Well, I've had my Sager 8886 for a year now and I gotta say it has served me well.
First, the issues:
1) a few months ago, I had would end up being diagnosed as a bad LCD screen cable. The machine would shutdown whenever I touched it. Bad news. I posted here for advice (everyone said "get an RMA", got an RMA, and shipped to Sager. They repaired my machine and had it back to me w/in 3 days. Quite impressive; they may not have even held that machine over night... but I think they probably did. Still impressive service.
2) a month after that, my battery died went fubar.... I again posted here for advice, again everyone said "get an RMA", so I did. I sent back just the battery and they sent me a new one right away. No questions asked beyond the normal RMA procedures via the website.
These problems were resolved quickly, but I must say that I am quite glad that they occured toward the end of the warranty period... and not after it had concluded.
I had a couple other minor issues, but Sager email support is really good. They typically got back to me w/in a few hours, and never let more than a day go by.
Now the praise and general comments:
The screen is wonderful and having a full-size keyboard w/ numeric keypad is simply invaluable. The m9000 is outdated now, but I don't really have time for much gaming anyway. It played everything I threw at it flawlessly, including Morrowind.
The machine gets put through the rigors at work as I travel a lot and do a lot of seminars. Airport personel never failed to think I was carrying some kind of bomb or portable meth lab. Now that there are a few more uberlaptops on the market, the overscrutinization of Sager 888Xs should get better. I've definitely used the portability factor of this laptop a lot. Actually, more than I anticipated I would. If I had to do it all over again, I might consider opting for something a little smaller to save weight, but I don't think I could give up the integrated numeric keypad. The think really is a beast. I got one of the targus backpacks, but eventually ditched it for one of those sweet high sierra orange and black bags. It gets a little heavy trucking it through airports, but that's really the only time I noticed it. The High Sierra bag w/ the removable laptop sleeve is essential to anyone picking up one of these bad boys.
So bottom line, if you're wondering if these machines are all hype and won't last when put through the rigors of work and life, you are wrong. Even so, picking up a three-year or even a single
extra year extended warranty may be worth your while.
If only it came with this keyboard:
First, the issues:
1) a few months ago, I had would end up being diagnosed as a bad LCD screen cable. The machine would shutdown whenever I touched it. Bad news. I posted here for advice (everyone said "get an RMA", got an RMA, and shipped to Sager. They repaired my machine and had it back to me w/in 3 days. Quite impressive; they may not have even held that machine over night... but I think they probably did. Still impressive service.
2) a month after that, my battery died went fubar.... I again posted here for advice, again everyone said "get an RMA", so I did. I sent back just the battery and they sent me a new one right away. No questions asked beyond the normal RMA procedures via the website.
These problems were resolved quickly, but I must say that I am quite glad that they occured toward the end of the warranty period... and not after it had concluded.
I had a couple other minor issues, but Sager email support is really good. They typically got back to me w/in a few hours, and never let more than a day go by.
Now the praise and general comments:
The screen is wonderful and having a full-size keyboard w/ numeric keypad is simply invaluable. The m9000 is outdated now, but I don't really have time for much gaming anyway. It played everything I threw at it flawlessly, including Morrowind.
The machine gets put through the rigors at work as I travel a lot and do a lot of seminars. Airport personel never failed to think I was carrying some kind of bomb or portable meth lab. Now that there are a few more uberlaptops on the market, the overscrutinization of Sager 888Xs should get better. I've definitely used the portability factor of this laptop a lot. Actually, more than I anticipated I would. If I had to do it all over again, I might consider opting for something a little smaller to save weight, but I don't think I could give up the integrated numeric keypad. The think really is a beast. I got one of the targus backpacks, but eventually ditched it for one of those sweet high sierra orange and black bags. It gets a little heavy trucking it through airports, but that's really the only time I noticed it. The High Sierra bag w/ the removable laptop sleeve is essential to anyone picking up one of these bad boys.
So bottom line, if you're wondering if these machines are all hype and won't last when put through the rigors of work and life, you are wrong. Even so, picking up a three-year or even a single
extra year extended warranty may be worth your while.
If only it came with this keyboard:
, this 'slice of reality' is a good read.
