*** Official Clevo P151EM1 / Sager NP9130 Owner's Lounge ***

Well my NP9130 has finally shipped! Left LA around 3:30AM EST and should arrive Monday July 30th! I can't wait!!!

 

If I had the money at the time of ordering the notebook originally, I probably would have just had it all done when Sager was building it. It was nice that it came out cheaper when I was *forced* to do it because of the dead pixel, though. Also, the post I made about the vividness of the display was before I even discovered the multiple ICC profiles available for the screen. Now that I've found the perfect calibration for the screen, its even better!

Between the 95% and 60% gamut screens, the 95% has very inky blacks, bright yellow/green/red, and a warm white. The 60% screen is a little brighter, and therefore the whites are a bit more bright and cold. Before calibrating the 95% screen, it appears a bit blue/gray tinted, and immediately after calibration it appears dark green tinted. Once your eyes settle on the calibrated screen though, it's really right on the money.

 

Are you sure your GTX 670 is the one being used? It's not running off the Intel card?

 

Yes..i'm sure.

But i'm fixed the problem..just need to downgrade the graphics driver..i was using the BETA driver..now i downgrade it to 295.62 version..

Now Dota 2 is runing pretty well, 1080p everything maxed out: 45 FPS, never lower than this.

=)

 

I am debating on whether or not I should get the Sager NP9130 or the GE60-0ND. Do you guys have any suggestions?

 

I was supposed to get this laptop a week ago but since xoticpc did not process my order yet due to problems with the crdit card being intl(now fixed).i also was leaning towards the 9130 but the main problem i could think of is the warranty. Since sager does not have a service center in my area(philippines) and if i receive a laptop with defects then shipping it back for repairs will be crazy because of the money i have to shell out. 660m is weaker but in notebookcheck it makes very little difference an average of 4-8 fps atmost in games. Another thing i would like to point out is the fact that it comes with windows which cost 80-120$. So its value at its best. Sorry to say but the only reason why i wanted the 9130 was the gpu upgreadability which i thought was possible but after xoticpc convincing me that it cant be done, then i must go towards the msi. Another point is the fact that if i sell the laptop later on mainstream laptop is better since i can ask a good asking price, i mean if i sell a clevo who would pay my price if people dont even know the brand(thats here in ph). Another is its weight. I guess the ge60 would be easier to take with you. Only way i am getting a sager now, is if i get the 9150 w a 675(yes, not a 680 since imo its overkill) in it which is out of my budget range as this is only what my money can buy(1200$at most).

Also i tried asking for considerations but they wont move(look at my previous post in this thread. Maybe a page or two back)

 

Hi, everyone...
Just received mine, but I'm having some trouble with it.
I'm trying to install Ubuntu 11.10, but graphics card, wireless and ethernet are not working, although bluetooth is.
Ethernet shows as recognized, but I haven't been able to connect to the internet.
I found the drivers for the Realtek wlan+bluetooth minicard and installed them. Now it is recognized, but it shows as "disabled by hardware switch"(only wlan).
Does anybody know that could that mean? Fn+F11 does not seem to work and I can't find any options in the BIOS to enable it.

 

Quick question for everyone; When opening up Steam games, do any of you get a message that says "unknown video card"? I have the latest drivers from Intel and Nvidia installed (8.15.10.2761 and 304.79 respectively), and every time I try to load a game for the first time, I get that error message saying that the Intel HD 4000 is not in Steam's GPU database. Should I be using the stock Sager drivers?

 

Nope... can't say I've encountered that issue. I'd definitely try using the stock drivers from Sager as that's what I'm using and Payday Heist on Steam ran without any errors.

 

I don't think i encounter that issue only because when i'm plugged in, my laptop is using the Nvidia card, why don't you try that? Otherwise, I believe this happened with my roommate and his HD3000 too

 

Just a quick hello.

Alleged delivery 31 July on a 9130.

There was a time that if you didn't use an even number of DIMM's, you'd not get true dual channel performance out of DDR memory.

It just occurs to me that I may have made a goof in ordering, and perhaps should have gone for 16 G instead of 12 G of memory.

How hard is it to install another stick into one of these laptops?

Sotex

On Order: Sager NP9130/ Std Screen/ GeForce GTX 670M w 1.5 GB/ i7 3610QM 2.3 GHz 6MB/ 12 GB DDR3 1600/ SATA 500 GB 7200 RPM HDD/

In Use: Dell Inspiron 1705 (Vintage 2007 with Vista) The poor thing needs to be put out to pasture.

 

It's fairly easy. Two of the RAM slots are easily accessible by removing the backplate, while the other two are beneath the keyboard, which is somewhat more complicated to remove. Removing the keyboard requires, as I recall, first removing the backplate, then sticking something up through a hole near one of the heatsinks to push the speaker grill up, which allows access to the screws holding the keyboard in place.

 

Just wanted to update my fellow 9130 users to my progress with setting up an OSX partition.

I purchased Mountain Lion from the App Store, and created a bootable USB stick via the UniBeast method championed at tonymacx86.com, and am able to get through most of the preliminary loading stages, but I get hung up with a "still waiting for root device" message that repeats itself every 90 seconds or so. I have been able to get to the same spot using either the Integrated HD4000, or the 670m GPU. As far as I can tell I don't even need to use any flags - havent had to use GraphicsEnabler=Yes/No, -f, -x, or -s... only -v for verbose mode which shows the kexts and kernel loading process.

Havent been able to get to the actual installation page yet, but this is WAY further than I was able to go when I tried to do this in Lion. The main thing that I'm happy about is it seems that optimus seems to be a non issue, and it might just take an updated chameleon or chimaera version to properly recognize the drives.

Anyone who has gotten further than me, or is interested in helping me explore this is more than welcome to join in.

 

Hey all! I'm new to these forums but I have been reading up on this thread for quite a while now. I have recently ordered the 9130 from Xotic with the free hard drive and RAM upgrade.

I was skeptical to get this Laptop as there were hardly any online reviews online, but the free upgrades, the professional look, and the "more bang for your buck" features of this laptop convinced me that it was right for me. Once I get my notebook I'll post my first impressions and maybe a review after some time.

I'm expecting to receive it in just 2 days and am very excited!

The only other upgrade I chose for my laptop is the IC Diamond cooler and the required i7 processor upgrade. If any of you want, I'd be happy to do some benchmarks as I plan to get a number of games like Diablo 3, Half Life 2, Crysis 2, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, etc. I plan to get Fraps, so I can also do some test videos as well.

If anybody wants to recommend me any games, feel free, as I'm new to the gaming genre!

I'm very excited for this Laptop as I currently have an HP Touchsmart all-in-1 computer, and after 5 years it's showing it's age. Downgrading from a 22" (I believe) screen to a 15.6" screen will be difficult, but meh.

I also bought a Razer DeathAdder gaming mouse and a 320gb external hard drive. Just felt like sharing.

 

@Ossyris: If you expect a IC Diamond cooler, then expect to be disappointed; the IC Diamond upgrade is not a physical cooler, it is an application of thermal interface material (TIM) or also known as thermal paste.

However, that upgrade will improve the cooling efficiency of your laptop over the stock paste.

As for games, you might want to look at Battlefield 3, minecraft, Dota 2, MOH Warfighter (to name a few).

I would recommend a miss for Diablo 3 and Crysis 2 (Crysis 3 is coming out soon) though.

The Deathadder is a great "entry" level gaming mouse, good choice

 

Anyone else getting pretty bad performance in games like Metro 2033? At 1920x1080 in DX11 with all settings at low, AA and AF off, the game is still so slow it's unplayable. I'm probably getting about 5 FPS. Even in DX9 the FPS doesn't really improve. Any help would be appreciated. It seem as though I can max out pretty much any other game, with the exception of Mirror's Edge, which is fine until I turn on AA (even to just 2x) when it then utterly starts to crawl. FPS drops to probably 10. Prior to that I can max all other settings, as long as PhysX is turned off.

 

Did you manually set the game to use the 670M in your nvidia settings?

 

When I go to 3D settings and select the GTX670M as the preferred GPU and click "apply", the settings automatically switch back what they were before. It's as though Nvidia does NOT allow you to default to the GTX670M. Optimus is dumb.

 

Which driver are you using? It works perfectly for me on 295.62.

 

a4paper, why give Diablo 3 a miss?

Does it have issues with Sager or Nvidia video drivers?

(I got to play some this weekend. It was fun).

Do I need to be aware of any issues when I install it on the 9130 that is supposed to arrive tomorrow?

 

Installing your own memory is easy, but Dual Channel Performance is almost negligible.

In fact, it's so small that some benchmarks can't pick up the difference.

If you really want to get the most out of your memory, look for lower CAS latency, otherwise known as timings. The lower your latency, the faster your applications and games can access the memory.

Right now your best bet is something around the arena of 9-9-9-24.

 

There are no problems, some people found the game to be a big disappointment. The story is way to short; i would buy torchlight 2 instead. Or if you have 4 friends wanting play a game of that sort Magicka was the funnest game i ever played. Although magicka is only really fun with friends.

 

Thanks for the feedback! I bought Diablo 3 before you told me this, so too late for that. I do have friends to play with me though. We have talked about playing Magicka together as it looks SO fun in videos and such.

I wasn't aware that the IC Diamond upgrade was within the cooling system of the laptop. How ignorant of me lol.

Minecraft is amazing, definitely going to get that game! I have mixed feelings about BF3, but instead of Dota 2 I think I'm gonna go with League of Legends, as more of my friends play that game and they're both MOBA games.

Really excited about this sager! Hope it doesn't disappoint!

 

I reverted to 295s and performance increased incredibly. Seems like the beta 304s were the issue. Metro 2033 was so bad it seemed as though it was using the HD4000 (GPU-Z utilization graph confirms this) and Mirror's Edge was using it as well.

After switching back, every game I've tested has shown immense improvement. Source Engine games see an increase of about 50-70 FPS. Other newer titles see similar gains. I feel confident saying that Optimus doesn't work with 304 drivers. At least, not on my machine.

Now that I've realized that I wasn't actually using the GTX670M in games, I'm extremely happy. At first I thought I was using the GTX670M and it was just a "weak" card, but now I know that its much, much stronger given the right drivers. I also now know that the HD4000 can handle games at 1920x1080 with everything maxed pretty well in older games...

 

@jamesman32 Glad to hear the 670m is now working well for you. How do you feel about the heat and noise from the card though? I am considering the np9130 but on these forums people often point out the heat and noise of the 670m's "old" fermi architecture as compared to the 660m's kepler. I'm thinking the 670m couldn't be that bad--what do you say?

 

My 9130 just came in! It's great, really fast, optimus works, no dead pixels and didn't get the warranty, really really happy about it!
Only two games I've played with it so far are Diablo 3 and Minecraft. Diablo 3 gets max fps and Minecraft I'm getting 70-100 plugged in, both max settings. With 16gb of RAM I can do some serious multi tasking! I love this beast.

 

I'm not much of a notebook expert when it comes to noise, as this is only the 4th one I've ever owned. I will say, however, that while idle both fans are nearly silent. In games, the GPU fan starts to spin up, and it is more audible. It's not really noticeable though because the audio from the games tends to block it out. As far as heat, the GTX670M idles in my notebook at about 35*C, while the 3610QM is at about 45*C. This is with ambient temps around 73*F.

Personally, I don't see any problems with the Fermi card. I can get a full 3 hours of battery with brightness turned to the max with heavy internet usage and downloading. It doesn't run very hot either, and it's not very loud. No complaints from me.

 

Just ordered one! Got the first quad core upgrade, the i7-3610QM, de-branding and the 3-yr warranty. Back to school special came with free upgrade to 16GB ram and 750GB HDD! 8 of that ram and the hdd are going to ebay which should knock $100 off my total. I have a 256GB Vertex 4 going in. Soo excited. I just got my roomate to buy a sager; GTX650m though, not this model.

 

Congrats on the order! The back to school sale is really nice right now, check prices you'll get on that RAM through Ebay, it might be worth just keeping them in so you dont have to add it later.

 

Any of you guys ever OC your 670m on the 9130?

 

I am currently running my 670m at 700/1625. It maxes out at 78degrees on skyrim after an hour or so of gameplay. I will probably push it even harder down the road but for right now I am comfortable with that oc.

 

Is there an overclocking guide somewhere? I've never really done any OC'ing especially not on a laptop and it seems a bit daunting.

 

Just download MSI afterburner. It has all of the tools you need to OC your card. Just bump the core clock and memory clock speeds up slowly and monitor your temps to make certain they are not getting to high. As long as they are below 90degrees (preferably around or below 80degrees imo) you should be fine. Take it slow and don't bump the speeds up to quickly. MSI afterburner has a built in temp monitor for your GPU but I also use HWmonitor to measure my CPU temps.

 

Can anybody attest to the build quality of this laptop?

 

I find it sturdier than my Thinkpad t60. There's little flex, even when I try to press down on the surface of the palm rest. Anything in particular that concerns you?

 

The keyboard has a tiny bit of flex, which isn't noticeable unless I go looking for it, and the hinges are slightly stiff, so opening the lid pulls the body of the laptop up after it. Aside from those (extremely minor) issues, the build quality is superb. It feels solid, the body of the laptop has no flex, and I wouldn't expect it to be damaged by a short drop (not that I'm going to try, of course).

 

Well these kind of things are what I like to hear. I recently decided upon bumping up my budget some more so I can buy the Np9150. I just got to have that backlit keyboard! ;D

I'm guessing the build quality would be consistent in different models especially if moving up the line.

 

A follow up and a few thank you notes ...

Delivered as promised 31 July. Came out of box easily, packing job well done.

Sager NP9130/ Std Screen/ GeForce GTX 670M w 1.5 GB/ i7 3610QM 2.3GHz 6MB/ 12 GB DDR3 1600/ SATA 500 GB 7200 RPM HDD/

I may add an SSD later on in the open slot. So far I don't need one. Luxury, not necessity.

Comments on quality: I like the stiffer open-close action. This notebook feels sturdy. Being used to Dell Inspiron 1705 keyboard will require me to adapt to the new feel, but so far the typing and key strokes feel good.

A thank you to Abe:

I'll look into that, thanks.

Yep. Since I play on headphones most times, I can't notice it. When I did some fights in Act III in Diablo III, what noise? I'd need to turn the game noise OFF to see if there is any. Thanks for getting me thinking.

I'd have to answer you in a year to see if anything in the build displeases me, I am probably in a bit of "love my new toy" mode at the moment.

My only complaint is that the owner's manual covers three different PC's, so you have to carefully judge whether it is speaking of yours or not.

Have not walked through the utilities disk, so until next week, when I have time to do so, no further comment.

PS: this may not be the place to discuss this, but I don't understand the disappointment in Diablo III. Fun game. Having been happy with D I and D II, and enjoying their replayability quite a bit, I may not be a purely objective reviewer. Part of the reason I needed a new rig, besides age, was to be able to run that game on highest settings. I can, and this is the first time ever my machine has been able to run a relatively new game at max video quality.

That fact might be clouding my judgment.

Sotex

 

I just got this computer and am pleased with it so far, Ive only spent a few hours on it. I have only played DIII a little and am just waiting to play skyrim. I was wondering what program i can use to see the temperatures and the fps during gameplay and how do i see which gpu is being used. I haven't had a quality computer in so long i just never bothered finding this stuff out!
It does feel a lot better than most other laptops ive been able to use and the speakers seem to be pretty good to me, but I too will be using headphones for gameplay.
Graeme

 

HWMonitor is very popular for temps and the same makers make a program called CPU-Z which will also tell you whats inside the computer. It will show the Nvidia card when using that card. You can get them both free from download.com

 

Most games have a built in command for showing FPS. For example, ctrl+R will toggle showing your FPS in D3. However, if you want a universal program to display your FPS, I'd go with something like Fraps.

 

Another OSX update - sorry to take so long on this but I was on vacation the last few weeks.

The error I reported before was due to trying to boot my Mountain Lion install from the USB 3.0 port instead of the 2.0, once that was done I was able to install without an issue, although once you get to the mac desktop there is not wifi, audio, or 670m currently. Still working on Audio and QE/CI on the HD4000, the wifi wont work unless I replace my intel 6300 with a realtek based card (which I might order this weekend). Installing the Chimaera bootloader screwed up my install. No combination of flags has been successful getting me back to desktop, so I'll have to try again, with the Unibeast 1.5.2/Multibeast package and see if that works. I am GOING to make this work.

So far my only regret is the optimus issues with hackintoshes, which I knew going in, and isnt Sager's/Xotic's problem anyway.

 

I'm really confused now...Some people here on NBR have said that the Sager NP9130 (Clevo P151EM1) w/nVidia GTX670M GPU is upgradable but when I was talking to Hutsady from XoticPC, he told me that the GPU isn't upgradable...

 

Basically what it boils down to is that the upgrade is not officially sanctioned by Sager or Clevo but there are members on this site that have done it successfully after upgrading their PSU. The new BIOS added support for the 7970 and 680 but if you want to purchase the upgraded GPU from a vendor then you should just buy the NP9150. If you plan on upgrading your GPU down the road then you can save some money and buy this model if you want.

 

Oh okay. Thanks for the answer!

 

Also, for anyone that is interested my 670M is now clocked at 725/1650 and is running smoothly with no problems at all. Temp is still maxing out at 78C on Skyrim after an hour of play. 3DMark 2011 score of P3675. Because the temp has been so stable throughout all of these overclocks I am probably going to push it even further in a little while.

 

Wow very nice, 78 is actually very cool!

 

What program did you use to overclock?

 

I use MSI Afterburner

 

Ok cool yeah thats really easy.