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

Your first issue doesn't sound like a dead pixel. A dead pixel would be a single speck of black somewhere in the screen, while a stuck pixel would be the same thing but in another color. If you're noticing a "smudge", it could be an imperfection in the screen itself. Please contact us through the info in my sig and we can get it taken care of (with a picture if you can get it, just to better understand the problem)

For the fans, that "pulsing" is normal. It's a byproduct of the way the embedded controller operates, so everyone will experience it. The newer bios revision should help to mitigate it compared to how it used to be. You shouldn't even notice it when you're not on max fans.

You won't be able to do hardware RAID on the P150HM as it's not supported. Only the P170HM will allow you to do that. That said, you can configure software RAID in Windows. If you do go the RAID route, you are correct in that you will probably be better with a straight mechanical drive than hybrid drives. For the cost of two hybrid drives in RAID, I'd suggest a smaller SSD as your boot drive and a larger mechanical drive as your storage drive.

 

Id' rather not go with software RAID, something in the back of my mind never really trusts it.
$140 for the cheapest 80GB SSD doesn't seem like a bad price, but I can't get over the knowledge that $140 will likely buy me something 2-3x the size in a year and unlike the other hardware, the SSD is easy to replace.

Perhaps I'll get a single hybrid for now and look at SSD later when I have more money in the pocket.

Thanks for the help guys, I'd have felt like quite the fool had I gotten a pair of unraidable(?) hybrid drives.

 

If you're lucky, you can find 128GB Crucial M4 SSDs for around $150 or $160 each on eBay, Craigslist, or Slickdeals.

 

I don't think a hybrid drive would be worth it. In my opinion you should either go SSD (performance) or a regular HDD (price).

 

Several users are reporting faster boot times and faster access to certain programs with the Hybrid drive over the regular 7200rpm one.

That said, of course, a SSD is the best performance boost for these machines.
_

 

Yeah, go for the SSD, it's worth the dough. I just received my P150HM with the Intel 120GB SSD and it boots in about 8 seconds from pressing the power button. Half that is the bios flash screen.

 

The hybrid drive is a good choice when you only have room for one HDD, as it gives you some of the benefits of an HDD and some of an SSD. But if you have have two bays and a little bit of money extra, a small SSD boot drive and a large mechanical hard drive is the best price/performance/capacity option.

The hybrid drive is no slouch- it does quite well compared to mechanical only drives.

 

Is anybody familiar with wifi-card settings?

I put roaming aggressive at its highest,

but I'm not sure if I should touch the fat channel intolerant or the throughput enhancement.

Will disabling/enabling those two options help in wifi speed?..

 

Good to know about the fans, I'll look forward to the next bios revision, any idea when that will be released?

Also, I emailed the sales address with the full size versions of these pics, but I'll post them here too in case anyone has an idea of what it might be. I tried to take them under a variety of color conditions. Obviously a black background doesn't show it at all, which, given it's more grey color, may imply not a stuck pixel because it should still be greyish...

 

That looks like a dead pixel to me.

 

Roaming aggressiveness won't have any impact on speed if you're at home. This will only be useful if you're at a large company/college campus that uses an ESS (extended service set) of multiple access points with the same SSID. It's used to hop between access points when one with the same SSID is in range and offers better speed.

Fat channel intolerant just sends an announcement that your adapter can't use 40Mhz Wireless N channels. If you're running N at home, you *really* don't want this.

Throughput enhancement enables packet bursting, which may or may not help with speed depending on your router and environment.

The biggest change you can make is turning your channel width to 40Mhz instead of the stock 20Mhz. This can give a substantial speed boost- but only if you're running wireless N.

See here for more info on those settings:
Intel® WiFi Products — How to access and configure advanced Wi-Fi adapter settings

The current bios should have addressed it compared to the older versions. You can check your version by pressing F2 at startup. If you want to update your bios, you can use this thread:

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

From your pictures, that appears to either be a blemish on the screen or a stuck pixel. It's hard to tell though.

 

Wow thanks, there was no option for 40, so I just set it to auto.

I learn new things every day.

 

Yes I'll agree on that. Sorry about this
_

 

That should fall in the middle portion of the screen,

so you're good for a replacement. Contact Malibal about it, they should be able to replace the screen panel for you.

 

Ok, looks like I have the latest bios, I'll just have to wait for the next release to come out... It's not too bad, but it's weird that the right fan runs at a constant speed but the left fan cuts in and out. If this was related to the Bios shouldn't both of them cut in and out together?

 

So even though I didn't order that extra dead pixel policy plan it should be covered? I hope you're correct because this thing is distracting, I keep feeling this urge to clean the screen again...

I sent them those pictures, waiting to hear my judgement.

 

Yes, that should fall for a basic screen replacement policy, like if one of the RAM dimms failed, or a HDD smart error.

It's as simple as that, I've heard that as long as it falls in the middle region of the #, you get yourself a new panel.

To my knowledge, the dead pixel policy is for stuck or dead pixels in the corner and edges, where they usually don't qualify as a malfunctioning panel.

 

My 3D TV is a Sony BRAVIA XBr HX9 46 inch with 240 Hz motionflow. It says i have Internet Video on the TV, i think that may help me.
My video card is a nVidia GeForce GTX 560M.

I am willing to buy anything extra if needed. But with this, am I able to play a lap top in 3D on my 3D tv? What do I need to do if its possible? I really want to find out cuz i am holding off playing Deus EX HR to see if i can do it in 3D. If i can, then i just go ahead and play it the regular way.
Please help me achieve this goal of 3D enjoyment. Thanks you

 

Quick question guys, how do you get to the wireless card (is it possible)? I'm having trouble with it even getting detected and was maybe thinking it might not be connected very well to the laptop.

 

Even if it doesn't fall under the dead pixel warranty, the computer has a 100% satisfaction guarantee so couldn't you just return it if they didn't cover it?

 

This may help! P15xHM_ESM.zip

I like to think that theriko gets +1 karma every time we post one of his disassembly guides

 

Hi!

Just got my P150HM yesterday and its working great, I think. I took a look at the temps and noticed they were abit higher than reported in most reviews. While surfing Firefox the CPU hits mid 40 and high 50. Same for the GPU. Havent checked temps during load yet, but are those temp normal for idle work?

 

First on the fan issue, completely resolved as far as I'm concerned:

I ran Prime95 and confirmed once the CPU gets up to temperature both fans stay on constantly with no stuttering. That seems to indicate the bios is sending stop/start commands simultaneously to the fan when it's cool but you've got FN-1 on. IMHO, almost irrelevant because it's stopping and starting on a cold CPU, the only issue might be wear on the fan, but why would you use FN-1 unless it was hot anyway...

On the screen issue:

The sales guys are sending me an RMA even though it's such a small blemish, AWESOME! Really glad I went with Malibal now. Not only that, but they made a mistake in my optical drive and they're sending me the correct one no questions asked and without even requesting I return the old one...I've had some bad customer service experiences in the past, very refreshing how these guys go out of their way for us.

 

Did you go with stock thermal compound or IC Diamond? IC Diamond has a few hours cooling time when you first get it. Also, try elevating the back of your laptop by a little bit. It shouldn't have a problem with cooling, but some of the intake fans are on the bottom of the laptop. Giving it a little clearance may help

 

That would be the stock compound. Ive been surfing and playing some FIFA 12 now and it doesnt seem to be a problem. Just being overcautious I guess Loving this machine so far!

 

Ah, that's good to hear. Probably just needed some time to let the stock stuff settle down and cure.

 

Congratulations on getting your machine! Those temps you are having are well within the good range. You should be fine.
_

 

I just got my P150HM about a week ago. However since the fans first came on a couple days ago, they have never turned off from start up to shut down. The temp in my computer is 37 C for my CPU and 33C for my GPU. Should the fans be off for this temp or is this normal?

 

That's right around the temperature where the fans come on for the GPU, though you might want to try a soft reset (remove the battery and AC, press the power button, put it back together) or try a bios upgrade.

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

 

Hi there!

I'm new here, and after looking around, I thought this was the right topic to post my few questions about the P150HM

I'm planning on acquiring a P150HM-based notebook, but I heard some things about this barebone I wish to confirm here.


It comes with the v1 screen as a default, right? For non-professional use, is the v4 screen worth its US$89,90? (I live in Brazil, I'm converting the pricing to USD)

Is the cooling THAT bad? I heard people saying the GPU would easily get to 90+ ºC. (They claim they use the IC Diamond Thermal Compound)

I'm planning to get it with a i5-2520M, Radeon HD6970M, 4GB RAM, 500GB 7200RPM HDD (for US$1772,20)
For gaming purposes only, would a i7-2720QM be worth US$277,00? Would it get too hot with the i7?

 

Many here on the forum would say yes it is worth the upgrade price for the 95% screen.

The cooling is very good on this model. These NEW GPU's can handle 90C while under the load of intense gaming. The factory has confirmed this.

For gaming only I would recommend the standard 2670QM. This will be plenty, more than enough for any gaming

_

 

For some misterious reason, I can get the same price on both the 2670QM and the 2720QM... ButI'll ask why and try to get a discount on the 2670QM

Thanks for answering my other questions!

 

The same price? The 2720QM should have a higher price tag. At least here in the US it does.
_

 

It has a higher price tag here too, I really don't know why they charge the same for both processors.


Actually, I just noticed the 2670QM with a 500GB 7200RPM HDD is priced the same as the 2720QM with a standart 5400RPM drive, but the "upgrade" to the 7200RPM drive is cheap... I think it's hardly the difference between the 2670QM and the 2720QM, which should be priced much higher than the 2670QM because of its pro-tier capabilities (vPro, VT-d and such).



Just confirming, the Clevon P150HM is in no way compatible with nVidia Optimus nor AMD's optimus-like tech, right?

 

No optimus.. no switchable graphics..

 

Thanks hahaha

But it's not a problem, I imagine, since switchable graphics sometimes have some glitches...

By the way, dear USA Citizens, how much would a Clevo P150HM-based notebook with the config I posted (i5-2520, HD6970, 7200RPM HDD) cost in USA? Maybe I'll travel to Orlando next year and I may just wait to buy it in US if the price is much lower.

 

The P150HM is not available with an i5 or the 6970M.

So the base config of 2630QM, 8GB RAM, 500GB 7200RPM, plus the addition of the 6990M, comes out at about $1,500 USD, and add an extra $90 if you need a copy of Windows.

 

Ok... I'm gonna buy it in USA, I think... I'm paying $1,700 USD for the i5 + HD6970M and 4GB RAM here... since I'm travelling to Orlando anyway...

Thank you guys

 

You can get them with an i5 . 6970m yea that got replaced by the 6990m

 

Anyone know how to get THX TruStudio Pro working on the P150HM? I've installed both the audio and the THX drivers from the CD included with the laptop, and tried uninstalling and reinstalling from the Malibal website but I keep getting the error:

"The current selected audio device is disabled, not present, not supported by the application, or has unplugged jack connections. Do you want to select another audio device now?"

Any suggestions?

 

Did you register the THX software? There should be an icon on the desktop or under the start panel (Start > All Programs > Creative > THX) that will let you register the software. Only then will it let you enable it.

 

Also, I had this problem with an ASUS model I was working on. I did the same thing, installed audio and then THX software, but what worked for me was actually doing it in reverse. Downloading and installing the THX software first, then reinstalling the audio drivers. And voila, it worked. Hope that helps a bit.

 

Yes there is no need to get an i5 and a 6970M when an i7 configuration with a 6990M is such a good price in the USA.
_

 

there are known problemas with the 8150 with a 6990?

 

I get this pop up message every time a start up my p150hm: "System needs to be restarted again. Make sure all driver is installed."



My p150hm is a little over 2 months old now. When I bought it I installed 32 bit Windows 7 and installed all the Clevo drivers that came with the laptop. I never received the above message once.

A few weeks ago however I changed over to 64 bit Windows 7, I backed up all my files and did a fresh install of windows. When I was done I went ahead and installed all the Clevo drivers again. After restarting I met the above message. Now whenever I start up my computer I get this message.

Can anyone help me out here?

 

Since you guys are talking about THX issues, that reminds me of a dubt I had (which doesn't matter anymore, but...)
Which sound codec does the P150HM use?

Are there any major problems I should be aware of?

Do they still use glossy finish on the frame of the screen?

 

@pepi18 Are you able to do anything at all on your laptop or do you have to restart every time?

 

No it doesn't affect me in any way other than it pops up every time a restart (or turn off and start up) the laptop and I press OK to get rid of it. So even if I restart as the message tells me to, it just pops up again; I simply press OK and I don't see it again until my next start up.

 

Are there any known problems with the Sager NP8150???

 

That icon looks to be from the hotkey drivers. I'd uninstall and reinstall those first. Did you make sure the rest of your drivers were 64 bit instead of 32? That could cause some issues as well.

What do you mean sound codec? The stock sound card is just Realtek HD Audio. The frame around the screen is also still glossy.