Clevo/Sager reliability and durability.

I know this is the worst place to get an unbias opinion, but I figure it will get me the most action. Well I have been a business laptop user for many years but Im realizing I need more power for my money then a business laptop can offer. So Im looking at some other brands and Sager/Clevo always comes up when its top end laptops. So my question is as a road warrior who carries a laptop everywhere how well do these laptops handle lots of being beaten up traveling and swapping desks add in toddlers messing around occasionally as well?

I have had my dell precision for almost 2.5 years and its a great laptop but even despite the power it was when I got it the GPU is lacking pretty bad right now. Although Im pretty sure my motherboard and GPU are dying fats, before these issues the performance wasnt up to snuff at the 2 year mark. Mind you the onyl gaming I do is pretty light and games that dont require much in the GPU department (wow, SC2 and occasional COD game). Anyways how reliable and durable are these rigs?

 

Well, like everything else manufactured this days, to last max 5 years if you are REALLY lucky, and clean it every 3-6 months, and just about 1,5 year if you don't care about it at all.

Clevos have a robust look, but that is just look, solder without led changed everything worldwide

All parts are coming from China as well.

 

im on my second one now and wont buy anything else.
my m860tu is over 6 years old and still going strong. 9800GT graphics card died after 2 years and it was replaced the same day by supplier with a stronger 260gtx which is still going strong.
build quality is like a tank in my mind as my original lappy still looks new after 6 years of use.
i updated to my 1 year old P150EM just for up to date gaming.
for moving around a lot i would recommend the 15" versions as the 17" are a bit big to my mind.

if you do decide to go for one then i would advise to buy from a reseller and not direct from sager.

here a list of usa suppliers http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/656776-ask-resellers-questions-reseller-thread.html

 

Thanks for the input! I do plan on dealing with a reseller over direct. Im not in the market as of right now but since Im at the 2.5 year mark I need to start looking around and find where and who is making the right tech for me. As for maintenance Im OCD about my laptops so they get dusted and wiped down almost daily and I dust the inside once a month with repasting 1-2 times a year ( I have a metric ton of AS5 left I need to get rid of). So I definitely take care of my laptops as they are the source of my income.

 

Sounds like the Sager brand is going to treat you well then! I regularly get contacted by customers looking to replace their 8 or so year old Sager with something new, not because it doesn't work, but because they need something a bit more current in performance. If you treat them right, they treat you right, and can still withstand a lot of abuse.

 

A repaste 2x a year is not entirely necessary, but it's certainly good to hear that you take good care of your systems. As Derek said: "If you treat them right, they treat you right..." which is really a maxim everyone should exercise with just about everything (and everyone ). The build quality on Clevo/Sager's though is on par for what you pay and perhaps then some, and they withstand the test of time even with some abuse. I don't think you'll find anything far and away a tier above a Clevo at the same price!

 

from experience bought a NP5135 back in 2010, thing is still running like a champ. nothing special has been done with it. everything still works flawlessly. just upgraded to np8265 because I was ready for new and passed the 5135 to my cousin who will use it for another 4 years or until it craps out.

 

Yes, repaste only if a good cleaning doesn't help a noticeable temperature increase. Despite what claims a TIM manufacturer make, any heavily used machine will need a repaste within two year's time. But otherwise no need to repaste if temps are within limits, or unless you're a freak like me that like to optimize everything. Even then I only do a repaste every six months along with a clean Windows install. Keeps it fresh. I think the longest I kept a Sager notebook was 2.5 years, and it was still running strong when I sold it.

 

Mine is coming up on 2 years old and haven't had any issues. The 7970m that came with it was DOA, but was fairly simple to take care of. Honestly these laptops are as easy as possible to work on in the case something goes wrong. If you take care of your stuff it should last a long time. Just pay attention to things like your temps or fans getting louder. I have to clean my fans about every 4-6 months, but if I only ever used it at a desk I should imagine it'd be less frequent. I wouldn't go as far to say that Sager/Clevo are more or less reliable than other brands unless you saw some statistics, but they're definitely easy to fix yourself and most of the companies selling are very helpful and offer superb warranties. I personally would go with a company that has a better RMA service than one that is allegedly more reputable. For example, ASUS has higher failure rates on their desktop mobos than Gigabyte, but (at least in Canada) their RMA process is much better and has way less horror stories.

 

My Sager NP6110 is about 20 months old, but to look at it you could easy believe it came out of the box yesterday. I do take good care of all my equipment though - regularly use canned air to blow out any dust, wipe off any marks and keep the screen cleaned regularly, and just use a bit of common sense when out and about - use a good well-padded laptop bag, and be conscious that you are carrying around some expensive equipment and don't just drop your bag on the ground etc.. Take care of your equipment and it'll take care of you.

 

So long as it's not dropped then it should last you well.