Getting close to pulling the trigger on a Sager NP8278-S (P170SM-A), final thoughts on hardware?

So like the title says, the current sales on this model is awfully tempting to me. I was originally waiting for Maxwell to show up in a dual-fan laptop that was a tad cheaper than the Asus G750 series, but for ~$1500, these specs seem like a hard deal to pass up. I'm strongly considering buying this through Xotic PC, and the configuration I'm looking at is basically the default one:

FREE - WATCH DOGS for PC! (While Supplies Last / Must be requested in comments box during checkout) ( + 0 )
17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen (1920x1080) (SKU - SSC002)
FREE! - 30 Day No Dead Pixel Warranty
Sager - 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4810MQ (2.8GHz - 3.8GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache) (SKU – SPU401)
FREE! - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 870M (6.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 [User Upgradeable] (SKU – GPU15X)
16GB DDR3 1600MHz [2x8GB] Dual Channel Memory (SKU - RAM04S)
Sager Branding
120GB Crucial M5 mSATA SSD ( Storage Drive ) - Stock
FREE UPGRADE! - 1TB 5400RPM [SATA II - 3GB/s] (SKU - HDD098) ( + 0 )
6X Blu-Ray Reader + 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive (Sager) (SKU - ODD084)
Sager - Intel® Dual Band AC 7260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFI94)

For $1519(the cash discount options aren't totally viable for me), it seems like a pretty good deal to me. There are a few things I'm debating over, however.

I'm a little hesitant about spending over $1600, but part of me is wondering if I should go for the Glossy screen w/ 90% NTSC Color Gamut (+$100) or the Matte screen with 72% NTSC Color Gamut ($149). I've seen people say that if you do upgrade your screen, it's best to get some monitor color calibration (which in this case would be an additional +$49). I'm only planning to use this for gaming when I travel for work, so unless the stock screen is pretty crappy, maybe it's not worth it. Any thoughts? Would the monitor calibration on the stock screen be worthwhile?

I have a 960 GB Crucial M500 SSD that I'm planning to use to replace the HDD(it's a shame there's no option to have the HDD removed for a cost savings!), so I'm thinking maybe I should remove the mSATA SSD and save $75. I like the idea of not having to tinker with the laptop too much myself if I decide I want an mSATA SSD later, so I'm still debating over it.

I don't really do anything with Blu-Ray, so I'm wondering if I should maybe save $25 and select the <8X Super Multi DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive (Sager) (Dual Layer w/ Software)> option. My only concern is that I've seen a post or two saying that this optical drive is kinda wobbly, and can rattle a little bit while typing. A couple people have mentioned they haven't had this problem with the upgraded Blu-Ray Burner because it's more sturdy, so I'm kinda considering it, even though I probably wouldn't make use of the functionality. I probably wouldn't want to remove it altogether, because I do use CDs for some things.

Xotic PC is out in Nebraska, and I live in Upstate NY. With that travel distance, I'm wondering if I should spend $39 for the White Glove Premium Packaging to better protect the laptop during its travels. Then again, there is the warranty, so if I receive it in a broken state, I suppose I should be able to RMA it to get it fixed. Still, waiting would kinda suck, haha.

Anyway, so that's where I'm at. I'm notoriously indecisive, and I worry too much, so if I'm being stupid about something, feel free to talk some sense into me.

 

Talk to xoticpc through email. You can save a little by having them leave stuff out like the HDD or ram.

Sent from my SM-N9005

 

I did ask them about removing the hard drive to save money, but they said that because of the sale price, they couldn't discount it by removing the HDD.

Still, you do bring up a good point about the RAM. I probably won't need the 16GB, so I could drop it to 8.

 

I would stick with the blu-ray drive, or replace it with an addition HDD caddy, as there has been problems with the standard optical drive making noises. I would also stick to the standard 750gb 7200rpm drive, or pay the extra $20 for the 1tb. I ordered this same laptop with the glossy screen, but I didn't have them do the monitor calibration or white glove packaging because I didn't feel it was necessary. Should be getting it within a few days!

 

The bluray should be ok.

 

get the min memory and buy the SSD separately, at least when i got mine i saved about $60 buying the SSD seperatly myself, Memory i got 16Gig as Xotic was only like $12 more than online, and it came installed and done!

 

1866mhz is ideal if the price is gap is not large.

 

Was a HDD caddy necessary to install your SSD? or did you have to order it in order to install your own SSD?

 

The P170SM has 2 bays. All equipment to install standard drives should be in it. If not ask your reseller for it as it should be left in the machine/box.

 

I'm fairly certain you should take the 7200 RPM drive instead of the 5400RPM one; either 750GB or 1TB.

Next, if you're a huge multitasker, stick with 16GB. It won't kill ya, and in the future it might help.

Then, I would definitely suggest getting a long warranty on that. At least 2 years, especially if you intend to use it a lot =D. Of course; all within cost. But you should be able to knock off the blu-ray drive and one stick of RAM etc and have that partially help extra warranty if cost is a huge issue.

Also, yes, as meaker said, there should be 2 HDD bays so you could install your M500 with ease. If you're buying windows for it and wanna not buy the 120GB SSD for your OS, you could probably ask them to just send the disc/key and not pre-install on the 1TB? Should be less hassle when you get the machine. Up to you though, I'm just tossing stuff around in my head for you ^_^.

 

We do offer installing the OS if you already have a key but only if it has to come to our location for some XPC Service. Looking over your specs I do not see anything like that, and Sager will not do it.

If you do go with the White Glove packing it wont add too much time to is Since Sager is in CA, it would just make a quick pit stop at our place for that. If you did do that then we could install the OS with your key, but that will add some more time before it ships back out to you.