Storage Drive Set Up Sager NP8255 or Sager NP8295

I'm looking at getting the Sager NP8255 or the NP8295. I'll post my setup, except for the storage. I think the only difference between these two is the screen size. Keep in mind I plan to have 3 OS's on: Windows 8, Linux, and Mac OSX.

Screen:
55: 15.6” Full HD 16:9 LED-Backlit MATTE 95% NTSC Color Gamut Ultra Bright
95: 17.3" Full HD LED AUO B173HW01 V.4 90% NTSC 1920 x 1080 Gloss Type

Graphics Card:
NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 780M 4GB GDDR5 Memory

CPU (unless someone can convince me to go higher):
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)

Thermal Compound:
IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU

OS:
Genuine Microsoft Windows® 8 64-Bit Edition

RAM:
32GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 4 X 8GB

Optical Drive:
6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner 8X DVD±R 2.4X +DL Super Drive

Wireless Network Card:
Intel® Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 802.11ac 2x2 Plus Bluetooth 4.0

Now for my question. I'm not sure what to get. First of all, what exactly is an mSata drive and how does it differ from a SSD? I'll probably get the Crucial® M500 120GB SATA III for my OS. Now I have another mSata port and two other a storage bays left.
For my main, should I get the Crucial® M500 240GB SATA III SSD and have the 1TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive as my second HDD? If I have the extra $1,000 I'll go with two Crucial® M500 960GB SATA III SSD hands down. What do ya'll think the best setup is?

Here's a list of all the storage drive's they offer.
NP8255
750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Disk Drive
1TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Crucial® M500 120GB SATA III
750GB Seagate Momentus XT ST750LX003 7200RPM 32MB SATA 6.0Gb/s 8GB SSD
Crucial® M500 240GB SATA III SSD
Samsung® 256GB SSD 840 PRO Series
240GB Intel® 520 Series SATA 6.0Gb/s SSD
Crucial® M500 480GB SATA III SSD - ETA Early July
Samsung® 512GB SSD 840 PRO Series
Crucial® M500 960GB SATA III SSD
480GB Intel® SSD DC S3500 Series SATA 6Gb/s, 20nm

NP8295
750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Disk Drive
1TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
750GB Seagate Momentus XT ST750LX003 7200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 8GB SSD
240GB Intel® 520 Series SATA 6.0GB/s SSD
Crucial® M500 480GB SATA III SSD (Secondary SSD)
Crucial® M500 960GB SATA III SSD (Second Bay)

Would a 5200 rpm HDD matter while gaming? If not I may just go with two 1T HDD's since I have the OS on the mSata. I'm new to all of these options, lol. Explanations of why you chose what would be nice. I also do video editing and web development and I have a large music library. Price does have an impact, otherwise I'd just get the 960gb SSD. An estimate between $2,500 and $3,000 would be ideal. I'm buying from lpc-digital.com


Some side questions:
Will the Fingerprint scanner also work with a FB or bank password?
What all can you do with the keyboard customization?
Does anyone have experience with a Sager as a Hackintosh or run Linux?

 

SSD, means solid state drive, or all electronic hard drive. Because of this, it is much faster than a hard drive that uses a spinning platter. So SSD is much faster than the mSATA drive. The down side is SSD costs more. So people mainly use them for the operating system and some other things that they need quick access to. Which relates to your question of the 5400 rpm drive, which is slow for a hard drive. If you are patient, then maybe not an issue. As for gaming, the game will open faster on a faster hard drive. And as you move from level to level or area to area it will load faster. Some games, once loaded, aren't affected at all. In fact most, once loaded, will not be a big issue. But the open world ones, or the ones that load different maps will be.

The best setup depends on your money. Also your usage is an issue, as SSDs handle multiple writes and erases differently. Also, how important is your data and down time if a drive fails? But personally, I would rather have a 750GB 7200 rpm hdd, than a 1TB 5400 rpm hard drive. I find 5400 rpm to be too slow for my tastes.

I would get a big fast SSD, and the biggest 7200rpm drives. If you need more space, you can upgrade later, or use a external drive like USB or better yet, networked storage. If you want no down time or no data lose risk, then double the drives and RAID them.

The keyboard has lights for three sections, including the touchpad. Each section can be a different color. Or you can do light show effects. Search this forum for a program that will make the keyboard color change with CPU and GPU temps, or with the music.

There are some linux threads on here. Check them out. Check out bumblebee for the GPU.

 

I know what SSD stands for, though I re-read what I wrote and I realize why I came across as not knowing what it was. I just looked at another forum that claimed that mSATA was faster than an SSD.

I wish I was able to feel/see for myself the difference between a 5400 and 7200. What about the Seagate Hybrid 750gb 7200 rpm?

I've seen RAID mentioned, but I don't know too much about it. I know that if you mirror it, data is read/written to both drives. I think striping it makes it faster, but if your drive fails then you lose everything.

 

Well, when you said mSATA, I thought you meant a normal hard drive that uses mSATA. SSD can use SATA OR mSATA. mSATA is basically a smaller version of SATA that better takes advantage if the smaller space in a notebook. So are you asking about a SSD mSATA drive versus SSD SATA drive?

I think people get confused because mSATA is new, so people think it is better. But mSATA and SATA are just how the hard drive connects to the computer. mSATA: It's Like SATA But Smaller

Things get more complicated when you realize that there are different versions of SATA, with latest being the fastest. But this mostly just matters for SSD. Mechanical drives are slow enough that they don't matter. So SSD will be faster than a mechanical drive. Do you want to see a pros and cons list for SSD versus mechanical HDD?

A hybrid drive is mostly mechanical, but it also has a small SSD built in. By small I mean maybe 16GB. The drive will try to keep track of what you use most, and copy that to the faster SSD part. Performance is between SSD and mechanical HDD.

Try visiting a local computer store and try notebooks with the various drives. Make sure they all have the same operating system, then time how long they take to boot, or load the same programs. Just look at loading times. Maybe this helps, 5400rpm is the slowest common hard drive, 7200 rpm is the fastest common notebook drive. 5400 is very common in notebooks, but a performance notebook would have a 7200 rpm drive.

The Sager support RAID 0 & 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_RAID_levels

If you want faster hard drive performance, RAID 0 might be the way to go. I would look at benchmarks. But if one hard drive fails, you lose data on both hard drives.

RAID 1creates copies of all your data. This means you lose no data when a hard drive fails. The down side is you pay for an extra hard drive but you get no additional space.

 

Yes, sorry for the confusion. I was asking about an mSata SSD vs a SATA SSD. A pro and cons list would be great. I know the most obvious con for SSD is the cost. If I can afford it, though, I'm going with the Crucial 960 gb SATA 3 SSD.

Let's say cost is an issue. I've never really gamed on PC before. I was looking for a laptop for raw power for web design and video editing, then decided I might as well game with PC if I get this powerful of a machine. Since I'm new I have no clue at how the PC games work for the most part. Do I have to have the disc to play (if I buy the game with the disc), or can I use the installation disc then play without the disc (without a patch)?

Would a 240gb SSD be fine for having games on, then use a 750gb 7200 rpm HDD for music, pictures, and videos?

 

This might help Advantages/Disadvantages - SSD vs HDD: What's the Difference? | PCMag.com

OK, SSD on mSATA vs SATA. Well for the Clevo P157SM the mSATA and the SATA are both sata III performance. So there would be no difference in speed.

You mention never gaming on a PC before. I recomend you get a desktop rather than a notebook. First for the same performance, over all the desktop will cost less. Second, you can get much better performance on a desktop and still have it cost less than a notebook. And by performance, I mean in games, but also in other things as well. Both the CPU and the GPU can be faster. Third, desktops are much easier to upgrade. The Sager may support the next gen GPU, or there is a good chance it won't. The desktop will for sure support the next gen GPUs. Not to mention you can put multiple graphics cards (GPUs) in a desktop. And you can put more hard drives in a desktop, not to mention bigger hard drives.

You may say you want the portability. Well, keep in mind that on battery power the notebook slows down the CPU and the GPU. So you probably won't be gaming on battery power. So you will have to be next to an outlet anyway.

So for cost, go with a desktop. For raw power, go with a desktop.

I don't know which county you are in, so I will assume USA. In the USA you can buy games on disc, and you usually have to have the disc in the drive to play. You can find patches that don't require the disc, and there are other things you can do like setup a fake drive. But most people get games electronically, i.e. they download them. Take a look at Steam. With this service you can buy games online, and they are downloaded to your computer. You don't need a disc at all, just a decent internet conection. The games are tied to the Steam account. Just login from any computer and you can play your games. Games only need to be downloaded once. And best of all, if you wait for a sale, you can get games much cheaper than a retail store. For example https://www.humblebundle.com/ So you get six games for a buck, or ten for a five spot.

I don't have a SSD. I would love to get one to put my OS on as I hate waiting for the computer to boot. Once it is up and running then it is OK. You maybe different. Maybe waiting ten seconds for a movie to open is to long, maybe you prefer only waiting two seconds for the movie to start. So you need to decide if the extra cost is worth it. But most agree it is worth it for the OS, that is if you can afford it. My next notebook won't have one, but I hope to add one at a later date.

 

Notebooks are great if you go round to a friends house often, do lots of moving, want to keep power bills down, move around a lot.

Once you use an SSD it will spoil you and you wont go back, everything is more immediate from level loading times to opening any file.

 

I understand why you mention the desktop and I have considered it, but I'll take the little bit of portability. I go to my grandparents house, friends' houses, and college frequently and they live just over an hour away. We also have a AC to DC converter so I can plug the laptop in to our van if I want to play on the go.

I am familiar with Steam because of friends. I'm 16, so I'm looking for a good buy. I'm really considering this laptop, but I may go for the NP9390/Cleveo P3755M because of the Dual NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX 780M's total 8GB GDDR5 SLI® Enabled. It should allow me to still play high level games in 3-4 years, but with how fast technology improves, who knows. If not then I'll definitely get the NP8255.

As much as I hate to say, I can't stand when it take forever for my computer to boot. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get an mSATA preconfigured as the OS drive. I keep forgetting how large 240gb actually is. I'll probably play more RPG games like Skyrim. I've seen Crysis is a common benchmark and the graphics look amazing for that, so I'll probably get the Crysis series, some driving games (with a steering wheel), and Battlefield. Skyrim is only 8gb for the Legendary Edition, so I think a 240gb SSD would probably work well. If I get tired of a game, but don't want to lose all my progress, I'm guessing I can just back everything up on an external HDD?

Do you know anything about the disabled mSATA drive in the NP8255?
Also, I can't find the program for the keyboard you are talking about. Do you know of a link?
Speaking of college, I've seen that this can get over 4 hours of batter for low powered tasks because of optimus technology. This should be good for my college questions. Although, would this be too loud for taking notes in college?

EDIT: I actually just bought that game bundle for $25. All of that is worth it and more.

 

The NPxxx5 systems have the mSATA fix so all mSATA bays are working now.

When idling the system noise will be comparable to any other machine.

 

Your best setup would be:

GTX 780
16 GB Ram
Blue-Ray Writer
Intel 7260
2 mSata 120GB SSD's (one for OS, one for Program Files)
1 Hybrid 7200 RPM for games and data (moving the My Documents folder over to it also "right click go to property's, there's a section there").
(or if you want to get crazy, get a 3rd mSata SSD for your main games, maybe the 256GB, and have the hybrid in the Primary bay for data and the rest of your games)

Yes, the NP8295 would be your best option, or one of the higher, such as the Dragon if you have the money.
You don't need to do raid with separate SSD's, plus less chance of issues that way.

I plan on doing the above setup with two mSata SSD's and the hybrid, but with the GTX 770. can't afford the 780, but will update that a couple of years down the road when the games have improved and it's cheap. Plus, there might be an even higher version the laptop could take by then. The 770 will play anything, save only a couple of the very highest which you can still play on medium settings from what I here, thus no real loss of quality. The 780 is apparently some 40-50% better in speed. So, I don't see the point in getting the 780 yet. And no need to do two 780's in SLI until like 7 years from now, but by then you'll want a new laptop.

At the moment I'm just going to get the stock hard drive, and get the mSata's and the hybrid next month when Win 8.1 comes out, buy a retail disk, then will make my system exactly how I want.

Anyway, good luck....

 

What leeuniverse suggest is a good option but I would skip the hybrid drive. The SSD portion will only benefit you if you have the OS on that drive, if its a just a storage drive you wont get the advantage of it and will be better off saving a few bucks and getting a regular hard drive.
But in the OP you did mention 3 OS, so if one will be installed on that hybrid drive then go for it. Since your OP Sager has removed the 750GB Hybirds so they are not longer available. Since mSATA slots are available now and SSD pricing has gone down so much in the last 1-2yrs theres really not big benefit to them as there used to be.

 

The major problem was the tiny amount of NAND they used, a 32 or 64GB as a caching drive offers a lot more potential benefit than the 8 in the hybrid.

 

Ya, I just noticed that..... What's the deal with them removing the Hybrids. Hybrids were the better option for a storage and less played games drive. The 765GM 7200rpm 16 through 64 cache are great drive options. I'm pissed off that they removed the Hybrid options!

And are you kidding.... SSD's are still HUGELY expensive! I mean, the only options Xotic PC gives us now are bunk 7200 or 5400rpm drives and ALL the rest are SSD's!!!

I wanted to have most if not all of my games on the Hybrid. I wanted my two mSata SSD's to be OS and Programs. I can't spend $350-550 for a SSD data and game drive!!!

This was a very bad decision by Xotic PC. It seems other groups are doing it too, so maybe it's Sager doing it???
Very irritated, now I'm going to have a useless drive! Yes, I could put it in the fourth drive port (aka Second drive) but it's just unnecessary and it's also under the Optical drive right? I want to keep it free from heat, movement and such. So, basically I'll have to replace the stock drive they give us for a Hybrid and maybe try to sale it on eBay or something, which no-one else will likely want either.

So bummed.....

 

Sorry you feel that way, its not our decision what Sager offers. They pick what is offered and thats all we can offer on their computers.

I guess price for SSD are subjective, what I meant is they have dropped over half in price from what they were two years ago.

You can put in a Hybrid in there when you get the computer. We can also remove the regular hard drive per request, PM me and I can give you details on how to do so.

 

You wont see much benefit to game loading times from a hybrid HDD so an SSD + HDD setup is going to serve you better in general.

 

From what I hear a Hybrid while not up to SSD standards it's a good medium for those who don't want the slow speed of an HDD.
So it's a good middle ground option. I don't need it to be up to SSD standards, but certainly want it faster than HDD.

You really don't think so?

 

I used to use a hybrid and I did notice Windows booted faster after about a week of use on the computer. It was on my work computer so the programs I start every dad like Chrome, Outlook, Excel etc did start up faster then a regular 7200RPM drive.
For games you may see the game start up time improve but map load times wont benefit.