Purchasing my first Sager (NP9262) - Need advice

Hello everyone ,

A while back I posted on these forums in the "What Notebook should I buy" section and you all were very helpful in recommending the NP9262. I'm a huge gamer and would like the laptop to last me a good 4-5 years.

In the first week of October, I am leaving for vacation and will need this laptop by then....so I really need to purchase it now.

I heard about the new 9800GTX coming out so I decided to wait till its release before I made the purchase. Here are the specs of the NP9262 that I plan on getting from XoticPC:

SAGER NP9262 Ultimate Custom Laptop (Built on Clevo D900C / D901C)- 17" WUXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1200)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel Core 2 QUAD Q9550 2.83GHz w/ 12MB L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB
- 1,024MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GTX DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- ~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- 3 Year Parts & Labor Warranty 24/7 Tech Support
$3,338.00

I have a few questions before I pull the trigger:

1.) I'm trying to decide whether or not the Q9650 is worth the price/performance for $375? It seems like the Q9550 is the best bang for the buck but I just don't know if that extra performance is important.

2.) For expensive laptops like this one, generally what warranties do you normally go for? I went for the 3yr P&L warranty. I debating if I should get the one that says no Dead Pixels for 30 days. I know everyone doesn't like dead/stuck pixels but I'm not sure how common they could be. With today's technology I would hope the occurrences would be at a minimal or rare.

3.) I play World of Warcraft from time to time and I heard people were getting bad performance with the previous graphic card set. It sounds like people were experiencing this because of bad drivers. So my question is, has anyone tested WoW using the new 9800 GTX and does the game run smoothly? Also, how does the card run on older games that came out 1-3 years ago?

Any information you can provide me would be greatly appreciate!!

Thank You!!

 

1) nah just get the Q9550.. then you can mild OC it, IF you really need that extra speed for your processor. but imo, i think quad 2.83 would be fast enough for multi-threaded games..

2)if you want to save the hassle, yes. if not, then no, because you can send it back to them within 30 days and get a new set..
but remember to check with your reseller, because sometimes only 3 or more dead pixels then the warranty works, so you MIGHT have 2 dead/stuck pixels in this case, so do check with your reseller personally.

3)gosh i have no idea =/

oh btw, you might want to go for the 7200 RPM HDD for max performance..

 

^^^ Would also recommend the 7200rpm drives, or run those 5400rpm drives in RAID0.

 

Upgrading to the 7200rpm HDD's makes a lot of sense. Thank You!!

 

My sujestion would be to get 9800GT SLI instead that GTX apellica,its a $125 upgrade but will worth it.

 

The Q9550 is almost certainly the best bang for the buck. Several of the resellers offer a 30-day no-questions-asked return policy, which you can use as a sort of ersatz no-dead-pixels policy (i.e., if you get dead pixels and they're still driving you crazy after a week, send the system back for a refund, less, of course, shipping costs). Of course, since you're paying shipping costs, that cost alone is almost equal to the $100 zero-dead-pixel 30-day policy you can get bundled with the 2-yr and 3-yr Sager warranties, so depending on your aversion to the risk of getting dead pixels, that might be the better route to go.

 

wootz beat shyster to it!! hehe.. do tell us when your rig arrives

 

I've been looking into the NP9262 as my next laptop as well. If you choose to buy the DVD burner instead of the blu-ray, can you easily upgrade it yourself? Also does this laptop support DDR3 RAM? Also is this laptop going to be able to support future mobile video cards from nvidia? or just 9800 and below?

 

The optical drive is rather easy to swap out, and the NP9262 doesn't support DDR3 RAM.

 

nice thanks. you own one? if so, how is it?

 

butters:

it's a great laptop and you can't go wrong.

 

haha. yeah i'm planning on getting one when I get back to states. reenlisting fo r another 4 years and i'm guessing the marine corps is gonna get another 3 deployments out of me. an upgradeable laptop is the best bet for me..instead of wasting 1500+ for a brand new laptop when I just want a better video card. thanks all.

EDIT: These questions weren't answered. Any info would be appreciated!!!

1) Does this laptop support DDR3 RAM?
2) Is this laptop going to be able to support future mobile video cards from nvidia? or just 9800 and below?

 

^^ The 9262 unfortunately does not support DDR3. We will not know what the future holds for video card support until they are released and the thermal/power requirements are published.

 

I would get this laptop from powernotebooks.com instead. I got mine form there and got a way better price than exotic. Also the customer service is amazing.
1) Stick with the Q9550 thats what I did. But take note that the NP9262 doesn't allow CPU overclocking.
2) Dont get the dead pixel warranty
3) No Idea sorry
I would also like to say that the standard hard drive from power notebooks is a 250 GB 7200 RPM. Do what I did and get a 250 GB 7200 RPM and a 320 GB 5400 RPM without raid. Use the faster 250 GB hard drive as your boot drive for windows and program files and the other drive as extra space. My 9262 is amazing. I play crysis smooth on all high at 1920 x 1200!

 

Both XoticPC and Powernotebooks are reputable resellers, and if you talk directly with either one, you will generally not find that much difference in pricing, either way - that can make it really difficult to decide between the two, unfortunately.