As I mull over a 9880 purchase ...

I bought through PCTorque... I really can't say enough good things about my experience both with them and Sager. I started with the Sager 5690... Ordered from PCT on a monday..had it by wednesday the same week. The machine was flawless.. played everything I was playing at the time.. but then I decided a 15 inch screen just wasn't fitting my needs and I sent her back. No issues there.. no hassels.. Well I was going to buy a 8790 then learned of the 9860 though at the time it had no official name yet.. So I waited the three months til it was released..

Now to the customer support. I recieved in about a week. This was the original 9860 with the first Nvidia card. First unit had two lit pixels that I mentioned on the boards.. as of yet I hadn't made up my mind to send it back yet..I'd waited for the beast for so long I didn't want to part with it hehe.. Anyway, Luke read it, contacted Sager and they told me to send it back and they'd send me another...I was like wow..thats really nice for the seller to beat the customer to the punch and take it upon themself to make sure I was happy... So I get my second machine.. this time my machine was flawless, but I had heat issues..mainly the unit was ten degrees higher then the old one..which was just something I couldn't live with.. No problem.. they say ship it back, they promise they will check the screen and make sure the unit is running at a much cooler temp.. plus by this time the ATI x800 was out and I got upgraded to that for free...

I suppose some might be angery they had three machines.. but all of them did work.. just a few minor things that needed correcting. The 3rd time was the charm for me.. this machine has worked flawlessly, it runs everything I play, WOW, EQ2, Matrix, SWG.. i've even ran two instances of the same game with my and my husbands account...it is just an awesome laptop and that deal Sager is giving on the 9880 is just to good to pass up for those still mulling it over..

Last, the most important thing I can think to say...like you I never heard of Sager til last year.. but after reading everyones reviews of their performance.. PCT's support and then the 30 day no question asked return policy.. it was just to good to pass up... You really have nothing to loose...

Hope that helps :P

syn, so basically, buying from pctorque, you get a 30 day test drive? if you dont like it you can send it back for free and get a refund? hmmm thats not bad!

Well, when I returned my 9860 I got a refund except for the shipping costs, which was $55 for FedEx 2-day air. The original deal when I bought it included free 2nd day air. Then I had to pay another $70 or so for Mail Boxes Etc. to ship it back UPS ground plus the insurance cost. My original 9860 wasn't even insured. I opened the door to go to work one morning and it was sitting there on the porch for anyone to take.

I bought it through a different reseller than PCTorque so their policies might be different.

Every package shipped from us is insured for it's full value and requires "Adult Signature" upon delivery.

Wiz I believe that is Sager's policy...30days no questions asked...
And yes its great for test driving a Sager for yourself..

Really no one can convince you.. this is a Sager board.. most here are loyal to Sager for a reason..and not because they put out crap.. best thing.. try it out for 30 days.. dont like it send it back minus shipping and buy a Dell ..

msanto, I think it's really dependent on what you want to do with the 9880 or the XPS Gen2.

Both the Gen 2 and 9880 now have the Nvidia 6800 Ultra card so it's now a question of processor and battery life. If it's raw processing power like CAD, video, floating point intensive calculations, I'll say go with the 9880 with the P4s 6xx series and 64 bit.

Also research the warranty and what would happen if there is an issue. Not owning a Sager (nearly did though) I believe the Sager is a return-to-depot service which is equivalent to the Dell mail-in-service. In my discussions with PCT even the ADP coverage is a mail in service. Something to consider...

I suggest you read a lot on this board, its run by PCT (awesome) but its has rooms for Dell, Sager, Acer, HP etc etc so feel free to dump as many questions into the rooms - someone will always answer you or suggest you search the threads.

Good luck and

does the 30 day test drive start from the purchase date or the arrival date?

The problem I have is I have seen a lot of companies (not just notebook - but with all sorts of equipment) that just leave the boxes. When I was at West Point, I had ordered a 19" monitor. This monitor was not only left outside the front door, but on the wrong block. I found this out because the neighbor that got the package brought it to me. Good thing there are still some reputable individuals out theree.

Amazing.......

That aside - and back on topic. Support is a major deal and talking with the buyers is definitely a way to get a feel for how it went. I have read nothing but high praise for what PCT has provided to their customers. No matter what the situation, it has always been the same. I don't think you can do wrong with them.

On my front with Hypersonic, I have had nothing but success in dealing with them. This is my second system (had a GX7 and now my EX7). Both systems are powerhouse machines and running quite well. I had to deal with customer support with the GX7 for two issues - noisy DVD drive and an artifacting card. With the drive, they painted and shipped to me free of charge. I even still have the old one. For the artifacting, I had to send it back. They replaced the card, upgraded the bios and I am not sure what else. This one sucked, as it took longer - but you have to keep in mind that I do APO shipping (military) so it is USPS all the way.

The only problem I have had with my EX7 is that there is apparent light leakage. Not bad, but noticeable with a black screen. They said they would fix it if I sent it back. I told them I prefer to wait as I am moving back to the US this summer and would prefer to do it then. They agreed that there would be no issue and we are going to take care of it in August.

In my book, they are providing the quality of customer service I would expect for major purchases like this.

But before you buy, call them and run scenarios against the company you are dealing with. You are already getting responses from previous buyers and that is critical as well. And remember, it is your money. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. So if someone is being unresponsive, not detailed or the sort.... let them know they lost a sale. In the end, if they can't satisfy a customer then they better rethink their position.

I hope I didn't rant too much. Just trying to help you. Good luck on your purchase and looking forward to seeing pictures of it when you get it (I am optimistic).

I've had phenominal luck with hypersonic support. They've shipped me every replacement part over night and let me do the upgrade. On top of that, they pricematched a pctorque quote. I'm not saying the sager vendors are any worse, tho. You may want to see how low hypersonic will go. They were open to negociate with me (maybe it was because I bought 2 $3,200 laptops).

-bt

Date of purchase.

My two cents, please don't expect a quiet laptop, its powerful as heck! but not quiet.

p.s. The support rawks!

Actually I believe it is from date of SHIPMENT. It wouldnt make sense to start at date of purchase unless it shipped that day. What if it takes a few weeks from purchase (for building) before it ships??

It is the ship date.

We are a different reseller, and like Luke said, It's the ship date!

sager is company that i like after DELL

their laptops are really high end and don't charge as much as the other gaming laptops companies

9880 must be a kool machine

Luke, if I may ask, how many pending orders do you have to ship of the 9880? I believe I ordered on the 10th of May, does order standing have any effect on the ship date?