So... what makes Sager so special?

Hey there!

Had an account here for a while, made it when I first decided to start thinking about what kind of new laptop to be getting, which must have been nearly a year back or so!

Anyhow, back then I remember being set on buying a Sager... I can't recall the specifics as to why, but perhaps I saw someone else suggest it on another forum or such. All I do remember is being quite impressed with what I saw in comparison to Alienware, and the models I saw back then on some resellers also seemed to edge out comparable models from ASUS on a cost/power comparison. There was also praise for their reliability, and I also admired their low-key "industrial" design that didn't strike me as ostentatious or straight up gaudy, as other brands I have seen.

Well... as it turns out I still haven't made a purchase, mostly because I later felt the laptop would be a quite an awful distraction from my graduate school responsibilities (I was going to start not too long from the time that I began considering getting a laptop; I didn't need to be stuck playing ARMA 2 while I should be crunching stats and asking people to tell me about their mothers). But I don't think I can resist this urge to get it much longer seeing as my current one, functional as it is, is showing its age, and I have managed to establish a pretty decent work tempo that allows me free time... so I find myself considering Sager once again.

You may wonder, "if you've already got your mind set on Sager, why are you making this topic?" Well, I want to figure out if what you guys see or have seen in Sager might be the same as what I'm seeing. Again, I see something that gives quite a bang for its buck, doesn't have a look that seems to scream "NERD WITH BAD AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY", and has a reputation for reliability. Is this what seems to make Sager special to you? If not, what does?

 

I will try to help you as good as I can.

There are two corporations you have to keep in mind.

One is Sager being the biggest Clevo retailer in the world. Sager is a OEM (original equipment manufacturer)

Second is Clevo, which is a laptop ODM ( original design manufacturer).

Now Sager just buys Clevo's "designs" and parts and then put most of the hardware in with a customized twist. Their brand the laptops with their name Sager, but besides selling these laptops to the consumers they also deal with other resellers that sell the machines for them, aka. Xotic PC and Powernotebooks I think (don't quite remember, and it doesn't matter, what does matter is my point).

There are some though like Malibal that also are OEM's meaning that they aren't connected to Sager the way others resellers are.

Sager laptops are exceptional, mostly because they are based on Clevo and because it has such a enormous way to be customized. It's unique.

P.S. You mentioned Alienware, way back before Dell bought out Alienware- Alienware laptops were based on some Clevo barebones (talking about the alienware area-51 m15x)

I hope I helped, didn't quite catch what you exactly wanted to know, so tried to answer from my own point of understanding.

 

^^^ Good insight I was never sure Clevo-vrs-Sager distinctions. I got sucked into the hype over the G73 and did not even consider Sager at the time. I now have learned that Sager is more future proof, in that the video card can be easily upgraded (compared to G73 for instance). I can see the outstanding support if needed from the aforementioned vendors and Ken Lee of GenTech PC that is available on this site and driectly from them. I also like the idea of purchasing sans OS.
Plus when you buy from these botique etailers you can get your machine tested before it is shipped to you.

 

1) I like that the video card is so easy to upgrade , I was able to do a replacement in under an hour.

2) Top notch cooling system. Where companies like Dell, HP, etc take the lower cost route, Sager generally has full copper heatsinks on cpu and gpu and sometimes multiple large good quality fans for each.

 

I'm pretty happy with my purchase. I bought mine for some of the same reasons you possibly are looking to buy one for: the appearances are laid back and don't stand out (but are still pleasing), power/cost, and the reliability and build quality, and I needed something for school.

After 6 months, it still runs great. I can run BF3 at around high settings and max out most other games. Cooling is great as well

One thing I do dislike about the laptop... the power supply. I would be embarrassed if I needed to take my laptop on the go and plug in due to the poor battery life. It's the size of a brick. Wished I had Nvidia Optimus.

 

The biggest reason we see people go with Sager is the price for what you get. Keep in mind most parts inside the computer are not made by the name you see on the outside. Weather its a Sager, Asus, Dell, MSI etc, the part that makes the computer work isnt made by them. For example you have "Intel" processors or "Nvidia" graphics cards. This stays true for the Hard drive, RAM, Screen etc, pretty much 90-95% of the inside of the computer can be identical to another brand. Sager computers typically will get you the best price for the same hardware and are considered to have one of the top build qualities as well.

 

The same thing that makes a world class waiter different from the gal at your local denny's. It gives unobtrusive excellent service without drawing attention to itself. If I want laser beams popping out of my laptop, I'll mod it myself ;-)

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What sold me to a sager laptop partly are the resellers, seeing them help out in the forums, being corteous and knowledgeable about their products.

Very different and pleasant buying experience compared to going someplace like best buy or calling on an HP hotline only to read you a script about their products.

Then there's the laptop itself, easy to clean, easy to repaste, doesn't void your warranty when you replace your parts... And a power brick that doubles as a self defense weapon

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Thank you everyone for your input.

jaug1337: This was insightful indeed, even if it wasn't what I was looking for. I was looking more for what you found attractive in Sager laptops and what has kept you going back to them (if you have bought more than one laptop from them). It is interesting to know that so many companies derive the foundation of their machines from the same company, indeed.

Krzr93: It is indeed regrettable about the battery life, but I understand that this is a drawback of most if not all gaming-level laptops. I would prefer a laptop over a desktop because I do anticipate being on the move but will be going to locations that aren't without power sources; for work on the move I am considering purchasing a netbook or lightweight laptop for just that purpose as I do not enjoy lugging around a 10+ lb. laptop on top of my books and binder.

link1313: This ability to be upgraded is something I was not quite aware of, and am pleased to hear about. On which models is this feature present?

Geekz: Good to hear about the resellers, I've gathered that quite a few of them are highly reputable and I look forward to doing business with one of them soon; which one that is, I've yet to decide.

Anyone else have input? Would very much appreciate it!

 

Josea made me lol on his G73 comment. I also bought a G73, still have it and love it, but I had not heard of Sager/Clevo then. My Asus has been a workhorse for me, but other than ram, hdd to ssd and such basic stuff, you can't really upgrade much without voiding warranty, and it is set up to be a PITA for a lot of upgrades. My Sager, on the other hand, is not only much easier to upgrade, it also doesn't have the same warranty limitations as the "name brand" units. I have had my P150HM for about a year now, and I absolutely love it. Easy to upgrade, great performance and hardware for the price, and I can still upgrade in the future if I want /need to. And I love the looks of it.

I bought mine from an employee of Sager, so he used his discount to put a ton of upgrades (12 GB ram, extra brick, top nVidea card at the time, etc) in it before he sold it to me at about $700 less than it was going for (still in the unopened box). But unless I can get another one from him in the future, I would buy from a reseller. There are some very good ones on here, and I think they have shown to be great in their interactions with customers.

 

I've been comparing computers for almost a year now. Sager is consistently the best value and it's not "value" in the cheap way either. Sager products seem to have very good build quality. The power of their notebooks seems rivaled only by Alienware but they cost much less. Once in a while, I get momentarily excited by another brand's machine, only to be let down by their final asking prices. Even though they can be expensive, when it comes down to power/price ratio, it always seems Sager products are the better deal. Once you factor in how customizable and easily upgradable the Sager laptops are, it's a no-brainer. Customer service for Sager resellers seems much more personable and easy to work with; their presence is all over these forums which is nice.

Also, Sager is the only company I've found that makes a powerful and acceptable under-17" gaming laptop. The only other competing product I've seen is the Alienware m14x, which isn't as powerful and seems riddled with heat/noise issues far greater than any rumors I've heard about Sagers here. Any other gaming laptop is monstrously huge for what I need.

The only areas I can see weaknesses in are aesthetics, which I personally don't mind, and heat/noise issues for people that need to keep those down (although those issues don't seem to be worse than competing machines).

PS: I'm using the term Sager as a catch-all the products/resellers we talk about in this forum. I'm not sure it's actually appropriate to call companies like Malibal "Sager reseller."

 

Along with Sager/Clevo computers being cheaper than other companies, another great thing about buying a Sager is you don't have to pay tax on the laptop. If you plan on building a Dell or HP or Alienware or whatever, you're going to have to pay tax on it. So if you're building a $2,000 computer, you could be paying a couple hundred dollars in tax. Of course that only applies to buying directly from them, so a pre-configured computer bought online might not be taxed, but if you plan on building a computer you'd have to go through the company directly, unless there's some new method I don't know about, which means it'll be taxed and you'll be paying even more than the already less expensive Sager/Clevo computer.

If you buy a Sager/Clevo, you shouldn't buy directly from Sager (who happens to tax all purchases, but that's not the reason you shouldn't buy directly from Sager. Your best bet is to buy from resellers because resellers provide much better support and Sager doesn't really care as much about the consumers as they do the resellers, so you won't get nearly as good customer service from Sager directly) and instead use a reseller which doesn't tax the product. Two of the big names for buying Sager branded Clevo notebooks are XoticPC and PowerNotebooks. XoticPC is based in I believe Nebraska and I believe PowerNotebooks is based in Nevada so if you live in Nebraska and buy from XoticPC, your computer will be taxed as would buying from PowerNotebooks if you live in Nevada. So if you live in one state then you'd buy from the other to avoid paying tax. But both are great choices.

So yeah, on top of the actual product being cheaper, you aren't paying extra in tax, which could add up if you're building a very expensive computer. And there are other reasons to go with a Sager notebook, with some already being mentioned like their fantastic cooling systems and great value.

 

How is the fan noise at idle or when just browsing on clevo compare to G73?
I don't care if it's loud when gaming (it's normal).I like my laptop to be quiet during light computing.

 

Thanks very much for ur information.

I'm looking forward to getting a new laptop soon, Clevo P150EM and ASUS G55 are on the top of my list. Could u plz answer me some questions so that I could make the decision?

1. What about the heat/noise/buid quality between them?

2. Will their pricing be similar? I know P150EM is around $1700 in OZ, how much would G55 be according to previous experience?

3. What about the weight and dimension(H/W/D) between them?

Should I wait for G55 or just go to buy a P150EM now?