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

The OSX garbeled display was actually caused by CSM. With PremaMod bios, there are a few places that it has to be 'enabled' to work. I found all of them and its working perfectly.

On a seperate now- I'm trying to improve battery life. I've got a very low undervolt that's stable. I'm on -141mV dynamic CPU voltage using x16 multiplier (in XTU).

Is this likely to improve my battery? Or as I'm only at 1.6GHz, would be processor constantly be 'working? Do I need to use throttlestop or have my XTU settings already achieved that? I could not disable turboboost in XTU as it was greyed out.

 

I would recommend using Windows 7 if you want better battery life. I had serious issues with ACPI on Win8.1 as well as the 1.6ghz blockage of frequency.
I just went up around 90 minutes (according to BatteryBar) in battery life (to around 4.5 hours) and full CPU frequency and I haven't even started undervolting

 

That is very strange. It is fact that Windows 8.1 has superior power management, especially on mobile devices like laptops and tablets. For example, on the W230SS, an upgrade to Windows 8.1 gives easily 1.5 hours extra battery life, quite the opposite of what you mentioned.

Furthermore, I've seen some of your posts earlier on and you seem to be one of a very few who experience this ACPI.sys issue. You might consider RMAing your laptop, because this shouldn't happen.

 

If you get 1.5 hours more battery life whether it's 7-->8 or 8-->7 something is terribly wrong with the drivers, bios or the ACPI and not the OS itself.
I am maybe alone with the ACPI.sys problem, (could be related to the particular hardware setup, who knows), but there are many, including myself, saying they have CPU-throttling on Win8.1 when using battery and this doesn't happen on Windows 7 for me at all.

Furthermore no system is supposed to CPU-throttle automatically, it indicates strongly that the system goes into a fail-safe mode, because BIOS' DSDT and / or SSDT have bugs, hence doesn't comply with Intel ACPI Rev. 5.0, (which is very common btw).

Now that kind of error is highly dependent on the OS (since it's written into the DSDT) and you are right, Win8 adds a few new tricks to the power management, but that is for example the hybrid sleep or fast boot and that kind of stuff. Overall the differences between Win7 and Win8 in power management is miniscule and makes almost no difference.

I think what happens in my case is a fault in the BIOS DSDT, that only Win8 takes advantage of, which triggers a hardware interupt storm (real terminology here, haha ), that makes my CPU crap it's pants while on battery.

About RMA, I don't think my machine is faulty, it works flawlessly in Win7 and on all linux distro's I've tried, it's just not really compatible with Win8 in my case...

For the record, I know my problem was related to the RealTek LAN driver, which I guess Win8 didn't really know how to proberly manage on battery, but I simply gave up investigating it further since the LAN card works fine and I don't have time for fixing bugs like that.

I will wait till Win7 runs out of support from Microsoft and then change the laptop or try Win8 or 10 again at that time. The machine works, so I am happy

 

Windows 7: One OS to Rule Them All

 

Windows 8 and 7 are the exact same to me, it's just that Windows 7 works in my case. They run on the same kernel more or less and Windows 8 gives you a few extra features out-of-the-box.
Only thing I miss from Win8 is the win+x super-user menu. It was pretty sweet, but it's just a set of shortcuts

 

Well remember that's only with a big dose of extra voltage feeding it. If I had a 240W PSU I wouldn't be too concerned, but with my 180W one I don't want to risk it with a 24/7 everyday overclock, as at those clocks and voltages it consumes well over 180W. PSU handled it like a champ during my brief testing, but who knows how long it'd really last - not worth risking it yet!

 

I thought the issue was related to Clevo Hotkey Center regulating your battery power settings? The software, though not sure, may function differently between Win7 and Win8.x. I am currently using Windows 8.1 and have rendered Clevo Hotkeys to be useless in every field except Fan Settings.

I see. I assumed you had some uber chip on par with the P750ZM MXM 980M's thinking, "Should I RMA for a better chip?" At least I know I'm not completely screwed yet. How much extra voltage did you add? I tried hitting 1.14V, but I think drivers hate me as it never gets to that rating.


Edit: Laptop still looking good and clean since I received it in January.

 

No, no uber chip here. Far from it. I've noticed increased frequency of crashes when I've set it to +125/+100 (stock voltages) in Dark Souls II: SOTFS, but then again, Dark Souls games have never been great ports to begin with. So I haven't bothered with overclocking it anymore for that game, though to be honest performance is good enough to not require doing so anyway Any higher than +125 will crash Unigine Valley, so I think that it is my limit on the stock voltage (though I don't know why Dark Souls II of all games would appear to be more sensitive than Unigine Valley).

I'm not sure what you mean by being unable to get to 1.14V? What happens exactly? I've been able to get all the way up to the maximum limit set by Prema's VBIOS (I think that's 1.2V), but like I said earlier I don't want to risk destroying the standard PSU by keeping it at that level (probably wouldn't need to anyway as others have noted that maximum stable clocks do not scale linearly with voltages). I really need to invest in a 240W PSU someday soon, but I feel wary of using non-Clevo made PSUs with this laptop. I could probably get away with 1.1V, maybe even 1.15V, but that would certainly be the maximum threshold dictated by the 180W limit.

I haven't played around with voltages recently as I've just been engrossed with Dark Souls series in all my spare time. I might play around with some Valley benchmarks again and see what clocks are possible at what voltages

 

I like the Souls series myself (finishing up Bloodborne). The official DELL PSU I ordered from Amazon works great and has no problems (first one died on me, but it was a third party). For voltage issue, Driver would crash if I went to a certain clock speed and raising voltages would not help as the thing crashes before it even ramps up. Havent had time to tinker as well since MH4U and some new circles popped up. Work doesnt help one bit either!

 

Is this the genuine adapter of which you speak?

If you're having no troubles I might be tempted to go for it.

Hmmm well that's odd. I can set whatever core clocks I desire (while still on stock voltages) while just in the desktop and it'll never crash on me until I actually enter a game. I have it set to Adaptive in the global settings of the NVIDIA Control Panel to ensure clocks don't ramp up unnecessarily while just idling on the desktop due to ShadowPlay running in the background (which they seem to do occasionally when set to High Performance mode).

 

That would be the adapter. Slim model too. (its sold out on Amazon.com but not .co.uk)

On stock the highest I can get is roughly 180-200MHz core clock and 360-380MHz on Memory clock before it gets unstable. I may have to tinker with it a bit more when I get the time to do so.

On a side note, is the Shadowplay overlay flickering on your end? Mine is on latest driver+GFE.

 

Make sure you get the converter cable as well: http://www.bixnet.com/cntx75.html

It's "slim" but the footprint and weight is just as big as the Clevo 180W brick.

 

I always sigh to myself when I see the thiness of the gauge used in that adapter.

 

Why is that?

 

Well it turns out to be the BIOS itself in Windows 8.1, since it was happening to me both with and without HotKeys.
To strengthen this belief is the fact that Windows 7 + HotKey is not doing anything with throttling.

Now I think what is really happening is a misnomer in the DSDT file (That handles ACPI), which in Windows 8 case is making errors. It is not normal to throttle the CPU like that unless the machine thinks something is wrong and goes into fail-safe mode. The same thing happens to a Dell laptop if you use an unoriginal charger.
Normally the host OS should handle this by reading hardware sensors.

 

Forgive me....stupid question.
I have a Windows 7 Pro 64bit DVD that I got from Microsoft when they first came out. I used that DVD and key to install Windows 7 on my Desktop which is still running.
I just received a new key through my college for Windows 7 Pro 64bit With Service pack 1.
Can I use the old DVD I have to install the Windows on my new laptop and then use the new key on it? I am assuming Service pack 1 just means additional updates and that will be automatically downloaded by Windows?
Or do I need to find a Windows 7 Pro DVD with Service Pack 1 specifically on it?

 

As long as you are using the same version of Win7. Do mind that the key from your college might be different, OEM or a Volume Licence and in that case it might not work out.
But if it's exact same version of key then SP1 or not, doesn't matter

 

I managed to get a 7mm (SSD) and 9mm (HDD) in my P650SE. Did not need to pry och use force, seemed to slip in there quite nice.

Do you think this can damage the computer over time?

 

Heat might be the biggest enemy, but if you simply check the HDD and SSD temperatures under load and they look fine I don't see any problem.
Just check that they are well below the specified maximum temperatures for each device.

 

Thank you. I will check that. So it should be a space between them otherwise? Now they are laying against eachother.
Two 7mm is supported in the specification.

 

How did you achieve that? I would be interested in doing something similar

Nice, though I've removed all stickers apart from the Nvidia one, looks much better! Might remove the Nvidia one too, but I don't mind that one so much.

 

I could be interested in that (and am in the UK) - is it larger/heavier than the stock (180w) adaptor that comes with our machines? Does it need an adapter to fit the power socket on the P65xSx, or is it the same as the stock one?

 

Hey guys can p650se with gtx 970m only 3gb vram play gta v with everything in very high setting?i look at some picture it shows more than 3gb with all very high setting

 

No, my ran completely smooth at high. On very high the game does not run completely smooth.

It does look great on high though.

 

Is that at 1080p resolution? Overclocked GPU or not?

 

That is at 1080p resolution. Stock-clocks on GPU.

The fan-noise is good too I think. Nor the noise or temperature is at high levels. I have an undervolt of -70mV on the CPU.

 

Had a friend hex edit out the parts I didn't need while keeping it functional in only fan controls.

It's slightly larger, but not sure about heavier. It felt pretty light. You will need a converter with it. Its the link right after the post from bixnet.

 

With everything set to Very High except reflection, water, and shadow, at 1080p, I see very few instances of chop or lag. Not overclocked or modded in anyway.

 

did you lower your clocks on the CPU ?? and is the 4710 or 4720 ¿?

Thanks !

 

Nice! I will try that. What msaa and such do you run at?

No, I have not over or underclocked anything. The only thing changed is the CPU offset voltage set to - 70mv

 

did you do it with premas bios or xtu ??

 

Did you lower the CPU cache offset voltage to the same amount too?

 

I did this in XTU, I have not yet installed the prema bios.

I only lowered the CPU offset, not the cache offset.
Is it best to lower that too? I read somewhere that there was no gain of lower the cache offset and that it could be bad over time for the CPU. But I have no idea at all if that is true or not.

And I forgot to answer this question earlier, I have the i7 4710HQ.

 

I think there is a small space between my two drives, which are both 7mm. I don't think you should worry about this spacing, rather the temperatures.

 

Correct.

 

But if the spacing doesn't do any change, why should the temperature be a potential problem for me and not you?

Do the 9mm HDD produce much more heat than a 7mm?

 

Any recommended cooling pads for this laptop? I love my P650SG so far, just would love to see it run a little cooler for long gaming sessions.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the laptop take in air from the rear and exhaust out the left side, more so than from under the laptop? A cooling pad would do little more than create a space between your lap and the top.

I may be used to warm laptops on my lap, but I find the temperature is completely fine, even after hours of gaming.

 

It sucks the air from the bottom, it has 2 fans for the GPU that shoot air out the back and one on the left for the CPU shooting air out that direction.

 

It seems that it does do OK with the bottom being covered. Temps are about 10 degrees higher but still tolerable.

 

The machines draw air from the bottom and keyboard and vent it out the back and side.

 

I'm using a Targus Lap Chill Mat that is going on 5 years old, and it gives a 5-6C temperature drop, even though the fans definitely don't push as much air as they used to. It works well with this laptop because the dual fans are located in the rear half, so they line up nicely with the laptop's vents. It also keeps the laptop elevated for better air flow, even if it is on your lap. As a bonus, the neoprene material is comfortable when it is on your lap. However, it is really bad for travel, as it is huge and lacks any cable management. I am thinking about replacing it with either the Targus Space Saving Chill Mat or the Gear Head Laptop Cooler.

 

Well if you have no room for heat dissipation between one of each sides of the drives you essentially reduced the cooling area by a factor of 2.
Now we are only talking about harddrives and SSD's so it really should'nt be a big issue, just keep an eye out, I'd say.

However I don't even know if there is some kind of golden standard for this. I remember that the good'ol' 3.5" harddrives where mounted almost 1 cm between them in desktop computers, but I think they did it because they could

Other issues might be noise, since the HDD might start to resonate given the setup, but I doubt it.

 

The Cooler Master U3 seems to be one of the better options, though it's not really suitable for lap use. I picked up a nearly new one off eBay recently.

If you can still get it, the original U3 is a little smaller (but still a little bigger than necessaryfor the Clevo P65xSx) than the later U3 Plus, and is also a little sturdier (less flex).

 

Received my new system yesterday.

No mSata SSDs. It came with just the 1TB HDD. I removed the HDD and in the same slot that the HDD was connected, I connected my own Samsung Pro 850 1TB SSD. Installed windows and the drivers. Installed Samsing magician. When I ran the Samsung benchmark, my Random read and write IOPs are at about 74k each. My 1TB Samsung 840 Evo on my desktop gives me close to 90k for each, which is supposed to be a slower drive.

Any idea why this might be? Should I have connected my SSD to the other port and not the same one as the HDD was connected to?

 

I have a single Samsung 850 Pro 512gb ssd mounted in the slot closest to the bottom panel grill, and getting about the same IOPs as you (74k). From bios it reads as the first harddrive so I left it where it is.

Wonder if there is a performance or cooling benefit to mounting it in the slot closest to the keyboard? I have the P650SE btw.

 

I'd be surprised if there was any performance difference, they're using the same type of interface in both slots. Also I'd have through the slot nearest the bottom grill would give (slightly) better cooling, though heat is not much an issue with these SSDs

 

I agree, I imagine there are no issues regarding heat, from or to the SSD. The only thing I can think of is a slight restriction to airflow, if air is being drawn in through that grill indirectly by the fans (which isn't likely).

 

Hey guys, I stated my problem earlier too but I still couldn't solve it. When I connect my headphones, audio only comes from the leftmost jack(I believe it's the digital out). When I try to connect it to the normal headphone jack, (the rightmost one) realtek hd audio manager recognizes it, but no sound is coming from the headphones and the speakers also stop playing. It started happening 1-2 weeks ago after I reinstalled Windows. Before that it was fine and the sound coming from the normal headphone jack was much better than the sound coming from the digital jack. I tried everything I can but couldn't solve it. Can you guys help please