Sager NP7358 (Clevo W350SS): Customization Advice?

I'm planning to buy a Sager NP7358 from xotic pc with these upgrades:

1) Screen: 15.6" FHD 95% NTSC Color Gamut ( + 35 )
2) CPU: Intel Core™ i7-4810MQ ( + 35 )
3) Wireless Card: Intel Dual Band AC 7260 ( + 35 )

Everything else is by default. Do you think these upgrades are worth the extra money?
Any other recommended upgrades? (I can spend more if it's worth it)

Btw, I'm a college student. How can I take advantage of that (or any other means) to save some money?

 

I would also add the IC Diamond Paste for $35.

From what I've read on these forums the 95% color gamut screen isn't available anymore.

 

Definitely get the CPU upgrade. I also heard they are out of the screen. The stock screen should be fine. My stock 17.3" looks awesome after calibrating the colors.

All of the resellers will give a small student discount.

Also, I'd order it with no OS, and either get win8 free from your school (if they offer it), or get win8 pro at the student price of $70.

If you don't have a solid state drive, get one. At least an 80-120gb version to install windows on. If you put your OS on the SSD, the laptop runs solo much faster!

Oh, and do you have a dual band router? The AC card only makes sense if you do.

 

Beat me to it. An SSD is a MUST have, the most important upgrade. My gfs 5 year old laptop was barley running, put a fresh install of windows on a ssd, it runs faster then most newer laptops.

I got the same model sager, just upgraded the cpu and added the ssd.

 

Dont forget Windows if you dont have a copy ready to install. Its not included by default.

As the others above me mentioned, add a mSATA SSD for much faster read/write times.

 

Keep in mind that if you don't mind opening up the system for some DIY installations, you can save some cash on an SSD drive on Newegg or Amazon. A 120GB mSATA SSD on Xotic is $100, but $65-$75 on Amazon depending whether you go the SATA or mSATA route. I don't know the layout inside the NP7358, but I can't imagine installing either drive type would be terribly difficult.

Don't forget you also need an OS, since Sager laptops don't include them by default. Windows 8 Home is $80 on Xotic, but if you have a student edu email, you can get Windows 8 Pro for $70 from Microsoft (student version should work fine for a clean install).

 

Always cheaper to do things yourself for sure. If you like doing hardware upgrades and are comfortable doing so ordering your own parts will save you a few bucks. When you get it on the order you'll have it all ready for you and those parts will be covered by Sagers warranty.

 

I considered doing the install myself, but as I have gotten older, I've realized my time has a value to it. The hard drive swap is easy, but ugh dealing with installing windows for the firs time. No thanks....here's my money sager/xotic, take care of it.

 

A clean Windows 8 install probably takes 10-15 minutes (probably even less on an SSD). Pretty sure Sager also includes a disc with all the 8.1 drivers, so that shouldn't take much time either.

 

I read that the IC Diamond Paste reduces the temperature by a mere few degrees and this model has no overheating issue. Is it really worth the extra $35?

I'm not sure whether my router is dual or single band. But I'll carry the laptop around so I think the AC card will enable me to access more wifi networks. What do you think about that?

Can you confirm that the 95% color gamut screen is still in stock?

 

I know at least for the 7358 it's no longer available. I ordered it for this laptop on April 2nd and was notified yesterday (14th) that the order could not go forward with that option as it was no longer available.

 

There is nothing wrong with choosing the AC 7260. If you ever go somewhere that has dual band WiFi, you'll be covered. I was just checking, since most people don't have dual band routers, and public places definitely don't have them.

 

The AC is nice to have but you wont be using it often in public places lol, nice for home networking though.

 

A mere few degrees more often translates to 5-6C lower. Even if overheating is not an issue, the lower heat is overall better for the internal components. this equals a longer life, less fan noise, and better performance (in the case of turbo boost)

 

If you have applied thermal paste before you can do it yourself and save some cash.

 

Does anyone know how to enable the finger print scanner?

 

Drivers and application from Fingerprint

CEG Team your Upgrade Base for Clevo & Alienware

 

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm a bit confused where to get this particular driver you are referring to. I literally just freshly installed Windows 8.1 Pro and downloaded all the 8.1 drivers from the Sager website ( https://www.sagernotebook.com/drivers.php?cat=593) and installed them. I did not see one about fingerprint, and still it is not working. Perhaps the driver is listed somewhere else?

 

Wow that is odd, well they are available from clevo (all be it with a typo ^_^)

藍天Clevo

Select the w355ssq (the clevo equivalent)

 

Which is good and bad because if you get a 2 year Sager warranty your drive or RAM is only covered under those two years, where most RAM purchased third party has lifetime warranty and SSD's 3 to 5 years.