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

I write it here as well, it might be helpful to someone...

For those of you who have 6970m, be careful with the latest bios version. Version 1.01.11/1.00.07 may support 560m but doesn't work well with 6970m, it was responsible for my 3dmark06/05 low scores (games were affected too). I have reflashed 1.01.06/1.00.4 and scored 19500 again (instead of 16500).

 

^ how do you run your tests? I get 9K+ with 3DMark06...
I think I'm doing something wrong.

 

Well, without the battery and everything on full performance setting (gpu and cpu).

 

^ Ok, done that and I just got 19243 with the latest everything.

 

wow that seems odd that you get such a big discrepancy by ging on high performance and removing the battery.

 

^ I know, I got scared for a little.

The first time I did it, it was on just battery without charger plugged in. And it was Balance Power Conservation mode.

 

Without the power brick (just battery only), the GPU and CPU (but GPU especially) run at downclocked speeds. Your performance won't be anywhere near what you can get on AC power. The battery just can't pump out the juice to run everything at max speeds (and even if it could, battery life would be in minutes, not hours). Balanced mode also changes some of the power settings down compared to high performance, so that would also make a difference as well.

The benchmarks you're getting on battery/AC (9k/19k) are right about where they should be.

 

lolz you ran the benchmark on battery. now i understand the discrepancy

 

.

 

Well the issue seems to have vanished. Now BIOS takes about 10 seconds, with complete boot around the 40 second mark with the hybrid HDD. Seems in line with what I should expect I guess.

 

Got my lappy this week and I'm still working on how I can boost the performance...

I get ~14586 on 3dmark 06. And I always seem to have low scores compared to others with the same build... (on every benchmarks ie: unigine heaven, 3dmark 11, 3dmark vantage..)

I have :

NP8150-s1

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
AMD ATI 6970m
...8,192MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)

I have all the latest drivers and running on High performance power mode.

Do you guys OCed ?

I'm a beginner when it comes to OC and performance... So a little bit of help would be welcome =D

 

Even without OC, those scores you've posted are lower than the average. 18k-19k are about on par for the hardware you listed. Are you running 3DMark06 in the default profile, or are you changing some of the settings before you run it? You're plugged in and running on AC power correct?

 

I run 3dmark 06 with default settings w/o changing anything and im plugged in AC power.

Edit : I can't even max any recent games w/o lagging a little <.<

 

What notebook coolers do you guys prefer for your beasties? Any recommendations? Zalman NC2000 sounds like a safe bet, but maybe someone found a better one.

 

I'd wait until you have the laptop (if you don't already) and can run some tests to see where your temps idle/max. Most people don't even need coolers. If you can keep the machine on a flat surface and possibly elevated in the rear, the intakes on the bottom will provide more than enough cooling. However, if every degree is important, there's still plenty of room for a cooler

 

I'm all stock, nothing is OCed.
Are you sure you're not running anything in the background or have a browser with flash page opened? Check for CPU and GPU usage on idle. Close/turn off everything possible.
Your CPU is a notch slower than mine (not sure if it affects the score though).

 

did u have the latest bios on your laptop??this version BIOS V 1.01.11 &
EC/KBC V 1.00.07..read this post pls
For those of you who have 6970m, be careful with the latest bios version. Version 1.01.11/1.00.07 may support 560m but doesn't work well with 6970m, it was responsible for my 3dmark06/05 low scores (games were affected too). I have reflashed 1.01.06/1.00.4 and scored 19500 again (instead of 16500)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...vo-p151hm1-owners-lounge-287.html#post7625688

 

^ I'm running on everything latest.
Clevo BIOS 1.01.11 & 1.00.07 and 11.6 drivers.

 

I currently have an old 17" Sager laptop and willing to upgrade to the NP8150 once the 580m is out. have someone in this forum changed from a 17" to 15" arena and are the 15.6" screens convenient for gaming and CG work? I really still like my laptop 17" screen but since I always keep it on my lap, I started to feel 8.6 pds is bit heavy and annoying.

Also are there any hopes of upgrading the NP8150 with a 120Mhz 3d screen like the NP8170?

 

I came from a 17 inch.

To be honest, 17 inch is better for side by side work, and for use on the desk.

But the 15 inch is way more portable, and as we don't sacrifice resolution from 17 inchers to this 15 inch model with 1080p, it is more like a compact powerhouse.

I do not regret moving to a 15 inch, as I am a student and I have to carry it around always.. But people's opinions and usage vary.

The 120hz screen is not yet available, and I think there aren't any 15 inch 3d panels yet..

 

As for going from 17 to 15.6", you probably won't even notice it. Both screens would be 1920x1080, so the resolution (and workable screen space) would be identical. If you like things to look a bit bigger on the same space, then maybe 17" is the way to go

 

I do have the latest BIOS and my drivers are all up to date. I have ati catalyst 11.5b.

I tried 11.6 and my score was lower.

Here is my latest score : 17843

I i guess it's better than what I scored yesterday hehe. but can 0.2ghz-0.5ghz really makes a 2k difference ??

 

u have the bios that supports gtx 560m?its the latest one.if u have just roll back to the previous one and post again the results.

 

Would you explain me how to do so ?

Edit : I read if you do it wrong it can brick your laptop so that's why I ask your help. Since you already did it...

 

are u sure u have the latest bios?

 

Yes. I asked Sager for the latest version and they told me I had it.

Edit : When I do Start > run > msinfo32

Theres Bios version : american megatrends inc. 4.6.4, 2011-06-01 tho...?

 

restart ur pc and go to the bios screen with f2 and tell me what version u have..

 

Bios : 1.01.011bls1
KBC/EC : 1.00.07sa1

 

ok u have the latest.u must flash to the previous bios BIOS V 1.01.06 &
EC/KBC V 1.00.04

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

 

I reflashed the bios to 1.01.06 / 1.00.04 and ran 3dmark06

I Still get 17713

 

what cpu do u have?is power management at high perfomance?

 

Well... it seems I have the same issues wiht the GTX 485m card after flashing to the latest BIOS version (Bios : 1.01.011bls1 KBC/EC : 1.00.07sa1)
I was playing some Starcraft 2 and notice a huge drop in FPS...
Anyone with this BIOS version and GTX 485m? Maybe post some benchmark scores?

 

i7-2630qm 2.0ghz-2.8ghz

I'm running on high performance power mode.

 

You mean 0.5GHz?

i7-2630QM, 2.0- 2.8GHz
i7-2720QM, 2.2- 3.3GHz

Can't answer your question though. Somebody with 2630 needs to post his/her benchmark.

 

Just received my NP8150 (GTX560m). A few utility questions:
1. What utilities can I use to monitor CPU and GPU temps?
2. What utility can I use to overclock my GPU?
3. What utility can I use to benchmark my GPU performance?
4. Any other useful utilities I should be running?

 

1) HWmonitor is a good tool or the NV GPU Pro
2) MSI Afterburner, very nice and easy tool
3) 3DMark 06, Vantage and Mark11 are all good tools to benchmark. Game benchmarks like Lost Planet 2 and FFIV Online Benchmark can also help. My review on my signature has some references if you want to have a look at the variety.
4) This is up to your discretion; would you want to monitor your temps all the time or your CPU/GPU usage? I'd suggest the Windows Gadget here:
CPU: OrbLog Blog Archive Intel Core Series – Sidebar Gadget
GPU: OrbLog Blog Archive GPU Observer – Sidebar Gadget

 

Just benchmarked my system and got the following scores (ran the benchmarks only, on performance).
Vantage: P13623
3DMark11: P3167

Setup: I7 2720QM + GTX 485M + 8GB Ram + Intel 510 250GB

Are the score good for the specified system?

thanks!

 

Check out the benchmarks here for comparison:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 485M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Looks like you're hitting right around, if not a little bit above, the average for those parts. I'd run a few games to compare, but looks like you should be happy with the results

 

thanks! looks good

 

anyone ever heard a sound coming from their laptop ? I powered it this morning and when the start up was finished, I heard a *clock clock* sound coming from the computer and then a little *beep*. But everything is working fine. I can play games, use internet etc...

While writing this message, it beeped again

Edit : My temps are under 85 even while gaming.

 

are there any new update like bios or driver?

 

I have now received my caddy which seems to fit nicely. But how do you remove the angled frontpiece from the old caddy with the ODD? I would prefer to have it on my new caddy.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/573379-clevo-driver-thread.html

You have to unscrew a few screws, and do it carefully because they're so small. I tried to do it myself, but I couldn't because they were screwed in so tightly x.x

Mr. Mysterious

 

Which caddy did you buy? If it's an ebay one and you find it's not compatible, you might have to glue the old faceplate on.

If you bought the Clevo/Sager one, it comes with a white piece of plastic.

1. Pop the LED out of the flat faceplate and remove from ODD.
2. Open your optical drive and there are two plastic tabs that hold the faceplate on. You can just pop it off if you push on both tabs.
3. Attach the angled faceplate onto the white piece of plastic (it will be obvious).
4. Attach to the caddy and screw it in. Make sure the metal tabs on the bottom and top of the caddy fit into the slots on the white piece of plastic.

 

Maybe the Blu Ray drive is different from the DVD drive? I didn't have to unscrew anything.

 

On the 8170 there is a single screw to remove the blu-ray drive. I'd assume the 8150 is same.

 

Below is a little picture for doing the optical drive

 

No, his question was not about how to take the drive out, it was about how to take the faceplate off his existing optical drive and installing it onto an HDD caddy as they all come with generic flat plates that sit recessed into the ODD bay and leaves a big gap with the side of the chassis. Mr. Mysterious said he had to remove some screws on the optical drive to get the faceplate off the tray. Usually you just push out some tabs.

 

Thanks, but I figured it out myself. The ODD faceplate did fit pretty nicely on the HDD caddy. I have now installed Windows 7 and it's running great so far. The AUO 95 % gamut screen (V.7) is very good, vivid and beautiful colours.

 

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