General build quality.

How is the general build quality of sager laptops?

I would imagine it varies from model to model, but are they generally put together correctly?

 

From the outside, the P170EM seems very sturdy and durable. It looks like a high quality product. Haven't taken a look at the insides.

 

Clevos overuse plastic on their chassises. However, it doesn't have the cheap feeling to it. When I handle consumer grade hps or Toshiba's the chassis flexes and creaks. My clevo is rock solid. Build quaility is excellent. Wished it wasn't so plastic, but given that it is sturdy plastic. Lid stays in.place and does not wobble or vibrate.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

Very sturdy, plain and simple, built very well and easy accessible.

 

how about the motherboard though?

 

The motherboard is what holds everything together. I tend to move my P170HM around with care. I've never had a 17" laptop with that much flex in the chassis (vs. toshiba, sony). Can't speak for other models and brands, but unless Clevo changed their plastic materials in recent models, IMHO people draw their comparisons from bottom-of-the-barrel alternatives when they refer to build quality being anything above "passable" . However, 15" models may feel more stiff as they are lighter and smaller. There's no metal re-enforcement anywhere in the chassis, so all the stress is pretty much beared by the components attached to the chassis... not good. A metal plate on the LCD display does help for protection however.

No particular opinion on the motherboard itself, but the overall system design, component selection and hardware implementation has plenty of issues that have been beaten to death in various threads. But as far as whether things are "put together correctly", the designs unfortunately have flaws that allow the system builders to screw-up when they put-in the screws (see cooling issues in P series).

 

Best way to describe it would be like having a desktop (that's going for the p170em btw). Everything is easily accessible an sturdy. The metal finish is a very nice look. It doesn't feel like a shoddy job at all. I had the m14x which really felt like a toy, the plastic would bend simply by looking at it.

 

That's all good to hear.

What about how it's assembled?

I was hearing about problems with the heatsinks not being seated correctly, screws missing, etc...

 

i dont think they have screws missing, its the heatsink isnt evenly seated on the CPU or something, but i have seen a fix for that, lowered temperature by a lot

 

I hold over 2 dozen different IT certifications.

If I'm buying a new laptop, I don't want to have to fix it

 

I'm sitting at one now and it feels like its as solid as a rock, i did "open the hood" when I first got it to put in a ssd and I remember thinking how ell laid out everything was and how easy this laptop would be to service or upgrade. As far as the heatsinks go I remaim quite cool and quiet under long gaming sessions so I'd say the heatsinks are just fine.

Sager np9170 owner, and f'ing proud of it. No regrets.

 

i am personally more concerend about how durable the motherboard is, since it is probably the most expensive and difficulty part to replace.i wish to have a motherboard last at least 3~4 years

 

As with anything that is HIGH TECHNOLOGY, failures can happen.

However the rate of motherboard issues that require replacements are VERY low.

Many are still enjoying their purchase of a Clevo-Sager for 3, 4 and more years for sure...

--

 

all sager products i've handled are flawless. sure they have plastic but its SUPER solid and sturdy. it's up there with apple quality. not saying i like apple though...

 

i dont mind plastic chasis, i have had 2 asus laptops so far, both full plastic, but motherboard never failed yet. I can prob live with a somewhat mangled case, but probably not with a failed motherboard

 

Well, those laptops are for computer enthusiastic, and for who really wants proper performance per price, without the stealing, that the other companies do.

In a Desktop, who doesn't understand crap about computers, just buy a full pc, but a true computer enthusiastic, always build their pc's piece by piece, and CLEVOS are the same.


Some models simply if the store haven't applied good thermal compound correctly, the temps can go to 100Cº or more. But a normal user don't usually have to care for this problem, since it usualy tends to stop at like 95Cº or around that (Not all models have this problem, and also only occurs on heavy hardware machine).


But again a Computer enthusiastic know 95Cº is hot, so we open it up (I guess these computers are made for EASY Hardware access), and u don't blow the warranty by opening it. So we computer enthusiastics always try to improve.


But in fact it's not much to do with Clevo's. I have a Asus and the tiny cooler inside, is just the same as those Clevo's, it also needs aluminium tape and other improvements...
Keep Cool

 

i guess its really personal preference. I like to open it up (both desktop and laptops) and play with the inside, even if i am just putting on hands on it and feeling

 

my sony VGN FW390 feels way better in terms quality in every aspect. But sager is also built well compared to most others computers i haved used. The weakest part i wud say are the screen hindges. Its hold the screen tight, but a slight bump to the desk and you will see it wobble at the top. My sony is over 4 years old and no wobbles. My sager replaced it sadly lol.

 

I like my NP9170, it has no flex, no weird noises, and nothing much else to talk about. The plastic under the screen has a few dots on it... but I think that might be from me.

Nothing feels cheap, it looks quite good (First thing people say is, "wow that thing is huge" second thing they say is, "That keyboard is awesome') I also really like the color changing features on the keyboard.

 

I have to say my 170em seems to have quite a lot of flex to it compared to past Sager laptops I have handled. If you compare the weight of the 170em with Sager past 17" laptops it is quite a bit lighter. Good for hauling around but I would have preferred once of the tank Sagers. The top is especially thin metal. It already has a slight crease in it from carrying it around Afghanistan in my backpack. The performance is definitely exceptional though if you trick it out. I guess that's an issue with having a model that can run either $1400 or $4000 depending on the customization. Build quality is excellent for a $1400 laptop, it's rather weak for a $3000-4000 laptop.

 

see this thread.