bit-tech.net

Rock Xtreme 790 Laptop Review

Comments 1 to 25 of 26

Reply
barndoor101 8th December 2009, 08:17 Quote
bit early for work isnt it?
Sifter3000 8th December 2009, 08:26 Quote
The fun never stops at bit-tech :)
M_D_K 8th December 2009, 08:44 Quote
First page, 2nd paragraph, last line "a good deal of this week is in pure copper heatsinks" is that my bad english or doesn't that read correctly.

on a more related topic have you tried beating some whales with that thing, It's Mahooosive.

[edit] Scratch that i might of missed the big picture for this week :S lol, move along[/Edit]
Furymouse 8th December 2009, 08:57 Quote
Good thing it has that banner on the cover, I almost forgot it was a notebook.............

And a few more:
Why have HDMI with no blu ray?
Why no SSD for that price?
smc8788 8th December 2009, 09:10 Quote
What I don't understand is, if they go to all the effort of making such a huge chassis and putting a desktop CPU inside, why don't they go all the way and put a desktop GPU inside, considering that is by far the most underpowered component is a gaming laptop.

From what I've seen these G92-based GPUs in laptops often reach upwards of 80°C, so I'm sure you could squeeze in one of these newer 40nm chips with a big enough heatsink and enough airlflow running over it to keep it cool, even if it has to be slightly underclocked.
l3v1ck 8th December 2009, 09:29 Quote
That looks poor compared to their old chassis.
It's good to hear that Rock have started using good screens again. Looking at the reviews in the mag over that last few years it looked as though they were going for cheaper and cheaper options.

RE: Rehashed G90 parts.
Any idea when we'll see HD5000 series mobile GPU's?
barndoor101 8th December 2009, 09:31 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by smc8788
What I don't understand is, if they go to all the effort of making such a huge chassis and putting a desktop CPU inside, why don't they go all the way and put a desktop GPU inside, considering that is by far the most underpowered component is a gaming laptop.

From what I've seen these G92-based GPUs in laptops often reach upwards of 80°C, so I'm sure you could squeeze in one of these newer 40nm chips with a big enough heatsink and enough airlflow running over it to keep it cool, even if it has to be slightly underclocked.

Because modern GPUs put CPUs to shame in terms of heat and power - unless you put a HD5xxx in there. They had a whinge about this on one of the podcasts, ie how the GTX280m is the best laptop GPU out there but is still crap.
liratheal 8th December 2009, 09:31 Quote
I am terrifically surprised at the battery life of all the laptops in that chart.

In a bad way, mind.
Sheiken 8th December 2009, 10:02 Quote
But does it play Crysis?

...oh wait.. it kinda does...
M_D_K 8th December 2009, 10:19 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheiken
But does it play Crysis?

...oh wait.. it kinda does...

I don't understand why people want such a laptop, I know there are people outthere that buy them because they wouldn't make them if they didn't but, isn't there a point you reach where its just not feasable to keep stuffing more and more into, dare i say laptop, because only chuck noris could pull that off as a laptop.
DragunovHUN 8th December 2009, 10:22 Quote
mod: Fixed, thanks!
Paradigm Shifter 8th December 2009, 10:57 Quote
I remain underwhelmed by any nVidia mobile offering. At least when AMD say they're giving you a 4850, it's a 4850 (albeit clocked lower)... so I'd be far more impressed if this had a 4850m/4870m/5850m powering it rather than the 260m... sorry, 9800m... sorry, 8800m.... uh, which was it again?

I'd be more interested in that 18.4" 5850-based Acer Aspire 8942 laptop than this offering... if it wasn't for the fact that it was Acer.

Aside from that... that keyboard is appalling. There is no excuse on a 17" laptop, not to have a full size (ie: four key wide) numeric pad. If Dell can do it on the Studio 17, and HP can do it on their 17" laptops, why can't the OEM for this machine?
rickysio 8th December 2009, 11:02 Quote
Future owners should drill two holes in the side of the laptop, and replace the CPU/GPU heatsink with a waterblock, and WC/OC the balls off the laptop. Although carrying around a external pump+res+rad combo looks awkward, with the fugly plaque stating Notebook in the middle of the lid...

It can't get any worse, can it?
HandMadeAndroid 8th December 2009, 11:12 Quote
it's big, ugly and overpriced
l3v1ck 8th December 2009, 11:23 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paradigm Shifter
I'd be more interested in that 18.4" 5850-based Acer Aspire 8942 laptop than this offering... if it wasn't for the fact that it was Acer.
Looks good. I hope they do a dual core version when Clarkfield is available. I'd rather have two faster cores.
Jipa 8th December 2009, 12:24 Quote
Lol did someone really just call a 18,4" THING a laptop? When will it ever end? If I slap a car battery inside my Corsair Obsidian and hinge a 24" screen and keyboard from the side panel, will it be a laptop? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Good review nonetheless.
barndoor101 8th December 2009, 12:50 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jipa
Lol did someone really just call a 18,4" THING a laptop? When will it ever end? If I slap a car battery inside my Corsair Obsidian and hinge a 24" screen and keyboard from the side panel, will it be a laptop? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Good review nonetheless.

we are coming full circle. here is the first ever portable PC (made by Compaq):

http://www.translationdirectory.com/images_articles/wikipedia/compaq_portable.jpg
Hg 8th December 2009, 13:00 Quote
Only think to watch when buying Rock is their support is/was really bad, a quick search on their forums will show you this.
I use to own a Rock laptop and it took several months to get anyone thing sorted. the amount of lost time i had with my laptop being away for weeks if not months at a time!
I really want to support small firms like this but having owned a Rock laptop and having used their support i wont be buying one again
However that said nice review and its nice to see Rock are still tradding
cybergenics 8th December 2009, 15:44 Quote
You can buy a Core i7 720 laptop with a half decent GPU (something like a 4670) from Dell, that also has an RGBLED screen and lots of stuff this behemoth doesn't, AND have change to build a Core i7 gaming rig for your desk. So in conclusion, (IMHO), you'd have to be high on crack to buy this, it doesn't even look nice.
Picarro 8th December 2009, 15:47 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jipa
Lol did someone really just call a 18,4" THING a laptop? When will it ever end? If I slap a car battery inside my Corsair Obsidian and hinge a 24" screen and keyboard from the side panel, will it be a laptop? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Good review nonetheless.

That would actually be quite useful for LANs. No more carrying around multiple bags. Just place your monitor in the side of your obsidian, fold down the keyboard, click the start button and "pwn sum n00bs1!!1!1one!"
Paradigm Shifter 8th December 2009, 16:41 Quote
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jipa
Lol did someone really just call a 18,4" THING a laptop? When will it ever end? If I slap a car battery inside my Corsair Obsidian and hinge a 24" screen and keyboard from the side panel, will it be a laptop? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Well, some of the 18.4" laptops are more portable than this monstrosity, as they're more than a full KG lighter. They aren't small, but to be honest with the size rucksack I lug around at times, 15", 17", 18.4"... it's all the same in the end. For me, the weight is important, not the size. :)

If I want an ultraportable, I'll buy an ultraportable. ;)
TSR2 8th December 2009, 16:56 Quote
I wouldn't say that was like a 6 litre Jag. This is more like a Cadillac: ugly, thirsty and pretty slow for the engine size.
duc 8th December 2009, 17:27 Quote
What's with the angled shots, trying to make the thing look thinner than it is.
flaming_goat 8th December 2009, 19:23 Quote
The amount of ram in the review seems to be wrong. It has 3gb of ram for that price - only the £2999 3.33ghz version has 6gb as standard
bobwya 8th December 2009, 22:18 Quote
My 14" ASUS N81VP (non-Bariatric) laptop runs rings round this heap of junk, at native resolution, for half the price (T9550 CPU, ATI HD4650 1Gb GPU). As you might have guessed we are not impressed...
Log in

You are not logged in, please login with your forum account below. If you don't already have an account please register to start contributing.



Discuss in the forums