Sager NP8660 is one of the fastest 15.4-inch gaming notebooks available on the market at the moment and in some respect in can boldly compete with 17” gaming notebooks.
Introduction:
Sager NP8660 is very well designed and looks much like a business aimed device. However, with its new Intel Centino 2 platform and 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9800M-GT graphics and up to 4GB RAM it is in fact a very portable gaming machine which will easily run the latest 3D games.
Sager NP8660 pros:
+ Top-of-the-line performance
+ Excellent build quality
+ Solid input devices
+ Bright screen with vivid colors
+ Outstanding cooling system
+ Decent battery life (for a gaming notebook)
+ Very good connectivity
Sager NP8660 cons:
- Keyboard could have more tactile feedback
- WSXGA+ screen not quite as clear as those on other 15.4-inch notebook
- Thicker/heavier than a typical 15.4-inch notebook
The design:
Sager NP8660 measures 14.3″ x 10.6″ x 1.45~1.95″ and weighs 7.1 lb with battery. T looks very much like a business laptop, but it is aimed primarily at devoted gamers so within the body it has all the goodies necessary for playing the latest games. The design of Sager NP8660 is quite simple. The chassis is almost entirely black and there aren’t any sophisticated curves or any other additives. Generally, it is very noticeable that the Sager NP8660 is made of high quality materials to ensure its portability durability at the same time.
The Sager NP8660 has very comfortable, full-size keyboard with standard layout, although it could have a slightly more tactile feedback. The palmrest area does not overheat, in fact the entire notebook keeps very cool even after some time of running advanced and demanding software despite using only one fan. The touchpad is responsive and between its two keys is the biometric fingerprint reader. The screen hinges are very good as well and it seems that they will hold the display well for a long time. The screen itself is available with two different resolutions: 1680×1050 and 1920×1200 so depending on your needs you can choose whichever you like. The display is perfect for watching films and playing games – in the end that’s what the Sager NP8660 is for. The colors are vivid and the screen is bright enough to use even in quite direct sunlight.
The Sager NP8660 has very good connectivity, but it is not cluttered with ports. On the left side of Sager NP8660 there is only the optical drive, whereas on the right you will find 7-in-1 memory card reader, ExpressCard/54 slot, two USB ports and some jacks. At the back is the DVI-out, HDMI-out, security lock slot, 1 USB port and power jack. There are also some ports on the front side of the laptop: microphone-in, headphone out and some others.
Performance:
Sager NP8660 is simply perfect for devoted players. The laptop does a very good job with 3D graphics thanks to its NVIDIA 512MB GeForce graphics card and DDR3 memory combined with Intel Turbo Memory 2.0. There are several options of operating system, so you don’t have to stick with Vista and you may choose XP for better performance. The Sager NP8660 does not overheat, even after prolonged use and playing the latest games. Although it is most certainly not one of the cheapest notebooks available on the market at the moment it is for sure among the most efficient ones. One thing that could be a bit better is the battery life, although considering that the Sager NP8660 offers a lot more powerful graphics than the competition the battery life is acceptable.
Available Sager NP8660 configurations / specifications:
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processors P8400 (2.26GHz), P8600 (2.4GHz) w/3M L2 Cache, T9400 (2.53GHz, 35W), P9500 (2.53GHz, 25W), T9600 (2.8 GHz) w/6M L2 Cache – 1,066MHz FSB
15.4″ WSXGA+ (1680×1050) Glossy or WUXGA (1920×1200) Matte Widescreen LCD
Up to 320GB 7,200RPM or up to 128 GB
2GB DDR3/1066 Memory (up to 4GB Dual Channel – Requires 64bit Vista)
Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8x8x4x2.4x +/- DL DVD R/RW – 24x10x24 CD R/RW Drive w/Softwares
Blu-Ray BD-DVD-CD R-RW Drive (Optional)
8 Cell Battery for about 2-2.5 Hours Battery Life
Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Digital Video Camera
7-in-1 Memory card reader (MMC/RSMMC/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo/SD/Mini-SD)
Built-in 56k V.90/V.92 Modem RJ-11
10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet RJ-45
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5300AGN
Built-in Bluetooth V2.0+EDR
Built in Biometric Fingerprint Reader
External USB Multi-Region HDTV Tuner w/Remote (Optional)
3 USB 2.0 Ports
Windows XP Home or Professional, Windows Vista Available as Options
Network Built in Ethernet 10/100/1000BaseT Network Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5300AGN Network Connection with Hardware Switch Built in 56k V.90/V.92 MDC Fax/Modem
Audio Features Built-in Intel Azalia High Definition Surround 3D sound system 7.1 Channel Output 2 built-in stereo speakers and microphone S/PDIF Digital Output