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

    Discussion in 'Sager/Clevo Reviews & Owners' Lounges' started by Riddhy916, Jan 8, 2011.

  1. genocidew

    genocidew Notebook Evangelist

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    to all reseller, i need some help.

    currently im using my 8170 more for work then gaming then usual, i opened lots of webpages in firefox, sometimes as much as 200 pages at 1 go.

    when i do this, i noticed my processor temperature always idle at 60 degree (140f) worst case in can go as high as 70 to 80 degree celcius...

    i noticed when i dont use/ open any firefox aka restart my laptop, i will be idle at 44 degree..

    while my 6990m only idle at 48 only... im using ic diamond thermal compound when i purchased this laptop. if i have to re paste, i will using either my mx3 or mx4.

    is there anyway to lower down my temperature further?
     
  2. Anthony@MALIBAL

    Anthony@MALIBAL Company Representative

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    I'm not sure I follow- if you're worried about your temps, 70-80C are definitely nothing to worry about. If you starting going over 90-95, then you might want to consider repasting.

    Having 200 tabs open in firefox with it being hardware accelerated can easily bump up the graphics card clocks and temps.
     
  3. KenjiWB

    KenjiWB Notebook Guru

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    Hey all! Currently knee deep in researching my next (potential) notebook to replace my sadly aging MSi GT725 (which was also purchased thanks to the community on this site about 3 years ago heh).

    Right now I am torn between getting another MSi or taking a chance on an unknown (to me), which is one of these :D. After reading up and comparing available builds, I was a little disappointed in the cost of MSi's these days, but I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with the owner community and retailer support in this thread, ya'll really have a lot of great advice and are helping me out a great deal! Not to mention, these machines are a great value!
     
  4. genocidew

    genocidew Notebook Evangelist

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    @malibal - good to know that this machine will operating normal at 70-80 degrees :D

    @kenji - 8170 is my 1st 17" laptop and im really loving it in every way. the only downside is just the juice is not that long lasting, but o well nothing is perfect :D
     
  5. KenjiWB

    KenjiWB Notebook Guru

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    Yea, never was too worried about battery life on a beast this big, I currently use a 17" and my initial intent was just to get rid of my desktop without too much heartache (larger screen, but too much maintenance), mission accomplished, but now I can never go smaller than 17" heh.

    I did have a question that might sound kinda noobish (been out of the game for too long!) if I build using PC3-10660 memory can I upgrade to PC3-14900 later? I have fond memories of installing PC-2100/2700 memory on my P4B533 back in the day!...but very rusty regarding compatibility issues now lol...

    Might have to wait till I get back to the states afterall, shipping to Hawaii is still crazy lol..
     
  6. genocidew

    genocidew Notebook Evangelist

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    as long it is ddr3, i believe there is no problem :)
     
  7. TR2N

    TR2N Notebook Deity

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    Hey all,

    Just a simple q.
    When there is no load on your system, does your psu make this strange buzz sound?
    However, when putting load on it the buzz disappears?
    Thnx all :)
     
  8. jointmatrix

    jointmatrix Notebook Enthusiast

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    Is there anyway to turn the Stereoscopic 3D OFF permanently but I still want to use it sometimes. I don't like it to run automatically. It happens when I open netflix in firefox, or when I alt-tab Crysis 2. Its annoying because I already turn it off in the option of the game but when I alt-tab and return to game from the windows the Stereoscopic 3D will lit up again. I am using the 290.36 beta Driver.
     
  9. Poindexter

    Poindexter Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yes I sometimes have this buzzing from the power brick but weirdly it's not there all the time, I didn't found the logic behind it, but most of the time it's not making this buzz.
     
  10. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    I hear that FF has been known to stress your GPU more than other browsers =X

    Had the GPU crash a few times when FF is on too :(



    As long you don't take an arrow to the knee, you should be fine. I had to make a similar decision too; went for Sager as only the older models of MSI are available.
     
  11. Anthony@MALIBAL

    Anthony@MALIBAL Company Representative

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    I believe there is a setting in Nvidia control panel > 3D Vision where you can turn it off completely. There may even be an option to turn off autostart, but I don't have a machine in front of me to check.

    You can disable hardware acceleration in firefox through options > advanced > browsing > uncheck "use hardware acceleration". This should lower the amount of resources FF uses, but it may make pages a bit slower to render.
     
  12. owdbetts

    owdbetts Newbie

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    Anyone successfully running Linux on the P170HM - and if so any tips? I've recently ordered one, and would like to dual boot it - and would be curious to know if anyone has had much luck with this - since Linux can be a bit hit and miss on laptops.

    Also, am I right in thinking that the P170HM *doesn't* have Optimus? (not having Optimus should make things easier, I think, since Linux support for Optimus is still a bit of an interesting issue)
     
  13. J.P.@XoticPC

    J.P.@XoticPC Company Representative

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  14. owdbetts

    owdbetts Newbie

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    Thanks J.P. I did do a quick search but missed that thread. Sounds promising, based on that.

    roy
     
  15. jointmatrix

    jointmatrix Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks.. What i did was to disable it from the nvidia control panel and also disable 3d from all programs and then restart pc :)
     
  16. rsdunphy

    rsdunphy Notebook Evangelist

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    I have run almost all current distributions on the 8170 with no hiccups at all.
     
  17. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks, I can give that a shot!
     
  18. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    And there are some stains on my metal armrest, the microfibre cloth I just got will not clean them off too.

    Am I doing it wrongly?
     
  19. Larry@LPC-Digital

    Larry@LPC-Digital Company Representative

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    Sometimes one needs to use a electronics liquid cleaner (Pledge makes one) to clean some tough areas. It works well with a soft Terry cloth.

    Sent from Tapatalk
     
  20. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    ...what's a Terry cloth?
     
  21. owdbetts

    owdbetts Newbie

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    Thanks rsdunphy, that's good to know.
     
  22. Tes96

    Tes96 Notebook Consultant

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    Hello guys, I'm new around here. I'm buying a new laptop. The games I want to play are The Witcher 2, Dragon Age Origins, Crysis Warhead, Skyrim, Uncharted 3, all in 120Hz 3D and on ultra maximum settings with anti-aliasing cranked as far as it can go. I also play TESIII Morrowind with graphics mods which is the biggest CPU hog in the universe.

    Here is the configuration I'm desiring:
    NP8170
    i7-2960xm (which I intend to overclock up to 5.0 GHz)
    GTX 580m
    16GB 1866MHz RAM
    SSD (not sure between Intel 510 or 320 series)

    I like the i7-2960xm because it is an unlocked 4-core processor according to this information by CPU-World.

    I understand that The Witcher 2 is a very GPU intensive game when anti-aliasing is set to maximum level and in 3D vision. I doubt I will get very good frame rates running TW2 in 3D and AA with only one GPU. But I can always turn down AA, or even turn it off.

    This is the best laptop architecture I have been able to configure for the best price out of all the others I've researched, including MSI, Asus, Alienware, MainGear, Malibal, OriginPC.

    Am I getting the best laptop for what I want to do? I'd like to get two GPUs SLI-enabled with the 2960 but I'm told by xoticpc.com customer service that that processor is not compatible with two GPUs. Also, my budget is around $4000. Thanks guys!
     
  23. Anthony@MALIBAL

    Anthony@MALIBAL Company Representative

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    You may want to look into the P180HM if you're looking for more GPU power with support for that unlocked CPU. You can't do dual 580m's due to power reasons, but you can do crossfire 6990's which would be 2x the power. One 6990m is roughly tied with one 580m.

    As a note though, if you don't need the unlocked processor, you can probably do fine with a lower model as the overall difference in performance is fairly low. Though if you intend to take advantage of the unlocked multiplier, this may not be the case.
     
  24. ModernLifeIsWar

    ModernLifeIsWar Notebook Enthusiast

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    Is there any real advantage to getting this laptop over the NP8150 besides screen size and the extra HDD bay? I configured the NP8150 with the 95% gamut screen + an extra bay in the optical drive for just a bit more than the cost of this one with a standard screen. The better screen is mainly what's making me lean towards the 8150 (its +200 more dollars to add to the np8170 and wouldn't be worth it for me), weight is negligible. Is there any other benefits to the NP8170 I should know of. I heard this uses the HM67 chipset but I'm not very familiar with the advantages of that over the HM65 in the NP8150.
     
  25. Support.3@XOTIC PC

    Support.3@XOTIC PC Company Representative

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    The HM67 chipset will allow you to set up a RAID array which the NP8150 cant. The NP8170 will also have slightly lower temps because of the bigger chassis and better air flow.
    Other then that the main differences are as you've listed.
    The NP8170 can also support a 3D screen. You can order it now or even upgrade to it down the road should you feel like it.
     
  26. Larry@LPC-Digital

    Larry@LPC-Digital Company Representative

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  27. Ryan

    Ryan NBR Moderator

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    I thought the models have different motherboards between the P170HM3 and the P170HM?

    Can you do a hot swap of the screen only?
     
  28. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    Ah, thankfully this can be bought easily...

    And what type of fluid can I use (chemicals to avoid?)? There are quite a few and I am a little confused...
     
  29. Prema

    Prema Your Freedom, Your Choice

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    No you are right Ryan...you can´t upgrade without mobo swap.

    Also P170HM3 bios has the Xtreme Core multis locked at default speeds only P170HM bios allows OC for CPU...THX Clevo :(
     
  30. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    Strange, to think that 3D setups need more CPU power than non-3D setups...
     
  31. Prema

    Prema Your Freedom, Your Choice

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    It´s the 3d screen that needs more juice...
     
  32. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    True, but aside from electric power concerns, don't 3D graphics also need more GPU/CPU power?
     
  33. trinox

    trinox Notebook Consultant

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    Hi, Is it normal to have a screen which runs at 63hz? I thought they normally run at 60hz??
     
  34. Support.4@XOTIC PC

    Support.4@XOTIC PC Company Representative

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    Generally, you have to select for it to support "non standard frequencies" in order for it to do something like 63 Hz. While there can be a slight variance (most screens will be in the 59-63 Hz range), if you have a 60 Hz option I would recommend setting it to that since having it set to 63Hz may cause some issues like slight artifacting.
     
  35. trinox

    trinox Notebook Consultant

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    I ve tried but only option it gives me is 63hz. Is there any ways to set it to 60.
    I ve been getting poor performance in my games and started to think if these are possibly related. Would setting v sync at 60hz in radeon pro help?
    Please help!
     
  36. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    You mean the Display options in Windows is giving you the option to choose 63HZ as your refresh rate?
     
  37. Etherealone

    Etherealone Newbie

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    A couple of quick questions concerning adding a SSD to the NP8170.

    Can you just add the new SSD to the open slot (using a Sata II SSD), clone the HHD to it (using the Intel Data Migration Software), and change a Bios setting so that it boots from the new solid state drive, leaving Windows 7 on both drives? That way, I would assume if you ever have a drive problem you could just change the Bios back to booting from the HHD.

    If this can be done easily, is there any reason why (other than if you had a Sata III drive) it would be better to have the SSD in the primary drive slot? Thanks for the help.
     
  38. trinox

    trinox Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, anyways to change it to 60hz
     
  39. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    Hmm... Strange that Windows did not give you the option to change it to 60HZ, check the GPU's menu?
     
  40. Larry@LPC-Digital

    Larry@LPC-Digital Company Representative

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    Many have used the cleaner in the link below when there is a need for more than the standard cleaning. :)

    Clean House | Multi Surface Cleaner | Pledge®
    -
     
  41. trinox

    trinox Notebook Consultant

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    gpu menu only gives me 63hz as well. I can see from the display option that "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display" is unticked and greyed out.
    Would enabling this help at all? if so how do I enable it when it is greyed out?
     
  42. Tes96

    Tes96 Notebook Consultant

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    I do need the unlocked processor, though. The most important issue is getting the processor to overclock since the 2960xm has an unlocked multiplier. I just want the dual GPU so that I can run The Witcher 2 in 3D with anti-aliasing turned all the way up and at full ultra maximum settings.

    This post says there is an x79 update coming to Sager. Should I wait a couple months and buy a Sager in early 2012? I can afford to wait a few months, it's no problem. Anybody familiar with the x79?
     
  43. Anthony@MALIBAL

    Anthony@MALIBAL Company Representative

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    The updates won't be rolling out until around late spring of next year, though there's always the possibility that they could get pushed back further. If you want the unlocked CPU and the dual cards though, the P180HM can do that :)
     
  44. Tes96

    Tes96 Notebook Consultant

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    Yes but if you look at the P180HM, you'll notice there is no 120Hz 3D screen. And "Glossy" screens are extremely reflective to sunlight and house light. But that 18.4" size is quite alluring.

    I like the P170HM model because it has the 120Hz 3D Matte screen. Its RAM is better than the P180HM, offering 16GB at 1866MHz instead of 1600MHz. Although I've read that 4 RAM sticks makes it harder to overclock because the cpu integrated memory controller needs higher voltage with more RAM sticks. So perhaps two 4GB sticks are enough for me.

    The P180HM has the two 6990m GPUs, which is good. And the P170HM has the one 580m GPU, which is good for playing games in 2D but not in 3D. I think the setup these designers have is backwards. If you're going to offer a 3D screen then offer the option for two GPUs since 3D draws a lot of power from the graphics cards.

    This review says that the 6990m and the 580m are pretty much the same. But if in fact they are the same, why dose Nvidia charge an extra three hundred dollars for theirs?

    I could always hook up an external 3D monitor to the P180HM to play in 3D. I wonder if that would work, despite the laptop not having a 3D screen built into it.

    The P180HM does sound good, except its 1600Mhz RAM instead of 1866Mhz, and the lack of the 120Hz matte screen. If it had those two, I'd probably buy it.

    Well in your opinion, MALIBAL #2, is the IvyBridge platform that will come out possibly in summer 2012 really worth waiting for? If I buy a laptop with a 2960xm, will I be kicking myself in the butt for not waiting 6 months to get the x79? Will there be a truly significant difference in these processors? Because I intend to overclock my 2960xm up to 5.0 GHz. (I also heard there is an i7-3960x coming out next year too. Is that for desktops only?)

    (I hope I stated all my information correctly here because I don't want to sound like a retard, despite the fact that I am a newbie on here)
     
  45. acroedd

    acroedd Notebook Evangelist

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    guys, my p170hm power button is not very responsive! i have to press 3 or 4 times for it to start! any fixes for that? I really dont want to send the laptop back!
     
  46. Anthony@MALIBAL

    Anthony@MALIBAL Company Representative

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    You are correct in that the glossy screen is the only option at the moment (with no option for the 120hz 3D). As you pointed out though, an external 120hz monitor is always an option. Of note though, if you wanted something like 3D Vision- that's limited solely to Nvidia cards. The AMD option just isn't there in terms of quality yet.

    The difference in RAM may not be as much as you're hoping either. The bump from 1333 to 1600 offers ~2-4% overall system benchmark improvement. The jump from 1600 -1866 is the same amount of increase. 1866Mhz RAM may work in this model, but there are no guarantees that it would be stable.

    The price difference between the 6990 and 580 is just due to the company pricing structure. In actuality, the two cards are in fact very close in performance. The price cut to the 6990 has made it significantly more affordable. Here are some links with benchmarks between the 6990, 580m, and crossfire 6990's.

    AMD Radeon HD 6990M - Notebookcheck.net Tech
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M - Notebookcheck.net Tech
    AMD Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire - Notebookcheck.net Tech

    As for Ivy Bridge, the refresh for mobile isn't going to increase performance to any significant degree. It's designed to be the tick (or die shrink) in Intel's roadmap, where they are focusing on improving power efficiency and integrated graphics performance. The actual CPU performance is not going to improve by a lot.

    I think you may be confusing the Sandy-Bridge E refresh with x79 express chipset and the Ivy Bridge release though. Sandy-Bridge E is a desktop refresh and has nothing to do with the Ivy Bridge die shrink in the spring. The 3960X you mentioned is a desktop model Sandy Bridge E part. Here is a link showing the current roadmap for mobile processors:

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...nfo-about-upcoming-refresh-6.html#post8155765
     
  47. xKeen

    xKeen Notebook Enthusiast

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    Just shipped my laptop to Sager a couple of days ago...Won't be getting it back till second week of January :(
    Also, the power button is really wacko for me too, it has to be held down compared to my previous dell laptops which turns on just by pressing it
     
  48. acroedd

    acroedd Notebook Evangelist

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    after removing the external hard drive and cooler connected to usb ports, it seems easier to switch on now! maybe those were making it hard.
     
  49. darkarn

    darkarn Notebook Evangelist

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    I am wondering whether the UAC settings have anything to do with this...
     
  50. SomeGuy111

    SomeGuy111 Newbie

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    Hello everyone, I'm in need of some urgent help. I'm incredibly panicked right now, I just got my Sager8170 working 2-3 weeks ago and I tried turning it on as soon as I woke up and it just won't boot.

    It starts off but nothing comes up on the screen, I can hear the fans and stuff but that's about it. I tried removing the battery but it didn't seem to solve the problem. What do I do now? I got my laptop from Xotic PC but I can't contact their CS because it's Sunday.

    Is this laptop dead? After like 2-3 freaking weeks of working? I didn't drop it or anything, it always lay on my desk.

    Thanks in advance.
     
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