clampy
08-01-2006, 04:39 AM
im copying the format of tommis review, to keep consistancy and just coz its easier for me...
i was hunting for a 15.4" widescreen laptop with as close to best-in-class/size graphics performance, mainly for gaming. and also sub 3kg.
bought the 8430(australian part number - RD742PA) with 1.8 t2400, 2gig 533mhz ram, 80gig hdd, dvdrw, 1280x800 matte screen. ati x1600 w/256 discrete. money was tight hence choosing the slower ram as intend to run vista and VMs on this. also want serial port for configuring network stuff. (im an it tech)
out of the box-
3DMark 2005: (on power) circa 3700
3DMark 2005: (on ati battery saving scheme) circa 1500
Superpi: consistant 33s
Build Quality 9/10
very strong and sturdy, good feel to everything. screen hinge feels light to me, but im only used to toshibas which ive found are a wee bit tighter out of the box.
Screen 8/10
not being overly fussy about lcds, i dont see anything wrong with this screen. it just happens to not be the 1680x1050 wva version so i find myself tilting it forward or back to get the lighting right every now n then. the ambient light sensor is great in the dark but in lighted conditions i find its just a tiny bit too dull(easy to turn off). personal preference there i guess. one thing tho, it is fast! more than adequate for gaming/movies.
Speakers 9/10
much better than expected. cant really expect much when they're so little. and no bass, but again, thats only expected for speakers of that size.
Keyboard 10/10
for a laptop of this size, its great. perfect layout, big buttons, and solid!!
Noise 8/10
the fans are always on when the power is in, but considering im either playing games or using the laptop near noisy pcs or in noisy office environments, i almost never even notice it let alone get bothered by it.
Heat 8/10
gets pretty warm after 2 hours of halflife. expected tho.. and it'd be great in winter time to sit everyone around the heatsink vent outlet on the left there and tell campfire stories.
Battery Life 8/10
pretty good ive found.. havent tested yet, but i reckon it'd do over an hour of 3d gaming. thats rather decent i reckon for the performance:weight you get.
Warranty 10/10
3-year worldwide, business level service. on-site too.
one thing i noticed was the groove that runs around the edge(once uve got the screen up). thats likely to fill up with dust/dirt over time and it's something that someone will have to take care of and clean to keep it looking new. otherwise i love the plain black looks to it.
i was hunting for a 15.4" widescreen laptop with as close to best-in-class/size graphics performance, mainly for gaming. and also sub 3kg.
bought the 8430(australian part number - RD742PA) with 1.8 t2400, 2gig 533mhz ram, 80gig hdd, dvdrw, 1280x800 matte screen. ati x1600 w/256 discrete. money was tight hence choosing the slower ram as intend to run vista and VMs on this. also want serial port for configuring network stuff. (im an it tech)
out of the box-
3DMark 2005: (on power) circa 3700
3DMark 2005: (on ati battery saving scheme) circa 1500
Superpi: consistant 33s
Build Quality 9/10
very strong and sturdy, good feel to everything. screen hinge feels light to me, but im only used to toshibas which ive found are a wee bit tighter out of the box.
Screen 8/10
not being overly fussy about lcds, i dont see anything wrong with this screen. it just happens to not be the 1680x1050 wva version so i find myself tilting it forward or back to get the lighting right every now n then. the ambient light sensor is great in the dark but in lighted conditions i find its just a tiny bit too dull(easy to turn off). personal preference there i guess. one thing tho, it is fast! more than adequate for gaming/movies.
Speakers 9/10
much better than expected. cant really expect much when they're so little. and no bass, but again, thats only expected for speakers of that size.
Keyboard 10/10
for a laptop of this size, its great. perfect layout, big buttons, and solid!!
Noise 8/10
the fans are always on when the power is in, but considering im either playing games or using the laptop near noisy pcs or in noisy office environments, i almost never even notice it let alone get bothered by it.
Heat 8/10
gets pretty warm after 2 hours of halflife. expected tho.. and it'd be great in winter time to sit everyone around the heatsink vent outlet on the left there and tell campfire stories.
Battery Life 8/10
pretty good ive found.. havent tested yet, but i reckon it'd do over an hour of 3d gaming. thats rather decent i reckon for the performance:weight you get.
Warranty 10/10
3-year worldwide, business level service. on-site too.
one thing i noticed was the groove that runs around the edge(once uve got the screen up). thats likely to fill up with dust/dirt over time and it's something that someone will have to take care of and clean to keep it looking new. otherwise i love the plain black looks to it.