Going in on a Sager 5165...I think...

Just wanted some feedback to make sure I'm going in the right direction with my next computer purchase. I'm a current grad student and use my computer a lot for research and typically have several applications running while having a dozen or more tabs open. My current old laptop has been a little slow at times and is showing instability now even though it's only 2.5yrs old. After lurking around these forums for a while I think a great choice for me would be the 5165 configured as follows:

Sager NP5165 / Clevo W150HR
- 15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080) (SKU - S1R305)
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - S2N222)
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- nVidia GT 555M 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR3 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology (SKU - S3R507)
- 8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) - Special! (SKU - S4P377)
- 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) - Default (SKU - S5R207)
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7R455)
- Intel® Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth


I went with this model over the 8130 for two reasons: First, I think I would really appreciate the extra hour of battery life and secondly, I don't game very much, I dabble every now and then only.

I plan on eventually replacing the dvd drive with an SSD to have windows boot from it, but for now will have this setup until I source those components. Should I purchase a HD caddy for this now from Xotic or is it easy/cheaper to purchase elsewhere later on?
Also, I've seen some back and forth about this but am still unclear, does the 1600mhz RAM work with the 2670 processor I selected? Some have mentioned that although Intel doesn't explicitly say it supports it, that it actually does work. If so, just wondering if it is worth the upgrade price.

I want something that won't be dragging behind when Windows 8 rolls around and is still decent 3yrs from now.
Thanks for your help!
-Dan

 

Also, I think I'm going with XoticPC because I'm on the east coast (NC - faster shipping time?) and overall they seem to have a great track record for customer satisfaction and they seem to have the lowest price. Although I know the latter isn't an issue as I know they all price match each other. Fastest free shipping time is actually what makes them high on my list as I need this comp ASAP for the spring semester because current one only works in safe mode, nice.

 

I just got the same laptop but with 1600mhz ram versus the 1333. Runs great.

If you are going down the SSD path for a windows OS drive, you'll need to replace the main laptop drive as the ODD tray option runs only at SATA II and not SATA III 6/gbps so you'll lose that speed benefit.

I got the same drive you did and replaced it with a Mushkin 240gb SSD once I got the laptop. Took like 5min to replace honestly.

If you go XotixPC, I'd recommend upgrading from the basic Thermal Grease and go with ArticCooling - it will help as this laptop has unified copper heatsink for the cpu and gpu and a singular fan for venting.

 

hey dfuentes, since you're new here I couldn't PM you. I was recently offered a research associate position at a cancer hospital and I'm just curious what type of research you do? I recently picked up a laptop, but I want to make sure it's right for me. What is your typical computer workload? My previous exp was as a lab assistant and did minor work with ppt/word and used the lab computers for the plasmid software. PI mentioned some Photoshop work to cut/label graphs for presentations. So yeah just curious what kind of work you do thanks!

 

Thanks Septro for that piece of info. I overlooked that, so I guess I will reverse the setup and place the SSD in the SataIII bay rather than the other way around.

aznguyen, I am a PharmD student and am involved with research in pharmacogenomics and am also working on another masters degree. As far as computer workload, I use SAS and the typical ppt, doc, pdf, xls programs as well. My problem is that when working on a paper or the like, I like to have all the original journal articles open at the same time so it means having many tabs open in addition to all of the other programs when I'm using a second monitor. Given this as well as the video card on my current comp burning out, I need a new comp and just want to make sure it will work without hiccups while I finish my degrees.

 

^ hey that sounds great, good luck! My last course in my masters involved pharcogenomics. Extremely interesting!

I just finished up my Master's degree in Medical Science and will be starting in a research position. Thank you for reminding me about research journals being open all the time. I had to write some 14 research papers this past summer regarding all sorts of medical topics on my 2011 MBP I owned at the time and I had it attached to an external monitor and had to switch back and forth a ton. I suspect I will be looking at a lot of journals as well in my research position. Thank you for the perspective, I'm looking at a 5165 also if I don't stick with my Samsung.

 

So Septro, in your case with the HDD, did you just end up selling it or is it possible to hook up the SATA3 HDD via the SATA2 tray on the side? Or is it not even worth it to do that since it slows the hard drive even more?

 

No mechanical HDD that you can get will saturate the SATA II port. The only thing that will benefit from the SATA III port is the SSD, so just defer to the SSD and consider the HDD a SATA II drive.

 

What he said ^.

I personally just bought a USB 3.0 2.5 sized enclosure and use it as an external drive for me to travel with. I didn't replace my blue-ray drive since I watch movies on it when on the road.

 

I think I may purchase from Malibal instead...if they can build/ship it faster. I was just quoted on the phone from JP at XoticPC that their build time may be 6-10days!!...and that's before delivery. I wish I could contact them today but unfortunately they are closed. Anyone have any experience with Malibals avg shipping time? Even if they ship faster, they would be a day behind because I could order from XoticPc today. It's just the long build time which I assume may be related to the fact that they are moving facilities as noted on their website. I know both are top notch companies...but which one is faster...in a perfect world, I would want the computer before Jan 9...

 

Hi, you can still order through our website today. On average, we ship new orders in 5-7 business days.

 

Why can't you put it on your website as one of the options? Just fix it

 

Thanks guys. In the end I chose to go with XoticPC. I hope it get's here soon

 

Grats! You shouldn't be dissapointed.

 

Hey I don't mean to threadjack but I am also considering the 5165. Does anyone know how the Gt555m compares to a 5850m? It's a true 5850m not a downclocked 5870.

Thanks

 

Here are some comparison benchmarks:

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 - Notebookcheck.net Tech
NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

They're very close in terms of performance. (within 5-10% of each other). They seem to trade blows in games depending on which is better optimized for each manufacturer.

Not sure what you meant by the "true 5850" part though. It is essentially an 11% downclocked 5870.

 

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't aware that the 5850 was a 5870 under clocked.