I think the matter of my artifacting is the fact that the gpu is overheating... my cpu was overheating but a good cleaning with dust off of the heatsink fixed that... but i did not blow the gpu heatsink off cause i do not know where it is... if anyone knows please fill me in cause i would like to see if that would fix it before i am forced to RMA... also... if opening the compartment with the gpu voids the warranty please say so in your post if you know.

damn my gx7 started doing this now also! I was playing house of the dead 3 and then i started noticing artifacts... i'm in europe right now what can i do @.@ i read through almost all the posts in this topic and it seems like the only way is to rma the laptop...

just wondering if other models are having the same problem? i was thinking of maybe asking hypersonic if its possible to trade it in for a lesser model like cx5 or cq6 realized i wanted something more portable and i don't game that much anyway

RMA is still an option in the UK. A Sager tech support rep told me they have a service center there. From their email to me:

UK Service Center
Unit 39, Rainbow Industrial Estate, Trout Road, West Drayton, Middlesex,
UB7 7RN, UK
Tel : 44-189-543-0333
Fax : 44-189-543-8338
E-mail : support@goldenstaruk.com

Add me to the list of people experiencing artifacting. Here's NBA Live 2005:

[IMG]F:\DESKTOP\ARTIFACTING SCREENSHOTS\NBA Live 2005 artifacting 2.jpg[/IMG]

I hadn't used my 8790 for games for a long time (around 4-5 months) before purchasing NBA Live 2005 just recently. So I wouldn't say that I've intensely used the graphics card that much. Severe artifacting occurs just seconds into NBA Live 2005 (I guess during the part it has to use 3D). In Tiger Woods 2004, it takes around a couple of minutes before the graphics card gives up.

[IMG]C:\Documents and Settings\Jet\Desktop\ARTIFACTING SCREENSHOTS\Tiger Woods Artifacting.jpg[/IMG]

I'll be RMAing my notebook soon. I've spoken with Sager and they told me that they'll simply replace the motherboard. However, the replacement will be the same exact model which means that there will be a considerable probability for the problem to resurface after another few months (at which time, the warranty would've lapsed). I'm pretty concerned about this because people who purchased the 8790 like myself would end up with a bad investment. I could extend the warranty for another 2 years thru Phillips for $221 for "peace of mind", but the idea that I may have to send my unit back and lose 2 weeks a few more times makes the problem really cost a lot more than $221. I don't think this is what any of us were expecting to get when we ordered our units about half a year ago.

This is another shot of Command and Conquer Generals to add to anyone's "8790 artifacting art collection":

[IMG]C:\Documents and Settings\Jet\Desktop\ARTIFACTING SCREENSHOTS\command and conquer artifacting.jpg[/IMG]

i have joined the ranks of artifacting 8790s. Here's something odd. try running your 8790 on battery power only and do everything you can think of to cause an artifact. mine will not artifact when running on battery power. but as soon as i plug the power supply back in, artifact city!

correction, tonight this POS started artifacting no matter what. as soon as windows starts up, artifact city! after about 10 minutes or less, unreadable screen.

Sounds like your mobo or graphix card is fried... time to look into an RMA

yeah, i'm trying to get in touch with the reseller who sold it to me to get everything sorted out. on another note, i've underclocked the hell out of it and it hasn't gone screwy with me yet. hopefully, i can deal with it like this until i get an RMA.

Yup, I've also realized that underclocking the GPU or the CPU will both cause no less artifacts (But of course you've got a slower computer than you've paid for)

I have just RMA'd my beast back to Sager for artifacting and a broken headphone jack, just contacted Techsupport though email, I will post a new thread when I get it back explaining what they did and if there are still any problems to clear up the mystery of an RMA.

Looks like I'm joining the artifacting/RMAing club too. Very sad about this, as my laptop has become part of my brain, and sending it away for so long is like having a lobotomy.

I get the screen flickery thing, it gets better when the battery isn't connected. Artifacts while playing HL2 and anything 3D moving from tolerable black speckles to trippy triangles and disco-esque flashing surfaces. I had no idea it was a common problem until coming to this forum and reading what everyone had to say.

I don't think the drivers matter, as I was using the original ones when it happened, and changing to the Omega ones made it neither better nor worse.

This sucks especially because I got into the Guild Wars alpha test just recently, and my desktop is nowhere near as pretty at graphics as the laptop.

So, when it comes back from RMA, I'd like to get it a cooling pad to hopefully keep it running well in the future... does anyone have recomendations for that?

yeah as far as a cooling pad, I had the Antec brand USB cooling pad and it was garbage. It was way too small for the 8790 and The central part was not hollow so the fans would not align causing air to stagnate between the cooling pad and the laptop causing higher temperatures. It was also lifted very high off the desk and with the Sager being too wide for it made the laptop very tipsy. I ended up taking it back. So don't get the Antec cooling pad, check the specs, I got mine for christmas so I just took the cash and got a USB hub and some dust off instead

I am now also a member. My notebook is also from the March batch, but the problem is now that I may be SOL, since the warranty ends this month, but I am studying in Prague until May. I got a vBIOS update from Sager, but it didnt help at all. Sucks. Paid $2500 for a "gaming" machine that can't game for more than 10 minutes.

I'm sending it back. There is no way someone that paid $4000 for a computer should have to send in their computer every six months. In Sager's mission statement they speak of "Sager Standards", and everyone in here knows their 'Standard' doesn't mean shit. It may have been our faults for expecting too much out of a laptop, but the package should not be offered if there is no efficient way of cooling the machine. I don't know how many people work over at Sager but every time I write them I get a reply from David Lui and his response is usually one sentence with words misspelled. I think this problem will put an end to Sager if they do not redesign their customer service. If anyone else is fed up with their sager and wants a full refund, let me know. As David told me in one of the e-mail's he sent, "the video chip is soldering on the motherboard." We all hear the fans so what could they possibly do to correct this heat issue so we don't have to send it in every six months.

I got my 8790 in march/april I'm not sure anymore...

i didnt use it too heavily for 3d gaming; until the release of WoW. Now I'm joining the artifact club as well. I live in Japan currently, but i opted for the overseas coverage when I was buying insurance, because I knew I'd be in Japan. What do I do to make my laptop able to play 3D games?

I've followed all of your advice. Loosening the screws, underclocking, setting graphics to 'performance', always running with fans on 'overdrive', cleaning fans, getting latest drivers, *all of it*. bah.

A full refund; how would that work for a year-old laptop? I'd go for that and just buy a new one.

Goddamnit.