What is happening?!?!

[JamieW]

Hi,

I just recieved my new NP9262 from Xotic PC..

Specs:

SAGER NP9262 Ultimate Custom Laptop (Built on Clevo D900C / D901C)
- Display: 17" WUXGA "Glare Type"
- Processor: ~Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz
- Video Card: 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce
- Ram: ~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS)
- Primary Hard Drive: ~ 200GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 3
- Operating System: ~Windows XPHome
- Warranty: 2 Year Parts & Labor Warranty 24

I love the laptop but there's a few issues i'm having and i'm hoping someone can help me resolve them without me having to send back the laptop.

First of all... I installed F.E.A.R... It ran nicely for a while (5 mins)and then started to really lag... badly! now i only bought this game to test out the graphics on my pc and i thought that it would handle them without a problem... anyway, the game turned out to be unplayable...

After researching on the internet it appears that there may be some conflict between running this game and using a USB mouse?!?!? have any of you guys came across this problem, or played this game on a similar setup and had/not had problems?? would like to hear about it.

Anyway, so i assumed it was game related and wasn't fussed...

Secondly i installed 3dmark06 (free downlod version)

My 3dmark06 scroe was 6000!! then 6900 then 6500??!?!? what the hell? why are my socres, firstly, so bad. and secondly, so inconsistent!?

I've read on this site that i should be reachon near 10000 points.

Anyway, I ran the test again this morning before work and got 9300?

I'm really confused now.. what could be causing this inconsistancy??

another thing to note: would F.E.A.R instasll it's own drivers?? because i reinstalled the ones on the disk supplied with the laptop and they were older than the existing ones?

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jamie

[Justin@XoticPC]

Hello, Welcome to XOTIC PC Forums.:D We are sorry to hear of this issue. :(

Have you made any changes to the system in between? Can you run it again and tell us what score you get?

The latest drivers can always be found at www.sagernotebook.com

[OregonCoastGamer]

Update, Update, Update :P .

[danny_christ]

inconsistancy... make sure your laptop is on a even surface, not on your blacket in your bed (overheating throthels down the graka.

6000 point... i had this as well, that i installed the driver 167.44 and had 9400
(not many driver -all the new one like 174.82 and so on perform for whatever reason bad)

f.e.a.r... shitty programmed game, works well with the good driver! make sure not to have much crab on processes in the background (check your services, run:msconfig to check autostart progs)

f.e.a.r doen't install his own driver (just dx9) inconsistancy with the fps sounds again like a heat prob or bad driver

[JamieW]

Thanks for the replies...

yep it's sitting on an even surface... carpet thopugh... is that bad??

I hope it's not overheating, one of the reasons i bought it was due to the praise it recieved for it's ability to run cool...

wow i'm suprised a driver can make so much difference to the performance... Strange that the driver on the utilities disk was not the one installed originally...

Could the version of dx9 that fear installed caused this problem?? if so where would i get the good version??

what abotu the USB mouse issue... anyone experienced this??

The only change i made was tweaking the performance/quality bar within the Nvidia settings to 'performance'

Is it worth me reformatting??... i'd hope not to do this so soon after buying a pc but will if i have too!

other thing to note: i have not connected to the internet yet as i'm waiting to my install virus software first...

meaning...

1. windows has not updated fully...

2. it's constantly monitiring my all wireless connections that are in range and asking me if i want to connect ( i live in a block of condos! ie. lots of possible connections)

could this be classed as a task running in the background?? i guess it could have some affect... but to reduce the 3dmark score right down to 6000

I will uninstall fear tonight and run another test...

also might install Kaspersky and then run the updates etc... just to see...

any other ideas chaps??? all welcome

thanks

Jamie

[Sroxuss]

I have almost exactly the same notebook. I install the drivers that came on the disk. My 3DMark 2006 score was close to 10k, but I've heard that some of the drivers out there cut the score in half. There are new video drivers on the Sager site that actually made my score go up about 120 points.

Also, if you have the notebook on the carpet it'll get hot. If you look on the bottom there are fans there that need to be clear. You can also use the FN+1 to make the fans run on high, that should lower temps.

I'm using a USB mouse and haven't had any problems with it playing games.

[Aryantes]

carpet is definitely not a good idea.

Your laptop will have no ventilation if its sitting on carpet.

it needs to be on a hard surface so that the bottom of the laptop is not pushing against anything.

your problem is very possible that its due to heat. when your laptop overheats, it turns down the speed of your video card, usually half speed.

put it on a table and see what happens.

download NTune and run the Nvidia Monitor to see if your GPU speeds are 500/800 ( you will see what i mean )

try that.

[OregonCoastGamer]

By the way I have a logitech USB mouse and no problems here.

[JamieW]

thanks for all the advice..

update:

It appears that it was overheating on the carpet...

I've just ran 3 tests in a row and hit roughly 9750 each time

still a little low?

It was the CPU score that appeared to affect the over all result... why do you think this would be?

SM2: 4349
SM3: 4177
CPU: 2637

what do other people get with this same cpu? would the drop be the difference betwwen the dual and quad core?

I'm not too fused now anyway, i'm just gald that the laptops not broken!

Cheers Aryantes, i downloaded NTune and the results were as you said, 500/800...

the only thing i didn't update was the driver... I downloaded it but it was corrupt!

what driver do people find best? cheers,

Jamie

[OregonCoastGamer]

You have to remove the old driver before installing a new one or it will come up as "corrupt" or not working properly.

[JamieW]

Nah i meant that the archive i actually downloaded was currupt!

anyhow, i installed a newer driver but it had no real effect on score... except for lowering it slightly lol

anyone have a 3dmark score for a Duo E6850 3.0 Ghz?

Cheers

Jamie

[parabolaforever]

The FEAR problem is a memory leak because of bad programming, the VRAM just keeps filling up till its bogged down. Thats why it runs perfect for 5 mins then bogs down... also it was programmed before DX10... try updating FEAR.
@ JamieW: Of course a driver makes a world of a difference, it is the language the rest of the computer uses to talk to the GPU.

[bargegod]

3dmark06 score of my system: 9745

Sager np9262: 17" 1920x1200wuxga, E6850 Core2duo 3.0ghz 1.3ghz fsb 4mb L2 cache, 4mb 800mhz ram, 1x nvidia geforce 8800mgtx 512mb gpu, 3x100gb hdd 7200rpm, Raid 0, vista ultimate x64 os, tv tuner, x-fi 7.1 sound card, triple fan cooler, 2.0 webcam

[Sanosukeafo]

My wife left the laptop on her bed, went outside, and she heard a loud beeping so she came back in the house and it was my new NP9262, when this laptop overheats does it warn you with beeps or something?

I wasn't there, but I assumed the beeping was from heat, I asked her where the laptop was and when she said "Sitting on the bed" I assumed I was correct. Anyone know about this loud noise the laptop makes?

[OregonCoastGamer]

The laptop beeps when the battery power runs out. She probably accidently disconnected the power cord and the battery ran out sitting there.

[rswarkentin]

Yea your 3dmark06 score is good. I have similar specs except XP pro and I gett between 9700-9800 depending on drivers.

[B Jezz]

I'm able to run FEAR without any issue on an NP9262. I immediately updated it with the latest patch before trying it, so I cannot speak for the unpatched version, but it certainly does not appear to slow down after playing for say two or three hours. I'm also using a Logitech USB mouse. I suspect most first person gamers use USB mice.

Also considering that you're running a dual core processor, I wouldn't be too concerned about minor background processes running, such as detecting wireless networks. Technically they will make the game run slightly slower, but I doubt that you would notice.

[Abstaman]

I have the same rig with Vista Ultimate installed - my score was 10000 out of the box. I havn't played with drivers and such but I'm sure I could tweak that a little higher.

Just for a reference...

[parabolaforever]

I'm able to run FEAR without any issue on an NP9262. I immediately updated it with the latest patch before trying it, so I cannot speak for the unpatched version, but it certainly does not appear to slow down after playing for say two or three hours. I'm also using a Logitech USB mouse. I suspect most first person gamers use USB mice.

Also considering that you're running a dual core processor, I wouldn't be too concerned about minor background processes running, such as detecting wireless networks. Technically they will make the game run slightly slower, but I doubt that you would notice.


WOOT Logitech rocks! VX nano 4LIFE!

[JamieW]

I have the same rig with Vista Ultimate installed - my score was 10000 out of the box. I havn't played with drivers and such but I'm sure I could tweak that a little higher.

Just for a reference...

hmmm i thought that generally scores were a little higher with XP....

do you think it's yours that is running well or mine that is running poorly?

[robamb2002]

WOOT Logitech rocks! VX nano 4LIFE!

I second that! I had 3 usb mice over the course of a year before I got a nano. my wife broke one when she set the the laptop down angled towards the dongle. I broke one when I sat in a chair with high armrests snaping off the dongle. My 2 yr old broke one when he walked up to it, cocked his head to one side, and just planted a finger on the dongle! The nano has lasted me close to a year and a half now. The only reason I didn't get a second one for my new lappy was I wanted to try out the bluetooth.

The nano mouse is a great bluetooth mouse alternative. Its really hard to shear the dongle of the port and has great range. Also you can pick them up on sale for under $30! :)

[parabolaforever]

Think about background services and applications....
i.e. run msconfig and boot only essential services and then run Mark
FYI: I despise 3DMarks becuse they are not a good representation of how a computer will perform in the REAL world.

[bargegod]

what program would YOU recommend then to accurately rate the performance of a gaming notebook then? if there is a different way then im all for it. lol but benchmarking is the only way i know of. thanx

[parabolaforever]

I'd say the best way to accurately rate a gaming system is to PLAY SOME GAMES. Honestly, I bought my system to play games, not loop benchmarks all day :P

[bargegod]

ok. thanks. laterz.......