Thinking of buying MALIBAL P151HM1, your thoughts on this build...

Ok, I'm ready for a new computer. You can see what I've been running for 3 years by checking my sig. Some of my games hate me because of it, and I could use the extra processing power for other programs. Heck, we just bought a computer for my sister for college that has a Core i3-2310 in it and only cost $590. Between that CPU and the Intel HD 3000 graphics, it can run anything better than my T8100/3450M combo which cost me $1250 years ago. The only thing my Dell has on her HP is the monitor, my resolution is better and her's blacks are absolutely terrible.

I'm thinking of the Clevo P151HM1 from MALIBAL (since they offer great discounts, have been great in communication with me, and cheaper). I have the money to build something crazier, but I'm looking to set myself up for at least the next 5 years (and longer if I can). Even though I'd love something better than the GTX 560M, I really don't need anything bigger for now (my most demanding game is StarCraft II, and even though I'd love to get Battlefield 3 for PC, which I may still do, I play FPS's better on console with a controller). When ready (maybe 6-12 months from now), I'll upgrade by buying a GPU Upgrade Kit & 180W Power Brick (hoping 7000M and 600M series are still MXM III Type b). I'll also go with an SSD once either the price goes down, or I'm ready to trade my kidney. I'll apply my own Thermal Paste (I've done it for my Dad's Laptop, my laptop, and my Xbox with no problems so I must be doing it right).

Here's what I'm looking at, I also plan on taking advantage of the RAM, Free Shipping, and Cash Discounts so the total cost should be around $1580:


What are your thoughts on the build, any recomendations? The only thing I'm unsure about is whether I should go Stock Matte or 95% Gamut Glossy. Both cost the same right now. My Dell is glossy and I love it. I don't like the Glossy screen on my sister's laptop. My Dad's old Inspiron 6000 is Matte but the monitor is such low quality I cannot make a decent judgement on it.

Also, is Ivy Bridge going to be a different socket than Sandy Bridge? I assume it will be since Intel loves changing sockets.

Thank you!

 

both are great. if you're okay with the reflections get the glossy. if you cant work with reflections (like me) get a matte. thats it basically.

 

I think the 2720QM and the 1600Mhz ram is overkill unless you specifically need vPro, Trusted Execution Technology, and Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d). 1600Mhz will not provide much performance gain over 1333Mhz. I also recommend the Intel 6230, no reason to get the 6300 unless you have a router that supports 450Mbps. Save some money on unnecessary upgrades that dont equate to large performance gains or pick up a P150 with a upgraded GPU.

 

I can't find the post at the moment, but one of the resellers confirmed that ivy bridge won't be compatible with Sandy Bridge in these laptops. I'll try to find the post.

Edit: it wasn't exactly what I had read, but here's the link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...compatibility-hm65-not-happening-rumor-3.html
Edit 2: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...ntly-asked-questions-read-before-posting.html

 

The 95% gamut glossy is showing by default for me. Don't know the gamut of the stock matte screen.

I've been wrestling with the 2630 v. 2720, too, and think I'll go for the 2630. The main advantage of the 2720 is vPro and some virtualization stuff, which you need if you're an IT admin or run lots of VMs. I agree with FreeSafety13. Save your money here and put it into an SSD or better GPU.

I'm dumping the optical drive (streaming is where it's at) for a HDD caddy, and putting in an M4 I picked up for cheap and moving the stock 500 GB HD to the bay.

I'd also pick up a 2x4 GB ram kit from Newegg or someplace when they're cheap (around $50) for 16 GB of ram total. The performance difference of 1333 isn't worth the cost.

 

The stock matte screen is only showing 60% of the color gamut, and has a lower contrast ratio.

 

My advice is, if you're going to be spending $1600+ on a Sager, get the P150HM. Get the glassview 95% gamut screen upgrade, keep the cpu and ram base, upgrade to the ATI Radeon 6990m, and get the hard drive caddy so you can add a SSD card later. Blu-ray is nice if you have a lot of blu-rays, but if not, it's not worth it. If you buy the operating system separately or download at a "significant discount," you're looking at a much better system for under $1600. I don't know whats going on right now, but the 6990m is only a $175 upgrade from the 560m, so I think it's totally worth going for the P150HM right now.

 

I think I might just waiti a bit longer....

 

This is what I ended up ordering today:

1 P150HM Lotus P150HM $1,344.00

Customizations:
Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED Backlit 95% NTSC Color Gamut Matte Display $95.00
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.0-2.9GHz
Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5 $175.00
Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
Optical Drive Bay: Hard Drive Caddy For Optical Bay $15.00
Wireless: Intel® 6300 Ultimate-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN Card $35.00
Cooling: Stock OEM Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Warranty: 3 Year Ltd. Labor and 1 Year Parts Warranty with 24/7 Support (USA)
Extras: PowerDVD & Bison Cam Software Package
Extras: Integrated 9 in 1 Card Reader
Extras: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Web Camera
Extras: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Extras: MALIBAL Software & Drivers Disc
Product Subtotal: $1,664.00

 

that looks pretty sweet! nice specs and good performance/price balancing.