Sager NP2096 Owners Lounge

Going to order the NP2096, any last pro's and con's I should know about aside from the ones I read in a couple reviews?

 

Is anyone able to run Wrath of the Lich King with full details at 1680x1050 with this system? The expansion has killed my computer performance so I am trying to see how this one will fair.

 

Just got my Sager 2096. I'm really enjoying it, but I'm having a problem with Vista 64 bit. I have the "Lid close action" set to "Do nothing." However, whenever I close the lid I hear the device disconnect sound. When I open it up right away, Windows is still up and running. But when I open it up after 30 minutes or so, the laptop is shut down and I have to boot it up again. Anybody know the solution to this? Is it a driver problem?

 

Vista 64bit has been giving me problems too. When it reawakes from sleep or hibernate, programs won't launch and explorer.exe often becomes unresponsive at random times. I was hoping to fix this with a bios update, and it looks like the 1.10 version is out on the compal site (my computer has 1.04) but when I try to install it it tells me it's a 32-bit version and I need a 64-bit one. I haven't been able to find one... what should I do? Would a new bios version fix these problems?

 

Hi folks,

I wonder if calling "Sager" Tech Support or even the Reseller that sold you your laptop would prove to be beneficial ... may be they could offer an "easy fix"!

G!

 

i received mine finally!
Installed XP64 fresh.. and then realized that all drivers offered were for XP32 or Vista32 and 64.....
That means that i have to use XP32 drivers? or there are any 64 ones??

Can anyone tell me what programs can i install (video card and native programs) ???

Thanks & regards

 

Hi neTEd,

I am sure you have seen this 2 sites ... but if not here you go ...

SAGER DRIVERS DOWNLOAD PAGE
http://www.sagernotebook.com/information.php?information_id=7

COMPAL JHL90 - 91 DRIVERS & BIOS
http://www.compal.com/asp/driver_dnd/index.htm

Cheers!

G!

 

Thanks for ur help Gonwk! I will check some Visa OS threads

Seems that Vista 64 is giving us all problems! I hoping SP2 will make it a smoother OS, should be out in a couple of months.

I really like the OS as far as customization and organization goes, I wish it wouldn't t give me so many problems. I will do some more research on Vista 64 OS, I'll post here if I can find any helpful hints/software/updates!

 

I can run Wrath exceptionally well at 1680x1050 with full details EXCEPT, as I stated, with certain particle effects rendered (certain full-screen blur/glow effects, especially, and also certain fire/smoke effects). I'm currently looking into how to resolve this issue and I feel that a driver update will do the trick. I've just been so busy with work projects that I haven't had a chance to test different driver distributions for Vista 64.

I guess I should consider myself lucky... I've been running Vista 64 for over 2 months now and I've had little to no problems aside from the Vista's usual "Oh, by the way, your device drivers for your 6 year old MP3 player won't work with Vista. Sorry!" which I expected.

As mentioned above, I have the same issue (although it's not really an issue or problem) when I close the lid on the laptop. I hear the same device connect/disconnect when opening/closing the lid while the OS is set to "Do Nothing" when closing the lid. This is COMPLETE POSTULATION, but I think it has to do with the laptop shutting off the LCD (almost all laptops I've seen will turn off the LCD with the lid closed, whether it goes to sleep or not), and essentially the LCD "disconnects'. If you have an external display connected, even in shared desktop mode, closing the lid will make the external display the primary display until you re-open the LCD. I haven't experienced the same problem with the unresponsive/powered off laptop after leaving the lid closed, but I also don't recall leaving it ON and CLOSED for that long. If I'm going to be away from the laptop for that long and plan to close the lid, I just put it in standby mode to cut down on heat.

 

i did entered the drivers page from Sager after installing XP 64... there i realized that itt wasnt going to work and installed XP32 Profesional SP3. And worked as a charm... i guess i will have to live with just 3GB.
Have anyone tried installing Ubuntu 32 or 64?

What are this Drivers?
CIR IR Driver for Windows VISTA 32 BIT / 64 BIT and XP 2.5.1
Smart WatchDog Utility for Windows XP 1.0.0.1001C
WOW Video/Audio Utility for Windows Windows XP 1.0.0.1005C
I read that WOW worked horribly for everyone, is that true?

Thanks and Regards

 

I installed Ubuntu 32 using Virtual Box(Tried installing 64 but it said my system didn't support it :S), installed and runs fine, but I can't get it to recognize my video card so I can use compiz Fusion. Still working on it

That Wow crap sucks, it does w.e. it wants, I recommend against it, it does nothing for u anyway

 

hey,
i've got a problem with vista 64 bit! i have a lot of music, game files etc... on my new laptop and now whenever i boot it up it tells me 'windows explorer has stopped working looking for solution' and then it tells me that windows is looking for a driver for an unknown device. the task bar and start menu are now like the ones in windows 2000 (grey and simple). it will not let me go back to a restore point either for some reason because 'an error was detected in the volume shadow copy service (VSS). the problem occured when trying to contact the VSS writers. Please verify that the event system service and the VSS service are running and check for associated errors in the event loss (0x80042318).' this all happened after installing fallout 3, but as i said system restore isn't working ... any help would be greatly apreciated! thanks again!

 

p.s windows sidebar always stops working on startup as well

 

and the touchpad too....

 

how long can i work on my np2096 in a stretch !!!!!1 is it safe to work for 10 hrs continusly

 

10 hours isn't even a half a day

It is safe to work as long as you can stay awake

 

I'm having a problem.

When I take my laptop off ac power, after about 10 minutes of battery use my laptop just shuts off for no reason. When I restart it, it doesn't do it again and there's still hours of battery life left. Just the initial unplugging of the ac power causes it shut off on battery use. It's definitely not because the battery is loose because I made sure it isnt and the lock mechanism is locked in.What's causing this?

 

@philip99

boot from Vista recovery DVD and do a System restore from there, works every time

 

Hey guys, i can't get the Fingerprint Reader to work. The software that i should use gives me an error when trying to install it. Mainly i wan it to scroll.
And i would also like to know if there is a soft to control power consumption, like turning off monitor after determined time... etc

Thanks!

 

How is the wireless? And how is the vista 64bit going? About to close on this rather then the dv5t but sounds like this cant handle 64bit all that well even with updated drivers and fresh install

 

wait so if i do the system restore with the windows cd will i lose all my data? what about a fresh reinstall of vista will i lose my data with that? thanks

 

You will lose any installations or updates done after the date of the restore, nothing more. But using the vista dvd saved my life a coupe of times. I recomend it

 

About to purchase. Quick question since there are many pages here. If you dont pay for the drivers and OS, what do you get? I read you get both vista and XP - i take it those are just plain drivers for the laptop and not the OS itself in basic form. So I will need to either purchase Vista from them in the order or myself correct?

 

Correct. If you don't choose an OS, then you will simply get the drivers disc. As for your other questions, the wireless isn't all that great as it's a 5100 card but it gives you decent performance. And I have not had any significant issues with Vista 64-bit whatsoever.

 

purchased my 2096 yesterday. can't wait for it to arrive

 

I made my purchase a few days ago, but of course with the holidays, things are a tad slow. I'm really looking forward to it. I don't game a whole lot, but I do software development and a bit of virtual machine work with Linux and the machine I have now (Gateway, don't ask) is about driving me nuts. Glad I found this forum. I tried to register on Xotic PC's forums, but it seems to be taking its time getting the confirmation to me.

Happy New Year all!

 

Thanks for the replies. Has anyone bought the cooling base from xotic that is an option when purchasing? either the cheaper or the more expensive? No real description on what type they are.

 

hey guys.... what fingerprint scanner should i use?????

 

Guys, Does NP2096 allow upgrade to 8GB ?

 

Hi guys,

I'm a noob to this site and somewhat to laptop tech in general, so I thought I'd ask some advice from you gurus. Here's the system I'm looking at picking up:

Sager NP2096
Intel® T5800 "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.0GHz w/2MB L2 On-die cache - 800MHz FSB
4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory
320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
nVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512MB PCI-Express DDR2 DX10
15.4" WXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1280x800)
Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive
Intel® PRO/Wireless 5100 802.11 a/g/n
Internal Bluetooth + EDR
Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
2.0 Megapixel Camera
Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
Standard Dead Pixel Policy
1 Year Parts & Labor, Lifetime Sager Toll Free Tech Support

$807 from XoticPC. My questions are thus:


1) I'm considering upgrading the processor to Intel® P8400 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.26GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt. Do you think I'd see enough of a performance improvement to warrant the extra 95 bucks?

2) I understand that some components (the nVidia 9600, 7200rpm HD) may run a bit hot... given that I've configured this myself, have I put a system together that's prone to fry itself?


I'm mostly a general-purpose user; I do plan on some gaming, but I'm obviously not looking for a dedicated super-powered rig. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

The processor upgrade may be worth if you really need it.
Maybe the 320gb 5400rpm drive is cooler than the 250 and 7200rpm as it spins slower. If you prefer more space and sacrifice a little speed is ok with you that could help ( i ordered the 500gb and 5400rpm disk)
The 9600GT will get hot.... mine went up to 91C but technically it wont get fried.
And also think about upgrading the display..... just if you want to.

Regards

 

@Fedor

I don't know how much you want to spend but here is what I would reccomend:

-Upgrade screen, the WSXGA looks amazing
-If you unrar stuff, or do many processor heavy tasks, I would upgrade it to as much as you want to spend AND try to get a P one and not a T, your rig will run cooler and consume less power thus improving battery life.
-Definetly get a 7200 RPM hard drive, especially if you plan to fill it up, I have about 60 gigs of music, 58 gigs worth of games, 43 gigs of videos and I am constantly rearranging, and backing it all up, the fast HD is a must for me. BUT if you don't plan to have a bunch of stuff on it, maybe you wount need it

So, in my opinion, the most cost effective upgrades for your situation would be the P8400, keep the 320 GB 7200RPM, and get the WSXGA screen

dats my 2 cents! hope it helps

 

Thanks for the tips so far, guys. I would like to keep it cheaper of course, but even with those upgrades, it'll still be a whole lot less than the serious gaming systems out there.

The 7200 is a must for the reasons you just said - as long as it isn't going to catch fire, I'm ok with it. Worst-case scenario, I can pick up a notebook cooler for those extended bouts with particularly addictive games.

I'll definitely upgrade at least to the P8400 for the speed and temperature factors. I'm not a heavy enough user to merit going cutting-edge with the processor though.

The display isn't something I'd normally splurge on... but I've had a bunch of people now tell me how much better the WSXGA is. At the point where you're dropping $900, what's $90 more for some extra pizazz?


Seriously, I appreciate the advice.

 

I have a question for you guys. I am going to go ahead and order the NP2096 tomorrow morning, however I don't know whether its worth it to spend $100 more on Vista 64 bit or should I just use an extra copy of XP 32 bit that I have here at my house. I'm going to get it with 4 gigs of ram regardless of the OS, however taking that into account which do you think is better for this laptop?

Running Vista 64 bit to fully utilize the ram, however Vista itself is more resource intensive. ($100 cost)

Or

Running XP 32 bit, limited to only 3 gigs of ram due to the nature of the system, however XP takes less resources. (Free since I have an extra copy at home.)

 

I'm not qualified to give any real advice per se, but I can tell you that I had a ton of issues with Vista 64; it's actually the reason I'm buying a new laptop in the first place.

I bought a brand new HP dvt5 running it, and it was buggy from day 1. Rampant software incompatibility, spotty internet connectivity, asks you a dozen times to confirm everything you do, constant browser crashing with both IE and Firefox. It eventually locked up entirely and unrepairably after all of 6 days.

Even with 4 gigs of RAM, I'm going with Vista 32. I can always upgrade later once the 64 bit platform is stabilized a bit.

 

Ok, Ok, If there was one thing i had to change about my purchase (which was late last summer) IT WOULD BE THE OS!!!!

Vista sucks s**t! I struggle with it EVERYDAY, but I don't want to pay $150+ for the older version of Windows! I'm still trying to get acquainted with Linux. If I had the option I would get XP pro, I've heard nothing but good things about it. Also, I have a RAM monitor thing and I have NEVER used more than 70% or my RAM at once, ever. ( and I do a lot of stuff at once) So i can assure you that 3 gigs of RAM will be plenty, especially in XP. The last point to consider though, is that Vista SP2 is comming soon, who knows, maybe they'll fix all the crap thats wrong with it. And I wount mention Windows 7 because thats too far away to consider.
Anyway, hope that helps!

 

Hey all,

Need a laptop for gaming and maybe some video editing, I was considering this NP2096 with these specs:

Display: 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD with Super Glossy Surface (1680X1050)[+$95.00]
- Processor: 45nm Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 / 3MB L2 Cache, 2.40GHz, 1066MHz FSB[+$155.00]
- Video & Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT Graphics with 512MB DDR2 Video Memory
- Operating System: Genuine MS Windows® VISTA Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
- Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 X 2048MB
- Primary Hard Disk Drive: 320GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive[+$30.00]
- Optical Drive: 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
- Wireless Network Card: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth V2.0 + EDR Module
- Primary Battery: Smart Li-ION Battery Pack (9 Cells)
- TV-Tuner: TVT-6010, USB ATSC HDTV / ANALOG TV TUNER[+$85.00]
- Integrated Security Device: Fingerprint Reader
- Microsoft Office: Microsoft Office Ready with Free 60-Day Trial
- Warranty: Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty with

What do you guys think? One thing that I am very anxious is the screen quality, how rich and vivid are we looking at as its very important to me. I hate on my current laptop how dull and lifeless and not-so-bright it is as compared to the image when I hook it up to my tv.

 

Hi Captain,

Just a pointer ... if you plan to use a lot of "Freeware" applications ... especially VIDEO Editing ones ... I suggest you load up your lappy with Vista 32-bit and not the 64-bit. Some fo the freewares out there not doing x64 yet.

G!

 

Anyone load up Windows 7 beta on their Sager 2096 yet?

 

I did. I'm having problems with windows recognizing the built in mic, but otherwise everything is going well. Windows installed most of the drivers by itself too.

 

Can anyone comment on the build quality of the housing itself? I had a 5680 that literally feel apart at the hinges.

 

Good to hear. But I went with another system because the 2096 doesn't support eSATA and my external hdd is eSATA. It was a toss up.

 

It's extremely solid. I had such a hard time prying that thing open and pulling everything apart. It pretty much holds itself together even without the screws (though this is obviously not recommended).

 

pretty solid.
The left side of the speakers grill wobbles a little. All the rest of the grill if its not pushed doesnt moves (but its insignificant)
The battery also moves a little bit up and down.
The screen hinge is really solid but a little exagerated... could be a little more subtle.
Keyboard is pretty nice, but i hate de FN key position.
The SAGER logo was insterted baddly. But i pushed it hard and after a while it fitted perfectly.

And thats about it.

 

I Just ordered my 2096 and can't wait to get it. I got my son one for xmas and was blown away by the build quality and performance for the $$$$. I just had to have my own.

 

ok... i will ask for a 3rd time. How can i use the fingeprint reader in XP32?
And is there a way to control fans speed?

Thanks!

 

MrPres and neTed,

Thanks for the response.
Just waiting on some funding to order my 2096.

 

Can you not just install the software?

http://www.compal.com/Download/NB/J...int/UPEK_PSQL582Build4414/install/setup32.exe

 

Hi,
I've been reading the forums for awhile now, and I decided to get a Sager 2096. This is gonna be for everday use mainly at home i.e. (web surfing,music dloading, games etc ) and sometimes when I take road trips to visit family. I'll mostly play older games on it, and mess around with 3d software like maya and zbrush for fun. Here is my configuration, tell me what you guys think? Thanks

15.4" WXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1280x800)
- ~Intel® P8600 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.40GHz
- nVidia GeForce 9600M GT 512MB PCI-Express DDR2 DX10
~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory
- ~ 500GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache) (I use up a lot of space fast )
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
Everything else is the standard offered.

Thanks again
btw I'm trying to keep it under a $1400 price tag

 

You have got a mix up in your config.

Get the WSXGA+ (16*10) and P8400 (2.26ghz). Everything else is looking good.

It really makes no sense to buy the NP2096 without WSXGA+... and your money isn't well spent with the 2.4ghz processor over the 2.26 one because they are almost identical (Cache, FSB speed).