I just received my Vortex IV and I felt that writing another review just on the system itself won't add much since it has already been done several times, instead I thought I might review what was for me one of the biggest questions before the purchase:
Should I buy a more expensive branded laptop or one of these cheaper Sager barebones?
I had the same issue 3.5 years ago when I bought my previous gaming-laptop and then I came to a different conclusion and went for the branded Asus G73JH-A2. So how am I going to compare these two laptops in performance when they are so far apart generation wise? Well I thought I would use the following as a guideline.
I spend almost the exact amount of money on both of the laptops, now and 3.5 half years ago. I thought I would compare them in their performance relative to the market at the time.
The build quality can be compared regardless of age.
Asus RoG G73JH-A2
Performance: I felt that this was lot of performance for money spent, I got the “goto” processor for the gaming laptops at the time i7 720QM, the second in line graphic card, 5870HD and big HDD of 1TBB along with the 8GB ram that was more than enough at the time. The rest of the specifications were just the regular basic configurations, no luxuries. What I wanted was a SSD drive as well as the top of the line graphic card(680M) but that would render the computer way to expensive so I had to settle. This computer was till a beast at the time and a very competitive purchase.
Cooling: The cooling was exceptional, the big fans and exhaust vents kept the computer cooler and quitter that you would ever expect a gaming laptop to be.
Sturdiness: I never felt afraid to break or damage the computer while I transported it, the computer is massive and sturdy and I always felt like that if I got robbed I would be able to beat them up with my trusty laptop.
Display: The display was just as on the vortex a full HD LED matte display, as of today I have never seen a better laptop display, no pixels, no color leaks and the blacks are really black.
Build quality: The quality was all in all just amazing and you really felt that you had bought a luxury product, from the box it arrived in to the certificates of authentication. Everything was top of the line and more than expected.
Vortex IV
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 780M - 4.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
Performance: I searched the entire internet and I didn’t find another retailer that would offer me a better bang per buck. I got everything I wanted, top of the line graphic, SSD, improved network card etc. You can see the detailed specifications above. There is no argue here, this unbranded laptop gave me more relative performance than the RoG laptop, I probably “saved” or “earned” whatever words fits, 400 Pounds. If the RoG computer is a beast, this is a monster.
Cooling: The cooling works very well and it’s actually way cooler then the RoG computer, almost by 15C. The computer is way louder though and I can become pretty annoying for the people around you when you are using a headset. It doesn’t bother me personally at all since I’m always listening to music in my speakers or wearing a headset, but then I do wear a headset my girlfriend finds it quite annoying to watch TV with the sound from the computer.
Sturdiness: The computer feels pretty sturdy but very plastic, by the pictures I imagined a higher quality of the materials and the computer feels sturdy but cheap. I like the looks overall and I think it’s way nicer and more discrete then the RoG computer, but the moment I touch the surface it feels like a cheaper computer my mother would buy.
Display: The display colors are very good but I can actually see the pixels on it which ruins the experience a bit. I feel that the screen is good, above average but it's not reaching all the way. However I’m probably being a little hard on it since I’m used to an exceptional screen.
Build quality: I feel disappointed on the build quality all in all; it’s not like its bad just that I expected more. Have in mind that I am comparing the Vortex to a computer that would be way more expensive with the same relative performance. The quality is still good if you keep the price in mind.
Conclusion
I am actually very happy with both of my purchases, when I bought my RoG computer I took my gaming more seriously and I spent a lot more time in front of the computer. I really appreciated the quality and luxury feel to it. If I had received the Vortex back then I would have sent it back instantly and felt cheated. However my gaming now is a lot more casual and I really appreciated to be able to get a cheap computer with a lot of performance, my priority now wasn’t a “status product” but rather maximum performance per money spent, a computer that I wouldn’t have to upgrade for the longest time possible.
I would strongly recommend PCS if you are on a budget and looking for the biggest bang per buck and an exceptional service.
However if you are a serious gamer that likes to move the computer around, going to LAN’s and can spare the extra money I would highly recommend getting a branded laptop for the quality.
This is only my personal opinion and my hopes is that it can help some people to make an educated choice. I had nothing to gain from this and wrote if for you guys so if you disagree please be polite about it
.
Should I buy a more expensive branded laptop or one of these cheaper Sager barebones?
I had the same issue 3.5 years ago when I bought my previous gaming-laptop and then I came to a different conclusion and went for the branded Asus G73JH-A2. So how am I going to compare these two laptops in performance when they are so far apart generation wise? Well I thought I would use the following as a guideline.
I spend almost the exact amount of money on both of the laptops, now and 3.5 half years ago. I thought I would compare them in their performance relative to the market at the time.
The build quality can be compared regardless of age.
Asus RoG G73JH-A2
Performance: I felt that this was lot of performance for money spent, I got the “goto” processor for the gaming laptops at the time i7 720QM, the second in line graphic card, 5870HD and big HDD of 1TBB along with the 8GB ram that was more than enough at the time. The rest of the specifications were just the regular basic configurations, no luxuries. What I wanted was a SSD drive as well as the top of the line graphic card(680M) but that would render the computer way to expensive so I had to settle. This computer was till a beast at the time and a very competitive purchase.
Cooling: The cooling was exceptional, the big fans and exhaust vents kept the computer cooler and quitter that you would ever expect a gaming laptop to be.
Sturdiness: I never felt afraid to break or damage the computer while I transported it, the computer is massive and sturdy and I always felt like that if I got robbed I would be able to beat them up with my trusty laptop.
Display: The display was just as on the vortex a full HD LED matte display, as of today I have never seen a better laptop display, no pixels, no color leaks and the blacks are really black.
Build quality: The quality was all in all just amazing and you really felt that you had bought a luxury product, from the box it arrived in to the certificates of authentication. Everything was top of the line and more than expected.
Vortex IV
Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4700MQ (2.40GHz) 6MB
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 780M - 4.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
Performance: I searched the entire internet and I didn’t find another retailer that would offer me a better bang per buck. I got everything I wanted, top of the line graphic, SSD, improved network card etc. You can see the detailed specifications above. There is no argue here, this unbranded laptop gave me more relative performance than the RoG laptop, I probably “saved” or “earned” whatever words fits, 400 Pounds. If the RoG computer is a beast, this is a monster.
Cooling: The cooling works very well and it’s actually way cooler then the RoG computer, almost by 15C. The computer is way louder though and I can become pretty annoying for the people around you when you are using a headset. It doesn’t bother me personally at all since I’m always listening to music in my speakers or wearing a headset, but then I do wear a headset my girlfriend finds it quite annoying to watch TV with the sound from the computer.
Sturdiness: The computer feels pretty sturdy but very plastic, by the pictures I imagined a higher quality of the materials and the computer feels sturdy but cheap. I like the looks overall and I think it’s way nicer and more discrete then the RoG computer, but the moment I touch the surface it feels like a cheaper computer my mother would buy.
Display: The display colors are very good but I can actually see the pixels on it which ruins the experience a bit. I feel that the screen is good, above average but it's not reaching all the way. However I’m probably being a little hard on it since I’m used to an exceptional screen.
Build quality: I feel disappointed on the build quality all in all; it’s not like its bad just that I expected more. Have in mind that I am comparing the Vortex to a computer that would be way more expensive with the same relative performance. The quality is still good if you keep the price in mind.
Conclusion
I am actually very happy with both of my purchases, when I bought my RoG computer I took my gaming more seriously and I spent a lot more time in front of the computer. I really appreciated the quality and luxury feel to it. If I had received the Vortex back then I would have sent it back instantly and felt cheated. However my gaming now is a lot more casual and I really appreciated to be able to get a cheap computer with a lot of performance, my priority now wasn’t a “status product” but rather maximum performance per money spent, a computer that I wouldn’t have to upgrade for the longest time possible.
I would strongly recommend PCS if you are on a budget and looking for the biggest bang per buck and an exceptional service.
However if you are a serious gamer that likes to move the computer around, going to LAN’s and can spare the extra money I would highly recommend getting a branded laptop for the quality.
This is only my personal opinion and my hopes is that it can help some people to make an educated choice. I had nothing to gain from this and wrote if for you guys so if you disagree please be polite about it
.