**Official Sager NP5160 / Clevo W150HNQ Owners' Lounge**

if you didn't order anything special, i'd say expect in less than 2 weeks. i had shipping address problem with cc and changed order and i got mine in 13 days or about 9 business days still.

 

Well, after spending quite some time on my Sager I must say I am throughly pleased. My only semi-complaints are with the video card and speakers. My dinosaur of a video card on my desktop (8800GT) blows away the 540M. But, I guess you can't expect much in terms of video performance in a sub $1000 laptop. The speakers are better than most budget laptops I've used, but leave much to desire. I guess I'm mainly comparing this to my previous laptop, a top of the line Dell Inspiron 9300, which IMO had great speakers. I haven't heard these new "Beats audio" laptops everyone raves about but the 9300 definitely had the best laptop speakers I've heard.

With that being said, Is there any way to upgrade the video card down the road? Since its in a PCI-E slot, I don't see why you couldn't upgrade it? Even if its just a little step up. A more powerful card would probably draw more power but I'm sure theres a solution to that?

 

No there's no way to upgrade the video card, because it is soldered to the motherboard.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Ohhh, I thought it was more like a desktop where it just plugs into a PCI-E. Well that clears that up!

 

Anyone know if i can install a 2920XM in this machine? Since i need CPU power to run computer simulation, the GPU power is not needed.....

 

Hi, guys!

I'm seriously thinking of buying this computer. I just have one question, though.
There is the option to choose between processors, and I'm in doubt wether it would be advisable to order the 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-2520M, 2.5-3.2GHz, or the -2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2820QM, 2.3-3.4GHz for gaming purposes? Please reply, thanks! (;

BoobHuntress

EDIT: What does "matte type screen" mean? Is it worth buying?

 

I've heard that the i5 is better for gaming, but I think that was with the previous generation of processors and I'm not entirely sure whether it's true or not (someone more knowledgeable will probably correct me)

the matte type screen means that the screen is less reflective. With glossy screens you'll notice that the colors look more vibrant but the screen itself is very reflective, in certain lights it'll be almost like a mirror. Matte screens are less reflective and give you a more true to print color view if you work with graphic design. If it's in your budget I recommend the matte screen, but I think the 5160 comes with 1600x900 matte screen stock now right?

 

Ture, but I'd like the 1920x1080 res. (; Thanks!

 

Not sure what matte screen comes with the NP5160 but I would get the make/model and do a little research. I have the NP8170 with the AUO B173HW01 V5 matte screen and it's native display resolution is 1920x1080i. I must say that I am very pleased with it.

As for the i5, I don't think it was "better" for gaming but I do believe that the previous generation of games did not take advantage of the quad core of the i7. That is not necessarily the case anymore. I would definitely recommend the i7 if it is in the budget.

 

The matte screen does indeed come with the NP5160, it does cost 175$ extra. In 1920x1080p, that is. The i7 is indeed on the budget, so i think I'll stick with that.

 

The actual speakers, i don't really care about too much... though i must say the Harman Kardon ones i had on the Qosmio were awesome. The problem i am having is when plugging in earphones... it just doesnt sound as clean and crisp to me, not to mention the lack of volume, even when turned up high... anyone else feel this thing is too quiet for volume when plugged in?

oh and i am using monster turbine gold edition

 

The sound quality and volume on earphones is normal here... The same on external speakers.

Actually, I have to turn the volume to the lowest levels when using my earphones, but this is because my earphone has a high gain.
I would like some kind of sound devices manager that allow to automatically set volume profiles depending on what is connected to the sound output.

Doesn't your headphone sound low on other devices too?

 

Still trying to find time to right a review. I haven't even used it much since I got it.

Initial Impressions...

Positive

• Build quality is very solid. No flexing anywhere. Luv the look
• Chiclet Keyboard is great. Wasn't worried but I like it so much more than regular
• With my specs (see sig) it's pretty quick.

Negative:

• Touchpad is kinda small. Especially with fingerprint reader there.
• Need to open with two hands. This made me sad :-(

I've loaded up Portal 2 and Starcraft but have yet to run them. Sometime this weekend though.

Couple of pics for now
I got the custom skin from Xoticpc. It looks so good...not sure if the pic does it justice.

 

why did you skim on the ram?

well i guess 6gb is good enough for most of everything.

one thing about this laptop that is a quirk annoying enough to worth brief mentioning is that it can be hard to tell where the arrow keys are, especially in the dark and without practice. but as with other things done in the dark, and in light, takes practice.

 

Nice! The keyboard also surprised me
I dont think the touchpad is too small (it is considerably greater than my Dell's), but I haven't liked the buttons on it, they feel loose and the fingerprint reader in the middle just hinders the use...

 

I don't think 6GB is skimming on the ram. My old laptop has 2GB running Win7 and it usually only uses about 60-80% max of the 2gb when i'm surfing the web and watching videos.

It would be nice if the keyboard could light up

Well the trackpad itself isn't small. But the left and right buttons kinda get on my nerves. They are nowhere near as good as my old laptop. It's as though you have to click them a certain way.

 

Bah, 5165 is out on XoticPC now. I just got the 5160 shipped to my house today.

 

I'm pretty sure they do returns...

 

Shipping back, paying the price difference from 5160 and 5165 and shipping to my house again would be an additional ~$115. I don't know if the GPU upgrade would be worth it. Decisions, decisions.

 

it'd be worth it if you want future proofing for games.

 

Ehh this isn't my main machine for gaming. Really for light gaming. I have a real machine for that. My desktop. And I dont see games requiring that much ram in the near future. In a laptop its usually more important to get a machine with a good CPU and GPU. HDD/SSD and Ram can be upgraded

 

yea i was talking to that other guy about the 5165 upgrade.

 

ah my bad...
Well I agree then.

It's $115 and another "X" amount of weeks waiting

 

No they sound awesome with my phone, or with desktop even... just not with this... i have tried a couple of other earphones too and they all sound kind of low than what i am used to with previous laptops

 

6gb is skimping on the ram? I got 4gb coming from 8gb HP and 16gb desktop/server. What are you guys running thats using so much darn ram? Besides ram is really cheap If I would have known you could order without ram I would have bought the 2x4gb dimms on newegg myself.

 

problem is 6 gb is 1 stick of 4 and 1 of 2. i'd think that identical twins play nicer together.

 

They play together with 2 GB on each slot. The remaining 2 GB on the greater is left on single channel, but it would be used just when really needed.

So, simply, 6 GB is better than 4 GB.

 

well that much goes without saying, but the marginal upgrade from 6 to 8 is greater than simply adding another 2gb stick. even if it's just for prettiness of round numbers.

and yes, 8 is a round number, 6 is not. i don't care.

 

I feel the same way. I don't think I'd ever quite feel right with 6... That said, it is essentially all in my head.

 

I don't see a big deal. And probably won't make much difference for most people, beside prettiness.

 

Just a FYI on memory configurations.

http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/datasheet/324692.pdf

Look at section 2.0 starting on page 23. You will see these guys (Intel’s 2nd Gen I cores) have greatly improved memory controllers built in. The days of matching size and type of memory are over. The thing to notice is the memory will run in symmetric mode up to the memory boundary of the smallest sodim, than run in asymmetric the rest of the way.

 

How hard would it be to switch out the thermal compound? I have a few tubes of AS5 laying around and was considering applying it when I go to install a SSD. Its super easy on Desktops but I haven't opened up this laptop to see what it looks like on the inside.

 

For you guys getting low volume on the speakers, turn on smart sound in your THX TruStudio Pro settings.

It will be very easy, probably will take you 2 minutes.

 

Hey guys I spent hours and read through this entire thread. I still have a few questions.

1.) For me matte is a must but I don't have in the budget to spend $175 to upgrade to the 1080p. Why does it seem so few here just go with the 1600x900? This is a good resolution for this screen size.

2.) anandtech.com reviewed the new XPS 15 with a i7-2630QM and GT 540M 2GB and reported 85-91C after several hours of constant 100% load, while the GPU hit a maximum of 80C. This is also what users are experiencing with the NP5160. I enjoy couch surfing with the laptop on my lap so I'd only be using the HD 3000 IGP in that setting. Should I keep the i5-2410M since it is rated 10W TDP less? Or is the temp increase so insignificant over the performance gains of the i7?

 

1) That option is quite new, I guess. That's why you see so few people woth it. Besides of course that most people prefer 1080p...1

2) I haven't seen any quantitative comparations between the two processors on the NP5160 so I really can't say. The i5 does have a better TDP, but Sandy Bridge is supposed to be "super efficient" and I don't know if that difference come along on lighter tasks...

 

Hi guys !

First, sorry for my bad english, I'm still learning

Like Domo, I'm reading this thread for 4 hours now (midnight) because I already purchase a clevo W150NHM and I just find this website. I purchased it with a 76,96Wh spare battery, an additional odd for hdd, i5 2520, 4 GB, 1080p matte, 500 GB 5400rot/s for 1200€ (1600$)

The user with usage of his notebook the most close of mine is ursoouindio and I'm glad he is satisfied with his beast
I'm a ubuntu user since 2007 (I dropped windows at the same time so I never approached windows vista nor windows 7, just saw screeshots) and because I can cancel my order, I just want to ask to you ursoouindio, if you feel agree to share it, what is your experience under natty (I've already read your thread about "ubuntu and optimus"):
- usability with unity (smoothness, responsiveness)
- same with gnome 2.32, don't even know if it's always compiz or something else,
- do you have nvidia GPU disabled and if yes, how many battery-appindicator gives you when idle and battery full
- if the system can, how is the cpu charge in system monitor when playing a 1080p youtube video like this one
- what glitch/bug/real instability you have encountered.

It's great that we are not concerned (I hope) with the heating problem because ubuntu (with fancontrol) have low temps threshold. My actual Dell and his Pentium 4 "flame-thrower" HT 3,2GHZ (see sig) never go over 72°C on ubuntu and I remember having seen 85°C on windows XP.

@domo if you can choose the Core i5 2520, it is better because you will have higher integrated graphic card frequencies (look here: Sandy Bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) for the same TDP. I think IMHO an i7 is a lot of "sleeping potential power". An i5 2520 is the good compromise. The difference between high i5 and low i7 is not so big... And when I think a lot about it, the rare time I have to do something that will last 25 seconds or even one hour with an i7, it is not a big deal to have it last 35 seconds or even an hour and a half. But every one has his own usage of a processor... So think about it


____________________________________________
Dell Inspiron 9100 (2004) / P4 3,2GHz / Radeon 9600 / 1GB / 80GB / 1680x1050 matte

 

Hi Pavel! You got quite a deal there, I wish I had the chance to ask for a matte screen. There wasn't such option for me.
Yep, I'm quite satisfied with the clevo. Its performance is great! The screen quality (besides being glossy) and the keyboard are a delight.

And I think you are right, You won't have any temperatures problems on Ubuntu. Sadly Optimus is still unsupported and you can't really use the nVidia GPU, but it is easy to turn it off and use Intel integrated graphics, as it was described on that other thread by the friend lllars.

But, I use Windows too, in dual boot, and I found out that by turning it off it also compromises the Windows access to it. I wasn't comfortable with it so now I leave it on all the time.

Now according to Natty:
At the end I found Unity nice, it does run smoothly once you got the Intel driver to run, but I turned back to "Ubuntu Classic" mode, with the older Gnome 2.30 panel. Unity is still quite limited concerning customization and I don't felt comfortable using it. Compiz works fine too.

But, after having the correct drivers to work, it still has some strange things, like on terminals or other text input areas... sometimes text simply becomes "invisible" or overlaid when text rolls... odd!
But I think it is only with me as I don't see anybody else complaining about it.

About the battery life, I think I can't help you much, as I don't have the GPU disabled right now and I haven't use it on battery while using Linux. On Windows I can have 3 hours, and I have the 62.12 Wh battery.
About the video, I'm not on Linux right now, but I think it would play it, as Intel Graphics is quite reasonable. I just tried here on Windows, using integrated graphics, and it run with ease. I may test it for you on Linux some other time.

About the overall experience, I think that, right now, Linux simply isn't able to run such new hardware as this laptop. It doesn't have a good support for Sandy Bridge and neither for Optimus GPU. But I see that there are some work going on this and probably soon it will be running flawlessly (as it would on older hardware) and those workarounds we need to do wouldn't be needed anymore.

So, concluding, I recommend this Clevo for you, if you don't mind not being able to use the nVidia GPU for some undetermined time (there already is some open source driver being developed, as I read, but it is far from being stable). It is a great machine, with a great value. Other compatibility issues would be inherent of any laptop with Sandy Bridge and newer hardware.

Good luck!

 

I can't wait for mine to come in, ordered mine stock from xotic, except got a 500 GB hard drive instead of the 320, but I was wondering to anyone who got an i5 setup, with the stock screen, how does it run? I am coming from a 4yr old VAIO, which runs fairly hot, even after undervoltng and cleaning out the fan so I am used to a warmer laptop. Also, I have read some people post that the touchpad has some multi-touch features has anyone have any experience with them, and how well do they work. Thanks in advance.

 

Thank you very much ursoouindio for your feedback, it's pretty much what i was thinking (keep me updated when you test more). We don't have to soften words: linux is unusable at the time. But like you've said, I haven't any use of the dGPU under linux (no gaming). Furthermore, I planning to give up ubuntu for debian testing (it's another debate but it's because of cannonical's state of mind): I saw that Intel HD Graphics support have been deeply enhanced and will land in MESA 7.11 which is already in debian sid (experimental) and will be pushed soon to debian wheezy (testing). Linux support progress each day, magic of Open source

 

In case anyone still cares, I recently bought this caddy on Amazon: Amazon.com: 12.7mm Universal SATA TO SATA 2ND Hard Drive Caddy for HP 2230s 8730w NC6000 NC8000 NW8000 NX5000: Electronics for just $17 and it fits perfectly and is working great.

 

Not to question you guys on your purchase, but what is the reason for choosing an i5 when the marginal performance upgrade and future proofing offered by a quad core is so tremendous? i figure, if you want a laptop with an i5, there are much lighter machines out there, and the sandy bridge quad core at this price point is pretty much this machine's biggest selling point.

 

@awayish
I'm considering the i5 because it's 10w less and I'm worried already concerning the heat given off by these sandy processors. I like to surf the web with my laptop on my lap therefore heat is very important to me.

But it sounds that the i7 doesn't give off much more heat compared to the i5 and like you mentioned the i7 future proofs. Maybe I'll hope for cooler ivy bridge processors.

 

just set the max processor rate at less than 100, and it won't give off that much heat. idles at 45C most of the time when surfing web for me.

 

Pavel, I just tested that 1080p video using Linux and it played nicely

And that's about it. Linux developers are still working to catch up to the newest hardware, but it's just a matter of time...

I am not the kind of Linux user that goes breaking through more advanced distros like Debian, I'm a more superficial user but still I enjoy it. Even with those compatibility problems, Ubuntu feels faster and smoother than Windows

 

@awayish
for me, if I wanted a future proof laptop, I would have gone for the 8150, but the 5160 is already a marked improvement to the Vaio I had. It has a 8400 gt and a 2.0 GHz core 2 duo, and I have been using it to play Metro 2033 and Crysis, just to play them, even if they can't do it well. I see this laptop as an upgrade from that Vaio, which even with the i5, is a huge performance boost. and if push comes to shove and I need to upgrade the processor, then I can always do that. but for me this is a budget upgrade that I hope will last me through college with some moderate gaming.

 

Any comments on the stock matte 1600x900 screen?

 

can anyone tell me if the GPU button turns off the discrete GPU by hardware or software?

to test this, press the gpu button before windows loads and tell me if you draw less power or the status led changes.

Thank you

 

It is software, it does nothing when on Linux.

 

thank you VERY VERY much! been itching to know. will defiantly take the fact that there is no way to disable gpu (through bios or button) into consideration when deciding on this laptop and other sager optimus laptops.

 

Yaaay 1000th post!

Anyways, now that the 5160's are no longer offered through the resellers (at least the ones I checked) there should still be support for the products, right?

Mr. Mysterious