Sager NP 9262 Noob Review/First Impressions

This will be a quick review of the Sager notebook which UPS delivered to me about 10 hours ago. This is my first notebook, but I feel obligated to post my impressions because this forum has become a staple of information for me over the past 2 weeks.
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First, the specs;
SAGER NP 9262
17" Wide Viewing Angles WUXGA LCD with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1200)
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Processor Q6600 / 8MB L2 Cache, 2.40GHz, 1066MHz FSB
Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTX Graphics with 512MB DDR3 Video Memory
Windows® VISTA Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 X 2048MB
100GB 7200rpm SATA 150 Hard Drive (PRIMARY)
200GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Secondary Hard Disk Drive
Non-RAID storage
2X BD-R/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Blu-ray Drive & Software
Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
Internal Bluetooth Module
Smart Li-ION Battery Pack
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Even though I was pumped to get this badboy all weekend, I missed the UPS guy calling up to my apartment two times! Good thing I had met him the previous Friday, when he was delivering my ZALMAN 1000 LAPTOP COOLER, and told him how jacked I was to get my Sager. His third and final attempt to wake me worked, and I flew down the stairs, gym shorts backwards (I realized this when I put my apartment keys in the pockets) and t-shirt on inside-out, to pay the dilligent delivery man.

I am located in Canada, so I was subject to a massive $500 tax and duty COD charge. Obviously, I didnt have to pay taxes when I bought it online - directly from SAGER, by the way. Thank goodness Prime Minister Harper lowered the GST sales tax one point! Instead of 14%, my tax was a mere 13% (oh the savings!)!

So I brought the box upstairs and sliced it open real good.

First impressions:

The laptop case that comes with it is actually better than I thought it would be. I assumed it was just a thin cover with handles, but it is actually a fairly sturdy case. Which, amazingly, fits this mammoth beast of a notebook!

Removed from the foam sheath, the 9262 shined like pure cobalt in the morning sun! Its not as ugly as I had been reading online, so I was pleasantly suprised once again. But if I was so concerned with looks, I would have gotten that Alienware m15x I priced-out about a dozen times before first hearing about a company called SAGER.

What made me, a newbie laptop buyer decide on a Sager rather than the Alienware? I think it was the combination of poor ALienware customer service reviews (the $500 fee to return a defective laptop policy!!) and positive reviews regarding the quality of Sager products. After a while I started to see the backlights and design of the ALienware as sort of cheezy (originally thats why I wanted an ALienware). I tell you though, after watching Die Hard 4 and seeing all those hacker and government Alienwares, I wanted one pretty bad. Anyways, back to the Sager...

This notebook is a beast! Its a good thing I am a gym rat, because I can easily see a "girlie man" computer/tech guy ripping a deltoid, or pulling a bicep when they lift it (no diss on the girlie men out there! You drive our economy right??).

The power brick is also massive. I wonder if It will be safe for me to use this when I am working in Japan next year?? With a plug converter, obviously.

They keyboard is also very comfortable! The keys are quality and feel good when typing. My desktop Vaio's keyboard has nothing on this one. I havent explored the macro buttons on the side yet, or the three quick launch buttons by the power button, because Ive been trying to familarize myself with VISTA and implementing the "NBR Member Vista Tips and Tweaks Guide".

The screen is beautiful, I really like the resolution - coming from a low res screen previosuly. Took no time at all to get used to the small text (good thing I had LASIK surgery 4 days ago!!), and the advantages of having multiple windows up at once became apparent - this is especially true because I aim to use this computer as a video editing machine 1st, gaming machine 2nd.

Ive had it on for 10 hours straight, save for the shutdowns following an update or program install. Heat does not seem to be an issue, but like I mentioned earlier, I purchased the Zalman 1000 laptop cooler - which is quiet even on full-blast (im in a library now, and cant hear a thing!). Also, its not too small for my 17" notebook. Yes, the sides of the notebook stretch beyond the boundaries of the cooler, but thats ok! ANything bigger would only add additional mass and weight (I intend to lug my Sager around a little bit).

Zalman should give Aryantes some free products! I bought the cooler after reading his review, and I am sure others will do the same!! Props Aryantes, it works great!!

I also intend to buy the Targus XL 17" notebook backpack, if I can get a good price here in Canada. Sure the Sager case is sufficient, but even with my 21" GUNZ AND CHISLED DELTS, carrying this thing in satchel is not very fun.

So ill close this review/first impression/ramble by saying I love this thing so far! The first game I intend to buy is CoD4, along with a Xbox360 controller (ive no experience with the mouse and keyboard gaming combo!). Cant wait to see how the Sager performs when I give her the ability to stretch her legs! Wish I could be more helpfull with tech, specs, benchmarks etc...but I dont know much about that since my old comp was pretty oldschool.

Noob out!

Ithxan

 

congrats! I live in Canada too. I thought you didn't have to pay duty though? wierd. Have fun.

 

That's a very nice first notebook Ithxan, congratulations!

From what I see, you configured a well balanced system. Any plans to add an extra 8800 to enjouy SLI?

Taxes do not surprise us anymore and you Canadians are so lucky. I had to pay 19% in the Netherlands. Your concerns for working abroad should include your flight as well. Some airlines will not accept our hefty Sagers (with brick) as hand luggage. So beware!

 

Congrats on your new laptop the thing is awesome.

I keep the Zalman on full blast as well, excellent product. Take good care of it, it will survive for many a year.

I can't believe the Canadian dollar is so strong now, I used to go to Montreal to enjoy a 20-30% savings on everything. blast!

 

I have been wondering about this myself. I'll try and let you know when I get there myself, as we are moving to the Osaka area (Kinki district anyways) at the end of April.

I pretty much have the same setup as you, with the exception that I opted out of getting the quad processor for the time being and instead have the e6850 in my 9262. Also that I have the NC2000 cooler instead of the 1000. Outside of moving to Japan though, I don't plan on moving the machine around very much. I'm also planning to check out the Targus XL (to see if I can infact fit that NC2000 cooler into it). Aryantes mentioned to me that it worked well as a carry-on for a plane.

It appears as though you have made a very sound purchase, and that you are quite pleased with the product. I hope you're able to enjoy your new laptop for a long time. Don't let the gaming cut into your gym time either!

さよなら

 

Speaking of which, I'm sure you can order a 220V AC adapter for your Sager for use overseas. Isn't Europe on 220V? I know there are some sager owners from this board who live in Europe.

I wouldn't trust a converter as much, nor would I want to lug one around, those transformers are not light.

Dying to go to japan by the way... maybe next year.

 

You shouldn't need an International AC Adapter. The Sager one will take care of the voltage adjustments. You might need a prong adapter but that should be all.

 

even better I didn't think it would be that easy.

 

Look at the power brick, it should say something like 110v-220v, 50hrz and 60hrz. That means it will work in both places, the plug on the wall will be different though. You can buy a little adapter cheap, its not a item that needs to be expensive. Don't attempt to plug anything into a wall outlet with more than three holes unless you know exactly whats there. The transformer in the power brick should be fine with any standard range of power, 110v 208v or 220v, plus or minus 5% of those numbers is safe (sometimes theres small variations due to usage and wiring methods).

110V 60hrz is the grid in north america, and 50hrz 220v is europe.

This doesn't help you though, because I have no idea what sort of power japan is on, but I've never heard of anything else for normal household use.

I'm in charge of the municiples on a small base. Plumbing, power generation, electrical grid, HVAC, and refrigeration. I specialize in refrigeration, personally.

I'm thinking of trying to design a dust free, sealed, refrigerated computer case when i'm not posting excessive in some forum.

I ordered almost the exact same computer, btw, I have smaller HDs in Raid 0 though.

Edit: oh, and if japan is on some variation of 208V or 220V the power brick will be hotter than you're seeing now, thats normal.

 

Japan's electrical system standard is 100V at either 50hz or 60hz (depending on where you are, eastern Japan is 50hz, western Japan is 60hz), and they use the same socket plugs as are used in the U.S., all according to this webpage.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Im still loving this bute! Ive been applying some VISTA TWEAKS taken from this site, as well as trying to optimize my utorrent (port forwarding etc etc), as well as update my 8800mGTX drivers - who'd a thunk itd be so confusing, even for a buff noob like me!

Regarding the power situation in Japan (and I dont mean between the Prime Minister and the bloated bureaucracy);

The power brick says:
INPUT: 100-240v(squiggly line), 50-60Hz, 3A
OUTPUT: 20V - 11A

Does that mean that I will be able to plug it into a regular, 3-pronged plug in Japan without an adaptor or converter?

 

I am inclined to say "yes" since apparently the Japanese electrical system supplies power at 100v~50-60Hz; however, I don't know the answer for sure, so, to avoid any unnecessary unhappiness, I would suggest giving a quick call to Sager to find out if they know (for example, ask if the same power adapter is used in Japan - if so, then you should be good to go).

 

If it's written on the power supply then it works.

 

Yah, but I'm a cynic (and a lawyer). However, here's an excerpt from the About.com article on travelling to Japan:

It gibes with other apparently reasonable resources on the internet, so I would be inclined to agree that there should be no reason why ithxan cannot use the suuplied power-brick in Japan without a converter (might need a three-prong to two-prong converter if the power-brick comes with a three-prong plug however).

 

im right there with you man...ive been drooling over the m15x and configured it a countless number of times but keep getting turned off by reviews. i like the lights and the vid card with the resolution and 2.5 processor but i might have to turn to sager....message me if you have any say on what i should do? budget is 2500-2700$$$

 

congrats, but is Sager still selling 8800gtx? I have not checked their website, but maybe returning the lappy for the 9800gtx something you may want to look into, because they now have the 9800gtx, FYI.