*** Official Clevo W230SS/Sager NP7338 Owner's Lounge ***

Thanks. I realized that battery life was more important than screen resolution as this laptop is going to be used for university anyways. I also feel that color reproduction and the matte screen will suit my needs better. I decided to go with the 1080p display. All im hoping is that the nvidia drivers for linux are better than my experience with AMD and fglrx.

 

If I knew you were running Linux I'd have even more strongly advised against the 1800p panel. XHDPI support is getting better in some desktops (latest GNOME, KDE, and Xfce are all kinda decent at it), but it's still a pain in the and a lot of apps are broken.

They are much better. Both the proprietary nvidia driver and the open source nouveau. The Intel drivers are decent as well. The main problem is Optimus -- switching between the Intel IGP and nVidia dGPU. You have four real options, and the Arch Linux wiki describes them pretty well (as the Arch wiki is apt to do, <3).

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NVIDIA_Optimus

I'll probably use Bumblebee, but I've heard downsides, like not always turning off the dGPU. The developers of Bumblebee also allowed this to happen: https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee...2ac#diff-3fbb47e318cd8802bd325e7da9aaabe8L351

 

Wait... You're saying you can interchange the cooling assembly?...

 

:laugh:

Sytanx is everything lol. One little space causes all that ruckus.

 

Should have read comparable...THX@auto-correct

 

You need to edit windows registry
This was where mine was located
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Synaptics\SynTPEnh\ZoneConfig\TouchPadPS2_1\

I changed
Right Edge Pull
Top Edge Pull
Left Edge Pull

You need to modify LoYRel for each one.
I set 99999999 decimal value for each one and it worked.
You will probably need to restart after modifying the values.

 

After some extensive research, I've decided to go with the w230ss. However before I place my order, I was wondering if you guys can answer a couple questions.

Having read that the built in speakers aren't that stellar and most likely I'll be using headphones most of the time, I was wondering how's the quality of the headphone jack? I've had issues with the past, whether it be a previous laptop or even a kindle fire, where I would hear white noise/static possibly due to the jack being too close to the electronics. Is this the same case here?

Also wondering about the quality of the screen. Has the bleeding bothered anybody or is it hardly noticeable?

What is the approximate shipping/assembly time from resellers such as xoticpc if I go with regular ground shipping? Just want to give myself enough time ahead of time before I place my order.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

Installed Ubuntu and spent the last three drivers to figure out a way to install the drivers. Ubuntu looks amazing on the display.

I've also noticed some flex in the keyboard. But for some weird reason, I prefer this keyboard over my Macbook's.

 

Would you say it's very easy to get ubuntu 14.04 working on it, or does it require some command line trickery? Did you get the Bumblebee graphics card switching working on it?

 

Hey dude! Installing Ubuntu on this laptop was easy. I have not tried the graphics card switching thingy yet. The only hurdle that you might face is figuring out a way to make the wifi work. You will be fine as long as you know your way around the terminal.

 

BTW, I'd like to thank you. For a long time I was considering getting the w740su (iris pro 14"). I read several of your posts saying it was not worth it, just get a dGPU notebook, etc. I ignored them for quite a while but eventually decided you were right. w230ss gets better battery life with a much stronger dGPU for about the same price. Dunno why I wanted it so badly, guess that 128MB of L4 DRAM was just too tempting.

 

So does that mean you're permanently on the Nvidia card? What kind of battery life does that give you?

 

I bought the 4810mq myself and my gaming fps is roughly the same as what the benchmarks are with the 4710 which makes sense. The GPU is definitely the bottleneck these days on this system, but I am still getting great fps. If you are doing video encoding, virtual machines, anything that uses CPU primarily then the $35 it costs to upgrade is well worth it. I plan to undervolt/clock a bit to with a bit less heat and less impact than the 4710.

 

Having read that the built in speakers aren't that stellar and most likely I'll be using headphones most of the time, I was wondering how's the quality of the headphone jack? I've had issues with the past, whether it be a previous laptop or even a kindle fire, where I would hear white noise/static possibly due to the jack being too close to the electronics. Is this the same case here?

No issues here. I have had my W230SS for 2 weeks now ans have not had any static. The speakers are not the best, but the headphone jack works great.

Also wondering about the quality of the screen. Has the bleeding bothered anybody or is it hardly noticeable?

I haven't noticed an appreciable bleeding. I haven't gone into a perfectly dark room to look, but my background is mostly black and I haven't had anything annoy me yet.

What is the approximate shipping/assembly time from resellers such as xoticpc if I go with regular ground shipping? Just want to give myself enough time ahead of time before I place my order.

Assembly time for Pro-Star was 5 days, they had it shipped in 4. XoticPC told me about 5 also. Ground shipping depends on where you are of course. I'm in Alaska and the 2nd day Air was $20 more than ground so I popped for that.

 

The speakers are crap, but that's on par for most laptop speakers (I was spoilt with my last laptop which had a sub-woofer and everything) but if you install the Creative Sound Blaster Cinema software the speakers suddenly become a LOT better, so make sure you do that and turn on the bass-boost and Crystallizer. I've occasionally heard electronic interference sounds through the speakers but never any noise (at all) through headphones, so it seems it's well isolated in terms of the headphones at least.

Depends on the screen, but mine came with the 1080p IPS panel and it's amazing. It has pretty much complete viewing angles (you can look above, below or either side to any degree without it distorting). I've noticed no light bleed around the edges at all either in the dark. Contrast is great. Black levels (on an all black screen) aren't pitch black, but they're as good as I've seen on anything that isn't OLED. So if you get the choice, go with the 1080p IPS matte panel, it's rather nice.

The Intel 4600 is surprisingly powerful. I've not had to even use the dGPU yet (I've got the nVidia panel set to use the Intel by default rather than the other way around). Example games on high or max settings - Hearthstone, Civilization 5, Serious Sam 3: BFE, Magic the Gathering 2014, Bit Trip Runner 2, Counterstrike: GO.

 

Can you detail the model number of the display you got?

 

What's the easiest way of checking? (I assume there's something I can do software wise to avoid taking the machine apart).

 

I use HWinfo64. Handy tool to have anyways, lets you check just about everything on the machine.

 

Apparently it's a Chi Mei N133HSE-EA1 manufactured at the end of December 2012.

 

Awesome! thanks for sharing

 

Yeah that is the same panel we all got and it originated in an Asus ultra book. It's a version of IPS but I guess every company has a different name for IPS because I believe someone owns the rights to the word "IPS".

Very good screen overall. Minimal bleeding. It's there if you were looking for it specifically but it has not interfered with gaming or movie watching at all. Some probably have it more severe then others though.

Mine came with a dead pixel smack dead center and I paid for the no bad pixel policy so I sadly will have to ship mine back to get it replaced but right now I have been enjoying the machine so much I'm just not ready to send it back.

Overall to me and the dozens upon dozens of laptops I have owned over the years this thing is amazing and has far exceeded what I was expecting. For the money this thing is a no brainer if you want power and portability.

Purchased from LPC-Digital who handled the whole process great including getting me an RMA number from Sager within a couple hours after discovering my problem with the screen. One less thing I need to worry about myself.

 

Yup, just wanted to clarify for the people the other day concerned about IPS vs non-IPS. As I had said not exactly IPS but very similar and the end result is the same. Just looking to get that settled once and for all

 

So it the IPS screen or the TN screen that you said was in Sager's specs? I have the same model as Enverex listed according to HWinfo64.

On edit: I guess with my delay to refresh the page the question was answered.

 

The 3200 x 1800 screen is available from pcspecialist now.. im gonna be ordering a SS in the nect few weeks, is there any good reason for me to get the 3k display? i loved the screen on the ST and i wont be gaming at that res for obvious reasons. Anyone know what that 3k display is like? it says its a IPS but i didnt think it was.....

 

I would say stick with the 1080p screen if you have already seen and used it for various reasons. No scaling issues and no glossy finish would be my number one reasons to not want the 3k display.

Why they call it IPS is simply because when people start to mention other terms for panels that are like IPS you see their head turn sideways like someone is speaking a foreign language, so everyone just uses that term IPS. And then of course you still get the follow questions of 'Well is it IPS or not ?'..

 

I do understand why it's done, but at the same time like you mention it causes a lot of confusion because it's being called what it's not. Exactly why I was clear on making that point that it is similar but still different to help alleviate that confusion.

 

Yeah I loved the 1080p screen before, thatll be the one ill be getting but id love to hear from owners of the 3k screen just to hear what its like on this little laptop.

 

A review with the QHD+ from back in March:

Review Clevo W230SS (Schenker XMG P304) Barebones Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

 

I was not quoting you in each of my replies about the whole IPS debacle even though it seems like i was because it was always followed by you're previous posts. I know you understand the differences of these screens and are hard pressed to call the screens something it may or may not be since after all you are a reseller and the last thing you want or need is someone calling you out on misinformation.

So we can put it too rest the 13.3inch 1080p screen in the W230SS is IPS like and or an equivalent of IPS made by CHI MEI.

 

Sorry for a late update, received my computer and installed all components and OS etc. yesterday and now stuck on a few things which I want to get sorted until I do a proper post with unboxing pics (for those interested) etc.

1) I have BIOS ver.: 1.03.03 and Firmware revision: 1.03.01 (Schenker XMG P304) and according to Clevo's homepage in order to install the IMEI driver it says:
"Intel Management Engine Interface driver (10.0.0.1204) for Windows 8.1 64-bit version. (please enter CMOS setup to make sure the BIOS version is 1.03.05 or later)"
So I'll need to update my BIOS and found this file (see link below) at Schenkers international website:
http://www.mysn.de/secure/userarea/download.asp?flag=getfile&file=QQXMGQQXMG_P304QQBIOSQQXMG_P304_BIOS_1.03.06.zip

Now the "readme" is really archaic as well as the procedure so I am wondering if somebody has done this and would be able to help OR if its the same procedure with W230SS as with this one?
In order to keep this post somewhat short I'll refer you to the file above for instructions and what the contents are etc. I might just make a bootable USB-stick with Rufus and follow the instructions but they seem a bit "Google Translate"-ishy and don't want to brick my computer. Also want to sort this out first before trying PREMA and other things.

2) I installed my Huawei ME909u-521 and found the drivers on the homepage I bought it from (CarTFT):
https://www.cartft.com/support_db/support_files/Huawei_WinDriver_4.25.23.04.zip

Before installing the drivers I had the possibility of choosing and connecting via mobile broadband but the APN and other preconfigured settings were wrong.
When I tried to edit that it still didn't work so I restarted and installed the driver for the card, now I don't even see the option anymore (when you can choose WLAN etc.).

When I look at "Device Manager" I see this (which I think relates to the Huawei card):
"Generic card for mobile broadband" which has "Error 10, can't start" and it also says: "{Could not perform task}" and "Could not perform requested task". That unit has machine-id "USB\VID_12D1&PID_1573&REV_0228&MI_00" and "USB\VID_12D1&PID_1573&MI_00". The driver it uses is from Microsoft, 2013-08-22, 6.3.9600.16384.
another one is:
"Huawei GNSS Sensor" which has "Error 10, can't start" and "the process that is host to this units driver has been closed/terminated". That unit has the machine.id "USB\VID_12D1&PID_1573&REV_0228&MI_02" and "USB\VID_12D1&PID_1573&MI_02". The driver it uses is from Huawei Technologies, 2013-04-12, 1.1.7.0.

The last driver which is "unknown" and I don't think is related to my Huawei card is this:
"PCI-controller for simple communication" which has "Code 28, this units drivers are not installed". I am wondering if this is the IMEI driver which is the one I haven't installed yet (due to the BIOS update). That unit has machine id: "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C3A&SUBSYS_23001558&REV_04" and "PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8C3A&SUBSYS_23001558" and a few others.

Would really appreciate your help with this, AFAIK the 4G-module should work but need to sort out the driver problems to get it to work.

When I get this solved I'll happily report back with a full unboxing and my impressions etc. / TheSwede86

Edit:

Since my OS is in Swedish some things here are loosely translated. Thats why things might appear a bit "funny". Also I do apologize for my English, trying to figure this out and just wanted to get everything in my post before I forgot about anything.x

Edit again:

I updated the BIOS using Rufus and the instructions in the "read me" for the BIOS and now my BIOS ver. is: 1.03.06 and Firmware revision is still (by some reason): 1.03.01.

The "EMI" driver seemed to be old since Windows told me I would overwrite a newer driver (which I didn't do) and I still have that "PCI-controller for simple communication" (without driver / not recognized) but I have not installed all optional drivers from Clevo's homepage yet so I'll install all of them and report back (unless I get any replies for what that device might be).

The BIOS update seemed to solve something with my Huawei card since I now have "Huawei Mobile Broadband Module" that is working (YAY!) but "HUAWEI GNSS SENSOR" still reports the same error message.

 

It was almost 2:30 while using ethernet for internet. The battery life on Windows 8.1 is impressive. Watching videos (YouTube and Netflix) on my Macbook killed the battery to half. On this machine, with low brightness, I am 69% after 2 hours of use.

 

Is that two and a half hours on ubuntu from 100% to critical power. Also do you know if it is possible to turn off the dGPU on ubuntu and how much additional battery life this will result in. I'm hoping on installing ubuntu but will install arch if i need better battery life(4+ hours)

 

@TheSwede86
I wish I was more familiar with those kind of errors but I haven't diagnosed hardware issues since the days of pre plug n play lol. Still I've got all night at work (and it's a slow one) so I'll see if I can find anything online that might help. Kudos for jumping in head first and I'm praying for a resolution so we can all benefit :thumbsup:

 

@TheSwede86
Also it sounds like that BIOS update was BIOS only and didn't touch the firmware (UEFI) version, if I understand this correctly. That was the desired thing to do though based on what the previous error was telling you (needing newer BIOS version).

From what I gather quickly right now, the huawei gnss (global navigation satellite sensor) sensor is a GPS device as part of your card. It seems that it requires a driver so, possibly separate from the card driver?? Do you know if the driver was installed? Also there may be a switch to disable it if it this error can't be resolved.

 

I was wondering when these will go on sale on amazon through xoticpc!? I have a credit there and really want to get it! Thanks!

 

Hi, I just ordered the W230SS and it is on it's way to me, before I head overseas. Leaving Australia I get a tax rebate of 10% so it is very affordable.

The resellers here are having a promotion that removes the 1TB 7200rpm and gives you a 256GB Plextor M5S SSD drive and an extra year warranty, so that is a good deal. I will also purchase 2x Plextor M5M mSATA 256GB drives to fill up the remaining slots, so I will have 768GB in total. The M5M is faster for sequential and random writes over the M5S, so I hope to use one as a boot drive, but am unsure if RAID 0 is a wise idea or not.

I am coming from a Macbook Air 2011 with Intel 3000 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD, so double the RAM and 6x the HDD space will be fantastic!

Has anyone successfully turned their machine into a Hackintosh, either by dual booting or running a VM? I am kind of used to OSX now since I have been using it for the past 18 months.

Lastly, I am kind of disappointed that there is no displayport. I read most of this this thread but there doesn't seem to be many complaints on this matter, even though it is pretty limiting using HDMI with max res of 1920x1080 at 60hz when there are all these great QHD and UHD monitors on the market for not much more money. You also can't use 120hz or 144hz gaming displays.

From my research, the best monitor I can find to pair with the laptop is the new 2014 Samsung consumer line S27D390HS. It looks sexy.

 

alright I will try that thanks!

 

I imagine not many people dock it to use as a portable gaming desktop, so displayport isn't that big an issue. Personally I don't even have any displayport devices, so HDMI is fine by me. It does have USB 3 though, which should be fast enough to run a USB to DisplayPort adapter(?).

I'd avoid Hackintosh. If you want a Mac, buy a Mac. Otherwise, use Windows or try out Linux. I know older Clevos have been turned into Hackintosh but you sacrifice the nVidia GPU and what's the point then? You may as well get a laptop $400 cheaper if you don't want the nVidia GPU.

RAID0 honestly doesn't matter that much. Modern SSDs are so fast that you'll bottleneck on the SATA3 controller before you hit max sequential reads/writes. Random r/w should probably be faster. If you want to, go for it. RAID1 is a valid option as well if you don't absolutely need the storage. And you still get blazing fast speeds, on top of strong reliability. Personally, I'm getting two mSATA 840 Evos, one for Windows, one for Linux, then using the 2.5" with a 500GB-1TB SSD for storage for games, media, etc.

 

Thanks for your help

I solved the ""PCI-controller for simple communication" which was the "MEI" driver. Weird. Think I (tried to) install(ed) it one time already and that is was that driver which said I already had a newer driver installed and therefore I didn't install it.
Anyway now its installed and now its only the "Huawei GNSS Sensor" which is causing trouble (all other devices are identified correctly and seem to be working).

The driver for the GNSS seems to come from the same driver I installed for the Huawei-card itself. If I "point it" to that folder it does not find any newer driver only the current driver that it is using which is:
Huawei Technologies, 2013-04-12, 1.1.7.0. The "main" Huawei driver itself is: Microsoft, 2013-08-22, 6.3.9600.16384.

I've emailed Huawei technical support and will try to experiment and get it solved and report back, will watch this thread though if anyone finds anything.

---

Whats weird is that I can only connect once (after I change APN-settings) and then I don't even get the option to click "Connect" on my mobile broadband.
I don't even get the "Connect"-button after clicking the mobile broadband. Also I am always unable to shut mobile broadband "Off", even if I turn the slider to "Off" it flips back to "On" all the time.

 

I'd actually get in touch with Hutsady on that one. I do mainly the site stuff while he handles the Amazon/eBay. Shoot him an email with what you're looking for.

 

We'll be able to put them back up there once Sager has them back in stock (ETA 5-22). Feel free to PM me with any build requests and I can list it exactly how you want.

 

It's nearly been 2 months since the SS was released now... whats everyones best 3dmark 11 score at stock and with a OC. Have there been any quite decent improvements to performance with newer drivers? (not saying it needs one!)

 

@TheSwede86
So I'm clear, is the mobile broadband working with the gnss error still happening, or are you unable to connect to anything, or are they separate issues? Is there any functionality at this point?

 

Anyone has an external screen hooked up to their W230SS? What can you say about such experience?

 

Same as hooking up an external screen to any other notebook. Is there anything in particular you were curious about?

 

Yes they just work like the internal one, it goes through optimus and behaves the same way.

 

so it will use intel gpu in 2D and switch to nvidia in 3D, just like using internal screen?

Not really, except the nuance about 2D/3D gpu switching. I will have to buy an external screen if I decide to get W230SS. 13inch is too small, but I really like the convenience of carrying it around.

 

Lol I don't think people normally call it "2D".. if there's graphics processing involved, nvidia optimus will detect it and GPU will run.. you could have nvidia optimus turn on for a 2D game too if the game was that graphics intensive..

Like the others have said too, external is just more screen for you to use, it has nothing to do with your laptops capabilities (except if it runs on a different resolution obviously)

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

Stock CPU Stock GPU scores:
P5253
Graphics score: 4994
Physics score: 7447
Combined score: 4993

Undervolted and tweaked CPU, stock GPU:
P5327
Graphics score: 4997
Physics score: 8510
Combined score: 5002

Slightly relaxed Undervolt and tweaked CPU, OC GPU @ +280 core/+150 memory:
P6231
Graphics score: 6011
Physics score: 7899
Combined score: 5981

On the last test I had to undo some of the CPU tweaks I had done in XTU. It normally runs stable with the settings I ran for the second test in which I was able to score a 781 score on the XTU benchmark. But running the GPU OCed and CPU like that caused it to crash.

 

So I just received my eurocom m4, and it looks great. Except that apparently they gave me a QHD screen instead of the FHD one I ordered (it's clearly in my order, and I wasn't charged for the upgrade). I'm not sure how I feel about this. Took a few minutes to rescale things, including Chrome, but it otherwise doesn't look bad.

I'm not much of a screen aficionado, so I'm not really sure what impact this would have. The glare looks to be on par with my current lenovo y470, so definitely bearable since I don't use really use my laptops outdoors. Font sizes and scaling are OK so far, noting that I haven't done much other than try to figure out windows 8.

Any suggestions on what I should be looking out for in terms of concerns expressed earlier in the thread?

What's the value in working at 1600x900?