8790 seems to have died... anyone know cpr?

Yep, your motherboard is shot. The cheapest way to get one is to find someone who is parting their 8790 out and knows their motherboard is working fine...but to tell you the truth, most people part out once their mobo is dead. You could do the same, make some money off the parts, and count your losses.

i need a motherboard for my 8790, anybody know of anyplace that sells them? you said they were $400, where did you see them for that price?

thanks.

Just contact Sager (www.sagernotebooks.com) and they will be able to help you out (provided they've still got them in stock).

BeEt, like yourself, I was pretty much "done" w/ Sager due to the numerous problems w/ my 8790. However, I gave them one last chance and ordered a 5760 at the end of last year. So far, the only problems I've had are mainly software issues- and I can't really blame Sager for that. SOLID machine, my 5760. If you want a good machine, I highly suggest the 5760. If you think I'm a fanboy, try reading my 8790 Review thread in my sig. You'll see that I had more than enough grumpiness built up to want to burn Sager down. But after trying another machine, I'm a pretty happy camper. Buying bleeding edge technology doesn't always pay off. The 8790 was bleeding edge when it came out and a lot of us that bought in got burnt. There are some still running strong. I know I loved mine when it worked right. But I'm so glad I'm past that Love/Hate relationship now. I've got a machine that I know works and it's a comfort. Definitely give it a swing if you're still wanting something w/ power + features.

Unit should work even if the battery has been removed.

The 8790 really is a terrible notebook. I remember when I put it on it's side it would overheat like crazy. The hard drive, battery and screen are now all dead. Might sell the parts though. I'm sure there are better and more reliable Sager notebooks our there or Sager would not be around anymore but I will never buy a Sager again. Desktop computers are so much easier to fix too!

the more i look into these units, the more i find out i don't like. seems they are prone to and plagued by motherboard problems, the sound on mine was crappy before it died, mine has a good screen so I'm thinking of just keeping the lcd as a spare for my D900T since it appears to be compatible. and just selling the rest off as parts.

i know somebody that had one of these configured as a voodoo envy m:380 (i originally bought my 8790 because i liked his but didn't have the cash to spend on a voodoo) he had a problem with his lcd backlight (voodoo finally sent out a replacement lcd cable, that fixed it) and his fans were always on high, (we dissembled the whole thing one day and blasted the heck out of the fans with air blaster (voodoo ended up rma'ing the main fan module) that seemed to solve the problem, he then proceeded to unload the unit on somebody. at that time my only compliant was the bad sound.

as far as reliable sagers go they offer a 9880 series notebook on the D900T platform, i got the alienware m7700 (in name only i built the thing piece by piece from a dead unit) it is very reliable and i put Tt silver on it and it is much better with heat then the 8790, however it is a much larger unit and weighs more then the 8790.