Oh boy, I ordered it!

Stock NP8150 with the upgraded 95% Gamut glossy screen. Removed 4 gigs of RAM to save $50. Gonna come with the stock 560M. Gonna install my own Windows since I already have the disc for Ultimate. Also got the 2nd day air shipping option. Kinda makes me wonder if I should've just opted for ground shipping...then I could've gotten the 6990M for just $100 more while waiting just a little bit more...Should I do that? Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe slower shipping isn't too bad if I can get the 6990M for just a bit more.

Price was $1450. If I get regular shipping but the 6990M, it'd go up to around $1600. Yikes. If I would've stuck with the regular ground shipping, it'd have gone down to 1350...but that'd take FOREVER since it's on the other side of the country.

D=

So excited. My first time buying a Sager, and my second laptop in general. Had a G73 from Best Buy but returned it because it had a ton of problems. Glad I did, since I was able to learn A LOT from this site.

My plans - use it for school and my creative uses while slowly upgrading it. SSD first, 4 more gigs of RAM second. Gonna keep the optical drive until I get the SSD.

^_^

Sorry for rambling. =/

 

If I were you, I'd opt for the 6990M and downgrade to ups ground.

 

I'll ask about that. Wouldn't the wait be much longer since people already pre-ordered the 6990M before me?

 

Ask them if they can throw in a free UPS 3 day select

Ground and UPS 3 day select aren't of much of a price difference...

 

That'd be pretty awesome of them to throw in free UPS 3 day select.

 

Well, my reseller offered me free 2-day air, and I was very grateful.

These minor things make lifetime businesses..

 

For me it would be a no-brainer to wait longer and opt to get the 6990. That's because I do a lot of gaming, and the 6990 would be a much better investment and is a much better card for the long haul.

Not knowing your situation though and what you'll mostly be using the laptop for, you may feel differently. Also, like Ryan said, see if they'll throw in a faster shipment method - then if so, it would make for an easy decision.

 

Wow, FREE 2-day air? That's insane. That's a $165 value.

I'll be using it for everything. School, creative use, gaming.

 

How much gaming do you generally do? If it's just the occasional game and not very much, then you'll be just fine with the 560m.

 

If I play games, it's on my PS3. However, I'm planning on playing XIV Online / Guild Wars 2 / Skyrim / BF3 on the laptop whenever I get a chance. The 560M will probably perform nicely but if the 6990M can be obtained for a good price, why not? It'd make Skyrim and BF3 all the more beautiful.

^_^

And yeah, I'm getting Skyrim on my PS3 as well. Kinda makes me wonder why I even want a 6990M since there aren't many PC exclusive games I wanna play besides Witcher and Witcher 2, which would be fine with the 560M.

 

If that is the case, I would stick with the 560m,

and upgrade later on. These are easy to upgrade, with many resellers selling upgrade kits down the road.

 

If I stick with the 560M, why not just get the NP8130?

It comes with the upgraded screen already. Unless I plan to get the 6990M eventually, it seems the NP8130 would be better since it'd save me quite a bit. Hahaha, I guess all these months of thinking weren't enough.

 

Aha, so then the 8150 is a clear advantage over the 8130, right? Kinda answers me previous post, then. ^_^

 

Well, in the case of Guild Wars 2 and BF3 (even Skyrim), you'd be much happier with the 6990. Guild Wars 2 hasn't even announced beta dates yet. Could be looking at late spring, early summer 2012 for release.

Witcher 2 is coming to the Xbox 360, and later the PS3. I have both consoles as well, but I'm mostly playing Rift these days on PC. If you have an eye on longevity, then the 6990 is the better choice. If not, and you won't be playing many PC games, the 560m will suit you fine.

It's up to you and your gaming habits, and how much it's worth to you.

 

Wow, I hope Malibal doesn't kill me. I'm strongly considering canceling the 8150 and just getting the 8130. It'd save me money.

I never intended for gaming to be my primary purpose, so I suppose if I ever want to do PC gaming, I should just build a desktop.

An NP8130 is cheaper and already comes with the screen I want. Hm...I suppose I'll think about it and revise my order once I have the opportunity to call them.

 

The 8150 comes with a bigger power supply and a rubberized finish. Otherwise they're identical.

Upgrading the 8130 down the road can be very expensive, because you'll need the beefier power supply and the GPU.

Figure $120 for the power supply and $600 for a card (if I recall correctly).

If you want the 6990, get it now. It will be cheaper and you can enjoy it longer, rather than buying it when it's a second rate card.

 

I don't game a lot, I have this laptop for university purposes.

I first got the 8150, and had the 460m, and decided to upgrade the proc to 2820qm instead.

I decided for myself that when a new GPU upgrade came out, I would get it, so I got the 6970m and I sold the 460m. The end result? I ended up paying less than what I would have paid if I upgraded the GPU from the beginning.

It's all about preferences, if you want the 8130 you can get the 8130, buy the upgraded 180W AC adapter, and you can upgrade the GPU on the 8130 as well.

 

I was told you can't upgrade to the beefier GPU because the motherboard won't allow it. As far as my needs (casual PC gaming, music making, video editing, picture editing) will the 560M suffice for several years to come?

Someone told me they're getting the NP8130 because they plan on building a desktop for hardcore PC gaming. If the 560M will do well for the next several years, I think I'll call in and have them change my order to the 8130 with the i7 processor and stock screen since it's the one I want.

 

OK, that question has been asked for a while now,

"do well for the next several years" is a huge thing. It seems to be easy for a laptop GPU to continue to perform well for the next several years, but the problem is at what texture and what settings?

If you're seeking for high-ultraish graphics, then no. The 560m is a budget gaming GPU in the sager line up, and it is not powerful enough to last you down the road.

Do you really need to run games in the highest settings?

 

Yes. Plus, you will have an easier upgrade path in the future - that is, if you'll even want to do so.

 

You certainly can upgrade the NP8130's video card. It's not available in the configuration pages, probably to increase profits with the NP8150.

MALIBAL sold me a P151HM1 /NP8130 with AMD 6990m. I just paid the $20 difference on the PSUs.

 

No, I don't need to run games in the highest settings. Not at all.

by the way, is the i7 upgrade worth $80 over the stock i5 processor the unit comes with?

 

Then you have your answer. The 560m is fine, and you save money. If you need to upgrade in the future, then you're covered there as well.

I'd opt for the 8150 over the 8130 every time though, because I'd prefer a bigger PSU. That's just me though.

 

I'm a CPU maniac, and I like to have powerful CPU's and tons of RAM, even though I hardly use any.

I'm not sure what the stock is now, when I bought this laptop the standard was the i7-2630qm.

I think you are similar in terms of usage to mine, I would get the 8130 with the 560m.

 

For the 8130, I can get it for about $150 cheaper but I lose the ease of upgrading.

So should I just stick with the 8150 in the event that I'll someday upgrade? Is the bigger PSU that vital?

 

For the 8130, the stock is an i5. To get the 2630qm, it's $80. Upgrading that still makes the 8130 quite a bit cheaper than the 8150.

Besides the rubber finish and potential 6990M in the future, I don't see why the 8150 is worth 150-200 more. Hm.

I appreciate all the posts by the way. Very helpful.

 

You can purchase that bigger PSU.

Just contact any reseller, and they will sell it.

 

And you're sure that the 6990M would work if placed into the 8130?

 

I bought my 8150 at times when it first came out, when we all thought the 8130 was not upgradeable, and paid the premium.

But now, as we all know the 8130 is upgradeable with the extra PSU, the merits of 8150 have disappeared.

If I were to choose, I would choose the 8130 with the 560m, again with 2820qm, and wait for the 6990m upgrade kit or the next series of GPUs.

 

The 8130 and the 8150 have the same motherboard. Probably BIOS-wise, they will be alike.

 

And as far as matte-plastic VS rubberized finish, both are nice, right? My good friend has a G53 from xoticpc and it's a matte-plastic finish. He's had it for a while now and he's had no problems with it. The 8130's chassis won't fall apart if I take care of it, right?

Thanks a lot, man. Seems like I'll be saving a lot of money by dropping down to the Sager NP8130.

I'm gonna stick with the stock screen, upgrade to the 2630QM, upgrade to the second option for the wireless card, the IC Diamond thermal paste, and I'll even have enough left over for a nice bag. =O

 

Stock screen is 95% gamut?

I do like the feel of matte plastic, but the trackpad is horrible on the 8150.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...s/558469-impressions-review-sager-np8150.html

You can find the gripes here, FYI.

 

Yeah, the stock screen for the NP8130 is the 95% Gamut glossy, which is what I wanted when I ordered the 8150.

 

It's a gorgeous screen, you will love it.

Enjoy your new laptop!

 

Will they install it as well? I know for some people, they are not technical savvy, so they would be paying a premium for a peace of mind. What I mean by that, is that by going with the 8150, they know that all of the components are designed with that model in mind. So, they're paying for form and function for a $1,000+ laptop, as opposed to possible headaches and frustration IF compatibility issues arise or something unforeseen comes into being.

Does that make sense?

 

Nice review, Ryan. Question - was the benchmark for XIV Online respectable? I didn't see a grade, just a number. I'm not familiar with XIV benchmarks. I'm aware that it was an old graphics card and thus the 560M will perform better with it.

I've actually wanted to play XIV Online really badly since day 1. And yes, I know about the reviews. =P

 

Yeah, that makes sense. I was told upgrading the 6990M on your own isn't that bad because it's quite simple with the 8150...however I can see why people would shy away from dealing with the PSU as well.

 

Also, I lol'd at what you said about people coming up to snort at the laptop only to get blown away by the power under the hood. I know several people who would do that, hahaha.

 

....

I would worry more about GPU self upgrading than a PSU upgrade... It's just like swapping out your power cord.

Mythlogic tested if the upgraded GPU like the 485m or the 6970m worked inside the 8130 shell with the 180W PSU and it worked.

So you shouldn't worry.

 

Yes, the GPU is easy. That said, I think swapping out PSU's would be a daunting task to some people. But if the reseller would be doing that, then it's no worry.

Just playing devil's advocate.

 

Do you guys think the stock wireless card is fine? Or is the 6230 a useful upgrade?

 

I'm looking at it from the perspective of a person that has never opened a laptop or PC before.

 

I think there might be a misunderstanding.

The PSU is the AC adapter, and you don't have to open the laptop or anything, you just use a different AC adapter. (120W -> 180W)

Mythlogic went through his own ordeals to test this out for us, and it turned out to be fine.

And as the previous post states that MALIBAL sold a configuration with a 8130 and an upgraded PSU, I think it proves that it indeed works..

 

Ryan, is the rubberized finish really annoying when it comes to dust? Your pictures in your review seem to indicate that it gets dusty fast. =(

 

No misunderstanding.

That's one reseller. I just believe that not every reseller is created equal - some might do that, some might not.

About the PSU, we were talking about the GPU as well, so I mentioned opening up the laptop.

 

Well, the issue with that is I can't really compare with the 8130 shell because I don't have one to compare.

But in my opinion yes, it does comparably get huge amounts of dust, compared to other laptops I have used like the Envy 15, and the M17x.

Aww come on, you're not going to let some dust shy you away from a gorgeous laptop, are you?

 

no, but didn't you recommend the 8130 over the 8150? D=

 

Well, mythlogic and MALIBAL makes it two..

I pretty much enjoy opening up laptops, but I guess it might be daunting for some...

I've heard of mythlogic doing upgrades for the customers if you bring the laptop in, they can do it right on their site. Other resellers not so sure, but I live in a remote area from tech (NC), so I can't really comment on this...

I totally understand what you are talking about, at first I was terrified at the fact of opening up my laptop..

So I guess yeah, I have to ask him this question...

Are you fairly adept at swapping parts out?

 

Haha, I did.

But you were asking so I thought you might have decided for the 8150..