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Initial Review:

So I have had this notebook for about half of one day so far, and I have definately thrown some stuff at it. I must say that I have been exceptionally impressed by the ability of this notebook to multi-task. I was:

Copying my music from backup cd's to the hard drive
Downloading an update for CS
Watching a video
Surfing the internet
Installing a program

And not even a hiccup, I'm impressed

I've also tried out two games so far, Rome: total war and HL2/CS. Nothing in depth, just a quick startup to see how they run, and they both run great. Not sure how to do benchmark tests, but I'll see if I can't get to that later this week.

Although there are definately some minor viewing angle issues with the screen, its a minor annoyance and does not bother me.

As far as battery power goes, I haven't run it down to zero yet, but it looks like I'll be able to get a good three hours + from it, and that's running the optical drive constantly as I was installing all of my files and programs today.

So to wrap this up, I'll give you guys my 1(bad) to 10(good) score card:
Monitor: 7
Keyboard: 9
Processing power: 9
Video games: 8
Battery: 8
Weight/portability: 9

Definately worth the $1550 I payed for it.

Update:

Computer has arrived, typing this on it right now, initial impressions:

Good looking, I like the way it feels, very solid, a little heavier than I expected, but definately not too heavy.

The keyboard works fine, I am very happy with the screen, as this was the thing I was most concerned about before buying it. I will follow this up with a full review later this evening, but so far so good!


Original post:
Hey folks, I just ordered a new cl56 from dsn computers, it should be here tommorrow and I will post a review shortly thereafter. I just wanted to say thanks to all those who comment on this board, it was after doing massive research here that I finally decided on the cl56. The factors that went into my decision were:

1) I wanted a portable computer, what's the point of getting a notebook if you can't carry it around with you easily
2) I wanted good battery life
3) It needed to be powerful enough for me to play all of the modern games on it, and be able to handle new games for at least the next year
4) I had a limited budget ($1500)

I originally decided that there wasn't a notebook computer that met my needs, all of the ones that were powerful enough were either too heavy, see i9200, or too expensive, see voodoo M:360. So I actually bought a desktop computer from dell that cost around 1200 dollars.

Even after my desktop had arrived though, I moped around because I REALLY wanted a notebook, so I continued to cruise the internet and do research, and that's when I found out about the cl56 on notebookforums. To thinkthat I could have the exact same computer I had wanted from voodoo for two to three thousand dollars less was just too good a deal to pass up, so I decided to return my dell and get the cl56.

I cruised around online for awhile looking at vendors, and although I found it for a hundred dollars less in places, dsn computers was the only place that offered a dvd rw at the price I was looking for, which was a must for me.

One unfortunate thing about dsn is that they don't allow you to custom configure your systems online, but luckily they had a system that was offering exactly what I was looking for. The final specs, and the reasons I choose them are:

1.7 ghz dothan processor - best value, I would have liked the 2 ghz processor but that would have bumped my price up by $400, while a drop to 1.6 ghz would only have saved me $100

1 gb 2700 ram - a must for me because I wanted this computer to last for awhile, also wanted the fastest ram that dothan could handle

80 gb hd 5400 rpm - I though seriously about going with a 60 gig hard drive at 7200 rpm, but I have alot of music and would like to start collecting movies on my computer so the extra storage was more attractive to me.

dvd rw - I was tired of using 10 cd's every time I wanted to do a backup, plus I wanted the option to create backup copies of my movies and use dvd's for storage if my hard drive every got too full

intel/pro 2200 b+g - wireless was a must for me as I do alot of travel for my work and I need to be able to get internet access in cities across the country

128 mb ati radeon 9700 - the most attractive feature about this computer was the video card, this was the limiting factor when I was doing research because generally computers with a card this powerful weighed at least a pound more or were ridiculously expensive. I am definately a gamer, and want to be able to play rome: total ware, hl2, counterstrike, and upcoming new games on my laptop

So that's my new cl56, like I said I'll post a review shortly after it arrives.

dsn computers? I don't remember finding them anywhere in a search for the cl56. Strange because I searched now and found nothing so I looked them up directly. They say they've been in business since 1987, but alexa shows them as nothing so did they just now start selling on the internet? They're not on any reseller review site either. I found no mentioning of them anywhere other than in this post and on hardforum this week and strangely enough the guy who mentioned them on both places was a brand new member. http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=862612
I looked at their website and they say free tech support for 60 days only and you can only call them M-F 10 AM - 5PM (7 hour window). Yet, the number isn't toll free so it is not free tech support. Also on their tech supprt, you can email dsn-cust-service@pacbell.net they don't even have their own email? Either you have ties to them and are trying to do some forum promotion or you and the guy on hardforum are both suckers looking to get ripped off.

peanutz,

first of all, I'm not affiliated with dsn in any way, I thought I got a good deal and wanted to let people know about it like a ton of other people on these boards.

second, when I bought the computer I looked at their support policy, I wasn't too happy with it, but noone else was offering exactly what I wanted at that price, so I took a risk. I don't think this is any worse than people who overclock their computers and invalidate their warranties.

Third, they have a return policy, so if I get the computer and it's crap I can return it and no skin off my hide.

Finally, I have only had one experience with their support so far, and it was fine. I called because I thought their might be a problem with the shipping, I left a message, they got back to me in an hour and took care of my problem quickly.

I know there is the chancec I might end up six months down the road regretting this decision, but the vast majority of the time you don't have problems and I'm bettting that this will be one of those times.

Anyhow, if you choose to believe that I am a
sucker, that is your perogative.

Congrats joebob! Welcome to the CL56 club !

BTW what's the price of your new lappy?

I ended up paying $1550, plus I anted up for the next day air for an additional $90. One nice thing about they're having prebuilt systems is that they shipped it out the day after I ordered it, andi it will be here tommorrow. Unfortunately I'm on a business trip right now so I won't get to play with it until sunday.