Final questions before I purchase NP2090

I'm so very close to buying the NP2090. But there are a few questions holding me back:

1. Which reseller should I buy it from PowerNotebooks.com or Xotic PC? What are the differences? Are those two resellers going to last the next 5 years or so?

2. Is Sager and Clevo good companies that will last for the next 5 or more years? Not going bankrupt or the likes.

3. Is it worth the money getting the longer warranty? Are Sagers prone to breakage?

4. Are the build quality and components of the Sager NP2090 good? No poor assembly of the motherboard or whatever?

5. Can computer repair shops, Geek Squad and Independent repair shops, fix and work on Sagers? Could I repair it myself if I have a guide and parts to order online? (I am going into Computer Engineering)​

Not questions that will impact the decision to buy a Sager, but questions I have none the less.

1. What driver problems can occur with Vista 64 bit exactly. Is it just with certain devices like mice and keyboards, USB flash drives etc? AND does it cost money to downgrade to 32 bit and then later maybe upgrade back to 64 but?

2. Can the Bluetooth chip be installed after market? To save me a few bucks, because I don't really need Bluetooth now.

3. Can the NP2090 really play games at resolutions of 1680 x 1050 with the 512 MB GPU at medium to high in-game graphics settings? Or am I just wasting money getting the matte screen now thinking I can play games and watch videos at that high of a resolution?​

I know that these are a lot of questions, but this is a big investment I don't want to have screwed up. I appreciate all your replies to my questions. I probably could call my reseller with these questions, but I don't know which reseller I am going with.

 

1.I think they are both equally good. Donald from powernotebooks and Justin from xoticpc are regulars on the forum and post quite often for the people in need of help or any questions they might have. I think they will last the next 5 years.

2.They are very reputable companies, and again they probably will last the next 4 years.

3.IMO, yes

4.Yes

5. not sure.

 

1. Both Xoticpc and PowerNotebooks.com have been in business for over 8 years...they will probably be here for at least another 10

2. This one is even easier...Sager and Clevo have been around for longer than you have (since the early and mid 80's) Clevo is a global company and Sager is the largest Clevo OEM in the US, and most of the other companies that brand Clevo in the US buy them from Sager.

3. Getting the 3 year warranty has nothing to do with whether a products are prone to breakage...all brands suffer a certain percentage of failures whether the failures are the INTEL processor, the SEAGATE or HITACHI etc. hard drives or the memory or Toshiba, Sony or Pioneer optical drive. The point is do you want to pay a very reasonable price for warranty protection in the 2nd and 3rd years, or do you want to pay for any component(s) that fail and the labor to repair them yourself. My Grandaddy taught me years ago to never make a bet I couldn't afford to loose.

4. See #3 above

5. Sure, but Sager has the parts (don't know if the others could get them) and their technicians are factory trained and the most competent to do the repairs. Once you have your degree + 10 or more years experience you might know as much as they do.

Second Group:

1. Driver difficulties are peripheral dependent. That is you have to determine whether the printer or other peripherals have Vista 64bit drivers. If they are older, they may not. When you buy the Sager NP2090 with Vista 64bit installed you will get the media for both 64bit and 32bit so you can go back and forth with them any time you want to. You can only have one or the other installed at one time...

2. Not advisable. The Bluetooth module should be installed at the factory, but hey...it isn't that expensive

3. Sure. No.

If you are going to get the Sager NP2090 with the 3 year warranty, the only difference between Xoticpc and PowerNotebooks.com is that with PowerNotebooks.com you will get Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Service. Xoticpc does not offer this service, so you have to rely on Sager's West Coast business hour support.

 

Thanks a lot guys that helps a lot! But I forgot to mention that my father is a bit weary about the Sager, PowerNotebooks.com and Xotic PC great feedback and high ratings. He says "no company can be that good". I've told them the reviews and stuff about the companies, but then again he is from the baby boomer generation. But how can these companies have so high ratings and reviews? Is it because they are smaller boutique stores concentrating on customer satisfaction and product quality rather than on marketing and advertisement and expansion *cough Dell *cough.

To Donald's response about Vista: I assume by what you're saying "you can go back and forth with them any time you want to" is that it doesn't cost extra? Cause I think I read somewhere that you have to buy a license or something to change bit versions.

 

The Sager ships with both 32 and 64 bit versions.

 

Yes, that is correct...it doesn't cost anything because you will receive the media for both versions, and the product key works for both. You just can't have them both on there at the same time.

 

foehammer88 if you have some extra time take a look at www.resellerratings.com and view some of the other companies your father has heard of more frequently and compare it to ratings you will see for PowerNotebooks or XoticPC.

We are customer focused businesses providing a higher standard in customer service.

 

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate your responses. If everything goes according to plan I think I will purchase it either Wednesday or Friday.

 

I Like how Xotic and Powernotebooks Get allong nicely A+ In my books

 

I advise against going to Geek Squad for anything. Go to Consumerist and search for Geek Squad there. There have quite a few stories of customers getting screwed and also information from insiders about how GS steals porn from HD, etc, etc. You may say "but I have no porn!", but there's certainly other information on your HD you wouldn't want some greasy GS tech getting his hands on. (It's surprising how people can get off on things you and I would consider utterly banal. Edit: I explain a bit. What I mean is that even something as ridiculously banal as emails can make really get some people really excited. The appeal I think is just the feeling of being able to peek into someone's life incognito.)

If your warranty is no longer in effect, the best thing would be to find a reputable local laptop shop (not a chain) that can do the job.

 

My cousin had a problem on her notebook where she couldn't access any websites you had to log into. She waited 2 hours at Best Buy for Geek Squad to fix it, and they failed. I told her I'd give it a shot, and 5 minutes later I had it fixed. She had Windows Firewall on and Norton Firewall on as well. I don't know what kind of training Geek Squad gets, but if they couldn't figure that out, that's completely ridiculous, especially since they paid over $100 for their no-fix venture.

Personal, local shops are probably better. They care about your service because they have to.

 

I have a friend that is in the geek squad, he has been at BB a long time, knows a lot about computers.... and has no formal training. I would trust him to fix something for me, but I doubt he could fix anything that I couldn't also fix.

Check the price a place charges you for installing RAM and you can get a good sense of whether you want to have anything to do with them.

 

I have a question on upgrades. What components can be upgraded on the NP2090 in particular? Can the GPU or CPU be upgraded later? What can't be upgraded?

I am asking this question on the basis of whether or not to get the 2.2 gHz Core 2 Dou. Or if newer graphics cards come out later can they be installed?

 

On 99% of all laptops, GPU isn't going to be upgradable. Check out this post http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86864 Most likely only RAM and hard disk can be upgraded.

 

You will not be able to upgrade graphics cards, as the Sager NP2090 doesn't have MXM compatibility, and the 8600m GT was probably modified by Compal to fit and meet within their thermal and size capacity, any "upgrade" will be impossible for the graphics.

The CPU upgrade will probably be possible if you have the right socket for the processor, but that involves ripping open your laptop to reach the motherboard, which anyone can tell you takes more than a smile.

 

The gt8600m uses an mxm II module right? So i guess it's upgradeable with other mxm II complient cards.

 

yes its been confirmed by Ice-Tea but we dont know if it is a generic MXM-II or a Compal modified MXM-II so we have to wait.

 

Yep, I was wrong on that respect. The Sager does have MXM-II, but it's tricky to disassemble all the way down to the mobo, so it's not for any people faint of heart.

 

I was very apprehensive about buying from PowerNotebooks and XoticPC, but they both are very helpful and don't rush you off the phone. However, both are very busy (and it does seem genuine), and can be hard to get to right away.

With PowerNotebooks, they will call you back, which is better than having you wait on the phone listening to a local station for 15-30 minutes *ahem*XoticPC*cough*.

This is my first time buying a laptop like this. Though I did buy a whitebook MSI MS-1013 once - except I was going in not caring or needing warranty and service (and got burned), so this is why I am now going in super careful and have someone else build it with their own warranty intact.

 

Wow, I thought this thread looked very familiar and then looked at the dates on it and it all came back to me. I must say that my experience with customer service at xotic did not result in listening to music. Once I left a message and Amber returned my call promptly. The other two times that I reached out to them were by e-mail and I recieved a response the next morning (sent my e-mails late at night).

You are making a great decision looking at these two companies as they both truly offer great customer service as many on these forums will attest to.

 

Didn't mean to dig up an old thread, but you were asking questions I am asking now.

A few others though:

1) Is the TV tuner analog or digital (ATSC)? And will it work with Windows Media Center (Vista and XP iterations).

2) What does the miniaturized version of the MCE remote look like? And how does it interface to the laptop? (express card? usb? is it radio or infrared?).

3) What "big-box" brand use this chassis? This would be helpful in procuring accessories such as AC Adapters, batteries, keyboards, touchpads, screens, etc.

4) Is 1680x1050 too high for a 15.4"? I have a 1200x800 on a 12.1" and love it (glossy, too). I figure 1440x900 glossy for 15.4" would be nice, but that's not an option. How's the 1680x1050 matted on this model at the default 96dpi fonts?

Thanks! This is my first purchase of this kind, and everyone including the vendors have been helpful!

PS: I think the "on hold" company was iBUYPOWER. I've been calling alot of vendors, and I guess I'm mixing a few people up. Xotic PC was very helpful, and so was PowerNotebooks. Donald was the person who actually called me back! Unfortunately I was busy when he called, but I didn't want to let him off the line cuz it was so hard to get to him in the first place, lol.

Sorry Donald for the spotty conversation. My mind was split between trying to talk to you, remembering the questions I wanted to ask, as well as work!