About to make the plunge on a NP5793 - video card question

I'm glad i came upon the Sager/Clevo forum before deciding on a new laptop as after reading some threads i've come to realize what a rock solid unit they are. Soooo i will be making a purchase soon and can't decide if the price jump from the NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M to the nvidia geforce 8800m gtx is really worth the $190 price tag jump from XoticPC. I'm not going to be doing much if any gaming. Also what is your opinions on the whole dead pixel warranties? worth the extra money?

thanks ahead of time

 

To be honest, if you're not gaming, the 8700 should be fine for you.

I'm not sure either if the 5793 is the best option, but it's certainly your choice.

 

1)Comparing the power difference to price difference it's worth to have 8800.
2)It depends on if you are a perfectionist.I had "owned" 4 clevos and never noticed a single dead pixel.Though a buyer reported seeing one.I didn't look for one either.

 

If you have a dead pixel, you could send it in anyway and recieve a new one due to the 30-day satisfaction guarantee, so don't buy it. Buy the 8800 instead It is definitely worth the 190 IMO

 

you are looking at a gaming notebook and if you do not plan on gaming or doing professional graphics work you might want to look at alternatives.

the quadro cards are for the professional rendering and graphics programs that support them like maya, 3dsmax, etc. all other computer needs you should stick with the 8800m.

i am a big hater of dead pixels so i opted for the pixel insurance. something that you will be looking at 99% of the time when using the laptop should be defect-free, i think. i also have perfect vision and can spot dead pixels quite easily. they drive me nuts.

 

If you don't need the power for gaming, I sugest you look lower down the line, at an Asus(from Xotic's Page) or a 2092.

 

Look at the feucher man... the 8800 will take you much, much farther, but you do always have the option to upgrade to x9000/8800 later on, which is a huge plus for the machine.

 

I've thought about 'dropping down' in models but i still want something that is unique, looks good, and doesn't have soon to be obsolete hardware even though that's a given in the computer industry. I guess i mean i don't want yesterday's computer plus something that is going to LAST. I'm still a tiny bit nervous going with a not so familiar/mainstream name but with the research of done I'm pretty confident I'll be making the right choice.

 

Get the 8800, and don't get the 30-day zero dead pixels guarantee (unless you really, really want peace of mind, and lack thereof is going to drive you and your near-and-near nutso ).

 

That was the other thing as i wasn't sure what the return policy was. Another reason for going for this model is i still want good graphics in a 17" model with high resolution (i.e. 1920x1200 ) for movies etc. and most of the lower models don't do that high a resolution.

 

another option will be the Dell XPS M1530 --1199$ It comes with 1920*1200 resolution

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...&oc=DYPNHD2&s=dhs&dgc=CJ&cid=24471&lid=566643

 

The advantage with the 8800M is that it is quite future proof. It'll be able to play the games coming out in the next 3-4 years with decent graphics.

The 8700, on the other hand, already has problems with current games, so I think it'll be old pretty quick.

 

The 8700M has no problems with current games with close to all high settings.
It's very OCable and in newer games it's on par or better than the 7950GTX.

 

I've thought about the XPS1530 but just can't justify it enough to go down to a 15" screen as my Inspiron 6000 is a 17" and considering how my GF has the 15" MacBook and the ENTIRE laptop can fit INSIDE mine, well you get the picture, not enough screen real estate IMO.

 

I don't know why many of you are talking about gaming when he clearly mentioned he won't be gaming. If you are not gaming or developing/modeling etc. the 5793 is a horrible choice. The 5793 is a gaming machine, it does other things nicely as well but primarily its a gaming system (or if you get a quadro a gaming/art development system). You will save a lot of money and get everything you want if you get something else like an HP DV series with a basic video card to watch your movies smoothly. The Asus M series also comes to mind.

Bottomline is if you are not going to game. Buying a 5793 is waste of money.

 

Trust me, if he gets a 5793 , he'll get into gaming fast
But a 2092 would be beter for you, or a xps1530, or even a gateway p-fx(less than 1400$ but has the 8800M GTS!!! ) .
I recommend the latter...

 

Gotta disagree with you here; if you need a system now, and you intend to keep it for more than a year or two - for example, five years, like me and my stinky little vaio - then you need to consider a system that is considered a "gaming" system now if you want to have any reasonable assurances that it will still be able to achieve average to above-average performance in the fourth and fifth years. I didn't do my homework, and got suckered by _Sony's soft-sell and the salesman's b.s., and for the last two years well-nigh anything with a lot of graphics work has been unuseable or unbearably slow, primarily due to the vaio's integrated graphics (which is basically an ATi GPU that was gelded by reducing the onboard memory to 16MB from 64MB and then soldered permanently to the motherboard).

If you replace your system every one or two years, and you don't intensively game, then yes, the 5793 might be more luxury than necessity; however, if you're going to still have it in four or five years, barring any unforseen accidents, then you need to buy something with some additional headroom - something like the 5793.

 

^ hear hear, that argument beats all.

 

The issue here is you have to be absolutely clear whether or not you plan on gaming/developing. Now I'm not under any circumstances suggesting integrated graphics. What I'm suggesting is get maybe a 8400 or AT MOST an 8600 just so Vista graphics (windows etc.) are smooth and the movies work well. As long as you have that as well as 4 gigs of ram and a solid core 2 duo (T9300) that system will watch all your movies, let you play all your music, run vista absolutely smooth for a good 5 years or more.

Now if you think you might possibly run graphics intensive programs like modeling packages or games at any time in the future then the 5793 is a great choice or if you think you might run some graphics apps in the future again the 5793 is a good option.

But again. If you are extremely confident you have no interest in graphics apps (aside from windows vista, media player etc.) or games then there is no point in getting a 5793 with a quadro or 8800MGTX.

 

I have to agree with Smood here. If you are not going to "game" then wy purchase and gaming notebook? There are better options out there, and much cheaper to boot. All he needs is a c2d processor (anything above 2.4), 8400 gpu and he is set for what he needs for 3-4 years.

 

Just out of personal opinion -- I would have to agree with Shyster. Having the ability to do whatever they want, without too much restriction, "just in case they feel like it" is always nice. As of now I'm not a huge gamer, although I feel like if I CAN play the latest games on my laptop -- I would.

It's like having a pair of shoes. When you're young, you always bought shoes with just a little room at the end so you can "grow into them" as you get older.

I'd rather buy a system that I can "grow into" and use for 3-4-5 years without having to worry that my hardware will be rendered completely obsolete in a couple years. Who knows if I'll decide I want to game on the road 3 years from now. But if those circumstances arises, I want my machine to be able to rise to the challenge.

My $0.02.

 

The problem with your logic and analogy is that you are likening playing games to evolving as a computer user when this is simply not true. Many people become more advanced users for mroe demands on performance with their media, documents, audio etc... all the while disliking computer games (or in that case any games). These users are best served with a powerful system that has modest graphics which serve their needs of running all media and visual OS effects smoothly. And when I say best served I mean they will be getting a system that is reliable, powerful, quiet, cool and cheap. Not that the 5793 is not some of those things but certainly it has disadvantages in terms of quietness and cost.

 

i think both "sides" have good points but it seems we've strayed from the TC's (topic creator) question. if they've already decided on the 5793 then all we should recommend is whether ~$200 extra is worth the extra power for whatever they'll be using it for. for general use such as watching movies i'd say getting the 8800 isn't worth it.

 

Emblazoned but the sheer concept of buying a 5793 for non-gaming/development purposes is sheer stupidity this is why we are trying to lead the TC into a better direction. It just makes no sense to do things this way. A simple analogy is a purpose trying to buy an a car for all-terrain driving and decides on a ferrari or lamborghini. Then he creates a thread or comes up to you and asks you what colour should I get on my car which is going to be for all-terrain driving? You think your first response will be red or black? Or will it instead be 'Why the hell are you getting a sports car for all-terrain driving?'. I would wager a sensible person would respond with the latter.

 

nah, i agree that this laptop is overkill but i gather from their posts that they've made their decision already and accept that it might be overkill so i'll just make my suggestion based on the question that was asked. it was only an attempt to get the thread back on track and away from a fruitless argument. to me this is similar to a glossy vs. matte argument. if the person wants some serious headroom then that's what they want... i can't fault them on that.

were money truly an issue i highly doubt we'd be arguing over $200 for a laptop that costs nine times more than that.

 

Agreed, IF there is a 0% probability that you will do anything other than word-processing, websurfing, or anything that is graphics-intensive, then you won't need a GPU like the 8800 in the foreseeable future - integrated graphics should do okey-dokey, as they do on my stinky little vaio for precisely those functions.

However, the key word here is " IF." And it's of vital importance, because if you get it even slightly wrong on the clause that the word "if" makes conditional, you are SOL - just like me with my stinky little vaio - because if your interests or needs change over the course of 3,4, or 5 years, you're locked into an inadequate GPU that you cannot upgrade except by buying an entirely new computer. Since that would force you to buy a new computer earlier than you would have had your original computer had adequate graphics capabilities, or the ability to upgrade thereto, you're subjecting yourself to an unnecessary additional expense, and the net present value of the cost of two cheap computers will almost certainly be greater than the net present value of the cost of one Sager NP5793. So, since most of us will change over the course of 3 to 5 years, and most of us do not know the particulars of those changes or whether, with 100% certainty, the technology available today that meets our minimum requirements will be able to meet our increased future requirements, it only makes sense to seriously consider purchasing a so-called gaming system today, even if you don't game today. The old adage sums it up nicely, getting just the minimum necessary today is "penny wise, pound foolish."

 

I still think you should get 8800 for the price difference.

 

Thanks everyone for the input and i didn't mean to create any internal arguing ! I do think though yes there is the possibility of playing some games, but when looking over most models as i want to stay with the Sager line, be 17", have a screen resolution of 1920x1200, have a decent sound system, be well built and most of all be SOLID. So therefore this was reason i was looking at 5793. Yes getting back to main questions - the video card and the DOA pixel warranty - i think most likely i will go with the 8800 and skip the DOA pixel warranty. Yes there are other models out there such as the Asus line but from what i have researched i couldn't find a model to compare head to head with the 5793 with the same IMPORTANT specs i want. I really would like to stay away from Dell, Sony, etc as there just seems to be more negative than positive of late but then again when you are selling that many more you will have that.

But anyway thats a topic for discussion elsewhere and I thank you all for the input !!

 

You now mentioned gaming is a possibility. In that case absolutely this is the best system you can buy in terms of power and portability.

 

That's right, just try to hog all the credit, huh!

 

I would recommend the 1680 screen unless you like to sit close to your notebook (eyes less than 2 feet from screen). However, the 1920 screen is beautiful, and you would never notice a dead pixel, though it is a rare occurrence.

 

Well, WUXGA is getting used on 15 inchers too. Although that is just too much for my liking, 17inchers with WUXGA are ok for me. Wouldn't have it any other way.