*** Official Clevo P157SM-P150SM / Sager NP8250 Owner's Lounge ***

So anyone here with motherboard revision 3.5A? The one that lets you use both MSata slots? Check around the RAM slot area, not the one under the keyboard. If you got RAM installed, you need to take them out.

If you do have 3.5A, could you open up CPU-Z and under the 'Mainboard' section, tell me your Southbridge revision number? Is it 04 or 05, or even higher? Thanks!

You you don't have 3.5A, but you got something higher like 3.6A, please post also! Don't forget to mention your motherboard revision number!

 

I just bought an np 8265-s with the amd 8970m. Should get to me in about 10 days. Really looking forward to it as this will be my first laptop that has been over $300.

 

That's quite a jump lol, you moving from a desktop to a notebook? Or are you just getting a major kick up the pants performance wise?

 

I've just had laptops capable of streaming videos and watching movies/word processing documents while I was in school and grad school because I didn't want to get addicted to games. Now I've had my first job for several months and have been stashing away money for a top of the line bedroom setup and a really good laptop. I really got tired of my computer slowing down to a snail's pace and getting overloaded if I wanted to watch streaming videos and have a couple of tabs open.

 

Just returned my NP8250. Sager's office looks like a cool place to work at :O Well, probably not as fun, but perfect for someone looking for an entry job lol.

When my NP8255 comes, I jump from an i5 760 (OC'd to 3.8GHz) to an i7 4800MQ.

I originally had sh*tty computers, up until my first laptop which I actually spent over 500 on. Then after that, I built my own desktop which was a HUGE jump in performance.

Can't wait to feel the difference now! Though, it's probably just going to be a bit better than my desktop if I had the same configuration. An increase in performance is still an increase.

 

I got a P150SM from Mythlogic a few weeks ago. The sticker under the RAM would seem to indicate I got a V3.1A motherboard. CPUz says I have chipset V06 and Southbridge V04. My unit also doesn't have the "Warranty Void if Removed" sticker on the plate where the 2nd mSATA slot is so I would assume its fully functional. I'll be kinda pissed at Clevo if it doesn't work, especially considering their website advertises it as having 2 mSATA slots. If one doesn't work on all the units and they advertised it as two I would imagine that would classify as false advertising.

 

The void warranty if removed stickers was put on by Sager. They noticed the MSata slot under the HDD was constantly dropping data and ultimately sealed it off. Mythlogic decided against that and offered MSata SDDs that were tested to make sure it worked.

Those void warranty if removed stickers are incredibly easy to mess up... I accidentally f**ked mine up after dropping a screw and attempting to pick it up.

I heard that the V3.5A boards have both the MSata issue and the Haswell USB 3 bug fixed.

 

I got one from Mythlogic on Tue, had liitle bit of time yesterday to try some things. First of all, Myth workmanship is flawless and whatever gripes you may have with the chassis are totally on Clevo. Packing sheet is funny as hell too. Back to mSATA, I stuck Plextor 256M5M into that second slot and it works without a hitch so far. I plan to change memory later so will note revision numbers.

 

Ordered a p8265 earlier this week from LCP digital (with a 4800q and a 770m, will post which motherboard and chipset I get.)

I will be using a new plextor msata m5 256ssd for a clean w7 install.

does anyone know if i will have to turn on AHCI if i do the install with just the MSATA in there? I read somewhere that intel reccomends turning on RAID mode even when not using raid with their motherboards for some flexibility issue, anyone know if that is the case here?

Would be nice if someone could link a BIOS tweak guide or something like that if there is one for the Clevos (i havn't seen anything on their bios, just that is is simple and effective, do all the resellers use the same "clevo" BIOS or is it different between Sager, One, Mythlogic, etc)

 

Hey guys, new here. Just wanted to verify if the 8265 is the little bro of 8295. Ive been eyeing both and cant seem to find much difference besides that one is a 15 incher and the other is a 17 + the illuminations but since reading it here, seems some models of 8265 have some issues on its 2nd mSATA slot, or is this BIOS dependent? if thats the case, then will the 8295 be the right choice?

 

Have never seen suggestion like this... does not seem to be correct as AHCI should be used for non-raid installs (at least as per my knowledge).
Not sure about others but Mythlogic has own customised version of the bios.

 

I believe it's the 8250 that has issues with the 2nd mSATA slot. The 8265s have no issues with it.

 

Well, since you mentioned 8265 and 8295, that means you're looking at Sager built computers, correct?

The NP8265 was introduced AFTER they fixed the MSata issues, so you should be fine with the NP8265.

If you order the P150SM models from other Clevo resellers such as Mythlogic, check with them to make sure they are using the latest motherboards with the confirmed MSata fix by Clevo.

 

My P157SM arrived from Mythlogic about five or six weeks ago. I am really impressed with the machine. Unfortunately it had the 3.1A motherboard. I spent a couple weeks trying to get the second mSATA port to recognize my Crucial M4 mSATA drive. I tried everything Crucial support suggested as well as suggestions from this and other forums. Had to RMA the drive (first time I have had to RMA ANYTHING). When the drive was sent back to me, same problem. So I bit the bullet and RMAed the computer back to Myth. They say they can get it working. I hope they can (I guess) but I'm concerned about stability in the long haul. I understand Sager is replacing the questionable boards with the new revision at no cost to the customer. It wouldn't bother me one bit if Mythlogic took the same approach. I just don't want any issues in the future.

 

Is anyone else having problems using nvidia experience software to auto download drivers and set up game profiles. It doesnt automatically download the beta drivers even though i told it to and doesn't recognize certified legit copies of games i have downloaded.

 

That's exactly what I said. If Clevo released glitchy hardware its totally on them. I've got nothing but good things to say about Myth thus far anyhow lol. I opted for a Crucial M4 mSATA drive at build, it certainly wouldn't hurt to simply relocate it to the other slot to see if it works. I thought I also read somewhere that the problem only affects systems utilizing RAID and that the problem wouldn't occur with stand alone drives.

 

I messaged mythlogic and they said it only affects RAID.

 

Well Mythlogic was ing WRONG. What harm could it do I thought. ALOT.

So I just tried moving my SSD from its original home to the questionable port below the primary hard drive. Booted it up and all seemed well, it appeared in the BIOS and Windows booted quickly to the logon screen...where the system abruptly crashed and shut down. Upon restarting I was presented with a "Media test failure, insert a bootable media and press enter". Well I guess I have one of the glitchy ones, I'l just move the drive back to its original location and all will be well. WRONG..

It ate the ing drive. 200$ SSD. Dead. Doesn't show up in the BIOS and nothing in Windows install. I fully expect Clevo to pay Mythlogic IN FULL for their effort and parts to repair this. THIS IS NOT ING OK CLEVO.

 

Damn. o-O

 

JGJGJGJFWTWHHWFGGABBBB....Ok then. Well I have no idea what the hell just happened but the system just decided to reboot itself whilst dicking around in the BIOS and by some kind of black magic the drive re-initialized itself....WAT?! Several seconds later the thing belted out the usual Aperture Science fanfare I had it set to and lo and behold its working again....idontevenknowanymore.

 

That's good news.

 

So, after that experience, what do you think you'll do about it? Accept a gimped system where you're afraid to ever use the cursed second mSATA port again. Or, try to have the problem resolved (and by resolved I mean functioning and stable) so that you have a fully functioning machine that you paid a lot of good money for.

 

I think for now I will accept the gimped system. For now. Clevo advertised the P150SM as having two mSATA ports, not one. Having documented problems with one of the ports and shipping units out anyway was an incredibly stupid move on their part. I do however expect them do something to make it right. That something could be a partial refund, a software patch, or even a free service to install a new hardware revision. Leaving it as-is though will be downright insulting and leave resellers like Xotic PC or Mythlogic for instance in a really awkward place. It's not their fault Clevo misrepresented their product, but most people will blame the reseller, not Clevo. If Clevo refuses to take action I may just file a complaint with the BBB against them for false advertising. I do know that Mythlogic writes their own custom BIOS so they could potentially fix it that way but if its a hardware problem new parts may be the only recourse.

.As for how I fixed my problem I may have exaggerated a bit, it was 4AM and I was flipping sh** . The second mSATA slot definitely screwed up my Crucial M4 but I don't think it fixed itself via black magic. As a last resort I burned a bootable firmware update DVD with replacement firmware I downloaded from Crucial. The thing is I have no idea if the firmware update is what fixed it. When I selected the DVD as the boot drive the DVD drive spun up and behaved like it was loading something but never indicated the update was in progress on screen, a few seconds later the computer restarted and the drive was recognized again and it booted into Windows. I'm curious to know what a few of the resellers that commonly browse around here have to say about this.

 

Gah, all of these new standards being announced... I wished these Clevo laptops still had ExpressCard... With that, I could at least have USB 3.1...

Damn, I think this was a bad year to buy a laptop and everything...

USB 3.1, SATA 3.2, NGFF replacing MSATA/MPCIe... Not to mention the glitched Haswell USB 3.0, and then Clevo f*cking up stuff on their laptop internals... >.>

 

I have 3.2A version on mine. So far it works in AHCI mode.
I will be replacing PM841 Samsung mSATA with second Plextor so I plan to talk to Myth and try setting RAID. Will see what happens.

 

I guess I've been thinking too much on this subject but let me provide a "parallel" scenario.

General Motors (Clevo) builds vehicles (computer chassis') for different dealerships (resellers). If General Motors (Clevo) builds a defective ignition module (mSATA port), who does the end buyer go to for a remedy? General Motors (Clevo) or the dealership (reseller)? It's certainly not the dealership's (reseller's) fault but the end user goes to the guy (reseller) he gave his money to. It's up to them to make things right and then seek recourse against the manufacturer.

Am I kicking a dead horse here? I apologize, but $2,100+ is a lot of money and all I'm asking is to get what I paid for. Even if some may think it's "superfluous".

 

Well technically, you cannot buy direct from Clevo, and the ones getting shammed are the resellers. Sager, one of the resellers, decides to advertise the product minus the defect. Why? Because the fix took too long, and by the time the fix came in, their early adopters would have gone with Mythlogic, etc.

In this case, the NP8250 was advertised with only one MSata port.

When the fix came out, they discontinued the NP8250 and came out with the NP8255.

XoticPC/LPC/GenTech/ETC are technically resellers of resellers. The middleman between you and Sager.

Mythlogic, on the other hand, buys direct from Clevo. They are getting shammed too. Mythlogic did not do what Sager did. They advertised it with 2 MSata slots that had MSata SSDs that were tested to work. Mythlogic did state that there was only certain models of MSata SSDs that worked with the 2nd slot. Just like the Haswell USB 3.0 bug. Certain models of USB flash drives were affected.

In the end, you, the customers, have nothing to complain about. Clevo's specs on the barebones laptop chassis was advertised to RESELLERS, not you, the person who purchased the product from said resellers. The resellers advertised it differently from Clevo (One MSata port only) because they did not want you, the customer, to get mad because you expected the MSata to work. You did get what you paid for (According to your reseller, be it Sager or Mythlogic).


Sager IS offering FREE motherboard replacements even though they advertised it having only one slot. But because of that, you're the one paying shipping. Why? Because it's an added bonus. You bought the item when no fix was promised. They did not have to do anything.

Shipping is expensive, unless you ship it without insurance or just drop it at Sager's offices.


Are the "Free" motherboards given to them by Clevo free of charge? Who knows.

 

And technically you cannot buy directly from General Motors. You must go through their dealerships. Other than that I can't argue any of your other points because it is obvious you are more familiar than I with the mechanics of the distribution. I was merely giving my opinion as to how I saw things as an average customer. But I don't think there are many "average" people on this forum. You guys are smart. That's why I come here. But I will take exception with one other of your statements. The computer I bought was advertised with two mSATA ports and one of mine does not work (at least I can't get it to work). Therefore I did not get what I paid for.

Thanks for your input. I continue to learn.

 

Due to the lower number of people who will pay for this, they may either be writing it down as a good will or maybe the fix can applied with a little soldering and the boards can be used for repairs.

 

Ive just ordered the P157SM from affordable laptops

Metabox (Clevo) P157SM - 15.6" Laptop
95% Gamut Matte Screen
Intel Haswell i7-4700MQ CPU 2.4Ghz - 3.4Ghz
4GB 1600Mhz DDR3 (1x4GB)
nVidia GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5
Stand Wifi N and BT

then when i get it, i need to install

2x Mushkin Atlas Deluxe mSATA SSD SATA 3 240GB Solid State Drive
2x Mushkin Enhanced Blackline PC3-12800 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 9-9-9-28 1.5V
2x Western Digital WD Blue WD10JPVX 1 TB SATA 9.5mm
1x WesternDigital WD10SPCX 1TB SATA 7mm
and last but not least an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 Mini PCI Express Wireless 802.11AC

i cant wait for it to arrive

 

Two 9.5mm hard drives? Are you ordering a optical bay hard drive caddy? If not, you can only fit one 9.5mm HDD...

 

Has anyone tested the P157SM with 2133 MHz RAM?

 

He must be considering he has a 7mm drive in there too CoolPrizes.

 

Hey all, I just received my system from Xoticpc, with all the base options except the 780m, and I ordered a 60GB msata for my boot drive. I'm liking it so far (except the touchpad) and I bet I'll like it even more once I get the msata.

I ordered an NP8250, but I think I received the NP8255. I opened it up and checked out the second msata slot. It is readily accessible and has no "warranty void if removed" sticker. Can anyone from Xotic confirm if I received the new model with the functional msata slot?

 

Sounds like you did receive the NP8255.

Check near the ram slots (not the ones under the keyboard). Make sure you remove any RAM you have installed there. There should be a sticker with barcodes and everything. On that sticker, there should be something like V3.5A. If it is V3.5A, you got the NP8255.

Example:

 

Thanks, I just checked and do have the NP8255.

 

Hey everyone-
I posted on here a few weeks ago with a busted Sager... just wouldn't turn on. Well, I sent it back to XoticPC for an RMA and got it back working! They replaced the mother board, "cable", and even the case! Even everything on my hard drives are intact. Almost as if nothing happened They also updated bios and firmwares.

I was really discouraged that the computer crapped out. But really impressed with XoticPC and their speedy RMA. Much love to them for alleviating the stressful situation.

I hope this doesn't happen again! I imagine it was a faulty motherboard. I am going to treat this laptop as if it's a fragile butterfly now.
Thanks.
-Andrew

 

Great to hear its all better now! It can be quite an inconvenience when you have to send a computer back but we'll do our best to make it as painless as possible.

 

Yeah i have ordered it without the optical drive, and got the hard drive caddy.
Hopefully i can pick it up on monday, and the msata ssd and ram should be here from canada on monday too,
luckly i have 4 days off work from monday!!!!!!

 

i havent googled this yet, but can anyone tell me how to you remove the keyboard from the p157sm?

 

Received my NP8250 in the mail a couple weeks ago, you can see the specs in my signature. I love it! It is perfect for school and runs CAD well and also gaming is great! I do have one question. Is there some ways to keep this thing cooler? I do want this to last me through college running CAD and without the GPU degrading too fast(will that even happen over 4 years?). I know the NP9150 had little things that could be done to help it a lot. I do raise up the back and that keeps it around 76 degrees C. Is there any other changes that can cool it down?

-matt

 

Got my p150sm today through LPC, so far it is running sweet.

Having an error installing Intel Rapid Start with my plextor m5m px-256 SSD though, anyone have any ideas why this could be? running fresh install of win 7 64, all the other drivers installed without a hitch.

 

Did you download the latest Intel Rapid Start drivers from Intel?

 

If you didn't use RAID, you don't need Intel RST.

Edit: Whooops, got it mixed up with Rapid Storage. My bad...

Yeah, I don't know

 

Looked into it more, i dont need rapid start anyway, its only for hibernate and sleep, which i never use.

who uses sleep when you cold boot in 12 seconds haha.

anyway I'll let everyone know how the machine performs after I get it all updated. its an 8265 with a 4800mq and a 770m, nothing too fancy.

 

If it's the same as P150SM, just use something like a guitar pick on the plastic bar between keyboard and screen, then unscrew the 5 little screws there underneath.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

Its already a high power consuming beast packaged in a very little space! All gaming laptops inherently have this problem and you cannot do anything about it. Considering it has a dual cooling solution, I do not see a big problem in removing heat efficiently. You can further tone the temperature down by using following methods:

1. Use a 2-3 fan laptop cooler
2. Never block the vent areas
3. Every 2 yr change the thermal paste
4. Remove dust from laptop especially the fans regularly
5. Run it in cool air conditioned room
6. Once it runs at high temperatures for 3 hr or so, give it a break.

If you regularly clean, run in low temp environment and maintain it, you should be able to use it for 6 yr easy. I personally have not seen GPU's busting out just because its used heavily.

 

Okay, thanks! What type of thermal paste would you recommend? I left the standard because it would be cheaper than paying the $35 for xotic to do it but trying to find a good quality paste.

-matt

 

Few questions.

1) Noise - do the fans still spin up randomly when idle or during videos / very light gaming? Someone mentioned this year's model has a new heatsink and old noise reviews were out of date.

2) Model difference - Is the major difference between the 157/150m and the P151SM1 the power supply and second fan? There's about a $100 and half pound difference on Xotic

3) Upgradeability - How easy or difficult is it to upgrade the GPU?