Thoughts on next AMD-Based DTR

They will probably have to design a new chasis for it, so I don't think we know what its going to look like. You beat me to making this type of thread. Yes the 4750 was released in July, I would think maybe in Spring we might hear more about the 4750's big brother. Still made that thread btw if your interested.

I would probably expect a new chasis and model designation Maybe somthing like 9880 if it stay's a 17" and on the same chasis as the 9860 or maybe something like 38XX for the 15.4" widescreen or even 48XX for a thinner 17". I'm thinkin the 15.4" would do me well or I guess even the thinner17" I really have no use for dual optical drives though I've been trying to convince myself that I do, but dual sata HD's are no option. I must have them! Which do you think they'll release first w/ PCIx16 and AMD 64: a real workhorse DTR like the 9860 or a smaller lighter gaming type?

What just about everyone in the DTR category would want would be a ~1.5" thick 17" AMD with good cooling, a badass pci-e card, a fast slot-loading DL dvd burner, at least a 7200rpm 100G HD, plenty of ports, and all the usual Sager goodies.

Add: dual SATA HD's, WUXGA and make that PCI-e card end user upgradeable and we've got a deal!
though my heart sinks at the sad fact that I don't really need 2 optical drives
Edit: oh and DDR2 gotta have that too though the performance gains aren't really there yet.

well, that other stuff is to be assumed

You keep complaining about the two drives. You don't need to buy 2 you know. Its nice to have that option. I personally think wuxga is unecessary and would cause you eyestrain to look at for extended periods of time.

Nah, the higher res the better. Software and OS's will continue to adjust for higher and higher res's

I concur

Yeah I supose I could just leave the second OD blank but there are 2 problems with that, 1 I don't want a 2" thick notebook and 2 if i had the blank I would be to tempted to later buy the 2nd drive and then I'd be in the same place, paid for 2 drives w/ not enough uses for the 2 simltaniously. I think 1 slot load DL DVD would be fine(besides you can still "backup" DVD's with only 1 drive and that is really the only use for 2 lets be honest) Don't get me wrong I'd love to have them just not worth the weight/size tradeoff

what if I wanted to listen to mp3s I have burned to a cd, while I was burning a DVD?

or or, what if I was watching a DVD while burning a CD?

or or, what I was copying data from a burned DVD while.... etc. etc. etc.

With a little more effort I could comeup with a hundred or more reason why 2 opticals are good. However, one thing I want to know is are there drive bays reserved for ONLY cd/dvd drives? Seems I remember sager having a model that let that 2nd bay be used for batteries, optical drives and removable hard drives.

The way I understand the 2 optical drive is there for those that DO need it frequently. Such as video editors, graphix designers, etc. etc. For some only having 1 optical drive is not an option for a DTR machine. But again, as stated, no one is forcing you to get 2 drives.

Edit: It'd be really sweet if ou could get like some kind of cooling device in there! lol

Two optical drives is a nice option, and comes in handy once in a while. I rather have the option and not need it then not have it and need it. For a high end DTR the 2 optical drives option is a great.

A while back I did read somewhere that this model supported 3 hard drives.. So what he says about using the bay for something else is possible. Unfortunately we won't know officially until Sager gives us the information.. 3 hard drives would rock. Could get 100 gig merely for storage and two 7200 60 gbs for games, etc..

4 Spindles

I'm not trying to be condescending, but do any of you remember the 8886 and 8887? (Maybe not, I think they were discontinued before any of you joined.) But, they were the flagships prior to the 8890 (which replaced the 8887).

The 8887 was the first notebook to offer RAID, ever.

Both of them were four-spindle designs, and about the same size and weight as the 9860. And they were awesome! A friend of mine owns an 8887, and he loves it. He's very happy to have a full blown DTR (with four spindles) while he is serving our country over in Afghanistan.

If the 9860 is like the 8886/7 (which I would assume it is), you can have multiple configs. You can have four HDD's (and an external ODD, I would presume), but that would be - unwieldy. You can have three HDD's (as mentioned above) and one ODD, you could have two of each, or you could have one HDD and three ODD's.

Or, you could leave two bays empty, and go with one HDD and one ODD. Allowing future upgrades. A lot of people did that with the 8886/7's. Bought one 60GB 7200 HDD plus a drive holder, and bought a second one later, after the prices on the HDD dropped some. Or waited until DVD+-R/RW's became available - and then bought one.

So, there are uses for a four-spindle design! It is one of the things I am looking for in my DTR...

Just a little more savings... Just a little bit longer...

So its been about a month since the release of the 9860 -- any new speculations on this subject matter?

Seems to me that the next big thing will be arguing between 2 CD/DCD drives or 2 HDs.

How about this: Kill two birds with one stone by adding this option: Have an option to put an optional fan in a CD/DVD slot, powered by the onboard power supply.

This way, when you're not using it to burn tons o' CDs, or whathaveyou, you COULD give off more cooling power.

why not a water cooling module. the 9860 is big enough to cram one in.

Man, the News and Rumors section sure is quiet. How about throw us a bone, PCTorque? I guess there won't be anything new deliverable by Christmas. Maybe we should just make something up:

To be released shortly: new dual AMD 64 notebook. 1" high, 4 lbs, 12 hrs battery life, 19" wide screen WQXGA, RAID 5, base price: $299.99. First 10,000 free high gloss paint job. Same day shipping. $300 rebate for NotebookForums.com members plus a mouse pad.

You know I created a countdown to the 4750 successor. You could have used that thread.