MSI GE60 or Sager NP9130?

[w00pw0p]

Hey guys,

I've actually already got the sager in my sig ordered but ran into a thread that was looking at the MSI GE60 today.

I'm looking for a good gaming machine that is still relatively mobile but the 7970m is a bit out of my budget unfortunately so that's what the laptop will be for.

To be honest, I'm a bit more partial to the look and design of the Sager but the MSI is almost 1.5lbs lighter which is a pretty big deal as I will be moving it around a good amount. Other than that, the MSI is actually a bit bigger width x depth wise but slightly thinner.

I am looking to upgrade my primary HDD in the future to a SSD and putting the HDD into the optical drive slot. I'll also be upgrading the wifi card myself.

Everything else is basically the same. Same CPU, same GPU (660m), both 8gbs of ram.

Both don't have backlit keyboards though the MSI has a steelseries keyboard. Would it be that much better (or worse) than the NP9130's chiclet?

So I guess my question to the local experts would be... is the decrease in 1.5lbs worth going with the MSI? Especially if I'm going to be looking to upgrade in the future (I've heard that Sager's a bit more easy to upgrade?).

Oh, lastly the price! The sager's going to run me $1300 from logicalblueone (Australian reseller) while the MSI from XoticPC is $1200. However, I am in Australia so what would shipping run me, $150-$200? I will be contacting Xotic to get a quote but maybe someone here will know roughly?

Thanks so much, I really appreciate any input!

[w00pw0p]

Sorry, not really a self-bump or anything but I was still looking around and ran into the Lenovo Y580 that also comes with the GTX 660M. This one is also smaller and lighter than the Sager and comes in a little cheaper at around $1150 but from the Lenovo site so I'm not sure if they'll even ship to Australia. They also don't seem to have a matte screen finish which would be nice but the keyboard and touchpad both seem to be nicer (from videos etc).

What are your guys' opinion? Stick with the Sager, consider the MSI/Lenovo all depending on shipping price?

Thanks again.

[maverick1989]

Both are really the same. If you have already ordered the Sager like your sig says, I would stick with it. The Lenovo Australia website does not show me the Y580.