New here! Need help deciding!

Hey guys I recently stumbled across this wonderful site after searching for reviews on Sager laptops. After reading through a lot of these threads, I am now torn between the NP5165 and the NP8130. I will ONLY play SC2 and Diablo 3 (and nothing more intensive) during my gaming free time. I want to be able to play them on high at LEAST. So the question is..is the gt 555M enough or is getting the gt 460M the better deal? I am trying to find the BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK and not spend more than my needs. I want 1080p and i7-2630QM on both. I also plan on keeping this laptop for the next couple of years.

I am in nursing school and I want to use this laptop for my schooling as well. I will be traveling every two weeks on top of that so keep the portability in mind!

I would like your thoughts on this! Any help would be appreciated

 

SC2 is CPU bound, meaning the faster CPU the better. You might be able to get 25FPS with that combo.

Blizzard hasn't said anything official about D3: Diablo III - Frequently Asked Questions

If you're going to keep it for a couple of years, I'd consider upping the GPU if you can swing it, through the 8150.

 

As Xerloq said, you'd want to up the GPU a bit. I'd recommend an 8150 and getting a 6990m. I will also give an alternate, PM some of the resellers and see of you could get an 8130 with a 6990m installed plus the larger power supply (required for the higher end cards) The config I just said is certainly a working pair, but not easy to obtain without usually buying the card seperately

 

if its playing high settings on non full hd, the gt555 is ok.

 

a GTX 580m or 6990m is overkill for any Blizzard game. A GTX 560m should do just fine.

 

A GTX 560M won't be able to run SC2 with everything set to ultra at FHD.

 

Hi! Welcome to NBR. It's a good thing you stumbled on this site, I can tell you right now that informed purchases are made through posting on these forums.

nllptr, I did not conduct these benchmarks, and some people are skeptical about notebookcheck's practices, but based on these benchmarks: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M - Notebookcheck.net Tech, the GTX 560M will be sufficient enough to play SC2 at Ultra, full HD (1920x1080). What others are saying about the GT 555M not being able to play SC2 at Ultra, full HD is true. It can run Ultra at lower resolution (1360x768) but not at the max resolution of your laptop.

If this is your first laptop, the NP8130 may not be what you consider "portable". If I am not mistaken, the laptop itself is a little over 7 pounds. A lot of individuals that post here understand that gaming laptops are not the thinnest or lightest laptops around, but are willing to shoulder the extra bulk for better gaming performance.

Not sure if the NP5165 is lighter/about the same, but there are reviews about both the NP5165 and NP8130 on these forums, under the Sager/Clevo Reviews & Owners' Lounges section. A quick way to find these reviews without manually browsing is using Google and typing in "site:notebookreview.com np5165 review". NBR's search function is slightly... broken, to say the least.

Another little quip: the NP8130 also goes by the name P151HM. It all depends on who is selling it, but the components in the NP8130 and P151HM are identical.

Hopefully this helps you on your journey towards making an informed purchase! It is both an exciting and difficult endeavour-- well, at least for me it is.

EDIT: Wow, as coincidence would have it, someone received their NP5165 yesterday and has posted a text review on it: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo-reviews-owners-lounges/600471-sager-np5165-user-review.html Do check it out! It also reminded me that the NP5165, while being graphically less powerful, has nVIDIA Optimus technology (NP8130 does not have this), which automatically switches between the integrated GPU (Intel HD3000?) and dedicated GPU (nVIDIA GT 555M) in the laptop, thereby giving you better battery life while you are doing less demanding tasks like taking notes, browsing the web, etc. One downside to that is you cannot upgrade the GPU in the future, but in the NP8130, you have that ability.

 

If battery life doesn't matter, the 460M or 560M (availability depends on country) is the most wise option.

 

First of all, thanks for the responses! It is much appreciated.

In the NP5165 review you sent me c0nfucius, the guy stated that it gets hot when he plays sc2 and it reached 87c. Is that a concern and will the NP8130 reach those high temperatures as well?

I really don't think I would be needing a 580M or a 6990M. Those cards are way more than what I need. As of now, I am 60% leaning towards the NP5165. The fact that it weighs 1 lb less, having the Optimus technology(more battery life is GOOD) and being $200 less than the other one is appealing to me. I also don't need Ultra settings as High is good enough. However, if the temperatures on the NP8130 are ~10C less under full load, then it might change.

I also have another question. Is the 95% NTSC Color Gamut (matte) option worth the $95?

 

Everyone pretty much agrees that it is. I think the better question would be do you think you need it?

 

It is to me. Depends on your tolerance for glare and the lighting conditions you're working in. There's a whole thread dedicated to Matte vs Glossy:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-between-different-screen-options-photos.html

EDIT: Yes, the 95% gamut screen (glossy or matte) is worth it. It's only $1 per %

 

87 degrees Celsius is not too out of character for laptop GPUs. They can approach 100 degrees if running some benchmarking software like Furmark.

The NP8130 might run a bit cooler as the GPU is built to handle more demanding games. SC2 will probably make it hit 80 degrees Celsius, but I do not have an NP8130 on my hands so this is a guesstimation.

Settings on High with the GT 555M should be achievable with good frame rates if the game is running at 1600x900 or something like that; I do not think it will be a fluid gaming experience at 1920x1080 though. If that is okay with you, go for it! You also do not seem to be too inclined to upgrade your GPU in the future, and like the Optimus technology, so the NP5165 looks like a great fit for your needs.

Now as for the monitor. Have you owned a laptop before, or used a buddy's regularly? How did you like the screen? Most commonplace laptops from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Sony, etc. have glossy screens that are about on par or worse than the stock LCD monitor on the laptops you are talking about. The monitor you pick is really up to you: do you get easily irritated by the glare that glossy screens are known for? Is paying $95 worth removing that irritation? Will seeing more of the colour gamut help you out? Many people (including me) harp about the $95 matte screen upgrade, but for a lot of people, the stock screen is impressive by its own right!