The Sager NP 9130/9150 (Clevo PM151EM1/PM150EM) FAQ Thread **READ BEFORE POSTING**

Hey all,

With a new generation, there are new questions to be asked, and new answers provided. Once again, I present to you a FAQ for your reading pleasure and questions. Feel free to ask questions here, and I will add them to the FAQ as time goes on.

Pictures?

Spoiler

Is Sager reputable?
For customer service? No, it isn’t. That’s what we have the resellers for, because they provide top-notch, personalized CS. The recommendation is to not buy directly from Sager, but to buy through one of the many resellers we have here on these forums. Their names are silver-colored and they often have recognizeable signatures. Otherwise, Sager creates excellent, high-end machines that are becoming more popular right now. There is a list of current resellers selling these laptops below.

I'm looking for the lowest possible price. Will the resellers pricematch?
Yes, a few do. You'll have to ask or PM them.

Can my laptop last for X number of years?
Depends on your question. If you mean physically, then with good care, these machines can easily last 4 years or more because they're built solidly. If you're talking about notebook relevancy, then you should know that if you want cutting edge components, everything you order today will become obsolete 2 years down the line.

Where can I get drivers support?
With your reseller. Otherwise you can find them here.

How about BIOS support?
Again with your reseller. But you can also find them here.

Are the heatsinks copper or aluminum?
Depends on your reseller, but they SHOULD be copper.

How many fans does this machine have?
Two. One for the CPU, and one for the GPU Both are quite powerful.

What is the estimated battery life for these models?
It really depends on the components you’re housing, but expect 2-4 hours of battery life depending on your usage. The battery is rated at 77Wh, just like the previous generation.

Will the EM series offer mSATA support?
Yes, all 91xx models will support mSATA, so you can have an SSD, HDD and an Optical Drive all in the same form factor. It comes with SATA II support only, just like the Optical Bay drive.

What is the verdict on the touchpad? Any significant differences?
This is almost entirely subjective, but most people report that it is better than the previous generation.

Is it true? Do we finally have backlit keyboards??
Yes, it is Clevo has finally implemented backlit keyboards, and with multiple colors! Furthermore, unlike previous generations, these keyboards can be easily swappable with a spare if they break down. Most resellers are now supporting the famous SteelSeries keyboards for an even better typing experience!

What are the noise levels on this computer?
It depends on the usage and components you choose obviously, but at idle it should be 40 decibels, and on load, it goes as high as 54 decibels.

What are the stock screens like?
Sager has some of the best screens available on the market, with a 66% gamut to begin with. Most resellers add extra gamut options, and the 95% gamut is especially popular.

What are the differences between the Sager NP 9130 and the NP 9150?
The P151EM1 (9130) has plastic finish, smaller AC adapter and no backlit keyboard.

What are the ports on this machine?
3 x USB 3.0 (one powered USB port, AC/DC)
1 x USB 2.0
1 x HDMI 1.4a (w/ HDCP)
1 x DVI-I (single link)
1 x DisplayPort 1.1
1 x eSATA (USB 3.0 Combo)
1 x Mini-IEEE 1394a
1 x RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)
1 x S/PDIF
1 x Line-in
1 x Microphone
1 x Headphone

Do these Clevos have USB 3.0 support?
Yes, the USB 3.0 is built into the chipset, with native USB 3.0 support starting with Ivy Bridge chipsets. This generation has the HM77 chipset.

What are the laptop dimensions?
Size: 14.80" (w) x 10.08" (d) x 1.38"-1.69" (h)
Weight: 6.83 lbs with 8-cell Battery. AC Adapter adds another 1.2 lbs.

What are some of the extra features on these machines?
A 2.0MP video camera, Kensington lock, and a fingerprint reader.

Can I upgrade any component without voiding my warranty?
Yes! This is very possible and is actually sometimes encouraged. Most resellers’ (I can’t speak for all) warranties will remain intact, but they will not cover the item that you put inside, unless they do it themselves. That being said, if you put a new CPU inside of your Sager machine, you are responsible if it fails and bricks your system. Rest assured, the actual process of upgrading your Sager is very easy and user-accessible.

Is the $100 dead pixel guarantee worth it?
That depends on your reseller and how thorough they are with testing. You can have lower than 5 dead pixels and it would still get shipped to you, though you would have to ship it back. If you get the guarantee, you won’t have to pay for the shipping, but luckily you have a 30-day money back guarantee, no questions asked.

Can I use a ViDock or an eGPU solution for using external graphic cards?
No, the machine does not come with any ExpressCard ports and is not able to use an eGPU.

This is what nando has to say about it:

Do these machines have RAID support?
Yes, but RAID is starting to get obsolete with the introduction of SSDs, which are faster and more reliable.

Do these machines have switchable graphics?
Yes, they have Optimus and Enduro support.

If I choose, can I turn Optimus off?
No, you can't. It's a part of the laptop's graphics.

Can I use WiDi on these?
Yes, as long as you are using the iGPU and have the Intel receiver on the other end. However, you need an Intel wireless card as well, if you are to get the drivers to work properly.

Can I use multiple monitors with my Sager?
Yes, you can. If you use HDMI, you can use your laptop screen and an external monitor at the same time. With DVI, you can hook up to multiple monitors depending on adapter you use.

Can I output my video to a 3D monitor?
Yes you can, since you need HMDI 1.4a, which these machines have. It is recommended that you use NVIDIA graphics cards over AMD, because they have better support. However, no resellers have any native 3D screens.

With such high-end components, will I need a cooler?
Most definitely not. Sager has one of the best cooling systems available on the market right now inside of these laptops, that also potentially allows for some serious overclocking (if you wish) Most people idle at high 30’s and low 40’s (Celsius) on all of their components. For max fan speed, click Fn + 1.

Can I use a 3G modem in the mini-PCIE slot?
It's manufacturer-select, but if you have a Clevo laptop, but you should ask the company if it is enabled or not.

Bluetooth?
The Intel Advanced 6235 (2 antennas) supports BT, while the Ultimate 6300 (3 antennas) does not and will need a USB dongle.

Should I use Glossy or Matte?
Both are very good quality, but it depends on your usage. If you’re going to be moving around a lot, lots of different lighting settings, go for Matte. If you’re going to be stationary, keeping your laptop in one place, then get a glossy screen for (supposedly) better and more vibrant colors.

How many RAM memory slots in the 9150?
4: 2 under the notebook, and 2 under the keyboard.

Can I overclock the CPU?
No. It’s a Bios limitation that prevents anyone from overclocking the XM chipsets.

Can I overclock my GPU?
Yes you definitely can. Here's a guide: Overclocking Guide . Despite the name, it should apply equally for ATI/AMD cards as well.

How old is this generation?
These machines came out on April 29th, 2012.

Useful Info:

9130 Lounge: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...clevo-p151em1-sager-np9130-owners-lounge.html
9150 Lounge: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-clevo-p150em-sager-np9150-owners-lounge.html
9170 Lounge: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-clevo-p170em-sager-np9170-owners-lounge.html

NV 670M: Click here
NV 675M: Click here
AMD 7970M: Click here
NV 680M: Click here


List of recommended programs: I have all of these installed on all of my notebooks; they are good, resource-light and absolutely free.

HWMonitor
HWInfo
Microsoft Security Essentials
MalwareBytes Anti Malware
TrueCrypt
CPU-ID
BatteryBar
GPU-z
WinRAR

Here's a helpful video for those installation enthusiasts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=G3tE4_qxG7s

p.s. - There is a lot of overlap between the HM and EM generations, so I've recycled a lot of the material in the previous FAQ.

Thanks to XOTICPC for some of the technical info, and Larry for answering a few of my own questions about these series.

Mr. Mysterious

 

If I was to add something

Probably some pictures? Some pictures of the ports, of the backlit keyboard, the new addition of the Onkyo speakers.

Also maybe adding in the the difference between the P150EM and P151EM, and the picture of the actual steelseries keyboard on the Clevo keyboard (it's here somewhere) to give a idea of how it looks, of course most of the things I've mentioned can be found around this forum but I would imagine people would find this extremely useful.

- edit: you could also make a picture library with a spoiler tag so it won't clock your post

nice work! +rep

 

I would, but I don't have the machine so...I couldn't take pictures. I'll ask some of the resellers if I could use some of their pictures instead. Thanks for the suggestions.

Oh and

Already answered up above

Mr. Mysterious

 

I was thinking something a lá this:

Spoiler

several Sager resellers use these pictures, and they perfectly show and tell what is what on the machine, but more personal pictures could the trick too

Somehow missed it sorry.. you didn't edit it did you

 

I thought the new gen came out April 8th?

as for pictures of the backlit keyboard, i have some in my review lololololol

Spoiler

 

They officially came out on the 29th. Some say 8th, and some say 23rd

Mr. Mysterious

 

Good Job! + Rep! (Since I have rep'd you recently will have to wait just a bit )

 

Add this video about components replacement that was made by Puget Systems, it is very useful:

Puget Systems Traverse Pro M550i Component Replacement - YouTube

And since we are talking about components replacement this is also important:
IC Diammond Thermal Compound - Proper Application Method
Arctic Silver, Inc. - Intel® Application Methods

 

You should probably include that the stock screens are 66% gamut. Kudos to Heihachi_1337 for that info, as the question of the calibration of the stock glossy/matte screens have already been asked more than once.

 

True true! the most asked unofficial question of all time! god damn, but I'm pretty sure that it differentiates from reseller to an actual seller, so make sure to say that that's the NORMAL percentage

 

Added.

Mr. Mysterious

 

What is necessary to get this topic fixed? Send a PM to a moderator?

 

I think you mean "stickied", right? I already sent a PM to Chaz, but it seems he's not responding. I'll give it a couple of days before PMing another mod.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Thank you Mr_Mysterious for your work in this thread! +1!
-

 

yeap.. thanks Mr. Mysterious nice job!

 

I think i had heard that the Fn + 1 feature was disabled on the EM series... Any confirmation on that?

 

Works for me.

 

So your fans go full speed when you hit FN + 1?

Just making sure..

 

I assume full speed. I hear them crank up as soon as I hit FN + 1 and the temps start heading downwards.

 

Hi guys, I'm quite new forum here. I just got my NP9150 with 7970M. I kinda wonder why I cannot get output from HDMI port to TV. Anyone experience this issue?

 

Did you use the Windows key + P shortcut in Windows 7?

 

Yeap, I used Windows+P key...but nothing happened..BTW I'm using HDMI 1.3a cable..is it because of cable issue? From what I knew this machine support HDMI 1.4..

 

How about right clicking on the desktop, going to "screen resolution" and going from there?

Mr. Mysterious

 

Great thread! Very helpful for anyone interested in the laptop. Thanks! +1 rep to you Mr_Myterious!

 

thank you for this thread! i'm really considering the 9150 now.

 

awsome, sign me up, owner here of 2 9150's i will help out as much as i can for you guys

 

how are these screens compared to the new SAMSUNG GAMER 7's? supposedly the gamer 7 laptops screen is the best out right now.

 

IMHO Samsung gamer 7's is waaayyyy better , its more vivid, saturation is perfect to me

 

The Samsung Gamer 7 (17 inch) has a 400knit screen, which is insane. BUT it uses old hardware, Sandy Bridge and Intel HM65 versus Ivy Bridge and HM77 in Clevo.

+ It uses 6970M
Clevo uses 7970M a whole generation, almost twice as fast (if you forget the Enduro problem)

edit: I AM HERE TO CORRECT MYSELF, the Samsung Gamer 7 is actually equipped with the newest technology
http://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Samsung-Serie-7-Gamer-700G7C-Notebook.78125.0.html enjoy

... do notice that it only comes with a glossy screen (thus the high knit screen) and insane weight.. and somewhat mediocre cooling, but it seems good enough though

 

Is there a guide to what each of the FN+F# (as in F1, F2, etc.) combos do?

 

Please refer to your User's Manual that was included with your laptop, both a physical booklet and an additional manual can be found on the Drivers & Utilities disk. It should cover all of your Fn key functions.

 

i have a 150EM from mythlogic and FN-1 does nothing for me.

 

Update your BIOS.. the newest BIOS should enable it again

 

I think you should add some FAQ about the dedicated graphics cards options for these clevo models.
I have seen lots of posts about problems with one or another, specially the Radeon 7970 seems to be crushing some brains. In the posts i have seen both complaints and praises to this card, so its hard to tell wich one is correct, many claim that they have no issues at all and that only a few with problems crowd the forums, its all a big mess. My belief is that if it were so bad clevo would not allow these cards in their machines.
Do you think you can add some FAQs about this? About enduro and the 7970M card in specific? Links to FAQS of 7970 and enduro would be helpfull too.

Ah, and also can you clarify if Malibal Lotus series would be the same as sager? in regards to drivers and such?

cheers

Voz

 

Ditto.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

Hi to anyone,

What is the video card interface? Is it the same for both 9130/9150 models?

 

That surprised me. I thought WiDi was determined by what wireless chip/card you have in the system. If I understand this correctly that means that as long as you have an i series CPU / chipset in the system (which comes packaged with Intel GPU -3000 and 4000-) then you could have non-Intel wireless devices and non-Nvidia GPU's (7970m for example) and still do WiDi to a tv . Interesting....

 

For widi you need an intel CPU that has hd3000 or 4000 graphics and a intel wireless card.

I don't think there is anything physically stopping wireless cards such as the killer 1202 from using widi. Intel just has made it so that the widi program only works with intel wireless cards, but I could be wrong.

 

To skip the long technical discussion on WiDi and how it works on a hardware level, you have to have an Intel wireless card, as its their drivers that have the copy engine to get the frames over the wireless, the Killer's etc don't have that functionality in their driver or their hardware.

 

Baah -- i messed up

 

Hey guys quick question,

I am getting a NP9130, and it looks like its got a raid capable motherboard. Is it possible to use a SSD in the primary bay and an mSATA SSD in its slot in a RAID 0 configuration?

 

You can do that but you dont want to. The mSATA slot is SATA II vs the primary drive bay is SATA III. So when you set up RAID 0 the fastest speed is based on your slowest device so the mSATA will slow do your primary drive. For the best speed just use a SSD in the primary bay.

 

I am posting this here to see if I can get Xoticpx Staff to assist me in this frustrating endeavor.

Let me just start off by saying that there has been two problems with this unit (NP8255 order 74813) since I got it.

Upon noticing this computer out of the box I noticed that there was NO PRODUCT NUMBER nor is there a sticker for the WINDOWS 8 KEYS, and if I am not mistaken, there should atleast be a sticker with the product key on the bottom, SINCE IT CAME PREINSTALLED. One of my problems here is, how will I be able to return this product when it DID NOT COME WITH A KEY OUT OF THE BOX? Either Sager did not attach the key or it was REMOVED DURING CUSTOMIZATION IN XOTICPC HEADQUARTERS. ( Ive kept ALL originial packaging on this unit and there is no product key in sight, plus proof of purchase, the online reciept and the credit card records.)

The next and even more serious problem with this unit is that there is a MAJOR GRAPHICS ERROR. Now before I get to the problem you need to be aware of the back story. (Ive looked over this several times to make sure this was exactly what had happened)I recieved this unit on thursday the 22nd of August. It was working flawlessly with Windows 8.Two days later, Saturday the 24th, in the morning I turned on the computer and started to download three games on Origin (the EA game engine), then switched the primary graphics card from the intel 4000 to the NVIDIA GTX 770. I kept the computer idle for about 20 mins and returned hoping that my game downloads were complete. When I woke the computer from sleep, thats when EVERYTHING WENT WRONG. The Windows 8 menu was EXTREMELY fuzzy and the screen was filled with messed up pixels, and BLINKING back and forth from a black screen to the fuzzy interface.I tried restarting several times, but to no avail. I got desparate and decided to call Microsoft, assuming that it was a Windows 8 problem. I explained the situation to the Microsoft customer service employee and he told me to look for the PRODUCT KEY ON THE BOTTOM OF THE COMPUTER, thats when it was caught to my attention, that it was NO WHERE TO BE FOUND.He proceeded to tell me to take out the Windows 8 boot disc that this unit came with and try to revert the system back to its original state. I did everything and after the system restore was put into effect the Windows 8 was STILL MALFUNCTIONING. After that, the Microsoft employee suggested that this was either an internall hardware problem, or it was a malfunctioning copy of NVIDIA graphics card.The problem with that suggestion is that I COULD STILL ACCESS the bios AND windows 8 boot disc FLAWLESSLY. Even the Sager logo(that appears in startup) appears without any pixel error.Now to into even more depth with this problem, I sent a message on Saturday to [email protected] and have had NO RESPONSE since and it is now Sunday 10:43 when I am writing this message.

Please help. To reach me via email please email me at [email protected]

 

Hi Drefrain,
Sorry didnt see this post until now. Did our service dept get back to you. We are out of the office on the weekend so emails send from Sat-Sun as yours was are answer as quickly as possible however it may not be until that Monday. Do let me know if you have not heard back from them.
Per your Windows 8 problem, a printed key code is no longer included with 8, they have changed to a BIOS embedded key.
Please do let me know if our service dept hasnt been in contact with you.

 

Hello everyone, I seem to be having somewhat of a situation with my np9130. While i was using it today, I heard a loud grinding and a click emanate from the fan on the right side of the computer (I believe this is the GPU fan? Its the left fan when the computer is upside down.) Shortly after this, my capslock and numlock indicators began to flash in unison, after that, the laptop shut itself off. Upon restarting it, the lights continued to flash, with the addition of a loud constant beeping, after which it turned off again.
I figured this is now a problem with the fan, so i opened the bottom cover, and turned it on to see if the fans are spinning, neither of fans spin on startup, HOWEVER, if I press FN+1, both fans will function properly, albeit at maximum speed, and the computer doesnt shut itself off. Does anyone know what could have gone wrong here? I would rather not use my laptop with the fan maxed out at all times. I will appreciate any input.

 

If you max the fans do games run normally?