Alright, so I've had my 3880 for over a month now and the time has come to submit a review as promised.
The Sager 3880, behold:
Short version:
I was in the market for a desktop replacement...but one that's still very portable as I'm going through my second law degree (there're two legal systems in Canada) as well as having to run around with it between home, Court and the faculty. If you're looking for a portable DTR, this is a perfect notebook for you.
Build:
I'm not gentle with my laptops which is why I took the accidental insurance with it. Just because it cost me a lot doesn't mean I should walk on eggshells around it..and I don't have to. Its a tough build. Looks like brushed aluminum but it could very well be some kind of polymer/plastic for all I know. Keyboard is "soft" with a hint of flex. I like this as it means that I'm not too noisy when
I type. I think some people hate soft keyboards just as much as I hate clanky ones though.
Display:
15.4" TFT WUXGA (1920 x 1200)
The screen is gorgeous. Just what you'd expect from a WUXGA screen. You get a lot more space on a WUXGA screen than WXGA. If any of you are on the fence, I'd definitely opt for the higher rez. I took some screenshots for you to compare screen real estate.
WUXGA
WSXGA
WXGA
CPU:
2.00 GHz Intel Pentium M
Zipping through everything. Dunno what's helping most, the RAM, the HD RPM or the CPU but booting the comp takes 30 seconds. I don't even bother using standby anymore. I take it out of my bag, put it on a desk, start it, sit, and its practically ready for use.
GPU
nVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6600 16X PCI-E
This is more than adequate for now. I've just played through half life 2 at full resolution (1920 x 1200) with everything maxed. This game is absolutely stunning on a WUXGA display. I had seen it before but in widescreen its just amazing.
The F.E.A.R. demo was a bit on the slow side with everything maxed, worked well with some things downscaled a bit. Haven't tried the actual game, designers may have been a bit lazy in the demo encoding, dunno yet. Also played tried Fable and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow maxed out, but considering HL2 works, its no surprise they're a breeze as well.
I ran 3dmark05 a week or so ago. I think the score was 2159 but I also think I ran it at full resolution whereas most people do it at 1024 x 768 ot something like that...a lower rez anyway so I may have to do it again for comparative results.
Sound:
The sound sucks. Its good for a laptop but if you're a budding audiophile like me, you won't bother listening to the notebook's speakers for very long, the lack of a woofer makes it tinny. The onboard sound card is actually pretty good though. Good sound through my headphones, just missing a bit of "oomph" when you want to blast your eardrums on the 1812 ouverture or play drum&bass to keep you awake. I bought some Creative speakers which amplify the headphones for me so all's good now. Card's more than enough..but amped phones = bliss.
I use SONY MDR-EX71 by the way which I recommend. They're earplug type Headphones with amazing sound, full BASS! I bought them after someone on the boards complained that they were too good in blocking outside sound (very true, someone can definitely sneak up on you) and they received GSferrari's seal of approval..
One little nitpick...while its much easier to plug in and out, I wish the sound card input was on the side or back instead of the front. Now my speaker wire dangles in front an is a bit in the way because of it.
Heat:
Many people seem to be concerned about the comps heat. While gaming the palmrest gets warm but not hot. You definitely don't need a laptop cooler. I've used this laptop on my lap many times and nothing's been cooked yet. After gaming, which is when it'll heat up the most, the HD temp goes up to 59 degrees celsius and the GPU is around there. Nothing to write home about...
Battery:
Excellent! Another good reason to opt for the 3880. I get over 4 hours of use while using Word and the internet with my wireless internet on, screen not fully dimmed. I could probably milk some extra time. I've watched a DVD on battery but not a very long one, I'm guessing it'd last over 3 hours but unless you insist that I test it out I think it'll remain a guess.
The size of the battery...some people call it "The tumour"...I call it "The grip". I balked when I saw it the first time but I really love it now. Its ridiculously easy to pull the comp out of my briefcase. I think I'd actually be sad to see this "feature" go. It lifts up the comp a bit which is great for typing, provides long battery life and acts as a grip...PLUS you never see it. Even if I close my computer I won't see it as its under it. I only see it when I pick it up and put it in my bag or vice-versa.
Overall score:
I'd give it a 9.5/10. My only nitpick concerning the soundcard placement and speaker sound, though I expected this. Perfect comp for my needs, glad I opted for it instead of the Asus z70a as I love the resolution.
Btw, I haven't tried the lightscribe on my dvd burner yet. Burnt a dvd though, quite fast. Rips music fast as well, no qualms there. I'll edit the review once I've tried the lightscribe. If you've any questions, just ask.
P.S. I left instructions on the forum on how to upgrade your nVidia driver. It took me over an hour to figure that one out:
You can find the .nfo file here.
You can find the actual 77.77 driver here
You can find the .inf file you need to copy into the 77.77 driver folder here
You can watch a "how to install" movie guide here
and the code for your 3880 is NVCV, so you copy the NVCV .inf which is in the 77.77.inf.zip folder, not the other one.
There ya go! Took me over an hour to figure all that out...
The Sager 3880, behold:
Short version:
I was in the market for a desktop replacement...but one that's still very portable as I'm going through my second law degree (there're two legal systems in Canada) as well as having to run around with it between home, Court and the faculty. If you're looking for a portable DTR, this is a perfect notebook for you.
Build:
I'm not gentle with my laptops which is why I took the accidental insurance with it. Just because it cost me a lot doesn't mean I should walk on eggshells around it..and I don't have to. Its a tough build. Looks like brushed aluminum but it could very well be some kind of polymer/plastic for all I know. Keyboard is "soft" with a hint of flex. I like this as it means that I'm not too noisy when
I type. I think some people hate soft keyboards just as much as I hate clanky ones though.
Display:
15.4" TFT WUXGA (1920 x 1200)
The screen is gorgeous. Just what you'd expect from a WUXGA screen. You get a lot more space on a WUXGA screen than WXGA. If any of you are on the fence, I'd definitely opt for the higher rez. I took some screenshots for you to compare screen real estate.
WUXGA
WSXGA
WXGA
CPU:
2.00 GHz Intel Pentium M
Zipping through everything. Dunno what's helping most, the RAM, the HD RPM or the CPU but booting the comp takes 30 seconds. I don't even bother using standby anymore. I take it out of my bag, put it on a desk, start it, sit, and its practically ready for use.
GPU
nVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6600 16X PCI-E
This is more than adequate for now. I've just played through half life 2 at full resolution (1920 x 1200) with everything maxed. This game is absolutely stunning on a WUXGA display. I had seen it before but in widescreen its just amazing.
The F.E.A.R. demo was a bit on the slow side with everything maxed, worked well with some things downscaled a bit. Haven't tried the actual game, designers may have been a bit lazy in the demo encoding, dunno yet. Also played tried Fable and Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow maxed out, but considering HL2 works, its no surprise they're a breeze as well.
I ran 3dmark05 a week or so ago. I think the score was 2159 but I also think I ran it at full resolution whereas most people do it at 1024 x 768 ot something like that...a lower rez anyway so I may have to do it again for comparative results.
Sound:
The sound sucks. Its good for a laptop but if you're a budding audiophile like me, you won't bother listening to the notebook's speakers for very long, the lack of a woofer makes it tinny. The onboard sound card is actually pretty good though. Good sound through my headphones, just missing a bit of "oomph" when you want to blast your eardrums on the 1812 ouverture or play drum&bass to keep you awake. I bought some Creative speakers which amplify the headphones for me so all's good now. Card's more than enough..but amped phones = bliss.
I use SONY MDR-EX71 by the way which I recommend. They're earplug type Headphones with amazing sound, full BASS! I bought them after someone on the boards complained that they were too good in blocking outside sound (very true, someone can definitely sneak up on you) and they received GSferrari's seal of approval..
One little nitpick...while its much easier to plug in and out, I wish the sound card input was on the side or back instead of the front. Now my speaker wire dangles in front an is a bit in the way because of it.
Heat:
Many people seem to be concerned about the comps heat. While gaming the palmrest gets warm but not hot. You definitely don't need a laptop cooler. I've used this laptop on my lap many times and nothing's been cooked yet. After gaming, which is when it'll heat up the most, the HD temp goes up to 59 degrees celsius and the GPU is around there. Nothing to write home about...
Battery:
Excellent! Another good reason to opt for the 3880. I get over 4 hours of use while using Word and the internet with my wireless internet on, screen not fully dimmed. I could probably milk some extra time. I've watched a DVD on battery but not a very long one, I'm guessing it'd last over 3 hours but unless you insist that I test it out I think it'll remain a guess.
The size of the battery...some people call it "The tumour"...I call it "The grip". I balked when I saw it the first time but I really love it now. Its ridiculously easy to pull the comp out of my briefcase. I think I'd actually be sad to see this "feature" go. It lifts up the comp a bit which is great for typing, provides long battery life and acts as a grip...PLUS you never see it. Even if I close my computer I won't see it as its under it. I only see it when I pick it up and put it in my bag or vice-versa.
Overall score:
I'd give it a 9.5/10. My only nitpick concerning the soundcard placement and speaker sound, though I expected this. Perfect comp for my needs, glad I opted for it instead of the Asus z70a as I love the resolution.
Btw, I haven't tried the lightscribe on my dvd burner yet. Burnt a dvd though, quite fast. Rips music fast as well, no qualms there. I'll edit the review once I've tried the lightscribe. If you've any questions, just ask.
P.S. I left instructions on the forum on how to upgrade your nVidia driver. It took me over an hour to figure that one out:
You can find the .nfo file here.
You can find the actual 77.77 driver here
You can find the .inf file you need to copy into the 77.77 driver folder here
You can watch a "how to install" movie guide here
and the code for your 3880 is NVCV, so you copy the NVCV .inf which is in the 77.77.inf.zip folder, not the other one.
There ya go! Took me over an hour to figure all that out...
