Well... the thing is HUGE and my avitar is Roger Smith... and the name just fit all too well, so I call my 8790 Big O 
Anyhoo, onto the review:
I recieved Big O Thursday, April 8th. HOLY COW was this thing heavy. UPS listed the package at 19 lbs... now I was ready for a heavy notebook, but I was expecting some of the 19lbs to be packing. I open the box and its empty, except for the notebook and the bag with toys. When I first pulled it out, I realized I had something no one else I knew had. Its weight caught me totally off guard. After having it a couple days and luggin it around to class, I am use to the weight and hardly notice it. (I was one of those kids in H.S. that was always in class on time.. which meant I carried all my books with me cause there was no time to hit the locker between class... then I became a Senior and didnt care HAHA)
--STUFF I DID TO MAKE OWNING A SAGER EXCITING--
First, I originally didnt order the usb floppy. Then I realized I needed it for Raid setup. Also, when I configured Big O I didnt list Raid 0 (remember this for later). I was able to add the floppy before Big O was shipped, so no delays. Now, I been reading all bunch of posts here, and a lot of them where people who ordered there Sagers without an OS (i did that) and how when they tried to install XP they had problems because Raid was on by default. Well LUCKY me... Raid was turned OFF by default, so here I am trying to get raid to work and cant figure out way its not doing what the manual says it should. Finally I check the switch... turn raid on, and WOOT Raid works.
Of course, by this time I have already installed XP and all my Drivers and Software AND Updated and Patched EVERYTHING... so now that Raid is ON, I get to do it ALL OVER AGAIN... YAY ME!! So now I have Raid 0 on, XP loaded, Drivers Installed, Software Installed and everything is Patched and Updated.
The Keyboard is Awesome, very comfortable to me, I have typed up 2 papers on Big O and it felt great.
The screen is kinda kewl and kinda a pain... Ive notice that I tend to not sit in the same position and I am readjusting the angle a lot... I dont have to, but I do notice the change in the color and it irritates me so change the angle. I think its because Ive been spoiled by how GREAT the lcd looks and whenever its not as crisp as it should be I fix it...
Heat... hmm... I havent had time to do any real gaming on Big O yet, so it hasnt really gotten as Hot as some people have posted. Although it does get a little warm, and I never realized how sensitive my finger tips were to heat... even when its warm, when I type I think the thing is on fire... put my palm on it and its... how should I say... lukewarm? It really is a strange feeling, but something I can definately deal with.
As far as temperature goes, I havent run any utilities to moniter it. In class the "loud" fan would run for maybe 30 seconds then turn off... and do that every little while... (in class Im usually just taking notes or surfing the web to gather info)
One last thing on Heat, the power brick has never gotten hot enough to become uncomfortable to touch... after a few hours of leaving it on, it was moderately warm.
I mentioned the fan noise... I only notice it in class, mostly because it can get really quiet when everyones working. Also, Im very self conscious of it, but even though I notice it, the guys who sit next to me in class say it doesnt bother them, so I guess its not that loud/annoying. At home, I dont ever hear it... mostly because of the setup I have for Big O (Ill describe it later)
I dont have anything to test out the 7 & 1 card reader, Firewire Port, Microphone, or Headphone jacks... Nor have I tested some of the ports in the back. The Ethernet port and legacy usb port work.
Since I havent had time to play games on Big O, I cant talk about anything there, but as far as doing work on it, its great... Word, Excel all work awesome, the Desktop Space is unbelievably useful.
--My Home Setup--
I sorta mentioned this earlier. For when Im using Big O at home, I devised a "workstation" for it to help keep it cool. First, I took the Sager box and layed it down on its side. Then I took a plastic milk crate (the bottom of it is about an inch longer and wider than the 8790) and flipped it upside down on top of the Sager box. Now the crate + box is about 2 inches taller than my tower. On top of the crate, I bought a coated wire potlid holder at the dollar store, and placed it so that the holders faced down... this adds a couple more inches. Since the potlid holder is suppose to hang on the wall at an angle, it "bumps" at one end to make it stick out from the wall. I put some none slip stuff on those bumps and set the back of Big O on it, and where the front of Big O rests on the potlid holder, I put some of that none slip stuff. Think of none slip placemats cut and folded up. Also, between the wire holder and the crate, I laid some of the none slip stuff down. Heres the kicker... inside the milkcrate, I have a small fan that blows air up under Big O. Most of the time, it gets pretty cool in my room and even after running for a few hours, Big O is very cool. The fan is set on medium and doesnt blow very hard onto Big O, its more of a gently breeze. Also it helps to move the air around so that Big O isnt recycling warm air. I took some picks and if I can figure out how to post em, I will.
Anyhoo, theres what I have so far, Im hoping next week Ill be able to play some games to see what its like.
Roger
Eh, I decied make a site right quick with the pics on it...
http://home.comcast.net/~abarenbo_saru/notess.htm
Update:
I just ran down the battery.. well to 3% anyways. Heres the breakdown:
12:13pm Disconnected Brick, Powered on Big O. Made a new desktop, read email, grabbed some lunch.
1:08pm Started Blade DVD, didnt record where the battery was at, but the icon in the system tray looked like the 100% one.
1:40pm First Alarm. Set to go off at 10%
1:45pm WinDVD shuts off due to low power. Watched about 37min of Blade with volume at 80%
1:48pm System shuts down per current settings. (i changed em from default)
1:49pm Powered on with brick.
1:51pm Battery at 4%.
2:30pm Keeping Big O running. Battery at 18%
3:25pm Big O still running. Battery at 48%. Decide to turn off Big O and let the battery charge.
4:00pm Boot up to check Battery. Battery at 75%. Shut down Big O.
6:30pm Forgot about Big O. Powered on. Battery at 100%.
Conclusion:
I wont be watching DVD's or playing games without the brick. However, for school purposes, I think I'll be ok to run on battery and not have to worry about Big O dying on me. Still, I doubt I'll use Big O anywhere without first looking for an outlet.
Roger
Anyhoo, onto the review:
I recieved Big O Thursday, April 8th. HOLY COW was this thing heavy. UPS listed the package at 19 lbs... now I was ready for a heavy notebook, but I was expecting some of the 19lbs to be packing. I open the box and its empty, except for the notebook and the bag with toys. When I first pulled it out, I realized I had something no one else I knew had. Its weight caught me totally off guard. After having it a couple days and luggin it around to class, I am use to the weight and hardly notice it. (I was one of those kids in H.S. that was always in class on time.. which meant I carried all my books with me cause there was no time to hit the locker between class... then I became a Senior and didnt care HAHA)
--STUFF I DID TO MAKE OWNING A SAGER EXCITING--
First, I originally didnt order the usb floppy. Then I realized I needed it for Raid setup. Also, when I configured Big O I didnt list Raid 0 (remember this for later). I was able to add the floppy before Big O was shipped, so no delays. Now, I been reading all bunch of posts here, and a lot of them where people who ordered there Sagers without an OS (i did that) and how when they tried to install XP they had problems because Raid was on by default. Well LUCKY me... Raid was turned OFF by default, so here I am trying to get raid to work and cant figure out way its not doing what the manual says it should. Finally I check the switch... turn raid on, and WOOT Raid works.
Of course, by this time I have already installed XP and all my Drivers and Software AND Updated and Patched EVERYTHING... so now that Raid is ON, I get to do it ALL OVER AGAIN... YAY ME!! So now I have Raid 0 on, XP loaded, Drivers Installed, Software Installed and everything is Patched and Updated.
The Keyboard is Awesome, very comfortable to me, I have typed up 2 papers on Big O and it felt great.
The screen is kinda kewl and kinda a pain... Ive notice that I tend to not sit in the same position and I am readjusting the angle a lot... I dont have to, but I do notice the change in the color and it irritates me so change the angle. I think its because Ive been spoiled by how GREAT the lcd looks and whenever its not as crisp as it should be I fix it...
Heat... hmm... I havent had time to do any real gaming on Big O yet, so it hasnt really gotten as Hot as some people have posted. Although it does get a little warm, and I never realized how sensitive my finger tips were to heat... even when its warm, when I type I think the thing is on fire... put my palm on it and its... how should I say... lukewarm? It really is a strange feeling, but something I can definately deal with.
As far as temperature goes, I havent run any utilities to moniter it. In class the "loud" fan would run for maybe 30 seconds then turn off... and do that every little while... (in class Im usually just taking notes or surfing the web to gather info)
One last thing on Heat, the power brick has never gotten hot enough to become uncomfortable to touch... after a few hours of leaving it on, it was moderately warm.
I mentioned the fan noise... I only notice it in class, mostly because it can get really quiet when everyones working. Also, Im very self conscious of it, but even though I notice it, the guys who sit next to me in class say it doesnt bother them, so I guess its not that loud/annoying. At home, I dont ever hear it... mostly because of the setup I have for Big O (Ill describe it later)
I dont have anything to test out the 7 & 1 card reader, Firewire Port, Microphone, or Headphone jacks... Nor have I tested some of the ports in the back. The Ethernet port and legacy usb port work.
Since I havent had time to play games on Big O, I cant talk about anything there, but as far as doing work on it, its great... Word, Excel all work awesome, the Desktop Space is unbelievably useful.
--My Home Setup--
I sorta mentioned this earlier. For when Im using Big O at home, I devised a "workstation" for it to help keep it cool. First, I took the Sager box and layed it down on its side. Then I took a plastic milk crate (the bottom of it is about an inch longer and wider than the 8790) and flipped it upside down on top of the Sager box. Now the crate + box is about 2 inches taller than my tower. On top of the crate, I bought a coated wire potlid holder at the dollar store, and placed it so that the holders faced down... this adds a couple more inches. Since the potlid holder is suppose to hang on the wall at an angle, it "bumps" at one end to make it stick out from the wall. I put some none slip stuff on those bumps and set the back of Big O on it, and where the front of Big O rests on the potlid holder, I put some of that none slip stuff. Think of none slip placemats cut and folded up. Also, between the wire holder and the crate, I laid some of the none slip stuff down. Heres the kicker... inside the milkcrate, I have a small fan that blows air up under Big O. Most of the time, it gets pretty cool in my room and even after running for a few hours, Big O is very cool. The fan is set on medium and doesnt blow very hard onto Big O, its more of a gently breeze. Also it helps to move the air around so that Big O isnt recycling warm air. I took some picks and if I can figure out how to post em, I will.
Anyhoo, theres what I have so far, Im hoping next week Ill be able to play some games to see what its like.
Roger
Eh, I decied make a site right quick with the pics on it...
http://home.comcast.net/~abarenbo_saru/notess.htm
Update:
I just ran down the battery.. well to 3% anyways. Heres the breakdown:
12:13pm Disconnected Brick, Powered on Big O. Made a new desktop, read email, grabbed some lunch.
1:08pm Started Blade DVD, didnt record where the battery was at, but the icon in the system tray looked like the 100% one.
1:40pm First Alarm. Set to go off at 10%
1:45pm WinDVD shuts off due to low power. Watched about 37min of Blade with volume at 80%
1:48pm System shuts down per current settings. (i changed em from default)
1:49pm Powered on with brick.
1:51pm Battery at 4%.
2:30pm Keeping Big O running. Battery at 18%
3:25pm Big O still running. Battery at 48%. Decide to turn off Big O and let the battery charge.
4:00pm Boot up to check Battery. Battery at 75%. Shut down Big O.
6:30pm Forgot about Big O. Powered on. Battery at 100%.
Conclusion:
I wont be watching DVD's or playing games without the brick. However, for school purposes, I think I'll be ok to run on battery and not have to worry about Big O dying on me. Still, I doubt I'll use Big O anywhere without first looking for an outlet.
Roger
