So, due to desiring a new laptop for grad school (and feeling that a 3.75 GPA after the first year merits one), I went searching for a new Sager. I saw the 8250 and 8255-S, and even though they had RAID, they had a tribal styling that I detested to the point that just knowing it was there ruined my love for 2x2.5 SSDs in RAID 0. I had been in talks with PowerNotebooks regarding a new laptop, and when the 8265-S Landed, I began to debate how to get it set up. My concerns were I wanted a 256GB SSD, the "non-standard" CPU, and a 780m for gaming at high / ultra while maintaining portability. Thus, after battling with my OCD, and probably sending Donald @ PNB up the wall with questions about the 15" Sagers, his ability to tolerate my constant questions, wondrances, etc., regarding heat, energy use, etc., while my trying to balance gaming performance with a sub-$2500 pricetag and a laptop that would be very usable for 2 years. With Donald as my guide and my awesome Customer Service Rep, my THIRD Sager from his business was configured as follows: 15.6” Full HD 16:9 Wide screen (1920x1080) LED-Backlit Display with 95% NTSC Color Gamut Matte Screen 30 Day "No Dead Pixel" Guarantee nVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 256bit w/4.0GB GDDR5 Intel Core i7-4800MQ (2.7~3.7GHz) w/6M L3 Cache - 4 Cores - 8 Threads IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3/1600 Dual Channel Memory 256GB Samsung 840 PRO Series SATA III Solid State Drive RAID Disabled 6x Blu-Ray Reader/8x Super Multi Combo Drive 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader (All versions of MS + SD/MMC) Intel Wireless-AC 7260 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0 (Dual Band) 8 Cell Smart Lithium-Ion Battery 76.96Wh Full Range 180W Auto Switching AC Adapter Sager Logo 2-Year Parts and Shipping plus Lifetime Labor and 24/7 DOMESTIC Toll Free Support (Labor & Support paid by PNB) NO Laser Tattoos - Personalize your Laptop NO mSATA Solid State Drives NO External USB Optical Drive NO Operating System NO Microsoft Office Software NO 12V Auto Adapter After this order (which was $2200, well under my limit... I could have gone for the 4900mq, but I couldn't justify 100MHz and 2MB L3 cache for another $185... I'm not a benchmarker, but a gamer), I received near-immediate email support from Donald and Nita regarding OS choice (expected, since I didn't choose one), however I'm going to put Windows 8.1 on the rig (as is on the 8130 I have) since it works fine. After, I received more top-flight service from PNB regarding whether I wanted a personalized ID tag on the laptop. I was amazed that Donald and Co. had remembered that this computer would be used in an academic environment, and it would be a small charge for the laptop to have identification to its owner. For a student, this is INTEGRAL. It's one small deterrent, even if only psychological, and i felt it was a good idea. When I wanted my middle initial added in, Donald told me it would be done, and based on the quality of my previous two sagers, I have no reason to question him, or his company's, motives. PNB has been top-notch in the past, and I'm eagerly anticipating laptop #3 from them. I wholeheartedly recommend, based on this laptop, and my NP8662 (2009) and NP8130 (2011)'s respective performance, PowerNotebooks. Jason Status Report: Far Too Long: Drove Donald up the Wall with questions about the NP8250 / NP8255 / NP8265-S August 5, 2013: Ordered laptop with aforementioned specs August 8, 2013: Shipped from Sager to PowerNotebooks for the final upgrades (I gather CPU / SSD / High Gamut Screen) August 12, 2013: Arrived at PowerNotebooks.com for the upgrade goodies! August 14, 2013: Shipped from PowerNotebooks via FedEx.
