Release date:17" WUXGA Clevo (Sager, ProStar, ...)

Just got word from a ProStar salesman, after much wrangling. The Clevo (Pro-Star, Sager, etc.) 17" WUXGA (1920x1200) will be out in the December 2004 timeframe. Since the beginning of summer (northern hemisphere), they have had the ATI 9800 256 Mb video card, the 3.4 GHz HT Intel processor, 800 Mhz bus, 2Gb dual channel RAM. I don't see that getting any worse with this model. I wasn't able to fish PCI-E info from him, though.

Note that Clevo is notorious for slipping on their release dates, so don't be disappointed if it isn't on time. The key is that it is on it's way, and we have a ballpark now. You can sample/drool the current anemic and overpriced Sony Vaio 17" WUXGA at most CompUSA, BestBuy, etc. stores. For me, the WUXGA will deliver Java and .NET coding space, 1080i HDTV resolution (1920x1080), and at least 6 more months of the laptop being current enough in the future.

Of course with the HDTV, I will be limited to 3rd party USB 2.0, PCMCIA, or firewire implementations, as the internal setup hasn't been reviewed well. Unless the new model has serious improvements.

 

By December I would expect you will have also seen a price drop on the anemic and overpriced Sony also.

As you can see below, I am obviously one of those foolish people who overpaid for an underpowered machine which by the way I am over the moon with. The WUXGA screen with xbrite screen is fantastic and worth paying extra for..... I would like to see the Clevo & Sony screens side by side for comparison as I haven't found a match for the Sony LCD yet.

I agree, the Sony specs are rather middle of the road, but it's running Doom 3 fine and that's about the only test that anyone seems to be interested in these days. (I am running it with Omega Drivers and a seperate gaming setup that has no uneccessary background processes)




Peanutt uses
Sony TR1MP / Sony A190 (New) / Toshiba E805 PPC / Sony Ericsson P900

 

Sorry, dude. I thought about purchasing the Vaio, but everywhere I read reviews, they gushed about the screen, but lamented the lack of performance. Kind of like having a pretty face, but a small package (even if screens are measured in inches -- diagonally). Joking aside, I would have jumped on it in a heartbeat if there was a desktop replacement model. Hopefully PCI-E will also make the December wait worth it.

I have two questions for you, or someone else out there.

Have you tried the laptop coolers on the 17" models? Do they work? Looking at them, I'm worried about them being designed for a 15" notebook, and failing on a 17". After my recent notebook motherboard meltdown after putting it in the case too early, this is an important factor for me, as I've learned my lesson.

Second question, does WUXGA seem noticeably different on the 17" vs. the 15"? I have young eyes, so none of those answers - we know old eyes are going to strain on 15" WUXGA. I don't want to drop the extra greenbacks if it isn't necessary.

Finally, an open question for everyone out there. What do you think about this winter being the ultimate time to buy a high end notebook? Both Intel and AMD seem stuck on small performance gains for the next year or two. If you can keep it running, I would think we can tack on another year before buying a new one (perhaps 3 years vs. 2 years).

 

Sorry Pack, I didn't mean to bark!

The difference between the 15.4 WXGA & 17 WUXGA is about a 1/3 as many pixels again in width. I listed the res sizes below. I must admit, I have not looked hard but I haven't seen any 15.4" WUXGA screens, I am probably wrong though.

SVGA - 800x600
XGA - 1024x768
WXGA - 1280x800
SXGA - 1280x1024
SXGA+ - 1400x1050
WXGA+ - 1440x900
UXGA - 1600x1200
WUXGA - 1920x1200

I have been using UXGA & WUXGA for a year and would not want to switch back and I have crap eyes and wear glasses. I agree, the fonts are tiny, but being able to use two windows side by side at a decent size and also having the extra width in Excel was the main plus for me. (and I find it perfectly readable) To me its important to get as much info on the screen as possible.

As for the 17" laptop coolers, couldn't comment, never used one. The one plus of the PM processor is that it runs a hell of a lot cooler.

Peanutt uses
Sony TR1MP / Sony A190 (New) / Toshiba E805 PPC / Sony Ericsson P900

 

Both Clevo (Sager, Pro-Star, etc.) and Dell have 15" WUXGA models. If you are saying that it seems tiny on your 17" screen, I'm guessing 15" is pretty microscopic.

In regards to heat, I've read that the Vaio runs fairly cool. It is that dilemna of more power, more heat and less battery life. Until the ethanol(?) refillable batteries come out.

It sounds like you are doing a lot of financial spreadsheet type work, which typically doesn't require beefy power. I'm glad you found the good choice! Hopefully I will be so lucky.

 

Well, it would be nice to hear from someone who has a 15.4 WUXGA as I must admit, I wouldn't want to go any smaller.

On another note, most of my work is Financial but I do a bit of gaming in my spare time and although Doom 3 hates the native resolution, I can run it fine in lower resolutions. I was actually amazed how well the Dothan CPU performs as I switched from a P4 3.06 and have not noticed any difference on games. (Although the ATI 9700 also has some bearing on this) I have noticed video editing takes a little longer but when your talking about the difference between 1 hour 10 minutes on a P4 and 1 hour 15 minutes on the PM to compress 90 minutes of DV, I am not complaining.


Peanutt uses
Sony TR1MP / Sony A190 (New) / Toshiba E805 PPC / Sony Ericsson P900

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Peanutt