Ordered a NP5792 from discountlaptops.com

After a disappointing experience trying to order a laptop from Alienware ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2807843#post2807843), I decided to try a new retailer for the first time in 3 years. Sagers seem to be the only notebooks that are actually shipping with 8800M GTX cards, and everyone seemed pretty pleased with the brand, so I went for it.

I tried Xotic PC, but the CSR wasn't able to answer all my questions. Not all 7200RPM drives are the same, guys. Someone else reccomended discountlaptops.com, so I did my homework and it seemed they deliver what they promise. I'm a little concerned about the availibility of the GFX cards, so I figured I'd keep the rest of you updated on how the order is going. Sent in the order today, and wired the money from my bank.

Sager NP5792

17" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) HD Matte Type Display
Intel Core 2 DUO Processor T7700 / 4MB L2 Cache 2.40GHz 800MHz FSB
Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTX with 512MB DDR3 Video Memory
4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
200GB HDD (7200 RPM) SATA

$2,438.55 including a cash buy discount of 2.5% and a $75 shipping charge via Canada UPS Standard

Nice that they didn't hit me for the local Sales taxes, though I might get hit at the border for duty. Also they allowed the system to ship without a copy of Windows installed. Nice, since I already have Vista and XP from my last two Alienwares.

Few things I'm watching these guys for...

1) Can they deliver the 8800M GTX in a reasonable time frame?
2) Will the HDD be a Hitatchi Travelstar like I insisted?
3) Will the system get tested properly if it's shipping with no OS?

This machine looks like a great buy for a low price. My m9750 with 7950M GTX in SLI was going to be 3 grand with a slower processor and half the ram.

 

Congratulations on the machine. I read your Alienware story, that is a shame since you were having good experiences with their machines. Well, there's always another company.

The NP5792 is definitely a better choice than the Alienware M9750. A few weeks ago the Alienware would have been the better choice because the 8800M-GTX was not available, but it is now. Sager is the first company to be shipping it and they are true to their word. I can answer one of those questions - 3) Sager burns in all of their machines even if they are not shipped with an OS.
If you hang around in the Sager/Clevo forum you will see why so many people are happy with their machines. I have been using my Sager since October of 2005.

 

Yeah I'm really pumped up. I think if I had ended up with the m9750 I would have kicked myself for missing out on the 8800M GTX, sort of like when I got this m9700 with a single core, and then the m9750 came out 2 weeks later. If the mobile 8800 cards turn out to have as much longevity as the desktop versions, I might even keep this one for two years. Missing out on the extra drive bay might not be so bad... Right now I'm sitting at 50gb used and I have XP, Office, and my program files taking up 20gb. On top of that I have 30gb of games, including Supreme Commander, Warcraft III, Company of Heroes, and Football Manager. I could probably live with 64gb... after all just a couple of years ago, that was huge!

 

Updating this story. Apparently discountlaptops.com's bank deducted $15 from my wire transfer to cover fees, which left my order short. Greg from discountlaptops.com sent me an Email about it, and when I followed up and let him know it was his bank that deducted the money, he waived the charge. Nice job Greg! He even put the order through despite the payment being incorrect so I would not have to wait while the laptop was built. Nice to see a retailer correct their errors quickly and in the customer's favor, so far impressed with my experience.

P.S. the wire finally went through on the 2nd of January, but this was my bank's fault and not theirs. So the clock starts now, how fast can they deliver?

 

You’ll be happy you’re getting the 8800GTX.

I would have liked the extra room for a second HDD, but I have a nice external so will use that for doing video work.

 

Clevo is good. I like my sager 9261. I been using without any problem. I like it and it is smooth. It is one of the best laptop i have gotten. in next five or six years i will be buying another clevo laptop.

 

The second HDD is only an issue once I go solid state. I will not upgrade this notebook until a 9 series GTX card is available, so at some point I will want to upgrade it with the SSD. With a 500gb external drive I don't need to worry too much, and 64gb should be plenty. I feel good about not going SLI with this graphics card. For once it seems like it's going to be enough computer for a while... at least until AMD and ATI put some pressure on Intel and Nvidia.

 

Uh-oh !

Are you planning to clear this through customs yourself ? UPS brokerage fees are steep.

 

I already caught this issue, and apparently air mail avoids these issues, and I have upgraded the service. Thanks for the warning though, I heard it can run as high as $450.

 

Please be aware that an OS that is shipped with a machine (like the XP and Vista you have from Alienware) is an OEM version which will not activate on a different motherboard. However, Microsoft does not always enforce this, so you may be able to phone them and get a new activation code.

 

Nice but you will have to pay federal and provincial tax (except if your in alberta) at your door.

 

I hope not. I was informed that the UPS air service didn't enforce this. AN extra $250 would suck, but the system would still be a good deal.

 

wait a minute, am I going to have to do this as I live in Texas and bought from Eurocom (canada)?

 

no, doesn't apply to you.

 

From what I've read Eurocom ships their US orders out of new york so there should be no Taz/Duty issues.

When I ordered my Speakers from Axiom in canada they did the same thing and I had no issues.

 

canadian tax apply only to canadian citizen

 

i hate that about Canadian tax which makes the notebook even more err!!

 

Well... at least im protected by the canadian law...

 

Absolutely true, when I was at the Sager warehouse at City of Industry (to drop off and pick up my laptop personally from a LCD replacement), the waiting room had a glass window where you can see all the goodies. One worker was toying with an NP9262 and even playing some Crysis!

 

I've invested close to $6K into this company; I should take a small vacation and fly out to City Of Industry JUST to see what Sager's HQ looks like.

 

Ive purchased from discountlaptops before and had nothing but great experiences. I cannot speak for newer technology and waiting I always order mid range machines but it came in a timely fashion and packed very securely.

The bank was a little slow with me as well, but maybe I was thinking wrong that a direct bank to bank transfer should move faster.

This will be my first Sager with them (2090) my last few machines have all been Asus.

Good luck and let us know about your experience.

 

Unfortunately it's been a week since I ordered, and the system is still in production. I am hopeful that there is no delay due to shortages of the 8800M GTX graphics card. If it isn't shipped tomorrow, I'll call and see what the delay is all about.

 

Update on this... the system arrived on Thursday the 17th, so 20 days after order, which is longer than they promised but not too bad. The rumors about shipping air to Canada meaning you don't have to pay tax are TRUE. My machine went straight through customs with no hassles, though it did have to go through the clearing agency. FexEx picked up the tab on that, as they should for a $150 shipping fee. Unfortunately, I am in a remote location right now for work, and have not put my hands on it yet =(. We'll have to wait for a verdict on the machine, but if there was a delay because of the 8800M GTX, it wasn't a very long one. I get to play with it on Monday, let's see if they gave me a travelstar like I asked for...

 

Your notebook should actually be a NP5793, not a NP5792.

 

Congrats on ur new laptop....

Now, a couple of questions.. I'm considering getting one for myself but i'm afraid about the duty fees + the taxes. I find it strange that u did not have to pay any taxes as Canadian customs are very strict with that. I live in Quebec, so my taxes would be around 12.5% plus duty fees.

You mention that UPS takes care of everything, do you have a link or some info where i can read about that ? I just want to be sure i won't have to pay $$$ a bunch of extra fees when i receive my laptop.

Anyways thanks in advance.

 

Why did you choose the 5793 over the 9262.

 

I hope so, but I haven't seen it yet so I don't know for sure.

I had heard that you didn't have to pay tax when you ship Worldwide Express, and a few people confirmed this on these forums. I decided to pay the extra $75 and see what happened. Sure enough, it got held up at customs and went to the clearing agency, but they released it, UPS picked up the tab for the clearing charges and I got my laptop with no extra charges. Does this work for every laptop? I don't know. Will it work for you? I don't know. Is it worth a try, since you get a chance to pay no tax, PLUS your laptop 1-3 days sooner? Sure, why not... it's only $75.

That was tough. I changed my mind about a dozen times I have to tell you, but in the end this was my thinking...

1) The 9262 is by all accounts a huge machine. I am used to high performance laptops, and my m9700 is heavy and loud like they all are... but really that wasn't it. I'm a big man, and when you take into account power box, laptop, and everything else, the 3 pounds or whatever isn't a huge deal. But it seemed to me that the 9262 was thick in the palm rest area, and I wondered if it would be comfortable to use. This was one factor.

2) Do I really need SLI 8800M GTX and a quad core? A single 8800 and a 2.4ghz dual core can run everything known to man except crysis maxxed out, and looking at next year's games, nothing is going to approach Crysis' requirements in 2008 either. I am going to miss the 3 internal HDD bays (I had a 64gb solid state drive and a 400gb raid 0 planned!), but the Np9262 is enough machine for $1200 less. That $1200 became a 5x500gb RAID 5 external array, for a 2TB redundant system, and $500 in the bank for a solid state drive. I chose that over the quad core and the extra video card.

3) 8800 SLI systems weren't (and still aren't) shipping, and even single card 9262's had delays.

4) SLI performance is erratic. It benches well, but in real-life applications your milage will vary significantly. Some games actually run slower under SLI. The single-card system was cheaper, less hassles, and enough to run any games I want to right now and probably for the next 2 years (the projected lifetime of the machine).

Hope the answers help.