Replacement Keyboard

I have a Sager 8265 (Clevo 150sm). I need to replace the keyboard on the laptop with the same one it came with (it is the backlit keyboard with the windows key on the left side of the keyboard. I plan on buying this replacement keyboard,
Backlit Keyboard Clevo P150EM P170EM P370EM P570WM English Airplane Mode | eBay
It appears to be the exact same keyboard, but it claims to be for the P150EM, and there is no return policy, so I need to be sure that this will work with my model, the P150SM. Are there any differences that should cause a problem? Also, is there a different retailer in whom I could find and purchase this keyboard? Thank you.

 

The key mapping and the layout in the P150EM/170EM and the P150SM/170SM are identical from what I've seen, but the firmware may be different. There are also Windows 7 keyboards and Windows 8 keyboards for the EM series, and I believe they have different firmware.

While we haven't mixed them to test, I think the keyboard you linked will work on your SM model. It appears to be of the Windows 8 variation. If you can find a different seller on eBay that offers a return window, though, that would be ideal (it's better to play your cards close to the vest).

 

The SM series keyboards are interchangeable if that helps. I have a P157SM keyboard in my P370SM that works without a hitch.

 

Get the steelseries chiclet keyboard if you can afford/find one. Infinitely better than the stock EM series keyboard from what I've heard/experienced. So many EM owners were buying it MSI decided to force Steelseries to stop selling them to others.

Although no doubt some resellers here will have some poignant points to muddy up the issue and make you think the stock Sager that they sell is actually great

 

Maybe not, but there's no telling what sort of effect it will have on the warranty.

 

What warranty? Sager's?

Funny how I've never seen a reseller recommend an item they don't have, or not recommend an item they do have. But then again, the IT industry is important so let the gullible roam huh?

 

Mythlogic recommended against upgrading my 4900MQ to the 4930MX, does that count?

 

Sager is very lenient, though I can't speak for how they would treat an issue stemming from an aftermarket keyboard.

It's likely less a matter of capitalizing on gullibility than it is a liability concern. It's better practice for resellers to neither promote nor decry aftermarket purchases. Promoting something outside the scope of a warranty or knowledge base may even be a disservice. More power to the end users, yet "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"

 

That's very general. You're casting an unwarranted doubt for an obviously out-of-the-loop customer. The keyboard I recommended is a star on this forum, and was sold AND recommended by resellers here on this forum when they were allowed to sell it (Don't make me dig up threads ). As a matter of fact it ran out faster than hot pancakes when the EM stock keyboards weren't to the liking of many (The same one the OP is thinking of buying, unfortunately). It's convenient that it is not mentioned nor recommended now because of vague "issues stemming from an aftermarket keyboard" that might render a "very lenient" Sager to screw you over as a customer. Far-fetched wouldn't you say?

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but the resellers here are at once the most prodigious and active posters, the most knowledgeable about the field, and the only ones with a vested interest in which product gets sold. A little counterbalance to a potential or actual bias is never a bad thing

Also, thanks for demonstrating the point I made in my first post:

You guys should learn to allow one poor guy to be cyber-alpha for one day

 

To be fair though the resellers are at the mercy of Sager for RMA and warranty repairs. If Sager intentionally made the terms vague and ambiguous, it wouldn't exactly be in their best interest to just give the green light for these aftermarket parts. You certainly don't want angry customers demanding to know why their warranty was voided when they were told it would be fine in the first place. Better to err on the side of caution.

But thank you for bringing this up. I went with Mythlogic precisely to avoid all this potential nonsense, and this is also why I would only recommend Mythlogic to anyone looking to buy a $2500+ Clevo machine. Yes their laptops cost $100-300 more than the competition, but the in-house warranty and support is worth that much alone (to me anyway). Additionally Mythlogic is a system builder, so they know all their machines inside out, including what works and what doesn't. It always impresses me when I get told stuff like "SteelSeries keyboard won't work with the SM series, trust me we've tried and tried and tried", "aftermarket vRAM thermal pads are a waste of money" and "we don't bin mobile chips because they're too inconsistent, and also overclocking a laptop has as much to do with the mobo as the CPU".

[/shameless plug for Mythlogic]

 

There is no need for caution unless you can point out to me all the MOBO fries because of Steelseries chiclet backlit keyboards on EM/HM series clevos. You can't, and no one can. It's a safe and a good keyboard and the more you insist it's somehow sub-par the more it proves my initial point of the bias of resellers. In any case even if we assume such a staggeringly unlikely event, just re-plug the stock and send for RMA.