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

The Soundblaster is just a fancy equalizer, you want to turn it off when you get an external DAC. Your headphones are entry level and do not require much to be driven. Personally, I wouldn't spend more than $100 for the DAC and the less the better. Here's a list to get started on your research link. If you have plans to get better headphones in the future, you can spend more on a better DAC.

 

I have used the Dragonfly DAC with the m50x before and it sounds so much better than just straight plugging them into the computer.
You can look into it for yourself, I highly recommend it.

http://www.audioquest.com/usb_digital_analog_converter/dragonfly-dac

 

I have the v1.0 of the Dragonfly. While the sound quality is better than the onboard chip, it still has noticeable hiss when nothing is playing, don't know if this was fixed in v2.0

 

Agreed, undervolting plus a repaste with GC Extreme is in order... Clean the fans when you do this! Strongly recommend GC Extreme.. Easy to apply, stays really cool after that..

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

 

As for external DAC, I personally vouch for Fiio, owned their kunlun model for roughly two years now, used with both my laptop and phone.

 

Yes, I've switched back and forth between the XMG and Prema bios a few times. The only issues I've hit is that some software I had (e.g. Serato DJ) seems to have been locked to the particular bios, so I've had to contact the supplier to get it reactivated

 

I use a Cambridge Audio DACMagic (see: https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/hifi-and-home-cinema/dacmagic-xs )

I got this to fix the only issue I've had with my XMG P505, which is loads of background hiss through the headphone port - using the DACMagic there is absolutely no hiss, as an added bonus the sound quality is noticeably much improved as well.

 

BTW this connects to the computer through the USB port (no drivers are required AFAIK, but best to download and install the drivers, so that it can support audio up to 24 bit/192Khz), then you can connect any external headphones or amplifier/powered speaker using a standard 3.5mm jack plug. The unit, although very small, also has handy volume up/down buttons on them and it's construction is very well made

 

tried that, didn't work

yeah and my warranty went out for about a few days when that happened...really convenient right?

 

Hey guys, wanted to ask something real quick.
I'm thinking of getting a samsung 950 pro(nvme). I learnt that some laptop motherboeards have trouble booting up from nvme ssds. Is that the case with P650SE? Also will the pci-e ssd effect the performance of the GPU in any way?

 

I've been wanting to get a 950 pro as well, I do not believe that the bios has support for NVMe, nor do I see it getting official support. I think our best bet would be to see if Premamod adds support in v3 of the modded bios, if there will be a v3 that is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I've been put off this SSD, as I've read it can get very hot

 

I use a normal M.2 SSD from Crucial and it runs superb. But yeah Oxford_Guy is correct, the NVMe ones are getting hot as hell - thats why they put thermal pads on it at the new Skylake devices.
System is fast enough, i don't need a NVMe device at this notebook at the moment - maybe in future and if prema is able to enable the support at the machine i'll give it a try.. but actually i'm at the stock bios from july 2015 and everything goes fine - never touch a running system

 

I think it's the SSD being PCIe that makes it hotter than hell, I currently have a Samsung xp941 and if you transfer large file it starts to thermal throttle as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Have you tried a BIOS reset ( https://biosmods.wordpress.com/bios-recovery/) ?

My machine had been working fine (Have owned a P650SE since early August. PremaModded, undervolted by ~90mv and a whooole lot of playing around with the dGPU [ http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/8740418?] - much valuable information gleaned from these many pages BTW, Thanks All!), but about a month ago I found myself in the mood for some more experimenting (Pretty sure it was simultaneous ThrottleStop and XTU usage that led to the false appearance of brickage for me...)

I wound up with the same symptoms (no turning on, dGPU LED yes, HD LED no, 3 flashing lock lights + fans) and a BIOS reset was enough to get it going again.

These are beautiful machines - I really hope that your motherboard is revivable!

Unnecessary Edit: traded gleamed for gleaned*

 

Indeed, I don't believe it is supported.. Peraonally, don't see much difference between the SM951 NVMe SSD I have and a 2.5" SSD

Not really but the SM951 is a better choice.. Throttles less and somehow mine hits 57C tops..

Agreed, try this.. When NVRAM gets messed up, Haswell systems act weird..

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

 

But can you use it as a boot drive?

Regarding the temps - do you get that using the thick wodge of thermal padding that seems to be supplied with most versions of our computer or did you not use any thermal padding to connect to the case?

 

I've understood our models don't support booting from the NVME versions, not yet at least. I bought the older SM951 (AHCI-model?) and i haven't noticed much difference to my other SSD which i had as a main drive in my previous Lenovo Y70 (sata 3 speeds).

Temps tend to stay cool enough but gaming is the most demanding things i do with my laptop. I have thermal pads attached to the drive too.

 

Okay, thanks. I've sent a technical port request to MySN.co.uk asking them if the latest XMG bios would support booting from such drives, if not, I don't really see the point in me getting one.

The temps you report don't sound too bad BTW, the thermal pads probably help

 

No it won't.. Unless Prema adds it, you won't be able to use it.. None of the official BIOS's support it.. You can get the AHCI version though!

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

 

Do you mean this?: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/512g...c-nand-read-2150mb-s-write-1500mb-s-90k-70k-i

So with the above, I should be able to boot off that on my model XMG P505, right?

Would this be any better performance-wise than the 2.5" SATA 3 Samsung 850 Evo I'm currently using for my boot drive? I could do with some extra storage, so was thinking maybe I could change my boot and appliacations drive to an M.2 SSD and use the Samsung 850 Evo for data storage

 

I guess this answers some of my performance comparison questions:

http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compar...2-512GB-vs-Samsung-850-Evo-1TB/m24647vsm18900

Supposedly about 118% faster "effective speed" for the 512Gb version of the SM951 AHCI, 109% for the 256Gb version, though the 128Gb version is only 64% faster.

I'm tempted, though still have some concerns about the heat these things generate

 

BTW how do you use the thermal pads for M.2. SSDs , does anyone have a photo of them in place in one of our laptops?

 

Yes the AHCI model will work in your PCIE m.2 slot which I believe the P650SE/SG have one of..

I have some remaining thermal pads (mix and match and a bit of it reaches and connects to my bottom HDD cover! That probably helps a bit...

 

Think I have three of these slots spare...

Yes, I have a big thick thermal pad spare (came with the PC), which I assume is for using with an m.2 SSD, just not quite sure how to use it!

 

Put it on top of the SSD and make it in such a way it contacts with the bottom cover.. Should be very much possible.. Think there is a video for this on a YouTube too for P650SE but the Sager Np8651..

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

 

Okay, thanks, I'll have a look on YouTube too

 

See this:

 

Thanks for that. I also asked mysn.co.uk and they sent me a PDF installation guide. They also confirmed that only AHCI or SATA m.2. drives are compatible with the XMG P505 (for bootinf off, anyway)

 

So I've had the laptop for over a year now and the CPU temps started shooting up and there was thermal throttling. I've just re-pasted with Thermal Grizzly's Kryonaut and the results are astounding!

XTU Benchmark max CPU Temp with IC Diamond new: 85C
XTU Benchmark max CPU Temp with IC Diamond 1 year later: 99C (with thermal throttling)
XTU Benchmark max CPU Temp with Kryonaut new: 77C

Can't recommend this paste highly enough - it was my first repaste and it was a breeze to apply.

 

I also use Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut on CPU and GPU at the Moment - Temps are Fine i think. GPU Max. 73 and CPU Max. 68 while playing BF4, 64 Players, Operation Locker/Spind with much smoke, grens etc. maxed out Ultra/VSYNC Off/2xMSAA

 

Heard good things about the Kryonaut, but those are really good temp drops.

 

Does anyone have a good source for Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut in the US?

Amazon has it but the prices seem crazy high and the companies website lists resellers but they seem to all be outside the US.

 

@adampk17: For comparsion - i bought it at a german online shop for 14,90 Euro the 5,5gram / 1,5 ml package!

@pat@XOTICPC : Yeah the temps with this thermal compound are awesome - benchmarks like 3DMark13 or 11 run at mid 60 °C temps - very cool.. at my first paste i used Prolimatech PK-1, the temps were 10 °C higher at BF4!

 

I personally don't think Kryonaut is worth all the hassle.. Your much better off getting Gelid GC Extreme which is much cheaper and easier to get! It will only be 2-3C hotter than the Kryonaut anyways and GC Extreme isn't bad or anything!

 

Maybe i will do a repaste in the next months with GC Extreme at the CPU... I have many different compounds in the cupboard

I dont think there will be a big difference - but Kyronaut seems to be a very good TC an it is a Little bit easier to apply

 

I think Kryonaught is sensitive to heatsink pressure, however if your application is performing well then there is no need to swap it out.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about repasting unless you are seeing spikes in temps at some point. If you still have some kryonaut left over, might as well stick with it. But yes, Gelid is very good as well.

 

I change the Paste every 6 to 12 months - before Summer i wont Change anything

 

The good ones should last longer than that but I suppose it wont hurt.

 

I made a post about this once before but i don't think anyone knew much about the issue. Ever since i've had my P650SE, the screen seems to have these moments where something happens and it looks like the colours and contrast have deteriorated somewhat. It's the most annoying issue because i do a lot of Photoshop work, and it's difficult to determine the true colours of the image when the screen keeps going weird like this all the time. I don't think there's an actual hardware issue with the laptop, it must be some kind of setting which is causing the problem. Has anyone experienced a similar issue with theirs?

 

Is this happening both on AC and battery?

 

Do you have Windows 10, and are you working on battery?

 

Thanks for the responses. Yes it's Windows 10 Pro that i'm running at the moment. I'm a bit unsure on the power source, but i've had a suspicion for a few weeks that it might be happening when the cable is unplugged and i'm running on battery power. Can't be 100% sure on this though, and it doesn't always seem to happen. I know the brightness will change if the levels set for AC and battery are set to different amounts, but adjusting the brightness after the problem has started makes no difference to the colour and contrast issues that i'm seeing. It's all a bit confusing to say the least.

 

Try keeping a note of it, in the mean time try updating the Intel igp drivers.

 

Inside the Intel Graphics Settings, there is a setting under Power called Display Power Saving Technology (it only appears if you select the battery settings and it is hidden on AC settings). Turn it off cause this dynamically adjusts contrast and colors to save power when you are on battery power.

 

What sort of CPU temps are "normal" for our laptops for the XTU benchmark test? I hadn't done one for a while and can't remember what I was getting, but when I did one yesterday (from a cold boot) for my XMG P505 I got a max temp of 99 C, which sounds horrendously high, and it looked like the CPU was in the mid to high nineties a lot of the time during the benchmark and it was also reported thermal throttling- could have sworn I was getting temps in the 80s when I did this about 9 months ago...

Do I need to re-paste? It was pasted with Arctic MX-2, I think, when I bought it from mysn.co.uk. I have some unopened Gelid Extreme in the drawer, but I've never tried to repaste a CPU in a laptop!

 

Actually, sounds like I may have been in the same boat as omer.sak

Any tips for applying Gelid Extreme? Am I likely to need to repaste the GPU too?

 

I am not quite sure but from what I remember I was in the high 80s on the XTU and don't remember ever getting in the 90s at all. Prime95 is another story though, cause it thermal throttles shortly after I start it.

 

It's starting to get higher, a re-paste sounds like a good idea to me.