After a month and a half with my 4780, I would like to provide this forum with a non-biased, in-depth review highlighting features and problems I have seen discussed here. I hope this review will be of use to those of you who are considering purchasing a 4780. My machine has only been powered down 15 to 20 hrs since I’ve had it.
Delivery – Ordered the 4780 on Dec. 18th. On the 19th, I was informed it was on backorder and would be delayed. Got my tracking number on the 22nd and delivery on Dec. 26th. Not bad for a backordered machine over the holidays.
Packaging – Who cares. There are no Sager resellers or delivery companies that will not stand behind you getting your comp in new, working condition. If the box is smashed, don’t sign for it. Save your box & packaging for at least a year in case of RMA. Please, no more pictures of your Sager in the box.
Software – I am capable of installing Windows on my machine, and I don’t particularly like feeding Mr. Gates, but I had Sager install XP on my machine. Why? Mainly, I think the OS install is about the closest thing to a burn in and memory test you are going to get from the factory. You only have 30 days to evaluate the machine. Use it all; don’t waste a week or two getting the system software set up correctly. If you read the support section of this forum, you already know that the majority of new computer problems stem from n00bs screwing up driver installation. I’d wager Sager tech support would back this up too. You can’t begin effective hardware trials until your OS & driver software is 100%. Also, I wanted a copy of XP with SP1 already on it (I have dialup). Don’t worry, the OS install is not like HP or Dell, full of shareware and crap you don’t need. It is a clean XP install and the recovery disk is just a MS disk with Sager logo. Driver disks are separate.
Bios – The 4780s are shipping with the new bios that disables by default the loud beep on post. I don’t know if it’s annoying, I’ve never heard it. You also can enable 8xAGP in the new bios. You will still need to download the Fn/Ctrl key swapware if you don’t like the current setup.
Battery – If battery life is a factor for you, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE! Battery life in this and all higher end desktop replacements is a joke. You will not even be able to watch a full DVD on battery. Depending on what you’re running, expect about an hour. Anything more is borrowed time. Current battery technology and size/weight constraints preclude powering the big screen and desktop components for longer, but Clevo negated the possibility of a work-around by not making the battery swappable. Instead of sliding out a used battery and slipping a new one in, you have to unscrew a panel and carefully unplug the old battery… Clevo could probably have sold a few more machines and batteries with a better design. Makes me think the 47xx line is not going to be around long. I rarely use my battery, but it serves as kind of a built in UPS.
Note: The battery conditioning and care instructions in the manual seem to be for a NiCad and are in conflict with industry standards for Li-ions. I would like to see some clarification from Sager on this.
Portability - This is very subjective. I am a big guy and do not have to carry my Sager around all day everyday. I do travel a bit and find its weight and size manageable, but it is heavy. It is thinner than my last Sager. Due to the battery problem listed above, don’t forget to add the weight of your AC adapter to your load. I usually carry my DC adapter too. The included case is adequate, but doesn’t provide any padding, protection or much additional storage. I will probably end up investing in one of those roller/backpacks. If light weight and easy portability are important to you, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE. If you want to use your “laptop” in your lap, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE! If you are careful not to block the fans, you can do it in a pinch, but the heat and weight will get old real quick.
Heat – Yes, this machine gets warm, especially on the left. It is more noticeable during gaming or heavy processor use. Not hot, just very warm, like most Sagers. It might be uncomfortable if you spend most of your time with your left hand on the keyboard during long gaming sessions. I can see it causing your hand to sweat. It doesn’t really bother me. The fan intakes are on the bottom and are exhausted (properly) to the rear. You should be comfortable removing the fan and heat exchanger covers and cleaning dust and lint out every few weeks. This should be enough to keep the temp in proper operating range. I think the cooler you can keep the guts of this machine, the longer it will last. Laptop coolers are an option, but affect portability. I might try the X cooler with the built in USB hub for home use. The Artic Silver and Lapping mod thread on this forum is very well written, but I expect it will screw your warranty and it’s not for the faint of heart.
Fan Noise – I laugh whenever I see another post about this. Remember, you are cooling desktop components. The fans are slightly louder than most notebooks and quieter than most desktops. They will not get you expelled from school, fired from work or cause hearing loss. If they make a screeching sound, your bearings are shot. If they make a clicking sound, a blade is hitting something. If they don’t seem to be cycling properly, you probably messed up on your OS/driver installation or have a dirty cooling system. Or maybe you just game too much in class.
Ports – I appreciate the legacy parallel and serial ports, but two USB 2.0 ports is not enough. Almost all peripherals nowadays are USB. A desktop replacement should have at least 4 USB ports.
Everyone posting here seems to like the 6 in 1 card reader. Why would anyone invest in six different medias? I like the Sony memstick reader but I already had a USB reader and will probably never use more than one of the other slots. A plug-in 1.0 USB 6 in 1 reader is less than $20. At least a 7 in 1 reader could have read floppies.
Why is the firewire port on the front? Bad location, but not as bad as locating the IR port there. With the firewire, you have a cable in the way, but to use the IR, you have to position the entire device between you and the computer you are using to operate it. Someone at Clevo should be fired over letting that one slip. The only things that should be on the front are headphone/mic jacks, the wireless switch and the “remote” (lol) IR sensor. The 6 in 1 would have been serviceable there too. And a volume knob.
I haven’t used the PCMCIA slot yet, but the retractable eject button is way better than my last 4 laptops. Haven’t tried the video connections yet either, but they should come in handy when and if I get a DVR.
TV Tuner – If you are looking for a quality TV tuner in your machine, the 4780 is probably not a good choice for you. The Avermedia tuner quality is not bad, but not nearly professional grade. For me, the tuner is a nice extra. You can catch the game in a window while working, etc. Full screen, it will stand in for a TV at the cabin or while yours is in the shop. The software is disappointing. I haven’t tried using it as a Tivo. Has anyone? I have never seen a tuner in a portable, and really didn’t expect much.
The “Remote” – The remote should have been made out of compressed dung, so at least you could have burned it to heat your yurt. This is what it does: Starts and stops the tuner, changes channels up, down, or by number, switches to the mode where you get a grid of 16 channel screen captures, lets you select one, cycles video inputs, freezes the image, autoscans, and shuts down windows. I have not been able to get the capture function to work, but I can freeze the screen and use a printscreen program to get a shot. What’s wrong, you ask? The volume control brings up a volume slider on the screen, but does not affect volume. The most basic remote needs to change channels and control volume. There is NO DVD FUNCTIONALITY. And no windows functions except shut-down. Has anyone had better luck with it? I use my cordless Gyration mouse instead. This feature is definitely not as advertised in the PCT review on this forum.
Audio – Hard to peg this one. The playback of mp3’s is remarkable for a laptop. Music playback rivals the Harmon Kardons in the Toshiba’s, probably even better with the lower tones. I wouldn’t exactly call it bass, but it is probably as good as it gets with dime sized speakers. Don’t expect any thumping, room filling volume. But you can actually enjoy the sound of music and games at a reasonable volume without headphones. But then, the 4780 trips up over reproducing certain recorded voice and television audio frequencies above about ¼ volume. There is a kazoo like buzzing that emanates (I think) from the “sub-woofer”. Obviously, the subwoofer is not your typical massive driver because of size and weight. It employs some kind of gimmick to get those lower tones. Strange how this buzzing is not apparent during music, games or most DVD’s. Overall, I am mostly happy with the sound, but would like to have seen a volume control other than software or FN key.
Screen – The 17” LCD, much maligned on this forum, is simply AWESOME. My unit had zero bad pixels. The illumination and brightness are constant from corner to corner. Color and contrast are very good. The screen is viewable from wide angles, and it is glare and fingerprint resistant. And, IT’S 17 INCHES! This is the same screen that is the only redeemable feature of the 17” Apple Powerbook. My last laptop was 1600x1200, and I was worried about the lower resolution on the 4780 and almost ordered the 5680. Other than slightly less real estate for a nautical chart program and mapping software, I do not miss the higher resolution at all. Reading text is way better on the 4780 (I have good vision). Anyone who says you can just adjust the font and accessibility settings on a higher resolution screen to enhance readability is forgetting to tell you how doing that messes up your title bars, drop down menus and toolbars. I am comfortable reading this screen at 1-1/2 feet or kicked back at 3-1/2 feet. You don’t need to disable your touchpad to keep your chin from running your cursor around your desktop. You can watch a DVD from halfway across a room with a group of people due to the large size and wide angle viewability. AutoCAD users and other users of specific software may need more resolution, but they already know who they are. If you pass on the 4780 because you “think” you need a “better” screen, you’ll regret it when you finally see this one. The wide aspect is particularly good for Photoshop and other applications that use a lot of toolbars. Don’t forget, due to the wide aspect ratio the 900 vertical pixels span only 9 inches. Do the math; this screen is actually higher rez than conventional XGA. Not having an ultra high resolution will lengthen the effective life of your video card too. Warning: once you go wide, you won’t go back.
Gaming - The fact that Adam of PC Torque uses a 4780 for gaming should say a lot. He has access to any Sager model available, yet chooses the 4780. The large, wide, fast screen in combination with the ATI 9600 pro card makes this a world class portable gaming machine. No ghosting at all. Almost all modern games support 1440x900 right out of the box. There are patches and fixes for most of the others.
Hard Drive – If you need to carry around more than 80 Gigs of onboard data and applications, or if you need a RAID system, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE. I chose a 60G 5400 rpm drive (Toshiba) as a good compromise between size, speed, economy and heat production. I have been very happy with it. I would suggest a faster drive than 4200 rpm. As far as RAIDing a portable, don’t do it. You need to be compiling code, editing video or rendering 3D etc. to even notice a speed increase. If you game, moving a game from CD to the Hard Drive will give you a substantial speed increase, but you will not see any further increase with RAID 0. You will be putting all your data at twice the risk of loss. If one drive fails, all your stuff is gone. If you want to use RAID 1 to protect your data, you need to rethink your philosophy. All your eggs will literally be in one mobile basket. If your machine goes down with the yacht or gets nicked from the dorm, urfuct. Backup to an external that’s safe at home, or use DVD’s.
Optical Drive – I was going to get the DVD burner until I re-read the specs. You will be far better off getting an external firewire or USB 8x or faster burner that does + and - medias. There will be even more speed gain (for copying) reading off the combo drive and burning directly to disk rather than copying to your Hard Drive first, so I got the combo drive. Of course, if you need DVD burner portability inside the case, you’ll have to settle for the 2x. I used the money I would have spent on that upgrade and got a full gig of RAM instead. I am pleased so far with the combo (TEAC). Haven’t yet explored sub channel capabilities and the like. Nero Express is included, pretty good for OEM software.
Webcam – The tiny built in Webcam has better than average resolution, worse than average low light capability for a camera of its type. Works fine in a bright room. Wish I was purtier, might actually use it.
Microphone – Sucks. Never seen a built-in laptop mike that didn’t. Don’t know why they bother.
Wireless – Being on dialup at home, I wasn’t going to get the internal until I noticed the switch on the front. I’m not big on aesthetics, but I didn’t want a switch on the front of my new machine that did absolutely nothing. As it turns out, I am quite satisfied with the internal b card (g compatible). The reception and range are good. I can pick up multiple networks at most of my friends places. I have even used it effectively wardriving. I only use it for the web and don’t currently have a need for the g bandwidth. Doubt I ever will. If I do, I will have to get a PC card as the internal USB 1.1 can’t handle g speeds. Note that the 4780 has only one PC card slot. If you need it available, get the internal.
Bluetooth – Didn’t get it. Didn’t know anybody was still using it. From the forums, I see there are driver problems, dip switch problems and compatibility problems with the wireless card.
Input - The keyboard is excellent. I am having trouble coming up with descriptive terms for its qualities. It’s not very flexible (which is good); the keys are “springy”?? Anyway, the keyboard has a solid, quality feel to it and the full sized number pad is nice. Almost all of your letters and most of your numbers are well represented. lol
The touchpad is responsive and has horizontal and vertical scrolling capabilities in addition to the scroll rocker between the left and right click buttons. My only complaint is that the software lacks an adjustment for the “tap to select” sensitivity.
Build Quality – A nice surprise and departure from my last Sager. The 4780 does have a generic look to it, but it is put together well. No plastic doors or flaps, nothing extends from the case to snag or break off easily. The hinge assembly is ruggedly designed and will not develop the plastic stress fractures like some of the 56xx series. The lid closes squarely and securely with one hand, but you need two hands to open it due to the double latch design. Probably a good thing, the screen itself is thin and will flex a little if torqued. The latch assemblies are plastic, but seem sturdy. I hope they last. There is a small amount of give on the left wristpad area right over the edge of the PC card slot when the slot is empty and the dummy is removed. I don’t see this causing a problem. As usual, Sager put the USB ports in upside down.
Warranty – Get the extended warranty. I never get extended warranties on anything except Sagers. They run hot. You probably won’t find support for the SIS chipset (or the ATI) much beyond a year. My 4 yr warranty works out to about $1 per week. That will give me peace of mind until I replace my 4780 with a PCI Express 64 bit unit, maybe with solid state drives. The extended warrant has already saved my a$$ once. Usually, they can’t fix older Sagers and just refund your purchase price.
Paint Job – I got a nice $490 paint job, on my freakin pickup truck. You modders crack me up. You guys pay top dollar for a bleeding edge machine, then wait months extra to get it. It ain’t bleeding edge anymore, even on your first boot. You pay for a baked on automotive finish with paint designed to last 10 or 12 years sitting in the weather. How long do you keep your laptop? I guess I’m just jealous, wish I had more money than sense too.
Summary – The 4780 is a pizzpoor laptop. It is, however, the best portable desktop replacement available for the price, or anywhere close. I did a lot of looking around, too. The shortcomings that I have pointed out are for the forums benefit. I feel a little like I’ve been complaining about the tiny hairs on Anna Kournikova’s nipples. Nothing caught me by surprise except the inconsistent sound and crappy remote. Ignore the TV tuner, card reader, webcam, etc. and you still get more horsepower for the buck than anyone else offers. You just have to expect short battery life, a little fan noise, heat and weight. The vast majority of you will love the screen, a few will need more pixels. The 4780 is blazing fast and my unit is very stable even after all the junk I’ve put on it. If you know you need a desktop replacement instead of a laptop, I think you will be very happy with the 4780. If not, or you get a funky pixel, just send it back. I hope someone benefits from this review.
Delivery – Ordered the 4780 on Dec. 18th. On the 19th, I was informed it was on backorder and would be delayed. Got my tracking number on the 22nd and delivery on Dec. 26th. Not bad for a backordered machine over the holidays.
Packaging – Who cares. There are no Sager resellers or delivery companies that will not stand behind you getting your comp in new, working condition. If the box is smashed, don’t sign for it. Save your box & packaging for at least a year in case of RMA. Please, no more pictures of your Sager in the box.
Software – I am capable of installing Windows on my machine, and I don’t particularly like feeding Mr. Gates, but I had Sager install XP on my machine. Why? Mainly, I think the OS install is about the closest thing to a burn in and memory test you are going to get from the factory. You only have 30 days to evaluate the machine. Use it all; don’t waste a week or two getting the system software set up correctly. If you read the support section of this forum, you already know that the majority of new computer problems stem from n00bs screwing up driver installation. I’d wager Sager tech support would back this up too. You can’t begin effective hardware trials until your OS & driver software is 100%. Also, I wanted a copy of XP with SP1 already on it (I have dialup). Don’t worry, the OS install is not like HP or Dell, full of shareware and crap you don’t need. It is a clean XP install and the recovery disk is just a MS disk with Sager logo. Driver disks are separate.
Bios – The 4780s are shipping with the new bios that disables by default the loud beep on post. I don’t know if it’s annoying, I’ve never heard it. You also can enable 8xAGP in the new bios. You will still need to download the Fn/Ctrl key swapware if you don’t like the current setup.
Battery – If battery life is a factor for you, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE! Battery life in this and all higher end desktop replacements is a joke. You will not even be able to watch a full DVD on battery. Depending on what you’re running, expect about an hour. Anything more is borrowed time. Current battery technology and size/weight constraints preclude powering the big screen and desktop components for longer, but Clevo negated the possibility of a work-around by not making the battery swappable. Instead of sliding out a used battery and slipping a new one in, you have to unscrew a panel and carefully unplug the old battery… Clevo could probably have sold a few more machines and batteries with a better design. Makes me think the 47xx line is not going to be around long. I rarely use my battery, but it serves as kind of a built in UPS.
Note: The battery conditioning and care instructions in the manual seem to be for a NiCad and are in conflict with industry standards for Li-ions. I would like to see some clarification from Sager on this.
Portability - This is very subjective. I am a big guy and do not have to carry my Sager around all day everyday. I do travel a bit and find its weight and size manageable, but it is heavy. It is thinner than my last Sager. Due to the battery problem listed above, don’t forget to add the weight of your AC adapter to your load. I usually carry my DC adapter too. The included case is adequate, but doesn’t provide any padding, protection or much additional storage. I will probably end up investing in one of those roller/backpacks. If light weight and easy portability are important to you, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE. If you want to use your “laptop” in your lap, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE! If you are careful not to block the fans, you can do it in a pinch, but the heat and weight will get old real quick.
Heat – Yes, this machine gets warm, especially on the left. It is more noticeable during gaming or heavy processor use. Not hot, just very warm, like most Sagers. It might be uncomfortable if you spend most of your time with your left hand on the keyboard during long gaming sessions. I can see it causing your hand to sweat. It doesn’t really bother me. The fan intakes are on the bottom and are exhausted (properly) to the rear. You should be comfortable removing the fan and heat exchanger covers and cleaning dust and lint out every few weeks. This should be enough to keep the temp in proper operating range. I think the cooler you can keep the guts of this machine, the longer it will last. Laptop coolers are an option, but affect portability. I might try the X cooler with the built in USB hub for home use. The Artic Silver and Lapping mod thread on this forum is very well written, but I expect it will screw your warranty and it’s not for the faint of heart.
Fan Noise – I laugh whenever I see another post about this. Remember, you are cooling desktop components. The fans are slightly louder than most notebooks and quieter than most desktops. They will not get you expelled from school, fired from work or cause hearing loss. If they make a screeching sound, your bearings are shot. If they make a clicking sound, a blade is hitting something. If they don’t seem to be cycling properly, you probably messed up on your OS/driver installation or have a dirty cooling system. Or maybe you just game too much in class.
Ports – I appreciate the legacy parallel and serial ports, but two USB 2.0 ports is not enough. Almost all peripherals nowadays are USB. A desktop replacement should have at least 4 USB ports.
Everyone posting here seems to like the 6 in 1 card reader. Why would anyone invest in six different medias? I like the Sony memstick reader but I already had a USB reader and will probably never use more than one of the other slots. A plug-in 1.0 USB 6 in 1 reader is less than $20. At least a 7 in 1 reader could have read floppies.
Why is the firewire port on the front? Bad location, but not as bad as locating the IR port there. With the firewire, you have a cable in the way, but to use the IR, you have to position the entire device between you and the computer you are using to operate it. Someone at Clevo should be fired over letting that one slip. The only things that should be on the front are headphone/mic jacks, the wireless switch and the “remote” (lol) IR sensor. The 6 in 1 would have been serviceable there too. And a volume knob.
I haven’t used the PCMCIA slot yet, but the retractable eject button is way better than my last 4 laptops. Haven’t tried the video connections yet either, but they should come in handy when and if I get a DVR.
TV Tuner – If you are looking for a quality TV tuner in your machine, the 4780 is probably not a good choice for you. The Avermedia tuner quality is not bad, but not nearly professional grade. For me, the tuner is a nice extra. You can catch the game in a window while working, etc. Full screen, it will stand in for a TV at the cabin or while yours is in the shop. The software is disappointing. I haven’t tried using it as a Tivo. Has anyone? I have never seen a tuner in a portable, and really didn’t expect much.
The “Remote” – The remote should have been made out of compressed dung, so at least you could have burned it to heat your yurt. This is what it does: Starts and stops the tuner, changes channels up, down, or by number, switches to the mode where you get a grid of 16 channel screen captures, lets you select one, cycles video inputs, freezes the image, autoscans, and shuts down windows. I have not been able to get the capture function to work, but I can freeze the screen and use a printscreen program to get a shot. What’s wrong, you ask? The volume control brings up a volume slider on the screen, but does not affect volume. The most basic remote needs to change channels and control volume. There is NO DVD FUNCTIONALITY. And no windows functions except shut-down. Has anyone had better luck with it? I use my cordless Gyration mouse instead. This feature is definitely not as advertised in the PCT review on this forum.
Audio – Hard to peg this one. The playback of mp3’s is remarkable for a laptop. Music playback rivals the Harmon Kardons in the Toshiba’s, probably even better with the lower tones. I wouldn’t exactly call it bass, but it is probably as good as it gets with dime sized speakers. Don’t expect any thumping, room filling volume. But you can actually enjoy the sound of music and games at a reasonable volume without headphones. But then, the 4780 trips up over reproducing certain recorded voice and television audio frequencies above about ¼ volume. There is a kazoo like buzzing that emanates (I think) from the “sub-woofer”. Obviously, the subwoofer is not your typical massive driver because of size and weight. It employs some kind of gimmick to get those lower tones. Strange how this buzzing is not apparent during music, games or most DVD’s. Overall, I am mostly happy with the sound, but would like to have seen a volume control other than software or FN key.
Screen – The 17” LCD, much maligned on this forum, is simply AWESOME. My unit had zero bad pixels. The illumination and brightness are constant from corner to corner. Color and contrast are very good. The screen is viewable from wide angles, and it is glare and fingerprint resistant. And, IT’S 17 INCHES! This is the same screen that is the only redeemable feature of the 17” Apple Powerbook. My last laptop was 1600x1200, and I was worried about the lower resolution on the 4780 and almost ordered the 5680. Other than slightly less real estate for a nautical chart program and mapping software, I do not miss the higher resolution at all. Reading text is way better on the 4780 (I have good vision). Anyone who says you can just adjust the font and accessibility settings on a higher resolution screen to enhance readability is forgetting to tell you how doing that messes up your title bars, drop down menus and toolbars. I am comfortable reading this screen at 1-1/2 feet or kicked back at 3-1/2 feet. You don’t need to disable your touchpad to keep your chin from running your cursor around your desktop. You can watch a DVD from halfway across a room with a group of people due to the large size and wide angle viewability. AutoCAD users and other users of specific software may need more resolution, but they already know who they are. If you pass on the 4780 because you “think” you need a “better” screen, you’ll regret it when you finally see this one. The wide aspect is particularly good for Photoshop and other applications that use a lot of toolbars. Don’t forget, due to the wide aspect ratio the 900 vertical pixels span only 9 inches. Do the math; this screen is actually higher rez than conventional XGA. Not having an ultra high resolution will lengthen the effective life of your video card too. Warning: once you go wide, you won’t go back.
Gaming - The fact that Adam of PC Torque uses a 4780 for gaming should say a lot. He has access to any Sager model available, yet chooses the 4780. The large, wide, fast screen in combination with the ATI 9600 pro card makes this a world class portable gaming machine. No ghosting at all. Almost all modern games support 1440x900 right out of the box. There are patches and fixes for most of the others.
Hard Drive – If you need to carry around more than 80 Gigs of onboard data and applications, or if you need a RAID system, DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE. I chose a 60G 5400 rpm drive (Toshiba) as a good compromise between size, speed, economy and heat production. I have been very happy with it. I would suggest a faster drive than 4200 rpm. As far as RAIDing a portable, don’t do it. You need to be compiling code, editing video or rendering 3D etc. to even notice a speed increase. If you game, moving a game from CD to the Hard Drive will give you a substantial speed increase, but you will not see any further increase with RAID 0. You will be putting all your data at twice the risk of loss. If one drive fails, all your stuff is gone. If you want to use RAID 1 to protect your data, you need to rethink your philosophy. All your eggs will literally be in one mobile basket. If your machine goes down with the yacht or gets nicked from the dorm, urfuct. Backup to an external that’s safe at home, or use DVD’s.
Optical Drive – I was going to get the DVD burner until I re-read the specs. You will be far better off getting an external firewire or USB 8x or faster burner that does + and - medias. There will be even more speed gain (for copying) reading off the combo drive and burning directly to disk rather than copying to your Hard Drive first, so I got the combo drive. Of course, if you need DVD burner portability inside the case, you’ll have to settle for the 2x. I used the money I would have spent on that upgrade and got a full gig of RAM instead. I am pleased so far with the combo (TEAC). Haven’t yet explored sub channel capabilities and the like. Nero Express is included, pretty good for OEM software.
Webcam – The tiny built in Webcam has better than average resolution, worse than average low light capability for a camera of its type. Works fine in a bright room. Wish I was purtier, might actually use it.
Microphone – Sucks. Never seen a built-in laptop mike that didn’t. Don’t know why they bother.
Wireless – Being on dialup at home, I wasn’t going to get the internal until I noticed the switch on the front. I’m not big on aesthetics, but I didn’t want a switch on the front of my new machine that did absolutely nothing. As it turns out, I am quite satisfied with the internal b card (g compatible). The reception and range are good. I can pick up multiple networks at most of my friends places. I have even used it effectively wardriving. I only use it for the web and don’t currently have a need for the g bandwidth. Doubt I ever will. If I do, I will have to get a PC card as the internal USB 1.1 can’t handle g speeds. Note that the 4780 has only one PC card slot. If you need it available, get the internal.
Bluetooth – Didn’t get it. Didn’t know anybody was still using it. From the forums, I see there are driver problems, dip switch problems and compatibility problems with the wireless card.
Input - The keyboard is excellent. I am having trouble coming up with descriptive terms for its qualities. It’s not very flexible (which is good); the keys are “springy”?? Anyway, the keyboard has a solid, quality feel to it and the full sized number pad is nice. Almost all of your letters and most of your numbers are well represented. lol
The touchpad is responsive and has horizontal and vertical scrolling capabilities in addition to the scroll rocker between the left and right click buttons. My only complaint is that the software lacks an adjustment for the “tap to select” sensitivity.
Build Quality – A nice surprise and departure from my last Sager. The 4780 does have a generic look to it, but it is put together well. No plastic doors or flaps, nothing extends from the case to snag or break off easily. The hinge assembly is ruggedly designed and will not develop the plastic stress fractures like some of the 56xx series. The lid closes squarely and securely with one hand, but you need two hands to open it due to the double latch design. Probably a good thing, the screen itself is thin and will flex a little if torqued. The latch assemblies are plastic, but seem sturdy. I hope they last. There is a small amount of give on the left wristpad area right over the edge of the PC card slot when the slot is empty and the dummy is removed. I don’t see this causing a problem. As usual, Sager put the USB ports in upside down.
Warranty – Get the extended warranty. I never get extended warranties on anything except Sagers. They run hot. You probably won’t find support for the SIS chipset (or the ATI) much beyond a year. My 4 yr warranty works out to about $1 per week. That will give me peace of mind until I replace my 4780 with a PCI Express 64 bit unit, maybe with solid state drives. The extended warrant has already saved my a$$ once. Usually, they can’t fix older Sagers and just refund your purchase price.
Paint Job – I got a nice $490 paint job, on my freakin pickup truck. You modders crack me up. You guys pay top dollar for a bleeding edge machine, then wait months extra to get it. It ain’t bleeding edge anymore, even on your first boot. You pay for a baked on automotive finish with paint designed to last 10 or 12 years sitting in the weather. How long do you keep your laptop? I guess I’m just jealous, wish I had more money than sense too.
Summary – The 4780 is a pizzpoor laptop. It is, however, the best portable desktop replacement available for the price, or anywhere close. I did a lot of looking around, too. The shortcomings that I have pointed out are for the forums benefit. I feel a little like I’ve been complaining about the tiny hairs on Anna Kournikova’s nipples. Nothing caught me by surprise except the inconsistent sound and crappy remote. Ignore the TV tuner, card reader, webcam, etc. and you still get more horsepower for the buck than anyone else offers. You just have to expect short battery life, a little fan noise, heat and weight. The vast majority of you will love the screen, a few will need more pixels. The 4780 is blazing fast and my unit is very stable even after all the junk I’ve put on it. If you know you need a desktop replacement instead of a laptop, I think you will be very happy with the 4780. If not, or you get a funky pixel, just send it back. I hope someone benefits from this review.
. I heard one of her turn-ons is guys with sager lappy
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I'd taken it for granted that was some sort o' industry standard. Oh, well. I don't use the touchpad much anyway. But when I do, I use the tap feature a lot.
) but when you have a couple of smackers in the stockmarket that are screaming "SELL, SELL, SELL" you find anyway you can to place that order as quick as you can 
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