*** Official Clevo P770ZM / Sager NP9772 and P770ZM-G / Sager NP9773 Owner's Lounge ***

Is there any way to disable the keyboard lighting completely?

 

sure, theres a keyboard shortcut for that

 

fn + * on the numpad turns off backlighting.

 

Thanks guys

 

Well, I pulled the trigger with PowerNotebooks on Tuesday. Now the wait . Before I did, I read all 65 (at the time) pages of this thread before ordering.

My config is the NP9772-S with the faster RAM and a 330w adapter.

My use case is heavy virtualization (I run 2 VM's on my current ROG G75 24x7 and an ESX VM on my ROG G73 24x7) with some game playing. I have another 512gb SSD (840 EVO) that will go in and be dedicated to virtualization tasks).

I plan on turning off turbo and UV the best that I can to 4ghz stable. I might play with O/C the video card a bit.

It looks like the fans are easy to clean out (I'm overdue to do so on my G73...and the fans are NOT easy to clean out on it)....is that true..can you get to the vanes of the heat pipe radiators ok?
Thanks to all for the great info. I'm looking forward to getting this beast

 

To get to the fans all you need to do is remove 4 screws and slide the back panel off. Everything in this laptop is very accessible making adding removing and cleaning a breeze. I don't think you will have any problems there.

 

Good to hear. You may want to read some of the P750ZM pages. They are practically the same and that thread its slightly more developed (not that this one is too shabby). The fans are relatively easy to clean, but incorporate shrouds over the fins and fan output to prevent air blow back into the case. Sounds like you should have some fun!

 

Thanks for the confirmation about the fans. They LOOKED easy to get to, but it's more about cleaning the radiator vanes than the fan blades and I couldn't see them as well due to the shrouds in the pictures.

I've been reading the P750ZM page as well....but that thread is a lot more intimidating to get through than this one. If you have any particular posts I should read that you know of offhand, I'd be glad to take a look at them.

I've also read most of HTWingNut's review thread, which has some helpful information as well. I'm really looking forward to this. I have a fairly long history of gaming laptops. I owned the first Toshiba laptop with an nVidia card, and a bunch since then. This is the first custom built Sager for me, and I've wanted one since I bought my G73.

 

Welcome to the enthusiast side of the notebook market. We're a dying population but feel free to stay.

 

No problem!

I'm trying to make a backlight preset (by changing one of the other ones maybe?) that would use the three zones as follows: RGB -> BRG -> GBR -> repeat forever..so like a rainbow going across the keyboard in a loop!

So far.. I've decompiled the DataCenter.dll and found some functions such as SetColor(int r, int g, int b, KeyGlobal.KeyPart), and SetColorAll(same parameters as before)..
I cannot find where gamefeet (the program for keyboard macros and lighting options) loads the presets from though.. which is unfortunate.
Also the dll doesn't export said functions... which is even more unfortunate

or maybe a preset that went:
RGB -> BRG -> GBR->BRG->RG B ->Repeat Forever
or
GPP->PGP->PPG->PGP->GPP->Repeat Forever

or any colors you could imagine doing cool stuff!

if anyone knows savvas from this thread, that would be cool: Link

Please let me know if anyone wants to help!

 

So, it turns out the problem was actually with my other drive, not the Plextor SSD. I had an old HDD and even though it was only a data drive (no system files), it was constantly restarting itself and causing issues and it has now failed entirely. After I removed it, everything worked fine again.

 

I'm very glad to hear that the Plextor SSD is not the issue. I recommend plextor firsthand to people who don't mind paying a bit more for stability/etc because of how great the drives have always worked for me, and I would have hated if I told people to get the Plextor and then it turns out the M.2 drives were problematic.

 

What do you mean by "EM heatsink"?

 

The 370EM (The first generation of this chassis) had a different heatsink setup with the 2nd GPU sharing with the CPU which borrowed some of the airflow. This lowers CPU temps but raises GPU temps.

 

As meaker said. The 780Ms were too hot to benefit, but the 980M series is not. So with 980Ms and the older model heatsink, I could effectively have an overally cooler system, and I would be able to safely overclock my CPU (as an overclocked CPU is more important to me than highly OC'd GPUs; especially SLI 980Ms, for everyday gaming)

 

I can't for the life of me make HCFR recognise my spyder 4 colorimeter... How does one make that happen?

 

lol for a moment I thought you were meaning "electromagnetic"

 

How you gonna make it?
These are the pictures I have from the cooling systems:

P370EM:

Spoiler

P771ZM:

Spoiler

 

My system is a P370SM3, not a P770ZM:

Spoiler

 

Ok! I missed that info!
So the P370SM3 doesn't have the extra heatpipe[1].
Will you add it? Please let me know how low will your temps get after that.
Perhaps you would like to try the Sandia Cooler[2].

[1]

Spoiler

[2] https://ip.sandia.gov/technology.do/techID=66

 

The P370SM3 is in my signature I have no idea how you didn't see it XD

Anyway, it'll offload ~10 degrees (maybe more with CLU) of heat off the CPU and onto the GPU. I'd expect my 980M to sit between 70 and 80 degrees during normal usage with this; but that's WELL within temp limits. I'd expect my ~4.3GHz CPU to sit around 80-85 degrees under heavy load with that, so that'd be fine too. My main GPU probably would barely crack 70 degrees. If I do make the upgrade all heatsinks would be lapped prior to installation and CLU would be used for both heatsinks.

 

You have to replace both the CPU and GPU heatsinks with the EM variant, it's not a modification that can be done easily to the current ones. You would have to drill holes through the heatsinks and added a straight thermal heatpipe.

 

You need to use agryll drivers found in the HCFR folder instead of the auto installed driver by windows

 

Guys, my laptop keeps beeping, anyone has this problem? Its a one short annoying "BEEP" around every 45 minutes. Everything is working perfectly fine except for that one annoying BEEP I keep getting

 

That's a weird thing meowthemouse. Is it a BIOS-type beep? I can't figure out why that would happen unless something was not working right.

 

Yup, more like a bios-type beep, but I wouldn't say its sounds exactly like it, and everything is working perfectly fine. It would happen at random, weather I'm playing, or just browsing, or even not using the computer, it would beep randomly, not every beep sounds the same though, some beeps they differ in pitch/volume/length.

Two hours ago, it beeped around 8 times, and now it completely stopped for around, ok nvm, it actually beeped as I'm typing this line.

Edit: I forgot to state that I tried installing everything I found on this page
http://www.sagernotebook.com/drivers.php?cat=608
except those that failed to install obviously, so I might have done something wrong with the drivers?

 

Does it happen with the sound muted in Windows? If it does, then it is probably BIOS related (or something outside the OS). If not, then something within Windows.

EDIT: Oh, and does it come through your headphones? I think BIOS beeps do not...but that used to be true, might not be true anymore.

 

just a couple questions to throw out there.

Which drivers failed to install? Is that common for some drivers to fail installation? Have you tried reinstalling them?
Who did you purchase the laptop from? Have you tried calling their service support and seeing what resolution/answers they can provide?

How old is your laptop? When did the beeping first start? Have you installed anything in addition/recently to the basic OS and Drivers (ie software, browsers, external device drivers)
Any recent hardware alterations? Is your unit running warm during these beeps?
Are you logged into anything with a messenger system? Do you have emails pushed to your desktop?

Like Vcdechagn mentioned, can you still register beeps after muting? Motherboard should have an independent monospeaker.
Is the sound coming from or away from your hard drive? Is your hard drive disk or solid state?

 

BIOS beeps do not play through the headset, that is correct. If it comes from the laptop with external speakers plugged in, it's a BIOS beep and you should contact your retailer and ask what it could be.

 

Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 AP for Windows 8.1 64 BIT: Tells me that there is no supported audio device available.

Killer N1525 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Driver for Windows 8.1 64 BIT: Didn't install, because I sticked with the intel one.

Intel Rapid Start Technology Driver for Windows 8.1 64 BIT: Tbh I have no idea wth is this, but it failed.

RAID Driver for Windows 8.1 64 BIT: I don't have RAID, so it failed obviously.

I installed:
Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for Windows 7 64 BIT
instead of:
Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for Windows 8.1 64 BIT

They seem to be the exact same file though? And no I haven't reinstalled them as they seem to fail because I don't have the supported hardware except for the sound blaster thing, I have no idea why its telling me no hardware supported, so it might be the cause of the issue.

I just got it yesterday, it always beeped, I haven't installed anything other than fire fox and steam with a few games. It beeped when it had no activity other than downloading, and if my judgement is correct, its not beeping from the speaker, and I think it would still beep if it was muted. This hour, it haven't beeped once, so I hope it won't beep again.

 

The rapid start driver will fail if you haven't created a partition for it. If you use some Google fu you will find what I am talking about and even a step by step walk through. That shouldn't be your beep issue though. That's odd the sound blaster doesn't install though that one should.

 

Alright, I just heard the longest beep with a click, and I have no sound playing. It came from the left side of the laptop, now I'm 99% sure its not from the speaker.

@superkyle1721
Thanks I'll check it out, about the sound blaster, it is installing, just not working I guess? As I said, I get a message saying "there is no supported audio device available." and everything is grayed out. This all is sounding more and more like a physical issue, I just hope its not.

Edit: Muted speakers, sound still occurring, and "click" was definitely a physical sound.

 

hmm, peculiar.
Mechanical clicks can really only come from two components: hard drive or fan.
As far as I know, beeps from motherboard mono speakers indicate errors stemming from hard drive, hardware, or bios errors.
The mention of it being a new laptop makes it even more puzzling. Did it take any serious bumps or was the box really beat up?

Hopefully its something light, but I would suggest backing up anything that might be important and not already saved elsewhere (photos, passwords, that song you really like, stuff like that), and calling the service number of the people you purchased it from for assistance to get that ball rolling.

(the following is optional. you can just wait for tech support at this point). Once those steps are done, since it's a new PC, try reinserting the hard drive (sometimes I like to take it out, shake it, and listen. May just be pure hokey though, since hard drives are more complex than burnt out light bulbs), eyeball the ram to make sure its properly seated, reinstall the OS, and try reinstalling all the basic drivers. Take note of any drivers that do not install again, though I don't think the failed installs are the culprit. Might just be some other driver. Turn it on, leave it on, and observe if you hear any of the beep/clicks again, especially what kind of beeps (if any) you might here during POST/start up. (Does your clevo POST? if not, then disregard). If you hear the click again, then might be best to turn off the computer and wait for technical assistance in case it's causing further mechanical damage. Hopefully around this time, technical support should have some resolution for you if not already if the reseat/reinstall didn't fix anything.

I will say this though, I'm no professional on computers. Usually I just contact technical service as that's the simplest route and they can do all this ruling out stuff themselves.

 

oh and just for curiosity's sake, maybe run a hard drive check for any errors.
Could also run a benchmark while monitoring temps just to see if it's some sort of heating/fan problem - though this is low on my differentials.

In either case, make certain you contact technical support before trying any of this out, as it might be something they're aware of and easily fixed.

 

Ran hard drive check, and monitored temps, everything is perfectly fine. The Laptop came in a perfect condition, and I have no issues at all.

No beeps today for two hours, hopefully they are gone permanently, as shipping this laptop back to Xotic will cost around 200$.

Blah, it beeped again as I'm typing this, I guess I'll contact Xotic. Any idea why sound blaster is failing?

 

Ah. Sorry to hear that.
And just to be sure, do you get any beeping during POST or when you first start up your pc? If you do, this would actually be very helpful.

(Finding Nemo on translating pc beeps/morse code)


In any case, I'd let the xotic tech support take it from here.
Once you have it corrected, please post what fixed it, as it may assist others experiencing similar problems moving forward.
Hopefully it's a simple Bios/system type error and not something with hard ware. Something easy to troubleshoot over the phone. Like a wipe and reinstall sort.
Are you certain it would cost 200$ to ship back? They wouldn't cover shipping if it's defective hardware on receipt?
Standard shipping in the states is also about $1.25 per pound at most - although I'm assuming you're in the states as you mentioned preferring dollars to pounds.

As for sound blaster failing - well as you mentioned it doesn't recognize any supported devices.
As for why there aren't any supported devices recognized - unfortunately, that I do not know.
Sound still works, right? May be conflicting codes with the installer and your system.
Have you tried uninstalling all sound blaster drivers/programs and allowing windows to install/update sound blaster drivers on its own (device recognition/windows update/etc)?

 

Do you have a platter based HDD? This sounds exactly like the behavior of a drive that needs to be RMA'd. The beep, and possible clicking noise, is probably the drive falsely detecting a free fall situation and force docking the heads on the stop ramp or inside diameter of the drive. Probably inside of the drive, due to the 2.5" platters. Is there slowdown associated with the beeping events?

 

'
oh ok, so don't even install the official drivers then I take it?

 

I have a samsung 2TB drive that occasionally makes a weird beep noise (typically under heavy load). The drive is in perfect condition tho. (I've been keeping an eye on smart reports and everything indicates that it is indeed in perfect condition)

 

good suggestion. I've experienced this with 3.5" HDD in the past, though those were indications of sticking/obstruction/brief lapses in power.
Do 2.5" HDD's beep routinely now? My last notebook was 5 years old, so I may be out of the loop.
Meowthemouse, what kind of hard drive brand/size/model did your unit come with?
We can cross check if anyone else who has the same hdd and notebook gets beeps from the hdd regularly.
Might just be a routine thing as Abol suggested if the majority are experiencing this.

 

If you install the realtek driver from realtek and not the one that e.g. xmg provides, then the soundblaster driver won't recognize it.

 

I've only really experienced it with my samnsung 2TB as far as I can remember it. But again, it seems to be in perfect health.

 

yupyup, i can confirm this. initially installed the latest driver from realtek, but it didnt work with the xfi software, so reverted back to the clevo provided version

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

@jaybee83
Did you activate Rapid Start and/or SSD-Caching on your SSD or is it counter-productive for performance?

 

SSD caching is used for a small (64GB or less) SSD to accelerate a volume on a standard HDD. In that case it helps.

 

I especially asked him because i saw that he has 1TB, so nearly the same SSD as i have (512GB).

 

i have neither, since i dont ever use hibernation (rapid start). as for ssd caching, it only makes sense if u have the os on a platter drive as meaker already pointed out

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

So is it faster to just turn it off than to let it go to hibernate? And is it even necessary to install Rapid Start?

 

Beeping stopped completely, no clue whats going on, hope it stays this way

@Logispice
That was a fun movie <3
And nope, I don't live in the US, shipping to the US costs around 200$.

Sound works perfectly, I dunno why the SB thing isn't working though, I even have the Sound Blaster X-Fi3 sticker thing.

@abol
Sorry, but everything you said made no sense to me , can you please explain?

Thanks for all the help everyone, especially Logispice, now I'm almost sure I have no issues.

 

if u hibernate a lot then rapid start can help u with performance.

i dont hibernate but prefer to switch off my machine normally. with an highend ssd theres no real benefit from hibernating vs regular boot, i mean im on my logon screen in like 11 seconds counting fron pressing the power button. also, since i love to tinker with my machine, hibernation can mess up more things than its worth

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk