Pull the trigger, or wait.

So, here I am with more questions haha. I'm a bit confused with the upgrading abilities of the sager np8130. Can you upgrade the CPU? The new Ivy bridges will be coming out, but I don't want to wait 5 months for them to come out, and then wait 1-2 more months to get all the kinks out of them. So when they come out, is it able to switch out my current CPU for the ivy bridges?
With the gpu, if I upgrade the gtx 560m to the 6990m, what can i expect in battery life? Battery would be somewhat important, since it'll double as a college laptop for me.
Or should I wait. I know that technology always advances, but the new stuff coming out next year seems like quite the leap. I also read somewhere that optimus technology will be supported in sagers, or something like that. (I'm totally not good at this techy stuff). It would kill me to wait, since i'm stuck with this inspiron e1505. But I think I could pull off another 6 months, if the new stuff really is that great. Also, there's the potentiality of longer battery life hehe!

 

You can upgrade the CPU up to a 2860QM, but no higher, and definitely not Ivy Bridge.

Yes you can upgrade the GPU to a 6990M...but battery life will take a hit. More powerful GPUs within the same generation = more power. Kepler will change this because it's moving to 28nm GPUs.

Buy now if you need it, wait if you can. That's my motto.

Mr. Mysterious

 

if you wait be ready to spend $300 to $400 more for the top of the line, unless you want to wait a bit again for things to cool down, summer 2012 or later . I am pulling the trigger this month , np8170

 

I like that, Mr. Mysterious' quote, buy now if you need it, wait if you can. But it seems like there's always going to be something new right around the corner so you could keep waiting.

But, like acroedd is doing, now is a really good time to jump on the train since most of us resellers have some awesome deals going on right now.

 

At this point i'd advise you to wait. If you can tough it out for a few months then great.

 

Well, price is also an issue. The np8130 has great specs for almost $1000. If i wait for the new stuff to come out, will i have to pay significantly more?

 

Too early to know for sure.

I would say that the next platform will have offerings in that price range.

 

Meh, I guess I'll just buy it. I would like the new stuff, but I don't want to wait 6+ months now that I think about it. Besides, I could always save up for another laptop and sell my sager later on if the new ones are worth it. Also, would switching in a low demand graphics card help with power ? And just swap in the gtx 560m when i'm gaming.

 

The next launch is under NDA until March-ish 2012 right now so there is quite some time before a new release.

 

Will it be possible to upgrade to the gtx 600 series ?/

 

What I was referring to was related to the Intel refresh, don't have any confirmed dates on a GPU Refresh.

 

Rumor right now is that it will be possible, but we have yet to see as things change quickly

 

i ordered mine, you should pull the trigger either from xoticpc or malibal. No offense to xoticpc but malibal has too good offers to resist. You will be atleast spending $500 more for the next gen.

 

Where did you read that you would be paying $500 more for the next gen?

I can almost guarantee you that one will be paying about the same as now.
_

 

I actually decided to go with a gt780-221 from xoticpc. And personally, i think xoticpc has way better deals right now than malibal. Free notebook cooler & 4 gb free ram upgrade, + free shipping.

 

thex dr please do some research

 

Care to enlighten me?

 

It's different deals - depends on what you find valuable. Xotic is doing a free upgrade from 8-12Gb, Malibal is doing a free upgrade from 1333 to 1600mhz.

I suspect they both are offering a product that costs something pretty similar, and their pricing is also in-line - but they're differentiating themselves by offering different add-ons and extras. Pick the ones that you like and go with them. Both vendors are active here, helpful in the forums, and eager for your business.

 

malibal is offering after the ram deal ( u dont need more than 8gigs come on now ) and the free shipping

free monitor calibration

free hd 6970m

free blu ray burner upgrade

you can buy really good laptop coolers for less than $30 (zalman nc3000 on sale newegg for $22 after rebate)

but xoticpc is really good place to buy stuff, personally I feel malibal has too much to offer!

 

Well, Malibal has nice deals, but they don't carry the msi that i'm getting haha. I like as much ram as i can get, since i'll be doing engineering programs and 3d modeling on my laptop p: . 16gb @ 1333mhz > 8gb @ 1600 mhz imo ^_^

 

wht engineering programs we talking abt here? trying to fool us that you need msi to eng models? lol man! . I have a masters in Aerospace too

 

Would an NP8170 take an Ivy Bridge upgrade?

 

I'm not sure, but i'm going to college next year to major in civil engineering. I wanted a laptop for gaming & college, this was the best choice for me p:

 

No. Different chipset and socket.

 

Thexdoctor , did you already buy it? if not consider sager/clevo, I would say they are better

 

It's a christmas gift, & so I gave the sager np8130 & msi gt780 to someone as ideas. They both pretty much come with the same stuff, I just like the bigger screen & multi color keyboard on the msi. Also, the aluminum finish is great. The sager looks like a plain laptop, but it's a bit cheaper than the msi.

 

yeh its a lot cheaper and better specs, but if you like the look of it and something different to try, then its okay! also they only have one exhaust fan and just two exhaust vents!one on the side!! Personally for me its a deal breaker !