Sager NP2096 Owners Lounge

Hi Devgru,

You should probably use COMPAL's download site for downloading any Drivers for your Sager NP2096 (Compal JHL90) ...

COMPAL Drivers Download
http://www.compal.com/asp/driver_dnd/index.htm

Also read this Thread ... talking about the Same Drivers and Tips ...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=297424

Hope this helped.

G!

 

Hello, huge display and/or nvidia driver problem here:

My display, depending on whether it feels like it or not, will blink, fizz, make fuzzy artifacts, etc. When I try to play a game off Steam, the game window minimizes/maximizes repeatedly by itself, without end...until i restart the laptop.

According to windows diagnosis [vista 64 here], it is a nvidia driver problem. And yes i have latest drivers, according to vista. I bougth this sager a month or two ago. 9600m gt, obviously.

HALP?

PS: no, it's not a heating issue. It's not that warm, the GPUz says 65 C, so it's not that.

 

Ordered mine a few days ago but it hasn't shipped yet...argh the anticipation!

 

What drivers are you using? Perhaps you could try an older driver?

 

help anyone?

 

Did you open it up to see if anything on the fan was loose or broken? It sounds like one or more of the points where the fan unit is attached to the rest of the system has come loose, and is vibrating, or else something close to the fan broke and the motion of the fan is generating vibrations that cause the edges of the break to vibrate against each other and make noise until you push the case around and change the dynamics.

 

hey guys i was wonder if yew could upgrade the videocard for this laptop?
thx

 

Open it up and see if its MXM?

 

I don't believe that the NP2096 has an upgradeable GPU; therefore, whether or not it conforms to the MXM spec would be beside the point. However, I am quite used to being proved wrong, so it would be interesting/useful if an owner would open her/his system up and check to see if the GPU is soldered on or not, and if not, whether the card appears to conform to MXM standards.

 

The Compal JHL90 is only certified to use the nVIDIA 9600M GT. It cannot be upgraded to any current video card without exceeding the thermal budget and voiding the warranty.

 

Which is good to know. One, shall we say, theoretical question, Paladin44: is the GPU in the NP2096 soldered in or plugged in, and, in either case, does it technically conform to the MXM standards or not?

 

Hi folks,

To Nighleaf & Shyster1 ...

I read somewhere that the NVIDIA GPU sits on an MXM module.

I believe they were saying that Compal JHL90 it should be able to handle NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT and 9600M GT.

But I also recall they mentioned going anything over these 2 GPUs most likely you would be exceeding the cooling capacity of the Heatsink and the Fan and they were not recommending it.

So, I suppose if you are a Brave Soul ... go for it!

G!

 

just ordered my np2096! i heard temps run a little hot, any advice on which laptop cooler matches up with the NP2096 well? or maybe i don't even need one.

 

I highly recommend you get a cooler. I've had nothing but great experiences with my Zalman NC1000 so I would recommend that.

 

^^ Here are my temps in a cool room and using the Zalman NC1000. My notebook has been on idle in this state for about an hour.

 

Yes, the video card in the Compal JHL90 (Sager NP2096, PowerPro P 12:15, and other brands) does conform to the MXM standard.

 

Thanks Paladin44. Can I also take that to mean that the card is not soldered onto the motherboard, but is inserted into a socket?

 

That is correct...it is not soldered on the motherboard.

MXM modules are very similar to memory modules. The can be easily removed and replaced with another MXM card of like kind (that is type I, II, III or IV) just like a piece of memory.

The important thing is to make sure the MXM module you want to use is certified for use in that model laptop by its ODM.

 

does the NC1000 fit the NP2096 well, or is it a bit smaller? and if so, how is the NC2000 fit?

 

The 2096 hangs less than half an inch on each side of the cooler so it's not a big deal. No reason to spend the extra money for NC2000.

 

Hi Shyster,

I just go crazy and throw a 9800M GT in it and get it over with. I bet it will run just fine and with same Temps as 9600M GT.

G!

 

Thanks for the info. What MXM type is the 9600M GT in the 2096?

I really wish that mobile GPUs were more easily attainable...at the end of the day, it's too difficult to come across a decently priced mobile GPU so that we can replace it ourselves. Would they be offered through your company by any chance?

 

As I said before, the only card that is certified for the Compal JHL90 is the 9600M GT.

Therefore any discussion about an upgraded card, or any other card is unwarranted.

 

I don't see how that matters if we're willing to void the warranty and upgrade it ourselves...

 

Well, that stills leaves the small matter of actually finding the card...

 

@Paladin44:

Thanks for the info - as I said, it was strictly a theoretical question; particularly since I don't even own this laptop.

 

Alright, so I'm about to buy one of these, but I have to ask, what color is it? In all of the pics I've seen online it looks black, but in a review by Corbs ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=293753), it looks brown?

 

I wondered the same thing. If you plan on ordering from Xotic PC, I contacted them inquiring the same thing and they said it is of a black tint, not brown. If you order elsewhere, I'm sure if you contact them they'll be glad to help you.

 

It is indeed black and not brown. I don't know why it gives that brown look to it but it's definitely black.

 

Hence the question to paladin inquiring if the cards could be obtained through his company. Apparently not, it seems.

 

Mine is dark brown with sparklies in the plastic. It is a sleek looking machine, no question about it.

Paladin, I never did get your input: Should I be worried about my temps. My GPU is idling at 60, gaming at 95 ( in Guild Wars mostly), my CPU idles at 47 and gets up to 63 during intense work?

 

Hm, seems odd that some are black and some are brown...

 

Hey do you guys know if you can use the 3 year sager warranty to get battery replacements if your first one is dying?

Sorry if this is an uber-noober question

 

srry if this is a nuuber ? guys but where would i get a good cooler fan for this laptop and cheap..i noe this is silly but where does the cooler fan actually go and is it easy to take off/put back on?
if yew took the tiime to read this than i love you ha

 

Those temps are quite normal.

Your GPU shouldn't go much above 95C, but your processor could go well above the 63C you are seeing with no problem. The CPU has built in protection so that it will actually shut itself off at around 100C, so you see you have nothing about which to worry.

 

Coolers are basically solid platforms with fans built into them that are placed directly underneath the notebook. Check out some coolers here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2030260319 1276817102&name=Cooler

There are some cheap coolers there, as far as recommendations go - I don't really know much about the cheaper coolers but the Zalman NC1000 is working great for me (but it's a bit pricey).

 

The 3 year warranty covers the battery and AC Adapter for the 1st year only. Everything else is covered for 3 years, except physical damage caused by misuse or abuse is not covered.

 

my vista64x doesn't want install any nvidia driver except the default one 176.13......................even i uninstall the old one then when install new one it say no hardware support!!!!!why?

 

Hi Nightleaf,

Before you go and buy the wrong Cooler ... read this Thread ...

NBR Cooling Central
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=263039

It is better to get the right one rather than the cheapest one!

G!

 

If you are geting your newer drivers from Laptopvideo2go then you will have to insert the modded INF file to get it to work with the 9600. It is super easy to do though and they have a walkthrough so don't be discouraged. If I can do it then I know that you can.

 

Has anyone figured out the 5 fps web cam issue yet? I have tried different cam viewing software all with the same slow frame rate results.

Also, my wireless connection to my Linksys router with Tomato firmware seems to keep dropping out. Has anyone else had any connection issues with the built in wi-fi adapter?

Thanks!

 

my wifi work fine ,just download latest drive from intel site.....
it drop with me when recurrent install and unistall ......remove drive with clean unistall then clean install and restart......

 

Well I just ordered one, cant wait!

 

It looks like the new 1.08 BIOS is out. How do you update the BIOS on this notebook? I've always used the built in Windows BIOS updates on my past notebooks but this one doesn't have it. I know the alternative is through DOS but I can't find info on how to do it.

edit: nevermind, just found it. Worked great!

 

thank you gon for thee info..so i should be safe with any zalman(least like $40<up)cooler ?
also if any1 could tell me how to acces my temps on my pc, unless i have to download a program or sumthing?
cant seem to even find where i can look thru my webcam

 

To monitor temps, download HWmonitor:
http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php

For webcam software, try Debut:
http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html

 

so how to do you updated your bios?
do you have latest nvidia driver with added moded info.?
Zfactor made guide to flush bios via usb.

 

Yeah I followed zfactor's guide to update the BIOS. I found his guide to be unnecessarily long and complicated at times, when it's really a lot simpler. Still, it was helpful.

And yes, I have the 180.10 drivers but I use my own modded INF.

 

when you received your sager 2096 or jhl90 what was in the box?
is it include warranty papers?

 

No warranty papers, I believe your proof of warranty is just in your invoice from your reseller. I only got the recovery, driver, and win dvd discs in the box.