Sager NP8170 Review

Hi all,

This is my first time reviewing a notebook, no less a Sager NP8170.
I have two other computers at home, a Macbook Pro (2008) and a desktop full tower that I build from scratch in 2007.
I also retired an Inspiron from Dell that I had since 2002.

I actually bought this notebook from a fellow NBR member ( Scott_RC-TEK) listed here.

First, I'd like to call out how flexible and patient Scott has been through the purchase process. I would definitely buy this again if I was given a 2nd chance.

Now, onto the review.
I didn't have much time to run a lot of benchmarks, so here's the only thing I can quickly put up:



I can add more benchmarks if anyone is interested. I do plan to OC the 560M at some point later on. The SSD is a big plus, and allows me to do a lot of VMware in/out very quickly. Currently I'm running a WinXP and a Linux Debian 5.

Physical "touch and feel"
Starting with the screen, even with the upgrade through Scott - the display losses to the Macbook Pro. On its own, it looks fantastic, but when I compare it to the Mac, it looks a little dimmer (both at max brightness), colours not as vibrant, and the viewing angles are much more narrow.

The two pieces of aluminum (one on the back of the display, the other on the arm rest just the keyboard) are nice touches. The material is adequate, but when compared to the Mac embossed aluminum, the NP8170 does not stand well. It shows minor finger prints and oils much more easily.

The trackpad/mousepad is again adequate - good enough for a surf here and there when I don't have a mouse plugged in, but the 2-finger & 3-finger features are unresponsive and laggy. No backlit keyboard, but that's just a ding to Sager in general.

In terms of flex, the machine is quite solid, but because only portions of it are built with metal (I see lots of plastic on the edges, trimmimg, & joints), again does not compare to a Mac. Having a full Numpad is nice, but I would have preferred to see some more customizable buttons, and the use of bigger buttons for important keys like Esc and Fn. And since the 17" version has so much more room, it would have been nice to keep the Home/End/PgUp/Down buttons rather than be able to only activate them through Fn.

The internal fan noise is quite good, even at max setting, it is not that loud, and easily muffled by earphones/loud speaker volume.

Up to now I have been very critical of this machine, and hardware-wise not the best in class. But this was not why I bought it, and neither should you if you think that the above is very important in your decision-making.

All about the GPU
Where this notebook shines is in its hardware.
I have deliberated for a long time on the 560M (knowing that it is weaker than the 485M, and substantially weaker than the 580M). But then again, that saved me about $400 and $800, respectively. IMO, it's not worth the upgrade unless you are serious about running Crysis 1/2 at max because that is a must. And if you were, I suggest you take that $800 and built a new desktop that will have better FPS than a Sager anyday.
When I run games (currently playing Witcher 2, and Vindictus), this notebook outperforms my 5 year old desktop (Core 2 Duo 2gig, BFG Nvidia 9800GTX, 3gig ram, among other things).
I'll definitely be able to game on PC for the foreseeable future, albeit not at max settings, but good enough for me. And this is definitely where I trash the Macbook, sitting with a 8600M GT for a price point that we all know too well.

Temperature-wise, here are my findings through HWMonitor:

With Fan (No Load)
GPU 33
CPU 41

No Fan (No Load)
GPU 38
CPU 41


No Fan (Gaming)
GPU 64
CPU 64

With Fan (Gaming)
GPU 61
CPU 60

Ambient temp is about 22C

The No Fan/With Fan is actually the notebook cooling unit that you see in my picture below (and not the fan settings in the machine itself). I have a Cool Master 17" aluminum stand that comes with 3 fans that you can move around. I have placed mine directly underneath the CPU/GPU vents to give it as much airflow as possible.




I will update this thread as I think of more thins to say.
In all, I am very satisfied with as a whole package.

Let me know what you think and if there's any tips on how to boost performance or maintenance shortcuts.

Thx

 

Good job for a first time writing a review!

+rep

Mr. Mysterious

 

good job yeah!!!enjoy ur laptop man!!!

 

Very nice review, thanks!

 

Great review. Would you mind linking to the Stand you have? What model is it specifically?

 

Just up'd the link for the Cool Master notebook cooler.
I picked it up at a computer store for $30 so it's quite a bit cheaper than the Zalman NCX000. As for performance, it knocks about 4-5 degrees C down with load.

 

Thx for the info about the stand...I just ordered from Amazon for $29.

 

mine Cooler Master Notepal U3 knocked my load temps 7-8 degrees down at load.at idle 2-3 degrees down...

 

Looks nice. Thanks for the photo!

 

I just received my Clevo p170hm3 and after a few minute of testing I found that the screen is very very very hot is this normal or not?

 

You mean the LED screen itself is hot? That is definitely not normal in my experience for any PC. What kind of "tests" are you doing?

 

is your fan just spinning up and down and making all sorts of noise at idle? i'm sitting next to mine with nothing going on using Power Save mode and the fans are always loud, and the changes in speed just make it that much worse

 

Not good!

Anyone else with an HM3 have this issue?

 

There was a related issue under the NP8170 owner thread - where the fan would be on full throttle while idle. We suspected it was due to a windows hibernation bug. Even Fn+1 won't turn it off. You can try it and see what happens, or a cold boot.

 

not full throttle, which is nuts when i do Fn+1, but not quiet either. the asus Gs are virtually silent as if there was no fan

 

the fan noise cycling is one of the issues i've read on this board that has still kept me from pulling the trigger on buying one..

that and the keyboard not being a full keyboard as well as not being backlit

even my 300 dollar toshbia satellite has a full sized numpad

 

My G73 is louder than the 8170

 

That's awesome, thanks man Love the review!