Lotus P150HM - Questions

Hardcore gamer here. I noticed that many of you fine gentlemen and ladies have experience with Malibul laptops. I have created a configuration and was wondering if you have any recommendations in general. I also have a few specific questions.

1) How will this setup do for hardcore gaming?
2) I heard some rumors about Malibal having sales sometime after black friday. I can wait. I just need to know where the discounts can be found IF there happen to be sales in a week or whenever.
3) Any recommendations to trim the cost? It came to a back-breaking $2,254.00.
5) Glossy or matte?
4) Any advice or recommendations whatsoever. I will give rep to everyone who posts, even if it is "u r dumb" or something like that.

15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED 95% NTSC Glossy
Intel® Core™ i7-2860QM, 8MB L3 Cache, 2.5-3.6GHz
(12GB) 12288MB, PC3-12800/1600MHz DDR3
AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5
500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
O8X Multi DVD+/-R/RW RAM Dual-Layer Drive
Microsoft® Windows® 7 Ultimate; 64-bit
Intel® 6230 Advanced-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Extras: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Web Camera
Extras: Integrated 9 in 1 Card Reader
Extras: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Extras: MALIBAL Software & Drivers Disc
Extras: Microsoft Office Ready OS with Free 60-Day Trial
Extras: Microsoft Windows 7 DVD-ROM
Extras: PowerDVD & Bison Cam Software Package

 

1) It will kick butt. Period.

2) You missed the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale. It makes sense that there will Christmas promos, so it's definitely in your favor to watch and wait a week.

3) If gaming is the main task, drop the CPU to the 2760QM. Similarly, drop to 8GB RAM. You can easily put more in yourself if you ever need it. Also make sure to PM and ask the company reps about NBR member discounts.

5) Glossy screens "pop" more visually. I love them, but they can be very reflective depending on your environment. If you have lots of direct light sources around you or are outside a lot, then matte is better. Otherwise, if you can stand/avoid the occasional glare, glossy looks better when watching movies and the like.

4) Get price quotes from more than one reseller to make sure the price is the best. Also, I think you should get the display calibration too if you go with the 95% gamut screen. Take maximum advantage of the fancy screen.

 

Haha. I love that you copied my idiotic numbering system. I didn't realize that I did that.

1) Anyway, do you have any specific examples of this "kicking butt?" I see in your signature that you have the GPU I'm looking to purchase. So how smooth does it run playing some demanding games on high settings? Skyrim and BF3 would be great examples as I play those all the time.

2) Also, when you say "display calibration," do you mean the Spyder 3 Elite thing? (I'm a n00b)

3) Do you have any particular resellers in mind? That would be very helpful!

 

I think you should drop your CPU down to a 2670QM perhaps and the extra money can go to a SSD sata3 as primary storage. Probably dont even need the extra ram, can drop to 8gb. If you have extra cash still, you can save them for nice accessories like a headset, mouse or keyboard.

Glossy or matte display is more on personal preference but if I may ask, why did you opt for a 15" over a 17" ? Do you really need the portability? If yes, then I suggest the matte display which will not tire out your eyes trying to see what is happening behind all the reflections. If you actually do not need the portability so much then perhaps a 17" will be awesome. I have been debating this myself as well and I do not need the portability but I shift b/w cities every so often for visits etc. and therefore cannot carry a desktop with me. Glossy finish is great if you need limited portability and can always game in a dimly lit room. I have not yet finalize any purchase and like you am waiting for a nice sale.

Btw, get 5 posts and you get more discounts added when you PM a reseller/builder on the NBR forums.

 

From my understanding from fellow forum members, 2670QM + SSD + 8gb ram will out perform 2860QM + 12gb ram by a notable margin on gaming. 2670QM + 8gb vs 2860QM +12gb ram on gaming will not have any notable difference. In fact save the extra cash for an upgrade later on or buy a nice comfy chair for long gaming sessions. If you need the portability, then you will want to buy a nice shoulder bag perhaps from Slappa as well. Just my 2cents

 

(accidental post)

 

This probably will sound weird, but I prefer smaller screens. 17 inches is a bit big. But I'm considering upgrading the size now that you mention it. If you find any sales, I would be greatly appreciative if you give me a heads up.

Who am I supposed to PM? I don't quite understand the discount thing. Do I just an email Malibal?

I appreciate the help so much but I don't quite understand why this is. Could you elaborate a bit why? I will surely do this if I keep getting recommendations like these.

 

I am going on the fact that you mentioned that you are a hardcore gamer and not a graphic designer etc. If that is correct, most games or maybe every game will mostly be dependent on the GPU and not the CPU. There are however some games that are more CPU dependent (Skyrim could be one I think /cry), but your upgrade from a 2670QM to a 2860QM will from my understanding not make any sort of a mega difference on Skyrim. Do remember also this is for a very very small performance increase if any for CPU dependent games which is not the majority of the games. Some games are more CPU dependent simply because there are more games being played on consoles. The cost for that upgrade is way too expensive if you are only getting like single digit extra performance I think. While a SSD will increase performance by a lot more.

Now concerning ram, 8gb will be more than sufficient for any games out right now with your MSN,AIM, and some other apps running in the background. Then again ram is cheap anyways so 8gb or 16gb won't hurt your wallet that much, but I will definitely get only 8gb 1333mhz 2 dimms for my next gaming laptop. I can upgrade it if in the future there is a need to which I do not foresee.

ATM I am waiting for Xmas/boxing day for a well-priced SSD. I missed the Black Friday one which Intel had a 160gb sata2 for $160-170 I think (original price well over $300). Intel SSD is also the preferred brand now due to compatibility issues and reliability.

For the NBR 5 post discount, you will have to private message any of the resellers, like NovaH from Reflexnotebook, Babyhemi LPC-digital , or Malibal from Malibal.

 

Ok. Thanks a bunch, Sevenk. Definitely helpful.


For any other potential posters, please respond with firsthand experience of gaming with the aforementioned GPU/setup. Any more posts to this thread with any advice at all would be appreciated. Rep will be going your way.

 

1) Great for gaming? Absolutely. 6990m is most powerful amd card for notebook and comparable to the hd 6870 for desktop and runs quite well.

2) Malibal's Black Friday deal was great, although only lasted for a few days. If you missed it, maybe something similar will come around.

3) Tons of options to trim some off the $2254.00:
- For gaming, 2630qm is more than enough. Any higher than it will have minor improvement. 2670qm is about 10% higher than 2630qm in performance, but that doesn't mean it will increase your fps by 10%.

- This has mentioned quite a few times before that 8gb of RAM is already more than enough for gaming. Unless you're planning to do some professional app like CAD or photoshop, 12 gb or higher would be reasonable.

- Picking the 250gb HDD on Malibal would cut $35 off from the 500gb. This is a reasonable ssd route for the future.

5) This might be repetitive:
Glossy = sharper color, reflective display especially in direct light source.
Matte = color is not as sharp as gloss, non-reflective display.

4) Like others have mentioned, 2670qm should be max upgrade for pure gaming. Save some $ for an ssd that can tremendously boost in speed and performance overall for the notebook. Recommend Samsung 830 for super low power consumption of 0.11W when active on the 64gb version.

 

Just gonna copy and paste what I wrote in another thread:

1. If gaming is all you wanna do on this laptop, then no: the upgrade to i7-2760 is not worth it. There is no performance difference between lets say the i7-2630/2670 and the higher clocked i7-2760. Even an older dual core processor is still fast enough for all games.

2. The 6690M offers the best bang for the buck. But the GTX 580M is overall the better GPU. She runs cooler than the 6990M, has better driver support and keep in mind that most major companies are primarly optimizing their games for nvdia cards. Battlefield 3 for example runs 5-8 fps faster on Geforce cards compared to their Radeon counterparts.


As others already said, RAM and CPU are overkill. I usually don't recommend the GTX 580M over the 6990M, but money seems like a no issue for you. So in your case, go for GTX 580M.

As for Glossy vs. Matt: Always go for Matt. It's an old myth that glossy screens are brighter, more brilliant/sharp and what not. But just to be safe, ask your reseller which matt display they're selling. If it's from AIO or Lenovo, then definately go for matt.

 

Edit: Here are some of my gaming experiences (with the GTX 580m + i7-2670):

Battlefield 3: Won't run good in native resolution + ultra preset (I got 20-25 fps). Turned off MSAA-anti-aliasing and my fps jumped to 35-50 outdoors and 50+ indoors.

Skyrm: Runs in native resolution + ultra preset with 30-40 fps most of time. Frames do drop under 30 in some areas.

Crysis 2 + HD-Textures + DirectX 11 Patch: Won't run good in native resolution + ultra preset (I got 20-25 fps). Reducing the details to extreme preset or reducing the resolution to 1366x768, but keeping the ultra preset gave me playable framerates (35-50).

Modern Warfare 3: Runs very smoothly in native resolution + max details with 40+ fps.

 

The 6990M allows you to do maximum settings on most games that aren't the super-fancy ones. So, basically, anything not named Battlefield 3, Witcher 2, and Metro 2033 for starters. Even on most of the fancy ones, you should be able to venture close to "ultra" territory as long as you tone down things like antialiasing.

Also, I will also chime in to agree with everyone else that SSDs are freakin' awesome. Once you go SSD, you'll never go back. Trust me. It's the most noticeable everyday upgrade for any computer going from a HDD to a SSD.

The inconvenience here in the P150HM, though, is that it only has one hard drive bay. Therefore you run one of two ways. The first way is SSD + HDD + External DVD drive. The HDD would fit inside a "caddy" where normally the DVD drive is. The second way is a SSD + DVD drive + External HDD. That is just a HDD to SSD swap in the hard drive bay. Then you use an external hard drive for bulk storage.

If those two SSD configurations will not work for you, then the best compromise is to get a Momentus XT Hybrid drive as your HDD. It gives you some SSD performance while keeping the storage capacity of a normal HDD.

 

Thank you all very much! I have read all of the replies and considered everything you have said. Here is my second reconfiguration based on the replies here. I dropped the processor, dropped RAM, added an SSD, and raised the GPU. Hopefully I can get some more general feedback from you guys. You are all getting rep, I just need to wait until the site lets me give more, won't be too long.

Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED AUO B156HW01 V.7 95% NTSC Glossy
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.2-3.1GHz
Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-12800/1600MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 580M 2GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA-300
SSD: 80GB Intel® (320) SATA II 3Gb/s SSD2 Drive
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Ultimate; 64-bit
Wireless: Intel® 6230 Advanced-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Extras: Standard Black Carrying Case
Extras: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Web Camera
Extras: Integrated 9 in 1 Card Reader
Extras: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Extras: MALIBAL Software & Drivers Disc
Extras: Microsoft Office Ready OS with Free 60-Day Trial
Extras: Microsoft Windows 7 DVD-ROM
Extras: PowerDVD & Bison Cam Software Package


1) For RAM, 1600MHz or 1333MHz?
2) I opted for the SSD over the DVD drive. Good decision? I suppose I can get an external DVD drive if I really need one. It is only the 80GB SSD, will this be a noticeable improvement?
3) Again, this came to $2,334.00. This is definitely too high. Some general cutbacks that will have the least affects on performance would be helpful. Should I just drop the GPU to the AMD 6990? That would lower the cost to $2014.00.

 

Not meant to hijack the thread, but something is not working as it should with your pc.

Im on a gtx485m and:

- Modern Warfare 3 runs maxed out at 91fps (no vsync)
- Battlefield 3 runs maxed out (postAA to max) with no msaa at 40-45 avg outdoors, with highest into 55-60
- Skyrim seems legit. 35 the lowest, it averages around 40 with no overclock.
- Crysis 2 dx11/high res textures/extreme 1080p does 45-50. Lowest being 36fps. Ultra does 25-28fps.

And this with a small oc such 700-1700. Your gtx580m starts from 625mhz, so reaching 700mhz shouldnt be a problem.
Unless is my cpu that makes difference, but i doubt it.

 

1) I'd stick with 1333 if you want to save money. The performance difference between 1333 and 1600 comes out to 2-4% on average. It's not an amazing difference for the cost.

2) The SSD is a great choice. Most people (myself included) do an SSD + HDD combo and replace the optical drive because they never/infrequently use disk media anymore. That's what an external is good for . Just make sure you have the SSD in the primary bay and the HDD in the hard drive caddy because only the primary bay is SATA III. And yes, you will notice a massive speed difference between an HDD and an SSD, no matter the size you go with.

3) Dropping to the 6990 may be a better choice if you want to save money. They're about equal in performance, but the 580m will have arguably better driver support and other features (CUDA/PhysX)

 

The numbers look fine to me (except maybe for MW 3)...the GTX 580M and the 485M are basically the same card, except that the 580M comes with higher stock clocks. And if I understand you correctly, you overclocked from 575/1500 to 700/1700 which makes your card definately faster than a stock GTX 580M.

On topic: I would either drop the GTX 580M or get Seagate Momentus XT + optical drive instead of HDD + SDD to save money. And I figure you can save quite a bit by dropping all the software. If you're student, then getting Windows 7 + Office shouldn't be a problem. My school gives out Microsoft products for free. And most shops give great discounts to students. PowerDVD seems like a waste to me, there are plenty of free DVD players out there (and you don't even have an optical drive ).

Edit: Just noticed you went for 1600 RAM. Definately drop it. There is no noticable performance difference between those 2. Also, you do realize that you will only have less than 400 gigs of disk storage, seems insufficient. Most games nowadays can easily use 20-30 gigs alone. And SDD is IMO grossly overpriced at the moment. They will heavily drop in prices sometime early next year (around February or March). So definately get the Seagate XT and just upgrade to full SDD when it's cheaper.

 

Thanks everyone for the help. I am dropping the processor to AMD 6990. Also dropping RAM to 1333.

I am diligently reading and going through my options. Don't let my apparent inactivity here fool you. I greatly appreciate all of the help.


Hey Moustache, I'm on the Malibal website and cannot find an option for the Seagate XT. I see what it is when I research it but it doesn't appear to be on Malibal.

Here. Lotus P150HM - MALIBAL

So final question, I guess. I have gotten many answers but it doesn't hurt to ask again. Is the 6990 a good GPU? Can it handle hardcore gaming?


I will continue looking everywhere for discounts and sales.

 

500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300 Hybrid w/ 4GB NAND Flash is the Seagate. And according to AMD Radeon HD 6990M - Notebookcheck.net Tech it can.

 

Thank you.

What do you suggest about this (SSD + HD) versus (Seagate + DVD) thing?

 

Isn't the optical drive usually in a sata II and the primary hdd, sata III? If you opt for ssd to replace the optical drive, make sure it is in the intended sata port you want.

Here is an interesting link to compare gpus' fps on games:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html

 

Yes, you are correct.

Make sure to swap the SSD into the HDD bay and the HDD into the optical bay caddy.

 

That is awesome chart. Thanks.

I have taken notice about where to put which drive. Thank you guys very much for that.


Although I still want to know if it is worth to get the (SSD + HD) versus the (Hybrid + optical). That would be very helpful! I realize the SSD one is better but is it worth the extra cash? Is it that much better?

Thanks again pals.

 

If you want to save money just get the hard drive caddy and buy the SSD later so you have more options. Personally I am aiming at Samsung 830 128GB or Crucial M4 as alternative.

I second others suggestion to lower the CPU and RAM which you can add later when you need them.

Do not worry for the optical if you plan to go with SSD anyways, you can buy a nice slim external blue-ray burner for about $100

In terms of performance, there is no comparison between SSD and Hybrid. Just go for SSD and your laptop will fly. Hybrid mainly helps in copying small files.

Also, Matte screen is my choice (I use the laptop in outdoor settings which Glossy will suck)

 

How important is the optical drive to you?

 

I still do not know why people still overlook SSD's, and say they are overpriced.

Sure they are expensive, but these people that bag on them will spend extra on getting a faster CPU, or faster ram for a small to little gain.

SSD is the single best upgrade anyone can have. My friends cannot believe how quick my Lenovo x60 boots with a Crucial M4 in it - and the laptop is not even utilizing it's full speed!!

Go for the SSD and HDD. It should not even be debated...

Also echoing to make sure you order the SSD in the HDD bay

 

Quoted for truth.

You'll never notice the more expensive processor unless you're doing some kind of serious crunching. You'll never notice the extra GBs of RAM past a sufficient amount unless you're doing something intense like running a bunch of VMs. BUT, you'll notice a SSD every time you start your computer, every time you start your browser, every time you load a game level...

 

I suggest 750 momentus xt , its overpriced right now tho. 2.2 quad is a good place for processors, anything beyond 2.4 quad, its ridiculously overpriced! not worth it!

 

Guys, He asked a good question i think about the RAM speed.

I m searching as well for a long time now answers about how RAM speed could influence the performance in Gaming for exemple.

Someone said that it was working with the HDD, but IMO it's working with the CPU, so i guessed that it would be as crucial as CPU speed, to consider raising the RAM speed! (exemple: 1333 vs 1866 mhz)

If someone could share his knowledge ^^

Thanks!

 

They aren't worth the price increases for miniscule boosts during gaming. The memory bandwidth is never the bottleneck here. The only jump worth any consideration at all, because of the small price difference, is from 1333 to 1600. Be aware that you will need a i7-27xx processor to run it at its rated speed though. The i7-26xx CPUs will limit it to 1333Mhz.

For the price of an upgrade to 1866Mhz RAM, the SSD or GPU upgrade you could be getting provides much, much, much, much more performance benefit.

 

Ok, if it's never the bottleneck of the configuration...

I m gonna choose the 1600 version in that case. I ll save money then.

Thanks a lot for that!

 

But the 1600 is more expensive...

 

You could realistically just go with the 1333 if you wanted to save more money anyway

The difference from 1333 -> 1600 is 2-4%, and then 1600 -> 1866 is another 2-4%. It's nowhere near as significant as HDD -> SSD with the same money.

 

You guys are all awesome. I appreciate the responses. Here is the configuration now, based on the lively discussion here. Notice the 1333 RAM, the AMD 6990, and the SSD and the HD are in the 'correct' positions.

Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED AUO B156HW01 V.7 95% NTSC Glossy Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.2-3.1GHz
Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 80GB Intel® (320) SATA II 3Gb/s SSD2 Drive
Optical Drive Bay: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Ultimate; 64-bit
Wireless: Intel® 6230 Advanced-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Extras: Standard Black Carrying Case

Based on the replies, I think this is a good setup for $1964.00 (including a $100 dollars off sale right now).


I suppose the real question now is: how long do you suspect this laptop will stay relevant? I mean, how long will it be before I 'might as well' buy a whole new one?

I am interested in maximizing this the time this laptop will be relevant. I suppose I could raise the price $150 or so if it means I can utilize the laptop for even longer.

Edit: Every post here will be receiving rep.

 

To be honest, when one can't accurately predict how well technology will perform in the future. It's just too much guess work, too many variables. The most accurate way to predict how your system will fare in the future is too look back and take a look at how the top-of-the-line products from the past are faring today. The 9800m GTX, the best card in the market 3 years ago, still out performs all of today's mid ranged cards and even out performs Nvidia's entry level "high-end" card (555m). So, I don't think you have much to worry about in terms of how your laptop will perform in the future

 

Hey, I just noticed that you choose to have Win7 Ultimate in your configurations, is there a good reason for it? Do you actually use the extra features? I kinda forgot what they are but I think it is something to do with encryption thingy and something else. Win7 home premium runs at the same speed with Win7 Ultimate by the way.

 

Good point. Can anyone tell of a good reason to keep Win7 Ultimate? Would dropping it to Home or Pro make that much of a difference? I am not at all an OS enthusiast, so really don't know what I'd do with Ultimate.

From 7Ultimate from 7Home, it would drop the price $110, then I could maybe boost the SSD or something?

I could raise the GPU, but the GTX 580M is $330 more than the AMD 6990M. That is pretty expensive. Likewise, raising the CPU from the 2670QM to the 2760QM would raise the price $160.

Suggestions?

 

I would seriously look at the 120gb intel 510 SSD.

Only if you were to drop to home premium of course

As for the windows differences, here is a website:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-AU/windows7/products/compare

The noticeable difference for me would be Xp mode, but I haven't tried it.

Also you cannot have other PC's RDP to your machine, but you can RDP to others... Not sure if that would bother you but it is a moot point for me.

 

IMO, if you choose a SSD, go directly for a SATA3 which is even more faster (twice?) than a standard SSD SATA2 ^^ and it doesn't cost much more...I suppose that the intel, someone talk about, is a SATA3 version.
This post really help me as well ^^

I think you are in the good way for your laptop. It should be a little monster.

 

SATA III SSDs are faster than SATA II, but the real-world difference is far, far, far from "twice as fast". It's tangible but definitely not worlds apart. Given that, I still wouldn't hesitate buying a SATA II if there was a killer deal on one. In fact, I did that on Black Friday as the deal was just too good. Otherwise, definitely go for a SATA III as the everyday price difference is not that big.

Choose from these models, they are all fantastic:
Crucial M4
Samsung 830
Intel 510

Usually, I find the prices on the M4 and 830 much more reasonable (by $70-80) than the 510. For that reason alone, I would very much recommend against the 510 unless there was some technical reason that you have to get that one. 128GB versions of the M4 and 830 can be had for $200.

 

Stick with ur 2670qm, IMO it's the best price to performance ratios.

8 gb 1333 still the most reasonable max configs of ram u should have.

SSD, pick sata 3. Don't bother with using momentus in the 2nd drive, The 4 gb flash won't be used.

6990m. Best performance, at the best price.

If you're mobile, use matte display. (Considering you're choosing the 15" rather than the 17")

That would be my configuration if I'd buy a sager. (Hopefully this month)

 

I'm currently considering the 17.3" models. How would this configuration do?

Display: 17.3" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED AUO B173HW01 V.4 90% NTSC Glossy
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.2-3.1GHz
Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 120GB Intel® (510) SATA III 6Gb/s SSD2 Drive
Hard Drive 2: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA-300
Optical Drive Bay: 8X Multi DVD+/-R/RW RAM Dual-Layer Drive
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium; 64-bit
Wireless: Intel® 6230 Advanced-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Extras: Standard Black Carrying Case

This would be the setup if I decided to get the 15.6" as well, aside from not having an optical drive, of course. I am sticking with Win7Home and I was able to increase the SSD to 120GB Sata III. How long do you guys think this laptop will stay relevant? As in, have enough power to perform with the latest games.

Also, there is a "Raid" option and I have no idea what that means:
"0 High Performance (Two Hard Drive Configuration)"
"1 High Security (Two Hard Drive Configuration)"

Thanks for the help, guys. You are all truly priceless.

 

IMO, I wouldn't get a SSD with the laptop purchase. You can find much better deals on those yourself.

Also, the price for a Intel 510 is about $70-80 more in the market than for a similar-sized Crucial M4 or Samsung 830. It is most definitely not 40% better or more reliable than a Crucial/Samsung but somehow it is 40% more expensive.

Just stick with one internal HDD and buy the SSD aftermarket yourself. These are the best prices you'll find from reputable sources on 128GB versions:

Crucial M4 - $197 shipped
Crucial Technology 128GB m4 SSD 2.5" Solid CT128M4SSD2 B&H
The Crucial M4 has a huge, huge following on NBR.

Samsung 830 - $200 shipped w/ free Batman Arkham City
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128N/AM 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Notebook Upgrade Kit
Samsung is another super-reliable brand and the 830 is their newest offering. It is also the sexiest SSD alive.

 

I second gwilled that you can upgrade the SSD later, I personally ordered the caddy and now hunting for Samsung 830 if not then Crucial M4

If you want to learn about RAID just go to Wikipedia RAID - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Generally, when you have more than 1 disk, you can combine them into specific arrangement (e.g. RAID 0, 1, 5, 10) for Raid 0, files are distributed (i.e. stripped) among the 2 disks so access to them can be faster (parallel access). But notice if one disk failed you lose alllllllll your file on both disks!! (it might be insignificant probability still but just good to know that)

Raid 1: all the files are mirrored on both disks (you get half of the total capacity of your disks) it is more reliable because if one disk completely failed you can recover all the files. But it cannot save you if a virus corrupted your files as the mirror as well will be infected!

 

Thanks, gwilled. Super helpful. The only problem is that I have no idea how to install them. I wouldn't want to run the risk of ruining something. If professionals handle it, at least they are reliable for installation of parts. If, for some reason, something goes wrong, I'll be screwed. Unless it is like super easy or fool-proof.

After reading them, I'm slightly leaning toward RAID 0. Looks like RAID 0 is very high-risk, while RAID 1 is highly inefficient. I'll probably go RAID 0.

Edit: It appears to void the warranty although I'm not too sure.

 

If I was to recommend an SSD - it would definitely be the Crucial M4. 128GB can be had for $200 from B&H.

I only recommended the Intel 510 as no resellers provide this SSD as a part of the configuration...

 

Your set-up looks awfully similar to mine. Cool! You purchased the Hard-drive caddy in anticipation of an SSD, so you presumably know how to install it. Is it difficult? I noticed that buying the caddy actually adds $15 from the base optical drive option. What does the caddy do, make HD/SSD installation easier?


Also, there was a lot of talk earlier in this thread about moving the SSD to what would normally be the HD spot. So if I am to wait for the SSD, am I to ignore the earlier advice and simply put the SSD where the optical drive would be?

I told you guys I was a n00b.

 

You indicated you were looking at the 17" model. That makes things easier as that model has two dedicated hard drive bays instead of the single bay in the 15" models. You won't have to worry about the caddy and removing the optical drive. You just buy the SSD and pop it in the empty bay.

 

But if you get the 15.6inch - yes, you still should put the HDD in the Hard drive bay.

But if you order them the same time - you should receive the SSD from B&H before the laptop arrives.

I have not opened one up, but this website contains a great review where it shows you the inside.
[USER REVIEW] Sager/Clevo Horize NP8150 (P150HM)

normally the HDD can be accessed on the side - but by the sound of that review, it can be found in the back with the Ram.

It really is not that hard. It is up to you if you want to save the $80 or so.

 

The RAM/HDD/CPU/GPU are all accessible on the bottom of the machine. There's a grand total of maybe 7 screws to get access to all of these parts. You can swap out RAM/HDD in maybe 5 minutes with just a screwdriver.