2 months since I got this laptop and paint on the left side of the palm rest is already fading.I have to put some sticker over there cause if I don't, in 3 months there will be a glowing black spot.
Oh and I had a chance to buy Asus Zenbook Prime 13 really really cheap. I have to say that machine has amazing screen, even though it's only 1366x768, it somehow looks almost as sharp as W230SS FHD screen and colors, particularly blacks, are much better. I fell in love with that little metallic thing... Wish it had gtx860m inside lol.
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CyberTronics Notebook Consultant
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Modern games "should" be reading this, then scale their own interfaces accordingly. Torchlight 2 and XCOM happen to be excellent examples of this. If you change your DPI settings, it will scale the in-game interface accordingly to ensure it remains readable (even when running full 3200x1800). If you switch either of these games between 1600x900 and 3200x1800, the interface essentially remains the same physical size which is great.
However, some games do NOT do this and instead run the in-game interface at their own 1:1 scaling method (ignoring what Windows says), making the in-game interface TINY. Examples of this that I have are Age of Empires 2 HD and Endless Space. In these cases you are pretty much forced to run 1600x900, regardless of machine power, just so you can read stuff. For AOE2, I'd literally have to break out the magnifying glass just to see how much wood/food/stone/gold I have.
As far as mouse cursor issues, this is a quirk with Windows. Most games I've found, will always use the Windows DPI setting for the mouse cursor, regardless of that the ingame interface is doing. In my case (I run 200% scaling), at 1600x900, games like XCOM and Torchlight 2 still honour the Windows DPI setting for the mouse despite running the lower res, making the mouse cursor twice as big as it should be, but the rest of the ingame UI is fine.
However you could argue the the difference RGB layout affects sharpness etc etc. I won't get into that here.
I've not checked if it's possible to get around this by using greyscale rendering though (Windows 8.1 is capable of both greyscale and subpixel rendering, just doesn't give you options to play with). I suspect that won't work either though. The problem stems from Windows no longer being aware of the fact that each pixel it renders is in fact 4 full RGBW elements.chris_laptopfan likes this. -
The zenbooks were known to have some of the best IPS screens on the market. -
Can I put Carbon Fibre finish on myself? Is it a film or different casing? -
chris_laptopfan Notebook Consultant
Didn't know that DPI scaling in windows affects games at all, but only the windows icons, windows, buttons and so on. So without this DPI scaling or when it's not working properly (like you mentioned on AoE 2 for example) playing in native res is barely possible because of too small gui i guess....? -
Hi, I've been reading a lot of this thread along with some reviews on the net. Just wondering how it is to use the w230ss on your lap. Does it feel like its cooking your legs, like my alienware m14x r2 does? Thanks!
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Meaker@Sager Company Representative
Not under browsing etc, but due to the heat output it's unhealthy to game with any notebook on your lap.
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Support.1@XOTIC PC Company Representative
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CyberTronics Notebook Consultant
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Hi Meaker thanks for the info on the w230ss's heat output.
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Hi Meaker thanks for the info!
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Hi CyberTronics, thanks for the info. I can't see houw 2kg can seem heavy. I used to use an Asus g74sx that weighed 8.8 pounds on my lap!
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As far as heat from above, I have no issues with it for general use or lighter gaming. However, the annoying bit is the fan intakes from exactly where it would sit on your leg and chokes it. -
Does anyone know what memory ICs are used for the 860m?
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Support.1@XOTIC PC Company Representative
deadsmiley likes this. -
playin civ 5 at max everything @ 3200x1800 and no lag... pure awesomeness.... less the annoying fan (thats minor tho)
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Hi All,
First post here. I've had my W230SS (from mysn.co.uk) for a few months and absolutely love it. I've got a couple of issues that I haven't been able to get sorted (not through lack of trying!).
1. When using Steam Big Picture Mode the screen flickers constantly. This only happens when Steam is using the 860M, the Intel graphics run fine without flickering - but the interface is a bit laggy. I use the laptop as a steam machine hooked up to the tv regularly so it's a bit annoying. Has anyone had similar issues with steam?
2. In the last week the laptop has powered off regularly when playing games and restarted. Initially I thought it might be temperatures (the 860M peaks at 84 degrees c), the guys at mysn suggested this is fine for temps on the 860M. Do any of you have peak temperatures for the GPU in that region?
Thanks
Rich -
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Meaker@Sager Company Representative
Must be some sort of GPU acceleration bug, have you tried forcing steam itself to use the IGP?
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Anyone here with a working windows 8.1 multitouch driver as mine does not work.. thanks in advance
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Has anybody disassembled the display yet?
I have the Sierra Wireless 3G module and it has available connections for a GPS antenna. I picked up a low (well, lowish) profile antenna since they are very cheap. But for it to work, it would have to go in an unshielded location. This means the bezel around the LCD. Presumably I will have to void all my warranties and run the lead through a hinge. Sooooooo:
1) Does anyone know if there's room to run another wire through to the display?
2) Does anyone know if there are any 1cm x 5cm emptyish spaces in the bezel?
Because if both aren't possible I can stop trying to talk myself into taking my new toy apart. -
Meaker@Sager Company Representative
1) there will be.
2) there should be enough space behind the lcd itself between the lid and itself, not ideal for reception but not terrible. -
At the moment I'm more concerned about the laptop suddenly switching off while gaming, at first I thought it was temperatures but now I'm not so sure. Think it may be time to send it back to Schenker. -
Can people who own the 1440p (WQHD) display comment on your experience with it - brightness, sharpness, windows scaling issues, text size, etc?
Also, is there any word on when/whether this display option will be available in the US? -
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Meaker@Sager Company Representative
Just take your time and have an area set out where you wont loose things
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Ionising_Radiation ?v = ve*ln(m0/m1)
Hi guys. Is there any way of knowing the Intel HD graphics framebuffer size? I get odd glitchy screens in OS X, which need to be fixed with a framebuffer patch.
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Just a question about using a smaller power adapter.
I plan to install PermaMod to undervolt the laptop for better battery.
I have a spare 90W adapter (from an Acer Travelmate 8473t) which is much smaller.
Should the plug fit (and assuming I don't game on it), could it:
Damage my laptop?
Damage my battery, or would it just never 'fully' charge?
If I use the bigger charge on the Acer 8473 (ie 90w vs 120w) could it damage that PC?
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If the voltages match, I suggest undervolting as well as underclocking (<3ghz should be fine). I've found mine will top out around 80-85W at the wall with -70mv undervolt and underclock to 2.99ghz. -
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On Edit:
These tests where done with an already fully charged battery so the watt usage is lower than what you would see while having to replenish a low battery, but even then I have never had an issue in the past. I will let my battery drain for an hour or two and retest and post here in this post the wattage used under normal conditions while having to recharge the battery. -
I've just put in my order a 95W slimline adapter and will do more tests. Note that there can also be ~5% variance due to the efficiency of the adapter itself. -
Meaker@Sager Company Representative
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Now, with the battery at 24% and having the browser open and the movie in the background, screen still at 100% with an undervolt/underclock to -50mv and 2.0ghz, stop ripping the DVD and watching a movie I am drawing 69-72 watts out of both the 120 or 90 watt PSU. With stock clock and voltage it jumps just a little up to between 73-75 watts.
I would say even with a dead/low battery the 90 watt PSU would be plenty sufficient for basic light use, i.e. movies, web browsing and light programs. The ripping the DVD is not something I would normally do hooked to the small PSU but I just did that to simulate extra stress to the laptop. I'm impressed this little Thermaltake could even push out 115+ watts, but I'm sure it would quickly kill it if it was pushed that far for very long. The 90 watter definitely would not be a good idea for any game or program that use the 860m graphics card.
I only use the 90 watt PSU when I am looking for light weight power when I am packing the laptop in my backpack. While at home or if I now I will be playing a game when I'm away I always have it plugged in to a 120 watt power supply.
As of right now my battery is already up to 42% from a start of 14% when I first plugged it in, with about 30 minutes of charge time hooked up to the 90 watt power supply for all but a couple minutes when I had the bigger PSU plugged in for a quick wattage measurement. So it seems to have plenty of reserve charging capacity all while staying under 75 watts power draw with light use. -
Meaker@Sager Company Representative
Even with an 80% efficiency you are at the peak of a 90W adapter I suppose.
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Just got my W230SS
Wow, I lost the Silicon Lottery this time, my 860M has 65% ASIC quality.
However, getting +250Mhz core and +295Mhz Mem (overvolted to the max) so far with no issues. Though I suspect it will level off to +250mhz on the VRAM.
OK gonna have to settle for +250Mhz Core and +270mhz VRAM. Decent +25% performance boost. Temperatures level off at 72 degrees on Heaven 4.0
One of these days, I may attempt de-soldering the VRAM chips for 6Ghz binned ones for science. -
ASIC quality readings mean nothing. It's a random number generator, period. There is no correlation to ASIC quality and OC potential, it's all over the place.
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Also tested power consumption.
Holey cow, Prema is amazing, with CPPC ACPI 5.0 + WIndows 8.1. Idle power consumption is around 5.3-6.4W with the Monitor to 45% and Balanced power profile. dGPU ASPM settings were set to L0 only root - endpoint. Haven't enabled the DMI ASPM or PCIe ASPM due to instability. May try to undervolt but XTU is doing funky things.Zach1928 likes this. -
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Ionising_Radiation ?v = ve*ln(m0/m1)
Ok guys. For some reason I'm now only getting about 4 hours of battery life. I used to get about 5 1/2 hours. I don't know what I did, but can someone help? It's the case even with low brightness and a -50V undervolt, plus a underclock to 3 GHz. My estimated discharge rate in BatteryBar shows about -15 W. Why is this so high? I used to have only about -9 or -10 W. How do I figure out what's using so much power?
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Before I pull the trigger with this machine, I'm looking at SSD options to try and squeeze some more battery life out of it along with performance. My two thoughts thus far are this- an mSATA ( Mushkin Enhanced Atlas Series MKNSSDAT120GB-V 120GB Mini-SATA (mSATA) MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - Newegg.com) coupled with the stock 5400rpm 1tb drive in it, Or full-size SSD ( SanDisk Ultra Plus SDSSDHP-128G-G25 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for Notebook - Newegg.com). What will be the best for battery life, or will it be next to no difference?
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Meaker@Sager Company Representative
Best way is to look at reviews. You may want to step up to more mainstream drives like the m550 or Samsung evo.
LostCoast707 likes this. -
Laptop has been updated to phase 7, shipped! Should have it by Friday!
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@dreville I need two finger scroll more than anything
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk -
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xoticpc just raised the price, I was about to purchase it last night and today the 4810mq is 100$ more
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i think the discount was only an time limited special - by Intel.
*** Official Clevo W230SS/Sager NP7338 Owner's Lounge ***
Discussion in 'Sager/Clevo Reviews & Owners' Lounges' started by Ryan, Mar 20, 2014.