**OFFICIAL Sager NP5125/Sager NP5135/Clevo B5130M Owner's Lounge**

hmm... so now there's already 4 to 5 persons with stuck pixel(s)...
should I order the "30 Days No Dead Pixel" thingy?
I'll be ordering this for the screen... but the $100+ seems too high, do you guys think it's worthwhile?

 

Stuck pixel isn't a bother until you work with black pixel. For any other color, the LCD works properly. At least, that was it for my case.

Not really a bother most of the time. You'll notice it often only during BIOS and Windows startup. Rather than sending it back and take another 3 weeks to send another unit, I better just do it with whatever I got.

 

so anyone know if thers a way to disable the trackpad wen im using a mouse?

 

there you go
3dmark06 1280x1024

 

I'll look on the trackpad stuff. Most probably you can set it up on Synaptics.

Thanks for the score sumik. That actually doesn't go too far off from my result(6066). I wonder why they promised 6500 on 3DMark06 on the product page. It seems a bit impossible to reach without OC'ing.
XoticPC also got 6115 from the Benchmark.. this is a bit too far from the promised number (6500)

 

So.. what's everyone's final verdict on it? Worth buying it, not too many problems so far? Doesn't get so hot it makes you sterile that day?

I'm a poor game dev student looking for the most bang and the biggest screen for the lowest price, and this is pretty much the only thing that fits everything I need, and has aces in every category, so really interested in what everyone has to say about it.

 

It was "OK" for me regardless of stuck pixel on my unit. Hybrid HDD was great, windows startup still fast regardless of many startups. 40-45C GPU idle temp is relatively good to me as my old ASUS A8Js idle temp is about 56-58C.

I remember someone didn't like textured trackpad. But after using mine after a week, some area that has some graininess have gotten smoother.

Also, my shift keys and spacebar require me to press it a little bit to the center of the shape instead of the edge of it to have the key registered.
I most likely can get used to it... I just was a soft-typer to begin with

 

its great, definetely worth buying...

unless ur a heavy BF:BC2 player, then ur out of luck because punkbuster and the guys at even balance are complete morons with ty software. due to the fact that this uses optimus so 2 graphics drivers are loaded, punkbuster assumes u are cheating and consistantly kicks u with the message that "Multiple Direct3D Loaded" and this is a problem that hasnt been fixed by EvenBalance for quite a while, at least a couple months so ye...

looks like ill be sticking to SC2 it seems...

 

oh you can't play bf:bc2 on this thing ? I was about to donwload it off of steam onto this thing and see how 330 performs. I hope there's a walk around somewhere cuz I know my brother in law (this laptop is for him) is a battlefield fan.

 

Thanks a lot Bionic, you actually made me realize how much I was just trying to push aside the fact of the problems i was having just so i could pretend to be satisfied with how much money i spent on it but this laptop is not what i should have got for my necessities. Not to mention the many problems i'm having with it.. I emailed Justin at Xotic PC about doing some sort of swap with this for a 5125 or something because I just cant use this 17" laptop in addition with all of the problems with how much i payed for it. A 17" is meant for almost just a home computer that is portable but I have a $1500 home PC with a 22" widescreen and what i need is a portable school and work computer, not a portable HOME pc that i have to LUG AROUND.

Does anyone know of how XOTICPC works with returns and trades for different laptops etc. for what i am doing? Any information whatsoever would be appreciated, thanks guy!

 

essentially, u get into a server and within 5 minutes u get kicked out by punkbuster saying "Multiple Direct3D Loaded" u can read this thread to see the problem, as well as a google search will turn up many other people with this problem. it happens to all optimus laptops because EvenBalance simply sucks, punkbuster is complete crap as well... just gotta wait till they get off their assess and fix the problem (its not an optimus problem, its a punkbuster screw up, then again, wen doesnt it screw up lol)

PunkBuster "Multiple Direct3d Loaded" - Battlefield Bad Company 2 Feedback and Help - Battlefield Bad Company 2: EA Forums

 

Fn+f1 turns it off, if you look you can see in the blue a picture of the trackpad with a finger on it, although you have to look close.

I believe you can do it in the mouse settings too, but to automatically disable it is not possible from what I have seen through the default avenues provided.

 

ing ouch. That punkbuster problem sorta hurts, but I'm guessing it'll probably be fixed for at least BC2 by the time I can buy one next month!

If not, it's still not even close to a dealbreaker since it's a third-party software problem that will eventually get fixed!

It looks like a lot of people are having screen problems with the NP5125. Or is this just the kinda "people with no problems say nothing, people with problems make it seem universal" thing?

 

I've got a couple of question about NP5125:

1) When the extended 62.16WH battery arrives will I be able to buy this battery (from any of the dealers) as my primary battery and not as a spare battery so I will not end up with two batteries?

THX

 

2) What model of the 500GB 7200RPM hard drive does the NP5125 currently come with?

 

its reallu just a handful of people who are having the pixel problem, imagine how many other people have bought this laptop but just havet posted, ur right, the people happy typically dont post, so u get the negative only. but my np5125 is fine, theres no pixel issue so its not a problem accross the board, just a few defects in the production line

 

3) At my understanding NP5125 comes with a switchable bay (not sure the exact name of this though) so I can easily swap DVD-Drive with an extra hard drive, is this correct?

If yes, can I boot from the plugged-in hard drive?

 

It has already arrived, and it is now the standard battery on the Sager NP5125 and Sager NP7110.

 

With the proper hard drive caddy you can put a 2nd hard drive in the optical bay. While the two drives are swappable it is a bit clumsy in that if you want to do it regularly you would have to have one of the drives without the faceplate or mounting bracket, so it is better to just put the DVD-drive in an external USB enclosure.

 

I see, thank you, your spec says "Removable 6 cells smart Lithium-Ion battery pack 48.84Wh" though.

 

Look at the Customizer...you will see what is now standard.

 

what's the time difference between the two batteries ?
the customers that bought the units with the lower battery are outta luck ?

 

My idea is to keep internal hard drive for data, install Win 7 on swappable hard drive, install Ubuntu on another swappable hard drive and boot from either of the swappable drives depending the work I am doing. But you're saying swapping the drives is not that easy?

 

48.84Wh vs. 62.16Wh. The difference is battery life.

All those that bought the Sager NP5125 with the 48.84Wh can buy the 62.16 battery for 50% off through December.

Those who bought the Sager NP5125 with the 48.84Wh battery paid less than the current price.

Not what I would call "outta luck".

 

You can control your Boot Order in the BIOS, so you can set your OS HDD as the primary boot drive...that part is easy.

The only thing that isn't easy is you can't just shove a hard drive into the bay and secure it without a caddy with a mounting bracket.

Your ODD will come with one mounting bracket that you can move to the HDD caddy, but then your second OS HDD won't have one.

It will still work without a mounting bracket, you just have to be careful with it. The real issue is the HDD is much smaller than the bay, so reaching in to put it in or pull it out is very difficult and subjects the SATA port to damage. You should really get two HDD caddies for the Optical Bay, and just be careful with them when you put them in and take them out, especially if you don't have them secured with the mounting bracket.

A better way to do it would probably be to get the HDD caddy and move your faceplate and mounting bracket to it. Then this drive can be properly secured. Use this drive for your data, and then set your primary hard drive as a dual boot OS drive. Finally, take your DVD drive that you removed and put it in an external SATA DVD enclosure (they run about <$20)

 

Gotcha, are there numbers somewhere for 48vs62 ?
I'm running pluged in on 48 so not sure how long does the battery last for.

 

Sager says 2.5 to 3 hours with the 48.84Wh on integrated video, so you can do the math...62.16 is about 27% more Wh so should give about 27% more battery life.

 

I am really trying to avoid having dual boot b/c I am a beginner with Linux and I am afraid I can royally screw up Linux lol to the point that I will have to reinstall the whole system including Win 7 with all my school apps -- that won't be any good in the middle of semester.

From your post I am assuming internal HDD caddies are universal and I can easily find them. But faceplate and bracket are Clevo specific and I cannot get spares of those? Still swapping them daily might cause a problem for the connector?

Is there an external enclosure for Blue-Ray readers? I don't see them on newegg.

Thank you for your replies.

 

Justin, if u still check this, how will i know wen my battery is shipped? will i be able to see its status through my XoticPC account page like i did with the laptops shipment? like how is it being done, because atm i have absolutely no information on what is going on with that battery i ordered.

 

The whole idea of partitions is that if you mess one up it doesn't affect the others. So even if you mess up your Linux partition you can still boot into Windows (and VISA versa for that matter).

Yes, HDD caddies for a laptop ODD Bay are universal and can easily be found ( www.newmodeus.com if you want the best one). You could try buying a spare faceplate and bracket for your caddy (I just haven't ever asked Sager if they are available, but they very well may be) if you are set on doing it that way. You could even just use the caddy's faceplate, and not use the mounting bracket on one of them.

If you want a Blu-ray reader, just buy the Sager NP5125 with the standard ODD and then buy yourself an external Blu-ray reader.

 

I currently have dual-boot and Win 7 sometimes is acting up during the loading so I am trying to avoid such configuration.

That's a good idea about a Blue-ray.

I read in previous posts that I can boot from USB, can I also boot from eSATA? I am thinking now to keep Win 7 on internal primary HD, keep Blue-ray in ODD bay, and install Ubuntu on external USB (or eSATA) HD. So when I want to work with Ubuntu I'll just plug the HD and boot to Ubuntu. Do you think it's possible at all, would Ubuntu be running too slow?

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

If you are working with Justin W just email him and he can provide more information on exchanges. It is quick and easy to complete.

Customers that have ordered the batteries will get a notification when it ships. (You will get a update just like you did with the laptop)

 

ok, thank you, and is there any definitive answer if it is going to be shipped using the shipping method i chose when i ordered?

 

"Outta luck" if you has not bought the secondary battery 62.16Wh.
If you bought, is not "outta lucky". (Cause you get 50% off)

 

Hey Justin, I emailed you yesterday about it. Please respond ASAP because I really have to send my laptop back and try to get the other one really soon. Classes already started and i live in new york which isn't so close to Cali and I'm really hoping that this whole exchange doesn't take more then two weeks if it gets started soon. I really can't afford it to take much longer /:

Thanks Justin!

 

I can understand if there is a language issue, but please read this sentence again...all the way to the end.

"All those that bought the Sager NP5125 with the 48.84Wh can buy the 62.16 battery for 50% off through December."

 

I think you are talking to the other Justin at Xotic PC. (Justin Woite) Please continue to email him and he will help you get everything set up.

 

I just tried playing a demo on Steam. The nvidia card would not kick in, I even tried to add it to the graphic options. How can I get the nvidia card to work with this? I'd prefer not to have to do this each time I want to play a game.

 

it seems to kick in just fine for me on all my games,although i have not tryed any games off of steam yet, so it could be somethin to do with that perhaps

 

Hah, thanks I was actually talking to that Justin. Are one of you two the owner? or am I mistaken.

A random question for you or anyone for that matter, what is the song that plays when you are put on hold for XOTICPC? It is very enjoyable and I am tempted to call to just be put on hold for it haha

Thanks

 

when I get mine, I'm gonna tweak games and driver settings and I may overclock, and post my results.

 

is the rubbing cocoa butter lotion on the touch pad thing a good idea? cause I just happen to have some. I tried the macbook pro at bestbuy, and the smoothness of the touchpad was amazing. I wouldn't mind something similar to that.

 

Just use your trackpad often enough, it'll go smooth by itself overtime

 

Damn, today was to be the delivery day, but it delayed. =/
If i have lucky, maybe saturday to get my "prize".

 

I am the Owner and Justin W is in Sales/Customer Service.

The music is just some random music we have programmed for On Hold.

 

I think I might try some astroglide if it is too rough and I don't like it(that's what she said). it's safe with latex, and I'd have to think that if anything is safer with plastic between cocoa butter lotion and astroglide, it'd be astroglide.

 

Drivers:
In case anyone hasn't noticed, updated video drivers are up on the Sager website under support.

I'm having an issue with my VGA output right now on a 1080p monitor. It used to work, but now I can see a "flashes" on the monitor whenever I move the cursor. It sucks. I just ordered an HDMI chord and I'll be able to check tomorrow if it's just VGA that is the issue (I tried a different chord and a different computer on the same monitor). I had hoped that the "hacked" verde driver was the issue but the new sager driver has the same problem. Maybe it's hardware? Damn.

Pixels:
Also I received my model with the 1080p screen with no dead or stuck pixels, so they're not all bad. I hope you guys have some good luck fixing them.

 

I am considering buying an NP5125 and I had a couple of questions about what upgrades I should choose when purchasing it. I have reproduced my "What Laptop Should I Buy?" survey below my questions for reference.


These are my questions regarding the upgrades.

1) Processor
Intel® Core™ i7-620M, 2.66-3.33GHz, (4MB L3 cache)
vs.
Intel® Core™ i5-540M, 2.53-3.06GHz, (3MB L3 cache)

What is gained in performance and how much does it effect battery life?


2) Hard Drive
500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
vs.
500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid (Serial-ATA II 300 - 32MB Cache)
(I like the SSD but the prices are way too high for me right now.)

Again, what is gained in performance and how much does it effect battery life?

3) I also noticed that not many folks are getting the RAM upgraded. Why is that? I was going to get 8 GB RAM.

4) Amongst the three upgrades listed above, which one will get me the greatest improvement in performance? How should they be prioritized?

Thanks in advance for any information you might have.

______________

"What Laptop Should I Buy?" Survey.
______________

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

$1000 - $1500

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator. USA.

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like: Any brand is OK.
b. Dislike: Apple

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed? Yes.

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Some photoediting (Photoshop CS5). General Office application. Some large Excel spreadsheets. Multiple internet windows. Multi tasking. Some light gaming.

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

This laptop will go with me all the time.

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

Light to moderate gaming.

9) How many hours of battery life do you need? 3 hours plus.

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

Online is OK, although I would prefer to see it, but not absolutely necessary.

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc. - Windows 7 64


Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? .

If screen is equal to or greater than 15" must be no less than 1680x1050, preferably 1920x1080
If screen is less than 15" then 1366 x 768 is OK but no lower than that.

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? Matte is better, but glossy is OK.


Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? A little.

15) When are you buying this laptop? Next 30 days or so.

16) How long do you want this laptop to last? At least 3 years.


Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

I was considering 500 gb 7200 rpm minimum. I am also open to SSD drive.

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive? CDRW\DVD Burner

______________

 

the hard drive would have the best performance increase out of those 3 options, hard drive is almost always the bottleneck on a modern system, so a better hard drive is always the best option

 

from what I read I agree with firzen that hdd is the slowest part of most notebooks, just look at you score per parts and you'll see what I mean.