FYI there’s a more recent, follow-up review
Recently I’ve gotten some decent freelance gigs plus acquired a windfall (not my “econstimcheck”) and have the ability to nurture my “big kid” side: gadgets and high end games. Within the space of nearly a week I went from playing a wii for the first time to getting one. And now in my sights are a new laptop. You’d think I’d be happy as a little girl. I am not.
First, some background. I’m cheap as fuck. Credit my immigrant mother. No purchase can proceed without research, no matter how small. Sunday mornings are for a cup of coffee and the sale section of the newspaper, methodically pouring over for deals. Items circled for the fantabulous savings, even if they aren’t necessary. I waste pen ink, not money.
And yet, here I am, right after freshly pulling the trigger on a $1300 laptop. A desktop replacement. And I have a desktop that doesn’t need replacing. Hours upon hours of web research, bleary-eyed 3am scanning 50+ page web forum threads. Due diligence indeed. Especially with the big ticket items. Said “ticket” is bigger than I’d anticipated. It’s like I went in for a econo-sport and came out with an SUV. A great deal on the thing. But still… that’s a ton of money, and as is the case with electronics, I’m likely going to buy MORE things to play on said gadget. Good money after bad?
UPDATE:
Anyway, deets on the newest addition:
Gateway P6831-FX.
The world doesn’t need more lovingly shot piccies of this lappy, so go look it up on notebookreview.com.
First, the “bad”:
-I, too, have the finicky webcam issue. It gets confused in lower light situations and the cam input goes dark. You need to maintain enough ambient light and keep the properties window open concurrently with the webcam viewer. Boo! Hopefully this is a software issue.
-I agree with other reviewers, the lcd’s viewing angles are subpar.
-I’ve read some claims that lcd has a “semi-gloss” coating. This is only matte compared to a mirror.
-Keys don’t feel as reassuringly firm as hp, the direction keys in particular. Worrisome.
-The function key is on the bottom left, squeezed next to the ctrl. Annoying, particularly because in my anim/design apts I’m all about the shortcuts.
-The copper-color paint for the number keys is impossible to read under low light conditions.
-The battery juts out ~.5″ from the back – doesn’t bug me none now, but I may be problematic when it comes to finding a laptop bag.
-Heavy. Mostly due to the vid-card, I assume.
The “good” (or caveats to the previous bad):
-I like the matte copper/black gloss/pseudo-carbon fiber design scheme. The large FX on the lid is a bit much, but it’s distinctive, and I feel no impulse to slap a skin on here to make it unique (or, in the case of the HP artist-edition, HIDEOUS)
-With the monitor brightness turned down, you can squeeze out 2+ hours of power from the battery. Granted that’s just web surfing, word processing, but that’s good enough for me, and frankly this things going to be plugged in 90% of the time.
- Good fan placement, no immediate need for a chill pad. No searingly hot spots on the keypad/palm rest during gameplay.
-Easy access to panels/layout that offers desktop level ease-of-upgrade w/ the having to do a full teardown.
-A full numberpad is awesome to have, obviously in the gaming context but also for work.
-It is hefty (hefty, hefty!), however, it’s I wouldn’t say it’s aesthetically “bulky” and it is seems thinner than comparable, overpriced gamer portables.
-The WXGA+ native res of 1440×900 much to my relief is more than adequate for my needs.
-None of the dell grainy screens (I went to staples to verify this often blogged complaint. Yes, it’s real, and it’s craptacular), decent image when you fiddle with your nvidia settings.
-Speaking of nvidia, sweet baby hey-sus, I quite enjoy my 8800. I had a 7600GT in my desktop box, so the upgrade from that (plus my admitted long absence from PC gaming) makes me a fricking kid in a damn costco-sized candy store.
So here I am, more saucer-eyed than an anime chic downing red bulls, wondering “what to buy? WHAT TO BUY?”
Specifically:
What games?
What case?
What mouse?
I’ll address those questions in weeks to come. What I will not do that I’m sure most new owners of this lappy will is bombard you with benchmarks, scores, overclocking horror stories and machismo bullshit about how badass my lan killer is. In otherwords, I’m not a 14 year old boy. Hahah, I kid. A little.
What I will say @ this point is that it works fast enough for my needs (CS3, some video editing/encoding/ 3D rendering to be tested later) AND my wants (running, gunning & grinning).
Tune in next time as I bitch about finding a bag for this behemoth.
