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

I just received my NP9150 (Special Edition!) a couple of days ago and love it! One thing I have noticed though is that the drivers disk causes the disk drive to vibrate like crazy! I'm talking noise complaint! This isn't a normal fast spinning drive sound. I can hear it from three rooms over. Even with this, it still reads the disk just fine. It seems to be confined to the drivers disk, but I have a rather small sample size (3 discs so far). I would guess that it's related to an imbalance in the disk rather than a defect in the drive. Does anyone else have any experience with this?

 

That is just the warped disk. Any warped disk will do that.

 

Ordered my sager NP9150 on the 21st, hopefully it won't take long to build and ship!

 

Coderedpl expect it to be long... because it's Christmas season and many people are ordering laptops because of the great offers... I ordered on the 2nd and it hasn't arrived yet...

Well I hope the laptop will be worth all the wait

 

Yep, what he could do is take an ISO and write it to a new disc as a warped disc could give you trouble in future.

 

Sorry, double post (on the train at the moment).

 

Sheesh, so much for 5-10 days. Where did you order from?

 

Hey guys, does anyone here regularly using headphones on this machine having issues with a lack of bass? I'm currently using Beats Solo's (yeah I know) and I've used them on my Galaxy S2 and they sound decent with hip hop songs and DnB with a rich, bassy sound however when the headphones are plugged into my laptop I play the same songs although sounding clear the songs lack any punch or bass, I have THX installed and the latest sound drivers, anyone managed to overcome this issue?

 

hey there!

on christmas eve someone tipped over a glass of champagne on my keyboard i quickly reacted, turned it over/shut it down/removed the battery and stuck in a bag of rice. the next day it turned on normally, i turned it off, removed the battery and proceeded to clean in it inside with a lint free cloth and a cleaning liquid especial for these kinds of things.

its working as always but my keys are sticky as expected... I looked up how to remove the keyboard on youtube, found a great video, but this wont give me access to the keys, which is where the the stickiness is

Can someone tell me the correct way to reach the keys and clean them???

Thank you, your help will be greatly appreciated.

 

the sound quality has been an issue but i haven't found a solid solution, personally. some say to buy a usb sound card attachment.

 

Turn off the "surround" is a step in the right direction.
I'm using JRiver media centre & wireless sennheisers & i'm not unhappy with the sound i'm getting...Did sound abit flat before i found to turn off that surround button tho.

 

I ordered from XoticPC.... how about you?

unless you opted for a rush build or something, the wait will be really long especially because of holiday season and a ton of great deals...

 

Yeah I knew there were sound issues with the laptop before however I thought it was just to do with the speakers not the sound card, I mostly game on my laptop rather than listen to music so it didn't really bother me before, anyway I think I've found a solution to it, I went to the Realtek audio manager and changed the speaker configuration to Quadraphonic and it sounds alot better now so I'm happy, maybe it's something to do with the dual speaker setup on the Beats headphones

 

Does anyone have a very loud spinning DVD drive? Mine seems to go on overdrive on some DVDs, not all.

 

It depends on the disk, if you're reading data off faster, then the disk is always being used, but if you're watching a movie on it and you dont need to access so much data so fast, then the drive doesnt need to spin that fast. It all boilds down to the access pattern of the disk

 

Also even any slightest warp (which you cant see) will cause it to vibrate when spinning at such high speeds.

 

Keep in mind its business days too, with the Christmas Day/Eve and New Years Day/Eve falling right in there and places being closed those days its gonna seem a little longer.

 

Funny, not one page back someone asked the exact same thing. The rattly DVDs are likely warped, as others have said.


Again, does anyone know how I might go about adding legacy mouse models to MS Keyboard & Mouse Center?

 

My bad, you are right, someone else did mention it just one page back. I haven't been following this thread as closely these days as I am too busy gaming

Thanks for the response team!

 

Hello!

I just ordered a new Clevo P150EM barebone from ebay. It's with the following specs:

Screen: Matte 95% Gamut FullHD
No CPU - Got a 3920XM to install myself
No HDD - Got a 512GB 830 SSD
No RAM - Ordered 32GB 1600Mhz myself
GPU: 7970m

I have a couple of questions:

1. Do all P150EM come with a fingerprint reader?
2. What temps can I expect during idle with my build? Are the fans loud on idle?
3. Will I be able to upgrade my GPU to the next nVidia or AMD generation (7xx or 8xxx).
4. Is the GPU heatsink the same with AMD and nVidia GPUs?
5. Are there any problems with the HMDI output on with the 7970m card? I plan on using my notebook conected to a monitor and I want to use it's speakers also.
6. How good is the build quality compared to my former Dell M6600?
7. I payed 1000$ for this barebone. Is it a good deal?

 

Sorry! Posted in the wrong lounge. Exiting now!

 

1. It should yes, some resellers decide to not include it though, check the text on eBay (or send the seller a message)
2. Depends on a whole lot, but idle 40's (with stock paste) and high 80's.
3. Yes (unless the MXM changes, which it wont for now)
4. Yes
5. No
6. The M6600 is superior in almost any way if you think about it, but the P150EM is pretty solid too.
7. Decent deal indeed

 

For those that are interested in better audio using a gaming headset/headphones. I just received an asus xonar u3 and it is 100x better than using the on board audio. It also supports Dolby digital live.....could not be happier.

 

I'm using the Xonar as well.
Cost me the 50$ but I consider it a pretty decent investment

Ordered a replacement for the malfunctioning keyboard (W, E, 2 and R keys often didn't register, drove me mad) from Eurocom.
Crossed fingers that this time it'll be better.

 

Regarding #1 :Clevo puts it in standard, but like jaug1337 said the person you're buying from could have pulled out the fingerprint reader, but that would be odd since it would leave you with a empty hole.
Regarding #2: Temperatures depend some what on what type of thermal paste you use and how well you apply it. You can find a general idea of what to expect in reviews (for the p150em and Sager NP9150) that have been posted on this site and notebookcheck.net. Some people have complained about fan volume, but I find it unnoticeable. When doing general tasks in Windows the Intel GPU is running, and the fan doesn't turn on. In games when the fan is on music and voice drown it out, so you shouldn't notice it then either.
Regarding #3: The specs for chip size, system power requirements, and MMX form for next generation GPUs haven't been announced, but a lot of resellers that have an idea of what the next gen would need to run don't seem to think that they'd work in the current p150em systems.
Regarding #5: Sound quality from the device receiving the HDMI output from computer will determine the quality you hear. If you have a tv with a good sound system then your sound will be good, and if your tv has bad sound quality then it will sound bad.
Regarding #6: I'm not familiar with the Dell m6600 you mentioned, but compared to other notebooks I've used I rate the build quality as very good.
Regarding #7: Considering you could have got a system with a CPU, HDD, and RAM for only $200 more it doesn't sound like that great a deal to me. (If you bought those things separately then you'd probably be paying more, but if you already had them on hand then you may have saved a bit of money overall).

 

Is your keyboard the newer style (windows 8 logo). Those are supposed to be better. I ordered mine right when they switched and I have not had a single problem.

 

Hey guys!

Yeah, I was considering constructing a Clevo P150em barebone system. The one I'm eying is going for $869.00. It has no processor, memory, video card, or hard drive. The following are some considerations. It is done this way on purpose because I like having maximum control as on this project.

1. Screen: For the display, which is better Glare, Matt, 95% glare NTSC Color Gamut, or a 95% matte NTSC Color Gamut?

2. Video Card/GPU: Is it true that "all" the video card choices for this machine are the Geforce GTX 670m, 675m, 680m, 670mx, 675mx, Quadro k3000 GPU, and the Amd Radeon HD 7970M?
In addition, does Geforce, AMD, etc list whether or not their graphic boards are compatible with certain barebacks and/or computer models? For example, our Geforce GTX 680m graphics board is compatible with the Clevo P150em system. I looked high and low, and I couldn't find any specs that mentioned that.

3. Processor: I was considering either getting the following I7 processors the 3720qm, 3840qm, or the coveted xm stuff. I have the following concerns; one, does the xm, extreme processors, generate more noise from the fan due to the higher heat than the qm stuff; thus, giving the user significantly more noise to deal with? And two, is it really worth it to shell out the extra dough for the extreme processor?

4. *** Ram: This is a big one, has anybody ran across the problem of trying to access the memory slots under the keyboard to either add, remove, replace, or upgrade it? I could foresee a huge problem with trying to access that memory under the keyboard. According to the manual on page 6 -16, it states:

Two primary memory sockets are located under component bay cover (the bottom
case cover), and two secondary memory sockets are located under the keyboard
(not user upgradable). If you are installing only two RAM modules then they should be
installed in the primary memory sockets under the component bay cover.
Note that the RAM located under the keyboard is not user upgradable. Contact your
distributor/supplier for more information if you wish to upgrade the memory in the
secondary memory sockets.

If this is true, does anybody know how to circumvent or go around this? The purpose being that, we should get to use our own ram. That's one of the main points of building a custom pc project, with custom being the operative word.

Plus, on page D -3 in the appendix it states:

Memory

Four Channel DDRIII (DDR3)
*Four 204 Pin SO-DIMM Sockets
Supporting DDRIII (DDR3) 1333/1600
MHz Memory Modules (real operational
frequency depends on the FSB of the
processor)
*Note: Four SO-DIMMs are only supported
by Quad-Core CPUs; Dual-Core CPUs
support two SO-DIMMs maximum
Memory Expandable up to 16GB
Compatible with 2GB or 4GB Modules

It's 16GB only, I thought that you could put 32GB in the Clevo P150em with the Windows 64-bit OS. Maybe I got either a faulty or a flat out wrong manual to read or something. Does anybody's manual say something different? Or perhaps, the truth is that you really can put 32GB in the Clevo 150EM, and the keyboard issue does not exist with the Clevo 150em. If that's so, then it would take 4 8GB DDR3 18xx or 1600 modules, right!

5. Hard Drive, I'm also considering the Samsung SSD 480 Pro. 128GB 2.5" for 149.99 at Newegg.com. Do you think it's a good drive to get? Anybody know of a faster one and/or a better price?

6. OS, should I get windows 8 or windows 7? If windows 7, should it be the home premium, professional, or ultimate version?

7. Monitor color calibration, is it worth it to do it yourself? If so, how is this done and what's the best way to go about doing it?

8. Thermal Coupound: What's the best thermal compound to use for the processor and the GPU?

9. msata: Is it a good idea to get an msata SSD drive?

10. Wireless Lan: Is either the Bigfoot Killer Wireless N 1103 or 1202 any good? I do know that they claim that it takes some load off the processor.

11. Tv Tuner: Is it a pleasure to get Tv tuner equipment for this thing, or is the fan noise annoying?

12. Wireless Transmission: Has anybody had any success with transmitting signals wirelessly to their TV through the processor processor technology?

13. If you had to do it all over again, would you pick a different barebones/ notebook to get today?

Shew!

Thanks guys, I look forward to interacting with you!

serveriverside

 

Does anyone know wherever it's possible to increase the keyboard back light brightness on this laptop? I have the Hotkey utility and have turned the brightness up to the maximum level on that but the colours are barely visible in anything but a very dark room, my friend has a P170EM and his back light is alot brighter, the only difference I can see is that he is using Hotkey utility ver 2.0 whilst I'm using ver 1.5, I'm using a P170EM bios if that makes a difference

 

You know Fordy, you might want to try that version 2.0. It coudn't hurt, right!

 

If that does not work then check the power cable for the leds is in correctly.

 

Allright, the enginer! I like your avatar Heihachi, good choice. That is my favorite character from 7.

 

I can't seem to find version 2 though, I've tried both the latest drivers form the Sager and Clevo site plus my laptop doesn't have a CD drive so I didn't get a driver disc with the laptop, also I'm home with my parents at Christmas for a couple of weeks so I can't use my friends version either

 

Great post, you seem pretty knowledgeable. I will consider buying from you in the future.

 

What's the battery life on this laptop with the 7970m. Notebookcheck has it with 2 h web surfing.

 

The latest set of drivers allow the 7970M to stay off more reliably so you can get around 3 hours of propper use.

 

Notebookcheck must be wrong, I get 2 hours gaming (well, as much as you can on battery). With screen on 10% brightness and everything else as low as it goes, I get up to 5 hours just working on Notepad and stuff.

Don't forget that you can give rep to people who help you.

 

I ordered the NP9150 last week and I have a concern about the keyboard. If anyone received their NP9150 anytime from the release of Windows 8 till recently, did Sager fixed the keyboard issues such as ghosting and keys not registering?

 

Thanks for sharing that comparison picture. Btw, what is the name of your avatar?

 

Hey Wild05kid05, uh huh huh, if one uses a msata SSD in the msata slot, uh huh huh, with another SSD in the HD bay, uh huh huh, employing srt mode, uh huh huh, will performance be increased? Uh huh huh, Thanks! Uh huh huh

 

What are you on about?

 

Seconding that, if you remove the uhs and whatnot it makes some sense. No, using an mSATA SSD as a cache SSD (with the sata 2 port that implies) when you have an SSD connected to a sata 3 port in the main bay will actually slow things down because it'll take roughly twice as long to grab a stored file if that file's in the cache. In the real world you probably won't notice the drop in performance but it's a silly thing to do.

A few people seem to complain about the sound quality with these laptops, but has anyone tried to diagnose the problems? I mean measure a response curve for the headphone output, the speakers and so on to get some hard data rather than subjective opinions.

Also has anyone tried replacing the internal speakers with something a bit bigger/better? Gotta be worth a shot even if the fault lies with the internal amp because that can be worked around.

 

I have the keyboard with the Windows 8 logo key in the bottom left. When it comes to typing it works very well and I have no complaints. (All the keys register when I type). With gaming I didn't have a problem until I played Skyrim. I encountered problems with using W (forward) and space bar (jump) in combination (it seems to pick it up the combination some times, but some times it wouldn't jump when I pressed the space bar). When I did the test where you hold down both shift keys and type the sentence "THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG" (you can test it by trying to type it up in your HTML bar on your browser) it comes out "THEQUIKROWFOJUPSOERTHELYDOG" so it doesn't register the space bar, C, B, X, M, V, A, and Z. If you know which keys it doesn't register when you press three keys at the same time you can remap some of them in games, but obviously remapping the space bar and not being able to use it can be a hassle.

 

Has anyone had issue with the Bluetooth on the Intel 6235 not working after waking from sleep-mode? The Bluetooth will work fine again after a full shutdown.

 

My new 9150 laptop should be on it's way, damn holidays. got it from reflexnotebook so i hope it gets to me in toronto soon.

95% screen (i work print, web, video, design. i hope with the right colour profile the screen is similar to print.
ati 7970 2gb (assuming the driver issue will be solved by the time i get it)
msata ssd config for c:/ (didn't know about the sata 3 vs 2 speeds when i got it... )
750 hdd primary
16 gb ram (photoshop & aftereffects should be happy)

one thing is i didn't get a OS (i have windows 7)
is there any benefit to installing win 8?
some say its faster but the whole mobile look is off putting.

 

Not really a benefit other than getting to know it sooner rather than later. Virtually the same compatibility as Win 7 with a few to be expected hiccups here and there due to it's age. It is a little less bloated from what I've noted but not enough to make it a must upgrade. Sweet system build though, Like you mentioned the Msata isn't going to be the fastest when it comes to SSD but better than no SSD at all for sure.

 

Since I upgraded to Windows 8 I haven't experienced a single crash or blue screen (I never experienced a crash in Windows 7 either, but I only used that for a day before I upgraded to Windows 8. The never crashed experience could just as likely be attributed to good hardware, drivers, and software compatibility of my system in general). The mobile look is mainly at the start screen, and once you get accustom to clicking on the desktop screen that is in the bottom left corner of that start screen after you start your computer you can quickly forget that it existed. (I usually just lower my notebook screen (entering sleep mode) when not using the system, so I don't reboot and see that screen too often). I do find it annoying that Windows 8 doesn't have a start bar (like Windows XP, Vista, and 7) had, but there is 3rd party programs out there that can give you start bars in Windows 8. (Some of those programs that add a start bar can also bypass the start screen). If you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro free (which has been the promotion going with a lot of systems that come with Windows 7 default), or you can get the upgrade cheap then it may be worth it for you to upgrade. (Going from 7 Home Premium to 8 Professional has both software and hardware benefits - including support for larger amounts of RAM to be recognized by the OS).

 

It's taken me a while but I am getting used to windows 8 now, though I have added a link to the calculator on my task bar XD

 

Can some Sager NP9150 owners here can share how long it took for their laptops to arrive? I just want to know some experiences from other people on how long/short their waiting time are..

and can some people who ordered on December share if they have received their laptop or not... thanks.

 

Interestingly, I just tried this on a different laptop from a different manufacturer (Dell Vostro) and some of the keys are not registering as well. I got this: HE QUIK BROWN FO JUPS OER HE LA DOG
It might be a problem of every keyboard, to some extent.
For the record, I've been gaming for years on this keyboard and never encountered any problems.

I'm not sure what this tells us (I sure as hell would like to feel relieved, since I want to buy a Clevo and these keyboard issues worry me), but I thought I'd report my experience.

 

Standard build times at Sager are currently running right around 6-12 business days on an estimate. With the holiday season winding down they'll likely be getting pretty quick here in the next week or so. Before the holidays we were seeing a lot of machines go out in about 5 business days or less depending on the configuration.