Gaming Laptop / Desktop Replacement

[roblov1]

I've been researching laptops for the past month and I'm looking to buy before the end of November.

I decided that it'll either come down to an MSI model or a Sager.

It's going to come down to either the MSI G Series GT780DXR-405US or a xoticpc.com customized Sager NP8170.

Specs are as follows:

MSI G Series GT780DXR-405US

i7-2670
17.3" "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Matte Screen
12GB DDR3 1333
HD 2 x 500 GB RAID0 (7200RPM)
GTX 570M
DVD/CD Multi
stock wireless card
180 watt AC
Steel Series Gaming Backlit keyboard
Dynaudio Tech Speakers
3 year MSI standard warranty

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152292

Cost 1599 + 7% tax in NJ - 100 mail in rebate. = $1,712 - 100 rebate

or

Sager NP8170

i7-2670
17.3" "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen
8GB DDR3 1333
HD 2 x 500 GB RAID0 (7200RPM)
IC Diamond Compound
ATI Radeon HD 6990
Intel Advanced -N 6230 Wireless w/ Bluetooth
Sager 2 year parts & Lifetime Ltd Labor Warranty

http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8170-clevo-p170hm-p-2971.html?wconfigure=yes

Cost 1748 - cash discount = 1696

Ultimately I'm trying to figure out which screen is of a higher quality since matte or glossy doesn't matter to me. Most of my computer use will be indoors with limited lighting.
Is the keyboard and speakers on the MSI worth anything for a gamer or watching steaming video?
How big an upgrade is the ATI card vs the NVIDIA card for future proofing?
(Games I'll be using it for in the near future: Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, WoW.)
I don't care if my computer looks professional, sleek, gamerish, etc. I do care about cooling/overheating on the GPU and processor and is that a concern on either unit.

Any other touches anyone would recommend for the modification of the build and if anyone knows of any black friday deals that would make holding off a week worthwhile would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[WR2]

Hello roblov1;

Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, WoW aren't especially demanding games for a graphics card. Either choice would be great.
But Radeon HD 6990M is a big enough upgrade over the GTX 570M to choose that for top end games now (mostly the new FPS type) and for a few years into the future.

 

[WR2]

MSI GT780DXR review
MSI GT780R/GT780DXR Owner's hangout

Xotic Sager NP8170/Clevo P170HM Notebook Review
ager NP8170/Clevo P170HM Owner's hangout

 

[roblov1]

Thanks WR2, the reviews and owner's links are pretty useful. I do see that the newer glossy screens are getting good reviews now that they are a different model compared to earlier in the year. I'll try to read more to find out about any cooling issues, but what I see so far is the only issue may be occasionally with the ATI card itself.

Cloudy, thanks for the link. I will buy on black friday if I find a deal that's up to par, but I doubt it since most black friday deals are for older models.

Any other advice before I decide would be appreciated. If anyone owns these models and has personal input, I'd gladly hear it.

 

[roblov1]

Best answer selected by roblov1.

 

[roblov1]

Thanks again,

decided to go with the Sager since it's such a powerful machine and the reviews are great and the owner's lounge is full of satisfied people.


1 x Sager NP8170 / Clevo P170HM () = $1,758.01
Current Promotion SAGER Sale!!! - $100 OFF When you spend $1500* or more! (*excludes accessories, shipping, non Sager items & taxes)
Confirmation of discount will be provided after Order Processing. + Sager Price Protect & Chance for Xbox 360 Giveaway!
Display 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080) (SKU - S1R506)
Monitor Calibration NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
nVIDIA Wireless 3D Vision Glasses (For 3D Screens) No Spare 3D Glasses
Dead Pixel Warranty Standard Dead Pixel Policy
Processor 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - S2N224)
Thermal Compound - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
Graphics Video Card ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6990 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 $100 OFF (SKU - S3R151)
External Display Video Adapters No Video Adapter
Ram 8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (SKU - S4R365)
Branding Sager Branding
Exterior Finish Standard Finish
Primary Hard Drive 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S5R207)
Second Hard Drive 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) (SKU - S6R210)
Raid Raid 0 Stripe Enabled (Requires 2 or 3 Hard Drives. Combines Hard Drives for performance)
Optical Drive Bay Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software (When selecting a Hard Drive in the Optical Bay, No Optical Drive is Included) (SKU - S7R455)
Optical Drive Bay Hard Drive Caddy No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
External Hard Drive (Back Up) No Back Up Hard Drive
External USB Optical Drive NO External USB Optical Drive
Floppy Drive No Floppy Drive
Memory Card Reader Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
Back Up Software No Back Up Software
Bluetooth None Standard--
Wireless Network Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module (SKU - S8R112)
Wireless Network Accessories No Network Accessory
Camera Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
TV Tuner No TV Tuner
Sound Card Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
Case Basic Black Business Case - Included
Battery Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
Car Adapter No Car Adapter
Spare AC Adapter None Standard*
Port Replicator / Dock / Adapters No Dock/Hub/Adapter
Fingerprint Reader Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Headsets None
Mouse / Keyboard Accessories No External Keyboard or Mouse
Notebook Cooler No Notebook Cooler
XOTIC PC Redline Boost™ Extreme Performance No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system (Overclocking will add 3-6 business days to build time)
OS Redline Boost No Operating System Redline Boost
Operating System ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's + Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included with OS Purchase
Microsoft Office Software No Office Software
Software Bundle (Not Installed) No Software Bundle
Warranty Sager 2 Year Parts & LIFETIME Ltd Labor Warranty w/ Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Customer Support (SKU - S9R206)
Outside of U.S. Shipping Coverage No Outside of US Shipping Coverage
Build Time Standard Production Time
Xotic Gear No Xotic PC Gear

 

[WR2]

That's looking good. Be sure to let us know how it's working out for you.