Gaming on a budget: NP9130 (so far)

SPOILER: GIGANTIC WALL OF TEXT


I have been lurking in the forums for almost a year now, and only found the need to post recently (regarding the new models). I "discovered" Sager/Clevo around that time, when researching for a notebook for university. At that time, there were only the HM models with no Optimus. Battery life was my biggest gripe about the notebook at that point in time, and I kept looking for laptops at similar pricepoints but I could not find any that could compete with what Sager offered. I was quite convinced that the laptop I wanted did not exist. As I did not need a notebook then (I start school late this year), and that rumors of Ivy Bridge and Kepler were floating all over the cyberspace, I opted to wait.

I toyed with the idea of ordering from local resellers for a period of time, but I eventually found out after comparisons that the US option was still cheaper even after including shipping. After trawling through gigantic walls of text and most of the Speculation threads, I found out about the Optimus support and the Kepler GPUs, as well as the IB CPUs. Once I found out that Sager was offering a $50 deferred shipping discount, any shadow of doubt still lingering was dissipated. Now, the question was not which laptop, but which reseller.

I then did my reseller research, which consisted of the reviews here in NBR as well as live chats/emails with the various resellers. In the course of my research, I have talked to Xotic PC, Malibal, Mythlogic, GenTech PC and LPC-Digital. The specs I was interested in is as follows (changes made in BOLD). However, Malibal did not offer the EM models until April, and Mythlogic was too expensive for me.

Code:

Sager NP8131

Screen:
[B]15.6" 16:9 1920X1080 Full HD LED backlight Ultra Bright, 95% NTSC Color Gamut, Matte-Type 95.00[/B]
Dead Pixel Warranty:
Standard Manufacturer Dead Pixel Warranty 0.00
Sager Logo:
[B]None 0.01[/B]
HDMI:
HDMI 1.4, 60Hz/120Hz output 1080P, 3D Ready 0.00
DisplayPort Adapter:
None 0.00
Graphics Controller:
[B]nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 1GB GDDR5 DX11 w/Optimus Technology 0.00[/B] <--- GTX 660M?
Processor:
[B]Intel Core i5-2450M, 2.5Ghz-3.1Ghz,32nm, 3MB, 35W 0.00[/B] <--- IB CPU?
Thermal Compound:
[B]IC Diamond 24 Carat Thermal Compound on both CPU/GPU 35.00[/B]
RAM:
8GB DDR3 1600/PC3 12800 Dual-Channel (4G X 2) 0.00
Primary Hard Drive:
500GB 7200rpm 2.5-inch 9.5mm 16MB SATA II 3Gb/s (Standard) 0.00
Optical Drive:
8X DVDRW DL Super Multi (Standard) 0.00
Options for Hard Drive in Optical Drive Bay:
None, Hard Drive in Optical Drive bay is selected 0.00
Hard Drive Caddy:
[B]12.7mm SATA Optical Drive Bay Caddy 45.00[/B]
External Storage for backup/data transfer:
None 0.00
WiFi:
[B]Bigfoot networks Killer?Wireless-N 1103 with three antenna 60.00[/B]
Networking:
None 0.00
Bluetooth:
None or Choose Wireless-N + Bluetooth Combo Card 0.00
USB 3.0:

3 USB 3.0 Ports 4.8 Gb/s 0.00
Webcam:
Built-in 2.0 MP Webcam 0.00
Headset:
None 0.00
Primary Battery:
One SMART LI-ION BATTERY PACK included 0.00
AC Adapter:
One AC Adapter included 0.00
Car Adapter:
None 0.00
Mouse:
None 0.00
Carrying Case:
None 0.00
Operating System:
[B]Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32/64 bit DVD 80.00[/B]
Microsoft Office Software:
None 0.00
Drivers Disk:
Drivers Disk Included 0.00

I placed my first order with Xotic PC, due to the excellent reviews here on NBR. I like the fact that they are active in this forum and that they try their best to address every issue that any customers might have, even if it is not their fault. Some threads I have come across are those where they correspond with a disgruntled owner who seems to have gotten a lemon. I was impressed with the professionalism they showed when they handled the case, and they gave me the reassurance I need. It also helps that they seem to have a lot of active customers who vouch for them. Their reply times are fast, but they have a fixed working time. As I live halfway round the globe, this kinda inconvenienced me a little as I would only send/receive emails at night/in the morning. Another point is that they only accept bank wires (and check payment, which I did not want to use because I think its not as secure), and I was completely unfamiliar with the procedures for payment, which was an added inconvenience.

I also placed my order with GenTech PC at that time. I was skeptical of GenTech PC at first, as there were very little reviews on this reseller. However, I noticed that they offered the 15.6" LED-Backlit FHD 1920x1080 95% NTSC Gamut Matte Screen at a unbeatable price of.... wait for it.... $0.00! (aww yeah!). Alarm bells immediately began to ring (Its a mistake! All the other resellers offer the same upgrade for $95), but nevertheless I placed an order. "It wouldn't hurt," I reasoned to myself, "I could just cancel it if it doesn't work out, and if it is true, its a real steal."

Back to Xotic PC. Being the reseller of my choice, I took them up on their offer for a price match. If I could get the same specs at the same price, I would definitely choose Xotic PC, as they seemed to have a better reputation for me. However, things did not go as rosy as I had expected. They contacted Sager and found out that the price listing was a mistake (aww ): ). In the end, I opted for the 60% Matte screen instead.

Wanting to find a better price, I returned to the forums and found LPC-Digital. When I checked their site, they offered the "lowest price for any Sager/Clevo Laptop". The site looked unprofessional and dodgy (this was before they changed the layout). However, there were a few reviews that agreed that they offered the cheapest Sagers. Since I had nothing to loose, I asked them for a quotation for my customization. Within an hour, Larry (the CS staff at LPC) already offered me a discount. Even though it is not much, they have flexibility in the payment (they accept international Credit/Debit Cards) and the discount persists even if you do not pay by cash. Larry was also very professional in his replies, and spent a lot of time giving me great advice and entertained when I asked him for additional discounts (tada! GenTech offers free screen upgrade! match that!). Even though he could not match the discount, he offered to cut down the price of the screen upgrade to $80.00. None of the other resellers offered the screen at $80.00 (with the exception of Mythlogic, which has a higher base price to begin with, so it doesn't count), so I jumped at it.

When I checked back at the GenTech site, they have updated the site to reflect the true pricing. However, when I checked my invoice, the upgraded screen was still reflected as a free upgrade. I emailed Ken of GenTech PC to ask if the screen was a mistake, as I did not want to have any surprises if I went ahead with the purchase. Not surprisingly, he acknowledged that it was a mistake and that it should be $95.00, adding that he could not give me the screen for free. However, surprisingly, he offered to give me the ICD upgrade AND an additional ODD HDD Caddy for free! When I calculated the prices, GenTech had the best deal of all the resellers. Even though the overall cost is slightly higher than that of LPC, it comes with the DVDRW drive, which I needed but LPC did not have.

If you ask me to compare the resellers though, it is almost impossible. They are all very professional and quick to respond to any queries I had for them. They have amazing patience, entertaining me and my emails that brink on the edge of extortion for more than 2 weeks! Kudos to that! They have convinced me that they are all worth my business, but I can only do 1 purchase. I would definitely recommend them to anyone intending to purchase a Sager/Clevo in the future though. As I believe I can solve most problems I encounter with any tech stuff, the warranty is of no importance to me. Ultimately, it boils down to who can offer the better price.

So far, I'm on the verge of finalizing my order. I will continue with part 2 when I finalize my order and receive my notebook! If there are any questions about the resellers regarding purchasing process, feel free to ask!

 

Hello a4paper-

Thank you for the kind words, I hope you find what suits you best!

Cheers