Architecture School coming, is there a Sager to take me through it?

New to the forum, and quite savvy on the Sager brand thanks to numerous rave reviews on this site. I'm going to be starting an M.Arch program this fall and need my first (!) laptop to be a wise choice.

Here's my FAQ:

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General Questions

1) What is your budget?

> under 1200 with lengthy warranty.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

> d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

> I love U S and A

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

> a. Like: Sager; have had luck with Dell PC's...
> b. Dislike: VAIO was crap IME

5) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

> AutoCAD, Rhino, Adobe Creative, internet, music and movies.

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

> Both

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games or types of games?

> Negative

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?

> The more the better

9) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

> I trust reviews

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

> Prefer XP Pro

Screen Specifics

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

> A little unclear about what I need for a screen to be honest. Could use some direction.

a. WXGA – 1280x800 or occasionally 1280x768; For people who like big text and icons that are easy to read. Less stuff fits on the screen, which translates into more scrolling.
b. WXGA+ – 1440x900; A modest bump over WXGA. Text and icons are a bit smaller. A little more stuff fits on the screen.
c. WSXGA+ – 1680x1050; The middle ground. Again, text and icons are smaller than WXGA+, and more stuff fits onto the screen. Good for having applications open side by side, like a web browser while playing a video.
d. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Very small text and icons, that can be hard to read. Lots of stuff fits on the screen, which means less scrolling. Good for applications that require a high level of detail like CAD or Photo Editing.

12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

> Glossy I believe

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

> Nope, form follows function

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?

> Before September '09 and I'd like it to get me through grad school (3 plus years)

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 500GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

> Minimum 250 or so @ 7200 rpm

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

> DVD burner combo


Question: Will a sub $1200 Sager be the prime choice for the next three and a half years of grad school for me? (AutoCAD, Rhino, SketchUp, PhotoShop, Adobe Creative Suite, etc....)

I'm quite intrigued by the 2096; truth be told I have a pending order for one at PowerNotebooks (Donald probably thinks I'm a total flake, but really I'm just very cautious and don't really need a lappie for another couple months anyhow)

This is what I configured:

Sager NP2096 - Gaming Laptop
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) "Glossy" LCD w/nVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT w/512MB
Intel® Core™2 Duo P8700 2.53GHz Processor w/3MB L2 Cache (25W) - 1066MHz FSB
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
4GB (2 SODIMMS) DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (64bit Vista needed to use >3GB)
320GB SATA II 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM Hard Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)
Combo Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
4-in-1 Memory Card Reader (MS/MS PRO/SD/MMC)
Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5100 802.11a/g/n
Built-in Bluetooth Wireless
9-cell Smart Li-ion Battery
Windows XP Professional
3 Year Parts and Labor warranty

Any suggestions for me? Is this good as is, does it need revision, or do I need to look at a completely different platform? Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Apparently the FAQ is a requisite for newcomers; Also if a Sager might not be the best choice please give me some other names.

 

I am not sure you can find a system that meets all your requirements for under 1200 but since you are running mostly CAD software and no gaming, I might make a few suggestions.

First, Cad intensive programs that do a lot of 3D vector graphics require a different kind of GPU than gaming systems use. You might want to check into that. I know that ATI makes a GPU that is designed more towards CAD processing, but I am not sure that any of the Clevo based notebooks offer this graphics card in their line-ups.

Another requirement for CAD software is a hefty CPU and here, don't look at the number of cores or clock speed as much as the MIPS-that's what really matters in cpu performance.

As far as screen resolution, I would recommend a higher resolution screen because you will most likely be running multiple windows at any one time and the higher res screen offers a better fit.

I agree with you that you need a system that will last three years without failing, since as a college student it is very difficult to do without one even for a short period while it is in for repair or waiting for a replacement part. From what I can tell by reading the Sager/Clevo forum and from my own experience so far with my Sager np9262, I think you are probably right in opting for a Sager as opposed to say an Alienware or Dell when it comes to reliablility and support.