Recent content by Thecla

Except that's a notebook with the desktop version of the core i7 ---personally, I think that's little short of insanity. Mobile core i7 notebooks only just came out e.g. http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5272 Edit: though looks like sager is coming out with mobile core i7's...

Heh, this exact same review was posted over at notebookreview.com, also as a first post by the new user bbanddog. The thread was subsequently deleted by the mods because it appeared to be false advertizing by AVA Direct. If you're out there Bill B, can you say anything to convince us you're not...

While Cyberpower might work out, they don't have the best reputation for quality or reliability. I'd recommend something like a Sager NP8662 (15.4", from $1350) or an NP5797 (17" from $1738) from here (or another reputable reseller) http://www.xoticpc.com/index.html

I have no axe to grind with AVA one way or the other, but I do find the rebuttal from dms1956 (with no apparent previous presence on RR) that immediately popped up in that thread... ...just slightly suspicious. :)

I don't know what you should get for your purposes, but I doubt that a Dell 730X designed for gaming is your best choice. You could contact some custom builders, like Puget and Maingear, to see what they can do --- even if they aren't able to meet your budget, it should give you an idea of...

Not ones I took myself. But Puget sends you some photos of your computer once its built and before it's shipped (another nice touch). Here's a few of mine: Wiring http://www.pugetsystems.com/pic_disp.php?bid=13299 Thermal image under load...

I recently bought an i7 desktop from Puget. I was also looking at Maingear, but I went with Puget mostly because: (a) they're west coast, which was a significant plus for me; (b) I liked their "style," whatever that means (detailed easy configurator, high quality parts carefully selected, with...

You might look at the Dell (or HP, Lenovo) outlets for cheap laptops that come with a warranty.

There's a new netbook buyers guide here http://www.notebookreview.com/resource/netbook/

That was fun to read --- guess the deleted posts must've been even more entertaining. ;)

Well, Rahul Sood had a column in last month's Computer Power User magazine predicting the demise, or radical reinvention, of gaming-pc companies. The beginning is here...

I'm not suggesting any criminal intent on the part of anyone. (For instance, I don't think Flagship studios was criminal when they went belly up on Hellgate:London; utterly incompetent, maybe, but not criminal). But if a small company folds (small businesses close down all the time, often with...

Just my opinion, and not about any specific company, but I wouldn't buy an expensive computer from any very small company that doesn't have a long-term track record. The worst case scenario isn't just that there's no one to service your warranty, but that you end up paying for a defective...

Ah, I'd wondered what case MainGear used in the F131. (One of the things I like about Puget is they tell you exactly what parts they're using.) It looks like MG's default windowless case is the Silverstone TJ09 ($290 at newegg) whereas Puget defaults to an Antex P182 ($170 at newegg) on their...

I'd done this, in fact. I'd say that a mid-range Falcon Mach V still tends to come out a little more than a comparible Puget machine when you really try to match them component by component, but basically they cost about the same, which is quite a bit. Of course, a luxurious Falcon Mach V...