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

TheLoneRaven, your second HDD seems to be Seagate Momentus XT, or not?

 

Yeah, I have an Intel X-25 as my primary drive and the Momentus as the 2nd drive. The freezing occurs during idle for me in some cases, cannot move he mouse, cannot do anything!

 

TheLoneRaven, for how long does the freezing occur? Check the thread I posted above, it might help.

 

TheLoneRaven -> I have that same problem. Yeah I have Seagate Momentus XT (500GB) as primary drive and I don't think so it's cause a random freezes. (but i will upgrade to SD24) I was using it a lot in my previous Sony VAIO and didn't experience any freeze. I think the problem is in drivers or in BIOS. Those random freezes is lottery problem. For example today my Clevo P170HM didn't freeze I don't know really what cause this. Often it hang when I'm in IDLE, for example i leave for 5-10 min and after returning it is dead only hardreset fix problem .
I made screenshot from Event Viewer after freeze.

This freezing problem is not only for 8170 it exist also in 8130 and 8150 there is thread about it: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/555274-random-freezes-8130-8150-a.html
And I don't know why I have BIOS from future ? :/

 

Refer here guys.

Apparently this problem IS somewhat related to the Momentus XT during an idle state.

http://www.myce.com/news/seagates-hybrid-storage-drive-causing-frustration-for-users-40319/

http://www.ssdfreaks.com/content/564/seagate-momentus-xt-freezingstuttering-workaround

 

Which laptop does the Momentus XT come with? I went with the 20 dollar upgrade 500GB drive.

 

I believe any of the new models can have the SSD. So if you didn't get it, you should be fine

 

For a laptop i would recommend an SSD if you can. The benefits outweigh regular hard drives. I think in raid 0, the read/write times would be about the same.

But, SSD is smaller, lighter, quieter, cooler and safer. If it was a desktop i would say go with whats cheaper, but because its a laptop i would recommend SSD. You really only need about 60GB anyway for OS and a few apps maybe, then you can always get an 2nd HD for data. Thats just my 2 cents.

 

I honestly would not recommend the momentus. I've seen too many problems with this drive. I just don't think its ready for prime time yet. The performance you get out of it just doesn't seem to be worth the headache and price.

Seagate’s Hybrid Momentus XT Hard Drive Performance Shortcomings

 

Ok so the freezing problem, occurs only in combination with a momentus XT or do I understand this wrong?

The Clevo p170hm I now have on order has a momentus XT, do you guys think Its better to change my order and go for the WD bekt 500gb 7200rpm?

 

According to the thread previously linked about freezes in the NP8130/NP8150, people have experienced brief stalls, and full freezes with drives other than the Momentus XT. Many contributors to that thread did list having the Hybrid, but some had genuine SSD's and others had standard HDD's.

Some (rather disorganized) examples: Ryan & Natadiem both had C300 SSD's and reported the Intel RST drivers helping. Marvin H Huckley III listed having a standard 320GB HDD, and it seemed the RST drivers helped as well. rancid states having freezes with a Hitachi 7200rpm HDD, but appeared to increase when switched out for the Momentus XT. Otterbyj had a standard 500GB HDD and reports the issue being fixed by the RST drivers as well. TheLoneRaven has an X-25M SSD and has reported freezes, also possibly resolved with RST drivers.

 

ok, in short, the momentus has its faults but it is not the cause of the problem.
But now that I read all this negative news about the momentus xt, I strongly doubt whether I still go for the momentus XT.

thnx for the nice overview by the way!

 

It's not uncommon to get 200-250MB read speeds from a RAID volume, which is definitely comparable to and SSD, but this is not even where the main benefit of an SSD comes from. It's the fact that the access time is a small fraction of a ms - as low as 0.2ms or 0.3ms for some drives - versus 5-8ms access time for mechanical hard drives. Maybe a tenfold increase doesn't sound like a lot when you're talking about a speed already measured in milliseconds, but when you consider that might happen thousands of times per second for minutes on end during a large file read, those milliseconds definitely add up. The OS experience is definitely improved from the general snappiness this provides.

Not to mention the other benefits you already highlighted. SSD is definitely the way to go if you can afford it.

 

Greetings.

I am in need of a gaming laptop to max out WOW and potentialy Rift. I am considering Sager NP8170 and Alienware M17x. They are both (more or less) similarly priced (based on my config). I have a couple of questions.

1. How reliable is Sager NP8170.

2. How is the screen quality of Sager NP8170 (color etc...).

3. What is the wait time for Sager NP8170 with the 485 card (I am considering ordering from gentech).

Thanks a lot.

 

Jussssst got my tracking number from LPC Digital. My beast is just 2 days away!!

I've to thank Larry for everything he did for me. I've been bugging Larry since January about this laptop, almost everyday I sent an email changing the config/or about some doubt and he has always been so nice with me. When the recall thing happened I even changed the order for the x7200 and changed back for the 8170-S1.

I'm glad I chose LPC-Digital and Larry was my sales rep(i dont know if they have others). As I said before, I really appreciate yout assistance with my journey buying this beast.

Well, for those who are insterested, I got the following spec:

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: Genuine MS Windows® 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Ed *
Memory: 16GB DDR3 1333 (4x4GB)
RAID Storage Options: Non-RAID Storage
Primary Hard Disk Drive: 250GB Intel 510 Series SATA 6.0GB/s SSD
2nd Hard Disk Drive: 500GB 7200rpm SATA Hybrid with 4GB SSD **
Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Drive: 6X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Dr
Wireless Network Card: Bigfoot networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1102
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: TXL617, Targus 17" XL Notebook Backpack

Maybe it's only missing a matte screen and since I heard about too much problemas with the momentus, maybe it was not a good choice too, but no problem, if needed I'll change it later.

 

Are you using it for something other than gaming?

 

I'm a programmer, so I'll use to programming besides gaming.

 

Kevin_Jack2.0 are you waiting on the 6970m now? Seems like its release is imminent. Patient man are you... strong is the force...

 

Does anyone know what USB3.0 controller the Sager uses?

 

Anyone from 2/25 had their order updated? I am getting impatient lol

 

I ordered mine in January, but got the 90% glossy screen on it. So i just got my shipping tracking number today The wait is almost over.

 

Yes, I'm only waiting on the 6970M, yet I won't put my order in until all of the backorders are fulfilled.

I'll purchase when the turnaround is about a week. If I can't have it immediately, I might as well keep the money in the bank.

You are way back in the waiting line.

I'll guess at April.

 

Well it looks like a possible $250 difference, I'm sure you'll opt for the 6970m unless they push the price higher in the NP8100 series than the X7200 series.

 

@Kevin_Jack2.0 You don't have to send payment right when you place the order. A lot of resellers allow you to wait until the order is almost ready to ship before sending payment.

You can also make changes to the order or cancel it at anytime, so there is really no downside to placing an order and getting in the queue - even if the ETA is 2-3 weeks.

Just a thought.

 

Oh for heaven's sake! Let me end this argument once and for all...

BOTH the 485M and the 6970M are good, hot, power-hungry, expensive cards. What this is devolving into is an ATI vs. NVIDIA argument, and not whether one card is better than another. Just flip a coin and pick one.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Yeah, I understand that, but I would still technically have the money tied up, as a reservation. I'd rather not have to mentally subtract $2k each time I look at my balance sheet.

And I'm not going to lie, the 1120 shader packing 6990M rumors have me curious. I won't be mad if it's announced before I order a machine.

What in the hell are you talking about? Who's arguing?

And the GTX 485M is one expensive coin flip....

 

Someone's a drama queen

I'm noticing something crazy with order times...I ordered from LPC on 2/17 and it was ready to ship almost a week ago now. I put it on hold to wait for the 6970m. It seems people who ordered from other companies earlier than me are having to wait a lot longer. Why is that?

If anything, I'd say that's a +1 to LPC!

 

Well my post was not directed at anyone in particular...just at people who were on the fence about the 485M and 6970M. They both really are excellent cards...and (whether or not) the 6970M really is cheaper than the 485M...they'll both still be very expensive because they are absolute-top-of-the-line cards at this moment.

Mr. Mysterious

 

At this point, if the 6970m ends up being $250 cheaper like on the X7280 it'd be a no-brainer decision IMHO. The 6970m and 485m have nearly identical performance for $250 less. Where's the decision unless you absolutely MUST have a nVidia for whatever reason. But $250 will buy you a different screen, fat SSD, Blu-ray burner, or any number of other options, or just money in your wallet.

 

Must... Resist... Temptation... Waiting game...

 

You see? This is what I am talking about...there's always something better out there. The grass is always greener on the other side.

I guess I'm mostly talking to myself about this but: Be happy with what you have.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Yeah, that's why I bit on the 485m. Before the Intel SATA controller fiasco I decided I'd just take the 485m because I knew I'd be waiting many months before I finally bit and then would be indecisive because something else on the cusp. Granted, the 6970m is imminent, but other than that, you gotta buy sometime.

I figure MXM IIIb isn't done yet and hopefully get one more decent GPU boost with that form factor before they move on to something else.

 

Oh, it's just wishful thinking. I'm gonna get a 8150 w/ the 485M, most likely.

 

Hey guys
I have an email sent to Nvidia support, asking why their are no GTX 485m drivers to download on their site.
I asked this question because I find it outrageous that their high end video card is not supported with new drivers. so we miss the opportunity for additional performance.

This is their response:

Thank you for contacting NVIDIA Customer Care.

This is Kishen, assisting you in troubleshooting the issue that you are experiencing.

I understand that you are not able to find the drivers for the laptop graphic card GTX 485 m in NVIDIA website.

The graphic card GTX 485 M is a custom designed graphic card by the laptop manufacturer where they custom design the graphic card and they use the same in their laptops the GTX 485 m is a customized OEM chipset hence you will not be able to find the drivers for the graphic card in the NVIDIA website you will be able to get the drivers for the graphic card in the laptop manufacturers website.


This is something I can hardly believe.
drivers for all other cards are to be found except the GTX 485m. strange!

 

Personally speaking, I think they might be wrong about that...I'd expect the 485M's drivers to be up on NVIDIA's website within a month, at the latest.

I can't believe they won't even support their own card. If that's the case, they can't brand it as an NVIDIA product in the first place!

Mr. Mysterious

 

Well they have a page dedicated to the 485m:

GeForce GTX 485M

which shows:



but using their site driver scan tool it states:

 

Isn't that the way it always is with laptop GPU drivers? I couldn't go to ATI for the drivers for my HP, I had to get the drivers from HP.

 

Sorry for going off topic, but are 1600MHz memory chips working at the advertised frequency? Thanks

 

An Nvidia employee has already stated, on the Nvidia forums, that the GTX 485M will be supported in the next WHQL release.

 

I also share this experience with low-mid end graphics cards.
But for high end performance cards you can usually go to Nvidia or AMD.
For brands like HP and Acer, I can understand that ! they create OEM cards specifically designed for a particular type of laptop "is typical of these brands that they have multiple versions of a certain nvidia card"

Nvidia must understand that their high end cards are almost worthless over time if they do not provide good driver support!!

@Kevin_jack2.0,
ok Great news .......I panic too early

 

Laptopvideo2go has some solid drivers for the 485M slated to go up soon.

 

For those that may be interested, had to reflash my bios to get LAN/Wan/usb3/Cardreader to work again.

 

Why caused your LAN/Wan/usb3/Cardreader to stop working?

 

There was no noticeable cause. Turned off the computer Thursday night, Friday morning those components were no longer working. Last things I had done Thursday was play Batman Ark. Asylum game through Steam (installing DX and Windows live I believe) and upgrading to IE 9. Don't think those caused the issue though (Issue persisted after a wipe/reinstall of windows)

 

Yes, when paired with the i7-2720QM (and up). Otherwise, your RAM will downclock to 1333.

 

Hey guys. So I'm getting my beast in what should be a couple weeks, I just had to tweak my order and I had a few questions. First I decided not to get an OS since I have a family pack of Windows 7 and was wondering the exact process I would have to do to get my 8170 running. Because although flashing BIOS and drivers makes me a wee bit weary it's still better for me since my budget is way too tight. I'm getting it from Malibal and here are the specs:

i7 2720 (I know, I know. But I needed virtualizatonm, HD film processing power, along with some rendering juice)
8 GB Ram (Would got 4gb but I didnt want to get under the keyboard)
320 GB HDD (SDD after graduation)
460m (485m after graduation and business kicks off, also does anyone use ati for film production and cgi?)

 

I think if you get 4 gb they install it under the KB first so when you wanna expand you can use the easy to access port on the bottom.

 

It really isn't that hard to add the RAM under the KB. Plus you'll only do it like, what, once? But either way, 4GB under the keyboard and add another 4GB later will be cake.

 

If you are using the Adobe suite you will want Nvidia.

 

The only Windows 7 "family pack" I've seen is a 3-computer Home Premium upgrade pack. Is that the one you're referring to? If so, it's upgrade only, and you'd need to install a previous version of Windows to be able to use it.

You can do BIOS updates (if there are any) before installing Windows, but you'll need to get Win 7 set up before you can start with all the drivers and other software.