**OFFICIAL W860CU/NP8690 Owners Lounge**

Hi guys just wanted to let you know that my laptop arrived yesterday with the 5870. Tonight I will collect the data some of you guys have asked for: Temps and some benches. If anyone needs anything else which isnt too time consuming then send me a PM and I will get it done. Hoping to get them up tonight or weekend.

 

Was testing the cooling system outside and forgot to bring my power adapter which resulted in me discovering this, yes I know it's not a big deal practically.

Damn, my 8690 was shipped out for RMA for a week already and still no reply from Sager yet, I have that C&C4 sitting there and I can't play it... Using a laptop with GMA currently, only thing I can do is playing around with "stuff" in linux.

 

Did they reply to your emails?

 

my contact point is with my local reseller, emailed them they say already shipped, though not sure what shipping they use and whether if it arrived at sager, can't complain since they charged me very cheap for the shipping, just that it's frustrating to go without a capable laptop for so long.

 

you get what you pay for =)

 

I'm reminded of a kid, who learns they're going to Disney World in 6 months, and starts packing now out of excitement!

Congrats on your purchase... you won't regret it!

 

Yeah, I can't blame him either. I, myself, have been downloading the drivers, although I expect to receive mine over the next week or so.

 

Huh, I must just be lucky (maybe the military thing helps), ordered last Monday (3/15), shipped yesterday, should be delivered Friday by UPS 3 day. Exact same config (did you get an OS with it?) from Xotic.

What drivers *should* I be getting? (can't say I want to look through over 200 pages of thread...)

 

Well, it would've been about one whole week faster had I known that mailing my check from California to Nebraska would've taken a whole week. I always thought it took only 2-3 days to mail anything within the country. If I had known that, I'd have done the secured payment option with my VISA right away. But yeah, a whole week was wasted waiting for them to receive my check and update my status.

My unit was mailed out from Sager to Nebraska this Monday, so I don't know how long that will take.

And no, I didn't order an OS, or any other software.

 

Hey, preparing for a new laptop is pretty fun. I'm enjoying looking for drivers and utilities.

Yes, it's pretty obvious that I'm really excited.

 

Shouldn't take long, I never got notification that there was a change from phase 2 before they shipped it to me, but it was only 5 business days from processing to shipping (used secure payment).

Funny thing I just noticed actually, the origin of the package according to UPS is California, I wonder if they just had Sager ship it directly to me or something as I told them I needed it by Friday...

 

Any reseller that gets their units from Sager have said units shipped directly from Sager. The resellers just provide the customer service and interface between their customers and Sager, as Sager is not known for particularly stellar customer service.

 

Actually, at least in Xotic's case, if the customer resides in California, they have Sager ship it to them in Nebraska first, then they ship the unit to the customer in California so as to avoid the California sales tax. At least this is how I understand it. However, you can supposedly insist on having it shipped directly from Sager to you if you don't mind incurring the tax.

Sure, it probably takes an extra few days, but for a poor student like myself who's counting pennies, the $160 or so saved in sales tax is worth the wait.

 

OK, so I have a couple of probably dumb questions...if it's any consolation, they should be quick and easy to answer.

I had my heart set on a G73JH laptop, mainly because I wanted a 5870. I didn't realize that there were Sager/Clevo laptops for sale at roughly the same price point with very similar specs. But something isn't 100% clear to me on xoticpc...do these laptops come with an OS at all? When you choose Win 7 Home Premium, for example, on xoticpc's customization options, are you just asking for the full on OS disk rather than a factory recovery partition or disk?

And if I order from xoticpc, will it get to me in Arizona relatively quickly? The main reason I'm even looking for an alternative to the G73JH at all is that it's out of stock everywhere, and I'm deploying in May.

 

The OS on the 8690 is optional from Xotic. By default, it's not included, but you can select it at checkout (along with the extra cost of it).

Even if you should choose to snail mail them a check, you'll definitely get your 8690 by May. The longest waits, at least in my experience, are waiting for your check to get to xotic, then waiting for your check to clear before they process your order. If you do the credit secure option, then it's very fast (probably 1 business day to process).

 

I just bought a Razer Orochi mouse, im having a problem turning on the bluetooth on this laptop to connect to the mouse, any knows how?

 

Fn + F12. 10char

 

Thanks mate, didnt know it was that simple.

 

Finally. I get to post as a Sager 8690 owner. Got my Laptop 2 weeks ago and I love it. Best laptop I've owned in my life. what does the M button do at the top? lolz

 

It does this. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5679418&postcount=4

 

question about .ISO files. I have Win7 Ult and I have games as files that I can't install... They are DvD/ISO files and I don't know how to get them to run as an installation.

 

Mount them onto a virtual ODD using an ODD emulator. I like to use Daemon Tools.

 

will Daemon Tools lite do?

 

Yes, that is the one I am referencing to. There are a bunch of walkthrough guides out there to help you get it set up.

 

Thank you.

 

How is the orochi?

 

Its a cool mouse, but unfortunately gaming cant be used wireless (for me), i keep getting lag spikes with the mouse.
Gaming with the mouse also takes getting used to, the smaller size may be abit awkward at first.
I like how the mouse and wire fits nicely into the pouch though. Oh and you cant customize the mouse wireless.
Imma try to get use to it, but if not i will switch back to my microsoft x8 (awesome mouse) for gaming.
And use this for travel.

 

Just ordered a G860 from Kobalt! I went for the 820qm and a 5870 gpu.
How does the fan noise compare to an M57/np5973 clevo, has anyone used both? It could get a little noisy sometimes, I'm hoping this one will be a bit quieter

 

OK...so...thoughts...4 GB of RAM vs 6 GB of RAM on the NP8690 for gaming?

 

Thanks.

I believe RAM is meant to be used as a matched pair. The 6GB configuration is a 4GB and a 2GB stick, and will not perform as efficiently as a two 2GB sticks or two 4GB sticks.

Edit:

I don't know how it compares, but this is an extremely quiet notebook. If your fans are loud, something is wrong.

 

Awesome. Had a bit of a bad experience with my 8800m gtx so I hope the ATI card will last longer than 18 months too.

 

4GB is really enough. Just be sure to have 64-bit OS to maximise the use of it.

 

My fan is getting really annoying. I think its the GPU one causing more of the excessive noise. It's not terribly loud but it has an annoying deep whine (but not very loud). Choosing the silent mode option does nothing to slow the fans down.

 

Mine got in this afternoon, already love it.
Win7 x64 installed, stock drivers from the disk, couple of games and basic stuff thrown on, no optimization stuff yet really, and I just got 12609 in 3dmark06 at 1280x1024. Temps seem normal. Had a chance to game a little, CoD:WaW was getting about 90fps at max settings with 4xaa.

The noise is the one little complaint I have. It's certainly not whisper quiet and the fans never totally turn off. Should it be that way? It's not really any louder than the combination of my AW and cooler, so I can't complain too much, but wondering what's normal. I'm going to open and remove the cpu fan sticker and apply as5 once i give it a couple days to make sure nothing is wrong.

Right now I'm using the stock video drivers, has anyone seen improvement with newer ones (sorry, I'm sure this has been asked before)? If so, where did you get them, I'm new to the ATI driver situation.

 

Here is a link to the new drivers mate, 10.3 are the ones you want :

http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx

 

Congratulations!

STILL no word of mine... I mean, I'm glad I decided to go with this over the G73JH, but sheesh, this wait time is starting to be comparable...

 

Hey Fluffy, are those the newest drivers for the 5870? It looks like they are just for ATI radeon, not ATI mobility radeon...i dont know if there is a difference though. Is the driver at the link you provided different from the new one posted on the sager website for the np8690?

 

Oh very sorry I just googled quickly, ill get you mobility ones know. And yes I believe the 10.3 are the newest ones.

The temps and benches for you guys should be up tomorrow

http://sites.amd.com/us/underground/tips/Pages/catalyst-10-3-preview.aspx

Mobility are on there.

 

Thanks, I really need to figure out this whole ATI driver thing, not very user friendly in that it doesnt actually tell you what catalyst version it is in the control panel, just some random string of numbers (from what i can tell at least)...

 

In the top left corner of the program, click the pull down arrow, click Information Center, click Graphics Software tab.

 

Right, but after installing the 10.3 drivers it looks like this:

Driver Packaging Version 8.712-100302b-096986C-ATI
Provider ATI Technologies Inc.
2D Driver Version 8.01.01.1010
2D Driver File Path /REGISTRY/MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/CLASS/{4D36E968-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}/0000
Direct3D Version 8.14.10.0735
OpenGL Version 6.14.10.9704
Catalyst™ Control Center Version 2010.0302.2233.40412

What tells you what catalyst version you have?

 

Out of curiosity what are your temps when benchmarking and gaming?
Just trying to gauge if some run warmer than others.

 

Finally I welcome myself to W860 club. My question is how to select boot device? So I'm not talking about boot priority. I'd like to start from USB HDD? Is there an option for that? So press the key and choose boot device to get to Boot Menu...

EDIT: Found it, F1.

 

My CPU idles around 43C, hasn't warmed up much, I don't remember exactly but i think it has maxed out in like the 60's.

GPU idles all over the 50's (I've used it in both a normal ~70F room and in a relatively cool basement).
Highest I've seen it is 71 if memory serves, and that was only for a second.

I haven't applied AS5 yet or taken off the sticker on the cpu fan.

 

8690 just arrived. Thought I'd share some very basic and unprofessional first impressions (coming from an old Dell Inspiron 6400 - honestly a very usable laptop still, but could never compare to this beast

The pros have already mostly been said..
+the thing boots up/shuts down in around 10 secs (my ssd probly helps tho)

+fast as hell, virtually no lag times whatsoever. Click on something and it's already been there for 5 seconds. The i7 (720 for me) never even seems like it's being put to work. To be honest I feel like an 820qm would be overkill unless you're a SERIOUS computer nerd, and I still don't believe its quite cost effective for the extra price.

+Loudness is not an issue for me, although I haven't pushed it too far yet. There is a CONSTANT fan noise but it is negligible and non-distracting.

+Heat is not an issue for this thing, I don't notice any heat on the keyboard/on top of the laptop. (I have a logitech lapdesk, which is comfy and I very much recommend that surprisingly eliminates pretty much all heat from the bottom as well.)

+This thing is built tough, you can tell there was a lot of work put in to making this thing last, it is solid and feels unbreakable.

+The screen is amazing, some say it is a bit bright but I completely disagree. Blu-rays look impeccable and the brightness is fairly perfect (and adjustable I believe anyway).

+This thing looks subtle as hell, very business-like, i.m.o. thank god it doesnt look like a g73 or alienware, you'd never think it has just the same power.

Cons:
(These are all related to the keypad and touchpad which are i.m.o. very sloppily designed unfortunately.)

-The keyboard is strangely oriented (however with time there's probably a getting used to it)

-The keys can be a bit hard to press down, they definitely require a bit more effort than most laptops. Coming from a Dell or an Apple, you will notice this.

-The touchpad buttons are downright miserable, there's just no denying this. The left button is oddly loud and hard to press down. Fortunately the touchpad problems can be instantly solved with a mouse.

-Speaker sound quality is not good (very tinny, zero bass).

All in all a very solid, fast, cost effective machine, apart from small things already mentioned the laptop is stellar. Big thumbs up.

P.S. Help: The sound quality sounds fairly bad through Boss headphones as well, what is the fix for this if any?

 

i just ordered last week and the FHD screen is out of stock until early april!

f$%^$K lol...is it worth the wait or should I go for the 1600x900?

 

It's worth it!

Wait, dude...

 

ive already been waiting a week lol...ordered last monday..this sucks lol

 

Dude, it's seriously worth the wait. You will be much happier getting the FHD screen than the 1600 option. Point here is, be patient.

Edit:
On a side note, should I get the HD5870? A bit concerned about the heat issue. Need opinions.

 

Definitely worth it, especially since the 5870 can run all your games that high.

Glad I ordered mine when I did...