Sager NP8265 vs. Alienware 14

djoss

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
4
0
10,510
I've narrowed my laptop choices down to a few options, but I'm having trouble deciding. I really like the Sager NP7352 and NP8235, but the lack of a backlit keyboard is an issue for me. So right now I'm considering the NP8265, which looks like a pretty solid machine although I haven't heard much about it.

My questions are these (1) among Sager laptops with a backlit keyboard, is the NP8265 a good choice and (2) assuming price/weight is not an issue, which is the better laptop between the Alienware 14 and the Sager NP8265 and why? Thanks guys!
 
Solution
If you are not too concerned about over the top looks, id say go with sager. I mean sure alienware focuses a little more on aesthetics, but it comes with a cost. If you can get the "special edition" of the sager, they up the RAM to 16GB along with putting aftermarket thermal compound on the CPU and GPU for usually a mere 20-30 bucks, which is worth it. Id suggest getting the sager, but buying the SSD separately and installing it yourself, it will be much cheaper that way, and you can do a SSD + HDD combo with the stock HDD. Thats what im doing.

thewisdomp

Honorable
Jul 18, 2013
7
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10,520
Sager is always going to be the best bang for your buck, and it seems they just keep getting better over the years as far as quality and such. I recently ordered the Sager NP 8270s. Now that DELL owns alienware, i've seen a lot of complaints about them. What kind of specs are you looking for anyway?
 

djoss

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
4
0
10,510
Haswell i7, 14-15 inch 1080p screen, 16 GB RAM (I want to run VMs), 256 GB SSD, 765M or 770M card. Both laptops can be configured with these options and I like them both, which is making it hard to decide.
 

thewisdomp

Honorable
Jul 18, 2013
7
0
10,520
If you are not too concerned about over the top looks, id say go with sager. I mean sure alienware focuses a little more on aesthetics, but it comes with a cost. If you can get the "special edition" of the sager, they up the RAM to 16GB along with putting aftermarket thermal compound on the CPU and GPU for usually a mere 20-30 bucks, which is worth it. Id suggest getting the sager, but buying the SSD separately and installing it yourself, it will be much cheaper that way, and you can do a SSD + HDD combo with the stock HDD. Thats what im doing.
 
Solution

djoss

Honorable
Jul 29, 2013
4
0
10,510
Yeah pretty much everyone I've talked to said go with the Sager.

The special editions are overkill GPU-wise for my needs, so I'll probably go with a regular edition. For the SSD it's actually cheaper to have it installed during the assembly process (vs. Amazon/Newegg by about $40).

Thanks for the help!