MSI vs. Sager vs. Lenovo

[Stevenbrz]

Hi,

First of all, I believe I can accurately state my questions without using the form provided in the sticky. So I am having trouble deciding between the MSI GE60(w/ the 660m), the Sager NP9150, and the Lenovo Y580. For the MSI, I like all of the specs, but the lack of a backlit keyboard is a problem. For the Sager, I like what I see with all of the specs, but for the cost I want to be sure it is a reliable machine that will last at least 4 years, and I have heard bad things about their costumer service. Lastly, the Lenovo seems like the best for the price, but I am worried about the overall quality and years I will get out of it. Once I get some opinions on these questions, I will probably post more detailed questions about what reseller to buy from, what upgrades are worth it, etc.

Thanks!

[maverick1989]

Do not purchase the Sager from...well....Sager. Go through a reseller. If you customize at XoticPC, you can get the 7970m upgrade and stay at under 1500 if you choose to pay cash. On the other hand, the 7970m upgrade would depend on what you want out of it. Your models are all entry level gaming laptops. Do you plan on doing....um....entry level gaming? So like do you not mind if the most modern games are not maxed out? Then you can get any which one you prefer, they are all good in terms of build quality and reliability. Otherwise get the Sager w/ the upgrade as mentioned.

[mrcapslock]

i'm also thinking about the same thing except my budget is closer to $1000.

[Stevenbrz]

Do not purchase the Sager from...well....Sager. Go through a reseller. If you customize at XoticPC, you can get the 7970m upgrade and stay at under 1500 if you choose to pay cash. On the other hand, the 7970m upgrade would depend on what you want out of it. Your models are all entry level gaming laptops. Do you plan on doing....um....entry level gaming? So like do you not mind if the most modern games are not maxed out? Then you can get any which one you prefer, they are all good in terms of build quality and reliability. Otherwise get the Sager w/ the upgrade as mentioned.

I am now leaning towards the Sager because I'd like my computer to be able to play modern games for a few years to come. I'm going to list all of the upgrades I am getting with their prices and I'd like the input of you guys. So I'll get the Sager with the Diamond Thermal Compound ($35), the 750gb 7200rpm hdd ($25), and the steel series keyboard ($90). Is the 7970m worth the additional $200? Are any of the display upgrades worth the cost? Lastly, I am planning on buying from XOTICPC so how's their costumer service?

[joelectron]

I'm going to list all of the upgrades I am getting with their prices and I'd like the input of you guys. So I'll get the Sager with the Diamond Thermal Compound ($35), the 750gb 7200rpm hdd ($25), and the steel series keyboard ($90). Is the 7970m worth the additional $200? Are any of the display upgrades worth the cost? Lastly, I am planning on buying from XOTICPC so how's their costumer service?

Getting the IC Diamond and the bigger HDD is a great idea, but do you need the upgraded keyboard? The non-steelseries keyboard is more than fine by almost all accounts, and its $90 you don't have to spend...

I personally would value a GPU, SSD, or screen upgrade over almost anything else. The 7970m is "worth it" if you are a.) a heavy gamer, b.) want the computer to be relevant for a while without buying a new GPU for it, c.) have the budget and like fancy things.

It sounds like you (and I) fall into the second catagory.
The 7970m uses a much cooler/energy efficient design like the Nvidia 600m series (except, of course, the 670m and the 675m, which are the 570m and 580m rebranded). The advantage of the 7970m is it costs a lot less than the 680m, is significantly faster and more efficient than the 670m/675m, and is way, way faster than the 660m and 650m.

Lastly, xotic has, in my opinion, great service. Although I just ordered (and, therefore, don't have an actual machine to show for it), everyone I've talked to so far has been knowledgeable, helpful, and polite. Although I order is far from being delivered, I would currently recommend them.

Hope this helps!

[Curs3]

i'm also thinking about the same thing except my budget is closer to $1000.

Check out the Force series from Xoticpc and the Power Pro series from Powernotebooks. These are MSI barebones with the GTX 670m. The i5 CPU should be just fine and will not bottleneck your performance.

FORCE 16F3 / MSI 16F3 - XOTIC PC - FORCE 15.6" (GTX 670M) Custom Gaming Laptop

Configurator

[Stevenbrz]

Getting the IC Diamond and the bigger HDD is a great idea, but do you need the upgraded keyboard? The non-steelseries keyboard is more than fine by almost all accounts, and its $90 you don't have to spend...

I personally would value a GPU, SSD, or screen upgrade over almost anything else. The 7970m is "worth it" if you are a.) a heavy gamer, b.) want the computer to be relevant for a while without buying a new GPU for it, c.) have the budget and like fancy things.

It sounds like you (and I) fall into the second catagory.
The 7970m uses a much cooler/energy efficient design like the Nvidia 600m series (except, of course, the 670m and the 675m, which are the 570m and 580m rebranded). The advantage of the 7970m is it costs a lot less than the 680m, is significantly faster and more efficient than the 670m/675m, and is way, way faster than the 660m and 650m.

Lastly, xotic has, in my opinion, great service. Although I just ordered (and, therefore, don't have an actual machine to show for it), everyone I've talked to so far has been knowledgeable, helpful, and polite. Although I order is far from being delivered, I would currently recommend them.

Hope this helps!

Would you recommend me taking the $90 from the keyboard and putting $30 towards the matte screen? Also, is a bluray reader really worth the $60 when I can buy an external one in the future for around $80? What would you guys recommend for the wireless card? Thanks again for all of the help!

[joelectron]

Would you recommend me taking the $90 from the keyboard and putting $30 towards the matte screen? Also, is a bluray reader really worth the $60 when I can buy an external one in the future for around $80? What would you guys recommend for the wireless card? Thanks again for all of the help!

This is a slightly more tricky question.

What is important to you right now? Compare that list to what is easily upgradable in the future. Some components like the HDD and RAM are pretty easy and cheap to upgrade/replace in the future. Other components like the screen, CPU, or GPU are either very expensive to replace (like cpu/gpu), or are highly difficult to service yourself (like the screen). (Now I know that you can ship a sager back to sager and have them upgrade it for you, but really. Just get a fast GPU now and enjoy it while you can. )

I personally don't value blu-ray at the moment. If I ever did in the future, I wouldn't sweat it, because there are plenty of external solutions or I could replace my internal drive.
I do value good WiFi reception, though. Now, I know that there are guides that supposedly make it easy to install your own WiFi card in the machine, but they didn't look really easy to me. Therefore, I went with the cheapest CD drive and the upgraded WiFi card.

Does this idea make sense? (I apologize if this seems ramble-like)
In the end, it all comes down to what you value right now. I (sadly) can't say what that is, but all of us here love helping people through this process.

[smokinokie]

As you can see from my signature, I chose the Sager with the 7970m for future proofing. That being said, the 660m is hardly an entry level graphics card. It's a solid mid range card capable of maxing most current games and should be good for a couple of years or more with dialed down game settings. It depends on the games you're going to be playing.

[maverick1989]

If it fits in your budget, get the screen upgrade. If you want to spend no more than 1500 then get the thermal compound upgrade, the 7970m and downgrade the RAM to 1333. That would shave off another 50 bucks and keep it at 1450. That is a great laptop right there. Later on, you can purchase a SSD and install it yourself. You do not need more than 8GB of RAM for at least another year or so. Do not worry about RAM. Besides, like joelectron said, they are cheap and easy upgrades. The BR upgrade, imo, is a complete waste. You can always get one in the future. Do you NEED one now? Think of what you can upgrade on the laptop. Most things are upgradeable. If you need the upgradeable items now, then get them now. If you don't, then ignore them.