HTWingNut's Sager NP7330 / Clevo W230ST REVIEW

Alright that sounds better haha. When I was reading that people had 5 chrome tabs open and the fans would kick in I was getting really worried.


Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

 

Awesome review man! Finally bothered to read all of it

Would have totally bought this laptop if i would have had the extra cash

 

I'm in class right now. I thought I heard my fan wooshing quietly earlier, but it was my classmate next to me. Thus, it's completely silent during lecture. If you're concerned with full blowing fans, then you shouldn't be playing games in class! Other than that, this is the perfect laptop for school, cuz of the size and power (my computer before this was an Alienware m17xR3, which I owned for 2 school years before selling it earlier this summer to pick up this current beast )

 

unless you are gaming or doing something thats making the nvidia gpu turn on, the fan should be silent.

 

When my temps rise above normal range for me, I check if there's any contamination inside my PC...but turns out that the thermal paste I used was quite old (4 years) so I removed it with IPA and re-did the paste and voila...48-52C again. When gaming, my CPU temp is 64-67C and GPU at 72-76C. Do note this is when running on High/Ultra 1080p using framerate limits.

 

That's great to hear. So I shouldn't worry then. This laptop is back on my list.

 

Just get it and forget it

 

Yeah thanks to the low idle of haswell you should be good for idle fan noise in the new machines.

 

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum and I am thankful to have such a wealth of information available. I have narrowed down my laptop search to the w230st. I don't play very many AAA titles and will be using this laptop on the go. As such, I would trade a little bit of processor head room for extra battery life. I was wondering if it was worth paying a slight premium to buy from HIDevolution.com so that I could get the 4702mq processor? Despite some claims on these forums, I have contacted xoticpc and they told me they do not offer the 4702mq.

Thank you for the help.

 

^Depends what you are trying to get out of the laptop. If you want it to be cooler with a slight performance hit, it's worth the extra cash for the 4702MQ.

 

Anyone here experience strange noise near the fan when you do a cold boot. It is not the fan but might be from near where the fan is (you can hear this at low RPM, it could be that the CPU is doing that with the voltage thing). If I can describe it is like a mimic between squeaky and static sounds. It last from 10-15 seconds and then disappear and not come back while using the system (at least not I know of). This happen to some of my laptop before, some said it could be either CPU or motherboard static and all laptop have that with different degree. I got the 4702 CPU one

Edit: I found it, that noise come from where the speaker is, the one on the left near the fan. It only make noise upon booting up

 

My 3DMark11 result :



NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4700MQ,Notebook W230ST

Still far from HTWingNut's score.

 

My screen came with I think 3 dead pixels, but at 165ppi, the only way I'd ever even know they were there is if I put a mostly white image on the screen and go hunting for them. Considering the minimal amount of backlight bleed my panel has, I decided not to waste a month of shipping and a hundred and some odd dollars on brokerage fees shipping over the border just to play the lottery on whether or not I'll be exchanging dead pixels for massive light bleed all over the screen.
I kinda expected dead pixels anyways, I'm sure no one will admit it, but I bet anyone who doesn't select the Zero Dead Pixel Guarantee option on check out, gets sent a laptop from the known-to-have dead pixel pile that aren't being sent out to those who paid to not have any.

I'm finding all the USB ports being to the front of the laptop to be the most annoying thing, with fan noise coming in a close second, and the track pad re-enabling itself every time I lock/unlock the computer, which is like 900 times a day.

 

hey all, I recently ordered a clevo w230st, but when I turn on the computer the bios shows GTX 760...although it suppose to come with GTX 765.
My bios version is 1.00.05RPr, is this normal or something wrong with the laptop?

 

Anyone experience slow down on 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics Test 2?
Looking at the sensors, my GPU seems to be running at a low core clock speed, and fluctuating.

How bout you HTWingNut?
This could explain why you're not seeing much improvements on the 3DMark test even after OVed & OCed, just like mine.

Update :
I think I may know what's the culprit. It's the power limit of the GPU.
This even happens on Stock-Voltage.
But the result is much worse on OV GPU, even on the same clock settings.

 

How do you OV gpu ?

 

I see it peaking at 1240MHz GPU but I'm only getting about 200 points higher in Fire Strike vs stock.

But you may be on to something. I'm using my modded 240W PSU too so I know power to the laptop can't be an issue. But if there is a power limit on the GPU then it can only go so fast. I may start messing with the "sweet spot" between GPU voltage and speed. It may not be best to crank the voltage all the way up to get best performance.

 

Assistant from other BIOS MODder.
A donation to them might also help.

Good to know that yours is running at full speed on your 240W PSU.

Please do share with us later, once you discovered that "sweet spot".

So, what's your highest score on Fire Strike? 33xx-34xx graphics score?
I can only get as far as 3183 on graphics score. But that is on non-ov. My ov scores sucks.

 

Hello m8s,

Im new in this forum and im thinking in buying the w230st, but i read in some places that the sound is really bad. I had a Toshiba satellite A300-202 before the motherboard burn but the speakers harman kardon was great, can some one that have the Clevo w230st give-me some feedback about the speakers sound of the laptop please?
Thanks All!

 

I donate often when I can, and when the stuff is actually available for free, if not it's called "to buy" something, not donate
Is it private or just isn't released yet ? Who are we talking of, svl7, prema, someone else ?

 

Hey guys, how do i check which screen came with my little beast, cant seem to find the info

 

HWInfo64: HWiNFO, HWiNFO32/64 - Download

 

Thanks HT, that helped i have the Chi Mei baby, nice and gorgeous screen

 

Anyone know some good custom settings for the inbuilt soundblaster software or other software to improve speaker quality, the speakers whilst not terrible are a tad lacking, I acknowledge that software can only do so much but if anything improves audio for you guys please comment, thanks.

 

Can you tell-me if is really bad ? its nice enough to watch movies without headphones ?! Can you campare-me with the harman/kardon speakers from Toshiba (it was my old laptop, and that sound was nice enough to watch movies)

 

Compared to the Toshiba's speaks this will be horrible, those were great speakers. They do however do the job for watching youtube videos and basic sound requirements. For anything else you need headphones. For me at least on a sub 14" laptop its not an issue.

 

A speaker mod would be nice =)

 

So...watching movies is out of the question without headphones right ? Do you think that Clevo W350STQ (its equal but its 15.6´´) should give better sound ? its the same speakers brand (Onkyo )

-------------
The Clevo W350STQ (2GB GTX 765M)

Specification Snapshot:
4th Gen Intel® Core™ CPUs
2GB GeForce™ GTX 765M
Full HD 1920 x 1080 Res
NVIDIA® Optimus™
SuperSpeed USB 3.0
Premium Onkyo Speakers
HDMI Output Connection
2.0MP Webcam
BluRay Capable
Wireless Fitted as Standard
Bluetooth Option Available
VGA Output Connection
e-SATA Input Connection

 

The speakers are cellphone quality, as in my Galaxy Note 2 speakers are on par with them . I have watched a few sitcom EPs on the speakers though, but obviously, can't recommend them for watching serious movies.

 

Reckon that the 15" model would have the same speakers, but thats only a guess! Might want to ask in the 350stq forums and see what they think.

I think that you could get away with watching a film on it if you had to, however I use headphones. Admittedly I only use really cheap monoprice 8320 headphones but they are excellent.

 

I doubt that these speakers are any better than those in the W230ST. If you compare the reviews of both Models on NBC you can see that both speakers are lower medium quality in their opinion.
Review Schenker XMG A523 (Clevo W350ST) Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews
Review One K33-3E (Clevo W230ST Barebones) Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews
I dont have any problems watching a movie over the speakers, but in my case the speakers of my old notebook are not that good either

I got my W230ST from mysn two days ago and it is gorgeous (and tiny )! I did some comparison pictures with my old 15.9 Inch Notebook where you can see the difference on size and especially screen quality. The Chi Mei is waaaaaaay better than the one in my old notebook. I may load some up here this week, but I am really busy at the moment.

 

I'd get a nice pair of wireless headphones

 

i really dont know what to think about it...first i was gona to buy the W350ST, after know it the W230ST i was indecide witch one to buy, i wanted a 14´´ laptop, one is 13´3 and the other is 15´6... Finally i decide i just loved the aspect the the fact that is more portable the W230ST. After i decided, i began to read more and more about him, and know that people say that just "i cant watch movies" in bed with the laptop because the sound really sux without headphones im thinking that im gona be happy with the laptot. Maybe is better just to buy a 500$ toshiba laptob or asus :-/
I dont ask for a great sound, but a enought sound to watch one or to movies in bed :X

 

You can watch movies or do anything, the sound just won't be loud or of a good quality, like many laptops.
Some are much better, some are much weaker, and this is not one of those.

 

The sound is like this video ? dont looks like so bad

Crysis 3 : W230ST GTX765M - YouTube

I admit it, i think my old laptop (Toshiba Satellite A300-202 with harman/kardon speakers) was a great sound for a laptop, but the sound in that video of the W230ST is lower that harman/kardon but enough to see some movies without headphones...i think

 

Just get the fake beats bluetooth speakers.
They're kinda small but provide quite a good sound quality.
Might get em for backup.

 

i think that should be the best choise.
You recommend any (cheap but nice) brand ?

 

That video says recorded using FRAPS which means no audio is going through the speakers just recording internally.

 

Yeah audio captured as a direct stream wont say anything about the speakers.

 

Ya, thats true, i need to find in youtube a video to show the real sound of the laptop, after that i decide if i buy this clevo or a toshiba that costs 500€ :-(

 

Two totally different machines. You can get round audio but not the performance gap between the two.

 

Here you go with gaming/benchmarks:
w230st dirt 3 1080p 720p - YouTube
w230st metro last light 1080p 720p - YouTube
w230st tomb raider 1080p 720p - YouTube

Granted this was recorded using my digital camera but should give you a decent idea on sound quality.

I'll do some more gaming, video, and music later, if I can get my kids to shut up long enough.

 

First i need to say, tks alot!!!!
The first video i already asked in youtube if it was the really sound eheheh
I think you just justified to me that is a good buy to do, the sound is not great (way way near that), but is enougth to me to see a movie at night without other sound at home until i got to sleep and watch some youtube videos
IM GONA BUY THAT LAPTOP!!! ehehe 986 Euros, only with 8 RAM and 128 GB mSDD

btw, if i found a cheap/small/nice bluetouth speaker to give more bass would be great

 

I actually use this obscure speaker from Tego Audio. I have the wired version but have heard good things about the BT version as well. Pretty sweet device.

Tego Audio

 

Nice suggestion. Always wondered how well those ball like speakers work.

Here's a 15 minute run on BF3 with audio. Sorry, I forgot the camera was on auto-focus: http://youtu.be/QNhX9nFANMs

SPOILER ALERT FROM MOVIE AVENGERS. But here's a short clip from Avengers movie (near the end) for audio: http://youtu.be/gUIX2BfRt1Y

 

I was curious too. Pretty powerful for the size in my opinion. USB rechargeable, have a ridiculous amount of battery life and stores with a charge well. Pop open the top part for added bass, keep it closed for pretty clear audio without the bass. It's not something that will blow your socks off audio wise, but for something that is as portable as this does an amazing job.

 

Its not so bad you guys and the rest of the reviews really scare me about the sound ehehe
My base of comparasion is the Harman/Kardon speakers from a toshiba satellite, they are better, but the w230st got sound enough to watch a movie alone in bed before go to sleep
I think that tomorrow im gona buy the laptop, after that i need to wait, at least, 8 days until i received

Another question (not so relevant for me) but the fan really is loud when we start a game right ?
And about best windows to instal? Windows 7 or 8, i think i hate the windows 8 without start button!! lol

 

There is a thing called start8 that solves that problem of the start button my friend

 

Also a program called classic shell that I see a lot of people using if you wanted to compare to see which one fits your use best.

 

So...windows8 is better that windows7 ?