*** Official X8100 (Sager 8120) Owners Thread ***

Awesome, is it like a software thing, or is it like the monitor has multiple inputs?

 

I tried to out put to my 40 inch Sony television, and it looked like a hot mess...any ideas on what I should try to make it look better?

Better HDMI cables (though I thought that there was no big difference...)?

 

it depends on the res of the tv, my old 42" tv would only display correctly at 1440x900 even though it was an 1080i tv

try different out put resolutions

 

the idea is that you could plug a ps3 into it and play it off the screen, it has only one input and can handle audio and visual

 

This is kinda a quiet thread! I thought with this level of Laptop, this thread would be on fire. I guess it's good because there aren't any complaints. I ejected from the ASUS G73JH because of issues. O also wanted an 18.4 screen.

So, here's my question. One of the 8120 threads has specs saying the 8120 will do RAID 5. I have not seen this anywhere else.

Can someone CONFIRM for sure if RAID 5 is available. This will affect what drives I put in.

Also, any troubles getting Ubuntu on this?

 

I guess this thread is quiet because everybody is happy with there laptops and there anything to worry about.
Also take into consideration that this is not everybodys cup of tea when it comes to laptops its so large and expensive that there are many other models that are more suitable for laptop users to use.

With regards to Ubuntu I have not used it yet myself but 1 of the Kobalt forum users has it working succesfully on his G890 in a dual boot setup with Windows 7.

 

Well, I hope the thing is everybody is happy with it as cancelled my ASUS G73JH for same reason as above ("issues and availability") and the fact that DX 11 does not seem to be fully utilized properly on the mobile 5870 card and orderded The Sager 8120. Hopefully have it in about 13 more days.

Be interesting to see how it compares to my desktop 8600 at 4.4ghz and the ATI 4870x2 in gaming.

config ordered: Sager 8120 > Dual nVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M 1GB GDDR3 in SLi > i7-920XM Extreme (2.0~3.2GHz, 55W)> IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU > 8GB (2 SODIMMS) DDR3/1333 Dual Channel Memory> 160GB Intel® X25-M SATA Solid-State Drive> 500GB SATA II 3GB/s 7,200 RPM Hard Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)> 4x Blu-Ray Reader/8x Super Multi Combo

 

Who did you order form?

I am looking at PCTORQUE

 

A few other questions:

Still interested if there is a RAID 5 option in the BIOS?

If you order with 1 or 2 HDs, does it have the carrier for the third drive empty in the bay for future use? Or do you have to order the drive carrier?

 

Quick question guys does anyone know what the refresh rate is on the lcd?
Just wondering if it supports 120hz.

 

Have you ever seen a Laptop that supports 120 hz, just wondering?

 

Mine came with the carrier for the third drive!

 

Thanx!

Don't suppose you could check the BIOS and see if RAID 5 is an option?

 

I do not see it in the BIOS! only 0 or 1 that's it!

 

Thanx, I was afraid of that. It was on the first page of the "Who is getting a Sager 8120" thread, but I didn't see it anywhere else. I would love to do a RAID 5 with all three drives! Ohhh welll, can't have everything!

I hope you're not Gravely Mistaken about this!

 

yes there are a couple

and the x8100 is not one of them

 

Can you drop the names of them here? I'd be very interested to look them over.

 

The Asus G51JX-3D is one, it has 120hz and 3d vision.
http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g51jx3d-order-p-2741.html

 

Thanx, I guess that's the coming thing for Laptops, especially gaming Laptops. I'm still surprised about the 3D "comeback" though.

Reminds me of Steve McQueen in "The Blob", I think that movie was in 3D.

 

Super happy with mine

So awesome to sit here at Lan partie with friends, and out number some of em on 3D mark vantage hrhr.. And They are on their tower machines

 

Does anyone know how to change the color on the touch keys? I have color bleeding on them (ex: green and purple when wifi is on)! So if there is color bleeding then they must be able to change color as well!

 

Does anyone know for sure that there are 5 speakers in this laptop? The manual says there is but I only get sound from the two front and sub! I get no sound from the ones at the back!

 

Hmm...I'll have to look into it, but I bought it this year...brand new model...

 

Yeah definately 5 speakers.. Well 6 actually becuase I get 5.1

to turn it on follow this

Ok As easy as I can make it
Right Click on the Speaker icon at the bottom right of the screen
Playback Devices
Highlight Speakers Realtek
Click the configure button
Click 5.1 Surround
Click Next
Put Ticks in Center Subwoofer and Side Pair
Click Next
Put Ticks in Front Left and Right and Surround
Click Next
Click finish

And Hope for the best

 

+1

i been playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for most of the afternoon. love it! and surprised that this lappy can handle that game so well with all the settings on high. after now owning this machine for about 4 weeks or so. i have only a couple minor criticisms. first and foremost is the crappy realtek so called "HD" audio. ugh. on the unit's speakers it doesnt sound too bad but it's headphones i have the biggest gripe with. it's just fkn terrible. poor quality sound with almost zero bass and volume is very LOW. what enraged me the most is that my brother bought a $AU400 Compaq laptop last week and his on-board audio (IDT based) through headphones sounds far better. I solved this problem with a USB based sound card. the Sound Blaster X-fi Go! sounds way way way way better than the realtek, be it for games and ESPECIALLY for music! anyone here who uses headphones and is disappointed with the integrated audio should seriously consider a X-fi Go. I paid $AU67 for it and it was worth every penny.

Another minor problem is that if the lappy enters sleep mode, be it if i leave it idle, or close the lid. I can't wake the screen when going to use it again. i have to hold the power button down for 4 seconds to shut the machine down which software wise, is not good. I think it's a issue with windows. coming from a macbook before this computer, i never had such problems. anyone here with the same problem and better yet, able to resolve it?

I guess the only other thing is, which took me until a few days ago to notice is i have a stuck bright green pixel in the bottom left hand corner! wahhhhhhhhhhh. i guess i should be thankful with all the devices that have LCD screens i have bought in the last 6 years, this is only the 2nd lcd panel to have one, but why must it be on this machine

but other than all that, this notebook has been just sheer awesome. there is a LAN party coming up here in a couple weeks. goes without saying that my desktop PC will be left at home this time =) this lappy will be sure put through it's paces.

 

Thanx for the great feedback! Disappointing about the Headphone output. What headphones were you using?

 

No probs Les.

yeah, just about every realtek hd audio solution that i have plugged a pair of phones into i have been disappointed. so i can't exactly blame Metabox / Clevo for this one. the same goes for my desktop PC. the motherboard audio sucked hard as well. solved that problem with one Auzentech X-fi Forte

headphones i used? well, despite so many ppl not liking them. i am quite happy with the earbuds that come with Apple iPods. but i also plugged in my old faithful Sennheiser HD202 cans and it was no better. seriously i don't think it matter what phones i tried, realtek audio codecs are just that bad.

 

OK,
Looks like tomorrow is order day.

Any heat or Longevity issues anyone know of?

I usually don't get the warranty extensions but it helped me a lot on an Alienware branded Clevo a few years ago. It went thru 5 MB's due to heat. I unloaded it after the first MB change which occurred in about 6 weeks, but the poor guy who bought it was glad about the warranty. I swore I'd never get another Hot Gamerz laptop, but am back apparently.

You folks that have them, you think I need the extra warranty period?

 

Ohh, one more thing, if anyone has a copy of the BIOS, I would like to get a copy.

A copy with a 2.1 slic in it would be even better...

 

I never buy a extra warranty I don't keep a laptop long enough! Much easier that way for me since these laptop are getting cheap! This one cost me $3472 CAD and this time next year I will buy a new one again!

 

Well, ordered yesterday from PCTORQUE.COM.

Does it come with a driver disk?

What are the dimensions of the power brick?

Where to get the best video drivers?

What bag are you using for this Beastie?

I have a nice Leather BrentHaven, and I would love to get one for this as well, but they don't have one for this size Laptop!

I would like a Nice quality leather case if at all possible. I figure if I'm using all the Carbon this Laptop requires to run, screw those PETA freaks!

Kewl thing is my Old MacBook Pro fetches about $1000 on the used market, that helps a lot.

 

It'll come with a driver disc, which will have stock/old drivers on it.
Not sure on the dimensions of the PSU, but I've heard its a bit smaller than the M980NU one, which is pretty big (although not as big as the Xbox360 one!)
Best video drivers would usually be Dox/release+inf from LV2G.

Bags and stuff...well there are 18/19/20" laptop bags out there and most of these will fit. I use a cheapy backpack for the occasional move with my M980NU and seeing as the chassis is the same size, it'll fit the X8100!

 

Thanx! It makes sense there wouldn't be a ton of Monster bags.

 

You get a bag with the laptop.

Granted its not an all singing all dancing bag but its good enough for occasional trips. If you plan to move this laptop around a lot then I think you better look for something much more sturdier.

Be aware though that is a mammoth of a laptop and is not the kind of laptop you want to carry around much.

A couple of pics of the bag for you:

 

That's new, you never got a bag with the M980nu.

 

Thanx for the pix!

 

Yes

Mine was manufactured by FSP Group. to my understanding these guys are the cream of the crop in Desktop PC PSU's. i measured it's dimensions. they are 195mm Width x 85mm Length x 43mm Height. compared to other laptop PSU's i have seen, this thing is huge!

i'm using the 196.21 drivers from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com
thus far for me, they work very well. i have not yet encountered any major issues

a bag was shipped with mine as a bonus accessory. it is similar to snoozeulooz's

 

Im surprised this laptop doesn't have a backlight keyboard.

Hmmm what does the coax in do? from the email i got, it doesnt do anything in the us with the usb tv tuner.

 

Well, considering one of the HDMI ports is an HDMI in, it might serve the same function; for an input to put a display on the screen.

 

clevo havent made a backlit keyboard for anything

no plans for them either

 

Hi all, I am thinking of purchasing this notebook within the next 2 months, so it's basically between this and the hopefully refreshed MBP 17.

My major uses would be for photo editing and gaming. I am edging towards the Sager since it will offer superior specifications as compared to the refreshed MBP 17 but the MBP 17 does offer an IPS panel which the Sager does not.

So my question is, how accurate would the screen be for color critical work after calibration and stuff?

 

If you need absolute colour accuracy, I'd go for an external screen anyway. Even the cheaper IPS in the MBP will not be perfect (yes I've used a few IPS and PVA monitors before, TN unfortunately is cheaper and more popular), and if colour accuracy is of utmost importance, then an external screen you can research and hand pick would be a far better choice.

As you want to game, it'd seem obvious you may as well get the Sager, then chose the best screen within your budget for use in a fixed location.

 

no. the catv in is for recording tv, or watching it

 

Thanks!

Another question. Are there any audio stuttering issues associated with the GTX285m or are you guys using the powermizer to bypass the stutter?

 

This laptop has none of the issues of its predecessor as far as we can tell, the nvidia chipset seemed to be playing a hand in them.
Pman experienced the stuttering with the M980NU and he doesnt have any now.

 

Thanks Alexrose1uk. Appreciated.

 

No problem...its part of the reason I sold up and moved over

 

Well, I've heard of an optional PCI-e TV tuner, so maybe it's meant to go with that. I can't think of a way to hook it up to a USB tuner, though.