Just arrived today, so I haven't had a chance to do everything with it yet, so I'll be editing my post a bit while I make some updates.
The package:
The fedex guy brought it to my sideways, which immediately made me a little ... ehh... but when I opened it I saw how well its packaged so I sighed with relief. Its pretty well packaged except for the accessories which are just lying on the top, the battery wasn't in the bubble wrap bag, but didnt appear damaged so I wont complain.
The screen:
I opted for the 15.4" wide screen, and it's beautiful. No washout or anything whatsoever, it actually looks more vivid than my crt monitor. I do however have 1 bright red dead pixel towards the top which is noticable in the black background, however its not too distracting, and after a while I'll have forgotten all about it.
The keyboard:
The layout is a little unusual with the FN and CTRL key switched, but again, its not really a problem, and it will just take time to get used to. There is a bit of flex in the middle of the keyboard, which I'm not that happy with, but as long as it doesn't do any damage in the long run, I'll live with it.
The touchpad:
Pretty nice, but I can't find the option to turn off double tap or whatever its called. I really don't like that feature. I'm using the MS Intellimouse Explorer 4.0 that I got with it, and since I already have the wireless version of the same mouse on my desktop, I'm already used to it, and it works fine.
The speakers:
They were LOUD when I first turned it on, so I lowered it alot. They sound better than my dell 5150's speakers, but not that much better. They're good enough for a laptop.
Performance:
So far, I only got to run 3DMark03 and straight out of the box I got 3400. This was with the older version so I'll update and run it again. Later I will install UT2004, Far Cry, and Battlefield: Vietnam to see how well it does in games.
edit1: UT2004 took a while to install, it wouldnt autorun and it was really sluggish moving through the install menus. Once it was installed and I went to play, it locked up the laptop, so I patched it, and now it appears to work fine.
UT2004 Benchmark (1024x768)
Flyby: 192fps
Botmatch:90fps
Now, theres a bug with the benchmark because I can control everything in it, so I don't know if these results are valid.
3DMark03:
3403
3DMark2001:
11634
Battlefield Vietnam:
This game feels so much better with 1gb ram. My desktop is a a64 3000+ 512mb ram, and an ati 9800pro and it takes forever to load maps, people seem to move 'chopily' and closing the game takes a long time. This just feels so more smooth. I just need to fix the ini so I can try running at 1680x1050.
Counter Strike: Now you may be saying to yourself, why would I bother putting counter strike in the review, any computer can run that. Well I noticed while playin it, there were a ton of artifacts. Why? This is beyond me. This laptop can run anything else just fine, even more demanding games, but counter strike? Almost unplayable.
DVD Playback
I'm noticing the slight pauses that people have been talking about. I popped in LOTR:FOTR and noticed it fairly quickly. The quality of the movie was good, its not as grainy as my desktop and other laptop. I might try a different dvd player sa I think I've heard mentioned before.
Edit: Using a different version of PowerDVD and it plays fine now.
So far,
Pros: Awesome screen, laptop feels solid, no flex in anything but the keyboard :-P , does everything I've thrown at it so far fast.
Cons: 1 dead pixel, keyboard flex, staticy sound when headphones hooked up.
With regards to the HL2 coupon, since I also used a $90 off coupon, they dont give any additional offers which the HL2 coupon is considered.
Specs of the machine are:
3.4ghz p4
1gb ram
ATi 9700
15.4"widescreen.
Total price was ~$3700
Pics can be found here
The package:
The fedex guy brought it to my sideways, which immediately made me a little ... ehh... but when I opened it I saw how well its packaged so I sighed with relief. Its pretty well packaged except for the accessories which are just lying on the top, the battery wasn't in the bubble wrap bag, but didnt appear damaged so I wont complain.
The screen:
I opted for the 15.4" wide screen, and it's beautiful. No washout or anything whatsoever, it actually looks more vivid than my crt monitor. I do however have 1 bright red dead pixel towards the top which is noticable in the black background, however its not too distracting, and after a while I'll have forgotten all about it.
The keyboard:
The layout is a little unusual with the FN and CTRL key switched, but again, its not really a problem, and it will just take time to get used to. There is a bit of flex in the middle of the keyboard, which I'm not that happy with, but as long as it doesn't do any damage in the long run, I'll live with it.
The touchpad:
Pretty nice, but I can't find the option to turn off double tap or whatever its called. I really don't like that feature. I'm using the MS Intellimouse Explorer 4.0 that I got with it, and since I already have the wireless version of the same mouse on my desktop, I'm already used to it, and it works fine.
The speakers:
They were LOUD when I first turned it on, so I lowered it alot. They sound better than my dell 5150's speakers, but not that much better. They're good enough for a laptop.
Performance:
So far, I only got to run 3DMark03 and straight out of the box I got 3400. This was with the older version so I'll update and run it again. Later I will install UT2004, Far Cry, and Battlefield: Vietnam to see how well it does in games.
edit1: UT2004 took a while to install, it wouldnt autorun and it was really sluggish moving through the install menus. Once it was installed and I went to play, it locked up the laptop, so I patched it, and now it appears to work fine.
UT2004 Benchmark (1024x768)
Flyby: 192fps
Botmatch:90fps
Now, theres a bug with the benchmark because I can control everything in it, so I don't know if these results are valid.
3DMark03:
3403
3DMark2001:
11634
Battlefield Vietnam:
This game feels so much better with 1gb ram. My desktop is a a64 3000+ 512mb ram, and an ati 9800pro and it takes forever to load maps, people seem to move 'chopily' and closing the game takes a long time. This just feels so more smooth. I just need to fix the ini so I can try running at 1680x1050.
Counter Strike: Now you may be saying to yourself, why would I bother putting counter strike in the review, any computer can run that. Well I noticed while playin it, there were a ton of artifacts. Why? This is beyond me. This laptop can run anything else just fine, even more demanding games, but counter strike? Almost unplayable.
DVD Playback
I'm noticing the slight pauses that people have been talking about. I popped in LOTR:FOTR and noticed it fairly quickly. The quality of the movie was good, its not as grainy as my desktop and other laptop. I might try a different dvd player sa I think I've heard mentioned before.
Edit: Using a different version of PowerDVD and it plays fine now.
So far,
Pros: Awesome screen, laptop feels solid, no flex in anything but the keyboard :-P , does everything I've thrown at it so far fast.
Cons: 1 dead pixel, keyboard flex, staticy sound when headphones hooked up.
With regards to the HL2 coupon, since I also used a $90 off coupon, they dont give any additional offers which the HL2 coupon is considered.
Specs of the machine are:
3.4ghz p4
1gb ram
ATi 9700
15.4"widescreen.
Total price was ~$3700
Pics can be found here
I know you'll love it, post pics when available! Thanks!
