About to buy the Sager NP8662....

Hi everyone,

After approximately 1.5 years of research and saving up money, I have finally decided to get the Sager NP8662. I just finished high school and this will be my laptop for the next 4 years. I just have 2 questions before I purchase this beast of a system.

1) What processor would be good for doing miscellaneous things. I plan to play games, like crysis, convert videos, use photoshop, etc. My current laptop(see sig) takes me 5 hrs to rip a dvd, about 2-3 hours to convert a 1.1gb 640x480 movie to 320x240 with half the bitrate, and I can barely run photoshop. The stock processor of 2.5ghz is more than enough to meet my needs, since I'm used to such horrible performance, but I want this laptop to last me 4 years. Should I get a quad core or get the 2.8ghz processor? (My spending limit is around $1600. Everything in the laptop will be stock except for a 320gb 7200rpm HDD, 4gb RAM, and no OS)

2) What should I do when I first get this laptop? I know you've been asked this question a bunch of times, and I've even read answers to this question a bunch of times, but I forgot... I know that I should monitor temps in case my HDD is too hot, install matrix storage drivers, install new nvidia drivers, and what else...? ( I plan to use Win7 RC until the retail version comes out. Been using it with my current laptop and I like it, even though I literally have only the essentials, lol, the OS's green loading bar doesn't work for me, it turns black)

Thank you very much for your help.

*tear* Im finally going to be able to play games on my laptop...I'm so happy *tear*

EDIT: The reason Im doubting going quad is because its only 2ghz. Am I right to have this doubt or is 2ghz enough for all the things listed above that I would like to do.

Also, how much battery life would I gain between a p9700 and a T9600?

Just thought of another question, is anything new going to come within a month? I dont mind waiting up to a month for something new. (I know, I know..I should buy what I need right now and not think about the future bc its always changing.)

 

I getting a q9000 with mine cause I think it will be better than the p9700 in the future.

 

I personally went with the P9700 ~ mostly because, atm anyways, its better for most things.
When the time comes, I'll upgrade to a quad.. thats what makes this laptop so wonderful, you can upgrade most everything on it easily.

 

That's what I would do - P9700 now, the biggest quad I could afford in a year or two.

 

In a year or two you won't be able to put the new Quads in your laptop lol (different chipset, that would be like trying to put Lego's and Megablocks together) Plus in two years it won't be the montevina platform it will be the clarksfield mobile I7's

I would recommend getting the Q9000 as it is easily OC to 2.4-2.7 without problems, or you can always get a Qx9300 for around 400 dollars online which would fit in your laptop (it's what I did)

 

It's obvious you can't fit a i7 or i5 - but in a year or two, should be able to pick up a QX9300 very cheap.

 

Hmmm.....If I plan to upgrade to a qx9300 in the future, then whats the point of getting a p9700 vs a p8700? I might as well get the p8700 and spend less money... What kind of performance gains are there between the p8700 and p9700?

 

The P9700 has got a newer architechture, and 6Mb cache versus the P8700's 3 Mb. It will perform a little better. Wether it's worth the extra money, that's up to you, of course - The P8700 is ok too.

 

Get the P8700 then upgrade to a QX9300 when more games benefit from a quad-core. Keep in mind, however, that you will hardly be overclocking in that machine; the QX9300 is already much for the M860TU to handle, and it might not last 4 years with it (maybe 2-3).

 

As in it will break in 2-3 years? Or it will get outdated in 2-3 years?!!! If it will break in 2-3 years, then Im just going to go with a p9700 and forget quad.

 

Well, the thermal dissipation of the laptop is technically 1w off of the qx9300. I think its bogus to assume that the laptop will die sooner using a quad-core. Equipment generally fails because of abuse and misuse. Clean out the dust every so often, watch your temps and your laptop will treat you well regardless of the processor you put in it (read: watch your temps!).

I've never seen a CPU fail to heat (as in die), though I have seen power surges kill motherboards as well as bad caps burst etc. I have a p3 700 that I ran at 933 for years, as well as two athlon-xps and an E2100 etc. My point is that, as an overclocker, I've never killed a mobo or processor due to heat: watch your temps and you will be fine.

I actually have the same plans: will be putting a quadcore something or other in this laptop next year to replace my p8700. This laptop is great simply because it is so modular. You will likely be able to upgrade the video card (past the 280m) a year from now. Did I say watch your temps?

 

When you say monitor my temps, what exactly do you mean? Right now, I have a program that monitors my temps but I only use it to turn my fan to high if it gets too hot because the fan system is messed up on my laptop and it doesn't turn on unless I do it manually.

If the temps get too hot, what am I suppose to do? I don't want the qx9300 to always get too hot while playing a game or converting something. Whats the point of having it if I constantly have to turn it off when it gets too hot.

 

With proper maintenance and care, a laptop can surely live longer than 3 years. There is always a way to decrease your CPU temps and the most common methods are udervolting and/or using a laptop cooler.

 

I think you may be stressing a bit.

First, while it is true a quad will push the thermal limits of the m860etu many are being sold with one preinstalled. The only reason the qx9300 isn't an option is it misses the manufacturers thermal dissipation by 1 watt. This is very little in the scheme of things, so odds are installing one will, while a touch hot, be fine (if done right).

Second. There are many options for reducing heat in your laptop. Underclocking, undervolting, keeping the vents clear, lifting the back of the laptop off the desk by an inch etc. Some of these are free (undervolting does not hurt if done properly).

As for the life of the laptop, that depends entirely on care. If you never clear the dust out of the vents for example, I imagine it won't last as long as it could have. Ultimately my "watch your temps" line can be taken as "be proactive".

 

Can you provide a link that says you can OC the q9000 in an NP8662? I just looked at another thread and they said you can barely OC it, only about .1ghz.

 

Oh crap you are right excuse me.. I forgot the Bios on the 8662 limit the OC... however, you may be able to download new bios... that may allow higher OC'ing

 

lol, you got my hopes up... I think i have decided to go with the q9000. The majority of threads have told me otherwise, but there was one thread that made me go quad. If gophn says a q9000 is better than a p9600, then I will go with the q9000. Thanks for all your help guys.

And where would I find a new bios that would work with an m860etu and is OC-able?

 

You won't be able to OC using the BIOS of the M860TU!

@MrButterBiscuits

What's up with you? Why do you give people wrong info? Lol.

 

Umm I believe I stated why and corrected myslef Kevin... you are a little late with your criticism my friend... and BTW keep it constructive in the future lol

 

There will 99.9% NOT be a new bios that allows overclocking in the M860TU. Certainly not without an 'extreme' processor. Clevo has never allowed fsb overclocking in the bios, and has only ever allowed multiplier overclocking (only allowed by INTEL on 'extreme' processors) on its 17"+ systems (with better cooling solutions).

 

This is exactly what I was referring to. I'm just too tired to expound.

 

Thanks so much for your inputs. As the author of this topic, I am about to buy the NP8662 myself, until I found out about this problem. With the exception of qx9300, is there any quad-core processor closed to the powerful level of qx9300 so that I could choose to replace for P8700 and the likes?

 

lmao!!...My thread just got hijacked!!

And to answer your question..No. The qx9300 is the top quad the m860etu can handle. There is the q9200 though that is close but its an engineering sample.

 

Sorry for being unclear, mt head was not around when I typed. What I really meant is I am in the same boat with you. Could you please tell me with the exception of qx9300 and perhaps q9200, what is the most powerful processor that NP8662 could handle without the overheat issues.

By the way, did you get your NP8662 yet?

 

I did not get my NP8662 yet, I have been debating in my head for the past week which processor to get. I have decided on getting a p9700 and upgrading to a qx9300 later.

The qx9300 doesnt get that hot. There are other people who have it and they have normal temps, even under heavy loads. If im not mistaken, I think someone here had a max temp near 80C with the qx9300.

The reason Im going with the p9700 is because XoticPC requires you to buy a CPU from them, and there is a small chance I might not upgrade so the p9700 will last me 4 years.

Visit this thread for more info:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=398894

 

Thanks for your help. Apart from qx9300, which one do you think is the most powerful quad core processor for NP8662?

 

The q9200 is. And it cost half as much as the qx9300

 

I heard some rumors that said q9200 was stopped by Intel, is it correct?

 

If I buy 1333mhz ram, will it be the same speed as 1066 memory if used at 1066mhz? Ebay has 4gb crucial 1333 for $60 shipped vs $62 1066 shipped, so might as well get the 1333.

EDIT: lol nm, im looking at desktop ram by accident. But will 1333 ram be the same speed as 1066 ram?

 

I find the Q9000 great for all tasks including gaming, movie watching, surfing, playing music etc. If you find multi core video convert software it will make that quicker too.

If you want an idea of performance just check the thread in my sig and see for yourself. I am now on Windows 7 X64 and have been getting even better performance too.

far too many people just assume that because it is only a 2.0 Ghz that it will not be sufficient. Some are forgetting just how potent Core2Duos actually are, even at 1.8 Ghz.

 

What are the most things that the P9700 is better for than the Q9000?

 

Umm... things that don't require or support quad? Which, in fact, there is much more of than those that support quad at the time. Quad is definitely not necessary for most people.

 

It doesn't mean that because there are things that don't support or require Quads that the P9700 will be better at them. If the Q9000 doesn't cost much more than the P9700 then there isn't much to lose.

Many games are only Dual Core optimised but they still work perfectly well on the Q9000 but still allowing me to get good performance in GTA IV and Supreme Commander and potentially any other Quad optimised game. I also find that general multitasking is better than when I had a Core2Duo which was higher clocked.

 

Yes, 1333MHz ram should perform exactly the same as 1066MHz ram when run at 1066MHz

 

My laptop will be coming tomorrow and I ordered it without RAM to save about $30. I bought 4gb of crucial but its coming on saturday so im gonna have my laptop tomorrow but not be able to use it! Its gonna be a killer...

So my question is, can I use this laptops RAM, pc3200, until I get my memory on saturday? Is the sager np8662 compatible with pc3200? I highly doubt it but its worth a shot to ask...lol

 

Nah, PC3200 is DDR2, hence you can't use it with the NP8662 as it uses DDR3.

I was about to buy a Clevo M860ETU myself (with Q9000 etc) but it seems my financing plan went bust (I blame the world economy... hehe)

 

PC3200 is DDR1

 

Yeah sorry, that's what I meant

 

I'm going for the P8800 myself since its obviously the best value option at the moment. Then, hopefully, in the future a suitable Quad core CPU will show up on the market. I suppose its entirely possible that future quad core CPU's will actually have a lower heat signature than the current models? But what about the motherboard architecture.. for how long will new CPU's support it? Anyone have any ideas?

 

I think intel is done with Core 2 so Qx9300 will be the last one.

 

I wouldn't really go with a "budget" C2D now if you plan on wanting a Quad eventually. The Q9000 for example is quite potent as it is, and will be quite adequate for most uses for several years. And it doesn't cost that much extra over a P8800 given the total cost of the system. Of course there's also the other, higher end Quad options, but they're more pricey, and not THAT much more powerful.

Of course it is an individual choice, but personally I'd definitely go with a Q9000 at this time (and hopefully will by the start of next year, unless i7 stuff is imminent to be released in a notebook variant). Even if you do want to get an even faster Quad later on, it's still possible. If you REALLY want the "uber performance" of newer Quads (of which there most likely won't be for this socket), you're better off waiting for the i5/i7 stuff.

 

I havent got it yet... ha

 

I LOVE MY NP8662!!!!

lol..I finally got it up and running after two days-waiting for RAM and finally being able to install win7

The only annoying thing though is that the ac adapter slides out very easily which gets annoying.

EDIT:After installing Intel Matrix drivers and turning off indexing, my HDD is still hot. Its at 60C now after 30 minutes of playing a game and running defrag...

 

Expected temp after/during defrag and playing some games.

 

hellothere!
Tell me please, are any of OC'ing features exist in Sager NP8662 bios?

 

No, this laptop has no OC'ing features built in and other methods do not work very well apart from GPU OC'ing.

 

What are your room temperatures? what are your idle HDD temperatures?

If you haven't done so already, you should use HWMonitor to make sure that all of your other temperatures are ok.