Sager NP5160, right for a non-Gamer?

Hi, I am a student, studying architecture at college, looking to buy a computer for the coming school year. I came across the Sager PC's because I am a fan of their clean, simple design, and attractive price point for a laptop with a dedicated gpu.

I'm upgrading from a 2009 Thinkpad T500, because the dedicated graphics card on this machine broke just past warranty (a major bummer). [this poor experience factors into my desire for reliability later on]

Here are some key points of my needs/wants in a computer:

1 _ Programs used
As mentioned in the title, I would NOT use this as a gaming computer. I only really play light/indie games, or older pc games these days. I do however, need the graphics power provided by the Nvidia gpu for architectural modeling/rendering software. Programs Used include Rhino, 3DS max, sketchup, AutoCAD. I also heavily use Adobe Creative Suite CS5 for putting together my projects.

2 _ Reliability
As mentioned, I am very frustrated with my T500's graphics card breaking down, especially considering Thinkpads are known for reliability. I treated my laptop very well, have never dropped it. My T500 was pretty much always in a case or on my work desk, so the card breaking was a bit of an anomaly.
As far as expectations for a new machine, reliability is a huge factor, because architecture studio moves FAST and I literally can't afford to have it break down. I have read that xotic PC has great customer service etc.. but I don't want to have to use this. Like I said, having no computer for a few weeks would be devastating.

3 _ Design / Experience
The presentation and use of the machine are important, because I use it to present my projects to faculty (our "client"..). Things like appearance, noise level factor into this. Considering I'm coming from a Thinkpad T series, which I consider exemplary design, how will the Sager compare? I much prefer the adjectives 'clean', 'minimal'.. as opposed to 'flashy', 'eye catching', if that helps. From the pictures I've seen, this laptop really appeals to me, and I even read that one guy asked for "no logo" on the cover and they gave him that. Anyone have experience with this?

4 _ Price/Portability/Other
I'm looking to spend under $1000 on a laptop. I realize this is a lot to ask for my desired features. I'm very tight on money these days though, but a computer is essential to my studies, so I'm trying to find a balance here. I priced the NP5160 at $950 with my features and extended warranty, so this fits the bill.
Portability is not of huge concern. I sometimes go to coffee shops to do typing and more low key work, but for the most part I'll be around an ac adapter and don't need an "ultraportable" machine.

One other thing that may be of note, I will be hooking it up to a 22" LCD Monitor @ 1680*1050 while working, probably by VGA port.

Am I barking up the wrong tree, considering these are advertised as "gaming laptops", for my work / study?

 

It sounds like for your needs, the 5160 should be more than adequate. The design is of course, very understated. Battery life isn't an issue as you said, so then there really aren't any downsides to having a "gaming" type notebook.

It really sounds like you've answered most of your own questions though

 

Sager has notebooks for all walks of life and the 5160 fits your bill to a tee. You'll be very happy with it and what you need it for. I personally like the looks on it much better than Dells/HPs/IBMs; those look too generic to me.

 

The NP81xx / Clevo P-Series are the "gaming" laptops.

The NP51xx / Clevo W-Series are the mid-range laptops that happen to be capable of moderate gaming.

I often recommend this laptop to people not because of the GPU, but because it offers a decent-resolution screen for a good price.

 

are u going to be using the keyboard and touch pad. if not i would just get a smaller laptop like dell vostro.

since you're not using the screen most of the time having 19*10 screen is moot.

 

Thank you everyone for the input, its all appreciated!!

As you have noted, I've already sort of worked out that the NP5160 has the right mix of features for me, so it doesn't really seem like I'm asking any questions. But I have some lingering specific questions.

1. (this question is pointed towards any laptop's monitor output) The screen output is important since I'll be using this a lot of the time. How is the VGA output quality to an LCD monitor? If VGA is any worse (i'm not sure), what would be the best connection/adapter combo to my monitor's VGA or DVI input?

2. I really appreciate that Sager retailers are honest about the whole 'dead pixel' warranty option, whereas mainstream laptop sellers just ignore this concern (dead pixels can happen on any laptop). But when you're looking at that option.. it can be a bit scary, just thinking if yours came with dead pixel(s). This might be a hard question to answer honestly, but what are the "chances" of this happening.. and would you recommend the 30 day warranty? Any personal experiences would help.

3. The main reason I'm still here and haven't pushed the buy button already is the aforementioned reliability concern. I'm going into my most important year of study, and the T500 experience last quarter really shook up my studies/project... This question is even harder to honestly answer than the last.. but being the "custom" nature of the Sager laptops, can I expect better-than-average reliability if I take excellent care of the machine? Once again, personal experiences would be most helpful here, moreso than reseller claims.

You are right in that I won't be using the touchpad and keyboard most of the time. And I actually DO desire to go smaller. I was looking at smaller laptops (namely the Thinkpad x220), but the problem is its hard to find a 13" or smaller laptop that has the graphics / horsepower I need for the applications. There are some out there (ala Dell Vosotro, I checked those out), but they run closer to $1300 with a dedicated graphics card. (plus I'm not a fan of their design)

 

1. VGA is an analog format, but it's not that bad. I used it for years with my older LCD monitors until DVI/HDMI became standard. However, you may find using the HDMI out on the laptop to a DVI/HDMI adapter on your monitor may be better. I find that the quality of the link depends on the size/resolution of the display. (higher res monitors really do need the digital connection to look their best)

2. Dead pixels aren't common, but they can and do happen. Truly dead pixels are extremely rare- more often those that are called dead are usually just stuck (which is fixable). Regardless, most if not all resellers offer 30 day money back guarantees. If you had a dead pixel, it's the cost of shipping to get a new machine (which is usually less than the warranty).

3. You're looking for personal experience from users, so I'll skip that part and let other non resellers cover it. I'd say warranty support is better than pure reliability though, from a user perspective, because even mostly reliable companies can still have unlucky machines that good support takes care of. Other users that have had D900's and older models are probably the best to talk about overall reliability though as they'll have had years of ownership to attest to (the current lineup is pretty new, so no one really has more than 6-8 months so far on their machines)