Best Sager gaming laptop with a $2000 budget?

Read through this thread and wanted to chime in with what may be a contrary viewpoint.

AW going out of business - There is enough 'brand name' recognition that some company will purchase it. Back in the day, AW used clevo chassis (iirc) so that is an option. Also, since nothing has been announced (to my knowledge) of AW's imminent demise, I imagine they are a safe bet for at least the next year. Dell going private may actually be a good thing; with no investors or share price to be beholden to, AW may actually improve. Either way, since nothing has been announced yet, they should be safe bet for at least another 12-18 months.

As for the BIOS issues, I think it comes down to a few factors. If you are tech savvy enough to know what a bios is, how it works, and what you need it for, you are actually in the minority of computer users. That can actually be a good thing. Since the user base of these type of laptops tend to be power users, a lot of problems end up being solved at the community level first rather than by the big tech firm. So, if a new GPU comes out that is technically compatible and is popular enough, users will most likely find a way to make it work (see Enduro issues for example)

TL;DR - AW isnt going out of business any time soon. You'll be fine with BIOS updates, even if they come from the community rather than the manufacturer.

 

Thanks ajfountains. Puts me a bit at ease to know the community can handle things. I wouldn't be opposed to getting my geek on and learning all about BIOS's and how to flash them, upgrade them, whatever. Or, I wouldn't mind shipping my laptop to someone on the forum to mod it for me, if it means I will be able to upgrade properly I will be happy to do that.

I'm just trying to make this laptop as future-proof as I can. I don't want to spend $2000 now and then in 3 years have to buy a brand new laptop because I can't upgrade.

 

Whenever I see the words "future-proof", I cringe as I don't think the word means what most people think it means. On a good majority of laptops (especially the new ultrabooks) you can't upgrade anything. If you are lucky, you may be able to swap out the hard drive or ram (and probably void your warranty for doing so) So even a brand new fully loaded laptop is, in most cases, definitely notfuture-proof.

Another point is that with the level of tech today, we approaching the law of diminishing returns. A fully loaded 2k laptop with a 680 or 7970 is likely to provide at least medium level settings for years to come (ie in 2016 youll be able to play COD 68: Zombies in Farmville in at least 720p settings) barring any major changes (new version of Direct X, a giant switch to 3d gaming, etc)

Final point - by purchasing a machine that has easy access to internals for upgrades (AW, CLevo), you're really doing the only thing you can to ensure being able to extend the life of the machine. Purchase the most warranty you can afford (I'd also go for the dead pixel guaranty) and enjoy.

 

Thanks again ajfountains. Very helpful.

 

That along with modern notebook CPUs being so close to their desktop counterparts and have a lot of life for the future. It's more concerning what you can do with the GPU.

 

Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but in a few years when the 7970m is no longer one of the best mobile cards out, I can either > a. upgrade the card itself to something new (provided I can update the bios), or b. slot another 7970m in and get a 50-60% performance boost which would keep me going a little longer.

I'm leaning towards option b. Does that sound like a good plan?

 

Option b is a sure plan because option a is unknown if a new GPU will be compatible.

 

thats true

 

Just got mine and my wifes P370EM today. I went with a basic 3630QM and single 7970M for cost savings. So far it's pretty awesome. ~100fps on high on bf3. 65fps on high on far cry 3. 300fps constant on cs source maxed, about ~200fps constant with Left 4 Dead 2 and CS:GO maxed. I'm pleased so far. I definitely plan on buying the second 7970M when it's considered "end of life"

As i'm typing this she's laughing at the music in the drug crop burning mission of FC3 so i'm pretty sure she's happy... lol

 

Not to rain down on your party, but afaik there is only one active user who is a bios mod expert.
There are certain things that can be done by the sager community like the enduro issue.
But afaik, it takes an expert to mod a bios or vbios and we only have one of those right now. Since I haven't been active in the forum lately i don't even know if prema is still around

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

 

There is no evidence that Alienware is going anywhere. Dell going private isn't a reason to avoid getting an AW laptop. Even if something did happen to the largest performance notebook manufacturer in the world (hence why I think it's unlikely anything will happen), the warranties would still be honored.

 

I'm not saying that they will fail, and they likely will thrive, but it's something to consider and not ignore.

 

Very true. I meant it in a "where there is a will, there is a way" type vein

 

Fluent I think it is fair to say that you've reached the "can't make a bad decision" point.. no matter how you tweak your build now.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty satisfied with my latest build. Can't wait to get my hands on it! Still gotta wait about a month to get the money together, though. But after that it will be sweet

 

Hey Fluent, been having some emails with you the past couple days and just came across your thread. Let me know if there is anything further I can help with.

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much. However, my P170HM is using a GPU that was not officially supported with a Bios update but Prema is working on it. After reports came in about the 680M's compatibility I purchased one but had to modify the Nvidia Drivers to allow it to install.

Some time ago, the user base created a petition about this lack of Bios support and after an overwhelming response and many potential and actual customers talking about going elsewhere, they acted. This is perhaps why the 7970M works in some older chassis sooner rather than later.

You can read the thread here.

Link

 

He is looking at more than two years of upgrades.
Iirc that petition was done with the hm series barely a year old.
And what happens when prema becomes inactive? Can anyone here actually do the stuff he does?
I'm not trying to discourage anyone here but to me these are valid concerns.

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

 

I'm not sure I can agree with that. I didn't get any updates with my old rig, the M15X. Their video drivers never got updated. What made things worse was that since it was a laptop, the drivers from ATI or NVIDIA cannot be installed from ATI and Nvidia. I was forced to used Alienware's old old old driver. Whenever I tried to update, it will stop the installation and prompt me to use the original manufacturer's driver.

Eventually, I did manage to find a method to update the driver. Just can't remember the get around method I used.

 

I have P150EM with 7970M, Ivy Bridge 3610, 8GB 1600mhz RAM, 95% color gamut Matte display, 256GB Crucial SSD, it is pretty much amazing. It can play any game, most of them maxed out. Skyrim with mods, BF3 on ultra with solid 35+ FPS, Farcry 3 maxed out with 40+ FPS, Photoshop and Illustrator are it's b**h. It's wonderful. I am quitting video games because I've been addicted to them for over a decade... Talking 5 hours MINIMUM per day, usually 8 or more. EVERY DAY. It has been bad. So I'm considering selling this bad boy so that I can't play even if I want to.

Get a rig like this in near perfect condition, screen is 100% no dead pixels, all hardware works perfectly, maybe a few micro scratches on the case but nothing noticeable at all. I'd part with it for $1450, it cost around $1800 with the SSD and screen upgrade when I bought it about 6 months ago. I do still enjoy it for Photoshop/Illustrator as I am into graphic design, but I have another computer I could use for it, it won't be as lightning fast but I could deal with it if it helps me avoid video games

I'm in California if that makes a difference, Just thought I'd throw it out there. Probably the best laptop you'll ever find at this price, even slightly used [although perfect condition mius a few micro scratches that aren't noticeable]. I saw another guy sell his with the same specs MINUS the 95% gamut matte screen and Crucial M4 256GB for $1400 a month or two back on a forum.

I'd also throw in my legitimate copy of Windows 8 64 Bit for free, It costed around $100.

 

Good luck with the sale, I only got $1250 for my 3 month old mint condition NP9150 with slightly better specs than yours.

 

Self control is an excellent skill to learn, set a time table or a limit and stick to it, reward yourself when you do stick to it with something (does not have to be big) and DONT when you fail to stick to it.

Just removing temptation is just recipe to loose control to something else.

 

You only got $1250? Was that with Windows? With upgraded screen? Upgraded RAM?

I saw someone with one the same specs as mine sell for $1450 online... Hmmm...

I suppose If I can't find a buyer for $1300+ I'll probably just keep it. My next few years are just full of exams, an internship, which I hope leads to a job. Then CPA exams to become a certified accountant. I won't have too much time for gaming. I spend most of my free time now with my girlfriend [of 2 years] and our dog.

 

Right. You can buy the P150EM as spec'ed like micahmatthew new for $1700 (including Windows). I'd say $500 off minimum