Amilo 3438g..any other users?

I have just bought a new laptop through work basically as a desktop replacement, roughly £800 brand new. Just wondering if anyone else has the same, and what do they think of it??

My specs:

Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology with: Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2MB L2 cache, 2.0GHz, 533MHz) Intel® 915 Chipset, Intel® PRO Wireless 2200 LAN 802.11g
• Windows® XP Home Edition
• 1024Mb DDR II RAM
• 80Gb SATA Hard Drive
• DVD-ROM and Multi-Format Dual Layer DVD±RW Combo Drive
• 17” TFT WXGA+ Widescreen Crystal View Hi-Bright Display (1440 x 900 pixels)
• 256Mb nVidia GeForce GO 6800 graphics card
• Integrated speakers, subwoofer, 16 bit sound, mic. in port

 

(Sorry just in case..).....its a Fujitsu

 

I've had it for a few months. The machine's great, just buy a gig of extra RAM

 

Is this easy to do? worth it?.....have you done this yourself?

 

Hi

I just got a Fujitsu through work and saved about 50% on the retail price.

Got a 3438G top spec, 3 yr warranty....kin excellent.

17" crystal view
dedicated nvidia 256mb graphic card
1024mb ran
Wireless enabled
DVD rewriter
160gb hard drive

basically everything top notch.

I pay £27.02 a month for this over three years (£972.02 in total)

If I bought this retail over 3 yrs would be at least £1900.00 (before the warranty)


Saved all the VAT, National Insurance and Vat on it, and can pay over 3 years...real bargain.

We used a company called shc, www.simplyhomecomputers.co.uk

They actually chrged less than we could buy direct from Fujitsu, and spec for spec are cheaper than Dell!!!!

It is called The Home Computer Initiative and is a government scheme to encourage more people to use computers at home.

If you are thinking of buying a computer, see if your employer will run this scheme......you save a FORTUNE !!!!!!

 

Hi, I have had an Amilo 3438g since November so I have had plenty of time to use it and try it out.

The spec is:
Pentium M 750 1.86ghz,
1024mb RAM,
100gb HDD,
All the other specs are standard 3438 specs that apply throughout the range.

I spent 3 months researching this purchase, and it was the cheapest laptop I could find at this power level at the time.... of course prices promptly dropped after I bought it but u have to be prepared for that with the computer industry!

I am on my third 3438G now... the first one I bought had a dead pixel on the screen, so the guy in the shop swapped it for me the next day.

The second one I had for 2 weeks, and the hard drive decided it didnt want to spin anymore... so I had to bring that one back too! Luckily, they changed that for me in the shop straight away too, and also lucky that it was only new so I hadn't lost that much work. I heard about a friend of a friend who has had the same problem with the exact same laptop TWICE! So be prepared and make sure you have everything backed up!

After these initial troubles, my confidence in this purchase was considerably depleted, and has been slow to recover, to be honest.

Ok before I start, I have to complement the machine on its power... I have never had a lack of power with this. I do a lot of photoshop and 3d modelling work, and it flies through every task you throw at it. It is a very productive and powerful machine I have to say. Except for gaming... One of the reasons I bought it is due to the 256mb graphics card... but I have realised this is meaningless in a laptop. I tried Doom 3 on it and it would not run smoothly on anything higher than the lowest graphics settings.

I bought this laptop somewhat in haste, as I was badly in need of one, and the reviews were good, as was the price, (and the Acer 8104wlmi and Asus W2v, which I would have given my right arm for were just that bit too far out of my price range)... but there are a few serious problems with this machine.

First of all, I find the quality pretty shabby for a machine of this price range... The plastics used are horribly cheap and flimsy; I can physically flex the entire machine. The section below the mouse buttons can be moved considerably. There is a nasty rattle on the keyboard just by the arrow keys, and the usb ports and connections move and flex a lot, like they are glued onto the motherboard with gum! It also scratches very eaasily, and a small hairline crack has formed just next to the microphone, for no reason at all - I have minded this thing like a baby since I got it! I have a feeling it was caused due to the excessive heating and cooling of the case... which leads me onto the next problem.

This machine gets hot! I mean uncomfortably hot, and it is centred mainly around the touchpad and wrist-rest too. I am typing this now and my wrists are sweating! At first I thought this was due to the heat dissapation of the centrino, but I have used other centrino laptops, and they dont get hot at all. The bottom gets dangerously hot too... just to feel a table after you have been using the laptop for a while on it.

Features wise, this laptop is seriously weak too for its price. I feel I have paid for stuff like RAID capability, which I dont see myself ever using. I have seen a 17" Acer for cheaper than this, with better specs, a tv tuner, bluetooth and every other imaginable feature, sitting beside the 3438G in a shop, for €200 less! The fact that this computer does not have bluetooth, or even infra-red (it has infra red for the **** remote, but not for data transfer) in this day and age is a crime!

Battery life is terrible too, I have never got more than 2 hours out of this, at lowest screen brightness. I have friends with Pentium 4 dinosaurs that can get 3 hours out of their machines at full power!

This post has been a bit of a rant about how bad this computer is... but i felt it was about time that I signed up to this website and let it all out... because just right now, for no apparant reason at all, the volume wheel on the front left corner has just decided to pack up on me! It has just come loose and gone inside my machine... the laptop hasnt been dropped... I havent been hitting it... there was no reason!!! I am so disappointed with the quality of this laptop, especially for the price I paid.

So to sum up on all this for anybody who is thinking of buying one, if you can get it for a good price, and you dont see yourself using infra-red or bluetooth or a tv tuner, go for it. But only if you get a good price! I think almost all versions of this model now come with 2 hard drives, so make sure u get two hard drives, and dont end up paying too much for one with a single hard drive. I basically paid extra for Fujitsu to provide an empty space in my machine. Also, be prepared for problems.. as build quality is shabby, and problems like hard drive failure are far too great of a possibility to ever feel fully comfortable and confident owning this machine.

 

Hi, The 3438G has been a let down completely. The writer of the previous thread has said basically everything. They wont let you use any of the latest video drivers and the drives below the keyboard get so hot. As for infrared - what a con. Fujitsu - stick to aircons! Siemens you made your name mud with this poorly put together el cheapo laptop.
I should know better too. Quality always costs less - not upfront, but longterm. the 3438G seemed like a very good buy at the pricepoint but a real let down. Am buying IBM soon. Goodbye Fujitsu Siemens

 

Hiya

First post, but here goes......In reply to the posts above, I've had this laptop for two months now and not had a single issue.

Nothing has gone wrong, I get 3 hours of usage (Whilst playing games), I also get 3.5 hours of DVD playback on the non-boot cinema mode.

Admitedly it does get a little warm, but only after 4-5 hours, otherwise it is no different from my old Advent laptop or my old man's Asus.

In terms of spec, mine is only the the 1.86, with 512 of ram and all the usual, but games run like a dream. I am currently playing Football Manager 2006, Tomb Raider Legends (Awesome graphics), Age of Empires III, Rome Total War, Doom 3 & Quake 4. Every single one runs like a dream with no issues.

I am going to upgrade my ram to a gig, but thats just to help it along a little more.

Overall I think its a superb machine, compared to the Asus maybe not, but I got this through my companies HCI scheme at a knockdown price so its well worth it in my view. I also got three years warranty so Im not overly concerned if something goes wrong.

If anyone asked if its worth getting, then yes, if the price is decent.

Sorry to hear the chaps above who have had issues.

Enough ranting.

Andy

 

Andy,

I have to say i am finding it very hard to believe what you are saying about your experience with this computer. No way am I saying that you are lying, but I would like to know how on earth are you getting such battery life - cos if you are doing something I have been missing to get better battery life, I'd like to know. For me, whether I am doing 3D modelling, or listening to music in boot cinema mode, I will still only get in or around 1.5 hours. And as for gaming, with Doom 3, it would only play on lowest quality mode - anything higher and the frame rate dropped to a jumpy mess. Have you done something with drivers? I have never managed to download drivers from the Fujitsu website - I have tried on a number of different high speed connections, and it has never worked.

cheers