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

I can wait till first week of may, any hopes for a refresh for np5160 or price fall in 8130???

 

I got mine 30 min back, except plastic feel the system looks great
Fan is quite, so far no heating. I love stock MS Win 7

Except the stock BD player application show gray screen while playing BD movie
DVD movies plays good. Its comes with PowerDVD version 8
Do I need to upgrade anything to play BD?
I upgrade the optical to BD reader

 

At first I was kind of scared on those temperatures, but then I saw some temperatures of the new Sandy Bridge Dell XPS15 ( here and here) and it seems about the same lap burning thing...

Is it really normal, for a notebook to get nearly 100 °C?
I haven't used any newer notebooks, mine's a core 2 duo that gets 70 °C tops. And I already find it uncomfortably hot.

 

The other unexpected thing is
Hdd by seagate
Ram by samgsung
optical by lg

 

One another thing

Although the speaker is under the laptop, the quality
Of the sound is better.
2.0 web cam is better too

 

No it should NOT be normal to get 100 C temps. This is troubling actually because this is what totally destroys computer components. Of course, if you are running a 2720 processor I highly doubt you will be pegging it to 100% often... maybe a few spikes here or there, but I doubt most people will be pegging it, that should keep the temps below 85C (or so I'm hoping). When I get mine, I'll do some temp tests under real world scenarios (since we already have a few Prime/Furmark temps) including: having the full adobe suite opened, working on a large file in photoshop while moving back and forth between photoshop and indesign while having a bunch of internet tabs with some flash, and wmplayer playing music. I will also do a temp test while playing simpler games like WoW.

 

So, I'm new to join the forum--but have been lurking for a while.

I too am interested in purchasing this beast...looks like a mid-range performance lappy for those on a budget. For those that have received their machine, will you please continue to post updates--I'm very interested to see how you're liking your investment. Thanks!

Forgive me for this naive question, but I figure that you guys are the experts.

The xoticpc website gives the option to upgrade from 4 gigs of RAM to 8 gigs for $70. Why on Earth would someone do this when you can go out and purchase 4 gigs of RAM for ~$40?

 

So that you don't have to install it yourself? I dunno

Mr. Mysterious

 

I have the same issue. When i put in Star Trek it said I needed to activate to play this content, but that didn't make sense because activation was for getting the full product. An older blu-ray movie (Superman the original) worked.

Maybe the OEM BD player doesn't support the newer blu-ray movies. If so that sucks; I don't want to have to pay for the newer player yet.

Also this is o/t, but how to you get signatures to appear with your NB specs? I have it in my profile but I don't see any option to turn it on.

 

Click "User CP" and then "Edit Signature". That should do it.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Man, I really look forward to your tests!

This is the best option I found on my budget, it has everything I'm looking for and you bet performance notebooks get quite expensive here in Brazil. Every price difference you see in the US is doubled, and I'm comparing in the same currency of course.

 

Yeah, I told Xotic to omit the RAM so I could order my own from the egg:
Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3K2/8GX

Saved like a dollar but got higher performance RAM as a result (HyperX, 1600 vs 1333, XMP)

 

thanks, that option wasn't there before. guess i had to post a couple of times.

this morning when i woke my machine up from hibernate, my external monitor (VGA) outputted garbage. unplugging it and plugging it back in fixed it. not sure why that happened.

 

On the 5160 there are only two DIMM slots. So you can get it with 2x2GB of RAM stock, or 2x4GB for an additional 70. If you just bought a 4GB stick and added it you would have to replace one of the 2GB and would then have a total of 6 for your extra $40. The $70 price is actually pretty good for a 8GB config.

 

Good call--totally overlooked that point even though it was staring me right in the face.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

Could anyone who has it take a lot of pics of it?
Also how is the battery life while just browsing and not gaming?

 

the NP5160 doesn't support the 1600 MHz RAM, even though the i7-2720QM supports DDR3-1600 So-Dimms for RAM in some laptops. same is true for the NP5170. Did you actually tell Xotic that you planned to buy 1600 MHz RAM for your 5160? If you did, I would have expected them to tell you not to do that. Anyway, you are helping answer the question of why buy the RAM from them. It helps you avoid mistakes like this, and, as others have pointed out, you get 2 4 Gig Dimms instead of 2 2 Gig Dimms. Also there is some benefit to making sure the RAM is the same brand (an issue you had covered of course).

 

Mythlogic offers the 1600 MHz RAM as an option on the 5160 (their Pollux 1411) so unless they are mistaken it is supported by the motherboard/chipset.

 

The RAM will probably be accepted by the Motherboard but the CPU bus won't be taking advantage of the bandwidth.

Oh and, 90C is still dangerous. IIRC the temperature ceiling for the 2630 and its i7 brethren is 100C. Imagine some obstruction, it would be over.

 

it seems that even MacBook Pros are getting hot:
Intel Turbo Boost is MIA on new 13-inch MacBook Pro? (update: negatory) -- Engadget

 

Mythlogic only offers the faster RAM in 2x2GB configuration...so the 5160 probably has limited support for the higher speed. That's how I understood it anyway.

 

Hrmm that IS interesting. I'm hoping all these machines just need a BIOS update. Of course, rarely are things this easy to fix

 

This doesn't really surprise me at all. In 2008 I owned a Macbook Pro 15" and the thing would literally give you 1st degree burns if you left it on your skin and you were doing anything other than typing a paper on it. Apple has good form and design but I fear that they sacrifice all for the look of their products. My old Macbook Pro had a Core 2 Duo processor and it was on the verge of burning you at any moment so I can't imagine a Macbook Pro with the same size case and physical dimensions with a quad core i7 inside. I saw the tear down pictures listed on ifixit and the cooling system looks the same as the old one that I had. Get ready for a trip to the ER if you fall asleep with it on you.

 

So I got it and I'm super stoked!!

I ended up installing Fedora 15 alpha since the new kernel, mesa, and intel drivers are needed for sandy bridge and I wanted to try out gnome 3. Upon install I was a bit freaked because wireless didn't work, but a simple 'sudo yum install iwl*firmware' fixed it. After updating everything is working perfectly and I'm loving it. I can watch HD flash vids in fullscreen without any flickering at all.

I still havn't had enough time to mess with optimus.. but for now it's turned on and using up battery because there's no BIOS option for it.

I will post more info as I get it.

 

Great! Enjoy your new system!

Mr. Mysterious

 

What app did you use to get GPU temps? CPUID HW monitor is not giving me them.

FYI I just played some SC2 (medium, 512MB textures, FHD rez) and the CPU maxed at 90C.

 

That's what I used. You need to have something 3D running already when you start HWMonitor so it will detect the 540M. If Optimus has the 540M shut off, HWMonitor won't see it.

Can anyone here suggest a good notebook cooler? I haven't got any experience with those things. Are there any good ones designed to be able to sit on your lap?

 

I'm considering buying this notebook, xps 15, sony CB, or Asus N53.

How's the keyboard on this machine? I never used a chiclet keyboard before? Is it suitable for gaming? How's the 1080 screen?

15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen ( + 65 )
15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080) ( + 190 )

Did anyone try the Matte screen? Can someone take a picture of the vents?

 

How much do they take off if you tell them to omit the ram?

 

In terms of the screen, refer to this thread:
FHD screens

This is the name of the first screen (the glare type one): AU Optronics B156HW01 v0
This is the name of the Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut: AU Optronics B156HW01 v4

If you want to see some hi-res photos of these screens check this thread:
Mythlogic Photos

 

They take off 40 for no RAM...so even if I can't get XMP to work (1600 Mhz, profile 2), then I still didn't spend more than I had to (price was ~109 total with tax).

 

90C?? I have a Vostro 1400 and when I play SC2 the CPU never goes above 70C. Is this just because of the quad core? ...is that a temperature to be concerned about?

 

How do you think this NP5160 would compare to the NP8150 (Clevo P150HM) in terms of temperature and noise?

 

90C for the CPU is pretty high, but it's workable. The real danger zone is 95C-100C...then you are in danger of frying your stuff. But 5C-10C below the danger zone, and you're perfectly fine.

Mr. Mysterious

 

until the inlet vents get some dust or get obstructed, then sh!t happens, right?

 

Yup. Good care means a good laptop means a good and happy owner.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Yeah, but in the summer (with like 35 to 37 °C days - today is 33ºC and the summer is almost over) it could be more complicated than just "taking good care"...

But then again, I think we could have more temperatures from people that already got theirs... Under light, normal or heavy load, as well as those frying benchmarks.

 

Then I'd suggest you get a good, quiet cooler (yeah, that's an oxymoron, I know), but to me, the lifetime of the notebook is much more important than any annoyance or sound issues.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Sure. I would use one even if the safe temperature margin reveals to be bigger. 5 °C of safety (from 90 to 95 °C) seems quite dangerous. Or it simply isnt and I'm making it a big deal. That's because I've never used a high performance notebook before...

 

Here is where paying extra for the IC diamond thermal really pays off and the IC has a good rep in helping with the heat diffusion.

 

Has anyone ever done any comparisons between the Arctic silver stuff and the IC diamond? I haven't researched it. Are they using basically the same materials in the compound or is the IC different?

 

@Savior

from my personal experience, don't get the xps, I ordered one of those and it died after just 3 days of use, could be just a fluke but even worse is dell customer service nowadays, I got the laptop after 3 weeks, I ask for a full refund but until now I haven't received my money

 

There'll always be lemons from every manufacturing company, so be prepared for that.

About the customer service, well it's variable from company to company, and to be honest the CS dept might just be having a bad day. But I tend to stick with smaller companies because they offer much better, personalized customer service and a better overall experience.

Mr. Mysterious

 

bad day is ok but this is more like a bad month, sorry for the OT but right now they can't seem to figure out where my refund went, I have already reported them to BBB but still no results so I really am starting to question their level of customer service

 

Can you guys stop talking about temps for a bit? How is the norma web browsing/desktop idle battery life?

 

I'm at a coffee shop right now with my computer not plugged in, so I'll have some numbers when I leave.

edit: I've been here for two hours. Starting from a 100% battery, I'm now @ 40%. This would put the potential battery life at 3.3 hrs. I am running at 50% brightness. However I have been using remote desktop this whole time, so the increased network usage may have an impact on the battery life. This does line up with notebookcheck's review of another reseller's machine that uses the same Clevo model.

FYI here's an attached picture of the glare with my camera phone. Although annoying, I think I'll get used to it. Ignore the flash on the left side.

 

I don't know where i saw it but the test I saw showed IC Diamond dropping temps by about 3-5C over any other thermal compound.

 

For the guys that have this laptop, how is it performing. Compare it to your last laptop to give an idea. Quality, weight, boot times etc etc

 

I have read some not nice things about the 5125 keyboard and I really hope it has been improved in this model

From the review on this site...
"Keyboard and Touchpad
The NP5125 has an island-style keyboard where the keys are raised above the base. The keys have an unsophisticated plasticky feel when pressed. Fast typing is possible however typing confidence is undermined by rattling sounds; the plastic used in the construction of this notebook really lets it down here; the keyboard does not feel well-settled at all.
Like the chassis, the keyboard has little flex. The keyboard would be a lot more pleasant to type on if it felt more solid."

Anyone?

 

I've seen good reviews of clevo keyboards, like here. It seems solid to me.

About the keyboard sounding and feel, I had a similar impression on my Dell Inspiron 1525 (not chiclet, but the same impression applied) and after some usage it seemed do settle down. Not a good thing, I know, but after a while the keyboard usage became much better.

But let's see someone's that already got his NP1525 impressions...