[hybrid35]

 
Quote:

Thanks. I overlooked that.
 
I decided against buying a high end notebook PC. I intend on purchasing an ASUS N82JV-X1 for my father as a gift from Amazon:
 
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VWDQI2/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
 
I also plan on spending another $1,400.00 USD to purchase a round-trip plane ticket for my mother so she can return home to Indonesia by the end of this year or in early January 2011. Her side of her family have not seen her in years and they are elderly.
 
I think this is a better way of spending my money.
 
Thank you for the replies and options. I will subscribe to this thread and perhaps I will make the switch to Sager Notebook next year when I will have a lot more funds available. I expect to graduate from NJIT by December 2011 if all goes according to plan. Purchasing an ultra powerful Sager Notebook would be my graduation gift for myself.
 
I configured a custom Sager NP7280 with all of the highest upgrade options for both hardware and software plus a 3 year Sager warranty. It is $6,347.00 USD. While I could afford to buy it this Friday, October 8th, 2010 and have it shipped to my home within two weeks, I will continue to work and save up more money to buy it in a little over a year from today.

Wow, you are an amazing person. Makes me feel like crap for not doing anything and buying things impulsively. Congrats to you!

Hope all goes well.

 

[Welly Wu]

 

 

Display 17.3" Full HD LED Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080) Zero Dead Pixel Insurance Guaranteed no dead or partially-lit pixels for first 30 days of purchasing [$100.00] Video & Graphics Card Dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 480M GPU with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory in SLI Mode [$725.00] CPU Processor Intel® Core™ i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition ( 12MB L3 Cache, 3.33GHz, 6.4GT/sec QPI, 6 Cores ) [$815.00] Thermal Compound IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU [$40.00] Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 7 Ultimate 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded ) [$110.00] Memory 12GB Triple Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 3 X 4GB [$270.00] RAID Storage Options RAID-1 Storage ( Data Mirror - Requires 2nd Hard Disk Drive with identical capacity as Primary HDD) Primary Hard Disk Drive 160GB Intel SATA2 Solid State Disk Drive [$455.00] 2nd Hard Disk Drive 160GB Intel SATA2 Solid State Secondary Disk Drive in RAID configuration [$510.00] 3rd Hard Disk Drive 640GB 5400rpm SATA 300 3rd Hard Disk Drive [$110.00] Optical Drive 6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software [$215.00] Wireless Network Card Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module Bluetooth Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module Primary Battery Smart Li-ION Battery Pack TV-Tuner TVT-6012, USB ATSC/NTSC/Clear QAM HDTV TUNER [$85.00] Integrated Security Device Fingerprint Reader Microsoft Office New! Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Edition [$349.00] Warranty Sager 3 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty [$269.00] Additional Battery Pack BAT-7280, NP7280 Smart Li-ION Battery Pack (8 Cell) [$195.00] Keyboard & Mice Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse with BlueTrack [$55.00] Carrying Bag Standard Carrying Bag
Calculate Shipping & Tax   Next Day Air ($234.78)   2nd Day Air ($183.48)   3-Day Select ($133.91)   Ground ($82.52) Country: Select a countryAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegowinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrance, MetropolitanFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-bissauGuyanaHaitiHeard and Mc Donald IslandsHondurasHong Kong(China)HungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran (Islamic Republic of)IraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacao(China)Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan Mayen IslandsSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican City State (Holy See)VenezuelaViet NamVirgin Islands (British)Virgin Islands (U.S.)Wallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZaireZambiaZimbabwe Zip Code:	Sub Total:	$7,052.00
Sales Tax:	$0.00
Shipping (Next Day Air):	$234.78
Total:	$7,286.78

 


 

 

Display 17.3" Full HD LED Display with Super Glossy Surface (1920 x 1080) Zero Dead Pixel Insurance Guaranteed no dead or partially-lit pixels for first 30 days of purchasing [$100.00] Video & Graphics Card Dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 480M GPU with 2GB GDDR5 Video Memory in SLI Mode [$725.00] CPU Processor Intel® Core™ i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition ( 12MB L3 Cache, 3.33GHz, 6.4GT/sec QPI, 6 Cores ) [$815.00] Thermal Compound IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU [$40.00] Operating System Genuine MS Windows® 7 Ultimate 32/64-Bit Edition ( 64-Bit Preloaded ) [$110.00] Memory 12GB Triple Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 3 X 4GB [$270.00] RAID Storage Options RAID-1 Storage ( Data Mirror - Requires 2nd Hard Disk Drive with identical capacity as Primary HDD) Primary Hard Disk Drive 160GB Intel SATA2 Solid State Disk Drive [$455.00] 3rd Hard Disk Drive 640GB 5400rpm SATA 300 3rd Hard Disk Drive [$110.00] Optical Drive 6X BD-R Blu-ray Burner/8X DVD±R/2.4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software [$215.00] Wireless Network Card Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module Bluetooth Internal Bluetooth V2.1 Module Primary Battery Smart Li-ION Battery Pack TV-Tuner TVT-6012, USB ATSC/NTSC/Clear QAM HDTV TUNER [$85.00] Integrated Security Device Fingerprint Reader Microsoft Office New! Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Edition [$349.00] Warranty Sager 3 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty [$269.00] Additional Battery Pack BAT-7280, NP7280 Smart Li-ION Battery Pack (8 Cell) [$195.00] Keyboard & Mice Microsoft Explorer Mini Mouse with BlueTrack [$55.00] Carrying Bag Standard Carrying Bag
Calculate Shipping & Tax   Next Day Air ($231.98)   2nd Day Air ($180.68)   3-Day Select ($131.11)   Ground ($79.72) Country: Select a countryAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegowinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrance, MetropolitanFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-bissauGuyanaHaitiHeard and Mc Donald IslandsHondurasHong Kong(China)HungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran (Islamic Republic of)IraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacao(China)Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan Mayen IslandsSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican City State (Holy See)VenezuelaViet NamVirgin Islands (British)Virgin Islands (U.S.)Wallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZaireZambiaZimbabwe Zip Code:	Sub Total:	$6,542.00
Sales Tax:	$0.00
Shipping (Next Day Air):	$231.98
Total:	$6,773.98

 

 

[Welly Wu]

I tried to copy and paste my order, but there is something wrong with the Huddler system.
 
The price is $6,773.98 USD including next day air shipping to my home.
 
I am confident that I will have the funds available by December 2011. I am also assured that the specifications will continue to evolve as technology progresses. Besides, it is only one year and three months from today which is not a long time to work and save before I buy mine.
 
This will be my graduation gift once I earn my Masters of Science in IT Administration & Security from New Jersey Institute of Technology. It will be used for personal and work purposes.
 
I will continue to research Sager Notebook until I am satisfied with my level of current knowledge about the company, its customers, and their community. They seem to be an excellent source of ultra high performance notebook PCs.
 
The Sager NP7280 weighs about 12.50 pounds and the 300 watt AC supply weighs almost 3.00 pounds. So, I am going to lug around a 16 pound computer and power supply in my FUL Cross Fade wheeled backpack in the near future. Also, the battery lasts about 45.00 minutes in power saving mode. I decided to purchase an additional Lithium ION battery in my order posted above.
 
I must be insane.
 

 

[Welly Wu]

I will also buy two more items which I consider to be must have necessities:
 
1. Kensington Microsaver Micro DS notebook PC lock with two duplicate flat master keys
 
2. 3M Privacy Filter for 17.3" 16:9 ratio widescreen notebook PCs

 

[Welly Wu]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3970/avadirect-clevo-x7200-worlds-fastest-dtr
 
Has anyone heard of AVADirect? How are they compared to Sager Notebooks (whom I know as a higher profile brand)?
 
They have a similar equipped notebook PC to my above configuration, but it comes at a much lower price tag of $5781.00 USD. Basically, I would save $992.98 USD if I went with AVADirect for their Clevo X7200 based computer.
 
What do you guys think about it? Please reply as I am trying to expand my research scope.

 

[Welly Wu]

The above article seems to indicate that this AVADirect is not upgradeable like the Sager NP7280.
 
I ruled it out of my consideration.
 
I will go with Sager as my first choice. The more I learn about the company and its products, the more I agree with their philosophy and design choices plus their terrific support after the sale is completed.

 

[Welly Wu]

Here is the complete list of computer hardware and software that I will buy for my father soon:
 

• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WJR52C/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MX5YWI/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016P7HTU/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RL8V2E/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029F1XO6/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JZ1QWA/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 
I want to get him something very nice as a gift. The ASUS U43JC-A1 has a battery life of 10.50 hours and it comes with Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, a 640.00 GB 5,400 RPM hard drive, and an Intel Core i5 - 450 M; it is partially made of bamboo. I also decided to max out on the RAM by purchasing Crucial 8 GB 204 pin, PC-8500 1,066.00 MHz, DDR3 SODIMM memory, a black Caselogic 14.1 neoprene sleeve with an extra pouch for sundry accessories, an ASUS Bluetooth mouse, and the obligatory Kensington Microsaver Micro DS flat master key laptop lock. He already has a custom bag that can fit everything that I am going to buy for him. I am also going to upgrade his ASUS laptop to Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 bit Edition through their Anytime Upgrade option. When I get Microsoft Office 2010 Professional, I will install it on his laptop too.
 
I expect to make the purchases on Black Friday. I am going to upgrade everything to overnight shipping.
 
I hope that he will like all of this stuff. This will be his first laptop and I want to ensure that he has as optimal of a user experience that I can afford to provide for him.

 

[Welly Wu]

I think that I can afford to swing the purchase of two additional laptops.
 
I definitely can afford to purchase all of the items in my previous post within my thread for my father.
 
I am now looking into a System76 Serval Professional with all of the top of the line upgrade items for the CPU, GPU, hard drive, screen resolution, etc. It will cost $2965.00 USD. I am interested in getting something different for myself. For those of you that do not know System76, please visit http://www.system76.com and select laptops and choose the Serval Professional. They are a small company that specializes in assembling Ubuntu GNU/Linux certified desktops, workstations, servers, and laptops.
 
For the record, I already invested $1266.08 USD in my ASUS N61JV-X2 including hardware and software (however, this excludes the cost of the NJIT software bundle and the Microsoft Dreamspark collection of software). It is a terrific Windows laptop and I plan on keeping it until I graduate from NJIT with my degree.
 
I am getting more heavily involved with Linux compared to Windows. I use Eclipse and Netbeans to code C++ and teach myself Java. I have found a good number of alternative programs that replace the expensive name brand software programs available on Windows exclusively.
 
I have no set date by which to purchase a System76 laptop.
 
Does anyone here own any System76 products? If so, then would you please post your specific computer and what you use it for? Thank you.

 

[bangraman]

Long time no see, Welly.
 
 
If you're not gaming and simply want multimedia-related stuff to zip along, then a Quadro wouldn't be a problem... and as such, I'll toss in a recommendation for the Dell M6500 or the HP Elitebook 8740w. These are pretty much the ultimate if you want something truly stable that can handle e.g. long bouts of transcoding, then there are few other places to go. The Dell has two drive slots as well as well as optical provision (the HP is an eitherr, i.e. you have to select whether to have an optical or a second HDD) so you can easily make yourself a >1Tb setup.
 
 
The M6500 Covet is actually quite a nice shade of orange, and it's a really nice machine overall. And it's the only glass fronted display I can remotely consider using in well lit environments... they seem to have put some sort of light scattering layer on the back of the glass. I'd have to give the ultimate build quality nod to the HP, but the Dell is pretty close and definitely looks nicer. Both are within your reach at around $7,000 for a decently specified example.

 

[pbcustom98]

I am not if you are aware of this, but i'll let you in on a secret anyway.
 
That serval professional is identical to the sager NP 8690, and you can get the same spec from xoticpc.com for $2,814, not included tax (if applicable) or shipping.
 
sager is a ODM - original distrobution manufacturer, and they sell to other companies who then brand the laptops etc.
 
the serval professional, is the NP8690, so whether you know it or not, you are still looking at a sager machine.
 
serval pro:
http://www.system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=99
 
NP8690
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8690-built-clevo-w860cu-custom-gaming-laptop-p-2659.htmlQuote:
 
Again, don't be fooled by the "gaming" marketing, it is a beast of a laptop. XoticPC also offers a bit more customization regarding screen resolution.
 
enjoy.
 
 
 

I think that I can afford to swing the purchase of two additional laptops.
 
I definitely can afford to purchase all of the items in my previous post within my thread for my father.
 
I am now looking into a System76 Serval Professional with all of the top of the line upgrade items for the CPU, GPU, hard drive, screen resolution, etc. It will cost $2965.00 USD. I am interested in getting something different for myself. For those of you that do not know System76, please visit http://www.system76.com and select laptops and choose the Serval Professional. They are a small company that specializes in assembling Ubuntu GNU/Linux certified desktops, workstations, servers, and laptops.
 
For the record, I already invested $1266.08 USD in my ASUS N61JV-X2 including hardware and software (however, this excludes the cost of the NJIT software bundle and the Microsoft Dreamspark collection of software). It is a terrific Windows laptop and I plan on keeping it until I graduate from NJIT with my degree.
 
I am getting more heavily involved with Linux compared to Windows. I use Eclipse and Netbeans to code C++ and teach myself Java. I have found a good number of alternative programs that replace the expensive name brand software programs available on Windows exclusively.
 
I have no set date by which to purchase a System76 laptop.
 
Does anyone here own any System76 products? If so, then would you please post your specific computer and what you use it for? Thank you.

 

[Welly Wu]

Thank you for your recommendations.
 
My budget is open. Whatever it costs, so be it.
 
In terms of dimensions, size, and weight, I will select up to a 16.00" widescreen with full HD 1080p resolution and 10.00 pounds including the power supply unit.
 
I am looking for a very high end multimedia and desktop replacement laptop. Here are my desired hardware and software specifications:
 
15.40 - 16.00" 16:9 widescreen ratio 1920X1080 full HD resolution RGB LED glossy screen
Intel Core i7-940XM CPU or faster
8.00 - 16.00 GB of 64 bit DDR3, 204 pin, non-ECC, PC-10600, 1,333 MHz SODIMM RAM
160 GB SSD hard drive
One 1 TB, 7,200 RPM SATA-III 600 MB/s hard drive for data storage
Gigabit Ethernet port
1 Super Speed USB 3.0 ports
Three USB 2.0 ports or more
One 1394A 400 MB/s or one 1394B 800 MB/s Firewire port
Full sized chicklit keyboard with 10 number key pad
3 finger multi-gesture trackpad
Stereo speakers
ExpressCard 54/34 combined
3 - 8 in one multi-format card support
NVIDIA Geforce GTX GPU with a minimum of 1.5 GDDR5 VRAM
Exhaust fans on the rear of the laptop
3 year manufacturer's limited warranty
No dead or bright lit pixel warranty for 30 days after purchase with receipt
Lifetime free technical and customer support with registered laptop
3 year Lojack subscription
Minimum bloatware software installed
Headphone & microphone jack
2 MB flash BIOS memory or larger capacity
Microsoft DirectX 11 capable
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 bit pre-installed
Microsoft Office 2010 Professional pre-installed
HDMI 1.4 with HDCP support
NVIDIA PhysX & CUDA support
Blu-Ray Dual Layer & Super-Multi Burner drive
eSata port
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR or Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 802.11 A/B/G/N Wi-Fi Certified
Kensington lock (mandatory)
Trusted Platform 1.2 hardware support
Fingerprint reader
TWO Lithium Polymer batteries
2.0 Megapixel camera or higher resolution
ATSC Clear QAM HDTV & NTSC TV Tuner + Remote Control
Intel PM55 chipset or better
RJ-11 V.90 & V.92 compliant modem
Overnight air shipping
NO NEW JERSEY SALES TAX!
 
Target deadline: December 1st, 2011
 
This is for certain now. My shopping phase is over. I am ready to buy before my latest deadline.

 

[Welly Wu]

I was not aware of that. Thank you for this information. This is why I post threads to solicit information from the community before making a purchasing decision.
 
I updated my thread with my final hardware and software specifications. I will look into xoticpc soon.
 
Quote:

I am not if you are aware of this, but i'll let you in on a secret anyway.
 
That serval professional is identical to the sager NP 8690, and you can get the same spec from xoticpc.com for $2,814, not included tax (if applicable) or shipping.
 
sager is a ODM - original distrobution manufacturer, and they sell to other companies who then brand the laptops etc.
 
the serval professional, is the NP8690, so whether you know it or not, you are still looking at a sager machine.
 
serval pro:
http://www.system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=99
 
NP8690
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8690-built-clevo-w860cu-custom-gaming-laptop-p-2659.htmlQuote:
 
Again, don't be fooled by the "gaming" marketing, it is a beast of a laptop. XoticPC also offers a bit more customization regarding screen resolution.
 
enjoy.

 

[bangraman]

Actually, Sager isn't the ODM. Everyone like Sager resells Clevo notebooks. http://www.clevo.com.tw/en/index.asp
 
If you search by the Clevo model number you should be able to turn up even more alternative 'manufacturers'. Clevo have sewn up the market for high-end gaming notebooks, but they are still consumer machines. Personally I'm not a fan, as I think if you think you need that much power in a luggable (and bear in mind you're not even close to a desktop, especially in terms of nVidia GPU horsepower), you're making way too many portability compromises and are better off with a) a Shuttle or b) a proper desktop + subnotebook. 
 
Quote:

I am not if you are aware of this, but i'll let you in on a secret anyway.
 
That serval professional is identical to the sager NP 8690, and you can get the same spec from xoticpc.com for $2,814, not included tax (if applicable) or shipping.
 
sager is a ODM - original distrobution manufacturer, and they sell to other companies who then brand the laptops etc.
 
the serval professional, is the NP8690, so whether you know it or not, you are still looking at a sager machine.
 
serval pro:
http://www.system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=99
 
NP8690
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8690-built-clevo-w860cu-custom-gaming-laptop-p-2659.htmlQuote:
 
Again, don't be fooled by the "gaming" marketing, it is a beast of a laptop. XoticPC also offers a bit more customization regarding screen resolution.
 
enjoy.

 

[Welly Wu]

This is true.
 
Clevo is the ODM provider.
 
I considered getting myself a Shuttle PC J3 5800 P along with a nice 27" widescreen high resolution LED monitor. Even with all of the upgrades, it would cost me thousands of dollars more than the Sager Notebook NP8690-S1 albeit I would get a much more powerful desktop system.
 
Besides, I am on the go much more frequently. I am going to join the Association of Computing Machinery at NJIT. All of the meetings and the SIGs meet on campus in Newark, NJ. To tell the truth, I am happy with my current ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC. It is a desktop replacement. I just have an itch for a much more powerful laptop and it seems that Clevo fits the bill quite nicely.

 

[bangraman]

I can only say what I would do in the situation... and I am in a situation where I occasionally need the most power on the move, but that is MUCH rarer than needing the most power on a primarily stationary basis.
 
 
Which is why I have a huddle of 4lbs and under notebooks for everyday use backed up by a much fewer number of maxed-out HP Elitebook 8740w's (and until recently, Dell Covets), but for anything resembling regular heavy lifting I rely on HP workstations. Unless you need the silence (although workstations can be pretty quiet too) or the mobility of a mobile workstation on a regular basis, I think a DTR is a bit of a mobility faux pas to be honest. You don't get the mobility, and even a SLI mobile solution is distinctly weak-sauce when compared to what a desktop can do.
 
 
Something like a Sony Z gets you a GPU that can run basic visualisation, yet 5-hour real-life runtimes from a claimed 6 (unlike e.g. Apple's rather fanciful 10 hours) are possible with power saving (more with the extended battery, and even then this machine is under 4lbs), feels faster than most desktops thanks to the RAID SSD and weighs 3lbs for only ~$3K. This is a machine you can carry all day, every day and get useful stuff done. The rest of your budget can be freed up for a proper desktop.