well, after extensive lurking here, i picked up an i6000D about three months ago, and thus far, i couldn't be happier. so, a review!
system specs (in my sig, too)
.:Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
.:15.4 inch UltraSharp WSXGA+ LCD Panel
.:128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY RADEON X300
.:1GB DDR Memory
.:80GB Hard Drive
.:8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
that and xp pro running.
applications
it's unreal to me how ABSURDLY fast this thing is. i never had things running in the background of my old computer because they would negatively effect whatever i was running in the foreground. with this machine, i'm always using photoshop cs and sony soundforge for graphic and audio editing while having at least 3-4 apps in the back (trillian, itunes, some p2p prog, and peergaurdian) without any noticible adverse effects (ie, when i run the large programs without the background progs, they run just as fast -- which is to say incredibly fast).
games
i don't play too many games anymore, and empirically, i can only give a breakdown of counterstrike.
CS: resolution is 1280x850 (widescreen), high quality, AA on, vsync default on, 99 FPS CONSTANT. (by the way, i play over my wireless network and still get pings lower than 20)
warcraft III 1024x768 resolution, high quality everything. everything is flawlessly smooth. it makes me happy
diablo2 800x640 (highest resolution), high quality everthing. again, smooth and pretty.. i couldn't have hoped for anything better (especially considering the old machine i was using).
(also, i suggest getting a mouse.. easier for games -- i love my logitech mx518 - it's pretty goddam sexy and very comfortable)
video
i travel quite a bit, so i'm always watching dvds or divx films/tv shows on my computer. incredible. i tend to miss tv shows, so i download them all the damn time. at full screen (alt-enter), the things look just like dvds - granted that speaks to the quality of the file, but also to the screen and vid card. dvds are flawless - i prefer watching them on my comp to my tv now.
other
other processes, such as mutiple large file conversions (.vob to .avi comes to mind), so far have been surprisingly quick. much faster than my roomate's p4 desktop.
the bad news (little nitpicky things)
it honestly is pretty hard to come up with a substantive list of things i'd change. first, i don't know if it's the fact that everyone talks about light leakage, but it seems pretty evident. though, again, i don't know if i've been conditioned to worry about it.
second, paint (a usual)... the left palmrest is wearing down, as is the outside (due to being in my backpack).. this is mostly my fault though.
that's really it. both easily warrantied.
final impression
to keep it short: i absolutely love this thing. a couple things to be aware of, though. it's not a small machine, but it's not ginormous, either. i carry it around campus and it has a smaller profile than most of my books. while this is a middle ground machine (between power and portability), i don't think you're going to find yourself lacking in either -- as i said, games run brilliantly on this, and i can cart it around easily.
in my opinion, the best barometer of satisfaction is based on whether or not i would buy it again. i would, very happily. and repeatedly.
that's it.. enjoy!
my desktop, shrunken down from 1680x1050 to about half:
system specs (in my sig, too)
.:Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
.:15.4 inch UltraSharp WSXGA+ LCD Panel
.:128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY RADEON X300
.:1GB DDR Memory
.:80GB Hard Drive
.:8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
that and xp pro running.
applications
it's unreal to me how ABSURDLY fast this thing is. i never had things running in the background of my old computer because they would negatively effect whatever i was running in the foreground. with this machine, i'm always using photoshop cs and sony soundforge for graphic and audio editing while having at least 3-4 apps in the back (trillian, itunes, some p2p prog, and peergaurdian) without any noticible adverse effects (ie, when i run the large programs without the background progs, they run just as fast -- which is to say incredibly fast).
games
i don't play too many games anymore, and empirically, i can only give a breakdown of counterstrike.
CS: resolution is 1280x850 (widescreen), high quality, AA on, vsync default on, 99 FPS CONSTANT. (by the way, i play over my wireless network and still get pings lower than 20)
warcraft III 1024x768 resolution, high quality everything. everything is flawlessly smooth. it makes me happy
diablo2 800x640 (highest resolution), high quality everthing. again, smooth and pretty.. i couldn't have hoped for anything better (especially considering the old machine i was using).
(also, i suggest getting a mouse.. easier for games -- i love my logitech mx518 - it's pretty goddam sexy and very comfortable)
video
i travel quite a bit, so i'm always watching dvds or divx films/tv shows on my computer. incredible. i tend to miss tv shows, so i download them all the damn time. at full screen (alt-enter), the things look just like dvds - granted that speaks to the quality of the file, but also to the screen and vid card. dvds are flawless - i prefer watching them on my comp to my tv now.
other
other processes, such as mutiple large file conversions (.vob to .avi comes to mind), so far have been surprisingly quick. much faster than my roomate's p4 desktop.
the bad news (little nitpicky things)
it honestly is pretty hard to come up with a substantive list of things i'd change. first, i don't know if it's the fact that everyone talks about light leakage, but it seems pretty evident. though, again, i don't know if i've been conditioned to worry about it.
second, paint (a usual)... the left palmrest is wearing down, as is the outside (due to being in my backpack).. this is mostly my fault though.
that's really it. both easily warrantied.
final impression
to keep it short: i absolutely love this thing. a couple things to be aware of, though. it's not a small machine, but it's not ginormous, either. i carry it around campus and it has a smaller profile than most of my books. while this is a middle ground machine (between power and portability), i don't think you're going to find yourself lacking in either -- as i said, games run brilliantly on this, and i can cart it around easily.
in my opinion, the best barometer of satisfaction is based on whether or not i would buy it again. i would, very happily. and repeatedly.
that's it.. enjoy!
my desktop, shrunken down from 1680x1050 to about half:
