Best bang for my buck.

[aman0906]

Hey guys.
I am planning on buying a new laptop from here on a rather limited budget (under or around $2500) relatively soon. I very much enjoy playing games and also enjoy using 3D graphics software as well as some music and video editing. I do not need a WUXGA (1920x1200) 17 inch screen as I will probably be using this with a 32 inch LCD TV when I want to play games and such. Mainly, I want a streamlined, decently fast laptop. My brother is getting a desktop for gaming so I don't need the absolute BEST in terms of gaming, but would still like to be able to play most modern games. I have two configured laptops I am thinking about but am open to suggestions.

CONFIGURATION 1:
Sager NP5796 Custom Notebook (Built on Clevo M570TU) (http://www.xoticpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=2415%7B76%7D1883%7B18 7%7D1757%7B94%7D1074%7B92%7D2423%7B88%7D2419%7B186 %7D734%7B93%7D2429%7B193%7D657%7B112%7D2032%7B98%7 D1295%7B96%7D1602%7B168%7D1453%7B116%7D1416%7B117% 7D705%7B120%7D703%7B110%7D2426%7B169%7D1449%7B119% 7D1898%7B100%7D734%7B164%7D1441%7B107%7D689%7B106% 7D1696%7B121%7D694%7B108%7D710%7B109%7D711%7B170%7 D1591%7B173%7D1175%7B167%7D1452%7B103%7D1889%7B113 %7D1)
- 17" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® T9400 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 35 watt
- 1,024MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GTX DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable) (ETA Mid-Late August)
- None Standard
- ~ 2,048MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
- None Standard
- NP579x Orange Frame Trim Color
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 100GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA 150)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard
- None Standard
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support
(Year2 & 3 Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

Price: $2,459.00

CONFIGURATION 2:
SAGER NP9262 Ultimate Custom Laptop (Built on Clevo D900C / D901C) (http://www.xoticpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=2273%7B76%7D1883%7B18 7%7D1757%7B94%7D1074%7B92%7D2046%7B88%7D2419%7B186 %7D734%7B93%7D1997%7B112%7D656%7B98%7D1295%7B96%7D 1868%7B97%7D1943%7B192%7D1943%7B104%7D674%7B168%7D 1453%7B116%7D1416%7B117%7D705%7B120%7D703%7B110%7D 1729%7B169%7D1449%7B119%7D1898%7B100%7D734%7B164%7 D1441%7B107%7D689%7B106%7D1695%7B108%7D710%7B109%7 D711%7B170%7D1492%7B173%7D1175%7B167%7D1452%7B103% 7D18)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support
(Year2 & 3 Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- 17" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz w/ 6MB L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB
- 1,024MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GTX DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable) (ETA Mid-Late August)
- None Standard
- ~ 2,048MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 160GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA 150)
- None Standard -
- None Standard -
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)

Price: $2,594.00

I enjoy the look of the Sager laptops and thats important to me. I am in no need of a large hard drive since I am thinking of getting an external hard drive in the future. Due to my love for 3d rendering and gaming, the Nvidia 9800 GTX seemed quite necessary to me. If you have any suggestions and or comments, they would be greatly appreciated.

[Anewbus]

Please delete this post and leave the other one up. Don't know what happened.

[Anewbus]

It appears you want to stay with a inch screen and while you could save money going with a 15 inch since your going to hook it up to a big screen for gaming, you also stated that you will be doing video editing. So for that it's better to stick with the 17 inch screen.

I took your two configs and made a couple of changes that I feel in my humble opinion are necessary for what your looking for. The changes are the same for both except I also changed the CPU on the NP5796.
I notice you are going to be running Vista which is a 64 bit OS, but you configured both machines with only 2GB of RAM.

Here's the NP5796 with my suggested changes:
Upgrade the RAM to 4GB, you are going to need it!
Also the HD you chose on the 5796 may be inadequate in size even if your hooking up an external HD. There are two things to keep in mind, Vista is a huge resource hog and video editing also requires loads of room on top of that. 100GB is barely enough room for the OS. In fact, I'm not sure that it may be enough at all. Don't worry about the RPMs on the HD, 5400rpm will do fine on larger HDs and runs with less heat and drain on your battery.
I also lowered the CPU a notch. This saves a bit of money to allow the other upgrades which are more important. Also, you'll be just fine with the P8600 Proc.:)

Sager NP5796 Custom Notebook (Built on Clevo M570TU)
- 17" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P8600 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.40GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 1,024MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GTX DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable) (ETA Mid-Late August)
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- NP579x Orange Frame Trim Color
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 250GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA 150)
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support
(Year2 & 3 Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

TOTAL $2424.03 with cash discount (Does not include shipping)
With the upgrades and changes I made here this machine comes in about $35 less than your original config. (The $35 almost pays all the shipping for standard ground).

Now here's the NP9262 with the HD and RAM changed to facilitate your needs better:

SAGER NP9262 Ultimate Custom Laptop (Built on Clevo D900C / D901C)- 17" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz w/ 6MB L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB
- 1,024MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GTX DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable) (ETA Mid-Late August)
- ~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 250GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA 150)
- HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support
(Year2 & 3 Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)

TOTAL $2603.48 with cash discount (not including shipping)

As you can see the two changes I feel are necessary imho, put it well above your budget.

See what you think, see what others here might offer up and then ask as many questions as you like if need be.:)

Happy Lappy hunting!

[aman0906]

I like what you did with the Sager NP5796 and am very grateful for your advice. Your NP9262 configuration is out of my budget, but not by an extremely large amount, so if I could save up enough, I would definitely consider it. Also, can anyone that has used other sager notebooks comment on how hot they run, how loud they are, and how pleasing they look in real life? Thank you.

[Anewbus]

I like what you did with the Sager NP5796 and am very grateful for your advice. Your NP9262 configuration is out of my budget, but not by an extremely large amount, so if I could save up enough, I would definitely consider it. Also, can anyone that has used other sager notebooks comment on how hot they run, how loud they are, and how pleasing they look in real life? Thank you.

Your welcome aman0906. :)
I'm getting a FORCE 3298v2 which is just like the Sager 2092 and very similar to the 2096, but it is due to arrive 08/12/08 or thereabouts. So I don't really know what it looks like or anything. Plus I had custom graphics done and all, so that kind of skewers things.
However, I have seen a Sager 2092 standard finish (on video) and they are beautiful!!! As for how hot and the noise, I don't know.
You can go on You Tube and search for Sager notebooks and you'll be able to see 3 or 4 videos (maybe more) of them from users.