*** Official Clevo P150EM / Sager NP9150 Owner's Lounge ***

Yeah, sounds like a driver problem. I have the stock wireless card and it's absolutely fine for me (although ping is a little high, around ~90ms in LoL).

 

You can pick up a Killer N or Intel Advanced/Ultimate N card on ebay for ~$30-60.

 

Vote for killer card!

I wasn't convinced at first but side by side testing in person really shows the killer card (I have 1103) really makes a difference.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

Thanks guys! Xotic told me if getting an updated driver didn't help, I'd have to RMA it, but I really don't want to have to send it in (when I JUST got it Wednesday evening) just for that. I'd rather just bite the bullet and buy a better card.

When I get home tonight I'm going to try and find an updated driver for my specific card.

awakeN - since you said you have the stock card as well, do you mind sharing what driver you are currently using? Thanks!

 

One of my machines had the stock card as well but it was rubbish. It worked better after updated drivers and turning off power saving mode for wifi in power options, but I ultimately just ended up buying a new centrino card on Amazon for 22 bucks...which was cheaper than mailing it back to the reseller.

 

This is the Ultimate N 6300 on Newegg, it's the only Mini PCIe wifi card they sell, I believe. Newegg.com - Intel Ultimate N 633ANHMW Ultimate N 633ANHMW Wireless Adapter Mini PCI Express Up to 450Mbps Wireless Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 $44

Intel 6235 @ RJTech: Network Adapter :: Intel Advanced-N 6235 802.11n w/Bluetooth 4.0 mini PCI-e Wireless LAN (half-height) - R&J Technology, Clevo Barebone Notebook kits, Laptop and desktop system builder $35

Killer N 1103

Killer N 1202

 

Thanks guys. I'm going to try and get the stock wireless card to work ok. I don't necessarily need lightning fast internet, but I can't tolerate it taking 20-30 seconds to load Google lol. If all else fails, I'll buy a better card from Newegg or eBay.

 

I had the stock wireless card but upgraded to the Killer 1103. With the stock card, I installed the drivers from the driver DVD and everything worked fine. Using Chrome, Google loaded pretty much instantly.

 

here are what my drivers look like for the stock Realtek card -

 

Hey guys, I own a USB 3.0 card reader and card that downloads files at 90MB/sec on my PC with mechanical hard drives. On the P150EM with a SSD that benchmarks at ~240MB a second sequentially, I only get 52MB/sec with the exact same USB 3 reader and memory card. Both have Win7 x64 Pro OS.

Does anyone else have mediocre USB 3.0 performance like this? If its not just me, I believe we need a driver update by Intel. Asus has done a great job with their own custom USB over SCSI drivers so Intel should be able to pick up the slack.


EDIT: I tried using a 3rd party file copier and I'm getting 90+MB/sec now, which is the proper speed for this CF card. I guess Windows isn't handling things too well with the standard copy method and these Intel drivers, since my eSATAp port also has speed problems with Windows' copy method.

 

Thanks awakeN. I unfortunately already have those drivers. Internet was a little better tonight, but still slow. I will try a few more things. Couldn't download the DA Origins toolset, which installed so easily on my iMac (same network). Looks like I'll be buying a better card soon enough.

 

Hey guys, I've been on vacation for a little bit so I'm just getting home to work on my new laptop. (I had issues with my wireless connection-page 318 last post)

I opened up the drivers CD and noticed I have two wireless drivers (at least, as far as I can tell). They are the RTL8188CE and the RTL8723AE. Which one is the correct driver for the Intel Advanced N card?

 

I have a quick question as well! When you replace the ODD drive with an HDD or SSD, is there a lid/cover that covers the drive area or is the drive exposed?

*EDIT: Thanks for answer guys!

 

Why don't you ask them to send you a wifi card, and you will mail them the defective one back? That is what I would do.

 

Yes if you order a notebook with a HDD caddy instead of an ODD. It is a a plastic enclosure that the disk mounts into with a CDROM plastic face place on it for looks.

 

oh snap so if i buying an ssd later and move my HDD to the ODD, then I'll be missing that plastic enclosure?

well crap.

 

Most caddies will come with a generic looking DVD bezel. It isn't flush with the laptop though, unlike if you got it from the reseller. Still looks decent though

I'll send you some pics if you need them. I have the flush DVD bezel and the generic one.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

Neither, those are realtek drivers.

These are the Windows 7 64-bit drivers for ALL Intel wifi cards

 

Hello guys. I have the Sager np9150 with the 2gb ddr5 675m GPU. If I connect my laptop to a 45" HDTV using the 1.4 HDMI output, will the GPU be able to handle it? I wont dual screen it with the laptop but I will be making the 45" HDTV my main screen for the laptop. However, I am not sure if the GPU can handle it as it has only 2gb. I will be playing games for hours using the laptop and HDTV screen. Thanks in advance.

 

Yeah it will be fine, it's no different than using the internal LCD as they are the same resolution.

 

With 2 GB, you could easily run a dual monitor setup

 

No, not at all. You will have to get the HDD caddy for your Optical Bay, and then just move the mounting bracket on the rear of your existing Optical Drive, and the front Bezel from your existing Optical Drive over to your HDD caddy. Then install the HDD and it will all look just right!

 

I have had my sager for about 2 weeks now and I honestly want to return it. It has the 7970m.
I bought the laptop mostly to play battlefield 3 (and the like), but this laptop has extremely unstable fps when playing it. On Ultra Settings It will stick at 60fps for a couple seconds, then dip down to 20fps for no apparent reason. I will just be standing still and the game will fluctuate from 60 to 40fps with nothing going on.

When I turn off V-Sync, I get up to 80fps and bam, it will drop all the way down to 30 or 20fps then back up to 80 and back down again. Over and over again.
When I check the gpu usage, it never goes above 70%. In fact, it constantly changes from 30% to 70% and back down to 30% - this is during a full on firefight during the game. Where is the rest of my power? The temp is usually below 70 degrees as well, so it's not the heat.

Then I try to lower the settings. Same thing. It will stick at 60 for a second then go down to 30 then back to 60. And this is on the smallest map. How does low settings fare? SAME THING. 60 to 40fps with 2-3 second intervals. I even try turning everything down, all extra settings to off and it still fluctuates like a crazy.
I have the laptop on high performance, I made sure the game was using the amd gpu and not the intel (in catalyst settings), and I have it plugged into the outlet.

Does anybody know if this is enough cause to return the laptop? I did not spend $1600 to have extremely unstable fps on a game that they advertise with the laptopl (check out the xotic page for this laptop, it has battlefield 3 images all over it).

Also let this be a warning to others, apparently amd's enduro feature does not work well with this laptop (which causes the gpu to have low usage - think having a state of the art race car engine with a restriction of only going 50 mph).

 

I love the build quality of this laptop. As a PC fanboy I still admit Macbooks are the nicest physically, but this Sager beats every PC laptop I've ever used. The dark, matte grey color and simple body design combine to make this a really slick laptop. The plastic is incredibly hard and smooth. Very professional look. I originally didn't think it would be like this, but the backlight really is a highlight and not only cool but so helpful. MAN did I not know what I was missing typing in the dark with an unlit desktop keyboard. Feels good to finally see that i7 logo sticker on the right...I'ts been since 2009 that I've waited to able to call an i7 mine.

This laptop performs as it should besides the Enduro utilization issue. No BSODs luckily, all components seem to be working. The keyboard is stellar, with no issues. The speaker is decent enough in my opinion, headphones can be used properly with some tweaking in Realtek and THX.

Ultimately, I have no regrets buying Sager and specifically this model. Every thing besides drivers/Enduro is perfect and matches the standard set by the price.

To Boomsteak:

Sager has opened an official case with AMD to solve utilization issues. The issue is so widespread that it has been reported enough to get AMDs attention and be placed at high priority. We are hoping but rightfully expecting Sager to make an effort in solving the Enduro issues and possibly add some features. I will agree and add on to your comment: we paid for the 7970m in our laptops, and we should be able to use it to its full potential.

 

Did you browse this forum before buying the 7970m? To me it was very clear that the 7970m was definitely not for Battlefield 3 players.

 

So, anyone ever used a laptop cooler like this one: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?p_id=8068 it seems like a single large fan like that would work better than the ones with little fans

 

I hope AMD makes a driver that corrects all notebooks and not just propensed toward the sager BIOS models

Yes. Large fans are amazing for cooling pads. I've had one with 2x120mm fans for 2 years and its much quieter and better than lots of small individual fans because air flows wherever it needs to without resistance. I'd suspect 1 larger fan would be even better.

These guys have some nice stuff, although more expensive than $12 like your link:

DEEPCOOL - Notebook Cooler - New

 

When that is back in stock I will be picking one up for sure.

 

Hi guys. Im back with more questions. Sorry for being a total noob at laptops. And thanks to the people who answered my question regarding the connection to a HDTV screen.

1.) Does leaving the battery plugged all day contribute to the detriment of the laptop battery? and does it contribute to hotter temps when I leave it plugged?

2.) I have been seeing a lot of people complain about high temperatures in their laptops. At what temperature should I be starting to be concerned at?

3.) Does using the all the USB ports contribute to higher temperatures? as I will be connecting a lot of things to the laptop

Thanks in advance to the wonderful community here at notebookreview.

 

From what I've read modern batteries are to the point where keeping them plugged in won't hurt them unless the laptop's generating a lot of heat.

 

That is pretty true, and they can take a LOT of heat.

Removing the battery will not give you enough extra longevity to make it worth the hassle for most people.

 

You know, I've had pretty much zero hardware issues with this thing. Thank god I got the Nvidia
Anyways, there are some pretty annoying things though.
1) keyboard sensitivity....you have to be SPOT ON the keys for them to register. Type with VIGOR! Lots of issues with the "a" key in particular.
2) every time I take my computer out of sleep mode or reboot it, the bloody track pad turns back on. It will _NOT_ disable when it sees a mouse attached (logitech m505). Registry hacks/updated software don't do a damn thing. ANNOYING.
3) Wireless turns back on after a reboot! Even with ethernet plugged in! Hardware wifi switch would be nice.

 

Yeah, I second the retarded keyboard. It's just so retarded and poorly designed, and the backspace key is also noticeably loud too. Shift key sometimes doesn't register and I have to SLAM down on the shift for it to work. Not to mention the ghosting issues, which caused me tons of problems >.>

 

I haven't had problems with any of that except the ghosting limit is 3 keys when using the E key + other keys. Its garbage that way. I may have to go WASD to play games with this on the road but this notebook is a PC replacement for me anyway so I have an external keyboard for it Also, the backlight never stays off, even when the lid is closed. I wish it'd stay off til toggled back on rather than resetting it every boot. I read it wastes 6 watts on battery... thats a crap ton for some LEDs. I have a 3 watt 350 lumen led tactical flashlight that blinds people at 25 yards... so I'm not sure how their backlights can drain so much.

 

1) The easy answer is yes, but not in a major way.

Long answer: Lithium ion batteries lose capacity over time. No matter what you do, you can't stop it; however, you can slow it down. A li-ion battery will lose capacity slowest when it has about 40% charge. It loses capacity fastest below 20%. Even when the battery is fully charged, it is losing capacity. This isn't a fast process and can take months before you lose even 1% of the original capacity, but you should still be wary of it.

If you leave your laptop plugged in all the time and never use battery power (so your battery stays at 100% forever), it will lose capacity faster than you might want. So if you leave it plugged in for a month straight, and then unplug it, you will probably notice decreased battery life. On the other hand, if you discharge the battery to about 40%, remove it from the laptop, leave your laptop plugged in for a month, and then put the battery back in, you will notice very little capacity decrease.

The problem with removing the battery is that it is a hassle. After discharging it and taking it out, your laptop will not be portable. You are also now running of AC power, so if you lose power, you have no battery backup. What's the point of buying a laptop and not being able to carry it around? Another big thing to remember is that batteries self-discharge, so if you discharge it originally to 40%, you will have to check it every few weeks to make sure that it stays at 40%. That means turning off the laptop, plugging the battery in, turning it back on, recharging it, turning it off, unplugging the battery, etc.

Unless you plan on leaving your laptop in the same spot and plugged in for long stretches of time (more than a few weeks), the hassle is just not worth the minute increases in battery life. You will probably only end up extending the life of the battery another couple of months, which isn't major.

2) As long as it is less than 90 C, you should be fine.

3) It can generate heat, but it won't create enough heat to overheat the GPU or anything.

 

I dont know everyones problem. This laptop runs beautifully with the 7970m, the only hastle is setting up the high performance option because it doesnt automatically ask me to set it up after exiting from certain games. But on others its already preset to high performance. I havent played BF3 ont this, but I heard that this is a driver issue, the card is easily able to run the game. in all likelihood there will be a new driver released within a month or two to fix these issues. I can run Skyrim, The Witcher 2, and Guild Wars 2 Beta at max setting (except Anti-Aliasing). In all honestly, the only thing I've ever turned down is Anti-Aliasing, this is the only thing that ever causes the card any difficulty whatsoever. I run FXAA on Skyrim though and it works fine, as well as the High Res textures and a few other mods.

In all, the 7970m hasn't been problematic for me and many other people, and is definitely worth it if you dont/cant spend more for the 680m.

 

Well, it is/was a problem for me and many other people and is not worth it for many people depending on what they play. Read the "7970M under-utilization issue logging" thread along with the other threads about it. I don't mean that in a disrespectful way. There is a lot of legit info on these forums about it and it is a serious issue still. We aren't lazy as some people like to say ("dude just set to high performance....install x driver over y driver, enable use application settings, etc...") and most of us have tried a ton of "tweaks" that simply don't work. I feel for everyone still having issues, it stinks. I have not touched the nvidia control panel one time since owning my new system and I've not tweaked a thing. It just works. I prefer to spend my time gaming rather than tweaking, testing, and hoping.

 

Thanks for rubbing it in! In all seriousness though...this poor performance on BF3 is going to lead me to swap my 7970m for a 680m if it's not remedied in the next few weeks.

 

Hopefully it's solved with new drivers.

 

Looking at the under utilisation issues with the 7970 it makes you wander how it will compare to the 680 when thigs are actually sorted. Given the current drivers utilise 70% to 80% that gives a bit of room for improvement as long as temps remain reasonable.

 

Lets just hope it'll get fixed ASAP

 

This must have been a driver issue! Windows self-installed a bunch of updates, and since then, the internet has been MUCH faster! Not always lightning fast that I'm sure some cards get, but definitely up to par with what I've been expecting. I'm just glad it's no a longer an issue and that I can actually download mods for my games now!

 

I hope I can post here for questions even though I'm not an owner (yet). After reading on the issues with the 7970, I'm considering skipping the mSATA Intel SSD (I can get a cheaper one later from Newegg, and just pop it in myself), and dowgrading the RAM to the 8GB 1333Mhz to save $50. Is it worth it to do this? I'm not sure how much slower 1333Mhz is to 1600Mhz, but skipping these two things would keep my price almost the same as it was before when I was initially going to go with the 7970.

 

RAM speed won't matter much at all. If you're used to HDD then mSATA SSD you won't miss it, but once you go SSD you never back.

 

So you're saving in the SSD and ram to upgrade to 680m? Not sure what your question is lol. You should still get an aftermarket msata drive instead of one from reseller regardless of your saving option, and lots Of specials on RAM right now on many sites like free 16gb upgrade, etc.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

W00t, I will be getting my laptop tomorrow. Not bad, 7 total days from order to delivery! That's pretty dang fast!

 

That's awesome! Geez I thought my order processing was fast, mine took 14 days from order to delivery! That must be a record or something lol. I wonder if we're getting them faster becuase not everyone is shelling out the extra cash for the 680M.

You are going to love this laptop! Easily the best laptop (probably even overall computer) I have ever owned. After my wallet recovers, I'm going to upgrade to an SSD and add more ram!

 

Yeah, it better be good, lol. Although it will still lag behind my desktop pc

 

That's insane! I'm at 15 days today from ordering, with no signs of completion, let alone shipping. Although, I did have a couple of upgrades. But I can't wait!

 

I guess there is a bit of a perk from ordering directly from Sager, heh.