*** Official X8100 (Sager 8120) Owners Thread ***

If you've got an 940XM processor, and an .oc revision bios, you can boost the multiplier used by 1-4 via BIOS.

 

I have a X8100 and a 940XM (initially 920XM)! And no OC Bios works correct! I tried the mySN 1.00.07br and the 1.00.11ocs from Sager! In both, when i set the option "Extreme Edition", which unlocks the multis, my CPU only runs at default Speed! No Turbo Boost and no higher Multi!

I dont know why!

 

Is it possible to flash this bios revision in a 64bits windows 7 ?
Getting a error message.

 

You need to make a boot disc and flash that way, DVD is easier as you just burn the ISO, I prefer to do it by USB though just incase.
@La.Ultima - could be based on your chips power demands, I know Pman had the same issue with a 920XM, BUT my 940XM WAS capable of overclocking, although I didnt for heat reasons, well...when I was on the OC bios.

That your turbo boost isn't working either though could mean something is afoot with your machine in general, your turbo boost should be working out the box with single/dual core apps as necessary (watch the core speeds with say Argus while running SuperPi [single core version] to see if its working)

 

Hi guys, I'm thinking of buying this beast of a laptop

However, I live in Australia, so is it really worth shipping from the US and paying tax? It makes it around $400 more expensive :S Unless anybody knows where you can buy this model locally, I may choose a cheaper option.

Also, do you find the 18" screen to big? I thought it would be amazing at first, but now I'm having doubts.

Any help would be appreciated =D

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/264311-clevo-guide-v2-0-faq-reseller-info-read-before-posting.html This thread can help you finding a reseller in your area.

About the screen, for transportation an 18" screen is pretty big ,if you are planning to take the X8100 with you every day it can be a bit of a hassle.
However, the 18" is very comfortable and spacious while you are working or gaming.

 

As I've found out, getting specialist laptop backpacks for 18" models is unusually hard in some geographic areas, however the EU and US have bags that are designed to take the X8100.

 

Affordable Laptops - laptops, notebooks, netbooks for sale online Australia

I am thinking about getting one. Base model X8100 is $2799

 

The laptop from Affordable Laptops also comes with a bonus bag so that would solve that problem.

Btw has anyone got an X8100 and not having any issues with the crossfire? Jeff at affordable laptops said there were a few that had issues but with the new stock the problems are rectified.

Sorry for another post as I can't scroll on this iPod

 

ZJJXL - if your contact, Jeff, told you that, could you ask him what changed?

 

I emailed him I'll let you know what he replys.

 

Hello,

Please forgive me for my lack of knowledge on many of the stuff that's been talked about in this thread.

I am looking to purchase a gaming laptop and I have looked at few already.
I came across the Sager NP8120, among others like alienware and falcon (which are so much more expensive and why? name only?).

I like the screen size, also portability won't be an issue with me.

I am really new at this, I looked at some sites also the benchmarks on the graphic cards. the 5870 MR XF seems to have really good results and in fact ranks number 2 on notebookcheck.com

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 Crossfire - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Please don't take it the wrong way I am simply saying this because of some research i did by myself online so that information i got could be incorrect.

That is why i am here to ask you guys for your advice. also i read some people are waiting for the new sager 18.4" with 470M SLi.

Also I saw people having problems with their XF setup. Is this a major problem?

they have the 480M SLi but its so much more. I wouldnt mind spending more money but i mean the 480Ms are so much more and are they worth it?

Again please excuse me for my lack of knowledge. i am trying to get a nice gaming laptop and any advice u give me i really appreciate it. I hope you guys will forgive me on my newbie post.

Thank you.

 

Have you looked at the Np7280 with the GTX460m Sli?

I had an Np8120 but the crossfire set up seems to be hit or miss with some folks with it. I had one and I could barely game on it due to the stuttering but others say the problem has been rectified but not 100%. I have since ordered the X7200 with 980X and 480s. 470s are still up in the air for the X8100 and X7200, at least for now.

 

I decided not to get the X8100 because the crossfire issues still exist. Alienware have rectified their crossfire problems so I'm going to get an m17x instead. Also the cooling, speakers, screen quality, keyboard and build quality is better so that equates to even better performance with the same specs and is only a couple of hundred dollars au more $2979 vs $3179

 

Thank you for the feedback. Greatly appreciated.

I was looking at the Alienware M17x and it looks like you simply can not update your drivers directly from ATI site because Dell has to modify the drivers for their notebooks. The problem is that many users complain about the wait time, since Dell takes so many more weeks to catch up with the updated drivers.

I looked at the X7200 and looks like for 3k u can get the dual 480M SLi.
I just wished the NP 8120 was consistent with reliability because u get a bigger screen with it and also the XF 5870s work pretty nicely for a lot less money.

If i were to get the 8120 and it had problems would they take care of it? I am thinking of ordering it through powernotebooks.com since i heard they have great customer service.

Again thanks for the replies. I am looking forward to the next tips and advice from you guys. thank you very much.

 

Hi,

I was planning on either getting the NP8760-S1 or the NP8120 models. The NP8760-S1 has the corei7 840QM, but the NP8120 has corei7 740QM. I know that there are some problems with the crossfire 5780, but should that deter me from choosing the NP8120 over the NP8760-S1? Thanks!

 

I bought a "Prostar" Clevo X8100 a month ago. Fully loaded with I7 940xm, 8 gigs ram, dual ati 5870 cards in crossfire... The machine runs perfectly on most games. I had to turn crossfire off for Starcraft 2 because my screen would lock up occasionally.

 

It sickens me to hear one has to turn off the second gpu to play games in a dual gpu capable laptop !
When will this issues ever be fixed ?
Im starting, slowly but surely, to think that maybe a single gpu solution is the smarter choice.

 

But the 5870M is one of the best single mobile GPUs. You could try Vidock (use a desktop card) but the performance does scale down somewhat.

"Hello Jason

I have been told that the machines were tested a certain way prior to being sent out and will be thoroughly tested before being sent out to customers." That's it dude. I posted this before but it got deleted? or maybe that was from my iPod on a slow internet connection.

 

Same problem here, have to disable the 2nd gpu for allmost any game.
Extreme low framerates, lockups and flickering screen when playing in crossfire mode.
Clevo has to do something about this problem, i'm getting sick of it.

 

When did you get your machine? Other owners don't always report the same issue, perhaps there's an inherent defect with your model that was missed during quality testing?

 

Holy ppl, why keep sellin dual gpu laptops if there are so many issues ?

I dont know, are there these kind of issues in the desktop world ?

I never heard anyone disabling second gpu just so a game can be played without an issue.

 

To make money for one, I for one find it hard to believe that EVERY SINGLE DUAL-GPU X8100 retailed since your order has the exact same issue.

From the little I've read around, the dual-GPU issue is somewhat isolated and not a widespread opinion. Of course each user is perfectly entitled to choose the hardware configuration most suitable for their needs whilst keeping an eye out for long-term stability and minimum hassle.

 

Third week of august, it was the 1st batch with usb 3.0.
Most games have this issue, about 70% i think.
I think it's bios related, but who am i ?

 

You, my friend, are zorkx !

This platform will be the sure fit for a pair of 470m.

And x7200 will be the platform for the 100W TDP 470ms, aka 485m.

 

LOL
Thank you

 

I pre-ordered my 8120 and have had mine for little less then a year i have had no problems at all with my dual 285M's, if anything it has performed much better than my 9262. But i am wondering will 8120 become available with dual 470M's if anyone has any inside information . Considering an upgrade after a few more reviews come out and if it will even become and option for the platform.

 

FYI the Alienware M17x-R2 can use reference AMD drivers. I'm using Catalyst 10.10e right now. It also has none of the problems that x8100 suffers from, xfire works like it's supposed to.

 

Thanks Joker for the info, where can i get a similar notebook for the same price as yours?

 

I dont know if you could do this:

I've seen tests on tech power up, of the new ati 6850 card, and in crossfire, they perform worse in world of warcraft, than in single card mode.

The said can't be said of the gts 450 sli, where an increase in framrates can clearly be seen.

I am willing to bet the same is the case with the 5870 crossfire. The thing is i dont know if someone can confirm this.

Thats why im looking at the x7200 and im not looking at the x8100 any more.
Look here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/527641-preppin-buying-x7200-2.html#post6879932

Is there anyone with x8100 radeons that plays wow ? Can this drop in framerate be confirmed by any of you guys here ?
Im thinkiing maybe new drivers fixed this !

 

Why post here if you've finally made your mind up to get to the X7200? A few reasons why this thread doesn't see many posts:

1. Most people don't buy this model now that the X7200 is out.
2. Those who had problems and posted earlier have either returned their models or resolved them.
3. Lots of happy customers who don't see the need to post.

Your only issue is the PSU on the X7200 which seems to have resolved itself a week ago, why waste your time posting here when you should be configuring your X7200 sooner?

 

The reason for this is id like to know if it is true that a pair of ati cards performs slow in wow than a single one.

By the looks of the desktop versions, it seems so.
Im wondering how a pair of 6xxx mobility would do in the x7200.

PS: Its gonna be a while until i order the x7200

 

Have you considered the age of WoW and its dependence on the CPU? I've read elsewhere that many older games don't play well with SLI or Crossfire because of their age and optimisation, in your case you might as well keep waiting since the 6 series ATI cards don't arrive until earliest 1Q next year. Are you going to be continue posting until then?

Note the X8100 is a much older model than the X7200, if you wait too long (i.e. 1Q 2011) some other Clevo model will probably be released and you'll have to go back to the drawing board again.

 

Now the x8100 is available at mysn.de with twin 460ms

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions........

 

The GTX 460M in SLi should perform better than Mobility Radeon HD 5870 in CrossFire thanks to better scaling, right? Of course GTX 470M SLi would be perfect, but it will just cost too much...

 

Anyone seen 470m SLI out on the market?

 

Only at eurocom. But its pricey, and who knows if they can deliver.

 

Doesn't count if no one actually has an actual 470m SLI in their hands for testing.

 

Sadly no GTX 470M SLi so far... But I think GTX 460M SLi could be a really nice options. Look at all those GTS 450 SLi reviews ( Example). Looks like they are faring pretty well, they will perform better than Mobility Radeon HD 5870 in Crossfire (GTS 450 SLi is ahead of a HD 5870 in all benches). That review also has WoW in its benchmark lists, might be interesting for Bytales. However, it also looks like with SLi you would want and need a 920XM or 940XM.

 

Desktop reviews don't always dovetail well with their mobile counterparts, I still maintain getting either the 460m SLI or 5870m Crossfire is dependent more on price than performance, the 470m SLI is more powerful than both but it's not retailing in the mainstream so it's out of consideration for the time being.

 

How can it depent on price, if both solutions cost the same ;-) If you take overclocking and the weaker CPU into the calculation you should arrive at the same benches that you have in that review (although you will probably not be able to oc the GTX 460M to 850/1700, at least not without some overvolting). Plus we all know that SLi scales better than Crossfire and you get the other goodies. Both cards have very high overclocking capabilities. In the end the GTX 460M should be the better choice for a dual GPU solution.

 

The point is, both solutions DON'T cost the same depending on which retailer you pick. If they did, then by all means pick the one that suits your needs more (overclocking etc.).

 

Bytales was referring to mySN (which is also my reseller), where they actually do cost the same. However, I guess mySN has some deal with Nvidia as they seem to sell AMD cards at a higher price: 26€ more for a Mobility Radeon HD 5870 compared to GTX 460M if you pick a single card... but no price difference between MR HD 5870 CF and GTX 460M SLi according to their logic, the SLi solution should be 52 € cheaper.

BTW: mySN lists the price of a single GTX 460M at 217 €... crazy cheap...

 

Hi guys,
Have the possiblility of buying a 2nd hand Cobalt G890 (from Apr 10) with following specs:
i7 920XM
GTX 285M SLI
8 Gb Corsair ram
160Gb Gen2 SSD & 320Gb 7200 HDD

Have read through the posts and can see that there is mostly issues with X-fire contra SLI. The few SLI issues seems to have been solved with installing a Nvidia driver. Is this a correct assumption?

Have read on Notebookcheck.net regarding the 285 SLI:
'As not every game supports SLI sufficiently, the performance increase compared to a single card is only 0-40%. The most used technique is, that every card renders a single image. Therefore, at frame-rates between 20-30 fps the SLI solution may suffer from micro stuttering (because of the different frametimes the two cards deliver)'
Will this issue also be solved after installing the Nvidia driver?

Are there any other tips I need to do to avoid the SLI issues?

Many thanks & actually enjoyed reading the discussions

 

Providing you get one with no glitches/issues, the GTX285m SLI X8100 is a solid machine, although it wont have USB 3.0 in that version.

Dual card utilisation as always, is completely driver related, going for later drivers will usually get you best performance as your profiles will be up to date. In games where it is well supported the performance boost is more along the lines of 40-80% boost over a single card.

Microstuttering is a side effect of the way cards run in dual card mode, however unless you're very susceptible and your framerates are low, most users dont notice it that much, as it tends to be less perceptible than it used to be.

In short, if you can get a good deal on the machine, are aware of its limitations, then you'll get a good, solid, nippy machine out of it

 

Many thanks for the fast reply and pleased to read the performance boost for games with a SLI profile is 40-80%.

Noticed through the posts everyone is mostly concerned with temps & cooling. Agree this is important but cant find anywhere mentioned about the noise from the vents.
Have a Clevo M571TU/GTX9800M (undervolted) which sounds like a leafblower when gaming.
Realise fan-noise is a relative thing depending on whos listening but how well does the X8100 'behave' when pushed?
Like can I 'game' in the living-room without disturbing my girlfriend reading on the couch?

 

I'm about to purchase an 8120, although I'm a bit worried how I should use it. In other words, I used to lug around a G73JW + power brick to college everyday with my Targus XL bookbag. With this laptop, do you think it would be better to just invest in a netbook for carrying around college or will it make a huge difference lugging it around in my Targus XL?

 

The X8100 is larger than the Asus so it's possible you'll need to invest in a bigger bag to house the laptop, otherwise it's a simple matter of deciding whether the new laptop will be a mobile desktop or used on the go. (18.4" vs 17.3" for the Asus).

 

Probably answered in the 90 pages before, but does the "supplied case" that you get with the notebook fit the 18.4 profile?

Unless we're talking about upgrading a much more decent case...

 

It should if the manufacturer has any sense. Most users here prefer upgrading to a better bag or carrying case.

I'm probably not posting further here since I can no longer call myself an owner of the X8100 under any sense, even a simple request for change of shipping address isn't heeded after a week. The impression of a heavy brush off doesn't seem to go away so easily either.