Customizing the Sager NP8660

[Neil]

I have been looking for a gaming laptop and that I can take around with me but also use as my desktop computer.
I have been looking at the Sager NP8660 and I was wondering what options I should choose. I was thinking:

15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
Intel® P8400 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.26GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GT DDR3 DX10
4,096MB 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS)
Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
250GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA 150)

$1892

My budget is about $2000
I will use windows XP professional
I will probably be playing high graphics games that I havent bought yet for fear of my old computer not handling them.

My main questions are:

Will the processor be strong enough? My past computers have had the video card and RAM as the bottlenecks so im wondering if 2.26GHz will be sufficient for the games in the near future.

Is 160GB a large enough hard drive? I have never really come close to filling my harddrive since I really don't keep many videos or images on my computer only really games.

[Mazeura]

First, what is your budget? Your budget will help us a lot when it comes to figuring out what you should go for.
What games do you plan on playing?
Are you going to use Vista?

Personally if your going to game with it I would go for the P9500 or the T9600. The decision to be made with those is this: Is performance more important than battery life?
They will offer about equal performance, with (obviously) the T9600 being faster, but the P9500 will add quite a lot of battery life to your laptop.

For the hard drive I'm going to say this: I do a lot of gaming, and I use my laptop for school and work as well. I have a 160GB and a 320GB HD's and I'm using 100GB on my 160GB and 200GB on my 320GB hard drive. (Then again I have a backup of my documents of my 160GB on the 320GB just in case something happens, and that is roughly 50GB by itself.)
If you plan to download a lot, 160GB won't be enough.
To be sure you should go with a 250GB 5400RPM or a 320GB 5400ROM (they cost 30$ and 60$ more respectively).

This is what I'm coming up with:
Sager NP8660 (Built on Clevo M860TU) PRE ORDER
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P9500 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9800M GT DDR3 DX10 (User Upgradeable)
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (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
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- 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 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- ~Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- 3 Year Labor* 1 Year Parts Warranty Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Based Toll Free Tech Support
(Year2 & 3 Labor Warranty through Xotic PC)
Price: $2,264.00

Though you can save money by going with one of these two instead:
ASUS G50V-A2 - PRE ORDER
- !! FREE !! UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code FREESHIP in Checkout)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) Pixel Guarantee
- -Intel® T9400 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 35 watt - ASUS Default Processor
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9700M GT DDR3 DX10
- - 4,096MB (Corsair, Kingston, Major Brand) DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMs) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- - 2X Blue-Ray Read/8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- - 200GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive - Asus Default Hard Drive
- - 200GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA II 7200RPM Hard Drive - Asus Default Hard Drive
- Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- Asus G Series Matching Logitech Mouse
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's - ENS
- 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty, 24/7 Tech Support, 1 Year Accidental Damage Coverage & 2-Way Pre-Paid Overnight Shipping for Repairs
Price: $1,839.00
Or
ASUS G50V-A1 - PRE ORDER ASUS G50V-A1 - PRE ORDER
- !! FREE !! UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code FREESHIP in Checkout)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) Pixel Guarantee
- -Intel® T9400 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 35 watt - ASUS Default Processor
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9700M GT DDR3 DX10
- - 4,096MB (Corsair, Kingston, Major Brand) DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMs) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 250GB SATA 150 5400RPM Hard Drive - Default
- - 250GB SATA 150 5400RPM Hard Drive - Default
- Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- Asus G Series Matching Logitech Mouse
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's - ENS
- 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty, 24/7 Tech Support, 1 Year Accidental Damage Coverage & 2-Way Pre-Paid Overnight Shipping for Repairs
Price: $1,639.00
And for $199 more you can upgrade the two ASUS's to having Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit. (Which I would recommend doing.)

The 9700mGT is slower than the 9800mGT, but it can still play games with ease. (Just don't expect to play Crysis at very high at native resolution. I would imagine that you could play Crysis at low settings at native resolution, and that isn't a problem. I've played Crysis at low settings and it still looks amazing.)

[Neil]

I have a copy of windows xp proffesional that I can use.

Would a 2.23 GHz processor be powerful enough or should I get the 2.4 GHz

...I will look at those other computers you posted.

[The Bill]

2.23GHz is a lot of processing power, and enough to handle your computer. But since you said your moving into high graphics game, and your budget is sturdy enough, I'd go for the 2.4GHz proc. also the Asus G50V-A2 is a very nice computer choice based on your demands (See specs listed by Mazeura), it works for games and I'm pretty sure the 9700M GT can play Crysis on medium settings (Maybe with a little staggering here and there) on the native resolution, but turning down your res on Crysis wouldn't really hurt to do.

But if you want that extra-bit of GPU sauce, then the build you made is perfect. Though a larger processor (As I forementioned) would be a helpful perk. Also keep in mind when ordering, that there is also shipping costs to add to your total.

Bill

[Neil]

Ok thanks I think ill go with 2.4 GHz since the next one up is significantly more expensive.