Sager (Clevo) NP8150/NP8170: Temperatures and Cooling

Hello everyone.

I'm a long time desktop enthusiast and life long gamer at heart. As the years have skipped forward, I've noticed that mobile solutions have come a long way from yesteryear. I'd like to make the leap to the mobile sector, particularly to a Sager laptop 8150/8170 models - but I am open to anything, it's just that I find these particular models very appealing. I've done a great deal of research over the last month or two, and have learned a great deal about the new various components that are currently out there (thanks in large part to lurking on this forum and finally registering).

Games that I'm most interested in are MMORPG's and MMO's. I'm currently playing Rift (on an old desktop e6600+ 2.9 Ghz, 8800GT - I know, I know...somewhat of a dinosaur by today's standards), but do sometimes play some old standby's when I get bored like: Badlur's Gate I and II, Icewind Dale Trilogy, Neverwinter Nights, Planescape Torment, et cetera. I'm really looking forward to Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Diablo 3. This is the main reason that I'm looking at the 6970m and 485m GPU's in a Clevo package deal.

To my main question, how are these models designed with cooling and temperature in mind? My utmost concern is longevity and having a proper cooling solution when going on gaming binges (5+ hour chunks when free time allows). I know that's it not wise to overuse a laptop in that fashion and use it for gaming marathons like that, but I'd like to at least think you could do so occasionally. I'm sure you've all been there when a game becomes an obsession and you want more level, just get to the boss, this is the last dungeon run (I swear)!

From everything that I've read, it seems that most users are generally happy with the 8150/8170 models. I just haven't seen very much information concerning the thermals, cooling design, and prolonged gaming usage on these laptops. I'd really appreciate anyone chiming in how their experiences have been in that regard. Once again, I'd like to keep an eye on longevity.

I'm more than likely going to take my business to LPC-Digital (Larry) or Xotic PC (Justin), as I've seen so many people recommend them here on these forums and they have some amazing scores and rating with the BBB and Reseller Ratings. Although, I'm open to other avenues as well.

But back to my main concern, how is the cooling and temperatures with these particular models (8150/8170) under heavy load and big gaming sessions? Also, I don't know how they are designed internally in regards to cooling the components. Any help, information, and personal experience with this segment is much appreciated and most welcome.

Great forum by the way.

 

Well ...

I Play Rift myself a lot on my P170HM (8170) and the Temperatures arent so bad

While Gaming ~~ 55 °C Cpu (i7 2820m) und ~~ 70 °C GPU (NV 485m)
And I am also playing long times with the Laptop without any Problems
(Temperatures are without Hitting FN + 1 which will spinn up the Fans but thats to noisy for me)

 

The Clevo machines are consistently designed with the best cooling, among all of the gaming notebook companies.

The fact that no one else has attempted to place the 485M or 6970M in a 15" chassis says a lot about how ahead of the curve Clevo stands.

Temps will typically max in the high 70s to mid 80s.

RE: 6970M vs GTX 485M

The cards are essentially equal. The AMD chip wins some games, the Nvidia chip wins others, and they're tied in the rest. The 485M's price is really hard to justify.

 

Bastianbu:
Yes, what a small world it is. Glad to see someone else that is playing Rift, as well that you're using that laptop in conjunction with the game. Those temperatures look pretty good to me, but what about after a few hours of Rift?

Kevin:
Good to know, and pretty much echoes everything that I've read from around the internet. I do wonder though, what is it specifically that they're using with these models? In terms of making for good air circulation and the driving force behind the great cooling system.

About the 6970m vs. GTX 485m, yeah I'm leaning towards the 6970m and sinking the saved money into different components - agree with you there.

 

I think this image should help, better than words:



Plenty of copper, good spacing, dedicated CPU/GPU fans. Edit: this is the P170HM.

And yes, spending the $250 on better components is hard to argue against, when deciding between 6970M/485M.

 

I usually go on 5-6hour BF:BC2 binges, and my gpu temps max out at 77-80C, with ambient temps of 20-22C.

 

So played 3 hrs rift now

gpu never got bejond 60°C
Cpu never got more than 55°C

 

Yeah those temperatures look great - even after heavy gaming sessions. That picture really helped me gain a better understanding of their cooling management, Kevin. Especially awesome that it has dedicated fans for both the GPU/CPU. 99.9% sure that I'm picking one of these up now.

Thank you for the feedback and experiences gang.

 

Great thread here. I too am looking at playing rift on high settings with a new 8150, and I think this thread has just pushed me over the edge to make the purchase

 

The 8170 plays RIFT like a champ. I have played for hours on it and never ran into any issues. (485GTX) The only thing I would recommend is that you get an updated screen if don’t plan on using an external monitor. The viewing angles on the stock screen aren’t the greatest.

 

Glad to hear that, Rin.

Funny you brought up the screen as I've been going back and forth on that, because I have a 55" Sony HX701 in the man cave (probably use the laptop with this mostly) and a 40" Sony XBR4 in the family room upstairs. The majority of the time I will be using these HDTV's with Rift - hopefully it looks decent.

Then again, it would be nice to have the 95% NTSC Color Gamut for when I travel and watching some Blu-ray movies on the fly. Ultimately, I think that I will opt for that added expense as opposed to kicking myself down the road.

 

Same here im also ordering one tonight or next week if the GF says no because i can just get one next week man stuff her .

 

I was just about to buy one when I found out there is a 3D version coming out soon that has a 120 hz screen. Might be worth it to wait for the new one.

CLEVO - Products

Just thought you might want to know.

 

I didn't see this before, thank you for showing me that. Seems that we're both in the same boat then, and I might now wait for this as well.

Decisions, decisions, it's never easy is it! Gah. Seems it's still under NDA, guess we'll have to chomp at the bit until it's lifted.

 

Just be ready for the 3D kit to be several hundreds more expensive than what we have now.

 

3D is useless i would rather have 2x 485 cards then go with 3D IMO.

 

I don't think it's useless, especially if you have a large collection of Blu-ray discs (which I do). I've never used 3D in conjunction with gaming, so I do find it intriguing. I'd definitely like to get some hands on experience or demos before purchasing and upping the price admission before buying though.

I mean in general I do agree with you, AsusS - I'd rather have more hardware than smoke and mirrors. Thing is, I don't know how good it looks or feels and would rather see it firsthand before rushing to judgement or impulse buying.

 

Strange that no one has mentioned the potential of the GTX 485M hitting up to 90C. I find temperatures vary greatly depending on game as well as on how elevated the back of the laptop is. The latter can make a huge difference in temps under load. If you play a particularly GPU intensive game with the fan at standard settings and the back of the laptop is not elevated, expect slightly higher temps!

With some games my temps never go beyond 80C but in games like Crysis it can be anywhere up to 86C. With the fans on high, temps are of course much lower.

The cooling system overall is really good and note the separate area that cools the GPU VRAM.

 

I seem to run hotter than most from what I've been reading. I idle around ~48C (most people seem to sit in the low 40's) and under load without max fan speed I get ~90C (others have reported high seventies, low eighties at most). Pretty big differences. I can barely seem to last 5 mins in Furmark. A 3DMark11 run maxes out at 78C. I have even repasted with both Artic Silver and TG-1. Like LaptopNut said, elevating the back does make a huge difference sometimes. Until I get a cooler I have to prop my laptop up on some books whenever I want to game while lying in bed, lol. There is a vent right up under the gpu and cpu fans, so it helps airflow the more elevated the bottom of the notebook is.

On another note, I have found that the 6970M can be undervolted from 1.10V to 1.00V at max power state though, and it still runs stable. Maybe lower but I haven't really tested. The other 2 performance states can be undervolted as well. Others probably don't need to do this but it kind of helps in my situation. I use ATI Tray Tools to undervolt but does anyone know any other program that can set voltages automatically for the PowerPlay states? With Tray Tools I have to manually select a voltage/performance state combo and it stays that way until I change to another profile or go back to the defaults. I would like a program that can set voltages for each performance state and keep the PowerPlay dynamic switching.

 

Thanks for the info, LaptopNut and TheGreatAnonymous.

I saw that you're going to be getting a laptop cooloer, TGA. How about you LatopNut, do you use a laptop cooler? I would think that would be a great benefit in killing two birds with one stone (find one that raises the back of the laptop slightly, or put something underneath) and constant airflow.

 

Yes I already use a laptop cooler and noticed the raised back made more difference to temps than the actual fan. I use a cooler to allow me to use the laptop safely on unsuitable surfaces.