Questions for Resellers

Yes, I am like, brand new here and I have a few questions for pretty much any reseller. So far the ones I am partial to are Mythlogic, Xotic, and LCP.

I have heard absolutely nothing bad about any of those guys. Not to say I am not open to any reseller, or that anyone else is at a disadvantage.

Ok lets talk now. First an introduction is in order. My name is Nick, I am currently serving overseas as a US Army Infantryman. Afghanistan is the theatre in which I reside. So obviously, the first question would be, who can ship to an APO. More specifically APO AE 09355. Which I think is a hub in Germany maybe. I am not sure. Secondly, do you offer a military discount?

Now the rig in question is a Sager NP8150 the specs are as follows
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Display 15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display featuring 95% NTSC Color Gamut in Matte Finished Surface (1920 x 1080) [$95.00]

Video & Graphics Card AMD Radeon HD 6990M GPU with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory [$245.00]

CPU Processor 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2960XM Processor Extreme Edition ( 8MB L3 Cache, 2.70GHz ) [$920.00]

Thermal Compound IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU [$40.00]

Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 7 Ultimate 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded ) [$110.00]

Memory 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 4 X 4GB [$165.00]

Primary Hard Disk Drive 750GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive [$30.00]

Optical Drive Bay — Optical Drive or Hard Disk Drive in Optical Drive Bay with Caddy case 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software

Wireless Network Card Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module [$60.00]

Primary Battery Smart Li-ION Battery Pack

Integrated Security Device Fingerprint Reader

Microsoft Office Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included in Price

Warranty Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty
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They quote it at 3014 even. With the discount and shipping, I come out to 2999.42 which is right at the high end of my budget.

I don't want to pay more than 3k after shipping. So my question is would you be able to build this rig to spec or better, for the same or less?

I hope this is the appropriate place for this kind of inquiry. Please forgive me if it is not. I do not have the resources or time to contact every vendor on the site. I just happen to have internet access when I come out of sector for maintenance on our vehicles.

Thank you in advance for your time!

 

Hey Coxy, since NBR forum rules are pretty strict for resellers, you may want to copy/paste this thread and send it as a PM to all interested parties so they can quote you a price for that build . Xotic does ship to APO addresses and we do also offer a military discount.

Edit: you're not at 5 posts yet so that may be a little hard, I'd suggest sending an email if you can

 

Hi, most - if not all of the resellers have a military discount and/or ship to APO addresses. Here is a list of the most popular resellers with their discount / shipping details. You can also get additional discounts from many of them, including us - for being an NBR member.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...eller-info-read-before-posting.html#resellers

 

Thank you for the help guys, I am actually talking to a couple now at this time!

 

OP: I'd like to PM you but since you don't yet have 5 posts I cannot. If you don't mind, send me an email. If you click on my username, you will get my profile, which has my email address.

 

KC2PLL I sent you an email via a GMX email account. I would have PM'd you but as this IS my 5th post and I don't really have anything to say in other threads and have no unanswered questions I would hate to add needlessly to some kind of important topic, such as this ongoing ordeal with Kobalt.

 

def dont need the processor, get an ssd and lower the processor specs. i have only bought from myth. i decided to use them because nothing is outsouced and they are extremely helpful and quick to questions and concerns. so far i couldnt be happier, the best laptop i have ever had, and the best comp company i have delt with. they helped me decide on specs and even double checked to see if it was worth getting faster ram when comparing an increase in fps. but i havent heard of one bad thing with xotic, lpc, and malibal. xotic and malibal post more than anyone, and any concern that arrises on this site is always fixed.

 

You can buy another laptop with the amount you're putting into the CPU upgrade lol!

May I ask what you're mainly going to use your laptop for?

Btw, my experience with Xotic PC has been very positive, especially in terms of pricing.

 

Coxy:

I think this would be more suitable and provide a still awesome gaming experience.

Sager NP8150 / Clevo P150HM Sager NP8150 / Clevo P150HM
- SAGER Sale!!! - $100 OFF When you spend $1500* or more! (*excludes accessories, shipping, non Sager items & taxes) NP8150 & NP8170 Only - Confirmation of discount will be provided after Order Processing
- 15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080) (SKU - S1R305)
- NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - S2N224)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6990 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (SKU - S3R151)
- No Video Adapter
- 16GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4R757)
- Sager Branding
- Standard Finish
- 250GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive (SSD2 Serial-ATA III) (SKU - S5R056)
- 6X Blu-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive - Special! (SKU - S7P557)
- No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- NO External USB Optical Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- No Back Up Software
- None Standard--
- Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3) (SKU - S8R056)
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
- No Operating System Standard - Drivers & Utility Software Only
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- Sager 3 Year Parts & LIFETIME Ltd Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support - Special! (SKU - S9P211)
- No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
- Standard Production Time
- No Xotic PC Gear
Total: $2,543, but you get discounts for military service.

Although the CPU is only 2.2ghz instead of 2.7ghz, the 250GB 510 SSD MORE than makes up for the slower CPU in terms of experiential performance. There isn't going to be issues with waiting for windows to load, or for programs to load, since there is no rotational speed limit. (You'll see something like 500MB / sec reads and 350MB / sec writes.) Also, being in Afghanistan where the laptop may be dropped or bounced, a platter-based HDD may be more prone to head-crashes than an SSD where all data is stored on chips (if the SSD drops, it won't go crash as easily, see Baja 500 and Thrown SSD and SSD drop test. a 2670qm / 6990m would be MORE than enough for gaming, get 2.5 hrs of battery, and the smaller cpu leaves room for an SSD. Remember, the storage drive is a computer's bottleneck, as CPU and GPU speeds have increased drastically, but a drive can only rotate so fast before it gives out due to heat. Case in point: CD-Rom at 23,000 RPM.

Just an idea of a good gaming build.

Jason

 

Thank you much for all the tips guys, my heart is pretty set on that processor, but I may go ahead, bite the bullet and throw the SSD on there anyways. My only worry about SSDs are the longevity of the drives. I have heard that write\delete is a different number. So like it writes (for example) 10 kb units, but can only delete 100 kb units. I know thats not actually numbers and my terminology is probably WAY off. I have only the most Basic understanding of SSDs at this point. More mentoring would be more than welcome! Well, I got to pack my bags so I can go do some things in the wonderful country full of love and joy.

 

Coxy: WHY is your heart set on the processor? In all honesty, unless you do an insane amount of workstation apps or photo rendering (and even then the GPU is key), it'd be wiser to get the SSD. Intel's tend to be the most reliable and they have the least amount of write amplification. a 2960xm isn't going to compensate for the bottleneck the HDD creates, whereas a good SATA3 SSD will make the overall user experience MUCH snappier. As for your fear of lifespan, unless you plan on doing 100GB of writes per day, the drive should be usable for at least 5 years (by which point you'll be looking for a new gaming rig anyway). I'm only saying this because I was in the same camp as you. Yes it's nice to have the absolute fastest CPU and GPU for gaming, but not everything is gaming... when you open an app, or start the computer up, the HDD is flailing about trying to get the info for a CPU that is - proportionately speaking - MUCH faster than the HDD. an SSD won't flail about, nor does it get fragmented, and even better you won't feel like you can get a cup of coffee, come back, and your startup programs are still loading. I'm just telliing from experience (I have a 2670qm and a 510 SSD and people are AMAZED how quickly it loads, how good the battery is - a benefit of ssds, how quiet and how cool it runs, etc.)

I'd give it some thought and ask the resellers their honest opinions via PM before I pull the trigger. I just want ya to get the best bang for the buck, save a little $$, and most importantly have a really good user experience.

Jason

 

I appreciate the tip Ganzo, I am seriously considering a SSD at the moment, just because of the advantages you mentioned. I will be taking a second look at my build specs now, lol. I really appreciate the information!

 

I would suggest you save your money and get the 500GB drive for now...then buy an aftermarket SSD. The prices are always falling in the SSD market. If you could wait, let's see what intel's new 520 series are all about. If you need one now, you can hardly go wrong with crucial's M4 series

Mr. Mysterious

 

I placed the order with XoticPC a few days ago, its chugging along now, but my build was basically the same but I dropped to the next processor down, which was actually not much difference (.2ghz then .1ghz with turbo boost) given the 500 upgrade. Then I went with the Intel 510 250gb SSD. I enjoy technology that is somewhat new but has been around long enough for a few bugs to have been worked out. You'll never catch me on the bleeding edge lol.

Thank you though Mr. Mysterious, I will consider upgrading the SSD Size when the new drives come out and I have the money. I noticed the 320 Series by intel was a 1k upgrade for the 600gb version. Which would be sweet...

 

Hey Coxy, thanks for the business! Let us know if you have any questions during the ordering process, and be sure to let us know how it runs!

 

I am sure I will burn the tent down with the speed of this computer. I am not a bench marker or anything like that, but I will be sure to write up some kind of thing. I plan on running STALKER SoC and CoP as well as Mass Effect 1 and 2. I'll let you guys know how it holds up!

 

Hi Coxy, good luck with your order. As an ex-serviceman myself (Iraq a few times) I would have recommended not spending that much on a laptop with no accidental insurance policy - I had a nice shiny laptop once upon a time in the sandbox that took a nosedive from my top bunk in the barracks and ... well, let's just say BE CAREFUL with that badboy! And yourself as well.

 

Yeah seventil, my first laptop survived Iraq only to be drowned with vodka while I was very thoroughly intoxicated whilst engaging in vigorous exercise with the fairer . It was a dell, and it served me well for 4 long years. Rest in peace "Retard Kicker" (Name of the computer).

Also, thanks for the good wishes, I am in the other awesome country of the other middle east for this time. Luckily I am over the halfway there!