Laptop from PCTorque Great people to work with!
Sager has always represented to me that rare echelon of laptops that are really just foldable desktops with a built-in power supply. They also symbolize the "little engine that shouldn't"; the company that seems to always manage to one-up Alienware in the gaming / performance game. The Sager NP8690 is no exception. No sooner than Alienware's very speedy M15x provide i7-m, DDR3-1333, and GTX 260m support, Sager counters with its Clevo-made, 1982-retro look, NP8690 with an onboard GTX 280m, the fastest nVidia mobile GPU. First, let's take a look a what ports are provided with this beast.
Ports:
Left:
1394 Port
7-in-1 Card Reader
DVD+RW (8x)
USB Port
Phone Jack
Back:
2 x USB Port
HDMI Port
Ethernet
Kensington Lock Port
AC Adapter (for 120w PSU)
Right:
Heaphone Jack
Surround Sound Jack
Digital Out Jack
Microphone Jack
ExpressCard Reader
USB Port
E-Sata Port
DVI-Out
Storage: The x25-m G2 34nm drive. Reads are advertised at 250mb / sec, and with the 02HD firmware update available here, writes for G2 160GB SSDs can hit 100MB / sec; however it seems the 80GB G2's are meeting 100MB / sec as well. What this does is evens out all the performance of the i7-820 and 4GB DDR3-1333. Because the bottleneck is reduced (much of a computer's bottleneck in performance is the HDD's dwindling read speed as it heads inwards on the platter), you feel any and all speed you're supposed to from the i7 and high-speed RAM. It is an expensive upgrade (about $500), and you only get 160GB, but if you have the means... it may be more cost-effective to stick with a mainstream i7 and an SSD than the extreme i7 and the HDD.... the HDD spinning, losing readspeed on the inner parts of the platter, etc. all will result in lost time. SSD, is a good thing.
Empirical: MUCH MORE robust and blacked out than the np8662 it supercedes. There is no flex in the chiclet style keyboard or the screen, and the plastics used feel thicker; that is, they don't feel as though they will cave in on you. Sager must have listened with the NP8662, and felt that sacrificing the thin aluminum for thicker plastic would give a more authoritative feel. (Update: the structure of the machine is far more robust, it doesn't creak or feel any weakness even when typing and employing the wrist-rests for their named purposes). They're right, even typing this initial section of the review, there is no compression felt when my hands are resting on the wrist rests. However, the off-center keyboard is going to be an acquired taste. Those of us who have never had a numeric keypad on a computer will find it slightly off-setting to move one's hands over, however it is quickly overcome when realizing that the touchpad has been moved as well. All in all, it feels proportionate after about 30 seconds. The touchpad, strictly from a touch standpoint, has GREAT buttons (buttons i wish the np8662 had... they have an authoritative click as opposed to the mushy click of the 8662), however the touchpad is positively schizophrenic, contrasting the great touchpad of the NP8662. It seems Sager got it half right each time, only to fail to integrate a great touchpad to a great button device. I believe with the mouse, it may be very sensitive to dual touch, or to being "clicked". Time will tell, however I would highly recommend buying an outside mouse for this laptop... simply to prevent "touchpad twitch" syndrome, something the 8662 does not have.
The Screen is a 15.6", 1600x900 LED Screen (16:9), and at full brightness is extremely bright... to the point that I get headaches. Thankfully it's easier to reduce brightness than it is to try and overpower a screen, and yet even at lower levels the screen remains very bright, yet it isn't conducive to catching dust in the way the 8662's is. It's also much easier to read, perhaps due to LED's ability to shine very brightly, but something about it being so bright makes me wonder why it isn't attracting dust. It's a joy to look at, moreso than the 8662... and the 8662's screen is highly regarded for its brightness. (I will post pictures eventually, but to put it in perspective, it puts a lot of light to my wall with the lights off. From a looks standpoint, everything for the camera is cleanly integrated into the frame of the screen, which gives it a more aesthetically pleasing look. Perhaps Clevo was trying to move away from its quirky "we look like its 1983" look with the monitor by better integrating the 2.0MP Webcam, but compared to the 8662, it loses a bit of "clevo" qurk, yet gains a lot in the looks department. Well done.
The i7 / P55 architecture (socket 989) is designed to bring near-desktop like performance into a smaller laptop, and it delivers. The sample here has the 820qm, and even based on the Passmark exam, it manages to break 4,000 in the CPU department. 4,000 is a territory previously occupied just 12 to 18 months ago by high-end computers. One ace in the sleeve for the np8690 is that it incorporates the new i7 architecture that employs 2 threads per core. THis means that for every physical core, there are 2 virtual cores. Essentially 4 cores doing the work of 8 cores. This is known as hyperthreading, and the NP8690 makes great usage of this. Hyperthreading, for those not in the know, is an idea that hit mainstream use with the Pentium 4; using multiple threads per core to simulate having more cores than physically exist. Compared to the core 2 duo line, which used between 25w and 35w, a base i7-m uses 45w; which is a little disconcerting until you realize all i7-ms have 4 cores and also employ better technology than core 2 for controlling RAM bandwidth, video abilities, etc. Consider it a tradeoff in "low energy use" for the performance of a Porsche GT3 RS.
Battery life on the NP8690 is reminiscent of its larger i7-based brethren: it's an integrated UPS. As a practical exam of completely idle, power-saving battery life, I left the computer on power-saver and the grand total was 57 minutes. I can understand that with the i7-820 and the GTX 280m that power is going to be substanitally hindered when off the AC, but I was completely floored by this. Never, would I have suspected that the np8690's battery life was so brief that it would make the np8662 look like a netbook (for reference, it gets approximately 2 hrs 50 min in power saver). I attribute much of this off-line shortcoming to the battery's lower power rating, as well as the greater power demand required by the 280m and the i7. Ostracize the np8662 for "only" being a dual-core and having the lesser GTX card, but going from almost 3 hours of battery to barely one hour means that not only are the components incredibly overpowered, but Clevo (the manufacturer of this Sager) severely underestimated the raw power needed to use this computer in a non-A/C'd setting. Students looking at this computer figuring "it's a 15" laptop and it can game like the np8662 and then some and get decent battery!" are in for a rude, rude, awakening. The battery itself is a low-profile battery, albeit very long and shaped like a stairstep. The smaller overall size of it presumably does the battery life no favors, and by putting the battery up front, there is effectively no option for an "extended life" battery. To sager's credit though, that area stays very cool even under moderate use. Chalk that up to the redesigned ventilation system. THIS IS NOT A CLASSROOM-FRIENDLY LAPTOP... UNLESS YOU CAN FIND AN OUTLET FOR IT. I think of it as the np9280-lite in that regard. Lots of performance, battery serves as a portable UPS.
Discharge / Recharge times (NP8690 v. NP8662) (both in powersaver)
57 min / 1 hr 52 min (NP8690)VERSUS 2 hrs 48 min / 3 hrs 1 min (NP8662).
The NP8662 is the clear winner here, owing this victory to a larger battery, and the P9700 only having a 25w TDP vs. the 45w TDP of the i7-820. It also doesn't help the NP8690 that it also has a 128-shader cored GTX 280m as opposed to the GTX 260m the NP8662 possesses. Miniaturization may reduce fuel consumption, but raw power still costs battery life.
Sound is another area that the NP8690 Suffers in. No-one will accuse a 15" laptop of having great sound, but when the top-mounted speakers of the NP8662 are providing fuller bass and low-mids than the significantly larger-framed NP8690, something is wrong. And what that something can be attested to is the way the speakers are ported. The NP8690 reserves both corners in back of the keyboard for its speakers, as does the NP8662. However, the biggest difference is how the speakers are allowed to air sound out. The NP8662 has approximately 300 holes on each of these corners and possiblylarger speakers, to give a somewhat better impression of actual bass; the NP8690 has two small highly eccentric ovals to push all its internal sound out of. The result: A lot of tinny music from the 8690. Note, neither of these laptops will perform anywhere near as well as a laptop with a proper subwoofer (NP5797, NP8760, NP9850, NP9280), but to have a larger opening definitely helps the bass shine a bit. If you want great 3D sound, invest in a 5.1 system that can employ the NP8690's massive amount of sound-out and sound-in ports... it'll be money very well spent. Extra points if you use an external card... onboard devices, at least to me, tend to suffer from not being able to maximize the quality of sound, and the card may help free up a few extra cpu cycles that will help in games. External audio, HIGHLY recommended for this laptop.
This laptop's weakspot is any other 15" laptop's strong suit: school. This is for several reasons. First, the NP8690 has a footprint about as big as mos 17" laptops. It's the same width, and only .25" less deep than my m1710. This makes it very difficult to balance on most standard student desksa. Secondly, as mentioned earlier, battery life is under an hour even in powersaver mode. Classes where one cannot sit near a power cord are classes that aren't particuarly conducive to using the NP8690, as you will really have to stretch it out in order to even clear one hour (and my classes are 1hr 15min at minimum, no go without AC power for the 8690). On the positive side, it is the most utterly boring laptop on earth; moreso than even the NP8662. You will attract absolutely zero attention to yourself using this laptop in class. The back part is simplistic and black, which contrary to other gaming machines such as the ASUS G51-series and the Alienwares, means you stand a better chance of not incurring accusaitons of "SIR, is THAT a GAMING COMPUTER.... see ME AFTER CLASS!". Furthering the austerity of the case means that if you're in the library, nobody will question you're doing your work. This seems to be a common theme with most sagers, providing 1980s - era styling on the outside and focusing the performance on the parts inside. This is a great strategy, if slightly off-beat, to making a computer that people want. It may look a bit off, but you don't win games or gain fps by how pretty your computer looks... much the same as you don't gain credibility in academics unless your computer looks professional. The sager balances professional appearance and desktop-level performance VERY well... but it's a bit awkward in the "too much power, not enough battery" way.
Actual gaming, cooling / temp tests to follow.
Benchmarks so far (See pics in my 8662 review for its screenshots):
NP8690 / NP8662
WEI: 6.8 / 6.4
Passmark: 2015.4 / 1635.2
3Dmark06: 13,095 (1280x800) / 10,507 (1680x1050)
3Dmark05: 17,990 / 16,611
HDTune: 262.8MB / sec to 256.1MB / Sec.
Game Benchmarks (Race on Demo: Fraps 3.0.3 for Measuring) Race On is a new release from Simbin Studios that has been acclaimed for its track-level and car-level realism. They offer a very realistic, no-frills experience in racing games that is based on the actual cars involved in the game. FPS rates below, all settings maxed.
960 x 600: Min 12, Max 429, Avg: 51.991
1280 x 720: Min 9, Max 318, Avg: 54.803
(more to follow, race on demo can be found here)
As you can see from these runs, the game is CPU bound... as the resolution went from 960x600 to 1280x720, the frame rates became more consistent, however the Average increased by approximately 3 frames per second. I have yet to test at 1280x800, and ultimately its native resolution (1600x900), but considering we're dealing with a game that came out in November 2009, and a laptop running mobile CPU and GPUs, and not desktop i7 and SLi... this is very promising for the NP8690. In particular, the laptop does not feel hot at the palmrests, often a source of contention with games, and the fans, while blowing a great deal of air out... held their own in keeping the i7 and 280m cool. The next runs (1280x800, and 1600x900) will have temperature tests as well to establish a norm, peak, and how long it takes for the computer to recool itself back to normal temperature. More games and tests to follow.
Sager has always represented to me that rare echelon of laptops that are really just foldable desktops with a built-in power supply. They also symbolize the "little engine that shouldn't"; the company that seems to always manage to one-up Alienware in the gaming / performance game. The Sager NP8690 is no exception. No sooner than Alienware's very speedy M15x provide i7-m, DDR3-1333, and GTX 260m support, Sager counters with its Clevo-made, 1982-retro look, NP8690 with an onboard GTX 280m, the fastest nVidia mobile GPU. First, let's take a look a what ports are provided with this beast.
Ports:
Left:
1394 Port
7-in-1 Card Reader
DVD+RW (8x)
USB Port
Phone Jack
Back:
2 x USB Port
HDMI Port
Ethernet
Kensington Lock Port
AC Adapter (for 120w PSU)
Right:
Heaphone Jack
Surround Sound Jack
Digital Out Jack
Microphone Jack
ExpressCard Reader
USB Port
E-Sata Port
DVI-Out
Storage: The x25-m G2 34nm drive. Reads are advertised at 250mb / sec, and with the 02HD firmware update available here, writes for G2 160GB SSDs can hit 100MB / sec; however it seems the 80GB G2's are meeting 100MB / sec as well. What this does is evens out all the performance of the i7-820 and 4GB DDR3-1333. Because the bottleneck is reduced (much of a computer's bottleneck in performance is the HDD's dwindling read speed as it heads inwards on the platter), you feel any and all speed you're supposed to from the i7 and high-speed RAM. It is an expensive upgrade (about $500), and you only get 160GB, but if you have the means... it may be more cost-effective to stick with a mainstream i7 and an SSD than the extreme i7 and the HDD.... the HDD spinning, losing readspeed on the inner parts of the platter, etc. all will result in lost time. SSD, is a good thing.
Empirical: MUCH MORE robust and blacked out than the np8662 it supercedes. There is no flex in the chiclet style keyboard or the screen, and the plastics used feel thicker; that is, they don't feel as though they will cave in on you. Sager must have listened with the NP8662, and felt that sacrificing the thin aluminum for thicker plastic would give a more authoritative feel. (Update: the structure of the machine is far more robust, it doesn't creak or feel any weakness even when typing and employing the wrist-rests for their named purposes). They're right, even typing this initial section of the review, there is no compression felt when my hands are resting on the wrist rests. However, the off-center keyboard is going to be an acquired taste. Those of us who have never had a numeric keypad on a computer will find it slightly off-setting to move one's hands over, however it is quickly overcome when realizing that the touchpad has been moved as well. All in all, it feels proportionate after about 30 seconds. The touchpad, strictly from a touch standpoint, has GREAT buttons (buttons i wish the np8662 had... they have an authoritative click as opposed to the mushy click of the 8662), however the touchpad is positively schizophrenic, contrasting the great touchpad of the NP8662. It seems Sager got it half right each time, only to fail to integrate a great touchpad to a great button device. I believe with the mouse, it may be very sensitive to dual touch, or to being "clicked". Time will tell, however I would highly recommend buying an outside mouse for this laptop... simply to prevent "touchpad twitch" syndrome, something the 8662 does not have.
The Screen is a 15.6", 1600x900 LED Screen (16:9), and at full brightness is extremely bright... to the point that I get headaches. Thankfully it's easier to reduce brightness than it is to try and overpower a screen, and yet even at lower levels the screen remains very bright, yet it isn't conducive to catching dust in the way the 8662's is. It's also much easier to read, perhaps due to LED's ability to shine very brightly, but something about it being so bright makes me wonder why it isn't attracting dust. It's a joy to look at, moreso than the 8662... and the 8662's screen is highly regarded for its brightness. (I will post pictures eventually, but to put it in perspective, it puts a lot of light to my wall with the lights off. From a looks standpoint, everything for the camera is cleanly integrated into the frame of the screen, which gives it a more aesthetically pleasing look. Perhaps Clevo was trying to move away from its quirky "we look like its 1983" look with the monitor by better integrating the 2.0MP Webcam, but compared to the 8662, it loses a bit of "clevo" qurk, yet gains a lot in the looks department. Well done.
The i7 / P55 architecture (socket 989) is designed to bring near-desktop like performance into a smaller laptop, and it delivers. The sample here has the 820qm, and even based on the Passmark exam, it manages to break 4,000 in the CPU department. 4,000 is a territory previously occupied just 12 to 18 months ago by high-end computers. One ace in the sleeve for the np8690 is that it incorporates the new i7 architecture that employs 2 threads per core. THis means that for every physical core, there are 2 virtual cores. Essentially 4 cores doing the work of 8 cores. This is known as hyperthreading, and the NP8690 makes great usage of this. Hyperthreading, for those not in the know, is an idea that hit mainstream use with the Pentium 4; using multiple threads per core to simulate having more cores than physically exist. Compared to the core 2 duo line, which used between 25w and 35w, a base i7-m uses 45w; which is a little disconcerting until you realize all i7-ms have 4 cores and also employ better technology than core 2 for controlling RAM bandwidth, video abilities, etc. Consider it a tradeoff in "low energy use" for the performance of a Porsche GT3 RS.
Battery life on the NP8690 is reminiscent of its larger i7-based brethren: it's an integrated UPS. As a practical exam of completely idle, power-saving battery life, I left the computer on power-saver and the grand total was 57 minutes. I can understand that with the i7-820 and the GTX 280m that power is going to be substanitally hindered when off the AC, but I was completely floored by this. Never, would I have suspected that the np8690's battery life was so brief that it would make the np8662 look like a netbook (for reference, it gets approximately 2 hrs 50 min in power saver). I attribute much of this off-line shortcoming to the battery's lower power rating, as well as the greater power demand required by the 280m and the i7. Ostracize the np8662 for "only" being a dual-core and having the lesser GTX card, but going from almost 3 hours of battery to barely one hour means that not only are the components incredibly overpowered, but Clevo (the manufacturer of this Sager) severely underestimated the raw power needed to use this computer in a non-A/C'd setting. Students looking at this computer figuring "it's a 15" laptop and it can game like the np8662 and then some and get decent battery!" are in for a rude, rude, awakening. The battery itself is a low-profile battery, albeit very long and shaped like a stairstep. The smaller overall size of it presumably does the battery life no favors, and by putting the battery up front, there is effectively no option for an "extended life" battery. To sager's credit though, that area stays very cool even under moderate use. Chalk that up to the redesigned ventilation system. THIS IS NOT A CLASSROOM-FRIENDLY LAPTOP... UNLESS YOU CAN FIND AN OUTLET FOR IT. I think of it as the np9280-lite in that regard. Lots of performance, battery serves as a portable UPS.
Discharge / Recharge times (NP8690 v. NP8662) (both in powersaver)
57 min / 1 hr 52 min (NP8690)VERSUS 2 hrs 48 min / 3 hrs 1 min (NP8662).
The NP8662 is the clear winner here, owing this victory to a larger battery, and the P9700 only having a 25w TDP vs. the 45w TDP of the i7-820. It also doesn't help the NP8690 that it also has a 128-shader cored GTX 280m as opposed to the GTX 260m the NP8662 possesses. Miniaturization may reduce fuel consumption, but raw power still costs battery life.
Sound is another area that the NP8690 Suffers in. No-one will accuse a 15" laptop of having great sound, but when the top-mounted speakers of the NP8662 are providing fuller bass and low-mids than the significantly larger-framed NP8690, something is wrong. And what that something can be attested to is the way the speakers are ported. The NP8690 reserves both corners in back of the keyboard for its speakers, as does the NP8662. However, the biggest difference is how the speakers are allowed to air sound out. The NP8662 has approximately 300 holes on each of these corners and possiblylarger speakers, to give a somewhat better impression of actual bass; the NP8690 has two small highly eccentric ovals to push all its internal sound out of. The result: A lot of tinny music from the 8690. Note, neither of these laptops will perform anywhere near as well as a laptop with a proper subwoofer (NP5797, NP8760, NP9850, NP9280), but to have a larger opening definitely helps the bass shine a bit. If you want great 3D sound, invest in a 5.1 system that can employ the NP8690's massive amount of sound-out and sound-in ports... it'll be money very well spent. Extra points if you use an external card... onboard devices, at least to me, tend to suffer from not being able to maximize the quality of sound, and the card may help free up a few extra cpu cycles that will help in games. External audio, HIGHLY recommended for this laptop.
This laptop's weakspot is any other 15" laptop's strong suit: school. This is for several reasons. First, the NP8690 has a footprint about as big as mos 17" laptops. It's the same width, and only .25" less deep than my m1710. This makes it very difficult to balance on most standard student desksa. Secondly, as mentioned earlier, battery life is under an hour even in powersaver mode. Classes where one cannot sit near a power cord are classes that aren't particuarly conducive to using the NP8690, as you will really have to stretch it out in order to even clear one hour (and my classes are 1hr 15min at minimum, no go without AC power for the 8690). On the positive side, it is the most utterly boring laptop on earth; moreso than even the NP8662. You will attract absolutely zero attention to yourself using this laptop in class. The back part is simplistic and black, which contrary to other gaming machines such as the ASUS G51-series and the Alienwares, means you stand a better chance of not incurring accusaitons of "SIR, is THAT a GAMING COMPUTER.... see ME AFTER CLASS!". Furthering the austerity of the case means that if you're in the library, nobody will question you're doing your work. This seems to be a common theme with most sagers, providing 1980s - era styling on the outside and focusing the performance on the parts inside. This is a great strategy, if slightly off-beat, to making a computer that people want. It may look a bit off, but you don't win games or gain fps by how pretty your computer looks... much the same as you don't gain credibility in academics unless your computer looks professional. The sager balances professional appearance and desktop-level performance VERY well... but it's a bit awkward in the "too much power, not enough battery" way.
Actual gaming, cooling / temp tests to follow.
Benchmarks so far (See pics in my 8662 review for its screenshots):
NP8690 / NP8662
WEI: 6.8 / 6.4
Passmark: 2015.4 / 1635.2
3Dmark06: 13,095 (1280x800) / 10,507 (1680x1050)
3Dmark05: 17,990 / 16,611
HDTune: 262.8MB / sec to 256.1MB / Sec.
Game Benchmarks (Race on Demo: Fraps 3.0.3 for Measuring) Race On is a new release from Simbin Studios that has been acclaimed for its track-level and car-level realism. They offer a very realistic, no-frills experience in racing games that is based on the actual cars involved in the game. FPS rates below, all settings maxed.
960 x 600: Min 12, Max 429, Avg: 51.991
1280 x 720: Min 9, Max 318, Avg: 54.803
(more to follow, race on demo can be found here)
As you can see from these runs, the game is CPU bound... as the resolution went from 960x600 to 1280x720, the frame rates became more consistent, however the Average increased by approximately 3 frames per second. I have yet to test at 1280x800, and ultimately its native resolution (1600x900), but considering we're dealing with a game that came out in November 2009, and a laptop running mobile CPU and GPUs, and not desktop i7 and SLi... this is very promising for the NP8690. In particular, the laptop does not feel hot at the palmrests, often a source of contention with games, and the fans, while blowing a great deal of air out... held their own in keeping the i7 and 280m cool. The next runs (1280x800, and 1600x900) will have temperature tests as well to establish a norm, peak, and how long it takes for the computer to recool itself back to normal temperature. More games and tests to follow.
Comparo of NP8662 and NP8690 in pics too 
