8130/8150 for work?

i am a pre-sales system engineer who travels quite a bit. I miss gaming when i travel, and have been contemplating buying a gaming notebook for a while.

My current work laptop is a dell e6410 that does have a core i7, and 8GB ram, but, isn't really good for gaming.

I have been eying the 8130/8150, and the high resolution screen is quite appealing, as well as the sandy-bridge processor, and dedicated graphics.

The laptop will be used for:

• Building Demos using VMware/Virtual Box
• General Work
• Gaming

In order to join the domain at work, we require Bitlocker or TrueCrypt. I already emailed Sager, and they do not support TPM, which is required for Bitlocker, but i think TrueCrypt will still work.

My question for the forum is if there is anyone else out there using these laptops for business/gaming? Is it too big/heavy for travel? Has anyone tried using TrueCrypt? When not gaming, are the fans quiet enough for meetings?

The "simplicity" of the design lends itself to being a better laptop for business than say Alienware or even the Asus gaming laptops. I can't really show up to a meeting with giant glowing exhaust ports on my laptop

 

Some of your questions can be answered in the link below. It should be very sutible for one in that when not gaming, the fans should be quiet enough for meetings...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo-reviews-owners-lounges/549118-sager-np8150-clevo-p150hm-review-forerunner.html__

 

Here are some sizes for you. I personally wouldn't think this would be too big for travel, of course, my laptop is an 18" monster:/

8130/8150
6.83 LBs with Battery Pack
14.80" (w) x 10.08" (d) x 1.38"~1.69" (h)

 

Plus looks like Bitlocker works without a TPM, just requires a usb flash drive:

BitLocker Drive Encryption Overview

BitLocker can also be used without a TPM. To use BitLocker on a computer without a TPM, you must change the default behavior of the BitLocker setup wizard by using Group Policy, or configure BitLocker by using a script. When BitLocker is used without a TPM, the required encryption keys are stored on a USB flash drive that must be presented to unlock the data stored on a volume.

 

It works, but, not very elegant. I believe you have to have the USB drive always plugged in.

 

I travel a lot for work (it's my job), and I take my np8660 with me on every trip. It's not too big or too heavy, and it looks very professional. My one complaint is battery life; at this point I get about an hour of browsing in silent mode. That being said, it's a gaming laptop with a two-year-old battery - what do I expect? Besides, the 8150 seems to have addressed that issue somewhat.

NP8150: 14.8" (w) x 10.1" (d) x 1.4"~1.7" (h)
e6410: 13.2" (w) x 9.4" (d) x 1~1.2" (h)

The 8150 is definitely a bit bigger than the 6410, no doubt about it. It makes the Sager feel like a chunky little machine when you're used to a mediocre laptop. But then again, you're used to a mediocre laptop You won't be sorry with an 8150, I promise.

 

Oh, wasn't aware of that. That's not good. Maybe if it worked with an SD card if it was recessed, but I think the SD cards typically stick out about half way.