XoticPC vs. RJTech ?

I'm already convinced at buying the Sager NP5793 from XoticPC. But I was taking a look at RJTech and their price turns up much lesser for the same config.
Should I ask XoticPC for a price match ? Or am I missing something ?
First of all, which of the two companies is better ?
I have always heard of XoticPC a lot, so if I consider it to be better, then what's bad about RJTech ? Any reason I should stay away from them, considering they're already giving a lower price.. ?

 

Sorry for RJTech, but you should read this topic
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=213078

Now, now that you know this, you just don't take USPS, and everything will be fine of course

 

Okay besides the delivery, I'm asking considering RJTech's price being lower, which should I go for ? I'm heavily leaning towards XoticPC. Also what's delivery charge for RJTech ? I know XoticPC charges $223 international.

 

If you take UPS (and YOU MUST TAKE IT!!!) it won't be such a difference. Besides read very well the term and conditions of RJTECH... for example:
# All the return products should be shipped to us freight prepaid and insured using the original box and packing materials (or equivalent). Customer has to pay the shipping back to us even if it is DOA(dead on arrival). *For overseas customers (outside of USA ), they are required to pay the shipping back to them also.
# Shipping charges are non-refundable.
# Refund Policy: Within 15 days started from the invoice date(it should be the same as shipping date), if for any reason the buyer is requesting for a refund, we will charge the buyer 15% restocking fee, even it is DOA. No refund after 15 days.

 

Xotic PC is better. Ask them to price match. THey also have a free 3yr labor warranty. I dont see RJtech posting guides here on the dissembly of your Sager do i?

 

That is irrelevant.

 

no offence but the most of the people that need a GUIDE to install components in the laptop probably shouldn't be doing it in the first place. If its to hard to following instructions in a little manual thats included I really can't see how your post makes any sence. I just put my laptop together yesterday and its working just fine and I didn't need a walkthrough of how to do it. It did take me 10 minutes to figure out the heatsink for the cpu has to be put in at a angle to get it to fit and thats all. >.> to top it off the heatsink screw slots are all numbered except for the hard drive. I bought my laptop from RJtech and only problem I had was with UPS that delayed my order by one day.

 

Review?
OK, so, RJ Tech has it's good parts and bad parts, same as any other reseller (XoticPC included). XoticPC has a high shipping price (223$, which is more than the usual 150$), but has very good support and an extra 2 year of labor included with the warranty. They will do a price-match.

 

I don't think that UPS with RJtech is cheaper than Xotic.... 150 € is the price with USPS, but this I really wouldn't suggest it anymore.

 

They ask 150$ at RJ Tech, around the same with Eurocom (they ship with FedEx).

 

With UPS? Are you sure? I paid more than 150 € with USPS!

 

That was the price I saw last time. I'm not sure whether it's with UPS or USPS.

 

It is USPS! UPS costs much more. Just check it.

 

I'm not going to, as I think you're right. But FedEx has also been offered at Eurocom and I believe that PC Torque uses UPS.

 

Ok, but to say that RJtech offers cheaper shipping costs than Xotic is not correct (I mean USPS is cheaper but is this is not a fair comparison).

 

Why not? Smaller price = cheaper. It doesn't mean better, but still is cheaper.
I am considering Alienware and Novatech more and more (since the price is very similar and I can get what I want). With Alienware I even have a collect & return warranty included.

 

No it is not cheaper because you are comparing two different kind of shippings. UPS with RJtech is as much ex*****ve as with Xotic.

PS: why they censored expensive? LOL

 

I always knew that was a four-letter word!

 

I think I wrote expe_isve instead of expensive LOL

 

*****? Too short, gotta be more than 10 characters...

 

Only thing about my delivery..well other thing is that they didn't require a signature, that or ups guy was just lazy. Guy was back in the truck and on his way before I even opened the door >.>.

 

strange if you think it was an expensive barebone...

 

I would just go to the UPS distribution location and pick it up myself... since that has happened to me before.

 

I think UPS no longer requires a signature on delivery unless the sender specifies that a signature is required. Other than going to get it from the UPS warehouse yourself (probably the safest bet, I'd do that, too), ask the sender to specify that a signature is required upon delivery.

 

Signature is still required...I originally requested and paid for 3-Day Air shipping, it was mistakenly shipped Regular UPS Ground...and it has been completely untrackable since it left CA last Friday the 15th. No one, not xotic or UPS can say with any certainty where my 5793 is I am uneasy and irritated as I wanted this notebook before I go out of town - hence the reason for 3-day shipping....so needless to say I'm not happy that no one even knows where it is right now and there is no way to track it....

 

So, it happens also with UPS...

 

Bah. I guess I'll simply do a price match with XoticPC and go with them

 

I stand corrected, my bad. Sorry to hear about your system, I hope it turns out well.

 

Update: Received my package today...despite the little shipping error, xoticpc has been very helpful and professional....it seems it was UPS's fault as the tracking label on the package was torn...and according to the UPS rep. i picked it up from in NY, "someone from UPS in CA was too lazy to do the right thing and replace it"....so it was untrackable the entire journey lol...now it's time to open it!

 

ok we want pics and impressions.

 

Congratulation!!! Enjoy it!

 

You mean a European pick up and return? Alienware Uk or De ?

 

Okay - seriously, even after reading all of the overwhelmingly positive reviews here, I am impressed with the actual product. This notebook can truly be described as a notch above the rest - at least any other laptop I've ever seen. It is tangibly better in build quality, solid rugged feel, the BEST screen I've ever had/seen on a laptop - blazingly fast...granted I've only been using it for a few hours, I am extremely impressed. Pictures may soon follow

 

eleron911, it's an European pick-up and return, no matter where you buy it from.

 

Has anyone noticed how difficult it is to get on 'Live Chat' at Xotic PC lately???

I feel that 'Live chat' is the only way to get things done (economically, as phoning the US from the UK isn't cheap!)

Thus far my experience with Xotic hasn't been as good recently as it should be.

Nearly 2 weeks ago I managed to get through to Live chat - to make some changes to my order, in Which Justin told me to e-mail the changes to [email protected]. So, fair enough I e-mailed the changes with a request for confirmation, and did I hear anything...........err no! (This was on the 13th Feb)

I tried Live chat on the 14th, 15th and 18th Feb to no avail. So I got fed up and phoned them (expensive!) to ask what was going on with my order - the guy said that the changes were being dealt with on Tuesday (19th) - also following with an e-mail after the phone call clarifying that Sager/Clevo can't meet the ETA.

So, I watched my e-mail throughout Tuesday - nothing! - Live chat was 'unavailable' nearly all day! - so I tried phoning them again - which led me to believe business was closed that day - even though it is not advertised on their website.

I finally did get through to Live chat on Wed 20th feb - and believe it or not I had to request the changes all over again! - right at this point, what with the endless delays on this laptop - I had almost had enough!

Well, the rest of the week the whole idea of ordering this laptop didn't sit right with me anymore - and tonite I finally decided to see what my options were regarding cancelling the order and getting a refund - but guess what.........couldn't get through on Live chat - AGAIN!

It certainly wasn't like this 2 months ago, when I ordered my laptop - they were more than helpful, but nowadays they are impossible to reach!

Basically I don't want to be sending an e-mail to discuss my options - I want a live response and it looks as though the only way I'm gonna get a live response from now on is to phone them!

Basically I've gone off the whole idea of having this laptop - and I need to know what my options are.

 

When I got mine, I literally emailed them about what I wanted , used Live Chat twice and that was it.
They have a lot of customers and only a few reps that can answer the Live Chat : Justin, Justin Woitte, Amber...
Be reasonable and patient.

 

Andy - I have taken the liberty to research this further. I show we have confirmed via Telephone, Chat and Email last week that the changes were made. The changes were not delaying your order. It is the finalization of SLi that is causing the delay for those requesting to wait for both cards to ship with the 9262.

If you are not able reach us on chat please email us and you will get a reply within hours or you may also choose one of our many other methods to contact us.

 

There's more to it than that - as I stated, I managed to get through to live chat throughout December (busy period) with no problems - and January.

Now given that I own a computer shop - I know first hand that February is a quiet month - January on the other hand we were swamped under with PC repairs!

 

I had my 5793 within 2 weeks of the order. I exchanged several e-mails probably 6 or 7 times during this period - regarding some changes and inquiries. Justin is correct, they always responded to my e-mails within hours and even responded with a phone call twice! I am very sorry you are having issues...but also the sli thing is industry-wide...not xotic's fault for the delay. Anyway, I wish you well and hope you get your 9262 soon

 

Really? Thats odd, i tried to talk wiht them 4 timse through Live chat and it worked fine for me...

 

Could it be the time difference between the US and UK?

 

Nope - I'm not stupid enough to believe that other countries do not have different time zones.

I accept that XoticPC is on CST - which is 6 hours behind me and I have not been contacting Live chat at 9am UK time - I'm pretty sure they'd be all fast asleep!

Contacting Xotic works out quite nice for me - timezone-wise as when I close up the computer shop (6pm UK time - 12pm Nebraska time) it is then that I end up spending most of the evening trying to get through to Xotic (or I have been alately!)

As I stated in previous posts - after failing to get through on Live chat I decided to call Xotic at 11pm UK time (5pm) - and on the Monday in question I got through on the phone - no problem, but on the Tuesday at the same time - no - and if anyone took note of their Live chat icon on their website - you would have noticed it was listed as 'unavailable' all day - which would indicate to me that - if Live chat was unavailable all day and I couldn't get through on the phone - err.....maybe they were closed that day!

 

Within 2 weeks of my order - I exchanged 'Live chats' with XoticPC and had no problems whatsoever!.

Secondly - when I have sent e-mails the response has not been as instant as you indicate, otherwise why would I be typing these posts to begin with!?

And finally - the SLi thing is not industry wide - Dell has the XPS operating as smoothly as could be - albeit the 3rd fastest laptop - but at this moment it's the world's fastest, because the 'supposedly' world's fastest is the world's slowest to arrive!

Who else in the industry is making a machine that has the capabilities of the Dell, the AW or the Sager = nobody

Tosh is quite happy to run 8700GT's in SLi, just like everyone else has been for ages now!

Face it - there's only the big 3 - AW, Dell and Clevo.

AW will have their's on the market next week - Dell already has theirs out - and Clevo....well

 

AW and Dell use their own format, whereas Clevo at least gives the impression they try to adopt an industry-wide standard (MXM). That makes a pretty big difference in terms of research and compatibility problems at the start, but also in terms of upgradeability (and cost) at the end!

 

Sounds like your out of touch with current events (and even past events)

For starters - Alienware used to use Clevo (MXM was out even then and Clevo didn't use it!)

evidence : my g/f's Fujitsu A1667G - which sports 'TRUE' MXM - not this modified version Clevo is selling!

Alienware stopped using Clevo and moved on to Arima - which do use MXM (i.e. Area51-M9700 onwards)

Dell is the only 'odd one out' they do not use MXM and will probably not, since they are plugging 'Displayport' technology.

My problem with Sager/Clevo is - that you see just how small a company they are, in the big picture, when they just have NOT got the clout to get the technology which they tout as 'latest' out onto the market before, or even in time with the competition.

It's alright blaming it on nVidia, but at the end of the day - Dell has managed to get SLi to work - how successfully is anyones guess, but one thing is for certain - it will be no more successful than attempts by other manufacturers as SLi, although over 2 years old is still 'buggy' at best - with games that do run it crashing. That been said though - it does give a good 3DMark score, and the framerates in games (whilst their running) are fantastic maxxed out.

Isn't that hence the reason why many of you on this forum would plug the 9262 with a Single 8800 over the SLi version??? That some of you believe it doesn't make much difference to performance, and that it's troublesome.

 

What is the "modified" version of MXM Clevo is using?

 

The one that requires a motherboard upgrade to run the 8800

Check www.mxm-upgrade.com for more evidence

 

Hmm, thats odd. I ordred my 5793 on feb 15th and have made multiple questions to exotic via e-mail and live chat. Some of the questions I made at the exact same dates you did. They were all answered promptly within few hours and I always managed to get to live chat with out any problems. I cant find anything to complaint about XoticPC.

PS. My time zone (GMT+2). Questions asked around 6-7 pm my time.

 

Two points:

1) The motherboard upgrade had nothing to do with the so-called "special" MXM version that mxm-upgrade.com mentions in its article. The motherboard upgrade was necessitated by NVidia's decision to manufacture the 8800m card in-house and, more importantly, to not support EDID-less displays(as has been thrashed out ad nauseam on this forum in other threads - my own contributions being perhaps unnecessarily voluminous, so I won't repeat them all here ).

Since EDID-less displays are the norm in the industry, Clevo was perhaps not negligent in using EDID-less displays; however, they should have known that making sure the GPUs received (or thought they were receiving) EDID data directly from the display unit was a prerequisite for SLi (n.b., direct EDID from the display is still not[/] a requirement for running a single 8800m, only for SLi, as per the MXM standard released by NVidia in Nov. 2007).

This fact, unfortunately, takes some of the shine off of Clevo's claim to being the king of exotic notebooks; however, that simply makes them the one-eyed man in a world of blind men - i.e., still better than the rest.

Since Clevo/Sager have offered an upgrade package to existing 9261 owners that does not involve swapping out the display unit, the only conclusion I can draw is that they've soldered a ROM of some sort into the pathway between the GPUs and the display unit that makes it look to the GPUs as if the display unit is EDID-capable.

2) The "special" version of MXM supposedly used by Clevo is, in fact, merely the latest step in the development of the MXM standard and is, in fact, fully supported as such by NVidia (which promulgates the MXM standard). The MXM version used in the 9262 is the Type IV-HE, which is described in the MXM standard as released by NVidia.

For confirmation, one need only read the addenda at the bottom of the Clevo-specific page on mxm-upgrade.com, which addenda reports NVidia's comments regarding mxm-upgrade.com's investigation of the "special" MXM card they found when they investigated the (then new) 7950 GTX in the Clevo. For convenience, I have quoted the addenda in full below:

Quoted material is copied verbatim from mxm-upgrade.com at the following webpage: http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/7950.html
which was visited on 02/26/2008 at 2.41pm Eastern Time. Please note that this information, although accurate at the time of the visit indicated above, may not be accurate at any later time.

If anything, the mxm-upgrade.com article supports rather than contradicts the proposition that Clevo is on the bleeding edge of development (the danger of which is demonstrated by the mobo incident - if you play there, the question isn't whether you'll bleed, merely when). That article certainly doesn't indicate that Clevo is a maverick that has gone off the rez on the GPU issue.

 

You are correct - I misspoke about sli being an industry-wide problem...I meant that all sli configs in the sagers are delayed at this time..thats def. my mistake...and you do sound unnecessarily defensive my friend...I certainly was not questioning your frustrations...actually in your shoes I would be very frustrated too...I just hate to see a "would-be" sager owner back out when I think its such a great overall deal..and I really did have a great experience with xoticpc as the VAST majority of people have...so I am frustrated for you and just wanted to voice my experience with them...Good luck!