HTWingNut's Sager NP7330 / Clevo W230ST REVIEW

I used your stock results Brinker for this comparison, since I wanted to see what it would out of the box.

Don't get me wrong I wasn't expecting desktop graphics performance from a small formfactor laptop. I was just surprised that the results weren't closer.

 

LOL

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4800MQ,Notebook W230ST

 

As I already said, you could have:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 16518 17648 4013
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M 19948 13718 4103
from Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List - NotebookCheck.net Tech

 

Interesting, so what then explains the bigger difference between my results and Brinkers?

 

Nice!

OV?

 

DAYUM!!! and this is stbale aswell from temps. what gives to make it over clock so high and what kind of perfomance gains does this bring for demanding games such as bf3?

 

Yes, OV from unlocked vBIOS (I recommend looking at TechInferno for more info).

I haven't really played games at these settings yet, and probably won't. As I don't want to really kill my card. Besides I play BF3 at pretty much high capped at 60FPS with stock clocks and it typically runs 45-60fps.

 

where did you get that bios, i cannot find anything on techinferno about it, also i cannot flash the stock clevo bios as it states it is incompatible and check if you have x64 or x86 os, thanks
actually nevermind, found out how to flash the bios, should I wait for metabox to bring theirs out,.it doesn't seem to have any options either. Is premas bios available?

 

Hint... 'NVIDIA Kepler VBIOS mods - Overclocking Editions, modified clocks, voltage tweaks'.

svl7 and Prema are the gods of BIOS mods... Just be nice to them and consider a contribution.

 

I can't find any modded 765M BIOS in that thread HT?

 

There's no modded BIOS yet. Only modded vBIOS. But it isn't specifically for the W230ST.

 

Nothing in that thread except you asking for a vBIOS.
If you've got something link to it, that's so much easier.

 

I realise Prema is yet to release a modded BIOS/EC.

However where is the 765M modded vBIOS?

 

Now that is a proper overclock

 

Problem is that 3DMark 13 seems to be unaffected by any change in CPU or GPU or vRAM clock speed. I don't get it.

 

That looks really good! Is the GPU boost turned off? I think we are reaching the GTX770m boundaries!

 

HELP!!, Flashed the 05 bios from prema`s website and it all went well, the laptop boots but now the threee status leds are flashing and the laptop beeps when booting, i have the metabox 230st, what is the problem?, can i flash back to stock metabox somehow?

 

you can try:
1. Shutdown your computer fully and remove the battery and power adapter for around 1-2 minutes. Then try again.
2. Remove the ram modules and reinsert it back.

It worked for me.

 

Don't worry! I just ran into the exact same problem tonight and was able to fix it. I did the same thing - made an MS-DOS flash drive, flashed the EC, flashed the BIOS, and then my screen wouldn't come on and it beeped, etc. Fixed it using the good old fashioned Clevo recovery menu.

First make two copies of the W230ST.05 file. Name one of them W23ST.rom and the other W230ST.rom (reason for this is I don't know which is the correct name so I used both and it worked). Put them om the root of your flash drive and plug it into the USB 2.0 port on the left. Then turn off the computer. Hold down Fn + B and keep hold it down while you press the power button to turn on the laptop. Keep holding down Fn + B until the laptop boots into a BIOS or some sort of recovery menu. Then choose to flash the update/BIOS. I don't remember what exactly it said but it was pretty straightforward.

I did this and was able to unbrick my laptop.

 

Cool, all good, almost gave me a heart attack, know if i can flash the stock bios over the top for warranty pruposes? or does it not matter if it is stock clevo?

 

If you can find the stock BIOS I would flash it before sending it in for warranty service.

 

downgrade is not recommended, in some cases you may brick the laptop.
unless your builder specifically states otherwise, you can send it in with upgraded bios, as long as it's a stock one made by clevo.

 

If it's a Sager machine then it needs to be a Sager BIOS to send it in for warranty.

 

Does the new Prema Bios help with the battery life?

Thx

 

That BIOS is just the stock Clevo BIOS/EC and not a Mod...yet

 

Where did you find the new EC? I thought that the ones from Clevo didn't come with it.

 

Clevo builds the Notebook, Sager and all others just put their sticker on it...

 

I know that, but the BIOS that was linked to a few pages back on Clevo's FTP site didn't include the new EC file.

 

It's my job to have the latest files for you guys. I just pushed this update now as Clevos "official" EC update is incomplete and would have caused confusion and the posted BIOS without the proper EC would have caused problems...

Clevo rule No.1: "Always flash the EC first!"

 

So, my Sager 7330 arrived today from XoticPC. So far, this is the worst experience I've ever had with any product.

I can't convey how disappointed I am.

Immediately upon pulling the notebook out of the box, I notice that the cover on the underside is clearly not seated correctly. There are three small screws holding the cover on, but there are three tabs on the right side. Those tabs were not slid under the notebook housing. Whoever dropped my Samsung 256 GB 840 Pro SSD into the notebook must have just slapped the cover back on and screwed it down. This stressed the screws, and the tabs on the cover.

At this point, I had not even opened the lid - you can see in the photos that the plastic protective cover is still taped on the screen.

Before booting it up, I decided to grab a screw driver, take off the ill-seated cover, make sure nothing was damaged on the inside, and then properly reinstall the cover. So - here I am getting into the guts of the computer to fix problems before I even open the lid and boot the notebook. Anyway, so I go to boot up the computer and...

FOUR... not one... four dead pixels on my screen. Are you freaking kidding me? I'm having a heart attack here. I stopped short of gouging out my eyeballs so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore. After being on a netbook for the last 4 years and being a computer geek, this was the most highly anticipated computer purchase I've ever made

So, after seeing all the dead pixels, I took off the protective screen cover to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. Nope. Dead pixels.

Currently, I'm finishing a prestigious internship at a major national park, and NEED to use this notebook for the production of a video that is a required part of the opportunity. The government computers and my netbook are not powerful enough for video production.

I'll be contacting Sage and Xotic tomorrow - hopefully they can work something out with me. This is just utterly unacceptable.

 

Not to mention, it took me contacting them twice to realize that the same-day wire I sent was in their account for a week before they ordered the computer. Both times I contacted them, they said their bank would let them know when the money was in their account - and they refused to call their own bank to check on it.

Finally, I called Xotic to get their bank's phone number so I could check on the wire myself, because I was worried my $1300 went to someone else's account. I was ready to file a petition to reverse it. Only then did they care to check themselves, and order my notebook like they were suppose to a week prior.

I'm certainly not the type to complain, but this has been failure after complete and utter failure every single step of the way.

 

Interesting. They do have time to reply to potential buyers on these topics though.

 

@ Boomtree - while I understand your frustration with the laptop, the bottom panel is definitely an oversight, and easily fixable and replaceable and not critical to the operation of the laptop (well unless it's completely destroyed). As far as the dead pixels, that crap happens unfortunately, but can be exchanged for a new one (especially if you got the no dead pixel guarantee). I wouldn't be real happy how they handled your order though. Sure sometimes things get mixed up but it shouldn't take more than one email to get things set straight.

I just hope they get you a good replacement quickly. To me that's what matters most.

 

@Boomtree: I'm sorry to hear that! Definitely not what we want to be sending out in regards to the chassis, for sure an oversight. Unfortunately the screen, like Wingnut mentioned, is technically not considered defective (at least how it was described) just yet and why it would've passed that QA check. Shoot me your order info in an email and reference your post, I'll be able to take a look into it for you and see how I can help you out in getting this fixed.

 

I think 4 dead pixels goes past the basic protection anyway, especially if they are centre position.

 

Hey guys. Is LPC-Digital a good site from which to order this laptop? I'm likely pulling the trigger in the next few weeks (depends on finances) and the only thing I'm weary of is ordering through all these various third-party vendors. LPC-Digital seems to have reasonable prices.

 

I can personally vouch for LPC-Digital. No issues, prompt and courteous service.

 

Derek has been helpful; hopefully we can get this resolved. The dead pixel count totals 22. Twenty-two dead pixels out of the box. I've sent photos to Derek.

The most obvious is a cluster of at least 4 pixels that beam NW of center. There are also three dead spots at the top of the screen, each 2 pixels. The rest of the pixels are scattered throughout the screen, in all quadrants.

I can understand that mistakes happen. I have high hopes that Sager and Xotic will help make this right.

 

Just shot you a response, but yup I've received the pics and have them forwarded onto to service to take a look at. Thanks for providing those! They help immensely.

 

Thanks for working with me, Derek.

 

Not a problem, it's why we're here. Won't be leaving you out to dry, we'll work with you on this as we want you to be happy with the machine as much as you would like to be happy with it.

 

It says this right on Xoticpc's website, so worst case $50 shipping and you send the thing back. You really shouldn't have anything to worry about

SAGER Return Policy:

IF FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER YOU SHOULD FAIL TO BE SATISFIED WITH YOUR SAGER PRODUCT, YOU MAY RETURN IT WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM ITS ORIGINAL SAGER SHIP DATE FOR A 100% REFUND LESS SHIPPING CHARGES.

 

Same with me, Larry at LPC is great.

 

When I got my W230st, the screen had 2 dead pixels and a defect which my reseller replaced its screen in the end. I think there was a bad batch for the screen. After screen replacement, the machine is pretty much perfect.

P.S. 2 dead pixels is far farrrrr cry from your 22! dead pixels. You have to wonder what kind of testing they did.

 

I have a 1 week old W230ST for sale if anybody is interested. Purchased from PCS however decided I will stick with Apple, big mistake for me buying this and can no longer return it. I am in the United Kingdom. There are no dead pixels. Will settle for a fair price, would prefer to do this via ebay however would also accept cash on collection from Cambridge. Send me a PM or to my e-mail [email protected]

 

Excellent review as always HT!

 

sounds good but dont think you can match my price for what i ordered from pcs...

 

Just to point out it's 7 working days after receiving a product so say you get it on tuesday, that's thursday of the next week you can still request a return.

 

I was sure this would have been the perfect laptop for me, but all these comments about high heat and noise worries me.

I have to take my laptop in a classroom setting, I can't be having noise while doing school work. Am I worrying to much here, or are my concerns valid and should I look at another laptop?

 

I've used my laptop in class. The fan does not kick in unless the temps get in the 60's, which should not happen while internet browsing.

Also, you can manage the CPU settings via the multiplier in Throttlestop.