Sager NP8651 Dual Monitor Problem?

Hi Guys,
I looked at other posts at the forum and saw how helpful u guys were - so figured I'll give it a shot.
I bought the new sager NP8651 around amonth ago. Installed windows 8.1, used Sager drivers from their online website and (almost) everything seemed to work fine.

HOWEVER, trying to plug in a HDMI external monitor (multiple ones that I know work with other computers) didn't give me anything. And sometimes I got some flickering response. After talking to customer support (XOTIC PC) I had to resend my computer and got a new system (which was a really positive surprise!).

And yet... after installing the system again, HDMI still does not seem work and gives the same problem....
I have tried three versions of intel4600 (one on the Sager CD,one on the sager website, one intel newest), and yet my external monitor remains silent.... I have made sure all drivers are installed (chipset etc) and still nothing.

It seems that my computer sometimes recognizes that I have an external monitor attached- but mostly refers to it as "Intel WiDi" if anything at all.

I have formatted my computer every single time to try the new set of drivers, I have done this on both Windows 8.1 as well as Windows 7 Ult... I am really losing all hope..

Can anybody help me out? and if somebody here has the Sager NP8651 and it works for him/her - can you let me know which drivers you guys are using?

Thank you so much!! Really hoping you guys can save my computer!!!

 

Some cables have surrounds that are too far up the connector making it not fit great in notebooks, have you tried another cable?

 

Yeah, perhaps mediabridge or monoprice HDMI cable.

 

Hi! Thanks for the super quick answer!
I have tried it with 2 different cables which I know for sure work with two other laptops I have not tried it with the mediabridge or monoprice cables - are those significantly different then your average HDMI cables?
Thanks again!!

 

Not really. Good value for great cables.

 

Tried it with those to no avail... any other ideas? if someone has the NP8651- can you tell me which intel 4600 drivers seem to work for you?
Thanks a bunch!!

 

If it's happening across multiple displays then I think it's a hardware issue.

 

If it's still happening even after a system swap get back in touch with the service team and they'll be able to try some other options. Just a matter of widdling down the possible causes to find the reason.

One thing I could suggest is trying the same HDMI cables you do have on a different HDMI display. I have had issues in the past where the display itself was the cause of not working correctly.

 

Hey, I have the exact same laptop you do, and so far I have not had any issues connecting a display with HDMI. Most time simply plugging in the cable gets the monitor to detect. But I was wondering, have you tried explicitly telling Windows to extend your desktop? I use windows+P to tell the system how to treat the second monitor. Right now, I have my TV hooked up with HDMI, and my monitor hooked up to one of the DisplayPorts, and the notebook screen is off. If you're still having issues, I'd check the cable, and download the latest graphics drivers from the Intel website. Perhaps you could also try updating your BIOS if an update is available? And have you installed the latest nVidia drivers, as well?

 

Hi Guys, thank you so much for your help!

I have found away to get around the issue - but not fixed it and will explain below. (so this is not solved, but I can at least work ).
I feel obligated to provide as much detail as I can below, especially as you guys took your time to help me and I appreciate it incredibly.

Some notes & Responses to the previous comments:
1. (Derek@XoticPC) I have bought the PC from XOTIC-PC and worked with you guys on this issue (with Barry from the service team). I have only compliments for him for his service- extremely professional and helpful!. If you do however note a tone of disappointement from the below paragraph note that any disappointment I have is with the state of the systems which I received (both the original and the replacement new system).

2. Crow47, I have tried the windows+P, as well as the fn+F7. both do the same thing now (back in the days in winXP you didn't have win+P... those were the days ). I was wondering if you also have the IPS screen version of the computer - as I think this is brand new and might be the difference (though I have no idea why that would make any difference). As for drivers, I have tried 6 versions of drivers for each operating system (windows 7 and 8.1) totalling 12 different permutations (of course installing the chipset first and the Nvidia after as should be done according to sager and logic). There is not bios upgrade available, however the latest user mod (prema) that seems to have worked for multiple systems did not solve this problem either.

To conclude: This is how things "worked out":
* I gave a call to Sager who guided me to try the display port on the laptop - the display port uses the exact same drivers for the VGA as the HDMI and so if its a software issue both would not work. however, as the mini-display port does work- this indicates a hardware issue with the HDMI port (this is what Sager says).
* I am noting here that this happened with a computer out of the box, and then replaced with a new computer out of the box to show the exact same problem. As I believe the chances for these are small, I am wondering about other people who might run into this in the future- as I think this might be a bigger issue.

I honestly don't mind just simply using an adapter and that is what I'll do (and I'm kinda happy that I found a solution, and that my skills did not deteriorate since my previous job as an IT helpdesk )... However... yeah... its annoying... and while I don't mind about the adapter (because honestly, this computer is such a great value for price) - I think its worth to see if other people run into this in the future.

Honestly, a huge thank you for everyone here that tried to help out!!! If there are any other questions about this or my system please let me know and I would love to provide more information!
Thanks again!

 

I also just got a P650SE(M5 pro) (4600+970M) and have the same issue. Plugging HDMI simply doesn't even detect it. The hdmi cable and monitor works fine on my old lenovo y470 though. Submitted support request to eurocom hoping to RMA it. Hopefully they will fix it ..

 

Hi kz9x,
I hope that this will work out for you!
I have also come across keyboard issues about 2 weeks after receiving the new (replacement) computer (again, also on the harware level) - and got so exasperated that I decided to give in and return the computer and get my money back before its too late.
It seems to me though that there must be some flaw with the manufacturing and I truly hope they fix that before more people will find and reply to this thread.

With that in mind, I'm a scientist at heart - and thus I don't think that a single unhappy customer means a bad computer, nor do I think that this will necessarily happen to you - but personally I will likely never take my chances again.

Best of luck!

 

thanks so far everything works fine except the hdmi port..I am hoping this is one off or certain recent batch of the boards has hardware defect. Cause this model fit me the best as the closest one would be msi gt60 but it is much heavier (~3.6 kg compare to P650SE 2.6kg) even though price is around the same

 

I have good news to share

it turns out the hdmi port is not defective..but like you said it is a manufacturing precision / assemble problem. Initially when I plugged into hdmi it would not detect at all, then I was curious and decided to take the back plate off (with 14 screws to take out..).

After I put it back I noticed that now I got a flicker with blank screen when hdmi plugged and windows actually detected the external monitor and the hdmi sound device showed up too, but no matter what I do I still have a blank screen output from hdmi. Then I decide to flip the laptop and take the backplate out again.

To my surprise once I took out the backplate hdmi works! but when i put back plate back tightly hdmi goes blank again. Then I realized something from the plate must be pushing certain part that blank out hdmi. I looked the plate and realized there are some black plastic cushion attached to the plate is pushing the hdmi port when I did the final push/click to close the backplate.

My guess is either a design flaw with backplate having the cushion push directly above hdmi port or the hdmi port is too weak/without proper shielding or a mix of both. anyway I fixed it by carefully pull the cushion thing outward toward outside away from the case when I put the backplate back on. Now my hdmi port work 100% instantly

I will attach pictures later after I have some good sleep as I no longer have to wait at the mercy of eurocom , I haven't got any response for my email after a full business day ...at least the laptop seems 100% working now ( I did not test displayport..but there is nothing pushing on those ports so I think they should be fine..)

For the keyboard I do notice there is some flex but could be due to design, it doesn't bother me yet since I tend to use external keyboard with my monitor

Hope this help anyone who found their hdmi port not working ! (Although you would think all these resellers would actually test out all ports before they ship the laptop to you...I can't believe you actually got 2 laptops that have same problem unless shipping had pushed too much pressure on the backplate)

 

Resellers usually do not test ports and stuff like that. They turn on the system and run it with the internal settings and then decide it was working and send it off.

For example, proper testing of my laptop would have determined that 780M SLI + 120Hz screen = artifacting in many games in fullscreen. This was a vBIOS issue with the 780Ms... one which REBRANDERS AND CLEVO THEMSELVES ARE ALLOWED TO MODIFY, but it was not picked up on, even though my model is the 3D model, which does not sell without a 120Hz screen.

svl7's vBIOS fixed my issues. Clevo should have been shipping that, or a custom vBIOS in the first place with their cards as their machines are designed (or were at the time) for 120Hz compatibility in the SLI models.

I'm glad you got it figured out @kz9x and I hope it helps others too. But this indeed needs to be corrected by Clevo if most people cannot use HDMI without stripping off the cover as you have done.

 

Another reason to go clevo. Self serviceable.

 

ok as promised here are the pictures

after backplate is off, I circled the hdmi port location in red

now see black plate one side has the two black cushions , one on top of usb port another on top of the hdmi port (circled in red)


The following pic just to show hdmi working when there is no back plate

May be I am cheap I felt like I pay a fortune since I never bought a laptop that expensive so I was expecting QC would be better, this should be easy to check as part of a QC process though. I mean it is just a matter of plugging hdmi and see if there is display...o welll
I also realized there are at least 3 people reported hdmi failure (including myself) as I saw another older thread, hopefully resellers get noticed and tell Clevo about this potential issue

it is self-serviceable but to me this a hardware/assembly defect though ..anyway guess I expected too high since this is my first clevo

 

You are 100% correct, this should have been noticed in QC. Unless it's a bad batch of Clevos and later revisions do not have the defect in the backplate.

I'm sorry this was your first experience. Usually Clevo (or any OEM/ODM) does not let stuff like a whole port being broken slide. I'm glad you could post this fix however. I hope the OP is updated with your results about the HDMI issue so people can see.

Also, you should message reBRANDERS (like Sager, Eurocom, mySN, etc) and inform them of this so that they can get back at Clevo themselves and relay it. Resellers like XoticPC do not deal with clevo. They simply liaise with the OEMs like MSI/Sager/etc and sort of "purchase for you". Something like that. They have no stake in this.

 

Hi Guys, I'm really glad that this post ended up being updated - not to mention with a working (albeit complicated) solution. I am somewhat glad I'm not crazy and that this indeed something that is flawed with the design and should probably have been picked up in QC (twice in my case).

I know this might not necessarily be the place to write this, but I'm putting a word of warning. The last time I have written here I indicated that I am returning my laptop to refund. I have indeed done so, but now that I am after this whole scenario, I wanted to warn you about going through the process of support/repairs through XOTICPC (and refunds through SAGER). The guys there were great and extremely nice, but between the timing of the support and the availability (not to mention the Sager's refund policy) - I would say that you are better off with keeping your computer cover open for eternity then sending your computer to get a system repair or switch .

I don't think this is the right place to write about my experience (as it will just look like I'm ranting) , but if you are interested I am attaching a link below to my review.

Either way, you guys were a really great help! and I really hope you don't encounter any problems with this system in the future!
Thanks again for everything!!

Link to detailed review (if that interests you):
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.xoticpc.com/552dbad20000ff0002dd4582

 

I want to make sure that you understand that while XoticPC is a middleman, your refund and return etc goes through Sager. Xotic simple speaks on your behalf to Sager. If you had bought an ASUS through them for example, you may not have even been able to return it so easily. So as far as your service with XoticPC goes, you need to be wary of that in your delays etc.

I do agree that they should make it more clear when their support etc is however.

 

You are completely correct and I have edited my review, as well as my post to accommodate for this. I would like to give credit where credit is due and vice versa
However, to that extent, I have to say - that for someone who has received two malfunctioned laptops that have supposedly gone through QC (Second QC was done with awareness of the problem in mind) - I am disappointed that there is no better customer representation on this problem (i.e. talking to Sager).

Either way, I will not push this further here as it's not the right thread. But wanted to point out that you are indeed correct and I have fixed this!
Thanks for reading, and once again for helping me & the community who ran/will run into this problem!

 

Erez,

We are attempting to see what we can do regarding the refund and deductions for the aforementioned scratches! We want nothing more than to have you a happy customer and will be in contact when we have the options As far as our contact goes, we generally respond to emails within 24 hours permitting we have gotten a response from the manufacturer regarding the question, if it is information we have onsite (such as a repair in house), responses are generally much quicker. If you call during or after business hours and do not get an answer right away, please leave a brief message and one of our techs should get back to you as soon as they are freed up! My apologies for your issues and we will do whatever we can to help.