Sager NP5791 Laptop Review

Intro

The Alienware Area-51m 9750 is worthy of best gaming notebook as is the Sager NP-9260 from PCTorque. Both put up blistering fast benchmark numbers and play the latest games at the highest settings. However the Sager 9260 has desktop components where as the Alienware 9750 has typical notebook components. The following review of the Sager NP-5791 is another 17-inch notebook with typical notebook components making it in the same class as the Alienware. How does it hold up?

Laptop History 773-4464
2000 Gateway 2000 450 15’’
2002 Alienware Area-51m 5620P 15’’
2003 Alienware Area-51m Sentia 244 14’’
2003 Sony S-Series 13.3’’
2003 T23 Thinkpad 14.1’’
2004 Dell 9700 17’’
2005 Alienware Sentia 223 12.1’’
2006 Alienware Area-51m 5750 17’’
2006 IBM T60 Lenovo 14.1’’
2007 Sager 5460 14.1’’
2007 Alienware Area-51 m9750 17’’
2007 Sager TP9260 17''


I provide the list of notebooks I have experience with so users can get an idea of what I am used to seeing in gaming or portable notebooks. I also provide links to each notebook throughout the review in case readers are unfamiliar with the models I reference. In this review, I have added a few more tests that I have not included previously.

The Sager NP-5791 is not intended to be a “Desktop Replacement”. It has a powerful Core 2 Duo CPU and a high powered graphics card, but weighs significantly less than notebooks with desktop components.



Specs:

NP-5791
Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo 4096KB On-die L2 Cache (T7700)
Operating System: Genuine Windows® XP Pro
Display: 17" 17” (16:10) WSXGA+ (1680x1050)
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 800MHz
Hard Drive: 80GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 5,400 RPM 16MB Cache
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: DVD/CD-RW Combo drive, DVD±R/RW Combo drive
ATAPI Interface
Video/Graphics Card: nVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX 512MB GDDR3
Sound Card: Built-in 8ch Azalia Sound System (with 8 external speakers output without Ext. decoder)
Wireless Network Card: Intel 3945ABG 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini-ePCI interface
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service

SubTotal: $2,179 (includes an extra GB of memory and 100GB 7200 RPM system drive from website)
Shipping: $35.24
Tax: $0.00
Order Total: 2,214.24


What’s in the Box:

Getting a free notebook carrying case is a very important feature when buying a notebook today. People usually do not think about how they will carrying their precious new purchase to class, to the office or on trips and having PCTorque provide a carrying case straight out of the box is a great luxury. Any notebook purchase from PCTorque comes with a carrying case, manuals, CDs/drivers and of course the notebook.



Design

This is the third Sager I had the privilege in playing with; the first being the 14 inch screen 5460 and the second being the enormous 9260. The first impression on the 5791 is the physical design. This is a very happy medium between the previous two Sagers. The 5460 of course was not intended to be a gaming/power notebook but the 9260 was very heavy and very bulky. The 5791 provides a sleek closed design, and when opened a wonderful 17 inch screen is present, with a stylish carbon fiber trip around the keyboard and touchpad. Sager still has not gone overly fancy with colors, but unlike the previous two Sagers I’ve played with, the 5791 contains a trim of orange pain that hugs both front, back and both sides, sometimes outlining speakers and input/output ports. Taking the notebook out and placing it on the desk will not draw a lot of attention, but the shiny lid is smooth and painted a dark gray/black with the words “Sager Notebook Computer” etched in a tiny rectangle; a very slick design unlike the block letters “Dell” printed in the middle of each of their lids.


Screen:

The screen is remarkably sharp and bright, containing a lot of qualities from the Sager’s earlier 5460 and 9260 models. This model contains the 17" WSXGA+ (1680x1050). I was a little reluctant to receive this option in the display because I have been spoiled with 1900x1200 resolution but the difference is barely noticeable. The extra high resolution would be used best for people wanting to watch high def movies on their laptop. This model Sager does not ship with an HD DVD option. Like the pervious two Sager models, the viewing angle on the screen is at least 175 degrees; that is how well the screen can read to both the left and right. There is barely any screen fade because of the LCD technology. The 5791 also shipped with zero dead pixels. Like most laptops today and all Sagers, the 5791 has eight levels of brightness settings that can be adjusted using the function key (FN) + the F8 key to lower the brightness and F9 key to raise it.


Keyboard

Playing games, web surfing, word processing and the most grueling CPU intensive processes will keep the keyboard a warm, comfortable temperature. The 5791 ships with a full size keyboard, which includes a numeric keyboard and 13 function keys. The function keys are Pressing Fn + the ~ key will play or pause DVDs, F1 will toggle the touchpad, F2 will turn the LCD Blacklight off, F3 will mute the sound on the notebook, F4 will initiate sleep mode, F5 and F6 will decrease and increase the sound volume respectably, F7 toggles the display through each output, F8 and F9 decrease and increase the LCD brightness respectively, F10 turns on/off the built in webcam, F11 toggles Wifi on/off F12 toggles the bluetooth module, Scr Lk toggles the scroll lock and Num Lk toggles NumLock on/off.

I was very disappointing to see the same unmarked keys on the 9260, were also unmarked on the 5791. F10 and F12 do not show the orange shade markings the rest of the function keys do to tell users that these keys actually serve as alternate functions. The only way to find out if the F10 and F12 have alternate functions is reading the manual or testing the keys yourself.

The comfort level on the keyboard is normal. The notebook is not too high off the ground for users wrists to be at a strange angle and the keyboard is not set back too far for users forearms to rest on the edge of the notebook.

Touchpad

Like most other features across the Sager line, the touchpad remains one of the best designs on any notebook. Again, like the 9260, the touchpad has a great texture providing excellent tactile feedback, giving users a wonderful sense of direction and acceleration while using it. To the left of the touchpad is the scrollpad, which is extremely useful for scrolling through documents or websites. Sometimes while using the touchpad user’s fingers may venture into the scrollpad area. To prevent this, the designer could have split up the touchpad from the scrollpad, but once users get familiar with the touchpad this will not be a problem.


Features:

Security Module

If you are the type of person to worry about unauthorized people accessing the data on your notebook, the 5791 has a great security feature that will protect your data from people you do not want accessing it. The security feature is the fingerprint reader module. This allows users to scan their fingerprints into the computer so they are the only ones with access. This feature is perfect for college students who do not want to trust their roommates in the same room with their precious notebook, or employees of a corporation who would like to hide sensitive data from other employees. The reasons to have this feature are infinite, but it is an extremely solid security solution. You can also use the fingerprint reader to access your e-mail or other application based passwords.


Multimedia Keys –

There are three Application Hot Keys located at the top of the keyboard. Three hot keys on notebooks are pretty standard these days and usually are set to generic functionalities as these are. The first Application Hot Key launches your default e-mail client. The second Hot Key launches the default internet browser and the third hot key can be set to different windows applications such as Microsoft Word or Virus Software.

LEDS -

There is one set of seven LEDs on the 5791 and is located at the front of the notebook to the right of the audio ports. The first icon is the generic Power icon with what looks like a wall plug when AC power is in use. When Orange, this represents the AC/DC Adapter is being used. When Green, the Computer is On and when Blinking Green, the computer is in sleep mode. The second icon looks like a battery; when Orange, the battery is charging, Green when the battery is fully charged and when blinking orange, the battery has reached a critically lower power state. The third icon looks like a can, and is always green. This LED represents hard drive activity. The fourth LED resembles a wifi signal; when green this represents wireless LAN is powered on. When Orange, this represents bluetooth mode is powered on. The last three LEDs are all green and represent the Number Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock toggle.



Wifi

Wifi is an optional setting in the 5791. Wifi has become almost a standard feature on notebooks in today’s market for notebooks and have been integrated nicely to the point where even computer novices can turn a notebook on, search for a wireless connection and logon. There were no problems using the 5791’s wireless card.

Speakers

There are two speakers located on the left and right side of the 5791 notebook. Both are pointed outward instead of inward so sound is not really directed towards the users. It can be difficult at times hearing sound out of the speakers if you are using the notebook in a public place. The quality of the speakers is no better or worse than your average notebook speakers.

Input and Output Ports

This time around, not all of the USB ports are on one side like they were on the 9260, but Sager still needs to spread the wealth around a bit more. There are five USB port total, two on back and three on the right. Most users would prefer a single USB port on each side for convenience.

Front



Webcam Pictures

The quality of the webcam pictures are typical 1.5 MegaPixels equal to the quality of cell phone shots. 5750..


The front of the notebook has four audio ports which consist of a Line-In audio jack, S/PDIF Out jack, Microphone In and Headphone Out jack. Like the 9260 there are also two latches, which hold the screen down. To the right of the audio jacks are the 7 LEDs and directly under the LDEs is an Infrared and Consumer Infrared Transceiver.

Right Side: The right side of the laptop contains 3 USB 2.0 ports, RJ-11 phone pack, RJ-45 LAN jack, an optional Cable (CATV) Antenna Jack, Express card slot (34/54), an optical drive and 7-in-1 card reader. Every laptop every made should have a 7-in-1 card reader which consists of supporting formats: MMC (Multimedia Card) / SD (secure Digital) / MS (Memory Stick) / MS Pro (Memory Stick Pro) / MS Duo (requires PC adaptor) / Mini SD (requires PC adaptor) / RS MMC (requires PC adaptor).


Left Side: The left side of the notebook contains the security lock slot, Optical CD/DVD drive, emergency eject hole and the second speaker.


Rear: The back of the notebook has the widely popular DVI video output port, DC Power in connection, an S-video in jack, fan intake/output, a serial port and two USB 2.0 ports.


Bottom: The bottom of the laptop is where five fan vents are, battery release, optical device release latch, component bay cover, infrared and consumer infrared transceiver and a tiny sub woofer.


Size and Weight

The size and weight of the notebook are very tolerable, especially when you are talking about a notebook with a 17 inch screen. 8 pounds is about the average weight for a notebook this size and lying in bed or on the couch with it in your lap is not the least bit uncomfortable.

Rated: 17" WSXGA 15.6" (w) x 11.5" (d) x 1.8" (h) and 8.35 lbs
Actual: Weight: 8.25 lbs

Heat and Noise

There is nothing more annoying when fans kick on their highest speeds when you are barely using the notebook, and that is exactly what the 5791 does. Even when idling, fan speeds will kick on, then off, the minutes later, on for a few seconds, then off. It gets kind of annoying hearing it come on and off so often. Maybe a laptop cooler would help this?

Battery Life

The two following battery tests were taken on the assigned brightness level. The test runs until the battery reaches 10%, which is the stock setting in which the notebook will notify a user with a low battery warning.

1/8 – 5:30-7:03- 93 minutes (idling)
8/8 – 7:00-8:24- 84 minutes (web surfing, trailer watching)


Synthetic/Gaming Benchmarks

Here is a list of tested synthetic and gaming benchmarks. All results are with stock hardware settings.



Software

The 5791 ships with Security Manager, Cyberlink power DVD player and Nero home Essentials SE for burning CDs/DVDs.


Pros:
Screen – Even with a WSXGA screen, the display is still sharp with great viewing angles
Touchpad –great texture, great acceleration scroll pad built in
Weight – for the size, 8 and a quarter pounds, is not too bad
Free Stuff – Ships with free laptop carrying case

Cons:
Noise – Fans come on, come off, come on, come off while surfing the web
Keyboard - markings left off the function keys..(again)
Battery Life – 1.5 hour max battery at /highest brightness while web surfing, you'd expect the battery life to be at least 2 hours


Conclusion:

Lets face it; You will not be seeing the blistering fast speed and benchmarks other notebooks like the Sager 9260 or Alienware m9750 put up, but you can still get good performance on the 5791 at about half the cost. Yes it will play Counterstrike, Battlefield 2, 2142 and World of Warcraft without any problems. But entering the new era of video games like Crysis and Call of Duty 4 you are not guaranteed to run these games flawlessly on max graphic settings. The 5791 is a great midsize notebook with a mixture of mobility when you need and performance when you crave it.


If you have any questions about anything written here you can e-mail me: Dukefrukem[at]notebookforums.com

thanks

updated Doom 3 benches

Kaldor,

I don't own this model. I just review it for NBF so sadly i do not have this my possession anymore. I played with it for about a month and had zero issues with it.