Sager NP8850 Review Discussion

The Sager NP8850 is a top-shelf gaming notebook with the latest technology, including a 2GB Nvidia GTX 480M graphics card and an Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processor. Read our review to see how fast this machine really is.

Special thanks go to Justin Nolte of XoticPC.com for sending us this evaluation unit.

Read the full content of this Article: Sager NP8850 Review

 

In the past similar systems would have been based around desktop components forced into a giant 12 lb laptop. Nice to see that you can get really top flight performance using mobile components (CPU/GPU.) You can see how the end result is better wt and thermal control. Obviously the trade-off is cost.

How does the performance of this "true" portable compare to a mid to high end desktop gaming machine?

 

Thanks for the review was waiting on this before pulling the trigger. As i suspected its just two big and is not really portable. You could buy a far superior desktop for alot less. If this had 2 - 3 hrs battery it would have been a great item, 40 minutes is a joke.

 

It has a small battery- but it is only about 8 lbs. Other gaming laptops with this level GPU weigh 11-12 pounds and still will not game for more than a few minutes on battery. Even if they say 2-3 hrs of battery life that is not while gaming.

If you want longer battery life then buy an extra battery and go for a dual core processor. It will game just as well with the slower processor.

If you want a more multi-use laptop that has good battery life and the ability to game you will have to step down to a less power hungry GPU. There are trade-offs.

 

Enjoyed the review of yet another remarkable machine.

I find it slightly amusing though that given it's size, the cons that were mentioned and the fact that the price can quickly escalate, that nowhere did you mention 'desktop replacement'--as that's pretty much what this is (unless everyplace one would go with this had a power outlet).

 

Yep i also enjoyd the review i don't understand how it can be criticized as "huge". It is for people that want a 17" inch laptop, or every review of a 17" laptop starts to get the biased tag huge by default?

Good that Clevo followed Asus and have the back elevated. Much more confortable to write, and i suppose also eases the airflow from fans.

 

God-tier cooling.

 

Charles, could you please run everest/pc wiz and post the display info here? I am very interested. Thanks!


P.S.
It looks like a dell studio 174x on the outside and sxps 164x on the inside.

 

The m17x used for comparison in the benchmarks is a r1 or r2? I can't imagine a single 480 beating dual 5870s, but I have been known to be wrong from time to time.

 

It's probably the one they reviewed last year ( Alienware m17x Review) with dual GTX 280Ms. In fact, looking at the numbers, I'm almost certain it is.

 

Any chance NBR can institute a ratings system so we know how these laptops stack up against other ones reviewed by NBR?

P.S. NBR needs a newer M17x-R2 for it's comparison benchmarks. Give Dell a call, I'm sure they'll oblige.

 

The M17x-R2 would have thrashed every laptop in that review easily and I'm not just talking about performance.

 

M17x-R2 3D Mark Vantage: 11,904
per Alienware M17x - Benchmark Test Results

Sager 3DMark Vantage: 9,706

But the M17x is an 11.6 pound mobile desktop (desktop components) at a higher price point.

The Sager is a 8.3 lb laptop (laptop components.)

So they are very much different beasts even though they compete in the same space.

For most people getting a 1K gaming desktop and a 1K portable laptop (say the 4.8 lb y460) that can game probably makes more sense than having either of these machines. But I guess if you don't ever want a desktop then it makes for an interesting choice.

 

No laptop with the m17x name (there have been three) has used desktop components.

 

i've already commented on the great review. just wanted to say that i'm glad that there's finally REAL tests and benches showing the 480M's REAL performance and temp figures.

i was tired of everyone talkin out of their u know whats about the 480M's "heat problems" and "poor performance". stupid sideline speculators.

@TKTK - that 3D vantage comparison u made with the "sager" and m17x-r2 is a 480M-equipped "sager" vs a dual GPU m17x-r2, correct?

 

Sager NP8850 3DMark Vantage: 9,706 (from this review)
M17x-R2 3D Mark Vantage: 11,904 (per Alienware M17x - Alienware M17x - Benchmark Test Results )

M17x:
2.53-GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad QX9300
two of Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 280M graphics cards

Koshinn: You are right. I thought the qx9300 was a desktop chip... I was wrong. Thanks for the correction.

 

Hey guys, I appreciate the compliments. They make writing the whole review worth it.

40 minutes is very low compared to most notebooks I suppose, but at the same time I can understand why Clevo/Sager decided to go that route.
They used to send their notebooks with 8-cell batteries which did give 1.5 - 2 hours of life. However, they probably figured out that their customers did not put a high priority on battery life and decided to cut the battery to a minimum to cut costs.

Well, I have to point out that it's huge so people know what they're buying . . . just listing dimensions without commenting wouldn't do any good. The size of the notebook is a buying factor for a lot of people.

I no longer have the machine with me otherwise I would gladly do that for you.

We do have some out-of-5 star ratings at the bottom of each review - is that what you're looking for?
We never used to have a rating system but implemented one within the last year since every other site uses one.

Oh and just to confirm, the M17x used in the benchmark comparisons is the R1. We don't have a review of the R2.

 

The benchmark you're citing is a M17x-r1.

The definitive features of the M17x-r1 are the C2D/C2Q processors and 3 graphics cards (9400m and SLI GTX 260/280M or Crossfire 4870s)

The changes made with the r2 variant are the i5/i7 processors, the removal of the 9400m, an RGB-LED screen, and crossfire 5870s. Huge difference, even though the body is the same.

There was a m17x a few years back, but it's an entirely different machine.

 

When looking at Vantage scores - focus on the GPU score unless you have identical CPU's in systems being compared.
We already know that the GPU only score of 480M (@stock clocks) is ~8k, very close to that of MR5870.

 

That's not the M17x- R2. If you want to look at M17x-R2 Vantage scores, look here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...enchmark-thread-part-3-a-339.html#post6417224
.

None of the single GPU's can keep up but that's expected. The R2 has dual 5870s with a lot of headroom for overclocking vs a Sager 8850/Asus G73 etc. The closest competitor for the R2 that's available right now is the Clevo X8100 but that has dual 285s. Some owners have ordered dual 5870 setups but they have yet to receive them.

 

Oh I guess I must have missed the star ratings for this review. I was thinking along the lines of a detailed rating system that breaks it down into parts, for example:

Build quality: X/10
Aesthetics: X/10
Fan noise: x/10
Battery life: X/10
Performance: X/10
Warranty Support: X/10

Things like that and then make those variables searchable in the database. I know, I'm probably asking a lot but it would make comparing two different notebooks pretty easy and handy.

 

Joker whats the battery life on Alienware mx17 anywhere near the 2hr mark ?
I have owned laptops for 20yrs, when I buy a laptop it must provide at least
some ability to be mobile. The answer of cutting cost on 8850 a 3k laptop is not valid, battery's are few hundred dollar upgrades and everyone who claims to be ordering one has at least a 3.5k build. I prefer nvidia because ATI never
updates drivers. I just might have to jump to the red side again, did this already on my desktop. Can anyone post a link to a review on mx17r2.

 

You can expect about 1.5 hr.
My M17X-R2 with i5-520M and 4870x2 has 1hr 45min.

 

Great review, detailed but to the point.

 

5150Joker- it looks like from the link in your sig that the mx17r2 benchmarks closer to 18,000 for PCMark Vantage. Is that stock or overclocked/modified?

 

OC'ed (both CPU and GPU). Stock scores are around 14-15k

 

What a monster.

Performance wise it wipes the floor with most laptops, however my Intel G2 160GB has faster write speeds Seems the 160GB version has higher write performance than the 80GB version. Not that I would feel the difference in real life

Now a RAID setup would be interesting. Seems only dual raid is possible?

 

What is dual raid?

 

I believe he means RAID with two hard drives.

Yes, you can do RAID 0 or 1 with the NP8850. I think the best setup is a single SSD or Seagate Momentus XT as the primary drive and then a secondary hard drive for storage.

 

As Chaz indicated I mean RAID with two drives.

The Sony Vaio Z can be had with 4 SSDs running RAID 0. A "little" excessive, but good for bragging rights - especially considering how thin and light it is.

 

Great review! Would love to know th overclock limit on the 480M.

 

Very nice review Charles! This is a top contender if you’re looking for a single GPU gaming rig!

 

This would have been a more entertaining notebook to own than my old and sold NP5797, that I assure you

The 480M chip in this machine is very, very capable. 1080p, high settings, and some AA will work on just about any game.

A barebones are RJtech starts at $1619

 

Very impressive, I would expect nothing less out of a $3,600 machine. It's good to see another good 480M machine where the builder didn't skrimp on the cooling system, or anything else for that matter.

Now we just need the 920/940XM to drop $600 in price for the rest of us.

 

It's the only 480M machine on the market currently.

 

Not quite true. The Sager NP9285 (based off the another Clevo, the D900F) is also sold with a GTX-480M. It is true that all current GTX 480M machines are Clevo-based, though.

 

I think the review overall left a lot to be desired, especially benchmark comparisons from similarly configured laptops. I'm surprised no 5870m comparisons as far as fps in actual games, but then again, we all know the 5870m and GTX480m are the same performance-wise...only thing different is the huge bloated GTX480m price tag.

 

Buy a 920XM ES for $418.

 

u usually get these ES CPU's off ebay, correct? i've never bought a CPU/GPU on it's on, or installed one, and wouldn't mind trying if it's not too complicated. how reliable are these "ES" CPU's and what's the difference between say a regular 920XM? i will be ordering my NP8850 soon, but haven't decided on where i wanted to order from yet. if the 920XM ES is the same in performance and reliability as a regular 920XM then i wouldn't mind ordering a barebones from RJtech and piecing it together myself. i would ultimately end up with a better equipped system for a bit cheaper, don't u think?

if i were to order a pre-assembled NP8850, i'd probably go with the specs in my sig.

 

This notebook makes no sense why wouldn't you just buy a super nice desktop for less than half the price?

 

Try picking up that super nice desktop along with the mouse, keyboard, speakers and flatscreen TV and taking it with you in the car, to a friends house or merely to a different room. This post explains why a laptop like this makes sense to some.

 

ES CPUs are just as reliable as an OEM or retail CPU purchase, so I highly recommend that you go that route.

I've already spec'd out my own barebone W880CU from RJTech:

$1619 for the barebone
i7-920XM ES - $418, 4GB RAM - $85 500GB HDD - $75

That's just $2195. Why pay so much more retail, when you can save nearly $1k by going the DIY route.

 

I was ready to buy this laptop, with the poor battery life and less than great screen I am staying on the sidelines. If only alienware made a laptop that did not look like a child's toy. When it comes to gaming laptops the choices are thin very thin. The first time ever I think I am looking at a workstation notebook just to get a mature look with great performance. Was hoping the 8850 had my name on it.

 

Get a Dell Covet. Great GPU and awesome build quality with subtle looks.

 

Whoa ... that is quite a machine! Am especially pleased with the effort Sager seemed to make with regards cooling as well....

 

Actually, there were some overheating and throttling issues with the ES i7-920XMs, as noted in the Sager/Clevo subforum (by Soviet Sunrise and kevindd992002, IIRC). That was from a while back, though, so I don't know if it was just some isolated chips or an endemic thing.

 

Theoretically you will get better battery life with a dual core, but what's the point? A proper 480M notebook deserves a quad core.

There are a lot of frivolous options that are jacking up the price here. SSD, Windows Ultimate, 8GB of RAM, and the extreme CPU.

Shopping around, with a barebones model, I see a build with used 820QM (200), 4GB(100), 500GB HDD (100), and Windows 7 (100) coming to about $2100 total. $1500 less, and still much more laptop than you need.

But if price is really a concern, see the NP8690/NP8760

 

I have a dozen people at my work site, who have no issues. I have to go with my personal experience.

 

How come the Qosmio x505 beat the G73JH in every benchmark but one when it has the GTS 360m and the G73JH has the 5870? The Qosmio is the cheapest laptop there, but it's beating Alienwares and Clevos??

 

Because every benchmark but one (with the G73JH) measures overall system performance or straight CPU performance, not graphical and gaming performance, and the Qosmio they reviewed came with not just the same i7-720QM as the G73JH, but also an SSD, which significantly pushes up the score for overall system performance. You'll notice the Qosmio falls well behind when it comes to graphical and gaming performance (the last 2 comparative benchmarks).