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Live from Japan: The FT 8790 Review - Page 20  

post #381 of 464
4/25/06 at 10:00am
That's corporate only. The company he works for has a contract that allows that replacement to occur. Regular customers are not allowed to self replace critical components. Even my dad and I have to have certifications from Dell to do this. Again corporate. I think you might be able to take the tests but not the classes as an independant but its expensive? Or you have to be a part of a business (self business counts).
post #382 of 464
4/25/06 at 11:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SEMC
Regular customers are not allowed to self replace critical components.
Might still be Corporate, but he didn't replace the part himself. The only work he did was make the phone call.
post #383 of 464
4/26/06 at 7:54pm
Exactly,

Dell tech support is only good for coporate contract types.
post #384 of 464
5/17/06 at 9:03pm
Thread Starter 
Fan Replacement
Recently received a fan from David Liu @ Sager to replace the faulty one that is in the L-shaped cover over the RAM. First time I'd received a replacement, it was the wrong fan. 2nd time was a charm as it was the correct fan. Replaced the fan and removed a few dust bunnies that were trying to reproduce. Must've knocked something loose as the system runs hotter now at idle than it did before. Ran out of compressed air, so I have to get some more and attack the underside again. Wish I could get the heatsinks out and clean them out good. Think that'd help a LOT. Air only goes so far.

Other than that, system seems to be running ok. Haven't had any DC-in port problems lately. But then again, haven't moved the thing around much. Civ 4 is the only punishing software that's been run on it lately (well, guess Rise of Legends demo could be a little demanding, but they're not anywhere near the FPS games that ev'one else seems to prefer). Occasionally get lockups, but I think it's more an issue of crappy code in Civ 4 than a hardware issue, so I don't worry much about it. Have to manually power down, so that's a PITA, but when working with Windows, it's kind of a given. At least I'm not running on 95 or 98 and have blue screens a couple times a day
post #385 of 464
5/17/06 at 9:55pm
Hey FT, hope it runs good for you. Now that I see PCT is out of the laptop business my first thought was to run and dump mine on ebay lol. I know they still support their previous customers but it makes me nervous now that they are out of the business. Mmm...might be time for an upgraded laptop anyway for the upcoming Vanguard game. But now who to buy? I shopped PCT because I trusted them...now im leaning more towards Dell but *gags* I dont want to give into ''the man'.'' :P
post #386 of 464
5/18/06 at 11:03pm
Thread Starter 
Hey, chief. Was just thinking about you the other day. Hope you and your machine are well I hope mine runs well, too. But given its history, I don't trust it. A great machine brought down by little problems. Too much ahead of it's time? Don't know. But if they'd have overcome the problems in testing before releasing to the public, they would've had a sure-fire winner. If it had PCI-Express, in addition, I think it'd still be selling like hotcakes.

Not sure what to think about PCT leaving the scene. I've heard a lot of good about discountlaptops.com. There's another one, but I can't think of the name now (Edit: Powernotebooks). I used to frequent their forums on occasion and give D87P tips on occasion. Think that was before my 8790 tanked and I lost a few bookmarks (and got a bit grumpy and lost a few brain cells due to me overheating ). I don't know that things will really change w/ PCT not providing sales. I think there are enough Sager resellers out there that not much will change. They're focusing on the forums, so the very reason we're all together here won't essentially change. We just won't be buying from the forum owners As a result, PCT might actually throw their opinion in more often about certain resellers since they're not in competition any longer.

Understand your misgivings about giving into "the man," but if they've got something that fits your bill, then I say go for it. Dell's by far not perfect, but you could do a lot worse, too, I think. 9300 here at work that I'm typing on at the moment is running just fine. It doesn't get gamed on, but seems to run everything else fairly well. Pigs down when I get PTGui, ACDSee, ACDSee Photo Editor, Fireworks, Trillian, Firefox (w/ ~10-20 tabs :P) and a couple Exploder windows open. But hey- can't win 'em all, I guess.

Still comtemplating a different machine. Had mailed Luke awhile back in regards to it, but he didn't respond to that particular part of my email. I've been busy, so didn't get right on it. We'll see what happens. Edit: I went back and reread my email; I was a bit vague, so not surprising that he didn't respond. Guess I've been in Japan too long
post #387 of 464
5/24/06 at 9:55pm
Hey FT...I know what you mean. The other day I accidently knocked my power supply out and my 100% recharged battery went dead in about 3 minutes. Soooo.. I either have a bad battery or Im soon to experience the wonders of another motherboard malfunction. Im going to see if Sager will test the battery for me and if its up to par..I guess i'll be giving the warranty company a ring.

Im really sitting here at a lost. You know you should always listen to your first mind and mine says sell it lol. I should still get a nice amount on it with the 2.5 years of warranty service i still have left on it...mmm..decissions..but like Boogieman was saying..what to buy now?

Im almost thinking to just sell it buy me a nice small cheap little laptop for my chatting/writing and just stick to my desktop for gaming..Thats an option thats not bad and might leave me with a few bucks after wards..I actually haven't gamed on the laptop since I built the new desktop in febuary..and now the laptop is seeing very little use..I use it for chatting on occassion....but its a BIG book just to have for chatting.. I don't know..hopefully something will come to mind soon..
post #388 of 464
5/26/06 at 1:21am
Thread Starter 
If I would've listened to my first thoughts, I would've sold mine after I got it fixed the first time. I just feel guilty off-loading it on someone else

What to do... what to do?
post #389 of 464
6/2/06 at 3:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FriedToast
If I would've listened to my first thoughts, I would've sold mine after I got it fixed the first time. I just feel guilty off-loading it on someone else

What to do... what to do?
So true..now that the battery doesn't hold a charge...im kind of wary about selling it..even though the battery is really there just for power failure back up..other then that it has no use..goes dead in under an hour..Im really leaning towards something smaller and light weight..if I could find something that was atleast on par with the old 5690 or the old Emachines model i'd be happy with that. I knew my cards then..now they have so many X300, X700 X this and that..I can't tell which are decent and which are the crap cards heh..
post #390 of 464
6/2/06 at 9:47pm
something with the go 7400 should fit your bill, like the asus w7j

13.3", white, and 7400!

or the asus v6j

15.1" sxga, 7400, aluminum construction
post #391 of 464
6/3/06 at 8:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nintariman
(From 1/22/06, page 22 of this thread) Also, roll call. I had my 8790 for about 1 1/2 years. Does anyone have one older than that that STILL WORKS? Ya don't count if you live in alaska. Heat is what kills these things. Poor design, Clevo. Poor design.
It's 4 AM, I can't sleep, and I decided to check back on the forum that helped me so much when I took the plunge into my first gaming portable. FT, sorry to read about your ongoing problems. Mine (purchased April 15, 2004) is still chugging along.

In summary, I underclocked it to 297/163 about 9 months ago in response to severe artifacting. Now playing Guild Wars Factions regularly without a hitch, however F.E.A.R. multiplayer mouse lags tremendously at this setting. I did experience the turbo fan shutdown problem about 2 months ago, however it hasn't happened since giving it a good blowout. It has traveled with me cross country about a dozen times in a backpack that's too small. I regularly batch process hundreds of camera RAW files on it. The keyboard is still as solid as ever. The most obvious sign of its age is the wear pattern from the heel of my left hand from hours camped on WASD. It's been a real workhorse. I still get "oohs" and "aahs" when I flip the lid on this beast.

Anyway, I'm back because the need for a new machine has popped up on my long range sensors, validated by this thread and other people's experiences here. If there's any knowledge you can glean from mine, in the process of maintaining yours, don't hesitate to ask.
post #392 of 464
6/3/06 at 8:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by doggie96
something with the go 7400 should fit your bill, like the asus w7j

13.3", white, and 7400!

or the asus v6j

15.1" sxga, 7400, aluminum construction
Ahhh thanks Doggie, i'll take a look at those models. part of me says just be done with laptops for a while til they are more stable..but the other part of me knows as soon as i get rid of it i'll be wishing i had it heh..
post #393 of 464
6/7/06 at 8:14am
Thread Starter 
The oh-so-wonderful pull of The grass is always greener on the other side...
post #394 of 464
6/7/06 at 3:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Synergi
part of me says just be done with laptops for a while til they are more stable..
I think it's safe to say that gaming laptops will NEVER be stable..
post #395 of 464
6/8/06 at 2:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogieman117
I think it's safe to say that gaming laptops will NEVER be stable..
Hehe the sad part..I keep saying i'll just keep or upgrade the desktop and buy a cheap one..but my cheapo laptop keeps getting higher and higher in stats til im right back to keeping what I have lol..

I am starting to really miss the 5690..that was a heck of a machine...and now im thinking more suited in size for being portable for me atleast..

And then their is Vista..directx 10 is only going to be on vista..but then if I get a cheapo laptop what do i care about directx 10 :P
post #396 of 464
6/8/06 at 11:38pm
That's the real PITA right now, trying to wait for a good laptop that will be able to handle Vista. Right now, I'm thinking the only clear laptop that will handle it well would be the 9890/9870/[dual 7800 GTX Sager].
post #397 of 464
6/10/06 at 12:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogieman117
That's the real PITA right now, trying to wait for a good laptop that will be able to handle Vista. Right now, I'm thinking the only clear laptop that will handle it well would be the 9890/9870/[dual 7800 GTX Sager].
Haha im trying to get smaller Boogieman not bigger :P

What about the new moble AMD chips that are out now..are they 64 bit ready?
post #398 of 464
6/10/06 at 12:46am
I dunno Syn,

I've actually gotten to the point to where I need to see benchmark comparisons that the PCT gang used to do when they reviewed Sager laptops. At least that way, you saw card vs. card, processor vs. processor.

I actually looked at my review post tonight and realized I've had my laptop for 1 1/2 years, and it's starting to feel dated. Granted, I love this thing and I won't give it up anytime soon, but I were to get $1800 (bought new for $2400), It'd be gone tomorrow for a new Sager.

Gotta say, I'm hooked on Sager's now.. I like their designs and such.


Syn, you mentioned you wanted smaller? Can't really game on a small Sager.
post #399 of 464
6/10/06 at 2:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogieman117
Syn, you mentioned you wanted smaller? Can't really game on a small Sager.
heh, well I think im going to use my desktop to game. But sometimes I like to retire to my room and just use aim and surf...so it would be nice to have smaller yet still powerful enough to jump into a game if I wanted to without making the laptop cry hehe

Course I remember whinning the screen on the 5690 was to small. Maybe a 17 inch with the PM and AMD moble chips..they seem to be thinner.. the 98xx series is a brick
post #400 of 464
6/13/06 at 11:32pm
Well i've officially decided to sell off my laptop while i still have 2.5 years of extended warranty left to help sweeten the deal. This time im going for light weight 6ILbs, 15-15.4 screen.. a Moble processor for the cool factor and better battery life. And since I can't completely give up power..something that is at least on par or better with the MR9700... i'll let you know guys know what I find.

1500 dollars or less price tag. So any and all brands are up for grabs.

How are things going on your end FT. You haven't posted in a while
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