Sager/Clevo Keyboard -> Programming

Hopefully these questions haven't been asked before, but after a quick search I thought I might as well ask. Currently I am looking for a 50/50 programming/gaming system. Would anyone recommend the Sager/Clevo models for such a use? Below are some questions I have about the models. I am looking mostly at the W150HM and P151HM1.

1) How is the keyboard for typing? I want to be able to code comfortable without an external keyboard.
2) Is linux compatibility decent? I've had good and bad experience with running linux on different laptops.
3) Would BF3 run well (40fps+) with the W150HM and 555m?

Thanks for any insight!

 

2) http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...6-sager-np8150-clevo-p150hm-linux-thread.html

 

NVIDIA optimus in the 555m will not play well with Linux. It is possible to disable Optimus in the BIOS, and some people have made a few workarounds, but there hasn't been anything official yet.

See here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/lin...e/473915-no-support-nvidia-optimus-linux.html


My P150HM works great with linux, with a 6990m. Only problem was getting the Killer-N card to work nicely.

40+ fps would work if you ran it at 720p most likely. The 555m won't be able to max it out.

I can't speak on the keyboard in this model.

 

That's bad news about the 555m in Linux. From what I read, it looks like no Nvidia driver can be installed for the 555m under Linux. And, if no GPU drivers are installed, the system runs the integrated, but the discrete 555m still draws power. I'm guessing that would mean poor battery life?

Maybe I should more consider the P151HM1 w/ 560m since that card doesn't support Optimus.

 

Yeah, if you're looking for Linux support, the P151HM1 or higher is probably your best bet. Almost all the drivers other than Optimus graphics work well. While there are workarounds for it under Linux, you'll never get anything but the integrated GPU to work correctly. The 560m obviously wouldn't have any issues. The downside to the P151HM1 is that it may shorten battery life (2.5-3 hours compared to the W150's 3.5-4).

As for your last question on running battlefield, here are benchmark pages for the 555m and the 560m. The 555m may do medium at lower resolution, but low is probably going to have the best performance. The 560m will do medium and maybe even high.

NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M - Notebookcheck.net Tech
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

The keyboard tends to be a love it or hate it affair. It's a chiclet style model with some of the keys (home keys for one) as FN combo keys. The regular keyboard is actually not that bad in my opinion. If you haven't seen a closeup picture, there's one in the post below (It's the P150HM, which uses the same keyboard as the P151). It can't compete with my external mechanical, but then no laptop keyboard can

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...er-np8150-clevo-p150hm-review-forerunner.html

 

Since I will be programming primarily in a Linux environment, it sounds like I should look more at the P151HM1. Thanks for the feedback on the keyboard. I found a video review on YouTube that had some nice closeups. It doesn't look like a bad keyboard.

A couple more questions I had:
-Malibal has matte/glossy options for the base configuration. Is there a big difference?
-Is the GPU upgradeable? That would make the system more future-proof.

 

For the P151HM1, the GPU is upgradeable if you were to upgrade it's power brick. That will allow it to support a variety of graphics options in the future. Even if no future cards are supported, if you were to upgrade to a 580m, let's say, it'd be a significant performance improvement.

 

Good to know that the system is upgradeable down the road. Thanks for the info.

Does anyone here write code on a P151HM1? Just curious to hear what another programmer thinks about the system. Though not a standard ThinkPad (it seems like most programmers I see run around with ThinkPads), I think the Sager models look pretty good overall.

 

I'm a programmer with a P150HM, Nvidia 580M, running Windows 7.
I find the keyboard is just fine for extended periods of typing.

 

I've been running Ubuntu 11.10 for almost a month now. Everything works except for screen recognition via OS, linux nvidia drivers displays the correct external monitor while showing "LEN" for the 95% matte. Tested all ports (USB 2.0/3.0, sounds, DVI/HDMI, etc), connected to a wireless network and transfered data for 8 hours, no problems. Bluetooth works out of the the box.