Sager NP7378(Clevo W370SS) vs Sager NP8278(Clevo 170SM-A)

I'm looking into buying a new gaming laptop, and I think the 860M is in a pretty good price range. I know the 7378 is Maxwell and the 8278 is Kepler (with the Maxwell performing a little better in benchmarks, apparently). There is the fact that the Kepler 860M comes with more VRAM, but unless I'm mistaken, I would think the memory bus is too small to actually make use of all 4GB.

Anyway, although I'd really like to get the new Maxwell architecture, it looks like the 7378 comes with one fan for both the CPU and GPU. However, the 8278 seems to come with a separate fan for the CPU and GPU, so I'd imagine the temperatures are a bit better.

Are there any thoughts about which one might be preferable? I currently have an Alienware m14x r2 which is still sort of doing okay. Maybe I'd wait for Nvidia to release another batch of mobile GPUs that are all Kepler, so Sager will have to put some version of Maxwell inside the superior 8278 chassis? Dunno.

I know waiting for technology is typically advised against, since there's always something new coming. Still, it seems like with mobile GPUs, every few years they'll release a new one and then just re-release it with a new name for a few years. It seems preferable to me to jump on right when they release that new GPU, that way something new will pop up right when you're ready to move on.

XOTIC PC | Sager NP7378 (Clevo W370SS) - 17" Gaming Laptop
XOTIC PC | Sager NP8278 (Clevo P170SM-A) 17.3" Gaming Laptop

So just curious to know what people think - the 7378, 8278, or wait for a Maxwell in the 8278(it'll probably be named something else then)

 

The performance will match the model numbers regardless of core used. The 870m is 30% faster than the 860m due to sheer transistor advantage. The machines are in different classes of performance and weight (including power brick) so keep that in mind.

 

If it wasn't for maxwell being so inefficient I would've purchased the 8278 or 8278s already. I think maxwell is worth waiting. Plus the 7378 is an ugly gray otherwise I probably would've seriously considered it even though having one fan. If you game or do heavy computational stuff having two is almost a necessity for longevity.

Sent from my SM-N9005

 

kepler is not really inefficient as such, just slightly old tech. (I assume you mean kepler as opposed to maxwell).