15 inch matte with 95% NTSC color gamut or 17 inch glossy?

I have been looking at the laptops NP8151 and NP8171. The NP8171 is $50 more than the NP8151, but does not have the option of selecting a screen with the extended color gamut. (Actually xoticpc DOES have that option, at an extra $185, which goes waay beyond my already stretched budget) I have listed the configuration that I like below:

NP8151

1. 15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display featuring 95% NTSC Color Gamut in Matte Finished Surface 1920 x 1080)
2. Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M GPU with 1.5GB GDDR5 Video Memory
3. 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.20GHz)
4. IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
5. 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 4GB
6. 120GB Intel 520 Series SATA3 Solid State Disk Drive
7. 500GB (7200rpm) HDD + Caddy Case (replacing the optical drive)

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Price: $1,764.00

NP8171

1. 17.3" Full HD LED-Backlit Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
2. Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M GPU with 1.5GB GDDR5 Video Memory
3. 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.20GHz)
4. IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
5. 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 4GB
6. Primary Storage: 120GB Intel 520 Series SATA3 Solid State Disk Drive
7. Secondary Storage: 500GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Secondary Hard Disk Drive
8. Optical drive: 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software

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Price: $1,719.00

As you can see, with the NP8171, I get a bigger screen and an internal 500 GB HDD without losing the optical drive. I can also select a 750 GB HDD for an additional $20 and still stay below the price of the NP8151.

So, which one should I choose? Is getting the extended gamut display worth the $95 extra? I heard that 17 inch laptops are too big and heavy. Would the advantage of an extra drive justify the size and weight disadvantages?

 

It really depends on your situation whether you want the bigger one or more portability.

For me I realize now 15 is my limit for size. And also that matte is better for me than glossy. But maybe your situation is very different than mine

 

I have an older 17" sager (np5797) with a glossy screen (1920x1200) and the np8130 with a gamut screen. I'm unsure how the older model screen compares to the np8171, but I prefer the gamut screen over it even if its smaller. I llike the 15" for its weight and size for being more moblie. My old 17" weights about 50% more than my 15", and its bulker.

 

I'd say your usage depends on which you'd go with. I personally don't like anything larger than 15" for portability reasons. The screen may be bigger on the 17", but it's still only 1920x1080. Losing the optical drive on the 15" to add in a hard drive is something that doesn't matter to a lot of people because optical media just isn't as useful as it once was. If you found out you did need it- you can always add an external drive for it as well.

The 95% screen is great, but also depends on whether you'll need it for anything. The color reproduction and brightness are better than stock, but you won't see a huge improvement in color unless you're doing photo editing type work.

Here's a link that will give you an idea on screen differences:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-between-different-screen-options-photos.html

 

I am considering between the 60% gamut versus 95% screen as well. I read the threads that compared different screens, but I still can't decide. I originally made up my mind with the 60% gamut but after I saw a comparison between two Acer screens I had to reconsider. I want to know if the stock screen will have at least the same quality as Acer V series V193W EJb model. I was toying a around with photos in Photoshop I really love the colors, but when I took the photos to view them on the Acer G series G185H Ab model, the vibrant colors are all gone and the photos looked washed out and much darker.

From what I've gathered the V series has 72% gamut. Is 60% gamut going to be at least close to that? I couldn't find information about the G series, but if that's what 60% gamut looks like then I will definitely upgrade to 95% gamut.

 

If you can drop the ram altogether and upgrade it yourself (I know the malibal p150hm can) you should. Check out this deal on Amazon for quite probably the same ram that they will install at resellers for more than double the price. You should also consider the same for your hdds.

Actually, the hard drives seem to be evenly priced in relation to other vendors.

 

Thanks for your help, guys..

I also inquired with a few friends who currently own laptops and tried theirs. They all have ones of ~15" and I find them quite comfortable. You are right, 17" might be too big. Also, I prefer desktops when I have access to one, so this laptop should be focused on portability. Though I saw a 17" 3D monitor, with 95% NTSC gamut, on MALIBAL and it is very tempting. Price is also less than the ones I had mentioned previously. But I am not too sure about 3D on a laptop. Would watching 3D on such a small screen be worth it? I would be very thankful if someone could provide their inputs on that.

I am more concerned about a probable need of an optical drive and they are not yet out of the way, though you are right. I don't remember the last time I used one on a computer.

I looked into the page you had mentioned, and a few other pages and there is a very noticeable difference between the normal and wide gamut screens. Glossy looks best. But I think the images shown there were created using the wide gamut and hence the 95% display can show it better than the stock one. I am only going to use it for gaming and some browsing, notes and perhaps some movies. I do not foresee using it for professional editing photographs, because i'm a complete noob in that area. So, if it not going to make any difference in games, it makes more sense to save the $100 and invest it in some good soundcard.

I thought about that, but XoticPC does not have the option of leaving out the RAM altogether. MALIBAL provides that option, but they do not have the GTX 570M (a configuration which I have mentioned below), though they have some very good offers on Sager, with the price on the sweet spot. Amazing offer, thanks for pointing it out!!! Also, wouldn't opening the laptop void the warranty or something?

Anyway I have found a killer offer on XoticPC. The only part that I am worried about is the MSI build quality. Some people have commented that it is not as good as Sager.
FORCE 16F2-012 / MSI 16F2

1. 15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080)
2. nVidia GeForce GTX 570M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
3. 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM Processor ( 6MB L3 Cache, 2.20GHz)
4. IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU Provided FREE with Processor Upgrade
5. 8GB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2x4GB SODIMMS)
6. Primary Storage: 120GB Patriot Pyro SE Solid State Drive (SSD Serial-ATA III)
7. Secondary Storage: 750GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s)
8. Optical drive: Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software
9. Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3)
10. Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro THX 24-bit External USB Sound Card

​

Price: $1670.00
I think I will start a separate thread on this, but I get the feeling that this is as close to perfection I can get. I get everything I want and at a better price. Only the build quality is bothering me. It would be good if someone can provide inputs on this.

 

That is a very nice build. I think I may abandon my wait for the Clevo refresh and hop aboard the MSI bandwagon.

 

Yea, very tempting. But I'm hesitant because of my doubts of MSI's build quality. A few users have commented that it is very plasitcky.

I also found another deal from MALIBAL

Sager, from MALIBAL,
Lotus P151HM1

1. 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED AUO B156HW01 95% NTSC Glossy (V.7)/Matte (V.4) Display
2. AMD® Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5
3. 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM Processor (6MB L3 Cache, 2.20GHz)
4. IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
5. 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 2 X 4GB
6. Primary Storage: 120GB Intel 520 Series SATA3 Solid State Disk Drive
7. Secondary Storage: 750GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300 (replacing the optical drive)
8. Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1102 802.11A/B/G/N LAN Card
9. Full Range AC-in 100~240V, 50~60Hz, 180W AC Adapter, DC output 19V, 9.47A (Because of the AMD 6970HD)

​

Price: $1,744.00 (Possibly with a $100 discount from MALIBAL)
The above machine can also be configured with a

• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M 1.5GB GDDR5
• Full Range AC-in 100~240V, 50~60Hz, 120W AC Adapter, DC output 20V, 6A

which would bring the price down to $1,554.00, with a possible $100 discount from MALIBAL. If it were possible to fit in a soundcard on this one, I think I would buy it without hesitation.

 

What do you mean by the Clevo refresh?

 

can somebody tell me the diference bw AUO B156HW01 V.4 95%matte and AUO B156HW01 V.7 95%matte ?
i want to upgrade my screen for my p151hm.
i hear that the v7 has ghosting?
anybody?

 

I think the V.7 is glossy, not matte.

 

By Clevo refresh I mean the new models supposed to be coming out shortly. Namely the p150em. They support the new Ivy bridge processors and nvidia 600 series graphics. They also supposedly have a light up keyboard and optimus for gtx level graphics.

 

Thanks for the info. Sounds good, but i'm not sure I can wait for 3 months.

 

Wow! Saw a youtube vid showing a screen with the ghosting. Looks like a very frequent issue. Here is the link:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/603402-red-ghosting-fading-my-np5165d-matte-95-gamut-screen.html

Kinda scary.. Now I may have to think REAL hard before ordering this one.

 

It was rumored to have a mid to late April release or so. I think xoticpc was even taking preorders and may still be.

 

Hmmm... I don't see anything on their site, but I'm not exactly in a hurry now. I think I can delay some more and see what comes up.

 

It mainly took place in a thread. I wish there were more details as I would probably order one. It appears that what is shown on xoticpc are placeholders for what is to come. I don't know if they will have the old processors and GPUs in them or if they will be updated sometime before the order is shipped.

 

The red ghosting is an issue that came up quite a few months ago. Since it was pointed out, screens are being more thoroughly checked for it so the odds of getting one with that sort of defect make it very rare now.

Also, the differences between the screens are that the v.4 is matte while the v.7 is glossy.