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9860 for a student?

post #1 of 15
1/20/05 at 12:11am
Thread Starter 
Hiya all, first off, sorry if a similar question was asked to this, cause I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering this, but I couldn't find any posts on it.

I'm a college student looking to pick up a laptop, and the sager 9860 looks awesome (yup, parents feeling generous ). The only thing I'm worried about is battery life. Im basicaly a newb to laptops so I'm not sure exactly how power consumption works, but lets say I use the laptop just to take notes or do work (word processing or a random compiler). About how long would the battery last just doing that? The review for it here says only about 1 hour during DVD playback, but I'm sure doing something less power consuming would last longer. Just wondering about how long that would be, before I make the decision to buy one.
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post #2 of 15
1/20/05 at 12:24am
About two hours, but I would grab an extra battery. I would like to add the 9860 is HUGE, but the best laptop I've ever used; furthermore, if you like gaming, go for it.
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post #3 of 15
1/20/05 at 12:25am
I wouldnt buy the sager 9860 or alienware 7700 (same computer) because of the battery life and the size. Im also a college student and so those things are very important. Both of those computers are great for acting as a desktop with a screen that you can move easily. I just got the dell 9200 and its perfect for my needs, great battery life and great gaming (17inch screen too) If you really want a sager then look for a different model
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post #4 of 15
1/20/05 at 12:30am
You should probally look into how much it weighs. I am also in college and I know that an extra 10lbs in my backpack is alot. So, if you plan on taking it with you all day long I would suggest something a little lighter, but if it is manly for the dorm room/library then go ahead and get what ever suites your needs.
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post #5 of 15
1/20/05 at 12:35am
well im not sure of the actual battery life, but the 9860 comes with a powermizer configuration for the video card. i guess if youre just gonna take notes you would set the powermizer to the lowest setting possible, which in return uses the least power. ou should also use your bios and turn off the memory card function and the dj led which displays time.all in all its worth a try if you dont mind carrying a 16x13 12 lbs powerhouse.
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post #6 of 15
1/20/05 at 12:57am
I carry mine to pharmacy school everyday. I use to have an acer that weighed under 6 pounds, so it is a pretty big jump for me. I only get about an hour of battery life when using microsoft word, powerpoint, etc, so i cannot forget my charger like i use to with the acer that had over a 4 hour battery life.

I love using this in class though because you can put up two side by side word documents that are both at 94% zoom.

It is all up to what your personal preferences are though. There are times when i ask myself why i insist on carrying a 13 lb notebook to class, but when i open it up, I remember why. It is also fun to see people eye's when they see it for the first time.
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post #7 of 15
1/20/05 at 1:12am
sager 3970 or wait for a new centrino pcie notebooks
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post #8 of 15
1/20/05 at 2:14am
unless u need a DTR for either gaming or grafix, get the 9860, other than that, this thing is huge, and sucks battery life, i get maybe an hour out of mine, and its 10-13lbs. If you dont mind these then it is nice laptop.
I go to a tech school and it blowes everyone elses away in size, speed and performance lol
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post #9 of 15
1/20/05 at 2:21am
try the sager 3790 notebook its light and has good features/power.
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post #10 of 15
1/20/05 at 11:43am
Please note that you need to remove screws to replace the battery as well, that would piss me off on the go, having to whip out a screwdriver to slap in a new battery only for a throttled down version of my laptop. I love my 9860 but realize this thing is not a laptop, you cant put it on your lap and it isnt portable. Its a desktop replacement, If i were you and your parents wanna drop 3500$ get a more portable laptop for moving your junk around and take the extra 1k$ you save and build yourself an awesome desktop rig for your house. Just my two cents.

Also I carry my laptop to work every day along with a mouse, books, files, papers, and my bag weighs about 20 lbs. If you want to gauge how heavy that is put about 4 gallons of water in a bag and carry it around your house to get some kind of idea.
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post #11 of 15
1/20/05 at 12:03pm
sharp mp30 laptop if youre looking for portability and battery life. if you want a laptop that kicks ass get the 9860
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post #12 of 15
1/20/05 at 2:25pm
Water weighs about 8.3 lbs per gallon.
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post #13 of 15
1/20/05 at 3:26pm
so do it with 2.5 gallons wise ass
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post #14 of 15
1/20/05 at 4:40pm
If you don't care about battery life, want the power, and the only thing holding you back from the 9860 is its size...then maybe the 7620 is for you. I think it'll be available in the coming week or two. Summary reviews are already up. It's basically the 9860 with 15" screen and 2 slots of RAM instead of 4. Having been through college with my laptop....which had no battery (old piece of junk given to me.. ) I know I've never had problems finding a power outlet for my craptop.
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post #15 of 15
1/20/05 at 5:00pm
the 9860 is definitely NOT a good choice for college students who want a laptop to take class to class. It's HUGE, even if you dont mind the weight, the size is just too big to carry in most college student messenger bags and backpacks (and you dont wanna be the dork lugging around a mobile desktop in a huge backpack just to take some notes) That and the basically non-existent battery life makes it useless for a long day of classes/studying. If you want a desktop replacement so you dont have to carry a regular desktop home on winter and spring break, the 9860 is perfect. But if you want a class to class "laptop" then go with the 3790. The 3790 comes with the radeon 9700 so you can still game all today's games. but most importantly it's a "laptop", so it'll fit in with the rest of your stuff and you'll get enough wireless time to do everything.

my 2 cents
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