Sager (gamer) Laptop for PS and LR

[Jamesy]

I was looking at Ultrabooks - the ASUS Zenbook UX32VD ($1500) but realized I would be paying 75% the cost of getting a less portable but way more powerful laptop ($2000).

Does anyone has has any comments on Sager notebooks?
http://www.reflexnotebook.ca/index.php/sager-notebooks/sager-display/sager-15display/sager-np9150-1475.html
http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php?page=product_info&model_name=NP9150

They get some good reviews over at Notebookreview.com and they are very modular from a component standpoint.

I am looking at getting the following:
15.6" Full HD LED-Backlit Display features 95% NTSC Color Gamut in Matte (1920 x 1080)
I7-3610QM
16GB RAM (up to 32GB)
Nvidia 970M graphics
256GB SSD
750GB SATA HDD in lieu of DVD drive
mSATA slot available too

I like the fact that they are super customizable. Any thoughts on this brand or suggestions of others ones to look at? My budget is around $2000 and I hope it will do me for four years or so. It will be my primary PP machine.

[Drizzt321]

Why not use the mSATA slot and keep the DVD drive and the large HDD in the regular HDD spot?

Try and get some real reviews of the LCD panel, but that's not too bad. I have a 95% NTSC panel in my Lenovo w520 and it's pretty good, although I think I need to do better at proofing before I print on my Pixma Pro 9000 II.

[Jamesy]

Why not use the mSATA slot and keep the DVD drive and the large HDD in the regular HDD spot?

Try and get some real reviews of the LCD panel, but that's not too bad. I have a 95% NTSC panel in my Lenovo w520 and it's pretty good, although I think I need to do better at proofing before I print on my Pixma Pro 9000 II.

Most of the people who own Sager laptops are gamers so they don't have the same requirements as us. The matte apparently is better than glossy and the 95% gamut was recommended for better color rendition.

The primary HHD slot is the only SATA3 slot in the machine, both the mSATA and the Optical bay are SATA2. They have an option to put the O/S on a mSATA SSD card or I could use it however I like. That is an appealing option - it is nice to see more options for storage move into portable devices for sure.

[Drizzt321]

Why not use the mSATA slot and keep the DVD drive and the large HDD in the regular HDD spot?

Try and get some real reviews of the LCD panel, but that's not too bad. I have a 95% NTSC panel in my Lenovo w520 and it's pretty good, although I think I need to do better at proofing before I print on my Pixma Pro 9000 II.

Most of the people who own Sager laptops are gamers so they don't have the same requirements as us. The matte apparently is better than glossy and the 95% gamut was recommended for better color rendition.

The primary HHD slot is the only SATA3 slot in the machine, both the mSATA and the Optical bay are SATA2. They have an option to put the O/S on a mSATA SSD card or I could use it however I like. That is an appealing option - it is nice to see more options for storage move into portable devices for sure.

Ah, yes, to get the speed of a modern SSD you will need SATA3. But you could get a smaller, older mSATA for your boot drive, a decent sized and very fast SSD for your LR/PS Catalog/Preview/Scratch space, and then a regular old HDD in the DVD drive. Very appealing

[Jamesy]

Ah, yes, to get the speed of a modern SSD you will need SATA3. But you could get a smaller, older mSATA for your boot drive, a decent sized and very fast SSD for your LR/PS Catalog/Preview/Scratch space, and then a regular old HDD in the DVD drive. Very appealing

From an I/O perspective. I was considering the O/S on the mSATA but I would think I would want that on the SATA3 SSD. If I install a 256GB SSD then I would likely partition it with 90GB for C: and the remainder for D: with 75-100GB of current photos. I would then migrate older photosets to the 750GB spinner in the optical tray. My setup would be as follows:

256GB SSD
90GB - C: - (Windows)
140GB - D: - Data and LR cache, previews and catalog
750GB - E: - Data and backup for C/D drives

Currently I have a 250GB in my laptop and work as I have already outlined but the archive overflow sets are on my NAS. They are still in my LR catalog but the images are out on the network.

With the new system, I will be able to have more photos with me.

Here is an interesting link regarding LR and its performance with SSD's.
http://www.computer-darkroom.com/blog/will-an-ssd-improve-adobe-lightroom-performance/

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I'd definitely want to checkout the panel.  Thats the big weakness of laptops.  The other stuff comes down to quality of construction and available options.  You really only need a SSD for a boot and program drive, its not much of a cost to benefit ratio for storing images, but it is more reliable.  Still, if you do not want to lose your images, you need a safe system of multiple backups.

[victorwol]

I have one, don't expect the battery to last more than 20 minutes... Power wise, are fantastic, are more like a desktop replacement than a laptop.. The panel of the one I have is awful, I had to buy a Colormunki to make it usable, but is very far from a good monitor, now the have versions with better panels that when I bought it, but they tend to be about 9300K which is awfully blue....

[Jamesy]

I'd definitely want to checkout the panel.  Thats the big weakness of laptops.  The other stuff comes down to quality of construction and available options.  You really only need a SSD for a boot and program drive, its not much of a cost to benefit ratio for storing images, but it is more reliable.  Still, if you do not want to lose your images, you need a safe system of multiple backups.

I have three to four production copies of all my images, one of which is an encrypted offsite backup (as my wife rolls her eyes) done monthly to a portable drive. I am nuts about backup having been in IT for over twenty years. I am trying to get an accurate bead on their panels but not many photographers are using them - as I mentioned, the Sagers are game rigs.

[Jamesy]

I have one, don't expect the battery to last more than 20 minutes... Power wise, are fantastic, are more like a desktop replacement than a laptop.. The panel of the one I have is awful, I had to buy a Colormunki to make it usable, but is very far from a good monitor, now the have versions with better panels that when I bought it, but they tend to be about 9300K which is awfully blue....

What Sager model do you have and which screen option do you have? I have a Lenovo T400 and a Dell IPS 23" 2312HM attached to it via VGA and I calibrate both displays and the Lenovo always looks washed out. Any colour correction type work is always done on the external Dell IPS monitor. I would expct the new laptop to be the same but if it is better than that - "Hey Bonus!"

[victorwol]

I have a Sager X7200, and have the only screen they had at that moment. I'm not using an external monitor since I got a pretty good calibration and like to work from the comfortable recliner I have :-) but at the office I have an EIZO that its awesome, although I can't remember the model at this moment, not in front of it.

I'm using Windows 8 and it let me have a calibration for each monitor, so that is not an issue anymore. 

[Jamesy]

I'm using Windows 8 and it let me have a calibration for each monitor, so that is not an issue anymore.

I am using a Huey Pro (Pantone) and it allows individual monitor calibration. Does Windows 8 have built in calibration software? If so, is there an external hardware calibration device that you need to purchase?

Is your Sager X7200 loud? I am concerned with such a powerful laptop having excessive fan noise as a result of the fans cooling the CPU and GPU.

[victorwol]

I'm using a Spyder 4 now, so not sure if W8 have it's own calibration, if it have it's probably like before, based on some charts to look at and compare.

The manin reason I bought this computer was to record my classes for FXphd.com so had to be quiet enough to not be heard on the recordings. It makes some noise, but is not crazy noise, have 3 fans on the bottom, and still blow pretty hot. The heat has killed an HDD already of the 3 I have inside, so it's a good idea to archive often.

There are the most powerful laptops I know. For my day job I need something that is at least close to the performance of my desktop PC which is an HP Z820 and this one is pretty close.

[Jamesy]

Thanks Victorwol. And once the screen was calibrated you were happy with it? Is it glossy or matte?