Sager nightmare!

[Grifter77]

What do you do when you buy a gaming laptop at nearly 4 000$ can and:

1. It froze every time you play a game
2. You send it for repairs 3 times in a year
3. They loose your ram in one of the RMA/ then sends some back with one defect module
4. Your not in possession of the device for more then 4 months in a one year period
5. Your warranty ends on the last RMA and your receive this by email by the technical department:




Hi Kevin, the computer does not have any hardware problem. It runs Windows
XP and other program fine including the 3D benchmark 2005. The only issue is
the handling 3D intensive game such as the SWAT4. When you play those games,
please make sure the room temperature is at 70 Deg F or lower. Also, you
need to clean up the heat sink once a month at least. We will not change the
unit since changing unit does not make any difference.

Allen Zhang
Sager tech support

-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Byrne-Langlois [mailto:kblanglois@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 9:09 AM
To: TechSupport@SagerNotebook.com
Subject: RE: 5116414 7620 (Thread:78312)


I'm a bit puzzled about your answer. I am a IT security specialist, with 5
years in computer tech support level 1 and of course a client. It took
nearly a year and 3 RMA's to find the problem, I AM QUITE THANK FULL THAT
YOU HAVE FOUND THE ISSUE, atleast it does prove i wasn't dumm and was right
to put put pressure on Sager. Now do you change the unit? What happens
next.

Yours,
Kevin Byrne Langlois


>From: "Sager Tech Supports" <TechSupport@SagerNotebook.com>
>To: <KBLANGLOIS@HOTMAIL.COM>
>Subject: RE: 5116414 7620 (Thread:78312)
>Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 07:46:37 -0700
>
>Hi Kevin, we have been testing the computer for over a month. We did not
>find any hardware problem on this computer. The only problem is the
>pulsation while playing 3D intensive games. We have swapped all the
>hardware. But the pulsation still occurs. However, when the computer is in
>an air conditioned room, the pulsation is reduced to almost not noticeable.
>The room temperature is around 70 deg F. We moved the computer back to our
>assemble line where the temperature is around 86 deg F or above, the
>pulsation is very noticeable. We have tested the computer in the two
>locations many times. The results remain the same. Our conclusion is that
>the computer is temperature sensitive in terms of playing 3D intensive
>games. We played the BF2 and the SWAT4. The computer can run BF2 without
>much difficulties. But the computer does have difficulties to run the SWAT4
>in non-air conditioned room.
>
>Allen Zhang
>Sager tech support



I’m desperate!!!!!!

 

[killernotebooks]

What is the model of the Sager and what is the GPU?

 

[Grifter77]

Sager NP7620 with an ATI X800

 

[killernotebooks]

Try to take the heatsink off the CPU & GPU.

There is a finned surface at the end of the heatsink. Use a cannister of compressed air and blow that completely out (I think they mentioned that in their email back to you). Blowing it from the outside in doesn't do much good because there isn't room enough in the case for the "fluff to go to" and the problem originalted when this "fluff" originated from the outside and moved to the inside anyway.

Next inspect the heatpipe, clean off any oils and imperfections thay may be on the heatpipe, this isn't going to help matters.

Clean off the thermal tape or used themal compund from the bottom of the heatsink and the CPU & GPU. Lap the heat sink by taking a piece of 1/4" glass and putting 150 grit wet sandpaper on it (automotive store), apply a thin layer of water and use the sandpaper to flatten the heat sinks. If your heat sink is aluminum is is going to take longer than copper obviously so don't go crazy. You can take a black permanent wide tip marker and color the entire heatsink that you are going to lap. Once the marker is completely gone it is a good indicator that the surface is flat.

Next move to 180/220, 400 lastly 600 grit paper (you can go 1000 if you are crazyed at this point). If you have a Dremmel tool and you have a heat pipe type cooler you can polish the heat pipe taking out any imperfections with mothers mag polishing cream or any other polishing formula (automotive store).

You now have a perfectly flat surface to mate to the GPU/CPU which should transfer the most heat physically possible. Put a dot of AS5 on the CPU/GPU and make sure the entire thing is covered with the paste. Don't get the AS5 on anything else because it contains silver and will arc them over.

You will have done everything you can to flatten the surface to mate to the CPU & GPU so the maximum amount of thermal conductivity exists to get that heat onto the heat sink and out of your computer.

If this doesn't work then I would figure out exactly what was failing and durring what tests. Most of the time graphics cards will fail if they don't get enough juice from the power supply. Please tell me what the tech is reffering to when the machine fails during heavy GPU utilization. Does the machine power off, does the game crash, do you get memory errors... what?

 

[Grifter77]

I have nearly all email exchange with Sager over that one year period. Essentially I noticed the problem 2 weeks after receiving the unit. The system pauses, it doesn't crash it pauses and resume after a few second. It is mostly apparent in games but at my IT school I saw it under major load once used as a server. In games it takes about 15 minutes to show up and once it start your done for. If i'm playing online I do not loose the internet connection I simply resume where i left when it occurs. It is repitive like in swat4 once it starts it becomes unplayable.

I will try your procedure the minute the system finally comes back from Sager, since they say they do not repair it.

 

[killernotebooks]

When do you get it back?

 

[Grifter77]

It should have left Sager monday the 17, I expect to receive it by the end of this week near the 27 of july.

 

[killernotebooks]

Cheese and Rice, what did they send it by way of rickshaw?

 

[Grifter77]

Well it worked for a while, now it does the same thing, cleaning wont help. So i'll take youre advice. What is the best cooling paste ? I'm also building a box to sit the laptop on it with fans witch should help keep it cooler. Anyways last laptop I buy from Sager for sure. I'm looking for other heatsink but there are few on the market so i guess i'll be stuck with it.

I know it's been a while but kind of given up hope for a time.

Anyways i'll try it and keep you posted

thanks

 

[JasumX]

Arctic silver 5 is the best thermal paste I've seen.

 

[Grifter77]

Cool it ordered they should have some by the end of the day or tomorow and the eat sinks are ready!!! I'll give it a shot!

 

[Grifter77]

Just finished to clean everything up, weird thing I found out my laptop description says I can't go further then a Intel 570, but it's a 630 thats in it !!!! Could it be the source of the problem??

Link to my laptop spec:

http/www.clevo.com.tw/products/D750W.asp