KillerNotebooks Nagamaki/Whitebook Review

My Specs

QX9300
Dual ATI 3870HD
4GB DDR3 1333 2 Chip
17" WUXGA display (1900x1200)
Blu ray reader/DVD writer (backorder)
2x 320GB 7200 rpm drives
Intel 5300 a/b/g/n wifi built in
Bluetooth V2.1
Vista Ultimate 64
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme Audio Notebook


Standard features

Intel® PM45 + ICH9M
Built-in 4-in-1 Card Reader (MS/MS PRO/SD/MMC/RSMMC)
High Definition integrated sound, Built-in stereo speakers
1 Express Card 34 / 54 Slot, 1 Media Card Slot
Integrated Touchpad with Scroll Bar
Full Sized Backlit Keyboard 2.5mm Stroke, Vista Key
3 USB 2.0 ports
1 IEEE1394a
1 HDMI
1 TV Tuner optional
1 eSATA port
1 Headphone jack
1 Microphone jack
1 D-Sub 15 VGA port
1 S/PDIF audio jack
1 RJ-45 jack for 10M/100/1000Mbps Intel Boazman Ethernet
1 DC-In jack
Kensington Lock
Built-in 2.0MP digital video camera
Fingerprint reader
1 Lithium-Ion Battery (12 Cell)
Full Range Auto-Switching 100V/240V AC Adapter
9.5 Lbs w/o battery

The Nagamaki

The KillerNotebooks Nagamaki is based on the Flextronics W840-DI, sold variously as the OCZ DIY notebook, the Force Extreme, M17 and Criterion, among others. It is an extremely powerful notebook combination, with 2 ATI video cards in Crossfire as well as the ability to run dual and quad core Penryn processors. It is expected that the next generation ATI mobility video processor, the 4870, will run, probably available sometime in the April/May timeframe.

My search

My search for a new computer started almost a year ago. I had bought an Alienware mALX the year before and had had trouble with it from the first. I hadn't realized they were bought out by Dell, about the same time that they stopped supporting the computer I had bought. I was looking for the most powerful laptop computer, supported by a company that cares only about performance. I found myself at NBR researching, and had come down to the conclusion that the best laptop computer was the Sager NP9262, and was researching vendors. Early on I found myself drawn to KillerNotebooks by the simple fact that specific makes of components were assured, where the other resellers didn't. Additionally, KillerNotebooks introduces proprietary modifications to enhance cooling, the primary issue gaming laptops run into. Other information surfaced that led me farther in this direction, particularly the obvious passion of the owner for his computers.

Having reached the conclusion to go with KillerNotebooks, I then had to wait for the cash to build up. Then, the OCZ Whitebook came out, and it became apparent that there was another player. Slightly smaller, same screen size but utilizing ATI videocards and mobility processors. The benchmarks confirm that the Sager is still slightly faster in gaming, but it costs almost a thousand more for a maxed config like I wanted. Also, all indications are that it will not be supported with further upgrades, unlike the Whitebook, which certainly seems to have at least one upgrade in the video card area coming. My main reservation has been about the use of ATI video cards, primarily due to past experience, mainly in the area of poor driver support. Unfortunately, while ATI is much better now about desktop driver support, we're still in the same place with laptop driver support. Luckily, KillerNotebooks and the Whitebook community have made a large difference.

Stock numbers

By stock numbers I mean as it was delivered. Came to me set up with the max multiplier overclock on the new .28 bios.

The obligatory meaningless 3dMark06


FarCry 2 Ultra High 1900x1200 noAA with temps


Size comparison against my old 19" mALX and my wife's Sony VAIO





Notice the 2 near identical power bricks in the background. One came with the Nagamaki, the other with my Alienware mALX. The Alienware's gets a lot hotter, directly corresponding with a greater power draw. Unfortunately the case connectors are different, so I don't have a spare power supply. Here's a closer look-



As delivered

The computer was ready to run and, while I've screwed around a little bit, it basically came all set up ready to play. UAC was disabled in windows, a big plus, but drive indexing was still on, the fingerprint reader drivers weren't set up, and while I had requested RAID 0, it wasn't set. I was a little disappointed about the RAID, I've had RAIDed systems for years, though it turns out that there is currently an issue with RAID in these computers leading to stuttering during access, hence why it wasn't set up for me.

The feel of the keyboard is awesome, and the lighting options are excellent. I have always preferred red for any kind of accent lighting, much easier on the eyes than anything else. The lights above the quick buttons (power, HD access, wireless, bluetooth status, etc) are only in blue, but I don't find that distracting. The quick launch buttons above the keyboard haven't been useful to me yet, I'm waiting until we figure out how to remap them as I don't use Internet Explorer, prefering Firefox.

That brings up another point, the computer came set up with Firefox installed and running as well as the K|N Core Optimization Program, CloneDrive, Catalyst Control Center, Nero 9 and PowerDVD. There are several useful gadgets enabled by default and there are scripts for several others included on the restore CD should you want them. The installers for various open source programs are included there as well, such as GIMPshop, OpenOffice, AVG Antivirus, Adobe Reader, and various other useful programs. Some are installed already, but if they're not there, they are on the restore DVD.

Be careful setting up the fingerprint reader. I figured I'd give it a try, and wound up having to use the restore disks as a result. Basically what happened was I set it up, didn't like it, so I uninstalled it. After that it kept asking for a password I couldn't provide when trying to boot, and my only recourse was to use the restore. At the same time I thought that I'd set up RAID, but came up with an interesting problem.

With RAID enabled, I couldn't boot from the CD. Disable it and I could. Somewhere in there Mark gave me the information about the RAID issue, and it's not desirable until the issue is fixed. Here's to hoping.

Last issue I've had relates to the card reader. I have a SONY camera with the memory stick PRO Duo MagicGate Mark2, and while the reader can read the card, it's near impossible to get it in. You have to push it in farther than your finger can reach, I've only been able to get it to work once, and I needed tweezers to get it in and out. The last time I tried, it got stuck, and I think the little spring inside got screwed up, the little filler piece inside won't stay in anymore. Somewhat frustrating, perhaps there is an extension card out there somewhere that would make access easier.

In a nutshell

This computer is awesome, the Guru of Gaming website is useful for support, and Mark Mueller stands by his stuff. What little time I've had for gaming has been excellent and I look forward to getting into the games a little more. The only one that i've even attempted is Far Cry 2, and it has some issues that aren't the fault of the computer or the supplier. The only real drawback to this particular computer for a gamer is the lack of driver support, either from ATI, Flextronics, or OCZ, while KillerNotebooks and the Whitebook community are actively doing everything they can to improve the situation. Let's hope for some new drivers soon!

If there is any questions about the computer, feedback, etc, I will update this original post as necessary over the coming months. If there are any benchmarks you'd like to see, let me know, if I'm planning on getting that I might move it up in my priority list. Hope this was useful for you in some fashion, Fly Navy!

 

Awesome review. +rep.

 

Great review and congrats on the new rig.

 

Thanks! Glad you liked it, definitely enjoying my new computer.

 

hmm i didnt have any issues with raid.. great review

 

Thanks. I haven't tried it myself, just what Mark relayed. However, like I said in the review, I can't seem to get the computer to boot from the DVD if RAID is set in the bios. It's the .28 bios that I'm using. If I was really concerned I'd play around with that, but my Nagamaki has faster boot up and access (subjectively) than my Alienware which has 2 7200 rpm drives in RAID. Course, it's 2+ years old as well so probably not a fair comparison. The issue, as I'm told, involves some type of stuttering with RAID enabled. Whether thats during disk access or something else, I don't know. I'll talk more to Mark.

 

did you set the achi dvd drive to the first boot item? im interested to see the difference myself because a 1tb raid 0 imo is no the safest thing.. personally if i was doing it i think id rather have dual drives.. i can test a raided system but it has dual 500gb wd blue's in it

make sure to have raid turned on, and move up the dvd rive to the first spot. i have had no problems booting from the dvd drive yet

 

yeah, did that, it's not a priority at the moment. Mark gave me a pretty good offer to trade back one drive and some money for an SSD if I want. I might go that way but haven't decided, especially since I'm happy with my drive speed right now as is. The Western Digitals are pretty fast on their own.

 

Your problem with RAID is disconcerting, is that a OZA whitebook problem in general or with just the KN Nagamaki? Anybody else have this issue?

 

I have one (not from KN) but havent had any problems with RAID and I havent seen anyone else mention any RAID problems either.

BTW, havent read the whole thing yet, but it looks nice and +rep for putting a review together.

 

I don't think this could just be with a K|N as the primary things concerned, the HDD, the bios, and the built in RAID controller are all standard. I don't believe that there is a change made by K|N in these areas. The main thing I experienced was inability to boot from DVD with RAID enabled, I may try playing around with it again. I wouldn't be surprised if I was doing something wrong.