New laptop revisited based on input from you folks

[fineus]

Couple weeks back I got some feedback to avoid alienware so I did a little custom price shopping and was wondering if the following system will get me through the next couple years for gaming. And I am torn between do I go Vista or stay with XP? Thanks for the previous advice and any future comments as well.

SAGER NP9262 Ultimate Custom Laptop (Built on Clevo D900C / D901C)
- 17" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel Core 2 QUAD Q9550 2.83GHz w/ 12MB L2 Cache - 1333MHz FSB
- 1,024MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GTX DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable) (ETA Early August)
- None Standard
- ~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 200GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- ~ 200GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- None Standard -
- Raid 0-Stripe (Combines primary and secondary hard drive)( (Requires 2-3 Identical Sized Hard Drives)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- None Standard
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- None Standard
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (12 Cell)
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- None Standard
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- None Standard
- None Standard
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support

 

[lostandwandering]

You're buying a DX10 GPU, so you might as well use DX10 and you can only do that with Vista. I said this in another thread, I put Vista on my new desktop and to be honest, with the right hardware it really isn't a bad OS.

 

[cjl]

I'd go Vista. That system should hold you out for quite a while - it's a nice setup.

 

[fineus]

I guess the question I forgot to ask is should I go with the
- 1,024MB PCI-Express nVidiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia GeForce 9800M GTX DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable) (ETA Early August)

or for a little extra money should I go with 2 9800M GT's 512MB each?

 

[killernotebooks]

I would say the single 9800 GTX will give you the option later to upgrade to a second one, where the dual 9800 GT's (which are really just re-branded 8800 GTX's) are maxed out.

 

[cjl]

I'd go with the 9800 GTX for the reason KillerNotebooks posted. Of course, if you can't ever see an upgrade as a possibility, the pair of GTs would be quite a bit faster.

 

[lostandwandering]

Get the single for now, see how you like it and if it isn't up to snuff bug Sager or whoever for the second card.