**Official Sager NP5160 / Clevo W150HNQ Owners' Lounge**

I just tested some mid-level gaming yesterday (If i know what that supposes to mean).

I played Tomb Raider Underworld for almost 2 hours. It is a game from 2008 and I was able to play it with maximum quality at Full HD resolution. Quite nice experience given that my last notebook couldn't handle it even on the lowest quality possibility.

I took some snapshots of temperatures:

Before playing:

I was surfing, reading pdfs and listening to music so far.

Just after gaming:

Quite high!
I noticed that those peaks were at the beginning of the game, where there is some heavy action part - running from the mansion that is collapsing and on fire. During most of the game it maintained temps around 80~85 C.


Some remarks:
I've played with the notebook sitting regularly over a table. I thought, afterwards, that it would be better to put something underneath it to favor air flow.
Although those high temps, the notebook "feel" is cooler, nothing hot at all at the palm rest, keyboard or even under the chassis.
The GPU temps is missing on HWMonitor. I just think it got confused by Optimus, but haven't noticed that earlier to try solve that.

 

Wow! Those temps are really high. Does that harm the computer at all. How hot should the components usually get?

 

You know exactly what it means. It means games whose graphics should be playable at 30fps or higher with a mid-range graphics card.

See that, guys? 2-3 year old game. Tomb Raider no less, which typically has graphics that have quality left to be desired.

Yikes, no way would I buy this machine now. Anybody who wishes to game or even watch 1080p video should consider something that isn't a complete failure at proper cooling, because even my current Asus laptop that is over 2 years old can stay well below those temperatures while playing multiplayer on L4D2.

 

As I noticed, the heat is going just over the CPU and GPU. They share the same heatsink - which is quite small (in a good way) actually, the air inlet is just underneath the hot parts and the outlet is just beside them. The heat isn't spread across other components of the notebook, like it feels on my Dell Inspiron.

For those hot parts, CPU and GPU, i can't say which temperatures are really harmful, but at least the CPU would throttle down when it gets on critical temperature (it downclocks instantly until it gets to a safe lower temperature).

 

Just start the game up before starting HWMonitor, and it will recognize the GPU.

98C is ridiculous even for max temps (I doubt you hit temps that high for long)

I have a 5170, so it is a bigger chassis, but I never hit temps that high, even after playing SC2 4v4 on medium settings for hours. I would use at least a laptop stand and probably a cooler if I were seeing temps that high. I have a stand, and I just recently purchased just a usb powered fan to stick under the intake vent on mine, as a cheap cooling solution. Really, with the stand alone, I never go over 90C, so the cooling fan is not really critical, but I figure it will be a worthy $18 investment regardless. I just plan to lay it under the laptop while using the laptop stand. I like the idea of just one fan that I can place exactly where it needs to be, rather than a more expensive cooler with fans limited to one set location. There are some coolers with adjustable fan locations, but most are not.

 

Yeah, the 17-incher should handle better cooling...
And I will get a cooling base, although I am not that much of a gamer. But it would be important even for casual gaming.

I know the temps are high, but one impression that I wanted to pass is that the overall notebook really feels cool (except for the air flow through the outlet). Those temps are just by the CPU and GPU. My older Dell used to feel much hotter and uncomfortable.


One question: couldn't this high CPU temperatures be due to the aggressive Turbo Boost 2.0? I will try to disable it somehow, it shouldn't be that important in gaming.

 

Yeah it probably does have a lot to do with Turbo Boost. Turbo boost just amps up the processor to its max speed and maintains that until the CPU hits its thermal limits. Then it throttles back down.

Think its changed in the BIOS. This may work also: http://forum.notebookreview.com/6875575-post6.html

 

well, 98 core temp is high prima facie but this may not be unsafe. it depends on the specifications from intel/nvidia. although for a fine grained process like 32nm it is a bit worrisome.

 

I've set processor performance at 99% (that would avoid turbo boost, or most of it) and got a little less hotter temps:

 

Were you doing anything during these readings?

 

I was playing...
Tomb Raider Underworld.
Quite an old game, but some heavy action parts and big detailed sceneries. And a lot of fun, what is more important to me than its age.

 

Well that's much cooler than your other post. I also plan to disable my turbo boost when I get mine. I won't be doing anything that requires it so why bother.

 

Has this affected your battery life in anyway? (Trying to squeeze the most out of my 8150)

Thank You

 

Does anyone know which specific model of 2nd HDD caddy to buy on Ebay? They're much cheaper there than from the Sager resellers, but I'm not sure if there would be a problem securely attaching it to the laptop frame. Any ideas? Thanks!

Link to ebay possibility (about $15-$25): 9.5mm sata to sata 2nd hdd hard drive caddy for laptop | eBay

Check sager's NP5160 accessories page to see the $50 option.

 

If I'm not mistaken the np5160 uses a 12.7mm optical drive/hdd caddy

 

Hey resellers, how long does Sager take to manufacture a laptop?

 

I'd rather just pay the extra and KNOW i'm getting the right size. Save up, don't go out, live off PB&J and you'll be ok

 

I ordered mine at the end of march. They have been back-ordered until mid-April. Still at Phase 1, Pending Parts and Item Arrival.

 

I haven't tried it on battery.
Also, I disabled it in a "special" gaming profile as I think it would make much difference this situation regarding gaming performance. On the other hand, it would end on kinder temps when both CPU and GPU are alive.

When I'm working, I would leave Turbo Boost on. I haven't seen any temp above 75 C with the Intel iGPU on, even on high work load.


Also I'm avoiding keeping this new baby off the electricity. I'm trying to save its battery life, so I tend to use my older notebook when I want to "go over there" with it.
But looking to the Dell Inspiron's screen is a shame after using the Sager's

 

I ordered mine on April 3rd and it went in phase 2 on April 15th. It probably would have been faster then that too but I had some billing verification problem that took over a week to resolve.

 

I shall be keeping my turbo boost "turned off". Really dont need it for what I'll be using it for. Maybe turn the graphics down a little for SC

 

a general laptops question, if it's going to be stationary most of the time, how do you preserve the battery quality? just leave the battery off or what.

 

You want to keep it charged, and don't worry about overcharging newer models do not have that problem. Just keep it in there all the time, don't be afraid to use the battery, use it whenever you want by all means, just don't take the battery out. If you never unplug the battery will have a longer life staying charged then discharging on a shelf somewhere. Now that I think about it, it's probably why apple packs the battery in there so it can't be removed.

 

Leave it plugged in. This will keep the connections clean and if the power goes out you'll be ok.

Let it discharge completely once a month.

That's about it.

 

Anyone play tf2 on this? Mine runs it decently in terms of performance, but it crashes extremely often, usually as soon as I either get into a server or spawn.

 

I have been so busy, haven't even had time to game on this but the first game I'll be playing is borderlands. A 2010 game, I don't expect to be playing it in 1080p/max settings but I expect it to look pretty good and perform well. I have the 17 inch model (NP5170) and I have similar temperatures, though I like to lay in bed and have it on my lap, blocking the vents.


So... I think a cooler is a necessity for me. Does anyone have suggestions on picking one? I'd prefer one made specifically for this model but that seems unlikely. Is there some kind of standards for notebooks on where the intake fans should be? Any help would be appreciated.

Will be back with some impressions and temperatures once I do start playing. If I must, I'll disable turbo boost... thanks to the people who posted about this.

 

There's a thread dedicated to cooler's http://forum.notebookreview.com/accessories/304671-notebook-coolers-buyers-guide.html
Although your temps aren't bad....or is that before playing?

 

Received my machine last week, it's pretty great, but there is more fan noise than I would like. Is there a way to make it so the fan goes at a more lower/constant speed than off and then on loudly? Or adjust how picky it is about how warm it gets?

 

So, is anyone 100% sure that the Intel 310 Series SSD (mini pcie) (or other similar drive) can be used in the NP5160? Intel 310 Series SSD - 80GB Mini-PCIe Review - Introduction

 

What gave you that idea? I see no mini PCIe or mSata slots on this laptop. Of course you could use any 2.5" hdd or ssd in the hard drive bay.

 

The extra full length slot is there HOWEVER, sata isn't hooked up to it, so it won't work. Sorry

 

check page 34 of this thread. there's some talk there of an mpci ssd, where the drive has a built-in sata controller, so the laptop doesn't have to have one.

anyone have insight on whether that would work in an np5160?

 

It should, if it just uses a mPCIE interface, I don't know if it would be bootable. We would be glad to test it if someone wants to send us one.

 

This is a question for the resellers. Are those CTO models ordered with a SATA 3- 6Gbps drive i.e. SSDs like Intels 510 Series connected to a SATA3 Port?

 

Yes as the only TRUE HDD port on the laptop (AKA not the optical) is SATA 3 - 6GB so yes.

 

I ordered my laptop 6th March and it still hasn't started shipping. Is that normal? I bought mine from sgCubehubs, an authorised reseller in Singapore.

 

The NEW Sager NP5165 (FHD 1920x1080) nVidia GeForce GT 555M GPU with Optimus Technology, will be available in Early May...
_

 

wow...My current order for the 5160 is still in Phase 1. Perhaps I should cancel and wait for this one! Any idea how much it it cost?

 

any authoritative idea would have to come from the retailer you are dealing with.

 

Pricing is coming next week...
_

 

Any news on GPU cooling system? I heard that the current NP5160 have heating issues. I also heard that Clevo will not upgrade cooling system for GT 555m...any concrete words?

 

At this time we do not know what the temps will be for the NP5165. It will probably be May sometime before we have these answers.
_

 

Better wait for NP5165? or not significant changes with respect to NP5160?

 

Hmm... Better GPU, but without better cooling it won't do much... May have to return my 5160 after I test it some depending on the results. The hybrid HDD is really doing well right now though, and the screen is damn beautiful.

 

nooooooooooooooo it only had been a couple of months the price of being an early adopter...

 

There will always be something better just on the horizon people. Just be happy with the system that you have right now.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Couldn't agree more. Unless you're playing games on the bleeding edge of graphics, it won't make a difference. I myself only play on the developer recommened settings because, hey, thats what the developers intended the game to be played in.

However, I have question that goes out to people who have owned both a sager or an alienware: How is the longetivity on the machines? I like to keep laptops for a long time because I get really attached and sentimental . My main thing right now is trying to choose between the new alienware m14x and the sager 5160. The big delima with the sager is that the matte screens are running out on the 5160 and I love matte screens. However, the alienware is cheaper with the military discount of 20% (both my uncle and grandfather are retired officers) and has a better gpu but is also heavier and doesn't have a matte screen. My main thing with the matte screen is that my eyes are not the best and the matte screen, I think, is easier on them but I'm not sure about how a glossy effects them after longer periods of time. I guess another question would be how is glossy vs. matte in terms of eye strain and picture quality (in terms of film editing). Bear in the mind the alienware glossy screen is only 1600x900 on a 14" laptop. Whats a guy to do?

 

sager. and matte screen. i got glossy even though i would've preferred matte. i never use my laptops outside though, so not that big an issue. and i would put money down on sager outlasting aw every single time.

and to poster above saying he's reading about cooling issues on 5160. i don't have any issues. with turbo boost on, cpus maxes out about 85*c and gpu mid 70's. with turbo boost off, barely break 70's on quad core. i haven't even changed the stock paste yet on either processor. with my antec notebook cooler s, it's rare to see my notebook hit the 60's with normal use, and hard to break 70's either cpu/gpu when benching it with any program.

 

My 5160 is FINALLY on its way. It's due to be delivered today! Come on UPS truck!!!

Only thing I'm worried about are the cooling issues some people have been reporting as that is the main issue with my current 2092.

 

hi all,

I've been wanting a Clevo for years and the 5160 looks like my opportunity to do so. The problem I face is that I run Ubuntu and I'm wondering if the two linux users (or any other linux users) can comment on running this box with linux as a solo os or do you think I'm better off giving my money to M$ (ugh) and running a dual boot.

TIA