w860 or w870, please kindly help >_<

Hi all

I'm a newbie in here (PC knowledge wise and in this forum) and would like some kind assistance to get my first over-budget ($15k is my usual laptop budget) laptop.

I now have 2 options and would like some input pretty please.

First option is:

NP8690 - Customise It!
Display:15.6" Full HD LED Display with Super Glossy Surface #1920 x 1080) (add 76)
Processor:Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-820QM Processor ( 45nm 8MB L3 Cache 1.73GHz ) (add 585)
Thermal Compound:Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Video & Graphics Card:ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 5870 Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 Memory
Operating System:Genuine MS Windows(R) 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
Memory:4GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 2 X 2GB (For i7-720QM and above only)
Primary Hard Disk Drive:500GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive (add 54)
Optical Drive:4X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X DL Super-Multi Drive & Software (add 185)
Wireless Network Card:Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (add 53)
Bluetooth:Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module
Primary Battery:Smart Li-Polymer Battery Pack
TV-Tuner:None - Select from the options below
MCE Remote Control:None - Select from the options below
Software:Microsoft Office Ready with Free 60-Day Trial
Extra Accessories:None - Select The Options Below
Razer Gaming Mouse :None - Select The Options Below
Warranty & Services:2 Yrs On-Site Limited Warranty plus 3rd yr Free Carry-In Warranty Labour Only
Free Gift:Carrying Bag & Razer Goliathus Fragged Omega Mouse Pad (For laptop Self-collection only)
System Build Time :Express - Please allow up to 7 business days to process - built - test and deliver your order (add 60)


Second option is:

Display:17.3" Full HD LED Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card:ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 5870 Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 Memory
CPU Processor:Intel Core i7-720QM Processor ( 45nm 6MB L3 Cache 1.60GHz) (add 240)
Thermal Compound:Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System:Genuine MS Windows 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
Memory:4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 2 X 2GB (For i7 and above)
RAID Storage Options:Non-RAID Storage
Primary Hard Disk Drive:80GB Intel SATA2 Solid State Disk Drive (add 344)
2nd Hard Disk Drive:320GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Secondary Hard Disk Drive (add 108)
Optical Drive:8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card:Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (add 55)
Bluetooth:Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module
Primary Battery:Smart Li-Polymer Battery Pack
TV-Tuner:None - Select from the optons below
MCE Remote Control:None - Select from the options below
Integrated Security Device:Fingerprint Reader
Microsoft Office:Microsoft Office Ready with Free 60-Day Trial
Extra Accessories:None - Select From The Options Below
Razer Gaming Mouse:None - Select from the options below
Warranty & Services:2 Yrs Local Limited On-Site Warranty (Next Business Day) plus 3rd yr Carry-In Warranty Labour Only
Free Gift:Carrying Bag & Razer Goliathus Fragged Omega Mouse Pad (For laptop self-collection only)
System Build Time :Express - Please allow up to 7 business days to process - built - test and deliver your order (add 60)

Can anyone please comment/give input/advice on these options?

I want the 8760 because of 2 things, first the screen, many saying that its beautiful. Second is the 2 HDD bay. I want to taste my first SSD and the 2 HDD bay given my limited budget, I can just put small 8GB SSD and can still get the taste.

on the other hand, 8690, The size is 15", so it's more portable for me. Also I can put 820QM and blu-ray reader (albeit not needing this for now, just future proofing) and it's still $60 cheaper than that 8760.

Last of my concern is, how about the heat? I know that Sager cooling system is one of the best and even on the 8690, but a lot of the people saying that, I looked, they are not living in a tropical country with the room ambiance around 70*F.

I don't really care about the noise as long as the fan noise isn't too whiny, and since I can also get the feeling of something awesome is currently working inside there. Just the heat since now that I left Japan, I am staying at a tropical country with average 31*C everyday.

Please kindly help me since I need to order today since my arrival to the designated country is imminent (thus the last option, 7 day express install).

Thank you in advance!

Tora

 

You mean 15k Yen, because $15k can buy any notebook you want in the world (Unless you are talking about one with 1TB SLC SSD or something).

For cooling, I've already told you in another thread.

For 8690 and 8760, the main difference is in the size, it's a bigger screen and heavier vs smaller screen and a bit lighter and smaller kind of thing. It depends on how big a screen do you want.

 

Depends on what you are using it for really. With these gaming laptops, it just seems better to have a bigger screen IMO if you plan to game and watch movies on them.

 

i say go smaller, its supposed to be portable.

 

How portable can one get over the other, battery life is only an hour.

 

portable to me = easily movable around the house and in a back pack.

 

Get an extra battery

 

Since both laptops are near identical in performance, it pretty much boils down to 1 vs 2 hdd and size/portability. If you will be carrying it around on a daily basis, then go with the w860. If you will only be moving it around once or twice a week, then go with the w870. At least that is the way I figure out what I want. Your milage may vary.

 

For me it was also a design question. The W860CU just looks more classy to me - the W870CU looks a little bit more like a gaming laptop with that hinge style.

 

I'm having a tough time deciding too. I really dont need portability. But I would like the best screen possible and the w860 runs about 5db quieter right?

 

Hi all, thank you for the responses!

I won't be carrying on dialy basis. I will pretty much carry it later when I move back to Japan but even later I will leave it at home when I go to work. While I'm on my home country daily commuting I travel by car so I won't lug it around..

is all these means that my choice is clear now? O.O;;

heh..

 

The fans are just slightly bigger, so there will be no big difference, certainly not 5 db. Depending on the CPU and GPU you use, the W860CU is not that loud, I've heard worse + the W860CU and W870CU use relatively big fans which are not that annoying. db is one thing, level of annoyance is another thing. I remeber the tiny GPU fan of my ECS 736, that thing classified as torture.

 

Ah, Hrm then. I will just be using the i5 520 in either one along with everything else being default at XoticPC.

I really would like the 17" as I do like watching tv shows/movies on it too. But Considering I'm pushing my budget at 1350 or so after shipping just for the w860 vs about $1410 for the w870. I'm still a bit hesitant, I guess even with noise aside, the screen quality is said to be better, and I will be doing web design stuff along with me just being picky about screens.

I guess I will just have to keep researching and eventually come to a conclusion on my own eventually. Thanks

@OP

Thanks for making the thread, I guess I'm not the only one that cant decide either .

 

Don't you have a G73 dkillone? If you plan on using battery at all I personally wouldn't recommend the w86 or w87, and sticking to the G73.

Also the G73 is a lot quieter at idle. While I like my w870cu, I think for some people, those pros about the G73 could make the difference, and seeing that you are concerned with fan noise, you might want to see if you can check one out some how before purchasing.

True, the noise that is generated by the fans isn't annoying at all to me, but it is a lot more prevalent than the G73.

 

^^^
If you won't be fiddling too much around inside(change CPU/GPU), then the G73 makes sense--

 

That's why I got the w870cu, because it'll be easier to swap cpu/gpus. I'd wait for the new clevo models that supposedly are coming out in June though if I were buying a laptop right now.

 

G73 ended up going back, I got the A2, but it died first day it came, so sent that back and now looking for something else.

And yeah, I'm not worried about battery, just noise level really, not that I need quiet, I've just gotten used to quiet. So I rather get the laptop that is most quiet so I dont drive myself crazy.

Edit: Also, there is no way I can think of to be able to check them out first, not too many friends that care for gaming laptops. So researching is the closest I can get. As for waiting, I've been waiting since Nov to get and keep a laptop. So I'm not much in a patient mood, along with since I'm going the cheapest possible, I doubt any of the new laptops will be worth waiting for me. Of course, I appreciate the advice, I'm just not too worried about it, dont care for USB3.0 either.

 

Hopefully you'll have better luck with sager/clevo. You sure you want to go with a smaller screen? The screen on the w870cu is the same as the asus g73 A2from what I've read here, so if you thought that screen was good then the one on the w870cu should work for you. I can tell you that just from watching movies alone, it's very good IMO. Of course I don't know what the best laptop LCD screen looks like, so I'm not sure if my standards are low.

 

I don't know where these noise concerns come from. My 8760 is almost silent, even under the heaviest loads. Earlier generation fans may have been noisier, but if so, that's a thing of the past based upon my experience.

 

Guys, thanks for the responses. I did some more thinking on my own and I came up with this spec:

Sager NP8760 - Customise It!
Display:17.3" Full HD LED Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card:ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 5870 Graphics with 1GB GDDR5 Memory
CPU Processor:Intel Core i7-720QM Processor ( 45nm 6MB L3 Cache 1.60GHz) (add 240)
Thermal Compound:Stock Standard Thermal Compound
Operating System:Genuine MS Windows 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition
Memory:4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 2 X 2GB (For i7 and above)
RAID Storage Options:Non-RAID Storage
Primary Hard Disk Drive:80GB Intel SATA2 Solid State Disk Drive (add 344)
2nd Hard Disk Drive:500GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Secondary Hard Disk Drive (add 155)
Optical Drive:8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card:Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (add 55)
Bluetooth:Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module
Primary Battery:Smart Li-Polymer Battery Pack
TV-Tuner:None - Select from the optons below
MCE Remote Control:None - Select from the options below
Integrated Security Device:Fingerprint Reader
Microsoft Office:Microsoft Office Ready with Free 60-Day Trial
Extra Accessories:None - Select From The Options Below
Razer Gaming Mouse:None - Select from the options below
Warranty & Services:2 Yrs Local Limited On-Site Warranty (Next Business Day) plus 3rd yr Carry-In Warranty Labour Only
Free Gift:Carrying Bag & Razer Goliathus Fragged Omega Mouse Pad (For laptop self-collection only)
System Build Time :Express - Please allow up to 7 business days to process - built - test and deliver your order (add 60)

The biggest question is, how many years can that spec last me in terms of future gaming and all? The price of that spec is just exact as my budget.

Lastly, any comment/input/advice on the specs?

Thanks in advance again!

PS: Of course, np dkillone, we all share the same boat

 

You can save some money on getting 1066mhz dimms instead of 1333mhz, since that makes no difference in performance at all (i took 1333mhz since the price was the same).

 

A fine design. You will be astounded by how good it is when you get your hands on it.

On the one hand, it will serve you well for years; on the other, it will be obsolete within 6 months, but that is true regardless of what you buy or how you configure it. It is the nature of the technology beast.

 

I wouldn't say obsolete in 6 months....perhaps just not the latest and greatest you mean. I don't see how a quad core / 5870 combo not last a person for 6 years...unless the components just straight out fail.

 

I received my Sager/W870CU last week and it's a great laptop.

The fans are not noticeable to me and I've worked on laptops the past 10 years of various makes and models. I also live in a larger city so background noise is always present and seems to be more than what this laptops puts out.

It's a great machine. The battery life I now understand why it's only an hour since the batteries are barely there. I've seen more cells and heavier packs in most business laptops that will get 4ish hours when traveling but also are not gaming machines.

Like most others, this laptop is for gaming and entertainment for me and when on battery it will be at a minimum.

There is noticeable heat coming from the gpu side but the 5870m is a beast of a card so again this is expected.

Good luck in your choice and purchase, once made enjoy it and rock on!

 

You should be able to play games on at least low to mid settings for the next 3 years with a 5870 I'd guess. That's the best you can do for your budget.

BTW, I like your PS. Not poking fun, it's just funny to see common expressions with wording indicative of a different language structure

 

If you're gonna move your laptop around every day/quite often, go for the 860. If you are like me, travelling around the globe every 6 months or so then settling down in one place, go for the 870.

The 870 is a desktop replacement but it's not huge nor that heavy compared to the 860 and it will give you a bigger screen (useful for people like me with glasses which make things smaller), so it's still portable.