Sager NP2096 Owners Lounge

I'm just trying to make an informed decision
using benchmarks on access time, power consumption, transfer rates, reliability etc.. but I need the model number to research that

 

^--^
I would recommend that you call them to discuss this to help you make the best decision.

 

I'm considering buying this computer, and I saw this video linked earlier in this thread showing the viewing angles of the screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hp4C0bUixI

This looks pretty bad to me: is it really what I should expect? And if so, is this below average or am I just spoiled by my old Toshiba's screen? The video is of the Compal JHL90, though, so I'm not sure if the screen is the same.

 

you like that look?

 

Hi attackfrog ... I had seen this Video before ... the guy who did the video 1st of all not very professional in using his camcorder or whatever he used ... lots of glare, not enough lighting, on on ...

I would not let that make up my mind on this laptop ... please don't think that I am suggesting you get this ...

But FYI ... I had a Sager NP2092 (Compal JFL92) with WSXGA+ screen ("Mei Chi" brand) and it was one heck of a screen ... crystal clear but I never really paid attention on the viewing angle because I set it on my desktop and run my desktop at the same time ... I goof off on the laptop and work on my desktop ... so i am looking at the laptop screen at about 45 degree angle ... and it was A-OK!

G!

 

Guys I am uploading comprehensive vid to youtube tonight that covers:
Ports/Features/Appearance/Startup & Shutdown/Viewing Angles/Speakers/Webcam/DVD Drive/anything else I think of. Most of that stuff I have already done and am very close to uploading,

 

Hi Sphinx,

Did you by any chance take TEMPS of the 9600M GT in IDLE mode ... I mean you have the laptop on and you are running NOTHING!!!

If so, what were the Temps!?!?

Thanks,
G!

 

Can I ask you a dumb question? How do you know the temperature?

 

Really Quick question...
I just ordered an NP2096 (obviously with a 9600M GT)

I am going to use it for college and gaming.

The issue is this:
I ordered it with the higher res. 1680x1050 screen

But it just occured to me (i've never used LCD screens before) that when gaming, I will have to use that res. to obtain best visual quality (native resolutions).

I am strongly considering emailing Sager and asking to change to the lower 1280x800 res. screen so that I can acheive better performance in games...

If I ordered a laptop w/ a 9800MGT I could understand having the higher res., but with a 9600M wouldnt it be more fitting to get 1280x800?

Whats everyone's opinion on this?
I will have to make a decision in the next 12 hours.. before they start building the laptop....

Thanks,
Dev

 

Scroll Back a couple pages. I have the idle temps posted. You can measure the temps with a program called HWmonitor. The link is also posted on page three for that.

 

Thank you! That one was helpful, a rep point for you! not sure why you are not getting the rep point I gave you...

 

Extremly sorry for reposting, but this got shoved down to the previos page which no one will see...

Really Quick question...
I just ordered an NP2096 (obviously with a 9600M GT)

I am going to use it for college and gaming.

The issue is this:
I ordered it with the higher res. 1680x1050 screen

But it just occured to me (i've never used LCD screens before) that when gaming, I will have to use that res. to obtain best visual quality (native resolutions).

I am strongly considering emailing Sager and asking to change to the lower 1280x800 res. screen so that I can acheive better performance in games...

If I ordered a laptop w/ a 9800MGT I could understand having the higher res., but with a 9600M wouldnt it be more fitting to get 1280x800?

Whats everyone's opinion on this?
I will have to make a decision in the next 12 hours.. before they start building the laptop....

Thanks,
Dev

 

I found another software that monitors temperature and it is a little better looking, it's call speedfan

http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php

 

Devgru38 Frankly, I am not sure how to answer your question it is more of a personal preference, I think 1280X800 is good enough. And 1680x1050 is great too, I think it is more important to know if your eyes are comfortable with 1680x1050 screen or not...

 

Its not really the preference, because obviously i'd like to run games in a higher res... but the question is more of performance... i dont think a 9600M will be able to run games well at such a high res... i'd rather run it at a lower res w/ higher other settings, and i'm not sure i can do that w/ an LCD...

 

it would depend on which game you want to play ...

 

you can always run a lower res on the better screen but never a better res on the worse screen. keep that in mind

 

but lower res on the better screen would mean serious artifacts.. right? I mean... because of non-native res.?

How bad IS running a non-native res? (IE: running a game in 1280x800 when the native res is 1680x1050)?

 

do you run all your games now at native res? just wondering because i literally never have (i have a 7500LE in my desktop, not very good...) and i use a 1680x1050 screen.

yes of course if your gpu can run it max settings at native res it will look better. i dont think that running a game at lower res has as serious repercussions as you believe, and i personally feel that the screen real estate is worth more than games not running at native res. also i kind of feel that unless you are a graphic designer or pro gamer 99% of the time you wouldnt notice the difference between a laptop with the 9600m gt running 1280x800 vs same with 1680x1050

if you can i would find 2 laptops that have same gpu but different screens to see if you can tell the difference and what you prefer... or like if you know someone with a 1280x800 screen, try playing something native res on that and then hook it up to a monitor with higher native res and bring it down to that.

 

Here is a FEATURE VIDEO that I just uploaded
Check it out to get some of my impressions and an overview of the laptop.
I am uploading part two right now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eebtGjud-c

 

What is the sense you all have gotten about the 2096's screen? I mean, compared any other laptop, does it seem more or less sturdy, and should I get the pretty expensive lcd warranty on this rig? (using a basic build on it)

 

Sphinx, thanks a lot for the video! It gives us good insight of what to expect. This notebook looks great!

 

Thanks a lot! You got the potential of a TV host!

 

Very nice video. I was stuck for a while trying to decide between this and the G50. This is about $300 cheaper and has better battery life but weaker GPU...they're pretty much the same exact size too so it was a tough decision as to what would be better for college. I finally pulled the trigger on the G50 though.

 

Here is number 2 covering the dvd drive/speakers/viewing angles/watching movie/listening to internet radio

#2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99lnQ8KrnHU

If I had the opportunity to be a tv host, I absolutely would. Would love to do something like working for G4 or any tech/gadget show or site.

 

cool let's see it.

 

wow the only thing i dont like is the control key. thats about it.

 

Why do people always say the Ctrl and Fn keys are 'switched' when a desktop keyboard doesn't even have an Fn key?

The Sager high end gaming laptops are about the only ones I know of that have the Ctrl key on the outside.

 

really my old hp pavilion zt3000 has control key on the out side.

if you can see it...

 

awesome reviews sphinx, ordered mine today

 

I will post gaming video during the day.

 

@ sphinx:

quick question on the topic of gaming:
with this laptop one would want to run most modern fps's at a lower resolution than 1680x1050 (say, battlefield 2, quake wars, or fear)

Therefor, would it be a better idea to get the 1280x800 screen?

So that you can run in native resolution? Or is the pixel scaling not that bad?

(this might be a good issue to address in your gaming video)

Thanks,
Dev

 

Nice videos Sphinx. The only thing I noticed that bugged me a little was the very long start up time (I counted 1 whole minute from when you pressed the button to the login screen).

I don't know if it's just me but it seemed like an eternity. Is this normal?

 

@ Devgru

I have old 1280x800 lcd monitor and i don't notice any real diff when playing a game at a lower resolution (probly b/c things are moving) also the most lcds now are (at least in my opinion) decent in showing at a lower non native res.

just my opinion other may disagree

this maybe from my last laptop having a res of 1024x758 and constantly wanting more

 

dev i wrote this 2ish pages back concerning your resolution question, just my opinion.

 

I recived this mail today (well I mailed and they replied) from powernotebooks

"I am writing to let you know that your Sager NP2096 order is on a temporary hold while Sager waits for the Bluetooth modules and the Combo DVD+/-R/RW/CD-RW brackets. They expect them to arrive within the next few days, at which point shipping will resume."

Delays is not fun

 

i agree =[

 

Ordered mine from XoticPC yesterday. Canada Express shipping was a little over 100$ =[
When it arrives there will probably more hidden fees.

 

A 1680x1050 screen on a 15.4" laptop looks amazing! a 1280x800 looks normal. I think its way worth the few bucks for the better screen, pluss you can fit more stuff on the screen and things look much more crisp. AND every game has graphics settings in which you can change the resolution.Also, Nvidia provides a configuration window that allows you to choose settings such as "Stretch and use full screen at lower resolutions"

I played doom 3 on my np2092 (Nvidia 8600m gt DDR2) with medium-ish settings, in a 1280x800 res and it looked great, No artifacts for sure. Running it with more res would make it laggy.

I think 1680x1050 is worth getting from any aspect. Especially on a higher end computer like this.

 

I have seen the a dell xps laptop with 1280X800 and I am so glad I got the 1680X1050. it just looked cramped on the xps and I get crisper images along with more real esate. It makes your laptop not seem as small.

 

If I wouldn't notice a difference between the 2.4 and 2.53 I definitely wouldn't notice one between the 2.26 and 2.4 right? So is it even worth upgrading to the 2.4? Would I notice a difference between the 2.26 and the 2.53?

And just to confirm...if I get the T9400 instead of the P9500 I shouldn't encounter problems? The greater heat won't be significant?
Also the battery life will be shortened with the T9400? Will it be shortened by a lot?

Thanks!

 

I just picked mine up from ups! it looks great so far, much better looking then the pics but I was wondering how important is it to fully charge the battery before using it because I heard someone mention something about it earlier.

 

IDK if it is that important but I posted about it and I DID charge it up to 100%. I then let it go down until it shut off on its own once and than again the next day. I found this to be very helpful.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2218

 

oh wow sphinx nice find. When they say "Tip 3: Turn off Unnecessary Hardware" how the heck do you do that??

 

yeah I wonder how you do that too
isn't the hardware always off unless you start using them?

 

If anyone is looking at the JHL-90/np2096, avadirect has the most options for a build that I have seen anywhere, and a solid price. One option that looked really nice was the ability to get an SSD put in. They are pricey, but they should reduce the weigh of the book for anyone who travels a lot.
http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=11385

They actually have so many options that I wondered if everything could be compatible, but these guys seem to try very hard to test your rig BEFORE they ship it to you.

 

To disable hardware right click Computer, goto manage. Under System tools select Device Manager.

In there you can right click and disable hardware.

Thanks a whole bunch to everyone who replied to my resolution question. I have resolved (haha, pun) to go w/ the higher res screen.

Apolagies to VicariousCheese.... sorry for sortof blowing you off, I just wanted a second opinion. I repped ur post.

Can't wait to get mine next week.... (in time for my first year of college.. [out of state] on the 26th)

 

hey guys, quick comment for those of you who don't like the positioning of the Fn and Ctrl key. If you notice, Sagers built on Compal models have all those F function keys with dual functions (blue). THOSE ARE SOOOOOO USEFUL!! After a few weeks, i realized that having the Fn key on the outside made the most sence! It gives you a quicker access to the blue functions of the F keys. This is especially useful when you are running media player with music while you are gaming full screen, you can change the song and adjust the volume so easily! (If you all remember, Sagers ARE gaming machines with GAMING in mind)
Also, the Delete button is right above the backspace (unlike many computers that have it diagonally to the right) and once you get used to it, it makes sence too!!

 

dont worry about it dev, i just thought you missed it cuz it was back a couple pages. thanks for the rep

 

ahhhhhh... i cant wait to get this thing and configure it... haha...

I've never owned a laptop before >.<