Advice Please

After spending ages choosing between an alienware m17x r3 or a clevo,
I've pretty much settled on the Clevo P170HM / Sager NP8170.

I have never used a gaming laptop before, and was wondering if people could suggest what would be best.

Chassis & Display
Vortex II: 17.3" Glossy Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
The screen is either a AUO B173HW01 V.0 or a HSD173PUW1
-A revision 1
Should I get the company to change this? (I have to source the display and send it to them)
Or should I try it myself to see if I like it and if I don't upgrade myself later on.

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2720QM (2.20GHz) 6MB Cache
I know this has been discussed but I couldn't find any real conclusions between the 2630 and the 2820.

16GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 4GB)
I believe only 2 ports are allowed for 1600MHz ram if you want to use all 4 slots then its dropped down to 1333? I do occasionally use a few virtual machines for testing purposes, thought maybe 8 will still be plenty.

Memory - Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
Will be adding an ssd myself deciding between intel 510 and crucial m4 256GB.

DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Thinking about removing this and getting an empty caddy to reduce weight, thoughts?

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Should I upgrade to the gold for £54 more which offers 2 years instead of 1 on the parts and shipping.

 

On the CPU: the debate I've seen is between the 2630 and the 2720. Most of the consensus is that the 2820 doesn't provide enough of a performance gain to warrant the price increase.

Since you're running VMs, I'd go with at least the 2720.

Also, more RAM is better than faster ram, though there's debate on the need for more than 8 at a time. Snce you've got VMs, I'd go with 16

I don't think you'll see a huge weight change by removing the caddy. The ODD doesn't weigh that much, especially in relation the the 17" beast.

On the warranty: shipping would probably cost you close to that amount should you need to send it in for repairs, let alone the cost of the parts.

Thats my $0.02

 

Thanks, I'll upgrade the warranty.

I think also I'll stick to the original screen and if it is terrible / to save some money initial I'll upgrade later on, it doesn't look too hard.

Still thinking about the optical drive.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-between-different-screen-options-photos.html
If it helps any, here is a topic on the screens showing the difference between some of them. The majority of complaints are more about viewing angles with the default screen than about face on viewing.
As for the ram, Myth uses 1600mhz and 1866mhz up to 16 gigs. They switch at the 24gig mark, but I'm not aware if that is because of limitations based on the ram being only at 1333mhz at the 8gig ram stick mark or not. As mentioned though, the speed difference isn't generally that much of a factor as compared to the amount of ram. Similar to the tests between DDR2 and DDR3 ram from when it was first coming out.

 

Hey Tilt, Yea currently going through that forum now .

About the speeds maybe someone (one of the retailers) can advice, but from what I've read, the clevo only accepts 1600Mhz on two ports so you can go up to 8gb 1600mhz.

Also the reseller over hear offers 16gb at 1333 or 8 at 1600 which seems to suggest it also.

You can put 16gb in (4 in each slot) but if you were the 1600mhz would be automatically dropped down to 1333mhz.

This is just based on what I've read so if someone knows different please let me know.

 

I'd drop the 2720 to 2630 if you're only going to get 1333mhz ram. The best feature of the 2720 is the 1600mhz FSB (speed-wise, maybe not tech-wise), but if your ram is only 1333mhz, there are no other components to work with at that speed.

 

The RAM speed isn't the biggest draw for the 2720qm in this case. The 2720 has the ability to support Vt-d, which is useful because Op plans on running a few virtual machines. 1600mhz RAM is just one of the things you get with the 2720.

 

I will see if I can dig back through posts or maybe Myth will post here when they get a chance, but going off of memory of a post I remember. Bear with me as it was a couple of months ago that I read it.

1600mhz ram is 1600mhz ram. There is a certain distance it has to be within of, I believe, the motherboard, in terms of wire length or some such, for it to be classified as 1600mhz ram inside the computer. Past that distance and the speed essentially drops to 1333mhz. The clevo p170HM shell doesn't fit those requirements for the second two sets of ram and, therefore, tends to get the 1333mhz ram stuck in it at that point. However, it was tested and it was determined that even at that distance the ram still functioned at the 1600mhz speed in the clevo. So, you can stick the 1333mhz ram in there and get 1333mhz speed or you can stick the 1600mhz ram in there and get 1600mhz speed.
Like I said, I remember reading the post, but can't find it back. Could be thoroughly imagining it as well.

 

That is where the tech-wise comes in, I suppose.

 

Yea, I think the 2720QM is at just the right price point. Haven't seen too many people encourage the upgrade to 2820qm.

 

general consensus is the performance increase doesn't justify the price.

 

General consensus is looking at an upgrade price of, roughly, over 100 dollars and aren't running VMs. Depending on the price and your needs it does become justified or, at the least, at a bearable level to consider the upgrade.

 

Okay thank you all very much for your opinions,

I think I've decided on my final specs, will post a review in the reseller threads.

Thanks again!

 

that's a great idea

also,you can't go wrong with intel SSDs

 

using a empty caddy only reduces the weight by a couple of grams.

 

Hey, sorry its not just for reducing weight.

Last time I had an optical drive, moving the laptop caused a slight rattling noise, I couldn't tell whether this was the optical drive itself or if something was loose in the laptop, unfortunately the laptop was pretty sealed off and I couldn't diagnose precisely where it was coming from. Luckily the laptop didn't break but had me worried .

Edit: Though I suppose the caddy might rattle as well

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

The 2630 doesn't support VMs.

 

Well, technically the 2630QM does support VMs. It supports VT-X but doesn't support VT-d and if you don't need the direct I/O virtualization, you may save a few $ and settle for the 2630. Performance wise there will be virtually no difference even when running multiple VMs. We have tested the 2630QM vs 2920XM (OC'ed to 4Ghz) within the same system and the difference is too negligible.

just 2cents here.

 

This is exactly the clarification I wanted to add. Basically, if your machine's purpose is to host VMs the 2720 is a good choice. If you don't know what VT-d is, you probably don't need it. If you want to know what it is, Intel explains:
Understanding VT-d: Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O – Blogs - Intel® Software Network
tl;dr - VT-d allows VMs to directly access peripheral devices (HDD controllers, USB, aGPUs, etc.). Without it, the connections are virtualized in software.

EDIT: So if your running XP-mode in Win7, it will work fine. VMWare, VitrualBox etc will work fine. The VMs won't have direct access to the HDD controllers, USB, and GPU (not that you'd get accelerated graphics anyway) but will be relayed by the VM/OS. This may mean a slight performance hit, or that virtualized apps that require direct I/O access may not work as well, if at all.

If you're simultaneously running multiple VMs simultaneously with your host OS, you should look into VT-d and the 2720.