I know this is a forum that is mostly dedicated to booting methods, and has nothing to do with gaming. But I just happened into a sum of money, and I would like to buy a customized Sager gaming notebook from http://xoticpc.com. They have a wide array of component customization options, and I would like to solicit some feedback from forums that I frequent. I won't just be playing games (pun not intended), I'll also be booting multiple OSes, messing around with legacy and UEFI booting, etc. I will of course put this laptop through the ringer with my extreme torture and unorthodox methodologies, as I do with every PC and mobile device I've owned/currently own, so for this to happen optimally I'm buying the best components I can get. I just need some input on which components to get. I know this forum has alot of technically inclined individuals. I do ask that Wonko the Sane refrain from posting, unless you have some input that is actually relevant, since you will probably recommend that I buy a Sinclair, Commodore, etc. Or that I install DOS as my main OS.
I posted this on http://tenforums.com:
https://www.tenforum...ing-laptop.html
I will also duplicate it here:
So, today I was looking at the Sager NP9876:
Product page: http://www.xoticpc.c...-p870km1-g.html
Customization page: http://www.xoticpc.c...-p870km1-g.html
My budget is around $3500. And before I go on, I'm not considering anything but a Sager, unless someone can post details of something similarly specced/priced. And I don't want an Alienware, ASUS ROG, or MSI. I'm also looking specifically to buy a laptop, not a desktop, I'm not at home most of the time so a desktop isn't worth it for me. I spend alot of time travelling. I'm saying this to ward off people who will only post to recommend other brands, or people who will say I should get a desktop. Please don't waste my time or yours.
For the display, 2 options:
1. 17.3” 3K QHD 120Hz 5ms (2560 x 1440) Matte Screen w/ G-SYNC Technology
2. 17.3” 4K QFHD LED Backlit Wide screen (3840x2160) Matte Type Screen w/ G-SYNC Technology
Is 4K really worth it? What about G-SYNC? I have no idea what the latter is. I'm leaning toward the 4K, would be killer to play GTAV with that kind of detail.
What about a dead pixel warranty? Do I really need it? There appears to be options for either a 30 day or 1 yr warranty. But if I get it, I wont really be wanting to return such an awesome PC over a dead pixel, especially within a 30 day time-frame. On the other hand, I want the display to be flawless. Monitors aren't cheap to replace.
I won't ask questions about the CPU/processor, I already know I want the more powerful of the 2 options (and it's the default anyway). It is a "7th Generation Intel® Kabylake™ i7-7700K (4.2GHz - 4.5GHz, 8MB Intel® Smart Cache)". Would this be a desktop CPU, or a laptop CPU? I know Sagers can handle a desktop CPU.
For the video card, I know I want the GeForce GTX 1080, but there are options for either a single card or 2 cards. I think I should just get one card. But there will be a 2nd empty slot that I can later fill with another card if I want? In other words, if I just get the single card option, will I still have the option of adding another? Would this be a desktop card, or a notebook card? I'm assuming if I get a notebook card then I can have 2, but if I get a desktop card I'm limited to one, albeit more powerful. Correct or incorrect?
For the RAM, I'm just going to go with a baseline of 16GB (the default), I can always upgrade to the max of 64GB later. But more RAM would be useful for things like RAMdisks.
For the storage, I'm a little confused on exactly how many SSD/HDD slots there are. I'm also left wondering whether this notebook has a DVD/BluRay slot. If there is a disc slot, my plan would be to replace it with an internal drive caddy adapter for more storage. There appear to be 2 SSD slots and 2 HDD slots, but I could be misinterpreting. So, if I'm correct, I have a total of 5 storage slots, assuming I can also replace the disc drive with a caddy. If there is no disc slot, not too big of a deal, 4 storage slots is still alot and can accomodate alot of gigs, LOL.
Is XoticPC's Redline Boost really worth the money? You have to buy an OS (10 Pro for me) if you do, but I would much rather just have empty drives and install my OSes manually. It clearly is software rather than hardware OCing, since it requires an OS. Basically just OS tweaks. Their methods are proprietary trade secrets, they don't give out the details. I would just clone the OS upon receipt, so I can restore it later with the optimizations built-in.
What about copper cooling, does it really help?
Should I invest in a spare battery and power adapter? Or just skimp? I know there is a possibility of either of these dying. But they can also be obtained later/when needed. Will I need 2 power adapters just to power up such a beast? Surely the power draw is massive, the more power the better. Less power can result in instabilities, etc.
A warranty is also important. There are multiple options, through either XoticPC, Sager, or both, I'm not sure. Maybe someone can take a look at the options and advise.
I'm probably going to have the Sager branding removed, I don't want to make myself a target for theft. I'm also going to skip out on the custom skins/wraps/laser etching, etc. Which is part of the reason I'm not going for other brands that try to look fancy. I don't mind having a plain Jane notebook, it's the components inside that counts. But I do need a good anti-theft solution. I was thinking of maybe having one of those rice grain-sized GPS chips put inside the laptop so it can be tracked, like the kinds some pet owners use to track lost/stolen animals. GPS is good because it doesn't need an Internet connection. But I don't think this is feasible, would probably be difficult to implement, need a power source, etc. I'm also looking at something like Prey. Maybe also LoJack for laptops, which I had a bad experience with a few years back when they failed to track my stolen ASUS ROG. Both of these need Internet to work, and a smart, determined thief can beat them if they suspect their presence. I might possibly also be able to build in some hidden backdoors, like a VNC server or SSH server that runs 24/7 in the background disguised as an important Windows system service. That way I can remotely connect to see what is going on. These can be removed by wiping the drives. I can also encrypt the drives, add BIOS/drive password locks, remote formatting options, etc. I'm also going to look into getting insurance if available, as well as registering the hardware's serial numbers and other details with the local police/county sheriff dept. Need some ideas here.
I do, of course, plan to use this laptop for gaming. But I will also be booting Linux and Hackintosh in addition to Windows 10. So it's important that all the components will mesh well with alternative OSes. I may also do some gaming within Linux, native games designed for Linux. But I was also thinking of setting up a hypervisor kind of environment, like KVM, QEMU, etc, so that I can play native Windows games without having to dualboot. This is where a 2nd graphics card is very useful, but not necessarily mandatory, since I can dedicate one card to Linux and the other to the hypervisor. Which brings about the question of VGA passthrough, etc. I know that the consumer-oriented NVIDIA cards don't like being ran in a hypervisor, NVIDIA tries to block this and wants you to pay more for a Quadro that can do so. There are hacks but getting everything working reliably is a bit on the technical side. I also plan to run alot of VMs, which is where a powerful CPU and alot of RAM will come into play. I will also be doing things like programming/coding, Android development, school and business/work, can also be resource-intensive.
I've only owned prebuilt gaming laptops before, they were powerful but very limited in terms of customization options. Which is yet another reason I'm going for Sager. This will be my first custom build, so I want to get it right. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!
