Conscript
February 22nd, 2005, 23:38
I wasn't going to do this for a while, but after using it all day I think I have enough to write a review, at least a brief one. No pics yet though, if you guys want them just ask and I'll take some.
....
CyberPower System is a company that sells computers, they are based in California. It is a small dot com, but I've ordered there before and so have my friends so I have trust in them.
Anyways, I recently (it arrived today) ordered a custom built laptop from them and this is what I will review here.
I ordered a custom built version of the following design:
http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/highendsystem/NTBKS43000.asp?v=d
(pics included in link above)
The specs I ordered were:
15.4" Widescreen 1680x1050 Resolution
1.8Ghz Intel Pentium M w/2MB Cache
1024MB RAM
40GB Hard Drive
8x DVD Burner
ATI Radeon 9700 PRO 256MB Video
Memory Card Reader (internal)
Other Misc. things like Firewire, S-Video in/out, etc.
They also included a free carrying case.
My final total? $1675 shipped ($1625 for the laptop, $50 shipping, no tax as they are based in California)
To compare, a Laptop over at Dell with similar specs would run about $2,200 at the very least. The Inspiron 6000 was the model I was looking at that closest resembles what I ordered (except it has on board graphics or the ATI X300 128MB, which is an inferior video card to the ATI Radeon 9700 PRO).
Dell also charges tax in Illinois, so my total over at Dell for similar specs (though the x300 ATI card wasn't even available when I was getting ready to order a laptop and still isn't in the USA, so it was on board video only on the system I configured) was around $2200 for inferior specs, and tax/shipping added a few more for a total of ~$2400.
So my savings at Cyberpower, with superior specs, are around $600. Pretty significant.
Anyways, for the money it was a total steal, which is what is expected from Cyberpower as they always beat any price out there by a lot. That is why I ordered my last desktop system from them and why all my friends took me up on my recommendation and also ordered from them.
So anyways, the laptop arrived today, perfect condition, free carrying case as promised.
After getting it set up with all the software I want (took about 2-3 hours) I was simply amazed. Cyberpower has really proven themselves to me again with this laptop.
So far, there are 0 problems. Not even one dead pixel on the LCD.
I was also pleasantly suprised that it has S-Video IN as well as OUT, so I should be able to import old analog video material in here. At least the set up instructions claim that is an IN port, I am yet to test it.
The Screen
While the screen is not the new brightview technology that many new laptops offer it is quite stunning none the less. Very good quality for an LCD, and personally I don't like the new brightview anyway as it causes glare - which to me defies the purpose of having an LCD.
The 15.4" Widescreen is just the right size for a laptop that I intend to use as a desktop replacement. It is not too small, it is also not too big as to become unportable.
The 1680x1050 resolution is a mixed bag however. It is a higher resolution than most other companies offer on 15.4" (the standards for a 15.4" Widescreen seem to be 1280x800 or 1440x900). There is good reason why companies don't offer such fine resolution: everything is tiny.
While it was a niusance at first, and made me almost doubt my purchase, after several hours I have gotten used to it (now when I look at 1280x1024 on my old computer it seems gigantic to me!).
So while it is harder by a bit to read text and stuff at first, the benefits become obvious with heavier use. I am able to keep my Trillian as a side panel viewable at all times without sacrificing any work area. I can view large photoshop documents without having to zoom out as well.
With Microsoft Office I can keep my Trillian open as well as the Office sidebar and still view an entire document.
Another benefit is I can fit about 8 programs open on the taskbar without Windows grouping them! And also I don't have to hide as many icons in the system tray.
I am very pleased now and the resolution is really starting to grow on me.
The Speed
1.8Ghz Pentium M is equivalent to about 2.8-3.0Ghz Pentium 4, and yes, it is very fast. I am very satisified with the speed. 1GB of RAM really adds to it as well (my old computer had 512MB). I can keep a lot of programs open without it slowing down at all, and also things load faster. Basically, it is a very good amount of RAM.
Speedwise, this thing is totally rocking.
The Features
It came with an 8x DVD burner, which I haven't tried burning on yet but have used to install apps from. The drive itself seems to be a bit delicate, and the eject button is positioned in a weird spot where I have a hard time finding it without running my finger accross the side of the computer. A minor nuisance, but they could've included something that would have an easier to find eject button!
The memory card reader is great, very fast, I copied over 1GB from my SD Card in less than 10 minutes or so (wasn't timing), which is a very good speed for a memory card reader.
USB 2.0 is very fast as well, I was able to transfer some of my files from my desktop over here very quickly.
I have not had a chance to try out the s-video in or out yet. I also don't have any firewire devices so that hasn't been tried either, though the laptop has 1 firewire port built in.
Battery Life
Calculating for about 30 minutes how fast it was draining, the battery life seems to be about 2:15 minutes under pretty regular to heavy use. One thing that is bringing that number down is the fact was downloading to my hard drive the whole time during this test (which probably deducted a good amount from the battery life).
Also WiFi is on the whole time, which is also another battery drainer (in my PDA it cuts battery life from 6 hours to 2 hours, so I imagine even on the laptop it takes away maybe another 1/2 hour to 40 mins).
The battery I ordered, which is I believe 8 or 9 cell, is supposed to last about 4 hours, though the laptop specificaition said 5 hours.
Based on my current usage however it looks like it probably won't ever get past 3 hours or just over 3 hours (maybe like 3:15 or so tops).
That is pretty good battery life for a laptop none the less, though a bit disappointing as I was really hoping to get at least 4:25 or something. The Inspiron 6000 I mentioned earlier which comes closest to this laptop in specs (though definitley not price!) gets about 3 hours battery life maxmimum according to a review I read, so this Cyberpower is about on par.
Definitley better than my old Toshiba laptop that got about 1:30 with wifi on and in use, and better than some Pentium 4 Desktop Replacements that get about 1:40 maximum.
Video Performance
In theory, the ATI Radeon 9700 PRO should get pretty good frame rates, especially with 256MB of dedicated video RAM. I haven't had a chance to install any graphic intensive games yet, though I will soon.
This is probably one of the best laptop cards available for this price range. I am amazed at how many laptops ship with crap cards like the ATI 9000 IGP or GeForce Go5200, which are both old cards.
There are some high end laptops that have GeForce 6800, but we're talking a much larger price range.
So as far as video goes, this is one of the best cards I've seen in this class of laptops.
Final Words
I am very pleased with my purchase. I've saved hundreds of dollars by going with cyberpower - again - and they have as I've stated earlier proven themselves to me again. The only disappointments so far are the CD drive's eject button/design and the battery life (which is still pretty good just not as good as I hoped).
I would definitley buy from them again. Their website again is www.cyberpowersystem.com .
I know this laptop will serve me well for the next couple of years. It is going to be my desktop replacement, meaning this will be my main system. I gave my old desktop I used until today to my brother, and I am going to take his eMachines to keep in my room mostly for decoration and possibly for occasional use.
So yeah, my conclusion is that this is one of the best purchases anyone can get as far as laptops go.
Two thumbs up.
....
CyberPower System is a company that sells computers, they are based in California. It is a small dot com, but I've ordered there before and so have my friends so I have trust in them.
Anyways, I recently (it arrived today) ordered a custom built laptop from them and this is what I will review here.
I ordered a custom built version of the following design:
http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/highendsystem/NTBKS43000.asp?v=d
(pics included in link above)
The specs I ordered were:
15.4" Widescreen 1680x1050 Resolution
1.8Ghz Intel Pentium M w/2MB Cache
1024MB RAM
40GB Hard Drive
8x DVD Burner
ATI Radeon 9700 PRO 256MB Video
Memory Card Reader (internal)
Other Misc. things like Firewire, S-Video in/out, etc.
They also included a free carrying case.
My final total? $1675 shipped ($1625 for the laptop, $50 shipping, no tax as they are based in California)
To compare, a Laptop over at Dell with similar specs would run about $2,200 at the very least. The Inspiron 6000 was the model I was looking at that closest resembles what I ordered (except it has on board graphics or the ATI X300 128MB, which is an inferior video card to the ATI Radeon 9700 PRO).
Dell also charges tax in Illinois, so my total over at Dell for similar specs (though the x300 ATI card wasn't even available when I was getting ready to order a laptop and still isn't in the USA, so it was on board video only on the system I configured) was around $2200 for inferior specs, and tax/shipping added a few more for a total of ~$2400.
So my savings at Cyberpower, with superior specs, are around $600. Pretty significant.
Anyways, for the money it was a total steal, which is what is expected from Cyberpower as they always beat any price out there by a lot. That is why I ordered my last desktop system from them and why all my friends took me up on my recommendation and also ordered from them.
So anyways, the laptop arrived today, perfect condition, free carrying case as promised.
After getting it set up with all the software I want (took about 2-3 hours) I was simply amazed. Cyberpower has really proven themselves to me again with this laptop.
So far, there are 0 problems. Not even one dead pixel on the LCD.
I was also pleasantly suprised that it has S-Video IN as well as OUT, so I should be able to import old analog video material in here. At least the set up instructions claim that is an IN port, I am yet to test it.
The Screen
While the screen is not the new brightview technology that many new laptops offer it is quite stunning none the less. Very good quality for an LCD, and personally I don't like the new brightview anyway as it causes glare - which to me defies the purpose of having an LCD.
The 15.4" Widescreen is just the right size for a laptop that I intend to use as a desktop replacement. It is not too small, it is also not too big as to become unportable.
The 1680x1050 resolution is a mixed bag however. It is a higher resolution than most other companies offer on 15.4" (the standards for a 15.4" Widescreen seem to be 1280x800 or 1440x900). There is good reason why companies don't offer such fine resolution: everything is tiny.
While it was a niusance at first, and made me almost doubt my purchase, after several hours I have gotten used to it (now when I look at 1280x1024 on my old computer it seems gigantic to me!).
So while it is harder by a bit to read text and stuff at first, the benefits become obvious with heavier use. I am able to keep my Trillian as a side panel viewable at all times without sacrificing any work area. I can view large photoshop documents without having to zoom out as well.
With Microsoft Office I can keep my Trillian open as well as the Office sidebar and still view an entire document.
Another benefit is I can fit about 8 programs open on the taskbar without Windows grouping them! And also I don't have to hide as many icons in the system tray.
I am very pleased now and the resolution is really starting to grow on me.
The Speed
1.8Ghz Pentium M is equivalent to about 2.8-3.0Ghz Pentium 4, and yes, it is very fast. I am very satisified with the speed. 1GB of RAM really adds to it as well (my old computer had 512MB). I can keep a lot of programs open without it slowing down at all, and also things load faster. Basically, it is a very good amount of RAM.
Speedwise, this thing is totally rocking.
The Features
It came with an 8x DVD burner, which I haven't tried burning on yet but have used to install apps from. The drive itself seems to be a bit delicate, and the eject button is positioned in a weird spot where I have a hard time finding it without running my finger accross the side of the computer. A minor nuisance, but they could've included something that would have an easier to find eject button!
The memory card reader is great, very fast, I copied over 1GB from my SD Card in less than 10 minutes or so (wasn't timing), which is a very good speed for a memory card reader.
USB 2.0 is very fast as well, I was able to transfer some of my files from my desktop over here very quickly.
I have not had a chance to try out the s-video in or out yet. I also don't have any firewire devices so that hasn't been tried either, though the laptop has 1 firewire port built in.
Battery Life
Calculating for about 30 minutes how fast it was draining, the battery life seems to be about 2:15 minutes under pretty regular to heavy use. One thing that is bringing that number down is the fact was downloading to my hard drive the whole time during this test (which probably deducted a good amount from the battery life).
Also WiFi is on the whole time, which is also another battery drainer (in my PDA it cuts battery life from 6 hours to 2 hours, so I imagine even on the laptop it takes away maybe another 1/2 hour to 40 mins).
The battery I ordered, which is I believe 8 or 9 cell, is supposed to last about 4 hours, though the laptop specificaition said 5 hours.
Based on my current usage however it looks like it probably won't ever get past 3 hours or just over 3 hours (maybe like 3:15 or so tops).
That is pretty good battery life for a laptop none the less, though a bit disappointing as I was really hoping to get at least 4:25 or something. The Inspiron 6000 I mentioned earlier which comes closest to this laptop in specs (though definitley not price!) gets about 3 hours battery life maxmimum according to a review I read, so this Cyberpower is about on par.
Definitley better than my old Toshiba laptop that got about 1:30 with wifi on and in use, and better than some Pentium 4 Desktop Replacements that get about 1:40 maximum.
Video Performance
In theory, the ATI Radeon 9700 PRO should get pretty good frame rates, especially with 256MB of dedicated video RAM. I haven't had a chance to install any graphic intensive games yet, though I will soon.
This is probably one of the best laptop cards available for this price range. I am amazed at how many laptops ship with crap cards like the ATI 9000 IGP or GeForce Go5200, which are both old cards.
There are some high end laptops that have GeForce 6800, but we're talking a much larger price range.
So as far as video goes, this is one of the best cards I've seen in this class of laptops.
Final Words
I am very pleased with my purchase. I've saved hundreds of dollars by going with cyberpower - again - and they have as I've stated earlier proven themselves to me again. The only disappointments so far are the CD drive's eject button/design and the battery life (which is still pretty good just not as good as I hoped).
I would definitley buy from them again. Their website again is www.cyberpowersystem.com .
I know this laptop will serve me well for the next couple of years. It is going to be my desktop replacement, meaning this will be my main system. I gave my old desktop I used until today to my brother, and I am going to take his eMachines to keep in my room mostly for decoration and possibly for occasional use.
So yeah, my conclusion is that this is one of the best purchases anyone can get as far as laptops go.
Two thumbs up.