Sager NP8278-S.  I probably should have asked for input from GD, but it appears the video card and other components will work well with the software I'll be using.

Linky to new laptop


This is an investment for my growing business of doing side jobs (engineering) and likely to get really busy with a few new contacts.  I can't keep using my company laptop, they don't like my installing unapproved software on their machine, so I had to get my own.  

I'll be running several very resource intensive programs to do structural design, drafting and 3D modeling, so the laptop has to be a hot-rod.

Worse yet, I still have thousands of dollars worth of software to buy, it will be nearly $30K of programs when I'm done.


Even worse, I was getting really close to buying nightvision.  Now I'll be stalled a few weeks at least, depending on how busy I stay on these side jobs.

Specs for the tech geeks-

Display: 17.3" FHD (16:9) Anti-Glare Matte-Type Screen (1920x1080)

Processor

Processor:
Chipset: 4th Generation Intel® Mobile Core i7-4710MQ Haswell Processor (Upgradeable)
Intel® HM87 Chipset

HDD & ODD Drives

Standard Hard Drive:


Standard Optical Drive:

120GB Crucial® M500 mSATA SSD + 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive (Upgradeable)
2 Detachable 2.5" 9.5mm (H) SATA Hard Disk Drives + Coexisting 2 x mSATA SSDs
Raid 0/1 Supported
6x Blu-Ray Reader + 8x DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive (Upgradeable)
1 12.7mm (H) Optical Drive Bay, ATA Interface, Interchangeable with ±R/RW Combo drive

Graphics

Graphics Controller: NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 970M GDDR5 (6.0GB) w/ Optimus Technology (Upgradeable)
PCI-Express™ 16X
Microsoft® DirectX® 11

Memory

Standard Memory:
Number of SODIMMS:
16GB (16GB) DDR3 1600MHz (Upgradeable - 32GB* 1600MHz Max)
Four 204Pin SODIMM Sockets
*Windows 7 Pro or Higher Operating System Required for 32GB Ram Configuration

Audio Features

Audio Features: High Definition audio interface
1 x S/PDIF digital output
1 x Built-in Microphone
2 x Built-in Speakers
1 x Built-in Sub-woofer
External 7.1CH audio output supported by headphone, microphone, S/PDIF and Line-in jack
Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ MB 3
Amplified Headphone output

Network

Network / Communication:
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Integrated Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 wireless LAN + Bluetooth™ 4.0

Slots / Interface


Card Reader:


Input / Output Ports: 3 x Mini-Card Slots
1st for WLAN Combo module (Half size Mini Card with PCIe and USB interface)
2nd and 3rd slots for mSATA SSD Full size Mini Card with SATA interface)

9-in-1 Card Reader
MMC / RSMMC / MS / MS-Pro / MS-Duo / SD / Mini-SD / SDHC / SDXC

1 x HDMI output Port (with HDCP)
1 x DisplayPort 1.2 output Port
1 x Mini DisplayPort 1.2
1 x USB 2.0 Port
3 x USB 3.0 Ports (One powered USB port, AC/DC)
1 x eSATA Port (USB 3.0 combo)
1 x Mini-IEEE 1394a Port
1 x Headphone Jack
1 x Microphone Jack
1 x S/PDIF output Jack
1 x Line-in Jack
1 x RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)

Power System

Battery:
Input/Output: 8 Cells Lithium Ion Battery Pack (76.96Wh)
Full Range 230W AC-In 100-240 V AC, 50/60Hz Universal | DC Output: 19.5V, 11.8A AC Adapter

Cooling

Standard Cooling:
Optional Cooling: Copper CPU Heatsink
IC Diamond Thermal Compound

Size & Weight

Size:
Weight: 16.22" (w) x 10.87" (d) x 1.64-1.79" (h)
8.60 lbs with 8-cell Battery

Keyboard / Point Device

Keyboard:

Point Device: Full Sized Illuminating Keyboard with Numeric Key Pad
W / A /S /D Gaming Keys
Integrated Touchpad with Scrolling Function & Multi-gesture

Additional Features

Extra Features: Built-in 2.0M FHD Video Camera
Intel® Rapid Start Technology
Intel® Smart Response Technology
Intel® Smart Connect Technology
Intel® Anti-Theft Technology
Rubber Painting



EDIT-  I upgraded to 16GB RAM and a different video card for CAD programs.  Video card is - NVIDIA® Quadro™ K1100M (2.0GB) GDDR5 PCI-Express DX11
Updated processor is- 4th Generation Intel® Haswell Core™ i7-4810MQ (2.8GHz - 3.8GHz, 6MB Intel®

So much for ever getting pussy

LOL.


I don't even own a single video game, unless I can find an older CoD around that I had.  I don't remember which one it was, when I'm sitting in the basement munching cheetos I'd rather surf Arfcom anyway.

My gen 3 clip on unit to put on my 6.5 cm ar should be in the end of this week....you have chosen poorly.

LOL.


Yeah.  I'm sorta bummed out about it, but sorta excited too.  I did pick up a nice 6.5CM in a Cooper Varmint last week.  I don't have it in hand yet, but I got it NIB for $2K even.  First thing I thought of was getting a rail on it for clip on NV.  That makes 3 6.5CM in the house now, but I've got one sold to a neighbor kid I think.

With the way my side jobs have been going, I should be able to still get NV by the end of the year.  If it picks up like I think it will, I'll be getting a clip on by spring

What clip on did you get?

I got a legionnaire from adams industries built up by night long.  I had shot one of the prototype units in gen 2 and gen 3 and I just can't believe how nice they are at the price point.

Nice, I'm going to keep this in mind.  Good price from what I've seen on similar units.

don't you do transmission design?

From another thread, but it works here too.

Just put it on your 'company' credit card. Then write it off in 2 months. It's a business expense.  

Yeah, as my day job. I'm moonlighting for residential and commercial structural design, and even some other odds and ends here and there.  Getting pretty busy overall.

You mentioned you are doing distribution?

NV can't make money, so hopefully seed money into software and the laptop will buy more than just a PVS-14 in the next few months.  

yup I do distribution. Mostly underground for new residential developments with some commercial and substation design mixed in.

In 3 years that laptop will be outdated, this is coming from a 36 year old gamer since the Atari and a two time buyer of of laptops from said company. I would much rather have the night vision. If you are asking, cancel the laptop, order the night vision, save up for a few months and buy just as powerful tower for 1/2 the cost.  Its much cheaper and easier to upgrade and remain useful.  Even after the gamer box is past it's usefulness, the night vision will hold it's value in money and practicality.

Look at it like this.  It's 4am, you hear a window break and someone is in your home.  Your life, your GF/wife and kids if you have them are in danger of death, possibly very painful and prolonged, rape is also an option or said GF/wife's faith in you ability to keep them safe, and instead of seeing the dick head in the dark and ending him the above happens.  Because you wanted to play video games.

I spent less than half of your cost for a more capable water cooled tower that is future proof.  I would trade it for night vision to any fool who is offering.

fixed

No such thing in computers.

When you are talking about gaming laptops vs gaming towers, yes there is. It's much cheaper to upgrade and preforms better for the money. I would still take the night vision in a heartbeat over both.

I'm not sure if you read the post.


I don't play games, I work.


Right now the $2K laptop and about $4K in software is standing in front of my ability to nearly double my income.  It should be paid for by the end of this month, software in another month, and January should be fully up and running for me.  I still have hopes to get NV for Black Friday.


As far as the security of my family, we live in Utah, in a small town of 2500 and we have strateigically placed Lego Caltrops at all doorways and entrances.

We'll get by for another few weeks, the part that stings is that I want to hunt coyotes during the winter and the good coldweather calling is ticking away without me.

I read your post, you are buying the wrong computer, you asked for opinions.  Your money is better spend on a tower.  There was a reason you were considering night vision.

Sure, it's easier to slap a new/second GPU in your desktop but that's still a far cry from future proof.

Bullshit.  I can replace my Mother board and GPU in my tower and not replace the PSU, I can add a second GPU to my mother board and go crossfire without replaceing the PSU.  Good luck doing that with a Sager for the same amount of money.

My point is, you can get more longevity out of a tower when your are talking about power vs money than you can out of a laptop.  If you argue that, I give up, no helping you.  Again, for investment, I would cancel the laptop and order the night vision, much more useful.

If it is a laptop bought to make money, I don't care what you do $1700, you got raped.

For the record, I agree with you that desktops are a better longer term investment. However, there reaches a point when you need to switch chipsets, RAM type, etc. and you're purchasing 80% of the tower's guts over again.

Not in any stretch of the imagination is needing to purchase 80% new components to be up to date referred to as "future proof."

I'm guessing that the op probably needs a laptop over a desktop for portability. Ever try lugging a desktop to a meeting with a client

FPNI

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

I can't use a tower, they don't fit in a backpack!  I'm doing a lot of field work, laptop unfortunately is mandatory.

You're a perfect ARFCOMer though, NV and guns are more important that financial stability!  

I am far from a perfect anything, I am saying I am very sure your can buy a product that will suit your needs for much less.  You can use the money you saved and spend it elsewhere and get both.  There is no way you need a $1700 laptop to do your job.  You may want it, but your don't "need" it.  Do what you want man, I am not saying don't, you could spend it wiser though.

Edit: You don't want to hear advice, you want to hear other people support your decision.  I get that (honest answer, stop asking for opinions you don't want to hear). Enjoy your purchase.

it will be obsolete in 2 years

It's odd advise.  You advise getting a cheaper tool, but don't know the requirements.  You advise getting with the savings from the tool that will create income far in advance of it's cost.

I'm hoping to enjoy the purchase.  It appears the next software I'll be buying is about $750/month, which will make several times it's cost each month.  It has very intensive hardware requirements, and it my hardware can't handle it, I'm on the hook for $750 and two computers, one that didn't quite work and one that might.

But-

I will likely be buying another computer exactly like this one in the next 2 months.  I was told by the software vendor that I should have a top of the line 3D video card, they suggested the one I've ordered.  The next laptop will be a drafting station, 3D is not required.  The card suggested by Autodesk is the same price.  I need approximately 16GB of RAM in order to model designs and run structural and survey data in a timely manner.  What's a timely manner?  I've had to wait HOURS in the past for processes to finish.  That is clearly not acceptable when the contractor is idling his equipment waiting for an answer.

Put another way, should I just get the PVS-7 because it's cheaper?  If I was professionally hunting coyotes, every coyote I missed due to bad NV would cost me money.  Pretty quick the PVS-14 would have paid for itself, but the worst decision is to spend money on the PVS-7 and THEN spend the money on the PVS-14, making the -14 several hundred or thousands of dollars more expensive.  Not smart.

If this computer is making me money, in two months I won't complain at all about buying another.  And I already have the work to cover the computer and the NV, but I can't do it until I get set up to work.  Hence, time to buy a computer.  A good one.

You keep referencing me using this word, I don't think you know what it means.

Aren't they all?  Wring what you can from them and let the depreciation be offset by income.

No, laptops included, this is what I am trying to share with you.  All are not created equal.  The one you ordered is more than others but not for your purpose, if you are not going to use it to use an occulas rift, something on the cryengine, alien isolation , assassin's creed unity or any of the ilk modern FPS titles you are paying a ton of money for something you will not use and will be worth less than half in 2 years time.

You can get the same usable performance out of a laptop with a shit GPU 1/4 of the memory and double the HD space that is will survive being dropped on the job and will not turn into a $1700 case of broken expensive pieces.  

Sager's are good gamers but they are desktop replacements.  They are big, heavy and delicate desktop replacements.  They are more expensive than a better tower and heavier than non gamer laptop.  Their purpose is mobile gaming where they can be plugged in at a buddies house on a large desk.

They produce sufficient FPS while plugged in and on a large enough desk to dissipate heat. Off the plug their battery life is shit and they are way to big, heavy and fragile to be a "field" solution for anything. They are intended to find a home on a big desk on AC where they can vent heat and try to hang in frames per second with towers.  They fail at the that in the face of cost and performance, but they are mobile depending on if you consider mobile computing a large delicate $1700 backpack.

Cancel your order. You will not be happy with it, Sager gamers are not business machines.  They are gamer desktop replacements that serve as best the can PC gamer mobile solutions, and mobile replacements perform worse than gaming towers.  Neither fit your need.

Not sure that's the best setup if your productivity focus is something like Unigraphics or Catia.



That's a gaming GPU with gaming drivers.  Would think you want a business class portable workstation type rig with ISV certified graphics and tons of ram, ideally room for three disks for two SSD drives and a large conventional backup drive.



Reliability, business-class support, and room for practical backkup options you will actually use are a lot more important than a high end gaming graphics card.  Likely better packaging and less heat to boot.

at least you're part of the master race

It's a balance for sure.  I've got slots for 3 sticks of ram, SSD drive for op system and 7200rpm drive for data, but it's really tough to get any consensus on what video card to use.  Some of the vendors want more of the workstation stuff, some want the high-end 3D stuff.  I'll be doing quite a bit of both, but I'll likely be in AutoCAD Revit nearly every day, which is one that wanted the video card I got.  Another vendor wants a lot of processing power, but doesn't really care about video cards, so I got a lot of RAM.  I'm really hoping that it will work for everything I need it to do.

My day job has me on a Dell Precision M4700 with lots of bells and whistles, but I don't use any drafting software at work.  Some 3D models I use are enormous however.

should run solidworks ok..

I give up, spend your money. No helping you. You ask for advice but don't listen to answers.

I've never used SW, but I think the requirements are similar.

Here is a pic stolen off the web to show what kind of data I'll work with freqently.  The light blue are renderings of structures, the rest are all survey points.  The analysis will look at the wire position, structural capacity of each member of the structure and a finite element model of the wire, compare it to the ground surface and brew mediocre coffee, all at the same time.



Another pic-


We look at things in plan and profile views, render a 3D model and run a tremendous amount of calculations.  It was kinda cool 9 years ago when I first saw it.

The next trick, and one I'm not used to at this point, is to do almost the same thing for buildings in Autodesk Revit.  3D models, structural analysis, large files, etc.  I also have another software that has basically no graphics, but consumes huge amounts of memory doing calculations.  I understand from the guys I have talked to that this software has been bringing a lot of machines to their knees, but I don't know what their bottleneck is.  The maker of that program suggested this processor and RAM.  Autodesk recommended the video card, and some of the other programs suggested a different card.  At least it's replaceable if it doesn't work.