*** Official Sager NP8150/Clevo P150HM Owners Lounge ***

Another P150HMx owner here with a dead 6990m GPU. If I try to boot windows with ATI drivers installed, I'll get a BSOD without fail every single time. I can boot it with default Windows VGA drivers so at least I can use the laptop for web browsing and emails, but at a max resolution of 1440x1050 which just looks horrible and stretched.

I've seen some other posts in this thread with the same issue as me. Basically I want the cheapest option to stick a new card in so I can at least use the laptop at the correct 1920x1080 resolution, maybe do some light gaming. A replacement 6990 is just too expensive right now. Someone mentioned a 460m fitting OK in this model of Clevo. Would I be correct in thinking that something like this is my best option? Will this card work in a P150HMx?

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M MXM 3.0b VGA Card 1.5GB DDR5 GTX 260M upgrademonkey | eBay

 

Your absolute cheapest option is going to be to try reflowing the 6990m in your oven. 385-395 degrees Fahrenheit for 7-8 minutes seems to be the recipe for success. I've revived my dead 6990m multiple times this way.

With all the 6990m's failing just after a year, you'd think there'd be something we could do to hold AMD accountable. High-end graphics cards aren't supposed to fail after a year.

 

Hey fellow P150HM owners!

I having a SATA port recognition issue with my SSD upgrade and would appreciate your advice/input here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/719117-p150hm-only-recognises-samsung-ssd-sata-port-2-odd-bay-but-not-sata-port-0-primary.html

Muchly appreciated!

mr

 

If I wanted to change the thermal pads, what thickness should I get?
Tia

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

 

most commonly 1mm thick, but u could order both .5 and 1mm and then stack them whenever u need to fill up larger gaps between gpu and heatsink.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

hello,

two yearish owner of the p150hm.
laptop crocked on me two days ago.

i've been reading back a few pages, and have yet to find the exact circumstance outlined through other owners.
i'm thinking mine might be the same issue, but i'll outline it anyhow.

-computer froze while playing music.
-i turned off the computer. restarted it.
-the boot screen was plastered with bright green horizontal lines. pretty much everywhere.
-onto the windows logo.. the artifacts change. now there are three or four solid vertical green lines. inch thick each.
-the booting never proceeds past that point and onto the desktop. windows goes through its dumping mechanic before it ever gets there and i see an error in reference to atikmpag.

as i couldn't even access safe mode from this point, i had no choice but to perform a system restore.
so at this point, i'm running my computer without even the driver provided. it's the only way i can access anything.
when i was able to get a system restore through, i tried reinstalling the graphics driver and ended up with the same issue.
i then tried using the most up to date driver and again came up against the same issue. windows stopped booting at the logo screen and just restarted on its own.
the way it is now, the green streaks are still here on my desktop. 11 vertical green strips plastered across the screen.

all of this and more (other stories posted herein) leads me to believe that it is an issue to do with my graphics card and not the monitor. as i can't even install a graphcs driver, i can't connect my laptop to an external to verify that, but the inability to do that lends credence to the notion that it is a gpu issue. roughly a $500 replacement according to sager.

my questions:
-all indications suggest this is a graphics card issue. is it?
-is my video card salvageable? in the few pages i've read, people are talking about baking their cards or updating the vbios.. two notions i am entirely unfamiliar with. do i have any recourse? my warranty is no longer relevant at this point.

pretty exasperating stuff.
i recognize that i chose my own warranty, but it feels crappy, to be mild about it, to have invested in xoticpc twice and on two occasions, ended up with laptops with unexpected shortcomings.

 

what are your system specs?

 

1x Sager NP8150 / Clevo P150HM
- Back Up Software: No Back Up Software
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Bluetooth: None Standard--
- Branding: Remove All Branding
- Build Time: Standard Production Time
- Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Car Adapter: No Car Adapter
- Case: Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Current Promotion: SAGER Sale!!! - $100 OFF When you spend $1500* or more! (*excludes accessories, shipping, non Sager items & taxes) NP8150 & NP8170 Only - Confirmation of discount will be provided after Order Processing
- Dead Pixel Warranty: Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Display: 15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080) (SKU - S1R305)
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- External Display Video Adapters: No Video Adapter
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): No Back Up Hard Drive
- External USB Optical Drive: NO External USB Optical Drive
- Fingerprint Reader: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
- Graphics Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6990 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (SKU - S3R151)
- Headsets: None
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Microsoft Office Software: No Office Software
- Monitor Calibration: NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Mouse / Keyboard Accessories: No External Keyboard or Mouse
- Notebook Cooler: No Notebook Cooler
- Operating System: ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- Optical Drive Bay: Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7R455)
- Optical Drive Bay Hard Drive Caddy: No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- OS Redline Boost: No Operating System Redline Boost
- Outside of U.S. Shipping Coverage: No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
- Port Replicator / Dock / Adapters: No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Primary Hard Drive: 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S5R207)
- Processor: 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - S2R201)
- Ram: 8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) (Not Supported by Intel i5-2410M) - Special! (SKU - S4P369)
- Software Bundle (Not Installed): No Software Bundle
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Spare AC Adapter: None Standard*
- Thermal Compound: - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- TV Tuner: No TV Tuner
- Warranty: LIFETIME Ltd Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs (SKU - X9R009)
- Wireless Network: Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth (SKU - S8R110)
- Wireless Network Accessories: No Network Accessory
- Xotic Gear: No Xotic PC Gear
- XOTIC PC Redline Boost™ Extreme Performance: No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)

 

your issues sound exactly like the one mentioned by bardeh- being able to boot only with the stock vga drivers.
so chances are it is a gpu issue.
i see so many 6990's failing its scary.
imho your only recourse now is to do the bake and reflow

 

+1, most definitely crapped out gpus in both cases. baking/solder reflow is a temporary solution, differing in functionality from a few days to several months or even a year. alternatively, new gpus can be bought on ebay or at a clevo/sager reseller/builder of your choice. cheapest solutions at the moment would be a 460m/560m, most performant ones 7970m/680m. the former work without any modifications, whereas the latter would need flashing of modified vbios and/or modified drivers to work properly on the p150hm.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

A 7970M with modified bios is the best bang for buck if you can afford it

 

with all the 6990 failures, is it wise to get a 7970m? is the architecture and quality soldering much different from its predecessor?

 

Outside of the initial driver issues there hasn't really been much hardware wise wrong with the 7970, then again there wasn't really anything noted about 6990 until recently and they all started going belly up. I'd say you're fairly safe with the 7970 upgrade but if you're really concerned there is always the green alternative.

 

You could go green but they are not always immune either.

 

so this is the wireless card that came with my sager8150, it was the default choice:



can this connect to a 5ghz wifi router?

 

nope,unfortunately not got the same wifi card in mine and cant connect to my 2.4/5ghz dual router via 5ghz. my galaxy nexus is able to though so the router is fine.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

thanks for the response man.
did updating your laptop wireless drivers produce any noticable performance gains?

also, did you do the modded 240psu yourself?

 

ive definitely seen improvements of up to 30% by swapping the router when it comes to downloading stuff (before around 1.4MB/s, now up to 1.8MB/s on a 16Mbit dsl line)
concerning drivers, i cant really say, since i only update those like once a year when setting up a fresh windows install on my system

yeah, did the psu modding myself.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

yeah i dont touch my drivers much too.

hey would it be okay if you gave a step by step how you did the psu mod in a seperate thread?

 

there actually is a thread like that by our OC-guru meaker:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...orrect-connector-around-lets-do-properly.html

although my mod differs from that in that its way more ghetto (no soldering involved) *lol*

 

Woop woop! Got my new 7970m installed on here finally. Now how do I update the drivers?? AMD has 13.6 beta available on their website, but I'd want the last stable version. I'm hearing 13.1 is a good version? It's not available to download from their website, though. How do I go about updating?

I have a Sager NP8150 running Windows 8 64bit

 

which driver version do u have installed right now? im running 13.5 beta 3 and its running fine 13.6 beta driver not sure, there are mixed reports about it floating around here.
updating drivers for us p150hm users is easy: just uninstall old drivers via windows program manager and install new ones, done

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

My 6990m started dying last weekend. There are visual artifacts, red lines everywhere, during POST and in the BIOS. Booting to windows induces a BSOD from the GPU driver, but safe-mode works, as it uses MS VGA drivers.
This is the 2nd time a 6990m dies in my P150HM. The first one worked for a year and then died over 2 days. The 2nd one just died after 14 more months, suddenly and mostly without warning. The second one was used with a laptop cooler. Maybe playing Metro:Last Light hastened its death, although the entire PC never froze, just the game.

I'm glad I bought the extended Warranty from MALIBAL. With 2 replaced GPUs, it was extremely worth it. I wonder if I can buy an extension, although I guess not.
I was anxious if they would answer my warranty claim in a timely manner, as some people have had trouble with MALIBAL recently. While they were closed on memorial day, they answered the next day.
MALIBAL offers to replace the 6990m for a 7970m for $200. I'm taking it.

Does the 7970m run cooler than a 6990m? I'm hoping my laptop doesn't die again 12 months from now!

 

How do I check what version I have? Looks like I have 13.4 according to the AMD software. See attached. Should I just keep this?

 

See next to catalyst version? Update to the beta 3 at least.

 

yup, 13.4 it is. and what meaker said, as usual

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

AMD Catalyst
Is this the one I should install?

 

That's the one

 

Thanks!

I removed the old one and installed this one, but it's not working properly. The install finishes fine and says its installed, but when I try to open CCC it says AMD video driver is not present. Any ideas? I'm using the 1.75v modded firmware.

Update: That was version 13. 3 beta3 that I tried installing. Not 13. 5 beta3 that was suggested. Retrying now with 13.5 b3.

Update 2: http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/amdcatalyst13-5winbetadriver.aspx
Filename for this one is amd_catalyst_13.5_ beta2 Should I go ahead and install this one?
Or should I install this one http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=377878
Filename is amd_catalyst_13.5_mobility_ beta3

Update 3: Just going with the one titled beta3, haha. Will report back shortly.

 

Update 4: Reinstalled 13.5 b3 and I still get the same error. (Although my resolution isn't wonky now). See attached for errors.

View attachment 96823
Install screen says everything went fine.

View attachment 96824
Here's a popup after installation.

View attachment 96825
This is the error I get when I try to launch CCC.

Update 5: Okay, I've deduced that the problem isn't with the drivers, it's with the firmware on my card. I tried installing the stable 13.4 build and I still get the same errors. I just flashed to the 1.075v version and that's when I started getting this problem. Any suggestions? Should I flash back to the stock 1.00v firmware?

Update 6: Still exact same problem with 1.00 vbios. I'm out of ideas.. Did some googling of the error message. Some people said it had to do with digital driver signatures. Tried some of the steps they mentioned, but still no luck.

Here is an error I get in the device manager

 

You can get the error if the card is damaged, but lets leave that to the side for the moment and make sure you used the right brand of vbios?

 

The card was working properly when I first got it. It was preflashed by the seller. Maybe I should contact him to get the original vbios he used? Or maybe I should return it to the seller. I flashed it with the vbios in jaybee's thread then started receiving this error. If it's something I did that damaged the card, hopefully its reversible. The card was new when I got it and I was pretty careful when installing it, so I don't think it's something physical.

 

Get a copy of the original bios.

You should always save the original bios to usb stick before attempting any bios modifications.

 

Oaky, I'm back! They sent it over the vbios, flashed it and everything went well.


You don't know how much of a relief it is to see this screen. Phew

 

sorry to hear that my vbios caused u troubles mate!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Its usually safest to get your own vbios modified which you extract. You would need to ask svl7 and drop him some beer money.

 

Any word yet on whether our machines can take in the 780m?

Sent from a Galaxy far far away

 

nope,our resident specialists are still working on it

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

I can't seem to get the brightness controls working with the 7970m. Fn F8/F9 show the brightness bar change, but the brightness stays the same. Tried adjusting it in CCC, but I didn't notice any changes either. Any ideas?

 

That tends to be a driver issue.

 

yup, it is. havent quite found a fix to that yet myself, to be honest.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Sorry if this has been answered before, but I did a quick search and didn't find anything so I'm asking it here.

My P150HM originally came with 8GB of RAM, and my sister broke her laptop that uses the same type (DDR3 1333) and I'm trying to see if I can put it in my laptop and remain in dual channel symmetric mode. She had 2x2GB sticks - is there a specific configuration that I have to put them in so I can keep dual channel mode? E.g. 1 4GB and 1 2GB stick under the keyboard and the other two underneath, or 2 4GB in the keyboard and the 2x2GB underneath, etc...

Thanks

 

i have 12gb of ram myself.
2x4 in the regular slots and 2x2 under the keyboard.

 

For all those with dead 6990m's that are just outside the regular 1 year extended warranty, one thing to try (assuming you purchased with a credit card) is to see if your credit card offers an extended warranty program. My 6990m died a few months after the original 1 year warranty expired, but my Mastercard doubled the original warranty from my reseller, so they're sending me a check for the cost of a replacement GPU.

 

I had my 6990m start to die on me at about the one year mark and sent it in for replacement, I have a 3 year warranty as I expected something like this and sager warranties are so cheap! Just wanted to chime in on this issue.

I have another question though. Is it a good idea to swap in a gtx680m or gtx780m on these laptops and if so what all do I need to do to make it work?

 

Does the new throttle stop 5 work with the hm bios and and 2630qm?

Sent from a Galaxy far far away

 

answered that for u in the other thread

@trvlbug: throttlestop works on pretty much all systems, our p150hm is no exception there

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

wow how times have changed. ive basically given up on clevos locked bios since my 8690 days. ive gotta check that thread. although some simple instructions from you would be a great help

 

im not really an expert on throttlestop since ive only used it a couple times, but its mostly pretty self-explanatory. for details just consult the respective thread since im using a prema-modded bios with upped TDP values the only threshold i still have left cpu-wise is the thermal one but already thinking about swapping out my cpu heatsink with the one from the P170 series (all copper vs. aluminum fins)

 

Do it, you know you want to

I would not play with the temperature throttle points, the TDP is what you wanted to raise anyway.