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8790 Artifacting - Page 7

post #121 of 385
5/3/05 at 5:11pm

More feedback from SAGER

Hey guys,

Add me to the list. I've done all the necessary cleaning and the artifacting is even worse. I got a call back from "Jerry" at Sager Tech and he gave me the usual workaround about "you can't trust what you read on some forum, blah, blah, blah." I tried to state that actually this forum provides extremely good word of mouth about SAGER notebooks and that a great many people are well informed about their product but he didn't seemed to impressed.

Today I got the following message from David Liu:

Dear Mr. Smith,
Like you said some people have the games issue like yours, just a very small percentage have this defect, compare total units we sold, we will try give you discount for this out of warranty service. Please write the RMA# on the outside the package and include a note inside the package for your return shipping street address, phone no#, email address( if your notebook is the only way you can receive the email, please let me know ), detail problems that need to be fix, and the windows PASSWORD if the hard disk is included, and back up the important data if the hard disk still working,
in case is software or hard disk drive related problem, then the OS might need fresh install, and ship back to:

SAGER MIDERN COMPUTER
18005 CORTNEY CT.
CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA. 91748


****************

For some reason there's a bit of confusion about how a 3-year warrenty expires in less than one year so I'll have to yell at someone about that (oh joy).

smithmal
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post #122 of 385
5/4/05 at 10:44am
My own problem is artifacting that started while I was overseas so I didn't send it in to get it fixed. I'm still within my 1-year warranty and temporary worked around by clocking the GPU down.

But, quick survey, how many people here have had the artifact problem, gotten their motherboard or whatever replaced by Sager?

And then, did their repair fix it, or did it recurr?
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post #123 of 385
5/4/05 at 11:27am
I have had the artifacting problem since about 3 months into owning my Sager, i sent it back got the mobo replaced, got it back... when I got it back it had screen flickering AND artifacting, so now it is back at sager will hopefully get it back early next week, i am simply fed up because I know it is going to come back with another problem.
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post #124 of 385
5/5/05 at 4:49am
I bought my 8790 back in March of 04...moved to Beijing in June. Toshiba drive bit the dust in October...ide controller busted, had to use raid...ok fine that's a nice workaround, i quite like raid now. But to my *horror* this week, artifacting started occuring when i was playing Pirates! now that's not a big deal because i rarely play games. what is a big deal is that after this artifacting in pirates, my computer won't play any video at all. all i see is the opening frame of the video and hear audio...then the whole thing locks up. it's frustrating especially because i'm trying to put together a movie and my computer now doesn't play video files. also i can't watch live streaming baseball anymore and this is my week off...grrr. so i thought why not reformat, start from scratch. ok, no change. then i went to the troubleshooting section of the ati omega driver and voila, the videos worked, albeit at a lower resolution, at the 2nd notch up the scale. the answer at least for me is that somehow my directdraw and direct3d have completely crapped out on me. i ran dxdiag and the direct3d test looks like a neon green paint splatter swirling like a tornado on my screen. thankfully i don't play a lot of games and now i can get back to making the movie at a reduced resolution, but seriously...i will never buy another sager...ever
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post #125 of 385
5/5/05 at 7:41pm
You might want to make sure you have the new bios. If you update the drivers and don't update the bios they you will most definitely have a video problem. Once the bios is updated, all should be well.
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post #126 of 385
5/5/05 at 11:07pm

update

Quote:
Originally Posted by dkuscher
I have been having the artifacting problem right after i bought my 8790 in November 04.But I thought it was the game i was playing. (A bug) but come to find out it was not. The game i have problem is Tiger Woods 2005.
Well reading the problems quite a few of you have sound like Sager has a problem. So i sent in a request to RMA my 8790 back, and they want me to send them a picture of my screen. No problem I'll do that but what ticks me off is what they had to say about this problem. This is what the sent me back to my request.

Hi David,

Could you send a picture shows the problem that you experienced? *

Any parts could be defective on all computers; the failure rate on 8790 is within the normal range as all other models. Posts on public forums tend to draw out complaints and create an overstated impression of actual difficulties with the unit.

If you decide to send in for service, please provide your return address in order for us to issue you a RMA number.

Regards,

Sager Tech Support
18005 Cortney CT.
City*of Industry, CA 91748


As you can see they do not think there is a problem, That's
BS after doing more research it seems other laptops with the ATI Mobility card is having the same problem with artifacting. Sounds like ATI might have the problem.

In any case what are we to do with the $2500.00 paper weight?
I'll send them a picture as they asked and send it back and hope they fix it right or I'll be sending it back again when it screws up in 4 to 5 months again.
I guess I'll need to buy the extended warranty.
This is frustrating, I hope Sager does look into this problem and can find the fix or offer us a trade towards another model.
Well thanks for letting me blow off some steam about this and hope everyone will get this problem taken care of.
Just got laptop back and seems to be working, time will tell. They said they replaced the motherboard and bios.
Ran AIDA32 for Info. This is what i got.

BIOS Properties:
BIOS Type Phoenix
System BIOS Date 09/20/04
Video BIOS Date 04/05/05

Maybe the new video bios will solve the problem.
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post #127 of 385
5/7/05 at 6:20am

Fuming

Just got mine back, asked them to look at the rubber feet, SO THEY TOOK 2, and not just that but they kept my SAGER packing box and my Harddrive cables. It's like talking to 2nd graders. They did send a note about the system being dirty that got me thinking.
("The paper said very dirty, maybe did not said it clearly, is inside the head
sink air flow channel been block by the dust".) I think he means the HEAT SINK CHANNEL. There are no instruction on disasembling the heat sink in the manual, if this is somthing I need to do often, why is there no mention on their website or a global email. How do I remove it.
I cleaned every part I could get to often. I'm not in the habit of taking apart a 4000$ notebookand tinkering. Anybody have instructions? I did not want to void my warentee. Not very happy at this point. I also asked why I have marks around the lappy face by the keyboard that they refused to cover. Then his email asked about which rubber feet were missing the case bottom or the screen feet. That got me thinking again. I think that they are not properly in the screen allowing the case to scuff the paint. Again I pointed out to them that it isn't a user caused problem. But they had sent it back without a email or call. I'm not sending it back to them that's for sure.
I can't even test it w/o the HD's Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
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post #128 of 385
5/7/05 at 1:02pm
Just a quick FYI, Sager ONLY offers their warrantee for one year, the other two (in your case) are covered after the original expires by either Warrantech, or Phillips, depending on which company you chose when you ordered.
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post #129 of 385
5/7/05 at 1:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tclaborn
Just got mine back,
I can help you with the following:

* Cleaning out the heatsink assembly
* Thermal mod for the CPU and GPU etc.
* Original Sager boxing

My 8790 is broken (I dropped it...actually flung it against the wall in anger) but works fine...the LCD is smashed though and I am using with an external monitor. I dont need any of the boxing and stuff...you can have it for free.

Let me know

I am in Erie PA.


gs
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post #130 of 385
5/8/05 at 1:13am
Cool thanks GS. Yes David said he would overnite ship my parts back, but of course they did not come. I could use some detailed instruction on cleaning this out. I tried taking out the 4 spring screws and the small 1 but could not lift out the heat sink. not even sure how to get at the fan areas. I have lifted out the keyboard to loosen screws. but no dust there. I was going to do a Arctic Silver but the GPU is what get real hot. I wonder how much to ship that stuff to Ann Arbor MI 48103?
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post #131 of 385
5/8/05 at 5:53pm
Quote:
But, quick survey, how many people here have had the artifact problem, gotten their motherboard or whatever replaced by Sager?

And then, did their repair fix it, or did it recurr?
I had artifacting problems with my 8790 back in December of last year (Bought it July 04) and had to send it in. Sager replaced the motherboard and sent it back to me and I have not had a single incident with artifacting since I received it back.
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post #132 of 385
5/8/05 at 10:02pm
does anyone know where the gpu is and possibly some instruction steps to get to it properly, i'm trying to re-apply some thermal compound to the cpu and gpu.... also, the cpu had a piece of metal (like aluminum foil) between the cpu and heat sink, does that need to stay there or can i just apply the thermal compound and leave the peice of metal out.

thanks
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post #133 of 385
5/8/05 at 10:20pm
Remove that foil and any remaining "sticky stuff". That "foil" was the original thermal conductor between the CPU and the heat sink and it should not be reused.
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post #134 of 385
5/9/05 at 10:54am
This David Liu at Sager just isn't wrapped too tight. I recieved his "Nextday air" package 3 days later and he only sends me 1 harddrive cable for my RAID setup. I looked at the email thread and I stated 3 times Cables cables cables x2. I still can't test the new MB. Beware of SAGER's service depatment. I also need detailed instruction for opening up the system for cleaning, If someone has the time that is. I'm sure many would benifit. BTW just checked the Forum for the arctic silver giude and the pics aren't there. How many screws to remove the heat spreader 4? I don't want to pry. What is the easist way to clean the fan area? Is it the deep screws on the bottom of the case? I want to see them not just blow it out. I also may arctic silver the gpu if I can find it. I think heat due to dust is the killer for the artifacting. thanks guys.
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post #135 of 385
5/9/05 at 11:54am
Search for gsferrai's post on how to apply AS5 and cleqan the unit - He used have great pictures that showed what to do.
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post #136 of 385
5/9/05 at 11:58am
Found the pic's at the end of the sticky. but it's a little different on the 8790. I'll search for the cleaning post. thanx
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post #137 of 385
5/9/05 at 9:28pm
Well this time the heat sink came loose ( loosened by changing the mother board) It IS just the 4 spring loaded screws. I used thermal compound, i can't find mt AS5 I may have to order more. I took 50 black screws and still could not get to the fans. I think there are a few tiny silver screws still holding the bottom on. AAAAAaaaaaaaaa Update from David - He will send the rest of my laptop back (one more hd cable) but only 2nd day air. heck his overnight takes 2 days. What a prick. I'l take hints on gpu arctic silvering and fan cleaning. I just hope they put it together right. sheeeesh.
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post #138 of 385
5/13/05 at 12:15am
Workaround for Artifcating

Under clocking the GPU can reduce or eliminate the artifacts in 2D. Steps how to under clock your GPU:
  • Download and install latest Omega driver from
    http://www.omegadrivers.net/ati.php
  • Make sure you install the Radlinker utility included in the Omega drivers.
  • Go to the Display Properties -> Settings -> Advanced -> Advanced 3D -> Clock Rate and under clock the core speed.
I own a Sager 9870 with a ATI 9700 graphic chipset. The bios default clock speed is set to 400MHz. With the core speed set to 310 MHz artifacts are more or less gone in 2D (Office, Internet Browser, etc). They still persist in heavy 3D usage (Games) though.

This is a temporary solution only and you should replace the motherboard as soon as possible. The artifacting gets worse over the time.

Regards,
-Mat
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post #139 of 385
5/13/05 at 12:48am

Can anyone provide quick instructions on application of Artic Silver 5 to GPU?

Hey guys,

I was able to combine gsferrai's instruction's on taking apart a SAGER, cleaning the CPU thermal pad, and the heatsinks with the pictures. If anyone has the ability to host the file, I can send you the word doc that has the text/pictures combined.

I was wondering, since it seems to be the overheating of the GPU that's causing all the problems, could anyone provide a succinct set of instructions on how to apply AS5 to the GPU?

Thanks,

smithmal
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post #140 of 385
5/14/05 at 1:27pm

What Improvements

Im about to send in my computer and i was just wondering what specs I should record before I send it in to see if they underclock my system to prevent it from overheating. I am affraid their only solution overheating is to underclock it. I know this is probably a rediculous thought but I dont see what else they could do to prevent this heat issue. I have the p4 3.4 EE with dual hard drives so my system gets pretty warm, but I dont want them to hinder the performance to fix their problem.

Is their anyone that has recorded their numbers before and after they sent it in? I am just curious to see what defaults they set when they send it back to us so I can make sure mines running at its peak. If someone has any information about before and after performance, could you please post it here?
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