NP8130 vs. NP5160

im having a very difficult time deciding which one to buy.

First of all i have a couple of questions regarding the physical aspect:

1. although they are both 15.6, is the 8130 bulkier then the 5160?

2. are the trackpads the same? are they smooth (comapred to one such as the macbook pro?)

k now the specs i would be getting would be

8gb ddr3 ram

500gb 4gb ssd hybrid

second gen i7 2.4 or 2.5 ghz (depending on which one i choose for price reasons)

first off, is there a big difference in battery between thse computers? it is fairly important to me, i need it during my classes for notes, but i dont see myself without an outlet for any more then 3-3.5 hours while taking notes (basically just microsoft word and internet browser).

i also would like the ability to play fairly intense games (MW 3, skyrim, fifa 12, sims 3, deus ex: human revolution, and shogun 2). i dont need the graphics to be on ultra high, but i cant stand lag...

the only other resource programs i will be doing will be software development(using IDES such as Eclipse), maybe a bit of OS virtualization, and very very light video editing.

which one would you recommend?

 

The 5160 has optimus (switchable graphics) so that will provide longer battery life than the 8130. I think the 8130 is bulkier? It has two fans, one for each the cpu and gpu. Where in the 5160, the cpu and gpu share the same heatsink and fan.

The 5160 has a 540m graphics card
NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M - Notebookcheck.net Tech
Here is the card for the 8130, the 560M which has better performance
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...sager-np5160-clevo-w150hnq-owners-lounge.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...sager-np8130-clevo-p151hm1-owners-lounge.html
Their respective threads.

 

and is the performance difference huge if i jsut want to play ames like fifa 12, sims 3, age of empire, shogun 2, and maybe some FPS like deus ex: human revolution, and MW 3?

 

Relevant link to those questions:

Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

Well looking at the gpu links, the 560m fps for fifa 12 and deus ex is almost twice as much as the 540m..

 

k yea i took a look as well, but i also looked at the gallery and now i think im going to go with the NP5165, which looks like it would make those games a bit more playable.

it is also significantly smaller then the NP8130. i can live with the settings on high

take a look at the size difference. am i crazy or is the NP5165 smaller?

custom gaming laptops - Welcome to Sager Notebooks

AND

custom gaming laptops - Welcome to Sager Notebooks

look at the gallery

ALSO

i saw this on youtube: Sager NP5165 - The Elder Scrolls Skyrim Gameplay [HD] - YouTube

this really makes me more confident about buying this laptop. is this accurate?

thanks sooo much for your help!!

 

Yep, there's a significant weight difference between the two. If you're looking to haul it around constantly, I'd throw my hat in with the NP5165.

 

yea since i will be carrying it around almsot every day the NP 5165 sounds much more practical. is the performance in the youtube video accurate with the specs mentioned above?

should i get the i5 2.5, or the i7 2.4 (or should i just go all out and get the i7 2.5)? i wont be getting a new laptop for at least 3.5 years. Is it worth it for the usage that i mentioned above?

 

Turning down the shadows on Skyrim probably helped a lot. Also notice he's running it in 720p resolution, which can really help out with FPS. Realistically with a little tweaking you could more than likely do the same.

As far as quad core processors go, when I switched from dual core to quad core I made a silent promise to myself I'd never switch back. However, the newer dual cores out there are pretty awesome anyway. Plus, the GPU is the main driver behind games. You'd probably get a little more battery life out of a dual core, but quad cores just add this little "spring" in the general operation of the computer.

I'd suggest quad, but it mainly depends on whether or not that's in budget.