p170em build questions

I've decided to make the jump and buy my first sager! I'm looking for get a laptop that will last me 3+ years, while still allowing me to play games on medium/high. However, I want to make sure I'm getting the best build money can buy, so suggestions would be awesome!

Here's what I have so far:
p170 - 17.3" stock screen
intel i7-3610 2.3 GHz
12GB 1600 MHz DDR3
AMD Radeon 7970M
256 Crucial M4 SSD
750GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300 Hybrid w/ 8GB NAND Flash
No mSATA (maybe as an upgrade un the future...)
8X Multi DVD+/-R/RW RAM Dual-Layer Drive
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Bigfoot Networks Killer Wireless-N
IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound

I'm looking to buy from reflex notebooks or malibal (since they have canadian repair centres).

Questions that come to mind:

Display upgrades - are they worth it? I've read lots of posts about the 90% NTSC glossy upgrade, and a lot of people seem to really love it. Personally I don't know if I would really care. However, I'm a big fan of matte screens. Reflex notebooks offers a matte screen for 32$ extra (no mention of NTSC though so that could be bad news), while malibal offers a 72% NTSC for $149 extra. Since I won't have a chance to check out the screens in person, I was wondering how these screens would compare. Would it be a noticeable upgrade?

Also, is the wireless card upgrade (bigfoot killer vs stock, or maybe something in between) a good choice? This laptop will be spending most of its time in my (very small) apartment, though I might bring it into school to work on group projects once in a while, so range isn't much of a concern. I've heard tons of great things about the killer card, but I noticed it doesn't have bluetooth, and though I don't use bluetooth on a regular basis, it might be nice to have that option (without having to get an external bluetooth dongle which I will definitely lose).

I held off ordering until now to check out the 580m, but seeing as it's 300$ more expensive for only a ~10% increase in performance, I don't think it's worth it. Though I would have liked to have optimus, I hear AMD also offer graphics switching (though I don't know how the two technologies compare).

Let me know what you think!

 

You forgot about Eurocom

This looks like a pretty solid configuration overall.

If you do any colour accurate work (such as photography or design work) the 90% display would be more beneficial after a calibration, however if for gaming and general use the Matte finish is by no means *bad*. They are beautiful displays that do quite well after calibration if you require a moderate degree of colour accuracy. I'm not aware of any higher gamut models than 72% for 17.3" matte screens.

In the end, you're going to be looking at this screen for hours at a time so it would be best to think about the environment you'll be using it in. If you're right next to a window most of the time, you may find the frustration of a glossy display to outweigh the benefits of a 90% panel.

The Killer 1103 is solid upgrade over the stock card. It supports wifi up to 450Mbps, an extra 150Mbps over stock models. This is only relevant if the router you're connecting to can provide those speeds of course. TomsHardware did a great review of the 1103's performance relative to similar quality cards.

Where did you get benchmarks showing the 580M as being faster than the 7970M? The 7970M is the faster card out of those two. Here's a shortlist on card rankings


-Dan

 

Hello cshaw71-

The 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 72% NTSC Color Gamut is a great screen for gaming, photo work and any design applications indeed. That would be 72% of all color shades the human eye can see. It's pretty swank no doubt.

As far as the wireless networks go, the BF tests the best for gaming, however I prefer the Intel 6300 as the company is more reliable in my opinion. But, both are 3 antenna and very solid.

The AMD and the GTX680 are the big grabs right now, however the AMD's are delayed for further testing as I am sure you've seen. I suggest the 580 if you are wanting something faster. Also, something to be aware of, The 7900M series also supports automatic graphics switching between the integrated GPU and discrete GPU. This is called Enduro, the technology supersedes AMD's Dynamic Switchable Graphics and is similar to Nvidia's Optimus. Furthermore, the 7970M can directly support up to 6 connected monitors using Eyefinity Technology if Enduro is disabled.

Something to note:
I see that you have upgraded to a hybrid drive in your secondary drive. That is ONLY useful if you are placing applications on your 2nd drive. Otherwise that is overkill. I suggest placing all of your programs and applications on your full SSD regardless for the best results.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the advice!

I've been posting on the SSD forum here on nbr and they convinced me that the hybrid was unnecessary. I think I will be going for the Intel 6300 as well. I won't be gaming over wireless very often, so I won't really need the extra gaming performance there.