*** Official Clevo P870DM/Sager NP9870-G Owner's Lounge - Phoenix has arisen! ***

OK, almost done with the battle prep. CPU de-lid and bottom cover mod completed.

The bottom cover on this one is different than the Sky X9 developer/review unit. It has that silly thin metal shield that others have posted pictures of. The razor blade I used for the delid fixed that silly air choke thing in a jiffy. The fans are noticeably more audible now and the auxiliary GPU fan can actually breathe without impediment. I was worried the fans were not working correctly because this new machine was quieter than the other one. Now things are as they should be and I can tell when the fans are running full blast.


Before Asthma Cure

After Asthma Cure

 

I filed a return on the Orion 18, Titan coming in on Wednesday.

Also, @Mr. Fox - maybe the air baffles are used to prevent dust? And seeing the before picture, it seems that all fans have access to direct ventilation holes beneath them, how does removing the baffle improve airflow?

 

I use it every day still for work, they are just made properly and to last.

 

I did the same mod, but I removed a little more foil than Mr Fox. Before, my gpus had a delta temp of about 20C, after the mod they are within 5C of each other. I didn't want to remove the little black standoff, but ended up cutting it out as well. I probably could have glued it back in, but it seems fine without it. It adds support for the lower cover by resting against the gpu2 heatpipe.

 

That's not correct. The center fan (secondary GPU fan) is blocked off by those baffles. Have another look at the before and after photos and the chunk I removed is directly over the top of the center fan. On a dual-GPU system that piece being there would be even worse.

I also use the laptop on a U3 with three 120mm fans and on top of an AC unit when benching, so the less material covering things the better. With so much exposure on the bottom of the beast, I don't need to pull off the bottom cover for AC benching because there is so little blockage. I have to pull the bottom cover on the Panther because it has only tiny fan intake holes and I want everything in the chassis to be cold.

That's how the bottom cover on the other machine looks (no foil plate at all).

You need to pull the plastic cover off of the front grille opening. The one on the left is right next to the GPUs.

 

Here are some wallpapers for anyone that wants them. All but the one that matches the BIOS boot screen on the Sky X9E are custom creations by yours truly.

[parsehtml]<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="750" frameborder="0" src="//imgur.com/a/XVBmB/embed"></iframe>[/parsehtml]

 

Does it void the warranty to remove the foil/baffles?

 

I don't know why it would. I don't care about that much. Obviously, after delidding the CPU and flashing modded BIOS and vBIOS, warranty is not something I'm too concerned about. The way I look at it, Sager/Clevo resellers will either take care of business and do the right thing, or they won't. What they can or cannot do is possibly largely dictated by Clevo, and I suspect they end up calling most of the shots.

Since none of these mods actually causes damage, if done correctly, those that won't take care of you will find excuses to charge you for repairs even if you leave the machine stock. I am basing that on stories I have read in this community. As impressed as I am with the Sky X9 and Panther (and their Clevo/Sager equivalents) you should have the bar set really low on warranty service expectations. The only good examples I can remember are those @Phoenix had with @Ted@HIDevolution. Dell/Alienware still owns them all on warranty service with NBD in-home repair and Parts-Only Dispatch... too bad they don't sell anything I want to own.

 

I thought EVOC/Eurocom ones come preflashed with prema bios/vbios?

edit: evoc ones have the option to buy delid cpu

 

I also removed all that marked in blue... Does not need any of this junk. + My self-made filters created of nylon stockings from my dear wife will stop the dust before it enters the machine.

Spoiler: Home made filters

Edit: Bro Fox. Perhaps Section 2: Bottom Tray Mod is something for your Panther? http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/another-coolermaster-u3-bottom-tray-mod.789298/

 

The part with the red circle is what I removed. It used to be attached. I left the rest of it because air flow is not restricted since there is no blocking of any grille openings. The sight shield at the red arrow blocks air flow. The one by the yellow arrow seems to be blocked by the battery, so I just left it. I removed it on the other machine, but I am not sure that one makes any difference due to the location. If the battery gets warm (I have never checked) then removing it might help keep the battery cooler. The area with the yellow box is near the CPU heat sink, but it doesn't seem to cover up enough area to be concerned. I was also being a little bit lazy and did not want to have to re-glue the rubber spacer block on the bottom cover.

 

I really wouldn't cut anything. Not worth the temp decrease, better just leave the bottom cover open and run it that way.

I also wouldn't remove the mesh, it's there to keep stuff from not poking inside.

 

Nah, I agree... definitely would not remove the mesh. The only thing I cut was the stupid foil that covers up the air intake on the secondary GPU fan. I did it in such a way that it looks completely stock... very clean cut and appears to be made that way.

Honestly, I don't know what they were thinking of by blocking that center fan off, since that fan and radiator are already smaller the the others. Removing the blockage above the center fan is probably the most important "fix" on the bottom cover mod. Everything looks "normal" and if you didn't know those pieces used to be there you would never know they were removed. I believe they put them there for "hide" the internal components from plain view. I don't know any other reason they would be there. Those flimsy black pieces can be stuck back on again, but I will probably just throw them away like I did those pieces on the other machine.

 

If I will use some copper coolers atop of Cpu heatsink / pipes later it is okay to remove anything that stops air from my mod U3. It does not hurt to remove all of this junk. But there is no guarantee that will be the big difference. + I took off all the shields careful. Can be mounted back if I have to return the machine for repair.

 

I cannot imagine that they would care one iota about you removing those silly pieces of plastic or the foil. Besides not caring, I'd be willing to bet they would not even notice they are missing. Worse case scenario, all you are doing is keeping the machine cooler, so there is nothing for them to be concerned about. If anything, they should be happy about it, LOL.

In fact, I would not be too surprised if Eurocom, HIDevolution and Mythologic start removing those pieces of air-blocking junk as part of their value-added services. They shouldn't even be there to begin with... too silly that they are.

 

Ah.

At least it's not like apple where they cover the whole bottom case lol "innovation"

 

Maybe they've used the head for first time!! Tucked away all the garbage so not anyone can see it. No one can repair garbage. It must be sent in for repair. Even cleaning the inside of this garbage is engineer work, LOL

 

My friend is an Apple guy. He was pissed to find when they started gluing components inside of it, making it close to impossible to upgrade without doing damage or having to go to the "genius" bar... God i feel sorry for people willing to buy into hype over true hardware and numbers... Give me a Clevo any day!

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

When it gets dirty inside you just throw it away and buy a new MacBook.

And, there are so many of them that don't know what they don't know that it's scary.

 

Most of the user serviceable component (ssd, hsf) is very easy to get into. So I think apple did a pretty good job at making the removable components easy to access.

The pentalobe screwdriver is not expensive and can be had on ebay nowadays, it's sure a pain in the ass when it first came out though.

As I mentioned, Apple makes the components that need servicing (ssd, hsf) be easily accessed from the removal of one panel. As comparison, brands such as: ASsUS, HP, Dell (some), and Toshitba needs the removal of the whole chassis (occasionally the screen) to access the motherboard (that you need to flip over and disconnect all wires before get access to heatsink/fan.

While they're still BGA, I think the way that the components are arranged is very good compared to other mainstream laptops. Only Razer can top them in that class of build quality.

 

This guy still prefers a name he knows, which is understandable I suppose, although I've tried to enlighten him, and prefers the os of Apple. He just got his white hat certification and a couple others, etc. I'm considering in a year or so, when I have enough that I'm not spending all my money on my upgrade "needs," I'll buy him a Clevo and hackintosh it for him to show him what he's missing.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

@Mr. Fox any insider info on potential gtx 980 sli 180w/130w?

 

If I shared that it wouldn't be insider information any more, now would it?

 

NDA

 

@Mr. Fox - how is the sound quality on the P870DM compared to a high end desktop motherboard?


Also, somewhat relevant on the baffle issue. Taken from HTwingnut's review




Probably to direct airflow to other components before the secondary GPU fan.




And since they're not that different anymore



Subtler approach to illustrate how low Alienware has gotten

 

Quick update on my PCH overheating issue. I took the laptop apart to remove the PCH heatsink and the heatsink and thermal pad both look fine. The only thing I can think of is to replace the thermal pad with some FujiPoly 17W/mK that I have, although I'm doubtful it's going to help much. I'm starting to think I've got a lemon.


Has anyone else been able to check their PCH temps under load? Mine is 102.5C with fans maxed. Bloodhawk said his are around 65C.


A larger sample size would be helpful.

 

@Mobius 1 - I haven't owned a high end desktop board since the Pentium 4 days. I switched to high end notebooks when Core2 Duo was the newest thing. I am also not an audiophile. My hearing is too impaired from many years of loud power tools, loud engines and heavy metal head banging.

I am very pleased with the audio on the P870DM. Maybe an audiophile that owns one of these beasts can validate whether or not it is good from their perspective. I think it sounds better than any audio I have heard from any other laptop's speakers. I more or less never use external speakers or monitors, so I cannot tell you how well the advanced features work, such as 5.1 or 7.1 output.

@Chronokiller - my PCH temps are low as well... generally in the mid to upper 50's even under load. I think the highest I have ever seen them is like 65-70°C with some really severe overclocked benching. I haven't done anything to improve PCH temps either... completely stock. I'm not sure why yours are so high. Try setting BIOS defaults and running with everything stock and see if the temps stay high.

 

So I installed the latest nvidia driver for sli support with overwatch.... And now most of my overclocks for various game's cause crashes. Do I really have to start all over with the OC process with each nvidia driver??

 

Thanks for the reply Mr Fox. I'm going to button it all back up tomorrow after work and I'll try resetting the bios as you suggested.


As much as it would have sucked, I almost wish they had forgotten to put the thermal pad on the PCH, at least it would have been an easy fix.

 

If running stock/BIOS defaults fixes the high PCH temps, it might be some setting that got out of whack. If it runs hot after setting BIOS defaults, then you must have a problem of some kind that XoticPC will need to address.

 

Press for a motherboard replacement if it doesn't get fixed.

Or maybe the prema bios include a fix for high pch temp?

 

So far, so good. The Alienkiller is shaping up nice, but still have some fine tuning that is needed.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/11236364


http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/11961739

 

I'm still waiting on Sager tech support to let me know what their reference PCH temps are, and the tech and I agreed that if mine is abnormal a motherboard replacement is all that's left.


Mobius, I would love to try a Prema BIOS, but sadly I purchased through the non-partner shop XoticPC.


Considering how hard it is to get a hold of XoticPC, and the fact that they only sent my order to Sager who then drop shipped it straight to me, I'd rather deal with Sager directly. If they aren't able to help me, I'll have XoticPC take care of it. It's not the correct way, but it may be faster.

 

Some eye candy from opening up this beast:

GPU0



GPU1



CPU



PCH


Overview



If anyone would like specific pictures of anything, I've still got it apart so now is the time. I'll be putting it back together this evening.

P.S. that's all the factory thermal paste.

 

I'm sorry if there have been issues getting ahold of us. If you do need help with anything, feel free to reach out to me directly and I'll be glad to help out though.

 

Thanks Pat. I personally haven't had a tech support issue with XoticPC, it's just what I've seen in the XoticPC forums.

Granted, when I made my order, including my follow up communications afterwards, it was difficult to reach anyone via phone. The most effective method was through Web chat.


Comparatively, each time I call Sager, the actual technicians pick up on the third ring. Maybe that has spoiled me a little


Also, I see your involvement here on the forums as a big plus for XPC, and it is appreciated.

 

After the problem is resolved, I wonder how much the black paint on the pch prevents heat transfer from the thermal pad. A mirrored surface with a higher grade thermal pad would pull heat off more, while leaving the black on the top side and noting that eventual corrosion of untreated metal will occur, although, without extreme heat differential, this is 2-4 years before that occurs through oxidation, with extreme heat being beyond what it is coming into contact with in this use. But, before you do that, get the heat resolved first and note that it may void warranties related to motherboard failure, especially if the failure is with the PCH or any related, interacting components.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

The PCH itself has a mirror finish on the die, it just didn't show up well in the photo, likely due to lighting and flash. The heatsink is pretty thin (maybe 1mm) and painted black on both sides. I won't mess with the heatsink, due to possible warranty issues as you stated.


I did check with Sager about voiding the warranty and they said as long as I don't break anything, I could inspect whatever I needed. I'll be using ICDiamond to repaste it as I put it back together. So it should be as new when I'm finished.

 

I did not mean mirror any ICs!!! You can mirror heat sinks and the IHS on both sides (I have on my ZM, and it does have an effect, but you must make the surfaces perfectly flat and be careful not to cause your own flaws). I can understand warranty concerns. You may ask them directly if lapping a heatsink to perfectly flat and mirrored finish is allowed. Make sure this is in writing and that the individual has the authority to state this will not void the warranty. If they do, print this writing or ask to receive a signed statement agreeing that this does not void warranty. My machine is off warranty, so I do as I please (still debating the value of upgrading when purchasing a new machine with 4k is competitive in cost). But I do understand. Just never sand any die, whether the cpu, gpu, pch, etc., only the heatsink or ihs!

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I agree completely, though in this case I doubt lapping the heatsink (no IHS on the PCH, just raw die covered with a thermal pad) will give me the 114C to 65C drop it would need to be normal.


What you said about documenting any and all communications is sage advice, in all dealings in life. Thank you for your thoughts.

 

With @Prema firmware, this truly is a "desktop laptop" LOL.

http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/8423441/fs/5251310#

 

Awesome results Mr. Fox! Your motherboard description on the general section makes me chuckle every time

 

Hey guys... those of you with single GTX 980... are you having the NVIDIA GFE Battery Boost cancer feature randomly turning itself on? I never experienced this with the Sky X9 before, but it seems like every time I want to bench the sucker it starts off with something stupid like 30 FPS and when I cancel out and check that stupid piece of trash feature has turned itself back on again. I never needed to pay attention to this with SLI because Battery Boost is (thankfully) broken with SLI. I guess if this nonsense continues I will uninstall the GFE bloatware, but I do like using Shadowplay. That is the only reason I consider having it installed.

@Phoenix @Papusan @bloodhawk

Speaking of battery power, funny story. As soon as I got this machine and got the software setup in place I was running a few games. I noticed the frame rate sucked. I was getting like 60 FPS or less in most things. I had G-STINK disabled, V-STINK disabled, NVCP set for maximum performance, etc, etc. I was starting to get worried, because I was expecting 100+ FPS in the titles I was running. It still worked fine. After about 45 minutes of tinkering, my game lost focus and I was bumped to the desktop with a warning that I needed to connect to AC power. I was running on battery that whole time, LOL. The cord from the wall to the AC adapter got dislodged from the AC adapter and I had not noticed it. Since I have everything maxed out in my Windows power profile, including screen brightness, on AC and DC power, it is never readily obvious when I am disconnected from AC power (screen never dims, CPU never slows down, etc.).

 

Nope, never used GFE. Only time the 30fps lock happened to me was when my driver's crashed during a bench and I had to disable and enable the graphics adapter from the device manager.

 

I try to have my machine free from Bloatware as much I can. Is there an other ok software who can replace the junk from nGreedia?

 

No, nothing that works as well as Shadowplay in my opinion. At least nothing that is free that I am aware of, and I'm not going to spend any money on video capture software to make YouTube videos for people to watch for free. If it is free to watch, it needs to be free for me to make it, too.

But, that doesn't matter. I will just remove the GeFart Experience crap-o-rama and see if that takes care of it. I can always install it temporarily to use Shadowplay when I feel like it, so not a big deal.

 

Maybe one click and 5 cents to see your vids 10 for each bench

 

FRAPS is good for recording and fps counter, but I don't think it's free.

 

Fraps For Only $37! No thanks I just put in links to my bench!!
http://www.fraps.com/

 

Camstudio is free, and used by many at my place of work, but I haven't tested it's performance personally.