Best place to get custom laptop

Hello, I am looking to buy a new gaming laptop with 880m in it and I've been lurking / searching / researching but the opinions are very different...so I am sorry for creating a new thread but which company (and link) do you guys recommend getting it from.

Also, highly curious of SAGER/CLeVO but how are those laptops over-all? I've owned a Samsung and Razer gaming laptops before so I guess comparing to those. Customization, don't really care as by the time it comes for me wanting to upgrade, I will probably ending up buying a new laptop(?) Don't rcare much about looks long as it's not ugly and full-sized keyboard, 7.1 Uncompressed AUdio (through a stand-alone high end receiver) is a must. Glare or matte, don't really care.

I was mainly looking at AVAdirect and Xoticpc but they both got good and bad opinions / reviews. AVAdirect seems to be getting extremly bad reviews on this forums though.

 

I won't be able to comment on where to buy but Sager build quality is generally seen as the best. You're also asking this question on a Sager forum though and so you're likely to get biased answers. It might get you more responses to have your thread moved to the main forum though as many who already have their systems to offer their input won't be lurking in this sub-forum. If you had any direct questions about us feel free to email, PM, or hop into our live chat. Would be glad to assist.

 

If you are a gamer and you have the extra money, get an Alienware 18 through a reseller like XOTIC. Dell's warranty service can't be beat and the machines are extremely well built and solid.

If you want to tweak your machine for ultimate performance and are willing to make some sacrifices (plastic chassis, not very aesthetically pleasing) then consider the Sager NP9570 with a desktop 4930K processor (the 4960X tends to be slower in the machine) with dual power supplies supporting an 880M SLI. The Alienware machine has a built in limitation that will only allow it to utilize 330W power supply which means that you can overclock the processor but not the video cards.

If you want a machine that is in the middle on looks and price, get the NP9377. It really is a great machine with lots of space inside of it (I have 2 msata ssd drives and 2 1TB 7200RPM storage drives along with a Blu-ray burner in mine) and you even have a 120hz monitor option which is fantastic for gaming. It's seriously one of the best displays I have ever had the pleasure of using.

The machine has the same 330W issue the Alienware does except it is fixable. You can purchase a second A/C adapter and the converter box to run dual power supplies. At that point, heat is your limiting factor.

Sager machines are a lot more flexible than Dell machines and while they are plastic, they are heavy duty (my 9377 doesn't flex at all other than some lid flex, don't open a laptop by its corners or carry it by them and it shouldn't be an issue). They are also extremely easy to service unlike Alienware machines which take a lot more work. I flip my Sager over and take off the bottom cover and have access to my cooling for my video cards, and CPU immediately accessible, the hard drives are easy access, two memory slots are accessible on the back while the other two just require popping up the keyboard.

It's a matter of personal preference in the end but I highly recommend xotic for whatever you decide.

One final note, both Alienware and Sager are worlds above Samsung, MSI, ASUS, Razer, etc. Those machines are riddled with issues. Clevo has been around a very long time (the original Alienware laptops were Clevo rebranded machines) and they know what they are doing. If I leave everything on my machine stock, the GPUs do not pass 87C while MSI and Razer both push to the 93C throttle point which not only will shorten the life of the card, it makes an awful lot of noise.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

If you're buying Alienware it's really best to do so through Dell than any reseller. And make sure you check out the haggling thread on the AW forums on how to negotiate prices.

The Clevo machines have a lot of potential but need to be tweaked/modded to perform at their best. I was able to drop temperatures 10C across the board by enlargening the fan vents, sealing off all unnecessary voids, lapping the heatsink, and using much more powerful 120mm fans with the Notepal U3 cooler. After all these mods both my 780Ms never go a hair above 72C while playing Watch Dogs, and for the most part stay below 70C.

 

Resellers offer more options and when I priced an Alienware 18 through XOTIC, it came out cheaper than Dell without having to haggle but I guess its up to you if you want to deal with their horrendous non-native English speaking reps...

You also have a lot more build options than Dell offers. I wouldn't want a quad RAID0 set up and 512GB + 1TB 5400RPM is too little... They don't offer an inbetween and none of their systems offer the faster 7200RPM hard drives. There is practically zero flexibility between the configurations.

 

Unless XoticPC's warranty is actually the Alienware enhanced warranty, then there's no point buying from them (or any reseller), because one of the major selling points for Alienware is the warranty. Resellers do offer more options, but it's always cheaper to do upgrades yourself.

Either way, I would have a look at this thread before buying an Alienware. If memory serves Baris Turgut was named as one of the reps who was willing to work with customers on prices. And make sure to google for Alienware coupons, as some of them allow up to 15% off at select times. I would strongly recommend paying a visit to the Alienware forums if you're serious about purchasing one.

 

You would have to check with them to see if they offer the extended warranty. The 1 year warranty is through Dell but I don't know about the extended options, most likely not. That's a good point.

It is true that you can upgrade everything yourself but most of us want to buy the machine and have all parts included in our warranty. I know if you order from a reseller, the parts they add are serviced by them and the rest is serviced by Dell. I suppose it could get sticky actually.

 

Actually good point about the tricky servicing, hadn't even thought of that.

To bring this back on topic, if you decide to get a Clevo, just be prepared to fiddle with it if you want to unleash its full potential. This may sound scary and a huge turn off, but modding can be tons of fun and very rewarding. I started out not knowing how to do a simple repaste, and now I've taken a Dremel to the bottom cover and lapped my heatsink thanks to the excellent community we have on NBR.

 

Regarding the Alienware Warranty, just note that we do offer XOTIC PC extended warranties on our site and any Alienware that is purchased through us still includes our support as well as DELL, so if you would rather deal with us on a warranty item, we can facilitate the repairs even if it is going to be fixed by the manufacturer so just an added source for help if it should be needed

 

So the extended warranty is through XOTIC but the first year includes Dell's standard warranty as well but Dell's extended warranty is not an option, correct?

 

This is exactly what I wanted to figure out as well. Is the 3 year extended warranty for Alienware sold through XoticPC actually Dell's NBD in-home warranty, or is it Xotic's own warranty?

 

I honestly would be surprised if its Alienware's warranty because it includes accidental damage and is astronomically cheaper than Dell would charge.

 

Yeah you're right. I guess one option would be to buy the Alienware from XoticPC, then tack on Dell's AW warranty after the fact. Although in that case you might not end up saving anything compared to buying direct from Dell.

 

The extended warranty options are ours.

 

Just to give you another option: you can do a hybrid option and get a Clevo from a place like Mythlogic. They will build the computer themselves (in Michigan, not Asia), test it and tweak it to your specs. Costs a bit more but probably still cheaper than AW and you still end up on the bleeding edge of technology. Also, you'll get a flawless laptop and not need to deal with hassles with a DOA or something like that.

The only downside to this is that it can take a while to actually get the computer. That said, my current laptop is from them and no regrets. I'll probably buy from them again.

 

I ordered my Gigabyte P35G v2 from GentechPC and had a good experience ...