"I've been purchasing laptops for nearly 11 years now and I have never dealt with a business as professional and courteous as PowerNotebooks.com. Even under the unusual circumstances of my most recent order, not only they have kindly helped me out with making payment arrangements, but have also successfully built and delivered my new state of the art laptop within days. If you're in need of any new laptops, you won't be able to find another business like this one so be sure to check them out first!! :)"
"8/13/10 - At this time I've owned my laptop for about two weeks, so the following review will focus primarily on the sales process:
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[Sales Process]
After about a dozen hours of researching the current notebook market, I decided to buy a Sager laptop, because of its reputation for selling high performance machines with non-proprietary parts at great value, as well as an excellent track record spanning 2 decades.
I originally intended to order from sagernotebook.com, until I heard from a friend to consider purchasing from a Sager reseller. While a Sager reseller would allegedly provide superior customer support, and possibly better prices, I was hesitant to purchase from a company that I've never heard of--PowerNotebooks, XoticPC, PCTorque...none of these names rang the slightest bell of familiarity.
However, I did additional research on these companies, and found that PowerNotebooks had over 1600 lifetime reviews on reseller ratings, in comparison to PCTorque's ~300 and XoticPC's ~220. PowerNotebooks also is accredited by the BBB with an A grade, and had been in business for 12 years at the time of my purchase. Based on PowerNotebooks' track record, I concluded that the folks at PowerNotebooks know what they are doing. It is worth noting, however, that PCTorque and XoticPC, too, had excellent track records and impressive customer reviews. All three companies are resellers, so you will find the exact same prices (any minor differences will disappear with Price Check).
Before I made a purchase I inquired at ****@**** with several questions: What is your take on the build quality of this machine? (as build quality is something that is not always conveyed through renders/pictures). Does the IC Diamond cooling upgrade come with a tube? (since it did not, I did not ultimately purchase it). And how would another laptop, the PowerPro I 7:22, compare to the NP 8690 in terms of performance? Donald, the owner of PowerNotebooks, personally responded to me with answers to all of my questions within a day--often within an hour or two.
When I finally decided to order, I had requested a price check (I configured the same notebook at XoticPC for $10 less), and expedited production. Donald acknowledged and accommodated both of my requests without hesitation, and always mentioned that if necessary, I should give him a call and discuss further options. After placing my order, I was required to personally call PowerNotebooks to verify the payment. Overall, throughout the sales process, I felt a level of personal attention absent in companies such as Dell and Toshiba, from whom I have ordered in the past. At any given time, I knew--or could easily find out--whether my purchase was being verified, whether the notebook was being built, or where it was in the shipping process.
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[Order Configuration]
15.6" Full HD (1920x1080)
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870
Intel Core i7-740QM
8 GB DDR3 / 1333 MHz memory
500 GB Sata 7200 RPM Hard Drive
No Operating System
3 Year Sager Warranty: Labor & Parts
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[Initial Remarks]
The machine was packaged well, and has performed as expected from the start. Gaming (Starcraft 2 - ultra settings), multitasking (multiple 3D applications open), and Photoshop are handled without a hitch. CPU temperature ranges from 50 C idle or light load, and 70 C under heavy load. GPU temperature ranges from 55 C idle or light load, and 80C under heavy load. The palmrests never heat up above room temperature, and since both exhaust vents are on the back, my hands never come in contact with the hot air.
If I encounter any problems with my notebook, I will update this review with my remarks on how PowerNotebooks handled the issue(s).
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[Bottom Line]
Ordering from PowerNotebooks was a pleasure; I am pleased with my purchase. Time will tell if the quality of support matches its stellar first impression."
"Powernotebooks provides great service. I ordered a G73JH-A2 and got the lowest price with the cash discount. Didn't even have to pay CA sales tax! Donald was very helpful and friendly and kept me up to date with the status of my order and answered all of my questions. I ordered a stock model but if you customize your order, powernotebooks will test everything on your computer and make sure everything is working. My laptop arrived in perfect condition. I highly recommend ordering from powernotebooks for the best service and lowest prices."
"Like most consumers nowadays I've become wary of overpriced/overhyped gaming machines ala A.W. (I'll leave the reader to figure out the initals). Anyway, upon doing the ritual Google search for gaming notebooks, Powernotebooks.com came up as one of the top hits. I had to do some more research among the top hits list and Powernotebooks' customer service seemed to be the best. Donald (my sales rep) didn't try to rip me off by telling me to add a bunch of extras that wouldn't fit my application(gaming) and actually cut down my pricing even more than I had expected. I ended up getting a Sager 8760 and it was way more than I expected for the price. Not only was Donald good at setting up a cost efficient laptop but he was also very informative during the whole order process. Never did I feel like I was just another customer but that I was THE customer for them. I would strongly recommend buying from PowerNoteBooks to anyone who is a serious buyer as they don't mess around. I myself plan to buy my next upgrade from them, that's how much I trust their customer service."
"PowerNotebooks.com is a great company to buy a laptop from. When I originally placed my order with PowerNotebooks.com, I ordered the ASUS N82JQ-A1 because I wanted both USB 3.0 and a backlit keyboard. After talking with my customer representative, Donald Stratton, we discovered that the specifications on the Asus website indicating that the ASUS N82JQ-A1 had a backlit keyboard were wrong. If it weren't for Donald's sharp eye on that, I would have been one disappointed customer when my computer arrived. Instead I was able to switch my order to the Asus G51JX-X5, get my backlit keyboard along with some other improvements and get it all taken care of without having to return a computer. Donald was great both by e-mail and on the telephone. He always responded quickly and took his time answering all of my questions. Another thing that Power Notebooks did at Donald's suggestion and no cost to me, was to the load the Windows 7 operating system without any of the trial software that is normally pre-installed on a computer. It saved me the time and trouble of uninstalling it later. My laptop was ready to go when it arrived. I love my new laptop and the backlit keyboard is "illuminating". I would definitely purchase from PowerNotebooks.com again. They are a pleasure to work with and their customer service is second to none!"
"Recently just purchased the Asus G73JH-A2. At first, I was worried about the many possible problems that could happen to that particular model, but Power Notebooks has an option, when you buy a customized laptop, to have it tested by ther team. That put me at ease, and I got the laptop in perfect condition.
You can be confident that Power Notebooks has the lowest prices. I also didn't have to pay the CA sales tax, because it is shipped from the facility in Nevada. I was able to customize my laptop as well, and the customizations were done well.
Donald has been very helpful in answering my many questions, although he has no obligation to do. He also responded in a very timely and professional manner. I am very satisfied with my experience with Power Notebooks. I really appreciate all he has done for me, and I hope that you, as a potential customer, get to experience the excellent Power Notebook treatment."
"Just get my Asus G73JH-A1 from www.powernotebooks.com . Donald from Powernotebooks is very helpful and solved my question. Product reach in 5 working days. even delay in my country's custom. Laptop arrive in perfect condition. Like it so much.
Strongly recommend to all buyer. Wish to make a business from Donald again in the future.
thx again."
"I was completely satisfied with my transaction. The staff at powernotebooks contacted me immediately, and were friendly and communicative throughout the building and shipping process. They let me know how long everything would take and provided a ups tracking number when it shipped, and everything arrived looking good and on time. Would definitely do business with again."
"Amazing personal service and the best value gaming laptop by a margin of at least several hundred dollars. I had to tell the internet!"
"First time buying from Powernotebooks and the customer service was amazing. Had some issues with payment on my end and they were very friendly and understanding. I definitely recommend them."
"My entire experience was incredible. My sales rep was Donald. Not only was he personable but he was also very helpful with talking about the ASUS G73JH I bought. I originally had bought one and it got stuck in customs, so he helped me find another that he had in stock that was very similar to the one that I had ordered before. They added the custom features and it was to my house within a week. I am extemely happy with this experience, consider me a convert; from the major computer companies to this one."
"Not only is Donald a great salesman, he is also a genuine nice guy who will help you with any problems with your order or your computer. Before my purchase, I was anxiously browsing all the possible resellers for the popular Asus G73, after emailing a bunch of different companies, I decided to go with powernotebooks. powernotebooks offered a great price, excellent service and superior quality. "
"Excellent, personable customer service. Quick replies to all inquiries. Donald navigated me through options and accessories to keep me in within the budget I specified, yet maximize the product I was looking for. You certainly get what you pay for... I'd do it again!"
"I recently purchased an Asus G73JH-A1 from Powernotebooks. It was a very pleasant shopping experience - laptop was received without any problems after a few days of ordering. Donald was very enthusiastic over the phone, and quick in responding to emails. Will definitely shop with Powernotebooks again."
"I researched the G73JH laptop series for about 3 months before finally deciding on the A2 model, since I wanted maximum performance, but did not need a blueray drive. There were four or five well established esellers that had the A2, but all of them said they were sold out, I checked resellerratings.com and the BBB. After all of this, I called several of the companies, most were very vague, and just wanted to upsell me on some other laptop that cost much more. Donald at Powernotebooks.com did none of this, he was very casual and friendly, but professional at the same time. The service was spectacular, I've never felt like I was a customer that mattered to any place I have purchased laptops. I've bought HypersonicPC, Dell, Alienware, and best buy. When I talked to Donald on the phone though, even though the website said they were sold out, he checked to see if any were sitting around because someone had forgot to send their payment. Sure enough, there was one that someone did not pay for, he put it on my order, and suggested that if I make a payment to their bank account, it will save me $50, and then I could upgrade to the single recovery DVD, still saving money. I made the payment via U.S. Bank the next morning, and 2 days later, Had it in my hands. UPS was the only downfall of the entire order since I had to sit at home for 11 hours waiting for the delivery, because they could not give a delivery window. Overall, I will be making ALL future purchases through Powernotebooks.com, and so will everyone else I know, I'll make sure of that.
Huge thanks to Donald and his team at Powernotebooks.com, you all are the greatest!"