*** Official Clevo W230ST/Sager NP7330 Owner's Lounge ***

Has anyone had any problems with the USB 2.0 port on the left of their laptop?
Mine seems to have a mind of its own, I thought it broke when everything I plugged in would come up with an error saying the device doesn't work, but recently it started working with somethings again. It wont recognize my wireless receiver for my mouse, but it works fine for my keyboard.

Also, my computer randomly shuts off or bluescreens at least once a week, but I'm not sure if its hardware related or Windows 8.1 related. I've had nothing but problems with 8.1 so I assume it's the reason, I never crashed with Windows 7. None of the audio drivers or software work either, sound works with windows default drivers, but the HD Cinema thing that is needed to make the built in speakers not sound totally like says no audio device found.

 

Nope.. I already tried that

 

Hi guys,

I'm going to order this notebook but before I do, I would like some input on the hardware configuration. These are the specs I was planning to use.
- i7 4702qm 2.2 Ghz
- GTX 765
- 2x 4gb Corsair First Class Vengeance DDR3
- 512GB SSD Samsung 840 Pro OR 1TB SSD Samsung 840 EVO (Don't know what is best: 100$ more for double the storage, both are equal in performance only the 1TB SSD is more power demanding.

Particularly the storage issue is something I'm not sure of. HDD and two mSATA modules or 1SSD or 1SSD and 2 mSATA.
I just want this notebook to run as fast as possible without having problems with temp and batterylife. That's also why I chose the 4702qm.

What do you guys think of this configuration? 512Gig or 1TB SSD or another storage solution?
Thank you!!

 

Ha, didn't make a difference for me either!

 

I don't think you should get 4702MQ if you are paying for it more than 4700MQ. There probably wouldn't be any tangible benefit in battery life. Same thing for RAM sticks, any 1600Mhz sticks would do. If you opt for some brand name ones, it doesn't mean you would actually get a faster computer, you would just pay more.

Samsung Pro is faster in benchmarking, however for practical use EVO is more than enough, so doubling the usable hard drive is much better in my opinion. Remember that you can always order a notebook without a hard drive and buy those SSDs to install separately to save on costs/potentially keep the non-SSD default harddrive as external.

There really is not much of a difference in speed between mSata and 2.5" SSD, however mSata are a bit more expensive per GB of storage. Some people might opt for mSata RAID 0, however once again it has little practical benefit in standard real world use in my opinion unless people actually have a real need for it. A standalone mSata or 2.5" SSD is plenty fast by itself. Personally I went with mSata combo because I can't afford a $500 drive and want the bulk storage.

 

+1, get a 4700MQ, 8GB of any 1600mhz RAM, a 1TB evo and keep the 1TB mechanical external, then you're good to go.

 

So you're saying that I won't notice the difference between msata and an expensive 500$ ssd drive in practical use?

Bout the CPU, the 4702qm has less power consumption 37W in stead of 47W or so. Won't this be noticable in the batterylife or temperature or is the gain in speed a bigger factor?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

Correct.

It doesn't quite work like that. That's the TDP or thermal design power. It may use less at peak load but at idle or light tasks it won't make a difference.

Beamed from my G2 Tricorder

 

Granted the msata solution with HHD is cheaper. But won't 2 msata raid0 with 1 HHD consume more power than 1 big SSD while being both equally fast in practical use?
Given I don't think more than 1TB of storage will be necessary.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

Yes a single larger sad will be plenty fast. It also means you can add another at some point.

 

Given even a single hdd will consume more power than a ssd, yes, 3 disks will consume a tad more than a single ssd, especially in RAID 0.
Also, I assume a single SSD will perform better with daily use, since mechanical hdd tends to slow the system every it's being accessed.

 

So I'm convinced the 4700mq is a better choice than the 4702mq. Isn't the 4800mq, also 47W like the 4700mq but in stead of 2.4Ghz 2.7Ghz an even better choice or will this CPU cause too much heat in the system?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

Quick question: do you guys hear hissing when you plug in headphones into the headphone jack? Am I better served to get a USB soundcard?

 

I do...slight humm right? Annoying...

 

That's something heard due to interference of some sort in the system. Going to USB through a headset or external audio device will solve it.

 

The GPU clock issue I had seems to be gone with the latest Nvidia driver 332.21

I thought I heard a slight humming in my headset, but there is nothing now. Could be something external, on my old Acer I could hear a very high noise through the headset which turned out to be my R.A.T. 3 mouse, probably from the high frequency laser.

 

Look at my review, I kind of discuss this. If you need the CPU power for *non-gaming* related tasks like compiling code or encoding video, etc the extra MHz is worthwhile. But for gaming, the CPU tends to throttle over 3.1-3.2GHz anyhow on resource intense games like BF3/4.

 

The chips real power consumption is going to be very similar regardless of their rated TDP.

 

Hello guys, just a quick question:
can I upgrade stock bios from 1.00.03 to the latest, which should be 1.03.03, straight away?

After that, I should be ready to put the latest bios by prema, right?

 

I think you can flash prema's mod right away.

 

You can jump forward yes.

 

Hmm any suggestions on a cheap USB soundcard? and would higher or lower sensitive headphones make a difference?

 

It's the high quality sets that you really notice it through the audio out. Lesser quality sets not as big a deal but from what I understand still audible. I know Hutsady here uses the Asus Xonar and likes it a lot. There are a ton that have been suggested here on the forums though. Just set a price you're willing to pay, search within that price, get the one that has reviews that sound the best to you.

 

So.... anyone managed to fix the low memory warning on windows 8.1 yet?

 

Question
Is the heatsinks on both portions for CPU and gpu full copper or a mix of aluminiumor nickel played...

 

All copper: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...ager-np7330-clevo-w230st-review.html#internal

 

If you just want a headset you could get a usb based headset with its own sound processing.

 

Logitech G930 headphones are great.

 

I bought my W230ST from hawkforce.de and it came with no branding anywhere -- stock "Style Note" boot screen and everything. Where would I look for "official" BIOS updates? I'm just curious, I know Sager et al have had official updates out for months now but I haven't done a single one since I got the thing in July.

I updated to Windows 8.1 a month or two ago and nothing *seems* wrong, but I've seen that you're "supposed" to have a BIOS update before everything works properly. Worth pursuing?

 

I'd recommend custom Prema Bios over official one. It unlocks a lot of options for customization and generally improved fan profiles and battery longevity for me.

 

Yesterday then I updated the bios with the latest Prema mod. Awesome job. It's unbelievable how many things you can actually change.

 

This is true, but fan profiles and battery life is untouched from stock, provided that you flashed the EC accordingly.
Still, even for stock prefer prema's files, as he included Bios + EC in the same procedure, much easier.

 

Are you sure? I have fan burst a lot less with Prema mod.

On a fan related note: I am having an issue where whenever I close the lid of my laptop and it sleeps/hibernates the fan goes to full blast. I don't recall this happening when I first got the laptop. I guess what I'm asking is if it's normal for the processor to get fully pegged when going to sleep.

 

I'm quite sure yes, did you have the same base Bios & EC versions before ?

It's pretty normal for the fan to kick off on hibernation, but it shouldn't with sleep which is normally almost instant.

 

Perhaps that's it, the different base. To be honest I'm not completely sure.

 

Yes, unfortunately fan profiles are still a major problem with this laptop no matter which BIOS version is used (stock or custom). Prema's custom BIOS is a great piece of work but this laptop still remains an expensive paperweight for me until Clevo resolve the incredibly irritating and unnecessary fan burst issues.

 

It's pretty sad there seems to be no possibility of manually changing the fan profiles :| They are hardcoded into the EC and appearently limited to only 7 Fan levels and down/up temperatures. Keeping in mind there is a wide gap between quality of factory pastejob and custom pastings, it is not unlikely you will be stuck between two fan levels

 

Yeah my main complaint with this laptop was the fan profiles and although Prema's BIOS did help it out, it didn't completely fix the problem. I would place blame on Sager/Clevo for this. It's a design issue.

 

Hey guys, just ordered one of these from Xotic earlier today, pretty excited for it. I'm going to grab a Plextor M5M 128GB mSATA SSD to put in it myself.

 

So, what are the advantages of using prema's modded bios?

 

For example (some features soon):

Improved alternative OS support with (OS X, Linux)
Power saving measures (ASPM, deactivate unused clocks, undervolting)
OS independent Overclocking (RAM, CPU, dGPU, GPU, BCLK...)
Enhanced voltage control
USB & Sata port control
HDD Password
Updated CPU codes & RAID, LAN...
Non Win 8 UEFI (Win 7, Linux...)
And much more stuff...

Has also it's own style to it

 

Got to love that style

Haswell has lots of nice little options to play with at least

 

The screen casing of my W230ST just broke; it seems that one of the screw sockets next to the left hinge had broken off a while ago (possibly when I had to get the screen replaced in October), and the increased stress on the other two screw sockets near that hinge has finally caused them to snap off. I've e-mailed PC Specialist to request another RMA, but I don't know if their warranty covers physical damage (even if it was caused by a previous RMA).
If that fails, would it be somehow be possible to replace the screen casing myself, or am I going to have to duct tape the two halves together?

 

You should he able to get them to order plastics.

 

PM me in case they can't help you. I have an extra LID...

 

Hi! I NEED HELP! Can anybody tell mi what is the brand and model of 1600x900 IPS HD+ (glare or matte) screen for W230ST??? I spent few hours looking for it on the internet but only FHD screens everywhere... Yesterday I accidentaly broken my screen and I have to replace it. My current screen is Chimei N133HSE-EA1 1920x1080, but FHD for 13.3" is definitely too much for me so I decided to go for HD+ 1600x900 since I have to replace it anyway... Thanks in advance!

 

Hey guys, how come when I'm in a game and I press fn+mute or fn+ increase or decrease volume, a menu pop up and kind of interrupts the in game session??? All other laptops I had when I do the fn mute or fn volume +- just does it smoothly w/o a window poppin up or interruptin the current in game session. How do I stop that?

 

which game ? mine doesn't

 

What's your pagefile set to? Whatever it is, change it to >= 8GB and the warnings should go away.

 

According to the service manual it looks like you can get a Chimei N133FGE-L31 or a CPT CLAA133UA05-CW. However, the CLAA133UA05 doesn't exist. The CLAA133UA0 does, however, and looks like it ought to fit.

I've attached the parts of the service manual where this is specified. Although the Chimei screen that the laptop comes with the laptop uses a 30 pin connector and these panels use 40 pin connectors the schematic makes it look like a 40 pin connection will also work.

Can anyone who is more knowledgeable confirm this?