Sager NP8662: Q9100 vs T9800

Hey all, first post, so go easy. I've been doing a lot of research, want to pick up a new laptop, and wanted to know for the Sage NP8662, which would be the better CPU: the quad or the duo? Here are the things I'm taking into consideration:

Gaming - High Settings/High Frame rate
Future Proofing (near term/long term) - Quad vs Duo
Performance @ Resolutions - 1680x1050/1920x1200

Let me know!

 

Welcome to NBR! I would go with the higher clocked C2D since I really don't believe in future proofing. Not enough applications take full advantage of quad core - especially since you aren't doing any encoding. Games don't really need that powerful of a CPU as most of the time they are GPU limited; however, the few games that require a lot of CPU power, tend to perform better on a faster dual core. What GPU are you considering - that would be a more important question. IMO you could get away with an even cheaper CPU and not really notice a difference, and spend the money on upgrading the GPU.

 

I do believe that game and programs will take advantages of multi-cores CPU in the next year.
WUSXGA for a 15" machine is too small for me, so WSXGA+ is the only thing left.

 

I'd say go with the q9100, but the only places I saw that offer this cpu are offering it at a pretty high cost. The T9800 is available pretty much everywhere and it is cheaper.. Could you post both prices from where you intend to get it?

Btw games like GTA IV, supreme commander and future valve games will benefit from a quad, so I'd say go with the Q9100. (Honestly the T9800 will also be plenty for almost all games..)

 

q9100 has 12mb cache, so definitly go with q9100.

 

where is the np8662 available with q9100?
cuz its not on the official site.

 

You can count on your hand the number of games that offer any advantage for quad-core over dual-core.

And don't tell me about future-proofing. Optimization just isn't happening. By the time enough games are optimized, it will be time to get a new machine. So why not play your games better now?

 

yea, I would like to know to. I only see the T9800 as the last option.

 

is that all right if you can ask your reseller to put it in your machine?

 

The Q9100 might overheat or be too much of an energy eater, I'm not too sure.

 

Apparently the only officially supported Quad Core in the NP8662 chassis is the Q9000. Other types may work but they must not be officially supported for a good reason.

 

the t9800 will kill the q9000 imo. and as stated im not sure the q9100 is supported or not

 

AVA Direct offers all three Core 2 Quad options for this notebook.

 

all three of the standard ones, no q9200 though

 

And kaltmond still isn't spilling the beans on where the heck he got that thing for his M86. That definitely came out of nowhere.

 

Awesome, thanks for the responses. Seems we're still split though (quad vs. duo). Any users out there who's actually using a quad in their machine that can give some helpful insight?

As far as gaming goes, I want to be able to play the whole spectrum of games (from FPS to RTS and in between) at high settings and playable frame rates. So please take that into account.

Thanks for settling the resolution issue. Now for the screen brightness. I'm a little worried because I've read a few posts commenting on the not-so-bright screen of the NP8660. Any owners care to elaborate?

Still thirsting for more info, money is a premium now a days, so I want to make sure I'm getting the most for my money. Hit me back all!

 

Well....

Q9000 is rubbish, T9800 > Q9100, QX9300 is way expensive.

I'd personally take the T9550.

 

We all know that GTA IV uses Quad Cores but I found this youtube clip interesting because the person is using Rivatuner to show the usage of all cores during gameplay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHPcbmv1ii0

I think that the Q9100 will offer decent performance in most games that are GPU dependent and still be able to cope with multiple core optimised games better that are very intensive.

 

GTA IV sux for the PC
Any game that "needs" a Quad Core cpu just to play at decent FPS is very poorly optimized, and me I would go for the T9800.
Or you can get the newly announced T9900 or P9700 don't ask how much because I don't know.Yet!

 

the quad-core is becoming the essential CPU for overall usage as new games are being developed for multi-threading.

I would go for the quad, it will be the factor to make your system last.

Thats why I got my D900K, it was the only dual-core notebook... I knew it would outperform other notebooks at the time that were just using single core Intel Pentium M or Pentium 4's.

I know the time for quad-core or higher has come.

 

The Clevo Sorcerer has foreseen the future and spoken the premonition, you shall obey or forever be cursed and banned from the NBR Clan...

 

That is very true but GTA IV was still ported from a system that uses 3 cores and there is so much going on in the GTA IV environment.

Without coding from scratch, I wonder if 2 cores could really cope with that game without being maxed out CPU wise.

Are there other console ports with such huge AI intensive environments that have been ported to the PC from 3 to 2 cores that work really well I wonder.

 

Speaking of GTA 4, I was playing it at my bro's house last night on the 360.. I gotta say it was never developed well to begin with. It almost never runs at 30 FPS, and it's probably dipping to the teens in heavy action... which is kinda common in a GTA game. Lame that they would release it in such a state... I'm sure I could do a lot better than that right? Even on a C2D, I've still got the GPU horsepower

 

Which console have 3 cores? Xbox360 or PS3?

 

The Xbox360 has 3 cores and the PS3 has 8 cores.

 

Thanks for the info, I haven't follow the console development for quite sometime

 

I'm looking to pick up the NP8662 w/ T9800 as well, and had one question - heat.

I know the 8660 got great reviews for heat dissipation, do you folks think the 8662 will run reasonably cool w/ the T9800?

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the NBR forums.

the heat dispersion should be fine since the 45w CPUs are supported now by Clevo.

 

My NP8660 has the T9800 and I have no CPU heat issues at all (with or without a cooler).

The only thing that gets a bit warm sometimes is the HDD but to be honest some of that concern went away with a sata driver upgrade and a defrag.

 

why not just upgrade to a quad core CPU later on when program actually do come out and the quad cores are cheaper and faster. I remember a year ago when I was shopping for a CPU for my desktop quads were 1000 for a 2.0 ghz, now they are like 200 or 300.

Just a wait a year and stick with a mid level dual core.

 

If you can afford then get the Q91.

 

Mobile CPU prices rarely drop, and these mobile quads are costing as much as new notebooks. I say, get an ES Q9100, or just stick to the Core 2 Duo.

Another factor that's grossly overlooked is whether the given GPU even has the strength to take advantage of the quad core processor. I don't think the 260M has enough to justify the cost, outside of 3dmark06 runs.

 

Thanks for all the info folks. Too bad there isn't more info on the GTX 260. That and there are no 8662's in stock.

 

the GTX 260M is spec'ed the same to the 9800M GTX... but with a die-shrink, slightly higher clocks, and runs cooler.

as for the M860ETU's not being in stock, they are still being pushed out by Clevo now... so patience will be key.

 

Thanks for the words of wisdom Gophn. Unfortunately I'll be rolling out soon and my have to settle for less. Was really looking to get a Sager this go round. Asus seems to be the best for less, but still ain't no Sager (Clevo). Sigh.

 

Are you sure you can't use something else in the mean time?

I got an Asus for a little less and a few months later down the line I am on my way to trade it in for cash to put towards an NP8662 with a Quad and GTX 260M. I wish I had waited or used something else and just got a Sager in the first place.

 

I know you probably like sager, but I've been reasearching forever now and then I spotted the new ASUS W90Vp-A1 its set to release in the next week I believe, Comes with blueray drive, 6gb ram, 2 ATI 4870's, 18" display, Great speakers, stock quad core, Plus just bunches of other stuff.... all for around 2400$... or you can upgrade it with a new Xtreme quad X9300 for an extra 1200$ 3600$ 20,000+ 3dmark 06 score

 

You can't compare the W90Vp to the M860TU, 15.4'' vs 18''.. I don't think it suits the needs of the OP

 

This 20k 3dmark score is a fake, put out by an ASUS employee.

 

All, I'm almost settled in picking up the 8662. Now I'm wondering if the extra cash is worth picking the T9800 over the P9600 CPU? The angle remains the same, gaming at high settings with the 1680x1050 resolution. Let them comments roll people! Thanks!

 

Nah, I'd stick with the P9600 for now. The T9800 is over 2x the money, whle only a 10% boost in performance. By the time your CPU becomes an issue, you can get a Core 2 Quad for cheaper than they are now.

 

Good looking out Kevin, appreciate it.

 

Hello all, I am looking at the same comp. I am torn between the T9950 and the P9600. I know you all know more about this stuff than I do. About the only difference I can see is the watts, 25 v.s. 35. I know the 25 watt will be better on the battery. Is there any other benifits to the 25 watt I should consider? Thanks! Also is the battery life on a notebook like this going to really matter? Are we talking another 5-10 minutes?

 

Depends on how mobile you plan on being and whether those extra 10-15 mins are worth it to you.

 

When it's not plugged in, both processors downclock to the same energy level, so you'd only notice the difference in battery life if you stress the CPU to full load. Just web surfing or typing, it wouldn't matter.

 

Pulled the trigger, here's the spec's:

Sager NP8662
- Display: 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super
- Processor: ~Intel® P9600 45nm
- Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 260M 1,024MB
- Ram: ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz
- Optical Drive: ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +
- Primary Hard Drive: ~ 320GB 7200RPM
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): None Standard
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Wireless Network: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 530
- Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Fingerprint Reader: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Operating System: ~Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit

Now I hope it get's to me on time. Wheeeeeeee!

 

Setup = Nicccccce.

 

All you guys that have the money to preorder know you have to do the reviews for the rest of us that are still fund raising. Thanks for the insight. I figure I will normally be plugged in while gaming due to the fact that this gpu will down clock when on battery. my buddy has the alienware 15.4 his is about the same as an 9500 on battery. So I guess the 35 watt to save the money is the way to go.

 

The T processors are better at multi threading applications. So if you are going to do anything with sound editing or perhaps some video editing (but not too extreme to say that I don't think my P9500 is performing) then go for the T. Otherwise, all benefits fall under the P.