Aviator AX9 Review

Since there is an official place for reviews on here, I guess should do a write up in addition to the one in the general hyper forum.

Had my AX9 for a little under two weeks now and I am very impressed.

Quick Hits:
Pro:
True desktop replacement (frickin' huge)
Great screen
Can handle absolutely anything
Built-in numberpad on the keyboard
Doesn't get that hot, relatively speaking

Con:
Not at all portable (big and heavy)
1680x1050 resolution (not a problem for me though)
Sound is not that great (again not an issue for me, using external speakers)
keyboard is slightly cramped and offset



Specs:
Processor: AMD ML-44 Turion 64 (2.41 GHz)
Ram: 2 Gigs
HD: 100 gigs (self partioned into three chucks, system, programs, games)
Video: SLI-enabled Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX (256 Megs)
Monitor: 19inch, 1680x1050
Motherboard: NForce 4 I think, not sure how to look that up
BIOS Revision: 1.00.01
Audio: Builtin, but personally using an Indigo IO external card and some HK speakers
Bluetooth: Has a bunch of drivers/controllers, but I don't have any devices
Modem: Internal wireless a/b/g - works with my pre-exisitng D-link home network without a hitch, though seems a tiny bit slower than my other machines
USB: 5 ports, two in rear that side directly over one another and three on the right side that are spaced horizontally.

Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathonwood/

Impressions:
The size is... just... so... big...
Width is equal to: 6 1/2 typical cell phones, my forearm from elbow to fingertip, not quite 1 1/2 of the long side of a piece of paper.

The screen is... just... so... pretty....
High-gloss finish, no dead pixels, colors look fantastic. I was worried about the limited resolution, but I have found that it is not a problem for me at all. Getting older you know, the eyes don't seem to like the tiny text anymore. I also got a new HDTV this past week (Samsung HLS4266W 42 inch 720p DLP if you are curious) and I am having a hard time choosing what to spend my time looking at. DVDs and games look great on the AX9.

The built-in sound is VERY underwhelming. No bass response at all. Granted, I am coming from a Dell 9100 that had a builtin subwoofer so that may be coloring my impressions unfairly. I personally use an external solution (Indigo IO card that plugs into the PMCIA (or whatever it's called) slot.

Touchpad is nice and big, but seems a little overly sensative. There is no keyboard nub/nipple. I use a Logitech G5 mouse anyway, so it's not a problem.

However, the keyboard seems to be shifted over to the left one key from where you would expect it, if you look down (as the touchpad is centered). The first time you put your hands on the keyboard, your two pointer fingers will land on the G and K keys instead of the F and J. You get used to it within minutes, but it is disconcerting on that first use. Having a builtin numberpad though, more than makes up for this slightly odd issue.

The machine does get a bit warm, but comeon, there are 2 high-end graphics cards in there! It does not get as hot as my old Dell, nor do the fans seem to push out as much heat (nor are they as loud). I actually did try to use the thing on my lap. Apart from the fact that unless you have been eating too many twinkies this machine won't fit on your lap, the rightside does get too warm for comfort.

I don't have any benchmarking software, but everything I have thrown at it hasn't even caused TheBeast (as the machine has been christened) to break a sweat. HL2, Oblivion, FarCry, Civ IV with enormous custom-sized maps and lots of units. Couldn't get Tiger Woods 2005 to install, but I think that is my cd's issue.


Problems:
Exactly one week after first boot, the machine would not load Windows. After getting it to load in Safe Mode, it seems there are bad sectors on the HD, presumably right where the master boot record was located. Could not recover, so I just wiped the drive and reinstalled everything (partioning the drive this time).

At first, wireless net performance was terrible. Moving the machine furhter AWAY from the router solved the problem. First time I have ever had to move away rather than toward...

No hardware based volume controls. Seems an odd omission considering how prevalent those are today.

The DVD RW drive seems a bit odd. Sometimes it is very very loud and sometimes it is not. Also seems to run a bit slowly when installing from a DVD (in comparison to my other systems). Haven't had any problems watching DVDs though, apart from the inconstant noise issue.

I cannot seem to be able to have bluetooth, wireless modem and ethernet all active at once. This may be a windows issue, I am not sure. To use a wired net connection, I need to physically disable the wireless connections.


Pleasant surprises:
Screen mounting brackets: really really solid. These will NEVER break on you. However, you actually need to hold down on the main lappie portion in order to raise the lid - the brackets are so strong that otherwise, the whole machine will life with you!

There is a physical button (with a blue led!) on the main case that will let you throttle back the GPUs. I am not exactly sure when you want to use this, but it seems like such a nice feature to have.

There is also a physical button (no led) that will enable/disable the wireless devices (modem and bluetooth). Very useful if you are on a plane. (BUsiness class only of course, the machine is too wide for coach!!).


If you want a true desktop replacement, the AX9 is superb. Quieter than most (non-watercooled) desktops that I have seen which offer the same level of performance. Gorgeous screen that works well with the dual graphics cards. Big enough HD to satisfy all the most hoarding of packrats. Superb gaming performance.

However, for the road warrior that is also a dedicated gamer, you know... me, the AX9 is not the ideal solution. It is just too big. I cannot see myself trying lug this think through the airports of the world, even with the best of custom designed bags.

So I am in something of a bind now. I love the machine, but need something just a bit more portable. And my daughter has claimed the 9100 so I won't be getting that back - besides it is all decked out in Sims decor now anyway...

Grrrr.... my dig cam decided to stop working. Something about my daughter dropping it and an adverse interaction with a concrete sidewalk...


Anyway, there are five fans on the bottom (but it still isn't loud). Three fans are positioned along top side (the side where the screen connects to the base). The leftmost fan (when looking at the bottom) is about one inch in from the side and top edge.

Maybe this will help: (x's are the fans)

_______________________________
| |
| xxxx xxxx xxxx |
| xxxx xxxx xxxx |
| xxxx xxxx xxxx |
| |
| xxxx |
| xxxx |
| xxxx |
| |
| xxxx |
| xxxx |
| xxxx |
________________________________

(Edit: when posted, the ascii doesn't line up. The rightmost vertical bar should line up at the edge of the horizontal lines. The middle fan is vertically between the topline middle and left fan. The bottom fan is centered)

Oblivion framerates are about 45 indoors and 35 outdoors with all options up and the LOD mods loaded. It does have the normal hiccups from time to time, but overall runs incredibly smooth. This is the Direct 2 Drive version, so the normal version should run a little better (a few frames at most) as there won't be scrambled DLLs to check.

I have to say that I was initially worried about heat, but after near constant use, including letting iTunes, Word, Firefox, Outlook Express and Oblivion run at the same time for a five hour strech (my own stress test), things appear to be fine. Both my old IBM thinkpad and my last gaming laptop (Dell 9100, 1 gig ram, 256 MB card) ran hotter. The top of the case never gets hot, or even excessively warm. The right side of the bottom does get uncomfortable for a lap when the cards are running, but by no means are dangerous levels reached. I should also mention, that the laptop doesn't lay flat. The rubber 'feet' in the rear do put the machine at a slight angle so airflow to the fans is improved.


In other words, a cooler is not going to be needed, strictly speaking, but I will be getting one anyway, as lower temps should extend component life overall.

Hope that is helpful!

Myself, I am waiting to see what Easysea comes up with... http://notebookforums.com/showthread...ferrerid=70749 As far as an upgrade path, who the hell knows. I got burned on that already with the Dell. I bought the top of the line card at the time, and then they stopped going with AGP cards. So even though the video subsystem was user-upgradeable, there was never anything to upgrade to. That said, you'll almost certainly be able to upgrade to the 7900's. Beyond that, it's a big unknown. I am personally, resigning myself to never being able to upgrade. If things turn out differently, wonderful, but I am certainly not counting on it.

It is defintely a dimension problem. For my last machine (15.4 incher, but really thick), I used a backpack that also had rollerblade wheels and and a collapsable handle; also had room for my tri-fold notepad, the lappie power brick, a full-size mouse, a magazine and a paperback book. That set up would not fit in the overhead bin for the regional carriers but would fit on 'real' airplanes.

My AX-9 and powerbrick (but nothing else) will fit in that bag, but with two and 1/4 inches sticking out of the top.

I do not think that any bag which would accomodate the width of the AX-9 will fit in the under-the-seat storage area at all. On most real planes it should fit in overhead storage, but there is no way that I am putting $4k worth of goods somewhere that other people can bang away on (at least when it is my, and not company, money).

By the way, I am keeping the machine. It is just too cool not to! Will have to keep using the old dell for gaming across the world though...