Just a few quick notes about my new 8790. I gotta pick up my wife from work in a few minutes. I'll take some pictures later, if anyone wants me to.
Like Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, it's bigger in person than you thought it would be. I'm 6-3 240 lbs and I would not want to lug this thing around on a daily basis. It will leave my desk probably 4-6 times a month, and sit where I put it for eight hours on those days, so its bulk is a non-issue for me. Moving the laptop with the screen open causes a twinge of anxiety, being so big and just out there like that. It is solidly built though. I'm not worried about anything falling off.
The screen is of course beautiful, and perfect: no stuck pixels. I dreaded raising the LCD and powering up. I couldn't handle even one stuck pixel because I scrutinize every portion of the screen as I work.
One of the first two negatives I noticed immediately when I encountered them is that the round Sager emblem is not properly aligned. It is rotated slightly anti-clockwise 2 or 3 degrees from being square with the vertical metal stripe. This will bug me to no end, but not enough to return it. The other negative was fingerprints on the metal hard drive chassis. Certainly not a deal-breaker, but how about one final wipe-down before closing it up and shipping it off? These are QC issues that I would address if they were my responsibility. The fingerprints are just nitpicking, but the slightly tilted emblem is unforgiveable. I'll be thinking about how to correct it. For $2700 I'd like to maintain the illusion that mine are the first human hands to fondle this machine.
The keyboard is solid. I'm a fast touch typist (90 wpm, 120 burst) and I was concerned about some comments regarding keyboard quality. Except for the lack of incline which is fully expected in a laptop keyboard, it is a joy to use. When I have to backspace over a word I bang on that key pretty good, and this keyboard can take it. The separate number pad is awesome.
One thing I know I've seen in pictures but didn't expect to see in the flesh is there are no protective covers over the ports in the rear or side. Having been designed as a desktop replacement this makes sense. Just thought I'd mention it so you won't be surprised. I also forgot that the 1394 port is a 4-pin and not 6-pin. I brought my external Firewire drive to load up some more software but I only have a 6-6 cable for it.
During installation and high CD-ROM drive activity the left side of the palm rest got pretty warm. The hottest part was directly above the touchpad. At one point it was pretty close to scorching. After installation it calmed down. I also have it raised on the cardboard-and-styrofoam insert holding the power brick found inside the basic leather case that comes with it, so there's been air underneath the intake vents the whole time.
By the way, the included basic bag is absolutely worthless in terms of protection for your new laptop. It's thin, flimsy, and just big enough to fit the 8790, with a side pocket for the accessories.
Tom at PC Torque gets high marks for customer service and dealing with my neuroses.
Overall I'm very pleased with my first laptop. I don't have any high end games to really put it through its paces. My first real benchmark will be with Photoshop CS. I plan to bring it into work and go head to head with an Apple 17" G4 Powerbook, just to see what happens. I'll post results when I have them.
Like Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, it's bigger in person than you thought it would be. I'm 6-3 240 lbs and I would not want to lug this thing around on a daily basis. It will leave my desk probably 4-6 times a month, and sit where I put it for eight hours on those days, so its bulk is a non-issue for me. Moving the laptop with the screen open causes a twinge of anxiety, being so big and just out there like that. It is solidly built though. I'm not worried about anything falling off.
The screen is of course beautiful, and perfect: no stuck pixels. I dreaded raising the LCD and powering up. I couldn't handle even one stuck pixel because I scrutinize every portion of the screen as I work.
One of the first two negatives I noticed immediately when I encountered them is that the round Sager emblem is not properly aligned. It is rotated slightly anti-clockwise 2 or 3 degrees from being square with the vertical metal stripe. This will bug me to no end, but not enough to return it. The other negative was fingerprints on the metal hard drive chassis. Certainly not a deal-breaker, but how about one final wipe-down before closing it up and shipping it off? These are QC issues that I would address if they were my responsibility. The fingerprints are just nitpicking, but the slightly tilted emblem is unforgiveable. I'll be thinking about how to correct it. For $2700 I'd like to maintain the illusion that mine are the first human hands to fondle this machine.
The keyboard is solid. I'm a fast touch typist (90 wpm, 120 burst) and I was concerned about some comments regarding keyboard quality. Except for the lack of incline which is fully expected in a laptop keyboard, it is a joy to use. When I have to backspace over a word I bang on that key pretty good, and this keyboard can take it. The separate number pad is awesome.
One thing I know I've seen in pictures but didn't expect to see in the flesh is there are no protective covers over the ports in the rear or side. Having been designed as a desktop replacement this makes sense. Just thought I'd mention it so you won't be surprised. I also forgot that the 1394 port is a 4-pin and not 6-pin. I brought my external Firewire drive to load up some more software but I only have a 6-6 cable for it.
During installation and high CD-ROM drive activity the left side of the palm rest got pretty warm. The hottest part was directly above the touchpad. At one point it was pretty close to scorching. After installation it calmed down. I also have it raised on the cardboard-and-styrofoam insert holding the power brick found inside the basic leather case that comes with it, so there's been air underneath the intake vents the whole time.
By the way, the included basic bag is absolutely worthless in terms of protection for your new laptop. It's thin, flimsy, and just big enough to fit the 8790, with a side pocket for the accessories.
Tom at PC Torque gets high marks for customer service and dealing with my neuroses.
Overall I'm very pleased with my first laptop. I don't have any high end games to really put it through its paces. My first real benchmark will be with Photoshop CS. I plan to bring it into work and go head to head with an Apple 17" G4 Powerbook, just to see what happens. I'll post results when I have them.
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