Flash Media Reader/Writer ( Build-in 3-in-i Media Card Reader/Writer [Notebook] )
Case ( Battalion-101 S-Turbo[AMD] Series 15.4" 16:10 Wide Screen WXGA 1280x800 LCD TFT Notebook w/Li-Ion Battery, Universal AC Power Adapter, Deluxe Carrying Original Metallic Silver Color )
USB Port ( Build-in 3x USB 2.0 Ports [Notebook] )
Processor ( Mobile AMD® Athlon-64 3700+ CPU 2.4 GHz 1MB L2 cache 1600mhz FSB )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( Build-in 1x IEEE-1394 Firewire Port [Notebook] )
TV Tuner ( None )
Memory ( 1024MB [512MB X2] DDR-400 PC-3200 [Notebook Memory] Corsair )
Video Card ( Mobility 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 256-bit 3D Video )
Video Camera ( None )
Headset ( None )
Hard Drive ( 60 GB 7200rpm ATA-100 Super Slim Notebook Hard Drive )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( 4x Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + 16x CD-R/RW Combo Drive [S-Series] )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Fax Modem ( Build-in 56K V.90 Fax Modem [Notebook] )
Network Card ( Build-in 10/100 Network LAN [Notebook] )
Wireless Network Adapter ( [FREE] Wireless LAN Wi-Fi 802.11g 54Mbps Mini-PCI Module )
Mouse ( None )
Operation System ( MS Windows XP Professional Edition )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 1-Year Limited Warranty + 1-Year i-Care Deluxe 24/7 Phone Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
Overview
I bought this machine from ibuypower.com and was excited the first time I got it. It was amazing. The only way I could describe it was in one word: shiny. So I boot her up the first time.
Bootup was FAST. About 15 seconds to boot. XP came up perfectly and all that.
The first problem I tackled was the lack of driver support. I tried to hack my own set using patje's driver tool (http://www.driverheaven.net/patje) but that didn't work very well. I System Restored and thenI downloaded Omega's drivers and after two installs they worked perfectly.
The second problem was everyone's favorite: the CPU clocking down. Annoying at most. I installed Speedswitch XP and it did not work; MobileMeter still reported the max clock speed as 800mhz. I checked the bios; it was fully updated. I updated the driver from AMD.com and it worked perfectly after that; plugged in it was 2400mhz clock and unplugged it was 800mhz, just the way I liked it.
Starting applications takes no time at all; they boot and are ready in seconds. Fast fast fast.
Memory tests have shown no real errors so far.
I have yet to play a single game other than Thief 2 on it (which, as some of you may know, is not graphic intensive) but as soon as I can get PCmover I will put all programs from my old computer onto this one.
Keyboard
The keyboard is nice and soft; the responses are perfect. The keys don't feel flimsy to me, but that's just to me after all. The only beef I have is that the CTRL key on the bottom left is not in its usual position; it is replaced by the FN key. I do not mind so much about this.
Mouse
I'm not that used to a mouse that has a PgUp/PgDn button and a scroll slider, but I am very used to a laptop touchpad and after changing the sensitivity to a higher level I am very pleased. Its response time wasn't all that amazing (no more than a split second really though) at first, but I got quite used to it after a little bit. Of course I plugged in my optical mouse and gave my mother's computer the old trackball it came with - I gotta take some of my own liberties after all
Screen
The screen is beautiful; I can see it clearly from many angles and it is concise. There are NO DEAD PIXELS. Ghosting is not that big of a problem; I am used to it already and does not affect the use of my laptop at all.
Power Supply
The power supply is huge and it + the laptop in a carrying case is not light by any means. However to me it isn't heavy either; it would get tiresome after about an hour, but that's it. One problem I have had that I did not have with my old laptop (old old old btw) is when I plug it in while it's on, the screen goes black and I can't get out of this without a restart. I have finally decided it would be easiest to just put it in standby before I do that so as not to damage it or anything.
Heat
One thing some people believe is that the 258KA0 generates a lot of heat. If it does, it disperses it very well. There are two fans at the bottom of the unit and one on the left side that blows out heat constantly. The fans are hardly noticable when you have no background noise; obviously gaming you do not notice them at all really. The hard drive gets no more than warm on the left pad and in this cold basement it is a welcome thing
Speakers
The speakers, as expected, are kind of weak, but I offset them with a set of speakers from my old computer.
Battery Life
The battery life is, as expected, subpar; unplugging it and watching it drain is one of my favorite things to do Actually it doesn't go down that fast but it isn't meant for battery after all. I keep it plugged in most of the time.
Pictures
Front View
Top View
Bottom View
Side View (poor quality)
Back View
Gaming
Half Life 2
All Textures, etc High, No Antialiasing, Trilinear Anisotropic Filtering (what game suggested) - Runs at about 60 FPS in stress (as in, when multiple textures are in view)
All Textures, etc High, 6x Antialiasing, 16x Anisotropic Filtering - Runs at about 30 FPS in stress
UPDATE: As cool as this laptop is, I've decided it's not enough. I'm going to take advantage of ibuypower's 30 day money back guarentee and return it for a future mobile solution, namely Turion or Sonoma.
Case ( Battalion-101 S-Turbo[AMD] Series 15.4" 16:10 Wide Screen WXGA 1280x800 LCD TFT Notebook w/Li-Ion Battery, Universal AC Power Adapter, Deluxe Carrying Original Metallic Silver Color )
USB Port ( Build-in 3x USB 2.0 Ports [Notebook] )
Processor ( Mobile AMD® Athlon-64 3700+ CPU 2.4 GHz 1MB L2 cache 1600mhz FSB )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( Build-in 1x IEEE-1394 Firewire Port [Notebook] )
TV Tuner ( None )
Memory ( 1024MB [512MB X2] DDR-400 PC-3200 [Notebook Memory] Corsair )
Video Card ( Mobility 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 256-bit 3D Video )
Video Camera ( None )
Headset ( None )
Hard Drive ( 60 GB 7200rpm ATA-100 Super Slim Notebook Hard Drive )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( 4x Dual Format DVD±R/±RW + 16x CD-R/RW Combo Drive [S-Series] )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Fax Modem ( Build-in 56K V.90 Fax Modem [Notebook] )
Network Card ( Build-in 10/100 Network LAN [Notebook] )
Wireless Network Adapter ( [FREE] Wireless LAN Wi-Fi 802.11g 54Mbps Mini-PCI Module )
Mouse ( None )
Operation System ( MS Windows XP Professional Edition )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 1-Year Limited Warranty + 1-Year i-Care Deluxe 24/7 Phone Support )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )
Overview
I bought this machine from ibuypower.com and was excited the first time I got it. It was amazing. The only way I could describe it was in one word: shiny. So I boot her up the first time.
Bootup was FAST. About 15 seconds to boot. XP came up perfectly and all that.
The first problem I tackled was the lack of driver support. I tried to hack my own set using patje's driver tool (http://www.driverheaven.net/patje) but that didn't work very well. I System Restored and thenI downloaded Omega's drivers and after two installs they worked perfectly.
The second problem was everyone's favorite: the CPU clocking down. Annoying at most. I installed Speedswitch XP and it did not work; MobileMeter still reported the max clock speed as 800mhz. I checked the bios; it was fully updated. I updated the driver from AMD.com and it worked perfectly after that; plugged in it was 2400mhz clock and unplugged it was 800mhz, just the way I liked it.
Starting applications takes no time at all; they boot and are ready in seconds. Fast fast fast.
Memory tests have shown no real errors so far.
I have yet to play a single game other than Thief 2 on it (which, as some of you may know, is not graphic intensive) but as soon as I can get PCmover I will put all programs from my old computer onto this one.
Keyboard
The keyboard is nice and soft; the responses are perfect. The keys don't feel flimsy to me, but that's just to me after all. The only beef I have is that the CTRL key on the bottom left is not in its usual position; it is replaced by the FN key. I do not mind so much about this.
Mouse
I'm not that used to a mouse that has a PgUp/PgDn button and a scroll slider, but I am very used to a laptop touchpad and after changing the sensitivity to a higher level I am very pleased. Its response time wasn't all that amazing (no more than a split second really though) at first, but I got quite used to it after a little bit. Of course I plugged in my optical mouse and gave my mother's computer the old trackball it came with - I gotta take some of my own liberties after all
Screen
The screen is beautiful; I can see it clearly from many angles and it is concise. There are NO DEAD PIXELS. Ghosting is not that big of a problem; I am used to it already and does not affect the use of my laptop at all.
Power Supply
The power supply is huge and it + the laptop in a carrying case is not light by any means. However to me it isn't heavy either; it would get tiresome after about an hour, but that's it. One problem I have had that I did not have with my old laptop (old old old btw) is when I plug it in while it's on, the screen goes black and I can't get out of this without a restart. I have finally decided it would be easiest to just put it in standby before I do that so as not to damage it or anything.
Heat
One thing some people believe is that the 258KA0 generates a lot of heat. If it does, it disperses it very well. There are two fans at the bottom of the unit and one on the left side that blows out heat constantly. The fans are hardly noticable when you have no background noise; obviously gaming you do not notice them at all really. The hard drive gets no more than warm on the left pad and in this cold basement it is a welcome thing
Speakers
The speakers, as expected, are kind of weak, but I offset them with a set of speakers from my old computer.
Battery Life
The battery life is, as expected, subpar; unplugging it and watching it drain is one of my favorite things to do
Actually it doesn't go down that fast but it isn't meant for battery after all. I keep it plugged in most of the time.Pictures
Front View
Top View
Bottom View
Side View (poor quality)
Back View
Gaming
Half Life 2
All Textures, etc High, No Antialiasing, Trilinear Anisotropic Filtering (what game suggested) - Runs at about 60 FPS in stress (as in, when multiple textures are in view)
All Textures, etc High, 6x Antialiasing, 16x Anisotropic Filtering - Runs at about 30 FPS in stress
UPDATE: As cool as this laptop is, I've decided it's not enough. I'm going to take advantage of ibuypower's 30 day money back guarentee and return it for a future mobile solution, namely Turion or Sonoma.
