Sager NP5160 vs NP8130

[Windkull]

After a few years of mid-low, the 485 will be a breath of fresh air for me

[hizzaah]

After a few years of mid-low, the 485 will be a breath of fresh air for me

Join the club lol years of lows for me.. Best gaming experience to-date is from my current laptop. Inspiron 1545 with a 2.0ghz dual core pentium, 3gb ram, and integrated intel GMA 4500MHD 256mb graphics :P

[eastofthemississippi]

Originally Posted by Epsilon748
Core i7 isn't what limits you in WiDi. It's the 2630qm. If you get the np5160 with the 6230 or 6300 (no bluetooth on this one) and the 2720qm, you can theoretically do WiDi. Requirements are here

I'm just gonna throw this into the mix
2630qm + widi

So to clarify, the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 could handle WiDi with the stock processor on the Sager NP5160? If not how hard is it to replace a wireless card?

Also, I believe the Dell XPS 15 has been updated with Sandy Bridge. Have no idea about 3D, will likely never use it.

Also, I've realized matte screens are that great for my needs. And this freezing problem with NP8130 is worrying? What are the chances a similar issue comes up with the NP5160 at release, and what are potential remedies if it exists. Cause that might make me get the Dell.

If I do choose the Sager, is sager website or reseller better for the standard configuration I mentioned in OP? What are pros and cons of each?

[Epsilon748]

So to clarify, the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 could handle WiDi with the stock processor on the Sager NP5160? If not how hard is it to replace a wireless card?

Also, I believe the Dell XPS 15 has been updated with Sandy Bridge. Have no idea about 3D, will likely never use it.

Also, I've realized matte screens are that great for my needs. And this freezing problem with NP8130 is worrying? What are the chances a similar issue comes up with the NP5160 at release, and what are potential remedies if it exists. Cause that might make me get the Dell.

If I do choose the Sager, is sager website or reseller better for the standard configuration I mentioned in OP? What are pros and cons of each?

Wireless cards: dead easy to replace. Just unscrew the bottom panel, unhook the two (or three) antennas depending on the model, pull out the card. Put in the new and do the steps in reverse. Takes maybe 5 minutes tops.


3D: A lot of Nvidia cards technically support 3D, but most laptop screens aren't 120hz to support it. (and the cards don't have the oomph to drive it)

Freezing: I think the issue is less than people make it out to be. Only a few have even had issues, most of that thread is people that don't have the laptop yet and are posting tons of "oh noes" type responses. Check the poll in the owner's forum, I think it's not that bad (or it wasn't anyway). Most of the consensus was that this was happening on sandy bridge systems in general, not just Sager. People with Asus and Dell models and even desktops were having similar issues.

Sager: go with a reseller. Shop around. I found that Xotic and Malibal had the best prices, but the latter didn't have the np5160 I think. Mythlogic is a bit more but offers much better customization options like the matte screen. Most resellers also offer better warranties than Sager does, something like 3 yr labor / 1 yr parts and free shipping, versus 1 yr /1 yr no free shipping. Sager builds machines but the consensus is that they don't know how to service them or do customer support well, you need a reseller for that. I think they have a BBB rating of F for the customer support.

Widi: Yes, stock CPU and either the 6230 or 6300 should do it. In either case you need to buy a WiDi receiver box as well. And from first hand experience, I was underwhelmed by it.

[Seanwhat]

eastofthemississippi:

I can confirm your clarification request in your first paragraph.

NP5160 has no freezing issues.

Sager resellers have been known to give better customer support and warranty.

[hizzaah]

So to clarify, the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 could handle WiDi with the stock processor on the Sager NP5160? If not how hard is it to replace a wireless card?

Believe so.. but the wireless card should be pretty easy to change out.

Also, I believe the Dell XPS 15 has been updated with Sandy Bridge. Have no idea about 3D, will likely never use it.

yes it has SB. 15" doesn't have 3D. only 17" xps had 3D

Also, I've realized matte screens are that great for my needs. And this freezing problem with NP8130 is worrying? What are the chances a similar issue comes up with the NP5160 at release, and what are potential remedies if it exists. Cause that might make me get the Dell.

the freezes arent limited to sager/clevo. many manufacturers are experiencing it. switching to dell may or may not make a difference..

we'll know more about how big the freezing issue is as more people get their machines. not many have them yet to know.

If I do choose the Sager, is sager website or reseller better for the standard configuration I mentioned in OP? What are pros and cons of each?

resellers are WAY better then ordering directly from sager. better support, better customization, and better pricing. just to give a few reasons idk of any pros for ordering from sager lol.

there are a bunch of resellers/builders represented here on the forum (their user name) : Mythlogic (MYTHLOGIC), Xotic PC (__@XoticPC), Malibal (MALIBAL), Powernotebooks (Paladin44), LPC- Digital (babyhemi), etc..

my suggestions:
-visit their sites
-pm them (i'd suggest several/all of them to get a feel for each of them. this will also help you with getting the best deal after you collect some quotes)
-shoot other users pm's if you want to know about their experiences with one of the resellers

they'll all be more then happy to take care of you

[what321]

how is the gt555m of the xps 17 3d compared with the gtx 460m ?gaming wise, and without using the 3d on dell ?