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

So HOW exactly do you unlock the turbo boost with Throttlestop?

I don't know how to use the program, and a simple step by step guide on how to get to 3.3ghz on the 3610qm would be much appreciated

And what kind of temperatures do you get? Dangerous? Uncomfortable (On your lap I mean)? Safe?

 

Forcing Turbo Boost even with the Nvidia GPU active:

1) Launch Throttlestop (I'm using 4.10 since the 5.xx betas are time-limited).
2) Set multiplier to "Turbo" (Highest value) and check the box.
3) Click "Turn On" in the bottom-right corner.
4) Click "Save" in the bottom-left corner.
5) Click "Options" and check the "CPU Mhz" box to see your current speed (optional).

If you run a CPU intensive application and turbo boost still isn't working, try restarting the computer. I usually need to do that after making changes to the multiplier option.

I also have EIST off in BIOS (using Prema's BIOS Mod). This allows the Intel GPU to stay at 1100mhz when needed, instead of spiking to it intermittently. It may have some effect on Turbo Boost as well.

You can also limit the speed of the CPU using the "Clock Modulation" box. You should be able to edit this without restarting. Disabling Turbo Boost is as easy as checking the "Disable Turbo" box.

 

EIST is required to be ON in order for the multiplier to work in Throttlestop.

 

^ This isn't the case for me for some reason. I have it off in bios and in throttlestop and the boost is set properly. Maybe the i5-3210m (or something else on my laptop) is just weird. Does throttlestop quit working properly for others who have EIST disabled?

 

For most CPU models, ThrottleStop does not work correctly if EIST is disabled. I don't have enough CPUs or motherboards to test them all so I recommend leaving EIST enabled. Use whatever works best for you.

To test this, load your CPU with Prime95 or the TS Bench or a similar program and then adjust the ThrottleStop Set Multiplier value. With EIST off, does the reported multiplier in the monitoring area change up and down as you adjust the Set Multiplier value up and down?

ThrottleStop 4.10 does not correctly support the 3rd Generation Ivy Bridge CPUs so I wouldn't recommend using that.

The reason you have to re-start is because you disabled EIST and you are using the wrong version of ThrottleStop.

 

My NP6110 is now in production at XoticPC: currently 9 to 16 days and then it has to be shipped. While I am waiting, I could use some help on a few extras.

Does anybody have recommendations on laptop coolers. I would want one with a low decibel rating and that was reasonably sized for an NP6110 which is 11.3" wide. That probably means ones for 12 to 14 inch laptops. I think it would also be great if it had an ability to control the cooler's fan speed.

Also, since I plan to use this for travel, I am concerned about the size of the 120W power supply. What is the thinking about alternative smaller power adapters? I saw some discussion about 90W supplies and the only issue I saw was that the battery might not charge while playing a CPU & GPU intensive game. That would probably be acceptable to me for a smaller size. Any recommendations?

Finally, at the top of page 95, Nosferatum asked about matte screen protectors. I mentioned one I had seen, but would be interested if others had recommendations. I want one for a different computer, but companies often make them in multiple sizes. HTWingNut, I would particularly be interested in what one you successfully used. Thanks again for all your help.

 

You can use a 90W PSU, should be fine. I don't use a cooling pad for mine, just prop it up does wonders, cooler helps a little bit, but not much.

I ended up buying a matte screen instead of a protector. Otherwise I'd let you know my thoughts on what I used!

 

Thanks. When describing the humid environment technique, you said you put a matte screen protector on the NP8170 that you sold and the buyer thought it was an actual matte screen. Do you happen to recall which one you used that worked so well? I understand that the screen was a different size, but they probably make them in different sizes. If you don't remember, that's fine.

Regarding the power supply, what size connector does it need to have? Anything else I should look for?

Anyone else have thoughts about laptop coolers, matte screen overlays or smaller power supplies than the 120W NP6110 adapter?

 

I got it from viewguard.com.

 

Did you replace the screen yourself, or did the matte one come with your laptop? RJTech did not offer a matter option, so I might be going to protector or new screen route.

If you installed it yourself, how much did it cost and how easy was it to put in?

 

Mythlogic put it in for him...

 

I put it in myself, but I bought it from Mythlogic. It cost $150 . But you can buy it from Amazon for $90.

edit: caveat... I bought it from Mythlogic because they're local to me and I broke my stock screen.

 

Protector costs $14. I think I'll be going that route

 

Thanks HTWingNut. That is the company I mentioned to Nosferatum. They do have the right size for my N10J so I think I will give them a try.

 

How easy (or hard) was it to replace the stock screen? My initial impression was that it's better than most glossy screens, until I used it ouside yesterday and encountered a nasty case of glare.

And do you know which one it was on Amazon for $90?

 

Amazon.com: AU OPTRONICS B116XW03 V.1 SIDE BRACKETS LAPTOP LCD SCREEN 11.6" WXGA HD LED (SUBSTITUTE REPLACEMENT LCD SCREEN ONLY. NOT A LAPTOP ) (WILL NOT WORK FOR V.2): Computers & Accessories

 

What kind of temperatures did you guys have with the I7-3610Q?
I am looking at 60's idle with the IC diamond compound.

Reapplied a third time, and got around 51-53 idle temps.

 

Idle around 60-62C. 83-85C under heavy load ( running the Witcher 2).
pasted with IC 7 and 8 copper heat sinks. This little beast runs really hot.

Anyway, ordered viewguard to simulate the matte screen. Will post pictures later. Thanks for the recommendation Campy!

 

Hmm good to hear that it is running at normal temperature!

Thanks for the heads up.

 

It idles around 60C because the fan doesn't spin up until about 62-65C just for noise concerns I believe. But strange thing is if I let the system idle for a long while, the fan will kick in low and temps drop to the 40's. Haven't quite figured it out.

 

Ahhh yeah that's what I've been wondering about too...
Do you know where to find the latest chipset drivers? It seems like the intel website doesn't have a link for the 7 series chipset.
I found a video card update from the intel website.

 

I've had my NP6110 for a few days now. I love the size and weight (great for mobility), and the i7-3610QM is very responsive (running with a 750GB hybrid drive). Text is crisp and clear and the GT-650M does a good job.. however I have some problems with the laptop...

The glossy screen is absolutely horrible.

In a low-lit room (just a single low wattage bedside lamp on) I get bad reflections when watching a movie and any dark scenes come on. In a normally lit room during the day the reflections are also bad unless you are viewing something with bright/light colors in the background... put anything dark and it's like looking at a dark tinted mirror!

In addition, the viewing angle is very limited, so not great if me & the Mrs. both want to watch a movie in bed.

I have ordered a matte screen protector from ViewGuard as HTWingNut tried on a different laptop with some degree of success, but if that doesn't work satisfactorily, the laptop is going back, despite the fact I really like the NP6110 in most other respects... unless XoticPC can offer that matte screen for a more reasonable price (for example, Mythlogic offers a matte screen for only $100 more than the glossy on the same laptop... and many of the larger size laptops upgrade to matte for around $30, so the $189 cost at XoticPC seems excessive).. however shipping it back to replace the screen would be too costly, so not much point trying.

The screen HTWingNut got from Amazon is now $79.98, but I don't want to open up that area as it would probably void the 2 year warranty I paid for... although is that screen actually matte?

The battery life isn't great, but I just looked at the NP9150 and NP9130 as possible alternatives, and their battery life is significantly worse.

CPU seems to be running pretty hot - ambient here is 77F (central air) and the beast still idles at mid 60's with nothing open, not even a browser (I'm talking core temps). I have not run Prime95 yet - may do that tomorrow time permitting. I had the laptop pasted with IC Diamond, so we'll see how it runs under full load... maybe just needs a bit more curing time on it. GPU idles in low 50's which is fine.. doesn't appear to be downclocking at all when not in use though.. isn't it supposed to?

That's about it for now. Mixed feelings.. so much I like about this machine, but just one or two issues that are real deal-breakers unfortunately.

 

don't you think it would be much of a hassle to replace a whole laptop bcz the screen is too glossy?
and i wouldn't like watching a movie with someone on a 11.6inch screen anways.
did you think about getting an external matte finish monitor you could game on that when you're home, and watch movies with others on it. i heard IPS monitors are great but never tried one for myself.

 

The screen protector will help quite a bit. I have one on my M11x and it made things much easier to see. The M11x is especially bad though because it's a glossy panel with a glossy plastic casing on top. You actually end up seeing two separate reflections. It's ridiculous design. So the W110ER with a matte screen will be a big improvement (Despite the screens having the same stats).

I need the extreme portability plus the power for 3D modeling so this is really the only machine that fits the bill. If a larger size doesn't matter for you, you might as well return it and get a bigger machine with a better screen.

 

hi, haven't been on the thread in a while, i'm using this computer right now, i love it quick question, any solutions for the battery problem? on a full charge I'm getting something like 3 hours, that's it. It's a little pitiful. The upside is that it's ridiculously powerful, but I need more battery life. Any solutions? Or maybe even anyone know where I can buy a second battery, perhaps one with more capacity?

 

Check with your builder/reseller but I don't believe replacing the screen would void the warranty. It's not destructive to the machine and involves replacing a few screws and inserting a ribbon cable. Obviously they won't service the screen if something happens, otherwise rest of the system should be ok. Just keep the original screen in case it does need service and they end up sending you a replacement.

Also, while a matte protector will work great for cutting down glare it won't help any with viewing angles. Even though specs for the matte and glossy are pretty much the same, I find the side to side viewing angles much better on the matte.

The CPU runs hot at idle because the fans don't kick in until after 62-65C to minimize noise. But typical load use usually keeps it under 85C especially if you prop it up a little, which is more than reasonable. Something to consider.

 

Can someone post the link of the video showing how to replace a laptop screen?

Also, is this generally the same way to replace all screens? I am thinking of replacing my glossy screen with a matte from amazon.

 

No matter how well I paste the IC Diamond thermal compound the native idle temp is around 60.
Sometimes it drops to 52, but that's when the computer has fully cooled down to no activity.

Is this normal? At full load we are looking at temps even close to 90. Isn't that a bit hot and stretching the life of the processor?

 

And I am concerned about that this type of heat will cause the battery to degrade more rapidly. That is why I am looking at laptop coolers to use with it when I am at home. On the road, I will just use HTWingNut's trick of propping it up to allow better airflow underneath.

 

No worries about the battery. It's cool to the touch in that area. Just propping your system up helps about as much as a cooler actually. Even my built in fan mod isn't helping much, maybe a few deg C at load.

 

To me, this is a bit of an overstatement. I have the IVO screen (same specs as AUO) and for a 11.6 I find it quite acceptable. Sure, blacks are poor, reflection is unavoiable in sunlight (not more than with over glossy screens), horizontal viewing angle is nothing to write home about but acceptable.

I used a matte business-class Dell E6220 before and nothing except reflectiveness was any better. And colors, blacks and contrast were poorer.

 

There is this one: Super High-Capacity Rechargeable External Battery Pack - BP170

There is a guy who took some pictures of it with his w110er: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...ger-np6110-owners-lounge-248.html#post8668030

He reports it gives him a significant increase in battery life while not impacting his portability. I'm thinking about it myself as it would fit in my satchel along with the laptop and wouldn't bulk up what I'm carrying.

 

Anyone else find updated chipset drivers from the intel website?

 

lol that's like a second laptop.... i dunno about that... i was thinking more along the lines of another battery that i'd plug into my laptop directly, but one with more capacity, cuz i literally get 3 hours of battery life, i've checked with batterybar

 

Your best measure is to do an actual real world run how you'd use it to figure out actual battery life. BatteryBar isn't that accurate until you've done a couple discharges. Also remember to run in balanced or power saver mode for best battery life. There are much smaller, albeit less capacity, external batteries. But if you do that, a second system battery might be a better option.

 

I think those temps are normal. I have those same exact temps after copper mod and IC7 repaste. I am hoping someone can release a bios that can actually control when the fan kicks in.

 

i've actually had batterybar installed for about a month, and i've just been using it as a guideline. any suggestions on how I can do my own real world run kind of thing? How did you run yours? i'd like to do something similar, to figure out a better number, 3 hours is depressingly low. i'm always in balanced, i'm figuring that the computer and the people who made it will know better than me how to mess with thsoe settings to get me better battery life, especally with that nvidia optimus, i'm never quite sure how that works.

 

Hey, I was wondering how and if you can control which GPU to use, or at least monitor which one is being used? I'm trying to run The Witcher 2 but it seems like it sticks to Intel HD. Can't even run the game at "Low", despite notebookcheck.net claiming the 650M is supposed to be able to handle it easily even at "High"! I have the 3610QM and pretty much the highest configuration with 1600 MHz RAM and Intel SSD, so I'm pretty sure Optimus isn't doing what it's supposed to here.

Thanks in advance!

 

i think it was something related to the GPU control panel you have to set "the witcher.exe" file or whatever it is called to use the gt 650m dunno how exactly but someone else should be able to help.......

 

There's an option to run it with the 650M when right-clicking on the shortcut but I don't think it works since it's still running as slow. It's not reasonable that this computer can't run the game on "Low", is it? :S Currently it's playable but with lagging, constantly. Just standing still and rotating the camera isn't smooth at all. I did play the first "The Witcher" on the highest setting flawlessly however - sure, it's an older game but it never lagged despite huge groups of characters on screen simultaneously.

 

In nVidia control panel you have an option to display a monitor icon in the systray, which will tell you what program is using the dGPU.
But I have the same problem with GTA4, and this icon tells me it's using the dGPU, so... not sure how to solve that !

 

Two things. First go into nvidia control panel (right click desktop choose nvidia control panel), under '3D Settings' choose 'Manage 3D Settings'. Click on the 'Program Settings' tab on the right. Click the pull down menu and find Witcher 2. If it doesn't exist, then click the 'Add' button and find the Witcher 2 exe. Then make sure it's set to nVidia GPU.

Another thing, there is an issue with frame skipping in this game. I found a download, trying to find the link again. It fixed it no problem. I'll post when I find it.

edit: Here's link to one of the discussions on it: http://www.gog.com/en/forum/the_witcher_2/possible_stutter_fix_worked_for_me_single_gpu/page2

And direct download: http://www.pc-boost.com/patchs/the_witcher_2_stuttering_fix.zip

Just extract and put the files in your witcher bin directory.

 

Mwahaha I finally got my Sager NP6110 from LPC-Digital. One thing strange though, is I get a 130W PSU with a fan as well. Is this okay to use instead of what others are getting?

Regardless, this thing is a beast. The screen is really horrible though. Brightness is fine but the reflectiveness is blech even indoors.

 

I got the 130W one with a fan as well, the parallel lines on the brick make it look really cool too.
Though, I've been using my old 120W and 90W genuine OEM bricks from my dead ASUS N61jq since the cable from the brick to the laptop was a bit short on the 130W model. The ASUS 120W brick doesn't have a fan so I guess its more efficient, i find the smaller 90W one to be better while travelling since its quite a bit lighter.

 

You sir, are very correct The chord's a bit short and overall it is quite huge (although my NP 8170's 220W makes everything else looks small). I think I'll have to look for a slimmer 120W or 90W PSU.

 

I purchased a Kensington K33336US 120W ultraportable power adapter [ link] from Amazon for $35 after a forum member ( Capsule-Gang) posted a link to it. It has multiple connectors for different laptops (including a USB connector), and I can now confirm that the supplied N3B connector works with the NP6110. It is much lighter than the brick that came with the NP6110, so I'll probably just pack up the brick for backup only.



edit: just noticed Amazon are now out of stock. Doh. I also just noticed they sent me a different model - they sent me model 38004 but it has the same specs so guess it doesn't matter...

 

Did you get the 90W or 120W one ?

 

picture says 120w

 

PC-Canada.com - 33196 Kensington 120 Watt Notebook Dc Power Adapter

If your in Canada. only $16...

 

Great find! Just wondering, does it get really hot when you do anything intensive like playing games etc? I read up before that the power chord to the socket is extremely short and is it an annoyance having it dangling?

Ebay's prices are atrocious at the moment. Gotta look elsewhere if I want to get one.