Need some advice on a Sager NP1970 vs MSI GT70 before purchasing

[Kurocoroco]

I'm looking to buy a new gaming laptop from Xoticpc and need some advice from model owners or tech savvy people in the know. I've narrowed it down to two choices; The MSI GT70 or the Sager NP9170.
I really like the customization of the Sager and I feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck with it being "future proofed" with the 675MX and user upgradeable options. The drawback is I have heard that the audio is just horrible, which is a really big thing for me.
The MSI on the other hand has great sound and I like the design of it a little better. The overclocking and fan button is a pretty neat feature too, plus it comes with Blu-Ray by default as well as a 1 year accidental warranty. It also saves on some money. The drawback is the graphics card can't be upgraded to the 675MX and I don't have the mSATA. Does anybody have strong opinions on these two builds? Specs are as followed:

MSI GT70 0NC-494US - $1721
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Matte Screen (1920x1080)
- 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 670MX 3,072MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology
- 16GB DDR3 1600MHz [SKU-444CP] (Dual Channel Memory (4x4GB SODIMMS))
- 256GB Crucial M4 C400 Solid State Drive (Up to Sequential Read 415MB/s - Write 260MB/s SSD Serial-ATA III)
- 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Limited Availability
- 6X Blu-Ray Reader + 8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3) (Dual Band)
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- WINDOWS 8 - 64-Bit

Sager NP9170 - $1900
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen (1920x1080)
- 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 675MX 4,096MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology [User Upgradeable]
- 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS)
- 64GB Crucial M4 mSATA SSD - Preconfigured for Intel SRT ( Smart Response Technology )
- 256GB Crucial M4 Series Solid State Drive [SSD2 Serial-ATA III]
- 750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache]
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software
- Sager - Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3)
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit


Is the Sager's sound really THAT bad? I'm not keen on buying more things to plug in and enhance it, as I don't really like having to lug around excessive cords or pay on top of the $1900. I have heard that if you tweak the settings though it's actually not that bad.

Or is the MSI a solid machine that will last me a good 4 or 5 years?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Maziar]

Sager's sound isn't very bad.It lacks base though;however, MSI's sound is notably better.
I'd definitely go with GT70. It's cheaper,has a better sound and Windows8(yes a lot of people may disagree with me,but windows 8 is pretty much the same thing as windows 7 and it's slightly faster too)
As for the build quality,both are great really.You can't pick a winner in that area

 

[bluhefner]

I would agree with you Maziar but Sager has better GPU honestly it's up to you but if you want to game and you want the best than go for Sager And if you can, get rid of MSATA as it's really not needed and will drop the price down by a quiet a bit. In fact instead of MSATA add bluray drive into it if you would like to use bluray or you think that you might need it in the future. Hope that helps. And just out of interest do you get insurance with any of them? But to be honest you should go for AMD GPU as they offer same performance however the price will be significantly lower. For that price i believe that you could go for double 7970m. Here is just an example on where you could get CF for the same price these beasts will let you play anything at max settings http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9370-gaming-laptop-clevo-p370em-p-4896.html?wconfigure=yes

 

[Maziar]

Damn I didn't see "675MX" at first. Go with the Sager one then;however,you can get a better GPU with the GT70 w/customization

 

[whyso]

I would agree with you Maziar but Sager has better GPU honestly it's up to you but if you want to game and you want the best than go for Sager And if you can, get rid of MSATA as it's really not needed and will drop the price down by a quiet a bit. In fact instead of MSATA add bluray drive into it if you would like to use bluray or you think that you might need it in the future. Hope that helps. And just out of interest do you get insurance with any of them? But to be honest you should go for AMD GPU as they offer same performance however the price will be significantly lower. For that price i believe that you could go for double 7970m. Here is just an example on where you could get CF for the same price these beasts will let you play anything at max settings http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9370-gaming-laptop-clevo-p370em-p-4896.html?wconfigure=yes

Agree 7970m is much better performance per $.

There is really little point in having both a msata drive (for SRT) and a ssd.

 

[bluhefner]

I would agree with you Maziar but Sager has better GPU honestly it's up to you but if you want to game and you want the best than go for Sager And if you can, get rid of MSATA as it's really not needed and will drop the price down by a quiet a bit. In fact instead of MSATA add bluray drive into it if you would like to use bluray or you think that you might need it in the future. Hope that helps. And just out of interest do you get insurance with any of them? But to be honest you should go for AMD GPU as they offer same performance however the price will be significantly lower. For that price i believe that you could go for double 7970m. Here is just an example on where you could get CF for the same price these beasts will let you play anything at max settings http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9370-gaming-laptop-clevo-p370em-p-4896.html?wconfigure=yes

Agree 7970m is much better performance per $.

There is really little point in having both a msata drive (for SRT) and a ssd.

Thanks As I said I recomend getting hybrid drive much much better for the price and preformance that it offers when compared to normal hd.

 

[Kurocoroco]

Thanks for the feedback! Looks like I'll be going with the Sager. I've read that the sound is greatly improved on the np370 so that's a plus. I also wasnt sure about the mSATA so it's good to know I can drop it and save some cash. Thanks again for the help

 

[bluhefner]

Glad to help ) if you got any more questions just send me a message

 

[socklessness]

I'm looking to buy a new gaming laptop from Xoticpc and need some advice from model owners or tech savvy people in the know. I've narrowed it down to two choices; The MSI GT70 or the Sager NP9170.
I really like the customization of the Sager and I feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck with it being "future proofed" with the 675MX and user upgradeable options. The drawback is I have heard that the audio is just horrible, which is a really big thing for me.
The MSI on the other hand has great sound and I like the design of it a little better. The overclocking and fan button is a pretty neat feature too, plus it comes with Blu-Ray by default as well as a 1 year accidental warranty. It also saves on some money. The drawback is the graphics card can't be upgraded to the 675MX and I don't have the mSATA. Does anybody have strong opinions on these two builds? Specs are as followed:

MSI GT70 0NC-494US - $1721
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Matte Screen (1920x1080)
- 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 670MX 3,072MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology
- 16GB DDR3 1600MHz [SKU-444CP] (Dual Channel Memory (4x4GB SODIMMS))
- 256GB Crucial M4 C400 Solid State Drive (Up to Sequential Read 415MB/s - Write 260MB/s SSD Serial-ATA III)
- 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Limited Availability
- 6X Blu-Ray Reader + 8X DVDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3) (Dual Band)
- Internal 7-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo/SD/Mini-SD/MMC/RS)
- WINDOWS 8 - 64-Bit

Sager NP9170 - $1900
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen (1920x1080)
- 3rd Generation Intel® Ivy Bridge Core™ i7-3630QM (2.4GHz - 3.4GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache, 45W Max TDP)
- nVidia GeForce GTX 675MX 4,096MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 with Optimus™ Technology [User Upgradeable]
- 16GB - DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (4 SODIMMS)
- 64GB Crucial M4 mSATA SSD - Preconfigured for Intel SRT ( Smart Response Technology )
- 256GB Crucial M4 Series Solid State Drive [SSD2 Serial-ATA III]
- 750GB 7200RPM [Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache]
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDRW/CDRW Drive w/ Software
- Sager - Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 (3x3)
- Internal 9-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)
- ~Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit


Is the Sager's sound really THAT bad? I'm not keen on buying more things to plug in and enhance it, as I don't really like having to lug around excessive cords or pay on top of the $1900. I have heard that if you tweak the settings though it's actually not that bad.

Or is the MSI a solid machine that will last me a good 4 or 5 years?

Thanks in advance!

 

[socklessness]

I had picked up a gt70 this february i think they have replaced the gtx 670mx with the 675 mx / 4gb gddr5 so maybe there is newer model? I do suggest the Msi i enjoy it very much.