sager NP5165 vs. Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Mobile Workstation

ok i have narrowed my choice down to only 2 laptops. My primary concerns of course are:
1. portability
2. performance (especially gaming)
3. battery life
4. build quality
(in that order)



on Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech

the 5165 graphics card seems to outperform the lenovo one, but im not sure.

they come to pretty similar specs

NP 5165:

15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080)

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2760QM, 2.4-3.5GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)

nVidia GT 555M 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR3 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology

8GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory

750GB (w/ 8GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid (Serial-ATA II 300 - 32MB Cache)
OR
500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid (Serial-ATA II 300 - 32MB Cache)
im not sure yet about the harddrive



LENOVO:
Intel Core i7-2640M Processor (2.80GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
15.6" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
NVIDIA Quadro 1000M Graphics with 2GB DDR3 Memory
8 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
UltraNav with TrackPoint & touchpad
720p Camera
Internal RAID - Not Enabled
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD recordable multiburner
Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader
9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55++
Country Pack North America with Line cord & 170W AC adapter
Bluetooth 3.0
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable



the lenovo comes out to 1699, and the sager ~1300


of course the sager would seem like the clear choice, but i have heard very good things about the lenovo, and i am having trouble deciding.

i will be taking it to school nearly everyday, playing games on it(skyrim, MW2/3, sims3, fifa 12, crysis 2), running VM's, and doing software development.

is there another lenovo (or laptop all together ) that would fit my needs if these dont?

thanks!!

 

well if you're gonna play games on your lappy, consider the np8150 over those 2 with the 6990m vid card.

problem though is you'll need to be plugged somewhere to be able to game properly (with the games you listed) (and the np8150 has worse battery life than the other 2).

both laptops you posted would barely run bf3 or skyrim on medium settings let alone gaming while on battery.

 

Sager NP5165 - The Elder Scrolls Skyrim Gameplay [HD] - YouTube

this makes me really confident about the laptop. battery life is very important, and the 8170 is too big...

 

I had very similar requirements as yours (playing demanding games, VM's and software development) the top options for such requirements are Dell Precision, HP Elitebook, Lenovo W520 and Clevo P150HM/ Sager NP8150 (recommended over NP5165 for high performance and future upgrades)

Among them the best gaming ever is the P150HM and it is also the best performance for the money you pay. In short you get a pure power horse for each $1 you pay.

W520 I would consider the best in terms of portability, build quality and battery life.

I started by ordering W520 but before my laptop is shipped I cancelled and placed an order for P150HM.

Personally I believe that portability is not an issue for a 15'' laptop with a good backpack (I ordered for my P150HM a Lenovo performance backpack). Battery life is not a problem for me since I mostly work from office so my decision to go for P150HM was mainly for the unmatched performance gain for much less cost than W520 (with FHD and Quadro 2000M)

Quadro 1000M is really a weak card for gaming and you can expect low to medium performance on demanding games. You need at least GDDR5 card to get good performance (e.g. HD 6970M or higher)

Also, another thing to consider the high resolution screen (1900 × 1080 ) is very helpful for software development, you can easily work on multiple windows simultaneously.

 

so you would not recommend the N5165? the gaming would be fairly light, i mean i dont have a ton of time for games anyway, but when i do, the biggest game i would be playing would be skyrim, and maybe MW 2/3 (but usually light games like sims 3 and fifa 12). the size is a big thing for me though, because i am coming from a macbook pro, which are incredibly sleek and not bulky at all. i know the specs in these computers are alot better, but i cant have a bulky laptop, because i have to carry it every day, and ill be taking it with me when i take trips, so i would rather it be a little portable (something i dont see in the NP 8130 and the one you mentioned above).

what kind of gaming did you do?

 

I don't think i suggested the 8170 in this thread, but anyway thanks for the link, if you read the comments of the video some settings were lowered and some other owners of the same game and same laptop are having trouble running it on high (it really depends on what you'd consider playable for you, ex. 40fps i consider unplayable already because there will be stutters on certain parts, for others 40fps is fine on max settings and max native resolution).

what this means is 2 years from now and the new "skyrim 2" games comes out, you'll either need to buy a new laptop to even get it to play on medium settings

hence why we're suggesting a laptop with better graphics cards that would last you longer (by a year or 2) than the one you'd be buying for the same price anyway.

the np5165 I'd recommend if you need more portability than graphics power, if you think it would be sufficient for you to have a mid range - entry level high end card but more battery life.

however on this level I'd go with the lenovo, more options for docking stations, extended battery options and i still love the keyboard of my old w520 compared to my new np8170

 

If you opt for the 95% gamut screen on the np5165, you know that is hell of a eye candy than the w520's 1600x900 res display. Unless you opt for the lenovo's premium display that is the same as the np5165 only glossy, but that's about $200-250 extra last time i checked.

For gpu, yes lenovo has a much weaker one with their 1000m compare to the 555m. Due to stronger gpu, the np5165 will consume more power than the lenovo.

And I believe the lenovo is a tad thinner than the np5165?

 

For me portability is important too, I carry my laptop on daily basis but 1-2 pounds more is not a problem for me, the key is to be 15'' laptop.

I am not a hardcore gamer, but when I have time I like to play The Witcher, Skyrim, Just A Cause, Crysis and similar

The screen upgrade in P150HM (FHD 95% Matte) was really an important factor in my decision because to get similar specs with W520 it would cost $1,800+ (with much weaker GPU)

Also another factor in my decision was the GPU, because I need a powerful one to use it in scientific computing (not only for games). Finally, P150HM is a laptop that designed to be upgraded by the user (including the GPU), so I wish to live with it for 4+ years.

My laptop should be here by Friday so I might give you more details on the portability and the performance.

 

yea but the thing is im not a huge gamer anyways. like my current macbook pro had an intel core two duo 2.45 Ghz with 4 gb ram and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M. (my comp is 3.5+ years old). of course i barely did any gaming, but i still liked this computer a lot, and the only reason im getting a new one is because htis one is literally begginning to fall apart. this computer played WoW well (when i played it), it palyed MW2, and sims 3 pretty well also on default settings, well i thought it was playable anyways. so i dont need an extremely intense gaming laptop to play all my games on ultra high settings. the gaming is not even my primary option, it is just a huge plus and something i plan on doing more if i get this computer. I looked at the P150HM and it still looks a little to bulky for my needs.

one thing that i am concerned about is the build quality. how is it compared to the macbook pro (obviously its probably not built as well but im just curious). Also, the trackpad is something that concerns me. is it usable compared to something as nice as the glass macbook one?

Also,

 

I think the W520 has a 2000m option, which does overpower the GT 555m (dramatically so in certain games, I watched my friend max out SCII settings at 35-40 fps whereas mine could only do it at 20). It is prohibitively expensive though, at 200$, much like the screen upgrade. You're really paying for the labor costs and Lenovo build quality (whatever that means nowadays )

 

From an owner of a NP5165 - I was in the same boat you are when I was looking for my laptop. My gaming requirements are light (low settings running @ 30fps for BF3 or SWTOR) to be match with maximum portability and battery life I could find.

With the NP5165 coming in at 5.6lbs and a 135w power brick, Optimus graphics and 4hour battery life - the decision became easier and easier. The P150HM clock in at close to 7lbs with a 180w power brick and a crappy battery life w/ no Optimus. Sure the graphics card is better but I can play my games easily on the NP5165 and yet still be truly portable.

The Lenovos have a gorgeous look and build quality imo and I was close to getting a W series as it was something I could actually respectfully lug around work and still use for gaming but the price point of the Sager, I was able to get a Mushkin 240gb SSD and a kick- 1920x1080 matte screen which for me is a lot more functional than a semi-better design.

Up to you what you pick but I have zero regrets on the NP5165.