How does this gaming laptop look?

Wardawg1001

Senior member
Sep 4, 2008
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I'm in the market for a gaming laptop. I travel non-stop so a gaming PC is out of the question (home on weekends only, and sometimes not even that). I don't know a whole lot about good quality gaming laptop brands but I've been shopping around on various sites and I think this is probably the best deal I've found that has everything I want - found it on cyberpowerpc.com

Xplorer X6-9400 Gaming Notebook (customized)

CPU : Intel® Core™ i5-2430M Mobile Processor 2.40 GHz 3M Intel Smart Cache, Max Turbo Freq. 3.00 GHz [-80]
HDD : 750GB 7200RPM SATA300 Hard Drive [+30]
MEMORY : 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-1333 SODIMM Memory [+69] (Corsair or Major Brand)
MOTHERBOARD : Intel HM67 Express Chipset Mainboard
SOUND : Built-in 3D Premium Surround Sound
VIDEO : NVIDIA GTX 560M 1.5GB PCIe Video

$1302 shipped

Is the 8GB going to be of any use or should I downgrade to 4GB? I don't plan on doing anything on it besides gaming, watching movies, web browsing. Am I getting a good price for the parts? Any similar models out there people have seen for a better price? This is right about in my price range, less is obviously better but I'm willing to go to about $1500 if its worth it. Anything to be concerned about regarding the website, manufacturer, brand name? Thanks for your input.
 
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trollolo

Senior member
Aug 30, 2011
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it's not bad, but if you really use it for traveling, that 560 will wreck your battery
 

Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 13, 2008
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not bad, I would say 8GB of ram is a good amount. The 560 will definitely be a major + for gaming. Also, you may want to consider getting a hybrid drive, 500 GB seagate momentus xt. Also, is that a 4 core i5, or 2C/4T? if the latter, you may want to consider getting a slightly stronger CPU for gaming. Depends on games played though.

I got a similar setup in my sager, but added an SSD and got it with a 2630 QM i7.

yay, 1000th post btw!
 
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Wardawg1001

Senior member
Sep 4, 2008
653
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it's not bad, but if you really use it for traveling, that 560 will wreck your battery

I will almost never be using it while its not plugged in, it will mostly just sit at my hotel.

Shmee said:
not bad, I would say 8GB of ram is a good amount. The 560 will definitely be a major + for gaming. Also, you may want to consider getting a hybrid drive, 500 GB seagate momentus xt. Also, is that a 4 core i5, or 2C/4T? if the latter, you may want to consider getting a slightly stronger CPU for gaming. Depends on games played though.

I got a similar setup in my sager, but added an SSD and got it with a 2630 QM i7.

yay, 1000th post btw!

What exactly does a hybrid drive do for me?

The core i5 appears to be a 2C/4T, thanks for pointing that out, I hadn't bothered to check. I found a pretty similar laptop at newegg.com

ASUS G53 Series G53SX-XN1 Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6"
8GB Memory DDR3 1333
500GB HDD 7200rpm
DVD Super Multi NVIDIA
GeForce GTX 560M

$1199, plus shipping

Smaller hard drive and I think the original one I had posted had a blu-ray drive, but I'm not that worried about it. This i7 is a 4C/8T, but at a slower clock speed. The 560M on this one also has 2GB of dedicated memory vs 1.5GB on the other one. How will these factors affect gaming?
 

Wardawg1001

Senior member
Sep 4, 2008
653
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Took a look around xoticpc.com, most of the configs come out about the same as the configs I was getting elsewhere. I did manage to put this together though:

Sager NP8150

- 15.6” FHD 16:9 LED Backlit Wide screen (1920x1080) Super Clear Glare Type Screen (SKU - S1P318)
- 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - S2R201)
- ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD6990 2048MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (SKU - S3R151) ( + 245 )
- 8GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS)
- 500GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software
- Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- 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
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Basic Black Business Case - Included

$1,507, plus shipping

Really liking the GFX card and I think this may be the only site I've found that would put it into a 15.6" laptop, and at a substantially cheaper price than the 17" laptops that I normally find it with.

I have a few questions about the options though.

1. Upgrade to the 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) for an extra $50 worth it? Again the purpose of this laptop is almost solely gaming.

2. I can upgrade to IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU for $40. What exactly would this do for me and is it worth the money?

3. I saved $50 by choosing four 2GB memory sticks instead of two 4GB memory sticks - is there any performance loss by using 4 sticks instead of 2?

4. I have the option of going with a 500GB (w/ 4GB SSD Memory) Seagate XT 7200RPM NCQ Hybrid for an extra $65. What exactly would I use the 4GB SSD memory for? Can I boot up from that amount of memory or is there some other useful purpose for it?

5. I chose Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module for an extra $35 over the regular built in wireless. I know absolutely nothing about the quality of various wireless cards, what exactly can I expect to get from this? I will be using this laptop primarily from hotels, some of which don't have wired connections. Will this card really be able to improve the wireless connectivity enough to play online games?

6. The default option for the OS was none. I had to add on Win7 for $80. Is this just for people who already have an OS purchased? Can I pick up Win7 somewhere else for less money? Currently I only have XP discs, and I would like to move to Win7 on this laptop.

Thanks again for your input!
 
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T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
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1) for gaming needs a i5 2410M is enough, if you have the money, go for it
2)Nothing really, just better thermal paste, doesnt really matter
3) Well, your max RAM is only going to be 8GB instead of 16GB, nothing lost really
4)the 4GB SSD memory is used for cacheing the HDD so its like a ghetto SSD persay
5)doesnt matter, -_- just use standard
6)80 bucks for OS is cheap
 

Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 13, 2008
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I would recomend the hybrid drive, and the 2630QM in the sager. I dont think the 2670 is needed. Again, dont bother with the IC diamond, but that 6990 looks sweet!
 

Axon

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2003
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I agree, go with the i7 quad core. Not that the i5 is a bad chip - there's just no reason to restrict yourself to a dual core CPU. I have the i7 2630m in my Sager NP 8130, and it does everything I want it to do in terms of gaming.

Also, it's worth calling up xoticpc and their competitors, malibal and power notebooks, before ordering. They will usually fall over themselves to get your business. Also, look into the NP 8150 S1 package. It has a bunch of free upgrades.

I think your money is better spent upgrading the screen to the 95% gamut matte version then on the upgraded wireless, which makes little to no difference.
 
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Wardawg1001

Senior member
Sep 4, 2008
653
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there's this ridiculous deal right now at newegg for asus g53 with 2630qm and gtx 460m for $800 after $100 mir.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230027

won't last long as last time it was on sale ($30 more), it sold out in about a day.

Wow, that is an amazing deal. Even though I was looking for more graphics power than that I'm dangerously close to pulling the trigger on it.

Does anyone have any idea exactly how much I lose going with the GTX 460M, and whether I would be able to upgrade that to a different card later? I see on notebookcheck.com it is listed as a high end graphics card. I don't plan on playing games that have massive GPU requirements (Crysis, Metro 2033, BF3, or really any FPS). Probably the most demanding game I'll be playing in the near future is Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and most of my other games will be RPG's, RTS's, and other games that typically have lower GFX requirements. If I go with this GTX 460M, anyone have an estimate of how long might it be before I'm turning graphics settings down to medium to low just to get decent FPS? 2-3 years maybe?
 

Wardawg1001

Senior member
Sep 4, 2008
653
1
81
I agree, go with the i7 quad core. Not that the i5 is a bad chip - there's just no reason to restrict yourself to a dual core CPU. I have the i7 2630m in my Sager NP 8130, and it does everything I want it to do in terms of gaming.

Also, it's worth calling up xoticpc and their competitors, malibal and power notebooks, before ordering. They will usually fall over themselves to get your business. Also, look into the NP 8150 S1 package. It has a bunch of free upgrades.

I think your money is better spent upgrading the screen to the 95% gamut matte version then on the upgraded wireless, which makes little to no difference.

What exactly would I say to get them to offer me some discounts? And where can I find the NP 8150 S1 package? Theres no mention of it on xoticpc.com or the Sager website that I can find...
 

Axon

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2003
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That's because you have to call to get the S1 package. Or it's simply the standard model now, I'm not 100% on that.

I would simply say "xotic pc has this build for X, I like your customer service, can you do better?" I did that and got a free HDD upgrade and free shipping. Check out this forum: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...r-np8130-clevo-p151hm1-owners-lounge-403.html

You'll see on that particular page two reseller representative - one guy from Malibal (www.malibal.com) and one guy from LPC Digital (lpc-digital.com). Both of those companies will work with you on price. Shop around.

Another good thread is the Sager NP 8130/8150 FAQ: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...ntly-asked-questions-read-before-posting.html
 
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htwingnut

Member
Jun 11, 2008
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If you really want best bang for the buck, get the Asus G53SW-XN1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834230027

$899 plus $100 MIR = $799

i7-2630QM
1080p 15.6"
GTX 460m
6GB DDR3 1333

460m instead of 560m, but *maybe* 10% performance difference between the two.

If you want to go XoticPC get the NP8130, will save you some money, unless you want to upgrade to another video card later, but you can still do that if you buy the larger power adapter. It maxes at the GTX 560m, but a nice little machine.
 
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