Official Sager NP8130/Clevo P151HM1 Owners Lounge

I'm assuming you are referring to the SB issue. Yes, yours will be affected, but very likely only in the long-term and if you use the e-sata and ODD extensively. The Sager/Clevo recall is expected to take place in the May/June timeframe, and users are not expected to experience any issues before then.

You can refer to this sticky for more info. http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/551924-thread-clevo-sager-notebook-recall-news-questions.html

There are also posts by the resellers scattered across different threads, but you should be able to glean enough info from the sticky.

 

In one of these threads (5160 or 8130 owner's lounge), Paladin44 from powernotebooks knew which Sager model had "the standard TI chipset" for 1394, but I don't remember off the top of my head. You could try contacting him... though you're planning to buy from the competition...

 

This is the quote by paladin44.

Link is http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...er-np8130-clevo-p151hm1-owners-lounge-52.html

 

You know it's the time for amd to release its Bulldozer CPU. I've never used amd in my whole life. Maybe now i make a switch. A notebook with Bulldozer and 6970m. How's that?

 

AMD has a lot to prove in the mobile market. Their current offerings are straight trash.

 

Sure their CPUs are garbage. That's why i stayed away from them. But i prefer their gpus (former Ati) to nvidia

 

Nvidia is good too though....

 

Hey, if people are looking for screen quality pictures and comparisons

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-between-different-screen-options-photos.html

Please note the 8130 comes with the V.1 screen by default.

 

My "trash" statement was solely referring to AMD's CPUs. The GPUs are fine by me.

 

Yeah, I wish AMD could now live up to its potential like what Apple does.

Apple's superb interaction between hardware+software plays a huge role in maximizing the functions of the OS X.

AMD could sell its CPU, if paired with powerful yet cheap GPU's, gained extra functionality by synergies. I'd say they have an edge in this game..

But as everyone knows, CPU performances have to be at least up to par with intels for them to actually get this "pair-deal" to work.

Let's hope that time comes soon so that we'll see some more competitive pricing from the intel-nVidia family as well.

 

AMD Fusion on the new Thinkpad and HP DM1Z has been getting great reviews.

 

Noticed that no one has posted this yet, but here's Xotic's review of the NP8130.

YouTube - Sager NP8130 Video Review by XOTIC PC

I had seriously considered the 8130 before finally going with the 8150.

 

Good video review. As one of the comments to the video points out, it looks like Sager is shipping the 8130 with an LG matte screen and not the AUO11ED that is featured in the review. Does anyone know which LG matte screen XoticPC is referring to in their video review?

 

Again, I believe Sager is shipping it with the AUO11ED..

I relistened to the review, and it states that they are using the AUO11ED..

 

See 13:07-13:22 in the video.

 

Hopefully AMD will be wise and release something more powerful than the 460M on this. Maybe by March or so

On a side note I think he meant the laptops come standard with the AUO screen, but when they do upgrades they use the LG screen. I could be wrong though.

 

If the 8130 is capable of powering the 6970m, I will upgrade for $100-200 as well.

 

Not likely. A 120W PSU will not be enough for the 6970M, and the machine was not intended to run GPUs with a high power draw. That's why the P150HM/NP8150 is there, with its 180W PSU, and better cooling.

 

8150 has better cooling than the 8130?
U're sure about this?

 

That appears to be the case. See posts #536 and #541 in this thread.

 

So you can't really upgrade the 8130....? If you do i guess it will require to change the PSU and that could be very expensive..

 

PSU is the external brick. It probably is only like $100. However, nobody has confirmed if you can just use a higher wattage power supply and it'll be fine. I believe the MXM slot can only accommdate up to 75W cards or whatever the 460m is.

 

Yup that, its not quite as simple as new brick GO kinda thing, there are some cooling changes too between them that make upgrading a no-go (Even though they share a motherboard)

 

you're referring to an upgrade of the GPU only here, correct? (of being a no-go..)

 

Yes, just the GPU, the only CPU it can't take is the 2920xm

 

What if 75w GPU are created? Something that can use the 120watt power supply? Like the 560M, which could be the upgrade for this laptop in a few months from now or a year. In XoticPC video review of the 8130, he said the GPU/CPU can be upgraded.

As time advances technology only gets better and more power efficient, no?

 

Hi everyone

Boy, the Intel SB snafu has hit the whole globe including myself in Singapore. Our local Sager reseller expects stocks to arrive only in end march to early April.

In the meantime, may I ask a couple of questions regarding gaming on the Sager NP8130....Some of my questions are repeated but I would like to ask them again so as to get more opinions...

- How many years of warranty would you folks recommend? I have the option of choosing 1-3 years of Sager official warranty. While I would go for 3 years, I'm afraid that my local Sager distributor will collapse as the firm specializes in parallel import laptops. Therefore, I'm opting for 2 years warranty at this moment as it seems to offer the best value for money/risk.

- When we play our computer games, does the computer always adjust the game's video settings so that the game at a full HD resolution??? As in...does the game run itself in 1920 X 1080p and will lower the graphics quality (if necessary) to fit the resolution?? Sorry I'm not too sure about these issues.

- Does a powerful CPU enable us to run more demanding games or game in higher qualities and resolutions? I know that Starcraft 2 on Windows can be CPU dependent (Tom's Hardware).

Finally, I hope if you guys can advise whether my Sager 8130 setup is suitable for running these games in med-ultra high resolutions:

Games: Medal of Honor 2010, Mass Effect 2, Dragonage I & II, Call of Duty: Black Ops

Setup: Intel i7-2720QM (2.2-3.3GHZ), GTX460M, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 500 GB SATA II HDD.

Thanks for setting up this thread, your replies and opinions. It's been very useful for 1st time Sager users and those who are considering Sager. As of now, my Plan B is the Asus G73JW/JH...

Thanks so much guys!

 

Well, yes, if you consider the performance vs. watt ratio, they will become power efficient.

But to be honest, there are two ways to improve the perf./watt ratio, first is to increase the performance on the same wattage, second is to decrease the wattage given the same performance.

The high-end cards tend to follow the 1st rule, as manufacturers aren't likely to make compromises: they want to show that their cards are the king.

The mid~ mid-high end cards follow the 2nd rule. Although they do have better performance ratio to the same wattage than the previous gen, they will not pump out high-end cards for the sake of less power.

So theoretically, yes, you may upgrade your GPU to a better performer in the future, but that GPU will never be the top-tier in neither ATi or nVidia, and as when people "upgrade", they wish to have the bleeding edge, some people won't even call it an "upgrade", but a mere "catching-up" to the current technology.

 

Wrote the comments in bold.

 

Entirely up to you. I think two years is good anyhow, that's what I got. After two years with a performance laptop, since performance changes drastically with each CPU and GPU iteration, if my laptop dies, for me best to just replace it.

Games are user configurable. You set the resolution and details level. With the GTX 485m there should be enough power to run using "high" settings which means in-game default settings of "high" Most games have default confiurations of "low", "medium", "high", "ultra" or something along those lines. Most games allow for fine tuning of details though if you like.

Depends on the game. Real Time Stragey (RTS) games typically consume more CPU than GPU, but first person shooters (FPS) games are usually bound by the GPU. Starcraft 2 is CPU dependent but even the basic i7-2630QM is more than adequate for that game. Only games like Flight Simulator X may tax the quad core fully, as well as upcoming games like Battlefield 3.

That setup should be fine running those games at high even. Mass Effect 2 might need to be toned down a little bit, and not sure aobut Dragon Age 2 because it's not out yet, but based on the released specs it should be able to handle medium to high.

 

Yea, if they make a video card that is compatible with the cooling and power requirements down the road, then sure the video card is upgradable. Was just clarifying at this time, such an upgrade doesn't exist. But there is a good chance one will in the future.

 

Thanks Meraki for the fast reply!

To answer your 1st comment, no I'm not from the US although I do know that Sager is popular over at North America. The problem for us consumers over in Singapore is that Sager is not a well known brand in Singapore even on the hardware forums with the exception of the performance notebook crowd which is really small. Therefore, Sager users in Singapore can only purchase from 2 different parallel importers which being parallel importers, also do not have proper support services. However, at least the distributors offer official Sager warranties for purchase.

The main concern for me really, is that the distributor ceases its operations. So long as the distributor is in business, they will send faulty units back to Sager USA for repair and I've been told by their reps that they will cover the shipping fee. But what happens if the distro shuts down? Well, I will still be able to send in my laptop for repair but now the specter of freight costs arrives.

Yeah, so this is the main reason for why I'm opting for a 2-year warranty instead of a 3-year.

As for the GPU and gaming, the game will try to run at 1920 X 1080p and will change the individual settings to fit. However, there is still room for adjustment to hit high settings and 1 way to do it is to alter the resolution. Is this correct?

Thanks for advising on the CPU's impact on games. This is basically a mixed bag I suppose; some games run better with better CPUs, other games behave in an opposite manner and yet others like a balance. I think I'll stick with the CPU upgrade for now...I like the feeling of opening up MS Word in seconds haha...

And also a word of thanks to those who have or will answer my questions!

 

Opening programs will be determined by your hard drive.

Granted, faster CPU will make things run faster on your laptop, but that is only evident in CPU intensive programs such as compilation, as no CPU is bottlenecked in terms of opening word or such.

To see a vast improvement in responsiveness, I suggest you use the CPU upgrade costs to invest in a solid state drive. You will feel the difference(one of the very few components that you will actually be able to notice in real life), and you will kick yourself for not upgrading to an SSD earlier.

 

Ah yes, I totally forgot to mention about SSDs. I decided not to opt for SSDs at the moment because of the price : capacity ratios. But I may give SSDs a try when I build my desktop next year since desktop SSDs have more space and are cheaper (i think).

Regarding SSDs, do SSDs have a shorter lifespan compared to our mechanical hard discs? I've read that there is a finite number of read/write cycles in a SSD?

Thanks for suggesting SSDs too!

 

They do have a finite number of write cycles, read cycles are limitless. The write cycles that you see in a desktop environment put SSD's lifespan in the same range as a typical mechanical drive (3-5 years). And remember when they run out of write's they turn into a giant read only flash drive. So your data is still safe. Also remember that SSD's have 5-15% more space than they report for just this reason to move stuff around behind the scenes for when certain cells run out of writes.

 

Wow more space than what is reported? That's great. Thanks for the short description/education on SSDs...I must confess that I don't know SSDs as well as the other hardware components.

BTW, are there ways to swap out the keyboard for the NP8130 to a back-lit one without voiding the warranty?

Or does anyone also know of 'matte rubber' skins for the palmrest?

I'm curious as to the type of customization options we have beyond the already vast Sager customizations.

 

Honestly though, for that to be plausible, we have to assume that the P151HM isn't just a one-off promo bundle. There's a 75W GPU available right now, the GTX 470M, and it isn't being offered in this chassis. You expect that to change in the future? For the record, the PSU will only handle a 65W GPU + 45W CPU.

The bottom line is that you shouldn't buy this machine, if the guarantee of future GPU upgrades is important to you. The smartest thing to do, is to consider the P151 an "as-is" machine, for the life of the product.

There's a very distinct line drawn, between the P151 and P150. Choose wisely.

 

My chioce: A 8150 with 6970m if that exists

 

Well, more space you won't see it. The SSD firmware needs space to do it's cleanup business (TRIM and Garbage Collection or GC) so your performance won't degrade. What you can use is pretty much what they say the capacity is like a hard drive 80GB = 80,000,000,000 / 1073741824 (binary bytes 1024*1024*1024) = 74.5 GB. Like a hard drive you shouldn't fill it to capacity either or performance will degrade greatly as well.

That being said, in a dual drive system, an SSD is a great addition. You can get a 60-64GB SSD for Windows and apps, and a hard drive for data and games. That way Windows is snappy and apps load quickly, and have the storage for data and games.

 

Ordered mine this last weekend. Hope to be proud owner in like 2+ months

 

Interesting way to put it. I'm set on the 8130, because I almost got the G53JW (cancelled it probably a day before it would have shipped out).

I just figured because of how upgradable the machine was it may get some in the future.

 

Hi all,

I've been reading this topic, since the beginning, but I guess now it's time to post.
The model 8130 always looked better for me, since I don't intend to get an GTX485 (I've been playing until now with an HD 2600m at 1280x800....only now I'm moving to a better card, cause it cannot handle 1080p even on less demanding games).
But, something bites me since the very beginning: the cooling solution.
I've read that 8150 has better cooling to handle the heat of a GTX485, but....
They look identical...
The only point that sounded more acceptable was about maybe better FANs...

So I decided to ask to sager support.
Take a look at the e-mails we sent:

Soooo
As far as I can understand, if you get a gtx460m, no matter what model you get. The cooling efficiency is going to be the same.

Could anyone with access to both models, confirm or deny this information? (a reseller maybe)

Did anyone noticed any difference between the FANs on those models?


PS: OK
My second question was kinda dumb...but the answer for the first was too short, I wold like to confirm it lol

 

I think the only difference between the 8130 and 8150 as far as video card capabatibility is the power supply. BTW rolling right now with the Prostar 151 aka 8130.

 

Resellers have said the cooling was better, but when I watched xotics video on both systems they looked the same. I'm not sure if they are just hyping the 8150 for more money or if they are right, but so far I dont think there has been any proof, only their words.

 

The factory has said clearly that the 8150 and the 8130 have the same chassis. They have the same CPU Fan and the same GPU fan. Theatrically you could put the same GPU's in both as long as you have the proper heatsink for the upgraded GPU. Also one would want the higher output PSU of the 8150 as well. We are speaking here of what is possible. We are not saying it is advisable to do this at all...
__

 

Ya,cooling is the same among the 2 models though it has been assumed that the 8150 has better cooling than the 8130, but there weren't evident enough to prove that 8150 has more superior cooling.

The only difference is the power supply, upgradeable GPU and the design finish.

8130 is plastic finish while 8150 has rubberized finish. =D

 

Don't forget the screens. I can't wait to see how the matte screen on my np8130 will look! Ah if only there wasn't a problem with the SATA ports, I would have had the laptop by the end of the month.

 

I'm looking for this information too.

 

Hi dude did u order from xoticpc.. if yes what is ur order no. Mine is 28572.. Others also if u have ordered from xoticpc then u can post ur order no. It will be of great help to determine who all will get it first. Coz otherwise ill have to change my order to g53 if i cannot get it by 10th march ... Also intel will be shipping the new ones in mid feb. So does it mean I have a chance that i can get it in the first week of march coz i was about to cancel my order...