First time Sager advice

So I've been doing some research and I think I want to get a laptop built on either the P170HM or the P151HM1. However, looking at xotic's options of sager models, there are a few other models that could be built on, such as the W150HR, that could reduce my final price. Is there a major difference between these models and the cheaper ones besides upgradability (such as build quality)? Also I wanted to do an aftermarket upgrade on an SSD to make it cheaper. Since the intel 320/510 is the only factory upgraded model on these options, is that the only one I can use or would it be possible to put in a different ssd?

 

The difference between the models is typically graphics card related. They're as follows:

W150HNQ - 540m GPU
W150HR - 555m GPU
P151HM1 - 560m GPU
P150HM/P170HM - 560m/485m/580m/6970m/6990m

The W150HNQ/W150HR are not GPU upgradeable. The 555m and 540m are soldered directly on to the motherboards, so that's all you can get. The P151HM1 and up are MXM based and allow you to upgrade (and not to mention that the cards are significantly faster). The link below will give you an idea of GPU performance:

Mobile Graphics Cards - Benchmark List - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Other than that, the internals can be configured pretty much the same. The case build material/quality is the only other difference.

As for SSD's, you can always add one later yourself. It's a simple two minute upgrade and any standard 2.5" SSD will fit. Intel's are recommended purely for reliability and performance reasons

 

Build quality is also different. The NP81XX models use a higher quality plastic or rubberized coating which makes the more durable, you can tell right away when you hold one the build quality is great. The NP51XX models still have a good chassis but not as good as the others.

 

Alright, well I'm not a graphicsphile when it comes to gaming, so that's less of an issue; just wanted to see if there was a significant difference in build design. I'm not sure if the 17" screen will feel too big, but I do like being able to have two hard drives, just to have a separate hdd for liquid file storage to prevent wear on the ssd. Guess I'll have to think about that a bit more.

 

If gaming isnt a big deal for you then the NP51XX would be good chioces. They will offer you better battery life as well. 17.3" computers don't have a much bigger footprint then the 15.6" you'd probably never notice a difference when carrying it around.
If you're looking for two internal drives in a 17.3" you'll have to go with the NP8170, the NP5175 only has one bay (unless you remove the optical drive)

 

For what it's worth, if you don't use the optical drive very often it's pretty common to replace it with an HDD caddy. That way you can have an SSD + HDD in a 15" model. If you still need the optical drive, an external works nicely. (I only have an external BluRay drive for once in a while movie watching in my P150HM)

 

I do a fair share of gaming but I tend to play older games more often than I do new ones, and I'm fine with having medium graphics when I do play the new ones. I've owned 3 ibm/lenovo laptops and they've all been about 14" so I know I want to go bigger than that, just not sure how big of a step. Portability not being a huge issue, I'll have it in my house 95% of the time and with my physical size I don't really have a problem carrying around a 17" laptop.

 

true thing, personally, I think if you want to have a good experience with gaming, then you at least need to go to gtx 560, if you wish to save the extra $$$, then maybe a gt555m. however I really don't suggest going any lower. for instance, I'm not a hardcore gamer but I still get the 6990m because of future proof. I estimate this laptop will last me for like 3 years and I don't want to being jamed in a situation where I am already currently with my x201t - being lagging in League of legends with lowest graph and low res. My bottomline is that I wish to take on any game on the native res of the screen with lower effects. In addition, if you are getting the gtx 560, then I strongly suggest you getting the p151hm1, for a little over 1000 it's really a no brainer.

 

Now that I think about it, an external might be all I need. Before thinking about it, I maintained that I would need dvdrw but I don't really use it that much.

 

Like you, I don't use my ODD much, so I added a caddy and use the ssd+HDD setup. I use an external ODD rarely, and this setup works great.