I'm considering the CX7 with Core 2 duo

Note: My CX7 is my first laptop so i cant accurately compare it to any other company or laptop.

1. I chose Hypersonic over alienware because of all the alienware horror stories, their high prices, and longer turn around time than hs. I view hs as a pretty reliable company.

2. I have a regular CX7, not duo but i love mine, have been very happy with it. I just sent it in to get repaired becuase it wouldnt power on, I can follow up on how long it took/if the problem was fixed if you want. The customer service so far has been awesome.

4. I had mine painted and it took exactly a month. Unpainted I believe its around 2 weeks.

5. They do not overlap, since the regular warrenty doesnt cover accidental damage. I just got the 3-year since i found it highly unlikely i would damage it.

6. Yea i heard bad things about the speakers too, but i have nothing to compare them too. I think there fine, just not that loud, so i got external speakers since i like to blast my music. But I played games with integrated speakers for awhile and didnt have a problem with them. Depends on how picky you are.

7. My specs are different (see sig) but ive never had a problem with heat. I usually prop up the back of the laptop a half-inch just so it gets more air, but i can play games on high settings for a couple hours without any problems.

Hope this helped some, good luck, looks like an awesome system

Haha. I pointed you to Hypersonic...
Anyhow, Since I don't have mine yet, I can only testify to the ship time and customer support.
I ordered mine on the night of 10/19/06.
The estimated ship time was up to 2 weeks unpainted, 4 weeks painted.
Mine seems to be taking longer than normal to be assembled.
Today is 11/02/06, exactly 2 weeks.
They say that it'll be shipped out early next week, including shipping, it'll probably be 3 weeks for wait time.

But that's just me. Everybody's will be different.

But their Customer Support has been great at responding to emails and phone calls. I email them about every other day [I would do it every day, but that might piss them off.] with new questions that pop up, and asking about status and why its taking so long.
But they still answer every one.

My only problem is that it is taking longer than expected. Their conception stage is the initial building of it. I've built desktops, and it only takes 3 hours if you bother cable tying everything well as well as install the os. A notebook should not take 3 days to build, unless they don't update their site that much.
But anyhow, it uses the same exterior Clevo case as Voodoo's :]

You'll probably see a review from me in a week when mine comes... hopefully.

I looked hard at Alienware and Sager along with Hypersonic and got a CX7 about 2 months ago, and I am happy with my decision.

My config is about the same as what you have listed. Mine came just b4 the core 2 duos, so my processor is the core duo T2500. My graphics card is the 7900 GTX, not 7950 GTX.

I got the lower-res screen (1680 X 1050, wsxga) because I use a secondary monitor and the wuxga monitors are very hard to find and too expensive. By matching the resolution, it is much easier to extend my desktop without re-sizing anything. I prefer to do multi-tasking with many windows open, and between the 17-inch display and my 21-inch monitor, I can cut/paste and work in a lot of things at the same time. The quality of the wsxga display is superb, even though the usxga is better. You may want to consider doing the same with the kind of things you will be doing.

I got them to throw in the Koskin case for free, you might ask them if they can do that. I just got a second AC adapter to keep in my case and I highly recommend it - when I go to class, I just unplug and drop the CX7 in my case, no fooling with the cords and stuff.

I got 2 bluetooth mice, so I can keep one on my desk and one in the case for the same reason. Don't get a wireless mouse that needs a USB adapter, use bluetooth.

This notebook is huge and obviously heavier than smaller ones, but well worth the extra screen size and horsepower. I look at lugging it around campus as my exercise plan. (if you're a wimp, get a smaller notebook )

Most of the notebooks in class are either HP or Dell (80-90%), so I like having something different. Without using any power mizer settings (brightness, etc.), I get through a 1 1/2 hour class on battery power with 2-3 programs running, wireless internet, and bluetooth. Acceptable for a high-powered notebook with super graphics and everything running at full power. All my classrooms have enough places to plug in if needed and everyone shares outlets nicely. (if you want to last for hours, start compromising performance )

It took about 3 weeks from ordering to UPS (ground) knocking on my door. I lost a few days because they sent it back for adjustments or something after testing.

I do not expect the sound to be on the same level as my surround-sound full stereo system. However, sound quality is great, level is plenty loud enough, and the Realtek Audio Manager has plenty of adjustments and good surround-ish effects. It sounds better than any other Notebook sound I've heard. It has digital audio out to hook up with your stereo system, and I got a set of Bluetooth headphones that also pair with my PDA phone. The built-in DJ controls are nice for playing music and stuff too.

Build quality is excellent, I have not found anything wrong and it has a solid feel.

As a parent of 2 college students besides being in graduate school myself, I say you go above and beyond in thanking your grandparents and parents for helping you out with this. Make them proud by doing good in school . You're fortunate that they understand that a rinky-dink $800 notebook won't cut it.

I say hurry up and order it!

darn. yours is better than mine.. Only place where I'd consider mine better is my ram... I'm not too fond of mushkin.. Corsair all the way :]
Well I chose to go with a legal XP Pro os too, don't want to start off with nonlegit crap on a new 3 grand machine

It's worth the wait, mine was delayed by about a week or so, and it was worth it to me. They are great machines, quality and performance and the customer service is great in my experience.

Oh man, your one of the project leaders of An Act of War? Very Cool! Still waiting for patiently for the release of 2.0.

I myself ordered a Aviator AX9 on 11-20-06. I hate the waiting and the wondering if my system will get to me and work out the box. Is there anyone who order a Aviator AX9 and its still working great for them?
Also Evil Viking did you receive your system yet? Any problems?

Well just let me say without sounding hella gay, that its a pleasure to meet you. An Act of War is still the reason I play generals. Your mod is probably in my opinion the best out there. Let us know when your system gets to you. I for one would like to know what you think of it.

Jascias

Cool, mine is suppose to be shipping on the 8th. Give us a heads up when you recieve it or review it.

Congragulations on your purchase! I know you will be very happy with it. I previously owned a Hypersonic CX7 with the 7800 GTX and now I own a Sager 5760 with the 7900 GTX and they have both been absolutely fabulous! I purchased the setup in my signature back about 4 months ago for a total of $2650.00 through PowerNotebooks.com!

Welcome again to the Clevo family. Remember if you have any other questions to post here. There are lots and lots of smart lappie users cruising these forums.

Also remember to cruise around for the dual core patch from Microsoft and Coolbits for the Nvidia Forceware drivers to get the extra oomph out of your new baby. You can find references to both here at the forums.

haha yeah. i'm lagging on my review too.
the main downside of this laptop is its speakers. i carry it back and forth to school, its a 15 min walk one way. not too bad. [16 years old, and i bought it myself so no money for a car and i don't wanna ask my mom.. i prefer a sense of independence.]
anyhow. the worse thing about it is its speakers. my friend's $400 compaq presario v6000 speakers can create as much volume as my clevo :[
If you're a fan of integrated speakers, go for toshiba's qosimo.
otherwise. i hook it up to 5.1 speakers at home and use shure e2c's on the road.


lets see who will come out with their review first

cool enjoy (: