Should I go for the Sager NP9150? (and other questions)

[Ununtrium]

Hello,

I've been searching for a powerful laptop (for gaming, Photoshop and programming) and I quite like the Sager NP9150. But my only gripe is that its battery life listed on XoticPC is only 2-3 hours.

I want a laptop that would allow me to play games like BF3 or Crysis 2 on medium to high settings while plugged in but also at least 4 hours of battery when I'm browsing the web or programming. And the NP9150 fills everything except the battery part.

Another Sager, NP6165 has a decent amount of battery life but I'm doubtful whether the CPU and GPU will give me good framerates on some games. There's also the MSi GT60 and the ASUS GT55, but I do not know if their batteries will last for 4 hours or whether their build quality is up to the mark.

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So here's my general requirements:

• 15 inch Screen
• $1700 Budget
• Need good build quality (I like the simple looks of the Sager) with at least a decent keyboard/trackpad
• Need it by the end of 1st week of May
• Will stay on desk (plugged) when gaming and on lap (unplugged) for other things
• Need minimum 4 hours of battery life
• I will need it to last for the next 4 years

And my questions:
1. Once Ivy Bridge is out on the Sager, will I be able to run it for 4 hours?
2. Do the ASUS G55 and MSi GT60 have good battery lives and build qualities?
3. Are there other alternative laptops that I haven't looked at that will fit my needs?

Apart from those questions, I also need advice on what kind of hard disk configuration would be best for me.
Since I don't need an optical drive, I decided to make my primary hard drive an Intel 120GB Solid State drive and a 500GB 7200RPM in the optical drive bay. But this raises the price by around $250 on the Sager, so is it really worth it? And how would the Seagate Momentus affect performance? What is the 4/8GB SSD on it for, the OS?

And lastly, now that I have 5 posts here, am I qualified for the discounts offered to NBR members on XoticPC?

[awakeN]

1. Once Ivy Bridge is out on the Sager, will I be able to run it for 4 hours?

Very likely, with Optimus.

2. Do the ASUS G55 and MSi GT60 have good battery lives and build qualities?

The Asus will have better build quality and cooling, but their performance isn't as great than the Sager. I've heard MSI builds feel a little weak. I'm not sure about their battery lives.

3. Are there other alternative laptops that I haven't looked at that will fit my needs?

Probably not. Asus, MSI, and Sager are pretty much the best bang for the buck. You still have Alienware, which is grossly overpriced. With Sager, you will definitely get the best perfomance for its price. I mean, Asus and MSi arent even offering laptops with a 675M in it, while Sager does.

And how would the Seagate Momentus affect performance? What is the 4/8GB SSD on it for, the OS?

If anyone else has the answer to this too, I would like to know as well.

And lastly, now that I have 5 posts here, am I qualified for the discounts offered to NBR members on XoticPC?

Pretty sure you do.

[daydreamer90]

Q1: It depends. If you don't play games on battery mode, it should last for more than 4 hours, especially with Optimus.
I personally prefer Sager/Clevo, because of its price and quality. The new P150EM looks pretty awesome, IMO. I'm not sure about MSI and Asus, but Alienware is way overpriced.
The 4/8GB SSD on the Momentus improves boot up and program loading times, but it's still slower than normal SSDs. If you can afford it, go with the Intel SSD.
If you want a cheaper SSD, you can buy it somewhere else and then put it in the primary hard drive.

[Ununtrium]

Asus and MSi arent even offering laptops with a 675M in it, while Sager does.

But won't the 675M on the Sager bring down the battery life? I think the 660M would be the best for me as it is based on the Kepler architecture (supposed battery life improvements) and its not as power hungry as the 670M and 675M. But the Sager doesn't come with it. Do ASUS and MSi offer the 660M or has it even released yet?

The 4/8GB SSD on the Momentus improves boot up and program loading times, but it's still slower than normal SSDs. If you can afford it, go with the Intel SSD.

So what kind of a combination do you recommend? I've never had dual hard drives on my notebooks so I'm not sure what would be best. I know that voluminous data like movies and songs are meant to be kept on the Secondary HDD. But where should software and games be installed, on the SSD or the HDD? And what is mSATA, which I found in the customization options on GenTechPC?

@daydreamer90: From your signature, you own the NP9150. Where did you buy yours from and how is the battery life with the 675M?

[daydreamer90]

So what kind of a combination do you recommend? I've never had dual hard drives on my notebooks so I'm not sure what would be best. I know that voluminous data like movies and songs are meant to be kept on the Secondary HDD. But where should software and games be installed, on the SSD or the HDD? And what is mSATA, which I found in the customization options on GenTechPC?

@daydreamer90: From your signature, you own the NP9150. Where did you buy yours from and how is the battery life with the 675M?

I bought mine from LPC-Digital Their price is great, they also have discounts for NBR members and students. Shipping is super fast, mine was shipped 2 days after the new models came out. But you can go with any other resellers like Malibal or XoticPC too.
I put most of my games on my HDD, because my SSD is not big enough
Info about the mSATA is here: P170EM HDD/ODD/mSATA interfaces?

[Ununtrium]

Thanks for that. But how's the battery running with your configuration?

[daydreamer90]

It should give you about 4 hours without gaming. Since you'll be getting Ivy Bridge, it could last a little bit longer, I believe.

[Ununtrium]

4 is good enough. And how different will the 675M's impact on battery life compared to 670M?

[zwarrior_sid]

hey, what kind of discounts are offered to nbr users?

[Ununtrium]

Have a look at this: Custom Laptops, Gaming Notebooks, Custom Gaming Laptops | XOTIC PC