ONLINE PETITION for BIOS updates on Clevo HM model series.

UPDATE AS 12/06/2012 by Sager:

ABOUT AUO PANELS and 7970m Compatiblity!

FINALLY OUR MISSION IS COMPLETE! HM USERS REJOICE!

------------ original post below -------------------------------------------

Ok guys, i hope we can achieve something with this.
As already explained/detailed in this thread started from johnnyman27:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/666375-no-more-clevo-me.html

Clevo has put EOL the whole HM line after a year in order to favor EM line.
This cuts out every possible official upgrade in terms of newer gpus, as an example AMD Radeon HD7970m and GeForce GTX 675m, most likely newer GeForce gpu which will be available later this year.

Behind advice i've started an online petition available here:

Petition: CLEVO Co.: Add BIOS Support for newer GPU cards in HM model series. | Change.org

Its on Change.org network.
This thread along with the petion link will be sent via e-mail to Clevo official support mailboxes as available here:

CLEVO - World's Service

Please help us fight this injustice with everything we can. Spread the word, get people involved.
Also i hope that users of EM line and of other brands will join this petition as an act of brotherhood between fellow GAMERS.

Because the matter here is not the brand, or the side that you choose. The point here is to make our voice heard.

Thanks to all who want to contribute. Feel free to link this thread around.

EMAIL History:

This email has been sent to all clevo email boxes available as the page linked above. I will add further emails if they will care to respond.
This has been sent on 25-05-2012:

Code:

To Whom it may concern,
To Clevo technical staff,
To Clevo Business and Marketing department;

I'm here on behalf of the whole user base/customer base of peoples who bought an HM model last year, only to find themselves totally abandoned and left alone because of the EM series of gaming notebooks.

We started a thread, and an online petition, to ask for a new bios update in order to get newer GPU such GTX 675m and HD7970m officially supported in HM models.

As observed here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/666375-no-more-clevo-me.html

The users are really disappointed to the point to ditch Clevo forever due to the nature of unfair advertisement and unprofessional support toward their own customers, myself included.

For this reason, a thread has been started here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/666401-online-petition-bios-updates-clevo-hm-model-series.html

And its starting to get peoples involved, in order to show how sad this whole "EOL"story is with a model JUST 1 YEAR OLD.

The petition is available here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/clevo-co-add-bios-support-for-newer-gpu-cards-in-hm-model-series#

We sincerely hope to get a valid response that has some logic and reason. Theres no technical impediment into supporting those gpu, even with the newer PCIEX 3.0 standard that they use, because its backward compatible and doesnt add anything to the standard itself.

Thank you for your time into reading this, i will be happy to go deep on the matter.

Each email would be posted into the petition thread to keep peoples informed.

Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Daniele

Peoples share it everywhere. Reddit, Digg, Facebook, even ask to some fellow gamers in other section as well. Help us out, thanks, for a good cause.

Also on Reddit.com:

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/u4w27/rgaming_redditors_please_help_us_with_this_online/

 

Get me someone with Clevo 7970M and a P1xxHMx and I'll see what can be done with the bios.

 

Subscribed..

 

The idea was to ask for continued support for all models Kingpinzero, that way there will be a LOT more supporters and it won't just be a one time thing (they make the new BIOS for the HM this year to shut up the petitioners, and next year the HM owners won't be able to upgrade the GPU again, because the BIOS is out of date again, and the same may happen to any other Clevo model)...

(Besides I still think we should wait for more confirmation about the existence of this issue.)

 

+1 from me.....

 

You have to understand it's not just a one-off thing, requiring a one-time effort. Clevo needs to understand that their false marketing/advertising is not acceptable to the paying customer, and support must be provided officially! If the product is claimed to be upgradeable, then it must be so like a swap-out plug and play feature as it evidently is the case with Alienware laptops. BIOS should not be a limiting factor, and if it is, it needs to be duly updated by the manufacturer, not third party entities like you and I, who might not always be around!

 

You got my vote.

 

I support this for sure! New owners need to know these things as well! Anything that is a potential detriment to anyone should be seen / heard.

 

Has anyone actually asked Clevo if they're going to release a BIOS update to support the 7970m and other new GPUs?

Have we had official confirmation that Clevo is dropping support for the HM line?

Thus far, I have not seen confirmation of either of those points, despite the number of people behaving as if the second one is fact.

 

It makes no sense not to support the older models, they aren't made to last for one year only. I would think at least 3 years would be fair.

 

I asked them in my previous email, and they specifically stated that HM is EOL.
Also it has been confirmed basically from every builder out there.

 

subscribed too!!

 

for a company that makes 99.99% of its profit from selling shells, it doesn't surprise me that they would want to EOL every generation of shells they sell.

 

So, what email - could you link me to it? I'm not going to dig through your entire post history to find it, and I haven't seen it referenced in any of the other threads about this issue.

The only confirmation from builders I've seen is that the BIOS currently does not allow it, not that Clevo will not update the BIOS to support newer cards. If a builder has confirmation from Clevo that the BIOS will not be updated, please link me to it.

 

It was a personal email sent, i never published it here.
Also every reseller knows that the HM has been put officially in EOL state.

I will dig the email and post it here, but first i want this to be spreaded as much as i can.

 

Clevo dont release bios update anymore toward eol model...in happenned every cycle...check the clevo bios thread and clevo bios (older model) thread...

 

Well, the question is, do they intend to always be only a shell sales company? Or do they intend to grow and become one of the big ones and really make a LOT of money? Because this business model of theirs won't take them very far...

 

Clevo primary works as an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer), being the backend barebone producer for multiple brands like Sager, among others. I doubt it's a company that wants to have a very customer-friendly frontend face to begin with...

 

and quite frankly, I doubt they care since its not their name on the laptop.

 

A "shell sales company" better known as an ODM is a very battle-tested business model. ODMs serve up chassis for just about every single major laptop brand (Dell, HP, Apple, etc all have their own ODMs). At one point a while ago, Clevo was an ODM for Alienware too.

List of laptop brands and manufacturers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Okay, so everyone seems to know that the P150HM is EOL and support has been discontinued. I haven't been able to figure out how everyone knows that, however (aside from it not being produced any more, and not showing up on Clevo's website), although Clevo doesn't seem to have released any new BIOSes for the HM series since November 2011, which I suppose is fairly convincing evidence.

Brilliant! I will eagerly await such time as you're able to provide me with proof of your claim, and will sign whatever petitions exist the instant that I see such proof. Whether the proof is from you or someone else, I don't particularly care, I just haven't seen any evidence that the issue this petition is focusing on actually exists (specifically, support for the claim "Clevo still refuses to update bios support for newer GPU cards currently launched/available", as found in the change.org petition).

 

That's right... And that's what gave "Alienware" it's initial brand value to begin with! Then, when companies like Sager and other started surfacing providing essentially the exact same models much cheaper and customers started looking the other way, Alienware switched to another ODM "Arima", which was crappy. Today, they're owned by Dell, and ironically enough Clevo customers have begun looking towards Alienware...

 

Subscribed too.

What a disappointment !!!!!... I was a fool but no more.

 

We should ask Blacky (thread starter for 'Clevo BIOS thread') to move HM model to the 'Clevo BIOS thread (older model)' and leave just leave EM model BIOS in the 'current clevo BIOS thread', but oh wait...... #drumroll#

Clevo no longer release bios to public since december 2011. this mean EM model will have worse future XD...my job is done here...

on other note, we have an expert here called Prema...he's a bios modder, he asked anyone with HM model and 7970m to lend it to him see if he can do anything

 

repped, subscribed and petitioned! lets see what we can do about this...

thanks for chiming in buddy, ur help is always appreciated what exactly would u need to start hacking ur way into this matter?

 

subscribed already.....!
Lets go with dell,and just s...them!!!!!

 

actually i hate dell aswell lol (mainly because their customer service here in UK but i dont know about other places),

i am now turning my eye toward microatx/mini itx XD

 

I hate Dell too lol! I'd actually pay them a couple hundred $$$ extra just to give me an Alienware that's not so overly flashy with it's "this-laptop-must-be-stolen" look and therefore, not that bulky! I'd rather have a clean, sleek exterior design any day!

 

I heard MSI is going hardcore gamers market now..last I checked they also have gtx580m, not imposible if they going for gtx680m later

 

Someone with the problematic combination and info if it boots at all or does a thermal shutdown, just like with the Dell 7970M in HM.

Or someone to send me a Clevo 7970M to do it myself.
My system is brick resistent now with the BIOS chip on a socket and programmer at hand...

P.S.: No matter what we can do ourselves, of course I support the petition.

 

Unfortunately, that "later" might just be far too late for people in the market right now!

 

Or msi,why not?.I think is more upgredable than clevo.
and they nice finish.

 

My D901C can haz 7970?

 

You are the brain!!!!Eat them all(sager.clevo)

 

Good luck with that... just took a look at the MXM structure in the P150HM BIOS, it's valid and not limiting the card.
Also apparently no GPIOs either, so this can't be the issue either.
It must be an issue with the int 15h callbacks or other MXM related functions.

AMD doesn't seem to rely as much on the MXM structure as Nvidia, so that's another hint that there's something wrong with the callbacks and the like.

^ This. MXM is meant to be independent of the BIOS, it simply needs to be implemented properly and the BIOS does NOT need to get updated for any new card (provided the MXM revision of the card is compatible with the one supported by the BIOS).
When implemented properly, all proper MXM cards which are within the power and thermal envelope of the system will work.



It seems MSI implements MXM pretty well, same for AW. Clevo apparently no, even though it seems so at the first look...

Did anyone actually try the card or is all this based on the eurocom statement? ... cause reading all the stuff about eurocom makes me think they might have put the card in a RAM slot instead of the MXM connector.

 

Only from eurocom.

 

Online petitions rarely work but I support your cause. What I want to know is if this a rare occasion or just the usual trend from Clevo where they stop supporting older models (no matter how old) the moment the new ones come out.

 

Lets make this work!

 

Good to see you here svl7!
Yes structure is there, but the EM code was completely rewritten to "speak an other language", maybe even to ensure it won't work (Dell card boots!/Clevos doesn't?)...

Anyway, have it booting with EM code ported to HM, but don't have the card to test.

 

I posted this on the other thread, but I felt it was worth repeating here.

I am surprised to see this complaint. My understanding has never been that the modular GPU design would allow for generational upgrades. I think Sager and Clevo have said as much on this forum. I would be shocked if anyone could find anything to the contrary in their posts. My understanding of the modular GPUs is they simply provide for easier assembly and service . . . .

 

With a successful port, I see no reason why the card wouldn't work. But this will happen generation-after-generation, and Clevo needs to stop pulling this proprietary code rework crap just to get old customers cut-off and fresh new customers warm-welcomed in!

 

And I also posted this on the other thread, and I'm repeating it here too...

XoticPC's Video Review of the NP9150:

XOTIC PC - Sager NP9150 (Clevo P150EM) Video Review - YouTube

He clearly states "[...]The GPU does sit here, it IS user upgradable[...]"...

 

^ Yup I heard that when I watched it haha

 

Literally, the very next thing he says is "... as long as the stars align and they make the card in the exact same format" I guess he could emphasize that he means hardware/software format, but by and large this video makes EXACTLY the point I was trying to emphasize. So thanks!

Find a place where Clevo "adversited" upgradability by the way, because I can't.

I can't get the search function to work, but this is exactly what Xotic has said in the past. The stars didn't align for this next generation GPUS. Given the nature of how laptops are built, I am completely and utterly unsurprised.

 

Not Sager or Clevo, and "user upgradable" does not imply "upgradable across generations by the user" - otherwise, why isn't anyone angry that the "user upgradable" CPU on the HM series doesn't support Ivy Bridge processors?

 

because nobody cares about IB with its slight 5-10% performance "bump" as with the 7970M with 50%+ more performance, now THATS a different thing altogether....

marry me?

 

Again, repeat from the other topic:

I've seem other XOTICPC Video Reviews, and all of them say that the GPU is user upgradable in the Clevo models, INCLUDING the reviews about the NP8150 (= P150HM) and the NP8130 (= P151HM1)... In one or two of them he even says that Sager says that everything can be changed including the GPU.

 

The video cards on these are user upgradable as long as its compatible. The only ones we can say will work are the ones currently listed on the configuration page. For example lets say you get a NP9150 and get a GTX 670M, then you want to get the 675M later, you can upgrade this yourself. As was pointed out the video says ""... as long as the stars align and they make the card in the exact same format"
No one can predict what will happen with video cards months or years down the road, so its impossible to say every video card in the future will work. But they are indeed user upgradable. You can compare that to other brands where the video card is integrated right onto the motherboard, or soldered down, or has a proprietary size. Those are not user upgradable
Hope that helps clear up some confusion

 

Signed and +Rep to you! This was really disappointing for me But I am loyal to Clevo...at least until we hear something official from them.

Mr. Mysterious

 

can just eurocom try prema bios and post the results?????