Building high end NP8150

Hey guys, I'm building a high end NP8150 for gaming and everyday use. Trying to keep it below $2000. Gonna get it from XoticPC

First of all, should I get the NP8150 or is there a newer 15inch model coming out?
Second, should I get it now or wait for any special parts that are coming out. Prices are good now. Will there be a future drop soon?

I have a few questions --> Q#

-Matte Screen WITHOUT NTSC95% Gamut
Q1. i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz or i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz
I personally think that the 760 is better for the future and the 3.5 compared to 3.1 is really good
-IC Diamond Thermal Compound
Q1.5 ATI HD6990 2GB vs GTX560 I know the ATI is high end but some people say nVidia>ATI.. I'm leaning more towards the 6990. Seems very powerful
Q2. RAM 1333Mhz vs 1600Mhz vs 1866Mhz
Will I see a noticeable performance increase?
Q3. RAM 8GB vs 12GB On my current laptop 4GB is enough.. Will I need 12GB?
Q4. 750GB (w/ 8GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM vs 750GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
HYBRID or Normal HDD. Is it worth $130?
Q5. Blu Ray? I think it's a good thing to have Blu Ray for movies or is it not worth it? I have a PS3 so I can watch on my PS
Blu-Ray or Another HDD for clean installs on a separate drive?

I'm thinking 500GB Hybrid if I add another HDD instead of the 750GB (pretty expensive)

Q6. Intel® Advanced-N 6230 with Bluetooth vs Intel® Ultimate-N 6300
Will I see noticeable increase in performance with the 6300? I don't use Bluetooth a lot but I think it's a good thing to have.
Q7. Win 7 Home Premium vs Professional. Are there features that I will need in Professional or are there HARDWARE limitations with Home premium?


Try to answer me directly in the forum instead of posting links to individual items review and give me your personal opinion

 

As for Graphics cards, If you're going to go with the gtx 560, it may be worth it to get the sager NP8130 because it also has the gtx 560 and starts a 950 dollars compared to the 1150 of the NP8150. The only difference between the two is that the 50 has a rubberized case ( and track pad) and has a simple textured plastic case. Other than the feel the cases are exactly the same in design and size. The HD6990 is ATI's top of the line for mobile GPU's, but lots of people say that ATI's drivers aren't up to par ( no personal experience here). Both models can have their GPU's upgraded in the future, so you could get the GTX 560 now, and upgrade to a GTX 680 next year.

About the next release. Sager has confirmed optimus and backlit keyboards ( and ivy bridge). Wether or not you care about those enough to wait, is up to you.

 

1) The 2760QM is an excellent "sweet-spot" in the Sandy Bridge lineup for those who can afford it.

1) The 6990M absolutely destroys the 560M. Now, if you had instead compared it to the 580M, there would be more debate. Still, the 6990M is the much better gaming value when compared against the 580M. The added features Nvidia provides are basically CUDA and PhysX. CUDA is for off-loading processing from CPUs in specialized software and PhsyX is rare and gimmicky. This is not applicable to you, but the P170HM needs a Nvidia card to use the laptop's 3D 120Hz screen, if it so-configured with one.

2) Slight performance boost. Not really worth it though. The 1866 is definitely not worth it period, unless you've absolutely maxed out your other components.

3) Nope. No need for 12GB for gaming right now. And if you ever do need it, RAM is a cheap and easy upgrade anytime.

4) The 750GB hyrbrid I do not consider a good value at all. I'd spend the same amount of a money and get a REAL SSD and a normal HDD for the price of a single 750GB hybrid. The 500GB hybrid is a good value buy as a compromise to a SSD though, if you don't want to go without an internal DVD drive.

5) I'd prefer an external Blu-Ray player any day of the week. The price of an internal Blu-Ray drive is roughly the same as cheap external Blu-Ray players. If you already have a PS3, why waste money on a Blu-Ray drive? You're double-spending money here that would be 1000% more wisely spent on a quality SSD.

6) I prefer the 6230 w/ Bluetooth as my personal network will not come close to maxing out the Advanced, let alone the Ultimate. That and you never know when you might need Bluetooth.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/8068232-post3.html

7) One of the things with Home Premium is that it has a 16GB RAM limit. I'll never upgrade RAM past 16 anyway, so it doesn't matter to me anyway. It also has a few specialized features that most people will never need. Stick with Home Premium unless you already can name the features in Pro that you need. If not, then you will not notice the difference.

 

Anyone have any idea on when Sager might be releasing a new line of laptops? I don't know if I want to wait until Q2 of 2012 as I'm assuming their new line would be equipped with Ivy Bridge processors.

On topic, your -- mortalcombat -- build is almost exactly the same as my soon-to-be Sager. I've struggled with the on-board Blu-ray player too, but I think I'll just pass on that and use my PS3 and HDTV for movies.
Good advice coming from gwilled, I reckon.

 

- i7-2760QM is my choice, it is not only the matter of clock speed but 2760QM supports some technical features that i7-2670 does not such as Virtualization Direct IO (I use a lot of virtualization) and 1600 MHz memory type according to Intel website (I know that practically they can run higher memory).

-IC Diamond Thermal Compound is a must have for high end system with powerful GPU

- 6990 is very powerful GPU with reasonable price and generally this how I see AMD/ATI the best performance you can get for the least money amount of money.

- I believe from 1333Mhz to 1600Mhz you can feel some performance increase but to 1866Mhz it is bit debatable, however you should see improvement in benchmarking. I personally will go with the 1600Mhz, because it should give you the full possible performance with reasonable price. The extra money for 1866Mhz is not justifiable for me.


- 8GB RAM is more than enough to run anything you want, you can only get more RAM if you are running multiple virtual machines at the same time.


- I would not pay $130 for Hybrid, rather I will save them for SSD and get a normal 7200 HDD for mass storage. BTW recently the Hyprid HDD was on sale for $89 @Newegg not sure if it is still valid.

- If you want the maximum performance so you should consider HDD in the Optical Drive bay + internal SATA III SSD, which means no place for Blue-Ray. Since you have PS3 so you are fine or you can grab an external Blue-Ray burner for about $100-$120 if you need it later.

- Built-in Bleutooth in laptop is nice to have, I personally use it daily so 6300 is not an option for me. 6300 deliver up to 450 Mbps while 6230 up to 300 Mbps, however to get the full speed of 6300 you need a 5 GHz router that supports this high speed. I would recommend 6230 with internal Bluetooth module.


- Most of the Win 7 Professional features related to business users such as joining business domain network, network backup/restore, remote desktop server etc. If you do not need those so Win 7 Home can be enough but for me I need most of the features in the Professional edition.

Win 7 Home premium supports maximum of 16GB RAM while professional supports 192GB

 

Hi Mortalcombat,

Q1 - I wouldn't go any higher than the 2760QM, even the 2670QM is more than enough.

Q1.5 - 6990M, although Nvidia drivers are better than AMD ones.

Q2 - Not a noticeable difference.

Q3 - If 4gb is enough for you now then 8gb is more than adequate for your needs.

Q4 - If you can't go SSD now i either recommend an HDD now or an aftermarket SSD when you can afford it.

Q5 - Depends if you want to watch BR on your laptop or not. I personally don't.

Q6 - I recommend Bigfoot for gaming, it's quite awesome.

Q7 - Home Premium, you won't be limited hardware wise.

Hope that helps.

 

1 - 2670QM is enough for gaming and everyday use, but if u can afford, 2760QM is not a bad idea.

1.5 - 6990M, Nvidia drivers are better, but GTX 560M is the weakest in the Nvidia High-end Graphic Cards.(GT 555M is considered mid-class)

2 - 5% difference from 1600 to 1333 at most. 1866 u have to oc the mobo which i think is not necessary.

3 - 8gb is enough if u don't deal with a lot of data or VMware.

4 - I bought an awesome Samsung 830 120GB SSD for $200 for OS drive, and put the 500g 7200rpm in the optical bay.

5 - Get external BR player if u need it.

6 - Intel 6230 if u need Bluetooth, bigfoot otherwise. Intel 6230 has 2 antennas, 6300 and bigfoot have 3 antennas.

7 - Home Premium, as long as u get 64-bit, no hardware limitation.

 

You cannot have performance and not have SSD written somewhere in there...

You can get an SSD in that budget - easily.

for 2K this is what I would get...

- FREE!! Continental (U.S. Lower 48 - UPS Ground Only) Ground Shipping on ALL Sager Laptops - Until 01/01/2012
(Enter Coupon Code: "SAGERFREESHIP" during order process)
- SAGER Sale!!! - $100 OFF When you spend $1500* or more! (*excludes non-sager parts, accessories, shipping, & taxes)
Confirmation of discount will be provided after Order Processing.
- FREE Digital Copy of Battlefield 3 w/ Any Intel 120GB SSD or Higher Hard Drive Upgrade + Sager Price Protection
+ Automatically Qualified to Win an Xbox 360!!!
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Screen (SKU - S1R324)
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - S2R202)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6990 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 $100 OFF (SKU - S3R151)
- No Video Adapter
- 16GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4R757)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) - Default (SKU - S5R207)
- Remove DVDRW Drive and Install Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy Only (SKU - S7R951)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- No Back Up Software
- None Standard--
- Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth (SKU - S8R111)
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- 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 or 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
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- LIFETIME Ltd Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs (SKU - X9R009)
- No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
- Standard Production Time
- No Xotic PC Gear

$1713, and then get a 128GB Crucial M4 from B&H for $200
Crucial Technology 128GB m4 SSD 2.5" Solid CT128M4SSD2 B&H

$1913.

You could even knock back the RAM to 8GB and go for the upgraded screen... that would then come to $1688 + the SSD so $1888...

Leaves your $112 to upgrade your RAM to 1666 or what ever else you may want to do.

 

With $135 upgrade to the xt you could also stay with the stock hdd and spend that $135 on a 64gb or so ssd and still have extra left over. Currently ssd is about the same price range as hdd, it is definitely worth considering it over hdd or even momentus.

The blu-ray does go well with that 95% gamut screen. If you use it occasionally on the go then it's more worth having it than if you rarely require it.

 

- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Matte Type Screen (SKU - S1R324)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - S2R202)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6990 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 $100 OFF (SKU - S3R151)
- 8GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4R371)
- 750GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S5R308)
- Remove DVDRW Drive and Install Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy Only (SKU - S7R951)
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth (SKU - S8R111)
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
- LIFETIME Ltd Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime -24/7 DOMESTIC Based- Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs (SKU - X9R009)



Ok so just a few questions.
I'm thinking about going with this setup and buying an SSD

1. How hard would it be to install the SSD?
2. I would have to reinstall Windows on the SSD right?
3. Which SSD?

SanDisk Ultra SDSSDH-120G-G25 2.5" 120GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Newegg.ca - SanDisk Ultra SDSSDH-120G-G25 2.5" 120GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

or

OCZ Technology OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 120 GB Vertex 2 Series SATA II 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive
OCZ Technology OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 120 GB Vertex 2 Series SATA II 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive: Amazon.ca: Electronics

or
OCZ Vertex Plus OCZSSD2-1VTXPL120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Newegg.ca - OCZ Vertex Plus OCZSSD2-1VTXPL120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

4. Should I go for this laptop right now or wait a little bit? I know the performance upgrade is going to be great but I can wait a little bit more
Sager NP8660
Dual Core P8600 2.53
9800M GTS
4GB 1333Mhz

My current laptop is still great. I'm currently playing Heroes of Newerth the most. A little bit of Assassin's Creed.
I could wait a bit more for a new 15inch Sager to come out or maybe ATIHD7### and GTX 6##

At the same time, the 8150 is going to be great, really future proof for at least 3 years.
Good processor, SSD + high capacity HDD, high end GPU, 1080p, good wireless card...

 

Don't buy it if you don't need it now is what I'd say. This model has been out for nearly a year and a refresh is coming soon. Considering your games, maybe you should wait until you do need it.

1. About the SSD. It's easy to install. Just a couple of screws, slip in the SSD, screw it back, put it back in the laptop.

2. Yes, you would have to install Windows again unless you clone or something, thought that's more of a hassle. Installing windows simply put in the CD and install.

3. Dunno.

 

1. Very easy to install. Chango99 has the right of it. Just make sure you put the SSD into the HDD bay slot, and move the 750GB to the optical drive caddy, as the optical drive caddy only has SATA 2, and the actual HDD bay has SATA 3.

2. Yes, you would need to install Windows again.

3. I seriously suggest the Crucial M4 128GB one that I linked above from B&H... Its quick and reliable, and has a lot of love from the SSD community.

4. If you are happy with what you have, most certainly wait. I think it is projected to be release around April or May (someone please correct me if I am wrong) so if you can hold out that far, then I suggest doing so

PS - if you do wait, do not write off the SSD. Too many people do, at their own peril. (ok peril may be OTT, but you get what I mean )

 

If you're spending oodles of money on a laptop like that, I would not go skimping on the SSD. First off, buy a SATA III drive instead of SATA II. I wouldn't buy a SATA II SSD unless it was from a big-3 company and was massively discounted. Buy one of the "big three" company SSDs. SandForce drives in general have been fraught with reliability problems.

Get a 128GB version of one of the following. Of the three the first two are the best-priced by far, so go with those. The price for the first two are $197 and $210, respectively.

Crucial m4 - Buy from B&H, they are a very good store; I've used them several times (insane reseller rating too)
Samsung 830 - Buy from Newegg, it comes with a Batman Arkham City download code
Intel 510

 

I see the links you posted are Amazon.ca and Newegg.ca so it is.safe to assume that you are in Canada.

The best SSD to buy at the moment in Canada is Cruicial M4 which is now offered for $189.69 CDN + free shipping @DirectCanada, I just ordered mine yesterday.

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11230DR7592&vpn=CT128M4SSD2&manufacture=CRUCIAL TECHNOLOGY

 

I dont mean to hijack the thread but since you are talking about SSDs;
My new lappy is on the way, i ordered it with the 750GB Momentus XT and i also still have the Plextor/Liteon M2S 256GB. Which would you choose for the OS drive? I need at least 256GB and will keep the optical drive for now (though i did order a caddy too just in case).
I could also sell the two drives and get either the 256GB Crucial M4 or 830 Samsung (Intel 510 250GB just seams too expensive). So which would you choose considering all this?

 

I don't know about prices anywhere outside of the US, but the 750 GB Hybrid goes for $240-250 here. Add $30 or so and it is enough to buy a very good 128GB SSD AND a 500GB HDD. I don't think there is any economical value to buying one of the 750GB hybrids right now. The only hybrid priced better than its opportunity cost is the 500GB hybrid. Furthermore, using $240 on a hybrid acting as a bulk storage drive is quite frankly a waste of money.

Again, speaking from a US-market standpoint, I'd return the Plextor and the Hybrid to get a 256GB Crucial m4 for the same price as the Plextor. Or you could keep the Plextor, it's up to you. Either way return the overpriced 750GB hybrid. The 510s and 830s are also good options if you can find them for cheap, but right now US prices for the m4 are better.

Terrific price for a 256GB m4 in the US:
Crucial Technology 256GB m4 SSD 2.5" Solid CT256M4SSD2 B&H

 

I took the XT simply as it was a really cheap upgrade to order with the laptop (only cost me 79€ over the default 320gb conventional HD, i already expected that i wont be using it). I can get all of the above SSDs for a very similar price here in the EU (not the Intel 510 though, that one is approx 150€ more), so knowing that out of these which one is the best in performance/reliability (having software like the intel ssd toolbox to do a manual trim is also nice if any have it) - the Plextor M2S, Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 (or Intel 510 even though its priced much higher)?

 

Dude. That is an insanely cheap 750GB Momentus XT! I'm estimating that means they're basically selling the hybrid for 120€-130€. That is much cheaper than any price here in the US. Either that or it was an upgrade on the world's most expensive 320GB HDD, haha.

 

That deal is over though, they soon figured out it was too cheap, its a 129€ upgrade now !

Edit: Posted a thread in the hardware components and aftermarket upgrades section so i dont trash this one.

 

About the 6990M, its actually a good choice. Most of the time its usually user error as to why the drivers are acting up. Make sure you clean everything before installing a new driver, nVidia or AMD.

 

I would also recommend the M4 and 830 for your ssd needs. I believe they both hold the record of least power consumption ssd with 0.15W on M4 and 0.12W on the 830.

 

You will not go wrong with either drive, both are great in terms of performance and readability.

Samsung 830 tend to be more reliable because it is completely built in-house and Cruical M4 has an excellent reputation and proven reliability and speed.

I am bit skeptical about the advertised power consumption of Samsung 830, for M4 many people reported they noticed a real boost in their batter life (can reach 1 hour or so). Storagereview.com has a comprehensive review and you can see their benchmark.

Bottom line, I will go with the cheaper , personally I was looking for Samsung 830 but when I found M4 on special sale I just purchased it.

 

You forgot to mention one advantage of the Samsung 830--it is dead sexy.

 

LOL, I totally agree.

Also, I love Samsung SSD because of this video

Samsung SSD Awesomeness - YouTube

 

So theyre definetely worth getting over the Plextor/Liteon M2S? Any of these SSDs have software like the Intel SSD toolbox to restore full performance at any time with a manual trim?

 

Samsung 830 seems to have a better software to optimize the drive and to do firmware upgrades

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sol...flash-storage/628950-ssd-war-witch-buy-p.html

 

Still checking reviews... Cant really decide...

 

Link from AnandTech Test, Samsung 830 has the most power consumption compared with Intel 510, Crucial M4, OCZ V3 Max, don't know if it is because of the difference between 512GB and 256GB though.
AnandTech - The Samsung SSD 830 Review

 

I play HON a lot, too. This game's system requirements are kinda low. I can even play on my old hp dv5z with lowest setting at 30fps.
When I played HON on my NP8150, actually I felt a little dizzy with all the fancy graphic effects lol.

 

This confirms why I am skeptical about Samsung 830 claim of low power consumption, the results at AnandTech show that it has the highest power consumption comparing to others in the benchmark (including Samsung 470).