Question:
Final Followup Question - Sager/etc.
I posted my original question in this about which laptop to buy and I just have a couple of final follow up questions.
It seems as though most of the clevo resellers do not offer Windows MCE 2005 with the systems they sell. I contacted Hypersonic about this and they said that they reason why they wouldn't list it as an option was because of there being an incompatibility with the system config.
Have any of you heard anything about this? Has anyone had any experience with using Windows MCE 2005 on a Sager 5760/Clevo/Hypersonic laptop? I thought about buying the laptop without the OS and then buying the OS from newegg or another vendor but the hypersonic comments gave me concern.
I don't want to buy an Alienware/Dell just so that I can get MCE with the Vista Home Premium upgrade and I don't want to buy Hypersonic's 19" sli beast either. As much as the sound of having a 19" 7900 or 7950 sli rig sounds sexy, I don't want to have to move a 15+ lb. notebook from one side of the house to another or to lan parties.
Any additional feedback about MCE 2005 (vista premium upgrade) would be great.
Thanks for reading!
Answer:
Re: Final Follow Question - Sager/etc.
And of course, now RJTech has 2005 MCE with Vista upgrade as an option ;)
Answer:
Re: Final Follow Question - Sager/etc.
the main reason for not including the MCE2005 is smart on the Clevo reseller end is because of the TV tuner card has to be compatible to make use of the MCE2005... most of the other OEMs selling notebooks with MCE2005 dont even have tv tuners.. for shame.
Well you didnt try 2 other highly recommended Clevo OEMs that actually have the option for MCE 2005 as well as the compatible TV Tuner and the Microsoft Media Center remote:
Pro-Star 5724 (from Pro-Star.com)
Clevo M570U (from RJtech.com)
I would recommend you to get it through Pro-Star, because I have done business with them personally and their system comes with a fully MCE compatible TV Tuner meaning that it will work for hte MCE options within Vista as well.. I actually drove to City of Industry recently to get my notebook's videocard swapped, pretty quick and painless. If you have any issues or questions, ask for Wesley.
RJtech is good as well.
Hope this helps,
-Gophn
Answer:
Re: Final Follow Question - Sager/etc.
I don't know why I'm so hesitant in ordering. Am I just being over-cautious about clevo units? Until I came here, I had heard nothing about them and they seem to get high praise here.
I just keep hearing this little voice in my head from purchases-past. I bought an older sound card from guillemot when soundblasters used to have issues running on amd chipsets and I used it for a whopping 2 weeks and regretted the purchase.
How are the companies in dealing with warrantys should there be an issue that arrises? You'll have to forgive my hesitance. I'm just one of those over-cautious people as of late when spending ~$3000 or so. Thanks for all of the answers you've given so far gophn. They truly do provide a very informative perspective. :)
Answer:
Re: Final Follow Question - Sager/etc.
I have to dig a little bit deeper though to see if pro-star offers the vista upgrade for their mce 2005 laptops. The XP Pro option above it clearly states it while mce 2005 does not. Rjtech now shows the upgrade option as well. I'm really not into MCE for the tuner option, but more so the vista home premium upgrade route :)
Answer:
Re: Final Follow Question - Sager/etc.
I think that you would do best to call them about the Vista coupon upgrades.
I know Pro-Star to be very fair in price and having good support. You should definitely give them a call and ask them about the Vista coupons. You will probably get it if you call them, their site is always constantly being updated for pricing and upgrade options.
I know RJtech is all-around a good place to work with.
The warranties are both good, but if you get it from PowerNotebooks, I believe that its better since they have legendary support and service, and an accidental insurance ;)
In fact, you should definitely call PowerNotebooks, ask for Donald Stratton. Talk about the MCE 2005 and the Vista upgrade coupons. Donald is probably one of the more knowledgable in this notebook industry than the average person.