Need Sager NP9170 recommendations, please!

I've been stressing over a new laptop now for a month at least. I've finally narrowed it down to the Sager NP9170 as my final choice, done, that's it, that's the one I want.

Now, I've been searching for a few days around here on what everyone is saying about the NP9170 and the upgrades available. Price is not an issue, I just want to make some final choices.

Please, I would appreciate if someone took the time to personally assist me in making the following decisions.

Laptop Monitor/Display
To start, I want the matte screen, but is it worth getting the "anti-glare screen w/ 72% NTSC Color Gamut" option, or just go with the simple matte screen?

CPU/Processor
Ok, this is my biggest issue (along with the GPU choice), I can't decide which processor to get.

1. If possible I would love to upgrade the processor myself, that's the first question, is it better to upgrade the processor after purchase? Even if it is, where can I find a processor such as the i7-3720QM, for example, for less than the usual $160 reseller price? I've tried NewEgg and Google Shopping for results by price and haven't found anything worth it. Please, enlighten me on some real websites/stores that offer true aftermarket great prices.
   
2. Next, if upgrading the processor post-purchase is a silly idea, why is it that everyone chooses the i7-3610QM over other options, besides price being the only reason. If I can afford the 3720QM, should I pull the trigger on the upgrade?

GPU/Graphics
I've read plenty on the whole back and forth between the 680M and the 7970M, I don't want to know which is better. I just want to know, depending on which processor is decided from the previous question(s), which GPU would go best with either the 3610QM or the 3720QM. I have always leaned towards the 680M.

RAM
I know about RAM, and I know that I can always upgrade it, but my question is where can I find better prices than what the resellers usually charge? It seems that websites like NewEgg are charging practically the same price as the resellers I have looked at (Xotic PC) for RAM. Please introduce me to know websites/stores that do offer those great aftermarket prices on parts/components.

A couple of more questions

• Is an mSATA SSD really worth it? According to the Xotic PC YouTube video on the Sager NP9170 it made a huge difference to have. If I were to install one post-purchase would I need re-install Windows or anything, or is it just plug in and enable?
  
• Honestly, which reseller would offer the best price on the Sager NP9170? As much as I am being picky about all this, I suppose, I want to get the best price and value (who doesn't really).

For anyone that takes the time to help me out, thank you so much in advance! Sorry if this is just another "please help me I'm clueless thread", but I honestly think this has all given me hair loss, or some grey hairs within the past month if anything.

 

Gpu : certainly go for the gtx680m, the 7970 has multiple issues and have only recently been acknowledged by sager/amd. After doing my research I changed my build to gtx680m and boy am I glad I did that. (7970m issues : bad drivers, enduro problems, low fps in many dx11 games, heat issues)

Ram: buy your own later. Corsair vengeance 16gb @1600mhz. You might even feel that you don't need it.

Reseller: xoticpc offer the best price bar none.

Screen : matte any day.

Msata : use msata only if you don't want or can't buy a 128gb or 256gb Ssd hdd. Msata is basically a really fast expensive cache drive for mechanical drives, and yes it speeds things up. But I took the Ssd route. (Samsung 830 256gb ssd) of course buy your own

Cpu: any i7 quad core cpu will do. You can always upgrade later (which will be unlikely)

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I've been considering the same options and I'll let you know what I've found. First, go with the 680 graphic card if you can afford it. It's more expensive for about the same power as the 7970, but has far fewer issues. Second, the i7-3610 should do everything you need it to do and there's no reason to upgrade it. Also, you'll probably only need 8gb of ram. If you do need more ram, it goes on sale fairly often. You don't need an mSATA if you're going to do a regular SSD, and there's not reason not to since you have two HDD bays in the 9170. SSDs have had great sales lately so look for one of those. You'll want to install windows on the SSD so it's helpful to have it right away when you get the laptop.

As for price, check with everyone. Xoticpc is well regarded, LPC-Digital gave me a great offer, and Mythologic is having a back to school sale. Contact them, tell them what you want and ask them the same questions, and go with the place with the best offer.

 

Pretty much everyone will give you the same answers to the questions already answered above.

They only thing I will add is make sure that you explore the differences between the resellers and builders yourself. Yes some may be cheaper then others - but there are also values in some of the other options that appear to cost a little bit more such as Mythlogic. Dont discount the way warranty issues are handled, the fact you can get custom drivers and internal development from them, unlike a reseller.

 

Thank you so far for the replies everyone!

I realized I didn't clarify the monitor choices well enough, the two matte screen options are just a standard matte screen or a matte screen "anti-glare screen w/ 72% NTSC Color Gamut" offered through Xotic PC. Is it worth to get that 72% NTSC Color Gamut with "anti-glare screen"? I know it's practically anti-glare anyway because it's matte...just wondering if there is a difference really.

 

Why high gamut screens not suited for gamers. This thread should answer your question

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/674980-why-high-gamut-screens-not-suited-gamers.html



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I also have two quick questions:

128GB SSD Samsung 830 + 750GB HDD or a single 256GB SSD Samsung 830?

And how about the 512GB Crucial M4, how reliable is that drive compared to the Samsung 830?

 

Any SSD is highly reliable when you compare it with a HDD. The higher the capacity, the higher the speed too! Also, I would recommend you go for the former (as highlighted above), since this would be a good trade-off, with you having the SSD for the OS and/or your most important applications, while the HDD is for the rest.

 

Thanks!

Yeah, I thought the 128GB 830 Samsung + 750GB HDD is the sensible choice as well.

The only thing that bothers me with it is that, like you said, the 256GB is faster and I want all my install games to benefit from the SSD's speed rather than a selective few at a time in the 128GB version. Perhaps I'll have to go for a 256GB Samsung 830 + 750GB HDD, but I'll be losing an arm and a leg over that purchase...

 

With a large enough SSD, the speed differences are minimal at best, when comparing the difference between an SSD and a HDD. I doubt you'd be losing out on even a single blink's worth by getting the 128GB SSD instead of the 256GB one. And remember, you can always upgrade later. In the near future, prices should drop well enough making SSDs more and more mainstream and affordable. It's a cheaper after-market upgrade after all..

 

Why not just purchase the laptop with the SSD only to start? It might be difficult to hold off transferring/installing everything onto the SSD in the beginning, but then you can just purchase a HDD somewhere else for a better price hopefully.

 

Yup, that's exactly my problem, and is what I initially considered


Prasad, it's not just the speed difference. I want ALL my installed games to enjoy the speed increase in loading times. If I'll have a 128GB I'll only be able to transfer 3 or 4 large games into the SSD at a time, and it will require a lot more hassle to do so.

Man, that sure is a tough one...

 

256gb Samsung 830 ssd is the route I'm taking mainly for gaming. My music and movies will be aggressively trimmed.

I only watch a movie once and delete the file. And I don't need my entire music collection on the road.

My macbookpro had a 128gb ssd drive and I always had 30gb free. That included music vmware movies and world of warcraft

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I wonder how much free space do you have left out of that 256GB SSD straight out of the box..

 

I would say about 250-252, that seems reasonable. I've never had hands-on experience with an SSD yet so I may be wrong.

 

Hey guys, thanks for this post! It has answered alot of the same questions/concerns regarding gaming laptop setups. I never thought of buying one till rotating shifts (sounds stupid but I don't want to miss raid nights). Thank you all for the input and for the OP for posting this.

 

The first question I have for you is why you want to buy a Clevo P170EM laptop?

If you are a heavy gaming player, you shall

1. buy 72% NTSC screen if the color screen fit your game.
2. buy iu-3720QM processor for faster processing speed. (it is not a good idea to buy a processor and upgrade by yourself, because a. you will not get your money worth. b. if you damage the unit, your warranty will be voided.)
3. 7970M is has a better performance-price ratio than 680M. But if you want the best, 680M is the best.
4. According to the new deal, it is free upgrade to 16GB 1600MHz memory.
5. MSATA hard drive is required factory installation of ISRT for best performance.

Good Luck for your research.

 

Back2School savings!

 

The Back to School promotion truly is great, I'm so glad I waited until today to start really making my final decisions.

I have one question at the moment which I didn't ask in the original post: If I were to opt out of ordering any thermal application to the CPU and GPU through the reseller(s), is that a good idea? I know you can find thermal paste at a lower price online (and maybe even better types), but is it easy to access the GPU and CPU for thermal paste application?

 

If you feel you can repaste properly, do it yourself. These are the easiest laptops to work on. You need to remove five screws to remove the backplate, then remove the heatsinks and repaste.

 

Do the components come with any type of paste out of factory anyway? Some reseller websites say "no paste applied" while others say "factory paste applied".

 

You'd better hope it has at least factory paste

Yeah it will have factory paste as opposed to no paste.

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