Help Me Decide Please - P-7811 FX / NP8660 / NP5796

Ok, after some thought about a laptop, and making a somewhat impulse purchase of the Gateway P-7811 FX, I have started to reconsider. I haven't opened the box yet, so it is easily refundable 100%.

That being said, I decided to take a look at XoticPC.com and price out other laptops just out of curiosity.

Purchase price of P-7811 FX with 3 year warranty with accidental damage protection is about $1915.00.

I priced out the Sager NP8660 and NP5796, with similar specs except (Sager vs Gateway):

(1) 1680x1050 vs. 1920x1200 screen (less res)
(2) 2GB RAM vs. 4GB (less RAM)
(3) 9800m GT vs 9800m GTS (better GPU)
(4) 2 year accidental vs 3 year (less term)

Everything else was the same: CPU P8400 2.26GHz, HDD 200GB 7200 RPM, Vista Premium 64-bit, wi-fi, DVD+-RW, etc

Price difference was:

NP8660 = $230
NP5796 = $318

Is the Sager worth the extra money for the sacrifices? If I do a true comparison (except 9800m GTS isn't offered on Sager):

NP8660 = $555
NP5796 = $643

Are the Sager's truly a better PC?

 

stick with the gateway, and forget the warrenty IMO, save for upgrades or something else, if you are careful with your system you neednt worry about the warrenty. Also the any of those laptops should last about 3 years, so you can spend more and get the same life or spend less and get the same life, your call.

and im sure the sager fanboys will start jumping on this raving about superior customer service, build quality, etc, but you get what you pay for. If you are somewhat good with computer componenets and dont mess aorund with your laptop I dont think customer service is even a valid argument.

 

I would say the 5796 isn't worth getting, I went with the 9262 because it would last longer since its more upgradeable. If the 8660 had been offered with the 3870 it would have been a good deal, but it cost more than the gateway at base specs and it just isn't worth it. I think you should go with the gateway or the 9262 if you can afford it.

 

I agree that the Gateway is a great laptop for very little money and if you wanted better upgradeability and/or build quality, the 9262 is a good bet. Here's how I would configure my 9262 if I were to buy one:

SAGER NP9262 Ultimate Custom Laptop (Built on Clevo D900C / D901C)
- 17" WUXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel Core 2 QUAD Q9550 2.83GHz w/ 12MB L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GT DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- None Standard
- ~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- None Standard -
- Raid 0-Stripe (Combines primary and secondary hard drive)( (Requires 2-3 Identical Sized Hard Drives)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$2,617.01

You can, of course customize yours to be cheaper or considerably more expensive, but my customization above seems to be a good balance between the two.

 

Thanks for the input.

Narsnail - one thing is that I have bad luck with electronics. I swear EVERY time I don't buy the replacement warranty, something happens. If I do buy it then nothing happens.

Call it coincidence, bad karma, bad luck, voodoo, or whatever you wish, it's my life

Plus the Best Buy warranty has been good to me in the past, even if just for an upgrade path (Palm PDA's, iPod's, etc). They are usually pretty fair about what I get in exchange.

I don't have doubts about my talents to upgrade either. If anything I probably will put in a new CPU down the road in the Gateway.

My decision will probably be the Gateway the more I evaluate it.