Sager VS. Dell

MooCow

MooCow

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Apr 13, 2000
Messages
8,223
Well I'm deciding between Sager and Dell, and it seems that more people are talking about Dell laptops than Sager. But I look at Sager laptops and I like some of their features, like the 7in1 card readers. Anyways, has anyone had anything bad to say about Sager? I think their prices are ok, but what about build quality and warranty service? Good?
 
the sager has more features,

card reader, better video card in most cases (except 6800 ultra), Built in video camera, 4way scroll, keypad, etc
 
Yeah, a lot of Sager's got that scroll wheel thingy next to the touch pad? I like that feature... I think Dell has it too but not on a lot of models. But if Dell has that onsite service warranty thingy, I really like that feature. If in the most unlikely event that they could drive up and fix an LCD caused by maybe, if I drop the laptop or something...
 
klowngoblin said:
the sager has more features,

card reader, better video card in most cases (except 6800 ultra), Built in video camera, 4way scroll, keypad, etc
Click to expand...

yea that stuff is good i guess but at what cost and is it needed ?
more weight and more heat
i dont use a built in cam on my desk top as well as most people i know and far less on my notebook .The camera works @ 640X480 and the card reader well at target i can get a usb one like i have for 25 bucks so no big deal.
-battery life is less in the sager
-speed is about on par with dell
-cpu well if you like a hot notebooks then go with sager
-vid card is about equal since you can get the 6800 go(non ultra) in there some of there laptops as well.
-weight is more than the dell basicly
-warranty (well i never had a problem dell never fixed asap)

to add with the dell discounts you can get a nice xps 2 for under 3k and a Inspiron 9300 for around 2k

now dont get me wrong i think the sager is a decent laptop but dell has made a really good laptop with there xps2 and Inspiron 9300 with long battery life and a good cpu and good vid cars

Sager 9860-S Notebook
17" WSXGA+ Active Matrix LCD
P4 3.0GHZ/3.2GHZ Intel 64bit and non 64bit options
1024 MB DDR2 533
60 GB 7200rpm HD (SATA and other options)
Windows xp pro
Integrated CMOS Video Camera/7-in-1 Card Reader
8x DVD / 24x10x24 CD-RW Combo Drive & Software
10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Internal V.90 Fax/Modem
Integrated Wireless 802.11G
Internal 4 speaker/subwoofer and 7.1 digital output
2 year warranty with lcd
+ transit coverage
=$2822.00 + shipping

dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2
Intel® Pentium® M 770 Processor (2.13GHz/533MHz FSB)
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service to 2Yr Lim Warranty (drop the dag note book and beak it and they repai or replace it)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability
9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (80 WHr)
256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800 Ultra
Productivity Pack including WordPerfect
6 Months America Online/ EarthLink Internet Access Included
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless (802.11 b/g, 54Mbps)
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
Photo Album™ SE Basic
$3804-$800=$3004
and free 2day shippind(after its built)

Inspiron 9300
Intel® Pentium® M 760 Processor (2GHz/533MHz FSB)
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife
2Yr Ltd Warranty, 2Yr At-Home Service, and 2Yr Technical Support
CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service to 2Yr Lim Warranty
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer write capability
9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery (80 WHr)
256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800
Productivity Pack including WordPerfect
6Months of America Online/earth link Membership Included
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200 Internal Wireless
Dell Jukebox - easy-to-use music player and CD burning software
Photo Album™ SE Basic
$3172-$800=$2,372.00
and free 2day shippind(after its built)

sager does offer more but with more heat and less battery life ..it just means nothing (to me)

PS: tss mod. dude im getting a dell , you need to settle down ;). if you stick around for a little while and get to know me , you will know that im open but i know good when i see it oh and im PRO-dell.sorry have to bust your chops too :D :p :eek:
 
wow i wasnt even aware that sager was even still in business...thats really funny because i thought packard bell went out of business too but i stumbled onto their UK site like 4 months ago
 
I got a dell over a Sager, because it was like 500 bucks cheaper thanks to all the damn dell coupons.
 
Sager. I have one, now 6 months old, used daily. Gets hot when playing games, battery life is decent, as long as I am not playing games. All kind of features, most of which I dont use.l Built in web came, 7:1 reader, DVD burner, yadda yadda

Build quality and reliability is excellent. I wasnot willing to take a chance on a dell lappy....
after doing research on them.
 
I thought the Dell XPS2 was THE powerhouse laptop to buy...until I saw a friend's new Sager 7620, over the weekend. That 7620 is un-effing-believable!! It's rock-solid, with a lightning-fast P4 3.4 GHz 560, has an awesome ATI X800 mobile graphics card, and a flawless 15.4" WUXGA screen (with no hi-gloss/glare coating and none of the XPS2's "sparkle" effect). If I were looking for a DTR laptop, the 7620 would be my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice.
 
atlwriter said:
I thought the Dell XPS2 was THE powerhouse laptop to buy...until I saw a friend's new Sager 7620, over the weekend. That 7620 is un-effing-believable!! It's rock-solid, with a lightning-fast P4 3.4 GHz 560, has an awesome ATI X800 mobile graphics card, and a flawless 15.4" WUXGA screen (with no hi-gloss/glare coating and none of the XPS2's "sparkle" effect). If I were looking for a DTR laptop, the 7620 would be my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice.
Click to expand...

Unless you want battery life, or want to run linux on it.
 
a battery adds weight.. and quite a Few care about linux *raises hand*, and the 6800 ultra is faster from what ive seen... only bad thing is im getting it april 19th ...ewww
 
Well, I don't care about Linux. Nothing I do with computers, professionally or recreationally, requires me to use Linux in any way. Any of the DTR notebooks I've owned were basically portable desktops that spent the vast majority of time plugged into outlets, not running on batteries. Given these circumstances, and having seen the 7620 in person, I'd choose that Sager over any DTR notebook.
 
Steel Chicken said:
add a second battery

ooo linux, not everyone cares about it
Click to expand...

Knowing Sager, no port for secondary battery. And that Laptop has a DESKTOP CPU in it. It's like Strong Bad's Lappy 486, weighs an astonishingly portable 42 pounds with a battery life of one half of ten minutes.

One of my friends just bought himself an Inspiron 9300 and it's a NIIIICE laptop. It's ALL of 17" and weighs roughly half (this is just by feel) of what my Inspiron 8200 does, and I have to have two batteries to get the same run time he does.
 
I realize this thread can go on for days and that I do not want to get very involved in this but I figured I would just toss in one thing. Every laptop I have had before this 9300 (this is my 8th laptop) had desktop parts. Honestly after experiencing Pentium-M I will never go back. I agree that Sager makes great notebooks and they are really fast with plenty of options but the Pentium-M is fantastic technology to keep the heat and weight down as well as boost battery life.
 
atlwriter said:
I thought the Dell XPS2 was THE powerhouse laptop to buy...until I saw a friend's new Sager 7620, over the weekend. That 7620 is un-effing-believable!! It's rock-solid, with a lightning-fast P4 3.4 GHz 560, has an awesome ATI X800 mobile graphics card, and a flawless 15.4" WUXGA screen (with no hi-gloss/glare coating and none of the XPS2's "sparkle" effect). If I were looking for a DTR laptop, the 7620 would be my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice.
Click to expand...

the hi gloss you speak about is not comon on all dells ,and too add no one has yet confirmed that they have an xps2 with the "sparkle" effect even if you did one call to dell and they will swap out the lcd screens for you ..no problems ..some people have a problem with the lg screens with the so called "sparkle" effect and some dont .
the samsung(i belive) screen gives no "sparkle" effect(i know) and is the one some are upgrading too for free under warranty.

also here is some info on the centrino cpus

http://www.a1-electronics.net/Intel_Section/CPUs/2005/Centrino_Sonoma_Jan.shtml

http://www.asisupport.com/tech_newsletter.htm
 
Steel Chicken said:
add a second battery

ooo linux, not everyone cares about it
Click to expand...

Add weight and $100+.

Linux is important to a lot of people. When sager starts using Nvidia cards (or ATi makes a real linux driver), I'll start using sager. The 7620 is a gorgeous laptop, but it has it's own share of disadvantages.

atlwriter said:
Well, I don't care about Linux. Nothing I do with computers, professionally or recreationally, requires me to use Linux in any way. Any of the DTR notebooks I've owned were basically portable desktops that spent the vast majority of time plugged into outlets, not running on batteries. Given these circumstances, and having seen the 7620 in person, I'd choose that Sager over any DTR notebook.
Click to expand...

Don't code much, eh? :p
 
Well, i had the 9860 on order prior to the iXPS2... but the day the iXPS2 came out, i cancelled my 9860 and went with the Dell.

It took a few hours of contemplating, but here are the advantages the Sager had for *me* and the advantages of Dell.

Sager:
Can have dual HDDs - which means you can RAID. But i wasn't going to RAID right off the bat, it was an option that was available that i had considered.

EM64T processors -. even though my order had it, and 64bit seems like it would be nice in the future, i like the P-M much better. And again, i the 64bit was for 'futureproofing', but it wouldn't have immediately benefited me.

TV-turner - it was there, and i had the option, but i also know how crappy it really is. But for $50, it's worth the price. With the Dell, i'll be spending more on a TV-turner, but it would at least be good.

4 ram slots - this was the big one for me. My order had 2x512mb, and i had planned on adding another 2x512 for 2gb as soon as it arrived (for EQ2). Dell only has 2 slots, so i'll be spending A LOT more on ram.

1680x1050 resolutions - i've been gaming at 1920x1200 for over 3 years now, and i know how demanding that resolution is on your system. 17" and 1680x1050 just seems so perfect.

X800 - this was going to be my EQ2 system, and currently nvidia doesn't play well with EQ2 (specifically the 68xx cards... 5900 and older work just fine)

Dell:
Weight - even though the Sager weight isn't an issue for me, it is nice that the Dell is a lot lighter. And it just looks so much sweeter.

P-M - the P4s are pretty much at their end of their life... Intel won't be releasing any 4ghz CPU or anything, and even if they were released, i highly doubt they would do well in a laptop. The P-M are at 2.13 right now, and i got the 2.0, but if a 2.4 or higher are released, i'm hoping i can pop one of those into the system.

6800Ultra - of course this factored into 50% of my decision. I've read that nvidia plans on fixing the EQ2 issue with the next driver release... so hopefully this is true.

Dell's Complete Care Warranty - and this factored into the other 40% of my decision to buy. I've had experience with this a couple of times already, and both times were FANTASTIC. I did have Accidental Damage Coverage because i bought from Discountlaptops (and thanks to ADC, it was the only reason why i went with discountlaptops and not Sager directly or PCTorque), but i just have no experience with them. Dell i have had, and like i said, i was absolutely impressed at how great it was.
 
RanGer498 said:
the hi gloss you speak about is not comon on all dells ,and too add no one has yet confirmed that they have an xps2 with the "sparkle" effect even if you did one call to dell and they will swap out the lcd screens for you ..no problems ..some people have a problem with the lg screens with the so called "sparkle" effect and some dont .
the samsung(i belive) screen gives no "sparkle" effect(i know) and is the one some are upgrading too for free under warranty.
Click to expand...
All of the Dell 17" True-Life screens are hi-gloss/hi-glare LCDs. Some people love them; others hate them. I've read that Dell will swap the LG for the Samsung, which may solve the sparkle problem, but the gloss/glare remains.
 
Don't code much, eh?
Click to expand...
no the real question is "do you code much while simultaneously drinking a quart of rotten egg yokes out of a recycled penzoil bottle when your hanging from your toe (upside down) over a hot tub filled with three angry naked hungarians that have an affinity for eating high end laptops after coating them with 3 gallons of tabasco..." now thats what im really curious about :D
 
cell_491 said:
no the real question is "do you code much while simultaneously drinking a quart of rotten egg yokes out of a recycled penzoil bottle when your hanging from your toe (upside down) over a hot tub filled with three angry naked hungarians that have an affinity for eating high end laptops after coating them with 3 gallons of tabasco..." now thats what im really curious about :D
Click to expand...

ROFL

I'm not sure who's side you're on... :confused: but that was HILARIOUS
 
lol no thats just my view on coding...thats what it feels like sometimes (it sux so bad sometimes), you know what i mean.
 
cell_491 said:
lol no thats just my view on coding...thats what it feels like sometimes (it sux so bad sometimes), you know what i mean.
Click to expand...

Yes, yes I do...

I felt like that when I realized that the algorithm I had coded would need 12gb of ram to run...

oops
 
atlwriter said:
All of the Dell 17" True-Life screens are hi-gloss/hi-glare LCDs. Some people love them; others hate them. I've read that Dell will swap the LG for the Samsung, which may solve the sparkle problem, but the gloss/glare remains.
Click to expand...

i dont hear many complaints on the gloss glare hence i did not say anything much about it as for the "sparkle" effect well the replacement will fix that it has been said .

also this is from a dell tech directly
"It depends on the model of the system. for example the LCD's for the XPS2 systems are all samsung made, but for the others they still offer LG's and other brands. Changes in brands can also happen quickly depending on the price and availability."

any ways when my own xps comes in a few days from now i can tell first hand what i think and if i hate it ill dump the xps but im 99% sure i wont from everything i have read or have been told about them.
 
lopoetve said:
Add weight and $100+.

Linux is important to a lot of people. When sager starts using Nvidia cards (or ATi makes a real linux driver), I'll start using sager. The 7620 is a gorgeous laptop, but it has it's own share of disadvantages.



Don't code much, eh? :p
Click to expand...
As I wrote, I don't need Linux, and no I don't code at all.

I'm a writer, so XP Pro works just fine for me. And, HT can be invaluable when running FrameMaker, RoboHelp, Captivate along with several other multimedia programs at once.
 
things that ALL dells are missing

Webcam (this is important to some people, more girls than guys ive noticed)
6in1 card reader (no dell has this, dell only has SD)
Dual HDD's (no dell can compare)
Dual HDD's in Raid (dell can bow down now)
4 Ram slots taking DDR2 Ram (Dell and ram dont mix)
Dual DVDRW or any ODD (no dell has dual, you can rip 2 diffrent DVD's to 2 HDD therefore increasing productivity :D)
P4 Vs PM (this is a DTR so if you are doing anything encoding or rendering related a P4 is actually better than a A64 which is WAY better than a PM)
TV Tuner (i dont think dell has the option i maybe wrong)
USB Ports (Dell wins here 6 vs 4)
Firewire (Sager wins here 2 vs 1)
weight (Dell obviously wins here)
Sound, never heard either but i can tell you they both suck, laptops just really blow chunks in general in the sound category. but thats why you have a good pair of headphones. i never compare sound between laptops, its like trying to say which has more horsepower? a tricycle or a unicycle?

the sager is WAY more powerful, as games isn't the only thing that laptops can do, desktop are still better at games anyways.
 
I bought a sager for several reasons. First being I hate hate hate dell. Have had two siblings with dells and they are the shittiest computers ever built. They are ugly and both have had the screen and hard drive replaced. One had the motherboard replaced (and now one of the USB ports isn't working). Their tech support is gawd awful. They don't market to enthusiasts, just stupid home users who are to stupid to do any real research on a computer (not calling entusiasts who have one stupid just saying that you are not their intended market). Dell lapops are quite possibly the ugliest laptops ever created.

Why I bought a sager
First of all I would rather support a small company like pctorque.com who appreciates your business than a giant company like dell who doesn't give a shit about you. At the time I coudn't find a dell with the battery life, price, and a 9700 w/128 MB ram that the 3790 had and even if I did the price would have to be alot more in order to persuade me. I also liked the fact that pctorque had a notebook forum. I used their forum alot to make my decision and one of the factors was that they cared enough to have a forum which even included sections for other manufacturers.

Why I would get a dell
I honestly can't think of one reason as to why I would give my business to dell. The only reason if the price was more then 300 dollars cheaper than a similarly configured sager.
 
How about $1255 getting you a Inspiron 9300 w:
17" USWXGA
Pentium M 1.6
512mb DDR2
Geforce 6800 w 256mb
60gb hd
CDRW

That's why I'd go dell. Cost/performance.
 
lopoetve said:
How about $1255 getting you a Inspiron 9300 w:
17" USWXGA
Pentium M 1.6
512mb DDR2
Geforce 6800 w 256mb
60gb hd
CDRW

That's why I'd go dell. Cost/performance.
Click to expand...

Sure, until your dvd rom stops working right after your warranty ends.. no more dells for me.
 
combustion said:
Sure, until your dvd rom stops working right after your warranty ends.. no more dells for me.
Click to expand...
In that case, I'd never touch another Sager again.
 
winuser2000 said:
I bought a sager for several reasons. First being I hate hate hate dell. Have had two siblings with dells and they are the shittiest computers ever built. They are ugly and both have had the screen and hard drive replaced. One had the motherboard replaced (and now one of the USB ports isn't working). Their tech support is gawd awful. They don't market to enthusiasts, just stupid home users who are to stupid to do any real research on a computer (not calling entusiasts who have one stupid just saying that you are not their intended market). Dell lapops are quite possibly the ugliest laptops ever created.

Why I bought a sager
First of all I would rather support a small company like pctorque.com who appreciates your business than a giant company like dell who doesn't give a shit about you. At the time I coudn't find a dell with the battery life, price, and a 9700 w/128 MB ram that the 3790 had and even if I did the price would have to be alot more in order to persuade me. I also liked the fact that pctorque had a notebook forum. I used their forum alot to make my decision and one of the factors was that they cared enough to have a forum which even included sections for other manufacturers.

Why I would get a dell
I honestly can't think of one reason as to why I would give my business to dell. The only reason if the price was more then 300 dollars cheaper than a similarly configured sager.
Click to expand...

well dell has a forum not a good one but they have one

as for mobos well they use one of the most stable ones out i belive there intel mobos and every pc i have ever built with one runs rock solid(but lack all the over clocking fetures)

this will now be my 4th dell my 1st was an xps400 way back when and i still have it and runs perfect to this day and i mean perfect , my dell moniters have held up to date with no problems , everyone i know personaly loves there dells and has no complaints oh one last thing at my job we have dells(about 300) and i cant belive the punishment they go through(from people kicking the tower for the heck of it to dropping there keyboards to just not cleaning there insides -and there really dirty --yuk) and they last day in day out ...so i can say i there computers take abuse and the worst computers built to me are ones like compaq prior and after HP took them over and gateways suck beans too.

honestly i suggest to the person who asked this question,buy a dell and try it out and if you dont like it hey return it and get a full refund (cant hurt)

i personaly think its the best bang for the buck NOTEBOOK's
oh as for there tech supprt i was shocked that the dell tech i spoke to was going into great detail about an ati x850 vid card for a desktop (note they dont sell x850's as of yet)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top