Sager Np8130 Review: 6 months later.

After owning the computer for a period of about six months, I would like to take the time to give eveyone an update on how the computer is doing and some of the issues/problems/dislikes that I have noticed after spending some serious time with the computer. first off though I think I should mention that I purchased the computer with the 2630QM, 560m, 8gb of ram, and the regular matte screen. No other upgrades were purchased, and I did not opt for the 95% color gamut screen as i mostly work on an external monitor anyways. The computer cost around 1200 dollars with tax and shipping from XoticPC, and I could not be happier with their service. They made the purchase process very easy, and they also helped me with some of the questions I had after purchasing the computer.




Now I am going to jump into the dislikes. First, the power brick is big. I mean really big, especially compared to other computers. It didn't really bother me at first, but after lugging it around for a while, it started to get on my nerves. I know that this isn't a problem for most of you who usually play at a desk and don't move the computer around much, but it was for me.
A second problem that I encountered was the trackpad. It seems very accurate and smooth, but it wore down very quickly. I don't use my computer all that much, but it still seems to be shiny in most places. The finish is completley gone in the center, and is clearly going in the other areas of the pad. The mouse buttons also seem to be loosing their finish quickly too. I know that this is a problem for some of you, but I actually prefer the smooth feel of a worn down trackpad. The keyboard seems to be starting to wear, but it has held up much better than the trackpad so far.

Here is a picture of the trackpad http://i.imgur.com/ae6kn.jpg


The display seems fine for web browsing and all that, but if i purchased the computer again today I wish I could have gotten the 95% color gamut screen, it really makes a large difference. Colors just seem so much more washed out compared to my Dell 2408wfp monitor.




The final gripe that I have with my computer, and this is the major one, is that it was overheating recently. I was playing bf3, and suddenly the computer just blinked off, no warning or anything. Just straight to a black screen, fans winding down immediatly. I quickly was concerned, as it seemed to only happen when I was playing intensive games, and it turned out that it was the cpu overheating and using its auto shutoff feature. I installed hwmonitor, and it showed that temperatures were idling at around 75C and going upwards of 99C at maximum. I quickly realized that there was a problem and opend up the computer to change my thermal compund. I hadn't gotten the upgraded thermal compund when I buought the computer, but I wish I had, because whoever had put the regular one on had done an extremley poor job. There was WAY too much thermal compound on the die. It was gross how much there was, it was way too thick and extended about a quarter of an inch off the die onto the green part (VERY BAD!). I quicly replaced it with some generic thermal compound I found at my local best buy, and everythig was solved. My cpu temps now idle around 45-52C and go up to about 80C.




Overall, performance seems to be very good, other than the overheating problem, and I am able to run most games at highest settings without too much lag. The 560m holds up well, and when I am able to find the time to play I am impressed. The battery life is very poor, but it is expected when you have this power hungry hardware that can't be switched off. It seems to be holding up well overall, with no structural damge so far. As far as the overheating issue goes, It could be just my machine, but I can't be sure, so be on the lookout. Thanks for reading!

 

Nice post! Most will usually do their review right after they get their laptop, so it is nice to see how the laptop wears after 6 months or even a year of use. Can you post any photos? I'm sure they may not be the nicest pics but it may lend to your review overall.

Were you lugging this around for college classes or other? I did notice the gripe about the AC adapter size, I was just curious.

 

That's bad very bad, but thank god that you got that resolved some people never take the time to open the laptop to check such things. Btw thanks for the review

 

Thanks for the review. It is very informative. I also would like to see some photos especially how much the touch-pad has been worn down from usage.

 

gtm1260 - would you educate me on the process you used to remove the thermal compound that was all over the place? Just in case I ever need to perform the same surgery.

Thanks!

 

The easiest way to remove thermal paste is with arctic clean (or similar). If you don't have it, a lint free cloth and 90% isopropyl alcohol works well. Make sure the cloth is lint free though (I've heard coffee filters will work in a pinch). Cotton balls,tissues, etc will leave behind fibers.

Sent from my LG-C900 using Board Express

 

You could use some type of thermal paste remover, which is the right way to do it. I ended up just using a lint free microfiber rag that was slightly damp. It probably could have caused a problem, but it seemed to work in a pinch.