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Greetings!

Anyone who didn't think I would review this system must not be familiar with my other two reviews. One thing I love about this forum is reading reviews of systems as I get to share in the excitement as others. My job - to give back. So I wanted to take some time and share the CX7 experience with the rest of you.

One note - even though this system was ordered before paint options were included, they are now available. As such, Ratmyr can't go without a unique, painted system. So I am working with Hypersonic on getting my system back to them in about a month for a paint upgrade. More to follow as this develops.

The specs for the system are as follows:

Aviator CX7: 17" Centrino Gaming Notebook
Intel® Alviso 915PM+ICH6-M Mobile Motherboard (CX7)
Aviator CX7 in Silver with Tinted Brushed Aluminum Cover
2.0GHz Intel® Pentium-M 760 Processor w/ 2MB Cache (Sonoma)
2 x 1024MB PC4200 DDR2-533 SODIMM
NEW! Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX PCI-Express 256MB
17" WUXGA 1920x1200 VividView(tm) Display w/ Super Clear Glossy Surface
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Internal 802.11-Super A/G 108Mbps Wireless Network Adapter
120GB 5400rpm Serial ATA Hard Drive w/ NCQ
8X DVD ± R/W Drive Dual Layer w/ DVD Recording Software & LightScribe
Integrated V.92 56K Fax/Data Modem
Integrated 1.3M High-Resolution Digital Video Camera
Built-in 4-in-1 Flash Media Card Reader
Built-in High Definition 3D Sound System for CX7
Built-in 8ch Azalia Sound System with external speaker connected
Advanced AudioDJ LED Control Panel
MS Windows XP Professional CD & Manual SP2 Pre-Installed & Configured
Guaranteed No Dead or Partially-Lit Pixels
3 Year Platinum Warranty with 24/7 Toll-Free Tech Support

Order Process
Just as in the past, the process went very well. I ordered with a credit card (again). I was able to work with a previous sales person who had been helpful in the past and during the last days of my shipping wait, she was providing me daily updates. This was great as it allowed me to know what was going on. I have had any problems with the sales and this order was no different.

Shipping
This was the best part of the transaction. I had been using APO for the last two systems, so a lot of time was added to the delivery of the system because it had to travel through the trusty USPS (do you hint on some sarcasm there???) into the military postal system and then to me. Well.... I won't go into details about my missing EX7 :sniff: :sniff:, but APO shipping definitely adds atleast a week to your delivery. This time, I was able to use UPS. Hypersonic shipped the system about 4pm on Thursday and it was delivered to my house at 11am on Friday. Very nice. I am definitely glad to be back in the land of 24x7.

Unlike the GX7/EX7, the box was much smaller and tighter. I was surprised. But everything was packed very well and no damage at all. I wonder if it was shipped another method than overnight UPS, if the box would have been the bigger model. Nonetheless, the system got here and was great.

First Impression
Awesome. It is really thin and something that I haven't experienced with the other two systems. This thing is even thinner than my HP that I had been using for the last couple months. And the nice touch was that Hypersonic has a brushed metal lid on the top of it. Very nice looking. When I put the photos up, you will see. It matches their desktop theme of the brushed metal background.

NOTE - After looking at the pictures of some of the Sager models, it appears the brushed lid is the same across the board. I wanted to make sure i corrected what I said as I don't want to mislead anyone.

The system is not heavy at all and everything feels solid. For the majority of the time (during setup), I was using the touchpad and keyboard on the system and it was smooth. I am not a fan of the laptop keyboard/touchpads and this didn't change my opinion, but not having my keyboard/mouse ready - it was acceptable.

Display
People are not fans of paying for insurance they may never need. The dead pixel insurance was well worth it to me. There were a couple found before the system left Hypersonic and they didn't ship it out. After some discussions and my desire not to delay the system too much, I opt'd for the installation of a WUXGA as opposed to the WSXGA+ screen. I am not a fan of the higher resolution, but on the same note, I wanted a clean display that was going to get me the system faster. So no sweat on my side.

The screen display and clarity is awesome. Everything is crisp and clear. The resolution still bothers me, and I am sure I will piss some off for not using it to the extent it was designed for - but I lowered the resolution to 1152x864. It makes a big difference on my eyes and everything still looks good (not strethced out as bad).

Sound
The EX7 and GX7 have better sound. I am not too impressed with the sound on this. It is alright for a laptop, but I am definitely going to break out the headphones later and see how it handles. The speakers are not as loud as my previous systems and you can definitely tell there are just two speakers (as opposed to the four on the other systems). But then again, this is lighter and more compact. You have to give somewhere I guess. However, for a laptop, the sound works very well. Just comparing to the bigger bad-boys of laptops.

The Audio DJ is one of my favorite features. Up front clock, all the LEDs for system features (hard drive, wireless, etc) is right in front of me, and the most important - the volume control. I love this more than any of the other DJ features. Very easy to turn up/down as needed. Just trying to figure out what the buttons to the left and right of the volume controls are.

Fans
Does this thing have fans?

During the entire setup, I never felt the heat as I did on the other systems and I never really heard the fans. I am deaf a bit, so I don't have perfect hearing. However, the GX7/EX7 - you know the fans were running. This has not been the case with the CX7. When I did some heavy gaming - I heard them come on. So I know they work. But it is definitely a quiet system.

Hypersonic delivered another fine system to me and I am extremely happy. I know there are individuals who have had their problems and it is sad about some of their experiences, but I have not had this problem - else I would not have gone back to them for yet another system. For those who are looking for a system. Don't let my good comments or other individual negative comments steer you completely. Read everyone's comments and then investigate things for yourself. You are investing a good chunk of change into a powerful system - you need to be happy. And as you can see here - I am. If it wasn't for the fact that I build my own desktops - they may have my business on the Cyclone side of the house as well.

In any case - pictures have just been added. I am not as good at taking pictures and a lot of my game shots are blurry as hell. Going to have to look at this a bit. But I can guarantee that the game has crisp/clear graphics and looks awesome! Guildwars was maxed out last night and gaming very nice. That is what matters to me.

Thanks

Sweet system and nice review (tho pics, some nekkid would improve it).

I am hand-delivering my AW ALX to Smooth in December for painting.

Just added the pics and thanks for the comments. Definitely been handling very well.

that is one sweet laptop dude. Enjoy it! meanwhile we gotta go a hunt the bastard who stole ur EX7

What gheym is that? Wow?

It's GuildWars. I am in the desert in that shot. I have a pet desert lizard, but I wasn't able to get him in the picture. Awesome graphics.

I think I am gonna get into Guild Wars but one question. Does it take like half-a century to build a character only to end up having them be horrible because of bad moves early on in their development and do other players end up not being able to play with you after you see them cuz they are on a different server? I only ask because I know that these problems sometimes occur with these kind of titles. Thanks Ratmyr.

I wanted to check Guild Wars out, but then I heard of a game called Dark and Light. Supposed to be the largest MMO ever. Waiting for a Beta key for this. If anyone wants, check out their website: http://www.darkandlight.net

looks pretty interesting. definitely want to try this game

Check out their site for answers to your question, as they specifically answer a lot of that. The quests and battles you go on is based on your experience level, and you gain experience based on the difference of levels between you and the AI you are fighting. Players do not have the capability to go to other places in the "world" without already tracking there.

As for how long it takes, it doesn't take long at all to build up the characters, and you have the capability to move your skill points around to redesign your character. Also, after you ascend, you have the capability to change your secondary professions, so if you decided that a Monk/Ranger wasn't for you, you could become a Monk/Warrior.

As for servers, I believe everyone is on the same server. But the difference with GW as opposed to UO (the other game I play), is that when you leave a town, you are by yourself, unless you have partied up with other players. So you can meet friends in the towns (and each town has different districts which may equate to servers, but they are selectable).

I like it. There are a lot of people here in NBF that started off in the beginning and left - and I have been gone from it for about four months (when I didn't have a system), but I am getting back into it again now.

Good luck!

Definitely will check it out. I am also waiting on the Dungeons and Dragons Online game as well. The big difference with GW is that it costs nothing to play (other than the initial game and your time). Whereas my UO is costing me about $26 a month (two accounts). During my prime, that was seven accounts - arrgh!

Hey Rat, good to see you move into the next series. I was always envious of your red GX7 Someone mentioned it getting stolen- I only do a quick browse of the forums nowadays, for the most part, so I totally missed out on that story. Bummer, but hopefully you were insured.

I look forward to seeing what Hypersonic does w/ your paintjob. I'd wanted to paint my 8790, but considering all that happened, I'm glad I didn't. Hope to be joining you w/ a similar unit in the future- we'll see how that goes. Would love to have it painted, but not sure if I'll go that route or not. I might have to continue living vicariously through you in regards to the paint

Like you, I put GW down for awhile. Being busy sucks. Also, since my 8790 has been fussy about being pushed, I got to where I'd only play GW on my desktop and even then, time's short. I'll have to PM you sometime when I get back into it and see if we can't hook up sometime. I was actually an Alpha & Beta tester for the game. Friend of mine from high school is an artist, so he got me in. When I visited the US at the end of October, he took me on a little tour of Arena.net, so that was pretty cool. Japanese friend went w/ me, so I've got a picture of her in front of a huge GW mural. So I'm biased when it comes to which MMO game to play

Really looking forward to seeing how your machine turns out after it's been painted. If there's slobber in your thread, I apologize in advance!

Nice review.

I have either a lvl 17 or 18 Necromancer/Warrior named YeastInfection in Guildwars. I have not played in months since starting Star Wars Galaxies. I not pretty much stopped playing that game since they changed the entire system.

u guys think smoothcreations would paint my psp? that would b sick(thinking blakc,gunmetal,chamealeon, or python something )