**OFFICIAL W860CU/NP8690 Owners Lounge**

nope, i haven't noticed any issue so far. just one thing which i found weird: hdd on linux heats quite much. ~40 C.

 

which distro ?

i'm using ubuntu 10.4 and no problem at all
just make sure you're connected to internet through wired connection in 1st run ( after installing) to ensure all of your driver and package updated

and don't forget to enable the restricted driver for nvidia

 

Anyone have massive crash issues with fallout 3?

I have the cat drivers from sager, updated everything, did the quad core fallout.ini fix and still crash randomly. :<

 

im getting crashes when i open some videos online to fullscreen, i have to reboot to get it back to normal, i know this has something to do with the graphics card, im using the stock drivers. Anyone knows how to fix this?

 

Crashing or in game freezing? I think fallout 3 has an issue with quad cores...when I played awhile back I know i had to install a patch or something

 

It's a Flash problem. The fix is to right click on the video, select settings and disable (uncheck) Hardware Acceleration.

 

I gave up on Fallout 3 because of the crashing. Did the quad core fix and it still crashes, albeit less frequently.

 

Good thing I already finished fallout 3 when I was still using my old notebook with T5500 and 1600MR.

 

i was going to use Mint 9, but it stops booting after grub it starts to load then stops and my num lock and my cap lock start to flash, and as far as having wired connection, im in iraq, so wired is an option but more of a hassle to get then wireless, so is it necessary or just suggested.

 

Don't use Sager's driver, it is quite old. Cat 10.4 or higher is much more stable and faster.


If you are underclocking your GPU, then Flash/You Tube will definitely be unstable. Otherwise, it usually works pretty well for me..


On an unrelated note, I did complete some benchmarks recently:
OEM Install (+Cat 10.5):

3dmark01 39208
3dmark03 39470
3dmark06 13499
Vantage 8632

Freash Win7 Install, Windows Classic GUI, Overclocked ATI to 900eng 1100mem (Above 910eng and 1115 mine is unstable), and Cat 10.5:
3dmark01 41,015
3dmark03 44,322
3dmark06 14,608
Vantage 10,067

AND I never broke 80*C while overclocking

 

Is it ok to post unboxing pictures in this thread?

The new lappy arrived on Tuesday and I'm ready to show it off. Maingear did a great job building this thing and it's rock solid in games. I'm really loving the DX11 in Dirt 2 compared to the DX9 on my XPS desktop running an ATI 4870x2.

Rock solid temperatures too while gaming for long periods of time (haven't seen above 70C yet after 1-3 hours of gaming) and it cools down quickly as well.

If I can solve the problem with the spacebar (haven't tried yet) this thing will be absolutely perfect.

 

try to reinstall with ubuntu. when you done, you might want to try other distro

nope, it's just a suggestion, coz some wireless module didn't recognized properly
but if it's recognized then congrats :shakehand: although right now, 10.04 can properly recognize common wireless module

it's fine to post your unboxing picture, just make sure you spoiler it so our buddy with limited b/w didn't get stressed over the pict ^_*
oh yeah, and also resize it first to max 800x600, or else just post the thumbnail ( common imagehost service has the link to thumbnail version)

do somebody know which realtek audio our's is? is it ALC889?

 

UBER secksee! +10k on Vantage is certainly awesome.

 

Have you had a look at the video bios to see if maingear has possibly fixed the clock settings?

 

[Removed by moderator]

cheers

edit: hardware acceleration still not enabled, my mistake eace:

2nd edit : frankly, i'm not really sure whether i'ts running or not, since i can have cool effect in dashboard and able to play chess, but unable to start screensaver and front row -_-")

 

Lol'd


than i'll be back to the topic

does somebody know some utility to keep sight of gpu usage ( like the one used incpu monitor?)

 

Mind sharing the link for this bigger external battery?
Would also be interested in a review if you decide to buy it!

 

ÓÑ´ïµç 50000mAh ±Ê¼Ç±¾Òƶ¯µçÔ´ ³¬´óÈÝÁ¿,¸ßÈÝÁ¿µç³Ø Áª±£ ·¢Æ±-ÌÔ±¦Íø
It's the Chinese Ebay, could only find it there.

 

Well you can use gpu-z here:
techPowerUp! :: Downloads

Just me (again) or this laptop have problem with sleep/hibernating?

Using win 7 64bitHP and it takes around 10-15minute to sleep/hibernate(fn+f4 or choosing from windows menu)

 

no, i'm already using gpu-z
i meant something like cpu usage monitor that came standalone in widget ( i series processor have one for win 7 widget, showing usage and turboboost status)

 

Yeah. And the fingerprint sensor flips out afterwards, too. Anyone find a fix for this?

 

I'm working on pulling the bios right now but preliminary investigation has showed that in the ATI CCC, Powerplay is not even in drop down list, let alone allowing me to enable it.

ATIWinflash is not working, ie: Running it through the RBE to acquire the bios says ATIwinflash cannot detect my video card. ? ATIflash won't even load.

Suggestions?

Also: on the CCC Graphics Hardware screen it tells me the hardware bios version number is:
BIOS Version 012.019.000.003
BIOS Part Number TS35951.018
BIOS Date 2010/02/09

I don't know what else I can do for ya.

 

Ah yes, welcome to Clevo's "fix" for powerplay. It was flaky so they disabled it in bios. I really doubt a reseller will fix this. They don't tend to play with the bios too much.

On the bright side, you can underclock for passable idle temps.

 

Check this link.

Processor Widget
http://blog.orbmu2k.de/sidebar-gadgets/intel-core-series-sidebar-gadget#more-95

GPU Widget
OrbLog Blog Archive GPU Observer – Sidebar Gadget

 

Tbh, at this point it doesn't bother me all that much that it's not accessable.
I was merely curious and replying to SP-1's inquiry.

Idle CPU temps: 50C +-2
Gaming CPU temps: 70C +-2
Ambient room temp: Varies, usually 17-21C

After a couple 2 hour gaming sessions I am impressed that the unit has not be running very hot or having any performance drops, and just keeps on being rock solid.

However, and this just came to mind, I've been having a problem with my wifi.
When the computer goes to sleep or hibernates and then comes back, quite often the wifi card is not being recognized, and is not turning back on.
If I reboot the computer, sometimes it might not come back on again until I reset it a second or third time.

The device manager showed once that it recognized the card but said it was not working correctly, and another time the wifi card did not even show up in the device manager.

Using the function keys to turn off the wifi and then turn it back on again seemed to have no effect in this situation, though I will not be quick to blame the function keys because when the wifi is working fine they (the keys) will turn it (the wifi) on and off with no problems.

I'm at a loss on this one.

 

If you want to play around a little with the vbios, a 5870m vbios from MSI can be found here: RapidShare: 1-CLICK Web hosting - Easy Filehosting. It enables both OverDrive and PowerPlay in CCC with the 10.5 drivers (maybe others, but not tested). It is mildly undervolted at 1.10v in mode 00, which makes the card run somewhat cooler, but caused video instability for me under benchmark loads. Others did not have the same problem, so it appears to be card dependent. If you decide to flash your card, it needs to be done from DOS with Atiflash (no Winflash) with the -fs switch to overcome a mismatched SSID issue, i.e., "atiflash -p -fs 0 HD5870.rom." Same way back to your original vbios. PowerPlay works, but the implementation is limited. OD is fully implemented, but I actually prefer AMD Clock Tool. I am back to the Clevo vbios, but it was fun to play around with.

Flashing your video card bios can cause serious damage to your card or render it inoperable or unstable and is undertaken at your own risk. I recommend that it be completely avoided by all but the most experienced users.

​

 

Hi guys, What is the latest GPU driver for NP8690? Dont ask me to find it in Nvidia cuz it wont work. And another thing is when i launch my GPU-z it gives me the Name: Standard VGA Graphics Adapter. And also when i try to upgrade the BIOS. its empty in the ISO file

 

I messed with some other bioses already but didn't have any luck. I just wish we could adjust the voltage in gpu clock tool and I would be happy.

 

IMO Overdrive and Powerplay is not worth giving up the most stable 5870MR vbios on the market.

 

The safe and prudent course, which is highly recommended for all mainstream users.

 

if powerplay also implies undervolt, i think it is more than worth. undervolt = battery life improvement. and this notebook has none, so any improvement is well accepted.

 

You can at least theoretically undervolt the 5870 by editing the existing vbios and reflashing the card. In fact, I (and any number of others) have done that, reducing the voltage from 1.15v to 1.10v (and lower) for different clock speeds. The reflash worked fine, but I have not found a reliable method for measuring the card's voltage, as applied, so I can't determine the effectiveness of the vbios revisions. I did not see any difference in temps, which you would expect at reduced voltage.

 

it's not the temps that concern me (not only them). i would try to extend the battery life as far as it goes. and i think that undervolting the mr587
should at least give some kind of improvement. anyway, i was thinking more of a "dynamical undervolting" (which, i believe, it's the purpose of ati powerplay) without need of vbios flashing everytime.

 

You're right, that's one of the purposes of PowerPlay, but even where enabled the laptop implementation is limited, at least the ones that I have seen. Hopefully, it will catch up to the desktop version in time.

 

did you actually noticed any improvement? or your tests were not sufficient to see any?

i'm not blaming you, i just wanna figure out the pros/cons of this vbios

 

I didn't do any battery test. Plugged in the whole time. Saw slightly lower temps at idle, but no change under load.

 

what do you mean with "slightly lower"? you can achieve the same result with AMD GPU Clock Tool or is somewhere lower (because of undervolt and stuff)?

 

I mean 2-3 degrees across the board. With the Clevo/Sager vbios (1.15v), idle at stock clocks (700/1000) is around 51C +/- (core); with the MSI vbios (1.10v), it drops to 48C +/-. Downclocked with AMD Clock Tool to 200/300, the card will idle at 44C +/- with the Clevo vbios and 41C +/- with the lower voltage. The idle temps can vary a couple of degrees either way based upon ambient temps. Your experience may vary.

 

Speaking of temps, I am trying to remove the black thing from the CPU vent, however, I can't remove the back panel, I have a screwdriver that fits, but the screws won't turn. Keep trying? or am I missing something?

 

The back panel? 8690 don't have a back panel. I hope you are not trying to pry off the casing.

 

Oops, mis-worded, I'm not trying to pry anything off XD
I just want to remove this darn vent cover >;D
I have no idea how to get to it.
When the screws didn't budge, I stopped. I'm not careless, promise.

 

Well, the screws do come off. So I don't know what's the problem

 

Hey would the SATA 2nd Hard Disk Drive HDD caddy adapter 12.7mm from ebay SATA 2nd Hard Disk Drive HDD caddy adapter 12.7mm new - eBay (item 180516605450 end time Jul-04-10 23:31:22 PDT) fit in the W860CU ?
thank you for your help

 

I think the one used in 860/870 is the 9.5mm one.

 

Are they quite tough to remove? I don't want to cause any damage =)

 

Unscrewing the screws shouldn't cause any damage, unless they are screwed on incorrectly. It should be tight but manageable.

 

The HARD DRIVES are 9.5mm, the OPTICAL DRIVE is 12.7mm, so yes that caddy should be fine.

 

just remember righty is tighty and lefty is loosy

 

Hah, funny you should say that, no idea how long I was musing over that =)

Edit: still not removed the black thing over the vent, but after an hour of BFBC2 i had a max of 79 on the GPU and 70 on the CPU, those seem pretty decent to me, given an ambient of 80 degrees Fahrenheit. yes?

 

will the 8690 be able to use 4g?