Sager 8690 Purchase Advice

I've hit a speedbump in my search for my gaming laptop and I'm hoping the folks here can help me narrow down my final choice. First, a little background...

I've been in the market for a new gaming laptop for the past month and have been reading various sites about the models currently available. In the end, it came down to the Asus G51J and Sager 8690. As with most people these days, my budget weighed heavily on the decision and after a lot of research, it seemed like the Asus G51J offered the most quality and performance for the money and it was right at my budget's limit.

I was a little concerned about the reports on the G51 series' GPU temps, but it seemed the new J model was running a little cooler. Since there were no reports I could find of actual hardware failures, I decided to trust the design.

Last week, I received the new Asus G51J. Overall, I liked the unit's design and build. I'm someone who appreciates quality construction and though it's not at the level of the Lenovos we use at work, it was pretty good.

Unfortunately, blue screens while playing Crysis brought me to take a look at the temps. After playing Crysis for 15 minutes, temps seem to want to hover around 97C (75F ambient room temp). If I play for an hour, they will break 100C. I don't know if the temps are the cause of the BSODs but they are certainly not something that I feel good about.

So, I've decided to return the laptop and opt instead for the Sager 8690. It's going to stretch the budget, but it seems from the posts I've read here that it's a solid unit.

I have no experience with Sagers, so I'd love to hear some feedback about their products. To me, reliability is very important. I am hoping that Sager is a solid choice in that regard.

I'm going to put together a build and I'll post it in a bit. I just figured I'd get started by pinging the group about my choice and get some opinions on the brand/model. How does it's build and construction compare to the Asus G51, for those that might know? Build, screen quality, hinges, etc. That sort of thing. I already know cooling is significantly better, so that's a major plus for me at this point. I assume Asus makes their own motherboards, etc. Since Clevo is the manufacturer of the Sager brand, does Clevo make the electronics or someone else?

I also wanted to ask the group about their feelings about the extended warranties offered. The Sager standard warranty through XoticPC is 1 year parts, 3 years service. I'm inclined to purchase at least another year since the unit is so expensive, but I'm also struggling with budget constraints. Is it worth it to get the extended warranties? Having no experience with Sager, I have no idea how reliable they tend to be. As with any warranty or insurance, you're gambling if you will or will not have problems. It's great to know the odds up front before throwing the dice though!

Anyway, thanks in advance for your input and help!

 

well if u look well enough, you would have seen other threads under other manufacturer complaining these and that. however if you were to search sager/clevo thread, little complaint were heard. Overall there were many compliments over sager/clevo. Much more pro than con if you were to ask me.

#1 pricing . If you were to compare with other brand like alienware etc. i would say sager pricing is god-liked for its spec.

#2 Cooling. Well i would say at least there is a minimum 2 fans installed for the 15 inches. Compare this with asus and alienware.

#3 quality. Well take your time on a tour here.

#4 Overclocking ability. Well i am not sure about the i7 processor part but hell it sure do for the extreme series for i7 and for the previous model sager released. The C2D and the QUAD core. With lower temp at stock = more overclocking ability.

#5 More mod-able. Well waranty does not void when you change the processor, gpu , thermal paste etc.

#6 size. At least it doesn't weight a ton like the alienware and well if you were to ask me, still portable for a high end 15 inch.

Over all i guess these were my opinions and do correct me if i am wrong. Still waiting for my NP8690 to arrive ^^. The seller changed my stock thermal to mx3 for free

Well for the extended warranty. I felt is a waste of money. It is heavily reliable on luck if you were to ask me. So why not test your luck instead of just investing the money. Well most of the time laptop crashes after 3 years so it would be a waste of money if you were to ask me. Just pay for the repair fees when the worst of the worst occur.

 

That's good to hear and reliability is important to me, obviously.

I was also curious about the quality of the keyboard. I have no experience with the chicklet style keyboards and I'm curious about the sturdiness of the construction. I'm going to do a lot of typing.

 

Sager's keyboards are great quality, and they have the fairly standard metal keyboard well below the keyboard to help protect components from heavy-handed typists. As long as you aren't pounding the keys violently, the keyboard should stand up to anything you can throw at it.

 

Here is the 8690 configuration I ordered. I still struggle with the warranty, though. $239 for an extra 2 years (total of 3 years).

If anyone has any experience with this (glad I got my warranty, glad I didn't, etc) I'd love to hear it.

As for the OS, I didn't take one because I already have a copy of Win 7 upgrade that was intended for my old laptop. I also variouls retail copies of Win XP and Vista that aren't in use on a system, so I figured I'd just use the Win 7 I have.

Thanks!

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1x Sager NP8690 (Built on Clevo W860CU) Custom Gaming Laptop - BACK ORDERED until 1st week of November
- Warranty: Sager 3 Year Parts & Labor Warra
- Software Bundle (Not Installed): No Software Bundle
- Microsoft Office Software (Media: No Office Software
- Operating System: No Operating System Standard - D
- Notebook Cooler: No Notebook Cooler
- Mouse / Keyboard Accessories: No External Keyboard or Mouse
- Fingerprint Reader: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Port Replicator / Dock / Adapter: No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Spare AC Adapter: None Standard*
- Car Adapter: No Car Adapter
- Battery: 11.1V Smart Li-Polymer battery p
- Case: Basic Black Business Case - Incl
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audi
- TV Tuner: No TV Tuner
- Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Wireless Network Accessories: No Network Accessory
- Wireless Network: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 530
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/
- Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): No Back Up Hard Drive
- Primary Hard Drive: ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 3
- Optical Drive: ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- Ram: ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Chan
- External Monitor Video Adapter: No Video Adapter
- External Graphics Card: No External Graphics Card
- Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 280M 1,024MB
- Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-720QM, 1.60-2.80
- Dead Pixel Policy: Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Display: 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide

 

Id trade in the warranty for the 820qm, thats what I did.
Honestly, things break after 3 years

 

Not my things.

 

Yeah.. Remember that one thing of yours.. You were all like "Man, I am so mad my thing broke!" and then I was like "Soviet, it happens, sometimes a thing will break", and then you were like "yeah.. I guess. I still wish my thing hadn't broken."

True story.

 

I think he refers to the fact that he can fix anything that isn't a motherboard broken in two pieces. I can deal with usual stuff like replacing thermal paste and diagnosing components, but thats about it... more than one year warranty comes handy when you have a problem with, say, faulty expensive stuff like the LCD, CPU or GPU.

 

I only consider it broken if it was my fault or if it cannot be repaired or replaced.

Haha, when did I say that? The only things I broke were the hearts of Macbook users.

 

True, "things" break. Although, "things" in a Ford are more likely to break than "things" in a Honda. Most people would say to get the extended warranty in the Ford but it's a good bet to do without it for the Honda and take your chances.

So basically, I'm trying to get a feel for Sager quality and reliability so I can determine if I should think of it more like a Honda, or like a Ford.

I can deal with things like hard disk and memory replacements. I would feel confident in replacing any part in that machine that might go bad because of personal experience. But parts are costly and in some cases cost prohibitive. The things I worry about failing are system boards, GPUs and LCD panels due to cost.

As for me, I treat my things extremely well. Every time I sell something I own, the buyer is always impressed with the condition. Maintenance is key, of course, especially in keeping the dust bunnies out of where they don't belong.

 

LCD's don't break on their own. CPU's never break. GPU's only break when mistreated. However, there is a chance that you might get a lemon and it dies short on you. But then again you can always bake it back to life to rebond the soldering.

 

That one time. You were pretty drunk and you kept saying how you really wanted a Macbook Pro, and you wished you lived next to Steve Jobs so you would be best friends with him.

 

I'm considering perhaps meeting in the middle and opting for the 2 year extended warranty instead of the 3 year. I imagine that I will sell it for a new laptop at some point after the 2nd year of ownership.

Since the warranty is transferable to a new owner, I suppose it might add to the notebook's resale value. Hmm...

 

Dont go for the warranty. It would add a little something to the resale value, but these laptops drop A LOT when theyve been used for more than maybe 2 months. They drop even more than "normal" laptops.

I bought my d901c for 1200€ and it was in use for 3/4 of a year. With my config it sold for new at maybe 2500€

Just to give you and idea =) Warranty will be solely for your peace of mind

 

waranty is just a scam... unless u are freaking unlucky, i suggest you to purchase one. For clevo, i doubt you will need extended warranty though however i strongly recommend you get extra warranty if you are purchasing asus or acer. my personal experience tells. Extended warranty is just an investment to those afraid of the dark. Trust me. It is something you can do without.

 

These days with electronics, if it doesn't break within the first 30 days, chances are it will easily outlast any extended warranty you could purchase. As soon as I purchased my Pioneer Kuro, I voided it's warranty by running a 3rd party hack on it to enable ISF day modes and I don't regret it one bit. Save the warranty money for the next laptop purchase or an upgrade.

 

agree agree. If the worst of the worst occur etc. your gpu fail, use the money that you saved from the warranty to buy a even better one! Man you will get even better performance. My advice - dun waste your darn notes on something you can't see nor touch.

 

The warranty is definately all about peace of mind, knowing that if something expensive fails you can get it fixed without cost. But if Sagers are more reliable than most laptops, then I can see skipping the extended warranty as a "good bet". Which, of course, is why I pinged the group here to see what past experience with Sager ownership has shown.

How is Sager with warranty and out-of-warranty repairs? Easy to deal with?

If a GPU or system board (probably the most likely points of failure I imagine) dies, does anyone here how expensive the parts are typically?

I also wondered if a GPU or CPU gets upgraded during the warranty period, does it void the warranty?

On the topic of resale value, do they really lose their value faster than most? I usually replace my notebooks after the 2nd year of ownership, if that helps.

 

Sager is very easy to deal with. Typically all they need is a problem description. They will usually offer a few troubleshooting steps if you haven't already done troubleshooting, but with those out of the way, they willingly hand out RMAs for repair. As to the repair process itself, Sager covers shipping both ways for warranty repairs and tries their best to complete repairs within 3 business days of receiving the notebook (of course, if a part is out of stock, it could take longer). For out of warranty repairs, they typically quote 10-15 business days.

No upgrades you perform will ever void the warranty unless those upgrades damage the computer. Keep in mind, obviously, that your new GPU or CPU won't be covered by the warranty, since Sager will not have sold it to you, but the rest of the system will still be fully covered.

 

Wouldn't a GPU upgrade generally be purchased through Sager or an authorized Sager dealer? If so, wouldn't the warranty cover the upgraded part? Or perhaps the part carries it's own, seperate warranty?

 

A surprising number of GPU upgrades end up purchased through eBay. If the upgrade is purchased through Sager or a Sager reseller, that upgrade would carry its own 1-year warranty.