Thinking about the NP9150

Hi there, I have been following these forums for quite sometime. I want to replace the 5 year old NP2090 that I got from XoticPC. I want this laptop to do it all. I like to run multiple apps at the same time (MS office apps, multiple browser windows, photoshop, illustrator and lightroom with steam in the background- I know, I should really just change my PC habits).

I was really interested in the new Asus U500 series but it is turning out to be more expensive than I hoped. I guess I was looking at getting the Gigabyte U2442V or F but the current promotion on the NP9150 is hard to pass up. I was wondering if the normal i5 or the i7 ULV processor on the U2442 will be up to task, but I suppose anything new would since the NP2090 with the core 2 duo is still doing it albeit very slow.

so I think I've decided on the NP9150, but I have a few questions about some of the options on this machine-

battery life and graphics card-
To my understanding, the optimus technology on these Nvidia cards turns on only during graphics intensive apps/games. I like to game, and I like for them to look nice , so the GTX 680M is a plus. I don't plan on being away from the plug, but given all things equal, a laptop with GTX 680M vs say a 660M will draw the same power when doing things like surfing the web therefore the battery time will be the same?

95% Gamut screen-
I plan on just upgrading to the standard matte screen, and the consensus on these forums is that the upgrade to 95% is really for photo/video professionals? I do prints from time to time, but I can probably just calibrate the monitor with some Windows built in utilities?

Windows 8-
Any issues with the NP9150 and Windows 8? I'd like to take the plunge to W8 with a new laptop.

Reseller options-
My previous experience with XoticPC 5 years ago was fine, how are they now?

thanks!

 

when you arent playing games, the HD 4000 in your CPU is handling all the tasks, it is only when you play games the graphics card takes oer. the i7 3610 with 8gb of RAM will chew through any multitasking like its not even there. often times, when i get tired at doing work or surfing the net, i open up bf3 or sleeping dogs without closing anything, and runs really smoothly. I cant figure out how to use windos 8 so i stuck with 7. i use the standard screen, but matte. heard Xotic is still good as it was before, though i got mine from Prostar. better shipping deals to canada

 

thanks for the response, I am excited about this laptop!

 

save yourself some $ as the standard matte screen blew me away with its clarity and bright brilliant colours. tbh i cant see how the 95% could get much better than this.
you didnt mention it but an ssd is a must.

 

Windows 8 works pretty well on the np9150. It takes a little bit of an adjustment to get used to the new MetroUI, but everything runs faster, smoother and uses less resources.

The transition from Windows 7 to 8 wasn't bad at all.

 

Thats good to know about the 95% gamut screen.

it should be pretty straight forward to install an mSATA SSD myself? I was planning on installing it myself since it is probably cheaper that way.

edit: mSATA SSD vs SATA SSD- which is better? I kind of like the 7200rpm 750GB that comes with the build, was just thinking about adding a mSATA SSD

 

awesome, I have a copy of Windows 8 waiting

I don't like how M$ and Apple keep updating their OSs every couple of years so that we are encouraged to upgrade to a new version. Though the new GUI is different enough that it might be worth it. I want to see how Metro works before upgrading my phone too. I am on Android now, but maybe I'll switch over to Windows phone if I like the new Metro-style and hopefully more apps are made for it.

 

If you are going SSD only then the 2.5" bay is a gen3 port where as the mSATA is Gen2, however using the mSATA drive for a SSD lets you add a traditional HDD (say a 5400rpm 1TB drive) for storage.

 

If you are keeping the HDD in there you'll want a mSATA to go with it. Ideally you'll get the best performance by putting a full SSD in the primary bay since you'll have SATA III speeds vs the mSATA SATA II speeds. So with the SSD you'll have top speeds but limited on storage space unless you removed the optical drive and put a HDD in there.

 

prices are coming down all the time on ssd's so if you can afford a 512gb then defo get that and scrap the msata.
msata is still faster (not sure how much) than a normal spin hard drive but no where neer a normal sata III ssd.
the samsung has the best read/write speeds but the crucial M4 that i got is nothing to be sniffed about. 12 seconds to boot and be on the forum.
in a year or so if you run out of space you could get a caddy for the drive bay and stick another drive in there. by that time there will be faster technology out and the drive speeds of todays standards will be a lot cheaper.

good luck with your decissions as its a beast of a 15"

 

Msata crucial m4 drives are as fast as their 2.5" brothers.

 

you guys just convinced me to save up for a SSD as primary and forget about the mSATA, or not unless it is at a steal. Hopefully, this laptop will last for another 5 years like the NP2090 now, and I dont want to waste a lot of money on the mSATA that can be put towards a primary SSD. I'll take the 750GB HDD that comes with the laptop now, and when I a kickass primary SSD i'll either get an enclosure or a caddy for the HDD.

probably not the right thread for this, but the one reason for replacing the NP2090 is that it blue screens every once in awhile, especially when I move it from a stationary position. I am guessing something is loose, but what is? Sometimes it'll crash when I adjust the LCD forward or back. anyways, regardless of the problem, I'm ready for a new laptop.

hey XoticPC guys, do you see my order yet? :hi2:

 

could be a lose ribbon if it happens when you move the lid.
download Resplendence Software - WhoCrashed, automatic crash dump analyzer and post the dump report in a new post to keep things separate.

 

I will post the dump in another thread, but it looks like it is caused by intel turbo memory, I thought I installed the latest drivers, but maybe I'll disable it and see what happens.

Back on topic- the special edition of the NP9150 with 16gb ram, are they under the keyboard or on the bottom side of the laptop? and what latency are they so I can match them- correct me if I am wrong, I want to get ram that is at least equal to the latency and speed as the one that are installed right?

 

Found it! Took advantage of the Special Edition, good call :thumbsup:

 

Great! Just sent the check out, is there any way that you can speed it up?

 

We'll let you know as soon as the check arrives. I cant make any promises but i'll see if we can pull a sting or two to speed it up

 

What he means is that the notebook is built by Sager, not XoticPC. If you chose XoticPC exclusive modifications, then the notebook will be shipped from sager to XoticPC for those mods to be done and then shipped to you. LCD, Ram, HDD, ICD7 upgrades are likely to be done by Sager, but MSI Keyboard or the $80 copper mod or their HDD/Ram price specials will be done by XoticPC.

 

Yeah, I didn't have any mods at all- though I chose the remove branding option, otherwise it is pretty much stock, with LCD to matte and an extra PSU so I can leave one at work.

Yes, pull those strings! thanks!

 

FYI, using an msata as your boot drive isn't half bad. I thought since it is a sataII port that it wouldn't compare to an ssd in a sataIII but I was wrong. My other comp. that has an intel 520 boots up only 2 seconds quicker

 

thats far too long I am starting to reconsider too. and perhaps getting a caddy to put the HDD in to replace the ODD, and then getting a SSD on the sataIII

yeah, honestly, I never shut down my computer that is 5 years old now. I tell it to go to sleep when I dont use it. A cold boot takes minutes. so yeah, anything less than a minute or half I'd be impress, 2 seconds is nothing. I haven't read enough about the sataII vs III with SSDs in real life situations, like running apps.

 

This guy cold boots his np9150 in about 26 seconds running a 3820, 16GB and a Crucial M4 512. That's what sold me. I got the small Intel 520 series 240GB variant because the Newegg reviews scared me off the Crucial due to reliability reports. I think the Crucial may be a bit faster but I can't risk losing the drive.

Sager NP9150 Gaming Notebook Review / Performance Test - YouTube

 

thanks for the link, really want an SSD now. I'm going to put Windows 8 on it, so hopefully it'll be even faster.

 

Windows 8 on SSD is simply a beautiful experience. Almost like liquid when you go back and forth between apps and live tiles.

 

Saves on power/heat a bit too doesn't it? Give the power supply a bit less to do? Not a ton of headroom on power as it is.

 

Yeah, the SSD without moving parts will generate less heat, consume less power, as a result power adapter doesn't have to output as much to keep the charge, everything you said. Once you go SSD you don't go back.

 

Just be careful, some SSDs can be quite power hungry:

AnandTech - The Intel SSD DC S3700 (200GB) Review

and

OCZ Vector SSD Review | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

(power consumption is the heading to searh for)

Notebook users should be wary of that figure too.

 

my vertex 4 boots up in around 20ish seconds