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I thought System76 were just like Sager - a reseller of Clevo systems :
LPC Digital, reseller
xoticPC, reseller

I clicked the "Customize" button on that page, you can only select a 1920x1080 screen.

The page I looked at, http://www.sagernotebook.com/V... shows all notebooks come with FHD screens.

Then you're not really looking, or you're trolling.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/Notebook-NP8652-S.html

I will second Sager, I have been very pleased with my Sager NP8255-S (aka Clevo P157SM). I is going into its 2nd year now. I ended up choosing the Sager because:
1. strong i7 cpu
2. up to 32gb ram
3. supports four hard drives
Actually "four hard drives" for this model means 2 x 2.5" and 2 x m2 slots. Which is huge, compared to the alleged mainstream performance workstations like Dell's Precision line or HP's z-books or Lenovo's W-series.
I'm running 3 x 400gb ssds in a raid 0 and I find that disk-intensive workloads are pleasingly fast.
I am getting the following in PassMark's Performance Test 8.0:
overall disk score: 5,558
seq read: 715 MB/sec
seq write: 523 MB/sec
random rw: 300 MB/sec
(just for the record, I run regular backups because because of the potential fragility of raid-0).
Why not a 4-drive raid? I figured I'd save a 2.5" slot for a multi-terabyte disk some day for on-board archives once I fill up the ssd's. (And I still have the optical bay to drop a caddy in if I need more storage).
Until 8x pcie ssd devices are available in laptops, raiding SATA together seems like the best way to boost lugable disk performance.
It loosk like the NP9752-S is the current model of this machine.


Now... if if you're looking for insane power in a laptop form factor, take a look at Eurocom's Panther.
If you really need crazy CPU cycles, this seems like a good choice:
PassMark for xeon E5-2687W v2

Here are the specs; I didn't go with the Panther because the cost-curve didn't work for me (money actually is an object in my case).
All-in-One Server with XEON 12-cores/24-threads, integrated display, keyboard and built in UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply)
WEIGHT/DIMENSIONS: 5.5kg (12.1lbs); 419(W)x286(D)x57.9-62.1(H)mm (16.76x11.44x2.31-2.48inch)
SECURITY: TPM 1.2; Fingerprint, Kensington Lock
OPERATING SYSTEMS: Microsoft: Server 2012, 2008R2; VMware, VMware ESXi; Linux; RedHat 6.4 Enterprise Server Edition
CORE LOGIC: Intel C600/X79 Express Chipset
PROCESSOR: 12-core, 10-core, 8-core and 6-core Intel XEON E5-2600 and E5-2600 v2 series; up to E5-2697 v2 (12-cores/24-threads); socket LGA2011
MEMORY: up to 32GB; DDR3-1333/1600/1866; four physical SODIMM sockets
EXPANSION: Built-in ExpressCard 34/54 slot (for optional Expansion box required for Dual/Quad Port or Fiber LAN Adapter for i.e. for VMware ESXi)
STORAGE: up to 8TB of storage with four physical HDD or SSD, RAID 0/1/5/10 support; SATA 6Gb/s
NETWORK:on-board 1Gbe LAN (Intel 82579V); 2nd or Dual-port LAN Adapter(s) available via ExpressCard slot or via external expansion Magma box
OPTICAL DRIVE BAY: DVD-RW or Blu Ray Burner or 4th Hard Drive
I/O PORTS: 3x USB 3.0; 2x USB 2.0; eSATA; Firewire-800 (TI XIO2221ZAY); DisplayPort v1.2; DVI-I (SL); HDMI 1.4a out w/HDCP; Headphone; Microphone; S/PDIF out; Line-in; RJ-45 / LAN

http://www.sagernotebook.com/h...

They've built for multiple companies at one time or another.

Their in-house systems tend to be beefy in the extreme and engineered right (powerful internal fans, rather than passive cooling).
Their desktop replacement are generally LOUDER than other laptops, but tend to have fewer problems overheating.

I'd call and talk with them about "Desktop Replacement" systems. And let them steer you towards what you're looking for.

Actually... I found 4 drive slots in a Sager NP8255-S with 2 x 2.5" (spinning or ssd), and 2 x msata (ssd only).
(And... if one drops the optical drive for a sata caddy then it should handle 5 drives.)
I looked long and hard for laptops that could handle more than 2 drives; they're kind of rare these days.
I'm finding raid-0 (multiple SSD's) to be pretty peppy (yeah, I back up early and often :-) ).
Also, being able to go up to 32gb of ram is kind of nice.
I've been pleased with it thus far (going into month #4 now).
Looks like that exact model isn't in production now, but this will get you close: NP8258.

Anyway, most laptops (and essentially *all* ultrabooks) are single drive machines; which works perfectly fine for probably 95% of laptop users. I realize I'm an edge case (in more ways than one :-) ).

I'm with this guy. Get the laptop sufficiently loaded in the first place so you don't have to find parts to add to it to keep it going. Also check out Sager I got one around last Christmas with 2 hard drives and 16GB ram when most Dells only had the option to come with 8GB (and for a hefty price). Don't get me wrong I like Dells, but I wanted 16 gigs and wasn't willing to chop my leg off for it. It runs windows 7 on one drive and multiple flavors of linux on the other.

I know you're not serious but I design and virtualize flight simulation software for full motion flight simulators on these. I've also designed large scale environments for combat simulation (and ran it) on them too. One of those plus a Pelican case (with a carry trolley, these things are heavy) and you're set... if you have the cash :)

First off, FUCK BUYING OFF THE SHELF SYSTEMS! All these brick and mortars are going to do is sell you a craptastic system at an inflated price. And of COURSE all they'll sell you is Windows 8.

Dell

HP

Lenovo

Toshiba

Samsung

Sony

Sager You can still order their products with Win7. The configuration app gives you the option.

MSI MSI laptops still come with Win7. There's a push for Win8, but they come with Win7 by default.

Acer still sells Win7 laptops (just no way on the web to filter for them, so I can't provide a definitive link).

That should be enough to get you started.

I'm a notebook fan - need the portability for various reasons - and have bought from a few places.

If you want Windows, try Velocity Micro http://www.velocitymicro.com/ and look into their NoteMagix line. I just checked and you can pick between various Windows 7 and 8 flavors.

Or perhaps Sager Notebooks http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.php I bought a gaming notebook from them 3 years ago and it is still going strong (although I upgraded it to Windows 8 and swapped the HD for an SSD since then).

Or try System76, I bought a linux notebook from them and was happy with it. http://www.system76.com/

For example, this1080p 15.6" model. I had never heard of them, but a friend ordered one recently and, wow, I was really impressed with the build quality. They keyboard itself is excellent and has a feel similar to mechanical switches. To top it off, the prices are really competitive. They're pitched as "gaming notebooks," but don't let that stop you. I'd use these for business in a heartbeat and, who knows, you might get some gaming in on the side.

Even if we wanted to exclude notebooks with desktop CPUs, there's always the high-end systems like the Sager NP8170.

Not to mention that you can't look at notebooks without tripping over a GPU more powerful than the 6750M, and a 5400RPM drive in a $2200 notebook is just appalling.

Google has patents on the built-in battery design, "but I think we'd be willing to license them to vendors," Hoelzle said.

Oh, so it's $FOO, but in a server.

Running computers on batteries? It got a patent?

I think there is a good bit of prior art if only one knows where to look.

I mean, really. This is a good idea, and it's about darn time a large-form-factor motherboard running on low voltage is available, but IMHO this should not be patentable. It's simply designing around a low-voltage input.

Max out out this one http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=29175&action=customize/ for a bargain luggable Workstation

A gaming laptop review without reviewing one from Sager?

Ridiculous. I love my Sager, and the company is great.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/

Yes, but not for Dell/Alienware laptops.

Dell & Alienware use a proprietary formfactor which is not generally available elsewhere.

I already paid 300% of what I should have on a GPU upgrade from Dell. Not only was the process thoroughly frustrating and overpriced, but my laptop just barely gets by with the approved Dell upgrade.

I was looking in this thread for vendor recommendations, but sadly I don't see any. So here are mine: (DISCLAIMER: I currently own a Dell. I am not a professional tech writer and do not have resources available to actually try out these products)

Sager Notebook - http://www.sagernotebook.com/default.php
Clevo is the first name I see tossed around most often and Sager seems to be a good reseller. They let slip some 8800M talk a while back, but haven't had an 8800M laptop ready to go yet. I think they might make a good platform for an SLI laptop gaming rig.

VoodooPC - http://www.voodoopc.com/system/Notebook.aspx
I read some celebrity interview and this is what they used. Checking out the specs they look good, if overpriced.

There are several places on the net that sell SAGER LapTops...
These are MONSTER Machines...
DURABLE, RELIABLE, PACKED WITH EVERYTHING...

The only drawback is, they are expensive...

http://www.sagernotebook.com/default.php
(machine packed with everything - and I do mean EVERYTHING) $4814.00

Sager or any other fine Clevo-designed laptop. It's offered that which you seek for years.

You should have bought a sager. http://sagernotebook.com./ That's all alienware notebooks are, with a paint job. And their customer support is nice and responsive. 1 year warranty, etc.

But I thought Alienware has always been repackaged overpriced Sager notebooks? The just slap a coat of paint on, then charge another $400 for their "value added" service.

For example: http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/AMD_systems.htm l
This system is $3,229.00 before customization

The equivalent Alienware notebook w/ a different paint scheme:
$4,499.00

Sweet Jesus! I'm in the wrong business if I can repaint a notebook and sell it for an additional $1270 bucks!

Okay, lemme hold my excitement and see the specs for the difference:
Windows Home edition vs media edition
Whoa! The video actually has *less* memory than the Sager!
80G vs 120G hard disk
And you're missing a bluetooth adapter that the sager has too!

So you actually get LESS machine for $1270 more! Balancing out the hard disk only makes the Sager $3304, or $75 more expensive.

Okay, I'm in! Anyone interested in buying this notebook, send me your money and I'll sell you a custom airbushed *cough* notebook. Free shipping!

But I thought Alienware has always been repackaged overpriced Sager notebooks? The just slap a coat of paint on, then charge another $400 for their "value added" service.

For example: http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/AMD_systems.htm l
This system is $3,229.00 before customization

The equivalent Alienware notebook w/ a different paint scheme:
$4,499.00

Sweet Jesus! I'm in the wrong business if I can repaint a notebook and sell it for an additional $1270 bucks!

Okay, lemme hold my excitement and see the specs for the difference:
Windows Home edition vs media edition
Whoa! The video actually has *less* memory than the Sager!
80G vs 120G hard disk
And you're missing a bluetooth adapter that the sager has too!

So you actually get LESS machine for $1270 more! Balancing out the hard disk only makes the Sager $3304, or $75 more expensive.

Okay, I'm in! Anyone interested in buying this notebook, send me your money and I'll sell you a custom airbushed *cough* notebook. Free shipping!

This is not a first review, and this laptop is not manufactured by Alienware. This laptop is really a Clevo M590K, rebranded as Alienware. It's also avalable from a lot of other reseller like Sager, Voodoo PC etc. For ages Alienware was trying to get credit for "reseach" a"design" of laptops of Clevo. All that it really doing is modifing the lids.

This is news? Sager has had this up for at least a week now and they have all the features this 'will have by mid-January' already listed.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/notebooks/produ ct2.cfm?ProductType=9750&SubType=V

I bought one because I am in iraq, and a desktop makes no sense for me. I dont need it to be truly "portable" i just need something equivalent to a desktop that i can move if i need to easily.

But this seems to be a bit behind since http://www.sagernotebook.com/ already has the exact same DTR in the same Clevo 900 chasis that has the 7800GTX mobile ver.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/go_np9750.html

Hardware RAID, 2 CD-ROM drive bays, TV Tuner (optional), subwoofer, DVI, remote control, the works. And all in a compact 12.5 pound package! Ok, it is big but won't blind your eyes like the one above.

For even more money, it's also sold as the voodoo envy and the alienware something-or-other. Sager/Widow/Voodoo/Alien all resell the same platform (the Clevo 900T), differing only in cost and extra case flash. Note that Clevo is also producing the 900K, which Athlon64 based, so most of the vendors will soon be offering that product as well.

Disclaimer: I'm the reasonably happy owner of a 9880 that I use for OpenGL research and the occasional Battlefield 2 game.

Eh, hinges on your definition of huge, noisy, and hot. I own one, or at least one based from the same model. It's more quiet than the desktops next to me during normal use, really.
It's louder than your average notebook, and definitely heavier (Mine weighs in at 11 lbs.) but it's not too bad when you counterbalance what you get out of having it. It's hot compared to desktops, but compared to competing P4 laptops, especially the Dell P4 laptops (The 8000 series) this thing is on ice. Mine is idling at 41c at the moment, and it maxes out at 60c, where the fans will throttle and run it back down to 50 or 40, depending on the temperature of the room you're in. Contrasting this with my friend's vaio, which idles at 50-60c and gets close to 70c before it starts chopping out, and my friend's inspiron 1150 (a far unfair comparison, but we're talking processors here,) which he runs with a box fan under it to keep his celeron cool, my D900T is fairly cool.

Concerning small laptops, perhaps the other clevo notebooks, such as sager's NP5720or an NP3880 would be more up your alley? (Note the prices shown are direct from sager, who usually sells through resellers, so those prices are higher than you'd actually buy for. try buying from places like PCTorque or DiscountNotebooks if you want to actually buy a sager notebook.)
Clevo designed the d900T for a very narrow market. My friends have commented that they too would probably be happier with a laptop that was thinner and perhaps less powerful rather than something like mine, which is all a matter of taste. The people this notebook caters to are the people who need a high performance notebook capable of matching up with high end desktops while still maintaining the form factor that makes it feasable to transport with you. (And this notebook does match desktops, in everything other than hard drive space, thanks to the 2.5in form factor. However, the D900T does have a RAID controller supporting RAID 0 and RAID 1 with two hard drives, and supports SATA drives as well.)
The laptop supports most all high end moble graphics cards, from the vanilla 6800go and mobilityX800 to the 7800GTXgo and the quadroFX1400go(for people doing 3D intensive 3D modeling, rather than gaming.)
Obviously, this laptop doesn't seem to be quite what you want, which is fine, but if you want a powerful notebook that can match up with high-end desktops, you're looking at it. Or at least it's older sibling. The newest clevo notebook, the D900k or NP9750, is based off of the same chasis, but with an AMD socket 939 motherboard, which of course means compatibility up to the FX-57 and a64x24800+, which will put a new performance crown up for notebooks when it's released.

But like I said, if performance and power aren't *CRUCIAL* to you, then you'd probably be happier with a lower-priced and lower-powered and lower-weighted mid-range notebook, such as dell's inspiron 9300 or the above-noted sager NP5720 and NP3880. Notebooks are a strange thing, because everyone has something they look for in them. Finding what someone likes in their notebooks is half of getting to know them for me.
Oh, and as a last note, I own this notebook and do have a girlfriend. The end IS nigh.

Eh, hinges on your definition of huge, noisy, and hot. I own one, or at least one based from the same model. It's more quiet than the desktops next to me during normal use, really.
It's louder than your average notebook, and definitely heavier (Mine weighs in at 11 lbs.) but it's not too bad when you counterbalance what you get out of having it. It's hot compared to desktops, but compared to competing P4 laptops, especially the Dell P4 laptops (The 8000 series) this thing is on ice. Mine is idling at 41c at the moment, and it maxes out at 60c, where the fans will throttle and run it back down to 50 or 40, depending on the temperature of the room you're in. Contrasting this with my friend's vaio, which idles at 50-60c and gets close to 70c before it starts chopping out, and my friend's inspiron 1150 (a far unfair comparison, but we're talking processors here,) which he runs with a box fan under it to keep his celeron cool, my D900T is fairly cool.

Concerning small laptops, perhaps the other clevo notebooks, such as sager's NP5720or an NP3880 would be more up your alley? (Note the prices shown are direct from sager, who usually sells through resellers, so those prices are higher than you'd actually buy for. try buying from places like PCTorque or DiscountNotebooks if you want to actually buy a sager notebook.)
Clevo designed the d900T for a very narrow market. My friends have commented that they too would probably be happier with a laptop that was thinner and perhaps less powerful rather than something like mine, which is all a matter of taste. The people this notebook caters to are the people who need a high performance notebook capable of matching up with high end desktops while still maintaining the form factor that makes it feasable to transport with you. (And this notebook does match desktops, in everything other than hard drive space, thanks to the 2.5in form factor. However, the D900T does have a RAID controller supporting RAID 0 and RAID 1 with two hard drives, and supports SATA drives as well.)
The laptop supports most all high end moble graphics cards, from the vanilla 6800go and mobilityX800 to the 7800GTXgo and the quadroFX1400go(for people doing 3D intensive 3D modeling, rather than gaming.)
Obviously, this laptop doesn't seem to be quite what you want, which is fine, but if you want a powerful notebook that can match up with high-end desktops, you're looking at it. Or at least it's older sibling. The newest clevo notebook, the D900k or NP9750, is based off of the same chasis, but with an AMD socket 939 motherboard, which of course means compatibility up to the FX-57 and a64x24800+, which will put a new performance crown up for notebooks when it's released.

But like I said, if performance and power aren't *CRUCIAL* to you, then you'd probably be happier with a lower-priced and lower-powered and lower-weighted mid-range notebook, such as dell's inspiron 9300 or the above-noted sager NP5720 and NP3880. Notebooks are a strange thing, because everyone has something they look for in them. Finding what someone likes in their notebooks is half of getting to know them for me.
Oh, and as a last note, I own this notebook and do have a girlfriend. The end IS nigh.

Eh, hinges on your definition of huge, noisy, and hot. I own one, or at least one based from the same model. It's more quiet than the desktops next to me during normal use, really.
It's louder than your average notebook, and definitely heavier (Mine weighs in at 11 lbs.) but it's not too bad when you counterbalance what you get out of having it. It's hot compared to desktops, but compared to competing P4 laptops, especially the Dell P4 laptops (The 8000 series) this thing is on ice. Mine is idling at 41c at the moment, and it maxes out at 60c, where the fans will throttle and run it back down to 50 or 40, depending on the temperature of the room you're in. Contrasting this with my friend's vaio, which idles at 50-60c and gets close to 70c before it starts chopping out, and my friend's inspiron 1150 (a far unfair comparison, but we're talking processors here,) which he runs with a box fan under it to keep his celeron cool, my D900T is fairly cool.

Concerning small laptops, perhaps the other clevo notebooks, such as sager's NP5720or an NP3880 would be more up your alley? (Note the prices shown are direct from sager, who usually sells through resellers, so those prices are higher than you'd actually buy for. try buying from places like PCTorque or DiscountNotebooks if you want to actually buy a sager notebook.)
Clevo designed the d900T for a very narrow market. My friends have commented that they too would probably be happier with a laptop that was thinner and perhaps less powerful rather than something like mine, which is all a matter of taste. The people this notebook caters to are the people who need a high performance notebook capable of matching up with high end desktops while still maintaining the form factor that makes it feasable to transport with you. (And this notebook does match desktops, in everything other than hard drive space, thanks to the 2.5in form factor. However, the D900T does have a RAID controller supporting RAID 0 and RAID 1 with two hard drives, and supports SATA drives as well.)
The laptop supports most all high end moble graphics cards, from the vanilla 6800go and mobilityX800 to the 7800GTXgo and the quadroFX1400go(for people doing 3D intensive 3D modeling, rather than gaming.)
Obviously, this laptop doesn't seem to be quite what you want, which is fine, but if you want a powerful notebook that can match up with high-end desktops, you're looking at it. Or at least it's older sibling. The newest clevo notebook, the D900k or NP9750, is based off of the same chasis, but with an AMD socket 939 motherboard, which of course means compatibility up to the FX-57 and a64x24800+, which will put a new performance crown up for notebooks when it's released.

But like I said, if performance and power aren't *CRUCIAL* to you, then you'd probably be happier with a lower-priced and lower-powered and lower-weighted mid-range notebook, such as dell's inspiron 9300 or the above-noted sager NP5720 and NP3880. Notebooks are a strange thing, because everyone has something they look for in them. Finding what someone likes in their notebooks is half of getting to know them for me.
Oh, and as a last note, I own this notebook and do have a girlfriend. The end IS nigh.

I believe Sagar is the actual manufacturer.

http://www.sagernotebook.com/index.html

I've had one since May and have had no issues. From what I've read though, don't put too much in em (drive wise), else it gets a little stuffy in there and'll overheat. I have had no issues overheating (although some people do) even at E3 with the power was shut off and we had no AC in our hot ass room. Just keep it on a clean table with space and you'll be fine.

At Sager:

http://www.sagernotebook.com/pages/web_specials.ht ml

At PCTorque:

http://www.pctorque.com/sager-laptops.php

A sample desktop screenshot, wsxga:

http://public.fotki.com/Marspoet/desktops/windowma ker02.html

Place where people talk about them:

http://www.notebookforums.com/

For years now Sager has made laptops that have had RAID 0 and 1 options through a hardware RAID controller. Yes, it eats battery life like no other, but I don't see how this is a big advancement.

I Don't remember. It was for the wife to replace a very overused workhorse Compaq laptop. That compaq is still in use today by my Son. Seems to me that it was around $2,000 at the time. They start on page here

I think I would start with the NP4750-V and go from there. I think my wife's machine has a 2400+ in it. It even runs XP fast. I had trouble with FC-1 64 bit (not as much stuff for it, some errors) so I loaded the 32 bit version and it worked fine. I haven't tried a later version yet. My wife uses it to the point I can't get it away from her for very long. The way I would get it, it is $2265 (64 3700+ woo hoo!). My desktop machines are lasting about 5 years now before I want to replace them.

The only thing I'm concerned about is the heat. Both in laptops and desktops. Make sure that if you do use a laptop on your lap, you are protected. It can start to cook what it rests on, and that may be a very sensitive part of you. I won't put mine on my lap directly. I have read that burns of this type really hurt. Like a good case of sunburn.

I'm thinking of getting a new system to replace my desktop and I'm seriously considering a laptop.

SAGER

The Sager notebook you linked to is a Pentium 4 (hence a battery hog), and looks like it's going to be their replacement for the Sager NP8790 high-end. If you check their website, it seems that you're paying at least twice what you'd pay for an iBook.

The PowerBook, on the other hand, offers 128MB Radeon 9700 graphics as a BTO option for, as I recall, $50 to upgrade. Oh, and it gets more than an hours of battery life, what with drawing 12 watts instead of 105 for the processor. Perhaps a more fair comparison is the Sager NP1280, with a lower screen size, a Pentium M for battery consumption, and (gasps of shock, all around) shared-memory Intel Extreme 2 graphics. At least it's only $400 more than the iBook, right?

The Sager notebook you linked to is a Pentium 4 (hence a battery hog), and looks like it's going to be their replacement for the Sager NP8790 high-end. If you check their website, it seems that you're paying at least twice what you'd pay for an iBook.

The PowerBook, on the other hand, offers 128MB Radeon 9700 graphics as a BTO option for, as I recall, $50 to upgrade. Oh, and it gets more than an hours of battery life, what with drawing 12 watts instead of 105 for the processor. Perhaps a more fair comparison is the Sager NP1280, with a lower screen size, a Pentium M for battery consumption, and (gasps of shock, all around) shared-memory Intel Extreme 2 graphics. At least it's only $400 more than the iBook, right?

The NP4790-C seems to be a good deal, and just under the $2000 you wanted to spend.

You might want to check out Sager.

Be warned though, these are more like "portable desktops" than laptops. These machines are HEAVY and don't have much of a batery life.

I've recently completed a moderate custom software project for a fully loaded Sager NP4780. I really didn't think they would go for it but I had to ask. All-in-all a $3000+ package.

I've also bartered for a number of developer software packages. I try to barter for something that will help me complete the project at hand. You're more likely to get what you ask for if you can spin it as a benifit to the project in addition to compensation.

Get yourself a Sager Notebook from PC Torque and save yourself a couple thousand dollars.

They used to sell one of Sager's notebooks for $500-600 more and call it their own simply because they spraypainted it grey and inserted an "Alienware" label where it used to say "Sager."

One of my friends spent $2600 on that Alienware and my other one spent $1999 on the equivalent Sager. Both of them ended up having problems after a year because the Sager has a badly designed cooling system.

The bottom line is, Alienware doesn't even pick good models to resell at high prices. I wouldn't trust their notebook. They need to find shitty manufacturers who will let them resell their notebook for a profit by putting a rubberized stupid-looking cover on the top of the LCD screen.

Not to mention that when I bought an Alienware desktop (this was like 5 years ago--that computer definitely didn't last me for life, kiddo), AW was a small company that actually had real tech support (i.e. my GeForce overheated and died, and when I called them they overnighted me a new one, no charge). Nowadays, they are just like every other tech support troupe--probably based out of India, but if not, just as bad.

Stay away... and please do your research.

coincidently i was looking at this monster yesterday - it's got a 3.4GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 256MG graphics card and a 60GB hard disk... external floppy drive though :) - almost $4K - ouch!

Tablet PCs seem to be going in this direction. Part Laptop, part Tablet. Since prices are dropping and screens are getting bigger, there's no sense NOT putting a laptop keyboard underneath one of these things.

A friend of mine recently bought a Sager 5680 and it's a beautiful desktop replacement. Not only does it run circles around every other one of our friends' desktops, but it was considerably cheaper than the equivalent Alienware. The truly amazing thing was that we found a picture of an Alienware in an issue of Maxim when they did a laptop comparison, and it was exactly the same machine as the Sager! (From what I understand, they use the same manufacturer.) The sole advantage to an Alienware is the ability to swap out video cards, something pretty much exclusive to them I believe.

So the appropriate answer to Mac Halo's problems is a free and open beta test and/or "shareware" release, ala Doom, Quake, etc. Give people the engine and a couple of levels, and maybe multiplayer play and see what happens?

Now that I think about it, I wonder if id will do that for Doom III.

<MINIRANT>
Also, I wouldn't have expected any laptop made a year ago to support games released recently. That's the nature of the machine, unfortunately, as far as laptops go, unless they're one of those hacked-together beasts that use desktop components.
</MINIRANT>

So the appropriate answer to Mac Halo's problems is a free and open beta test and/or "shareware" release, ala Doom, Quake, etc. Give people the engine and a couple of levels, and maybe multiplayer play and see what happens?

Now that I think about it, I wonder if id will do that for Doom III.

<MINIRANT>
Also, I wouldn't have expected any laptop made a year ago to support games released recently. That's the nature of the machine, unfortunately, as far as laptops go, unless they're one of those hacked-together beasts that use desktop components.
</MINIRANT>

Just a sidenote, but that bit caught my attention. Especially since Sager seems to disagree. Not a big brand, to be sure. But they did hit the sub-$1000 price point first. C3-based (1GHz), which won't exactly amaze. It has been out of stock for a while, unfortunately.

Holy shit, your "laptop" weighs 12 pounds and is 2 inches thick!!!!

That's not a freaking laptop! It's a freaking desktop, LITERALLY! No wonder the weight/size specs are buried 3 pages deep way down in a chart here.

There is NO MENTION of battery life. What does it get? 15 minutes?

Meanwhile the powerbook 15" weighs less than 6 pounds, and is an inch thick.

Do you walk with your laptop?

Even as a proud owner of an Inspiron 8000, the Sager NP8890 is an obscene notebook. RAID? TV Tuner? 12 lbs?! Might as well be SMP (it does have HT). I don't see the point of a battery in that sucker, whats the point besides as a builtin UPS.

oh, and if you really want power(and basically no mobility) check out the sager 8890 V. Have you ever seen a laptop with a radeon 9600 pro 128mb? its a beast.