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

I'm probably going to order from PowerNotebooks just because they had the best price and Donald sounded like a friendly guy. Do they put branding on the outside of the comp and if so what does it look like?

 

If you are purchasing the NP8150, it will have the Sager logo on the back.

 

the gpu has both copper heatsinks for the gpu die and the gddr5 memory so thats is a good thing.
im more concerned about the cpu heatsink which they replaced with aluminum most probably to cut down on size and weight. im quite confident that there will be no overheating. however a less robust heating solution (compared to the old copper heatsink/heatpipe of the 8690) could limit the dynamic overclocking capacity of an snb cpu.
im sure most of you saw the 2820qm review on anandtech showing that the cpu can go above its base clock to around 3.4 for a limited time (<25secs), and can achieve a sustained overclock of 2.4-2.6ghz on all cores/threads as long as there is thermal headroom.
this could be what may be affected and not overheating on base frequencies. hopefully clevo did their homework and the new heatsink design should be well suited for the snb cpu's.

 

^^^^All Authorized Resellers of Sager have the Sager logo on the machines...)

 

also would anyone know what vt-d and vt-x exactly do?
arent they useful only for vm's?

 

VT-d allows for direct access to your system's hardware resources instead of just the software emulation.

VT-x basically allows the VM to reserve its own address space, but is pretty standard fare with CPU's these days.

 

I just ordered mine from PowerNotebooks and put the wrong city in my address. :jackass:

 

nvm wpewimm

 

ok then as such they are only important for vmware applications right?
is that intel txt thing of any importance either?

 

Well, I just ordered mine and sent the payment in. Don't know how long it will take but I'm fine with the wait - I want it to be perfect.

I ended up going with PowerNotebooks. They had the best price out of anyone carrying the NP8150 ($2,123 total w/ shipping and cash discount) and I am glad I did because Donald is an extremely nice guy and has helped me with a couple of errors already.

My final specs:
nVIDIA GeForce GTX 485M
Intel i7-2720QM
IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
8GB (2x4GB SODIMMS) DDR3/1333 Dual Channel Memory
750GB SATA II 3GB/s 7,200 RPM Hard Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)
Combo Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
7-in-1 Memory Card Reader (All versions of MS + SD/MMC)
Integrated 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN + Bluetooth™ V3.0 + HS Combo Card

Ended up cutting back from the Intel Ultimate-N 6300 to the integrated model after reading in this thread that it was not worth it unless you were just on a completely network. With the money I saved on that I went ahead and jumped from 4GB to 8GB of RAM. Stuck with the DVD drive because I don't see myself needing the Blu-ray drive unless PC games ever make there way onto the Blu. Overall, I'm happy. I feel like this system will do me well over the years to come and will most definitely blow this Compaq Mini-110 I've been using for over a year now out of the water. Any comments?

 

You did the right choice.
I will also be a owner soon.
I tried the P150HM last week end and I was extremely happy about my experience.
The laptop is uber powerful, the screen is gorgeous and the feeling of the material is great.
But more than this, this is a lightweight gaming notebook : 3.1 kilos with the battery is nothing.
I will receive mine in 2 weeks, “cash delivery” you pay when the notebook is in your hands: I love Japan .

 

Wow lucky you! What reseller was that?
You can throw away that mba now

 

That pic looks as if it's constructed of metal this time around.

 

This one : ƒm[ƒgƒpƒ\ƒRƒ“‚Ì‚±‚Æ‚È‚çƒpƒ\ƒRƒ“H–[’Ê”Ì

Pc-Koubou, a Japanese clevo reseller. They always have the latest Clevo config and the price is pretty good.
I will go back to the shop where the P150HM is on display and I will take more pictures.
Hum...I have to think which 250gb SSD for my new puppy...Plextor 400meg/sec haha

 

you can get that ssd but i dont think sata2 supports those speeds.

 

I think Chipset H65 can do it.
According to Intel information : Intel HM65 Express Chipset - Overview

"Serial ATA (SATA) 6 Gb/s and 3 Gb/s High-speed storage interface supporting up to 6 Gb/s transfer rate for improved data access. Provides up to 6 SATA ports at 3 Gb/s with up to 2 ports supporting 6 Gb/s transfer rates."

 

Sounds like it could be either/or, and just because the spec says it can, doesn't mean they do.

 

Seems we'll have to wait to find out.

 

If you're allowed to run some tests or benchmarks on the machine,

would you mind posting furmark results and monitor the gfx card temperatures for stability and headroom for overclocking?

 

So what notebook cooler are you guys going to use for this laptop? I was thinking of getting this one: Newegg.com - ZALMAN Notebook Cooler Model ZM-NC2000 Black

When I look at it, it doesn't look like the fans on the NP8150 align with the cooler correctly.

 

if its anything like the 8690 you dont need a cooler actually unless your heavilly o/cing the cpu and gpu

 

I got this one and it does a good job. I like the fact your can adjust the fan speed and plug it through USB (and put the usb cable inside the cooler when you don't use it).

 

Hmm, I used both the NC2000 and the cryo LX.

I like the fact that NC2000 does not require external DC power.
But the air pushed is only focused mostly on the bottom of the laptop,

and it really does not align with many laptops. Be careful, and check if the vents actually align with the airflow, because although the NC2000 looks like it has many air vents, air rarely comes out of these holes, but rather are only focused on the bottom portion of the cooler.

 

That's what I've noticed too. Seems like it might be a problem for the NP8150 because most of the vents are at the back of the laptop.

 

That's why I decide to buy Cooler Master U3.

 

Oh and this model is also backordered even with the GTX 485m.

So basically all the new models with SB will ship on End of Jan., according to Sagernotebook.com ..

 

This is actually very, very important to me.

Along with gaming, I use my performance laptops for mobile video editing - the Quick Sync functionality is getting rave early reviews for the performance and quality benefits it gives in quick turn around video encoding (better quality than CUDA and much faster than software).

It requires the integrated GPU to operate though, so if Clevo are locking that off, then thats a definate deal breaker for me...

#Wonderdog

 

same here. although im more keen on widi between the two.
i havent heard that quicksync has better quality than cuda but ive seen that it is way faster than a 920xm/280m laptop. if you get the 485, it should perform at or better than auick sync considering it has 384 cuda cores.
now im wondering if this igp issues could be addressed through bios upgrades?

 

@trvelbug & wonderdog
You're right about the performance of quick sync; it has a high performance gain over CUDA. Check out these benchmarks:

@Anandtech

@Hot Hardware

 

Here is the anandtech article I read through - it suggests that CUDA is a bit faster, but that Quicksync gives the much closer to software output quality.

The Sandy Bridge Review: Intel Core i7-2600K, i5-2500K and Core i3-2100 Tested - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

The Toms hardware first look is even more impressive:-

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sandy-bridge-core-i7-2600k-core-i5-2500k,2833-17.html

It wont be long before adobe premiere, sony move studio etc support quicksync, and I predict that once apple sticks sandy bridge chips in thier macbooks and macbook pro's, that final cut will also make use of it (rather than requiring an expensive and power hungry GPU to do the work - apple will love that!).

I really need to know if the internal GPU is switchable on the P150/P170 tbh - first to confirm from a unit in hand gets a cookie


UPDATE:- It seems that intel already have a prototype quicksync plugin for adobe premiere available! http://software.intel.com/en-us/art...ia-sdk-and-intel-quick-sync-video-technology/

 

thanks for the articles. +1 to you and blakclight.
the previous articles i read only showed performance gains of quicksync. now i know its both a performance and quality gain.
i dont transcode videos much but i do edit videos. in fact i use premiere pro cs5 and cyberlink's power director.
in both instances gpu acceleration is only used for transitions, effects and such to preserve quality and final rendering is done by the cpu. in that instance then igp/gpu acceleration will still be 2ndary to pure cpu horsepower.
however if they are able to make a program that does all rendering using quicksync then that would be a game changer.

 

@Wonderdog, the Sager NP8150 & NP8170 do NOT feature switchable graphics... this is the main reason i'm holding back too... it doesn't make sense to invest in a new processor if we can't use all of its features...!

According to paladin44 (a sager reseller), upcoming NP5160 & NP5170 models will feature switchable graphics but with "mid-range" discrete graphics. Check out the link below:

@paladin44

 

Why can't Clevo implement switchable graphics with hi-end graphic cards? What stopping them from doing so? I don't get it, really.

 

Yup, thats a major blow for me - I wonder if it is a simple BIOS thing or something hardware related (paths to the video output on the board or something).

I to dont see the point of investing in a nice new CPU while being unable to make use of some of its major features.

Heres hoping (if physically possible) that Clevo can be maade to see sense and unlock the integrated GPU with a firmware upgrade...

 

are there any other brands that have implemented igp support with a high end gpu?

 

I've only seen two laptops so far which have integrated the new processors with a discrete gpu & switchable graphics. One is the Asus N53SV review link. The other is a Dell, I don't remember the model. Both feature the Nvidia GT 540m which is slightly better than the GT 435m.

 

I see there is a new 18.6" Acer announced with a 6850m 2gb in it, but its a 2630QM part, which doesnt fully support virtualisation (not to mention being a bit on the big side for my liking). No word on whether it has switchable graphics either.

It might be that the ATi based P150/P170's when they hit will have switchable GPU's due to some sort of nvidia specific integration issue . Who knows tbh.

All I know is that there are two critical hardware features I need from my next notebook:-

Sandy Bridge 2720QM or better (to have all the cpu virtualisation flags required for vmware, hyper-v etc, which I use extensively) and switchable graphics (CPU integrated for quicksync purposes and a 485M / 6870 for gaming and gpu intensive tasks). Pretty straight forward stuff.

Of course, an out of the box matte screen @ 1920x1200 rather than this 16:9 nonsense would be loooooovely as well, but I think I'm fighting a loosing battle with that one

#Wonderdog

 

nope, seems like all high-end gpu laptop aint using the IGP...

 

I think it's better to wait at least another month until the first batch of SB laptops from all manufacturers get released. There's another batch of Sager laptops releasing very soon as well as laptops from Asus and MSI. They should be released by the end of Jan followed by a couple of weeks more to get some reviews in...

 

I have heard the alienware m17x r3 will be using optimus. That said, it wouldnt be the first time Dell got their facts wrong!

 

Well according some post the sager 8150 with the 485 is backordered. Hopefully theyre trying to get the igp to work

 

Guys,

Does anyone know if any of the US clevo suppliers will accept paypal for a UK order?
I really want to buy one but so far everyone wants a wire transfer.

 

You can use a credit card. PayPal echecks are also considered cash, but I don't know if it'd work internationally.

 

The reason laptop vendors in the US will only accept bank wire transfers (T.T.) is that we have no recourse on international transactions if anything goes sideways with PayPal or credit cards, which can too easily happen.

So, the best thing to do is check your vendor's reputation at Store Ratings & Reviews - ResellerRatings.com - Find Trusted Stores, or the Better Business Bureau, and bite the bullet with a bank wire transfer. You earn a 3.5% cash discount when you do that with PowerNotebooks.com, and most of the other vendors have a cash discount as well.

 

Site Policies - MALIBAL

Ctrl+F UK and you'll see that they do if your account has a confirmed address. I am still waiting on a friend of mine to make my purchase from them.

 

I tried to use CC but xotic and rjtech will not accept non US cards
You would think in this day and age it wouldnt matter!

Thanks for the suggestions though

 

Thanks for the info Paladin44, trouble is I do not have the free cash in my account, hence I want to use a card or PP.

Edit - Just saw your post mobiousblack! Thanks, that could be a winner, I will go and contact malibal now

 

Yes, some resellers do accept Paypal payments from the UK, if the shipping address is confirmed.

 

No Problemo, one post above me is their rep here on the NBR forum.

 

Great, thanks!

Just speccing one up now