*** OFFICIAL Sager NP8760 / Clevo W870CU Owners Lounge ***

Errr, I have a question. How often do we need to clean the inside of this laptop from dust etc.? How about reapplying the thermal paste?

 

I clean the fans on the inside every few months but it depends on your environment (pets, gf long hair, dust levels etc). The thermal paste can be fine for years in some cases but it all depends. If you observe perfectly fine temperatures then there should be no need to replace the thermal paste. However, many of us do a re paste after receiving a new laptop because we notice poor temps or have little confidence that a decent job was done initially.

 

Is it possible to put an Arrandale processor into one of these that originally had a 720qm (now a 920xm)? I know the die size is smaller, but I read that the socket type is possible the same. Looking to keep the fans a little quieter in the near future.

 

Does anyone know if the new Intel 510 SSD Sata III hard drive will work in the 8760?

 

Of course they will work, albeit in Sata 2 mode. You will thus be limited to top transfer speeds in the range of 270MBs.

 

Would it be a better decision just to stick with the previous generation?

 

Based on cost, yes I would go with a G2. Right now on Newegg the G2 is 229, if you wait they have it on sale as a shell shocker with a rebate for around 179 or so. It was on sale earlier this week, so it may be a few weeks or so unit it goes on sale again. The 510 at Newegg is at 315. To me that is a bit steep. The G2 may not be the fastest drive out there but it has been rock solid for me, which is important in my book.

 

Unfinished, work in progress and all but some might be interested in this

 

Whats the max amount of ram i can install in this laptop?

 

8Meg using 2x4Gig DDR3 sticks

 

Anyone removed/replaced the LCD in their w870cu? I took out the six screws behind the rubber stops and popped off along the edges, but I can't seem to get the base unhooked and I'm afraid I'll break something if I force it.

Is there any trick to removing the bezel, or just keep working that bottom part?

edit: finally worked it free. Though the actual connection of the display to the main part of the laptop looks scary to disconnect -- it's not a clean plug, looks like a flat connector of some type under tape. :-/

 

Need some advice. Currently I've got a W870CU, I believe it's a first revision without the newer 3.0 USB port mobo. The existing specs are:
- 17.3" FHD LED Backlit 16:9 (1920x1080)
- Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Extreme, 1.6GHz, (45nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- - AS5 Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX280M PCI Express
- 2x4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz SODIMM
- 8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
- 250GB WD SATA II 2.5" HDD (16MB cache, 7200rpm)
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Onboard Gigabit LAN & Wireless 802.11G Card
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera

I'm looking to change the CPU, GPU and HDD but I'm not 100% how good I can get.

CPU
From the resellers, they say the highest CPU model I can install is the i7-940XM.
- Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Extreme, 1.6GHz, (45nm, 6MB L3 cache)
=> Intel® Core™ i7-940XM Extreme, 2.13-3.33GHz, (45nm, 8MB L3 cache)

Do you have any advice on the possibility or explanation to the incompatibility of the i7-2xxx components.

GPU
From gathering info on this system, it seems the GTX480M/485M are out of the question because their power draws are just too high for the motherboard but I do see some successes with the GTX470M.

- 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX280M PCI Express
=> - 1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX470M PCI Express

I'm assuming this will require flashing the BIOS to the latest update, which I've seen reported here as supporting the GTX470M.

HDD
Finally, I'm changing the main drive to a solid state drive for the boot speed as well as because the battery sitting under it has swelled up (previously reported numerous times on this forum as not an uncommon occurence). I'll be adding a second hard drive just to make hard drive space as I'm already full capacity on the 250GB (with an external 1TB at 25%).

- 250GB WD SATA II 2.5" HDD (16MB cache, 7200rpm)
=> 180GB Corsair Solid State Drive
=> 750GB Hitachi SATA III 2.5" HDD (16MB cache, 5400rpm)

Conclusion
The advice I'd like mostly relates to the CPU and GPU, I'd like to know if the i7-940XM and GTX470M are the best I can get without running in stability problems or extremely excessive temperatures (<70 idle, <80 max would be best).

n.b. I know there are ATI are probably better value but I'm not interested for personal reasons.

Oh also, what software are you using for overclocking and what safe speeds are you getting?

 

Why would you change from a 7200 rpm drive to 5400 rpm?

Also, if you're going to get a new CPU and GPU, why don't you just get a new laptop? The new CPU + GPU will probably cost you over $1000

 

I have to agree with peterbz, why would you spend the around 600+ for an i7 940XM, another 550 for a GTX470M that may or may not work (some people have had good luck others not in getting the 470 to work well). If you look at the cost of a new Sager 8170 laptop with the entry level i7 2630QM (That rates higher in CPU power than an 940) and a GTX470 for 1500. You would get true USB 3.0, a nicer chassis, better touchpad controller, little bit better sound. Really it’s up to you, but I would not upgrade to that level for the cost at this point.

 

I have to agree with the above posts, I decided to sell my W860CU instead of upgrading and now I have much better battery life and can watch movies unplugged, USB 3.0 has reduced install time and file copies by over 50% and everything else is simply so much better. The cost of upgrading will be so close to buying new that you will be wasting time and money. Also consider that the NP8170 being able to use an MXM 3.0B 100 watt GPU has better upgrade potential too.

My GTX 485M also has idle (38-40C) and temps under load (75-85C) that are much better than my GTX 285M and that was really cool, considering the major performance increase I think this is excellent. It didn't start of this way though, it seems that it took some time for my MX3 paste to reach stable temps which has never been the case on any of my previous thermal paste applications.

 

Thanks for the advice. Most of my problems (despite the costs to me) are due to circumstance.

I did not want to get a 5400RPM to replace my 7200RPM but I needed the storage space and due to circumstance, I could not get my hands on a 7200RPM of larger size (I am not in NA or EU, although my laptop does originate from EU). I already had a Corsair SSD, which I received at no cost to myself and so I figured that would be my "fast" drive, whilst the 5400RPM would just be storage.

At this point, buying new is out of the question (whether it is cheaper or not) and all this is just enquiry, possibly just curiosity, on the feasibility of it all.

Money is not of the highest concern to me but that doesn't mean it isn't a concern and doesn't hurt when I spend massive amounts but upgrading notebooks is a fun hobby of mine, which I don't get to do often, as much as it is about simply getting more performance.

This is all query though, for now.

You have made me very doubtful in upgrading. I really wish I had just spent the extra money on a better CPU back when I purchased the laptop because it's starting to be the limiting factor. I may just buy the 940XM and be done with upgrading. A DX11(+) card will have to wait for my next gen kit.

 

hello, where i can find this part to buy

http://img708.imageshack.us/i/clevopart.jpg/ thx

w870cu

 

Hey guys;]
When i shut down and then after a while turn on my Sager, it pretty often happens that i see "Operating system not found" msg. And i was wondering why might that be..?
my bios ver. is 1.18s
im booting from the second drive which is SSD.

 

Could be a loose connection, the second drive slot isn't a perfect fit for the drive, it needs to sit in the side racks which hold it in place. Open up the back and have a look.

 

nah, i have a little plastic piece which pushes slightly the drive from behind. it fits well ( i had the -loose connection- problem some time ago so i put the plastic piece there).

 

Just registered. I have an NP8760 (original non-USB3.0 model) and I am looking to upgrade my GTX 280M to the 470M.

I have already updated my BIOS to the latest version so I should be good to go there, but before ordering from rjtech.com I would just like to ask the community if there are any other gotchas or things I should look out for when performing this upgrade.

I am already running a 920XM and 8GB DDR3, but since the 920XM + 470M was an official configuration offered by Sager and Clevo, that combo under load shouldn't draw too much power for the PSU and motherboard to handle, correct? I will not be overclocking the CPU or GPU.

 

Anyone have any idea where I could buy a heatsink for a 285M for this model?
I bought a 285M from ebay a while ago, but the seller hasn't sent the heatsink that comes with it, and i am tired of waiting.
I bough tth enotebook without a gpu, so it didnt come with its own heatsink.

 

I have a similar heatsink question. I have the heatsink that came with my 280M but will that thing work on a 460M? I don't think it will but on the other hand there's not that much more room for a beefier heatsink so maybe it is enough. Can you order the heatsinks from Sager/Clevo?

 

FYI I'm having the same problem as well and it seems completely random, regardless of what I have running.

Anyone else encounter this or have a solution?

 

Uh oh. The 470m just disappeared from rjtech.com.

 

hey guys,

my NP8760 experienced some water damage a few months ago, but was repaired with almost a full recovery. at the time, my original power supply got busted and i got a replacement. also, now when my battery is inside, the computer thinks it's always charging.

my new brick has been giving me trouble when i game mostly. it powers after about an hour of gaming and smells like burning plastic. if i unplug the mains and wait 2 minutes, the power supply starts working again. but when i game, same thing happens.

i've located a LITE-ON power supply ( this one) which sounds like it should cover me.

the reason i picked this is because my flatmate is using this brand, but the 1131-07 version which no longer seems to be available.

so my question is, is it safe to use a higher AMP rating given the water damage history? i know it's usually fine but could this cause my com to basically get fried?

i realise this is uncharted territory since it's dealing with water damage, but please let me know if you have any idea.

 

I tried ordering that a week agao, got a mail they didnt have it anymore and didnt know when it be back in stock, and promptly it was removed from the webshop.

 

Hey guys i wonder when should i reapply the thermal paste to CPU and GPU.
It's been like a year since i bought my laptop. Winter temps. were like 40°C and now they vary 50 to 55 °C both CPU and GPU it's summer though..

 

About after marked sound card

Setup: Sager 8760 - QuadCore i7 820QM, 2648 MHz - 8GB DIMM3 ram

My 8760 has whatever onboard sound devices come on the Clevo W870CU Motherboard.

An Everest report shows this for multimedia:

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter ATI Radeon HDMI @ ATI Juniper/Broadway -
High Definition Audio Controller

Audio Adapter Realtek ALC888 @ Intel Ibex Peak PCH -
High Definition Audio Controller

===============================================

When I look at Control-panel/sound/record I see a builtin microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio) and Line in.

When I record screen with something like Camtasia I get all the ambient sound too. And this laptop is pretty loud when fans are running. Its enough noise to ruin even semi-serious recording.

I wonder what others here have done to get better recording abilities and better sound in general. Possibly add-on sound express-Card, or usb maybe..?

Can any of you give me some advice on this?

Can any of you give any advice on the subject?

 

Just got a new graphics card with heatsink for my W870Cu , now I notice the card came in a metal bracket.
Am I supposed to install it with that bracket or take it off?

 

Under most usual circumstances, you would keep the metal bracket on, this is assuming it does not prevent a good fit of GPU die and heatsink surfaces.

 

I installed it fine, but I have a new problem now.
I am getting a annoying loud screeching/scratching sound coming from the top
left of the laptop.
Looks like its coming from the speaker thats located there.
But sounds etc play fine still.

 

After opening the laptop to detach the cable for the speaker, I still getting the
awful scratchign sound when I start the laptop. I know for sure it isnt the fans, because even when they dont spin, the sound is still there.
I attached a recording of the sound to this post, maybe someone knows what it is.

 

@ dreassica

If it is not your fan then check your hard drive's health.

 

It was the subwoofer, I disconnected the wrong cable, which was for the regular speakers.
Located the one for the subwoofer, which is next to the connetor for the gpu fan.
Now the sound is gone, just dont have the subwoofer working, which I dont really care for anyway.
Got one question still tho, where can I disable the LAN from disappearing from the network centre/windows when no cable is attached?

 

So its been a year or so since I got this thing. My only complaint is that the battery now holds a charge for about 15 minutes, ( not that I use the battery that often) but other than that we are doing alright. I've noticed some decent sales on RAM lately, so Ive been thinking about doubling my 2gig sticks and going for the full 8 on the RAM. What will I be looking for exactly? If memory serves, its a 204 pin setup right? If you were going for a RAM upgrade, what would you be plugging into your 8760? Looking forward to some ideas!

 

Hey guys, I'm having a bit of trouble. I had to update my drivers for my laptop (it has a GTX 460m,) and since I completely uninstalled the previous drivers because I heard that the 3D vision messes with the game The Witcher 2 (I've been having issues playing it,) I uninstalled and installed the new drivers.

In doing so I messed up my calibration from Spyder3 (I borrowed from a friend in college but don't actually own the hardware for it,) so it messed up my monitors calibration. My screen is way to blue, hence the use of a calibration device, and I was wonder if there's a way to adjust it manually. I've had this laptop since February and could never find one.

I'd appreciate any help in the matter. In the meantime I'm going to continue to look around to find a solution. I've got two problems, one is that The Witcher 2 is not running as it should on my system and two my screen has a enormous blue hue to it and I don't like it.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT:
Nevermind. I figured out how to get it back to that calibrated setting!

I wouldn't mind however, if someone knew anyway I can get The Witcher 2 to play better on my system. I shouldn't be having any issues running it at least on Medium. Any help would be appreciated.

 

I have 3D installed on the latest Nvidia official drivers as well as the Beta and it didn't degrade performance. Perhaps they have fixed that issue by now. Without listing your Witcher 2 current configuration no one can see where a problem may be. The usual culprits would be making sure Uber sampling, AA and Vsync is disabled and texture memory size is set to large. If you have enough vram, increasing that setting can sometimes result in better performance.

 

After a week or so of "No Battery Detected" warnings, I have determined that I have a swollen battery which doesn't fit into the laptop anymore.
I rarely use battery power, as this is a desktop replacement which is 99% of the time plugged in to AC. And now just 2 months outside of warranty, the battery becomes unusable and possibly dangerous?
I contacted Sager Tech Support and they say my only option is to get a new battery for $135. What can I do?

 

How long was your warranty? Batteries are usually not covered outside of 1 year. You can look into getting a battery from third parties or personal sales - or just go without it if you don't use battery power very often. If it's swollen like that, I'd definitely not use that battery any longer.

 

Just 12 months, it ended in july. The problem is i use it at the library or at friends house, so without the battery inside the laptop is all wobbly and I'm uncomfortable using something else to prop it up.

 

If you don't actually need the battery, others here have had good luck cutting a piece of Styrofoam to fit the opening. That way it should be rigid and less flexible than with the battery completely missing and that bay empty.

 

Hey all,

Looking to get a notebook cooler for my NP8760, any recommendations out there, based on the positioning of this laptop's vents/hotspots? No budget limit on this one. As for noise, this laptop runs fairly loud when gaming, so not sure if it'd make a huge difference if the notebook cooler is loud too.

Any help is appreciated - thanks!!
Ashii

 

Hey all, I've had my beast a little over a year and a half and everything has been awesome until the last month or so. My graphics card is overheating and crashing on any games from the last couple of years. I've tried turning resolutions down, lowering quality, etc. and it continues to overheat and crash.

If I am not playing games, it's fine. I can encode video and my CPU temps get up to 83 C and no weirdness at all, only in games does it have problems (basically my guess is it's just GPU heat issue, not CPU as well).

I am thinking I should attempt to buy some paste and reapply it to the graphics card. I've never opened my baby up, except to swap out a HDD with a SSD though. Is it easy to do? Does it sound like that will help fix my problem?

I looked around the net and wasn't able to find any guides heh, is this something I can easily do? I miss gaming on my... gaming laptop!


Things I've tried to help prevent crashing:
-Bought a laptop cooler that my laptop sits on - fans blow air up through the lapop.
-Tried changing GPU drivers, from the latest to older ones to see if that would help.
-Tried leaving windows open that have cool air coming in, but they just can't provide enough cool air for the thing


Found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gykAQ3j65k&feature=player_embedded the guy seems a bit reckless/rushed though. Do I dare try this? lol it looks like AS5 is probably the best paste? Do I clean it off or just apply a little? So many questions hah.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-ZM-NC2...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1317089367&sr=1-1

This is the one I use and I think it's quite good, I bought 2 of them one for work and one for home I liked the so much. I don't think it's related to my problem as for awhile I didn't have one at home and my laptop was toooasty (probably what initially caused my problem - lack of cooling for the laptop).

Anyhow, thats my recommendation.

 

Just to update anyone who may be following this - I've replaced my thermal paste and temps are idling lower for CPU. I don't know what my GPU was before the replacement paste, but I plan on trying 2 games tonight that normally would crash multiple times in one session. Will post another update later

P.S.
Anyone mind posting their CPU and GPU temps? Please specifiy if you are on stock paste or if you've got upgraded paste.

My CPU is idling at 45 C, my GPU is at 49 C. Will see what it gets to under gaming later tonight. I am using Arctic Silver Ceramique paste.

 

Hi guys, I need some advice. I have a personally modded model.

I provided specifications and temperatures for analysis of my problem but the guy above can use them for comparison since he asked for some.

Model: Clevo W870CU
Chipset: Intel PM55, 5 Series 3400
EC Firmware: 1.00.14
BIOS: 1.00.18
CPU: Intel i7-940XM (2.13~3.33Ghz) [55W]
GPU: Nvidia 1.5GB GTX 470M [75W]
RAM: Corsair 2x4GB DDR3 PC3-10600 (1333Mhz) [1.89W+1.89W]
HDD: Corsair Force Series 180GB SSD [2W]
HDD: Hitachi Travelstar 750GB 5400RPM SATA-III [1.4W]
Sound: Realtek Hi. Def. Audio
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
PSU: FSP Group Inc 19V--9.47A (179.93W) Output
Temperature Sensing Software: CPUID HWMonitorPRO & CoreTemp

Ambient Temp: Bangkok, Thailand @27-30C (I've seen my idles 10C lower in the UK)
CPU Idle: 46-50C
GPU Idle: 46-50C
CPU Load: 50-58C
GPU Load: 69-83C

I always apply my own Artic Silver 5 Thermal Paste.
I routinely open and maintain the interior.

History:
I've had no hitches for 2 months.
Bad Company 2 - 1080p max (no problem)
Team Fortress 2 - 1080p max (no problem)
The Witcher 2 - 1080p Custom High-Ultra, no ubersampling or motion blur or scatterDOF (no problem)

My problem:
Recent games (Deus Ex: Human Revolution & Battlefield 3 Beta) cause my PC to shutoff during high load at unpredictable times.

I don't have any software that logs statistics that catches the moment of shutoff. CPUID does not save logs unless I stop monitoring and CoreTemp only monitors CPU.
Does anyone have any software that continually logs and records or can anyone tell me where I can find system data that might point to the cause of random shutoff.

My intitial guess was the draw power was exceeding PSU amount. So I downloaded EGVA Precision with the intent to underclock the GPU.

Before doing so, I used EGVA Precision 2.0.4 to monitor the situation.

I found that my GPU is generally 99% usage when rendering games, only 80 sometimes and less on loading screens.
I've found that DE:HR & BF3Beta can raise my GPU temperatures to 86-88C.

The space behind my PC can be tight when using it at home and I thought heated air might be getting trapped there since that's where the exhaust are.
I bought a powerful small fan that pushes the air from the back away to the side in order improve ventilation and temperature, which works very well.
I've found that I can run the DE:HR (haven't tested BF3Beta) with the fan in back at 99% GPU usage without a hitch leading me to assume it's a overheating problem, not a power draw problem.

However, I find this odd as the last recorded temp I ever see every time is 88C maximum and I've never seen it 89C or more. I can't find any data online as to what Tj Max for the GPU is but I assumed it was 100C like the CPU. So I'm wondering why the system is shutting off if it's reaching 90C.

Anyway, I set EVGA Precision to have an alarm when temp is above 85C, hoping that if I hear that and then it shuts off - that means it's an overheating problem.

BUT I just tried BF3Beta in a location that isn't my house and without a fan and I never heard the temp alarm and the PC turned off. Which is leading me to come full circle and back to thinking it's either a power draw problem OR something I can't record; a chipset temperature precaution, which temperature is currently idling at 45.8C and raised to 58.8C during a DE:HR test run.

I'm going to try downloading 3DMark11 and running a stability test to see if it shuts off. If it does I'm going to try to monitor 3 variables: GPU Temp, Chipset Temp and GPU usage.

Does anyone have an knowledge on PM55 Tj Max, GTX 470M Tj Max and any ideas or solutions to my problem.

I will underclock the GPU if I can't find the cause as a last means solution.

Thanks, in advance.

 

Thanks for posting crazyjackal. I am going to grab EGVA Precision 2.0.4 as well and see what happens when I play games.

Last night I played League of Legends
CPU temp was 62-65 C
GPU was 58-61 C

Each match I played, the game crashed and I got the error:
"Display driver NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version XXX.XX stopped responding and has successfully recovered."

Sometimes multiple times in a single match. No spikes in temp.

Now I am wondering if this not a temp issue at all as the numbers above are much lower than I used to game with before changing out my thermal paste. I guess I will also try underclocking the GPU some to see if it helps. I am on a GTX 280M.

 

I'm almost certain my problem is a temperature issue since with the fan on to vent the hot air away and in an A/C room, I've gamed all night without a hitch in both Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Battlefield 3. My GPU never exceeded 71C. Now I need to find what temperature is causing the precautionary immediate shutdown (when I'm not gaming in an A/C room with a fan). I can rule out my CPU temps because they don't get near Tj Max. I need to know what the GTX 470M Tj Max is, so I can rule it out. I actually think it's the MOBO temp exceeding its limit because of the GTX 470M & heat-sink temperatures around it.

As for your issue, that could be an issue with faulty drivers. I've seen pop-ups like that before on poor drivers. Try the latest Beta Nvidia driver 285.38, if you're already on the latest driver.

Try Driver Cleaner Pro to properly uninstall your GPU driver, torrent it if you have to.
Download the latest NVIDIA drivers from the official site.

1. Unplug nic card or modem from net or disconnect
2. Remove nvidia from add/remove programs
3. Reboot into safe mode (F8 during boot up)
4. On reboot into safe mode WinXP SP1/SP2 will auto detect and install drivers. Just let it do its thing. If you can cancel out of the auto install hardware wizard then skip the rest and run Driver Cleaner! If you can NOT cancel out of auto detect wizard then...
5. Navigate to device manager->display adapters->highlight nVidia and click uninstall or remove but don't reboot
6. Disable any AntiVirus Software (If you don't disable is than it could give trouble)
8. Run Driver Cleaner and clean Nvidia Registries
9. Empty recycle bin and reboot
10. Install the new drivers

EDIT: I think I've found my problem. GPU fan doesn't seem to be spinning fast when load gets high. CPU fan airflow is fast at high load. GPU heat from back is coming out slow. Can't tell if fan is low or not on and heat dissipation is just natural. Will have to open up and check to see if the fan is spinning and check the connection. Will have to buy a replacement fan if it's broken.

EDIT2: Nope GPU fan was working fine. I got confused about which side was which. Also GPU-Z logs show no difference in states when stable and last recorded data when shutting off... Now I'm thinking it's either MOBO temperature or power draw. I'm starting to lean back to power draw.

 

I don't think mine is a driver issue as I've tried every driver since May to no avail. I may have fixed my issue as well though - I downloaded a program that allows me to disable Powermizer. After doing that and rebooting, I was able to play 4 matches of League of Legends without a hitch. Normally it crashes 2-3 times a match. Further testing to be done tonight

While playing LoL, GPU utilization was only like 30%, temps were 58 C