P170HM or P151HM

I have been reading the forums and visited a few resellers pages. this is my first post since joining.
I am now left wondering what everyone thinks about the two laptops, the P170HM and the P151HM. Im Looking at these and thinking about buying one or the other.
I am also wondering if the reseller reps could tell me a little about what testing the laptops receive before being shipped out?

I'm really leaning toward the P170HM as of right now.

 

What were you planning to do with them? The P170HM is obviously going to be a larger machine, with the ability to use the higher end 580m graphics card and dual hard drives (w/ RAID).

The P151HM1 is more portable, but you lose the ability to use the higher end GPU's in the stock model and extra hard drive (unless you trade the optical drive for one).

 

hmmmm well if it can play most games and not get to hot then it should be good for use at work too. I am interested though in what temperatures most people will get when running say rift for several hours on the 560M.

what testing do you do to the units before shipping?

 

Multiple hours aren't that devastating I think. If one area of a game doesn't throw your GPU past a certain limit after ~10-15 minutes of play, then it probably won't get much higher than that. Unless something else happens to the game and the card has to push out more. But the 560M is a pretty good card in its own right. It shouldn't be that bad. Just remember, while some games run better than others, performance doesn't dictate heat. MW2 throws my GPU higher than Black Ops will. Borderlands takes the cake, that thing + daytime gaming = no. Even though I get better performance in it than say... BF:BC2 DX10, or GTA 4, my card doesn't run as hot in the last two games. For all we know, RIFT may barely touch your card's temps.

 

no but it will help me make up my mind lol

 

P151HM can have same GPU as the bigger one, just need better power supply. So really you shoould look at P150HM or P170HM.

To be honest I was stuck in same boat as you. I came from an 15" asus that had raid and dual HDD and still had blu-ray drive so I really wanted similar.

The problem was size. I didn't really like how big or heavy it was. I went with the P150HM.

The main thing I think you should decide on is what screen size do you want.

As for the testing, it depends who you buy from. Some resellers are not true resellers but build them from barebones. They do in-house testing.

Sager resellers don't test them as Sager does, but don't know the exact process Sager has.

All in all I wouldn't worry about the testing thing. Warranty is decent on them.

For example my GPU made a sound when under load I didn't like. Sager is mailing me a new GPU to swap it out with. If I wanted I could have sent in the entire laptop but I rather not send it across the nation eheh.

Only thing I worry about in the end is can the 180w psu really handle my config, the big brother has a little larger one.

 

I'm having the same dilemma....

The big draw for me is the extra hard drive on the 17....

Has anyone had both and switched to the other for one reason or another?

 

It all depends on how often you move your laptop around and what distance. I take mine with me on trips every now and then but a lot of the time it is only moved from one room to another. If I had to travel a lot then I would have gone with a 15''. I see little point in going for a 15'' if you aren't traveling with it much.

 

This.

Upgrading later can be super expensive - assuming you can find the parts you want/need, even with a standardized GPU slot. Better to pony up the funds now and get a card that will last a year or two.

 

And if you don't plan on moving it at all, get a desktop . You can build a nice desktop rig for the same price as these laptops.

I've got a 15" for work (gaming) on the go and a desktop for serious work at home.

 

Just back and forth to the office everyday... I guess it's no biggie

 

I have an older Desktop that is not very powerful but it takes up so much space with wires sticking out, keyboard, monitor, speakers etc.

I would never go for a Desktop unless it was one of those tiny ones like a Shuttle PC. I think those probably work out to be nearly as expensive as a laptop though.

 

That's part of the challenge. I like the understated, unobtrusive look of my mid-tower. It fits in nicely in my office, all the wires are hidden, and everything can be tucked away under a custom hutch I built for my desk. With the more power efficient chips made recently, I can leave it on and consume only 150 kWh of electricity - which means 24/7 access to my media collection, VPN, etc.

If I had to choose only one, I'd go for a laptop. But I don't have to - so I chose both.

This laptop will be a nice addition to the computing family.

 

I'm buying a new laptop from an old m15x AW and thinking seriously about the P151HM.

I have the same issue, i use my laptop for work and gaming so i'm thinking that 17" is way too big. As i experienced with my m15x, the mobility is a MUST.