The Prodigal Son is returning: Couple questions about the NP8278-S/P170SM-A

The time has come to retire my MacBook Pro and re-discover a proper gaming notebook. To that end, I just purchased a second-hand NP8278-S from a fellow NBR member as I wasn't looking to spend a ton of money on this endeavor. Key components are an i7 4810MQ and GeForce GTX 870M, a combination that should get decent 1080p performance and be sufficient for key 2016 titles I'm eagerly awaiting (Rise of the Tomb Raider, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided).

To that end, I have a few questions, as it's been a long time since I've had skin in the gaming notebook...game.

1) Can I use an external G-Sync monitor with this notebook/GPU? The NP8278-S has a DisplayPort output, so I wouldn't expect it to be a problem, but I wouldn't want to drop the funds for such a display if it won't work. The laptop's internal screen is not G-Sync, if that matters. On a related note, does graphic switching get disabled when connected to an external monitor?

2) Would I be able to upgrade to a GTX 970M such as this one without having to do any drastic modifications, either physically (e.g. needing a different heatsink/fan), with the firmware (flashing with a modded BIOS), or software (modded .inf files, disabling driver signing, etc)?

3) Any major issues/quirks that need special attention, particularly with Windows 10? The system is coming with Windows 8.1, but from a usability perspective, I actually prefer 10.

TYIA

 

Welcome back! That's a good model to pick up to get back in to gaming.

That model was released before GSync was out and the 870m won't do GSync, as well the laptop screen itself isn't set up for GSync either. You need to upgrade to either a 970m or 980m for GSync on the external monitor. Not sure if it would work on that model when hooked up with a GSync external monitor (drawing a complete blank on that if anybody can help out). You should be able to upgrade to that graphics card. Usually, if you get a graphics card from a Clevo seller, I believe most would send it out with the heatsinks as well. If you get it from a place like ebay, you kind of take your chances if it comes with it. Graphics switching still works when using an external monitor.

10 drivers are available for that model on Sager's site if you need them, otherwise if something is giving you issues, you could get the drivers from the manufacturer of the individual parts. I think most of the issues with 10 were shortly after it launched.

 

Hi Pat, thanks for the reply. Regarding G-Sync (or lack thereof), could I still take advantage of such monitors' 144 Hz refresh rate so using standard vsync would result in a half frame rate of 72, rather than 30 like on a standard panel?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Incorrect. 780Ms can run Gsync; the entire 800M line can do it as well. You do *NOT* need 900M for Gsync.

The 870M will be rather lacking for these titles, and you'll be close to minimum spec for them. While they'll run, don't expect much out of the 970M, and expect to be required to overclock it for 60fps sometimes (depending on optimization).

No, you cannot. The PxxxEM, PxxxSM and PxxxSM-A models excepting the SLI models cannot use Gsync externally because the iGPU powers all ports, including external ones. It is a scenario where MSI, which wired all external ports directly to the dGPU, and Alienware, which had the Mux switch, beat Clevo without fail. ASUS still sucked.

Yes, you can upgrade to a 900M chip without any issue. It will literally be plug-and-play, however you would need to mod driver .inf files. Prema's sBIOS mod however will remove the need for .inf mods for drivers as far as I know, and his vBIOS mods should also be well considered. The heatsinks will be the same, yes.

I don't understand why from a usability perspective you prefer 10 since once installing Start 8, windows 8 is basically functionally identical to Windows 7, but to each their own. You should also be able to use 7 on that machine with the 900M cards, from what I remember.

 

I must have missed that some how, thanks for correcting me on that. I've just gone off of what Nvidia had listed for the compatible GPUs, and didn't know there was a way to make that work on there. I'll have to do a little more homework.

 

There's no internal gsync for the 700M/800M GPUs, but externally you can use them as I listed in that post. nVidia doesn't even seem to know what their own GPUs or drivers are capable of, saying things like their driver doesn't allow voltage changes, when modded vBIOSes allow it on their drivers, etc.

 

Ok, that makes a bit more sense. Thanks for clarifying!

 

Even though Gsync is out of the question, can the system still output a 144Hz signal so I can at least take advantage of that high refresh rate? I'm still a bit confused on this point.

Good to know. I would probably end up going straight for a 980M in the future, but there would be an additional expense of having to upgrade the stock 230W PSU to something stronger. I won't be able to bear the expense anytime soon. Besides, I'm not looking for 1080p/60 fps at maximum details, but if I can play the above-mentioned games at 1080p, or even 720p at medium/high settings, I'll be happy.

 

I've heard very sporadic user testimonies of ivy bridge CPUs managing to hold 144Hz connections which is weird since they can't handle internal 120Hz panels. I would say your best bet is to take the laptop to some store like a best buy and try it on a 144Hz monitor there and see if it's allowed... I regrettably do not know the answer for certain.

180W PSU can handle a 980M and a 4810MQ at stock without issue, however a 230W PSU upgrade will likely find you nice and stable with the amount of available power you have. If you do lots of nice modding you might even be able to hold a solid 24/7 OC on your CPU and GPU without worrying about thermals at all.

 

That's actually a really good idea. I know MicroCenter carries a few high-refresh monitors, including the 144Hz but non-Gsync Acer GN246HL, so I'll probably take a run over there tomorrow with the machine in tow.

OK, I was told by the user who's selling official Clevo 980M GPUs in the marketplace that 230W wouldn't be enough. But if you say it's sufficient, that's good to know. I won't be overclocking anything, though. Those days are long behind me.

 

If you are getting a 230w adapter, then you should be good to go there. 180w is usually fine, but 230w does give some extra overhead on it if you wanted to overclock later.

 

Good luck!

Considering that the P6xxRG models have 180W PSUs and people manage to overclock, and the P6xxRG models have 200W PSUs and people also manage to overclock, I'm 355.061% certain that 180W PSUs that are rated to deliver 180W or higher to the system are just fine. There *ARE* PSUs that will only pull their listed wattage from the wall, and 180W for those really won't work, as after conversion they'd be only something like 150W PSUs. A 230W PSU that only pulls 230W from the wall, with an average conversion rate of 0.85, will work by granting about 195W.

 

@D2 Ultima and anyone else interested, I took my system to MicroCenter, and they were totally cool with me testing it on their monitors. I was able to get 144Hz output over DisplayPort but not HDMI. I ended up purchasing an Asus VG248QE, which they had on sale. Even after calibration, the colors aren't that great, but the ultra high refresh rate more than makes up for it. I wish a DisplayPort cable came with it, but it was easy enough to grab one from Amazon.

Bottom line - even though Gsync doesn't work with Optimus, you can at least take advantage of high refresh rates as long as your notebook has a DisplayPort output.

Edit: Asus VG248QE, not Acer.

 

That's a solid monitor, and an even better one if you can grab it on sale.

Thanks for the update on trying that out, it is appreciated.

 

That should give you some nice gaming sessions I have a swift myself and for my main gaming I could not go back to 60hz.