Not sure which I should go for NP5165, NP8130, or NP8150-S1

I've been wanting a new laptop for a long time now. Really got close to commiting a few months back. Currently, I'm using 3 year old Dell Studio 1535 that I could still probably get another year or two out of.

I use it for Autodesk CAD Software, Microsoft Office suites, Internet Browsing, Music storage & streaming, and gaming. Possibly one day video capture for pc and my xbox.

Currently, I can run all my software no problem. As for the games, I can run them, but have to dim down the settings. Splinter Cell Chaos Theory I run max but on Shader Model 2.0 not 3.0, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 has to be run at 800x480 res, StarCraft II is run at low shaders on max res and I still get stutter, Battlefield 2 and KOTOR run fine. My main gaming is done on my Xbox 360 though.

I'm looking at the NP5165, NP8130, or NP8150-S1 depending on which graphics card I opt for. I want to be future proofed for at least the next 5 years and any extra years I can get the laptop to last for. I've thought about building a desktop instead especially since getting a smartphone but I still want mobile computing.

For the common options, I'm thinking of the following:
CPU: 2820QM or 2720QM
RAM: 8GB, 1333MHz or 1600MHz
HDD: Standard, will upgrade on own in future
Disc: 6X Blu-Ray Reader or DVD Super Multi Drive (not sure if I'll need seperate software to watch blu-ray movies)
WiFi: Intel Advanced-N 6230 or Intel Ultimate-N 6300
OS: Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate (I would love Ultimate and could suffice with Home Premium but supposedly MSFT will only support those versions till 2015 while Professional will be supported till 2020, so not sure if I should go with Pro for that reason)

GPU:
GT 555M, GTX 560M, Radeon 6970M, or GTX 485M/580M

I don't need max performance on graphics, but I'd still enjoy a descent card for gaming, currently I use Mobility Radeon HD 3450 on a 1440x900 screen, so nothing impressive. I only get 2.5 hours of battery life if I'm lucky (new battery too and I run max battery life settings). I'm liking the sound of Nvidia Optimus offered in the 500 series. I'd probably jump on the 560M if Sager supported Optimus for it but thats why I'm looking into the 555M.

The 485M would be a dream and I'd definetly be set for a while, but with the above options, I'm looking at $2100+, $1850+ for the 6970M, for the 560M roughly $1430+, and for the 555M a much easier to swallow $1230+ (which is what my current laptop cost me 3 years ago)

This is what I've found for gaming comparison:
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/631/captureuv.jpg


Any insight you have to offer on recomended components and the graphics card option is highly appreicated, thank you.

 

Whats your budget?

 

Well, I've got $2100 sitting in saving right now increasing every 2 weeks, but I really want to find the right balance between power, cost, and future proofing. Basically, the less the better, but I don't want to overlook something that I'd want/need later.

 

My opinion

CPU: 2720QM because there is so little difference between the two only a slight increase in core frequency and 2mb more cache you will hardly notice it and the price difference is big most people go with the 2720QM

RAM: 8GB, 1333MHz because again you wont notice much difference and its cheaper

Disc: 6X Blu-Ray Reader you cant watch blu ray movies without a blu ray drive unless you buy an external one

WiFi: Intel Advanced-N 6230 again the difference is minimal this model comes with bluetooth the 6300 has better speed though but again most opt for this one

OS: I have Ultimate always gotta have the best You can buy OS elsewhere and im sure you can get a great deal.

GPU: GTX 560M because it has a good balance between power and affordabilty

I say go with the NP8130

 

NP8130-S1 ?

Make sure you opt for the 95% gamut matte screen.

 

And if you are planning on buying directly from Sager I advise you to buy from a resseler instead because you will get better deals, support and service.

Try these

Gaming Laptops - XOTIC PC - Gaming Notebooks - Custom Laptops - Custom Notebooks

MYTHLOGIC :: Computers | Service | Support

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TBH, go for the 2630 processor. You really won't notice the extra juice unless you are running a lot of video editing, etc. If you want to future proof your laptop for 5 years including playing any games that come out within the next 5 years then opt for the 6970. The 560m can play games at about high settings now and you may be able to barely scrape by in a few year's time. The 6970 is only about a 10% less powerful than the 485m. If you're looking at the right dealers you can get the 2630 (CPU), 6970 (GPU), 8GB RAM, blu-ray and the windows home premium for around 1700.

 

As you can see, the 485m is currently about the same speed as the 6970m for like 250 more. I would say that if you were a heavy and demanding gamer, then go for the 485m because it has better driver support, but since it does not seem like you are, I would go for the 6970m. I have a Sager NP8130 w/ the 560m and I can play all of those games pretty fine (never got around to crysis though). Mine was only around 1500 for the specs in my signature. O and nice I'm from Illinois too .

 

How does the 560M run in the NP8130 do the fans throttle up and down like with the 485M GTX in the NP8150?

 

Are you talking at idle or during use? The fan throttling shouldn't be prevalent anymore at idle with the newer bios updates.

 

Well I have the Clevo P150HM my GPU fan ramps up and down at idle when the temperature reaches about 40C/100F and its pretty much the same in use too.

 

I do not have the fan throttling problem, if you are wondering. Most of those issues have been kinked out.

 

I'm talking about the same issue in 3 threads lol...... What BIOS and KBC/EC firmware do you have? The BIOS screen should show it.

 

I am looking at buying from Xoticpc. I guess the 485M is overkill for me. Again, if Clevo offered Optimus support for the 560M, I would jump on it. Like I said I'm lucky to get 2.5 hours out of my laptop. I always game on ac power, so if I had the 555M, I would love the advantage of switching to the Intel HD 3000 graphics and get a much greater battery life (according to xoticpc, 3-5 hours).

Does Windows 7 support Blu-Ray playback in Media Center or will I need to get software to watch them?

Still unsure on the OS just because of when Microsoft claims they'll end support of different versions. I don't want to have to upgrade to Windows 8 in 2015 just because security updates have ended for 7 (I still run Vista right now), but if that isn't as big a deal as I think it is, I'll definitely have no problem going for Ultimate (really interested in XP mode which I know isn't available in Home Premium)

Is optimus support going to be added by Clevo for the 560M at all? Also, how does opimus work exactly? Is it something I can set in the power settings?

 

1. There is no Blu-Ray support in Win7. You need third party software for that. Blu-Ray models should ship with the software though.

2. Microsoft is supporting XP through 2014, so I don't think you need to worry about Win7 going anywhere anytime soon.

3. In which model? Optimus is physically not connected at a hardware level in the P150HM/P151HM1/P170HM. It can't just be added without redoing the whole machine. It's possible Clevo may offer an optimus machine with higher end cards down the line though (or some other switchable graphics). There is no way to enable optimus yourself in the mentioned models though.

 

If you want to get 4-5 years out of the laptop, i'd say the np8130, since everything, even the gfx can be upgraded at some point, as its an mxm card, the np5165 has the gfx soldered to the mobo which is why it supports nvidia optimus. You'll be sacrifising some battery life for future expansions, and from what i read, people get about 3 hours out ofthe battery which ain't bad. I went with a np5160 for battery life and cause i have a high end desktop (which is mostly use for benchmark competitions these days) and ps3 to get my gaming fix.

My $.02

 

How much battery life do you get out of the NP5165? 3 hours out of 560M is actually not bad compared to what I'm used to. Also, I did a comparison of the NP8130 and NP8150 both same specs and it the 8150 costs about $200 more, what is the difference between these two platforms? I checked Clevos's site and apparently they both use the same chipset. Is is that the 50 is more user upgradeable than the 30?

 

If you want a true sense of what these machines are like, I suggest you look at the reviews, both here on NBR and on other sites.

If you ask me, based on your requirements, you really don't need anything more than an 8130 with the 560M.

And to answer your question, the 8130 and the 8150 are exactly the same machine. No difference.

Except the 8150 uses a 180W power adapter and can thus support the 485M and the 6970M.

That, and the difference in RAM (4GB vs 8GB stock, if I'm not mistaken).

Mr. Mysterious

 

Isn't the chassis different? (8130 more plastic, and 8150 rubberized finish) Unless I'm mistaken and it's the same..

 

Oh yes, forgot about that. The 8130 is plastic while the 8150 has a rubberized finish. I guess it slipped my mind because it wasn't that important to me, lol.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Is there any quality difference between the plastic and rubberized finish? My Dell Studio 1535 that I'm on is plastic, and what angers me about it is that it was snap designed so some parts no longer stay together around the monitor hinger.

This is more of a general question only because searching for the answer hasn't provided any answers or ones I understand. But what is the difference between the DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 RAM chips? What performance difference will there be? How noticable is it, or a better question where is that performance boost needed?

I'm really thinking about the 555M, I know I can't run many games on Max, but can on High, and I don't mind if 5 years down the road, I have to tone down the res or settings just to run a game. I would easily go for the 485M if I could just blow the money. Really, my laptop can still run everything I throw at it, I just really want a new computer.

 

Well the matte finish on the 8130 isn't a snap together and I personally really like it. But, then again I haven't seen the rubber and it is supposed to be a better feel.

The difference between the RAM chips a not very noticeable and it seems like it won't effect you.

Also, from what I hear, the 555m can run games on high, but only for 720p not so much 1080p. Really if you want the graphics or your computer to last longer, then go with the 560m or above.

 

Not a good reason, IMO, and I would suggest against buying a new laptop if you don't need one, and instead save your money.

Mr. Mysterious

 

Thats one reason why I am so hesitant. Since I can still run everything. I'm getting sick of my laptop though, the fact that hinges are falling apart, the fact I get about 2 hours battery life, and I'm sick of Vista but don't want to buy W7 if I'm going to get another computer in the foreseeable future. With my smartphone now, my laptop is needed less for internet usage on the go, which has caused the idea of a desktop to cross my mind, but I still like the ability to bring my laptop when I need it, and the ease of moving it. Even though I said my laptop can run everything I throw at it, it barely runs R6V2 (800x480 to be smooth), or SCII (low shaders and I still get stutters), etc. I don't know, I can wait at least another year, it'd be just fine.

How much compatability do the MXM 3.0b boards have? If I got a 8150 with the 560M, is there a likelihood that I'd be able to upgrade to a 600 series lets say 680, 6+ months down the road (purely speculative). If I understand it, the 8130 also uses MXM, so like a 660M if it fits using the same profile, it should work? Where do people even get replacement MXM GPUs? When I do a search, I can't find them,

I don't, I guess its more about learning than purchasing. I bet once I am truly ready to buy, I won't be hesitant.

Edit: Question about the Blu-Ray drive. I know it is also a DVD multi-format drive as well, but if I wanted to boot directly to a CD-R or DVD-R out of the BIOS for reinstalling the OS (which I've had to do countless times with Vista or for some other OS or utility disc) would I be able to do that like a regular DVD multi-format drive? If I understand it right, it shouldn't recognize a BD disc though without the software. Or am I completely wrong on all of this. Such as a BD Data Disc, is seperate software needed for reading files as well? Sorry about all the questions, just unsure. Also, I'm reading your 8130 review right now, very helpful

 

MXM 3.0 Type II is the latest kind, but people are saying that with the new PCIE format out due with Ivy Bridge, that we will not be able to upgrade our laptop GPU card to much more. I don't know honestly. Like I said before the 8130 = 8150, except the former is plastic and has a 120W PSU, the latter is rubberized and has a 180W PSU.

AFAIK, the blu-ray drive is just that: It will recognize and read BR discs.

Mr. Mysterious

 

What is your budget? Because it sounds like getting a smaller portable laptop and a gaming desktop would be a good idea. People say that if you build a desktop, then it could cost around 800-900 dollars and if you get another 700 laptop for everything else (and with a 555m GPU) it could be around another 700-800 dollars which would be around the cost of the NP8150 S1.

 

I would go with the N8130 with the matte screen.

Also, just for fun, I'd also go with the 2720QM and then 8gb of 1600mhz since that processor will support it without downclocking.

The 560M is great. Will run anything you throw at it on all high.

Total for that and everything else as stock rests at $1574.(Xotic)
(also did 750gb for the hard drive)

However, if it was me, I would also throw in a solid state, but your choice.

Also, XoticPC is an awesome reseller

 

1 - Vista and 7 are the same, excepting Windows 7's newer interface (and a few select software makers neglecting Windows Vista when making their products *WORK* right; like Mumble). If you're sick of Vista, you'll be sick of 7. And if you aren't, then it's all in your head. If I seem harsh, it's because these statements annoy me. It's not personal.

2 - That's not "running everything I throw at it". If you have to sacrifice a lot of settings to get something playable, then I wouldn't call that running what you throw at it. My machine, now, can run pretty much everything, I rarely have to step down from high settings. I want to upgrade because my GPU is dated and I want good future proofing with PC gaming as my main (and currently only) platform, as well as I want better battery life. Mine lasts 15 minutes. Your 2 hours would be a godsend to me haha.

3 - If you want to upgrade to a new card in the future, there need to be two things in your favour:
Your laptop must still be supported (I.E. Heatsinks/bios updates must be made for your model) or you won't be physically able to install it.
Your power brick must be able to put out enough juice for your card; the reason the P151HM1 (8130) doesn't have the 485M as an option is because its power brick isn't strong enough, whereas the P150HM (8150) is sold with (as mentioned before) a 180W PSU and can support the stronger cards.
If those two things are in the green, you should be able to use a 660M as long as it uses the same architecture. If they got MXM 4... well you're toast. =).
You can look on Ebay for replacements, or contact resellers like XoticPC for the kits.

4 - I don't know. I honestly don't. Meow.

 

There's almost no performance increase from the 1600MHz RAM, though. It's not worth the money IMHO.

 

Well, I'm not sure on buying anything soon, espcially after doing some research on Ivy Bridge. The unfortunate truth with electronics, patience = less cost and more power. The other unfortunate truth, no matter how patient you are, something better will always swing by "too quickly".

But, I've narrowed it down thanks to everyone's feedback. I'm thinking NP8130. The NP8150 is nice but I don't need ultra-high powered graphics or extremes edition CPU (so need for the larger power source and could careless about rubberized vs plastic), and if a 3 year old Radeon Mobility 3450 (not even a gaming graphics card to begin with) can still run games today, I'm sure a GTX 560M will be great even 5+ years down the road. Especially after I just spent the last hour viewing comparisons and settings quality of the GT 555M, GTX 560M, and GTX 485M. the 560M seems to be the sweet spot. I can live without Optimus if it means I'll have MXM support and possibly the ability to upgrade in the future. Hey, if a year and a half down the road I can replace the GPU with a GTX 760M (hypothetical) and it only costs me like $300, then it is worth it.



As for the build I'm thinking of now (NP8130 from XoticPc, want a minimum 5 years use):

Screen: I'm pretty sure my Studio is glossy, and I like it, especially compared to my Dad's 6 year old Inspiron, lol. $95 more for a matte type is a lot, especially since I don't know what a matte type looks like. I need to hit some store like Best Buy I guess to find out. I did notice at college the other day though issues for the first time in a while viewing a PDF textbook (1500 page text book is easier to navigate and carry on a laptop ), I was getting some glare which I almost never have to deal with.

Thermal Paste: LOL, I am not paying $40 for paste. I bought Arctic Silver long ago with cleaning solutions for under $10 that I've used on my Xbox 360, this laptop, and have plenty left.

CPU: I'm thinking 2720QM. $160 more and I get 200MHz Clock Speed Boost and 500MHz turbo. I would go for the 2820QM but for $190 on top of that, I'm only looking at a 100MHz increase all around and 2MB increase in L3 Cache, which I'll be honest, have no clue what that would do for performance, but I'm pretty sure it is insignificant. If I ever needed to, I could upgrade to it in the future. Doubt I would. I still haven't maxed out my Intel Core 2 Duo T8100.

RAM: 8GB 1333MHz is perfect (I use 3.5GB [32bit OS] at 667MHz right now). $60 for an increase to 1600MHz isn't bad, but I don't think I'd actually see the difference in performance. Plus I could always upgrade later to faster or more RAM if needed.

HDD: I'm going basic. 7200rpm works for me (I'm used to 5400rpm on my current laptop). I really want a SATA III SSD, and I think 160GB-200GB is the sweet spot for me (especially since I have a 250GB 5400rpm external drive that barely used). I currently have only 123GB used and could easily free up more space. The only problem, way too expensive. How much performance increase would I see from the Seagate XT Momentus for $65 more?

Optical Drive: I want Blu-Ray. I don't own a Blu-Ray player but do own one Blu-Ray. I'm not a movie buff at all. Never rent or buy. But I like the option especially for only $70. I don't need a writer, plus again it is the future proofing. And maybe if I did have a BD-Drive, I would actually watch more movies, and HDMI out to my TV would mean everyone can watch.

WiFi: Actually, I don't know much about the stock card. Not really sure if I'd ever actually use the Bluetooth. When it comes down to it, it's just LAN speeds that make the real difference. If the Intel 6230 is faster than the stock, I'd drop the extra $25.

OS: It's between Home Premium and Professional. Ultimate is nice, but I don't think I'll use any features of Ultimate that aren't in Professional. However there are features of Pro that aren't in HP that I'd definitely use. And it only cost $60 over HP. The other big thing is Microsoft ends support for Windows 7 HP and Ultimate in 3.5 years and will still support Windows 7 Pro and Enterprise for another 8.5 years, which leans me toward Pro.

Warranty: I don't think I'd buy any additional warranties. I never ever need them. $80 extra for 2 years or $150 for 3 isn't bad, and probably would be smart, but I'm not sure yet if it is worth it.


That's what I'm thinking right now. Going all basics would cost $1479. Kind of expensive. Anyone have any insight toward some of the things I'm thinking on for the 8130?

 

The matte is worth it. Trust me. My friend bought the same laptop I did with a few minor differences including the glossy screen. It's nice and everything, but at the same quality as my matte + glare, it's not worth it imo and I know he's regretting going glossy over matte. But hey, personal preference.

---------v-Glossy-v------------------------v-Matte-v----------


CPU: Great option. I'm wishing I would have gone that route rather than the 2630. Don't get me wrong, the 2630 is fantastic and works above and beyond anything I'll ever need it for, however the extra speed the 2720 brings to the table makes my inner-child squeal
Good choice on the ram. I got the 8gb 1333mhz and it's more than enough.

Paste: No kidding xD Seeing this price almost made me go to another reseller. That's ridiculous haha

hdd: 750gb 7200 and it's great. I put it in the odd slot though and stuck a ssd in the main hdd bay. As for the Seagate XT Momentus, you wouldn't see $65 worth of different imho.

Network: I put the Advanced-N in mine, but to be honest, I don't notice a difference from the stock card.

OS: I personally have Ultimate however I don't use any of the features that makes it any different from Professional so I'd say going with Pro is a good choice.

 

Holy crap, that is a huge difference between Matte and Glossy. Yea, I could probably go Matte then. All that's left is to decide, buy or wait. I have the money to buy, I just don't want to see it dissapear

 

I was in exactly your shoes about 3 weeks ago. I pulled the trigger and bought it. Was a little antzy about it until my laptop arrived a week later. Haven't looked back since. Best laptop I've ever owned in my life. Absolutely fantastic

It comes with a case by the way. I was pretty excited about that. Especially because I bought the 'Standard Black Business Case' from Xotic(which doesn't even fit the 8130 btw) with my lappy.

 

Well, I'm looking at this build (listing only the changes):

Screen: Matte Type 95% Color Gamut
CPU: 2720QM
Optical: Blu-Ray Reader
WiFi: Intel 6230
OS: Windows 7 Pro
HDD: Will upgrade in the future for SSD SATA3

This setup would cost $1650 (for the cash option) although, I'm used to glossy type and because of that I'd have no problem using that type of screen. It would then only cost $1560 (for the cash option). I really want SSD but they just don't offer the right size vs price opion. I'd drop on SATA2 if they offered the right sized drive. $255 for the 120GB SATA3 SSD is temping, but it isn't enough space. I want to be able to keep everything on my laptop like I do now. To have room to work with, I need a bare minimum 160GB. Obviously SSD isn't for storage but instead for applications and programs, but I don't need much storage space. Between my Lossless music backup, documents, and other files, I use roughly 40GB. And over 30 of it is music, I want all my music stored locally.

It's really tempting, especially since I'd still have $500+ left over. I could probably sell my laptop to a friend for $250-$300.

 

Well hey, if glossy is what you are used to and you are comfortable with it, I see no reason to opt-in for the matte unless you plan on using your laptop in direct light or outside quite a bit. Although, I still strongly feel that if you DID go matte, you definitely wouldn't regret it.

As for the hard drives, I personally have a 160gb ssd in my main bay and a 750gb hdd in my odd bay. It works well for me. The 160gb is perfect for my os and programs with plenty of room to spare. Then I store all my games, music movies and whatnot on my 750gb with room to spare. I bought the 750gb with my laptop from Xotic, however I actually bought the sdd from a friend for a good price.

I would check out price differences from Xotic->Newegg->Amazon and possibly even Ebay if you feel comfortable going used.

All-in-All, your build as above looks awesome. Except for the blue ray drive. I personally feel that that is unnecessary, but once again, personal preference

 

The only reason I'd even want Blu-Ray is to watch Blu-Ray movies, it bothers me Windows 7 doesn't support it. Another poster said it comes with software. However, I've been checking the XoticPC forums, and one person was having issues with it working. The idea of a BD drive is to not need to buy a blu-ray player and if I'm not watching Blu-Ray on the go, then I'd HDMI out to my TV. I'm starting to wonder now if it is worth it as well. But, it is part of future proofing.

 

Sig .

 

To the OP, the build setup you have is awesome. It is almost the same as Nascentes. I would definitely go with the Matte, and even though the 95% gamut looks great on mine, a lot of people with the stock loved theirs aswell. So if you wanted to save cash, the stock is still a great screen. Wish I had your build, the CPU and SSD you are getting is awesome.

 

To be honest I wouldnt go 95% gamut if a stock screen was an option. The cheaper screen isnt 1080p. Not getting one yet though. Also never said i'm getting an SSD, you kind of have me confused lol.

I'm starting to wonder if the wifi card upgrade is worth it. Our network only supports the G band. Its a 5+ year old router. Although, future proofing.

 

Your right, I forgot the stock isn't 1080p. And I read your thing wrong, you said you were going to upgrade in the future oops, my bad. I have the Intel 6300 and I think it is pretty overkill, my router kinda sucks so it doesn't do anything for me.

 

The stock screen on the 8130 is full HD. They don't offer any non-1080p screens for that model.

EDIT: Wow, it changed. Lame

 

Look at the bright side, 1600x900 instead of HD on the 8130 means you get higher FPS in games.

It is strange that it changed though. Maybe that's why my reseller told me he only had 1600x900 screens as replacements for my 8130 which came with the old stock screen that was 1080p and matte!

Is it only Xotic though? Some resellers still list the old option but maybe they haven't updated it.

 

Yeah, it was just recently changed. A couple days at the most

 

Oh! I know what's going on! If you check the actual Sager site, you can see that on the 8130, the 1080p matte screen that used to be stock for the 8130 is on backorder and won't be back in stock until the end of June.

custom gaming laptops - Welcome to Sager Notebooks

Sager/Xotic is probably substituting another screen until then and hence why only a 1600x900 option for the 8130 when you buy through them.

If you wait until the summer, you might be able to get the matte 1080p screen again without paying $95.

 

What is the difference in quality from a stock screen and a 95% Gamut screen? Is it that noticable?

 

Right now, it's going to be noticeable because of the FHD thing. If you're talking just straight gamut, it's supposedly noticeable, but you don't really NEED the high gamut unless you're working on graphic design type projects.

The stock screen (the FHD one, when it comes back) is really nice.

 

I can wait to save $100. I'm sure the screen I use now is no where near the level of gamut of those and I like my screen.

 

That's probably a good choice. Now that I think about it, i'm like 90% sure that I did not pay an extra 100 for my matte screen. I'll have to go check the order details again and see...

Edit:

Yeah, I guess I lucked out

 

It was on sale when I bought mine too. It was like $45 for the 95% gamut

 

Now if they'd only add cheaper, higher gamut screens for the P170HM (NP8170) by the time I order one... oh joy.