**M980NU (X1/Commanche SLI/NP9850) Owners Thread**

this does nothing at all on mine

 

i'll be home in about 2 hour. i'll check which key set the fan on high

 

You think so? 90 and 100 for each GPU core? Isn't that like significantly higher than where you M17x peaked?

 

How long were you running it? That's too hot. PMan said he was at 71 after 10 minutes.

Yes, I was at 81 for both after 20 minutes. I can see it hitting 90 but 100 is alarming.

 

wha were you setings in the occt ?

i cut it after 9 mins, as it kept getting hotter even though the fans were full speed.

 

I left it at default. Every time my temps went near 80 the fans went full blast and the temps stopped increasing.

BTW, have you guys tried the 186.81 drivers yet? LINK

 

i changed the resolution to 1920 x 1080 - perhaps that has something to do with it?

i've downloadedthe new drivers - not tried them yet.

 

no, changing it back to default had no effect.

the temps get to 102c/101c for card 1 and 95c for card 2.

although it keeps showing the cpu is being undervolted during this entire test by 36% is this normal ? (speed step i presume)

 

sorry is FN+1

 

thanks nexus, yes that works.

That full speed kicks in itself at around 75c.

 

i just try it with full speed on my cryo lx for 10 min, laptop fan still in automatic never pass 70 degree.

 

I don't remember what the CPU did when I ran the test but it doesn't sound right and your cards are getting too hot. Try using hwmonitor when gaming and check your temps.

Do you hear your fans going full blast?

 

If you run it longer it should get hotter but from what PMan said 70 after 10 minutes sounds normal.

 

Yeh I got 70 after 10 mind onthe occt test u linked drake, during gaming doesn't usually get that high.

But I would be going nuts if u broke 90

I leave the fan control to the bios but I hav never heard mine on high, but then we did put as5 on everything hehe

 

On a side not, so clevo now advertising unlocked bios eh?!? Goodies!!!!!!

 

You may get what you are asking for....

 

c'mon clocking madness

 

FatPanda,
I think there's something a bit off about your machine, but I can't be sure about the specifics. Have you cleaned out the vents and perhaps had a look at the thermal paste on the GPU?

I mean, his fans and all kicked into full speed.

I think a proper thermal paste would help, but the temps are still too high. It's like as though his system's being suffocated or something. 20 degrees from the norm of other M980u and M17x owners - too much of a difference.

 

yes the fans go full blast by 75c.

after a few hours of crysis the cards reach 80c and 75c approx.

do you guys think the cards are faulty or i just need some coolant paste

they didn't crash or anything, and play games fine.

does anyone here know officially what nvid say is the hottest the cards can/should go and still be safe ?

 

i will open her up and take a good look as soon as i get a chance.

getting a bit annoyed by it now. the clicking, the heat, the stuttering, the noise from the fans thinking about sending it back.

its a good machine, but there shouldn't be all these issues.

 

i have sent novatech an email regarding these issues.

hopefully they will agree there is a problem.

 

You could replace the thermal paste easily on your own, and that should help. OCZ Freeze is a good choice. But your temps are fine, overvolted at 600/1500/950 I hit 80C in Crysis. 108C I believe is the danger point, so we're both well into the safe range.

 

well this why its strange, because under load without my cooler i still dont break 71 degrees

im blessed i think

 

All the best, dude. I hope this works out for you. But if it doesn't, then just have Novatech handle the issue; I believe you've already got the ball rolling on that front.

Anothergeek,
You might be right about the thermal readings. However, don't you think that from a comparative point-of-view, they're alarming? I mean, the ideal comparison should be made to other M980u users, followed closely by M17x users. We already have Mandrake and Pman with close readings.

Of course, all GPUs are not created equally. Some units might heat up a bit more than others, but those kind of deviations are very minor and insignificant. When compared to the data of other owners with a similar setup, FatPanda's readings are in another league, entirely.

 

with stock cards i reach 80c in crysis

do you mean with ocz freeze on the overvolted gpu's you reach 80c on crysis?

thanks for the danger temp, i didn't know what it was. K nowing that now, the temp doesn't actually bother me too much as they still run games fine. ( bar the odd stuttering that may or may not be caused by the heat). i'm more worried they will burn out in a few months. although that might not be too bad as the gddr5 4870's should be out by then, if not another generation card

although i am wondering why i'm generally 20c higher than everyone else on the gpu's. although the cpu's seem fine.

perhaps novatech didn't use thermal paste - or cheaped out on me by using a cheaper paste.

i'm in the middle of moving house and working all the hours going so i can't get the time to properly look into this

but thanks for the help, advice and support guys.

 

the reviews of the x1 pro (identical in processor and gpu's) on driverheaven says the same. processor cores and gpus reach maxes of 71c on full load

http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=816

in the full review for the m17x it also says its the greatest gaming laptop money can buy - i wonder if i made he right choice

http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=829

 

its performance is almost the same as the m980nu, and as a fellow brit i refused to pay £800 for the priviledge of owning another alienware, with all the problems with thier customer support it simply isnt worth it

I would suggest that Novatech been playing football with thier machines again

Demand a new unit

 

I will never -ever- trust my money in Dell's hands. M17x to me is just a slightly different M980u with an mGPU, which isn't worth the massive price difference, and having to put up with Dell's shoddy tactics.

All these blogs and review sites seem to ignore a concept of proportions. Consider Notebookcheck.net for a moment. A laptop from years ago will score high--for its time--a newer laptop that clearly performs better, will score lower--for its own time. But on paper, one can be misled due to a 'rating' system, because technology is always improving, and they cannot factor that reality into their reviews, which are riddled with very subjective and opinionated notions.

Not to mention, there's a general 'awe' that goes with Alienwares. It's just the aesthetic norm of the mainstream. Yes, they look great, and they even build some dandy machines. M17x is by far a -great- laptop, and I wish I could've gotten one for a competitive price, but to say it's the absolute 'best for the money' is really laying it on too thick, so to speak. There's clearly cheaper machines that offer the same specs. And trust, you could've very well ended up with a damaged or faulty Alienware - Dell's notorious for getting sloppy over time.

 

does this mean you have decided what your getting kade?

 

I am still considering the Comanche, but I am certain that I won't be getting a Dellienware. The consideration is geared towards determining the requirement of a gaming laptop. You see, the sad story behind my M1730 - it hardly ever got used, and it still had so many issues.

I do have strong leaning to get another gaming laptop, and if I go for it, Comanche SLi will be my the new gaming monster. All this would come to pass, provided that Dell don't dell-up my refund.

Truth be told, the refund will eventually come through, but even now, as we speak, they're creating too many confusions between their departments. Not to mention, they're also screwing up and going against previously set agreements on how the refund will be processed. For example: Their manager person agreed to have the refund done a certain way, but then, one week later, she casually mentioned that it'll be done another way and this pi**ed me off. Regardless of the woman's intentions--good or bad--the whole issue has now extended on into the next week. Bull!

Dell's support-staff and management have become connoisseurs of obfuscation and tardiness. Sometimes, I believe that they execute these 'stunts' to buy themselves time. They probably wanted me to take vouchers and get the M17x, but since I opted for funds, the woman casually pretended to 'forget' the agreement we had a few days earlier on how the exact logistics of the refund.

Anyway, the whole series of delays and blatant ignorance of set agreements on their part has convinced me that M17x is not the machine for me; just not going to happen. I don't trust these people. They don't honour a warranty transfer, even. We already have an M1730 owner who is being 'refused' a refund because he is the 'second owner', even though he's the rightful owner of the current and running warranty on the machine.

I just find all this **** to be. . . well. . . bureaucratic ****! They do deliver, eventually, but the hell some people have to go through really makes one question the worthiness of the whole experience.

Now with Kobalt, I am of the belief that -if- at some point, I sell my machine to another individual, that they won't suffer similar hardship with support. I believe Kobalt will honour the warranty on that machine, as well as the rights of that person who makes a claim under the warranty. If it boils down to a full system replacement or refund, they would not complicate matters with semantic B.S. like 'second ownership' and give what needs to be given to the present owner (even if this would be the tenth owner, so long as the warranty is running and valid).

 

i know what you mean, Dell have scared me off ever buying another Alienware, not too mention the price difference.

Kobalts level of support is ideal, if you need them they are there and will be upfront with you about it, and as a result I know for a fact they are shipping out alot of these units as fast as they can get them in and that they have had no complaints or returns either

 

Hrm... I wonder if I should apply thermal compound to my GPUs. At stock I am reaching 78 playing Champions Online. Yes, I have everything maxxed. But still....

 

sorry iv took so long to come back to this but you said i could install 8gb of RAM but it says on the clevo site "Expandable memory up to 4GB, depends on 1GB/2GB SODIMM Module"

i do believe that alot of people has 8gb though?

just wondered why is states this?

 

the m980nu can have 8gb if u so wish

 

i thought so, odd they would state that though as i say
thanks for clearing that up though

 

Hey, Pman, I got yet another question about the Comanche SLi.

I read in the notebookcheck.net review of the Clevo M980u system that the screen is kinda' dim.

From your experience, would you say that it's dim or perhaps a bit dull?

 

100% not the case, unfortunatley notebookcheck have no idea what they are talking about most of the time

I have to dim my screen down 90% of the time as it is too bright

still offer the chance to see mine in the flesh if you are in/around Canary Wharf

 

I appreciate the offer, amigo.

It's just going to be a very busy two weeks for me, and I must put the pressure on Dell to get the process moving.

I do agree with your feedback. I heard tons of trash about a lot of screens, but they were rarely ever true. Even the M1730's screen got a bit of a bad-rep from notebookcheck, but it was more than good enough for me.

From video shots and pictures, the M980NU screen looks really good. I just thought I'd get some constructive feedback from an owner who knows his machine. Glad to hear!

And once again, thanks for the offer. I -might- take you up on this, but as far as convincing goes, I am already with the machine. I just hope the refund works out properly.

 

during normal daylight i have it on about 70% and in dark as low as it will go

or it simply hurts my eyes lol

im just waiting for the unlocked bios :yes:

 

Is there any other good reviews of the M980NU, apart from notebookcheck?
I fancie Reading up before it comes, only about a week

 

I am still putting mine together, becasue of work commitments it kinda got sidelined

there is one here on the X1 which is novatechs

http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=816

They also say the screen is a little dim, i honest to god dont know what these people expect the damn thing gives me a tan at 100% and others i know find it very very bright (unless clevo ramped it up between retail and review?)

 

How about a couple pics of it on your desk with the brightness cranked up ?

 

when i get home i'll sort something out

 

I actually found Notebookcheck's review a bit off. I think they reviewed the wrong configuration at the wrong point in time.

I myself would like to read some good reviews, but because a good read is a good read. Perhaps someone here will take up the challenge. If not, then maybe I will, eventually. I'm just too much of a lazy-b@$t@rd to even work up a writer's block, let alone over come that block and conceive a lucid and presentable opinion on the product.

Heh, you never know. I think I'll just dive into one of these, as soon as Dell get their head straight. From the looks of things at the moment, I might get entraped into getting an M17x, simply due to Dell giving me no real refund options.

 

that would be kinda sad,

esp as the extra cost involved of getting one in the uk compared to the m980nu

now we have a confirmed unlocked bios on the way i see no reason why anyone would buy a m17x over a m980nu, other then you kade as i know you might not have a choice

 

i think your totally right Kade.
Kobalt had the world exclusive prototype and not long after that notebookcheck had their review on line.
all the first models released for demo only had 1 280 graphics card and a test bios so i think they didnt do anyone any favours of releasing the review when they did.

 

i video review would be nice, the closest thing iv got is off this chinese, or japanese forum ( http://benyouhui.it168.com/thread-980828-1-4.html )

youd think there would be more reviews, video reviews and general hype with this?

 

Indeed, mate, indeed.

See, this is why I am a little fed-up with Dell.

They complicate things for second-owners. I think I'm getting off easy though, because I must track down the original buyer and get written permit from him that I can receive the refund. I think I -might- be able to pull this off as the guy's cool as ice!

However, if this becomes one of those things that will take many more weeks-to-months, then I have no other choice. Because my alternative--offered to me by Dell--is that I take a voucher for the full refund. Now we know full well where a Dell voucher can be used, and that means I am out of options.

I am going to work towards acquiring a reply from the original owner until Wednesday. I will wait to hear from my contact. If he can assure me that a letter can be arranged within the week, then well and good. I'll send it off to Dell and I'm clear. Sure, the refund will be delayed by another week, but at least I'll know it's just a week and I'll have my money. However, if the guy can't respond back on time and if I learn that the letter will take even longer due to some corporate-morass, then I'll have to opt for vouchers and get this matter sorted at the earliest, the Dell way. Lawl.

I won't be paying more, though. I just cannot add another 800 quid to my refund, as it is impossible. For the same price that I had with Kobalt, I'll be able to get the M17x with the following:

- Q9000 (BLAAH!)
- 2 x 280m GTX SLi
- 2 x 320GB HDD in Raid (0)
- 4 GB RAM
- Blu-Ray RW Drive.
- 4-year-warranty, with complete care.

3087.00 quid.

(The rest is your stock BS.)

With the Comanche SLi, at -almost- the exact same price, I had planned on getting the same specification, with the one massive exception - QX9300. So here's hoping for the best!

 

It's chinese, already V3.0 MB Revision....

 

could anyone translate and post?

and whats "V3.0 MB Revision"