Well, it's been a week since I got my 5680, and after all the info and assistance I've gotten from you guys on the forum the past 6 months that helped me make my decision to chose Sager over AW, I figured I owe everyone a review of my own.
This will be less of a review (no real emphasis on the technical side of things) and more of an "impression" of my experience so far.
Let me say it's been a long time since I've owned a computer of my own (always bring my work laptop home) and I've never had a "gaming computer" (I'm a console gamer mainly - X-Box, et al). I'm not super technically-savvy, but I can read an instruction manual and figure things out (most of the time). I apologize for not having any benchmarks to post a) because I don't have any of the programs to run them, and b) because there have been more than enough posts to that effect already.
Here's the system breakdown: 5680-V -- 3.2 P4, 60GB 7200rmp HD, 1024MB RAM, UXGA screen, Win XP Pro, dual battery set up (+ spare).
First, I ordered the computer on-line Sunday, 9/14, and UPS delivered it Monday 9/29 -- pretty fast! Installed the WHQL video drivers from the disc provided, and was off and running.
I don't have to tell you, the screen is amazing! I've been using my Dell laptop from work, and it runs at (I think) 800x600... man, what a difference! It's so sharp. My friends who've seen it are also amazed by how crisp the image is from the side-angle view. Very nice! And, I'm happy to report, no dead pixels. Not that I knew what exactly I was looking for, but I checked the screen using both a black and white wallpaper background and I couldn't see anything unusual... and at this point I'm not looking anymore!
Man is it quick! Just cruising the web it's so much speedier than my work laptop (and they use a T1 line, I just have a cable modem) at home. Boots up smoothly, burns CDs quickly, installs software quickly. Yeah, it's bigger and heavier than most laptops (just glad I didn't get the 8890 now) but hardly noticable when you lug it around in your Targus backpack.
One of my friends liked how it doesn't lay flat on a surface, but is raised slightly to help with cooling (his Powerbook doesn't do that, and he says it gets pretty hot). On a side note, the speakers are actually pretty good - much better than my workplace Dell. I'll get external ones someday, but for now these are just fine.
I've installed Office XP, Norton Systemworks and Personal Firewall (which I've since disabled, see below), Final Draft 6, Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 (I tried the Nero program but had a few problems, besides, I really like the Roxio software) as well as several games (which I'll get to).
I've also gotten a few extra peripherals, such as a Western Digital external 120GB 7200 rpm firewire HD which works like a charm (can't say I'm too thrilled about the clear plastic case and the blue and pink neon lights... looks like something out of Miami Vice or the movie Cocktail, but it works, and I've already thrown the box out so I can't return it). I have a Logitech MX700 cordless optical mouse, that's a dream (on a negative note, I'm not super-wild about the 5680's touchpad... I know some of you don't like using them, though I have no problem with them, but honestly, my Dell at work has a more responsive pad), a Logitech Wingman Extreme Digital 3D flightstick, and a Logitech Wingman cordless Rumble Pad. The flightstick's cool, but I'm not 100% on the game pad... haven't been able to configure it to operate like a console controller (at least for BF 1942, which is all I've tried it on so far).
I also picked up a Microsoft MN-820 Wireless G-kit, that I'm still working through. It's great, but I have a problem everytime I boot up, where it doesn't pick up the wireless network signal. I have go through the process of picking the wireless network and clicking "Connect", then sometimes turning the modem and the base unit on and off until the computer picks up the signal. Every time! Very annoying. Maybe somebody knows something I'm doing wrong... At first I thought the Norton Firewall software might be causing it to be buggy, since the unit (supposedly) has a firewall built into it, so I unistalled it, but I'm still having problems on startup. But, on the bright side, once it's working, I don't notice a difference from running a Cat-5 cable to the modem (haven't tried it w/ online gaming yet, though).
Only used the DVD player once to start draining and recharging the batteries (got 1hr 26min before the system shut down -- haven't tried it again) but it looks amazing. Unistalled the "AV Rack" program, because w/ the Roxio software, I don't think I need it. Can't figure out how to configure Outlook to work with my Comcast email account, but then I really haven't put much time or effort into learning how yet.
And, the moment I know you've all been waiting for... the games: C&C Generals, BF1942, Rise of Nations, Medieval: Total War, SimCity 4, Greyhawk: Temple of Elemental Evil, & IL2: Sturmovik. Played a lot of BF1942 the first couple of days, with no noticable lag time, and only the occasional (and rarely annoying) artifact. Fooled around a little with ToEE, played a bit of the instructional demo, and it looks fantastic, but honestly I didn't get too into it because of all the posts and reviews of how buggy it is... I'll wait until the patch comes out (later this month, I'm told) before getting into it, otherwise I'll just get frustrated if it locks up. Had a few problems w/ Sim City 4 (such as the game kicking me back to the desktop when I touched the volume control on the front panel) but I've just only started to learn how to play it, so I'll wait until further examination before making a judgement. Played a little C&C, IL2 and Total War, but mostly it's been Rise of Nations the past 5 days or so. Yesterday I played practically nonstop from noon until almost midnight, and even though the computer got hot, it didn't effect gameplay.
So, other than the wireless G issue (which I don't believe is linked to Sager), I have no real complaints. Maybe the touchpad thing, or the fact that the power brick doesn't have a built in capability to switch from 110 to 220, but other than those, I'm totally cool with my purchase. One question though... why doesn't the ATI sticker on the computer say Mobility Radeon 9600 "Pro"?
So, basically, that's it. Still feeling my way through it after the first week, but I'm not disappointed in the least (as I'm sure I would have been after finding out the 51-M 2's case was mostly plastic and not metal). In fact, for all those of you out there on the fence, neophyte and veteran computer users alike, I say get off the fence and call PC Torque pronto!
Many thanks to Myrcat, GSFerrarri, and Divine_Madcat who answered questions and helped in informing my decsion to go for the Sager. Also thanks to Adam, Laura and Tom at PC Torque for making the experience painless!
This will be less of a review (no real emphasis on the technical side of things) and more of an "impression" of my experience so far.
Let me say it's been a long time since I've owned a computer of my own (always bring my work laptop home) and I've never had a "gaming computer" (I'm a console gamer mainly - X-Box, et al). I'm not super technically-savvy, but I can read an instruction manual and figure things out (most of the time). I apologize for not having any benchmarks to post a) because I don't have any of the programs to run them, and b) because there have been more than enough posts to that effect already.
Here's the system breakdown: 5680-V -- 3.2 P4, 60GB 7200rmp HD, 1024MB RAM, UXGA screen, Win XP Pro, dual battery set up (+ spare).
First, I ordered the computer on-line Sunday, 9/14, and UPS delivered it Monday 9/29 -- pretty fast! Installed the WHQL video drivers from the disc provided, and was off and running.
I don't have to tell you, the screen is amazing! I've been using my Dell laptop from work, and it runs at (I think) 800x600... man, what a difference! It's so sharp. My friends who've seen it are also amazed by how crisp the image is from the side-angle view. Very nice! And, I'm happy to report, no dead pixels. Not that I knew what exactly I was looking for, but I checked the screen using both a black and white wallpaper background and I couldn't see anything unusual... and at this point I'm not looking anymore!
Man is it quick! Just cruising the web it's so much speedier than my work laptop (and they use a T1 line, I just have a cable modem) at home. Boots up smoothly, burns CDs quickly, installs software quickly. Yeah, it's bigger and heavier than most laptops (just glad I didn't get the 8890 now) but hardly noticable when you lug it around in your Targus backpack.
One of my friends liked how it doesn't lay flat on a surface, but is raised slightly to help with cooling (his Powerbook doesn't do that, and he says it gets pretty hot). On a side note, the speakers are actually pretty good - much better than my workplace Dell. I'll get external ones someday, but for now these are just fine.
I've installed Office XP, Norton Systemworks and Personal Firewall (which I've since disabled, see below), Final Draft 6, Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 (I tried the Nero program but had a few problems, besides, I really like the Roxio software) as well as several games (which I'll get to).
I've also gotten a few extra peripherals, such as a Western Digital external 120GB 7200 rpm firewire HD which works like a charm (can't say I'm too thrilled about the clear plastic case and the blue and pink neon lights... looks like something out of Miami Vice or the movie Cocktail, but it works, and I've already thrown the box out so I can't return it). I have a Logitech MX700 cordless optical mouse, that's a dream (on a negative note, I'm not super-wild about the 5680's touchpad... I know some of you don't like using them, though I have no problem with them, but honestly, my Dell at work has a more responsive pad), a Logitech Wingman Extreme Digital 3D flightstick, and a Logitech Wingman cordless Rumble Pad. The flightstick's cool, but I'm not 100% on the game pad... haven't been able to configure it to operate like a console controller (at least for BF 1942, which is all I've tried it on so far).
I also picked up a Microsoft MN-820 Wireless G-kit, that I'm still working through. It's great, but I have a problem everytime I boot up, where it doesn't pick up the wireless network signal. I have go through the process of picking the wireless network and clicking "Connect", then sometimes turning the modem and the base unit on and off until the computer picks up the signal. Every time! Very annoying. Maybe somebody knows something I'm doing wrong... At first I thought the Norton Firewall software might be causing it to be buggy, since the unit (supposedly) has a firewall built into it, so I unistalled it, but I'm still having problems on startup. But, on the bright side, once it's working, I don't notice a difference from running a Cat-5 cable to the modem (haven't tried it w/ online gaming yet, though).
Only used the DVD player once to start draining and recharging the batteries (got 1hr 26min before the system shut down -- haven't tried it again) but it looks amazing. Unistalled the "AV Rack" program, because w/ the Roxio software, I don't think I need it. Can't figure out how to configure Outlook to work with my Comcast email account, but then I really haven't put much time or effort into learning how yet.
And, the moment I know you've all been waiting for... the games: C&C Generals, BF1942, Rise of Nations, Medieval: Total War, SimCity 4, Greyhawk: Temple of Elemental Evil, & IL2: Sturmovik. Played a lot of BF1942 the first couple of days, with no noticable lag time, and only the occasional (and rarely annoying) artifact. Fooled around a little with ToEE, played a bit of the instructional demo, and it looks fantastic, but honestly I didn't get too into it because of all the posts and reviews of how buggy it is... I'll wait until the patch comes out (later this month, I'm told) before getting into it, otherwise I'll just get frustrated if it locks up. Had a few problems w/ Sim City 4 (such as the game kicking me back to the desktop when I touched the volume control on the front panel) but I've just only started to learn how to play it, so I'll wait until further examination before making a judgement. Played a little C&C, IL2 and Total War, but mostly it's been Rise of Nations the past 5 days or so. Yesterday I played practically nonstop from noon until almost midnight, and even though the computer got hot, it didn't effect gameplay.
So, other than the wireless G issue (which I don't believe is linked to Sager), I have no real complaints. Maybe the touchpad thing, or the fact that the power brick doesn't have a built in capability to switch from 110 to 220, but other than those, I'm totally cool with my purchase. One question though... why doesn't the ATI sticker on the computer say Mobility Radeon 9600 "Pro"?
So, basically, that's it. Still feeling my way through it after the first week, but I'm not disappointed in the least (as I'm sure I would have been after finding out the 51-M 2's case was mostly plastic and not metal). In fact, for all those of you out there on the fence, neophyte and veteran computer users alike, I say get off the fence and call PC Torque pronto!
Many thanks to Myrcat, GSFerrarri, and Divine_Madcat who answered questions and helped in informing my decsion to go for the Sager. Also thanks to Adam, Laura and Tom at PC Torque for making the experience painless!
because the 
just gimme your key assignment!!
