Abt to receive my np8170 later today!

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so STOKED!, although many of you guys already posted review, I will still try to make a different kind of contribution ha. Maybe something more like A to Z from Unboxing to setting up the system( installing software, games, tuning, desktop esthetics, increase working efficiency etc)

Now just have to wait for the UPS guy to Show UPPPPPP!!!!
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Okay, so after UPS delivered me the package yesterday and I feel really sorry for the guy because carrying this along with a few other package is kinda a tough job. After closing the door I immediately unboxed the package and to my surprise the packaging is extremely simple and neat, one box inside another box and then it's the laptop! Okay, enough shinanigans let's cut to the chase. Since there is already a lot of reviews up on the internet about this amazing machine and a dedicated ownership thread, I would like to emphasis on a few other things, MOSTLY SUBJECTIVE because I think this can be more helpful to other "newbie" to have a better feeling of what words can describing if they share similar customer profile with mine.

Little bit about myself:
I myself am a huge fan of cyber technology since I was 12, first computer was a pentium 2 400mhz have experienced different laptops including pc and mac. My tech level is not as advanced as the gurus here, however I am comfortable doing most customizations with screwdrivers etc.

My working style and environment
Basically I will use this laptop for school projects(engineering simulations, essays), games, photography, browsing etc. Which is a little bit of EVERY THING, therefore when shopping for a laptop I want it to be as versatile as possible with a limited budget, and therefore I decide to gave up on portability and suddenly it is soooo easy to choose.

Laptop I have used/owned
My first laptop was a Sony VAIO FS series I believe, then I moved on to an IBM T60 and then to a early 2008 Macbook Pro 15.4( the non unibody) and then last year I got an x201 tablet for portability. The Sager NP8170 is my newest toy since I wanted a desktop replacement at school. Therefore after gone through different laptop styles for different purposes, here are what I emphasize on (expectations) the NP8170:

1. Neat Layout:
Personally I think the cyber products nowadays are too much of eye-candies and I wish manufacturers could emphasize more on the actual user friendly contents more than spamming a laptop with bunch of media keys, remotes, colors, materials etc. I really liked macbook's design in term of simplicity and thinkpad's design in term of humbleness, I really disliked VAIO because I feel like all my money went to some useless esthetic design. I am very pleased with the NP8170's design: no outstanding media keys, function keys beside the power key, big keyboard makes it easier to type on, size of the touchpad is adequate, not too big that my thumb will accidently activate( like the new mbps), not too small that I have to several swings before crossing the screen(like my x201t). Screen closes with clamping force instead of a mechanical lock - I really prefer this way over the old thinkpad design. Although it's a 17.3 high performance desktop replacement, the overall looking is not that awful.

2. Connectivity:
As being a desktop replacement I think having the right amount of connections is really important. If you have too many, you will get overwhelmed since most of the time you won't even be using them, and if you don't have enough... then you will have to carry all kinds of docks, cords, expansions etc... This NP8170 has 4 usb plugs, 1 eSata, 1 Dvi, 1 hdmi, 1 ieee 1394, 1 MMC/SD/MS card reader, 4 audio related plug including optical out, 1 ethernet plug. Honestly this will still be a little overkill for me but it's not that bad. I wish it has a CF card reader built in for my dslr, kind of a disappointment for me.

3. Input Device:
coming from a buckling spring/cherry mx switch enthousiast, I really cannot like the scissor switch keyboards that most laptop use. The NP8170 is no exemption and therefore I won't talk too much on the comfort. However I do need to state that the incorporation of the numpad really makes my data editing easier than on a macbook or thinkpad. The lack of backlit isn't a huge issue for me because I just like to have lights while working on computers and in those situations that is really dark, the screen can provide a good enough lighting. I still need some time to adjust to the keybaords' layout as I mistype a lot of keys. However I really like how much spacing there is between each key since my biggest beef against most laptops is that the keys are all cramped up with each other. The FN combinations are quite logical: the functions that we need more often are on the left side of the f keys and the one we need less are on the right side. However I wish it can use the function keys as default and I use fn combinations when I want to access to the original f-keys. therefore I think I will have to write a program to remap them in my favor, if you have any inputs on this please help me out ha.

[MORE UPCOMING]

 

Congrats, I get mine tomorrow . I'm personally planning on making a review video covering the p170hm because the two reviews on youtube that are posted are rather bad... one with a guy that doesn't know the difference between sata and USB... with both just taking a glance over how the laptop looks.

 

Yes it is always good to see an unboxing and a mini review! Thanks
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part of the review updated