*** Official Clevo W230SS/Sager NP7338 Owner's Lounge ***

I'm not sure you can change it unless the prema unlocked bios has control.

 

So you're saying that this is a normal behavior?
I'm just wondering if there's a setting I missed somewhere, but if that's the normal behavior then I have my answer.

To be honest I don't think the battery could be able to supply enough watts to both the CPU and GPU under load but I still wanted to test that.

Also 1.70GHz seemed like a funny number, being exactly half of the 3.4GHz that I run my CPU at. I'd just like to have a little more than that available to me if I were to run a CPU intensive application on battery.

 

Congrats its looking good. Which SSD do you plan on installing?

 

Haven't decided on an ssd yet. Any recommendations?

 

Rocking a 120GB Samsung 840 Pro (Best Buy didn't have any Evos, my original plan was to use an old SSD but it died last second). It's blazing fast, but I'd go with an 840 EVO because the Pro was so damn expensive. I will say that it is insanely fast though, on my boots it takes more time for the UEFI to open my bootloader than it takes to get from the boot loader to the login screen. Nuts.

 

Yeah I'd like to stay under $100 for the ssd. It's going to be used at the boot drive and for installing BF4 and a few other games....the 1tb drive will be used for storage

Any recommendations on thermal paste? I keep reading about IC diamond...has anyone used anything else?

 

I have the 3k screen. I must say it really is a beautiful display. The colours appear rich and deep which makes them pop. No ghosting at all whilst gaming and I haven't noticed any light bleed. At the native resolution, everything is pretty small lol so I have been running 1600X1200 with no issues.
I have not taken it for a play outside, nor do I intend to.

 

I picked up a 2.5" Crucial MX100 256gb SSD for $99.99 right after they where released last month for another laptop of mine and it works awesome. They are listed on Amazon for $109.99 right now, but still a pretty good deal if you ask me. Or you could go $212 for the MX100 512gb SSD if you want a little more SSD storage. I really don't see any noticeable speed difference between the MX100 and the Samsung EVO 500gb mSATA that I am using in my NP7338.

 

Have you uninstalled Clevo Control Centre? One of my friends with the W230ST mentioned that it forces clocks to not exceed a certain limit, depending on the processor. I can't go above 1.5 GHz, and I just realised this yesterday, while running X-Plane 10 on battery. I used to get 50+ FPS while connected, and I was surprised to see nearly half that while on battery. I opened up XTU, and found that the CPU frequency was capped at 1.5 GHz. I actually don't mind, since it was intended as a power-saving measure, and I seldom game on the go without being connected.

 

For a 256gb ssd I guess I can extend my budget another 10 dollars

 

Make sure you have IntelManagementEngine installed, as well as the Intel USB3.0 eXtensible Host Controller.

 

Certainly worth it

 

Alright, I need some tips on how to clean the laptop lid. It looks clean, but when I get the light at the right angle, it shows all the ugly finger oil everywhere. It's also an eyesore since I rvoed the SAGER logo; my lid now has the letters in a light spot. Ugly. Any tips on getting all the oils removed and getting a nice, like-factory clean on it?

I've also looked at a Carbon Fiber wrap for the top, like how Metabox has it (I'm just not in AU). Has anyone done anything like it before? Does anyone have any tips on how to remove the plastic-rubber part of the lid so I could wrap it?

 

Hi everyone,

I've purchased a Eurocom M4 version of this laptop recently, in order to have the very sharp QHD+ screen.

I've also flashed the bios with the Prema Bios mod 1.1, but didn't overclocked anything and always had quite reasonable temps (GPU max 60degrees and CPU 70-75 degrees) but noticed recently some crashes on games, such as Dota 2, BF4... and would like to revert back to the old bios but... I haven't made any backup of it.

Would anyone in the community have a stock bios for the Eurocom M4 with QHD+ screen? Indeed, I would just like to see if the issue persists that way.

Thanks!

 

W230SS

I'd also ask Eurocom for the latest BIOS update. They'll give you their version, just say that you were having some issues and wanted to make sure you had the latest BIOS. I would also look for the stock Vbios, as Prema also overrides the stock on that, too. Haven't found a source for good Vbios images though

 

Thanks a lot for your answer! I will ask to Eurocom if they can provide this, but unsure whether they would be accepting to let a user flash the bios himself.

I've actually tried earlier the link you provided, but when I wanted to flash the bios, I've got an error message saying that the writing block wasn't the same as the target block or something, which made the flash not possible.

Last thing, when you're speaking about vbios, you mean the video bios correct? I believe someone within the thread shared a copy of his gtx 860m stock bios copy, via gpu-z. From there, with the .rom file, how can I re-flash the vbios?

Thanks a lot!

 

Hello,

When the Nvidia GPU is not used, how many power (in watts) it still uses? I am concerned about using the laptop only for office work and surfing, while the power consumed by the idle GPU could still contribute to the heat and hence to the noise due to fan activity.

 

Depends on how aggressive your ASPM BIOS settings are. If you choose to completely turn off the GPU, plus with all other options enabled with windows 8, the idle consumption can go as low as 6-7W with light usage ranging from 8-10W.

Out of curiosity from an OEM perspective, why is it that it is so common to see 1x8Gb RAM rather than 2x4Gb RAM configured for this machine? Metabox does the exact same thing for the W230SS. 2x4Gb was much more common with the W110er

Also
My W110er came preloaded by Metabox (I think HtWingnut's LPC machine too, actually most major re sellers come to think of it) with some rather excellent 2x4Gb 30nm Green Samsung RAM, seriously, they were way better than any aftermarket modules at the time. Would you happen to know what happened to those? The recent W230SS models I've seen are coming with rather tame Kingston run-of-the-mill sticks.

 

I think its often 1x8GB because its cheaper than 2x4GB. At least here in Germany.
Could you please list which exact ASPM settings you had activated to get 6-7W?
I couldn't activate most settings because Windows freezes after login: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...er-np7338-owner-s-lounge-146.html#post9715085

Here are my settings:

 

1st Page
-looks good

2nd Page
-C6 latency, Long
-Package C State limit, C7s

3rd Page
-I didn't alter this page much

4th Page
-This page doesn't really work with Win 7, you need Windows 8
-ACPI 5.0 CPPC gives a big boost to CPU energy efficiency when it ramps up performance under Windows 8

5th
-All the ASPM controls to the lowest, L0-L1

6th
-ASPM support, YES

7th
-looks good

8th
-Disable dGPU

I think that was it, I'll be able to post more exact details when my personal machine arrives in 2 weeks.
Btw, half those power saving settings were not stable in Windows 7 for me too, I get BSODs at idle so a lot of it had to be turned off.

 

Will check your suggested settings next week

 

Honestly I have no idea how to flash the Vbios. Let me know if you figure it out

 

I flashed my VBios on the P170EM Clevo. With a pure DOS USB Bootstick and NVFLASH.EXE. i think its similar with the W230SS....

This is a good guide: http://forum.techinferno.com/nvidia-video-cards/2166-[guide]-nvidia-vbios-flashing.html

With a bootable stick created like done in that guide: How to create a bootable USB key:
http://www.techinferno.com/miscellaneous-tutorials/
(only worked for me with a pure win98 DOS usb stick on P170EM)

 

with activated ACPI 5.0 CPPC

i get an unknown device in the device manager:

Which drivers are needed?

But one more question: why disable the dgpu but enable dgpu ASPM in the other hand. Does this make sense?

 

Install this driver:

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/glcb03ww.exe

Even though it says it's for Lenovo, it actually is an Intel driver. Lenovo merely just packaged it. Once done, you'll see 'Intel Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC) Driver' under System Devices, and you should see the Unknown Device disappear.

 

The vbios is integrated on the system bios since it uses a soldered chip so the process has a couple of extra steps such as unpacking the system bios and packing it back up again with the modified vbios.

 

OK think its like repacking the SATA controller BIOS with MMTool: http://www.win-raid.com/t18f16-Guide-AMI-UEFI-BIOS-Modding.html

Maybe somebody could prepare a back to stock (Form Prema BIOS) Version.... I have already flashed premas BIOS and did not backup the VBios before....

 

Since it's integrated both are flashed at the same time, so a stock system bios will have a stock vbios and the prema one has an unlocked vbios if I remember rightly.

 

Guys, do any of you experience eye irritation after using this notebook for a moderate period of time, like about two hours continuously? My eyes begin to itch a lot after using this notebook (I have the stock 1080p screen). I'm at lowest brightness, working indoors mostly.

 

Quick question-
Is fan noise an issue? Im quite fussy and dont like a noisy fan when working/browsing. Ive read reviews that say its a problem but also read drivers have fixed.

Please give me any user-feedback on the fan/noise

 

Hi Guys

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I pulled the plug a couple of weeks ago and brought this laptop. It.is.awesome. I was worried about the fan noise but it is absolutely fine. The screen is beautiful and I like the design of the laptop in general.

Just a quick question about prema bios and the igpu. I've recently pre-ordered an Oculus Rift DK2 and it has recently become apparent that you can't get the 75hz refresh the Oculus needs with Optimus (which is limited to 60hz). With Prema can you disable the igpu, thus leaving only the 860m active?

Many thanks.

 

You canot disable the iGPU because its the one that is physically soldered to the Display and HDMI/VGA ports. The NVIDIA Card is only switched on for accerlation.

 

Pretty sure this is actually a limitation of the Intel driver which is in control of the monitor outputs. As far as I know, there aren't many non-optimus systems getting around. The DK2 can operate at 60hz though.

EDIT: Just checked, the W230SS is a HDMI1.4 port so you should be fine @75hz.

 

It may be due to the PWM control of the screen. Try raising the brightness a notch or two to increase the frequency.

 

Hi all, I just tried to flash Prema for my Sager NP7338 - everything seems like it goes fine, but the bios is unaffected. I followed the readme, but when I enter the bios after flashing, the versions and options are all the same. Any idea what I did wrong?

 

So, apparently FreeDOS is not compatible with flashing Prema. I used Rufus to create an MS-DOS bootable USB and that worked

 

My NP7338 went into phase 1 on xoticpc today! Can't wait to get it!! Just need to sell my x1 carbon now lol

I really wish I could find the clear plastic base for the laptop....a forum member hooked me up with a facebook page and email for a company in Taiwan, their facebook page shows the laptop with the clear back. I also emailed them about it, but haven't received a reply yet.

 

Would love to get one too

 

You could look for a place that does custom plastic moulding I suppose.

 

That, and make sure it's set at 60Hz and not 40Hz refresh.

 

Though an lcd at 40 should not flicker like a crt would.

 

It does flicker like a CRT. Here's a photo that I took, at slightly less than medium brightness, 60 Hz. Notice the slightly darker horizontal areas:

 

Yes it will flicker like a CRT when under PWM control, this frequency is independent of the refresh rate.

 

Any idea how to fix it? I'm going to be using this laptop for at least three years; I don't want my eyes to hurt all the time while using it. Increasing brightness helps; but it just takes longer before my eyes start hurting.

 

It's a by product of the design of a modern LED backlit LCD, I don't think much can be done without significant hardware work.

 

i just got my w230ss and lucky for me got a small upgrade without knowing.. instead of i7-4700mq got a i7-4710mq.. Also got the qhd screen and the pixel density looks "ipad like". there are still a couple instances where the screen is not scaled properly.. Gonna load up steam and see how the games look at this res.

 

The 4710mq is the revision of the 4700mq (minor clockspeed bump I believe). It's likely your reseller just hadn't updated their site with the new versions.

As far as QHD scaling (have it myself) I've found many games will run well at 1600x900 except the mouse cursor (if there is one) tends to be scaled twice (I think this is a quirk of how most engines directly render the mouse cursor). If you can run the game at 3200x1800 most newer games will scale nicely while some won't.

I've managed to get XCOM Enemy Unknown/Within to run at full 3200x1800 and the framerate hovers around 25-30. For a turn-based strategy it's doable but there's a bit of lag with the mouse input so I run that at 1600x900 and dial all the quality settings up.
I've also got Torchlight running smoothly at 3200x1800 but it does slow down in dense areas. It's worth noting, at 3200x1800, the pixel density is so high that you don't have to use Anti-Aliasing.

The only other fault I've found with 3200x1800 is Firefox is dog slow on it. I suspect it comes down to the way it renders. I've since swapped to CyberFox (faster fork of FF) which has improved things a little. Chrome is fast but has the well known issue of destroying battery. As much as I hate to say it, IE runs smoothly...but I can't bring myself to use it (mainly due to lack of core addons/plugins I use).

 

Hi,
I'm wanting to maximize battery through how I set up my hard drives.

Option 1:
128GB mSata ssd (OS & some applications) + 1TB 2.5" mech. drive (music, photos, vid)

Option 2:
750GB+ mSata ssd ONLY (os & all files)

Given normal browsing use-would option 2 give me significantly more battery life?

 

The option that allows the HDD to spin up the least will have a small benefit in battery life (a few minutes).

 

What do you mean by '...most newer games will scale nicely while some won't.' ? Do you refer to the issue with the mouse cursor or scaling of the resolution (QHD+ to HD+), that it wouldn't nicely on some games? If you mean the latter one: As it's a linear interpolation from QHD+ to HD+ scaling without any quality/sharpness loss should always be the case and should have nothing to do with a game or application i guess?

Regarding of your speed issues with FF on native res: As QHD+ is way too small on 100% DPI what DPI scale setting do you use?
If you lower the resolution to 1600x900 on windows control panel, how does that looks like? Sharp like native res and only bigger items or does the screen nevertheless gets a bit blurry?
Background is, that i wanna use the device among other tasks for graphics intensive works and a significant performance loss because of the high res (like you describe on FF) wouldn't be what i want. But if the screen looks sharp with resolution set on 1600x900 that should be a solution for that, shouldn't it...?

Thanks, mate