**D900F (Sager 9280) Owners Lounge**

Np9280 = GTX 280M
Np285 = GTX 285M
I think it's about the gpu model it comes.
Maximum memory is 24 gb ddr3 (8x3) with latest bios installed.

 

Thanks! I buy this used and works perfect (have 12gb RAM and GTX 480 with 2gb). Thanks for reply!

 

Greetings everyone,

Have got a d900f that has been a fantastic work horse. Video card has died (280m) - looking for a replacement card (280m or 285m) or a bricked book with functioning video card or will consider a functioning unit for spares. Unit originally purchased from Pro-star, no help there.

Thanks for your response in advance.

FO

 

I may be interested, got a price? I can't PM you as I have only posted twice on this forum.

Thanks

OF

 

Where's the CMOS battery on the D900F? Getting a time error on mine. Does it take a standard 2032?

 

Found a bit of information earlier in the thread; they were right, I pretty much had to disassemble the entire laptop. And imagine my surprise when the 2023 battery was wrapped in heatshrink with a custom pigtail bolted onto it...



I had to slice open the heatshrink to verify that it was a 2023; I tried to pry off the pigtail, but it looks like it has little tiny vampire clamps into the battery itself, so I don't think I can safely re-use the connection tabs. I ordered a replacement off eBay for ten bucks shipped (just search for "CR2032OPP"); it has a 2-wire Molex plug on the end, pre-wired into a heatshrunk battery. Guess I'll just have to deal with a zillion laptop pieces lying around for the next week until it arrives, haha.

This was also a good opportunity to work on the screen connection...I was getting a vertical green line at times on the monitor, which from my past experience has indicated a pinched wired - when I'd wiggle the screen a few times up & down, the line would go away, so I'll see if moving the wires around will help at all. Speaking of monitors, has anyone successfully been able to output to dual monitors (disabling the internal LCD) on the 280M? I'd like to "dock" it, but previously only had success with a single monitor output & the onboard LCD for dual monitors instead of dual external monitors. Don't know if it's possible on the GPU or not.

 

I have a gtx 280m on my D900F when playing some games I get a freeze during the games for 1 or 2 seconds , then black screen with the sound of game continuing. With the error drivers stop working and has recovered.
It's starting happening since 1 or 2 years ago , never happened before. I have heard about increase gpu voltage 1.00v to 1.03v , it would fix it. I don't know what to do , if it's the drivers or the voltage. It's a strange issue. Has anyone get this problem and fixed it in the d900f with a gtx 280m ?

 

I have sometimes these horizontal lines interference coming on the screen , due to the pinched wired probably (others d900f users have this problem too). I found a temporary fix , by removing the small black piece protecting the screen cables , and with a small paper applying a pressure to those screen cables , it helps to reduce significantly those horizontal lines appearing on the screen.

 

Where do they pinch? Maybe you could add some extra insulation there?

 

ordering mah 680m <3

 

Good luck would be an epic upgrade.

 

only lacking one thing to max the laptop out and thats the i7 920 thinking of an i7 970 or 980x. how much performance difference would i get in games? have the 24gb ram and the 680m will soon be on its way.

 

Depends on the game, the cpu bound ones like bf4 could see a decent boost.

 

I have the same issue and it's been happening for a few years now seemingly randomly. Basically what you're seeing is a TDR from Windows Vista/7/8 when it detects your GPU has become unresponsive, Windows XP would just freeze the screen and you'd have to reboot. I could play some game like RAGE or BF3 for hours but then go play CS:S, D3, or idle on the desktop and it craps out every couple of minutes, even when the GPU is cold.

This is the best resource I've found for troubleshooting the problem, but after trying everything on the list short of replacing the card/PSU, I've been left with downclocking the core 20-40MHz which helps a lot.


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Anyone know what a couple of the best cards to put in this machine to replace the 280m would be, and if there are any special requirements heatsinks, dremel, etc.?

 

Nibitor may be able to edit the bios.

The fastest confirmed card I am aware of is the 680M.

 

I have fixed the problem of black screen crashing during games as I stated before by increasing the gpu 280m voltage using Nibitor.
You just need to change one value in the voltage tab in the Extra change 1.00 to 1.03V (the Extra profile is just when gpu is in gaming mode) , and you can keep the others profiles to 0.9V.
On youtube you have this tutorial how to proceed with someone having the D900F watch?v=RGvEKYvf3Ac , he changes the Extra and 3D , but only Extra profile is enough.
It works perfectly now without any crashing or black screen , I think is the only way to fix it. But of course use at your own risk.

The 680M should work in the D900F with the latest oficial Bios , from what I heard no new heatsink is needed , I have intention to buy a 680m too.

 

Odd that Nvidia let that slip by.

 

Did that last night haven't had any issues yet. Hope that's all it takes, I'd rather put money into a desktop right now than another card for this.

 

the install for my 680m went fine except im running windows 8 so it took hours to realize the modded drivers required me to turn off driver signature enforcement in the start up settings and yes a new heatsink is required, its a double heatsink for keeping the 680m cooler its a 100w card it was also needed for the gtx 480m from what i've seen. sure you can go for it without a new heatsink but you're going to be looking at some high temps

 

get the 680m more than happy i did it just got here yesterday

 

It is a gigantic boost.

 

Do you purchase the new heatsink with the 680m , it comes together ?
The hdmi output works with the 680m ? Do you have the latest bios System BIOS 1.00.09 and EC firmware 1.00.04.when installing the 680m ?

Sure the 680m is a big boost especially for the most demanding games , and future games to come.

 

To be honest I haven't tested the hdmi yet but there is always dvi to hdmi if it didn't work and yes it comes with new fans, new heatsink, thermal paste and the card

 

Can you tell me where did you get the upgrade kit? I have been looking for this my self, but I can only find just the card without the new heatsink. And did it work with bios System BIOS 1.00.09 and EC firmware 1.00.04?

 

I've seen them around on ebay if i remember correctly.

 

Hi All, I am new to this forum and am looking for help. I just want to thank you in advance for any support you can give me. I can change parts and ram in a laptop but that is where it ends. I purchased a sager 9285 for my son to game on. The system numbers are as follows:
intel core i7 - [email protected] GHZ
sys mem; 633kb
ext mem : 6143 mb
Bios rev:1.00.04s ls2
kbc/ec: 1.00.03g
video card gtx 280m
v bios rev 62.92.91.00.01
v bios build date 05/18/09
running windows 7 ultimate 64 bit
My question is can i upgrade the graphics in this computer to closer resemble my Alienware m17 with a Radeon 5870. I emailed Sager but they are saying nothing can be done, but when i look online i see people with models the same as mine using a GTX 480. Thanks everyone for your help. I did a search of this forum but could not find an answer and i didn't know where else to post this.

 

There are two things which can be done.

First, you can upgrade to the GTX 480M (which is not worth it). Next, you can upgrade to the GTX 680M, however you will need a new heatsink that sacrifices some cooling for the CPU to cool the GPU well enough. This will also need a modified BIOS from Prema. I am entirely unsure whether or not you could put a GTX 980M in there, though if you did I would actually suggest grabbing an i7-960 or some such chip as the i7-920 would definitely limit a GTX 980M in some games, especially ones like Battlefield 4 (and more especially if you are planning to run above 60FPS for any reason).

Normally however, you would be stuck. But as a D900F owner, I don't think pushing for that laptop right now is the best idea. The D900F has entirely proprietary parts; you NEED to find other "D900F" parts like keyboards and screens etc. If you find similar parts from previous machines (like the D900T's keyboard) they WILL NOT WORK. I would much rather suggest you sell that machine entirely, or use it as a home server (the i7 will give it plenty of juice) and get a newer machine in the end. A solid upgrade can run you upwards of $1000 for just the GPU and heatsinks alone, Far less if you're including the CPU in it, and a new, stronger machine could be had for somewhere along the lines of $1300-1500, which would make the upgrade a bit moot.

 

The 480m is one best avoided, the 485m should work and is faster. The 680m is much faster again and would turn it into a whole different beast.

The cpu upgrade is not required for 1080p, but would be a nice boost. Spending $500 will net you most of the performance of the $1200 machines but you won't have the mobility/battery life.

The 485m for $250-300 would be about 60% as fast as the 680m but is cheaper and still faster than your 5870m.

Both cards do need a new heatsink so I've left a bit of extra room in the rough estimates above for one.