Need some help thinking of buying SAGER NP9260 from Xotic PC E-Store

Hi I am thinking of buying the SAGER NP9260 from Xotic PC E-Store. I have a few question that I would like to ask you guys before I buy it. I am going to get the dual 7950 Go GTX card and can I upgrade this video card when the new 8800M come out if so then I will buy this computer if not maybe I should hold off sorry if some one ask this question already. Also for the 1 Express Card 54/34 Slot what sound card can I buy instead of using the on board one I sort of want to have EAX 4.0 or 5.0 support if possible. Also is Xoptic PC E-Store trust full this is my first time buying from them and how fast do they ship out when the system is ready.

Here is my configuration for this system what do you guys think.
17" WSXGA+ Active Matrix Super Clear Ultra Bright Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66GHz w/ 4MB L2 Cache - 1066MHz FSB
- SLI ENABLED DUAL (2) 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 7950GTX w/GDDR3 Video Cards (User Upgradeable)
- None Standard
- ~ 2,048MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive (9260)
- ~160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive (9260)
- ~160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive (9260)
- Raid 0-Stripe (Combines primary and secondary hard drive)( (Requires 2 Identical Sized Hard Drives)
- External USB Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Integrated System Speakers - Included
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- None Standard
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
- 110/220V 120W Auto Switching AC Adapter - Included
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime Toll Free Tech Support (Extra 2 Year Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

The price is 3,397.01 do you think this is a good price for this setup thanks for your help.

 

XoticPC is a very reputable vendor. They have legendary service & support.

If you want to ask for the time of shipment from time of purchase, its best to contact them. Or PM Justin@Xotic (here on NBR).

As for the videocards, Sager (and their resellers) will not want to speculate on a non-existent card.

But I will

The 8700M GTX is going to probably released by Winter... which is probably the high-end G80 card that people have thought it to be called 8800M (which was never an official name by Nvidia).

The new Clevo's have the most potential in any videocard upgrade (with the bleeding-edge MXM-IV slot).... which no other notebook on the market has.

 

I ordered a nearly identical system on Tuesday Sept 4th. I ordered only 2 HDD (also 160 GB) but I did get 4GB RAM .

The video cards are delayed by the way. I've heard rumors that they'll arrive on the 19th. They may not arrive until end of September though.

As far as xoticpc goes, I'm completely impressed with their service. I've peppered Justin (sales at xotic) with a ton of questions -- I'm not kidding here... roughly 3 emails a day, every day, all week. I also changed my order once, then I "un-changed" it. They even answered some late Thursday night after business hours.

I ordered on Tuesday, my order went to manufacturing on Wednesday. It's delayed due to the video cards, so we'll see how quickly it ships after the parts arrive. I'm not expecting any problems based upon the service I've had so far.

I'm sure you'll be pleased.

 

HI Gophn thanks for the fast reply so the SAGER NP9260 the one that I am going to get is t he newest version as of today right? Also what is the different between MXM-III and MXM-IV slot and which one does SAGER NP9260 use again. Last question if I want to upgrade the sound card to have EAX support is there any other option I can get to have that support thanks.

 

Your configuration is a lot of money for sure, but if you have that much to spend on a machine . . .

Why not go RAID 5 if you're getting three hard drives? RAID 0 means doubling the risk of data loss since you are depending on two hard drives to hold your data. I do not recommend RAID 0.
What you could consider doing is getting an SSD aftermarket, using that as the primary hard disk with the OS and a few key programs on it, and then use (a) 7200RPM drive(s) for storage. Just a thought.

 

HI Chaz The reason why I wanted Raid 0 is because I want to have 480GB of hard drive space. Where can I get the SSD HD for the main OS how much would it cost.

 

Then get 3 250 GB hard-drives. The risk of failure of a 3-disk raid-0 array is pretty high in the long run.

 

They don't offer 250GB SATA-II drives with the 9260. The max 7200 rpm drive offered is 200GB.

I personally like RAID-0 for the performance. Just use an external HDD for backups.

 

The Clevo D900C/D901C (aka. Sager 9260/9261) uses MXM Type IV slots.

The slots are so new that even Nvidia has not publicly announced them yet.

The MXM-III was capped with 35watt cards.. while MXM-IV will have a much higher power capacity... 50w+. So if there is any notebooks to expect the high-end DX10 cards to appear on... it will definitely be on the D900C and M570RU.

As for sound cards, there is the new mobile X-Fi card for the ExpressCard54... which most new notebooks have.

...or an external soundcard.

 

Hi Gophn Thanks for the Reply so cool the Sager 9260 use the MX type IV slots so I am hopping that they will come out with the new high-end DX10 soon. What is the different on 9260 vs 9261. Also so does that mean that the Sager 9260 come with EAX support with the standard that is build in the motherboard.

 

The 9260 and 9261 are the same...

the 9261 has a new motherboard revision to support Intel quad core CPUs (w/ G0 stepping).

the integrated soundcard has some EAX features... although a dedicated card would be better.

 

Hi Gophn thanks the fast reply so what EAX does it support 4.0 or 5.0 that is build in to the integrated sound card.

 

EAX 4.0 i believe.

 

Hi Gophn WOW cool if its the EAX 4.0 that is pretty cool I am going to order the unit without the OS but to enable the EAX is it software base or hardware that build into the motherboard.

 

pretty much all integrated audio is software driven... but they do the job.

 

Hi Gophn thanks so much for your help I am really happy that this system support EAX 4.0 I am going to order this system in the first week of November and the only thing I want is that hopefully I can upgrade to DX10 when they come out. Oh yes for got to ask about the screen I am going to get the 1680 x 1050 is that going to support HI-Def viewing when I get HD-DVD or Blue-Ray drive when they come out.

 

"Full HD" = 1080p = 1920x1080p resolution

Most of the new Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies will have 720p (1280x720p) and 1080p.

You do not have to have the full WUXGA (1920x1200) screen to experience the HD goodness, the WSXGA+ (1680x1050) will still do fine (but reduced pixels from the down converting if the film is 1080p).

As for the notebook drives, they are already available... but are extremely expensive... which is why you do not normally see the option.

So if you want it, just contact the vendor and they will special order and install it in the notebook for you.

 

Cool thanks darn then I gees I will have to buy the 1920 x 1080 resolution to play 1080p when I get the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. I will probably buy the drive when they come down the price thanks so much on the fast replay again.

 

If I were you I would wait for the NP9261 to start shipping. You'll get the latest motherboard and I've heard it was a major redesign. This I believe would increase you possibilities for upgrade if that is something you are thinking about.

Trance

 

HI DFTrance I can wait for the NP9261 do you know when are they going to have that one. Also what major changes are they going to have. Are they going to use the PCMICA for the new express cards.

 

Hi I went to DreamBook Power D90 SLI and they say that they would have Dual nVidia SLI GeForce Go 8700M GT 2x512MB PCI Express Graphics by ETA October does that mean that the Sager NP9260 should be able to upgrade the to 8700GT SLI. Also on there site they say that it has 8800GTX 512MB 2x SLI but its not out yet just want to ask so that mean we should be able to upgrade when the video card comes out.

http://www.pioneercomputers.com.au/products/configure.asp?c1=3&c2=15&id=2218

 

Pioneer's site have always been not up to date, as well as irresponsible by using rumors and unofficial information to sells there wares.

Its a shame really.

 

The new motherboard would be shipping sometime in October by Sager. So basically any other store in the US should have them by then too. Check with your seller.

Trance

 

I didn't realize you were using a 3-disk array. That's an even worse idea becuase you triple the risk of data loss/drive failure. If you want that much hard drive space then honestly you should be looking at external 3.5" drives. I do not recommend RAID 0, it would be a mistake. It has very little real-life performance impact. A single 7200RPM drive is actually faster in some instances due to access time.

Yes, do not trust anything you get off that Pioneer site. Not reliable; they always jump the gun.

 

I'd have to agree with the assessment of Xotic. My 9260 took a bit longer than I thought it would to get here but the communication was excellent!! Very happy with my 9260 and Xotic!

 

Right now I only have a single 100gb drive but want to go to dual 100's w/ raid and a 250 gb to back it up in raid 5. Is this a possible combo or even a recommended way of doing it?

 

All RAID-0 and RAID-5 HDD must be identical in size and should be identical in design characteristics (i.e. same model) -- google RAID-5 or RAID-0 or try wikipedia.

 

Hi guys I just order the Sager NP9260 here is my final specs.

- Display: 17" WSXGA+ Active Matrix Super Clear Ultra Bright Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Dead Pixel Policy: Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66GHz w/ 4MB L2 Cache - 1066MHz FSB
- Video Card: SLI ENABLED DUAL (2) 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 7950GTX w/GDDR3 Video Cards (User Upgradeable)
- External Monitor Video Adapter: None Standard
- Ram: ~ 2,048MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- Optical Drive: ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- Primary Hard Drive: ~160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive (9260)
- Secondary Hard Drive: ~160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive (9260)
- Third Hard Drive: None Standard - 9260
- Raid: Raid 0-Stripe (Combines primary and secondary hard drive)( (Requires 2 Identical Sized Hard Drives)
- Floppy Drive: None Standard
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Camera: Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- TV Tuner: Built-In Multi Region TV Tuner w/ Remote (XP & Vista Business)
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Speaker Systems: Integrated System Speakers - Included
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Wireless Network: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Wireless Network Accessories: None Standard
- Case: Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
- AC Adapter: 110/220V 120W Auto Switching AC Adapter - Included
- Docking Station / Port Replicator: None Standard
- External Monitor: None Standard
- Fingerprint Reader: None Standard
- Optional Mouse or Keyboard: None Standard
- Notebook Cooler: None Standard
- Operating System: None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- "Medialess" Microsoft Office Software: None Standard
- Software Bundle (Not Installed): None Standard
- Warranty: 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime Toll Free Tech Support (Extra 2 Year Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

Total cost with 2 day shipping is 3319.01 and they say that they will have the 9260 in stock in September 24th and it will take about 5-8 days to build and test so I should have the system by the first week on November.

 

Oops... my bad... meant to raid 0 the 100gb drives and then raid 1 those drives onto a 250gb

 

The word from Eurocom is that the 9260's arriving at the end of this month have the new motherboards (rev 5.x) -- that's the reason for the back orders. So rev 5.x should be shipping by end of the month (Sept 24th according to the Sager site).

Only rumors on the 8700's in SLI but I have my fingers crossed that the rev 5.x arrive with that capability. HOWEVER I suspect it's just a pipe dream. Why? Because the Clevo site shows the new features from rev 5.x (i.e. quad cores). But it still shows 8700's without a SLI option.

So I'm guessing no SLI 8700's anytime soon.

 

Hi Kozi so that that mean I should have the new motherboards for the 9260 when my system comes?

 

You should contact XoticPC to clarify that.

Although, like said before, the new motherboard is the same as the old... just with quad-core support.

And quad-core VS dual-core in gaming has little to no noticeable improvements in performance.

Only those that are media editing or rendering will notice the differences.

 

Hi Gophn thanks for the fast replay I will contact XoticPC to see if I am going to get the new version of the motherboard. Hopefully its the new one.

 

Hi guys I have cancel the order for the NP9260 but I have order the new one 9261 due to the fact that Justin told me that the NP9260 does not support NVIDIA 8700 SLI so I oder the new that which it support it.

Here is my new spec for NP9261

- 17" WUXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel Core 2 QUAD Q6600 2.4GHz w/ 8MB L2 Cache - 1066MHz FSB
- SLI ENABLED DUAL (2) 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 8700GT w/GDDR3 DX10 Video Cards (User Upgradeable)
- None Standard
- ~ 2,048MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive (9260)
- ~160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive (9260)
- None Standard - 9260
- Raid 0-Stripe (Combines primary and secondary hard drive)( (Requires 2 Identical Sized Hard Drives)
- None Standard
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- Built-In Multi Region TV Tuner w/ Remote (XP & Vista Business)
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Integrated System Speakers - Included
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- None Standard
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
- 110/220V 120W Auto Switching AC Adapter - Included
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime Toll Free Tech Support (Extra 2 Year Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

Thanks to Justin and with his help I have just change my order today but then I have to wait till 10/19 to get my new laptop but its worth the wait.