Question for HGL 30 Owners

Despite all nice things about the s/z96j, I'm a little fed up with its size. It so happens that I have the opportunity to "trade" my z96j (at little cost to myself) for a new barebone laptops.

The dimensions I've looked up online seem to vary by a little bit. (13.4" x 10" x 1.13~1.5 ) I would like to know exactly how big this thing is... width, depth, depth with the 9 cell sticking out, and max height?

Also to clarify, is my understanding of the HGL 30 fan behavior correct? As in, it's quiet and blows hot air out effectively. But always turns on and off to the annoyance of some, instead of just spinning constantly at a low rpm (actually, a strength of the z96j)?

Where would be the cheapest retailer to get a barebone HGL 30? I've looked at the FAQ, and would much rather buy from www.milestonepc.com . Can anyone beat $569 http://store.alphapcstore.com/cogl14wxco2d.html (Not really a fair comparison though)?

Thanks for your time and consideration. I would also like to hear any opinions toward this move.

 

Alright, I just measured mine:

13 ¼" wide
10 ¼" deep (without battery)
11" deep (with battery)
1 ½" max height

And yeah, your understanding of the fan behavior is correct. It's really only noticeable in dead-silence though. I usually have music on or other noises around so I don't really notice the fan.

I bought from milestonpc, excellent service; I didn't really shop around for better prices though, so I dunno if there's anywhere to get it cheaper.

 

I got my barebone hgl30 for $499 here but it came with 6 cell instead of 9 cell battery.
http://www.shentech.com/vbchgl30kitdh.html

 

I believe the least expensive you can purchase the HGL-30 for is www.rjtech.com. Build it yourself, and last I checked, very reasonable prices. Its where I got mine after a lot of shopping around, and trust me I looked almost everywhere lol.

 

The fan issue accompanies the older bios. When i flashed from 103 to 111A, the issue disappeared. Also, updating the stock manufacterer video drivers helped alot too because the 83.90s from Compal didn't even have powermizer and let the GPU temp get up to 68 C before turning on the fan to bring it down to 59 C. I updated to 84.21 from laptopvideo2go and gained powermizer. It much more efficiently handled the GPU heat and idled the card around 49-51C and seemed like turned on the fan at 53-55C.

 

Make sure you're ok with giving up a comprehensive warranty by building yourself. It's almost always not worth the time and hassle of building it yourself.

 

One thing you may want to keep in mind (at least this is the case for me) is that w/ the battery (9cell) installed, when i put the laptop in my bag, it comes right to the edge of the zipper..ive got to pull it up over the top of the laptop. It doesnt bother me at all, but i thought it was interesting. If you have a smaller laptop bag you may need to upgrade. Mine is compucase from walmart that is rated for 15.4" laptops.

I do not notice the fan at all. i can always feel slightly warm air coming out of the exhaust port. i cant hear the fan at all over the my typing and the sound of the fishtank in the room.

 

Thank you for your input everyone. The HGL 30 with a 6 cell seems to fit the bill, especially at that price. As ixc and iza noted, the 9 cell sticks out a little bit so I don't think I'll be getting this, unless it's safe to travel around with the battery unplugged from the laptop.

What kind of battery life can I expect with the 6 cell? I hear the HGL 30 is a monster with the 9 cell, getting past 4 hours of battery life.

 

First, the one that comes with a 6 cell battery is the GL30 Verified by Intel version, not the HGL30. That is why it will be cheaper...just know what you are getting

The HGL30 will get over 4 hours when reading and typing, and will get over 3 hours when viewing a DVD.

The GL30 VBI unit will get about 2/3 of that with the 6 cell battery.

 

The only difference I can tell between the GL30 and HGL30 is the cover. GL30 is dark gray while HGL30 is teal. I only get about 2hrs and 15mins of battery life. Thats with the brightness set to lowest with wireless on and using the internet.

pic

 

Thanks mikysee. How was your buying experience with shentech? The reseller reviews weren't very favorable seeing how they tried to pass off used routers and graphics cards as new items.

 

I didn't have a problem ordering from shentech. I placed my order on a Saturday, they called me on Monday to confirm my order and to tell me that its a barebone notebook and it doesn't come with cpu, hdd, ect. They shipped on Monday and I got it on Thursday.