NP8170 or NP8150 (help me decide)

Ok so I can get them both with the same specs:
2670qm
6990
IC Thermal paste
6300 wireless card
500gb HDD
8gb RAM

Now here's where my question comes in. I can either pay roughly 1430 and get the 95% gamut screen on the 15" or I can get the regular screen and get the 17" for around 1390-1400 (haven't got quote but that's a fairly good estimate of what it should be). So what do you guys think? Is losing 2" worth it for the nicer screen or should I just get the bigger laptop? Portability is not an issue. Also, if anyone could provide pics so I could compare the difference between screens (95% glossy and regular) that would be immensely helpful

 

get a 17inch and get a 1080p 23inch led monitor, they are like $120 on newegg right now!

 

I personally prefer the 15" models for the portability and because both are only 1080p, so you won't be getting any more screen real estate anyway. The P170 does give you the option to overclock the higher end processors, use XTU RAM, and have the option of installing a second HDD- but that's really the only major differences.

Here is a thread comparing the screens:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-between-different-screen-options-photos.html

If you're just getting it for gaming, you probably won't notice the upgrade as much. However, photo editing or other color specific work may make it a no-brainer.

 

haha i wish i had room for that. not a bad idea for the future. i'd need to buy a whole new desk though lol. The one I have right now is small and cluttered with two huge speakers.

 

If I had owned a 17" laptop before, I would have picked 8150.
I walk around with my laptop a whole lot, and never thought that the 8lb's will be so tough on my shoulders.
I still get shoulder discomfort the day after I carry my laptop around, even after several months and it has quite good padding.

 

I can see what you mean, but honestly don't think this will really be an issue for me. For the most part it will just be on my desk and when I do take it out, I'll be sticking it in my bookbag so in terms of portability the 17" is fine. I just can't decide if the better screen is worth it or not. I'm starting to lean towards the 17" since A) I can save a little money and B) having a 17" would certainly be nice at points. The only downside for me would be that my desk is very small right now and I have two massive speakers on it so the 17" would be a tight squeeze (my 16" already is).

That screen thread was pretty helpful. Definitely making me rethink whether I really need the screen upgrade. The color of the default isn't too bad and with some adjustments I'm sure it could be even better. And I could use the little bit of money I save to fund my SSD purchase + still have a dvd drive.

 

It's simple, if the most important for you is OC, select NP8170 (P170HM), if not definitely take NP8150 (P150HM), except that it is smaller than the NP8170 is also quieter and has one of the best display on the market (AUO B156HW01 V4).

 

well I won't be able to overclock the processor anyways, because quite simply I don't have the money to upgrade to one of the XM processors.

The main thing I'm really debating is, is the screen THAT much better where it's worth paying more for a smaller laptop? I mean all things being equal (including screen) I would definitely take the 17".

 

Personally, I prefer 15.6" with a large 23"+ external display much better than a 17.3" with or without said display. The bigger the external display, the better.

The 17.3" without a display is still an inferior viewing experience. With an external display, there is no more room on a desk with the 17.3" as it takes up so much room by itself. The benefit is the second hard drive bay which isn't worth the extra space and weight it takes up.

The 15.6" on the other hand is a nice balanced package that holds the power of most 17.3" laptops other than the most pimped-out, pricy configurations of 17.3" models. Unless you're getting the desktop CPUs, OCing, or a SLI configuration, the 15.6" will perform just the same. It has good portability and a small enough footprint to allow desk space for a large external display. I can also carry one around for extended periods without feeling like I want to toss the thing in the trash.

If you are really concerned about this issue you raised, I'd say get the 15.6" laptop with the normal display if you want to save a little money. Then use the savings from going the 15.6" route plus the money from forgoing the 95% gamut panel to get yourself a nice, large external display of good quality.

 

Well, of the choices you mentioned I would get the P150HM.

If you can get the 3D model P170HM3 though, I would go for the 120Hz screen.

 

Yes! That's a good recommendation, but I do think it is way out of your budget to go that route without sacrifices elsewhere. Also, it requires one of the Nvidia GPUs which throws things off.

 

I would choose the 15'' screen i.e. P150HM and later would pick an external dell ultrasharp IPS screen if you want to hit the limit.

If you do not want the extra features in P170HM, so I believe the 95% Gamut in the P150HM will be a more pleasant choice.

 

I think we would be able to answer your questions more effectively if we knew the purpose(s) for the laptop.

 

I appreciate the input guys. Like I said right now, the monitor isn't really an option till I get a new desk (probably not for a while still), but I may just get the p150hm without the screen upgrade. or I may get the p170hm still, not sure yet. I still got to think more about this.

 

Meh, just get a wireless TV thingy and use your HDTV as your monitor If I had the money, I would try it with our 37" Samsung.

 

I do it the old-fashioned way with a HDMI cable to my 46" Samsung.

 

I am in the same dilemma...
I don't want to spend so much money on an SSD, so I am thinking of getting 2 500HDD for RAID 0. Would RAID 0 improve the performance much especially in games like BF3 or ARMA 2? a 17" could be very heavy(with an extra HDD)
I have a North face backpack which can carry a 17" laptop though.

 

Once again, it goes back to use. Personally, I went with the 17" matte because I know that this will be my primary gaming PC that I will sit on a stand in my living room beside my recliner in front of a large window. I've used a 15" for 5.5 years and it's cool, but I refuse to take even that laptop with me when I travel because I find it heavy and cumbersome. I'd prefer a 7" to 10" PC to take on vacation. So what I needed was an affordable desktop replacement. I'll leave having a 2nd screen for when I'm multi-tasking at work. The ability to put in a 120GB SSD (which I've never had before) and a 500GB (big upgrade for me) and still have room for an optical drive was additionally appettizing.

 

RAID 0 wouldn't have much of an effect on gaming. The same goes for SSD's, really. Most games only use the drives when loading a new level/area. Even then, you might only notice a few seconds in time savings at best. Faster drives have the biggest benefit in system boot time and application load time.

 

How about overall system performance? Like will I get much faster boot times with RIAD 0 + short stroking?

 

Boot times will be faster sure, but not hugely so. RAID 0 with hard drives just won't come close to even a single SSD. Not to mention the possibility for completely data loss if a drive fails.

 

Why not get the NP8170 with 90% gamut screen? It's probably hardly any worse than the 95% screen on the NP8150.

 

It's glossy though, some people hate that.

 

If you can't get the 90% screen for the NP8170, then get the NP8150 w/ 95% screen.

A good screen is more important than everything else.

 

Everything? After GPU and SSD, yes

 

How are the temps with an IC diamond compared to a stock thermal paste? I am considering getting the diamond but I am a little hesitant.

 

I've read the temps are usually 2-8 degrees colder/lower. If you're on the fence about it and don't want to pay $40 you could buy a tube of it for cheaper and apply if yourself ( if you feel competent doing that).

 

You can check out the disassembly guides for each here:
P15xHM_ESM.zip
P17xHM_ESM.zip
(Props to theriko for the guides)
That might give you an idea of how the build quality is on each.

 

It should make 4-8C difference, though it depends on your ambient temps as well. If you're comfortable with a screwdriver, you can always buy a tube of paste and clean off the stock paste/add your own in just a few minutes. The guides that J.P. posted above have the instructions on how to do it