Another "Critique my 9150 build" thread / Question about Bigfoot network cards

For the past two weeks I have been absolutely scouring the net for the best price/performance and power/portability laptop and I think I've found my answer in the NP9150 Special Edition. From the type of screen to the keyboard (pretty bummed that the Steel Series chiclet boards are no longer available), I've done my homework, and I believe I have everything dialed in. However, the network cards still puzzle me. The Bigfoot cards seem to have the best performance but reliability seems to be shaky at best, whereas the Intel cards are rock solid. Is this still the case? Have the connectivity issues with the Bigfoot cards been resolved yet? All the network cards cost the same with the SE so naturally I want to choose the best option. Right now I have the 6235 chosen as I have a dual-band E3000 router.

Sager NP9150 / Clevo P150EM - Special Edition Sager NP9150 / Clevo P150EM - Special Edition
- FREE!!! – U.S. UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code "FREESHIP" in Checkout) [U.S. Lower 48 ONLY / Restrictions Apply]
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Sager Screen (SKU - S1R324)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – S2R174)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than all Compounds)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 680M 4,096MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology [User Upgradeable] (SKU - S3R406)
- No Copper Cooling Upgrade
- No Video Adapter
- No External Mobile Display
- 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4S822AP)
- Remove All Branding
- Standard Laptop Finish
- 128GB Crucial M4 mSATA SSD - Preconfigured as an OS Drive ( Operating System – Drive C: ) - [ETA: 4/1]
- 750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache] - Default (SKU - S5T306)
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7X455)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- Bluetooth Included *With select wireless cards only* (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Sager - Intel® Advanced-N 6235 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - S8S111)
- No Network Accessory
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- No Carrying Case
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- No Spare AC Adapter
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No Headset
- No External Keyboard
- Standard Sager/Clevo Non Chiclet Backlit Keyboard
- No External Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- No Operating System Redline Boost
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- None
- No Antivirus Essentials Software Bundle
- No Back Up Software
- - No Microsoft OFFICE Software
- No Software Bundle
- LIFETIME Ltd Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Telephone Support (Labor through XPC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Parts Warranty Repairs (SKU - X9R009)
- * 24/7 LIFETIME U.S. based telephone technical support
* Extreme QA testing by dedicated technicians
* 72 Hour stress testing and benchmarking to ensure top performance and stability
- Standard Production Time
- No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
- No thanks, standard double boxed packaging is okay with my order
- No Xotic PC Gear

 

The bigfoot cards are still very good but I will say we hear more problems with them then the Intel cards. Bigfoot cards are designed to get you better connections for wireless gaming, if you plan on being wired while online gaming (which is ideal) then go with Intel, they still do a good job for wireless gaming anyway.

 

Agreed with Hutsady. No, BigFoot cards' hiccups are still prevalent, but they're not egregious. Intel generally comes out on top with their components and peripherals, and despite the premium, you can't go wrong with them. Although the BF cards are optimized for gaming, the Intel cards do a pretty good job with online gaming as well.

 

Intel it is, then. How fast it is doesn't matter if it drops the connection even once or twice.

Any critiques on my selections or would you say I'm set?

 

Looks pretty good to me! You might want to do some research on the Crucial M4 and compare it against the Intel and Samsung drives, but it's still a good choice. :thumbsup:

 

Please tell me more about these samsung mSATA drives

The crucial M4 mSATA drives are good, the intel 525 drives are great too but are quite a bit more expensive and since it's a SATA II slot then the M4 will give you most of the performance.

We will see the M5 drives launch soon with great $ per GB and speed You can always swap over as a 128GB is not a huge investment.

 

Only critique I can say is make sure to add Windows if you dont already have a copy ready to install once you get the computer.

 

Pulling the trigger on this setup tonight, only difference being I wont be opting in for the msata and will instead order a HDD caddy for the optical bay so I can use my Intel 520 240GB as the primary drive instead. I honestly cant remember the last time I used a CD or DVD for anything other than installing Windows anyway.

By using the optical drive bay, I will still receive full Sata III speed, correct?

Actually, it looks like the optical is Sata II. No problem, I can just move the mechanical in there and the SSD into the primary bay.

 

Yeah, only the primary bay is SATA III so SSD there and HDD in optical caddy.

 

Haha, I was looking at it as the OP's primary drive.

In any case...

 

Final order. Price was a bit higher than what I would've liked (Didn't know the "cashrebate" promo was for checks/money order only) but this should last me for a LONG time considering how long an Asus G50 with a 9800GTM and a Core 2 Duo lasted me.

1 x Sager NP9150 / Clevo P150EM - Special Edition () = $1,739.01
Ram 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4S822AP)
Graphics Video Card nVidia GeForce GTX 680M 4,096MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology [User Upgradeable] (SKU - S3R406)
Processor Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – S2R174)
Thermal Compound IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than all Compounds)
Display 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Sager Screen (SKU - S1R324)
Primary Hard Drive 750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache] - Default (SKU - S5T306)
Optical Drive Bay Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7X455)
Optical Drive Bay Hard Drive Caddy Sager - Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy (Caddy Only) Used For Installing Your Own Hard Drive (Optical Drive Bay remains as selected)
Wireless Network Sager - Intel® Advanced-N 6235 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - S8S111)