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

I see the SIM card slot but they don't highlight it in the manual pictures. Hmmm

 

THANKS! That was extremely helpful. Hm... Wonder if all there is to it is to buy a 3G-module and run an antenna to the monitor.
There seems to be a spot for an mSATA or mPCIE-card exactly behind the SIM-slot... Is this manual for the W230SS or the W230ST?
Guessing the W230ST since the layout (at least from the picture I posted which is from Notebookcheck) looks different.

It might also be that the sim-card can be injected anywhere and the sim-slot simply talks to any port (I'm guessing it has to be mPCIE though) that houses the 3G-module.

Think its the one above (marked in red).
I was not thinking clearly on my post above, there are no mSATA or mPCIE slot adjacent to the SIM-slot.
Hmm...

Edit:
SORRY, lots of edits.
There is an mPCIE-slot directly above/below the SIM-slot or at least that is how I interpret it.
Updated the picture with both "front" and "back",
The numbers DO seem to add up with the titles regardless of what I said before.

 

Good find. Nice to see pics of both front and back

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Clevo is the exception when it comes to BIOS public availability.

You can check the http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/416916-clevo-bios-thread.html for a bit more details, and instructions on how to get your BIOS from Prema (yup, he's everywhere ! ) and install it.

Here's the page with the BIOSes from Prema's site, if that's the only thing you need (and also because the first post of that thread hasn't been updated with the W230SS yet):

https://biosmods.wordpress.com/stock/

 

New forum member and future owner of the NP7338 (the waiting is the hardest part!). I wanted to offer my thanks to all of you guys who've posted your impressions, benchmarks and experiences with this fine machine! You guys really helped me make a decision (finally) but more importantly you helped me make it with confidence

Has anyone undervolted/underclocked the 4810MQ yet? That $30 upgrade was too good to pass up on!

 

It's the same silicon as the older chops so it will do similar clocks to volts on average.

 

Be aware that the stock BIOS from Prema may have a different startup logo.

My Sager is now a Onenote. Not really a huge deal for me but if I ever need to make use of the warranty they will definitely know I monkeyed with it!

Sent with love from my Galaxy S4

 

You should always take a backup of your original bios.

 

You would think a guy that has been messing around with computers for 24 years would know better, eh?

Sent with love from my Galaxy S4

 

Does anyone have any early success with coolers for this? I mean, any models that made any significant impact (not trying to turn on a debate over whether coolers make a difference!)

 

Thanks, I have this page bookmarked and it seems the W230SS PREMA BIOS will be released on May the 1st and I will hopefully order mine when I get my pay on the 25th of April.

Thanks, as Meaker said I'll be sure to make a backup of the original BIOS.

---

In regards to the "3G-module" question, MYSN told me that it is the same computer with or without a 3G-module.The reason they didn't offer a 3G-module as a configuration option was that it was in really low demand and they didn't want to carry it in stock because of that.
Waiting reply from Clevo and "PC-Specialist.uk" but as I interpret it its just a matter of adding antennas, will be waiting for the replies from the others though.

Looking at the Huawei ME909u-521 Mini-PCIe as an option but its full-size mPCIE and as I understand it the W230SS only have 1x half-size mPCIE and 2x mSATA. I do really want to have a WiFi + Bluetooth card as well so that only leaves 2x mSATA (well actually I want to use an mSATA SSD so that only leaves 1x mSATA).

Hm, that and the antenna question is the question is the question (to paraphrase Hamlet)

 

I have the spare antenna in mine for 3g and is there. I thought the msata slot could be used for an msata 3g module

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I just looked. Mine has all three antenna's behind the screen also. The only three they show on the parts diagram are the two for the wifi and the bigger one for the 3g module and all of them are hiding behind my screen.

 

You should be golden then. The 1/2 sized wifi card up front with your choice of mSATA SSD's and the full sized 3g module in the back...which is the one that it claims is to be used with the 3g module anyway. It seems that all the hardware is in place but I don't know if anything else would keep it from all working as it should.

 

I am still trying to sell my MacBook online. I am having a hard time getting anything over a grand.

 

You were kind enough to point out that in the manual (see link below) on p. 46 of 102 you see a schematic of the layout with number 9 being the optional (stated "OPTION" in the manual) Huawei EM820W Full Mini-Card which I take it being an Full-Size mPCIE card. So that slot (the "third" slot) is an mSATA / mPCIE combo slot which the 3G-module should sit in (as I interpt it).

Link for manual

On p. 14 of 102 in the manual you can see the following:
Slot 1 for WLAN Module or WLAN and Bluetooth Combo Module
Slot 2 for mSATA SSD
(Factory Option) Slot 3 for 3G Module or mSATA SSD

Once again, that seems to indicate (together with preinstalled antennas that are routed to that place) that the slot is indeed an mSATA / mPCIE combo-slot.

On p. 47 of 102 point 13 (which is mentioned two different times, one time with "OPTION" and wone time without) you can see Antenna 3G+LTE WGT LTE-1 PCB 0.7G/0.8G/0.9G/1.8G/1.9G/2.1G/2.6GHz and the antenna being "OPTION" is Antenna 3G+LTE WGT LTE-2 PCB 2.1G/2.6GHz. As I understand it as well as those findings that people have posted indicates that BOTH antennas are indeed present even though no special configuration in regards for 3G/4G (or "LTE") has been added by those users.

The antenna seems to support 4G/LTE as well which was a concern since the card which Clevo has as an option don't support it.

Huawei ME909u-521 Mini-PCIe seems to be 51mm x 30.4mm and 3.4mm in thickness while Huawei EM820W seems to be 51mm x 30.0 mm and 4.4mm in thickness. That difference shouldn't mean anything right?

I want to thank everybody who has answered and checked using their own computers, by all means keep ideas and replies coming but I think that nothing points to the fact that a 3G-module can't be installed in that particular slot as well as the antennas being installed from the start makes it just to buy a module (in my case the ME909u-521) and try it.

I'll try to order the module as soon as I can and then report back and if PREMA still needs help I'll be sure to be there and assist in any way possible.

 

If you run into a full sized LTE/4g card that claims compatibility with the Verizon network, post the link. I would be willing to try it out. I'm hopping that antenna would work with the frequencies needed for Verizon's network. If anyone knows otherwise speak with up...cause honestly, I don't have a clue.

 

There is the Gobi4000 that some people were talking about trying but I don't think anybody did. They're made for Lenovo use but supposedly work in select models. Tried to see if we could bring them in for testing but couldn't get it approved.

 

Found the Huawei ME909u-521 for €154 incl. shipping but thats quite expensive so I'll check around a bit more.
I am like you unsure which frequencies this card supports and what I need to have in order to have it to work here (in Sweden).
If you can get back to me which frequencies Verizon uses I'll be more then happy to keep an eye out.

On that homepage above I downloaded Huawei's hardware guide and the naming scheme seems to be that 521 is the european version and 121 is the north-american version. So that card won't work in the US AFAIK. Will search some more (for different adapters and cheaper prices).

 

Derek, thanks for the link. If I understand it, the Gobi card supposedly works on several of the frequency bands adopted by different carriers? I'm on my cell so I will do more research once I'm home.

Swede, I will track down the US Verizon frequency bands tonight and report them. I will be willing to roll the dice to see if we can make this work. If not, hopefully I could sell the experimental card to someone with a proven combination.

 

Sorry double post!

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The one thing the Targus chill mat is missing is a pass through USB port. I think any device like this if it uses a USB port, should add a USB port so you don't lose that.

 

Will be grateful for advice about stores where I could find a 4G (LTE) module (mPCIe) and also tips about different adapters (brand and model). Pref. ones working in Europe but all help is welcome.

So far my searches have only found the one I posted from the beginning - Huawei ME909u-521.
I work at a computer retail store and I'll see if I can order it from our suppliers (if any of them have it) and hopefully it will be cheaper then the earlier €154. I'll check it out tomorrow.

 

The Huawei card looks to have 3 antenna ports on the card. Looking at the specs it looks to also have GPS embedded with the card and was saying one of the ports was to be hooked to the GPS antenna. My W230SS only has one lead coming from the antenna behind the screen that's not being used. But in the 'removing the 3g card' page in the manual for the W230SS clearly shows the card having TWO wires hooked to it. Yet in the breakdown schematics the antenna shows again only one lead.

Also, on the Gobi4000 card. It also has 3 antenna ports withone being for the GPS. I looked up some of the Leveno's laptops that the card claimed to be compatible with and in their service manual it clearly shows the Leveno having 3 antenna leads for the 3g/4g LTE card and another two for the WiFi card. Two being for the broadband antennas and one for another GPS antenna.

I'm not sure if you can get away with just having to figure out which lug you need to plug your lone antenna wire to the card or if the card is just inoperable unless 2/3 wires are hooked up. The most confusing thing is that the W230SS service manual it shows the antenna with one lead in the screen tear down page but two hooking to the card in the picture on another page. I looked in mine and it indeed only has one loose antenna wire taped out of the way. I tried to find another wire hiding somewhere but I could find anything.

 

Very true, HT I don't need many ports so it was a non issue for me. But that's definitely one thing missing that most coolers seem to have. It also is setup to plug in on the left side only, but you can turn it upside down with an issue and the laptop feet are still held on the mat without a problem. There is also no bottom intake for air, it only pulls from the sides so you will recirc some of the hot fan exhaust. This happens with the notebook on the desk too so its not a hug deal. For lap use though its much better than blocking the fan with your leg

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I found that in the manual for the card. Now I don't know as you said if both "MAIN" & "AUX" have to be connected or if "AUX" is simply a fallback antenna, used for perhaps GPRS or 3G while "MAIN" is used solely for 4G.

Once again I am in your debt for checking. Was the antenna connector always there (near the mSATA/mPCIe slot) or did you have to dissemble the monitor and pull out the connector?

I'll email the store and check, the antenna which is available should be the "Antenna 3G+LTE WGT LTE-1 PCB 0.7G/0.8G/0.9G/1.8G/1.9G/2.1G/2.6GHz" and the antenna being "OPTION" is "Antenna 3G+LTE WGT LTE-2 PCB 2.1G/2.6GHz".

So if that is true then the antenna which "all" W230SS have is a one with a greater span in frequency and the "OPTION"(al) might be to boost 4G reception and/or make higher transfers in terms of speed viable?

Disclaimer: My spelling might be a bit awful due to the fact that its late and I am enjoying myself with a beer or two.

 

Here are a couple pictures I took of what parts are laying around inside the little laptop.


This is the one lead that is just taped down next the rear mSATA/PCIe slot.


And here is the unused antenna behind the screen bezel.

Swede, no need to feel in dept, you're the one that got me curious about this myself. If we can make this work it could benefit many people. Especial since we are in different locale with incompatible mobile networks. We could help out for the European and North America W230SS owners that might want to take advantage of this little bonus. Just have another beer for me and we call it even!! :thumbsup:

 

I just had a stroke of brilliance or a stroke of madness.
Have you actually checked out the backside of that cable? I.e. how many golden connectors are there?
It might be ONE cable but that cable might have TWO connectors or be in a "shrinkcable"?

You are indeed very correct. This is what I love about the internet and what it should be, people helping people all over the world Can't wait until I get my salary and can buy both the computer and the 4G module and then get hands deep into this baby and start to thinker and try things out with you.

 

I looked yesterday when I had the back cover off. There is indeed only one gold connector underneath the little black insulator cover. So it is in fact a single wire. I wonder where the second wire in the Clevo repair manual is coming from.

Very true! It's always fun reaching out to all corners of the planet and talking with new people...and when they don't speak English, Google translate helps me limp along in the conversation.

 

I'm wondering if that second antenna connector your looking for is just a splitter to the same antenna. It looks like the antenna included is a broad spectrum that should work for all freqs (I'm guessing here). I wonder if there is a splitter you could get and connect to the main and aux in the modem. I took a look at the socket diagrams for the msata ports trying to figure out if clevo made some adjustment in the reserve pins that would allow use of a mpcie modem card in the msata slot. Here's a couple of screenshots side by side. There's definitely a difference, but I don't know if all cards would work or if they just modified it to work with one specific 3g card. Any circuit diagram experts out there? Here's a couple of screen shots showing them zoomed in side by side.

 

I took a look at the pin diagram and the antenna for the 3G module you guys mentioned that was in the w230ss manual. It looks like Main is for the Antenna and Aux is for GPS. Why the manual shows the second antenna attached I don't know. GPS was never an option. Also I looked a the pin schematic for the Huawei 3G EM820W and the Huawei 4G ME909u (which as a us and euro version) and they match up the same from what I can see so they should both work in the slot. The question remains the antenna. From the me909u manual it talks about The primary and diversity antenna on page 30 and their spacing. I looked up diversity antenna on Wikipedia and this is what it said.

"Antenna diversity, also known as space diversity, is any one of several wireless diversity schemes that uses two or more antennas to improve the quality and reliability of a wireless link. Often, especially in urban and indoor environments, there is no clear line-of-sight (LOS) between transmitter and receiver. Instead the signal is reflected along multiple paths before finally being received. Each of these bounces can introduce phase shifts, time delays, attenuations, and distortions that can destructively interfere with one another at the aperture of the receiving antenna.

Antenna diversity is especially effective at mitigating these multipath situations. This is because multiple antennas offer a receiver several observations of the same signal. Each antenna will experience a different interference environment. Thus, if one antenna is experiencing a deep fade, it is likely that another has a sufficient signal. Collectively such a system can provide a robust link. While this is primarily seen in receiving systems (diversity reception), the analog has also proven valuable for transmitting systems (transmit diversity) as well.

Inherently an antenna diversity scheme requires additional hardware and integration versus a single antenna system but due to the commonality of the signal paths a fair amount of circuitry can be shared. Also with the multiple signals there is a greater processing demand placed on the receiver, which can lead to tighter design requirements. Typically, however, signal reliability is paramount and using multiple antennas is an effective way to decrease the number of drop-outs and lost connections."

From what I gather from that you need two antennas to get 4G to work. Or at least work well. You might be able to get away with the one outdoors, but probably not indoors. What do you think?

 

Are you sure that port is definitely an msata and pci-e hybrid? It needs specific circuitry on the board to do that.

 

No idea, I'm not an expert on this. All the talk about the wireless card just got me curious. I use my phone for 4G on my laptop The service manual references the pcie 3g modem and the pin diagrams seem to confirm that they modified the one msata slot to accept it. I didn't think specific circuitry would be needed. From wool gathering on the internet it looked like the primary difference between a msata and mpcie slot was that the location of power and possibly some Tx and Rx lanes are swapped around. The repair manual definitely references 3G for the one msata slot. I wonder if a pcie ssd would work too. There's nothing like being up all night and bored

 

It needs a pci-e lane routed to it for a start. The south bridge is not going to accept a pci-e signal down a SATA bus lol.

It's exactly like plugging in a sound card into a SATA slot on a desktop board.

So yes it does need a chip that has inputs for both SATA and pci-e which can

 

Since HT is too modest to post it here -- his review of the w230ss is up http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...ger-np7338-clevo-w230ss-review-htwingnut.html

 

That's ok it's active and in this section lol.

 

I've already decided I want this laptop, so this is the only thread on the website that I actively read (besides prema's bios mod thread). I imagine I'm not alone . I just happened to see it in his signature.

 

Not going to quote users posts here but summarize what I want to reply to them due to space.
Sorry in advance for any spelling mistakes and/or fuzzy sentences, been up for 24h+ haha and could not resist checking this thread.
Really excited about this and that people are coming together trying to figure this out and coming with helpful advice.

@LostCoast707:
Damn, too bad there was only one connector on that cable. As per your pics at the top of the monitor there does not seem to be space for any other antenna so I am wondering where the fabled "OPTION"(al) antenna would go? Why would they "skimp out" on that antenna when they have the other one and do not seem to limit the computer in other ways for an 3G/4G module? The mSATA slot seems to be an mSATA / mPCIe hybrid, in part due to the manual (p. 39) where they locate the Huawei 802-card (which is an mPCIe card) in that slot as well as in your picture where you can see "mSATA" AND "3G" labled on the PCB near that slot.

Also found this:

That slot is called "Mini PCIE Socket 3G MSATA2 Card" and the other MSATA-port is called "MSATA1". This seems to prove that the slot is indeed an MSATA / mPCIe hybrid.

@Lzealot:
Interesting find! If I understand you correctly I do believe that it is another antenna that is lacking and not just a splitter but then again that seems strange, as per my reply to LostCoast707 why wouldn't they include it as well? As per the circuit diagrams its quite over my head or at least without sleep but as I understand it you compared the different mSATA slots against each other and found a difference? Thats great and seem to prove our hypothesis ("hybrid").

Thanks again for comparing the different modules and nice that they seem to match in terms of pins.
As per the antennas that seems to be a good bet. So basically the "AUX" is a "fallback" to even out the signal strength when the one antenna suffers from interference? Seems a logical solution but then again WHY CLEVO WHY did you not include both? I mean COME ON. Haha.

@Meaker:
Hm. In regards to "The south bridge is not going to accept a pci-e signal down a SATA bus lol." it does actually seem to be on the SATA bus (as I interpret the picture above). See my reply for LostCoast707 also. Do you still think it won't work? I'm certainly no expert but there seems to be quite a lot of information pointing to that it might work. I'm not saying it will but the clues are there.

---

Have not received replies yet from Clevo or PC-Specialist.co.uk (and not the store I was going to buy the 4G-module from either).
Hopefully after the weekend and easter I'll update this thread with answers. Sadly I checked at my work today and we don't have the 4G-module at any of our suppliers and therefore I can't order it via my work (and get it for the price we buy it from them for). I'll have to man up and buy it for €154 if not overwhelming evidence seems to say that it won't work. I'll happily buy that extra "OPTION"(al) antenna from Clevo as well if there is any space to mount it on, on top of the LCD. Wondering if the antenna at the top of the LCD simply is lacking an additional wire? I.e. the antenna itself has two connectors but only one wire leading down from one connector to the 3G/4G-module. Once again that seems strange that they then "skimped" on ONE SINGLE WIRE.

As always I am very happy for peoples opinions and help and I am watching this thread with great interest.

Come on guys, we can do it

 

Samsung 840 Evo 250GB Benchmarks

Take a look at the controller temp (this is after the laptop has been on for ~30 minutes. First picture is before the benchmark, 2nd picture is immediately after it completed. It did not hit 70*C but I am unsure if it throttled to keep the temps lower than that. Some moron at Samsung thought it would be a good idea to cover the dram and controller with a sticker so that probably contributes to the high temps. I really wish I could put a small heatsink on the card but it would 100% void the warranty (which is idiotic IMO). The drive idles at 53-55*C, and during heavy 4k writing temps hit a max of 68*C.

Regardless, as you can see the drive is SCREAMING fast. This is with RAPID and Over-provisioned by ~50GB (Overkill, I am going to scale that way back and I will let you know if it degrades the overall speed any). It consistently hits 850+ MB/s read speeds, and upwards of 950MB/s write speeds! Sequential is lightning fast also with the read speeds usually testing a little bit low but still impressive. I will likely keep it because it seems that most mSATA drives run hot anyways, and this is definitely the fastest mSATA drive available (puts to shame the Plextor m6m and Crucial M550).


BEFORE:


AFTER:

 

@investinwaffles
Thanks for that, that's exactly the drive I was looking to install and you eased my mind about the mSATA temps. It does seem rather idiotic to put a sticker across the chips, unless it's some kind of thermally conducive type of tape (doubtful).

 

On memory chips i general there not really heat sinks to cool them but heat spreader to even the temps. There is not much active air flow in this case that would help in either case. A cooler underneath would help your msata drive temps more if you worry. With those drive speed it doesn't look like its throttling to me

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Hey guys! I just placed my order. I am really excited. I hope to receive it by the end of the month

 

@Lzealot
I don't know much about the heat generated by the actual memory chips, but the earlier post in this thread about an mSATA peaking at 80-90 degrees scared me, especially since the airflow is at a premium. I was entertaining drilling some breathing holes above the mSATA and putting a fan on it lol

@Desi Munda
Grats

 

80-90C for an mSATA? Hottest I've ever seen is 50C but typically it's well below that. That could easily be a mis reading unless you basically burn your finger, but that wouldn't be due to surrounding air because it would have to be at least that temp to heat up the mSATA to that. Likely a faulty mSATA.

 

I cant fault clevo for not including it. There doesnt seem to be much room to modify it for an admittedly low demand item. Putting in the 90 degree antenna on the left or right of the screen would probably complicate offering the 3 different types of screen. Most laptop modems are usb these days or through a cell phone. I am just curious at the slot now. If they modified it you work with the 3g pcie modem in the manual. They must have added a pcie lane on the board to accommodate it like meaker said they would have to.
So all we know is a 3g modem will work a 4g modem might work but would suffer from poor reception indoors do to the lack of a divesity aux antenna. One might be added on the left or right of the screen bezel 90 degrees from the main, but you'd have to modify things slightly to run it.
The third question is whether a ssd mpcie would work in the 3g/msata slot.

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I thought the hottest temp was 68C on a msata from earlier. Not 90C. If you were getting those temps something had to be wrong. Normal temp operating range for msata is 0 to 70c. Never exceed is 100C. I would expect the drive to actively throttle to keep temps below 70C. I dont remember any temps reported in this thread was higher than 70C. Im going to have to reread to confirm. My memory is poor!

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I double checked, your right and my memory is befuddled. I think it was a forum conversation on another tech site talking about an 85 degree Intel baking in a laptop. I just want my baby to be perfect. Whenever the stork (UPS) gets around to delivering it lol

 

After using the 840 EVO the whole day, I am extremely satisfied with the performance. Pre-windows performance is only "ok" (UEFI cold boot to desktop in ~10secs is more than fast enough for me), but inside of Windows RAPID really shines. It seems the only thing holding this beast up are programming inefficiencies, but Windows is just so fast now.

Windows updates installed anti-gravity fast, copy speeds are upwards of 500mb/s, and most applications open literally instantly. I do notice that Internet Explorer on Windows 8 is actually the best web browser IMO. Extremely fast, I just am not a fan of its UI but Chrome HiDPI support is horrible and Firefox opens slowly for no apparent reason.
My Linux VM's start up almost instantly, and I installed Puppy Linux in about 1 second. Awesome for keeping a few dev environments and storing snapshots on the mechanical hdd to maximize space (16gb of RAM will be amazing -- probably next month). Wondering if moving the pagefile to the HDD would be worthwhile as well....

I kind of want to get another one to put into RAID-0 now, though it would probably be overkill
But I will likely pick up a ~1tb SSD because having a mechanical HDD really sucks in a laptop. With just an SSD, I am used to leaving my laptop powered on when I move it from room to room, but this Hitachi 1TB drive sounds scary if you move it off axis too much. Audible platter noise which is bad juju...

Furthermore, the fan is super annoying. It will throttle all the way up and then just turn off until it heats back up again. Basically just keeps cycling through the different levels back and forth.
Is there any hope for a fully controllable fan profile with Prema's BIOS, or is that something that is somehow un-modifiable?? I would love to enter my own threshold values, and my Thinkpads all have a windows application that I can do that through. I could try to write a similar one if someone can point me to whatever file I need to modify to access that table (if its even possible).

Gaming results tomorrow, but I will mostly be using this for general Sysadmin duties and I only play racing games

 

Here is the 1x8GB DDR3 dimm that Xotic PC is offering in their config (maybe all configs from Sager which I think I received my laptop from direct).

Kingston 1x8GB DDR3L - 1.35v - CAS11 (Model KVR16LS11/8)



Runs pretty cool and has the benefit of being low voltage, but aside from that its nothing spectacular. Latency is kind of high so IDK if I will keep it long term, but I wonder who crayoned this onto my sodimm

 

Totally understood! I feel the same way when ever I order a new machine. Especially since there is no hands on with these before you buy I hope your new machine is everything you wish!