Suggest a Media Laptop for me

alexoldshane

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1. What is your budget?
$600-1000

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
13"+ Not to picky though...

3. What screen resolution do you want?
Decent enough to play my movies/play games and not hurt my eyes/hate my life, but also not needing something that i can see the individual hairs of XXXX actor's hair chin.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
Not sure on meaning of this, but have a desktop, just need something portable to carry similar items to desktop.

5. How much battery life do you need?
Obviously more is better. But, probably 4+

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
Games would be nice, only play Morrowind and Age of Empires, or something online. Nothing big. And settings, medium/high.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)
A lot of watching movies/tv shows.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
400-500gb, but i've also got a 2TB external hard drive, so it's not that big a deal.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
Newegg is the only one I'm really aware of/bought anything computer related from. Will consider any suggestions.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
2-3 years

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD read/writeable

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
Actually, since I've never owned a laptop, I have no idea. Durability and the ability to not just...die...for stupid reasons would be awesome though. However, not wanting a mac. I'm not a fan of Apple, and just, have no intentions on switching.

13. What country do you live in?
United States

14. Additional Information:
Processor, I'm really not sure about due to lack of knowledge of laptops. Went intel with my desktop, but I've seen a lot of AMD. Very likely wanting to go dual core, and at least 2GHz, I suppose? Some input on this specifically would be very much appreciated.

Any suggestions on specific builds, peices, etc. would be very much appreciated. I thank you for your time and info.
 
I don't exactly but my guess is because most manufactures that sell laptop with pre-installed OS, have lots of bloat-ware pre-installed as well;and it seems Sager wants users to install what they need.(Sager notebooks don't come with any bloatware AFAIK)
 




It's actually the system builders choice to not include it. If you buy direct from Sager Notebook's site, it comes with an OS included in the quoted price. That's where I got mine and despite Sager installing the OS, it came with ZERO bloatware.

Here's a review of the same laptop from Power Notebooks: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5849&review=sager+np5125
 

alexoldshane

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I like the laptop. Any customizations y'all might suggest? I'm probably going to go with just the thermal compound change to the IC Diamond, as well as adding the OS and the 3year warranty and 24hr customer service.

Considered the network card upgrade, but honestly not too sure the difference between the three. =/
 

alexoldshane

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Any chance they'll have a deal going? I plan on buying this laptop, but if they do some black friday sale or something, and I then hate my life afterward for spending more than I needed to, ...yeah. I'm military, so I get a shipping discount, but other than that, was just hoping to know if they did price cuts around holidays/on specific models/not just on shipping/etc.


Though, the review from that site doesn't make it sound like a very good laptop. Lot of "plasticky/weak frame/*** speakers/etc" comments. Or just being a harsh critic?
 

alexoldshane

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Okay.

So, I've also just gotten a budget increase, and am now looking at the NP2180 as an option. I've customized it to my liking as far as the website will let me go. Hoping you guys could give some comparison and opinions on it.


NP2180 @ $1,277 after shipping
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_customed&update_id=49123

Display -- 15.6" Full HD LED Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080)
Video & Graphics Card -- ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 5650 Graphics with 1GB GDDR3 Memory
CPU Processor -- Intel® Core™ i7-640M Processor ( 32nm, 4MB L3 Cache, 2.80GHz / 3.46GHz Turbo Mode ) [$195.00]
Thermal Compound -- IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound - CPU [$20.00]
Operating System -- Genuine MS Windows® 7 Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded )
Memory -- 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 2 X 2GB
Primary Hard Disk Drive -- 500GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive [$20.00]
Optical Drive -- 8X DVD±R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software
Wireless Network Card -- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module [$25.00]
Bluetooth -- Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module
Primary Battery -- Smart Li-ION Battery Pack (6 Cells)
Integrated Security Device -- Fingerprint Reader
Microsoft Office -- New! Microsoft Office Starter 2010 - Included in Price
Warranty Sager 2 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty [$69.00]

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vs the NP5135 @ $1176.97 after shipping

Sager NP5135 (Built on Clevo B5130M) Sager NP5135 (Built on Clevo B5130M)
- Student Promotions! Ask us about our Cash Discounts or FREE Promotional Items & Accessory Bundles for Students - Up to 50% OFF! - Student Verification Required for Promotion
- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Intel® Core™ i7-640M, 2.88-3.44GHz, (4MB L3 cache)
- - IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU
- nVidia GT 425M 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR3 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology
- No Video Adapter
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Back Up Software
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Basic Black Business Case
- NO Spare Battery
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- No External Keyboard or Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 3 Year Labor 1 Year Parts, Lifetime Sager Toll Free Tech Support
- No Xotic PC Gear

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I have no idea the difference between the two video cards really, nor about the network card. Kinda just maxed it out hoping some light could be shed here. Also, on the np5135, for the harddrive, it seems to show on the site that its an external hookup, whereas the 350gb (same (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache) info) is clearly internal...help?
 
Looks like the GT 425M will perform somewhere around the level of the HD5650:
In our tests with an Acer Aspire 5745PG pre-sample, a GT 420M performed on average between a GeForce GT 330M and GT 335M. Therefore, the GT 425 should be a bit faster than the GT 335M. Nvidia positions the card against the Mobility Radeon HD 5650.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-Geforce-GT-425M.34152.0.html

So it's going to be up to you to decide on which system you like better. I personally think that the 5135 is a nicer looking system (more streamlined).

As for your HDD question, I'm really not sure what you are asking. Can you clarify?
 

alexoldshane

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When selecting the harddrive you want, it lists the

320GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
and
500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)

The first, there is no picture. However with the second, it shows one that appears to be one that possibly is not internal of the laptop. Can't actually tell, and am uncertain as to why they would show a picture for the 500 and not the 320 if both were internal, or if there was no difference aside from capacity.


Also, I just kinda stumbled upon the 2180.

If there's something else you guys would be able to suggest for my new price range, ~$1500 max, would definitely also consider it.
 

alexoldshane

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Okay. I'm probably going to go with the 5135 then. Read the 2180 is brittle apparently, and looking at them, I do like the look of the 5135 more. just going to have to customize it to my fit more then....thanks a lot. =]

edit:

just a thought for the warranty...think should just go ahead and get the 3yr one? i'll probably have it that long at least, but dunno if should even bother.