The specs in Intel's whitesheet talk of a dedicated network bus:

Architecture featuring a Dedicated
Network Bus (DNB) enables the
real Gigabit Ethernet experience by
eliminating the PCI bottleneck and
relieving the load on I/O devices by
providing a direct path to system
memory for network data.

But they also speak of a 10/100 lan:

A LAN Connect Interface (LCI)
provides flexible network solutions
including 10/100 Mbps Ethernet,
and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet with
LAN manageability.

So I am not sure how one accesses that dedicated network bus, unless the pcmcia wireless g card can somehow tap into that.

I think those go hand in hand.. the pcmcia would have no connection to the internal chipset other then going through the pcmcia.. i think the second by saying including 10/100 also meant i10/100/1000 even though it didnt mention that.. including could lead to more being supported by it.. i think the LCI is the port where you connect the ethernet cable and the other is the chipset that supports it.. I am not good at deciphering Intel yet though..

This is the kinda stuff that makes me realize what a great resouce this forums is.

Many thanks for all your hard work!

I just ordered my 8890. Man Now I get to play the waiting game.
I ordered it over a freakin holiday weekend so...who knows when it will get here?

I ordered it!!

You are welcome. Added a bunch more stuff today.

the 865PE chipset supports a direct bus connection via CSA to allow Gigbit transfers...

however, with the 865PE is another chip... in the case of the 8890, its the ICH5R... R for RAID... anyway... this chip supports it's own network bus... allowing for a plain 10/100 (no giga).

edit: note that CSA allows for 10/100/1000... not JUST giga... with that in mind, with two controller chips (one using CSA, one into the ICH5/ICH5R chip), you have 2 BUILT-IN lan ports... at least for the desktop versions...

i'm assuming the wireless runs through the PCI bus by either a PCMCIA interface (if you have the card)... or the Mini-usb interface (whatever that is... ??)

ATM they don't need to tap into that just yet... though it would be more dedicated at the very least.

I noticed in the link to the DVD/CDRW drive, it said something about having a capacity of only 653 MB. Does that mean it can't burn an 80 minute CD? Has anyone tried burning CDs yet with their 8900s? How has that experience been?

I to have a sager 8890 with a toshiba SD-R6112 and a SD-R2412. None of my drives burn DVD's. Can you recommend a DVD-R that is compatible with the 8890? I was looking at the SD-R6472 with master firmware. The only issue would be cosmetic due to the fact that the faceplates between the SD-R2412 and SD-R6472 are not interchangeable. The only faceplate available for the SD-R6472 is a black 12.7mm x 128mm. What do you think. Also, what would be a good burning software to use.

Thanks.
vman465

NEC ND-6500A/6550A are good drives that will work. About $80 here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Custra...82E16827152048

Now for software, it depends on what you are going to do. Here is a nice reference link that you may find of interest: http://www.videohelp.com/

Also the SD-R6472 is not all that great IMHO. Have one and replaced it with the NEC for greater compatability with various blank DVD Media.

Thanks, I'll look into it. My only question is will the NEC ND-6500A/6550A fit snugged in my sager 8890? And will their be a problem with the face plate?

Ask Aussie (in the 8890 thread - I think he recently replied to someone). I think he has two of them - the 6750's have come to markter and are about $70 at newegg.

EDIT: Here is the thread I was talking about: http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=59427

Does anybody know the difference between the NEC 6500A, 6650A and the 6750A. Do you know Aussie or G-Omaha?

Google is your friend. Go here: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters
and the type in the ND-model number and see the specs and writeups from various users.

Essentially the major differences are related to medias supported (-R DL & -RAM) and write speeds associated with various media.