Intro
I decided to ditch desktops about 5 years ago. I was tired of constantly upgrading parts, customizing cooling and most importantly being tied down to a desk.
My 1st attempt at being mobile was the Acer Ferrari 4000 notebook. It had a Turion 2Ghz processor which was decent for the time but only sporting an X700 (equiv to a 9800Pro) GPU all packaged in a 15.4 fancy looking case. With that system I had acheived my goal of mobile gaming, but at a price. The X700 was already a dated GPU at the time and a far cry from the 6800GT I had sold off in my desktop. That lasted about 1 year before I needed more...
The Dell XPS M1710, 2Ghz Core2duo with a 7950GTX and a big sharp 17" 1920x1200 screen. I loved this system from the day I got it. 6 USB ports, DVI, quiet, decent battery life, docking station for the house, customizable LED's and great looks with a quality contruction to back it all up. Its for sale now and will surely be missed.
Sager NP8760, when I was shopping for my Dell I actually wanted a Sager first. I don't remember the model at the time but it was defintatly the best bang-for-buck in the market. It was not until I found a wholeseller on this (notebookforums) site of Dell systems that I was able to get the XPS for almost 1000$ less then what it would of cost me ordering it from Dell.ca. This time around the decision was easy, although iv'e been impressed with Asus laptops lately and the G73 looks damn sweet I am an nVidia fanboy at heart and wanted to stick with them for now.
Specs:
Specs? The specs are awesome. This TurboBoost tech from Intel works flawlessly and has a great gadget to go with.
What's in the Box:
A totaly awesome laptop, thats what.
Design
Boring but sophisticated at the sametime. Iv'e always been a function over form type of person so its looks suit me fine.
Screen:
The screen on this beast is definatly one of its strongest points. Easly the nicest screen iv'e ever seen on a laptop if not any desktop LCD. Its very bright and incredibly sharp. I ran UDpixel the day I got it and was pleased to see no dead or stuck pixels.
Keyboard
The keyboard on this system is a pleasant surprise. Inlcuding a semi-full number pad this "chiclet" style keyboard takes a little getting used to because of the added space between each key. Once you do you'll have no complaints, would of been nice to have it backlit... but we can't have everything in life now can we.
Touchpad
The touchpad works great and is easily disabled by pressing Fn+F1. The scroll feature on the other hand sucks to the point I disabled it through its software. I don't know why its so bad but literaly barely usable.
Multimedia Keys
I wish, my Dell had a row of multimedia buttons on the front to pause/play,skip and volume. I used them ALOT, something I will really miss. Having to use the Fn button to adjust something like volume is just annoying.
LEDS
This system is too harcore to be bothered with something like fancy LED's. It eats other laptops like that for breakfast and spits them out for lunch.
Wifi –
The Intel 6300 works great, I plug-in to move around things like movies (5-10gigs) but the wireless is great for everything else.
Speakers
If this latop has an achilles heel, its the speakers. Supposed to have 4+1 but I only hear 3 total. The 2 above the keyboard are decently loud with zero bass. The +1 under the latop is just another speaker offering no more bass then the top two. There are supposed to be 2 more on either side of the keyboard, I hear nothing coming from them. I might take it apart one day to see whats really underneath but for the moment I am relying on external speakers and headphones more than I ever did with my Dell.
Input and Output Ports
The usual, only 4 usb is a bit of a dissapointment. Not a deal breaker but it should of had at least 6.
Front:
No ports in the front.
Webcam Pictures
It works, what more do ya want? If your looking to make homemade movies
go get a real camera 
Right Side:
This is where I wish I could talk to designers of laptops. IMO the cd/dvd drive should always be on the right. My reasoning is the right is where your hand and mouse go. A laptop shouldn't have headphone/usb or TV out getting in the way of your mouse while trying to play a game or using it in general. Its not the end of the world, I just don't see how hard it would be to start with the CD/DVD on the right and build from there.
Left Side:
Usual stuff, should have a couple more USB on that side.
Rear:
Cool looking copper vents
Bottom:
fans fans and more fans
Benchmarks
Don't have time today, but will do.
Size and Weight
Doesn't bother me, I can still throw it in a packpad and jump on my motorcycle.
Heat and Noise
Heat it not really an issue but the fans do make an audible noise. Much more then my Dell ever did. The fans make a humming noise so your hearing more then just air moving. A price to pay for having all that power stuffed in a small package.
Battery Life
dismal, an hour at best?
Software
Thats what the Internet is for. Mine didn't even come with an OS.
Accessories
A power brick? battery wont get you far.
Pros: In list form, summarize the pros
-Incredible screen
-top of the line CPU and GPU
-SSD Raid-0!!!
Cons: In list form, summarize the cons
-Speakers
-scroll feature on touchpad
Conclusion:
Im happy with my purchase. I hope it stays as reliable as its been for years to come.
**I will update this with pictures and Benchmarks shortly, have to run at the moment**
I decided to ditch desktops about 5 years ago. I was tired of constantly upgrading parts, customizing cooling and most importantly being tied down to a desk.
My 1st attempt at being mobile was the Acer Ferrari 4000 notebook. It had a Turion 2Ghz processor which was decent for the time but only sporting an X700 (equiv to a 9800Pro) GPU all packaged in a 15.4 fancy looking case. With that system I had acheived my goal of mobile gaming, but at a price. The X700 was already a dated GPU at the time and a far cry from the 6800GT I had sold off in my desktop. That lasted about 1 year before I needed more...
The Dell XPS M1710, 2Ghz Core2duo with a 7950GTX and a big sharp 17" 1920x1200 screen. I loved this system from the day I got it. 6 USB ports, DVI, quiet, decent battery life, docking station for the house, customizable LED's and great looks with a quality contruction to back it all up. Its for sale now and will surely be missed.
Sager NP8760, when I was shopping for my Dell I actually wanted a Sager first. I don't remember the model at the time but it was defintatly the best bang-for-buck in the market. It was not until I found a wholeseller on this (notebookforums) site of Dell systems that I was able to get the XPS for almost 1000$ less then what it would of cost me ordering it from Dell.ca. This time around the decision was easy, although iv'e been impressed with Asus laptops lately and the G73 looks damn sweet I am an nVidia fanboy at heart and wanted to stick with them for now.
Specs:
Specs? The specs are awesome. This TurboBoost tech from Intel works flawlessly and has a great gadget to go with.
What's in the Box:
A totaly awesome laptop, thats what.
Design
Boring but sophisticated at the sametime. Iv'e always been a function over form type of person so its looks suit me fine.
Screen:
The screen on this beast is definatly one of its strongest points. Easly the nicest screen iv'e ever seen on a laptop if not any desktop LCD. Its very bright and incredibly sharp. I ran UDpixel the day I got it and was pleased to see no dead or stuck pixels.
Keyboard
The keyboard on this system is a pleasant surprise. Inlcuding a semi-full number pad this "chiclet" style keyboard takes a little getting used to because of the added space between each key. Once you do you'll have no complaints, would of been nice to have it backlit... but we can't have everything in life now can we.
Touchpad
The touchpad works great and is easily disabled by pressing Fn+F1. The scroll feature on the other hand sucks to the point I disabled it through its software. I don't know why its so bad but literaly barely usable.
Multimedia Keys
I wish, my Dell had a row of multimedia buttons on the front to pause/play,skip and volume. I used them ALOT, something I will really miss. Having to use the Fn button to adjust something like volume is just annoying.
LEDS
This system is too harcore to be bothered with something like fancy LED's. It eats other laptops like that for breakfast and spits them out for lunch.
Wifi –
The Intel 6300 works great, I plug-in to move around things like movies (5-10gigs) but the wireless is great for everything else.
Speakers
If this latop has an achilles heel, its the speakers. Supposed to have 4+1 but I only hear 3 total. The 2 above the keyboard are decently loud with zero bass. The +1 under the latop is just another speaker offering no more bass then the top two. There are supposed to be 2 more on either side of the keyboard, I hear nothing coming from them. I might take it apart one day to see whats really underneath but for the moment I am relying on external speakers and headphones more than I ever did with my Dell.
Input and Output Ports
The usual, only 4 usb is a bit of a dissapointment. Not a deal breaker but it should of had at least 6.
Front:
No ports in the front.
Webcam Pictures
It works, what more do ya want? If your looking to make homemade movies
go get a real camera Right Side:
This is where I wish I could talk to designers of laptops. IMO the cd/dvd drive should always be on the right. My reasoning is the right is where your hand and mouse go. A laptop shouldn't have headphone/usb or TV out getting in the way of your mouse while trying to play a game or using it in general. Its not the end of the world, I just don't see how hard it would be to start with the CD/DVD on the right and build from there.
Left Side:
Usual stuff, should have a couple more USB on that side.
Rear:
Cool looking copper vents
Bottom:
fans fans and more fans
Benchmarks
Don't have time today, but will do.
Size and Weight
Doesn't bother me, I can still throw it in a packpad and jump on my motorcycle.
Heat and Noise
Heat it not really an issue but the fans do make an audible noise. Much more then my Dell ever did. The fans make a humming noise so your hearing more then just air moving. A price to pay for having all that power stuffed in a small package.
Battery Life
dismal, an hour at best?
Software
Thats what the Internet is for. Mine didn't even come with an OS.
Accessories
A power brick? battery wont get you far.
Pros: In list form, summarize the pros
-Incredible screen
-top of the line CPU and GPU
-SSD Raid-0!!!
Cons: In list form, summarize the cons
-Speakers
-scroll feature on touchpad
Conclusion:
Im happy with my purchase. I hope it stays as reliable as its been for years to come.
**I will update this with pictures and Benchmarks shortly, have to run at the moment**
