some_random_guy
01-24-2011, 09:38 AM
My Sager NP8130 arrived in the standard shipping time I was quoted and everything was packed sufficiently and arrived safe and sound. XoticPC was very helpful and proactive each step of the way.
It should be noted that there is an issue connecting to Bluetooth mice that have internal transmitters (the ones that don't need "dongles".) I have not been able to pair either of my bluetooth mice with the laptop yet but I expect this issue will be resolved in a driver update soon. On to the review:
Spec Highlights:
- 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) Matte Display
- Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- nVIDIA 460M 1.5 GHZ GDDR 5, DX 11
- 8GB DDR 3 Memory
- 6X Blu-ray/8X DVDRW combo drive (optional)
- USB 3.0 and 2.0
- Built-in Wireless
- Built-in Bluetooth
- Built-in 2.0 mp Webcam
- Built-in Media card reader
- Fingerprint reader
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Aesthetics:
The Clevo P151HM1 case is almost perfect. The areas near the front left and front right are both free from ports (that lead to cables obstructing your mouse). The ports for the the things you don't need quick access to (AC power, DVI, HDMI, eSATA) are all in back. Finally a manufacturer who gets it! It is all beautiful black and doesn't have a bunch of flashy lights and neon colors so you can take it to work or class and no one would ever suspect you are using a gaming beast.
The island style keyboard feels solid and is pleasant to type on. The addition of a numeric keypad is great as many 15" notebooks forgo this feature. The Case feels sturdy and is not made of that high gloss smooth plastic (which shows smudged and feels slippery.)
Portability:
Unlike many other gaming laptops, this one fits easily into a standard size laptop bag. The weight is easily tolerable, although if you will be carrying it for a long time you might want to invest in a laptop backpack.
Gaming:
The first thing I did after setting up my new Sager NP8130 was to install Crysis (to this day still one of the most demanding games,) set all the game graphics settings to their highest aling with 2x ani-aliasing and vsync. The game was quite playable, though Fraps showed an average FPS of around 12. After lowering the settings to "High" Fraps showed FPS scores in the 50s. Needless to say this laptop will be future proof well beyond when I am ready to buy another one.
Heat:
Although I did not measure the temperature, I never felt like I needed to since the case (and even the gpu exhaust) never got very hot even under load. The cooling system seems very efficient.
Noise:
The cooling fans are fairly quiet, in my opinion, even under load. When playing games I could not even hear the fans at all with the game volume at a reasonable level.
Processing:
It's a Sandy Bridge i7 quad core...nothing I do will even begin to tax it so I didn't bother to benchmark it. That's what notebookcheck.net (http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html) is for.
Display:
I was mildly concerned that the Matte (anti glare) type display would not be as sharp as I wanted. I am pretty discriminating about visual quality and the display looks beautiful to me.
Sound:
The speakers include a subwoofer and are better than average. Do not expect booming base and deafening volumes from any laptop speakers. The volume and sound were still better than you would find on any mainstream laptop, although still a bit more "tinny" than I was hoping.
Battery:
Not fully tested. It's a non-Optimus gaming laptop, the battery functions more as a UPS. Even so, with the right
power configuration you might be able to watch a 90 minute Blu-ray.
Conclusion:
If you are looking for a portable desktop replacement that is actually portable and can actually replace your gaming desktop then the best bang for your buck is the NP8130. Hope this has helped with your purchase decisions.
It should be noted that there is an issue connecting to Bluetooth mice that have internal transmitters (the ones that don't need "dongles".) I have not been able to pair either of my bluetooth mice with the laptop yet but I expect this issue will be resolved in a driver update soon. On to the review:
Spec Highlights:
- 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) Matte Display
- Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache)
- nVIDIA 460M 1.5 GHZ GDDR 5, DX 11
- 8GB DDR 3 Memory
- 6X Blu-ray/8X DVDRW combo drive (optional)
- USB 3.0 and 2.0
- Built-in Wireless
- Built-in Bluetooth
- Built-in 2.0 mp Webcam
- Built-in Media card reader
- Fingerprint reader
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Aesthetics:
The Clevo P151HM1 case is almost perfect. The areas near the front left and front right are both free from ports (that lead to cables obstructing your mouse). The ports for the the things you don't need quick access to (AC power, DVI, HDMI, eSATA) are all in back. Finally a manufacturer who gets it! It is all beautiful black and doesn't have a bunch of flashy lights and neon colors so you can take it to work or class and no one would ever suspect you are using a gaming beast.
The island style keyboard feels solid and is pleasant to type on. The addition of a numeric keypad is great as many 15" notebooks forgo this feature. The Case feels sturdy and is not made of that high gloss smooth plastic (which shows smudged and feels slippery.)
Portability:
Unlike many other gaming laptops, this one fits easily into a standard size laptop bag. The weight is easily tolerable, although if you will be carrying it for a long time you might want to invest in a laptop backpack.
Gaming:
The first thing I did after setting up my new Sager NP8130 was to install Crysis (to this day still one of the most demanding games,) set all the game graphics settings to their highest aling with 2x ani-aliasing and vsync. The game was quite playable, though Fraps showed an average FPS of around 12. After lowering the settings to "High" Fraps showed FPS scores in the 50s. Needless to say this laptop will be future proof well beyond when I am ready to buy another one.
Heat:
Although I did not measure the temperature, I never felt like I needed to since the case (and even the gpu exhaust) never got very hot even under load. The cooling system seems very efficient.
Noise:
The cooling fans are fairly quiet, in my opinion, even under load. When playing games I could not even hear the fans at all with the game volume at a reasonable level.
Processing:
It's a Sandy Bridge i7 quad core...nothing I do will even begin to tax it so I didn't bother to benchmark it. That's what notebookcheck.net (http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html) is for.
Display:
I was mildly concerned that the Matte (anti glare) type display would not be as sharp as I wanted. I am pretty discriminating about visual quality and the display looks beautiful to me.
Sound:
The speakers include a subwoofer and are better than average. Do not expect booming base and deafening volumes from any laptop speakers. The volume and sound were still better than you would find on any mainstream laptop, although still a bit more "tinny" than I was hoping.
Battery:
Not fully tested. It's a non-Optimus gaming laptop, the battery functions more as a UPS. Even so, with the right
power configuration you might be able to watch a 90 minute Blu-ray.
Conclusion:
If you are looking for a portable desktop replacement that is actually portable and can actually replace your gaming desktop then the best bang for your buck is the NP8130. Hope this has helped with your purchase decisions.