What to improve on...

Hello once again everyone

As much as I may delude myself into thinking it, my Sager/Clevo isn't perfect. However, this is not a criticism of my machine, or of Sager/Clevo. This thread's intent is to allow people to voice what improvements they would like in the next generation of laptops.

If this thread gains any traction, (and hopefully becomes a sticky as well ), I will update this post to include what current owners would like implemented in the future.

If Sager/Clevo is watching NBR, and this thread, then they would get an idea how to better serve our needs and keep our loyalty in the years to come.

I'll start us off. We'd like:



1) ...a 15 incher with 2 hard drive bays.
2) Softer Fans. That is, quieter....but keep the cooling system good!
3) Backlit Keyboard
4) Better Speakers
5) Better webcam
6) An ultraportable model
7) Unlocked BIOS
8) MXM with switchable graphics
9) Improve the headphone amp
10) UEFI Support
11) Different keyboard layouts
12) Better warranty
13) MXM 4.0
14) RAM Timing Adjustment in BIOS
15) Improved Power Button
16) 16:10 screen options
17) Bigger and longer-lasting battery
18) Onboard 4G modem




Feel free to post your comments.

And once again, thank you Sager/Clevo for providing us with such excellent machines, coupled with great customer service from our resellers.

One note: I request the resellers or any kind of "seller" to refrain from posting in this thread. This is for owners only. Sorry

Cheers,
Mr. Mysterious

 

2)Lower the sound of fans at idle or without heavy load

 

I bet everyone's going to rush in and say:

Backlit Keyboard options.

So I'll be the first to say it, although it isn't necessary for my use. General conception is that many buyers seek this option, and probably improve Sager/Clevo's market, especially in the gaming sector where these laptops shine. It's good to type things in the dark as well (had couple of squints when typing on my keys at times)

Better webcam.

I seem to see the lacking quality in these webcams (coming from the NP8690 and the NP8150). Although they do a decent job, I still like to see some improvements made in this category. Video capturing in high resolutions stutter, and contrast/brightness issues plague the webcams unless calibrated.

More prudent speakers.

Again, I stress that this is not my opinion, rather a collection of opinions I gathered from the threads around. Everyone seems to be picky about something and the speakers is a common issue. Improving speakers attracts the audiophile market. I'm not complaining about my speakers though; love it

Thin, lightweight laptop model.

Well, this is my view I guess. I love Clevo and their builds, and wishing that they have a thin, lightweight model I could use for portability and battery life. Although other brands seem to have alternatives, I'd like to stay with Clevo in the future.

 

3)Better battery life, maybe switchable graphics so that 4-5 hours are possible

 

Not an owner, but the only things that kept me from buying one was mediocre audio, no backlit keyboard and no internal TV card. They add/improve those and my next laptop won't be a Dell.

 

Unlocked Bios.

 

Oh that's a good one . Or better yet, more customised BIOS e.g. more options to tinker.

 

We have that. It's called an NP 5165/5160

Otherwise, updated

Mr. Mysterious

 

Not on the 8130/8150/8170 though.

 

Lol, I'm sure there is a reason why Sager/Clevo hasn't implemented Optimus yet

Any other wants/needs?

Mr. Mysterious

 

I think they already have this too...

Key point, an MXM ultraportable, and/or an MXM laptop with switchable graphics.

 

how about spending 2 cents more on the headphone amp power so it don't suck

 

You pretty much nailed everything I wanted. I really wanna jump on a laptop now, but there's small things I'm interested in now that I've played with other laptops. I never cared about the backlit keyboard before...now I definitely want one. I think it's great and so much easier to use. Also want a better webcam. Switchable graphics would be great. The 2 HDD bay's would be nice...but at the same time, I want it compact as possible and I'd be willing to give up that drive for a lighter and smaller laptop. I currently have 14.3" and don't really want to move up, but I want a powerful graphics card and they don't have the 6990 or anything else like that in a 14". The small amount of size difference between the NP8150 and the MSI 683 is one of the pro's for it to me. Although that MSI warranty is much better. How about adding that Sager

If they could just do all this in the next week or so I could get my new laptop

 

better optics on the camera, no need for a high resolution, but atleast better lens? that can help when recording in low light conditions..

dont really need backlit keys.. but its good to have in a standard config..

a really good 14" version would be nice..

optimus for extra battery life..

black brushed aluminum palmrest?

 

UEFI support. I haven't gotten mine yet, but I agree with the two hard drive bay. I almost went with the p170hm for that reason but 17.3 inch screen is more than I need. Also, if sound is as mediocre as I read about, please boost that.

Great thread

 

Different keyboard layouts as an option we choose with build.

Choose from large enter key / small enter key.
Full number pad / no number pad, but with dedicated home, end, page up, down and arrow keys.


I agree with your number 1 request, but I'd like to clarify what you mean. I would like the exact same system we have now, but with two Sata III capable ports.

If they were to rearrange things to accommodate 2 HDD bays + the CD Drive + 4 DIMM slots, it would probably be just a bit bigger, and this would pull it away from being as portable as it is.

In all the laptops I've seen and used, one of these things has been compromised on. I think our current layout is perfect, except that both slots aren't SATA III, to provide that flexibility to those who need it.

 

The Sager NP8170 can have an internal TV card installed but I don't know if it is any good or not. I also find the audio with the subwoofer to be better than any other laptop so far, but others say it is mediocre. I heard they are planning backlit keyboard too.

 

The NP3250 / 5160 / 5165 seem to be built on the same chassis. In Sagerish, they're lightweight and have Optimus.

 

The webcam on the X7200 is really good compared to the other models. Even the D900F shares the same 3MP webcam. The only thing I want is to be able to turn off all the LED lights since blue is really distracting to me.

 

Ah... I should've stated what kept me from buying the NP8130/50.

 

Updated

Mr. Mysterious

 

I don't know if it is feasible, but if there were any way a redesign of the power brick could reduce its size somewhat it would be fantastic.

Because for many people the size of the laptop + power brick is the true bulk they have to deal with for portability.

 

I think the main gripe about the sound would be the headphone amp, not the speakers. I don't think very many people actually use the speakers that often. Most audiophiles would prefer headphones, as it is impossible for laptop speakers to emulate the sound quality of proper headphones.

 

Nice. Thanks for adding UEFI to the list

 

1. All SATA ports to be SATA III to include the one in the optical drive bay.
2. Definitely agree with the better keyboard layout. Full 10 key FTW.
3. 3d and SLI in the same notebook. 3d just begs for the SLI performance boost. (If rumors are true it will already be available when the p270wm is released)

 

Juggling features and costs is a difficult thing so I'll be a realist.

My 2 cents worth...
1. 2 drive bays in a 15"er? No thanks, I love the form factor as it is. To make this change would make the system larger or switch to a proprietary "slot-load" ODD and a 9.5mm HDD bay. PASS
2. Yep, better fans/cooling. Cant go wrong with hiring a team that whose sole responsibility is keeping it cool and quiet.
3. Backlit keyboard is a must!
4. I'm not a fan of better speakers because I use headphones 100% of the time... I think it would cost too much for a name brand alliance (Altec Lansing, Harmon Kardon, etc). If they could do better speakers for $25, go for it; otherwise, use headphones. It's not a "presentation" laptop.
5. Better webcam... sure for less than $20, but I dont use a webcam (I haven't installed the webcam or fingerprint driver on mine).
6. Ultraportable??? get an Alienware M11x. I would rather have Clevo's brightest engineers working on their flagship models instead of 'ladies' version. PASS
7. Unlocked BIOS - YES!
8. Forget Optimus switching - SOFT SWITCH in BIOS or within OS. Let us make the call when to run off the IGP and get 4-5hr battery life. YES YES YES!
9. They can forget about the speakers if they spend $5 for a high quality connector and amp. YES
10. UEFI - YES
11. Yes - 17" keyboard should be more spacious, but I see why they utilize the same one.
12. Warranty... meh, 1yr is fine, but I service my own stuff. Upgrade your warranty through your reseller.

My favorites in order:
1. IGP switch
2. Better headphone jack/amp
3. Better bearings/quieter fan
4. Backlit keyboard
5. Unlocked BIOS
6. UEFI
8. Keyboard
7. Speakers and webcam if done cheaply

 

Can we please adjust the screen brightness with Fn+up/down arrow keys like the rest of humanity? It's hard to find F8 in the dark when the screen is blasting my eyes into the next dimension.

Also, MXM 4 would be sweet.

K thx!

 

as far as sound goes, here is a nice external solution: NuForce Icon HDP

If you are a true audiophile, try: NuForce DAC-9

 

the only thing i want is ram timing adjustment in bios. There is absolutely no reason to have this locked in such a high end machine, hide the menu if you must but please give me access to it!

 

This.

Headphone output quality is simply not acceptable.

 

You can do this by other means, XTU, SPDTool, Thaiphoon Burner

 

xtu as far as I know only works on the 8170 as it has the hm67 chipset. The other two tools are quite dangerous in that they directly write to memory spd information and could potentially brick them. Changing a setting in the bios is relatively painless and the worst that happens is I need to reset the bios.

Even if I am wrong on all this there is still no reason to not include this level of tweaking in the bios on this level of hardware.

 

Yeah my vote definitely goes toward RAM timing/MHz changes done through BIOS. I feel terrible having bought a non PnP version of 1600 RAM that only runs at 1333 because of lack of settings control.

 

I dunno if anyone else has this problem.. but my power button is incredibly annoying to use sometimes. I can push the thing down (fairly hard) a few times and the computer wont turn on. Seems sorta hit or miss, as other times I can get it the first time. I contacted Malibal and they said the buttons were fairly stiff and required a little force.. but now I'm wondering if there's a faulty connection or if there's something I can do to fix it myself, because it's quite annoying.

So mine would be:
Improved power button
Better sound through headphones

Only two things I can complain about atm with my notebook

 

- 16:10 screen option

- 12 cell 8400 mAh battery option so that it can be away from the mains for more than 40 minutes, say enough to watch a 1.5hr movie and check email afterwards without critical beeps

- On board 3d sound card option for 5.1 surround speakers with proper amp

- ACPI and AHCI options in BIOS to allow dual booting in XP for older games (emulation is unreliable)

 

I'll update after classes today, everyone

Mr. Mysterious

 

I saw the THX sticker in the pics. Doesn't the sound have to meet certain standards to get that certification? How is it so bad?

 

It's not that its bad necessarily. I believe the gripe is for the headphones output quality, not the actual sound for the built in speakers.

 

- Better speakers option anyway
- On board 4G modem option (with SIM separate from micro SD slot)

 

Updated

Mr. Mysterious

 

Personally speaking the only thing that bothers me about Clevo/Sagers is the fan noise. But I can live with it for the performance and reliability that I get.

 

I know you already added keyboard layouts, but I was looking at more pics of the laptop today. I think the whole num pad layout sucks. Hopefully they can fix it to make it like every other one, i.e. + sign in the correct position and so forth. BTW, today I decided that I will be waiting until the next models come out and cancelled my order. I feel that there is something that I want and for the money I'm spending I should be able to get them, even small things. If nothing changes on the next series then maybe I'll change my mind. Lived w/ this laptop for 5 years, what's another 6-8 months

 

Very interesting thread

We vote for

2) Softer Fans. That is, quieter....but keep the cooling system good!
3) Backlit Keyboard
4) Better Speakers
8) MXM with switchable graphics
9) Improve the headphone amp
11) Different keyboard layout
12) Better warranty
13) MXM 4.0
15) Improved Power Button
17) Bigger and longer-lasting battery

Lastly: Better housing and built quality

 

I vote for a 20 incher

 

I would like to see HDMI input like the Alienware machines. It's not something I'd use often, but I'm a gamer on the go and it'd be nice to use that screen for console games here and there.

 

A backlit keyboard would be a nice add on.

Better speakers would obviously be great, but I'm not sure what they could really do in a laptop.

Improving the headphone amp is a no brainer.

A different keyboard would be a decent change, but I could live without it. There's really no reason they shouldn't do it though, seeing as the keyboard is the same as it is on the 8150, on the 8170.

 

I want a 1920x1200 option again.

 

not in this order;

HDMI-IN
msata
express card slot
esata with port multiplier
LCD bezel that doesn`t scratch during transport
A High End system with 3D screen that allows for XTU use...what a shame...
Public bios update support
Optimus\manual gpu switch
better webcam
no pulsing on fans
backlit keyboard with on off switch
seperate bluetooth module

 

Nice, I agree with the bluetooth. If I had ordered, I wasn't going w/ the higher wireless cards due to wanting bluetooth w/ out having to go external

 

for me, backlit keyboard and Optimus enabled on the higher end gpu's (GTX 560M+)