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

NP7339 now in stock at Sager. If anyone had an order placed you should be getting updates soon.

 

Mine finally came today

Specs

Central Processing Unit : 4th Generation Intel Haswell Core i7-4710MQ Processor (Quad Core)
- Graphics Card : NVIDIA GEFORCE 960m GTX 2GB GDDR5
- Memory (RAM) : 8GB DDR3L 1600MHZ (8x1)
- Thermal Compound : Stock Thermal Compound
- Display : 13.3 Inch IPS FHD(1920x1080) Premium Matte Display with 72% Wide Colour Gamut
- Keyboard Backlight : White (Default)
- Custom Paint and Wrap Options : Matte Black Backcover (Classic)
- Dead Pixel Policy : 30 Day 0 Dead Pixel Policy
- MSATA Bay : 512 Gb plextor MSATA SSD
- MSATA Bay 2 : None
- Hard Drive : 1TB HITACHI 7200RPM HDD
- WI-FI Bluetooth : INTEL AC 3160 WIFI+BT
- Professional Color Calibration : Default Monitor Calibration
- Operating System : Windows 8.1 X64

 

View attachment 123009


I have not remove the plastics yet

 

Carbon wrap palm rest to prevent paint fade

 

@pokey2014

Where did you get that carbon palm rest?

 

i send it to some laptop wrapping shop to get it done, i am using the 3M carbon wrap

 

close up of the wrapping

 

Does the wrapping actually contain carbon fibers? Does it add strength/stiffness?

 

I can't seem to get my webcam to work. It simply does not turn on when I use Google Hangouts or use the Camera app. Is there some sort of driver I need to install or something?

 

Doubt so... Just some cosmetic

 

Hey guys, I have the W230ST model with the i7-4700MQ and GTX 765m and was wondering if I could buy the barebones W230SD and transfer over my CPU, SSD, HD, and memory. I screwed up the left hinge on my current chassis pretty terribly. Also screwed up the display in the process but I'm not sure if it's the cable or the display itself that's broken.

Looked around for current laptops as a replacement and found that what I have is close to as good as it gets except for the GPU which doesn't bother me since I play primarily blizzard games.

Anyway, buying this barebones kit ( http://rjtech.com/shop/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=30216) would solve all my problems as well as upgrade me to a gtx 960. This laptop has worked really well for me so I'd like to give it another chance and treat it better. My warranty from xoticpc expired months ago so not much I can do there, plus I kind of want a fresh laptop and GPU upgrade.

I don't have any problems getting in there and moving components around I would just like to make sure it would work. Is the 4700MQ removable and compatible with the W230SD motherboard? Would I have to reinstall Windows?

 

i think its much cheaper if you just get a new one and maybe if you have a ssd or stuff you can carry it over would save you quite alot.

 

The driver is native to Windows 8(.1). Windows 7 does require a driver. Have you used the hotkey toggle (FN and F10) to make sure it's enabled?

 

The motherboard for the W230SD is about $300 or so, and repairing your chassis would probably cost about $150-$200. There wouldn't be a need to reinstall Windows, although it's recommended after a motherboard change.

 

Anyone did ic diamond repaste ?

Sent from my iNO SCOUT 2 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks - I figured it out. I've never seen another machine that has a webcam enable/disable switch.


Now, my only problem is the bluetooth which seems to drop in and out for my Bluetooth mouse that has worked reliably with another laptop for a long time. I have the default card, and tried installing the driver but it absolutely killed my bandwidth, so I uninstalled it and went back.

 

Hey,

I just got a fresh W230SS and installed Linux Mint 17 and Prema Bios. Now I don't really know, what to do in Prema Bios and which tweaks I should apply. I've read a lot about undervolting and I'd like to do that, too, I guess. But I don't know how (sorry, I'm really new to this). Any recommendations what setting to put where inside Prema? I don't really find guides or tutorials on the Internet...

My laptop has the following specs:
i7-4710MQ
13,3'' Full-HD (1920*1080) Non-Glare IPS-Panel
GTX 860M (surprise!)
1x8GB SO-DIMM DDDR3 RAM 1600MHz
256GB mSATA SSD Crucial M550
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260


Also, when the screen is on but black, there are blueish streaks on the display. They are really hard to see, however. It's like a blue, bigger fingerprint. What could be the reason for this? Should I be worried? Should I contact the seller? But I already lost warranty by flashing Prema Bios, didn't I? (Well, I could try to reflash the old Bios, I guess, I found it on the seller's homepage.)

 

Bluetooth is sort of a fickle interface. The default card can vary, but is usually a Realtek card. If you have another device you can pair (such as a phone or gamepad), test that with the card. If it still drops the connection, go for a replacement or upgrade if you can.

You can adjust CPU parameters in Intel XTU. Is there any practical purpose behind you wanting to undervolt?

 

I thought, this would be also possible using Prema Bios?(As said, I'm using Linux Mint 17, so I'm not sure if there is something like Intel XTU?)

Yeah, well, maybe I'm seeing this in a bit naive way, but I just wanted to make sure, that my laptop lasts long and thus wanted to minimize the risk of any overheat/hardware damage or any such thing. That is why I wanted to undervolt the CPU by around 80mV (some people wrote that would be reasonable). (Additionally, I wanted to buy some cooling pad really soon. Any recommendations, by the way?)

I'm no hardcore notebook user, I guess, but I don't want it to be a problem to play for example Dota 2 for maybe even a few hours and therefore I thought, this would be a good idea. I want to have fun with this device for some longer time, if possible...

 

Do you need Prema BIOS to undervolt? What does flashing Prema give me that I don't already have on stock?

 

Does anybody know how to get MSI afterburner to correctly read core clock? It always shows 540Mhz even when GPU-Z shows ~1000Mhz.

Restarted and it now displays correctly. Will look into this further.

 

No. You can UV with Intel XTU on stock. Prema opens up more bios options like tweaking RAM timings etc. and it allows you to overclock the GPU higher than +150mhz boost.

Sent from my LG-D802

 

Okay so I sam seriously considering buying this laptop I just have a question or two. First these are the config options I can get with eurocom:
http://www.eurocom.com/ec/configure(1,249,0)ec
I was wondering how much battery life you would sacrifice if you were to get the WQHD screen, same for the cpu and gpu,what combination would give me the greatest amount of battery life?

 

Well... here is mine (WIth "improved" keyboard)

 

I have a quick note to all linux users of the w230SS - there's a fix to the audio glitch! (no headphones after sleep)

.deb link here for Ubuntu/mint/idk (scroll down): https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/alsa-driver/+bug/1313904/
for Arch here (also scroll down): https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=75151

Note, you might have to edit the script to accept your system name (it's coded for "W230SS" and didn't like that mine was built by Mythlogic, so I deleted that part of the script for me).

 

Sort of had a scare with my laptop last night, I turned it on and at POST it had a black background with lines going horizontally and vertically all over the place.

I turned it off after a couple of seconds and it turned right back on.... I have the latest perma bios. Any thoughts what would cause that?

It happened once, and has never happened before, and has not happened since.

 

It could have been a once in a long shot memory error. The kind that you need ECC memory to avoid.

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH

 

Anyone looking for keyboard skin for clevo w230 , here is the link

http://www.abeststore.com/keyboard-covers.php/CLEVO+W230SS+keyboard-skin

* only for u.s model where the enter key is a straight flush rectangle, UK model keyboard enter key is like a long 7 pattern.

Sent from my iNO SCOUT 2 using Tapatalk

 

Can anyone with more experience tell me how long Prema usually takes to release the "new generation" of his BIOS? Didn't want to bother him specifically, I think you guys might have an idea. I am considering buying a W230SD (no more W230SS in my region) and the reseller here offers the service of sending the notebook with Prema BIOS already flashed, so I thought it would be prudent to wait and not risk losing warranty doing it myself.

Due to the GTX 9xxM locked BIOS I think it might take longer than usual, but I have no idea really.

Any info is appreciated.

 

Honestly I've really been enjoying this machine. Size is perfect, screen is great (I got one with zero backlight bleed!), battery life is consistent 4-5 hrs with SSD, everything is snappy and this is definitely the best keyboard for a machine with this class of GPU. I've had no problems with overheating, since I mostly just play BF3, Civ V, or TF2. My only annoyances are the totally ****ty trackpad and grease collecting nature of the screen and the back.

 

No worries, unlocked GTX960M 6 weeks ago:

http://forum.techinferno.com/clevo/8296-gtx-9xxm-overclocking-thread-11.html#post125592

As for the availability, Prema Mod Partner Shops receive the Mods ahead of the public...where do you intend to purchase from?

The trackpad is actually quiet good, it just needs time to "groove in". Had the same on W230ST & W230SS, the trackpads where useless on day one and perfect after a little while of actual use.
You could massage it gently in order to smoothen out the uneven pressure caused by the glue below.

 

The shop is called "Avell", they are listed under your partner shops, thanks for your attention.

 

can anyone suggest me some good place to buy the top cover online (any major country is ok)?

i have sheared-off one screw holding stud whilst installing a WWAN antenna.

also, can anyone guide me as to how to remove and re-fit the top cover? it is not explained in the service manual..... i am able to pull out half of it from the rear side, however get stuck on both sides at the areas around the HDMI and VGA ports. there seems to be some latch which i am unable to release.

i am also not sure as to how will i paste back the touchpad whilst replacing the top cover.

 

One common problem with this laptop is CPU heat. I've seen lots of complaints and concern about how hot this thing runs, and I have to agree. On fact, I had TurboBoost disabled for a long time, which kept my laptop chill under even the heaviest of loads. However, I've found a solution that has a small impact on performance for significantly cooler operation.

For the technically knowledgeable, I reduced the multiplier to 32/31/30/30 for TurboBoost using Prema BIOS. If you have no idea what that means, keep reading.

This CPU is listed as being a 2.4Ghz processor that has TurboBoost for up to 3.4Ghz. That means it'll try to stay under 2.4GHz, but if the system demands power, it'll go at up to 3.4GHz to meet the requirements. This essentially maxes out the CPU, causing the insane CPU temps we've all come to know on this laptop. Using the Prema BIOS mod (there's a lot of info on it around here), we can tell the CPU to essentially only go up to 3.2GHz, which actually has a quite nice effect on temperatures.

Once you've installed the Prema BIOS, boot into it using F2. Navigate to the "Advanced" tab at the top. In this tab, go down to "CPU configuration" and enter this menu. Scroll down until you see the 4 settings for "X-core Ratio Limit". A quick explanation of Turboboost, it'll set different clock speeds depending on how many CPU cores gotta go fast. If only 1 core demands power, it'll overclock just that core to up to 3.4GHz and leave the rest alone. It does this by setting the CPU ratio to up to 34 (this ratio is multiplied by 100mhz to get the final speed). If 2 CPUs need to go fast, it'll set the ratio for both to up to 33, or 3.3GHZ. If 3 or 4 cores need it, it'll set them to a ratio of up to 32 (or 3.2GHZ). The reason you see all 0's for these settings is that the 0 will just set it to the factory default (34/33/32/32). In our case, we want to change that default to lower ratio maximums so that the CPU won't get so fast (and thus so hot). I'm picking to lower the defaults by a factor of 2 (32/31/30/30). To do this, set the "1-Core Ratio Limit" to 32, set the "2-Core Ratio Limit" to 31, and set both the "3-Core Ratio Limit" and "4-Core Ratio Limit" to 30. This will give us the 32/31/30/30 boost clock we want. To get an even chillier system, you can try setting these ratios to 30/29/28/28, but I'm running really nicely at the 32/31/30/30. I'm running Xcode in a Mac OS X VM under Linux and I haven't seen it hit over 70 degrees C.

Let me know if you hit any issues with this. I'm very glad I did it.

 

@ SolarEklipze
Did you try undervolting your CPU before limiting its turbo boost? And/or changing thermal paste?

 

My webcam for some reason has stopped working. Rebooting doesn't help and I can't see any issues in the Device Manager. In fact I can't see my webcam in device manager at all, not sure if it has to be there though? What might be the issue? I am running W8.1

 

Have you tried pressing Fn+F10? The function key for the webcam?

 

Always try these first. I was able to go from 100C to 90-93C depending upon workload without limiting turbo boost. I can also limit frequency to get cooler temps, and frequently do, but the UV and replacing TIM don't negatively impact performance so I do that first.

 

No. I am using Arch Linux, which is not supported by Intel's XTU utility. I am actually really angry about that, as I'd really like to undervolt my CPU. I have no idea why they moved something like that off of the BIOS.

 

Fair enough. That is indeed annoying, if you work with Linux in your laptop you are pretty much out of luck, as from what I've seen there is no equivalent to the Intel XTU software in Linux for Haswell processors.

There is this https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PHC, but it doesn't look compatible with Haswell. If you ever find any solution to this let us know.

EDIT: I guess it would only be possible through a modified BIOS, but I'm not even sure it is possible to tweak voltage with Haswell through the BIOS. Perhaps @Prema could give some info?

 

Use a Windows Live USB to let XTU undevolt, then the values will be written into BIOS after the first full shutdown and will stick (until a BIOS reset), even if you never use Windows again.

 

You need Windows 8 Enterprise to run Windows live off a USB, don't you? Or is it possible to install the program into a Windows Installer USB and run it from that (by using the CMD)?

 

I have an image of Windows 8 laying around here somewhere, I backed it up before I wiped my triple boot. @Prema are you sure undervolt is written to the BIOS?

 

I found this: http://www.howtogeek.com/196817/how...-go-usb-drive-without-the-enterprise-edition/

If that's a little too involved, you can get a free trial of the Enterprise edition here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-8-1-enterprise

 

It is written to the bios, until you have instability or a crash. Then you have to start XTU again and apply settings again. I never run XTU unless I want to change something.

 

I use XTU to test settings and then I apply anything I want long term via the bios.

 

wow lol. It worked. I knew about this thing, but totally forgot it might have been the reason. I have probably pressed it by the accident before.

Thank you so much!

 

Guys how do you apply voltage in a W230SS Prema BIOS? I can't see any voltage settings for CPU...

 

W-series only has them via XTU...