thinking of getting a sager - please help

hi - this is my first post, so I hope it comes out okay - sorry that it is so long. Anyway, have been researching which notebook to buy for way too long and going insane from it all - have actually been dreaming about laptops (nightmares and fantasies included). But, I think I have decided on one - the Sager 5760.

Here is the trouble though: I thought I was set on the toshiba p-100 at first - it had all the specs I wanted (2600, 2 gig, 7200hard drive, pretty good gpu, and the awesome bonus of a fingerprint reader, instant on, and the ten key)but when I went to check it out at retail, I noticed that the screen looked dim to me at the brightest level. I spotted a toshiba Qosmio and placed them together to compare, and the Qosmio looked way better and brighter. They both had the same native resolution and coating, but the qosmio blew it away. The person I talked to at Toshiba had no idea why one would look brighter than the other, but I since learned that the qosmio has more backlighting than the p100 - is that correct?

So this really through me for a loop, as I am a carefull (to a fault) buyer and even had created a comparison chart between all the laptops on my list, but none of the info I had down for all the computers could really tell me if I would like the looks of the screen (as far as brightness goes). It occured to me that this should be a major consideration (I mean geez - it's what I'll be staring at for countless hours) and the Qosmio screen made me happy as soon as I laid eyes on it.

The Qosmio doesn't have the specs I want, but I found the Sager 5760. This computer has only one or two full reviews out, but I found a bunch for the 5720, and they were helpful. So, I have some questions about the 5760, but here is why I like it:

Ten key - this may sound silly, but I do a lot of accounting and I know having it will make my life easier (and i would rather not have it as a peripheral)

All the specs I want - duo 2600, 7200 hard drive, 2 gig 667, 17"

Wsxga screen - good middleground res

awesome gpu - 7900gtx I would be happy with a less powerful gpu, such as the ati 1600 or go7600, so this is an added bonus

Powernotebooks - I haven't even ordered from them yet, but they are already amazing with answering my questions (actually, with answering the phone in general - you get a real human on the second ring, what is this the 70's??) and their ratings are superb. I want to support this type of support.

The other notebook I've been checking out is a Gateway M685, and I have heard crappy things about gateway service

questions:

can anyone tell me about the screen on the 5760? How would it compare to a screen like the qosmio? Is it the same screen as the 5720?

7900GTX. I think I'm a little scarred of this GPU. Does having this mean that the laptop will always be super hot? Also, does anyone have any experience with this gpu in the 5760 as far as battery life is concerned? What would be the dissadvantage of having this GPU?

Any input on the 5760 would be greatly appreciated, or if you don't have that model, any other input would be great too.

Please let me know if any of my understandings above are misguided.

Thank you all for the education I receive when I come here - this site is truly awesome

 

i have also recently seen the qosmio and the p100 and all of its sattelite siblings, and yes! the qosmio screen and audio really blew all of its competitors away, the reason behind this is dual backlighting and the QOSMIO ENGINE (a software/hardware hybrid) similar to the one found on a good tv (eg. sony's WEGA engine)

 

Thanks for the info on the Qosmio. I wish it had the specs I want - the qosmio 650 only has a 5400 hard drive, duo 2500, and the screen is uxga - I had my heart set on sxga. Also, that is a really pricey notebook for the specs. Can anyone tell me about the screen on the Sager 5760?

 

The screen on the NP5760 is the same as the NP5720. I cannot compare it to the Toshiba because I have never seen them side by side, so please rely on the reviews you have read.

Battery life will be about 1 to 1.5 hours (this is an honest battery rating, not the exaggerated ones you see on most manufacturer's spec sheets) for normal computing and DVD viewing. It will be about half that for gaming.

The thermal solution on the NP5760 makes it so that it does not get super hot...but remember what you are buying here and do not expect it to be cool. You have a CPU, GPU, hard drive and memory all of which generate heat, and that heat will be right at your hands unlike a desktop on the floor. However the thermal system in the NP5760 is bleeding edge and will wisk that heat out so that it does not get "too" hot.

 

I'd say that's right on the mark. My Sager has a great cooling system, and if you take a look at some of the pictures for the 5720/5760, the cooling system is very effective in the way it's designed.

 

thanks for the replies - great info and input. I think I might go for the 5760.

 

Tobtha, the NP5760 just came out and is only now beginning to ship. If you have any questions, perhaps waiting a week or so would give you time to peruse more reviews which are definitely going to pop up here and in notebookforums.com.

Just a suggestion...

 

If you don't think you need the 7900GTX video card, there is the 5750. It's the same chassis as the 5760, still core duo, but with an ATI x1600 instead of the 7900 and a lower resolution (still 17" WS).
So you can still have the nice chassis and the numpad, but save a few hundred on the vid card.
Read more in this thread- http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=56510

 

thanks for the suggestion - I think I will wait a little longer to see how it goes with the sager. So ready to get something though!!

 

elminst -that's a great suggestion, and one I've thought about, but that model has a matte screen, and I wanted the bright and glossy, as the screen is very important to me. It's so hard to find one that has everything the way you want it - always a trade off, ...like with jelly donuts.