**OFFICIAL W860CU/NP8690 Owners Lounge**

The BIOS are pretty limited, sadly. Hopefully they'll add some more stuff in future updates. Can't even set the computer to turn on at a certain time. I used to have my computer "wake up" a few hours before me and perform a checkdisk and defrag, but I can't really do that if it's not in the BIOS.

A few nigglers with these beasts, but overall, best laptops known to man.

 

Yup kinda sucks that you have to turn Bluetooth on every time the computer is put to sleep/hibernate/shut down. There is definitely stuff I hope they add in future updates. But I still am liking the notebook and is a very solid computer they can build on.

 

Dont u guys think we should tell celvo support or would they know? make a list of what we woudl like to see in a bios update?

 

Hey guys just purchased mine from Malibal. It was such a hassle to call the paypal people to figure out why couldnt I pay with echeck on paypal, turns out I have to dissociate my credit card from paypal account to just select the echeck payment option. Anyways, I will be joining the club soon

p.s. is it a common problem to have loud fan noise on w860cu? it seems a lot of people have it on here

 

I agree 100%, that e-check thing is a PITA. Unfortunately it's a PayPal issue, and they don't seem to care about fixing it. I had to delete every credit card I had in PayPal, then I was able to send an e-check. So stupid.

I don't think it's very common at all to get a "loud" fan. I think there are a small number of people who might have actual fan issues. The majority of people (in my opinion) are just not used to Sager/Clevo systems. They have the best thermal design around, and part of that is the fans they use. They are louder than many laptops you may have used before, but at no point would I ever consider them "too loud" or a noise nuisance.

 

I still dunno about the fan issue. Mine is so quiet that I have to wonder if the "it's loud and has a mechanical whine" folks don't have defective or different fans.

Yeah, I screwed my eCheck up entirely (and frankly rather embarrassed myself), but Malibal was nice about it, even tho it probably lost them some money, or at least sometime. PayPal needs to get that together. I think PayPal makes more money off the normal bank transfers, so they're not too eager to make it easier, perhaps; that's why they hound you to pay with transfer rather than CC.

If we made a list "from the Sager/Clevo group at Notebook Review," maybe they'd listen to us...

 

Well I still hope that they wil release a bios update for the loud fans, upping the threshold, but the most annoying is that whining, buzzing, that comes when the fans start spinning more... sometimes its really constant and i jsut cant deal with it so i gave mine back... see what they say about it....

 

Yeah, like I said, I just don't get how it would be possible for the fans to all be the same. I know it's subjective, but how I can describe it as quiet and Riccardo can describe it as above, if they're exactly the same, I really question.

 

Fan noise is very subjective but seeing some users here saying they are very quiet while others claimed differently tells me not all fans are operating the same for some reasons. Mine runs no louder than my old Sager NP8660 and in my opinion it runs quite quiet for the power it packs.

My PCmark Vantage Score....What You Guys Think?
http://service.futuremark.com/resultAnalyzer.action?resultId=257912&resultType=18

 

Hi Guys! We apologize to anyone who had issues submitting an eCheck. We are working to try and make the process as simple and easy as possible. Hopefully, there is a better solution than having to remove all of the credit cards on your Paypal account.

 

Not a problem.. It's certainly not Malibal, I've had this problem with e-checks plenty of times before. It's a PayPal issue for sure.

 

I made all these changes, except I couldn't find "immediate mode". Maybe this is on the new drivers?

Brandon also wrote that he came to a conclusion to his satisfaction that there must be some kind of software-related issue with the output. Just curious if any progress has been made.

I'm more annoyed with the fingerprint reader (seems to just go into "fail" mode as best I can tell) and the touchpad, which I still can't figure out, but those are both easy enough to turn off.

Then again, sound is pretty important. I can't plug my headphones into the SPDIF jack (I know it's called something like that) tho can I? If I could, I wonder what that would do?

 

Yep, it's definitely a PayPal deal. I just wanted to underscore that I totally screwed my payment up, but Malibal fixed it for me as if it had never happened. PayPal just likes to be difficult and push us into paying the way *they* want, if you ask me, but I could be wrong.

 

I think Jeff may have looked into this further, maybe he'll pop in later and share what he found. I do agree that out of the box, the sound is crappy when compared to other laptops (in particular the Vostro 1500 Jeff and I both have).

If there's enough interest maybe we should start a post in the main Sager forum and see if others have any thoughts/input.

 

you can only use the spdif out with a toslink headphone. its headphone adapter looks similar to a regular one but its a toslink mini-cable adapter.
with the spdif set up you get 5.1 audio
unfortunately i dont have a toslink headphone or cables yet but it is how you setup your bluray computer as a HTPC

 

I got all 5 of my speakers to "work" doing one of those speakers tests last week. I just tried it again right now with 5.1 selected and only got sound out of two. What the heck?

I just deleted the RealTek drivers and software - what a bunch of junk. Just did a speaker test with the generic drivers and of course the 5 speakers are "working" again. I keep using quotation marks around work because they make noise, but they sure are funked up.

As for the weak output/bass, I haven't found anything.

 

I'm curious what they say/do. My high-pitched noise definitely only comes from the top right and starts as soon as the GPU fan kicks in, which as luck would have it, is beneath the top-right of the keyboard. And it's definitely not mechanical. It's more of an emittance. I read the post about the voltage regulator being a possible suspect, but my research didn't find anything in that ballpark. Will just deal with it until I'm certain it's an issue that will get resolved if I send it in.

 

I will keep you guys updated. But mine was def coming from the left area.... and it wasnt mechanical either i think. oh well i get back to u guys. right now im thinking of ordering the new i7 arrandale with dual core but more mhz... and less energy consumption. not sure tho

 

I made those changes Brandon suggested (except whichever one it was I couldn't find), and I got immediate improvements both through the speakers and through headphones.

I'm feeling fairly certain this is a software issue and has nothing to do with the speakers or headphone jack, both of which I suspect are actually rather good quality. I could be entirely wrong on some or all of this, though.

Here's a question I considered making a whole thread for and perhaps still will if I can decide where such a thread should go--

How do you folks sit with your laptops?

I've tried a few methods, all with varying degrees of discomfort. Right now I'm in an armchair with my laptop on an Xpad on a lapdesk, mouse also on the lapdesk.

Other times, I sit at a kitchen table (the chairs are at fault for the discomfort there).

Short of finding the right kind of chair (which would be I dunno what), does anyone have advice?

 

I'm not using any software and the output on this thing still sucks.

 

Just got my laptop from RJTech I'm off in installing my 920XM ES, Hitachi 500GB 7200RPM, and HyperX mem right now

@SS

Did you remove the black plastic covering the CPU vent?

 

1. Does anyone have a suggestion for the best external monitor to run off the HDMI port on the back of the NP8690? I was looking at them and seem lost as which way to go - I was thinking 24" LED LCD in 1920x1200 but no one seems to make one.

2. I also had trouble connecting my laptop to my big Samsung DLP, I tried using the DVI to DSub adapter and going through the VGA input since I didn't have a HDMI cable laying around. I dropped the resolution and the computer detected SAMSUNG, but the TV always said no input.

3. Last but not least, any recommendation on which external drive to buy? I was looking at a 1.5TB Western Digital MyBook with USB2, FireWire, and eSata. I wish it was at least 2TB. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western...lack/9540687.p?skuId=9540687&id=1218121459458

 

Recieved a new W860CU today, because of problems with my old one. Sadly, this one has a bunch of problems too. (If only they did as I asked and took 10-15 mins to check if everything was in 100% working order)

Can anyone:

1. tell me where I can find a nice how-to that shows how to take out the keyboard from a W860CU.
2. tell me if it's possible to switch the fans from 1 unit into an other one. Are they hooked up with a connector or soldered onto the motherboard ? How can I take them out and put them in an other W860CU ?

I hope you guys can help, caus I'm getting fed up with this.

 

I just have one problem with the W860CU. I have an LG GBW-T10N bluray drive that I've used with my old M860TU. Now when I install it on my W860CU, the laptop won't pass the Style Note screen, it's just stuck there and the light of the drive is ON (green) when it's supposedly blinking for normal operation.

What could be the problem?

 

What are the problems with this one, Prophex? And the old one?

 

What problems do you have?

You can take off the bottom panel by undoing a bunch of screws. Remove the panel to get access to the fan units on the GPU and CPU. They are held on by 3 screws each, and plug into the motherboard. Should be easy to swap.

 

Old one:

• Fans were to loud.
• Fans spinned up to 100% and stayed that way after only a few minutes.
• Something inside the notebook (after reading some posts here, I assume it was also one of the fans) made a continuous high pitch noise.
• The power brick was also making a continuous beeping sound.

New one: (note: I currently have both the old and new one in my possession, so I can compare them and swap parts where needed)

• The keyboard they inserted in my new unit is the wrong one. (I wanted a dutch AZERTY one and they placed a french AZERTY one inside, rendering it un-useable.)
• The notebook is still making alot of noise, but less then my first one, so I want to switch the fans.
• My speakers are now making a weird beep-noise for no reason every few minutes.
• One of the fans is AGAIN making a continuous high pitch sound.
• I've found a f***ed-up pixel on my screen. (I have the no-dead pixel warranty)

So I want to 'take both notebooks apart' myself and make 1 über unit and 1 crappy. What I plan on doing is probably take out the fans and SSD (I upgraded from a 500gig normal HD to an 80gig SSD for my new unit) from the new one and put them in the old one and just learn to live with the high-pitch sound comming from one of the fans and pray that with these better ones, they don't spin up to 100% anymore after only a few minutes. (And obviously use the new powerbrick)

So anyone know how to remove the keyboard ?, just in case I plan on arranging it in some other fashion.

 

The W870CU does not have the black sticker covering the CPU fan intake like the W860CU.

 

@prophex

if you do so you may f!@k up you warranty
theres a service manual link posted a few pages- too big as an attachment

 

you could try a few different things first:
make sure your laptop is in dual monitor mode in the nvidia cc
check that your set to the correct pal/ntsc and hertz for your tv, although this is usually automatically detected. also in the nvidia cc.
make sure your tv is set to recieve a signal thru the dvi port, although this is usually automatic.
make sure your cables are snug
press Fn+F7 for external monitor mode if dual monitors fail to work

tell us how it goes

 

I really don't think you will find an 8690 with quiet fans. To some it's relative but if you are sensitive to fan noise then its going to bother you no matter how many replacement units you receive.

As for building a frankenstein unit, if that is your final option then go for it. As long as you do a clean job, the retailer shouldn't know or care since the one you'd be sending back would be marked as defective anyhow. From my short experience owning an 8690, the fans were held in by a couple screws and were very easy to replace. The screen also seemed like a simple task to swap out since it doesn't have any LED lighting cables etc to deal with.

 

I really hate this, why doesn't my bluray drive work with this laptop It worked without any problems with my M860TU before

EDIT: Now this is weird. The drive works when I remove the front bezel and install it. But when the bezel is intack, the laptop doesn't pass POST and the drive LED is lit green all the time.

 

@kevin
maybe you need new bd drivers for win7?

 

@trvelbug

It doesn't pass POST. We're not talking about OS here.

 

theriko has service manuals hosted online. W8x0CU is on the second page.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=de6b0df1b481af0fc79b87b207592a1c64c55eb7d7564d4e947708e37b913e74

 

Not saying this to be a jerk, I swear, but man... After all the troubles folks are having, I sure am glad mine works great (despite my initial, unfounded concerns about operating temps).

 

Just got the laptop with the bluray drive to work

The problem was because the front bezel has a minor flaw wherein one tiny plastic part, where the LED plastic is being held on, is keeping the eject button depressed all the time. So when I turn on the laptop with the eject button depressed by the front bezel mechanism, it will not pass POST.

You could try it yourself, hold the eject button with your finger and turn on the laptop. You will see it won't pass POST And as soon as you remove finger from pressing the button, it will immediately continue in its usual boot-up process.

 

It's don. My Frankenstein is built:

• Old chassis
• Old motherboard
• Old optical drive (the old one was alot more quiet)
• Old keyboard (the old one had the correct setup: dutch AZERTY)
• Old speakers (these don't make a small beep sound every few minutes)
• Old screen (the old one doesn't have any bad pixels)
• New Hard Drive (went from 500gig HD to 80gig SSD)
• New fans (they realy are more quiet then my first ones! ^^)
• New memory (they used corsair ones in my new system and some unbranded chinese one in my old unit ...)
• New battery (might aswell switch that one arround too)
• New backplating (same for above)
• New power brick (doesn't make a beeping sound either)

So far I've been able to solve all my issues except 1: The continuous high pitched beeping sound comming from the top left of my notebook.

 

Do mini VGA ram heatsinks cool the heatpipe of the CPU?

Might be buying some to lower down the temps IF it does work (I measured the heatsinks and maybe about 5-6 of them fit on the middle CPU pipe)

 

We actually shipped Prophex a completely new laptop as a replacement system so he could send the original one back as he couldn't be without the laptop over Christmas. Didn't know there would be components swapped over but obviously it's not a problem if it resolves issues with one or the other

We did check the chassis thoroughly before shipping, if you have the wrong keyboard then I appologise as it's our fault. If you need any help with swapping components over please drop me a pm, especially on the keyboard swap as there is an easy way and a hard way to do it!

Btw the RAM in the first chassis would be Crucial which is the same quality and price as Corsair, just a different brand. I'm not 100% sure but they might well be the same Micron part.

 

Yeah,

I just count on my battery as a parachute, much better than desktops losing AC and crashing, but that is about all it is good for.

 

SS,

You are to much.. ....I may start liking this anime

Happy Holidays everyone.

 

Because you've all be very nice boys and girls. Santa dropped BIOS 1.01.05 for the W860CU, I think the latest one on Sager's website is 1.01.04. I have no idea what are the changes in this BIOS but feel free to give it a go. There is no new EC/KBC.

Merry Christmas!

http://www.MegaShare.com/1702339
http://www.filedropper.com/w86cubios05

 

Thanks Blacky..

By the way, just out of curiosity where do you get these BIOS files? Thanks..

 

If I did, they would probably be pulled off.

 

Oh ok no worries, I understand..

 

New BIOS is interesting! Anyone try it out yet? If I wasn't kept up to date by you guys, how would I even know when new stuff was out? Monitoring the Clevo website, I guess? Do they release video driver updates there and whatnot, too?

In other news, this laptop is so great that the little issues really stand out. For instance, I can't get used to the touchpad. I really can't figure out how to scroll on it or how to click and drag. Click click... drag... and then before I even get to the edge of the pad, it halts. Dead stop. Scrolling is just random. I have no idea how it works.

And the fingerprint reader is totally awesome when it works, but it only works 50% of the time, no matter how careful I am. I get "fail" and "too short" and "bad read" a lot.

Oh well. Huge Steam sale, and I'm enjoying the heck out of my laptop.

Hope everyone's having a good holiday.

 

Just noticed that my burner won't do dual-layer discs.

Win7's built-in burning program tried twice and failed both times. Tried ImgBurn twice and failed both times. CDBurnerXP won't even recognize the drive... I've tried burning an ISO and just files, in case anyone was wondering.

Single layer seems to work fine.

So, things that don't work the way they should so far:

- Touchpad (scrolling is shot)
- Audio jacks (NO bass)
- Burner (won't do dual layer)

Wondering if I may be better off just returning it...

 

Just tried to install that new bios, but it couldn't run due to it not being 64-bit compatible :\

 

yeah i tried to install the new bios update too and it wouldnt even run. do i need to burn it to a disc first? or is there something else that needs to be done?