Final Decisions on Sager NP9170

Hi all,

I've settled pretty well into what I want but there are a few features I'm still wondering on. My max budget for the build is $2,500 but I'd like to hit $2,000. This will primarily be used for gaming, movie watching, and video editing (avg 90s clips).

For parts I'm looking at:

• CPU: i7-3610QM
• GPU: 7970M
• RAM: 2GBx4 1600 MHz
• Primary: 128 Crucial SSD
• Second:750GB 7200rpm
• Optical: 6x Blu-Ray Reader
• Wifi: Intel 6235

I'm fairly comfortable with these choices but comments are welcome. I'm having the most difficulty in making decisions on non-hardware options. These include:

• IC Diamond
• Copper Cooling
• Monitor Calibration
• Dead Pixel Warranty
• SteelSeries Chiclets Keyboard
• Overclocking

A lot of this I'm told is easy to do on your own and may be good ways to save money. But I have absolutely zero experience working on computers, so I'm hesitant.

How necessary are these options?

 

IC Diamond you can do yourself - its simple.
Copper Cooling sounds like a waste of money.
Monitor Calibrations - are you getting a high gamut screen? I would skip this if not.

 

^this, and i would get the Dead Pixel Warranty and the SteelSeries Chiclets Keyboard if i were you but that just a personal preference.

 

Depending on how much the SSD is, you can probably get one after you get your lappy for way cheaper.

 

Even if you have zero experience with computers, Sager/Clevo's are great machines to start learning, as they are the easiest, accessible machines ever made.

When you enter into the realm of gaming laptops, it becomes quite important to understand the thermals, OC's, voltages, stability, etc, as you're likely going to push the laptop to its limit for fun and for better performance in games.

* Learning how to apply thermal paste
* Learning to use tools to overclock and test for stability
* Swapping out SSDs, HDDs, and ODD with a HDD caddy

I can start you off with those, these are the basics.

If you got the high gamut screens, I suggest you purchase a calibration profile - but monitors change in profile over time, so if you're really interested I suggest you buy your own calibration tool. Spyder 3 Express costs about $50, and for that you can endlessly calibrate any laptop's screen.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the help guys!

I was originally going to get the default screen but using your advice I recalculated the price without the cooling upgrades and monitor calibration. With those savings, it only costs $12 more to get the 90% NTSC monitor, which I wanted but couldn't justify the cost.

My last computer was meant for college and my dad was footing the bill so no gaming rig. This is my first computer and I'm excited to really get something I want not just need.

Would any of the mods void a warranty if I do them myself? The thermal paste for example is a likely starting point.

 

It's always best to make certain with your reseller, but doing these simple mods should be fine. Just be careful, and take your time.

Any new parts you add in yourself obviously won't be covered by your warranty, but adding new parts shouldn't get you in trouble.