Clevo vs. Sager

After leaning toward an Asus Z70va I've decided I can get a bit more for the money with a Sager 5320 (not to mention the 256MB version of the x700).
I've found a few sites (such as this one) selling Clevo notebooks. From my research here at notebookreview.com I've learned that Clevo is the source for Sager notebooks.

My question is, what's the difference? If I can get a better price on a Clevo and I'm happy with the company selling it should I do it or is there some compelling reason why I should make sure my notebook has the "Sager" emblem on it?

 

They are the same exact notebook, with the exception that the Sager notebook has a different badge.

The reason that I bought a Sager-branded NP-5320 vs. a regular M560A is because I could easily customize it through a variety of dealers, plus I get the piece of mind from owning a Sager. ISTNC still offers customization though, and the prices seem to be reasonable on most of the components, although the TV Tuner is overpriced, along with the Hard Drive, Operating System, Bluetooth, and CD/DVD drive. The memory carries a reasonable price tag.

It looks like you can order the ISTNC notebook without some components, that would be a good idea!

What I would do is this:
Customize both the Clevo M560A from ISTNC and the Sager 5320 from PowerNotebooks.com, compare the prices. See what you can get for your money. Remember that you can just order the ISTNC notebook without components and upgrade them youself, save money. Be sure to check out ISTNC's rating on www.ResellerRatings.com to see what customers are saying about them. I have heard good comments.

In the end, it's up to you. Given a choice in your postition, I'd probably spring for the ISTNC notebook, and upgrade the components yourself (HDD, RAM, OS). Saves money.

 

Thanks for the info, ChazMan.

Will I see any difference between ordering online versus ordering via telephone? Will a live salesperson have the ability to offer a discount if he knows I'm shopping his competition?

Next question: How available are components for notebooks? It's easy to buy a SATA hard drive for my desktop but I'm unsure about proper fit when doing the same for a notebook. Same thing with optical drives and bluetooth cards. Are notebook components more standardized than I seem to think or is there some sort of guide to help me buy the right parts for a semi-gutted system?

 

Well, I was satisfied with the price the notebook was, so I ordered online. I do know that it could be a lot easier to deal over the telephone, if you like to order stuff that way, it's safer than online.

The bluetooth card for the Clevo M560A is specific to it. The module is a lot cheaper through Sager, but you can order it as an accessorie from a Sager dealer, I would do that. Just don't order it with the ISTNC notebook, $75 is way too much. Should be around $55.

Here's the thing with the SATA drive - ask to see if the M560A comes with the SATA connector, that's what you need for the SATA drive. Otherwise you have to order it seperately.

You need 2.5" (9.5mm) drives for notebooks, check www.Newegg.com, they have them, as well as ZipZoomFly. Make sure it is a SATA150 (ATA-7) interface.

For the optical drives, you can buy them yourself, HOWEVER, the M560A has a modular bay, and the benzel of the drive is specially shaped to fit in it. Make sure you at least order the minimum optical drive with the noteobook so you can have the benzel. You can take off the benzel and swap it with the one on an aftermarket slim drive.

 

One thing I noticed when I configured a 5720 I selected the 2nd battery which Sager says will only work with the 5710 and not the 5720. The difference between the 5710 & 5720 is the 5710 uses the ATI GP and 5720 use the Nvidia GP.