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Sager NP8660 or MSI GT725-074?

MeisterMeister Registered User regular
edited February 2009 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
I'm trying to decide between these two laptops. Specs:

Sager:
15.4" WSXGA+
Intel® P8700 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
nVidia GeForce 9800M GTS 512MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX10
4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
250GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)

MSI:
17" WSXGA+
ATI HD4850 512MB PCI-Express DDR3 DX10
Intel® P8600 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.40GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory -
320GB 7200RPM WD or Seagate (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default Hard Drive

Note: I already have an external HD, so space is not so much an issue.

The MSI actually comes out cheaper than the Sager, and supposedly the graphics card is better than the 9800M GTS. However, the MSI is not out yet (it'll probably be out in a few weeks.

Also, it's 17'', so it won't fit in my backpack/will be harder to transport (although I think they're actually the same weight...). However, the MSI also comes with a free backpack (Sager comes with a free case). More screen space is also better for programming/watching movies.

The MSI has a worse warranty (only 1 year labor through MSI as opposed to 3 years labor for the sager through XoticPC). However, I can jack up the warranty to 3 years labor/parts but it increases the price to slightly above the Sager.

I don't have much experience with ATI cards. I know nVidia has lots of cool stuff like CUDA, FX Composer, and Cg, but I don't know how good the equivalent ATI versions are.

What are your opinions?
What do you guys think?

3DS friend code friend code: 4485-1155-2584
Meister on

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    OremLKOremLK Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Neither. Get a practical laptop for less than half the price and build yourself a budget gaming desktop with the cash left over. You'll get better gaming performance out of the deal and you won't have to lug around a huge, battery-chugging, loud, oven-like menace that you won't even be able to upgrade down the road.

    OremLK on
    My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
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    MeisterMeister Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    OremLK wrote: »
    Neither. Get a practical laptop for less than half the price and build yourself a budget gaming desktop with the cash left over. You'll get better gaming performance out of the deal and you won't have to lug around a huge, battery-chugging, loud, oven-like menace that you won't even be able to upgrade down the road.

    Trust me, I've already considered that alternative. I need to move my computer around a lot (to and from project meetings, to and from my hometown when I go back on vacation), so a desktop isn't really an option.

    Meister on
    3DS friend code friend code: 4485-1155-2584
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    OremLKOremLK Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    Even if you have a non-gaming laptop as well for when you need mobility? I guess what I'm saying is, how badly do you need to play games on the go? Because you could seriously do better for the same price and get both a desktop and a laptop out of the deal.

    OremLK on
    My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
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    taliosfalcontaliosfalcon Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    OremLK wrote: »
    Even if you have a non-gaming laptop as well for when you need mobility? I guess what I'm saying is, how badly do you need to play games on the go? Because you could seriously do better for the same price and get both a desktop and a laptop out of the deal.
    While your comments on the price points are true, the sager is only very slightly bigger than most other 15.4 laptops, admittedly the battery life is pretty short (2-3 hours depending on usage) but its got the mobility factor pretty much covered.

    taliosfalcon on
    steam xbox - adeptpenguin
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    DHS OdiumDHS Odium Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    I would go with the MSI. I won't comment on the larger screen, as it may be considered either a positive or negative. But the larger, faster hard drive and ATI graphics (I prefer them) would put me in the MSI camp.

    DHS Odium on
    Wii U: DHS-Odium // Live: DHS Odium // PSN: DHSOdium // Steam: dhsykes // 3DS: 0318-6615-5294
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    MeisterMeister Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    This laptop won't be for playing games on the go, but rather for making games on the go. I work on various projects in groups in school, and many of them require intense graphics. Also, we mostly present our projects on laptops, so the faster the laptop we're presenting on the better, because then our program will run smoother and we will be able to push the graphics more.

    DHS, have you had experience working with the equivalent ATI technologies, like Stream and such? Can you comment on how they compare to their nVidia analogues?

    Meister on
    3DS friend code friend code: 4485-1155-2584
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    DHS OdiumDHS Odium Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    No clue, my preference for ATI comes from using their products as a consumer, playing games.

    DHS Odium on
    Wii U: DHS-Odium // Live: DHS Odium // PSN: DHSOdium // Steam: dhsykes // 3DS: 0318-6615-5294
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    BarcardiBarcardi All the Wizards Under A Rock: AfganistanRegistered User regular
    edited February 2009
    i have a 6 month old sager and i do max / cad / revit / no games / photoshop with it and its pretty good. That graphics card is nicer than mine though, and you get ddr3 so thats great.

    Size has never been an issue with me, especially with the included case. Just be sure to get a backpack that is for 17" laptops and you will be fine. I have one that i carry around with my laptop, some books and wires, a wacom, etc. Its all in one. Eventually the wires become more of a problem than the actual laptop itself. Wires are lame to carry around.


    whatever you do dont get the broken pixel insurance, youll notice on day one if you have that issue

    Barcardi on
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