Decided on the 8298/p177sm...

So I did some testing and found that the alienware will not be much better then the sager (keyboard wise) and pretty much cannot justify spending $350 more (give or take) for less hardware (4700MQ vs 4800MQ). Now Im 99% settled on the 8298 but still wondering about the 8278 in comparison. I can get an 8278 for a hair cheaper and 16GB of ram vs 8GB in the 8298 but I worry about the external feel and build quality vs the 8298 Anyone care to comment on the build quality and feel of the 829X vs 827X? Looking to purchase sooner rather then later but still have to make one last decision before I pull the trigger. Thanks!

 

They're nearly identical as far as feel and build quality goes. The aesthetics are the greatest contrast between the two. Performance and durability, I'd say they're equal.

 

Thanks for the response, but its moot now as I alreayd ordered an 8298.

 

8278 has a metal back and palm rest and the 8298 is the matte plastic no? Main difference is the logo in the palm rest and some lights and such on the dash?

 

By and large, that's about it.

 

The dimensions are a hair different(the 8298 is slightly thicker) and the rubberized coating which both sold me on ot over the 8278.

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The 8278 uses an aluminium finish instead.

 

Thats my issue, the rubber finish looks like it would be a grease trap / show fingers prints to easily and would need to be cleaned often...

What is drawing me towards the 8278, and also i am not a fan of the track pad logo, to me looks...cheap addition?

 

I received my NP8278-S today. It is an absolute beast. It is a little bigger and chunkier than I thought it would be. And the power brick is huge compared to what i've been used to with previous laptops. Although my other laptops weren't gaming rigs like this. So far I have played a few games like Diablo III and had everything cranked to the max setting and it played flawlessly. It is very fast with the SSD drive and the backlit keyboard is awesome. I suggest changing the color though from the default to a more ice white, or light blue color, the deafult color looked kinda gross. Try it out and you'll be thanking me for the color change. Looks so much better now! Other than that, everything seems to be working great. Make sure you use the driver disc that comes with it, and then you can go onto the intel site and use the update utility. There was a couple of newer drivers on there. The system does seem to run fairly warm, even just general browsing, the CPU fan side gets warm enough that it bothers me to have it on my lap. I think i'm going to need something under it if i want to sit on my couch and use it on my lap in future, so as I don't burn my legs and other things! I really wish it wasn't as hot as it is. I was hoping all this new technology would have been a little better with the cooling side of things. I guess with power comes heat. There's always a trade off. Such is life.

 

Define warm? You might be more sensitive to it because it's new. Would like to know what temps are.

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I like rubberized finishes and Im very used to them owning thinkpads and my alienware. The touch pad light its a bit much for me too so Ill be looking for a way to turn it off.

 

Ya that would concern me is the temp as if i order this i may be using it on my lap now and then.

i like the idea of it, i prefer a solid surface to grip on but prints drive me mad!

 

Yeah matter surfaces do pickup fingerprints easily but I find the the finish to be the most pleasing to use over metal or plain plastic.

 

The rubber is durable, I liked it on my p150em.

 

Thats good cause I need it to last.

 

you guys are temping me on the rubber! but that touchpad logo i just cant stand even if i could disable the light....

 

Well you might get over the touchpad since you usually will be looking at the screen and not the actual touchpad.

 

Well as I sit here at the keys of my 8298 I realize its not as bad as I imagined it.

 

The gaud-awful touchpad can be switched out. I've seen some resellers offer custom designs, and I know Mythlogic can swap it out for a non-bling version by request. If you can find the part number for it you might even be able to swap it out yourself.

 

The mouse isn't that bad. I have definitely owned much much worse before....

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I was wondering does anyone know of a way to turn off the light display when the volume is on?

 

FN + - (next to "=") should toggle the volume bar on/off.