Finalizing NP5797 - SIGN OFF ON MY RIG

Greetings all,

I've been skulking these forums for the the past week or so , reading up on Sagers, and taking into consideration all of your input. I've decided on the following system, but have a few odds and ends I have questions on.

Without further ado...

Sager NP5797 Custom Sager Notebook (Built on Clevo M570ETU) Sager NP5797 Custom Sager Notebook (Built on Clevo M570ETU)
- 17" WUXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® T9900 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 3.06GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 35 watt
- nVidia GeForce GTX 280M 1,024MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- No External Graphics Card
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- None Standard--
- NP579x Silver Frame Trim Color
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- ~Windows Vista Business 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) + Windows 7 Professional 64 Upgrade Coupon w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Telephone Tech Support (Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)


Now, considering this config @ $2317.13, please consider these questions three :

1. T9900 v q9100 or even q9000; same old quad v duo question... the way I figure, the 5797 is compatible up to q9300, so if i want to upgrade i can, and hopefully on the cheap at a later date. I plan on using this laptop for 2-3 years, at which time I'll be ready to build my own desktop... Is there significant reason I should abandon this logic and go for broke now?

2. Turbo memory - Does anyone have experience with this in sager notebooks? In relation to what i'm paying another $50-90 isn't much, but i've never heard of this option and not sure if it's worth it.

3. Any final suggestions? Comments? With the current config, would it be worth it to get the BRD? I'm concerned that I'd spend the money, only to have some aspect of the laptop (eg. sound) bottleneck the experience...

Again, thank you all for showing me the light. Reading these forums is very informative and persuaded me to return my hp hdx 18t.

 

2/ PPL said it's not worth the money at all
3/ I love your config.

 

I have the turbo memory and as you said it doesnt cost much and you do notice a difference speeding up some progs (starting up).
Not huge but there is a difference I dont regret it, but I don't celebrate it much either
As for your processor, well if I were in your shoes again (as I have a sager 5797/xxodd) I would get the cheapest(/no) cpu and get an ES qx9300 (making sure you get the latest version before release) will save you a lot of money and the performance will be great.
That said the t9900 is awesome too I had a t9600 when I ordered mine the difference between the t9600 and qx9300 in performance is big (I do render movies and play quite some games).
Also I would advise you to put windows 7 on your new notebook asap it works like a charm.

 

Personally I wouldn't take a T9900 over a Q9000, given that it costs more, and quad is "where it's at" more and more in the future. Given that you're planning on using the computer for 2-3 years, the Q9000 will easily last that long. I should know since I have a Q6600 in my desktop, which is at stock speeds that I'm using it at, according to benchmarks, ever so slightly slower than a Q9000, and it's plenty fast for the latest games and all the multitasking I can throw at it (heck, sometimes simultaneously). And I don't see that changing within 3 years unless you're quite picky If you're be planning to upgrade to a Q9300 later, you still could, and you'd save money at present by going for the Q9000 over T9900. Though given that the Q9300 is only about 20% faster than the Q9000 to begin with, the Q9000 itself should still be just fine for the stated 3-year time period.

But as you said, the Quad vs Dual Core is an old question to say the least. It comes down to what you're comfortable with in the end.

 

There's always THIS if you want to go cheaper on the proc now.

 

Sorry but this is nonsense, the qx9300 has unlocked multipliers you can safely/easily(bios) put it at 3 ghz.
Also the qx9300 has 12mb cache vs 6mb on the q9000.

The qx9300>>q9000

I'd say go for the hp cpu deal, or go ES
If you want the qx9300 in the end I'd say go for it now instead of wasting money on the t9900 which you want to replace in the (near?) future.

 

I like the config, the proc is a pretty good choice in my opinion, If your going to go quad tho i would jump right to the top of the list and get the qx9300. As for the blue ray drive, unless you intend to watch a bunch of blue ray movies on your laptop i wouldn't bother with it.

 

If you're planning to get a qx9300, I recommend buying a more budget processor like the T9600.. it's a 200mhz difference, and 200$ less, which you can spend on something else. I would actually get the cheapest processor, if I knew I would upgrade to a qx9300 later, but I guess you want something more powerful, huh?

 

Thanks all for your advice - I found my way over to the owner's thread so you can ignore this one.

 

Not everyone is comfortable with overclocking though, no matter how easy or safe it would actually be in the end. And at stock speeds my statement is pretty much accurate. The cache doesn't seem to make that big of a difference in most everyday uses, or in benchmarks for that matter. Not to say it isn't something to take into consideration, but rather it's not a dealbreaker (or maker) in my books either.

The price difference in Europe for Q9000 and Q9300 is 480 euros (while T9900 is 110e more expensive than Q9000), and given that the Q9000 will be more than enough for most uses for some time to come, it's something of a steep premium to pay, even if you do overclock it. After all for games, it's the GTX 280M that will bottleneck things sooner than the processor would.

Bang for the buck, the Q9000 comes out on top from the list of Q9000, Q9300, and T9900. Obviously the Q9300 will outperform the Q9000, that fact I never denied, but it does lose in the performance/price ratio quite noticeably. So, as I said in my first reply, he could get Q9000 now instead of T9900 and get better performance in apps supporting Quad, and then either use the Q9000 until he replaces the entire computer, or still have the option to update to Q9300 later on. Chances are he'd find the Q9300 for much cheaper than the 480 euro price differential in a year or two (and might even get a couple of dollars back from selling the Q9000, if lucky). Still, the Q9300 is a very solid choice if money is not an issue, about that there is no doubt.

(Of note is that if one buys the laptop without a CPU and then managed to get the Q9300 with the price from Mandrake's link, THEN the Q9300 is the best choice right now.)

 

Id rather get the 500GB 5400 rpm. It has near-same times with the 320GB 7.2K and offers much more space.

 

You should checkout the tech bargins section as HP did have the QX9300's at 502.45. Not ES but OEM. I took the plunge on 8/4 several days after it was posted (several threads) and mine looks like it will be processed today 8/8. Now I don't have it but several people have stated they've received theirs. I will post when I have mine in hand. At that price it's worth a try and if they cancel it fine I'm out nothing. Of course it helps to have a laptop you can use it in and I'm waiting on my Sager NP9850.
Also I did order my laptop with the P9700 as I didn't see the HP part till 8/4.

 

oooh, willing to sell the P9700? I bought my qx9300 from the HP deal. It's legit.

 

Yes the P9700 may be on the market once I get the laptop and CPU.
Haven't decided yet as I may purchase a 2nd laptop (in time) and put it in there. Of course then why not go for a 2nd QX9300....