The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
← Previous pageNext page →

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

    Discussion in 'Sager/Clevo Reviews & Owners' Lounges' started by Pman, Jul 30, 2009.

  1. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Glad the guide's helping :)
     
  2. Dazman

    Dazman Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    166
    Messages:
    470
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    What's strange is that when I get stutters on video playback I merely reboot the computer and the stutters stop.

    Also when I get the red spoke my mouse freezes for a split second.
     
  3. Dazman

    Dazman Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    166
    Messages:
    470
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Using the latest beta drivers and it seems to have helped. No skips, but time will tell.
     
  4. Neil@Kobalt

    Neil@Kobalt Company Representative

    Reputations:
    1,230
    Messages:
    499
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I'll be chasing this up again tomorrow, submitted the original tech report about 6 weeks ago so they must be on the verge of releasing a fix.

    From what I've heard the problem hadn't been reported to any Clevo resellers apart from us (Kobalt) until a couple of days ago - that includes companies on both sides of the Atlantic. I don't know how many people it has affected (it's by no means every 980NU owner with Win 7) but it's always important that these type of problems are reported to the laptop companies asap so that we can pass the problems on to Clevo/Nvidia etc :)
     
  5. Blacky

    Blacky Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    2,044
    Messages:
    5,351
    Likes Received:
    1,037
    Trophy Points:
    331
    The sound stuttering in Win 7 affects both the M860TU and M570TU models ( I have it as well ). There is whole thread dedicated to it in here... can't find it right now.

    In this thread we came to the conclusion that the problem is not related to Win 7 directly but to DirectX 11.

    Also the problem appears on other laptops ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=434691 ) and I think it is only on the Montevina platform, but I can't say for sure if it is the same issue, or just looks similar. It is also not related to the audio card as regardless if you use the internal audio card or an external card, the problems is still there.

    Maybe this information will help you out.
     
  6. Neil@Kobalt

    Neil@Kobalt Company Representative

    Reputations:
    1,230
    Messages:
    499
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Hi Blacky

    Thanks - I didn't know 860TU and 570TU owners were experiencing it but did know that other manufacturers had (Dell/Alienware). Do you have the exact same problem that some of the 980NU owners do with latency spikes directly relating to GPU clock changes?

    We've only had four of our 980NU owners report the problem so from our experience it's a small percentage (unless a lot of people aren't reporting it). Alex's temp fix seems to help most people so this information plus a whole load of our internal testing is what we sent over last month and I've also been talking direct to Nvidia about it which is why I'm hopeful there will be a resolution very soon.
     
  7. Blacky

    Blacky Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    2,044
    Messages:
    5,351
    Likes Received:
    1,037
    Trophy Points:
    331
    As I said, there is whole thread here somewhere, I will try to find it for you.

    Yes, we have exactly the same problem (DPC spikes of 30.000-50.000 from time to time which cause audio stuttering when playing mp3 files or even in games) and disabling Powermizer fixes the issue for us as well.

    Someone also looked deeper into the problem and said it was connected with the DX 11 audio service.

    Here is the thread:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=422323
    It is called: Realtek HD audio crackling, but as I said, we have concluded that is very likely that the problem is not related to Realtek audio.
     
  8. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Problem is that wouldn't explain why I also had issues with a stock Vista x64 install, as that doesnt have DX11 installed.
     
  9. Blacky

    Blacky Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    2,044
    Messages:
    5,351
    Likes Received:
    1,037
    Trophy Points:
    331
    But wouldn't explain why I didn't have in Vista and in prior Win 7 builds that did not have DX 11. This is something which the rest of the people in the thread that I have just mentioned also noticed.

    Maybe the problem was there before, but Win7 exacerbated it.
     
  10. Dazman

    Dazman Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    166
    Messages:
    470
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I didn't have the issue until I went from Vista 64 to Win 7 64. Has anyone tried a clean install? I upgraded mine, but I read you can conduct a clean install with the upgrade disk.

    Thanks for your work on this Neil. I just passed the info to Eurocom.
     
  11. MonkD

    MonkD Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Clean Win7 64 install and I have the issue.
     
  12. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Yeah in my persuit of a fix I reinstalled on order of 10-15 times. Clean, formatted installs, with fresh driver loadouts of both OS (Vista and 7 x64) both did it. Was driving me absolutely spare to the point I was almost ready to return the machine. Remove the Nvidia drivers and the machine worked fine. Does it on an external DAC as well as the realtek so its not realtek drivers. Luckily it doesnt do it anywhere as much anymore, would like a real fix (and new GPUs ofc) though.
     
  13. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    By the way, as a query, what VBIOS are you guys' GTX280m's on? GPU-Z should be able to get a reading on both your cards. Just wondering if some of the guys without issues have a different revision to us!
     
  14. Blacky

    Blacky Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    2,044
    Messages:
    5,351
    Likes Received:
    1,037
    Trophy Points:
    331
    We do have a different vBIOS, because we use the 280M MXM 2.1 solo vBIOS. You have the vBIOS for SLI and MXM 3.0.
     
  15. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I meant amongst us M980NU owners, seeing as many people DONT seem to have the issue, whilst some do, given the issues appear to be GPU related, wondered whether different VBIOS were running amongst us :)
     
  16. Dazman

    Dazman Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    166
    Messages:
    470
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I'm on the original, but plan to flash soon.
     
  17. madpoet

    madpoet Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    22
    Messages:
    323
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    What graphics drivers are people using? I'm having real problems with graphics stuttering in STO, and it should be absolutely killing that game :)
     
  18. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    What does GPU-Z say your graphics card BIOS are? Its not the system BIOS Im trying to check, but the GPU revision. Whilst its likely driver related, I wonder if perhaps some GPUs shipped with a different BIOS which could be related to the issues (say most are on .7 and we're on .2)

    @Mad Im currently on tweaked 195.62 WHQL laptops. Im gonna try these new 196.21s once they're available though. The space scene in 3dmark vantage stutters in certain places pretty much every time I run it, so Im gonna treat that as the measure of whether I 'like' these drivers. ;) It didnt do it on the older drivers, but I cant eliminate one of my GPUs downclocking and causing DPC spikes with the older drivers, so damned if I do, damned if I dont.
     
  19. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
  20. Dazman

    Dazman Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    166
    Messages:
    470
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I'm using the latest beta drivers, which has helped.
     
  21. moneyman101

    moneyman101 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    156
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I am no longer expecting to buy the 8690 but i would like to know how thick it is when the laptop is closed.
     
  22. moneyman101

    moneyman101 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    156
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    pay no attention to my last post. I meant to post this at the 8690 owners lounge
     
  23. MonkD

    MonkD Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    196.21 is out...anyone tried them yet?

    I finally got the 195.62's running and I have to say that just turning powermizer to high performance has made a HUGE difference in the audio stutter. edit: so I thought. I ran for almost 6 hours with no noticeable stutter. How I have no idea, but now I'm back to stutter city as usual. The only thing I did was turn the high performance mode on and for a while it seemed to work, but now I'm downclocking as I was before. Ah well, at least I have the 195.62s working.

    edit: ugh, didn't realize the 196.21s are desktop drivers...and my blu-ray won't play without the whql certs working right. I'll try them out when I get a chance though. Anyone else?
     
  24. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Im testing out the 196.21s (modded INF), they seem much the same as the 62s to be honest.

    If you're using 195.62 give my guide a shot now :)
    The whole powermizer disabling over two cards is very buggy, I found setting maximum performance usually helped, but didnt work fully without making chnages. Powermizer disabling of two GPUs seems to still be buggy with the .21s unfortunately. Perhaps if they bring out a mobile version that will have changed.
     
  25. iemie

    iemie Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    29
    Messages:
    160
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Alex, or all you guys that have this same problem, did you ever see/experience high cpu usage of audiodg.exe during this ‘sound stutter’ ?? Just open Taskmanager and have a look. I know I am on a completely different machine as you guys, I only have a single 9700m, but I do have the Realtek chip and my experience with Realtek and Windows 7, and Windows Vista for that matter, is that Realtek doesn’t get along with Microsoft’s "Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation". Type audiodg.exe in Google and have a look for yourself. Audiodg sucks big time guys, it really does.
    For instance, if I play a mp3 on my laptop, through my Realtek through WMP, audiodg.exe gobbles up 5% CPU. If I plug in my Razer Megalodon, which if you plug it in by-passes Realtek coz the Megalodon has its own soundcard, CPU usage drops to zero. This is just an example how Realtek and MS got it screwed up. (I wont speak about Megalodon and Windows 7 x64 here)
    Anway, if you just check Taskmanager you, or is it only me, will notice that audiodg.exe is sometimes using way too much CPU time. It just happens at random. Even if you are doing nothing with your machine it happens that audiodg sometimes uses 30 or 40% CPU.
    What does the trick for me if I experience slowdowns in games, hickups or funny noises in music or video’s is check Taskmanager and I’ll see crappy audiodg.exe using up valuable CPU cycles. I then just go in to 'Services' and Restart the 'Windows Audio service'. This re-starts audiodg.exe and for me all is well after that. Give it a go and see if it helps people coz it has done the trick for me for well……..since Vista came along really. Microsoft and Realtek screwed up on this one Bigtime.
    Your mileage may vary
    iemie
     
  26. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I cant say I've ever had CPU spikes, I also get these latency spikes when Im using my DAC and the onboard is disabled, when you remove Nvidia GPU drivers the issue is completely gone, suggesting it's an Nvidia issue, not a realtek one.
     
  27. Dazman

    Dazman Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    166
    Messages:
    470
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I've had the CPU spikes and restarting the audio service and it does help too.

    On another note, I'm planning on throwing in a third HDD. I take it it's just a matter of plugging it in? I mean all the hardware is in place like cables etc?
     
  28. Neil@Kobalt

    Neil@Kobalt Company Representative

    Reputations:
    1,230
    Messages:
    499
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Quick update on the audio stutter/980NU issue - it's been on priority status and I know that internal test drivers are being created constantly in an effort to produce a definitive fix for the problem, as soon as there is some more solid information or BETA drivers to try I'll post an update :)
     
  29. Dazman

    Dazman Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    166
    Messages:
    470
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    That's good news!

    Thanks for the update.
     
  30. isamu

    isamu Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hi guys. I have an Intel Core 2 Duo T9900 Centrino Mobile CPU clocked at 3.06GHz in my 9850, and was wondering if it's possible or recommended I overclock this CPU? How much juice can I get out it? Can I go up to 4.0Ghz? I have never OC'ed a machine before but with all this talk about how these new processors can be overclocked easily I'm intrigued. :)
     
  31. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Completely depends on the chip how far it'll go. Without full BIOS FSB/Multi tweaking though, I wouldnt expect to go too far, as you'll be limited by the FSB (basically what your mobo and RAM can do), possibly also voltage.

    Desktop machines are a lot easier to overclock, as there's a lot more control, and its much easier to control rising temperatures with more ventilation or a bigger/better CPU cooler :)
     
  32. MonkD

    MonkD Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    196.34 is out...anyone tried them yet? I can't use them since they'll muck up the bluray player (desktop release right now) but I'm curious if it has some attempted fixes for us?
     
  33. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Not sure, Im still on modded 21s, last I heard the 34 just fix a bug introduced in the 21s. Waiting eagerly for some news as this was reported 2 months ago+ now. Nv drivers - perfect my ****.
     
  34. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

    Reputations:
    3,973
    Messages:
    13,930
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    455
    tried to tell people NV driver are much worse and less stable then ATI drivers
     
  35. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I wouldn't necessarily say they're much worse than ATI - both have thier issues, however I'm fed up to the back teeth of people going on about Nvidia/having a go at ATI over drivers, as though Nvidia have absolutely perfect video drivers. Gets a bit frustrating as I can use systems with either day to day and quite handily see issues in both if I go looking!
     
  36. MonkD

    MonkD Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I seem to fluctuate between the two every other generation as to who I think is doing a better job. It's a sad day for Nvidia right now though as I've two noticeable issues which is a rarity. I'm REALLY hoping we get at least the audio fix pretty soon. =)
     
  37. isamu

    isamu Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I just bought a new sound card, the NuForce uDAC. The stuttering was still present at the beggining of the song, but then it seems to have gone away after around a minute or so.

    Is the music stuttering supposed to occur even when using seperate sound cards on the 9850, or is it supposed to go away upon using a different sound card?
     
  38. isamu

    isamu Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    OK nvm. the stuttering is still there, particularly when I'm playing another game. I use f00bar 2000 by the way. Winamp is too bloated. Seriously hope they find a fix for this soon.
     
  39. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Yeah, I use an external DAC too. The issue is Nvidia's issue, and happens regardless of whether you use a DAC, an external X-FI or the realtek onboard.
     
  40. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Guys, all of you with stuttering please register and air your grievance with Nvidia directly here, as well as with your Vendor.
    Nvidia by way of this thread seem to have pretty much publically accepted there is an issue, the more of us log on and report the issue, the more they will realise it is an incredibly serious issue for many people and needs to become top priority!



    http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=157614
     
  41. MonkD

    MonkD Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Posted my junk. Man, this seems like it shouldn't be such a hard fix for them...hopefully they can resolve it pretty soon. It's pretty darn annoying and as patient as I am I'm getting kind of irritated with it.
     
  42. isamu

    isamu Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    thanks for the link I did this just now.
     
  43. Darkness62

    Darkness62 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    242
    Messages:
    522
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Is there a fix for the hotkey issue in Windows 7? I tried the driver on the Sager site and no luck, still says Hotkey has stopped working. Reinstalled Windows 7 for the 3rd time today (replacement drive came in, started to fail less than week out of the box). Anyway it seemed to work after each reinstall (made all the more exciting by the recently failing BD-ROM drive), then it stops once Windows 7 upgrade completes. Any ideas?
     
  44. MonkD

    MonkD Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Darkness62: I don't know anything about the issue, but I do have a Sager and I had that crop up once when I was installing some software, but as soon as I took off the offending program it went away. I want to say it was RocketDock though I frankly can't remember what it was (I still use rocketdock, though I had to disable one of the addons I had for it). Not sure why your fresh install would be doing that though.
     
  45. Alexrose1uk

    Alexrose1uk Music, Media, Game

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,324
    Likes Received:
    13
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I had that with FRAPS too, take a look at the programmes set to load on startup.
     
  46. Eleison

    Eleison Thanatos Eleison

    Reputations:
    1,677
    Messages:
    1,462
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Gonna echo Alexrose1uk here. Check your startup menu. To start, your best testing methodology would probably be to disable EVERYTHING in your startup menu except the hotkey application, restart, and test the app.

    If it works at that point, reenable half of the items on the list, restart, and try again.

    If it doesn't work, disable half of the items you reenabled and keep testing until it works again, then reenable items one at a time until you find the startup app causing the issue.

    If it doesn't work when all startup items are disabled, you may want to give your tech support (or Sager themselves) a call to see if they have a known fix for the issue (Sager hasn't reported it to us). If they don't, they may be able to start working on one, at least.
     
  47. Darkness62

    Darkness62 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    242
    Messages:
    522
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Thanks all, I will give it a shot and see what I can find, thanks for the help.
     
  48. MonkD

    MonkD Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    47
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Just a note about the thread on the nVidia forums:


    "Do you have any information to offer us from nVidia regarding this huge problem?

    I am going to bring up the weeks driver issues with the software team tomorrow and will report back."

    That was posted on the 1st of Feb so hopefully today/tomorrow (depending on when you read this) we'll see some news about it. Unfortunately the post by the nVidia guy made it sound like nothing has been started yet as far as fixing the issue goes.
     
  49. Darkness62

    Darkness62 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    242
    Messages:
    522
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Got Hotkey working, apparently the installer for the driver needs to be run as administrator or the application gets blocked at startup. Thanks for all the help everyone.
     
  50. Pman

    Pman Company Representative

    Reputations:
    327
    Messages:
    1,882
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I just installed W7 Ultimate it installed and is working straight away...no issues here
     
← Previous pageNext page →