Sager NP8170 v M17x R3

Posted this in the Sager/Lenovo forums and thought I would post it here for to get both sides of the story..


So my 06 macbook is dying and I am making the switch back to windows and gaming laptops. I have narrowed the field down to the Alienware M17x R3 and the Sager NP8170. Both will be using the Nvidia 580 GPU and the i7 2820 CPU. I am trying to figure out if I missed any of the key parts so please feel free to add or fix my list,

Alienware:approx $3100
More Expesnive
More Ram (16gb)
Illuminated Keyboard
Better Cooling (less fan noise)
Requires OS
Smaller HD 320gb
Less Upgradable
Slot loading blu-ray (negative)

NP8170 approx $2700-$2900 depending on vendor
Cheaper ($400 or so)
No OS
Larger hard drive 750gb
User upgradable
Dead Pixel Policy (yes I know its extra $ but worth it imho)
Fingerprint Scanner
Upgraded thermal compounds
Traditional blu-ray drive (i think)
Better Build quality
Less memory @ 12gb

 

Well with the alienware, you can save yourself a lot of money by upgrading the ram/hard drive yourself. Also read this thread for information on how to save yourself some money. You can always upgrade the thermal compounds yourself (and save quite a bit of money on that too). Slot load drives in the Alienware are a pain to replace, I just did mine and it took me 30 mins to take everything apart and put it back together (but I've taken a lot of laptops apart in my time).

I'm a big Sager fan myself. If I could have gotten something with the same specs for the same price, I would have went with sager because of the better screen.

Either laptop you get will be awesome, I do not regret my decision to get the AW at all. I would pick whatever has a better warranty/price in the end (actually if they were near each other, I'd get the sager with the 90% color gamut screen)...

 

Even though I love Alienware, high-end belongs to Sager/Clevo due to its quality and flexibility in upgrades. The current screen of the AW (glossy) is incomparable to the matte screen of Clevo.

 

AW is just as "user upgradeable" as the Clevo (except for the screen). And you can use better thermal compounds yourself on either machine.

RAM should in no way be a determining factor. Get the smallest amount you can from the vendor and upgrade it yourself for a fraction of the cost.

You could return the AW for free if you have dead pixels (at least I assume) because i see people on this forum returning them for even smaller things with no repercussions.

Build quality on my AW is outstanding...I doubt there's that large of a difference between the two brands in that arena.

The TRUE fullsize keyboard and the lights seal the deal, IMO. That numpad on the Clevo was a big turnoff for me...

Oh, and even though the Clevo offers fancy screens, I have never once been disappointed in my AW's screen...Bright, great colors, perfectly good viewing angles.

 

Dead pixel is considered a defect and they will swap out the panel or return/exchange for you.

The only reason I ever considered a Clevo was they had 3D with the 485M, now we have 3D with the 580M so AW all the way

 

Alienware is not that 'user upgradeable' like Tapakidney specified! I am trying from the last 1 month to order an upgraded GPU for the Alienware, unfortunately nobody can do it! As per sager/clevo, there are users even here who can give you a good price for even dual GPU's upgrades at a very low price.

I would go with sager/clevo for future upgrades. I am sure ATi 7k series will come up and for Alienware will have a rev 4 as for the sager/clevo you will just have to swap the GPU. And I am talking about the next 6 months upgrades not years to come...

 

So exactly how upgradable is the M17 exactly?

 

Dell not wanting to sell it does not make it "not user upgradeable." At the very least the exact same Clevo card from Clevo would work.

Op you can get a full 16GB of ram for like $120.

 

Like someone else said the only thing harder than clevo is the screen.

 

I couldn't use any laptop that did not have a backlit keyboard.

 

Oh, and about that 16gb...are you sure you actually even need that much? 8 is plenty, or even more than enough for the average-power user. Only an extreme power user would utilize 16gb.

And it is completely upgradeable... GPU, RAM, CPU, thermal compound, HD, wireless card, optical drive. Thing is, GPU will always be tough since the latest and greatest will always be $700ish likely.

 

Hmm ok thanks for all the inputs. I thought I had heard that Alienware was a pain in the but to upgrade apparently not so much.

And yes the illuminated keyboard is a rather large selling point.

 

I went with the AW over the Sager mainly because of the keyboard and touchpad. Pretty much everything I read scored those fairly low on the Sager.

And when I called Dell, I plainly stated that I was considering both but the Sager was about $350 cheaper. The guy said if I bought it right then he'd give me $250 off.

Done deal...

 

I was also looking at both....mainly for a desktop replacement... The keyboard and backlit keyboard was also a determining factor for me (M17x R3). For many, these are minor nuisances, but for me, it was a deal-breaker. Dell gave me a great deal through my company purchase so it was an easy decision. After spending some time with the unit, I have no regrets and would take the AW over the Sager any day (of course, this is a personal choice). One thing, however, is I love the Sager screen options... which are great. I've never personally owned one, but from all the reviews, you can't go wrong with either choice. You just need to decide what is important to you. Good luck w/your choice!