Need Help With Sager NP9150 Buying Decisions

Hey guys, I'm about to go off to college on June 27th and I need to get a suitable laptop.
I game (Skyrim, Diablo 3, TF2, CS:s, etc.) and I'll be doing programming work so I need a fast laptop.
Naturally, I looked at the NP9150. The problem is, some days I have nearly 4 classes in a row and a 2 hour battery life is in no way acceptable for me.
Of course when I would be playing games I'd be plugged into an outlet in my dorm, but for other things, such as using Wifi and the internet, or taking notes, I'd probably be out and not near a power supply.

I want to know if anybody here who has an NP9150 with the 7970M that can tell me if it is realistic to achieve battery lives of 4 or so hours without being plugged into a wall, or doing anything that intensive on the computer.

It'd be a big help if anyone here can tell me their opinions or experiences. Also, I noticed that Origin sells the EOS 15s, which is basically built on the same Clevo as the Sager, but they claim to get 5-6 hours of battery life, which is much more substantial than Sager's claims. Can anyone explain how this could be?

Thanks a lot.

 

u could probably get 3 hrs...4 hrs is pushing it.

 

Would having an SSD help battery life?

 

It does help a little bit on the power draw as there are no moving parts in an SSD.

it was discussed before somewhere in these forums http://forum.notebookreview.com/solid-state-drives-ssds-flash-storage/645232-ssd-vs-hdd-power-usage.html

 

Even you just leave the unit in standby mode, I really doubt you can get 5-6 hours of battery life. I think the battery life is much shorter.

However, why you buy a laptop and just keep it in standby mode?

 

The link below is a nice article by Puget Computer systems and their line of laptops. They are all the same Clevo units sold by multiple builders and resellers. Pretty good idea of battery life.

Introducing the New Puget Traverse Laptops - Puget Custom Computers

 

He just said without doing anything too intensive. This is a very realistic situation for a college student who will be unplugged while only taking notes on word or some light web browsing.

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

 

Thanks for the article, really helped put the battery life into a real perspective. I'm assuming the v150i is the closest to the np9150, and it says they got ~2.8 hrs of battery life while doing light work. This is decent, but I'd really like to see some tests with the EON 15S to see how they got 5+ hrs of battery life...

and @slapshot30, thanks for clearing up my situation.

 

No, actually the Clevo P150EM (= Sager NP9150 = Origin EON 15S) in the Puget line of notebooks is the M550i, which means that according to that chart this notebook only lasts for 112 min (= 1h 52min, or 1.87 hrs)...

They are the exact same notebook, so there is no way Origin can make it last more than any other Clevo re-branded notebook out there. Especially not a difference of 3+ hours in battery life...

Though different test conditions may lead to different battery life results, so if you find a way to use even less energy (make the monitor even less brighter, disable wireless card, etc) you probably will be able to extend your battery life some more, but I don't think it will reach the 5 hours mark...

 

I have a NP9130 and it lasts more than 3 hours on battery at minimum brightness, muted and wifi off, while I was bashing away at the keyboard for a 28 page transcript. I have not done any exhaustive tests yet, so take this with a pinch of salt. However, I was really impressed that I did not have to worry about battery life at all, seeing that after 3 hours or so, the battery level still shows 40% to 50%.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Optimus turns the dGPU off while doing non-graphic intensive stuff, so if you are just doing word processing or surfing the net, your battery won't die on you that fast. I do not own any laptops with the 7970m, and there might be fundamental differences between Optimus and Enduro as well as nVidia and AMD drivers, so I cannot say for sure how long your notebook will last.

 

Sorry BuzzAldrin, but gaming laptops are not synonymous with battery life. You can either buy another battery and charge them both up, or sacrifice gaming.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Thanks guys and thanks a4paper for a bit of encouragement haha. I'm pretty sure AMD's Enduro is pretty identical to Optimus, in that when the computer doesn't need to use the GPU, it switches it off and goes to Intel's.

Mr_Mysterious, it's hard to accept because I wan't such a perfect laptop but I guess it's the truth. The battery is a lot on xotic though :/

What do you guys think of this build?
Sager NP9150 / Clevo P150EM
- FREE!! Continental (U.S. Lower 48 - UPS Ground Only) Ground Shipping on ALL Sager Laptops (Enter Coupon Code: "SAGERFREESHIP" during order process)
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen (SKU - S1R319)
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3610QM (2.3GHz - 3.3GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP) (SKU – S2R174)
- -Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- AMD Radeon HD 7970M (2048MB) GDDR5 DX11 [User Upgradeable] (ETA: Late May) (SKU - S3R155)
- No Video Adapter
- No External Mobile Display
- 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4P761)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- No mSATA SSD
- 120gb Intel 520 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III) (SKU - S5R055)
- 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) in Optical Bay (SKU - S7R411)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- External USB 2.0 Slim DVD±R/RW Drive
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- No Back Up Software
- Bluetooth Included (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Sager - Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (SKU - S8R112)
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Spare 8 Cell Smart Lithium Ion Battery Pack 76.96Wh
- No Car Adapter
- No Spare AC Adapter
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No Headset
- No External Keyboard
- Standard Sager/Clevo Non Chiclet Backlit Keyboard
- No External Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- No Operating System Redline Boost
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- LIFETIME Ltd Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Telephone Support (Labor through XPC)
Includes FREE Shipping Both Ways for Warranty Repairs (SKU - X9R009)
- No thanks, standard double boxed packaging is okay with my order
- No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
- No Xotic PC Gear

 

Why don't you just get another battery? Switch it whenever you run out. I am sure unless you are gaming on it, two batteries would last you through those classes.

 

That's what I have selected in my build, I just need to find out how heavy the battery is now though.\

And also, I have a few bucks left to spare, can anyone recommend something I should add to my build?

 

You shouldn't buy anything if "you have a few bucks left to spare". Just save your money for another day

Mr. Mysterious

 

Haha thanks for the wise advice. I guess you're right, I think I'm pretty set with everything I need. I hope the 3610 doesn't hold the computer back though.

 

Though I do recommend the IC Diamond Thermal Compound...

 

and the Intel SSD is really expensive compared to most other SSDs; you are probably paying more for the brand name. Other Sata 3 SSDs may perform just as good or even better for a better price.

IC Diamond is another upgrade worthy of consideration, but if you are comfortable with applying your own TIM, then don't bother purchasing the upgrade.

 

That puts college kids in a bit of a predicament though. Those who want to game while plugged in at the dorm, but still be able to do light stuff like taking notes in a class and last a few hours.

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

 

This is the P150EM, not the HM. It has optimus. I would expect it to get at least 4 hours with integrated graphics, wifi on, half screen brightness, and light browsing/note taking, especially if you get an SSD and turn off the lighting on your keyboard.

It is, the only difference is that Nvidia's drivers are better.
How much is a "few" bucks? I'm doing a lot of programming/cpu intensive stuff and I found it worthwhile to get the 3720QM, but I ordered from Mythlogic who has it $100 cheaper than everyone else. I don't know if you could use this, but the 750GB HDD is only $20 more expensive than the 500GB one and that extra space could come in handy. Also, a lot of people recommend the IC diamond paste. If you get some battery feedback from people who actually have it and aren't just looking at manufacturer websites, and you like what you see, you could even ditch the second battery for some quick cash.

Also, I edited your spec sheet to make it easier to read.

 

Ur right this paste seems really great !

 

May I suggest this?



It has limitless battery life, no driver issues or crashes, support for all kinds of font, lightweight, and has been used for....thousands of years.

Mr. Mysterious

 

I'm thinking about getting a 9150 as well. Personally, I'd go with the IC Diamond Thermal Compound too and save the money on that 120gb Intel SSD cause IMO it's a little overpriced. I plan to get a Crucial M4 256gb and install it after I get the laptop. Of course, I understand if you just wanted to save the time and hassle.

 

Thanks for the laughs Mr. Mysterious. You do make an excellent point.

I do have one counter argument to that though, and that is in my case, my hands actually cramped up badly when writing and they would go numb. Combine that with trying to keep up with some teachers that seemed to speak like the Micro Machine guy (yes, I am dating myself here) and it did make it hard to take notes with the old pen and paper.

 

Take notes smartly...not write down everything That's what I do anyways.

The teacher starts talking about a complicated theory, I just write down the name of the theorist, the name of the theory, some basic points and remind myself to revisit this later. Simple, takes less than 10 seconds.

Back on topic: Sounds like a good machine, BuzzAldrin. Looking forward to hearing your impressions on it when you receive it.

Mr. Mysterious

 

You forgot to mention that it can play text adventures and even do photo editing

That happens to me too. For the last 2 months or so (since my thinkpad kicked the bucket) my hands have been too sore to play anything on-console right after I get home from school. Which means I'm stuck listening to the title screen music for Wind Waker, or killing Ness and Mewtwo on Melee Chuck Norris style (yes, I still play the gamecube). Fortunately, those are fairly entertaining things to do...