*** Official Clevo P65xSA/SE/SG / Sager NP8650/51/52 Owner´s Lounge ***

Can anyone comment on the rigidity/strength of the chasis of the SG? I am heavily considering this laptop or an alienware 15 which I just saw in person and had pretty good build quality. I am coming from a msi gx640 so the p65Xsg seems like a great upgrade. There don't seem to be as many general issues with this model as the alienware 15 (wireless AC not withstanding). Also I assume overclocking is enabled again or will be enabled soon?

 

They do? They look that way?
Thanks to ruin my hype, guys
Ah **** it, in not mad, EIGHT MILLION PIXELS!!

 

Gloss/matte?
And woah really? 4 1/2 to 5? Hey thats not bad! I need to learn about power saving mode

 

I would say that overall build is pretty solid, no cracking noise when I pick up the laptop and carry in hands, but you have to carry it in two hands as it tends to be heavy. I would opt for Killer wireless card as i had many headaches with Intel before coming from Asus ux32 and so far not a drop in connection, really pleased with Killer card. In terms of OC i can't really help as I have the latest Nvidia drivers which prevents users from OC!!! But sure Intel XTU let's you OC your processor which is nice feature to have, but you have to be careful because of 180W AC adapter.

Yes, the screen is super glossy to my taste. BatteryBar shows me full runtime of 5:02 right now which might be the record I had so far! Running integrated GPU on 800mhz.

 

Ahh, see, i got the matte sharp display that apparently came out pretty recently.
Cant wait to see it, so excited

 

About battery/screens- I'm on the AUO B156HAN01.2 (1080 IPS). I'd say I can get 4-5 hours easy. Seems like better battery life than my W230SS.

Am I able to OC my 970M?

Driver: 345.20
vBios: 84.04.1F.00.BD

 

I'm interested in this mod as I'm also looking to do this configuration if possible (9.5mm+7mm). I'm eagerly waiting for your post

 

I think the only "mod" needed is a P65xSG bottom panel

 

So I'm still experiencing tanking of my GPU when stressing it. It'll just randomly drop down to the low 10s then rise straight back up to 60fps, as well as the wattage dropping from 160W to 100W when it happens. It's the P651SG/P670SG with a GTX980M. I should mention that this does NOT happen with my GTX970M which actually gets better average frame rates. Help please!

 

Scratch that guys, I updated the BIOs and Firmware to the latest which was supplied by Clevo. All working properly now!

 

Would this laptop need a laptop cooler or is it not really needed?

 

Probably depends on what you want to do with it, how much you stress the CPU and GPU.

For me, it is not needed. My temps very rarely exceed 80 degrees and I have never seen them go above 85. I use the laptop for 3D modeling and gaming, but I never game for extended periods of time.

 

No idea how it compares to other Clevos as this is my first one, but the P650SG is pretty well-built for a big hunk of plastic. Very good fit and finish and solid feeling all-around. Medium tactile feedback and travel on keyboard and no flex anywhere under normal typing pressure. Smooth non-frosted touchpad surface that glides easily as long as my finger is dry. Considering how cheap it was relatively speaking for a 980M machine, I was surprised at how good it feels. Except for a less clicky keyboard and softer/less clear speakers, way better build quality than my Lenovo Y500.

However, it's thicker and heavier than the reviews I read made it sound like. Not good or bad, just different than I expected. No idea why they couldn't fit a socketed CPU and MXM GPU in this thing as it outclasses my Y500, which has socketed CPU and SLI GPUs (one BGA one slotted), in every dimension.

And I kinda regret not asking Eurocom for the no-branding option, but I think I'll live.

 

i think u might be able to remove the branding

also, not sure if the SG back panel would be sufficient, it depends on the distance between the two sata ports as well. dunno if theyre further apart on the SG though...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Have you tried swapping power adapters between the 970M and 980M machine? If this doesn't work, your P650SG is likely defective.

Yeah that's a clevo for ya. They're not the BEST outward-feeling, but they're fantastic inside and out. Despite its size though, I think if you handled a D900F or a P570WM in its prime, you'd be more amazed. It's a more solid plastic machine than any aluminum machine I've ever touched.

We know why they couldn't use a socketed CPU. As for the MXM GPU, it's more because they did not sacrifice a whole lot from the system. There's a dual-fan system for the GPU (which isn't even needed; should have swapped CPU and GPU cooling) and they kept dual HDDs + dual M.2 slots + wifi card + bunch of USB ports etc, that's usually absent on other models. The cooling is quite good for it too. I think Clevo keeps the thickness in its socketed machines for proper cooling layouts and no nearby part damage from ambient heat.

Of course nothing stops them samsung M.2 SSDs....

 

@ZeroX03 fixed his problem with a BIOS update.

Yeah I know Intel stopped making socketed CPUs, but I figure if Clevo has leftover NOS MQ/MX chips for its SM lines, why couldn't this have one.

 

Yeah, the logo doesn't look like it's on there too tight. A little acetone might do the trick.

It could be the SATA ports and drive cage mounting holes are spaced further apart in the SG, but I didn't see HTWingNut mention it in his review, so I assumed the only physical difference on the SG, aside from the GPU, is the roomier plastic instead of aluminum bottom panel.

 

I'm also keen to try this out on my logo. I like a clean look. I'll grab some of the mrs's acetone and let you know

 

Before the BIOs update the power outage would be erratic. It would fluctuate between 120-160W under stress, then it would dip down to 100W which is when the frame rate tanked. After the BIOs update, under stress it would be a consistent 160W under load. No sudden frame drops either. I'm so thankful it has solved the issue. I'll update everyone with the before and current BIOs/Firmware revision tomorrow, so if anyone is suffering the same issue, it's best you update to the latest firmware. I'll attribute this to the 980M card being quite new. It was quite worrying at first when the 970M wasn't experiencing this issue, just thankful it's been resolved.

 

Hello ALL!


I have been reading and looking since November 2014 made up my mind and ordered on 31st December the Sager NP8652 from Xoticpc.com (Thanks to all XoticPC staff for assistance and patience, Josh, Derek... everyone Thank YOU). I am outside US and it was a little messy to get it here to the ME. First my home US P.O. Then APO... it took time.


I have read all the pages in this forum, quite some OC discussions. But overall a good place to find answers!


HTWingNut - Good clear reviews! - Good videos too!!!
Cakefish - Good clear reviews! Hope your laptop is running fine after that m.2 card ordeal!


The config purchased:
NP 8652 (Core i7-4720HQ, 16 GB RAM, NVidia GTC 980M 4GB,AC 7265, Samsung XP941 M.2 PCIe 256Gb, 1TB HDD, Full HD IPS Screen (I just don't see a need for a 15" 4K screen.) 2 Chargers, Original windows 8.1
Updated to:
32GB RAM, m.2 512GB Crutial, 512GB Samsung EVO (opted out the 1TB HDD)

Look and Feel:
Amazingly thin and lite compared to everything else, for a laptop with such power (Alien is in comparison a big fat brick).
Case: Fingerprint prone ALLOT so have a small clot in our bag!
Commute: I do carry it daily in my backpack no issues. (but I also have two chargers home/office). With the Charger added wait, well you can carry it but heavy. The power brick is really a brick!
IPC Screen: is good, clear, nice colors but I did notice some crazy changes in the graphic quality. Example you look at WORD and it looks crystal clear, you minimize the same and open File explorer the font is all fuzzy and not clear, this is noticeable quite! So when switching between apps this is always there. When connected to an external display, no issues. Driver update didn’t help.
Gaming: have done some of the latest COD no issues noticed.
Keyboard: very little flex (some keys do look like someone has put them there in a hurry, nothing to bad but you see things like that)
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth: No issues at all, both run fine.
Chassis: Good no issues, sturdy and well made.

There are couple of videos on YouTube on Sager NP 8651/52 SE/SG good one, some are idiotic.

I run lots of Virtual Servers 5-6 at the time. Memory utilization goes to 28-29 GB easy. Shame can't have 64GB in this . It runs fast, really fast. Windows and applications on the PCie XP941 SSD, on the other two SSD drives VMs spread across. I do start the VMs all at once and they get up faster than anything I have seen. Fans and temps when running 4-5 servers, well I do hear the fans (max sometimes but not all of the time) but that is to be expected. Temps in the high 80 to 90C. On normal usage email, browsing, office stuff the temps are in the 50s C! You will never hear the fans in basic day to day.

Overall: Best Laptop I ever had and worked with.
Recommend highly ( XoticPC.com) was really helpful on whatever I needed. Sager took time... I did ship to XoticPC for additional packaging would recommend the same to everyone, good pack.

 

It's not just Clevo laptops. When I briefly had a Gigabyte P35X v3, it also had this grainy effect. Also, lots of desktop monitors I've seen have it too. Along with light bleed, it's my biggest complaint about this display.

Glad I could help! Yeah, Killer 1525 is behaving itself after getting a replacement sent

I notice this too when I upgraded to Office 2013. Doesn't happen with Office 2010. If you disable hardware acceleration in the options menu (I believe it's tucked away under the 'Advanced' section) then the problem disappears, but it's not suitable for 4K displays as the CPU goes bonkers trying to render the page at native resolution. Quite an annoyance indeed, but I blame Microsoft more than the laptop itself as 2010 worked fine before. Hopefully Office 2016 fixes it (I'm on Office 365 student subscription so it's going to be a free update for me).

 

Maybe it is more common with 2nd tier builders. Neither of my Dells or my 15" rMBP has this issue. It's most noticeable in solid colors. The Clevo looks grainy while the aforementioned laptops look pristine. Who cares what the resolution, color gamut, and color accuracy is if the screen is so ugly.

 

Thanks for the kind words!

 

New user here. I recently got my hands on a P651SE and it is my first Clevo computer. I thought I'd share my rig with other users and ask some questions on the machine. I read through most of the 300 pages before making my purchase and the information has been very useful.

My configuration is as follows:
P651SE
Core i7-4870HQ
2160p Sharp display (4K)
1TB HDD 5400 rpm 7mm thick
Nvidia 970M
1x 8GB DDR3L
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
As time goes I am planning on upgrading the HDD to an M.2 SDD whenever Windows 10 comes out, and upgrading the RAM as needs arise.

Many commented on how it was stupid for Clevo to offer the 4870HQ, however I am using this machine for both CAD and gaming, and many CAD applications do not work well with Nvidia gaming GPUs, the drivers support is often quite poor, I didn't want to be needing the dGPU (and hearing the fan) when working dual-screen 4K, and I felt it would give me better battery life, so I figured the best alternative is getting the 4870HQ which would have Intel Iris Pro 5200. And I am quite pleased with that decision despite paying a bit more.

I wanted something under 3kg, with a sturdy metal chassis, upgradable, quiet, two discrete trackpad buttons rather than the annoying Macbook-like integrated trackpad buttons, 1080p resolution or more, 15 inch form factor with numpad, and enough horsepower to be future proof. The Clevo P65x is the only one that met these requirements, and when I heard it was coming out I bought it shortly afterwards, and it sure took a while to get here but I'm glad I waited.

My opinion of the computer, any tips welcome on improving performance :

1. Build : that this feels much better in the lap than any other gaming workstation I've seen. Much of the other Clevo product offering I've looked at in person consisted in cheap-feeling plastic chassis; all MSI felt even cheaper. The ROG 17 inch felt sturdy but was extremely heavy. The ROG 15 inch doesn't have the same build quality or design as the ROG 17 inch. The Gigabyte P35W would've been interesting except for that awful integrated trackpad. The P65x doesn't feel like a toy, and yet it is very light to hold and carry, and I actually think it might weigh less than the 2.6kg it's listed as weighing. Also, the chassis left and right of the trackpad doesn't even flex under manual pressure, unlike every other computer I've seen except for the ROG 17. Overall, I would say that this machine is just like having a ROG 17 but at half the weight.

I also like that my computer doesn't have any of the excessive branding that I've seen so many times. I despise how Macbooks have a giant illuminated apple on the back of each display and they're not paying me to have it there. There is no branding at all, it doesn't stand out, it's nice and understated, no multicoloured backlighting, no logos, no funky designs, precisely what a proper tool is supposed to be and no fricking christmas tree decorations. If you didn't know it, you'd never know you're holding a very high performance computer in your hands.

2. Display : as I expected, Windows 7 doesn't really handle the 2160p screen well, and I was stuck using the magnifier to see properly. Many games don't yet support 2160p either, and unfortunately there is no way to set it to an intermediate setting like 1440p, it is either 1080p or 2160p. I knew 2160p would be a problem beforehand and I was initially planning on waiting for Windows 10 to come out and then start using 2160p instead of 1080p, but then I figured that if I set the custom text size to 175% that I can just use 2160p resolution mostly problem free. I don't notice *any* light bleeding around the display itself. It's extremely sharp and bright, and physically there is nothing wrong with it, hopefully the software part will catch up.

3. Keyboard and trackpad : this is one area where I'm a bit disappointed. I don't like that the arrow keys overlap onto the numpad area, the "0" should occupy the space taken by the right arrow. I also feel the trackpad is too large and has resulted in inadvertent touching of the trackpad while typing and the cursor suddenly moving. Aside from that I'm very happy with the design, and I'm especially happy that I can easily change the keyboard if I so choose. There is a bit of light bleeding under the keys but I don't really care. Also I'm thinking of switching to a different keyboard (the German layout) just so that I have a bigger 'Enter' key.

4. Graphics : I can play Team Fortress 2 in 2160p all settings maxed without problems. Awesome. I will get to try Battlefield 4 Hardline sometime next week to see just how far I can go, but I'm really impressed. On the downside, I think the Iris Pro 5200 may have some driver problems as it has happened several times using Mozilla that suddenly the entire screen goes black and the only solution is to somehow close Mozilla despite not seeing the 'close' button.

5. Overall performance : the system is extremely fast at pretty much everything I can throw at it, however sometimes at really odd times it just hiccups for a bit. This might be the HDD, which I will eventually upgrade to a 1TB SDD. I love the variety of ways this computer can be upgraded as if it were a desktop! It truly is a desktop replacement. And I think 8 GB of RAM is borderline as of right now and I'll probably upgrade to 16 GB at the same time as upgrading to an SDD, if not before. I'm not planning on doing any overclocking as I plan to use this for both gaming and work, such that reliability will be just as important as performance.

6. Noise : this is an extremely quiet computer when not playing any games. Most of the time I don't even notice it is even running, even if it is right next to my bed in the middle of the night. When playing games it is a bit noisy, but as long as I'm not using the 970M it stays very quiet.

7. Maintenance : I do find it a bit strange that I need to completely drain the battery every month to keep the battery working properly.

8. Connectivity : it was very easy to get every driver set up from the installation CD (love how there's no bloatware). However since getting this computer, my router has been acting up. I frequently get "No Internet Access" as an error message and I think it might be a problem with my router. The only solution is every time I boot up I have to reset the router and then repeatedly troubleshoot the internet connection, and then it works. Once I figure this out I should be good to go, and I think I need to buy a new router rather than rely on my ISP's router.

Overall I'm so pleased with this computer that I will find it very hard to ever consider another computer manufacturer.

 

YOU HAVE A 4870HQ. I MUST MAKE YOU DO LOTS OF TESTS FOR ME.

Do not be scared. I still need tests done though.

Your official driver spec should have come with intel XTU. Can you run the program, select "all controls" and show me a screenshot of the window please?

Edit: don't worry about my seemingly rabid response to your CPU. It is actually in fact 100% rabid. You are THE only 48xxHQ CPU owner I have run into in all of NBR, MSI's forums, Linus Tech Tips, Overclock.net, Anandtech forums and Tech Inferno. I am sorely lacking information on this CPU for my guide.

 

This thread is huge, and I'm sorry if this has been asked but I'd like to know if it is possible to play a game like Civ V on your lap with this computer? I do a decent amount of casual gaming on the couch, so I would love to know. Thanks!

 

Notebookcheck do handy case temperature readings. The back right corner (as looking at the machine and open in use) gets quite hot and so maybe not. The p150sm is a better choice for such use.

 

lol so true! hes the very first user aside from the notebookcheck reviewer that ive seen sporting that cpu GO GET HIM ULTIMA!

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Confirmed- a touch of Aceton on a cotton bud wipes branding away with easy (on the lid). Any ideas how to get off the inner logo (under the screen on the bezel)?

 

I'll take a look when I get home

 

I've never heard this before- and I'm very paranoid about keeping my battery in the best shape possible. Can you elaborate please?

 

CPU/GPU repaste complete. All I can say is... Gelid GC-Extreme gets my seal of approval. Before the repaste, my CPU was hitting 99C in the XTU stress test and benchmark, with a 60mV undervolt. After repasting with GC-Extreme, my temps in XTU sat around 82-84. So around a 16C temperature drop, which was honestly more than I expected. And actually, it was a bigger drop than that, since the CPU would have actually been above 99C in that test were it not for the thermal throttling.

And running the Valley benchmark on Ultra had my temps pegged at whopping 56C (not that they were much higher before the repaste). The GPU cooling in this thing continues to baffle me.

edit: Oh, and despite all the warnings about how thick GC-Extreme was, my tube ended up being thinner than expected. Looking at some of the thermal paste tests on various sights, a few of them have it listed as "thin/low viscosity" which matches my experience, but not a lot of others'. There must be some variation in the viscosity between batches.

 

I took a look at it. Looks doable too but I would start with something more gentle than acetone since it's plastic. Remove the entire LCD bezel, apply some mineral spirits, rubbing alcohol, WD-40, or Goo Gone (petroleum distillates) to the logo, let it sit for a minute or two, and gently rub it off.

Actually, since the plastic has a bit of a grain to it, I bet if you took some warm soapy water and a sponge, you could probably scrub it off that way.

 

Thank you for this!!!

 

Silly question- but what is the sim card slot for on my P650SE?

 

For Internet on-the-go over cellular networks (3G/4G LTE)

 

I have one question before I purchase this laptop tomorrow. My biggest concern is the display. I want to make sure I get the best option the first time around, and I haven't been able to find much info comparing the different screen options. I am coming from an XPS 15 9530 with the QHD touch display. That display has been one of the bright spots for that system so I am hoping to choose the option that would be most comparable. If I had to guess the Sharp 4k screen would give me the best display possible for this setup. Is that correct and how do the different display options compare?

Thanks!

 

I removed the inner logo under the screen with a nail-polish remover (aceton) yesterday.

 

It's in the Clevo P65xSE user manual, page 3-16:

Instructions on how to fully drain the battery are on page 3-18 of the same manual:

I'm pretty anal about following instructions manuals, and I can't imagine them bothering to elaborate so much on this topic without having a very good reason to do so, furthermore as the battery isn't easily removable it would be a pain to not follow this.

 

I've read that the Samsung 4K display is awful. I opted for the Sharp 4K display and while it looks fantastic, the main problem is Windows 7 and 8 don't do a good job of accommodating such a high resolution display. There's a review posted beforehand saying you should stick to FHD, but I'm finding that 4K can be made to work on Windows 7 by setting the text size to 175% as a temporary fix and hope Windows 10 does a better job whenever it comes out.

There is also 3K option out there as well (2880 x 1620) which would probably be good enough and possibly avoid current Windows problems with small text, and it is significantly cheaper (+57€) than the Sharp 4K (+291€) if bought from XMG. I wonder if your eyes can even tell the difference between 4K and 3K on a 15 inch laptop. Only thing is I'm not sure how great it would look when playing games that can max out at 1080p, I don't think a 3K display can output at 1080p, as I can't use my 4K display to output at 3K, I have to choose between 4K and 1080p (or even lower).

I can tell you I'm very pleased with the Sharp 4K display and the only problem I have with it is Windows integration.

 

the panasonic 3K display that XMG offers scales to 1080p just fine

 

Here is a screen capture from the Intel XTU application.

4870HQ_1 by Bad Humbug posted Mar 13, 2015 at 11:25 AM

 

Can people confirm if the Samsung PLS 4K display is good or not. I'm thinking of getting that panel with my P650SE soon but there's mixed reviews on that 4K panel.

 

Okay, that's fantastic. You look like you don't have much OC potential, interestingly enough; you should be able to set that CPU to 3.9GHz on all 4 cores, but it looks like 3.7GHz might be your max from that screenshot. Can you max out your 4-core multiplier slider for me (it will adjust the 1, 2 and 3-core automatically if you do this) and take a screenshot? And can you adjust your power limits to "100W" for both power limit sliders? Also, why does it say your processor frequency is 0.00GHz O_O.

Anyway, finally, you need to click the wrench at the top right of your info at the bottom of XTU and ask it to show "CPU throttling", "CPU total TDP", "Current limit throttling" and "Power limit throttling" and then click the wrench on the top right of your graph and select "CPU limit throttling", "Power limit throttling" and "Current limit throttling".

After you're done that, if you can show another screenshot of it, that'd be great, and then I could ask you to check something for me.

 

The GPU indicator is lit when starting the laptop (P651SE) and stays on while in the bios. I haven't installed a harddisk yet. Is this normal?

 

Yes. You need an os running the Optimus driver to use that feature.

 

I have both laptops. You can see my review here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...x-970m-first-look.764705/page-31#post-9951974

But since I wrote that, I saw the p650SE monitor more closely and realized the Sharp 4K had a grainy effect which you will see mostly when looking at a solid color such as a the white background to a text document or Windows Explorer. Movies, games, and pictures, you won't notice as much.

The Sharp 4K obviously has greater PPI and has better viewing angles than the XPS 15, but the graininess takes all the advantages away in my eyes. It's hideous and distracting on white backgrounds. BUT mine is the glossy Sharp 4K panel. They are selling the matte 4K now so it might not have the grainy problem.

 

I thought Optimus only lit the GPU indicator when the GPU was in use, so I thought it strange that it would be lit while in bios, starting up, etc. My harddisk hasn't arrived so I won't be able to test it yet.

Does it light up for everyone else?

 

Hi, could you divulge where you were able to get the 651 with 4870HQ?

 

Eurocom offers P650Sx with 4870HQ