Sager NP9773 / Clevo P770ZM-G 980m with G-Sync 75Hz LCD Initial Impressions

Treat it like any overclocking, small jumps and testing each one.

 

Right. If you go straight for 120Hz you could lock up your screen or get really odd results and might be problematic to bring it back to normal. Usually it's pretty safe, but like anything you're taking out of spec, baby steps.

 

now could this 17' display fit into my model laptop?, How does this IPS display look? I really wanted an IPS display but I waited 3 months and they never came so I went a head and bought this without one, now I do already have the extra 120hz display I still haven't installed but really it came for free with the laptop when I bought it....how are the viewing angles of the display? any bleeding? Thanks

 

IPS typically has great viewing angles as does this one, specs say 80/80/80/80 and easily meets or exceeds that. Contrast, brightness, color, all good. Bleeding is an inherent evil in any IPS display unfortunately, but this one has minimal, and one panel may be worse or better than the next.

I am working through the full review, had a couple hiccups along the way but should be posting full review hopefully by end of next weekend.

 

Your machine uses LVDS so i don't think so Brent.

 

yes but it also has edp on the motherboard that can also be used....

 

Hello!

I'm in the process of ordering a P771ZM G-Sync (maybe slightly different name under different resellers). I have searched for some reviews and there isn't many yet. I could not clear some doubts i have. I would dare say this forum gathers some of the best techs (cough), so i register here to ask for your help, especially regarding the IPS monitor. The general perception is that, gaming wise, especially fast paced FPS and others, everyone say to stay away from IPS. Hardcore gamers usually go like:

"IPS is ******** with 60hz and 5+ms response which translates into input lag around 20ms! I take my 144hz TN monitor with 1ms everyday"

Well, i understand that in this model (and all other G-Sync Nvidia approved laptops) the IPS panel is 75hz, which is great for a laptop i assume (75 fps is enough for me), but couldn't find any info regarding ms response time and consequent input lag. Even if with a slightly high response time, will G-Sync help? Some recent IPS are achieving low response times and high frequencies *Acer Predator XB270HU IPS G-Sync 144hz 4ms* *drools* so i'm crossing my fingers with this laptop.

I want to renew my gaming device. My 4 year old P170Hm with a 6990m served me well but its struggling nowadays. I had the upgraded FHD LED Matte High color 95% gamut monitor and it still shines. For my line of work it is more than enough (word, excel, autocad and little else), but gaming wise not anymore so im trying a good new setup for games. I want to stay loyal to Clevo because it endured heavy gaming and heavy travelling (tens of thousands of miles every year and some bumps). I like fast paced games, FPS, World of Warplanes, GTA5, FarCry4. Will this IPS monitor hurt me vs the basic FHD screen due to low response times, or hardly so? Should i wait for a normal Clevo 17,3 FHD LED/TN screen with G-Sync to come out?

Thanks

 

I have been using IPS for at least 3-4 years now for gaming laptops and have yet to have any issue. The G-sync works wonders as well.

See this article for any doubts about input lag with G-sync: http://www.blurbusters.com/gsync/preview2/

If nothing else, G-sync more or less eliminates any input lag you would have with any kind of v-sync.

 

That article is a great read. I had already looked at it in my long search for the 'holy graal' but now gave it a 2nd thorough read. Indeed G-Sync seems to match input lag even with V-Sync off, but with the added advantage of no stuttering and significantly increasing the smoothness. Only CS:GO had a slight trick about framecap that NVidia is already looking as a future improvement. I was already sold on G-Sync don't get me wrong. My doubt is still whether monitor input lag is still hurting fast paced games in an IPS vs TN. In that article, the tester used only a 144hz 1 ms TN monitor (hardcore gamer i assume lol).

But following your advice i read it more attentively and i found something that can answer my question:


I'm no expert, but am i correct assuming the monitor factor is actually just a small percentage of the whole input lag chain, like the above diagram suggests (12ms/103m.3ms and 2.33/32ms accounts for 11.6% and 7%)? If this is the case, the added increase of the IPS monitor input lag/response time vs a lower TN one, will actually weigh percentually peanuts in a real-life gaming situation and perhaps not even perceptive to the eye! Near-Placebo effect? If this is the case, i will definitely go IPS for the highly 'perceptive to the eye' bling and viewing angles =)

 

That chain is being significantly reduced now for VR but small changes over boundries do make a difference as we are very sensitive to motion.

 

I see Meaker. So the lower ms response time difference on the end side can actually make a significant difference, especially on fast paced games (fps, planes, cars). Pity that Clevo's screen options with G-Sync are yet so limited. I have asked my reseller to try and find out the response time of the LG IPS G-Sync screen on the 17,3" Clevo. As a reseller yourself i also ask you to try to find out please.

Also ask you if are you expecting more screen options with G-Sync until mid-august 2015 (i really dont want to wait much more). A 120-144hz TN 1080-1440p 1-2ms would be ideal imo.

Thanks

 

It depends on Nvidia and manufacturers getting them validated, it's not free so that will slow down things.

 

Hi
I have to buy a laptop that almost it should live 3-4 years. I'm an engineering student and i have to carry on the laptop from my house to the university more than 3 or 4 times in a week.
What laptop do you buy, the Sager NP8671 (Clevo P670SE) or this one but with a 970m?
Thank you

 

What's important to you?
Battery life? P670SE.
Weight? P670SE.
Thinner? P670SE.
Upgradeable desktop CPU, GPU? P770ZM-G.
Better CPU P770ZM-G
GPU VRAM? P770ZM-G 970M 6GB vs P670SE 970M 3GB
G-Sync? P770ZM-G.
One more USB 3.0 port? P770ZM-G.
Other minor differences.

 

In my opinion the most important things are quality of materials, lower temperatures and weight
So do you think that I should buy the p670?
Also spend 300€ more to choose the 980m is a good option?
Thank you

 

The 980M is 30% faster, so that's what it's buying you for games.

 

If the main purpose is gaming, the 980M is the better choice now, by about 30%, and is more future proof. Good option for 300€? It's up to you if it's worth it. If you have to play "maxed out" it's a yes. If lower settings are "good enough" it's a no.
Temperatures are different between the models. The CPU is weaker (lower TDP); therefore cooler in the P670Sx. The GPU will be cooler in the P770ZM; better heatsink. The 970M is weaker (lower TDP); therefore cooler than the 980M.

Read HTWingNut's excellent reviews for the P750ZM, P650SE, P650SG here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/htwingnuts-sager-clevo-review-thread.709178/

 

One other point is the 980M has 4GB of vram (3GB on the 970M) which will keep it ticking along with that faster core speed too.

 

Looking at one of the setups from Mythlogic with this P770ZM-G theirs is 8gb 980m will that work smoothly or will the memory bottleneck, better to get their 970m 6gb offering? Going with Devil Desktop CPU BTW

 

New video posted in first post. Overview of system. Working on a benchmark summary video at the moment as well.

 

Great video, thank you @HTWingNut

 

So building this system for work (writing, art) along with play with games that come out in the next two years. 16 or 32 GB Ram in quad channel. Which is enough to last the projected 4 years I'll be with this system.

 

Quad channel is only available in the older X79 chipset p570wm/np9570 the z97 platform supports up to 4 dimms in dual channel (2 dimms per channel).

 

Ah okay so there would be no real benefits to 16gb quad. As such would 16gb (8x2) be enough for a four year gaming laptop plan?

Also 230 watt or 330 using i7 Devils Canyon and 980m 8gb? Looking for good stability when doing work art and game play. A lagged wacom interface would be terrible.

 

Get 2x 8gb now and you can easily add 2x 8gb in future if you need it. A 330w is only really needed for overclocking but it does give it a lot of overhead.

 

Not sure if u saw my last post
But from what I have read my laptop has both edp and lvds on the motherboard so as long as I have a edp cable with
My display which I do I should be fine....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The only cable I am aware is a 50 pin edp cable which is not being used for modern displays.

 

Benchmark Video Now Available.

 

Well all I know is that other people with the same laptop as me have installed the 120hz display with an edp cable and I have the same exact display panel and cable so I know other people have installed the display and got it working perfectly, there was a whole thread about it months and months ago @D2 Ultima might know what I am talking about I think he had commented in that thread...maybe he can explain it better

 

Full review just published: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...0zm-g-980m-g-sync-review-by-htwingnut.777906/

Including Overview, Benchmark and G-sync YouTube videos

 

Oh you just want to put one of the old 120hz displays in. On the sager that connector should be in there.

 

So it turns out the issue with my P770ZM-G had nothing to do with the VBIOS or BIOS.

Apparently G-Sync is specifically enabled only with i5 and i7 CPUs.

I ordered my laptop with a Xeon E3-1231 v3 to save some money as I knew the integrated graphics in an i7 would not be used anyway.

The reseller swapped out the Xeon for an i7-4790 and G-Sync is working fine.

As far as I can tell nothing else was changed (same serial numbers, BIOS/VBIOS versions and dates, same MAC address for the onboard NIC).

I haven't finished installing all my Steam and Origin games and testing, but so far I can see the difference with G-Sync and would say it's a worthwhile upgrade.

 

Interesting that the xeon wont play nice. May be worth sending a shout over to nvidia as it may be a bug.

 

So as a wonder could someone upgrade the guts of this to using the Skylake mobo later? Or would the Broadwell K chips be out before them and be a better idea.

 

from what I have been told the motherboard has a LVDS cable connected to it currently but the motherboard also has a spot available for edp, I have the cable that I have to take and connect to the motherboard and to the new 120hz display I have....thats why I was wondering if it would also support the LG IPS display that comes in these new NP9773-g?

 

That should be a no since Skylake will be on socket 1151 and Haswell and Broadwell (which we might be able to upgrade to) are on socket 1150.

Unless you switch the whole motherboard.

Edit: I see now that was your question. I have never seen anyone do it and if upgrading CPUs and GPUs are economically questionable, this would be on a whole nother level.

 

It's a query since the new revisions coming out will have more ports in a couple of months. Its a wonder if one should wait to buy a desktop replacement

 

There is always something on the horizon.

 

Duly noted, its just a question since I plan to be on a 4 year schedule for replacements. Do it now and wait since the new stuff will be matured then or wait and get the new hardware due out in the fall.

 

Certainly from a graphics perspective you would be waiting some time. The CPUs will be nice but unlikely to be ground breaking. It comes down to if the ports would be useful.

 

That I've found that it's usually a good two to three years after first introduction that those new ports get fully utilized by manufacturers so they aren't buggy and inefficient.

 

For really new tech sure, for intel's arch improvements and usb generation improvements it's usually pretty instant.

 

What do you plan on using the laptop for? Skylake is probably going to be around a 10% or greater margin on the CPU side of things but the GPU, if you get the 980m, is going to last you for some time for gaming. The waiting game in the tech world is a cruel mistress as she'll always leave you wishing you waited to get the next best thing.

 

Well the idea is to use it primarily for work which is writing and art design. But I want something that is all fully sufficient for a few years of gaming as I want to get back to being in gaming social circles playing with groups on Twitch and stuff after I get settled in. Thinking maybe waiting to see what the Clevo P75xDM brings if it would help round out my four year plan and not stress my initial investment mark of about 2.5-2.7k

 

For gaming the CPU is going to have little to no impact with a single mobile card. Especially with a desktop CPU.

 

Hi guys, I got my computer about a week or so ago and I absolutely love it. It runs everything I throw at it smoothly on high to ultra settings. I've also done some Autodesk things on it as well, and it runs just fine (haven't tried Revit/3DS Max rendering though). In other words, I would definitely recommend it! However today I ran into an issue. While the laptop was in my bag I slipped and fell on my back (yep, I'm guy...). Though the computer internally was fine, the screen however was damaged a bit. Nothing like a shattered screen or something extreme like that, but more like a section where there are lighter pixels where the screen would meet the corner of the wrist rest and keyboard. In other words a large line towards the center of the screen. Its noticeable and a bit annoying, like a very large dead/stuck pixel annoying. What I'm wondering is if there is a place for me to get a replacement screen in the future and if so will it take the np9772 model screen? I know that that this model had G-Sync and a 75Hz refresh rate, but does that mean that I would need to get a specific screen for that? I was able to find a website that sells screens, but I'm not sure if its still IPS/G-Sync/75Hz (I'll link it below). Its really no rush for me to replace it, it still functions fine for me, I just want to know if there's a few remedies out there to fix it or if there's a place where I can replace the screen.
Also if you guys want me to post pictures of the damages I have no problem doing that.

Thank you guys for the help and sorry if I kind of changed the course of the forum.

https://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/Clevo/P770ZM/

 

Sounds a bit ominous ... like a crack. Or the polariser layer is damaged, so the backlight (bright white) shines through unimpeded. Picture?

The last two options on laptopscreen are not G-Sync panels. They use LVDS type cable and you need the newer eDP for that. The glossy V4 features spectacular colours though and the matte V7 might do as well, hence the premium.

It's up to you, there's lots of panels to choose from with this model, that's the benefit of having both LVDS and eDP connector on board. Do check with your current panel; you only have the one cable, otherwise you need to source a different cable as well as the panel. Either HWiNFO or MonInfo can inform you which specific panel you have now.

 

Thank you so much for the advice it really helps a lot!
Here is a link to the pictures (sorry for the poor quality)
The damaged area will still produce color, its not like its completely white, however on darker backgrounds its pretty obvious.
What I also noticed was that there is also lighter spots going downwards. I'm assuming that its due to the strip of hard plastic in between the numpad and the rest of the keyboard.
If you can, can you post a link to places were I can find similar panels?
Also just to clarify, parts that work with the 9772 model will work for the 9773 model?

 

Think it's only polariser then, if so you'd only need to replace that (it's a thin, plastic sheet). Should be about $30 for the sheet, or a bit more if you have them do it (it isn't much fun, unless you have a clean room ...). Can't use SXGA though, need WUXGA or thereabouts (finer lines). Will also have to verify it's not cracked; gently push a bit on one side of that line and you'll see soon enough. Scratched polariser would mean you could peel it off, revealing pure white area underneath.

And yes, P770ZM vs. P770ZM-G are interchangeable. Service manual of the ZM dated December 2014 even shows "For G-Sync" on the schematics.

What is the current panel? That will tell you resolution, matte or glossy and lvds or edp.

 

Sorry for the late reply, but here is the panel information

Is the polarizer on the top of the screen? Because when I push on the sides and around the damaged area and there was no change. I think the damage is behind the matte plastic. There is also no scratches whatsoever around the damaged area if that matters.
From what I see, I don't think its anything like a crack, but maybe something with the led itself? The leds work okay, its just that its a bit weaker. Like they are able to reproduce some color, just a few shades lighter though...
Also thank you so much for the help t456!