Just got my Sager NP9130--short review!

I've had my Sager NP9130 for about a week now. Just thought I'd chime in with a short review for anyone looking at a Sager NP9130, or another Sager even.

I still get giddy over how powerful this thing is. I've only been playing Diablo 3 with it so far. It can run it on max settings flawlessly.

My only complaint about this laptop is the speakers-- they are sorta weak compared to other laptops I've used. This isn't enough to deter me from purchasing another Sager, though. The speakers are "good," but not "great." The freaking power of this thing will make you care less about the speakers!

I love the build design/appearance of this laptop. Maybe some of you like the flashy lights and colorful designs in some of the mainstream gaming laptops, like Alienware and Qosmio, but I don't. The NP9130 looks like a 'professional' laptop-- it's all black, no weird colors or lights (maybe you can have these added in the customization if you want them? I don't know). But I love the simplicity of it. Sorta funny how it is so bland looking-- just solid black-- yet has the power of a Ferrari. I like that a lot. I could be sitting in the library typing up a paper on this thing, and some nerd sitting across from me might look at it and go "wow that computer probably has 1 GB of ram and a graphics card from a Plaid Pantry." This computer is so powerful that I could probably light that nerd's homework on fire from across the library. No joke.

The keyboard is nice and feels good-- no complaints there.

I can't believe how cool this thing runs. I have yet to feel it get warm at ALL, even with Diablo 3 running at max settings and other programs/games minimized simultaneously. I don't know enough about laptops and computers to know about how to 'overclock' or what you guys call it, but I just know that my previous laptops always got really HOT after just a couple hours of running some games hours on end. This thing doesn't even get WARM. I might refrigerate my milk on this computer. Maybe you've heard about the scientists that were keeping Ted Williams dome on ice -- pretty sure they just set it on an NP9130.

I also think it runs really quiet and is rather light for the amount of power this thing packs.


Umm, yeah, trying to think of what else to write about. All in all, I am really impressed with the computer. It's the first Sager I've ever bought. I've only owned Dells/Toshibas prior to this. I guess issues concerning this computer's longevity remains to be seen, but I can say that after playing on it for a week, I couldn't be more impressed with this thing. Sleek, simple, and FAST as HELL.

I got it from Xotic PC-- took about two weeks to get it after my order went through. Can't really say anything good or bad about them-- haven't really had to deal with them about any issues yet. I was, however, pleased with how fast they got me the computer. I've heard good things about them so we'll see what happens should I have to contact them about any type of tech support or what not in the near future. I'll be sure to post back here about all things Sager NP9130-related, good or bad.

Please post if you have any questions or comments.

As it stands now, I HIGHLY reccommend a Sager laptop to any gamer on the move, and you'll probably get a lot more power for your buck if you go with Sager as opposed to an Alienware or Qosmio.

 

Glad to hear from another satisfied customer My experience is VERY similar to yours, and I too love absolutely everything about my Sager NP9170. It's freakin' BIG though! I've never owned a 17.3" laptop before and I still get overwhelmed by how enormous this is. Not that I view it as a drawback since it's never leaving my apartment, I mean, I love the size... It just feels cool to actually game with it on my lap, albeit with a logitech cooling/speakerpad.

 

As for the sound

1. Press FN + 5 (Yes, "5" not F5 or Numpad 5 or w/ever)
2. ???
3. Profit

Considering you have the same FN layout as me, FN+5 toggles between 5.1 and 2.1 sound.
Note that for me no "FN message" (like WiFi On/Off) shows. But if you press it while listening to music you will be amazed.

 

Another thing you can try if you haven't already done so, is to navigate to the Control Panel > Sound and double click your speakers, select the enhancements tab and enable the Loudness Equalization and if it has the other option for Equalizer enable it too and see if there is a difference.

 

I hate the function key layout I really hope someone figures out a way to bind them to different keys.

Also the fingerprint software that comes with it doesn't work with firefox 12

 

Wow, that helped a lot.

I did the FN+5 key but it didn't do anything...

 

Nice review, glad to hear that you love the laptop so much. Some people are very OCD about customizing their laptop and the various details of components and such; that is what XOTICPC is good for, among many other things. Trust me, you will be hard-pressed to find better service with any other seller/brand.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Thanks for this EXACTLY the laptop I am looking at right now.

Some questions

1. Which video card did you get? GTX670M?
2. Does the keyboard lightup/backlit keyboard? Can that be adjusted or is it ON or OFF - ie can you adjust the brightness?

Thanks again!

 

The NP9130 only has the GTX 670M as a GPU option, unless you want to buy a different GPU separately. And the keyboard of the NP9130 isn't backlit.

If you want GPU upgrades and backlit keyboard, the notebook for you is the NP9150.

 

yeah, the keyboard isn't backlit. and as for the GPU upgrade, you have to get the 9150 if you want the GTX680. the 9130 only comes with the
GTX670M.

however, you CAN upgrade the 9130's graphic card to a GTX680 down the road-- only drawback is you'll have to buy a new power adapter to go with it. for me, i went with the 670M because it is more than enough for my gaming needs presently and probably will be for awhile (i pretty much just play d3, skyrim, and starcraft 2-- the 670 handles them all well on high settings), and if a game ever comes out where i just absoultely have to have a better card, i'll just buy a 680M off of newegg and a new power adapter to go with it and just upgrade it myself. on my last laptop, i purchased a pretty good graphics card on it and it was more than enough for the games i was playing at the time, so it was sort of a waste. i never really fully utilized it, so that was sort of my thinking with going with the 9130. chances are i will be fine with the 670 for awhile, if not for the life of this computer.

 

And I'd like to retract what I said about the speaker/sound quality-- I went into the "speaker" menu and changed the equalization as HeiHachi suggested, and the speakers now sound awesome i guess the factory default settings were just deceiving.

GREAT laptop for anyone thinking about getting one!

 

Nice review, although I'm looking at 9150 due to more video card upgrade options this is still very helpful on knowing the overall quality and user experience.

 

why do you need a buy a new psu if you get a 680m as the 670 is very power hungry, probably takes as much as the 7970m.

 

680 needs 180w psu. The np9130 with m670 comes with a 120w psu

 

Yeah, the NP9130 has stayed cool to the touch from my experience. Other laptops I've had have the vents on the sides sometimes you can feel the heat on your hands. The keyboard and palm rest areas get hot afterwards. The NP9130 has the vents in the back, so I never feel them, and the keyboard/palm rest have always stayed cool.

 

If thats the case then the 670m can't perform at its best as it requires at least a 180w power adaptor.

 

Review MSI GT70 Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

That takes 217.6w with a 670m on stress test. Another one was around 174w I believe. The 670m takes power to run then a 7970m so if they put a 120w power adaptor with it the cpu must throttle or the graphics card will perform like a gt 555m. Even on the review with 180w psu it throttles so I would think with a 120w addaptor it will just about play games but anything cpu and gpu intensive and it will throttle.

I wonder if a 7990m takes as much power as a 670m or 675m.

 

Yay would they sell it with just a 120w psu then? And not a 180w

 

Now this is worrisome... This possible power issue made me very concerned about my NP9130 order.

 

Please keep in mind that Sager/Clevo engineers have done a lot of research and they spend a good deal of time testing their systems before they are released.

I can guarantee you that the engineers took every factor into account when they set the AC adapter requirements for their systems.

If Sager/Clevo didn't thoroughly test their systems for issues, then the 7970M second shipment would have gone out and the P270 would have been released as well.

Please take that into consideration before having a knee-jerk reaction to some of the postings here. Remember to take some of the above statements with a grain of salt.

 

Thanks. That makes me relieved.