A few pre-purchase questions on the Sager NP8662

Hi all,

I've never gone with a "non-mainstream" laptop before, so am a bit nervous. But I really like what I've heard about the Sager NP8662. I'd love to find some additional answers prior to purchasing:

1) How Linux-compatible is this laptop? Would the drivers, etc. be compatible with Linux Mint, for example?

2) I'm somewhat concerned about a docking station. Here's what I currently use with my Compaq laptop and love it:



Is anything like this available that could be used with the Sager NP8662? This is probably my biggest concern. I'd like to be able to plug one thing in and automatically have access to my three USB h-drives, speakers, keyboard, and mouse.

3) I'm trying to stay close to the $1,500 mark. What do you all think of the following specs?

- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P8700 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- nVidia GeForce GTX 260M 1,024MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- No External Graphics Card
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- None Standard--
- Custom Fitted Laptop Back LCD Skin (A Surface) [Choose from our designs or your own Graphic or Logo (Details of design made after order)] * Will add 4-7 business days on order
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) + Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Upgrade Coupon w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

This is coming to $1,678.00 without cash rebate. Anything I'm *really* missing? I plan to use this for pretty much everything including general purpose, some graphic design, website development, video editing, and gaming.

4) Is there any other close models out there I could compare against this? I was initially interested in HP, but found I dislike their touchpads and shiny "designer" interiors.

Thanks!

- Matt

 

do NOT use that dock with the np8662, you'll block its only fan. I would get a cooler with USB ports on it. The NZXT models available on newegg are quite nifty for a docking station with fans to aid in cooling the system. As for the sysem itself, sager / clevo is a very good brand and renowned by mobile gamers. You can't go wrong with it. I just wrote a review and I love my np8662. I wouldn't go back to a DELL or other big-box company after getting the Sager. One thing though, stay with a reliable reseller. PowerNotebooks and XoticPC are the 2 big ones in the USA for reliability, and their reps and owners regularly post on here. Unfortunately, there aren't many 15" laptops that really compare to the np8662. Maybe the m15x comes close, but the 9800m GT is blown away by the gtx 260m the sager possesses.(the latter is about 20% faster than the former) and alienware isn't using the latest-generation CPUs on its m15x. You have pretty much everything you need, go enjoy the sager. (one fringe benefit, it's so plain looking nobody will guess it's a gaming rig gone through the shrinky ray!)

As for linux drivers, those you may have to seek out manually. The drivers that usually come with sagers are designed for win x86 or x64 OS's. Sorry I can't be of more help . Anyway, as fast as this thing runs, you won't need linux. The GPU is that quick at rendering graphics even Vista can't really slow it down too much. Just get SP2 for vista, update the drivers if necessary, and enjoy! (Unless you run stuff that REQUIRES linux, then you need to packet search.)

Jason

 

Thanks, Jason. My current docking station wouldn't even work with any other laptop but the Compaq R3000Z. Maybe I'm making too big a deal of an elevated docking station. I'll look into the cooler.

Linux is not a requirement for me. But I'd love to try it out and see if it's worth keeping.

Another couple questions:

5) How dangerous is overclocking with this laptop? I hear so much about it, but have always been hesitant in the past. I'm assuming it voids the warranty. Are there safe threshholds?

6) I don't quite understand the battery note in the FAQ below (point #1):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=264311

With my current laptop, I've always left the battery in. Are there ramifications? I've never heard of this before.

 

I purchased mine through xoticpc and overclocking doesn't void the warranty. You can only OC the gpu tho, and you don't really need it for anything right now really. The GTX 260M is already a beast as it is.

For linux, I currently have vista x64 and ubuntu 9.04 x64 installed on it and installing linux was really simple. All the drivers installed with ubuntu, except for the nvidia drivers, which are available through the ubuntu software list. So you just select it and press next and its done
Linux is really fun to play with and I love it so far. I have to say tho that I get higher temps in linux, due to no undervolting on the cpu and less power management features. But no overheating anywhere so I don't mind.
Mint should be similar to ubuntu as far as installation goes I think.

 

I ended up purchasing this. Thank you everyone for the help!

 

I just purchased it with the same specs as you yesterday!(minus an OS system cause I have Vista regardless)

Its currently in Phase 2....I expect to get it probably 2-3 weeks from now, depends how long they take to do Phase 2.

I am so excited.

 

OC'ing isn't terribly dangerous, I'm not a fan of it as I like more reliability / batt life, but some people have done it. I'm not sure the np8662 can overclock, however I would err to say "no", or "minimally", unless you buy one from a "parts" dealer who can put one together with parts not approved by sager / clevo.

As for battery: it's saying don't leave it charging plugged in when it doesn't need the charge. Once it's charged, or almost completely charged, unplug it. This will keep the battery from getting too much juice in it. The only time it should be permanently "getting juiced" is if the laptop is spending hours and hours playing games, in which case it will be going through power like a '71 cadillac likes gas. I charge mine to about 80 to 90% usually, let it drop to 30 or 40, and then keep it on charger to 90ish. I have also if need be run the laptop without a battery while on AC. This causes no damage really, the only risk is if the power goes dead, your laptop will go dead at the exact same time. Just don't leave it getting juice 24/7 when it's not necessary is what I guess I'm saying.