Comparing Toshiba as a brand to Sager?

Right, so in the last few weeks, I have been researching into getting a Sager 8130 to replace my 3+ year old Toshiba Satellite. As a late step in this process, I always like to find the best local purchase I can get to compare to an online purchase. The result was a Qosmio from Costco:

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10360153&whse=BCCA&Ne=4000000&eCat=BCCA|84&N=4011462&Mo=40&No=2&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&cat=22497&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-CA&Sp=C

The Sager:

Display: 15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display features Matte Surface (1920 x 1080)
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 6MB L3 Cache, 2.2-3.1GHz
Memory: (16GB) 16384MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 4 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M 1.5GB GDDR5
Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
Optical Drive Bay: 8X Multi DVD+/-R/RW RAM Dual-Layer Drive
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium; 64-bit
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module
Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Branding: Sager
Warranty: Sager 2 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty + Canada two way ground shipping service coverage add-on

While the final price came to $189 more for this Toshiba than for the Sager I configured, it does hold up as a good contender. The Sager has a far superior screen (it's a 15 inch with a 1080p matte screen) and I had the option to get 16GB DDR3 1333 for 60 bucks more (I'm not certain this Toshiba has the expansion slots needed to surpass 8 on SO-DIMMS: Costco doesn't say. I'll check around for info on this later) and a better wireless adapter. However, this Toshia has a FAR better HDD option and Blu-Ray.

From what I understand, Sager laptops are easy to upgrade, but I do not know the full details on this (does "easy to upgrade" for a Sager still include an oven or soldering, for example?). As well, Having a local outlet to handle warranty has it's own benefits (I'd be getting my Sager through an online retailer called Reflex Notebook).

For the sake of variety, I'm springing the comparison questions for the Toshiba crowd this time around. I'd love whatever input you guys can provide that I should know in making my decision.

 

to add blu ray to the sager is remove one screw, slide out the drive, cgange bezels and slide new drive in. hard drive or ssd upgrades are a couple screws to remove a door. no the toshiba cant do 16 on 4 sodimms but can on 2 8's as the sager will do 32 on 4 x 8's

 

Well... If we compare the brands Toshiba and SAGER, Toshiba is a much bigger and well known brand [but I feel that's not what you want to know].

Toshiba designs their notebooks and is considered an OEM [However, they are manufactured by a third party in China].

SAGER does NOT design their notebooks, but only reassembles and configures notebooks made and manufactured by CLEVO. [hence why brands like SAGER, Malibal and Mythlogical look the same].
This is the NP8130: CLEVO - Products


Now, if you compare the notebook themselves, the Qosmio and NP8130, I would say the GPU in the SAGER would be easier to upgrade in the future; see here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo-reviews-owners-lounges/590498-sager-np-8130-8150-clevo-p151hm1-p150hm-owner-answered-frequently-asked-questions-read-before-posting.html.

The GPU in the Qosmio CANNOT be upgraded; it is proprietary [meaning Toshiba designed the card layout themselves, doesn;t follow a standard like MXM that the SAGER uses].

I believe the "easier" part of the upgrade is that you can buy an upgraded GPU from a reseller and put the card in yourself [or you might be able to ship it to them and upgrade].
However, while the GPU can be upgraded, the CPU and everything else about it will still remain old tech.

KCE is correct, Qosmios are limited to 8 GB ram; 2 slots @ 4GB each. Most people do not use more than 6 GB of ram, so I would reconsider whether you need the 16GB or not.

As for Costco vs SAGER [or wherever you buy it], Costco gives you a 90 day no questions ask return policy, a SAGER reseller is usually 15 days.
In both cases, you get a 2 yr warranty and lifetime technical support of product; Costco has Concierge Service, SAGER reseller has their own tech.


If I left anything out or was incorrect please let us know.

Good luck

 

Learning a lot reading all this Does Toshiba support 16GB with 2x8gb like KCE says too then?

 

- you can customize the qosmio at toshiba direct for a better price. even cheaper if you add ram and ssd by yourself.
- the sager doesnt have LED Backlit Tile keyboard
- in my opinion 1600x900 is better to give more life to the gpu
- the np 8130 only has 1 hard drive slot
- qosmio design is lot better

 

I cant say for certain. but the new chipsets support it. I have a number of dual slot units happily running 16 from other mfgrs.

do note a sager with a 6990 will have roughly twice the GPU as the 560 in the toshiba.

 

I know all this already, but thank you all the same. I should explain myself: When i say "as a brand" comparison, I mean in terms of:

1. Warranty Reliability. Warranty year and stated coverage doesn't give the clearest picture of how well a company stands up to their own claims. Asus is a great example of a company with a great product (though I kinda feel they're slipping off that mantle lately) but where their warranty coverage and customer support is not nearly as good as they claim it is.

For the most part, Toshiba's a brand I trust and Sager's a brand many people praise. It's equal footing there, so I'm always looking for more testimonials people may have for one or the other. Specifically complaints, since you can learn a lot more from how a company handled a problem than a confirmation that everything went as expected.

Of course this is where the Toshiba also gets the benefit of reseller coverage. While I hear many good things about Reflex Notebook (from whom I woul buy the Sager), Costco is local and their warranty is very, very good.

2. Durability. Yeah, I know Quanta and a few others actually make the machines, but the cases are usually design specified by their client (Toshiba in this case). When it comes to things like flex, impact resistance, and sensitive areas like the AC adapter plug or ventilation fans, I'm curious as to how the Qosmio's chassis meets the grade compared to the 8130's ODM chassis.

3. Screen quality. Sagers use Class 1 monitors to my knowledge. That Qosmio, while lower resolution and lacking a matte, has several other factors to account for. Not the least of which is dead pixel prevalence, which for the most part I don't expect to really get a solid idea on short of a specific brand having a serious problem with it.

 

Sager is better if you have money to put out for a better GPU. I wouldn't spend my money on something like that unless I could push a 6990M into it and a much faster CPU.

Toshiba offers the best for grab and go. What that means is you get a solid 900p screen for that GPU. It offers the best performance for the money you get, since 1080p will cause that GPU to choke and there's no reason for someone to have such an underpowered GPU with a fairly high resolution. It's a simple concept.

And the additional batteries are up for purchase off Toshiba's main site as well.

However, the Clevo design is considerably more easy to deal with and allows for an upgradeable CPU and GPU, provided you get the Sager 8150. The 8130 doesn't allow for the GPU to be upgraded.

 

An increase of resolution doesn't necessarily increase in power consumption (the brightness drains much more power), but it does certainly decrease a fair amount of fps during gaming. 1080p matte is definitely a no brainer to opt over the 900p. You have to remember you can always turning down the resolution on desktop and even in game to which ever more desirable resolution for that increase in performance. Another reason to choose 1080p matte display is that it's hell a lot more pleasurable to look at than 900p. And don't forget it's MATTE vs GLOSSY here.

The Qosmios is heavier, thicker, and less portable than the 8130. It is also more flashy to look at. Its sound system is one of the best in the notebook world.

You can bet most, if not all, of the Sager resellers have a much better customer service than Toshiba.

 

Can you prove that last sentence as true? I've had nothing but good service from Toshiba. If you call and act angrily with anyone, you generally get poor service. If you call without knowing what you're trying to ask about, you tend to have a bit of confusion. Most of Customer Service problems happen because of user error, I.E. the customer doesn't understand what he/she needs to say or ask.