PowerPro G 3:8 Review

I recently recieved the PowerPro G 3:8 from www.powernotebooks.com
I got it with the following specifications:

15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT w/PCI-e nVIDIA GeForce Go 6600 w/128MB DDR2
Video Memory
2.0GHz "Sonoma" Intel® Pentium® 760 Processor M w/2,048k L2 On-die Cache
1,024MB (2 SODIMMS) CORSAIR DDR2/533 Dual Channel Memory
60GB Hitachi Travelstar Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive at 7,200 RPM
Combo 8X DVD/24x10x24 CD-RW w/Softwares
Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915 802.11a/b/g
Smart Li-ion Battery
Full Range Auto Switching AC Adapter
Standard Carrying Case
NO Arctic Silver 5
NO Operating System
NO Extended Warranty
2-Year Parts & Labor, Lifetime 24/7 Toll Free Customer Service

Pictures are here: https://www.powernotebooks.com/images/g3-8/
(No shots of my notebook at the moment)

Design:
It is of typical design. There is nothing really outstanding about the appearance of the notebook, but relative to its size, it is very thin. The notebook weighs 6.5 pounds with the batteries, so it's no lightweight either. This is essentially a desktop replacement, though it certainly doesn't look like one. The button placement is all right and the port placements are comfortable. Overall, the design combines simplicity with style. It looks very sleek and I see no problem with showing this baby off in public.

Power:
This thing runs way better than my desktop. This machine is an absolute powerhouse. What would normally eat up my desktop's entire CPU usage, this notebook does with a breeze. The Nvidia Geforce Go 6600 128mb pci-e is extremely powerful and is able to run games like Half-Life 2 without a single hitch. I am utterly surprised at just how powerful this machine is.

Keyboard:
The keyboard is less than average, in my opinion. I'm sure it's just me who needs to get used to it, but the keys feel uneven and a little slanted. There is good bounce to each of the keys, but some of the ones like the F keys go down a littl deeper than I expected. The keyboard makes this small clicking noise that is not too loud, but not unnoticable.

Mousepad:
Very nice. The touchpad is smooth and responsive. The scroll button works as it should, but oftentimes scrolls too slow or too fast or even just scrolls up or down entire pages. Very irritating. The two buttons for left and right click feel very nice, but makes a distinct clicking noise that is a bit louder than the keyboard.

Display:
Large, crisp, and clear. This is as good as they come. There is minimal fading, even at extreme angles. Unfortunately, mine has one errant pixel that is bright blue, but is hardly noticeable. Movies and games alike show up very nicely on this display. The function keys also let you adjust the brightness of the LCD

Battery:
The battery life is extraordinary. I was able to run a DVD movie on the batteries, and the notebook lasted me over two and a half hours.

Heat:
Make no mistake, since this is a desktop replacement, running anything that will use the graphics card and the cpu heavily, will generate a lot of heat. Normally, the keyboard and palmrest don't get hot enough to get uncomfortable, but when running games, that's another story. The notebook actually turned off on my because it was getting too hot from running Half-Life 2 at full settings. Oddly, turning the settings of the game down a very small notch seemed to prolong the longevity of my playtime, but it got uncomfortabley hot to continue playing. This is especially tragic for me since I am an avid pc gamer. Then again, I must be an idiot to try and run such games on a notebook.

Sound:
Sound is decent, typical of any notebook. But I can actually tolerate listening to my music using the notebook's stereo speakers, which is saying something as I am a bit of a music buff. I like listening to my music at very high qualities. I was actually surprised that I could listen to my music via the notebook's stereo speakers. The only problem is that your arms tend to cover the stereo speakers, muffling the sounds.

Overall:
It's a pretty nice notebook. I have my quirks, though. For example, the touchpad doesn't have an "off" button so my palm might accidentally brush it and cause some irritating issues. Another thing is that the volume is adjusted using the Function keys, and there is no way of determining how loud or how soft the volume is unless you're actually playing music or something. I'm sure there are better things out there on the market, but if you're looking for a good desktop replacement that has definite portable capabilities, I recommend this notebook. It's pros and cons balance each other out to provide a remarkably average notebook. If you're willing to look past some of the shortcomings, then by all means get this notebook.
I give this notebook a 7 out of 10.

 

awesome thanks for the review, and I was about to pull the triger on it. I guess I will wait a little more...

PS. If you don't mind I posted your review on a different forum without reference to this one, but giving a credit to you. Otherwise let me know and I will remove it.