NP9170 or NP9370

Hey everyone,

I'm fairly new here and been doing a lot of research on these forums reading through the owners lounge of both these computers and was pretty dead set on getting the NP9170 until I read how so many people complained about the audio on it which is what led me to consider the NP9370. Honestly, I probably don't need to have the 2nd GPU that the NP9370 comes with but I would feel more comfortable spending over two grand on it if it means getting an all around better machine having the option to upgrade later on. If I could get some opinions from owners, it would help me out a lot in making my decision. So here are my questions:

Is the audio on the NP9170 really that bad?
Would it make sense to get the NP9370 even if I may not put a second GPU in it?
Which has the better overall quality for the money?

I appreciate everyones help in advance

 

The P370EM is better in general if you could, because of the lack of Enduro/Optimus and the ability to grab a 120Hz screen. The audio is basic crappy laptop audio for P170EM from what I hear, but the P370EM is a lot better in comparison. Is sound alone enough to switch orders? Probably not, ESPECIALLY if you use USB headsets. But the rest of the things point toward it. It IS a heavier and bigger machine though. So if you can handle the bigger machine and the bit extra cost, enjoy your lack of switchable graphics headaches and decent sound =P

 

Thanks for the reply D2. I didn't know it was a heavier machine. When looking on Xotic, it has them as being the same weight but I guess that extra GPU would be the difference. What's the headaches with the switchable graphics though? I'm kind of a noob when it comes to this stuff

 

With GPU switching the software that controls it doesn't always make the right call and you'll sometimes need to specify how you want it to run. With the 9370 you won't have to worry about that and it'll use the dedicated card for everything. This will result in lower battery life but a constant performance experience. The 9370 will be thicker than the 9170 but without the extra GPU installed it's really the same weight until you add it in there. If you're not concerned by battery life, go with the 9370.

 

Yeah I'm not really concerned about battery life because I plan to have it plugged in most of the time anyway. Plus I read that the battery life on the 9170 really isn't that much more than the 9370. At least not enough to be a factor in my decision. The audio is what concerned me the most because even though I'll probably be using headphones when playing games, I will watch movies now and then so it would be a lot more enjoyable with good audio. Does the 9370 come with an extra fan also?

 

Yup, it'll have all the fans installed despite not having the second GPU. The GPU upgrade kit would come with the heatsink, GPU, and backplate to tie everything together.

 

Ok that's good to know. TBH, this is my first gaming comp so I just want to make sure I consider all the pros and cons and make the right choice. So hypothetically lets say I were to not put another GPU in it down the road, would you still recommend the 9370 over the 9170?

 

I personally would as long as it doesn't stretch the budget as far as skimping on the other components. The better audio, the upgrade possibility, and the GPU switching would have me sold if I were looking for a machine along these standards.

 

Well this is the config I was considering with you guys (xotic). What's your opinion? Is there anything you would suggest I add or change? The only other thing I'm still thinking about is upgrading the screen.

$2,542
- FREE!!! – U.S. UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code "FREESHIP" in Checkout) [U.S. Lower 48 ONLY / Restrictions Apply]
- SAGER Spring Sale!!! - $50 OFF When you spend $1350.00* or more per system! (*excludes non-sager parts, accessories, shipping, & taxes)
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen (1920x1080) (SKU - S1X506)
- 60 Day No Dead Pixel Warranty (On any screen)
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – S2R174)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GeForce GTX 680M 4,096MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 [User Upgradeable] (SKU - S3R707)
- 16GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) - SPECIAL! (SKU - S4S444M)
- 256GB Crucial M4 Series Solid State Drive [SSD2 Serial-ATA III] (SKU – S5R062)
- 750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache] (SKU - S5R305)
- 6x Blu-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive - Special! (SKU - S7P557)
- Sager - Intel® Advanced-N 6235 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - S8R111)
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Standard Sager/Clevo Non Chiclet Backlit Keyboard
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (64&32-Bit CD Included (Supports up to 16GB of RAM)) + MS Office Starter 2010
- Microsoft OFFICE 2010 Home & Student Edition - [Word/Excel/PowerPoint/OneNote] - [Free Office 2013 Upgrade: www.office.com/offer]
- Sager 2 Year Parts & LIFETIME Ltd Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support (SKU - S9R219)

 

I say 120Hz screen ftw 24/7 all day erryday all da timeeeeee.
Also, take 1600MHz RAM. It's only like $10 extra.

As for the rest of the stuff, I think that's quite a good kit.

 

NP9370 any day of the week.

 

Ok cool. I'll definitely go for the 1600MHz then. Makes sense for $10 more. Yeah that was the screen upgrade I was looking at actually. Mainly because I'm not a big fan of glossy screens so upgrading to the Matte 72% is what I thinking and at the point, why not add the 120Hz you know. That's still cosmetic though. Just want to make sure I got general build right.

 

Actually HTWingNut, your excellent review in the owners lounge is part of what made me consider this one over the 9170. It was very detailed and informative so thank you for that. Especially for someone like me who really isn't computer illiterate. Another question I have though is about the wireless. Is the Bigfoot better than the Intel? I see that it's more expensive but a couple of people have complained about the Bigfoot though

 

Personally I have found the Intel 6300 the best Wi-Fi adapter at the moment. BigFoot is kinda like AMD in that they have a solid product, but drivers can hinder its true potential. Intel has stable drivers and offer a consistent and solid product. 6300 has no Bluetooth though, so go with 6230 if you need Bluetooth.

If the 9370 had come out at the time the NP9150 did I would have bought that instead. I'm still contemplating going with the next gen NP9370 with Haswell and Kepler refresh (SLI 780m), but that's only if my budget allows it. And now with the 120Hz screen, it's phenomenal.

 

Yeah I figured that the way it sounded from people. Not sure if I need Bluetooth yet but at least I know to go with the Intel. What about calibrating the screen? Is it worth it to have Xotic do it whether I get the stock screen or the 72% Matte 120Hz upgrade?

 

Calibrating? No not in my opinion. For that money or not much more, you can buy a used Spyder 2 or 3 Express and calibrate it yourself regularly. A one time calibration doesn't do much good because over time the backlighting changes and so do your colors. Plus for regular use, there are software options to calibrate it to get it "close enough".

 

That's good to know. What about the screen upgrade in general? Is 72% Matte a lot better compared to the stock screen?

 

Well, the 72% is also 120Hz. The NP9570 I reviewed came with the 120Hz screen after they replaced the original 90% glossy, and I have to say the 120Hz was far superior to any other laptop screen I've used. Well worth the $150 up charge IMHO.

 

I honestly want a 17" and 120Hz screen now. After reviewing the NP9370 and NP9570 I'm really tempted to go that route. I could probably net $1000 from my NP9150 (sans SSD's) and put that towards the Haswell NP9370 with SLI 780m's. I probably have another $1000 of PC equipment to sell and that would make the machine much more affordable.

 

Yeah I read your review on the 9570. That thing is definitely a BEAST in every sense of the word lol. I considered that for a second but that pushes my budget to far. The screen shots you took of the screen look amazing though but it's still hard to see the true potential looking through the minor display I have now. It's a tough decision when I'm spending over $2,500 already but maybe the extra $150 is worth it at that point

 

Meh, I don't want an NP9570. I want NP9370. Well whatever the Haswell version of it is. And if I don't I'm definitely doing that with Intel Broadwell / nVidia Maxwell in 2014.

 

72% is better than the stock screen. 120Hz will make things look SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO smooth it's amazing. Even 75Hz screens make my 60Hz look like a stutterfest in comparison. I don't even know how to express that more. As for the colour, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Mythlogic offers free colour calibration, but they're more expensive than Xotic because they're a lot smaller company, so the price tradeoff wouldn't really count.

You already have a 72% matte selected, and the 120Hz is $1 more than that, so I say best you get that 120Hz as well. I think it's not as BRIGHT as the other one though. But it should not be too much a problem.

EDIT: Wow, I typed that a long time ago and forgot to hit post. My bad. HTWingnut said what I was thinking though XD

 

Yeah I would like to wait for the Haswell too but I need to get this now and from what I read that won't be coming out for a few months at least. The 9570, regardless of price, is just way more than I need anyway. I'm digging the response by you though D2. How much does the 120 Hz make things look?? Lol

 

The 9570 is the same kind of machine that I currently have. I would never get that kind of machine again unless I 100% NEEDED the processor. And the processor is the only thing that really sets it apart.

Back when I got this machine and the options were core 2 duo mobile, core 2 quad mobile or here, take a desktop i7? The desktop i7 was actually cheaper and multitudes more powerful than the highest mobility replacement. And the battery life of the all-mobile outfitted machines were maybe 1/2 hour better at most (mine got 58 minutes on a full charge and currently gets about 30 seconds). Then the cooling was amazing and I had desktop-ish power in a convenient walkaround chassis.

Now? Mobile CPUs have caught up. Greatly. I would not consider putting a desktop CPU in a laptop anymore unless it's necessary like I need a 6-core for rendering etc. Battery life on the mobile chips too are greatly improved, 2.5 hours on an 8-cell battery where 1.5 to 2 hours was a stretch on a 12-cell before. If haswell ACTUALLY uses the power cutbacks they promised for the mobiles instead of INCREASING THE TDP LIKE WITH THE DESKTOP CHIPS, then they'll improve it even more. That being said, however, Haswell (and the GTX 7xxM series refresh) are not worth waiting those few months for. If you can get your machine now, go straight for it. Ivy Bridge will keep you well and the 780M shouldn't be so much better than the 680M that it's worth waiting months for. Or even weeks, if you need a machine now like I do.

 

Well the core 2 quad mobiles that were unlocked were ideal but yes a lot more expensive, with the partially unlocked 37xx and above the gap is tiny...

 

Yeah I need to get this now. I also did some reading and many people say that even when the Haswell does come out, the increase in performance isn't really compared to last year with the Ivy over the Sandy Bridge. Either way though, the top notch performance right now is fine for me. This isn't for like business or anything. More for just gaming and long lasting quality you know.

 

If I continue to game a lot next year, I'll be going with the successor to the NP9370 also. Ditch AMD and get a Nvidia without Optimus. I think switchable graphics is a crock. If you want battery life just get a notebook with integrated graphics, doesn't matter if you go with AMD or Intel, since going that route, you don't care much about power. If you need power and gaming, just go with a dGPU option. Switchable graphics doesn't work as well as Intel/AMD wants you to think it does, it really really really doesn't. In theory it's a nice idea, in practice, blows.

 

Well D2 mentioned that the switchable graphics is a headache to deal with because I was actually considering the 9170 first. But I figured since I have the money and not really a computer literate person, I would rather get someting that is going to work without any hassles. That's another reason why I choose to go with the 680 over the 7970. I read too many posts of people having problems with driver issues with the AMD

 

The 9370 will let you overclock the display too

 

Meh I think it does alright, getting about 5 hours of battery on a 150EM is nice as I can confidently use it take notes in class without having to worry about an outlet (or that massive brick).

 

looking for sager laptops but cant find any here in sweden....

 

It does more than alright. But I definitely do not get 5 hours of battery. Maybe 3. But next round, I just want my machine to run as expected without switchables. 7970M is definitely being held back and AMD definitely doesn't care. Screw AMD. I've been scorned by them twice now. 5870M on G73JH was a huge headache and 7970M on Sager has been a lot of frustrations.

 

With latest BIOS and EC users are reporting about 5 hours battery life. I haven't tried yet but am tempted to now.