Portability and the P-7811FX

I'm seriously considering this notebook, however I'm wondering about the portability (or lack thereof).

I would like to take it to school with me (I live off campus) to do work in the library (where they have outlets) and in my off hours be able to play a game or watch a movie or something. I go to campus about 4 days out of the week.

I may go to the student union at times where they just have seats. Can it be used while placed on your lap and used (I'm not a small guy mind you)?

My campus is relatively large (depending on where your going) and may require a few walks up hills. However, I was already planning on doing this with a 6.5 lb notebook. Is 4 lbs really that much of an issue?

I know I've heard alot of people say that 17" is basically desktop replacement and should always be tethered to one spot. At most you can take it from one room to another.

But is this the case with this notebook? Is it truly unrealistic to use it away from home?

 

It's a little on the heavy side but so are any laptops that are this big. I will say that my previous laptop was a small Sony Vaio and although it was really light it had vents directly out the back and when the fan would kick on and blast really hot air on my leg. When I had shorts on it was impossible to keep it on my lap. With the 7811 it is very wide and the exhaust is out the left side so nothing directly hitting your body. Overall it does get warm doing average tasks. Not hot but warm on the bottom. Now if you're playing Unreal 3 in 1 in full resolution then I would imagine it will get really hot. Other than that, it is very comfortable in the lap unlike the Vaio where the feet would dig in to my leg. Granted, it's only be 5 days but so far I'm loving it. I'm here because I decided to down grade to 32bit Vista and had problems finding the drivers. This site was a savior. Good luck...Tbone

 

Thanks for the reply T-bone, I'm headed to Best Buy in 30 minutes to take a look at it myself but I was just looking for some last minute first hand opinions before I head out.

Have you any experience lugging it around?

 

I use to have an old Dell which was about the same weight and I have to admit, it kind of sucked. Racing through airports with it would be a pain. Then I got the Vaio and loved that it weighed nothing. Unfortunately, with small light weight you get significantly reduced performance and that was painful. So, I got a roller bag which has been great but I'm not sure if the 7811 will fit in it. I bought a neoprene sleave over the weekend at Circuit City which just fits it in hopes that I can jam it in the roller bag in the sleave. We'll see, I haven't tried yet. There are other cases for big laptops although I didn't find any at the Best Buy near me. Circuit City also had a decent one with a strap. It's a big laptop but there is nothing like that big 1920 x 1200 resolution screen to view multiple windows or have a movie playing. Sound seems decent as well. For the price I am pleased. They had an ASUS as well that was similar but not as good.

 

If you don't carry a lot of textbooks as well, I wouldn't think there'd be a problem. Yes, it's pretty heavy, especially if you're going to carry it around for an extended period, but it's not too bad. If you get a good sized bag that fits it, you shouldn't have a problem. I carry mine in a backpack style pack. I lug it around over one shoulder if I'm not carrying it far, but put the straps over both shoulders if I'm taking it over a good distance.

 

If you put it in a backpack you'll be all set

 

It is on the small side of 17 inch notebooks actually.

not heavy at all its ridiculously light.

?The battery life is very bad though that reduces its portability.

 

That's good to know. I was use to 4.2 lbs and the 7811 is 9.2 lbs so it caught me off guard but I guess I should be thankful it's not any more than that. It is a hell of a machine.

 

I used to take my vostro everywhere and its biogger then the FX. Granted I would rather have a 12in for that kind of use, but a 17in will be fine.

 

The battery sticking out of the back also makes it a bit more difficult (if not impossible on some) to slip into an existing backpack or laptop bag. The weight is manageable for a 17". Great machine, though.

 

Actually, I've found the battery life to be quite good if you set it to power saving mode. If you're doing work on it (excel, word, web, etc) and don't need the extra speed, you can get 3+ hours out of the battery.

Size-wise, if you're considering it, you can always just go to Best Buy and handle one. It's a big laptop, for sure though. I'd recommend it for normal around the house use, with occasional traveling. You might get tired of lugging it to school 4 days a week.

 

I highly recommend Targus CPT401DUS 17'' notebook bag. Honestly makes the notebook feel half as heavy.

 

or the slappa velocity matrix/spyder bags (both same bag, different designs) the 17" bag will fit the lappy with the battery plugged in and still have a bit of room to spare.

When i get the 7811 i might be getting it, or just a sleeve and using my existing backpack. I also am going to university soon, however il be in res on campus, and its a 10 min walk across campus for me

 

I regularly get close to 3 hours(sometimes more) with the screen at 68%, wifi on/bluetooth off while doing day to day things such as internet surfing, Office docs, etc. Battery life is actually pretty good for the power this thing harnesses.

 

lol I went and got the 7811FX pretty much right after I made my last post. was originally planning on getting the ASUS g50 but after hearing about the keyboard problems, and testing them for myself I decided against it.

I'm enjoying the 7811 so far - I'm having a weird problem with Crysis at the moment. I played it til the battery ran out and the notebook shut off, and when I plugged it back in and rebooted Crysis the screen was all red tinted and it looked like lights weren't getting processed properly. However, I'm trying not to panic and seeing if I can figure out the problem.


However, back on to the topic of it's portability - lol yeah it looked a lot smaller in Best Buy when I bought it. Soon as I put it into perspective with my other stuff it got a lot bigger lol

You guys said that a bookbag would be best... why not a messenger? not enough support? I figured that a bookbag would create even more weight?

They got this swiss bookbag at Best Buy that looked pretty good, but I'm still looking around before I commit to one bag.

 

I use a messenger, but I don't carry it very far. The bookbag distributes the weight more evenly across your back, instead of on your shoulder. Plus, with the right bag, it looks a lot less conspicuous.

 

rushtodeath gaming on the batteries is a bit sensitive, as not all batteries can actually supply the juice needed during intense gaming. check how it goes on AC

 

its on AC now (in fact problems came after I plugged it back into AC)... I've tried running a couple of other things to see if they had problems, but they run fine - its just Crysis... ATM im trying to uninstall/reinstall and see what happens.

 

Yea. I've noticed that Crysis effectively halves the frame rate when on batts(accidentally unplugged my power brick). I'm sure theres a setting somewhere, but I dont ever game on batt, so I dont really bother with it.

 

phew... reinstalling did the trick - scared me for a moment...

but yeah... don't think i'm gonna try crysis on batt again lol

 

Well I bought a bag for it already...the bag and the laptop should be in my hands soon hopefully - this is the bag I bought - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834995507

 

Looks nice. I'd prolly sport that.

 

dont play games on battery.
itwill automatically slow down because there isnt enough power to juice everything going on.

whats a bookbag? if you meen backpack, then yeah its typically the best idea because it has more support, and is less conspicuous