Sager NP9820 - Decision Factors

Notebook retrospective (written 19 Sept., 1999)
On purchasing my 4th portable

Sager NP9820 (400 MHz AMD K6-2, 12.1" active display, 96 MB RAM (100 MHz bus), 6 GB HD, Li-Ion battery) $1600 before tax & shipping, $1746 total
ordered 17 Sept., 1999


My first 2 portables (an old Toshiba XT clone I'd bought used, and a Canon 386SX25) I saw as auxiliary machines to my main machine at the office; their job was not to be particularly capable, but to simply let me deal with text anywhere. I'd started on my 3rd portable (a Toshiba 420CDS with 100MHz Pentium) with the same mindset, but its function changed with time.

The real root of the change was getting into a relationship - until then, if I wanted to do anything serious with a computer, I did it at the office. Staying at, and going to, the office at all sorts of weird hours doesn't work so well while living with a girlfriend. So I assembled a more powerful computer to use at home. But something that's only on one of my desktop computers, whether at home or in the office, is out of reach half the time.

The result is that I do all my real work on the portable, so my work in progress is always at hand, even though at the office I have a 266 MHz AMD (6.4 GB HD) and at home a 350 MHz AMD (100 MHz bus, 13 GB HD). The portable's 800 MB HD has been a much more painful restriction than the 100 MHz processor. I'm constantly having to clear out space before starting or continuing a job.

So I knew the single most important specification for my purposes is disk space. I want to be able to dual-boot it between Windows and Linux; I don't want to work with less than 3 GB each. So I need a HD of at least 6 GB. The other absolute requirement is that the video chipset be one supported by X windows under Linux.

I've been pleased with my current Toshiba's reliability, so I looked first at what they now offer. The 2060CDS is affordable ($1299 at Byte & Floppy), but it doesn't have a large enough HD. They don't seem to offer ranges of options - they only offer 6 GB HD's with machines with more expensive displays and processors.

While Compaq has a similar basic model structure, they also produce limited distribution models with more variation in what they offer. The Compaq 1273 has a 6.4 GB HD, and Costco had it for $1299. It has a 366 MHz AMD. Its negatives are not using a 100 MHz bus, having only 1 PCMCIA slot, and apparently having a Windows-only modem built-in. I came *very* close to buying one. I didn't want to dip into my savings to get one, so it was early September before I had enough in my checking account. By this time, the nearest Costco no longer had them in stock. I found one on display at the Rancho Del Rey Costco. One of their people at the desk there got onto their computer database and could only locate 1 other, also on display, at a different branch halfway across the county. At this point I asked about payment; I'd assumed that if I got to the bank and got a cashier's check for the proper amount before the bank closed (this was a Saturday morning) that would do it. I would have bought one that morning if they'd had an unopened computer in stock and if I could pay for it by just going to the bank and getting a cashier's check. But the woman at the desk who'd looked in the computer database told me they would not accept any form of check, not even a cashier's check from my bank. She said I'd have to bring cash. (They accept American Express and Discover credit cards; my only credit card is VISA.) If I was going to get one, I'd have to hurry to the bank to get cash right then, instead of thinking rationally about whether that model was still worth the price if it were a demo unit the public had been pounding on for months instead of a new machine. I decided I would not be rushed into such choices; I would look further.

There was a third computer I'd been considering in the first phase, the Enpower 313. This now became a prime contender. It doesn't use a 100 MHz bus, but does use (Linux-supported) Trident video, and an older (Linux supported) ESS sound chipset.

I also looked at the BSI 9700. It's basic specs look good, but the web page doesn't tell what video and sound chipsets are used. It doesn't look as if it uses 100 MHz bus. I just couldn't find enough information to consider it in detail.

The Keynote 5150 has high performance features (100 MHz bus) at a good price. But the video chipset is the Silicon Motion SM810, which isn't (yet) supported by XFree86; the only X server I can find for it (from Xi) costs $200 .

It seems that notebooks with the newer, high-performance 100 MHz bus also have newer video and sound chipsets that aren't supported by XFree86 and Linux. The Sager I've ordered uses the (2X AGP) ATI Rage LT Pro 3D video chipset. This may not yet be supported by XFree86, but there's a Linux X server from SciTech for $40 . It may need another set of $40 drivers from OSS for its ESS Maestro 2 sound chipset. But this seems to be the only notebook I can find in this price range with a 100 MHz bus and media chipsets that are halfway Linux supported.

I chose the 12.1" (800x600) display over the 13.3" (1024x768) one, because the bigger screen renders things 14% smaller on each axis. I do not consider it an improvement to make a scan line 10% longer, and then squeeze in 28% more dots per line. The Sager happens to be active matrix, but I'd have happily settled for LCD if I could have found a better balance of performance, Linux compatibility, and price.

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