Getting the Sager NP8662..Questions..

Hi there, im thinking of getting the Sager NP8662, wanted to ask you guys a couple of questions

1.Is it worth the upgrade of P8600 to the T9550 for 130US. There's a diference of 0.26 ghz of clock speed. I do lots of multi-tasking (MSN,iTunes, Photoshop, Firefox, Word), but never a game in the background.

2. I prioritize speed over size, hence i would choose the 250GB 7200rpm drive. But will these cause overheating of the notebook, especially since i expect it to be on 24 hours atleast 3-4times a week.

3. Does Sager offer an exchange just incase i get a bright or dead pixel?

Thanks

 

1. You should be fine with the P8700, its only 50 dollars extra and it should be fine. You can always upgrade it in a year or two
2. If I were you I would go for the new 500 GB 7200 RPM drive if your willing to spend 150.

Its out of stock in a lot of places but you can just go on froogle and just keep clicking till you find a store that has it in stock. http://www.google.com/products?q=ST9500420ASG

3. All companies provide an exchange if you have a certain amount of dead pixels (usually 5 or 6) but they also have "0 dead pixel insurance" which means they will exchange your screen if it has any dead pixels. I wouldn't get it but if it is a real huge problem its 100 dollars extra if you get a warranty and 200 dollars if you don't.

 

So P8700 is considered the "sweet-spot"? How is the performance compared to P8600? Sorry im a bit of a clutz

Oh and another thing..Since im used to Windows XP Functions, i was thinking of downgrading to XP instead of Vista. Is this advisable in terms of future updates of drivers and compatibility, assuming this laptops lasts 3 years, coz im not too used to the new interface of Vista.

 

My (constantly shifting) opinion is that you should either upgrade to the T9550, or stick with the P8600. The P8700 is only 5% faster than the P8600, with the same 3MB of L2 cache, so you're gaining nothing by spending that $50. With the T9550, you're adding 10% more speed over the P8600, plus you get double the L2 cache with 6MB, a more tangible upgrade.

You'll be fine with the 7200RPM HDD.

 

I'll order 8662 with T9550, the main reason for this - L2 6MB

the only thing - i've got doubt about real necessity HDD 7200. yep, it faster, but with 4Gb RAM you do not really need to swap too much on the HDD and may be 5400 should be enough. But me personally - i'll try to get 500@7200 HDD and if not - 500@5400 for me should be fine.