Sager NP8651 or Sager NP8652

Hello Clevo Users,

I have been an avid notebook-review reader for over a year now, and now I have been successfully converted to Clevo, which is a very big risk because of the mixed reviews outside of this forum on older Clevo models. (Perhaps older models failed) In late June, or early July if life permits I will be purchasing my very first gaming laptop, a Sager. I am thinking of ordering from XoticPc. However, there are some concerns and questions that I will list below. My budget can be pushed to $1700 only after some very serious talks with my parents. I will be going to college, and a budget is very important.

I assumed that if I majored in biochemistry and would do premedical courses I would need a dedicated graphics card, something an ultra-book could never offer. Also, my current laptop is a six year old veteran, HP Dv6 with 4 gigs of ram, a dual core cpu and an integrated 4500mhd, which never stopped me from trying to game. So, I would hate knowing that there is a graphics card out there that I could be pushing more pixels with. I don't expect to be doing much gaming in college, but that human desire to have the best of the best drives my conflict.


My Questions:

• XoticPc offers student discounts, which I am and will be, cash discounts and Notebookreview discounts. Can any of them be combined ? Do I choose one and only one type of discount?
• Are taxes included in the total purchase price, or do I have to pay a tax after I customize my notebook?
• Could I ask Xotic to test that the system works and there are no dead pixels before sending?
• Is the IC Diamond thermal compound worth it? ( I read on one thread that it went horribly wrong and the user was having overheating issues because it wasn't applied properly.

Budget: $1600-$1700


Sager Np 8651-
-4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4720HQ (2.6GHz - 3.6GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 970M (3.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 (Maxwell) w/ Optimus™ Technology
-16GB DDR3 1600MHz [2x8GB] Dual Channel Memory (SKU - RAM04S)
-1TB 7200RPM [SATA II - 3GB/s] (SKU - HDDYY1)
- 500GB Crucial BX100 Series SSD [SSD2 - SATA III] (SKU - SSD086) - NEW!
-Sager - Intel® Dual Band AC 7265 [M.2 Chip] 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFIX1)
~Windows 8.1 - 64-Bit (64-Bit CD Included) + MS Office 2013 Trial

TOTAL with Cash Discount: $1652.88
Without Discount: $1704.00

Sager Np 8652

4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4720HQ (2.6GHz - 3.6GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache)
- - Stock OEM Thermal Compound
- NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 980M (4.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11 (Maxwell) w/ Optimus™ Technology
16GB DDR3 1600MHz [2x8GB] Dual Channel Memory (SKU - RAM04S)
- 1TB 7200RPM [SATA II - 3GB/s] (SKU - HDDYY1)
-Sager - Intel® Dual Band AC 7265 [M.2 Chip] 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 (SKU - WIFIX1)

TOTAL with Cash Discount: $1609.23
Without Discount: $1659.00


So in conclusion, my heart is telling me go with 8652 and upgrade later. My brain is telling me go with 8651 and save myself time, because I wont be gaming as much as I think I would.

Having been deprived of gaming, even though its an incredibly amazing escape other than a book in solitude, has made me want the best possible mobile experience. Its one of those things that if I don't get it I'll always be thinking about it. So, what do you guys think? 8651 or 8652?

-Thank You, and I hope you wont critique my first ever post in an online forum so harshly.

 

1. As of a week ago the discount on the NP8651 / NP8652 is 2% cash and free shipping.

2. Taxation depends on where you are buying from, I live in MS and didn't pay tax. You're supposed to claim it on your state taxes but few people ever do.

3. The system is stress tested prior to shipping. The LCD panels used aren't particularly prone to dead pixels, for $35 you can get a perfect pixel guarantee, or use the 30 day return window if you have a stuck pixel if it bothers you.

4. You can repaste the CPU / GPU yourself if you want, most good pastes are like $10 or so for a tube that will paste several computers. I paid them to do mind, because I have abysmal luck with repasting GPUs.

EDIT - I forgot to mention that it is IMHO unlikely you'll come close to needing the power of any modern GPU for your undergraduate career. Also, 16GB of RAM almost certainly over kill. It may "future proof" your system to some degree but you can always add more RAM later if the need arises. If you don't need the extra RAM then it will provide no extra performance. Wheras you could spend the $90 towards a self installed SSD.

 

The student discount won't be the bext combo on the Sagers as it doesn't combine with free shipping. Free shipping saves you more currently and can be combined with cash discount for a further 2% off the order total. No active NBR promotions right now unfortunately. We used to but the way the pricing is set up right now it's not something we're able to offer while still following Sager pricing they have set.

To get those two combined just select your cash payment method during checkout and then use the 'freeship' promotion code. We'll manually adjust pricing once the order is submitted and shoot you an email with the final total and payment instructions.

 

Sager Np 8651 since it has better cooling. With that type of hardware I would always recommend the best cooling solution.

 

What's better about the np8651's cooling?

 

The cooling is the same... I think zymhpad meant 8652 since it has a thicker chasis but then again it needs to deal with the 980M.. Whichever way, the 8652 is the best bet.. Get your SSD later... GPU is soldered so get the best GPU you can get now...

 

Thank You everyone for your replies, I will take it all into consideration when I make my purchase.