Seeking opinions on possible NP9150 / P150EM build

I'm seeking opinions on a possible 9150 build. Let me know what you think:


Sager NP9150 / Clevo P150EM

- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen

I could upgrade this to the Matte screen (or any of the 95% NTSC Color Gamut) if enough people think its worth it. I currently have a glossy screen on my Asus M50vm, and I don't recall having issues with that screen in the room I primarily use the system in. I had a matte screen on an old Dell Inspirion 15 notebook, and that seemed a little grainy to me (granted that was probably 10 or more years ago, and I'm sure matte screens have evolved quite a bit since then).

- Sager - 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP)

-Stock OEM Thermal Compound

Like with the screen I could upgrade to the IC Diamond thermal compound if enough people think its worth it. I know the fan has been noted as being slightly on the noisy side on the 9150/1p50em, but its not like the thermal compound is going to keep the fan from kicking in when gaming, nor make the fan any quieter -right?-

-FREE- nVidia GeForce GTX 675M 2,048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology [User Upgradeable] -($100 Value: FREE!)

Might as well take the free upgrade. The ideal card (from my research on the notebookcheck website and overclocker's forum) would be the 7970, but I can't justify to myself paying for a $300 GPU upgrade since the most taxing games I have are Diablo 3 and Witcher 2. (I may get Skyrim somewhere down the line).

- 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)

I could drop this back to the standard 8gb (or drop back to the 4x4 configuration) if people think I should. I picked the two chip option because if I ever decided I wanted to increase/upgrade the memory I wouldn't have obsolete 4gb chips sitting around collecting dust. (Of course if I did add more RAM then I'd also have to upgrade the OS to professional at that time too).

- Sager Branding

- I could go the non-logo way too … don't know that I have a preference either way...

- No mSATA SSD

I thought about selecting the 128GB mSATA III Crucial Solid-State Drive to install and run Windows 8 on it, but I don't see why I should pay one of the resellers $130 for it when I could get it for 81.62 online. (Has anyone done this? Buying a SSD separately online and installing it in a 9150? Any reason not to do that?)
128GB mSATA III Crucial Solid-State Drive - Boot - Google Search

- 750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache]

It would seem paying $20 to upgrade the 500 to 750 would be a good idea considering the 500gb (actually shown as 465gb) in my current m50vm only has 52gb free at the moment.

-6x Blu-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive – Special!

I own quite a few blu-ray discs. I have a blu-ray 3d player connected to my 3d tv, so this would simply be an alternative place to play those discs. $55 doesn't seem like a bad price considering the prices I saw when looking up the current prices of external blu-ray drives. If enough people think I should change it back I could revert it to the standard dvd drive.

- Sager - Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth™ v3.0

I thought about upgrading it to the Built-in Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N 1202 - Ultimate Gaming Card + Bluetooth 4.0 (Dual Band) . What's been people's experience? Is it worth upgrading to the Bigfoot?

- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)

- Integrated Fingerprint Reader

- Standard Sager/Clevo Non Chiclet Backlit Keyboard


- No OS

I don't see why I should pay $80 to a reseller when I could pick up Windows 8 for $67 on Amazon:
Amazon.com: Microsoft Windows 8 Pro: Software
Anyone know any reason to pay $80 and get it from the reseller instead of buying it separately?


I was also debating the HP Envy dv6-7214nr and the MSI GX60 as alternative systems. I get the impression the dv6-7214 might be built on a Clevo system since it looks similar to a np9370/p370em in its case structure (fingerprint reader on the right side of the system, same subwoofer and speaker positions, 1980x1020 screen, backlit keyboard, etc. The drawbacks of the dv6-7214nr seem to be the 650m GPU and HP's questionable support. The MSI GX60 has the 7970m GPU, but I'd loose the fingerprint reader, backlit keyboard, and A10 CPU pales in comparison to the i7 in the 9150.

I'd appreciate hearing peoples opinions.

If people want to see more about what I filled out for my "what should I buy thread" it can be found at:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...commendations-multimedia-gaming-notebook.html

 

If I were you, I would rather spend the extra cash on the 7970M to hold on the power along the road.

Everything else comes down to sheer decision and lust, but one thing to note is that 8GB will be scientific and a SSD is definitely something you should consider (as I can see you have).

But it seems like you've got it all right on, the screen will be amazing if you'll pick the 95% Gamut and this machine is far superior to the MSI GX60 and HP Envy DV6-7214NR... you can see benchmarks online to compare

 

Here's my take on this: chances are if you're using one of these notebooks you aren't moving around very much and are plugged in. In this case, it would make more sense to get the default laptop display and buy an external display. Of course the $75 you save won't buy you the best monitor, but for a little more you can get a quality display and no matter what you'll have twice the workspace. This is what I plan on doing because IMO dual monitors are a must; restricting yourself to 1920 x 1080 with such a powerful machine would be a waste really.

 

That version is cheaper but its an upgrade version. If you read the details you do need Vista or 7 already installed or it wont work. Getting Windows 7 now and with the upgrade to 8 Pro will only cost you $80 and you'll have both versions.

 

Actually you can buy Windows 8 Pro for $39.99 from Microsoft website Once you bought it they will send the product key to your e-mail and you'll have an option to either install or download a ~2GB ISO file. That file can be used to "clean install" Windows 8 i.e. installing on a fully formatted drive.

 

Thats a better price then Amazon, but also an "Upgrade" if you read the system requirements a little bit down:
"To install Windows 8 Pro, your PC must be running Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 Consumer Preview, or Windows 8 Release Preview."

 

Yeah because you have to purchase Windows 8 via "Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant" so you'll need a machine with Windows to run it. But practically you can do that from any machine

 

Right, as you mentioned you have to have Windows installed, then you can upgrade to that. So add the cost of the previously installed and the price of that upgrade. The original reply was to the question

"I don't see why I should pay $80 to a reseller when I could pick up Windows 8 for $67 on Amazon:
Amazon.com: Microsoft Windows 8 Pro: Software
Anyone know any reason to pay $80 and get it from the reseller instead of buying it separately?"

So the $80 from a reseller is the lowest priced way.

 

Not really. I can use my office PC or my friend's laptop to purchase and download Windows 8. The point is, you don't really have to have Windows XP or Windows 7 installed on the PC you're going to install Windows 8.

From this page it seems both $69.99 and $39.99 are the same except the more expensive one comes in a DVD. So IMO, if you can go and buy the $69.99 DVD from a retailer without showing them that you have Windows XP or Windows 7 installed on the machine you're going to install Windows 8, then it's also OK to purchase and download the installation ISO from ANY PC

 

You indeed do need to have a previous version installed to use that upgrade version, they call it an upgrade because you're upgrading from a previous version. While no one will ask for any proof like you mentioned, Windows upgrade version will indeed look for a previously installed version. They've made upgrade versions vs full version at least since XP days.

On that link you provided they specifically say: "To install Windows 8 Pro upgrade, customers must be running Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, or Windows 7"

 

No you don't. I used the 2GB ISO downloaded via Windows Upgrade Assistant to install Windows 8 on an EMPTY Samsung 830 in my NP9150. I'm just providing the information from my direct experience. Now I'm gonna leave it at that and let the OP decide what he want to do

Another interesting link: Clean Install Windows 8 with Upgrade Media | Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

 

Lol

That' s awesome... must be a mistake from Microsoft's side
+rep