*** Official Sager NP8170/Clevo P170HM Owners Lounge ***

LOL very soon! Maybe a few days after me

 

Queue starts from phase 1 or order date? I have the impressions it's phase 1 cause that's when they receive payment. So no no mate, a few days after ME. Bwahah

 

Order date. Thats when you get placed in line...

 

Order date is my guess too

 

let me know when you get your tracking digits !

 

Mine is currently being built! O_O

I will let you guys know how long it takes.

 

Keep in mind that the exterior finish adds a few days before final delivery is made.

 

Hey guys, I am about to pull the trigger on a sager and just wanted to confirm. My original build had the top processor, a 250gig SSD etc , all the best. I cut it down to this and saved around $1300.

And spec piece I should of kept higher? Don't need more than 8 gigs even for Adobe rendering I presume and especially gaming.

Uses: Adobe Creative Suite (Work) / Casual gaming

Basically I want for the money it to never even think twice... literally, no hang ups.

If this will suffice for powerful brute force processing of whatever I throw at it then thats fine. But if $500 now saves me a headache later I want to know.

Thanks.


Display: 17.3" Full HD LED-Backlit with Super Clear Display
Zero Dead Pixel Insurance: None
Video & Graphics Card: nVIDIA GeForce GTX 485M with 2GB GDDR5
CPU Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2820QM (8M Cache, 2.30 GHz)
Thermal Compound: IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
Operating System: None - Drivers & Utility Software Only
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333 (2x4GB)
RAID Storage Options: Non-RAID Storage
Primary Hard Disk Drive: 120GB Intel SATA2 Solid State Disk Drive
2nd Hard Disk Drive: 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Disk Drive
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Drive: 6X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Dr
Wireless Network Card: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N
Primary Battery: 8 cells smart Lithium-Ion battery pack 76.96Wh
TV-Tuner: None
Integrated Security Device: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Microsoft Office: None
Warranty: 3 Year Labor and 1 Year Premium** Parts Warranty
Additional Power Adapter: None
Additional Battery Pack: None
Carrying Bag: Standard Carrying Bag
Shipping Method: UPS Ground (FREE!)

 

order shipped, woot.
many thanks to jp & justin for the seamless transaction. stay awesome !!

 

nyuk, nyuk nyuk! I have carried a 10.5 pounder Toshiba all over the world. The 8.5 pound NP8170 is going to feel so light, and it will feel smaller than my current ASUS G73JH

 

Yup, that's fine with me since my laptop just hit phase 3.

 

I really think you should save your money and get the 2720 over the 2820. Look at some benchmarks. I do think springing for the 2720 over 2630 is a good purchase though.

 

+1 You can always upgrade it later to a 2920 when the prices drop if you go with a 2720. The gain you get from a 2820 over a 2720 is negligible IMO.

I was originally looking at a 7200 to replace my np9890 but I like the 8170 a lot more. Dropping down from 13lbs will be nice!!!! I hope to get one by the end of the summer.

 

Can you upgrade from the 2630 to the 2920 down the road? I assume they use the same socket or what not.

 

I have word from Sager that the 6970m will be available with the NP7280 in the beginning of April. No word yet on the 8170. Maybe this is old news, idk. <.<

 

Of course, and it is even POSSIBLE that the next generation of Intel chips will be compatible.

 

That would be awesome!

 

Question to Sager NP8170/GTX485M owners. Do you have the opportunity to tell me what kinds of performance you get for playing Civilization V ?

 

Based on the recommended settings and the "lowest" power that the NP8170 can put out, I would say that it should be able to handle Civ V fine.

I will try it out the first chance I get tho!

 

On reformat, device driver: 'simple communications controller' shows up missing. None of the drivers on the Sager site fixed it. Any ideas?

 

If I had to guess its the Intel MEI drivers. Get them at downloadcenter.intel.com search Management Engine Drivers you need the ones for the 6 series.

 

Thanks. I DID dl those from Sager but was reluctant to try them since the stock OS install seemed quite riddled.

 

Anyone have any recommendations on a good gaming wireless mouse? I have big hands so I do not want one of those little tiny ones. I liked the Cyborg RAT 9 but at 150 bucks I cant do it.

 

Well I received my Malibal P170HM late yesterday and spent most of the night just loading software and transferring files. But let me tell you, this thing is awesome so far! It actually seems lighter than my previous Gateway P-7811FX and runs so much cooler. The only game I was able to test out was Battlefield Bad Company 2 and I ran everything at max settings. It looked so beautiful and ran so smoothly.

I'll update everyone as I get more time to play with it.

 

@Beatbox32
what is your configuration?
how loud is the fan noise while gaming?

'm a little jealous, am tired of waiting have fun with you gamingmonster!!!

 

Congrats!

What other games do you play? do you by any chance play World of Warcraft or Rift?

thanks

 

How does the screen compare the the 7811's?

 

Been following all of you for quite a while and have to thank you all for making my life easier deciding. Was really un-decisive for a bit and desperate but finally took my decision and ordered my np8170. Im so freaking excited cant wait (as most of you). Ill have to wait longer as its shipping to italy and will have to go through customs. Happy to be part of this. Thanks again to all your posts.

 

I will reconsider purchasing an 8170 because my M17X R3 is messed up and I'm sending it back.

Not saying it's bad machine, but the fact they refused to resolve the issue and present proper compensation for the problem left a bad taste in my mouth.

Sucks, really. I'm on spring break, I planned to spend it gaming, and instead, I'm printing out a return label and waiting to get my money back...

 

Why not play on it during break, then send it in after?

 

Because it doesn't work...

 

The wait is almost over for me but one of the benefits are the new options that are now available due to the time lapse. For example the high gamut matte screens, 1tb WD Hard drives, new SB Dual Core CPU's and new intel 510 series SSD's. I am not sure about changing from the default glossy screen to the high colour gamut for gaming but I have gone from 750GB to 1tb hard drive and added a little more RAM. Since I am in the UK, we probably got these options later than most though.

 

Sorry to hear that. I had a similar situation with my Alienware M17x, that had a bent heatpipe in it. Had an arguement with the customer service, and finally I just said "Oh screw this." Full refund by the end, went to Sager and never looked back.

2 Sagers now, and still counting !

 

When are you supposed to get your machine? I can't wait to hear about how the 510 performs.

 

Ouch. So it seems that they haven't fixed the low quality parts issue with the alienware model yet? That brand went to crap after Dell bought it. I think the comparisons between Alienware and Sager based entirely on price miss the fact that Sager uses quality components and Dell scrimps on the AW stuff. You may get that laptop a bit cheaper with AW and the 6970m right now, but you'll regret it when you get a lemon/or develop issues down the road.

That said, I've loved my Dell XPS, but if I didn't have the 3 year on site warranty through the business plan at school, I'd have had a dead laptop quite a while ago.

I'm hoping Sager offers me something rock solid and dependable.



What sort of problems did you have with the AW?

EDIT: Found the link in your comment history. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/562420-m17x-r3-bsod.html

Smudged and blurry graphics? Could that be a problem with the AMD drivers or the hardware, or the graphics card switching. Strange no matter which way you look at it. And yeah, the whole "that's not the OS we shipped so we won't support it" is full on retard. They tried to pull that on me with my XPS when I was having them replace a faulty BLUETOOTH adapter. Seriously Dell, I can diagnose a dead adapter. I don't need to load Vista to prove it.

 

Umm...Clevo supplies to both AW and Sager....

So all discussions regarding the quality of laptops from the two brands....is kinda redundant.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Clevo *used* to supply alienware barebones, but not since Dell bought AW...

Last Alienware supplied by Clevo was the D900K equivalent I believe.

 

As far as I know they haven't done so since Dell bought them as theriko said. The places that still use clevo barebones are obvious because the machines look the same (digital storm, falcon northwest, etc). Dell designs and builds alienwares themselves now. They don't look anything like the current clevo lineup.

 

Oops! I stand corrected. Sorry people!

Mr. Mysterious

 

Just received my Malibal branded P170HM last night.. Its pretty darned sweet. Just wish people would have emphasized exactly how loud and annoying the fans cycling on and off when idle is. It’s quite distracting, and I am unsure if it is going to work out as a laptop for a quiet environment. (Please note that I have no problem with a louder laptop when it is actually doing something. ) Has anyone checked into modding the bios to change the fan profiles? If it comes down to it, I could try my hand at it, but I have never done it, and I am pretty sure I would make a botch of it.

 

Is it really that loud? I mean I will still keep my order but I am trying to visualize this.

 

The fan noise was brought up on many occasions. If it doesn't suit you always have 30 days to return it. It's not horrible, but it is a constant hum.

I agree there should be more user configuration with the fans. Maybe try some third party app like speedfan. Not sure if it supports HM67 yet or not though.

 

I had the NP 8690 in the past- loud fan cycling seems to be a characteristic of Sager laptops (it was doing it even in idle).

I guess I just got used to it haha. I ended up simply turning the machine off when I wasn't using it for anything in particular. Please keep us up to date if you find any mods.

 

If it was a constant low grade fan noise it would be fine. What it does though is cycle the fan(s) from off (or silent at least) to what sounds like 50-60%. So you have 10 seconds of silence, then one or both fans kicking on for two seconds, then silence. What I'd want would be a constant 20% on. I'll try that program and see if it works.

 

Is there nog bios update to fix the fannoise problem?
I already know that the circulating noise will make me crazy
Lets hope for the best!

 

I emailed clevo a few weeks back and I think I hit a language barrier. Asked if they planed on implementing a user control for fans and he/she replied that there is no user acessable control.

 

Hey Guys,

I just ordered a new 17" 8170 from LPC Digital (thank you Larry). I'm not much of a gamer but i do like to play LOTRO. I would like to think i could play on the highest settings but i'm not sure. I only opted for the 460M.

Can anyone offer any advice? There's still time to upgrade but i dont want to if its overkill for my limited gaming use.

 

It should be more than enough to play LOTRO on High Settings at a good resolution.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse G700

I have this mouse and its pretty nice. The battery dies faster than i like it to, last about a week or so on full charge. You just need to plug it in via usb and you are good to go though. No need to dumb it on a charger or anything. Its a little on the heavy side for my liking though and you can't change that, there are no weights. The texture is kind of weird as well.

Overall its a very good mouse. And i do enjoy. Never have any problems with it.

 

Ok but how about the "highest" settings? With the AA stuff and all that jazz you guys go on about?