Gaming/Business Laptop

[Murg]

Hi Everyone,

I'm not trying to recreate the wheel with the many searches I've skimmed. I guess I'm looking for two things: opinions about the laptop I'm considering and reinforcement that buying from a company I'd never heard of until weeks ago is okay...

I use my laptop for gaming (WoW, other MMORPGs, not first-person shooters) and for business, so I need something that is 15ish". My most recent laptop (just two years old now) is an Alienware, and I'll never EVER make that mistake again. Their products are shoddy and their customer service is worse.

I was pointed to this Sager laptop for $3103:

Sager NP8660 (Built on Clevo M860TU)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P9500 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GT DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- None Standard
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- None Standard
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- 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
- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- None Standard
- ADD 1 Spare 579x AC Adapter
- None Standard
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- None Standard
- None Standard
- ~Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- Microsoft Office 2007 Professional - (Word/Excel/Outlook/PowerPoint/Publisher/Access)
- None Standard
- 3 Year Parts/Labor Warranty 24/7 Tech Support w/ LCD Accidental Damage Protection

I've been told that this is the best of the best in 15" gaming laptops, but I was told the same thing about Alienware. If people could comment on this, I'd appreciate it.

More importantly, however, I've never purchased from a retailer that wasn't in the common market. Xoticpc.com has great reviews, but if anyone can (1) comment on them from personal experience, (2) recommend someone else if they have purchased a similar product elsewhere, and (3) comment on which kind of warranty I should purchase. I want accidental dmg coverage and I need overnight shipping, as I do use this for business as well.

Thank you in advance!

 

[lostandwandering]

I own a Sager, as you can see from my Sig, and I love it. I was in the same boat as you when I went to buy my laptop. I had no idea who Sager was, but I went and did my research and loved what I saw. The laptop I got is rock solid and sturdy. No compatibility issues and the thing works the way I was told it would. Mines been going for over a year now without problems and that includes running Folding at Home almost 24/7 for 6 or 7 months straight now.

I ordered my system direct from www.sagernotebooks.com. They are a little more expensive than xoticpc.com, but they will match xotic's price if you ask them about it. If you want to splurge a little take a look at killernotebooks.com. They specialize in customizing the systems to work at their best, including heatsink mods and such. The owner floats around the forums here and TheWorminator is an owner of one such system, so ask him how he likes it (forgot that K|N doesn't have the system you are looking at up yet for order).

The NP8660 is the best 15.4'' solution on the market. Powerful GPU matched with a fast CPU is a win, win.

 

[frozenlead]

That notebook is a bit more powerful than you need. MMORPG's aren't very demanding games. Generally, they can be played at full with midrange cards. You can save some cash going down some steps.

But, yes. I also own a Sager, and it's the most solid machine I've ever used, both in terms of computing and physical resilience. You just can't slow this machine down.