**OFFICIAL W860CU/NP8690 Owners Lounge**

You should not "spread" Arctic Silver 5, and never apply it twice.

Clean both the GPU and heat sink thoroughly, and then drop a small dollup about the size of a piece of small grain rice, or a BB in the middle of the GPU. Then attach the heat sink. AS5 will spread itself.

If you try to spread it and/or apply a 2nd application on top of the 1st you will get voids and you don't want that.

 

http://www.arcticsilver.com/ins_route_step2intelas5.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5411393&postcount=159

 

hey, does anyone know how to remove the plastic from the cpu vent? I just noticed that on my laptop..... and is it safe to remove it? and how should i remove it?

 

Oh boy here we go again. Someone saying don't ever spread AS5 on a mobile chip. I've been doing it for years and gotten better results than a drop in the middle.

 

ok guys just asking a stupid question hope you guys could help me. Currently, every time i use my laptop on ac, i will remove my battery. Right way ?

If i leave the batt in the laptop, will it shorten the life span ?

For i realise when you remove the batt, the laptop will be short of 1 leg.


And seriously ... i wonder you why you guys complaint of loud fans or louder than normal laptop. I can't even hear mine. am i missing out something?

 

It just comes off...wedge something like a thin screwdriver in the grab the edges. It should just peel off. I thought it was fastened on there but it's just stuck on. I suspect these were suppose to come off in the first place and during assembly someone forgot to make a note of it and many of them shipped with the vent covered.

 

Hmm i do not know if anyone know about this but when ever i connected to my 32 inch full hd tv through hdmi cable, the tv show visibe laggness.
And is there anyway to pass the sound through the hdmi cable instead?

How to solve the the lag issue ? buy a better hdmi cable ? Mine is 3 meter long btw.

 

as for the fan noise, is there way u can video record that? that way i (we) can hear the loud level. Im really curious about the noise level.

 

So after I took off the vent cover I reran some tests.

wprime 32M (x2) + wprime 1024 (x2)
Max CPU Temps - 84 C (before AS5)
Max CPU Temps - 81 C (after AS5)
Max CPU Temps - 76 C (after AS5 + vent cover removal)

I don't recall my cpu temps from my earlier runs but my current temps for crysis benchmark 3x3 (med,high,veryhigh)
Max CPU Temps - 65 C

ChinNoobonic, could you add the as5 and vent tweak to the front page for new users.

 

I think the cover is probably a deliberate attempt to redirect air within the laptop to cool other components (hdd, wireless, northbridge, etc) So removing the cover could potentially reduce temp in the CPU while increasing it elsewhere.

That being said, I love experimenting and tend to believe that most vendors would rush testing of such things. Personally, I would remove it and watch temps.

Here is a similar thread about the MT860U where people experimented with different vent configurations to various results
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=375196

 

The W860CU with a i7 720QM...not too bad in THIS REVIEW

 

took the plastic off of my cpu vent. Idles around 42-47C
Gaming goes up to 60-67

I don't why sager put the cover?

 

It's strange. This is the first time Clevo has covered the main intake in any of their notebooks. I think they have been trying to copy the G51's lame cooling design, haha. Putting that sheet of EMI shielding over the CPU fan only creates turbulence inside of the chassis and only puts more stress on the fan as it is trying to suck in air against an adjacent solid object in close proximity.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5441628&postcount=12
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5331729&postcount=161
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5336849&postcount=97

 

I meant that I spread it once and then ran some tests and saw that I had high temps. I then re-disassembled, re-cleaned, and re-spread. This 3rd time I am trying the blob method.

I have also discovered that the power button won't work unless the screen is open for those of you that were worried about it turning on in the bag.

 

Hey NBR, first post !

Already ordered myself an N8690 a week ago, giggling to myself happily then stumbled across this website...I can finally dump my crappy HP dv6733tx!

And I must say reading 102 pages of a thread and clicking pictures has left me wondering, "OMG LAPTOP KOOL!!" and I haven't even got delivered yet! (It's in phase 2 from XoticPC)

Now I present to you, a summary of "What do I have to do once I receive my laptop". Well not a summary, but I want to know if I am on the right track after receiving my laptop.

1) Once I receive it, I need to drain the battery to 0% then charge it back up to optimise it right? I don't need an OS to do so do i? Saves me bit of time before installing (ooo shiny) Windows 7 Ultimate

2) Is this right? Care to fix my errors because I'd like to tweak the cooling + thermal paste if needed.
Idle CPU temps should be @ 40-50C
Load CPU temps 60C~
Idle GPU temps 40-50C
Max GPU 70C~

3) Dead pixels? I never had one, but anyone would enlighten me with how it looks like. My HP doesn't have any fortunately.

4) The fan shouldn't sound like what 5150Joker had before in his video right...? That was abit disturbing haha.

5) That black sticker inside the back plate of the laptop must go? What about the one that covers the HDD?

6) I don't know much about eSATA but I have a Maxtor 600GB lego block that's sitting on the edge of my table here. The HP laptop now has only 2 USB ports +1 mouse USB port, and that Maxtor is connected to one of these ports, thus only leaving me with just ONE USB port for other things.

Bought myself a USB 4way device, connected to my laptop cooler , printer and 2 logitech joysticks. But this in return, takes the power away from my webcam, haha it doens't even turn on then.

So on this sixth question, can I connect this lego block to the eSATA port? or does it have to be a SATA wire , not a USB wire?

And here I am, sharing my giggles with the many NP 8690 owners here...I'm not so alone anymore ....or am I? Oh dear I wrote an essay

 

What is everyone elses max GPU temps in game? I just did the blob method with AS5 and still hit 94C

 

Hi Thisisalamp. Welcome to NBR.

Reading through over 100 pages is quite a feat for a non-lurking new member. I sense you are strong in The Force.

Once you get your battery charge it up to full, then deplete it completely. After that, you can use your battery however you want until another month passes and you would need to condition it again.

This is what a dead pixel looks like. They are black. Stuck pixels can be any other color depending on which of the three subpixels are faulty. A white dead pixel is called a hot pixel, which is very rare to find, though nobody should hope to have one, haha.



5150Joker is the unfortunate exception. His fans were lemons. The W860CU fans do not sound like that at all.

The EMI shielding covering the CPU fan intake needs to go. The shielding that covers the HDD plate stays there.

Glad to have you aboard the Clevo train. Catch you on the battlefield. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=432087

 

Ah yes the famed KGB Klevo Gaming Brigade. Haha love the name, but you wouldn't mind an immigrant living in Australia joining your ranks won't you? Will join in a sec after posting this.

Seems like the dead pixels are really tiny...and there are millions of pixels in the screen. How would you check to see each one of them? No my eyes do not have built in laser vision (oh I wish I have ). Just so your wondering, I actually stared at my laptop for a few minutes to see if there are any...but MY EYES!!! IT BURNSSS

And I mailed Xotic about this question but I'd like to hear everyone elses. When you ordered W860CU , what maker does the RAM come as? I had pretty bad experiences with Apacer desktop wise; the 4GB module I had snapped off from its slot and broke in half. Don't ask how it happen, but my PC became like the blizzard in Mt Everest, surging forth the sounds of weapon fire every second (meaning it froze).

Certainly it wasn't an error made when it was placed in the mobo, because the PC starts up fine and able to do things.

Ah another question, my current GPU is the 8400m GS but current *beta* drivers do not support mobile GPUs of my type; I turned to Rivatuner to change the chipset to 8400GS instead and thus allowing windows to identify and use desktop drivers instead and voila! Increased performance!

But, does this apply to the GTX 280m though, is my question.

And glad to be on board captain.

 

The KGB is comprised of agents from all over the world. You would be just as welcomed.

The only way you can check for defective pixels is with your eyes. To make it easier for you, check one quadrant of your screen at a time. Use this to help you. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5510760&postcount=885

It depends on what brand Sager puts in the notebook. But it really doesn't matter who makes it. As long as it works and is error free, it's good RAM. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5435454&postcount=1443

Usually I just install the drivers manually through device manager. But lately Nvidia has been releasing signed and beta drivers just for notebooks. This is what I use for my 6600 Go. It will also work with the GTX 280M. http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_winvista_win7_x64_186.81_whql.html

 

Ahhh, the link for the pixels was pretty interesting...not to mention trippy .

As for the drivers, I'm the kinda guy who updates his drivers every new release. Just did a bit of searching and found the latest GTX 280m drivers (non-WHQL) for Win 7. I have yet to try this because I don't have my 280 yet though.
Nvidia 195.39 Win7/Vista x64

 

Does crysis warhead have a benchmarking tool? I want to see if I can do some benchmarks with my np8690

 

Idling I am getting around 50c CPU and 30c GPU
Max temps while gaming have been 82 for CPU and average 78
GPU max was 78 but average is 66.
I consider this good, I havn't taken the block out as my temps are fine.
Silent mode makes the laptop louder, any suggestions?

 

I believe this is one of the reasons people have been removing the plastic circle.

 

take off the plastic thing!

Btw, I found something interesting in the user guide manual. Go to page 13 and read "overheating"

"To prevent your computer from overheating make sure nothing blocks any vent while the computer is in use"

TAKE THAT PLASTIC THING OFF!

even the pic in the manual doesnt have the plastic cover.

 

Going to double check with xotic is wont void my warranty first.

 

Silent mode W860CU explenation:

"It sets the fans to fixed speed, so it will slow down fans (and CPU clock) when the system is under load thus making it quieter, when system is idle on the other hand it makes it a bit louder by bringing the fans to the same fixed speed which is higher than minimum fan speed when idle."

Its not buggy, it just work different way. Useful when stressed under load.

I would appreciate comments from Justin or Paladin if its correct

 

Can anyone provide a picture of this black sticker that everyone is talking about ?

 

Go back a few pages in this thread.

 

that doesnt sound right

 

Well it does sound right to me.

Don't you think Clevo/Eurocom/Sager/Prostar would not release the laptop with Silent mode which makes notebook even louder?? Laptop is kinda quiet when idling. When is notebook under the stress and fan is running very loudely, this is the moment when SILENT mode is available. It will stuck fan at certain speed and makes stressed laptop running quieter. But remember this certain fan speed is higher compared to speed in idle mode.

It make sense perfectly to me What do you guys think ??

 

That I'll never use it

 

I have tried with and without the sticker, running prime95 on 8 threads, maximum heat torture test. With the sticker, 81c, without 76c. However I do not think this is the whole story. You will notice that the intake for the GPU has a foam cofferdam around it internally, effectively making this fan exclusively for the GPU. The Cpu intake does not, and it is entirely blocked by the sticker. Therefore the intake now becomes the three slotted grills in the middle of the laptop, which pull air over the RAM (which gets very warm) and other modules before it gets to the fan and then the CPU cooler. This is why the temperature is 5C hotter with the intake sticker on, as the air is pre-heated before it gets to the CPU cooler.
I have noticed there being a distinctly hotter spot just above the keyboard between the F6, F7, F8 keys and the hot-key buttons with the sticker removed.

In the end I decided to replace the sticker as the benefit of having my cpu 5c cooler is outweighed by possibly overheating my RAM.

 

I have tried everything, from re-moving and re-applying thermal paste to my GPU 8 times and using different methods, and I still have high temps of 95-97C while gaming. I have double and triple checked everything. I used the credit card spread method, the rice blob method, I cleaned with rubbing alcohol, etc. At this point I think I am going to try to return the laptop because I have lost confidence in it. When I put AS5 on the CPU it went down 10 degrees, but my GPU went up 10 degrees. From the start it was high at 85C

 

hmm so ppl with 80C Ci7 are lemons? some ppl have high cpu temps, some dont (chinoobonic has like normal i7 temps)?

g51J reaches same temps as me, usually 70C max for anything except Intel burn test. is the cpu cooling in the W860CU gimped? cuz they "pulled" an asus? also, im unsure why they did it, but those two BIG notebook manufacturers must have a reason for doing so. we need some detailz.

 

Could be that your heatsink isn't making full contact with the GPU. Did you check by adding the AS 5, placing the heatsink on it and then seeing if it's making contact? As an aside: Sad day for me, the 8690 has been shipped back.

 

Mine as well Joker! Dropped it off at the UPS store this afternoon. Though my replacement should be arriving next week. Let us know if you make a decision on a new laptop, I'm interested to hear what you're considering, or just waiting for new models.

 

The RAM will not overheat. No Clevo notebook, or any notebook that I know of, has had RAM overheat. Take the sticker off.

 

Silent mode in all previous Clevo notebooks has kept the fans off or at minimum speed and will not spin faster unless the CPU or the GPU nears it's critical temperature. It is strange if what you say is true.

 

Newer graphics drivers doesn't mean better all the time. I personally find 195.39 really choppy compared to the current crowd favorite 186.81 WHQL.

 

so, i dont know if i have a certain mode set(silent mode, maybe?) but when i'm running on battery life, i attempted to run 3dmark06 and only got around 2,000. This seems extemely low. When running the graphics tests i was getting as low as 3fps which i would expect shouldnt be the case. Also. when i plug the computer back up, i get around 12,500 3dmark06, so i know that the hardware works. But anyways, has anyone else experienced extremely low graphics processing when on battery?

EDIT:Im also getting extemely short battery life, and i did condition my battery when i got it. Its lasting around an hour.

 

You're getting low performance because you're running on battery. You're getting low battery life because your running 3DMark. That is expected.

My battery test performed last night would indicate that your battery life is normal. You get about 1 hour of "hard" usage out of it, gaming, DVD, etc..

 

I'm just going to wait on the 5800 series or new nVidia release + 8690 before I buy again. We've got an M15x on the way so I'll probably mess around with that until the upgraded 8690 is released. Sucks about your BSOD issues, hopefully the replacement works fine. I pray nobody gets shrieking fans like I did.

 

Hey guys, I haven't been online recently due to final exams coming up. I'm in the process of writing my W860 review and it will be posted in a few days.

I just read through the thread and noticed that people are getting 80+ temps for the GPU and CPU. I haven't even seen those temps in any condition I have been in. I know my ambients are higher than most but, the only effect of that is noticed on my HDD. For starters, TAKE THE STICKER OFF THE CPU INTAKE. That will reduce temps by 5*C. I have tested it and it does contribute to higher CPU temps. I have overclocked to break 13K in 3d mark06 (See attached) and the highest GPU temp I got was 70*C. An hour of Crysis (stock clocks) got me 72*C for the GPU and 65*C for the CPU. My advice is to reapply the thermal paste and clean the vents.

On another note, I noticed that the Matrix Storage drivers gave me higher temps for my HDD. I find that strange. I also noticed that when I had it installed and ran UT3, the Num lock key and Caps lock keys blinked, the laptop beeped and finally shut off. I think that was due to a high HDD temp or something. I tried it 5 more times after, same result. When I uninstalled it, UT3 ran without a problem, no flashing lights, no beeping. I wonder if someone can shed some light into this.

 

Here's my temps for just browsing. and idle


Taking the pic using zsoft, it made my graphics card temps higher than it is. Suppose to be 42-43

 

Its kind of hard to understand why some others has such a high temperature difference while ChinNoobonic and I am running with almost exactly the same temps. Heck, I overclocked my GPU to 700/1690/1150 overvolted and still only get 75c maxed. To add more, my 3dmarko6 score of 14,029 was achieved with only a temp of 72c.

 

It's hard because nobody is giving specific details as to how they are getting those temps. Are users using their notebook on a flat desk or a notebook cooler? What is the ambient temperature? Are the Windows power options set so that the CPU can enter LFM when idle?

 

It could also be a couple other things:
1) Paste. I've a couple of people that had much lower temps after reapplying AS5
2) The plastic CPU vent cover. It looks like some people have it and some (well at least 1) didn't

 

hey, another random question by me and more of an opinion BUT for this laptop should i go with the 320gb 7200rpm OR the 500gb 7200rpm.....

 

They have already stated whether they have reapplied the thermal paste or not, or have removed the black film covering the CPU fan intake or not. What we are missing are the yet to be declared major details. For example, room temperature has a large impact on temperatures, especially at load.

We are seeing the unusually large deviations in temperatures from each user's notebook. But we need to know what is contributing to them attaining those temps.