Official Sager NP5175 / Clevo W170HR Owner's Lounge

From XOTICPC (and other resellers as well):


Display
17.3" (16:9) FHD (1920x1080) with Super Clear Glare Type Screen
Processor & Chipset
Intel® Core™ i7 Mobile Processors - 2630QM stock config
Intel HM65 Chipset
Up to 1333 MHz System Front Side Bus Speed
Storage & Drives
1 Detachable 2.5" 9.5mm (H) SATA Hard Disk Drives
1 12.7mm (H) Optical Drive Bay, ATA Interface,
Interchangeable with DVD±R/RW Combo drive, Blu-ray/DVD±R/RW Combo Drive
Memory
64-bit wide DDRIII data channel
Two 204Pin SODIMM sockets
Expandable up to 8GB DDRIII 1066MHz
Video Controller
Switchable Graphics Controller. Go between nVIDIA GT 555M 2048MB DDR3 or Embedded Intel GMA Video (With Optimus Technology)
PCI-Express™ 16X
HDCP Supported
Microsoft® DirectX® 10 Compatible
Dual-View capable Supports two different applications open at one time; one on the External Monitor, and one on the Laptop Screen. Multi-tasking has never been more convenient.
Audio & Multimedia Features
Built-in High Definition Sound System
3D Stereo Enhanced Sound System
S/PDIF Digital output
1 Built-in Microphone
2 Built-in Speakers
Sound Blaster compatible
Network / Communication
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Integrated 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN + Bluetooth™ V3.0 + HS card
Built-in Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6230 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth (Optional)
Built-in Intel® Centrino® Ultimate-N 6300 Wireless Card (Optional)
Keyboard / Pointing Device
Full Sized Keyboard with Numeric Key Pad
Windows Hot keys
Integrated with Hot Keys for LCD Brightness, Suspend, Panel/CRT Display
Independent GPU button, support UMA and Optimus Mode
Hot Keys forWLAN On/Off, Mute and Web Cam On/Off
Integrated Touchpad with Scrolling function
Input / Output Ports
1 CRT output Port
1 HDMI Output
2 USB 2.0 Ports
2 USB 3.0 Port
1 eSATA
1 Headphone Jack
1 Microphone Jack
1 S/PDIF Output
1 RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)
Slots
3-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/SD/Mini-SD/SDHC)
1 MiniCard Slot (for WLAN module)
Power System
1 Removable 62.16WH 6 cells smart Lithium-Ion battery pack
Full Range AC-in 100~240V, 50~60Hz, 90W AC Adapter
Cooling
Copper CPU Heatsink
Size & Weight
6.83 LBs with Battery Pack
16.26" (w) x 10.93" (d) x .99"-1.53" (h)
Additional Features
Kensington® Lock
Built-in 2.0M Digital Video Camera
Warranty
Sager 1 Year Parts & Labor Warranty Standard
Additional Warranty Options Available
Return Policy & Warranty Terms and Conditions

Base Price (Cash Discount): $949.63

Also: It looks like it has replaced the NP5170...it's showing up in the place where the NP5170 used to be. Foreboding?

Mr. Mysterious

 

Thanks. Can you ask a mod to include the following in the title, since not all are buying a Sager branded unit...

"Official Sager NP5175 / Clevo W170HR Owner's Lounge"

 

Oh, right...I'll PM one right now

Mr. Mysterious

 

Seriously? No one thinks this is going to be a good fit for most people? :s

Mr. Mysterious

 

Too slight a revision of the 5170, in my opinion.

They need to fix the keyboard on the 17" models and then we'll talk.

 

is there a bios option to disable the nvidia card? and use sandy bridge graphics only?

 

I'm thinking of buying one of these, and I'm very particular with my keyboards. Can you provide insight as to what's wrong with the keyboard? Also, what is the CPU that is recommended for running VM's?

 

It is the same keyboard as the one on the 5165. It isn't scaled up to the larger 5175, that's all. Mine should be here Friday. I'm praying to god the blue tint isn't to an extreme. Hopefully, there isn't one. Quick question, how hard is it to expand the ram from 4gb to 6 or 8?

EDIT- I think there is a button on the laptop itself to turn the optimus (555m) off. If not, Im pretty sure there is an option in the optimus control panel to set the IGP to be used for everything.

 

whoops... double post

 

Depends on what comes with already in it. If you ordered it with 4gb, you may just get one 4gb stick, while the other slot is empty. So you may just need another 4gb stick for the other slot to expand it to 8 gigs. Adding RAM is one of the easiest upgrades you can do to a computer, just need to know what you're doing and be wary of static electricity. Upgrading to 6gb seems to be not so popular, as people say it's silly in a financial aspect, and in a technology sense because some people prefer matching sticks. I don't see why some think that way personally, but I dunno. I'm still waiting on my 5175.

 

Thanks Guys for responding.

Please post as much feedback on the np5175's as you can. I'm really, really interested, and close to pulling the trigger!

 

Will do, I can't wait for Friday, and I'd be really happy if it came early and got here tomorrow, because tomorrow I have to turn this macbook back in to my school since Friday is our last day. Had to borrow it after my Compaq F700 died on me about a month ago and left me laptopless.

 

Yeah, should get mine Friday too. It's a shame it will probably arrive 30 minutes before I leave for work. I'll try to post my review that night when I get off. 1am EST if anyone is up.

 

I have to work Friday too, but I work in the evening (5 to 10pm). So whoever's in the house here is going to have to listen for the door and sign for it when the UPS truck shows up.

 

Good to see some interest in the 5175 finally! It's a good system and I suspect it will have a better cooling system than the 5165.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Can any1 with this system please post a picture of the inner workings of this system.

I am specifically interested in the location of the mPCIe slots and how the cooling looks.

thx in advance

 

Yes! I managed to work out a deal with an old buddy and he pulled the notebook off the delivery truck for me. Instead of having to wait for a delivery late in the day, I can pick it up from UPS in a moment. Will be posting benchmarks later assuming there are no major problems with it.

 

I got mine Friday after I came home from work. It's pretty sweet, I've been busy setting up everything and transferring data, and tried running Minecraft last night, and the GT 555M handled it pretty well. Though there is one issue: this morning, after I ran some windows updates, at a random time, the screen locked up and kept freezing in 5 second intervals. At some point, the screen would go black, then come back on and I'd get an error balloon saying something like "Intel HD graphics driver stopped responding but has recovered", yet the problem continued until I got fed up and did a restart, then it was fine. It happened again later as well, so I dunno if it was a windows update that's causing the issue or what. If anyone knows of a solution, let me know. And I have updated my driver for the Intel HD graphics after the first time it happened, but like I said it happened again. It is a pretty irritating, considering I JUST got the laptop and dropped a cool $1100 on it and then to have this issue.

 

Did you update the nvidia driver? If you did, that might be the problem. I know the drivers on the site aren't compatible with this 555m. I have installed all of the windows updates available and I have yet to have that issue.

 

Hi there,
Is that's the machine with 17' screen. If so which type of screen you went for, glossy or matte. How good or bad do they look like?
Thanks,
Any real life photos of the machines?

 

It is the 17" screen. I went with the stock glossy screen. It is actually very nice. Unless you are a really picky person, the stock screen should suit anyone well. I have photos, it's just a matter of getting them uploaded.

 

I've been looking for 17' laptop for a long time to replace my 5 year old one. What I don't like is glossy finishes and would prefer matte screen which is available on this model.
17.3" 1920x1080 Full HD Matt LED Backlit NTSC 72%
Intel® Core i7-2720QM Quad Core with HT 2.2-3.33GHz 6MB Cache 45W
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M 2GB GDDR3 DX11 144 CUDA Cores
8GB DDR3 1333Mhz CAS9 2x 4GB DIMMs
500GB Western Digital 7,200rpm
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Intel 6230 Advanced-N WIFI Bluetooth combi module

Just hoping it to last for the next 3-4 years and to do some casual gaming as well (not in highest settings)

Any comments how future proof it would be?
How's the build generally feels like?
I read on this forum that these machines can be pretty noisy under heavy load, but are the fans quiet when just watching the movies and surfing the web?

Any comments appreciated,
Thanks

 

Yeah, I updated the nVidia driver from the nVidia site and the Intel HD graphics driver from Intel's site. But I've come to learn that there must be a driver conflicts between the JMicron Ethernet adapter and the Intel Display Driver, as when I've tried connecting my Xbox 360 to the laptop (An older gen Xbox, and no LAN connections upstairs in the house) when I connected the two via an Ethernet cable, the Ethernet port wouldn't recognize that it had something plugged in, so after disable and re-enabling the port, it recognized the Xbox connection and then all is well, until I shut the Xbox off, which is when the network connection between the Xbox and the laptop stops, and I guess somewhere in those lines, something gets confused and screws up, causing the display driver bug. It's only when I use the Xbox though, if I connect it to an Ethernet cable for internet, it works fine. It's not a big issue now that I know what causes it. My old laptop never had an issue with it, but meh, what can you do. I'll just be getting a wireless adapter for the Xbox.

Sounds like a nice configuration. Another step up from mine with the matte screen, the 2720 i7, and 8gb of RAM. I think it should for sure last 3 to 4 years, and if you're not big on keeping up to date, it could last a few more years after that. As for the fans, when you're just sitting around on the desktop or just doing casual web surfing (email, facebook, etc) you don't even hear a fan. But when it does spin up during gaming (I've only played Minecraft and Audiosurf so far), the fan noise isn't distracting, unless you have speakers or have it on mute. It's a pretty solid machine; the keyboard has little flex to it, and the body and lid hinges feel sturdy. Performance is great so far, and the gaming performance is good too. I'm not used to having a PC with a decent graphics card, so playing Audiosurf on premium graphics on a 1080p screen with no lagging or low fps is a pretty nice experience for me.

 

Thanks, might go for it. I just need portability couple of times a year, when working away and staying somewhere else. Kinda used to a bit bigger screen to to work on.

 

I just received mine that I ordered through xotic pc yesterday.

Thing is a beast! This laptop is meant to replace my Core Duo 1st Gen Macbook that was getting a little slow and old (and no longer going to be supported this summer when Lion comes out. I wanted to get mine on ebay before other people realized this ). Installation of Windows was a breeze. The drivers CD was a big help although it would have been easier if they could have done it like Ninite so I didn't have to keep on clicking next for each driver I needed to install (you have to install ~10). The webcam and Intel 6230 drivers were buried deep in the CD under "Optional". Don't really call my wifi and bluetooth "optional" but I guess since there are multiple types you can select when build, it makes sense. One thing I did notice is that bluetooth is disabled by default, I had to click fn-f12 to enable it. I spent about 15 minutes rebooting and searching through the control panel to see why the heck the bluetooth icon wasn't showing up. Also, the official Nvidia drivers on their website are not compatible with the card in the 5175, but the beta drivers were. Since the drivers on the CD themselves were labeled as beta I thought a newer beta is probably better than an older, so I updated.

So far I really like the laptop. I played Civ 4 for about 2-3 hours last night and the left hand side of the thing was blowing some heat but it never missed a beat. I also played some Minecraft which wasn't be default set to run on the Nvidia card (I fixed that through the Nvidia control panel). I was surprised as to how crappy it ran on the Intel card! It ran worse than my 5 year old GMA 950!

 

The bluetooth is actually disabled by default to save power. If you want to have it on by default, you just have to change the setting in bios to have it on at boot.

Also, Minecraft is more hardware intensive than people realize (big Java code base). So it'll take up most available hardware if it can get it.

 

I have a Clevo W170hr model but my bios says its a W150HRM. Does anyone else have this setup? And does anyone recommend updating the bios to what the W170hr should have.

 

Count me in! Just ordered one of these puppies, and XoticPC is reporting Phase 2 on day 1!

 

You won't be disappointed. It runs excellent for a mid range laptop. Runs most modern games with a mix of medium and high gfx settings at FHD.

 

I am interested in the sager 5175 as well. I priced out one from eurocom, their fox 2 which i assume is the same as the sager 5175?, Reflex notebook, and fortnax. eurocom was 725 to 785 more expensive than fortnax, and reflex was 40-85 more than fortnax.

I purchased a eurocom 3 years ago, M570RU. it works great although some of the letters are rubbing off on the keyboard....not a big issue. The over charge by eurocom seems a little excessive, to put it politely.

I have never dealt with the other two canadian resellers....any comments on Reflex or fortnax?

I notice a few have ordered from a US reseller, XoticPC. are they that much better than a canadian reseller? what are the duties due, if any, realizing one would have to pay HST on the order.

 

If you want proper answers, I suggest you PM the resellers.

Mr. Mysterious

 

I had a question for you fellow 5175 users. Did you have to install any of the drivers available on Sager's website or was Windows Update sufficient for everything?

When I installed Win 7, it hadn't identified any drivers, so I had to download ethernet drivers onto a USB key from Sager's website from a different machine so I could at least get Internet on the laptop.

 

Nevermind. Win7 doesn't support any of the 5175 drivers right out of the box, which is a bit of a bummer. Fortunately sager makes them all available on their site and as long as you follow along and install them in that order things seem to work just fine.

So far so good, the touchpad is unfortunately positioned and I keep hitting it whenever I'm typing (despite reducing sensitivity in the settings) so I'm pretty happy that FN + F1 will disable it altogether for moused sessions.

 

Could an NP5175 owner post a picture of the side of the laptop with the optical bay drive? I want to see the dimensions of the caddy. I know that it's 12.7mm high, but yeah, I would like someone to confirm.

Also, I've ordered this laptop on June 3rd. It is now June 20th, and Xotic is still reporting Phase 2. It has been 11 business days. I'm really disappointed so far.

 

do you still need this?
yes it is around 12 mm


my 5175 took about a month! =(

 

I'm interested in getting one of these (Sager NP5175) can anyone comment on the speakers and maybe battery life while surfing and watch videos. Thanks

 

iBUYPOWER Computer :: Battalion 101 W170HR Gaming Laptop

I'm assuming its the same laptop, will post pics when it comes this Friday.

 

Hey folks! Newbie to the boards, been looking around for the last few weeks though.

I'm already pretty set on what I want, computer-wise, have had a few issues with trying to GET one (but that's another post entirely) and now am waiting for a refund before I can actually get one.

One question that I haven't really seen answered anywhere else though is what the heat is like on the W170HR/NP5175. I've seen quite a bit written about the 15" version, where the general consensus seems to be "hot, but not quite TOO hot" when it's running seriously intensive applications/games.

So, really, I'm just wondering how the 17" version fares. Does the extra space help at all with the cooling? Are there any quirks it would help to be aware of before I pull the trigger (once my refund comes through) for good?

Thanks for any help given!

(Oh, and if/when I do get it, it's with a 555m and the 2630 quad core processor. Those would be the only bits that matter for a heat question I imagine)

 

Hello everybody. First time posting on the boards, been looking through the site for a couple months looking through the forums attempting to find answers. The search doesn't seem to be much help. But anyways, I am kind of tempted to go with the 5175. I do prefer the bigger screen, and the price seems right for me. However, I have also been looking at the 8170, which with my configuration would only cost me a few hundred more. It's been over a month without a post from someone who does own the 5175. If anyone that does own one, would you care to share your opinions? Thank you.

 

What exact configurations were you looking at and what was the exact price difference between them? The P170HM and the W170HR with the same basic specs will really only differ significantly on graphics. The P170HM comes stock with the 560m, which will be almost 2x faster in games than the 555m. Bump up to the 6990/485/580 and see an almost 2x faster increase yet again over the 560m.

If you have the money to spare, the P170HM will offer you much better performance, though obviously for a bit more money. It's a better choice if gaming is important. If you aren't huge into gaming, then the W170HR will be a decent option and save you a bit

See the links below if you want to directly compare the graphics options:

Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List - Notebookcheck.net Tech
Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

I configured a 5175 with a 2630QM, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Intel 6300, with Win7 for about 1175. I configured the 8170 with pretty much the same options for 1429. I would say the majority of the time the laptop would be used for gaming. And I do like having the option of upgrading. I'd say right now I'm leaning towards the 8170, but I would like to know how the owners of the 5175 feel. So if you got one please post your thoughts or perhaps a small review. Thank you.

 

You may want to check out the user review already on the forums:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-lounges/578251-np5175-first-impressions.html

The 5165/W150HR should have similar reviews too, though it's obviously the smaller 15".

 

Thanks for the link with the review. I don't know how I missed that, but search isn't working for me, or I'm doing it completely wrong. I went through that review and looked at the one for the 8170. Thanks MALIBAL and Alex for your help and recommendation, it's much appreciated.

 

Is this just not a model that sells well? Or is it that everyone (save the one guy posting on every forum that mentions the model) is happy with it? I've seen some remarks about the heat on the left side (I imagine over the vent).

What about the USB3.0 support and screeen or keyboard? Any issues? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

 

Honestly I haven't heard of very many issues with USB 3.0 support. However, the stock screen does have some limited viewing angles (like most 17.3" screens, except for the upgrades), and the keyboard seemed pretty solid to me.

 

Thanks JP. It's you guys I'm planning on going through to get either the Sager or an ASUS. Without the ability to hold one in your hand and given I've owned neither brand and the dearth of reliable reviews on the web, you're left with just hoping what you get is what you want and that's what's holding me back.

I've priced the 8170 (I know this is the 5175 thread here, just not sure about the 5175's cooling) and one of the G74's you guys have with just a couple add ons and they are pretty close, so I'm not sure what to use as the critical deciding factor. Would love a backlit keyboard, so that means ASUS. Like the idea of a semi-custom (for my perception of better quality control), so that means Sager. Ah, the choices.

 

A question to the Clevo W170HR users. How much noise do the fans produce? I have a old MacBook with a SSD drive and the fan idle at around 2000rpm and the system is for me very silent. I plan to replace this MacBook with a W170HR Quad Core in the future, if not a new system with Ivy Bridge if it will be released before that, and I want a machine that is silent.

I have in a Desktop machine a 120mm Noctua fan running at lowest voltage I could get it to spin, 5 or 7 volt, and for me it is loud.

You all can read a thread I created regarding this and see how important it is for me:
forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/624766-17-inch-silent-machine-more-questions.html

I'm not going to play much games, but mostly web surfing, writing, viewing flash video and normal video files. Can W170HR play normal flash at Youtube without spinning up the fan and get very loud? 480p, 720p? I can on my Macbook watch 360p in fullscreen without the fan spins up but in a window the fan spins up. 720p normal video the fan spins up and 720p flash I cant even view because it laggs to much.

If I'm going to play games on the machine of course the fans will spin up and I have no problem to accept that. But gaming isnt my area at all.

I plan to have the machine on a stand so the fans can easly take cool air in under the machine.


I have been reading this thread and that down below and some say that is silent. But how silent is silent according too their ears?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-lounges/578251-np5175-first-impressions.html

 

Should I avoid updating the drivers for my 555m once the 5175 gets in?

 

1 Sager NP5175 Custom Built Gaming Laptops - $1,429.00

17.3" FULL HD (1920X1080) LED LCD w/nVIDIA GeForce® GT 555M w/2GB GDDR3 - nVIDIA Optimus Switchable Graphics
Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM (2.4~3.5GHz) w/6M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads
Sager Thermal Compound
8GB (2x4GB SODIMMS) DDR3/1600 Dual Channel Memory (Intel® i7-2630QM and up Required)
120GB Intel® 510 Series SATA III Solid-State Drive
Combo Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
4-in-1 Memory Card Reader (MS/MS PRO/SD/MMC)
Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6230 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi + Bluetooth™ 3.0+HS Combo Card
6-cell Smart Li-ion Battery (62.16Wh)
Windows 7 Premium - (64-Bit installed - 64 and 32-bit CD included)
Full Range 120W Auto Switching AC Adapters

$1429.00 from powernotebooks.com...

How happy will I be with this? Can you upgrade beyond the 555m with the 5175 setup? I am getting it for xmas and can't wait...

Will be playing SWTOR, STO, Skyrim and Diablo 3(eventually).

 

Sorry, Jmmiller, the GT 555M is embedded into the motherboard (Optimus) and cannot be upgraded later on down the road.

You can see some benchmarks here:
Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List - Notebookcheck.net Tech

And some different games on that card here:
Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Overall it is definitely not a bad card, not bad at all.