make much of a difference.

 

8GB is more than plenty.

 

And the stock memory (which is probably Samsung or something) is good to stick with for gaming? Or should I upgrade to something like Kingston HyperX or Corsair Vengeance?

 

The stock RAM is fine. Generally system RAM doesn't matter for gaming so you don't have to worry about that.

 

When is your screen going to arrive?

 

Wednesday.

 

HTWingnut and others, what applications do you recommend/use for monitoring heat and so on? I saw you used CPU-Z on page 1, and I've also heard of people using HWMonitor earlier in the thread. I've been using Core Temp myself, but it doesn't seem to display wattages properly (mine's at 0W), and is only about CPU. Also, what applications are useful for switching GPU and getting control for perhaps undervolting etc.? Thanks!

 

Not exactly what your looking for but may be relevant. Hwinfo + msi osd can display your gpu + individual core temps in screen as you game. Give me a min ill dig up the link.

Found it! Enjoy.

 

hey htwingnut do you play games like sc2 and dota2(games that require you looking at the minimap on the bottom left/right corner)? if yes, how do you like playing games like than on the w110? is it good enough or would you recommend getting an external monitor?

 

I don't play either of those games but I do play several paradox games such as EU3, Victoria II, CK2, and HoI3 that have the mini map in the bottom corner. I find it is still useful as I know the maps so well that I can still hit the right spots on it.

The Paradox mini-maps are mostly used for map navigation and not information conveyance so its not a exactly the same as SC2 and others of that nature. However, I don't play any fast paced RTS games so I can't comment on how well they play, but I don't have any issues with mini-maps myself.

 

Baenwort you are one of the few with the matte displays. I just placed my order at Eurocom and was wondering if you could comment on the display. How are the blacks? Can you see the individual pixels? Also i decided to skip sandy bridge and decided to go for the i7-620m to save battery life. Do you guys think i will be able to squeeze 5 ish hours for word processing.

 

I'm not sure if a first gen i7 like the 620 will get you 5 hours.

As far as the matte screen, I don't see the pixels at a normal lap viewing distance. Can it be seen if you are holding the mouse pad up to your face and viewing the screen closely? Yes, but that isn't my normal viewing mode.

If you're worried about DPI then think about this:

11.6 @ 1366 x 786 = 135 DPI
13.1 @ 1600 x 900 = 140 DPI
15.6 @ 1920 x 1080 = 141 DPI
17 @ 1920 x 1080 = 130 DPI

If you think pixels are easy to see on one of those other sizes and rez, which ever one you have access to, then it will be just as easy to see on this laptop. If you don't think they are easy to see then you'll be fine.

To your question of blacks, it depends on where you are. I find the blacks to be better then my glossy screened 11.6 Acer netbook in any setting besides a dark room with low or no lights on. I don't have the software to measure light levels as the ColorMunki software that comes with my photo spectrometer doesn't give me a number so I can't tell you exactly how black the blacks are or give any other hard data.

With out hard numbers I'd say see for yourself.

Do I recommend this laptop for professional editing work? No, but I wouldn't expect it to be.

Is it good enough to not be distracting when I play my games, browse the web, and watch streaming movies off Amazon or Netflix? Yes, for me at least.

Am I glad I picked the Matte screen over the glossy? Yes, as I am typically sitting out on my porch in my chair or even over in the park on any day it isn't raining.

 

thanks for the reply, i did have a 11.6 macbook air and was unable to see the individual pixels. I did have an Hp probook with a 13 inch matte display at the same res and i could see the individual pixels. Hopefully i don't have that problem. Also I ordered from Eurocom, largely because they are the only company in canada/matte display. I talked to Marc and mentioned the NBR thread. My total in CAD was 1049, for stock w110ER, with an i7-620m and the matte display with no OS. Got an email from marc stating he would install W7 home premium for free. So far awesome customer service, immediate responses. Will keep you guys updated.

 

Well this site will automate the DPI calculation for you. A 13 inch screen with a 768p rez only has a DPI of 120 which is >10% worse.

 

What CPU is it? It's not a 620M, taht's a first generation Core i. 3610QM, right?

 

how can conf. so that my cpu do not riche 1.7ghz in power saver mode?

 

if you order from eurocom, you can configure it with the first gen i7. I dont do anything processor intensive and i figured it might help with the battery

 

You will need to change your advanced power settings in Windows 7. To do this, navigate to your Control Panel > Power Options. (be sure to change your view to Small Icons to make it easier to navigate.)

Once there, your power plan will be the one with the blue dot in the circle to the left of the power plan (ie; balanced, High Performance). You will want to click the link that reads "Change plan settings" in blue writing to the right of your selected power plan.

Next up, you should see a window with turning off your display and putting the computer to sleep.
Below that is another blue link that reads "Change advanced power settings", click on that.
You should see a list with + next to each item. Scroll down and find the "Processor power management". Click on the + next to it and then you should see "Maximum processor State" click on the + for that then click on the setting and it should allow you to drop your processor usage by %.

The problem with this is, reducing your processor in hopes of saving battery life is futile. If you reduce your max CPU then it will just run at a lower speed and results in taking more time to perform tasks.
I would recommend leaving your CPU performance alone but the instructions are there if you want to try anyway.

 

thanks for answer

 

really.... dont you mean 2nd gen i7 sandy bridge.....?

 

It cannot accept a first gen, different sockets. I think he means 2620m.

 

Right, has to be Sandy Bridge. Completely different sockets with original gen i7.

 

That's definitely the correct screen? Eurocom has the b116xw03 v.1 listed as the screen used...

 

Here's the specs between the two:

B116XW02 v.1
http://www.avidia.com.tw/docs/product/B116XW02 V.1.pdf (page 5)

B116XW03 v.1
http://www.avidia.com.tw/docs/product/B116XW03 V.1.pdf (page 6)

They are nearly identical. Both are LVDS. Only thing is that the power consumption of the W03 seems less than the W02, but we'll see how that pans out. Otherwise the W02 has slightly better vertical viewing angles.

Besides, the B116XW03 v.1 (Matte) is not available anywhere in US except Mythlogic who wants $150 + shipping for it. I got the W02 for half that.

The stock screen has hardware ID of IVO0489 which is Infovision Optoelectronics. I can't find much info on them, but the only 11.6" notebook LCD they offer is the M116NWR1: http://www.ivo.com.cn/ensite/pages/solution/bijiben.jsp

with spec sheet here: http://www.shopmanda.com/public/Companion Pad/(08)AVL/(01)Panel/M116NWR1 R0 s.pdf

Not sure where anandtech got their numbers unless it's measured numbers, because spec sheet calls out 400 min contrast and 200 brightness, but Anandtech says 177 contrast and 258 brightness. If so, then the other screens might end up with just as bad numbers despite what the specs say. In any case, if that is the panel, it uses over 4W max and each of the other two AUO use less than 4W, so that should help with battery life a bit.

 

my apologies it's the 2620m. I'm selling my 13 inch macbook pro for this. I just hope the matte display isnt very bad/

 

We'll see on Wednesday, that's when HT is getting his screen and will hopefully have some news for us on how it is.

 

Actually Myth and Euro both lowered the price on the Matte display. Don't know the reason but they are now around $95-100.

 

That's only if you buy it with the laptop though, I think HT meant they were charging 150+ just for buying the screen alone.

 

Well, it looks like you did your homework here. Nothing else I can add--hope it works out for you. Primarily because I may end up trying the same thing It would definitely be nice to able to use the 6110 outside. I absolutely hate matte screen privacy protectors.

Yup--besides, ordering from Eurocom wasn't my first choice. Also, I prefer the Sager branding to the Eurostar variant

 

They were originally charging $150 for an upgrade to the matte. I remember seeing it on Euro's site and thinking "Wow, that's an expensive upgrade."

 

They have also slightly different dimensions:

B116XW03 V1: 278.5×168.5 x 3.6 mm

B116XW02 V1: 268.0×161.5 x 5.2 mm

That being said, I saw them both sold by resellers...

 

Im looking forward to HTWingnuts unbiased review of the matte screen

What I like very much is that he is very objective in his reviews and honest about the W110ER, you dont see that too often..

Even I would have to admit its hard making a personal review of a Laptop, after you spend about 1k for it, without being very subjective..

 

Has anyone found a reseller that does backlit keyboard for this computer? That's the only thing holding me back!

 

That would be hard to do since most laptops this size rarely have backlit keyboards and finding one that would be an exact match is probably never going to happen. Beleive me I wish there was an option too but it's not deal breaker for me.

 

I would have preferred the W03 v.1 but like I said, it's not readily available, and yes it's $150 if you buy only the screen from Mythlogic. Prema is right though, the W02 is slightly smaller by 10mm length and 6mm height and 1.5mm thickness. That's 5mm x 3mm smaller per side, but peeking behind the bezel it seems it should be fine. Although I realized the service manual doesn't explain how to remove/replace the LCD. Should be pretty straightforward I think.

 

This should help give you an idea at least.

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Thanks, I've changed screens before. Just that every machine has a different way of removing the bezel. Some are fastened with screws, some are not. Some require disassembly of the laptop just to detach the hinges before you can replace the screen. I don't want to start removing bumpers if I don't have to, or realize I have to take the whole machine apart just to access a screw.

 

HTWingNut, i'll be ordering pretty much same specification like yours minus the SSD, i'll be going for a 750GB + 8GB SSD instead.

I was just wondering how much heat different you would see if you turned off the cores and just enabled two, so it becomes a Dual-Core i7 plus 'Hyperthread' off as well, since its not that much difference and generates more heat.

EDIT: How long does your laptop take to charge to 100%? Since i'll be ordering mine without the 120W PSU.

 

So far we haven't been able to disable cores in BIOS. I have tried it through MSconfig but then it doesn't boost, and it is fixed at something like 2.3GHz. It makes for worse idle power and temps, but peak temps obviously will be less.

 

Well I pulled the trigger on one from myth (great shop btw). Its an i7 3720 with the matte screen. Thanks to wingnut for the review and the arma2 bench -. This thing really delivers. On the subject of the screen I think mine is pretty unimpressive. The saturation and balance are good (maybe thanks to the mythlogic calibration ), but the viewing angles are really bad in my opinion. Even on the primary axis it is so sensitive to tilt - black levels get really bad really fast. Off axis forget it. I dont know how the glossy screen compares as i have not seen one. Battery life and screen aside i am really happy. Mostly due to the fact I can play arma 2 pretty much maxxed on the couch and while my wife watches the bachelorette!

 

windsortheater, I just ordered that exact same unit from myth =). I had a lot of debate about the matte vs glossy (I also went matte) and also about the CPU choice and settled on the 3720 as well for the balance of price and power.

How's your battery life so far?

 

Great review. have anyone tried playing witcher 2 on this machine (i know it has been asked, I might skipped it)? if so, hows the performance on the native resolution? Thanks!

 

I heard that 'Ivy Bridge' runs a lot hotter than Sandy Bridge, but is that only for Desktop variance? Or is the Mobile effected as well?

Source: Intel admits Ivy Bridge chips run hotter - The Inquirer

 

Thanks! What measures can be taken to improve battery life when not gaming or performing demanding tasks? How do you control which GPU is being used?

 

This is only perfectly visible when overclocked as stated by the article.
Ivy uses paste instead of the soldered heat spreader Sandy used.

Another SOURCE @ tom's hardware

 

This looks like the panel you want, right?

The rest I found were the B116XW03 V.2... The place above also carries the v.2 and v.0.