heres what im looking at:

Aviator CX7: High Performance 17" Centrino Gaming Notebook - Qty: 1
Aviator CX7 in Reflexxion Series Piercing Blue Pearl (Promotional Price) - Qty: 1
2.0GHz Intel® Pentium-M 760 Processor w/ 2MB Cache (Sonoma) - Qty: 1
Intel® Alviso 915PM+ICH6-M Mobile Motherboard (CX7) - Qty: 1
512MB PC4200 DDR2-533 SODIMM - Qty: 1
512MB PC4200 DDR2-533 SODIMM - Qty: 1
Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX PCI-Express 256MB - Qty: 1
80GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA Hard Drive with NCQ & 8MB Cache - Qty: 1
8X DVD ± R/W Drive Dual Layer w/ DVD Recording Software - Qty: 1
17" WUXGA 1920x1200 VividView™ Display w/ Super Clear Glossy Surface - Qty: 1
Built-in High Definition 3D Sound System for CX7 - Qty: 1
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Controller - Qty: 1
Internal 802.11A/G 54Mbps Wireless Mini PCI for CX7 - Qty: 1
Integrated V.92 56K Fax/Data Modem - Qty: 1
MS Windows XP Home Edition CD & Manual SP2 Pre-Installed & Configured - Qty: 1
Custom Hypersonic Disaster Recovery DVD (Recommended) - Qty: 1
1 Year Platinum Warranty with 24/7 Toll-Free Tech Support - Qty: 1


This would be my first laptop, ive only had two dell desktops in the past. Its a big step so bear with my noob questions and feel free to give my feedback.


Im going to be using this for mostly ccs and bf2- would get a 1900x1200 screen over a 1680x1050 becuase i assume at could play these games at a higher resolution than 1680x1050. this correct?

Will i be able to upgrade my warrenty?

Does the cx7 come with some sort of heat-monitoring program?

What are the advantages of xp pro over home?

The wireless card upgrade option says its not 64 bit compatable. What does this mean?

Also, ive never dealt with drivers, so i dont know anything about BIOS. Could cs walk me through this or are there online tutorials or anthing?

Also, does anyone know the timeframes for making one of these? I could not order this until April 12th, and im going on a trip June 16th. Would i have it by then? I understand the custom painting and building takes awhile.

Thanks for any help, i really appreciate it

higher res monitor is really necessary,

id upgrade to 2gigs of ram

no you won't, so get the 3 year now

pro offers more support for networking and server intensive crap, and is faster than home in games.

your cpu is not 64-bit so u dont need to worry. (64bit cpu's are athlon 64's and FX cpus from amd and the 6 series, and dual core/9series cpu's from intel. dont worry 64bit has no advantages right now. ignore it)

im sure if you called they would help. it manages all of your hardwares key settings, and runs before your o/s. it means basic input output system, and it basically manages all the critical settings, normally pressing ~, delete, esc, or an F number key willl bring it up when you start your pc up

probably about 4 weeks because it takes time to aquire parts, assemble, test, ship to smooth creations for painting, disassembly, reassembly, more testing and driver updating, then its shipped out. its a tough call whether or not it will be ready by then, but if you talk to customer support/sales, and tell them you need it by then, they may be able to expedite the building process.

welcome to the forums!

Thanks! very helpful

1 more thing- i have a verizon dsl connection at 100mbps, so should i get the 108mbps router and card, or would a 54mbps connection be sufficient in running games?

i think your would be sufficent

id get th e108mbps one. requires a 108mbps wirelss capable card.

Good morning!

Glad to see that you are looking at the CX7. Definitely a great system and there is a lot of similarity in what you are getting compared to mine. Also - that piercing blue is going to look nice. I am getting ready to send mine in for painting and looking forward to adding the uniqueness to it.

BF2 plays nicely on this system. I can not address the resolution stuff because even though I received the 1900x1200, I drastically knock down the resolution to meet my decaying eye-sight. I had originally planned on the 1680x1050 because of this, but the availability of the 1900x1200 sped up my delivery. One thing though - this screen is awesome. Very nice view.

As cm mentioned - you will not be able to upgrade your warranty. So my recommendation is to get the three years. Plan it like this - how long do you plan to use this laptop? If you plan on using it for three years - get the warranty.

Most of the Hypersonic systems come with a program called mobile meter (also referred to as mobmeter). This monitors the heat of the CPU and hard disks. It does not, to the best of my knowledge, control the fans, but it atleast lets you know what the temperature is. If for some reason Hypersonic is no longer providing it - it can be easily downloaded and is free.

CM covered the pro vs home. I am a big fan of pro. One of the biggest reasons is I like to remote manage my systems. Home does not give you the capability to "remote access" the system - professional does. So all of my systems come with professional.

When it comes to drivers, there is a simple rule of thumb. If you aren't looking for streamlining your system, trying to get extra points in games or add features found in newer versions of the drivers - you don't normally have to update them. But when the case comes that you do need to - there are some great folks at tech support (I mostly hear from Alex, but there are others) that can help, as well as the folks here. The forum here is a great resource.

My gutt feeling says that you would have your system in time for your trip - just start talking to sales as soon as possible to discuss items that may help. For instance, there may be a shortage of a specific part you want that you may be able to change to something else for faster delivery - i.e., the situation I had with swapping the monitors. The big thing is the paint job.

CM covered other items as well and I am agreeance (more memory, especially for gaming, and the 108mbps wireless card). I think you will be happy with this system because I know I am.

Good luck and as well, welcome to the forums!

I have had my CX7 for about a month (it is being sent in for a video problem), but it is a great system. I also think 2 gigs of ram is a must with the new games coming out. It took me 2 weeks to get mine after the order went through but with it getting painted expect a couple of extra weeks but it should be there in time for your trip. Good luck it is a fantastic machine!

I ownded a CX7 for a couple of months and absolutely loved it with the Pentium M 2.0 ghz / 7800 gtx / 2 gig ram combo and 1680x1050 screen. I recently traded it off for a high end desktop I really really wanted for a case mod project I have in the works but there was nothing wrong with it and it was a beast of a performer.

You definately need more ram in your configuration. I am looking at one of the SLI notebooks now to maybe purchase in a couple months after I get some bills paid

Anyways welcome to the forums and you will love that CX7!

Good luck

k|LL3rCr0w

I purchased an FX7 and also play BF2 on it. I went with the 1920x1200 resolution. I was a little disappointed that the highest "selectable" resolution ingame was 1600x1200. With the 17" widescreen, BF2 stretches the image on the edges to compensate. It is not that noticable when the bullets are flying. Its a small price to pay to be able to step up from 1024x768 at Low graphicall settings.

Other new games like "Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2" and "Dungeons and Dragons Online" do support the widerscreen formats and yes, you do get more painted on the side.

I am not sure about CCS.

Do not be too concerned if your 3DMark06 scores a little low (3300-3500 would be my guess on that setup). The Pentium-M 760 is what will be dragging the score down. But for gaming its all about the 7800GTX. You should be more than happy with the results.