Sager NP8170-S1 / Clevo P170HM Help

Looking for comments on my customization. My budget is $3,000 or less including shipping, so about $2,950 excluding shipping. I will be using this computer for at least the next 4-5 years. Right now I will bringing it back and forth between two houses (divorced parents) on a weekly basis, and once I go to college. (2 years) I will be bringing it to classes most likely and around campus, ect.

For this reason, I thought the 3 year warranty was worth it.

Right now I play Starcraft 2 and RIFT. Looking to also start playing an FPS at some point.

I will be ordering from Xotic. I will be ordering in about ~3 weeks.

My current customization:

Price of Above Customization: $2,848

Now the questions:

I am considering dropping the extra 500gigs. (250gigs from each HD) and instead get either the Glossy w/ 90% NTSC Color Gamut screen upgrade or the Matte Screen. Both are $220 upgrades. Which should I get instead? Is it worth it? I have heard the standard screen is crappy, but I'm not sure as to the truth behind that. I've also heard Matte is only worth it if you plan on using it outside, which I do not. So I am really just considering the Glossy Screen upgrade.

Anything going to change or get added to this model in the next month or two months that is worth waiting for? I know the 6970m is coming out soon supposedly, but I'll end up getting the 485 anyway.

In terms of longevity, should this set-up last me at least 4 years? By last I mean physically work, I understand some hardware might get a bit outdated, but I can live with low quality graphics for a little bit toward the end.

Any other recommendations to the customization? If you think something would make it better for gaming/longevity/in general and it keeps my under $2950, let me know. I will probably end up getting 12gigs of RAM at some point, but I know I can just do that myself later.

I appreciate any help

Thanks

 

id say drop to the 2720 proc, drop to 500gb secondary HD, add on the Matte screen, and get a SSD as a primary HD.. you'll be much happier, and you wont notice the performance difference between the 2720 and the 2820 since there's only a .1ghz difference

for gaming, 8gb ram is probably sufficient IMO. this config has a blu-ray player as well

or, if glossy screens dont bother you, go with the 90% one since it's not back ordered.. surely you have $1.71 in your couch? good luck!

 

What are you planning on using the laptop for? If only for gaming, then the 2630QM is good enough. The $160 you save from that can go towards the SSD primary.

Regarding the screen, if you have never owned a very good screen, such as an IPS, I am not sure if upgrading to a higher gamut screen will be worth it. The stock screen is certainly not "crappy" by any means. However, since it is only 60% gamut, it will of course look different next to a 72% or 90/95% gamut.

The matte screen is important if you will frequently be using the laptop in a very brightly lid environment, for example, as you stated, outdoors. It is also important if you are a photo/graphics editting professional or aficionado. Some people just prefer a matte screen, some glossy, and other just don't really care. At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference if you do not need it for any practical reasons. That being said, however, you also should not fall into the trap of "glossy is superior to matte".

 

If I were to get an SSD, what should I be storing on it?

OS, commonly played games, school stuff? (Just my guess)

Does everything just load much faster on SSD and is more secure on SSD?

 

Applications will load faster and your system will boot up quite a bit faster with a SSD. The security level is the same on a mechanical or ssd drive.

Typically you want to put your OS and your most regularly used applications on it. Anything you want to take advantage of the increased read/write speed.

 

Sorry, by security I meant reliability. Do SSD fail less often then a regular mechanical HD? Is the recovery process for an SSD different/easier then for a mechanical HD?

Thanks

 

Idk about fault rates or recovery of SSDs but they have no moving parts, so they won't get messed up if you happen to drop your laptop or somethin.. They also consume a bit less power and generate less heat.

 

Intel SSDs aren't known for any severe problems or sudden failures. It's the other Sandforce-based controller SSDs (like most of OCZ's offerings, among other brands) that are prone to failure. The high reliability is one of the reasons that I think Intel SSDs are priced way higher than the rest; you pay for the peace of mind.

 

The intel ones are stunningly good

Its too early to give opinions on the vertex 3's but the vertex 2's are problematic

 

Drop to the i7-2630QM, and spend the extra change on an SSD or screen upgrade.

Don't waste that kind of money on the CPU, even if you have it.

 

With my suggestion you get the intel SSD, blu-ray, and an upgraded screen and it's in your budget.. Also, dont be afraid to ask them for a discount when you order lol.. Could probably get free shipping's worth off

 

Hey all - according to VR-Zone the Intel G3 320 series SSDs will be released next week ( http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-first-25nm-ssd-on-march-28th-pricing-unveiled/11655.html). Do any resellers know when they'll be available as an option on the 8170? That's the last piece of the puzzle I've been waiting to fall into place before pulling the trigger!

That could be another option for the OP to consider.

 

The failure rates are much lower with SSD's, but the most important with SSD is that the failure is at write time, e.g. the NAND cell where data is about to be written 'fails', which allows the SSD to choose another healthy NAND cell, thereby preserving the data & avoiding a data loss.
For this reason the failure with SSD's is mostly non-catastrophic, e.g. the shrinkage of its capacity in timp as the cells wear off, as opposed to the classic HDD's catastrophic failures due to their appearance at reading the data, hence the familiar data loss.

 

Why?

I always though CPU was relatively important for gaming. Everyone seems to be rather anti-CPU upgrades...

 

Because in this case, you're never going to be CPU limited. Even the 2630qm will perform better than the 485m graphics. You'll always hit a bottleneck in the graphics if you're just planning on gaming. AKA, you'll see no useable improvement in most games by going with a hugely expensive processor.

In laptops, games are limited by GPU's which are almost always pared down counterparts to desktops. For example, the 485m is only somewhere between a 460 or 560 ti desktop card, which would only be considered mainstream. The sandy bridge 2630qm, by comparison, is pretty much on par with the desktop i7 920 (last gen). This was a performance quad core chip. The graphics are *always* the slowest laptop part because they just can't scale the same way. Just look how massive the desktop cards are in comparison. The mobile CPU to desktop CPU really only changes in terms of power consumption, not in physical size whereas GPU's can be 10x bigger or more.

Does that make any sense?

Unless you plan to do video transcoding or other intensive CPU stuff, gaming will never be CPU limited on even the cheapest sandy bridge quad core.

EDIT: I also wanted to point out that you'll see a bunch of us upgraded to the 2720. It's got a faster clock rate (which gaming alone won't use), but it's also got support for some extra virtualization stuff with VM-ware, which you probably won't ever use. (some of us will though). A better upgrade is just to get the 2720 if you are dead set on upgrading, but for most people, beyond that is just a lot of money for minimal performance improvements.

 

Thank you for the explanation.

How large are the differences between the 120GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive and the 120GB Intel X25-M Solid State Drive?

 

I didn't see this on the Quickbooks site, but does a faster CPU help with Quickbooks Enterprise in a multi user environment?

 

I assume your QB File is hosted on a server and you are logging into that file? You will notice maybe a small gain with a faster CPU, more with a Quad Core. It will matter most to make sure your server is on a Gigabit LAN and your Workstation you are logging in from is also on a wired Gigabit LAN. (since you are accessing your QB File through your Network)

 

Also, for the secondary drive, what would you recommend?

500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid (Serial-ATA II 300 - 32MB Cache)

or

750GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)

 

I disagree...the slowest laptop part is always the HDD. That's why you see so many people going for SSD's now that the prices have dropped quite a bit.

Personally, I'd go for the Momentus XT, but it's a hit and miss thing with it because of the problems some people have with hanging, lagging. This is mostly attributable to the APM (Advanced Power Management) issues that Seagate is having with these drives. The latest firmware fixed most of these issues, but I'd suggest waiting for a newer, better firmware, or simply waiting for Seagate to come out with their next generation hybrid HDDs. Otherwise, it's an excellent drive that really speeds your machine up.

Mr. Mysterious

 

How large are the differences between the 120GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive and the 120GB Intel X25-M Solid State Drive?

 

Google benchmarks.

 

There is a good increase in performance in some area's for Intel 510 Series. Below are some specs for the 2 Intel series SSD's


http://download.intel.com/design/flash/nand/Intel_SSD_510_Series_Product_Brief.pdf

http://download.intel.com/design/flash/nand/322208.pdf
___

 

Last question, promise

Is the 30 day Dead Pixel Warrant worth it? ($60)

 

Good question. Depends. There's a very tiny chance of receiving a panel with stuck/dead pixels but if it happens and you get one lazy pixel in the middle of the screen, - that would be very annoying.

 

It is a fact that the factory spends more time checking and making sure of your display when you select the 30 day pixel warranty. You are paying the $60 for a more thorough check to make sure as well as the shipping to and from the factory in case you do find a problem
__

 

It looks like the soon-to-be-released 320 series will significantly outperform both the 310 and the 510 series in random 4k read/write, though (although the sequential read/write for is significantly higher): http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-first-25nm-ssd-on-march-28th-pricing-unveiled/11655.html

 

Are my chances of receiving a dead pixel the same when getting an upgraded screen?

 

That depends on your reseller and their QC. Generally, higher gamut panels have a higher chance of being flawed but that doesn't mean you will receive a lemon. It also depends on who supplies the upgrade screens to your reseller, and their arrangement (warranty, return policy, etc).

 

It's pretty clear, that he's only speaking of gaming performance. The HDD has no effect on framerates.

 

My final configuration:

I am going to do a secure payment with credit card/check so I can get the XoticPC discount price, bringing it to $2942. With shipping about $2975 which fits nicely in by $3000 and under budget.

Any thoughts on changes?

Also is the Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 worth it even though I am losing the bluetooth on the previous version?

 

Looks like a solid config to me. You're not blowing money on anything unnecessary with that one. The dead pixel guarantee gives you peace of mind, but I found it unnecessary for my order.

As for the 6300 wireless- if you don't need bluetooth that much and have a fast 300mbps or 450mbps router at home, it's definitely worth it. I only went with the 6230 because I prefer to keep the bluetooth option to tether my phone with.

I think you'd be more than happy with the config you've got there.

 

I need to check my router to see if it is worth it. Without bluetooth, does that mean a wireless mouse without a USB transmitter connector won't work?

Yeah, I am getting the pixel warranty just for peace of my mind as you said.

On a somewhat unrelated topic:

To be honest, I feel stupid asking this question, but I haven't been able to find it on these forums or on the internet, I might just be blind.

If I was originally going to get the 485m on my future NP8170, what price reduction would I get if I switched to the 6970m whenever it comes out for Sager?

Is it worth switching to it for the price savings?

My budget is at or under $3000. I need it to last at least 4 years. I will use it primarily for gaming, but also for photo editting, as well as school/web browsing.

Config is above. If I reduced the price of the GPU, I would probably upgrade my secondary HD or possibly get a 250gig SSD depending on how much the price is reduced.

 

Wireless Mouse: If it's a bluetooth mouse, then no, it wouldn't work. You could always buy one of those $5-10 micro bluetooth USB adapters if you needed it though. If it's an RF mouse, it's got a USB adapter already.

485m vs 6970m: It's hard to say at this point, because pricing hasn't been released for the np8170, nor has availability. The rumor is ~$200 less though (a $250-300 upgrade versus $495 for the 485m). It's definitely worth waiting if price is important, as performance is roughly equal.

 

You and I have almost the same wants. The only diff is that I ordered 16gb memory. I ordered the 90% screen which is superior to standard screen and plan on installing a Viewguard matte screen protector. I use the viewguard on my G73JH and love it as I do not want my face staring back at me. I have already ordered and it came to $3014 including 3% wire transfer discount and shipping. Ordered 3/11.

Official Site of ViewGuard® Products including Privacy Filters & Screen Protectors for Laptop, Notebook & Desktop Computers; LCD Screens; Mobile Phones; PDAs and More

 

The real difference between the 2720 and the 2820 is 6mb level 3 cache vs 8mb. I render a lot using 3dsmax and other software and the diff in cache is huge. You will not get the matte now as I have been informed that they are backordered with no ETA in sight.

 

Review Nvidia Geforce GTX 485M graphics card - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

Intel Core i7-2820QM - Sandy Bridge For Notebook PCs - Intel Sandy Bridge Comes to Laptops! - Legit Reviews

I have been investigating for many many months on which laptop to buy and just what I needed for photography and CGI

 

The question is then, will they be using the rig for rendering like you, or if they will be using it for just gaming and other mild school-related stuff if he wont be utilizing it, why not put the $ towards another upgrade?

 

Mine has shipped from Sager to XoticPC!!

 

I agree completely!!