Sager 8170 build quality and cooling

I've been trying to decide between a Sager NP8170 and an Alienware m17x and have been leaning more towards the Sager in terms of performance per dollar. So now, I bring this comparison to the forum. I would like 100% unbiased opinions please, so 'fanboys' please do not try to push me one way or the other. If I do go with the Sager, I will be ordering from Xotic (unless someone can steer me to another, price competitive option).
Now, I really do like the styling and shiny lights of the Alienware, but I loathe the fact that Dell charges an outrageous amount for the bling and gouges the prices on the upgrade options...$200 for an extra 4gb RAM!?...get real!
So far the only thing I really dislike about the Sager is that there is no option for an illuminated keyboard...I find that this is very handy for late night or low ambient light gaming sessions. I do suppose, however, that I can overlook this minor 'flaw'.
Now, I would like to know more about the build quality of these Sager systems. Are they well built in terms of standing up to daily use for the next couple years (at least)?
Is the Radeon 6990M a good option? They have it on sale and the price is really nice vs. the overpriced nVidia option.
How about the cooling? Is it efficient and does it provide enough cooling power to tame a light to medium overclock (I will be repasting with MX-4, mind you)?
Lastly, if I were to order an 80gb SSD from Newegg (cheaper over there), would I be able to configure the system to use this as the primary/boot drive and the default 500gb hdd as the secondary?

 

Sagers have very, very good build quality, don't worry about the build as it is top-notch.

The illuminated keyboard version, P170EM? is coming in April. If this feature is important for you, and you don't need a laptop now, you could wait 2 months to get the IB-refreshed model.

And for the Sagers, the 6990m is the optimal option, as it is competitively priced against its nVidia counterpart, the 580M. No brainer, I'd say, unless you have the hots for nVidia cards/need PhysX/Cuda.

And yes, this is what many do, buying an SSD separately and configuring it themselves.

 

Thank you for the quick response! I can do without the illuminated keyboard and will probably order the current model.
I just noticed the option for $100 off on orders of $1500 or more and by adding the SSD from Xotic, I can get the SSD for $80, which comes out cheaper than Newegg's.
I think I'm sold!

 

Enjoy the machine, you will love it.

 

Clevos have two fans. Not sure how the Alienware is configured.

 

Configure your build from all resellers, then ask Xotic or whichever one you prefer to pricematch