Great forums! Just got my 8886

Here are my impressions/thoughts:

I'm a business user (closet gamer). Got the lappy on Monday and got on a plane to do a presentation (w/ LCD projector) on Tuesday. A couple comments here: don't let anyone tell you that 2.53 GHZ, etc. is wasted on office-type applications. Have this machine to do that stuff was amazing compared to my P3-800 desktop. Also, using the thing w/ a projector was a bit harrowing until I changed the resolution back down to 1024*768 (native 1280*1024) b/c that was the native res on the projector.

Anyway, if you bring a lappy like this on the airport, give yourself extra time. No one at the airport will have ever seen a lappy this big or heavy, so they'll think it's a bomb or a portable meth-lab or something... 2 out of 2 times for me, at least.

I got the Targus delux backpack for it. The fit is a bit sng for my tastes--I feel like the zippers will be putting a bit too much pressure on the screen when the bag is closed. Other than that, if you've never seen the Targus backpack, you're missing out! That thing is sweet. Plus, carrying a 12 lbs (plus accessories) laptop around an airport gets old (and sore) really fast (I had to swich shoulders a few times). Cheapest price for that thing is on technoweb.com.

I gotta say tho--this is the first electronic gadget for which I have absolutely zero buyer's remorse in a long time. This lappy has more functionality than all but the most expensive uber desktops out there. I went w/ 2 Hard drives (5400 rpm), 512 memory, 2.53 ghz. I bought from powernotebooks.com but PCTORQUE seems to make a lot of customers happy as well.

Here's the pack I got

http://www.techonweb.com/shop/produc....asp?id=847565

I wish I knew how to do that in html so you could just click on "here's the pack I got", but I don't. This thing'll fit the 5660 perfectly.

After a week w/ the 8886, I'm still in the honeymoon stage. Morrowind runs great (so far), DVD movies look great (sound is way better than I thought it would be w/ nice headphones), nice and fast, does get a little hot tho. I actually figured that would happen, so I got a special lappy cooling device at nexfan. 20 bucks and it plugs into the USB port for power (I have four of them, so I've still got room to spare). I'd recomend this to anyone w/ a desktop chip lappy--especially if you actually use the thing on YOUR LAP for any length of time. But here's another tip: buy it from newegg.com, not nexfan. Nexfan said "to be determined" for shipping on my invoice, but then charged me $7 to ship a $20 thing (when I checked the packing slip). I felt a bit cheated. Checking newegg, like I shoulda in the first place, had the same thing for 17.00---DOH! I had seen it for $35 other places, so I figured I had the best deal when google led me to nexfan. Rule: ALWAYS check newegg.com!

Note to Nexfan: see what happens when you gouge people! I hope the four or five people that read this never shop there again!

Honestly, the keyboard being full size is one of my favorite things. Never seen a numeric keypad on a lappy before. Haven't tried the TV or capture stuff yet... but I hope to soon. I'm wondering what software I should use to tweak my captured video?

Tried using powerstrip to o'c my Radeon 9K. Yeah, that sucked. Stock speeds were 170 mem, 250 core. Neither would budge w/out lines all over the screen--and that is w/ my cooling device! Any ideas how I might squeez a bit more out? I'm only running 6800s in my 3Dmarks... Pretty good for a lappy, but I am trying to play morrowind. Anyone tried the plutonium drivers? At driverheaven.com, they said the supported the Mobility 9K...

The one I got is the gray plastic one w/ three fans. It's pretty common. It's extremely quiet. So quiet that I usually feel back behind the lappy where it spits out to make sure it's running.

That said, it doesn't do a whole lot to keep the thing cool, mainly keeps your lap cool and allows the fans on the 8886 to work effectively by raising up the lappy body.

I gather that the other one you're talking about is the metal one--I think they sell it at newegg.com too. My guess is that it'd be louder, more slanted (so kinda useless on your LAP), but also more effective at keeping the machine cool.

So if your machine is too hot and you leave it mostly on a desk and use head phones, go for the metal one. If not, go for the plastic one.

And don't buy from Nextfan....