M17x vs Sager NP9280

I am considering getting a new desktop replacement this year and am wondering if the Sager NP9280 would be better for me than an Alienware M17x but I am concerned that I might be missing something and would really appreciate your input. I have an Alienware M9750 that has been great and I like Alienware's customer service but still I am willing to switch to Sager. I want a new computer for better game performance and also for faster photo editing. I have an 18M pixel camera and the big pics slow down photoshop.

It seems to me that Sager's have much higher performance, about 30% faster, for about the same price. I think they do this by using a power hungry Desktop CPU instead of a more efficient Notebook CPU. This wouldn't matter to me too much because I always use my notebook with the power adapter plugged in. However, if the Sager is relatively noisy because the fans are usually working harder, that would be a consideration.

Other advantages of Sager that I would like are:
Four speakers instead of two
DVI jack in the back vs HDMI out the side

Sager disadvantages:
audio jacks in front
Kensington lock vs face recognition
Standard LCD vs LED but I think a main advantage of LED is lower power which doesn't matter to me.
Keyboard is not lighted
Relatively weak forum activity and support

At this point a big unknown is the performance of the new nVidia GTX 480m video card. I wouldn't get a Sager unless this card is nearly as good as it is hyped to be. Also, I am concerned that, as I understand it, not long ago nVidia sold a lot of notebook GPU's that overheated and failed but nVidia did nothing about them.

Thanks in advance for any input!

dst

Thanks to everyone for your input. I wasn't aware of the eminent X7200 with USB3 and sli. Supposedly Clevo will show one at a trade show next week and provide more details like specs and prices.

The 480M is looking less attractive to me but I read in another forum that the X7200 might be available with sli 5870's. That would be plenty for me. I don't need ultimate performance for games but I would appreciate adequate gaming performance, by my modest standards, three years from now. The faster desktop CPU of a Sager would be a big plus for editing big photos and USB3 would expedite downloading them. The audio jacks on the X7200 aren't in the front anymore and that is much better for me. (A wire going from the front of the notebook to a stereo would be very awkward.)

Some have had issues with Sager support but then some have had issues with Alienwares support. It is my experience that Alienware support rocks compared to Dell's support.

The Alienware LED LCD wouldn't benefit me much. Most of the time my notebook sits on my desk plugged into a big monitor. However, I need transportability because I take it on vacations.

I've read complaints about cheap plastic on Sager's but maybe that is their lower end notebooks and maybe the Clevo X7200 has more quality designed in. The build quality of my m9750 is solid. In general, I need to do more homework before I pull the trigger on anything.

Thanks again for the info!