Official Sager NP8130/Clevo P151HM1 Owners Lounge

It's hard to say where games will be in three years, but you should always plan to get the best you can afford if you're looking for longevity. Three years ago, the Nvidia 8800 GTX was the highest end single GPU. The 560m is a middle of the road current GPU and it's 50% faster than the 8800GTX.

So just to put that in perspective, in 3 years the high end GPU power nearly tripled. This translates directly to game performance as well.

 

My 460M still performs flawlessly

To me, storyline and gameplay matters more than eye candy.

Though I still enjoy the eye candy

Mr. Mysterious

 

I just noticed a rattling noise when typing on this keyboard - is that normal?

 

No it is not. Can you explain a little more please.
_

 

I agree, and knowing me, I'll probably be playing many older games, as well as ones that just came out.

 

Well its like a resonance/vibration?, if I tap a key softly you don't hear it. But it I tap it with a little more force then it produces a noise. For example if I tap the " key (on the right side of the keyboard) I hear a vibration towards the left side of the keyboard... its strange

 

Just wondering what's the average battery wear level you guys are experiencing? I've had my 8130 for exactly 3 months and it's at 6%...does that seem like a normal pace?

 

6% wear after 3 months is great. your typical battery will last 1-1.5yrs before you'll need to replace it, depending on use of course.

 

To lean on the positive side, some batteries last over 2+ years!
_

 

I think I understand. What does your dealer or reseller say about this issue?
_

 

Like "Leisure Suit Larry - the land of the lounge lizards" and "Indiana Jones and the fate of atlantis" <3

 

I've noticed that my NP8130 occasionally emits a short beep, medium tone, about 1/4 second in length. It seems to be coming from the right speaker area. It seems to have a slight static/electrical sound to it. I'm not sure if it is coming from the speaker, or from somewhere near the speaker. Seems to happen randomly, and having headphones plugged in or speakers muted does not seem the affect the beeps. I'm running Win7x64 with the Sager audio drivers. Not really a big deal, I'm just wondering if there is something wrong with my laptop.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

Thanks for the info. Where do I get the latest Bios update? Mine is dated 06/01/2011.

 

Bios upgrades depend heavily on where you purchased from. If you have a machine through us or any Clevo reseller/retailer, you can use the link below:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/416916-clevo-bios-thread.html

However, if you have a Sager or other branded machine you'll need to contact your retailer directly to check about bios updates. If you aren't sure if you have either, this is the best route. Using the wrong bios could potentially brick the machine going back and forth, so it's better to stick with the same series.

 

No this is not normal. What has your dealer or reseller said about this?

It is most likely not a driver or Win7 issue.
_

 

Hey everyone...new here. I've had my 8130 with the 460m since April and now considering a gpu upgrade. Just wondering where people were getting there new video cards from and if they needed new heat sinks. Thanks for the help.

 

The first one to ask would be your dealer or reseller. They are in a position to get this for you.
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I emailed my reseller and was told that the 8130 couldnt handle a 6990m because the motherboard and power supply couldnt handle it. I know i would need the 180w power supply but i was under the impression that the 8130 had the same motherboard as the 8150 or am i wrong?

 

guys i recently noticed a drop in CPU score in 3DMARK 06, before i was getting around 5700+ for the cpu, but i am only getting around 4900+ for my 2720qm procie.. and that' after a fresh install.. any ideas what might be the cause in the drop in score? thanks.

 

I'll ask the obvious question: Were you running on "power saver" or "balanced" mode?

Mr. Mysterious

 

i always run on performance mode, sori if i hadn't stated earlier.. i am really stumped..

 

I've had my Sager NP8130 for nearly a month now, so I think I'm ready to offer a review.

TL;DR version: I love it.

By way of background, this is an upgrade from my first laptop, an elderly (vintage 2005) IBM ThinkPad T43. Of course this means that the performance improvement is going to be substantial, but it also sets the Sager up against a machine that is well-known for excellent ergonomics and sturdy construction. I really wondered how well the Sager would stack up in a variety of usability factors against the ThinkPad design, and I am pleased to report that it more than hold its own.

Performance-wise, I am very happy with it. I am a frequent user of Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software, which is very CPU-intensive. Both accuracy and speed have improved substantially thanks to the greater processing power of the 2820QM processor (and especially its 8 MB L3 cache) which allows me to run the program at its highest settings with results showing up on screen nearly instantaneously.

I am not a heavy-duty gamer, so I cannot give a really good assessment of graphics performance. I spend a lot of time in Second Life, however, and am generally pleased with the experience. I am getting frame rates anywhere from 50 to 75 FPS at "ultra" graphics settings - so long as shadows are disabled. However, if I enable shadows, frame rates drop like a rock, down to 20 to 25 FPS or sometimes even lower. This is no big deal for me, but your mileage may vary.

The 95% gamut matte screen is absolutely gorgeous. I keep calling my wife over saying, "Look at this, honey - isn't this a beautiful picture?" I think she's getting tired of it.

Sound from the speakers is satisfactory for my purposes. There is no comparison with a full-size system, but it's 1000% better than the tinny sound of my old machine.

When I ordered the computer, I really wondered about the Chiclet-style keyboard - the ThinkPad is famous for its excellent conventional keyboard. I need not have worried - the Sager keyboard is quite comfortable and usable for me, and I am finding no flex or other problems.

Construction-wise, the Sager is more than satisfactory. The T43 always gave me the feeling that if I needed to, I could use it to pound fence posts into the ground. The NP8130 does not feel quite that rugged, but it seems sturdy enough. (I'll hang onto the ThinkPad just in case I need to put in a new fence someday.)

I have no problems with the feel of the plastic case, and while it does show dust, a quick swipe with a cloth cleans it off. I generally use a mouse, rather than the trackpad, but I don't find the lack of tactile differentiation between it and the rest of the case to be a problem when I do use it.

The fingerprint reader works quite well, unlike the one on my old machine which was inconsistent from day one.

About the only thing I miss from the ThinkPad are dedicated volume and mute buttons on the keyboard. I liked the ability to mute sound instantly with one touch of a button - a process that now takes me a couple of mouse clicks. One can't have everything, I guess.

Bottom line is I would buy this again in a heartbeat.

 

I am buying mine from powernotebooks.com, I can't wait to get it! It is certainly a step up from my netbook I'm using now.

 

Right, sorry about that. Sager has a pretty strict policy of only selling the 120W PSU with the 8130. You are correct, they do have the same motherboard, but it is mainly the power supply preventing you from upgrading to the 6990M.

Off of what Mr. Mysterious said, to state the obvious again, which drivers are you using?

 

Also you are welcome to purchase the 180W PSU as a extra add on for a 8130. Some here on the forum have done so.
_

 

So would a reseller be willing to sell the gpu and heatsink with the 180w power brick by themselves?

 

I am curious about this also. If possible I'd love to be able to buy the better Power Brick and an upgraded GPU down the line.

 

I 3rd this. It would be good to know.

UPS is supposed to deliver my lappy tomorrow by "end of day." I AM MUCH EXCITE.

I shall game until my eyeballs explode. HOORAY.

 

Yes. I bought the 180watt psu for my np8130. Xoticpc, and most other resellers with sell you a new gpu.

They're expensive though, something like 700$.
So you are kind of forced to sell your old gpu 560m for ~300$.

 

Hi!

I have the np8130

1st I would like to know where I could buy a 6990m gpu, the power supply aint a problem I can order it locally.

2nd is there a way I could add an external gpu to this unit using the mini pcie slot for the simcard/3g or any free pcie port, if this was possible, which I am quite positive that it is, this would be a good solution for playing games that my gtx560m cant run in max setting.

I am from Adelaide Australia, for possible sellers of the 6990m gpu.

AND what's the estimated price of the 6990m? Cheers!

Thanks a lot!

 

@Billyfloyd:

You can program a keyboard button to do just that: mute, or open a program or whatever you want really. I think its called "hotkey"ing

Mr. Mysterious

 

Maybe one of them might consider doing like a group buy or something if enough people are interested. Or not...just a thought.

 

There was someone selling 6990m's on the nbr marketplace a while back for around $500.00 with heatsink and 180w power supply but it said he only had a limited supply and sager wouldn't supply him any more at the moment.

 

Well, official word from Sager is that the 8130 does not support the 6990M, but theoretically you could purchase the 180W psu and 6990M separately. However know that Sager hasn't authorized the use of the 6990M in the 8130 so if there are warranty problems you may have issues using the warranty.

TL;DR proceed at your own risk, basically.

 

I wish they were cheaper, I want to add a 6990m. But first in winter break, I have to RMA my laptop with xotic.
The battery hinges are broken for no reason(I rarely took out battery) and I can get the new revision of the LCD. (I have the red ghosting one)

Though I wonder when I rma with them, if they will swap the whole body or something, because I don't really see a way to fix the battery hinges themselves.

 

Oh- thanks for the suggestion! Excellent idea, and much appreciated.

 

My NP8130 shipped out this morning and should be arriving by wednesday. I can't wait. If the laptop is half as good as the service I got from XoticPC I will be pretty happy!

Sager NP8130:
Display 15.6" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080)
Processor 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
Thermal Compound - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
Graphics Video Card nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
Ram 8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS)
Primary Hard Drive 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
Optical Drive Bay Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW

 

Anyway i found a buyer for my np8130 pumped to 16gb for 1400 aud, will add 500 more and ill get an upgraded gpu and cpu plus a rubber finish, though i was starting to love the carbon fibre sticker i put in my np8130.

I hope the 6990m could run bf3 on at least hight with 40 fps if not then i'll just have to ditch the "portability" and go for a tower.

 

It should be able to do that just fine. The 6990M is arguably the best mobile graphics card on the market right now.

(And no, I don't want to start an NVIDIA vs AMD flamewar.)

Mr. Mysterious

 

No war here. It is the truth when we say that the AMD 6990M is the best, lowest cost, mobile solution out there.
_

 

Anyone experiencing problems with the dvi output? So, with the cable that came with my asus 120hz monitor, no problems whatsoever, all the pins are flat and out.
Then I tried the dvi belkin dual link switch. And I have green dots all over my screen, one pin I noticed is recessed. Plugged it into my desktop, and it's perfect.

Then I tried another dvi cable and I also noticed 1 pin is recessed. This time, there are a few green dots on the screen here and there. Then tried it on my desktop, and it's perfect again. Then I go back to the cable that came with my monitor and plug it into my laptop, and 0 problems.

I think the dvi cable does not make a good enough connection on this laptop. Anyone else have this problem? For now since I want to use it with my belkin switch, I am going to get a female to female adapter and connect the monitor cable to my laptop, should work then.

But still, anoyying, I wish you could just screw it in like any other cable dvi cable on a desktop.

 

^^^^ I do not remember anyone else commenting on this issue. Could you post some pics of this?
_

 

What cables were you using exactly? The confusing thing about DVI is that there are quite a few "DVI" cables. The P151HM1 has a Dual Link DVI port, which is required by Nvidia to be 3D Vision certified (among other things). Were all the cables you used dual link DVI as well?

Digital Visual Interface - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Yeah they're all dual link. The belkin is a dual link dvi switcher. And the dvi output on the desktop is dual link and connected to this cable it works. Since I can select 120hz on this montior and dual link is required for that, so that can't be the problem.

Here's a picture of the cable, notice the 3rd pin on the right on the middle row is kind of pushed in.

I'm thinking because of that it can't make a snug connection. I bet if I cut some of the trimming of the cable it would work, but that's last resort. I will wait until my female to female adapter comes so I can hook up the other cable.

 

Seems the issue regarding my processor dropped performance is due to the system continuously throttling down the speed? Anyone experiencing this? even when setting to Performance settings in the included power management from sager, it does not keep the speed at 2200mhz for my 2720qm processor. I was not experiencing this before. Maybe it is due to the BIOS update?

My Bios rev: 1.01.011bLS3
kbc/ec ver : 1.00.07SA1

*Got the update from sager technical support.

Anyone here experiencing the same problem?

 

Do you have the Hotkey program installed? Check the power settings in there as well.

 

^ yes, i have the Hotkey installed, that was the power management performance setting i was referring to. Before it was not behaving this wy, but now it just won't stay rated clock rates no matter what,. keeps throttling down. Even tried throttlestop and it's still behaving the same.

 

So what's the deal with the headphone jack? I know some people are upset about sound quality - that's not what I'm talking about.
I tried searching and came up with no results - whenever I have anything plugged into the headphone/speaker jack, the output will "flicker" back and forth between the laptop speakers and the headphones/external speakers, especially if I'm typing or touching the laptop at all.
This has been going on since I got the laptop a few weeks ago, but I was putting up with it until now, as my desk setup just changed so it is much more noticeable.
Is there something wrong with the build quality in general or is this relevant to just my machine?
Everything else about the laptop has been great but this issue is starting to make me a little crazy...

 

That is a grounding issue with either the speaker/headphone jack OR the board those attach to. Suggestion to test: Get another output device and plug it in, if it still flickers send it back, if it doesn't then you have a defective output device. But yea thats a "sensing" issue, which uses grounding to determine if something is plugged in.

 

Definitely happens with multiple output devices - speakers, headphones, and bonus other headphones too.

So I take it this means I have to RMA :/ ? Anyone know of an in-home fix I could do?