Sager 8690 vs. 8662?

I plan to get either the Sager 8690 or the 8662 (hence the title), and hope to spend from $1800-$2500 (for gaming, game programming, and for lots of things in Adobe CS4, such as Flash and Photoshop). Obviously, I would like to spend less if possible, but can change my budget if needed. In both, I would get a 500gb hard drive and 6gb of RAM. I know the 280m is a little bit better than the 260m, but will that be a substantial difference? Also, are the i7's actually good for gaming (I've read that many games don't support multi-threading) ?

A couple more questions:
Can the 8662 already play new games (Borderlands, CoD: WaW) on 1680x1050 and maxed out settings?
If I were to get the 8690, what processor should I get, and would it be able to run any game flawlessly?
Is the screen (Full HD, LED, 1920x1020, matte) of the 8690 going to be significantly better than the screen of the 8662 (1680x1050, glossy)? (also, won't it cause games to run more slowly?)

Feel free to answer how ever many questions you'd like.

Sorry for my ramble...heres a question that could sum everything up (my main concern is how the i7 will work if the game uses only one core, and if the 1920 x 1080 is too demanding for the 280m):

If I'm looking for flawless performance for newer games and a powerful, nice looking laptop, should I go with the 8690 (with best screen, and what processor?) or the 8662 (glossy screen, and good performance?)?

Also, ignore my signature...this is my friend's account.

 

The i7 would be ideal if you're using highly threaded apps. The difference between the 260M and the 280M is minimal, although the newer NP8690 is using the MXM 3.0 slot, opening up options for future upgrades.

The NP8662 certainly has the better screen for CS4, since it's 16:10. You can outfit it with quad cores as well, although they aren't quite as nice as the i7, they still offer plenty of punch for the programming you're doing.

 

Wait...the 2.0 quad is only +165 on the 8662, yet the 2.0 quad on the 8690 is +745???

is there a significant difference between the normal quad and the i7? also, wouldn't the screen for the 8690 be significantly better, as it is full HD, LED, matte, higher/16:9 resolution (i thought 16:9 was the standard?)?

Edit: Just looked up the difference between i7 and quad core, and reeeaaally want to get the i7 now...for anyone reading this, would you get the 720qm or the 820qm for the 8690?

 

Current Specs for 8690 that I'll probably order:

- Display: 15.6" Full HD LED Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)[+$60.00]
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-820QM Processor ( 45nm, 8MB L3 Cache, 1.73GHz )[+$200.00]
- Video & Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M Graphics with 1GB DDR3 Video Memory
- Operating System: Genuine MS Windows® 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
- Memory: 6GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 1 X 4GB + 1 X 2GB[+$330.00]
- Primary Hard Disk Drive: 500GB 5400rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive[+$50.00]
- Optical Drive: 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
- Wireless Network Card: Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module
- Primary Battery: Smart Li-Polymer Battery Pack
- Integrated Security Device: Fingerprint Reader
- Microsoft Office: Microsoft Office Ready with Free 60-Day Trial
- Warranty: Sager 2 Year Limited Parts & Labor Warranty + 30 days No Dead Pixel Insurance[+$239.00]
- Additional Battery Pack: BAT-8690, NP8690 Smart Li-Polymer Battery Pack[+$120.00]
- Carrying Bag: Standard Carrying Bag

Anyone recommend any changes to make it cheaper but still perfect for intense gaming?

 

I would say, leave it to 4GB of RAM and make the HDD 7200 rpm.

 

Look at his original post. He plans on doing a lot of media-editing. He needs the extra memory.

I don't think the upgrade in processor is necessary, but it still is an improvement. Overall nice specs.

EDIT: I don't know if the dead pixel insurance is necessary, unless it comes standard with the warranty option you chose. Which reseller are you buying from?

 

Is 4GB going to be enough for lots of instances of Photoshop and the like? I understand that the 4GB->6GB upgrade is 300$, and would it be cheaper to get a 4GB upgrade stick if it is absolutely needed? (it is easy to upgrade RAM in a laptop? as this is my first gaming laptop, and have only had desktops).

Thanks for all of the time you guys are spending to help!

 

I think I'm just going to buy straight from Sager, but was also thinking about XoticPC...any recommendations?

I think the 820qm is a nice balance between cost and power...definitely not the 920, but i think the 720 is weaker than I'd like, since I'm already putting a lot of money in this laptop...anyone have any benchmarks for the 720/820 configs?

 

Go with any of the big three Sager resellers: XoticPC, PowerNotebooks, or PCTorque.

Here you go. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5498476&postcount=694

 

Any particular reason not to buy Sager direct?

 

Slightly higher prices and average customer service. That's why the resellers are there, to take care of customer service I highly suggest getting from one of soviet's recommendations.

 

Higher price and mediocre customer support.

 

Regarding the RAM, 4 GB SHOULD be enough for now, and it will save you money in the long haul, because 4 GB SODIMMs should be a lot cheaper by the time you actually need that much memory, meaning you might be able to upgrade to 8 GB for less than it would cost you to get 6 GB now.