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

So which laptop do you suggest for about 1000 euro?

 

Hey guys, I have the W230ST model with the i7-4700MQ and GTX 765m and was wondering if I could buy the barebones W230SD and transfer over my CPU, SSD, HD, and memory. I screwed up the left hinge on my current chassis pretty terribly. Also screwed up the display in the process but I'm not sure if it's the cable or the display itself that's broken.

Looked around for current laptops as a replacement and found that what I have is close to as good as it gets except for the GPU which doesn't bother me since I play primarily blizzard games.

Anyway, buying this barebones kit ( http://rjtech.com/shop/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=30216) would solve all my problems as well as upgrade me to a gtx 960. This laptop has worked really well for me so I'd like to give it another chance and treat it better. My warranty from xoticpc expired months ago so not much I can do there, plus I kind of want a fresh laptop and GPU upgrade.

I don't have any problems getting in there and moving components around I would just like to make sure it would work. Is the 4700MQ removable and compatible with the W230SD motherboard? Would I have to reinstall Windows?

 

Yes.

No, but uninstall the gpu drivers first. And Windows might holler, complaining it's a different pc, using phone activation would resolve that.

 

So I just got GTA 5 for this. Installed to the HDD. I get around 30fps on average....but I notice sometimes it jumps up to 50-60...if I install it to the ssd portion will I get better fps? Also what other tips to get better performance? I just updated the nvidia driver and optimized it with the app I'm not too computer savvy I did manage yo install prema bios but don't know anything about over clock or to get more performance out of it. Thanks

 

Play with the settings to find what details hurt your performance over others vs the visual detail benefit. GeForce experience will have a suggested set.

 

I had it on power save mode. Switched to performance mode and game runs at 60fps hasn't dropped below 50fps so smooth....even went up on a few settings above the optimized settings

 

That certainly helps lol, happy gaming

 

I have a problem with my hinges om my laptop, or actually the housing aronud the hing.
I have taken off the hood of the screen to take a look, it seems te screen is screwed on the housing, but the build is terrible.
Hopefully photo's will make some things clear.
Anybody know if this happend before, and a way to fix this.

 

You're not the only one, hinge construction is indeed very weak (glued bolts tend to separate from the lid). See thread for info and possible fix (page 3), alternative is a new display lid; W230SS, XMG P304 broken hinge, dented frame.

 

Thx for the link and reply, to shop who sold me the barebone(they do mostly barebones) told me they never heard of this problem.
And it was probably my fault for opening the laptop incorrectly....

The problem will probably will still arise after a while after placing a new lid i guess, but the alternative is really ugly although the problem will never come back ;0

 

Hmm, opening by using handling one side/corner causes more stress at the far end, certainly, but it's a user scenario that ought to be considered in the design.

Kinda like that look actually, though you could reverse the nut and bolt; flat/curved bolt on the outside and the nuts hidden behind the bezel. Might also use a grey/black marker on the bolt, hardly noticeable then.

 

I actually searched for some bolts and nuts, problem is screen is about 5mm thick with the bezel. So ideally the bolt isn't longer than about 4mm so you can still close the lid.
Having trouble finding such bolt, nuts won't be a big issue they come as thick or thin as you want.

Maybe i'll go for the ghetto look eventually and cram the laptop under my tv as a gaming pc/mediacentre.

 

Don't bother finding an exact match; get a bolt that's long enough and use a hacksaw, wire cutter or angle grinder to shorten them. May also need a file to deburr the cutting surface.

 

W230ST (PC Specialist version)

PremaMod BIOS.

I just replaced 2x4GB Hynix Hyper RAM with 2x8GB Crucial DDR3 PC3 14900 1.35V...

(Crucial said that it was compatible with my system and I chose it over a slightly less expensive 'type' thinking it should be a little faster. )

... and I can't load Windows any more. The system gives me that "not less or equal" message and wants to run start-up repair.

I changed the RAM back and it still does the same.

Then someone told me I should have gone into BIOS, alter nothing and save changes and exit, which I did - but that doesn't work. I don't think I've changed anything in the BIOS during explorations.

Presently I've got the Crucial RAM in.

The BIOS recognises that I've got 16GB RAM, the only thing I can see that might be unusual is:

XMP Profile 1 - Not Supported
XMP Profile 2 Not Supported.

(But now I've googled XMP and don't think it's relevant.)

Sorry about this, but I've added RAM lots of times before and not gone thru this so I'm caught out. Could anyone advise please?

 

What are your ram timings and speed set to? Take a picture with your phone of the settings page (remember to select custom settings if it's an option).

 

Thank you for responding, Meaker

Does this cover what you've asked me for? (Am severely under the weather so it's very difficult to concentrate... besides which this is beyond me anyway!)

 

Go one menu up and change "Command Rate" to "2N", should add some stability.

 

Will do, Prema Can't until later tho, I will be back whatever the result.

 

Managed to do it sooner than I thought.

The first time it booted to desktop, almost fully loaded, but then crashed to BSOD "System_Service_Something".

Next time immediately went into BSOD "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL"...

Third time was loading Windows when the same IRQL BSOD occurred.

I shall await further advice... in hope. Thank you for helping.

 

The link doesn't work


Any idea where to get it from now? I can't find it on the Clevo site...

 

What happens when you run it at 1866mhz?

 

I don't now how to do this. (I'm terrified in the BIOS - I didn't install Prema, it was already there when I bought it as second user.)

BTW - I think the first user overclocked the graphics card.

BTW No2 - It's running quite hot (not alarmingly), even tho' only sitting there displaying the BIOS.

 

Where it says 2133mhz for the memory frequency limiter set it to 1866mhz.

 

I used my initiative and set it to 1867, as 1866 wasn't there.

CHKDSK ran.

Windows loaded... no problem.

Thank you very much indeed!

I use my Clevo for video editing, never gaming. I'd be glad to know if you think there's anything else I can do to optimise it for that.

Having said that, while it's been disabled I've had to use my old M11x-R3 and that was so slow by comparison.

 

Seems like your IMC/motherboard can't quite handle 2133mhz (this is pretty normal for that generation). For video editing just look to make sure your storage is up to it (fast HDD/SSD).

 

Thank you, Meaker.

 

@clemenzina

12-12-12 is already quiet loose, but you could try changing the first 3 CL values in BIOS from 12 to to 13-13-13 in combination with Command Rate to 2N to stabilize them @ 2133Mhz.
If you want to run 1866Mhz and not use the 12-12-12 values of the 2133Mhz table do this:

Enter BIOS and load setup defaults (first check in boot section if Win8 and UEFI mode are enabled. If so you need to set it back to manually after loading defaults), then set the RAM to 1866Mhz and save and exit.
On next boot it'll load 1866Mhz and also use the better 1866Mhz Timings and not 12-12-12 (2133Mhz Timings).

http://forum.techinferno.com/clevo/9450-problem-lcd-case-w230st.html

http://www.sagernotebook.com/drivers/misc/07hotkey_70026.exe

 

I don't understand what you mean by "loose" but it doesn't sound good! I presume you think I could hit problems eventually with the current settings.

This is how I read your first option:

Change the Memory Frequency Limiter from 1867 to 2133, change the first 3 CL values from 12 to 13, keep 2N, save changes and exit.

And that will improve the performance of the RAM and the system will be stable?

I don't think I can be trusted to attempt your second option. For one thing I've got both Win8 and Win7, each on their own mSATA (a long story), and for another I'm just too ditzy.

 

Each number represents the number of clock cycles used to perform a part of different memory operations. More clock cycles = longer delays = higher latencies.

Of course at higher frequencies each clock cycle takes less time, looser timings (higher numbers) will improve how high you can clock. 2000mhz @ CL10 = 1000mhz @ CL5 in terms of memory latency. The 2000mhz memory would have an advantage of how much data can be moved in and out in a second though.

 

Has anyone played witcher 3 on this? Wanna get it but not sure if I should buy it for this or my ps4. I'm not home too much so prefer to have it on laptop

 

It's a close call so may come down more to how you like to control it.

 

Hello everyone,
I just wondering if I would be able to adorn my little Clevo with a better GPU, maybe a 965 or 970? Could the cooling system take it? I've got a Chillblast build at the moment and I've been very impressed by how cool and quiet the laptop stays. Only a 10 Watt power consumption increase between the 960 and 965, I'm thinking this might be very doable.

Also i'm amazed this question isn't raised more often here.

 

You'd have a first, probably; would need a rework station to solder it. Don't count on a 970M, but a 965M might just work (cooling's not the issue). Other than that; get an SD motherboard and swap it, that would get you a 960M.

 

Thanks, what your basically saying is its not worth it. I assumed it would just be a matter of unscrewing one and screwing it the other, I might have been misled by a review I read. What is the issue if not cooling? Power consumption or something entirely different?

 

The 960m and 965m are not pin compatible anyway. It's soldered in.

 

Is there a way to make the backlit keyboard turn off automatically, after a period of inactivity, and then turn on again when you press a button?

 

No I don't believe so. Would be a nice feature though.

 

Anyone else surprised by how well their GPU runs Witcher? According to Notebookcheck my 960m will struggle with high settings, yet I'm running fluid rates with nearly everything on ultra apart from Grass Density. Anyone else seeing this?

 

I've seen it on Asus but not Sager/Clevo.

 

Have you measured your FPS? Either way so long as you are happy that's the main thing.

 

Hah just slightly different models

 

Has anyone tried upgrading to Windows 10 on their W230ST yet? For me, about 50% of the way through, the install stopped with a BSOD stating that my computer crashed because of "video dxgkrnl fatal_error." After restarting, it "restored to previous version of Windows." The install screen dialog error message after first reboot from restored Windows 8.1:
0xC1900101 - 0x3000D The installation failed in the FIRST_BOOT phase with an error during MIGRATE_DATA operation

Wondering if it has something to do with the particular drivers based on the hardware we're using.

 

no problems here

 

No problems here either...

 

I did a clean install of Windows 10 pro with USB iso. No problems at All.

 

I am having a nightmare with Windows 10. Did a clean install rather than an upgrade, and Windows is refusing to see the 765M, it can only see the Intel graphics chip. The Nvidea chip isnt even showing in Device Manager, it is as though its not even there. Does anyone know how to sort this out? I suspect its the Intel chipset drivers, but I cannot install the origonal drivers as Windows thinks the one it has are better.

 

Have you restored back to your backup to check it's all working ok on a hardware level?

 

I tried out the preview for win 10, I think the biggest problem is the automatic back ground driver install. Unless you have the pro verision it just installs what it wants when ever. You might need to manually go to Nvidia and grab the drivers. Don't know about the rtm release as a few of the things in the preview just made me say well, f that I'm sticking with 7 or going Linux.

 

anyone4apint i have had the same problem with Windows 8.1. You have to install the drivers in the correct order. Don't remember how i solved it though. But don't worry about your hardware. I think i googled it and found a solution from another sager/clevo forum.

 

I've now fixed it. Totally removed the Intel drivers from the system, removed all Nvidea stuff, and then installed it again with the files from the Clevo website for Windows 7/8 and it suddenly decided that I did indeed have a 765M. Updated the driver from Nvidia, and job done. Lots of pissing around though. Now it is all installed, it seems fairly stable and happy on Win 10.