HTWingNut's Sager NP6110 / Clevo W110ER First Look & Review

bumped Command Rate of my Samsung 1600mhz DDRL sticks to 2N, my frequency is now 2133mhz stable

holy crap, gonna aim for 2400mhz, but wow, my system officially has more memory bandwidth than my GPU which actually needs it . Dammit if they were gonna use GDDR3 for the GPU why couldn't they just use these awesome samsung 30nm ICs???????? WHY????????

 

Do you guys know what tips worked with the laptop? I couldn't search in the past posts when they talked about slim chargers and tips that might have worked. I just ordered a targus charger but it wasn't sure if it will have a working tip.
Amazon.com: Targus Premium Laptop Charger (AC/DC) APM69US (Piano Black): Electronics

 

Sorry that's what I meant, I'm still with stock bios atm.
So I was wondering if those thermal limits (long term TDP and long Turbo Time Limit) were the ones responsible for shutdowns, thus if we could prevent them from happening by changing values in your unlocked BIOS (and then, fry our PSU ).

Seems our laptops shouldn't draw too much from the PSU, from what you measured ? You get 75W in torture tests right ? Given efficiency, that should be around the maximum the 90W PSU is capable of ?

 

You can set the the TDP higher and lower from stock. So if you need to keep it cooler it can be reduced, if it doesn't reach advertised Turbo or throttles you can increase it.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/8671986-post76.html



EDIT: Sorry! I didn't see that I had the last post here. Maybe a mod can merge these two.

 

Alright, spill it, how did you manage? BIOS GPU clock mod? Me thinks there is something in the works!

Also, been playing some Max Payne 3, everything max settings, tesselation off, no AA at 1366x768 and hasn't dropped below 30FPS, typically in the 40's and 50's. Pretty impressive, all on stock clocks.

 

Win 7, basic drivers & the upcoming Prema Mod featuring svl7's GT650 hacks...


It's 5:30 am here...GN8

 

I remember svl7 from when I had an M15x. He worked wonders. Now I really have to buy one of these!

 

damn, the amount of memory bandwidth needed would be insane, there is already massively diminishing returns on the core OC

 

any 2.5/5.5 19v adapter should work

such as the one here http://images-en.busytrade.com/2058...or-Toshiba-19v-3-95a-5-5-2-5-Pa3468e-1ac3.jpg

mine came with a 90w brick and I currently use a 120w Toshiba-branded Delta piece

 

WOW that's 300 points above my score (you have a 3612QM and I do have an older 2720QM) but still.. well done! Looking forward to what you guys have cooked up. I would assume it's some kind of BIOS section for either 1) overclocking the GPU or 2) Overvolting something or 3) GASP forcing the turbo on the card at all times!

 

It's the smallest quadcore kept in turbo with TS and a GPU OC, we didn't touch the voltage on gpu for this run at all.

 

Thanks for all the great information; particularly HTWingNut. Please don't hold it against me that I am from Colorado and therefore an Avalanche fan.

I am very interested in the NP6110, but have two issues. I am trying to decide between the i7-3610QM and the i5-3210M. My understanding is that both are ivy bridge. The i7 costs $100 more and is 45W TDP versus the i5 that is 35W TDP. Both are a considerable upgrade from the Atom N270 on the Asus N10J I currently use for travel. I am willing to pay the additional $100 for the i7, but am concerned that I would also be paying in the form of additional heat and shorter battery life. I saw a comment that user R3d had determined that the i5 didn't help with either battery life or heat, but couldn't find the actual comment from R3d saying that. I find it hard to believe that the additional 10W TDP doesn't create heat or shorten battery life. Can anyone provide any incite on this issue?

My other issue is glossy vs. matte screen. I have used both on other laptops. My N10J has a glossy screen and I am not a big fan. Since I use it for travel it is in lots of different lighting conditions and glare is frequently an issue. Also, I have seen review saying the NP6110 glossy screen has a low contrast level and poor black/white levels. They also critique the screen resolution and size, but those are not concerns to me. Anyway, I am considering the matte screen even though it is considerably more expensive. I am not inclined to install a new screen myself. So, I am wondering if anyone can provide information on the matte screen. I am particularly interested in contrast and black/white levels.

Thanks for any help that can be provided.

 

LOL. No problem. Denver is an awesome city, especially compared with Detroit. My wife and I even went to an Avalanche / RW game in Denver one year. I have a friend that lives out there so we visited him the next day. Avalanche won in OT 3-2, but it was a great game.

R3d has a Sandy Bridge i5. Also, TDP is only a way to "bin" CPU's. It's really a range, meaning requiring UP TO 45W. So a 45W TDP cooling system is enough to cool it, even though it may dissipate much less heat. I haven't seen any real results from an Ivy dual core yet though. As far as battery life, when idle or used lightly, the duals or quads typically consume about the same amount of power.

N10J! I had that laptop too and loved it, except the crappy 1024x600 screen resolution. Other than that it was an excellent little performer. I was even a moderator at the N10J forums.

Regarding the screen, I do have links to both specs, but the specs don't tell the whole story. I'm at work now, but will provide when I get home later. The specs are very similar between the matte and glossy, but the matte makes a WORLD of difference in any bright backlighting environment. I highly recommend it over the glossy. And there really aren't any quality screens to choose form. I think Mythlogic did their homework when they found this screen, and other vendors followed suit.

 

Thanks for the quick response HTWingNut. The Avs really haven't been the same since the days of Roy, Sakic & Forsberg. I really miss the days when the Redwing vs. Avalanche games were such great competition.

Kind of sounds like I might only be "paying" the heat and battery life price when running things for which the extra power of the i7 was useful.

Will be interested to see the matte screen specs when you can get to that. I will probably go that way.

Totally agree about the 1024x600 screen on the N10J. I almost always run it with just the integrated video so I can fake a 1024x768 screen. That ruins the idea of having a discrete video card. Also, the Atom N270 is pretty puny. It has served me well, but it is time to upgrade. Since I will use it for travel including intercontinental, the ability to have multiple batteries is a big deal for me. That is what really kept me away from the M11X.

 

I still haven't received mine. :-( Must be popular since the lead times are so long.

 

Oilers represent!!!!! Haha I loved the Redwings/Oilers rivalry in the playoffs when I was living in Edmonton! 1st seed vs 8th lol. Let's hope the Oilers will be back to relevance in a few years time

Thanks a lot to everyone on this thread and the owner's lounge for making me seriously consider this. I was actually going to plunge USD 2500 for the Sony Vaio Z because the PMD was cool.... until gaming on it is utter rubbish. RAID 0 SSDs are nice but having a GT 650m in a tiny chassis is much better.

 

Hi Guys,

I'm about to bite the bullet on one of these machines

However just another question about the charger unit - some vendors sell a 90w power supply and some a 120w power supply.

Why the difference?

Is there any significance in regards to the charger being a larger 120w or will it be fine having a 90w power supply?

Specs I'll be going for are

i7-3720QM
16GB 1600MHZ RAM
512GB Crucial M4
Killer Wireless/Intel Advanced 6235

 

From what I've seen, it seems like Sager re-sellers are providing a 120W PSU if you get the i7 Ivy Bridge. Seems like a 120W can still charge the battery while the laptop is under heavy load.

 

Damn!! I can only scrape 3DMARK11 Pscore 2876 and 2656 for GPU. Latest 304.79 drivers. This is at 1085mhz core and 2200mhz vRAM with 2133mhz system RAM and the i7-3610m at full boost with TS5.0 beta3.

 

Hmmm.. I am planning to get a set of Corsair Vengeance, what do you recommend for the system 16gb or 8gb?
Also does anyone know how good the vengeance are for overclocking?

 

So far Prema and I have found the Samsung 1.35V DDR3 2x4GB (8GB total) RAM overclocks VERY well. 2133 with only slight bump in timings all at stock voltage. Possibly even 2400 with much looser timings.

And amount of RAM is personal need/preference. I'm perfectly fine with 8GB, although 16GB would be nice for the times I use VM's, but manage fine with 8GB.

 

based on these guy's advice, i've ordered my machine with samsung now...was going to go with the corsair same as OP, but on their experience the samsung sticks seem to be more open for o'c...going for 8 gb, plenty for me!!!!

 

HTWingNut, were you able to find the specs for the screens? I am still interested in seeing them if possible. Thanks.

 

I have the glossy screen but have applied the following matte screenfoil on my W110ER

atFoliX FX-Antireflex Displayschutzfolie für: Amazon.de: Computer & Zubehör

Im VERY pleased with the results, some grain-effect is noticable but not that much, I can use the device outside even in sunny weather pretty decently now. A world of difference vs. the glossy finish.

@HTwingnut: Ive used the humid environment method of yours in my bathroom while applying and its pretty flawless, very good advice thanks!

 

Aww crap, I did say I would do that didn't I? I can't find the exact post but here's what I found...

AUO B116XW03 v1: B116XW03 V1 Specification & Datasheet download - Panelook.com

IVO M116NWR1 R0 (stock): IVO M116NWR1 R0 Overview - Panelook.com

Spec sheet pdf files are at the bottom of the page for each LCD

 

HT, could you run 3DMark 06 or 11 on the HD4000 with 2133 RAM? I'm very curious to see how much of a boost in performance the IGP gets with such high clocked RAM.

 

I can, but 3DMark for some reason doesn't seem to be affected as much by faster RAM as actual games.

Here it is with GPU at 1300MHz (instead of stock 1100MHz) and vRAM at 2133MHz: http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3808904 (P855)

 

Well, i have those ram sticks, and they don't overclock, as far as i know.1T instead of 2T is o.k,but when i try to loosen timings, my lappy won't boot. But i didn't pushed experiments very far, because at every try, i have to clear CMOS. I must add those RAM sticks have an auto-overclock feature that's why, maybe, or because of the 1T instead of 2T ?
And 8GB RAM is far than enough IMHO.

 

Very similar displays it seems, i noticed the response time is better on the AUO...

 

That's still a very nice gain, almost equal with the 6620G. Impressive.

 

Thanks HTWingNut. I guess one issue is do they match the specs. From what I have been seeing, the glossy screen doesn't. I think I will take a chance on the matte.

Also, thanks to Suzaku6. I plan to get an overlay like that for my N10J which I will pass on within my family. However, I am willing to pay for an actual matte screen for a new laptop. What's this about a HTWingNut's humid environment technique?

 

Just some tips I picked up along the way.

Basically run a hot shower (don't take a shower just start it up, lol) and close the bathroom door to steam it up which should get rid of the dust particles. Take a tupperware or clean bucket or whatever and fill a little bit with *hot* water and a *drop or two* of dish soap. Get the screen protector wet with the bubbly water, let it drip dry for 10 seconds or so, then apply to the LCD. It should let you slide it around a bit without worries for dust. It's silicon adhesive so soap and water won't affect its adhesive properties. I also use latex or vinyl gloves to prevent fingerprints, etc. Then once you get it located, use a credit card to squeegee out the water and bubbles. You'll have bubbles for several days but they will disappear. I usually just squeegee them out once a day with a credit card best I can but after 2-3 days, maybe 4 it should all dry and have a perfect contact with the LCD. I sold my NP8170 to someone with a matte protector and he thought it was a matte screen it was so perfect, lol. Of course it took me two tries, with a second matte protector for it to work. But it still only cost me less than $40 for two protectors compared with over $120 for the LCD.

 

Do you remove the screen from the laptop when doing this? Otherwise, wouldn't water get inside the computer and damage it? Or am I completely missing something?

 

I am planning to get one with the following changes to the base model:
Matte screen
i7-3610QM
Diamond thermal compound
256 Gb Crucial M4 SSD
Intel Advanced-N wireless
Extra battery
Windows 7 Home premium
I expect to order from Xotic to get the matte screen. Their price is $1528 before cash discount. I know I could save some money by doing the thermal compound and screen replacement myself, but it is worth it to me to not have to fool with these. Someday I will have to try a screen replacement, but I don't want to do it the first time on a new machine that is this expensive.

Any comments on this configuration?

 

No, don't remove the LCD. When you pull the protector out of the soapy water (and don't forget to remember which side has adhesive, lol) hold it in the corner for 10-20 seconds and let it drip dry. You're not going to be submerging the laptop in water. The goal is to steam up the bathroom to get rid of dust, and get the protector soapy wet so that it is easy to adjust on the LCD. There should be very little water around the laptop itself.

 

I have a question if you don't mind... What's your reason for getting the extra battery? I'm seriously, seriously trying to justify the need for it lol. So far it's more of a what if situation. Would be great if you can share your views.

Other than that, your config is almost identical to mine except for matte screen.

 

I would never buy an extra battery unless you know you're going to need it. Batteries tend to lose capacity over time whether used or not. But if you do store it, drain to 40-50% and put in a cool place, it's supposed to minimize its capacity degradation.

 

I like to travel and that is the primary reason I want a laptop like this. You can't make it to Europe or the far east from Denver on one battery even just watching movies much less playing some games. Beyond that it is just nice. With two batteries I find that I don't spend as much time scrabbling to find a place to plug in. Some airports are really a hassle. In some cases, I can also see it being useful for school, although most schools have gotten better about providing charging capability. In any case school was a long time ago for me.

Admittedly this is a bit of an extra extravagance and also comes down to being able to afford it. HTWingNut is correct about care for it. Avoiding heat and keeping them below 86 degrees F (30 C) is especially important. My experience is that with proper care they degrade pretty slowly when not in use and will last a long time.

 

HTWingNut, thanks for the info on how you do the matte overlay. That sounds like a good technique. I will probably try it on my N10J.

 

Hi Guys,

Can anyone recommend a good matte screen protector? I don't want to spend over $80 to replace the glossy 'cause some comments by members here said that getting a protector will be very similar to getting the LCD screen.

Hoping to spend no more than $20 for it.

So far, I am in love with this machine. Looking forward to Prema's new Bios mod with the GPU OC option...

Thanks!

 

Order placed. Thanks for all the help HTWingNut.

BTW, this was a 62nd birthday present to me (July 3rd). A couple of weeks ago my wife was asking me what I wanted for my birthday. I told her not to get anything as I was looking at this. She was happy about that as she has been coveting my Asus N10J for travel. It will be passed on to her so we are both getting presents for my birthday.

 

I can just imagine a 62-year-old squinting to view his BF3 on an 11" screen... lol

I've got the opposite problem. Mine's supposed to come tomorrow, and I'm not sure how I'm going to get it into the house without the wife knowing I spent more money!

 

More like Civ5 or Skyrim than BF3. I was blessed with good eyesight, but a couple of years ago I did have to start using reading glasses some of the time (currently +1.5 or 2.0). I have a 27" Dell monitor at home for my desktop, but I have been using a 10.2" screen for travel so 11.6" is going to look big.

Good luck with the wife!

 

I can't speak from experience, but I have been looking. The ones from Viewguard seem to be getting pretty good reviews. For this size they are $15 + about $7 shipping so ~ $22 total.

Official Site of ViewGuard® Products including Privacy Filters & Screen Protectors for Laptop, Notebook & Desktop Computers; LCD Screens; Mobile Phones; PDAs and More

 

Hmmmm, so should I get a SSD for this laptop or a hybrid drive?
I'm thinking of a seagate 500gb just to be sure I have enough space for all the things I will be travelling with on this laptop.

 

I ordered the laptop with the normal 8GB ram.. not sure what it will come with but I'm sure it will need upgrading. So I am keeping my eyes out on a nice set of ram to ensure most performance out of the laptop.

 

Thanks for the heads up HTWingnut and I've decided not to get it. I just ordered from Larry @ LPC Digital. Can't wait!

 

First i got a normal hdd drive in it.

Now i have a 512 cruical m4 and this small laptop changed to a beast.

Bootingtime ~15 seconds, programs opens if you push on it...awesome!!!

so buy a ssd (256gb coast arround 200€ in germany), the 512gb from cruical 350€...

best regards

 

I was gonna do that but I already have a few external HDDs for data so I got a 256gb crucial m4 for my config. After trying out my first SSD experience on my Sager 8170, I never want to go back to spinning drives as my primary OS HDD.