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#21 Sandpit

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 08:59 AM

View PostCatamount, on 22 January 2014 - 08:13 AM, said:



Sandpit, Sager's a very good brand. I think their machines are Clevo by design, which are very, very solid. Sometimes you do pay a bit more for them, and indeed that Lenovo is the better deal in terms of raw performance/$, but in return you get a very solid machine that won't die from overheating in a year.

I'm definitely looking over the Sagers. I said $1000 but I CAN go slightly higher if need be I just know if I say a thousand I'll get suggestions slightly over but closer than an Alienware suggestion :D

Has anyone ever dealt with Sager customer service? That's one of my biggest concerns to be honest. I'm fairly computer literate and I can handle light maintenance and software issues usually on my own but when it comes to cracking open a laptop I'm not that comfortable in my skills.

Thank you again guys for all of the responses, it's much appreciated

#22 DocBach

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:13 AM

Sagers are incredibly straight forward and easy to work on. They're made to be modular and user up-gradable, unlike most consumer grade laptops who solder stuff to the motherboard.

If you are willing to up your budget a little bit, go for 82xx series Sagers - you'll get an i7 CPU and a GTX770M which will get you really good performance in MWO even with the graphics on ultra.

http://www.xoticpc.c...0sm-p-6198.html

$1230 for the stock options - if you don't want to add an OS that will cost about $100 extra.

#23 Sandpit

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:22 AM

Thanks Doc, I have a couple of copies of Windows 7 lying around so I can skimp on that at least

#24 DocBach

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:27 AM

oh, and one option I always take with sagers is the "remove all branding" option - IMO the sager logo is cheesy and removing it makes the computer look very nondescript and professional.

#25 cSand

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:28 AM

View PostSandpit, on 22 January 2014 - 08:59 AM, said:

I'm definitely looking over the Sagers. I said $1000 but I CAN go slightly higher if need be I just know if I say a thousand I'll get suggestions slightly over but closer than an Alienware suggestion :D

Has anyone ever dealt with Sager customer service? That's one of my biggest concerns to be honest. I'm fairly computer literate and I can handle light maintenance and software issues usually on my own but when it comes to cracking open a laptop I'm not that comfortable in my skills.

Thank you again guys for all of the responses, it's much appreciated


I have dealt with Sager support, regarding mystery CPU usage (ended up being Intel's crappy 8.1 graphics driver, which is now updated and fixed), and they were very helpful and fast to communicate.

I was hesitant to go with Sager when my friend suggested it, as I always had good experience with MSI, but the build quality on their machines is top notch, the customer service was good, and the price was right. IMO Sager puts Alienware and Razer to shame in price, quality, and looks (I prefer my laptop not to look like some kind of spaceship, flat black is good :lol:)

Having just bought my first Sager about 4 months ago, I have no regrets, and can't recommend them enough to you. No I am not affiliated with Sager in any way :ph34r:

If you don't mind the extra $$$ go with what Doc said there, the 8265. That's the same chassis I have (I got the 8265-S model though which has a different GPU, screen, and RAM upgrades) and it's rock solid. Great cooling system as far as laptops are concerned as well.

770m is a great card. I have the 8970m in mine and I can tell you that I'm running MWO on ultra on all settings with Vsync ON and getting 50-60 FPS. Drops a little lower if my screen is filled with smoke/steam effect (manage that heat!!! lol)

Another good choice if you want to spend a little less is the 8235.

http://www.xoticpc.c...sm1-p-5840.html

edit:

PS, Doc is totally right about removing the branding. Looks very sharp and stealthy. Also, the paint job is kind of a rubberized black/grey, which doesn't attract fingerprints and just feels/looks awesome.

Edited by cSand, 22 January 2014 - 09:46 AM.


#26 Pugnax

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:41 AM

Hey Sandpit,

I was in your exact position a couple months ago, same price range.

After searching extensively for a long time I found this to be the best value by far and have not looked back:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16834314279

I run mwo at 50+ fps on high, it boots in about 15 seconds and has had no heat issues to date. Best Buy/Walmart sell the same one for about $800. The GeForce 750M really is really the best you'll do in this price range that won't melt your computer.

#27 Sandpit

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 09:43 AM

I'm loving the fact that they're user friendly as far as upgrades go. That's the one thing I've always disliked about laptops

View PostPugnax, on 22 January 2014 - 09:41 AM, said:

Hey Sandpit,

I was in your exact position a couple months ago, same price range.

After searching extensively for a long time I found this to be the best value by far and have not looked back:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16834314279

I run mwo at 50+ fps on high, it boots in about 15 seconds and has had no heat issues to date. Best Buy/Walmart sell the same one for about $800. The GeForce 750M really is really the best you'll do in this price range that won't melt your computer.

I love my current acer and I've been looking at the newer aspire models as well.

#28 Ngamok

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 10:03 AM

View PostSandpit, on 19 January 2014 - 08:31 PM, said:

I am starting the search for a new gaming laptop.
I currently have an Acer Aspire 7741G-3647
i5-450M 2.4GHZ processor
ATI Mobility Radeon HD5650 (1GB)
4GB DDR3 Ram

I've started to price and I'll probably be looking for something in the $800-$1000 price range. I usually head to best buy, new egg, and tiger direct to do my research but I figured I'd get some suggestions from my fellow gamers. So if you know of any good retailers, etc. I'd appreciate it.


Wow, that is almost the same laptop I have !!

Acer AS7741G-6426 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)
  • Intel Core i5 Processor 2.66GHz
  • 4GB DDR3 RAM
  • AMD Radeon HD 6550M
  • 640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
  • 17.3-Inch Screen
  • Windows 7 Home Premium, 3 hours Battery Life

Edited by Ngamok, 22 January 2014 - 10:04 AM.


#29 Ngamok

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 10:09 AM

View PostSandpit, on 21 January 2014 - 05:06 PM, said:

I found that one and I've really been eyeing it but I've heard mixed reviews for Lenovo.


Thank you sir, I have a couple of legit copies of Windows lying around so no OS isn't a biggy. Thanks to my job I can get some pretty cool software fairly easily and free


Here is another at TigerDirect.com

http://www.tigerdire...u=LCU-101774798

#30 DocBach

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 10:10 AM

You don't want that Lenovo - the CPU is decent, but the GPU is terrible.

#31 Ngamok

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 10:16 AM

View PostDocBach, on 22 January 2014 - 10:10 AM, said:

You don't want that Lenovo - the CPU is decent, but the GPU is terrible.


It's mid range:

http://www.notebookc...5M.90244.0.html

#32 DocBach

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 10:20 AM

In real life "midrange" mobile GPU = terrible

#33 cSand

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 10:26 AM

That Acer is a pretty nice deal!

I still have say though, if you can spring the extra cash for a Sager, the i7 and 770m upgrade are definitely worth it. Any extra $$ you spend now, will equal a longer lifetime for your laptop and less $$ spent on upgrades down the road.

On the same note, money don't grow on trees and that Acer is a good value.

Edited by cSand, 22 January 2014 - 10:32 AM.


#34 Sandpit

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 10:41 AM

Yea I'm leaning more and more towards the Sagers at this point. The i7 would be worth a couple of hundred bucks and I can afford to upgrade a bit.

View PostNgamok, on 22 January 2014 - 10:03 AM, said:


Wow, that is almost the same laptop I have !!

Acer AS7741G-6426 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)
  • Intel Core i5 Processor 2.66GHz
  • 4GB DDR3 RAM
  • AMD Radeon HD 6550M
  • 640GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
  • 17.3-Inch Screen
  • Windows 7 Home Premium, 3 hours Battery Life


What kind of FPS and settings do you get?

I get 30-40FPS on low settings

#35 cSand

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 12:08 PM

View PostSandpit, on 22 January 2014 - 10:41 AM, said:

Yea I'm leaning more and more towards the Sagers at this point. The i7 would be worth a couple of hundred bucks and I can afford to upgrade a bit.




Doooo iiiiiiiittt :)

No buyer's regret on this one, I promise :ph34r:

#36 Sandpit

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 01:34 PM

After reviewing a few things and suggestions I think I'm going to bump my budget to 1300

#37 cSand

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 01:41 PM

View PostSandpit, on 22 January 2014 - 01:34 PM, said:

After reviewing a few things and suggestions I think I'm going to bump my budget to 1300


Awesome. Excellent decision sir. I'm excited for you :)

PS

You should add me to your list, we'll play some matches if we're ever online at the same time

Edited by cSand, 22 January 2014 - 02:11 PM.


#38 DocBach

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 01:43 PM

Puts you square in the 8265 price range with the ability to put an upgrade somewhere;

if you are going to be taking the laptop a lot of places (which would be my assumption since you need a laptop), I'd upgrade the wireless card to something like a Bigfoot Killer.

#39 Sandpit

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 01:50 PM

http://www.sagernote...del_name=NP6670

I'm actually really considering this one. The GPU is nice and the CPU is a 4th gen. Opinions?

View PostcSand, on 22 January 2014 - 01:41 PM, said:


Awesome. Excellent decision sir. I'm excited for you! :)

PS

You should add me to your list, we'll play some matches if we're ever online at the same time

Any time sir. I'll add ya when I jump on tonight.

#40 DocBach

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Posted 22 January 2014 - 01:53 PM

First, don't buy directly from Sager; you get better pricing with the resellers like xoticpc or lpc-digital

second, huge step back with the GTX 750M.

You want at least a 765M for decent gaming on medium settings.

third: the generation isn't as important as the amount of cores; the i5 mobiles are two cores + two virtual cores, the i7's are four cores + 4 virtual cores.... much higher computing power.

If you want a 17" around $1000, look at this one, but strongly consider upgrading the CPU to an i7:

http://www.xoticpc.c...0st-p-5841.html

for about $30 more than the model you posted direct from sager you can get one with an i7 and a GTX765M.

Edited by DocBach, 22 January 2014 - 01:54 PM.






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