Finally got my Comapl IFL90

Finally got one in a form of PowerNotebook PowerPro 10:15. When I got it, I had a pixel stuck on red! I was about to explode, but was able to fix it by using one of those programs that flicker the screen in different colors rapidly and pushing lightly on the area of the stuck pixel. Saved me another RMA.

So far, so good... the laptop is solid, and the new screen (1440x900) is much better than the 1200x800 as far as resolution go. I do notice the black levels on this screen seem to be worse than the 1200x800 though. Very noticable when playing a game like GoW.

And GoW does require you to lower the resolution to 1024x640 (wide screen res) and set everything to around Medium (still some stutter). Lowering even more (down to 400x300) makes it smoother but much blurrier due to the image processing to upscale it to fill the screen. Also, it is a 4:3 aspect ratio.

So the 8600GT with DDR2 memory isn't the best... but the game is playable if you must. If you love HL2, TF2, and Portal, this can play it all at the highest settings without bog downs.

In all, I like the laptop. The bright power LED is annoying though (covered it up with paper and scotch tape - ugly, but functional), and the touch buttons are too easy to accidently hit. Also, the touchpad just doesn't feel right at all (compared to Synaptics). I especially hate the fact that the cursor doesn't continue moving if your finger is at the edge of the touchpad during a drag 'n drop.

It came with 1.12 bios, and I'm afraid to update to 1.13 in case I brick it. I dont have a USB floppy drive. Even if I did, it's still risky. Having to wait this long for a laptop, I don't want to chance RMAing or sending it for repairs if flashing goes south. I'll probably do it when I find that I need something from 1.13 that 1.12 doesn't have - at least then, I would have spent some quality time with the laptop.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience! I get mine tomorrow and can't wait!!

 

sorry to hear about your stuck pixel. usually the screens are almost flawless on the IFL90/NP2090's.

I can't complain about the gpu, could use a bit more juice but for the price I paid, it's very powerful.

I agree about the power button light being bright. When my rooms dark, i can see the blue LED on my ceiling! But i don't think it's annoying. Can't really see it from the angle your using the laptop. I've used better quality touchpads on other laptops, so it could be better designed, especially material wise. Overall, it's very much useable IMO.

 

Can you test your built-in microphone using Sound Recorder?

 

It sounds like crap! But oh well... I don't see myself using the mic anyways. If I really need it, I may plug in an external one.

Try turning off enhancements, and it'll sound better, but it does have a lot of noise. The noise sounds like the noise coming from my CPU (electronic noise - dunno how to explain it). It's not the fan... it's kinda high-ptiched, random buzzing noise. I can hear it when the room is very quiet.

 

That's right.
Then you have the same defective unit like many people do.
The CPU noise causes interference to the audio circuitry.
Even with the external audio jack it still causes noise.

I think they may have to revise the whole hardware to fix it.

To everyone: Please check yours.

 

Mine does that only when idling...

 

My Mic Works fine.

NO dead pixels either