No idea what to buy... please help

[qaz333]

First of all, hello to everyone. Maybe some of you might know me from iptf forums but if you dont thats too bad..

Anyways, i have a buying crisis. I have about 3600 aussie dollars to spend ona laptop and im thinking of a sager np5793 or a sager np9262. But i cant decide. the 5793 looks better (doesnt really matter because im getting full body skin) and is about half an inch thinner but the 9262 has quad-core and 3 ghz options and sli video cards.

My specs for the np5793 would be:

intel extreme 2.8 ghz
WUXGA screen
512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX DX10
4gig ram
1gig intel robson turbo memory
Entire Laptop Painted with Any Color, Logo or Graphic
160GB 7200RPM hd
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bitall that and some other extras (like mouse, cooler) come to $3585.12.

My specs for the np9262 would be:

WUXGA screen
Intel Core 2 QUAD Q6700 2.66GHz
512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 8800GTX
4gig ram
Entire Laptop Painted with Any Color, Logo or Graphic
two 100GB 7200RPM hd and vista ultimate 64bit
All this adds up to 3577.36 (ncluding mouse, cooler and program suite).
Please help me!

[clintre]

A few questions...

What are you using it for (other than Crysis)?
Are you planning on traveling much with it?

The NP9262 is obviously the most powerful out of the two, however that does come at a price. It is BIG and not going to be fun if you carry it around much. Both are desktop replacements, but the 9262 is quite a bit heavier.

Depending on what you are using it for the quad core may or may not benefit you as much as you think. Same with the SLI, although more and more games now benefit from SLI. Crysis should benefit from it.

IMHO the 5793 does look much better. I have a friend who has one and it is a really sharp looking laptop. The 9262 is not ugly, but it lacks style. Personally I am not as big on the style side, but that is what I see.

I will say this either way you are going to be happy! The people I know that have either one of these have dropped the desktops completely.

Good luck!

[clintre]

double post sorry.

[OregonCoastGamer]

My advice is to hold out for a while longer, until they release the next M860TU and M570TU models. New platforms can bring regret to late buyers :p.

[bargegod]

my advice is to get the more powerful of the two. plus the exteme core is a waste of money unless you know what ur doing and plan on overclocking, cause thats the only benefit of it...all multipliers unlocked. to me, notebook looks arent as important as performance. both will kick butt and are well made though. OCG has the 5972 and i hv the 9262. he can tell u everything about his and im sure he loves his, and the same on my end. any questions just ask us...laterz

[OregonCoastGamer]

My NP5792 is a required comfort throughout my week. It's like a favorite blanket to a small child.... not that I actually sleep with my lappy.... though I have been tempted.... note to self- "end posts before revealing strange personal habits". But seriously now, the NP5792 has an excellent build quality, is very mobile, and can play most games at ultra high resolutions at max graphics; Crysis is the only exception. I once again am just putting my two cents on waiting for the new models to be released, as you will miss out on a lot of potential upgrades.

[tenuulch]

I don't know if this will help or not. I actually made this exact same post not too long ago. I was bent on getting the 5793 because it looked cool and was slightly more portable. But then I got the 9262.

I guess what threw me last minute was the slight upgrade to 3.0Ghz w/ 6MB cache and the fact that 2 hard drives is better than 1. Its a lot easier running my music locally then having to plug in an external drive each time.

Like was mentioned, I think either way you will be satisfied. I still keep wondering if I should've purchased the 5793. But I'm pretty sure if I had gotten it, I'd be wondering if I should have purchased the 9262!

I ended up getting:

3.0Ghz 6MB Cache
4GB Ram
512 MB 8800 GTX
2x200GB 7200RPM
Vista x64 Home Premium

I thought it would be a little better in gaming. It seems while playing Stalker: Chernobyl and Half Life 2 (at 1900@1200 resolution, max settings) there is slight lag. I guess I have to tweak a bit. But I'm happy.

[kpauls]

If you plan to use this machine on battery at all I would advise against Windows Vista. I haven't seen PowerMizer working correctly on Vista and your 8800M is going to suck battery fast without some kind of power control.

[robamb2002]

I second OCD..er OCG! (though with recent revelations about his sleep paterns OCD may not be far off :P)

seriously though... new processors are literally around the corner which will lower costs of existing and offer higher end gaming! waiting a few weeks may not be a horrible price to pay for that extra cash or better system. As mentioned earlier you will be blown away by either system.

The true question you should use to decide is whether you plan on using it as a mobile laptop or just leaving it in one location. OCG has mentioned taking his to school and using it between school and home... I too use the NP5792 on the go, especially sundays when family obligations have us carting the family from east to west! The machine travels very well especially when an outlet is avalible. While I know the NP9262 does transport as well... its probably not something you will want to set up for 20 min uses at a time. All that to say portablility is the main reason people choose the NP5792 over the NP9262. If you are not planning on weekly/daily travel with the system, the NP9262 offers many advantages over the NP5792.

one last note(I promise). I would spend the money on a hardware upgrade rather than the skin or paint job, especially if you are on a budget. While I can't say for sure with the NP9262, The NP5792 looks really slick with the carbon scoring and orange (almost copper) "racing stripe." I think the money would be better spent on a HD upgrade or some other performance hardware. just my humble opinion :)

Enjoy

[tenuulch]

If you plan to use this machine on battery at all I would advise against Windows Vista. I haven't seen PowerMizer working correctly on Vista and your 8800M is going to suck battery fast without some kind of power control.

Really? Don't the Power Saver, Balanced and High Power options work?

[OregonCoastGamer]

On power saver I get about an hour and a half of battery life, but don't even bother gaming off of AC with any new games because the GPU can't get enough power to run properly. Old games and web browsing is fine though. Also a quick tip, don't have power saver mode on while plugged in or you get weird frame drops.... odd things tend to happen with high performance laptops. OCD FTW! :p

[bargegod]

the power saver feature on the 9262 will get you about 25 to 30 min of hardcore gaming...something like that. on idle with nothing running it will last a little over an hour. if you get this wonderful 9262 machine, PLAN to have ac current in your immediate vacinity or you will be in tears. lol

[kpauls]

Really? Don't the Power Saver, Balanced and High Power options work?

They work, but even if they extend to the GPU (looks like they... sortof do...) there is no way to customize GPU settings for the power saver modes.

GPU-Z sensors tab reports GPU Core Clock
200.0 MHz - unplugged on power saver, no games running (vista Aero power saver tho)
275.0 MHz - unplugged on power saver, wow loading screen
200.0 MHz - unplugged on max performance, no games
275.0 MHz - unplugged on max performance, wow loading screen
200.0 MHz - plugged in on max performance, no games
500.0 MHz - plugged in on max performance, wow loading screen
200.0 MHz - plugged in on power saver, no games
275.0 MHz - plugged in on power saver, wow loading screen

so... I guess you've got one option for limiting the power consumption (and heat!)

but I can't change these settings

[qaz333]

My advice is to hold out for a while longer, until they release the next M860TU and M570TU models. New platforms can bring regret to late buyers :p.

i might just wait for that

[qaz333]

i heard somthing about how the sager 5792 has support for the new 9800 video cards

[OregonCoastGamer]

I sure hope so.... as I have an NP5792 ;).

[qaz333]

unrelated note: i love the forum themes!! Medi WOW is absolute pwnage