Sager NP8278 / Clevo P170SM-A, a new owner! (XoticPC)

After much research and contemplation as well as many emails to XoticPC i am now the proud owner of a Sager NP8278 / Clevo P170SM-A.

Firstly, thank you Gaming Laptops - XOTIC PC - Gaming Notebooks - Custom Laptops - Custom Notebooks, Josh and Hutsady were beyond helpful in helping me get this laptop, since i had an international credit card we had to work to try to get payment over and in the end, getting the laptop and spec's posted to Amazon allowed me to buy the laptop with our credit card vs having to use a bank wire because of being international.

The back story behind why i suddenly got a laptop is simple really, one of necessity. We are renovating our house, my office became what will soon be our new Kitchen and so i had to move my office to our spare bedroom, unfortunately it doesn't fit too well with my tower and the spare day bed and the desk so i decided i should get a laptop.

I have always been against a laptop as i often get the upgrade bug, but realized i usually just buy new systems anyways. I told the wife i was going to sell my desktop, keeping one Dell 24" IPS monitor's and everything else goes! She was iffy on it as she knows how i am and so tried to convince me to keep it, but then i explained with the laptop i can sit in the living room with her and other places around the house and not be locked into sitting in the office when i use the computer.

So now here i am with a new laptop, still in the box as i want to do some video of the system, the packaging. That was my other worry, i live in Costa Rica Central America so i was very hesitant that a laptop would make it down to Costa Rica alive and in one piece.

So far looks good, the box is in one piece with no dents or holes or anything, i paid a whopping $150 to get it down through customs and a "great" delivery guy!



I did not go for anything overly highend, at least video card wise. I have been living off a I5 2500 /8Gig / Radeon 5770 and a Crucial 240G SSD for the last 7 months since i sold my high end i7 rig i had with a 7950.
I wanted to keep heat and power as low as i could while still make it useful, this is why i went with the 860M, i also went with the 17.3 size to get the 230w PSU vs the 180w on the 15.6" NP8268 models. The size difference as many noted is not that much larger.

Details:

• 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen (1920x1080) with 30 Day No Dead Pixel Warranty (On any Sager Screen)
• 4th Generation Intel® Haswell CoreTM i7-4810MQ (2.8GHz - 3.8GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache)
• NVIDIA® GeForceTM GTX 860M (4.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11
• 16GB DDR3 1600MHz [2x8GB] Dual Channel Memory
• Primary drive: 1TB 5400RPM [SATA II - 3GB/s]
• 8X Super Multi DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive (Dual Layer w/ Software)
• Intel® Dual Band AC 7260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + BluetoothTM 4.0
• XOTIC PC's White Glove Premium Packaging (XPC Service - requires shipment to XOTIC PC: will add to build time)

I bought a Samsung 840EVO 240G mSATA separate to save a few bucks as i was already over budget.

Anyways, pouring myself a beer and going to get my camera's charged and start to open this guy up and try to get some video and pics of the process for anyone else who may be interested in this laptop.


Video's have no sound, the MIC on my GoPro Hero 3 seemed to not be set, was too low and not clear at all so i removed the audio so may make for a boring watch.

Don't mind the bad back drop, that is my "temp" office while we renovate the house, the spare bedroom.

[ADDED] May 19th 2014 - UnBoxing of NP8278 ordered with XoticPC's White Glove Premium Service. Well worth the added $35 and it made it all the way to Costa Rica Central America with out a single dent in the box!
Service
http://www.xoticpc.com/whiteglovepackaging.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWunteZupyA




My ugly side face makes an appearance, here is just unpacking it and turning it on, nothing overly special

Back images

<iframe class='imgur-album' width='100%' height="550" frameborder='0' src="http://imgur.com/a/YMUXp/embed"></iframe>

 

Show back laptop with back panels off please.

 

Looking forward to the video. I'll pass the word to Josh too :thumbsup:

 

Your 860m is Maxwell?

 

No, it is Keplar unfortunately, seems almost all 860m right now in laptops are Keplar, only in the single fan Sager model is the 860m a Maxwell. I was hoping to get Maxwell but most sites said that 860/870 and 880 won't be Maxwell until inventory of Keplar is gone sometime in late 2014. I couldn't wait that long.

Will get pics of it open since i have to install my mSATA in it, just trying to get my GoPro Hero3 working with my phone to try and get some decent video of the unboxing.

Thanks Hutsady!

 

Unboxing done and opened, laptop is in perfect condition, i did a video for the unboxing and the white glove packaging (worth every penny for piece of mind) and turning on, just have to add some audio!

 

It has been opened!

No video yet but some images for you Katagon (sorry Samsung S4 pics, camera not working right) - Added to First post

 

Windows 8.1 Update 1 installed and runs fast on the Samsung Evo 250G mSATA drive, just installing apps, nothing special.

So far:
Pro's:

• Love the keyboard, solid and firm feeling, the small space between keys is great as i guess i am used to it,
• Trackpad reacts good
• Sound is good, solid and deep in sound, not like most cheap laptop speakers.

Con's

• Self burned DVD with sticker label from Sager does not support Windows 8 for autostart (just open the disk and install directly from the \Drivers Folder or download newer drivers if one does not start / install) This day in age, is it that hard to "print" disks for that more professional look..
  
• DVD Drive is very flimsy and "cheap" feeling when opened, it does not sit well and is very floppy once ejected (will do a video of it)
  
• Screen - almost seems "grainy" to me when first started up, perhaps it is the matte of the screen but sitting next to my Dell U2412M the screen doesn't seem as "smooth" between pixels. if I move back from about 2ft or more, it is less obvious, but being closer than that i can notice the rainbow colors almost for each pixel...(i tend to be OCD about this stuff so once i notice it will take a while to not notice it) The default Windows 8.1 wallpaper only makes it look far worse. Changing to a solid color blue (similar to windows 2000 wallpaper, looks alot better as well Windows 8.1 login screen looks fine.

Continuing my installs, but heading to bed soon, tired, been a long "one of those" Monday's for me.

Videos will be up this week as well as some game benchmarks for anyone interested,

 

Thanks.

 

Congrats on the new system! And of course: thanks for taking the time to post some thoughts and screenshots.

As far as we know, the surface mounted chips are Maxwell chips, while the MXM cards with 4 GB of vRAM are still Kepler cards.

 

I don't have a problem with self printed disks. Probably cheaper for sager. With sager not marketing themselves and trying to stay competitive they have to cut costs somewhere. Sager's are great value for what you get. And what is up with the DVD drive? In the move to make them thin as possible some rigidity has to be lost. I can't remember the last time a laptop ODD was solid as say a desktop motorized tray.

Sent from my SM-N9005

 

I got the bluray burner in mine, and while it's thin, it's actually fairly well put together. I don't see the 'floppyness' of it like I have various DVD drives.

I guess bluray are still 'premium' to the dime-a-dozen dvd's.

 

Can you make windows backups? And I am sure backing up data and music files are an easy order for the burner correct?

Sent from my SM-N9005

 

Thanks for the small review. I'm considering getting one of these (almost exact specs as what you got). Now that its been another day, any other initial comments about it?

 

yup, I burned an entire windows backup on my bluray as soon as I configured it and patched it the way I wanted.

Took about 18 gigs of the 25 gig bluray disk (I didn't bother with the expensive double density)

I've burned CD's, DVD's, and blurays fine. Snappy little drive.

 

Hey all,

Been a busy week at work and renovations on the house havent had much time lately.

Some feedback the screen isnt as bad as the first day, perhaps it just needed some warming up.

Going to try and play some games on it tonight but so far it has been silent, literally dead silent using basic usage, web, skype couple HD mkv movies with media player classic and only twice did the fan breifly start to rev up then went quiet so my main worry so far is covered in terms of actual noise.

Battery life is good for something of this size, i know i must of been over 2 hours yesterday with it near me while i copied about 40Gigs of steam files over Wireless N to see how well it went. Speed were pretty solid on that front too.

So far i am please with the purchase!

i will to get the video reviews i have so far up with some commentary (got to get install Adobe Premier again)

 

Thanks for the update. Keep us informed. I'm going to be making my 'final decision' this coming week and I'm eager to see what additional thoughts / impressions you've got.

Thanks,
Zeustopher

 

I am working tonight on getting my desktop cleaned off and everything over onto the laptop, got some beer's and charging my camera so lets see if i can get some more info, pics and a video or 2 up tonight.

 

Unboxing Video of NP8278 ordered with XoticPC's White Glove Premium Service Added in 1st post

 

Tonight planning to replace the thermal paste.

With the DVD drive i have noticed that when i type it vibrates on certain angles on my desk, i guess it isn't 100% flat, but still, one flimsy dvd drive they got in this thing. If i open the drive it stop the vibrating noise it makes.

 

I heard of people wedging something like a piece of cardboard by the optical drive to stop it from vibrating.

 

You can also look to get the upgraded bluray drive. It seems to be a much higher quality from what I've heard of the DVD one, and while 'thin' it seems to be fairly solid.

 

May try that trick!

I already have a BR drive actually in an external USB3 Enclosure, why i opted to go just with the DVD drive, and the fact i never watch disk's. I just rip any that i buy.

 

After many hours of searching for a bag for this laptop i found one, i hope.

The main problem i had is that i want a sling bag, i do not like back packs for carrying things, i am a sling guy. With that i searched literally every type of sling bag I could find on Amazon, Ebay and even many foreign sites.
Many bags were just under the width requirement to fit this laptop and so i had to pass, or it would be too close.

So this will be my bag! Will let you know how it works out once it Arrives in about 2 weeks. Even if it doesn't fit well for the laptop, i will have a nice bag for our mountain climbs.

Maxpedition Kodiak Gearslinger
Maxpedition Kodiak Gearslinger Shoulder Sling Tactical Messenger Gear Bag

 

It looks very military

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

That it does for sure, there were others that were more military but they were too thin, i am not a big military guy, but my choices were very very limited and companies not responding to emails to see if the thickness at top and bottom was enough.

i had really liked this one, a fishing bag but the top width may of been too narrow and the company wasnt getting back to me.
Amazon.com : Simms Headwaters Large Sling Pack - 915cu in Lead, One Size : Sports & Outdoors

 

ugh, laptop has started to just randomly reboot, whether gaming or it just sitting at the desktop

Guess tonight will be a night of trouble shooting to see what could be wrong.

 

just go bed and rma. no need to mess with it

 

Did you ever find the solution?

 

Are you getting any BSOD's or error codes? Random rebooting usually is from high temps, do you have HWMonitor on there and if so what are the temps its showing.

 

Oops! Usually this alludes to either overheating or faulty hardware. Does this happen on battery (no AC power)?

 

Well, things were good all week and now i was just playing Bf3 for about 25 mins using an external Dell monitor hooked up via HDMI and poof, both screen go black, no display on either and a hard reboot needed to get either screen back...

This laptop is starting to worry me...

This had happened while plugged in. I am hoping it could be a heat issue, i need to redo the thermal paste but even right now it cant be more than 20c ambient temp and i would think the 860M on this laptop with it's cooling should not over heat...

I am using GPU-Z now to try again but now GPU-Z is not showing me the temp of the GPU...

Any suggestions on temp monitoring for GPU that works with the 860M?

 

Well just happened again, started BF3, sitting at the lobby window of a server and poof, both screens black.

Ugh, i did not plan to spend the weekend troubleshooting a $1500 laptop that should just work.....

I will say on that note, maybe it is EA crapy origin and battlelog plugin crap i had to install. I downloaded BF3 since it was free..

Maybe uninstall it and try some other games with external monitor connected.

 

It may be over heating.
I turned down some in game settings, played in window mode, played only on my laptop and then played only on my Dell Monitor via HDMI and no crashes or black screens....the GPU was maxed out %100 while playing as well.

 

I have the bluray burner as well. It seems solid enough for a laptop drive.

 

Noticed something else, i think i am cursed. I bought a 5.25 USB 3 enclosure.

Connecting it to either of the 2 USB 3 ports, as soon as you copy over data or burn a disk in my BR player, device drops conneciton to the laptop and about 3-4 seconds later reconnects.

Connect it to the USB 2 port, no problems anything works fine, also tested this with my Phone and moving files to the SD card, USB3=disconnects / reconnects USB2 = works fine

Anyone else had issues with Intel USB3 ports?

 

I haven't had any issues with the usb 3 ports.

Sent with love from my Galaxy S4

 

I guess i wonder as i have bought 2 separate USB 3 external enclosures, one a Nexxt for a 2.5 drive, same issue on USB 3 ports, and now this with this laptop, i did read some people said to use better USB3 cables, but i havent bothered to order one yet. Going to take the enclosure to work to try on my system there see if it has the same issues.

 

Masscool aluminum usb3 enclosures. $15 on new egg. Or plugable external open face usb3 enclosure $25 on amazon. Good brands.

Sent from my SM-N9005

 

i need one for my BlurRay burner 5.25 . Also can't use newegg cause they don't allow orders to 3rd party shipping companies.

 

Hello I just received my 8278 yesterday day, and I am currently going through installing and trying out my games. Did you ever decide on getting a bag? I only ask because my Targus Demolition bag came in, and I love it. It fits perfect with the size of this and the straps balance the weight well.

I hope you get your notebook working correctly.

 

Well, I've had mine for a week. I opted for the 870m, not regretting it yet. I'm coming from an Asus G73jw, so there is a massive hardware jump here that's skewing my opinion on performance a bit. Old laptop had the i7 740 in it, with a gtx 460m. This new p170 with that 4th generation i7 and the 870m is killing just about anything I throw at it. I can't run everything completely maxed out, like far cry 3, tomb raider, etc, without dropping below 30fps. I don't run AA on anything, but usually all high settings will net an average of 50+ fps on all the games I've tried so far in 1080p. Ultra settings on newer games makes it struggle a bit, occasionally dipping in some games below 30fps.
Overall, for how quiet this is compared to my old one, this is more than acceptable.

The main gripe I have build wise is a lot of flex in the chassis. Both on the LCD panel, and the lower frame. Very easily bent or flexed for the aluminum that's on there. Just seems cheap, but I was expecting this going to the clevo brand.

Other than that, I love everything about it. The built in speakers are PLENTY loud and clear, little to no distortion at max volume, port selection is great IMO, and the building options let me get it how I wanted. I feel like for what I paid, I got every penny thrown into the hardware. The chassis flaws for the price are definitely acceptable in my opinion. It's not dented anywhere, it came in one piece, and it does look good.
It's not overly flashy like the p177, which screams 'I'm expensive and obnoxious!! Steal me!!' to me.

I like it a lot better than my G73 overall. The keyboard is nice so far, better than the ROG laptops so far from using it. Key travel is just right, the pressure required for each stroke is fair, etc. This is definitely a good laptop, with only a few minor hits against it for me so far.

 

I think I'm considering the same laptop as the one you just bought. The poster of this thread mentioned some problems with his DVD drive rattling around a little bit while typing. If you don't mind my asking, which drive did you get, and are you having similar problems?

 

I have the 8278 with the stock DVD drive and I have no rattling. Once it is open it is very loose due to its own built in track. You can easily move it open and down. But once closed mine is sturdy.

 

Just go with the blu-ray drive or have them put in a hdd bay in place of it and it should fix the problem

I should be getting my Sager NP 8278-S this week, will do a mini review next weekend

 

Is it easy to remove the back cover on the laptop? I bought a new ssd and I wanna install it but I don't wanna mess it up lol

 

Its very easy, just the big main panel and you have access to it.

 

very easy, check my video's in the first post, it is literally i think.. 6 screws?

I noticed it on both my desk and my dining room table, which i think are level but just seemed if the laptop may of been even slighty off balance it would make noise when typing on the left side keys.

I didnt get the BR drive as i already had an external drive, i solved the issue for now with a small piece of cardboard, the problem seems the drive has a small 1-2mm gap between the keyboard bottom and the top of the DVD drive.

 

Has anyone found a sleeve or bag for this laptop?

 

Check out the slappa bags.

I have one for my thick 15" and there's plenty and plenty of room that I believe a 17" would fit in it nicely.