Newbie need advice on Sager

I have heard that Sager makes very good laptops. I'm thinking about spending less than $1k on one, maybe 15". I'm a Dell guy for about ten years, so I know nothing about Sagers. How do they compare to Dell computers? Better build off the factory line? Customer support? Computer would be a gaming laptop. I'm assuming there are ones (from all the threads about 9800/8800 GTX) without integrated cards?

Just looking for some guidance on where to shop and what to look for with this company.

 

sager laptops are built like tanks and are very sturdy.
i think to get the full potential you need to have a minimum 9800GTS graphics card. cant help you much on price as i am in the uk and its a lot dearer over here.

 

You won't get much of a gaming system for under $1k, not from anyone, not even Clevo.

 

He could get the NP2096 with the minimal configuration.

 

Not once shipping and an OS are factored in - those two put even the minimal configuration over $1k. Beside which, I don't reckon that minimal configuration really counts as a "gaming" system, although no doubt you'd be able to play plenty more games on it than I can on my 6 y.o. VAIO Z1A.

 

Go with sager than dell.

 

i really like asus g50v-a1 with a good price too

 

For around $1k you won't be getting the notebooks that "sagers are known for" (clevo backbone - lots of aluminum, good frames, good location of parts, best cooling system, especially for graphics cards) unless you wait for prices to drop on some current models but will be getting a compal backbone, which should be on par with a dell system, but probably underpar compared to a high end XPS system. Your best bets are probably an xps 1530 (which has some issues? but I haven't checked closely since I ruled it out), one of the asus laptops, like phoduma mentioned, or a gateway or hp pavilion notebook on sale (gateway 7811x $1200ish (?) currently on sale from what I've seen posted).

edit: Wait, you have a 1730. What's the deal then? Want a more portable notebook? Sagers aren't really portable, even the 15inh ones.

 

when buy a dell, you are paying for the name dell. sager offers extremely product and vents placed to get the heat out. when comparing prices sager is very good. if you put a sager and alienware side by side with the same parts,memory and cpu and gpu, you would pay a heck of alot more for the alienware.

 

if you are a member of costco, you can get a HP laptop and have it configured to what you need with alot of bells and whistles

 

Thanks for the responses guys. Yes, I do have an XPS 1730, and I'm getting 4 GB of HyperX memory for it and another 7200 320 GB Scorpio drive for it, so that thing is going to be maxed out. Just want to have a good second laptop. Not necessarily portable, but you know - when your Dell fails, it's good to have an option B, especially since I work and do school work on the beast. I threw out the "$1000" figure there just to see what kind models Sager/Clevo put together. It seems as though you guys are right on with the whole best-bang-for-the-buck. Being a good cooler and put together like a solid brick are two things I'm definitely looking for considering the intense applications I use and game.

Based on what you guys said, the XPS I have configured could be had for less than half the price with same specs on a Clevo. This is exactly what I was looking for. Something better priced that I won't need customer support for every few weeks like I did on my past Dells.

I'm excited now When I get some spare change together in the $2k region, I will definitely go for another model with the 8800 GT in there.

By the way, does Clevo own Sager? Or are they two different branches/models/series? I just haven't heard much about the company at all, which is why I'm curious to find out as much as I can. How's the CS?

 

No, Clevo does not own Sager they manufacture the chasis for sager to use.

 

So where would one go about to buy a Sager? Who has the best selection?

 

You can go to
Sager
XoticPC
DarkSmiley
PowerNotebooks
KillerNotebooks

There is a Stickey on the top of this forum with alot of good info on Sager/Clevo also has a lot of resellers for you to choose from

 

I apologize for the redundancy. Thanks for the links. I'm mainly asking now for my friend, who wants to go with another Dell, after his Inspiron 15" is now obsolete (4 years old), and he thinks Dell is great. I keep telling him to widen his horizons and try something new, because this Sager sounds like an awesome deal for a computer. He's afraid the parts are cheap and sacrificing quality. I just want him to get a Sager so I can see something new for once instead of another bloody Dell.

 

I've owned a lot (4, family has had two more) dell notebooks and all of them have been and are more cheaply made (plastic, run hotter, have lower specs, cost more, awesome motherboard meltdown potential in a couple of them (inspirons :S), keys have fallen off) than the M860TU I just got. Show him wikipedia's info on "Original Design Manufacturer" of notebooks, and point out how Dell contracts stuff out to ODM's, and is often a third+ tier reseller of other companies' chassis.

You might want to 1) consider a NP9262 or so, if you're thinking around the $2k range and want a full desktop replacement (SLI, 3 hard drives, 3 fans, equivalent or better than your 1730s) or 2) look around for an M860TU with a 9800GTS (a bunch cheaper than the 9800GT's and only marginally slower), which should be around $1600-1650 or so (RJtech? I think? has this card, in a barebones setup) for the notebook.

 

Sorry to correct, but Sager models currently only have 9800M series graphics cards. Did you per chance mean the 9800M GT?

Wow, I must be getting better known to actually be named

 

Did I read correctly, $1,000?

That barely buys a mid level HP.

 

Got to look a bit farther down, Zenica

 

Sorry guys. I'm still adjusting to the 9 series of Nvidia, and still happy I got the 8800 GTX in my XPS, so I keep thinking I'm on the "cutting edge" when I may not be.

Anyways, my bud's on xoticpc.com right now trying to optimize a laptop for under $1600, and I'm telling him to go with the Clevo chassis rather than the compal - good move, right?

 

dont forget the longer you or he leaves it the less chance you will have of getting the 9800GT as when stocks run out they are being replaced by the 9800GTS

 

Well, if you're planning to buy a Sager they no longer offer the 9800M GT anyway (I'm assuming that you're talking about the NP8660). However, it may still be available from notebook builders, not resellers.

 

whats the difference between builders and resellers?
the cards are still available in the uk if maybe only in short supply until they run out of stock.

 

Builders actually build/tweak their systems, resellers are just order takers.

 

but don't forget that 9800gts shows very good performance

 

*Gasp* You're right! The base price is now $1630 from Xotic, with only the GTS. I'm unsure about how I feel about this; I have the 9800GT and I guess it's lucky that I got one, but that's a significant price drop :O

Part of me questions this decision on nVidia's part: are they discontinuing the 9800GT because they have too many 9xxx offerings or (way more likely) because the 9800GT has the same soldering issues, which are now fixed on 9800GTS/Xs. :/

Yes, I think so. $1600 is pushing it. He should go for $1700ish and an M860TU, as it's a biiiig step up from the lower Clevo system (esp graphics + motherboard wise), and has nicer cooling than the (all plastic) Compals (which aren't bad, by the way, I hear, so he might just want to go for the 2096 - probably around $1200ish with lots of stuff or around $1600 with a 3 yr warranty).

 

Not quite, in either case.