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

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Yeah he handily provides all the stock bios files to accompany the modified ones, though I would still suggest taking your own backup.

 

Prema, thanks for your BIOS update. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me - I think it needs something else to fix my funny screen problems. Meanwhile, I'd like to check if it's safe to rollback to v1.1? I seem to be getting some issues in OS X after the BIOS update, like battery reporting and lid sleep.

 

Anyone else experience Sleep/Shutdown issues? My NP7338 refuses to boot after a long time in sleep mode or shut off. Having it plugged in or unplugged doesn't seem to make a difference. It will just flash the backlit and power light then shut off without even showing the logo. Very frustrating. Any help?

 

can a mod delete this post? sorry

 

can a mod delete this post? sorry

 

Same screen issue?

 

Anybody else running Ubuntu on their w230ss? I can't get the wifi card to work properly. It keeps disconnecting at random times, and then it fails to reconnect until I reboot the laptop. Any one know how to fix this?

 

Ordered a WQHD from Schenker, so can finally ascertain whether the J_LED1 is necessary for WQHD. And how things stand with screen and cable compatibility. This, unfortunately, also leaves me with a spare i5-4210M and a 4GB (1x4096) 1600MHz Kingston ...

Will remove its AG-layer and replace it with a 3H film. Have done a few laptops before; procedure's almost identical to a monitor's. Hope to remind myself to take 'before' and 'after' pictures and to do calibration for both finishes ...

 

I have WQHD (2560x1440) and no J_LED1.

 

Same here. AFAIK that co-lay port was only present on dev-boards.

 

Thanks for looking . Took a closer inspection of the mb's and eDP 40 pin layout:

Spoiler: lcd connectors

Spoiler: eDP 40-pin

Although the QHD and WQHD are 40-pin type, the motherboard's connector is a 30-pin, but is still a full-fledged 4-lane connector (the 8 TX**'s are the 4 lanes). All the 'reserved' pins and several grounds have been dropped to make that possible. And you're spot on with the "dev" part; their pins are repetitions of the regular signal pins (either that or it was a ditched touchscreen option?). Regardless, that's great information when it comes to screen compatibility.

With an identical mb connector on all three models it is certainly possible to swap any type (provided you have a matching cable). Unfortunately, it does appear the QHD does feature a shorter cable (as the service manual claims); found an image of the LTN133YL01:

Spoiler: LTN133YL01 (back)

That connector's bottom right, so the situation is like this:

lcd	brand	res	aka	length	eDP type	c. location	cable part nr.
N133HSE-EA1	chimei	FHD	1920x1080	288mm	2 lanes	bottom left	6-43-W2301-010-K
LTN133YL01-L01	samsung	QHD	3200x1800	188mm	4 lanes	bottom right	6-43-W23S1-010-K
LQ133T1JW02	sharp	WQHD	2560x1440	283mm	4 lanes	bottom left	6-43-W23S1-020-K

Which results in the following possible combinations:

	FHD lcd	QHD lcd	WQHD lcd
FHD cable	y	n	n
QHD cable	y1 2	y	y1
WQHD cable	y2	y3	y

1.) Needs extender cable ( lvds example)
2.) Needs 30>40 pin adapter ( lvds example)
3.) Needs tape

The tricky bit is that neither of these exist in eDP variety yet (can't find them, anyway), but that's a matter of time. There is another option for now; use an eDP cable from another system. This does invoke several restrictions:

• Minimum length (more is fine with eDP)
• Correct mb-side connector; flat or plugin
• 30-pin or 40-pin connector lcd-side (30-pin only for FHD)
• 2-lane cable with FHD (ensure it's intended for a 900p system)
• 4-lane cable with WQHD or QHD (1440p)

Or wait until W230SS replacement cables become available :zzz: ...

 

Thanks for the observations, double glad now that I went with WQHD.

Don't wait for 3rd party adapters/cable, Clevo's connector design is propitiatory.
Just give Mythlogic a ping, they should be able to get you the exact spare part.

 

Can any W230SS owner comment on multi-monitor support? I have two 27'' -- I notice that the unit only has HDMI and VGA. If I were to use both ports, would I be able to output to my two monitors and use the laptop display at the same time?

 

No, the IGP is only capable of outputting to two displays at once with those connections.

 

Just wanted to confirm my W230SS is running up to standards, how does this look?

4710MQ, 8GB DDR3 @ 1600Mhz, GTX860M, Samsung 250GB mSata SSD.

3DMark11 - Performance
P5256
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-4710MQ,Notebook W230SS

Windows Experience Index (Win7 WEI)
Processor: 7.6
Memory: 7.6
Graphics: 5.3
Gaming Graphics: 7.3
Primary Harddisk: 7.9

 

Looks good, don't worry about WEI scores since they are not reliable, but the 11 score seems solid. How are you enjoying it?

 

not possible because the IGPU has only 2 DACs. One DAC is already used fr the internal display so you only have 1 additional unit for HDMI or VGA. However, you may be able to get an active HDMI to DisplayPort adaptor (for about $50-$75) which add an additional DAC to allow the third screen. That being said, NVIDIA drivers have been known to have issues with mixed resolutions/monitor brands so you may have issues using a Surround setup.

 

Hey so my driver was the intel CPPC, I think its only supported with prema's bios, which is why we don't have a driver from clevo,

did any one notice that one the computer is turned off and speakers are connected it produces a buzzing noise? really loud, but i guess nothing we can do about it.

 

I am trying to get my game on with this laptop and I am being frustrated by poor performance.

Now it seems like there shouldn't be a problem the laptop works fun - however in 3DMark 11 with the 860m and 4700MQ I get a score of P4577 which is a very poor score - below the average of 5200.

I am playing Batman Arkham Origins, and I have MSI Afterburner running with a 135mhz overclock, but my frames are about 19-22 FPS and dropping to 10 FPS in large fight scenes.

I turned on the OSD and it says GPU1: 60 degrees, 405 mhz, Mem 1: 800 Mhz so it is misreporting the GPU. I have this problem also with NvidiaInspector which also reports 405 Mhz and 800 Mhz memory when under load. Is there a program that I can install that can report the correct info?

Whereas a similar laptop, has frames of around 40fps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC3qnmOeJ_Y (more powerful CPU, but this game isn't taxing the CPU much)

So what could the problem be? I am plugged in, with high performance mode, and have the latest drivers...... why the poor FPS?

 

Sounds to me like your GPU is not getting out of the low clock mode.

You're not running on battery are you?

 

Does anyone have uncomfortable fan vibration levels? Mine is, strangely, good enough on the very max, but not very comfortable on the one second to max, which is actually the most frequent level in most games.

 

I have this too. And some strange noise from bearing when lowest speed, sound stops for awhile if i turn laptop over and back. Maybe the fan was broken from the start but i can live with that. I'll buy new fan when it gets annnoying.

 

Hello everyone

I received my W230SS yesterday (loving it besides the issues I'm having). Running W 8.1, everything is up to date.

I am having is with the sound. It is very, very bad. Any music I listen to just doesn’t sound right. I have tried both my Shure SE 535 and my Sennheiser HD-25’s. I thought, maybe the headphone jack on these two were a bit big so it could have been possible that they weren’t inserting in to the port all the way. I managed to find the stock iPhone earphones, and I’m having the same issue. So I’m fairly confident that the issue isn’t with my headphones.

I installed the drivers in order as described in the manual. Soundblaster just makes it sound worse to be honest. But, with it turned off, there is barely any volume so I have to have it on. I tried updating to the .500 audio drivers as listed on the Clevo website, that didn’t really change anything, and Soundblaster stopped working at that point so I had to revert back to the drivers listed on my vendor's website (.300)

I’m not sure what to do about the sound. When I’m listening to music (which is almost all the time), the vocals in all types of music just isn’t there. It’s very faint. The instruments are much louder, but watered down at the same time (By that I mean they don’t sound anything like what they’re supposed to sound like). Some instruments are even missing all together. I’m not sure how that even happens. Backup vocals have the same issue (in that I can’t hear them.) Overall, music doesn’t sound anything like it should. I am certain of this as I know what all of my songs sound like, and on this laptop it doesn’t sound natural at all. Take this song for example. I can’t hear the vocals and the instruments are very muddled that I can’t make out any actual sounds. In some areas the backup vocals are louder than the entire track. It’s like, when you plug your headphones in half way, it sounds very weird. There isn't any point comparing quality to my iPhone or even my old $400 DV6 laptop as there is obviously an issue here (But I may as well point out..the other two sound much better)

Is this a driver issue? I have no idea. I’ve tried searching for some answers and haven’t been able to find anything significant. The default Microsoft drivers fare no better. I’m not sure what else to try now and I don’t really want to have to carry a USB DAC everywhere I go (and I also don't have the money to buy one). This is especially annoying because I listen to music all the time, and I produce in my spare time so I need this to work.

Does anybody have any ideas or advice in regards to the sound? I've emailed support and I'll see if they have any advice on this. Also for those wondering, without earphones it doesn't sound great either. I'm not sure if that's from the drivers or if the speakers on this laptop are just bad. The song I linked to does sound better via the speakers (but still terrible. I think in this case it might just be a combination of bad speakers and a driver issue, but primarily bad speakers)

On an unrelated note, I was also having issues with Chrome when resizing and dragging windows (there would be an annoying delay / lag). My temps would increase by +15c and the fan would ramp up. A friend suggested I try the 64-bit beta and that fixed the issue. So let's hope this issue can be fixed too!

Thanks for reading

 

Did a tiny little project on my lappy: filtered fan intakes.
One takes a car window sunblocker thingy.
One takes super glue.
One takes a knife.
Combine those things and you have some nice dust filters!
imgur: the simple image sharer

 

Those look good but you may have actually hindered air flow by doing that and may get higher CPU/GPU temps now. I would monitor temps and stress test with and without those on there.

 

The pictures aren't very clear, but the fabric is quite open.
There will always be some airflow hindrance, but it shouldn't be too much I guess.

 

If it works without affecting temps then its a good mod. Keeping dust out is always good :thumbsup:

 

Heh.. 900M series coming out.. didn't take long did it! My NP7338 is far too new to be having to face upgrade options already, lol!

 

I'm unable to power on my machine when it's not plugged in. It acts like it's going to power on, with the keyboard and power light illuminated, but then immediately goes off.
Is this a known issue? I searched and was unable to find anything except a review on xoticpc from a user with the same issue.

 

Check the contacts on the battery, however it should be able to power on battery. Talk to your reseller.

 

I have a similar issue in that I have to press it 2-3 times to turn it on. This doesn't happen all the time, I've only turned it off once or twice since I've bought it. But it is rather annoying

 

Actually, 900M series aren't coming out. The 900 series for desktop just started coming out for the maxwell architecture, so I guess if they are coming out, it'll just be rebrands from the available maxwell gpus.
What I'm saying is, no word on 900M series

 

I think not: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...x-980m-970m-maxwell-officially-announced.html

 

How did I completely miss that

 

heh, don't worry, it was only announced like <24 hours earlier! Sometimes it seems you only need to sneeze and there's been an update with tech.

 

There will be no GTX9xxM card W230SS replacement model until Broadwell next year.
NVIDIA pushes only two new mobile cards for the MXM models in late October.

 

Hey guys, I just got my laptop. My CPU temps are maxing at around 92C after playing Borderlands 2 for about 40 mins... I have the stock cooling. What do you guys anticipate putting arctic silver 5 would do to those temps? I was hoping not to surpass ~86C. Any advice? I can get my hands on AS5 asap but would need to order IC Diamond or MX4 online :S

 

I had this issue again this morning, I wonder what it could be? It would not turn on at all. I thought maybe the battery died because I was charging my phone all night so after pressing the power button a good 10-15 times I plugged in the AC, it turned on, and the battery was on 87% ...

Edit: Also I managed to fix my audio issues last night (headphone audio sounded really bad). I removed the hotkey drivers that my vendor provides, and installed the hotkey drivers from pro-star. The audio works fine now. Unfortunately my iPhone is still a lot louder so I'm going to have to buy a USB DAC, I'm thinking the Audioquest Dragonfly 1.2, it's very small and portable and seems to have good reviews overall. Anyway for those that have a similar issue with the audio, try removing your hotkey drivers like I did and re-installing these ones

 

WHat happens if you hold down the button a little longer?

 

Honestly I didn't try this, I just kept pressing it. If/when it happens again I'll give that a go. I did hit buttons on the keyboard though, and that's when I thought to myself that the battery had no power. Hopefully your idea works

Another thing, I often hear clicking noises from the laptop. It sounds just like a HDD when you're transferring large amounts of data. What component could this be? I don't have a HDD in the laptop so I'm not sure. The other annoying this is the speakers make annoying sounds like a dying capacitor if I have my earphones plugged in. But if I turn down the speaker volume all the way, and mute it, the whistle goes away. So I'm not bothered by that, it's not like I use both at the same time anyway.

 

I got my w230ss couple of months ago. The biggest issue I had was the fan rattling noise at low speed. I ordered 3 replacement fans and all of them had that noise. What I eventually tried and it worked, was to stick (using double sided tape), a neodymium magnet at the center of fan. So far I have yet to get the noise to come back even when tilting the laptop. The temperatures stayed the same so I think it didn't affect the fan speed. I'll post a picture to show the result. I can't guarantee this will work in every fan...

 

That does sound interesting, looking forward to the pictures, does it just stick to it then?

 

What CPU do you have?
Don't bother with AS5 or ICD for this model. AS5 is too archaic and technique sensitive whereas ICD is not neccessary due to the excellent contact of the this cooling design with the CPU + GPUs. Don't bother with MX-4, it's extremely unreliable, get a hold of some Phobya HeGrease Extreme (aka GELID Extreme), this should have a fairly meaningful impact on performance.

Secondly, Intel CPUs scale their voltage very aggressively according to the clockspeed past 3Ghz, you may find significant temperature reductions by using Intel XTU to reduce the clockspeed by 100-200Mhz, this shouldn't meaningfully affect performance but there is a massive reduction in heat.
Lastly, consider undervolting the CPU with XTU, most units can easily get -60mV which should result in a roughly 20-25% reduction in heat and power.

Any chance of Broadwell being pin compatible with the W230SS?

 

I have this noise too. I was not able to find out what it is. Must be the fan in any way. What is a neodymium hymen? Never heard this in my english courses.

 

It won't be...NVIDIA also only pushed the two new cards now because their 20nm production yielded badly and so that they and the Notebook OEMs have something new to build and sell during "Intels own black-hole", these 28nm 9-series cards where not on even on the original 2014 roadmaps...

 

Hi guys I have a problem that's bugging me. I have had this laptop for 2 weeks and everything is great. Recently for some reason when I start the laptop and it gets to the windows logo(windows8.1 pro), there is audio crackling. It happens on every start-up and restart. I have tried uninstalling every driver, going back to stock BIOS, and reinstalling windows. It still crackles. I think it does so every time the speaker gets power, have anyone else experienced this or does anyone have any suggestions on a fix? Thanks.

 

hey i've been continuing my attempts at installing osx86 and have had some troubles with graphics...
I'm installing 10.9.4 and booting with Clover, using 0A260006 as the ig-platform-id, and have InjectIntel and InjectEDID true. I only get a 800x600 display booting this way, with the System Settings reporting Intel HD Graphics 4600 1MB.

Searching online, it appears that using the AppleIntelFramebufferAzul.kext from 10.9.1 works to get full resolution. I now have 1920x1080 display. However, I can't get QE/CI working. Does anyone have any idea? :X

 

Here are the photos:





The magnet sticks to the magnets on the fan, but at high speeds it would jump, so I used double sided tape to stick it.
Before the magnet the fan was loose, and it would easily move up and down and, in my case, it made the noise when it was down (with the notebook upwards). So, for example, if the fan was spinning at low speed, if I tilted the notebook or layed it on the table, it would cause a vibration and the fan changed the position vertically and it made the rattling noise because it wasn't able to go back to the starting position. The magnet makes it less loose and even with a vibration or even if you shake the laptop (for testing purposes ) the fan stays up.

 

I was able to get QE support by just updating Mavericks to the latest update.