Very close to buying g2s-b2... final advice needed.

Well after considering the options I was deciding between the G2S-B2 and the G2SG-A1. Now right now at my local pc store they have the g2s-b2 for $1,789.95 after the $150 mail in rebate that expires on Monday while the G2SG-A1 is $2299 (after $100 instant savings).

http://www.pcvonline.com/productDetails.aspx?id=6552 (G2S-B2)
http://www.pcvonline.com/productDetails.aspx?id=6740 (G2SG-A1)

Now my original plan was to wait for the G2SG-A1 to come down in price (I need the system probably by mid to late July) and then pick it up or pick up another system that may have had the Nvidia 9650GT if it was well priced.

But then I considered 2 things:

1) I want a 17" screen and pretty good gaming performance (Without buying sager/clevo/gateway or spending >3000k at Dell/AW, the 8700GT in the SG-A1 is not that much better than the 8600GT from my understanding (maybe 25% better at best). The extra gig of ram in the sg-a1 is nice but I think 3Gigs should be enough for gaming. The penryn is nice but how much will 100 mhz more and 2 mb more cache make in gaming? Isn't the main purpose of it that it runs cooler? You may say ya so you can OC it, but I need this system to be very stable so I won't be oc'ing it. 1 point in favour of the g2s-b2 is that it has a 7200 RPM drive and although its smaller that probably will have a noticeble effect on drive access times relative to the 5400 rpm. Do all the benefits of the G2SG merit the $500 premium I will pay for it?

2) I don't think a well priced system (<$2000) with a 9650GT or an 8800 will be out on or before July (and by be out I mean at my local retailers) that is not from Sager/clevo.

I realize that you all may say its silly to buy a 17" notebook with a weaker card (8600 GT DDR3), but I figure that I don't mind carrying a larger notebook that has the power of smaller systems (G1S) but that gives me a bigger screen for normal work and gaming (I'm happy to play at lower widescreen resolutions as long as it doesn't look strange, ie. 1680x1050). What I need is this strange mix of stability, useability and performance (gaming and otherwise). I think this system is at the right price for the buy.

I would humbley appreciate any or all your advice! Thank you sincerely!

 

I have the G2S-B1 and then paid $50 to upgrade ram to 3GB, thus B2, way cheaper than the B2 is, as I have found it is usually $100-250 more than the B1 where the only thing changed is the ram. The 9x series cpu and gpu will run significantly cooler and have better power management. The 7700 and 8600M in the B1/2 are definitely great, and unless you need better graphics for more intensive games, the B1/2 is probably the best idea. In my opinion, I would wait till Q3/4, as there will be the new intel hardware out, the 9x series gpu will be tested, better battery life (the B1/2 gets 1Hour on Full Performance), everything will be cheaper, etc. My vote is, that if you have to buy this week, for for the B1 and upgrade RAM on the cheap, or the B2, and save your money.

 

I can only wait until early Q3 (July) and by then something new has to be available in stores since I'm going away. Do you really think things will be this good of a price ($150 mail in rebate on already a well priced system). I hadn't considered that the Penryn my improve battery life. That is significant.

Thanks a lot for your input btw!

 

Actually now I'm having second thoughts. :S. I looked around at the 8600GT DDR3's performance and it seems to struggle with most modern dx10 games (Stranglehold, UT3, Gears?) so this worries me because playing these high-end games is important to me. Perhapse the combination of the higher clocks of the 8700, the penryn and the increased ram will make these games significantly more playable? ie. +10 fps on average ?.

What do all of you think?

 

The 8700M GT will be around 5 fps faster on average. The 8600M GT and 8700M GT are already a year old and are becoming outdated. You can get a Sager NP5793 with an 8800M GTX and MXM IV which'll let you upgrade your video card to something even faster later on for around the same price as the G2SG.
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np5792-custom-laptop-built-clevo-m570ru-p-2276.html

 

Gateway sells P-FX notebooks with an 8800M GTS for $1350 (the 8800M GTS will be 20% slower than the 8800M GTX, but over double the speed of the 8600M GT).
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...teway&lp=4&type=product&cp=1&id=1195599780039

You can find models with better processors and a high screen resolution at Gateway's site, but I'd recommend a 1440x900 screen since these cards won't play games too well on 1680x1050 and especially not 1920x1200 resolution in a few months from now.

 

With modded drivers, my 8600M GT and T7700 barely scratch 4k with stock settings, and can get very close/if not over when the GPU is oc'd, as I do not oc laptop cpus. The G2SG gets something like 5.5k+ Stock settings, maybe even stock settings, not sure. There is a great thread by a retailer in the Asus section with its benchmarks. If you are playing the newer games, the 8700 would be the wiser, but budget and everything else has to settle.

 

I know that Sager can give me a lot more performance and believe me I want to take them up on their offer but I just don't trust the stability and build quality of a sager notebook versus Asus.

 

Chaz (one of the notebook critics) was really impressed with that Sager and even specifically mentioned that it has some of the best build quality you'll find on a notebook (Asus's build quality is only average). Sagers have been known to have no problems, none of the users that've ordered one have had any problems with the system's stability.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4056

The system in the review is an older model, but the Sager NP5793 just has a better (and quieter) cooling system and much faster hardware.

 

Alienware also has a sale going on for their M9750 17" SLI notebook (which is still thinner and smaller than the 17" Asus, even though it has SLI). It starts at $1300 for a really nice system, $1500 will get you two 7950M GTXs in SLI (the 7950M GTX is faster than the 8700M GT, btw). Definitely check it out if you don't want the Sager, this will be much faster than the Asus and it's also thinner:
http://www.alienware.com/Configurat...SysCode=PC-LT-AREA51M9750&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT

 

Currently, I think the following is a fair representation for those with an upper budget:

Performance: Sager > Asus
Style: Asus > Sager
Warranty: Asus > Sager
Upgrade-ability: Sager > Asus
Build Quality: Sager (Built on Clevo platform) > Asus

It may be a good idea to spend $2500 or so on a sager, and get a more powerful machine for a bit more. The G2S/SG are killer for their price, but if you can spend a bit more, get a sager.

 

Here's NBR's review of the Sager NP5793:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4235

As I mentioned, Sager is known for their build quality.

 

Ok... thanks I see now the build quality is great for Sager? But what about the warranty? It must be crap? And the tech support?

Also Michaels, when is the Alienware sale?

 

If purchased through resellers like PowerNotebooks or XoticPC, then customer support will be unmatched!

 

Ok now here is the issue. I'm in Canada and there is no Canadian reseller of Sager and moreover adding the components needed to the Sager system including the 8800 GTX brings its price well into 2500 which is a bit too expensive for me. I would consider a gateway with a GTS but they don't have any in Canada.

 

There's www.eurocom.ca in Canada!

 

Oh ya, I will consider them but they are quite expensive. I'll be paying into 3000 to them for a 8800 based system.

I called Alienware just now regarding the Area-51 but they said there is no sale on it only free shipping.

 

Alienware is having issues with heat on their new laptops, so watch out. They are killer systems, but until they make a physical internal style change, the heat issues will still loom.

Edit (TY to DTWN83): the AW M15X

 

Ok AW is out.

 

Actually, if you realize, gengerald was talking about the new M15X, not the older model M9750, which is on sale in US. not sure if it's on sale in AW Canada. Is there even an AW Canada?

 

Very true, sorry I did not clarify, mind fart, ty DTWN.

 

No worries, just wanted to make sure smood got the right information.

 

Thx dtwn, I called AW canada about a sale of the area 51 and they said there is no sale and they won't negotiate the price. The only thing they offer is free shipping.

 

I'm leaning to the side of waiting until July and buying the G2SG-A1 then or anything else with a good video card. I think I'm willing to pay 25% more as long as I'm getting 25% more performance. Not to mention the cooler system and 120GB more drive space.

I don't know I'm still unsure, its a very hard decision for me. Does anyone else have an opinion?

 

Just to give you a better idea: the 8800M GTX is over three time faster than the 8600M GT and the 8700M GT.

 

Oh I know. But as I mentioned I won't be getting sager/clevo/xps... so GTX or even GTS power is out of the question.

 

So the only brand you'll settle on is Asus? Why...?

 

Pricing, he wants to keep it under 2k ish, thats the reason he is looking at the G2S cs. the G2SG, any of the decent systems with the *goodies* he is wanting are over that. Dude, I agree, if you can wait, wait and see what pans out, you never know, might find someone getting rid of a sager or other on the cheap that fits your needs, or just wait till a new B1/2 gets to like 1500 or lower and save some money

 

17", 8800M GTS, Gateway, decent design, and only $1350. Enjoy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8651167&type=product&id=1195599780039

There's also models with a faster processor on Gateway's site for less than the Asus.

 

Tis a gateway...basic price for comparable to G2S is 2K :/, and its still a gw...

 

It'll be around 2 and a half times faster gaming-wise, though.