NP8660 or NP5796 - help me decide! :(

Ok heres the deal. I need this laptop by August 2nd as I'm going on a trip then. Anyway I have come up with 2 configurations that I'm very interested in. Here are a couple concerns I have:

The NP5796 is upgradeable to the 9800GTX while the 8660 is not. So if at a later time I want to upgrade to the GTX I could? Is it easy to do the upgrade as a user? I've been building PC's all my life and have no problems with things like that, but I havent really messed around too much with laptops.

Should I go for the 7200rpm 16mb cache 320mb HD? I read somewhere the 320mb 5200rpm was pretty much just as fast and consumes less energy.

Last but not least, 17" or 15.4" screen? Heres the thing, I definitely want the 1920x1080 resolution and I feel like it might be WAY small on the 15.4" screen. At the same time I LIKE the dimensions of the NP8660! I would be using this laptop for some gaming, photoshop, 3dsmax, etc.

What do you guys think? Here are the 2 builds I came up with:

Sager NP8660 (Built on Clevo M860TU) PRE ORDER
- 15.4" WUXGA "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P9500 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GT DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- None Standard
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- None Standard
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support
(Year2 & 3 Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)


Or Build #2:


Sager NP5796 Custom Notebook (Built on Clevo M570TU)
- 17" WUXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P9500 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GT DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- None Standard
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- None Standard
- NP579x Orange Frame Trim Color
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support
(Year2 & 3 Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)


Both come out to around the same price by the way - around $2250.
Edit: I just noticed the 8660 says "Pre Order". Does that mean they won't be shipped out until a later date?

 

The 8660 isn't supposed to start shipping until August, so if your Aug 2 date is hard, it's out as a choice.

The 8660 cannot be upgrade to the 9800m gtx. It generates too much heat for that enclosure.

Yes, the 320gb 5400 is just as fast as the 200gb 7200, but not the 320gb 7200rpm. So, if you are set on biggest/fastest hdd, the 320gb, 7200 rpm is the way to go.

 

as far as I understand, you did make your choice.

 

If you want WUXGA, definitely go for a 17". But tbh, WSXGA on a 15" is just the same.

Also the 320 GB 7200 RPM actually doesn't consume a whole lot of energy. (We're talking about the Seagate, right?)

 

i know this has already been done before, but can someone link to hdd speed and energy consumption comparisons involving the 320gb 5400rpm drive?

 

the np8660 will ship late july early august.
If u travel a lot or plan on moving it around the np8660 might be more appealing to you since 17 inch laptops are rather hard to make portable but it is due able. With a deadline of August 2nd i think you can only go one way. And thats the np5796

 

The 8660 will not make it to you by August 2nd as others have said they won't start shipping until early August. I was hoping to have one by mid August but unfortunately its just shipping a wee bit to late for me.

 

only a comment. If you can, buy a hard drive 7200RPM is more expensive but is more fast. If you dont need 320GB, you can buy a 200GB 7200RPM serial ata II 16mb chache.

and if you have montevina and you can paid ok, but i will not buy DDR3 for now. i always show this link, i hope that can help you
http://www.breakitdownblog.com/ddr2-800-vs-ddr3-1333-does-speed-matter/

 

320gb 5400rpm is just as fast as 200gb 7200rpm due to higher platter density.

 

5796 is what I`d choose. It`s available now and I think the stock is suffiecient so that you`d get it till August.

Besides,