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

mine is running 38-39C across the board, currently using firefox and have 3ds Max operating. I would wonder about 64 too. I also left it on last weekend for over 24 hours running an animation render, it never went above 70C, ambient room 24C.

 

Just idling in a 22C room on a hard surface I'm seeing peaks of ~56C on my CPUs, 73C on my GPU. This is in HWMonitor, just sitting there for a couple hours, playing some music on iTunes and some normal web-browsing.

GPU is 50C currently, not sure what would have put it up to 73C. I'm going to try re-pasting the GPU with ICD7 and see what happens.

 

Good idea, let us know how that works out

Mr. Mysterious

 

Sorry about that, It was late at nite. It seems to be idling around 46C on the GPU, or about 9F more than usual. Not sure what I did but I have put all GPU settings back to normal in the nVidia control panel. I usually idle at 100F. I think she is fickle ...

 

Lol could you please stop switching between c and f?

Mr. Mysterious

 

It does throw one, doesn't it?

 

Roger that. I know most of you talk in centigrade so I will keep it that way. Don't wanna confuse anyone

 

I havnt looked at the internals of this laptop yet (so i dont know where they are at) but does anyone know if there is any danger of thermal pads coming off when repasting the gpu and cpu? also does anyone know if theres a guide anywhere on the website for repasting on this model? I havnt been able to find one

 

As long as you're careful removing the heatsink from the card, there shouldn't be any problems when you're repasting.

You might want to check the signature in Theriko's thread for a link to the manual detailing the steps on dis-assembly for the GPU

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...evo-p150hm-owners-lounge-174.html#post7251448

 

cool good to know thankyou sir/mam

 

Here is the general layout. However, I subscribe to the logic of "if it isn't broke, don't fix it". This applies to the thermal transfer pads as well.

Regardless, if you are going to apply paste, you will need to remove and discard the thermal transfer pads since you don't use both.

Scott

 

So when applying paste, is just the GPU chip itself the important bit? What about all the other chips (memory, etc) that the other part of the heatsink sits on?

 

The GPU core itself is the most important part as that's where most of the heat is generated. The memory chips do generate heat, but nowhere near the same levels. They also use thermal pads so it's a little more complicated to switch everything out at the same time.

 

Okay I'll probably just leave those alone then, thanks.

 

SO does that mean the gpu core itself has thermal paste on it, when the default thermal compound option is selected, that can be replaced and switched for something else ? I wouldnt want to mess with thermal pads on the other stuff

 

Yes, Lost.

Mr. Mysterious

 

great, thanks Mr. Awesome

 

awwww slight delay on my 8170, due that monday and tuesday were holiday. but the great is news that my processor were bumped up to the latest selection cant wait for next monday to come .

 

That's cool (the "free upgrade")! The wait will be worth it, these things cook, er, rock!

 

hahaha now all i need is cout for es/qs 2960

btw, are the heatsink of 6990m and 580m are the same? or need to purchase new ehatsink too?

 

Decided to treat myself to a birthday present, so I bought my first ever SSD.

I went with the Crucial M4 128GB. The $179 sale price is pretty close to the GB per $1 for which I've been holding out.

I'm really hyped to see SSD speed first hand.

 

you will loving it

i just got for my self vertex 3 and kingston hyper x, now all i need is the laptop itself to be at hand

 

You decided on a vertex 3? I guess OCZ has cleaned up their act...

Mr. Mysterious

 

When I was making the final decision, everyone I asked said to avoid the Vertex 3 like the plague. Plus I went on Newegg and read all of the horror stories in the review section.

There's no way I'd take that risk.

 

Is there a visual guide somewhere to change our display ?
My 90% gamut should come in mail pretty soon I think.

 

This video shows a different notebook, but the process is virtually identical.

 

So I am considering buying the NP8170 but I have a question regarding the noise. What can I expect when simply browsing the web or writing a word document?

 

It should be nearly silent when doing non-intensive productivity work like that. The CPU/GPU downclock on battery when not needed, so power draw and heat are minimal. Less than a whisper overall (assuming you also have the newest Bios update, which you should, as fans ramping up were an issue many revisions ago).

Under load is another thing entirely, as the fans can get to around the level of noise that an average conversation would be.

 

Many users on this forum are happy with the levels of noise. For all of the 'horse power under the hood' you have in this model, while just browsing the web and such you may forget for a moment the beast you do have...
_

 

My wife's G73JH is "LOUDER". I would have never thought that. I too, was concerned about the noise as I have never known a Sager owner. My only complaint is the rattle in the keyboard. I have taken her apart and did not want to go deeply into her to add some kind of foam. Any Ideas?

 

well vertex 3 due that all the review i have read. even if there are any problem with the device *knock on wood, the rma center is just a walking distance for me

 

I have what I believe to be the latest Bios', and my fans cycle the same as they did 4 months ago. If you are in a quiet environment, they can be very annoying. I cannot let it run when I sleep in the same room for instance. Others seem to have a different experience.

 

Just be sure to flash to the current firmware (if it does not have it already) before you use it and you will be fine. I have two Vertex 3's (with one more on the way for my new lappy) and I have had 0 issues since firmware 2.09 was released in July.

 

To me the fans are pretty loud, when I wake up in the morning and have a coffee in a quiet house the fans are pretty annoying, and like kivnul mentioned, forget about sleeping next to the laptop on.
It's all about what people expect and what they're used to, it doesn't bother me that much, because I know I got a monster underneath and it does require some decent coolingwhilemaking a noise.

 

Very late to the party, but the G170 I ordered several months ago arrived early this month. My family will hold on to it for me until October when I meet up with them.

W7 Ultimate x64
i7-2720qm
16GB DDR 1333Mhz
Nvidia 580m
Intel 6230
Intel 510 320GB SSD
WD 7200rpm 750GB 2nd HDD
BR/RE drive

 

very VERY quiet, for me. My black edition quad phenom is like a lawnmower compared to this one - and even with 4 fans, I could smell it after it had been rendering for a couple hours.

With this wee beast I am now rendering with 3ds max 2011 as I write (very intensive work) and I hardly notice it. I even had it left on since last night to do another render. And to boot, cores are only between 66C and 70C, ambient room temp is 24C. All in all, so far I am quite pleased. But I will upgrade my CPU once warranty is up, I can see it is not quite fast enough to keep up with the graphics card (which is only running at 40C ).

 

wont it be flashed to latest f/w since i just bought it?? how to check the f/w that come with it anyway?

 

I know of people whose Vertex 3s were crap even after the firmware update.

I wish you the best of luck.

I was wondering whether you ever got yours. What a ridiculous amount of time that took.

 

Just stopping in to say hello to everyone, im new to these forums but have been reading and appreciate all the input and information i have gathered from here over the past few weeks.

Hoping to place an order for one of these bad boys in the next week as soon as i can narrow down which reseller to purchase from and had a couple questions.

Is there really any difference between the glossy and matte screens is it really just personal preference? having never owned a laptop before i am still unsure which way to go?

Again thank you.

 

I do what you do except 3dmax 2010, as of right now, I am in my totally silent office and I hear just a little spin up then back down. Compared to my last toshiba 10 pounder, that was a jet engine always on. It would also not take the socal very hot summers. My 8170 can sit and render in a 80F room all day. This is one sweet SMALL machine. I say small because all my 17"ers were physically very bit

 

Spec wise, the technical differences between the upgraded screens are:

V.4
Glossy
Contrast Ratio: Min - 500, Typ - 600
NTSC Gamut: 90%

V.5
Matte
Contrast Ratio: Min - 300, Typ - 400
NTSC Gamut: 72%

 

Thanx for that bit of info kevin.

 

Just to give you the specs on the default glossy, I'm not looking at the proper data sheet, but I can ballpark the Hannstar too.

It's max contrast ratio is 1000:1, but the NTSC gamut is only 60%.

Viewing angles

The two AUO screens have a horizontal of 70/70, vertical 60/60.

The Hannstar is 80/80, 60/75

Brightness

The AUOs have a min of 270, a typ. of 300

The Hannstar has a min of 176, a typ. of 220

So the default screen does have its advantages, but you will take a very sharp hit when it comes to the quantity/quality of colors on display. Plus some consider it to be too dim. As you can see, its typical brightness is far below the AUOs worst case scenario.

I personally have the 90% glossy, and I don't think I could over-exaggerate it's beauty. It's the single best expenditure I put into this notebook, right after the choice in GPU. If it's in your budget, I would go for it.

 

For those interested NBR just completed a review of the Sager NP8170.

 

While the performance and cooling parts of the review seem if a bit understated... I wonder what this might be: "This keyboard deserves a grade of A: it's got it all. Amazing key travel, comfortable to type and game with, very little pressure is needed to press the keys, and it also has a solid build quality."

How could it be that "Amazing key travel" is stated along with the "very little pressure is needed to press the keys"? Comfortable to type and game with? A grade of A, the same A as the earlier Thinkpads or, say, Asus G2S?

It is very possible that they had improved the default keyboard lately - cause the stock keyboard I have on my NP7280 and the stock keyboard my friend has on his NP8170 have nothing in common with the default keyboard reviewed - apart from the solid build quality which is, indeed, solid (the keyboard does not flex regardless of the pressure applied). Not that it spoiled the perfect machine one bit - who would use a laptop without an external keyboard anyway...

 

They also claim their keyboard is backlit, which as far as I know isn't possible. Not sure what they're talking about keyboard-wise.

 

Thanx again kevin very helpful.

 

they are talking about purchasing a full sized backlit usb keyboard (they mention the Saitek eclipse keyboard which xotic sells for $97)

as much as these notebooks are offered as gaming notebooks, it's pretty short-sighted to not offer backlit keys - at the very least done in the Asus ROG style - with simple clean white lit keys (and unlike the clownfest route that alienware and MSI took)

i know there is mention this may happen next quarter but eh.. why wait to offer what people want when you have the capability now?



how hard do you think it would be to replace a sager/clevo laptop's keyboard bought now with a backlit one, if they introduce them in future units?

 

It's unfortunately rather difficult. Backlit keyboards require power to be run to them for the lighting. Assuming they offer backlit keyboards standard, they'll have to include power on the motherboard. That means that backward compatibility will be tough for models that don't have it.

 

They say good things come to those who wait, just as well my personal deadline of end-September was met since any earlier would have been a bonus being unable to claim the laptop myself until next month.

I'll probably review my laptop personally and post the results next month if I feel like it. The initial impression from the family is that it's really really big (My relative has the XPS16 which is apparently dwarfed by this machine).

I have to do benchmarks myself, so anyone got a rough idea of what my machine will perform with the specs I posted earlier?