Should I buy a Clevo during the holidays or next year? (any deals?)

I have to get a desktop replacement by late March 2010 at the latest. After researching, I'm pretty set on getting a Clevo from one of 3 different retailers (Xoticpc,sager, or avadirect.) I'm also pretty set on getting an i7 cpu since they seem so versatile.

Do you guys think i should get an i7 laptop during the holiday price-cuts, like black friday, or wait a little for the new series of intel mobile i* cpus to come in January to snag one of the current (soon to be outdated) ones.

Generally speaking, do you guys know if the price cuts on parts (specifically cpus) are greater when newer/better versions come out, or during holiday promotions?

I understand that parts are always getting cheaper, unless perhaps when demand outweighs the supply, so that would leave me to believe waiting till late March would be the best time for me to buy - but then again, those black friday deals get pretty ridiculous sometimes.

Just to confirm, I'm not looking for the most powerful laptop, rather one that's a good value for the money (~$3000) and does what I need it to. I'll be using it primarily for internet, playing games (like L4D2 and Shattered Horizons - which recommends a quad core), making L4D levels in hammer, video capturing and editing.

I heard rumor that come Jan 2010 there will be a clevo mobo with support for an i7 and gpus in sli (like 2x280ms.) That would probably keep me satisfied for a while, but I'm under the impression it would cost a lot just because it's a new mobo, and therefore might require a new barebones kit - despite the 'fact?' the cpu and gpus are already getting old.

Any bit of advice, or criticisms of my post, you guys could share would be extremely appreciated.

 

If you can wait, then get it in Q1 2010 since the new video card architectures should be available as well. Arrandale isn't important (Sandy Bridge is the next big thing due in 2011) so the CPU won't change much. I'd recommend Xotic PC when you are ready to buy.

 

Wow, that was quick. Yeah, I can definitely wait till the last second. Thanks a lot for clearing up my misconception of the advent of the new cpus lowering the prices of the current ones in Q1 2010.

Btw, I've never bought anything on black friday, but I've always heard tales of awesome deals, and just didn't want to pass a good deal by. Oh yeah, and thanks for the retailer recommendation.

Thanks again, man.

 

There are no Black Friday/Cyber Monday Clevo deals. Only the regular Christmas sales.

 

I don't think you will see black friday deals on Sagers. Sager base price seems to only move with new Sager models. Component prices adjust with the market.

The 'super' deals are at brick and mortar stores usaully selling cheaply made products on volume. Anything that is actually a good deal for the consumer will often times be limited to one or very few for the entire store. The will advertise the hell out of that one good deal though. They then have plently of the crappy machines to substitute for you to pickup instead of the good one.

I havn't watched for 'Cyber' monday deals, where the big online retailers run big discounts the monday after black friday. They may do the same thing as B&M stores. Limit the quantity on the loss leaders to get you on the site and have lots of substitutes available to salvage a sale when what you wanted is out of stock.

 

Congrats on deciding to get a sager
Sager IS sager!
If I can be of any more help let me know

 

That explains why google didn't return any relevant hits. I was under the false impression that pretty much all retailers mark down certain things on Black Friday. Cool, thanks for confirming that in this case they don't. I hate to be a cheapskate, but I'm currently unemployed, so I gotta be careful...

With that, I will wait until March to buy a Clevo.

Hey, mind if I bug you about something? It's a little off topic...I checked out the threads regarding the RGB LED screened Clevos, and came across the Clevo W870CU, and it's awfully close to the setup I plan to buy (if only that extreme quad were a little cheaper...)

I went to the XoticPC site to check its specs, but rather than state it's an RGB LED, it just says FHD. I then went to customize it and then it gave more detail, stating it's FHD LED. This is kinda weird to me. I wonder how come they don't clearly state it's an FHD RGB LED, considering it's the better of the two types. Is it possible the white lit LED screens aren't FHD? I mean, I thought FHD just had to do with max screen resolution, and nothing to do with the type of LED. Before I take it up with Xoticpc, I just wanted to know if there's something I'm not understanding.

Regardless, thanks for the info.

 

Thanks for the rundown Peppe, I'm such a newb when it comes to marketing strategies. Way cool of you to break it down for me. Your explanation totally makes sense.

 

Where did you read it was RGB LED? I've been under the impression that all Clevo screens are WLED.

 

That is a very wise decision, kusogaki.

XoticPC and all the other retailers don't specifically what type of LED backlight the screen is using. But you are correct. All the screens used in the W860CU and W870CU are WLED.

 

He probably picked up the threads where I was sarcastically speculating out my butt about RGB LED panels.

 

Shoot, sincerest apologies all, I got my information mixed up. One of the posters on the Clevo W870CU thread back in July said he was hoping the W860CU would have an RGB LED screen.

I'm pretty stupid for interpreting that guy's hopes as a reality, let alone applying it to something he wasn't even referring to.

I guess I'll just have to join him in hoping for an RGB LED screen on a similarly specced unit.

 

Heh, yep, you got me.

 

To be honest, the RGB LED screens, while very nice, aren't MUCH better than a nice WLED screen. I had a Dell Studio XPS 16 RGB LED (considered the best on the market) and it was a fantastic display but with some important caveats:

1. It had horrible black levels and thus poor contrast ratio
2. Out of the box there was a steep red shift that had to be corrected for through calibration and/or creation of a new color profile.
3. Even after calibration, the whites still had a red tinge to them and the contrast ratio barely improved.

A good WLED on the other hand doesn't have those problems.

 

This is comforting to know, having heard it from someone who has used both.

Although I sincerely apologize for going off topic on this, I appreciate all the responses. This helps me greatly.

 

Oops, I was wrong, it wasn't you. I remembered you posting on that thread, so that's why I directed the question toward you. However, this is the post I misinterpreted:
---------
Neroflux
Notebook Enthusiast

Default Re: Clevo W870CU
I'm more interested in the W860CU. I'm personally hoping for RGB LED backlit screens and Smart Bays.

 

Going to be buying a 9280 or 8760 from Xotic pc in January. Does anyone know if they ever offer holiday discounts? If they do I can bump up my purchase a bit. Any opinions or details will be greatly appreciated.

 

I do hope xotic pc have holiday discounts.

 

Soviet said that they have Christmas sales.

 

I just got done talking with one of their sales reps and they said they don't do any kind of holiday sales discounts, no black friday sales. :cry:

 

Seriously, this thread only made it to page two in the thread list and you make another one? Come on now. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=432368

 

I am merging both holiday deals related threads.

 

As for deals, it has been very rare to find custom brand notebook vendors doing seasonal deals.

..not like its never happening, just rare.

If there is a notebook deal, it would usually have to do with:
- market fluctuation in prices for components
- competing a new product on the horizon (usually regardless of which company is coming out with it, even if its own company)

 

Thanks a lot for this detailed info, Gophn, and sorry for starting another thread on it. I thought this question was a little too specific (asking about buying clevos, specifically, during the holidays or next year), so for that reason it never crossed my mind to search for it first.

I actually just tried to search for it, and the thread I started didn't even show up. I guess I gotta work on truncating my questions...

 

Searching also involves going through the first few pages in the thread list.