Ready to become the owner of a Sager NP8275-s/Clevo P170sm just need a push!

Hey guys, I have researched many options and my mind is ready to explode! I have been back and forth for a month now, but the set-up I have come up with is as follows:

Sager NP8275-S (Clevo P170SM)

- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen (1920x1080)
- Sager - 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4700MQ (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache) (
- Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 770M (3.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 [User Upgradeable]
- 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- Non-RAID Storage
- NO mSATA Solid State Drive
- NO mSATA Solid State Drive
- 120GB Samsung 840 EVO Series SSD [SSD2 - SATA III]
- 750GB 7200RPM [SATA II - 16MB Cache] (SKU - HDD099)
- 8X Super Multi DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive
- Intel® Dual Band AC 7260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFI94)
- Windows 8.1 - 64-Bit (64-Bit CD Included) + MS Office 2013 Trial

Just wanted to see if you guys had any further suggestions/configs, as at ~1500$ I have reached my limit on this laptop. I am new to PC gaming, but I feel as if the 770m will provide me with the power I need as I plan on sticking to games like Diablo 3, maybe a FPS in there off and on. Mostly being used as a productivity laptop.

Make me feel good before I purchase this ha.. sorry if this is a random post, or not warranted in this forum, i felt like asking owners themselves would be the best options!

Thanks!
Blitz

 

Welcome to NBR Blitzkrieg!
The build looks great for your price point. The only thing I would suggest is getting IC Diamond thermal compound which will cool better then the stock stuff used. Since you plan on gaming its worth it. Besides better cooling off the bat it also last longer then the standard used.

 

Hi Hutsady,

I debated that, my only concern is if the pasting will be done well by Xotic? 35 seems to be a premium for it. Then again if it save me the time (and I have never repasted a cpu or gpu) then it may be worth it.

 

The pasting will be done at Sager as they do the original build. You can go without it and still be fine in performance, the temps will just be a little higher. If you're not a type of guy who needs to have the lowest temps then pass on it. Its really the only thing that I could suggest that was missing in your build .

 

If this is going to be mainly a productivity laptop, might I suggest having a look at the NP7370? The following came to just around $1500 (key differences to your config in bold):

17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen (1920x1080) (SKU - SSC002)
- Sager - 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4700MQ (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache) (SKU – SPU201)
- IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 765M (2.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 w/ Optimus™ Technology
- 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4S822AP)
- 250GB Samsung 840 EVO Series SSD [SSD2 - SATA III] (SKU - SSD081)
- 750GB 7200RPM [SATA II - 16MB Cache] (SKU - HDD096)
- 8X Super Multi DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive (Sager) (Dual Layer w/ Software) (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - ODD099)
- Sager - Intel® Dual Band AC 7260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFI98)
- Windows 8.1 - 64-Bit (64-Bit CD Included) + MS Office 2013 Trial

If you don't have an AC router, you won't get anything out of the 7260 card, better stick with the stock Sager card and save that $35 (this I believe is actually not an option with the NP88275-S).

The 765M is a downgrade from the 770M, but if as you said you'll mainly be playing Diablo 3 and maybe one or two FPS, then the 765M should provide enough power for you.

I very highly recommend a 250GB 840 Evo over the 120 GB version, because you'll get about 20% better write speeds. Plus with 120GB you'll likely run out of space after installing a few games (you do NOT want to fill the SSD to more than 75% full, I can tell you from personal experience that the write speeds suffer dramatically). I know it's a $75 upgrade but IMO it's well worth it.

Also, do you really prefer Windows 8.1 or are you just trying to fit your budget? I know I'm very biased in this regard but I wouldn't touch 8.1 with a 10 foot pole. Windows 7 Home Premium is only $15 more.

The one advantage the 8275 has is that it's a dual fan config, so the GPU and CPU each get their own fan, while the 7370 has only a single fan cooling both the CPU and GPU. The 7370 also lacks a subwoofer if that makes any difference to you.

If you could stretch your budget by just $100 more, you could get both the IC Diamond and the 250GB 840 Evo on the 8275-S. Maybe worth considering a bit more?

 

Beezow,

Thank you for your well thought out post, I have considered the 7370, but it lacking the backlit keyboard is a big issue, I believe your post made me come to grips with the fact that 100$ more for the IC Diamond, and the 250GB SSD would be worth it. And surprisingly I do not mind windows 8.1, I may be the only one haha. I do also have the Asus AC1900 Router as well so that is the main reason I like having the AC network card in the 8275. I believe I have found the perfect system, Thanks for the insight guys, I will be placing my order tomm morning I believe!!

Blitz

 

Personally, I would skip the IC Diamond from Sager. IC Diamond tends to loose performance and need to be replaced after six to twelve months. If you can do that, then you can do the original paste job and save money by doing it yourself. Do IC Diamond if you can monitor temps and replace when needed. I like Artic Silver 5 since it lasts longer, and it is almost as good as IC Diamond.

I just got the NP-8275-S about two or three weeks ago. I did the 780M, with i7-4800MQ. I also skipped a SSD, and bought one separately and installed myself. Since I like lots of space I also got the 1 TB 7200rpm hdd. I also got Win 8.1. It took some time to figure out the differences, but now that I have it set up, I have no issues with 8.1. I think people don't take the time to figure out how to do things in it.

So far I am very happy. No real complaints, although there are minor things. Like how the Sager Control Center keeps reseting my display brightness.

 

To be honest I have personally decided to boycott IC products for at least the next few years, just read about the IC Diamond vs Techpowerup fiasco to understand why. The original thread along with the (allegedly) CEO of IC's responses are all there for view.

I personally requested my supplier (Mythlogic) use Arctic MX-4 and it's been good to me thus far. Also it's probably one of the easiest pastes to apply, so come re-pasting time and I shouldn't have too many headaches. ICD 7 however can be a beeitch to apply, nevermind the scratching/etching of dies if you don't know what you're doing. Was gonna go for the Arctic Silver but just didn't have the patience for 200 hours of curing time.

Yeah I suppose if you install Startisback win 8.1 will feel just like 7. However not supporting DVD playback in WMP, then removing Media Center and selling it as a Pro-exclusive "feature" was a complete dealbreaker for me.

 

That IC Diamond thread was interesting. I like how the ceo posts images of the die surface looking like a mirror to prove it is smooth. Only you don't focus on the things reflected in the mirror, you should focus on the mirror itself. This is an easy way to blur out any scratches. So it is funny how he accuses others of photo manipulation, and badly does it, when he himself manipulated his photos.

As for Artic Silver 5, yes they say it cures and becomes better after 200 hours. But straight out of the tube it is still one of the better temps. At least based on the tests I have seem. MX-4 I think was good too. I do think IC Diamond is better, just plan on repasting periodically. Also IC Diamond is known for micro scratches, which don't seem to be a concern. (Although apparently are enough that the IC ceo will lie and mislead about them.) Still, they don't seem to be a concern even after multiple repastes, as they don't appear to affect heat transfer.

I am using Win 8.1 as is, without start menu modifiers. First trick is to boot to desktop. Second, trick is to right click on the start button to access things like control panel, shutdown, etc. Third, pin your most common apps to the task bar. Forth, I create folders on the desktop with short cuts to programs. Thus most of the time I don't need the start menu for anything other than shutting down or control panel. Next I edited the folders that the start page uses. This allowed me to organize the start page, so I can change grouping names, which programs appear where, and get rid of the useless links. I think those where the big things. This makes Win 8.1 very efficient for me, and faster than Win 7 if you don't do simular organizing or folders with most used programs.

 

Thanks again guys for the replies, I believe I will wait on the IC and maybe go with something else myself, and upgrade to the 250GB Evo SSD