Official Sager NP8130/Clevo P151HM1 Owners Lounge

Nope it is just speculation.

 

Try it and let us know how it works

 

I definitely would if I had a need for the increased speed right away. I am totally open to being proven wrong, but just from personally building, repairing, and seeing so many systems throughout the years as well as general design knowledge, I have a hard time accepting this idea that these two laptops, the 8130 and the 8150 are all that different.

The chasis is listed as identical dimensions and weight on each Sager product page:
6.83 LBs with Battery Pack
14.80" (w) x 10.08" (d) x 1.38"~1.69" (h)

The graphics card connector slot is listed as the same on both product pages:
MXM3.0 Type B

The MXM 3.0 Specifications are listed in this PDF:
http://www.mxm-sig.org/file.cfm?doc=36A88883-DFFA-E3E6-16C301BCF5633572

Notice that the dimensions are identical on all type B MXM 3.0 boards:
Type B Module
Type B targets high-performance and enthusiast systems
Board size: 82x105mm

The power supply for the 8130:
Full Range AC-in 100~240V, 50~60Hz, 120W AC Adapter, DC output 20V, 6A

The power supply for the 8150:
Full Range AC-in 100~240V, 50~60Hz, 180W AC Adapter, DC output 19V, 9.47A

Perhaps the biggest revealing clue is the fact that both models have the same service manual with exactly the same pictures, maintenance procedures, etc. throughout:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?4pgzpk7dft1wq42

The only difference here is the electrical output differences between the two power supplies. From just this initial research, other than a possible device blacklist or intentional crippling of the 8130 BIOS, I really can't see any reason why an 8130 would not accept a more powerful card. You could always call up a reseller to confirm this.

Grab the card, grab the higher PSU, and rock. Simple as that.

 

Yes! Dare I hope again??

Mr. Mysterious

 

Hi guys

I ordered my Sager NP8130 on March 20,
but since then I've been looking around again,

I found out that the Sager NP5160, customized with the i7-2630, 8 GB of RAM, 1920x1080 Glare Type screen, and 750 GB 7200 rpm HD would cost almost $300 less than the Sager NP8130 with those specs.
and according to notebookcheck, the nVidia GT 540M that comes with the 5160 isn't significantly worse than the GTX 460M.

So is there some aspect of the 8130 that I didn't look at, that makes it worth the extra $300? Or should I hurry to cancel my order?

 

good research! repped!
I was too lazy to do that lol...

 

Only you can answer this question. How will you use your laptop? Will you do a lot of intensive gaming? Graphic works? Will you carry the laptop out very often? Battery life is important???

We (or atleast I) can't answer this question until you tell us how you are going to use the laptop.

 

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure the 540M uses DDR3 rather than DDR5 ram. I researched these cards much like you are now a few months ago and came to the conclusion that it was worth paying more for the 8130. I don't remember the exact technical reasons but the 460m is by far a better card.

 

I'm a senior in High school right now, and I'm getting a laptop to last me all 4 years of college.
I'm going to be primarily using it for gaming, internet browsing, doing homework, and taking notes in class.
I'm going to be a CS major, so there might be a large variety of tasks I'll need to do for classes, such as ray tracing. I won't be doing much video editing or other intensive graphic tasks outside of that, though.
I want to be able to play any game that comes out in the next four years, at least. Though, if absolutely necessary, I'm not above using low settings.

 

In that case, if the 8130 is the absolute top of your budget you will be much better off sticking with your order.

I think the 540m will be overwhelmed by games much much sooner than the 460m. Although, asking for a laptop that will still play games after 4 years on anything but low settings is stretching it.

Not sure about the 5160 but at least with the 8130 you can always upgrade the graphics card in a few years for much less than buying a new laptop.

 

if that's the case,
buy something that can last you for 4 years, like the NP8130/8150.

Get NVIDIA GPU. It might be useful if you are going to use CUDA for ray tracing.

 

For someone who games occasionally, the GTX460M is probably overkill. I'm really not interested in shooters, instead I love platformers, sandbox type games, and I'm even showing a little interest in RTS (my best friend intro'd me to StarCraft, the original one....and the proceeded to ruthlessly destroy me as I tried to figure out what the heck a Protoss is).

Still, it's important that I work on non-obsolete materials....in business, quite a bit goes to looks (that's why execs have Mercedes instead of Priuses), and getting a high-end laptop will definitely help if I can show that I'm capable of doing pretty much anything.

Plus, what can I say? I love laptops. I think they're the best things since sliced bread.

Mr. Mysterious

 

platformers? isn't that genre completely dead now?

http://www.batmanarkhamcity.com/us/main.html << Also, pls pre-order this, I get royalties.

 

HI there, i am thinking of going for a Sager NP8130, processor i7 2630QM, and 16gb of RAM. I am not a gamer, but i would be working with vm images, so the idea of having 16gb RAM seemed very appealing.

But your post seems to suggest,that it's not an advisable configuration.Please correct me if i am wrong.

 

Well I'm not sure if you really need a 460M to work on virtual machines...a great processor would probably be a much better idea. In that case, why not save some money and get a 5160 with a 2720QM or better....that is what I would do if I were in your position.

Wayyy ahead of you.

Mr. Mysterious

 

I agree with you,that i would not be needing a 460M. 5160 is a great option,but 5160 cant accommodate 16gb of RAM

It's only because of wanting 16gb of RAM, that i am having to go for a Sager NP8130. Another option would be to go for an Asus N53SV-XV1 from amazon.It ships with 4gb of RAM, but i can get another 12gb of RAM on Amazon.

I really have heard good things about the build of Sager laptops,but then there is also a wait period

 

You can if you are gonna use all of it. Say for rendering or maybe some engineering stuff. I have the standard 8gb on mine and I haven't gona passed 4gb. So technically the other 4 is kind of a waste right now. Idk what I'm gonna use a few years down the road, but it could come in handy sometime in the future.
In your case, it could be helpful.

 

I appreciate the rep man. The research is what I'm here for. At times I may have a tendency to over research small things, but it prevents wasting money on things that won't work and helps to open new avenues on things that may seem closed at first glance.

 

Yeah hispeed, i am sure it will come handy in the future.

 

Lol, there is a wait period for everything, pretty much. In your case, I'd suggest you go for the 8130 then, and either have the seller install the RAM for you or buy it online and do it yourself.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Yeah Mr.Mysterious , i guess you are right. Just curious, have you opted for that dead pixel warranty?

 

Unfortunately, having the huge GPU may be a side effect that is unavoidable in terms of looking for 16GB of RAM in a laptop. I had a Dell Precision and I know that some of those as well as the workstation class laptops from HP and Lenovo will accept RAM sizes around 16GB or above. It just turns out that most people needing 16GB of RAM in a laptop have a higher probability of needing better graphics processing too. In terms of price though, the 8130 is about one of the cheapest laptops I have seen to support 16GB of RAM. There may be more, but you might have to really look for them. You may be able to pickup some workstation class laptops as refurbished from the individual Dell, HP, and Lenovo outlet stores. That might land you something with 16GB under $1,000 if you are lucky.

 

No I haven't. I trust my reseller to check everything (which I'm sure they have) before shipping it to me.

Mr. Mysterious

 

It suggests nothing of the sort. It simply states that getting 1600 Mhz Ram is pointless with the i7-2630, because it will downclock to 1333Mhz. But everyone already has 1333Mhz RAM. That's the standard nowdays soz there's nothing wrong with it.

I'm into computer science too, and I found the 16Gb of ram extremely nice as well. Not that I I use VM's a lot currently, but I sure am planning to to test code in different environments farther down the line.

The only downside with getting the np8130 is your going to be paying a premium for the graphics unfortunately. Maybe you can work with a reseller to shave off a couple bucks by throwing a lesser graphics card in idk..., but the future of computers is undoubtedly graphical, so I'm sure that untapped power will be put to use somewhere, when your not exactly working the whole time.

 

TechNewbie, hehe, yes i am not working all the time. Yeah,you are right about the future being graphical.

Grigg ga, i will think about the refurbished laptop

Thanks MrMysterious.

 

Uhh I already mentioned that 1600mhz ram does run in full speed in the 2x2gb configuration.

 

Uhhhh but he needs 16GB.

Mr. Mysterious

 

I have the same thought with you before. But still hold on with NP8130 because of the GTX 460M card.

Now I am only a casual gamer, but I do play games sometime. I am a fan of total war. GT540M only have 96 cores, compared to 192 cores in GTX460M (and the cores are running at the same clock). You may want to look at it again mainly on the graphic intensive benchmark, the results are significantly different between these 2 cards. So I could justify paying 300 more to get a better cards than GT540m..

485M, not for me.. because it is way to expensive for my pocket.. another 500 for upgrade + around 300 for higher end machine than 8130 *remember 8150 and 8170 start at lower spec on RAM and HDD*

Also, as discussed.. it is the cheapest machine with 4 slots and support 16GB RAM..

But if you don't really need them, choose NP5160.. they are also lighter, and I guess comes with smaller and more portable power adapter

 

Still in transit across the country....damn, Thursday can't come soon enough.

*as Scorpion* Get over here!

Mr. Mysterious

 

I'm chatting with Xotic right now trying to upgrade my shipping to 2nd day before my laptop ships out. I hope I can do it since it will drive me crazy to wait for ground shipping across the country!!

 

I'd suggest you save your money....It's pretty much the same, lol

Mr. Mysterious

 

any idea whether the hd6970m might be coming to this model?

 

That card should be available on the 8170 on April 4th, by many estimates. However, it still remains to be seen whether or not the 8130 will be able to have enough power to handle the 6970M.

Mr. Mysterious

 

In my experience UPS takes their sweet old time getting stuff here with ground shipping. If it were to ship today I probably wouldn't get it until next Monday. I just paid an extra $36 for the 2nd day. Well worth it since it will most likely save me from going crazy over the weekend.

 

From the reviews the 6970 actually uses more power in some cases than the 485m so I doubt it will work in the 8130...

 

If you look at this page here:

MXM 3.0 Cards Store

That model, the AMD 6970M, is already in stock and is MXM3.0 Type B. So it is the same exact dimensions as the 460M or 485M cards. Also, if you can believe Notebookcheck.net:

AMD Radeon HD 6970M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

The power requirements are the same as the 485M. You could always contact these MXM resellers to confirm the power usage.

Again, looking here:

http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/Table_3.html

These MXM resellers have tested the 6970M as working with the older generation of Clevo laptops based on the first generation Core series from Intel. The specs for the 15.6" notebook are listed here in an Anandtech review:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3758/avadirect-clevo-w860cu-5870-vs-285m

Unfortunately, Clevo has removed these specs from their main site as these laptops are not currently in production anymore. However, it just goes to show that these laptops are easily upgradeable and are, as much as laptops can be, standards based. As long as you have the correct connector, (MXM 3.0) which implies compatible PCI express operation to and from the card, the correct physical dimensions (Type B dimensions), and enough power (Around a 180Watt PSU or higher), you should be fine.

*Note that you might be able to get by with less than 180Watt, but since Sager is using 180Watt in the 8150, it is probably a good idea to have a little headroom in case you decide to plug in a ton of USB devices all at once.

So, to sum it all up, since you rock and own a Clevo based notebook like the rest of us, you would be fine with using the 180Watt supply that comes with the 8150. Order the bigger PSU from Sager or Clevo and swap out the cards.

 

Awesome! +Rep to you!

Now if anyone disagrees with him, I'd suggest you do some research to back up your claims.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Mr.Mysterious, just found out from Malibal that, the wait period there is around a few weeks. It seems the equivalent model of NP8130 is Clevo P151HM1. I hope there are not much different though. Anyways, will post here once i place my order from any of the resellers.

 

The Anandtech review did some battery and power tests and it looks like it drains harder than the 485m, which doesn't mean the 8150's PSU can't support it but I was talking about the 8130, which does not come with a big enough PSU.

Eurocom Racer: Why the Radeon HD 6970M Rocks - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

 

Yea, you're right Windkull that a stock 8130 PSU probably wouldn't cut it at only 120watts total. Good thing it's easy to order the bigger one.

Speaking of video card upgrades, I found a nice picture walk through of an MXM card update here. An Alienware M17x getting upgraded. Looks to be a fairly easy update. The 8130 would be especially easy to work on:
http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/m17xR3.html

Hey on another note, anyone else running an Intel 310 series SSD in your 8130? I'm thinking about getting one seeing as I could do that and keep my optical drive located internally. I was curious if anyone had any hands on experience with them.

 

I wouldn't suggest going for it, griff. I'd rather sacrifice my ODD (that I barely use anyways) for faster speeds than stick with a mid-tier SSD like the intel soda creek.

Batman is going to try putting one in his though; we'll see how that works out.

Me? I'm going for the 64GB C300

Mr. Mysterious

 

U said its a godd thing it's easy to order the bigger one, so that means if i have an 8130 and in the future i wanted to upgrade he PSU, can i ?

 

Yea you just order the new PSU from either your reseller, or from Sager. You may even be able to find it on Ebay, etc.

 

Hey Mysterious,

I am interested in what the Batman finds out when he drops his Intel 310 in the 8130. My biggest thing is price/performance. I really have a hard time justifying to myself that I "need" an SSD other than for speed when it comes to doing video editing and projects. It is nice to have a separate boot drive. I see that the 80GB Intel 310 isn't too bad. The write speeds are kinda low on the 40GB model. I just don't have any real first hand experience with the drives long term. I have used some before and installed some, however I am really interested in performance over time. Some of the SSD reviews are scary in the sense that the drives seem to degrade a lot over time. I know TRIM and things such as this seem to have helped the situation a lot. Anyone else have any first hand experience with SSD real world performance over time?

 

Don't you mean Wednesday?

Xotic is way faster methinks.

Very cool, didn't know there was a reseller for new mxm cards.

I actually just put it in a fellow student's tablet for $200, because I'm supposed to be poor, and because I'm not sure if it would have worked in the 8130...

 

Yay! Just hit Phase 3. My laptop is built and now they're gonna overclock it for me.

 

Congratulations

 

I'm getting nervous...almost 5:00 PM EST and no shippment notice yet. At least it's only 2:00 PM PST so there is still plenty of time for them to get my laptop out.

What time did you guys get your shippment notifications?

 

Got mine at 7am. It had shipped the night before.

 

Hi, actually - this model is shipping in 3-4 days.