"EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS REVIEW CAREFULLY.
I cannot in good conscience write a glowing review for PowerNotebook in light of the situation with my last purchase of a $4,000 Sager NP-9280. I will not be buying any more notebooks from them in the future. Just before ordering on December 23, 2009 I asked the owner if it was possible the Sager prices would be lowered again shortly after the first of the new year. He replied that there would be no changes on this model in the near future (his words). So I ordered the unit then, even though much earlier I told him in an email that I would wait until 2010 to order, indicating my intention to wait. When it was delivered on January 15, 2010 – I noticed that Sager and Powernotebooks lowered the prices on the one I order by over $290. I pointed out to the owner that this price reduction occurred three weeks after he assured me that no price changes would occur in the near future. He replied in an email: “Unfortunately Sager never tells us when they are going to change pricing until the day they do it.” I contend this last answer should have been the one he offered me back on December 23rd before I placed the order based on his misleading prediction of no changes in the near future. I’m out nearly $300 for believing the owner’s statement.

He tried to dodge the bullet by ignoring his failure to take responsibility for his misleading statement in December, and suggested the option that I return the notebook to the factory and re-order another one at the new reduced prices. This is an option offered by the factory, not PowerNotebooks. But this would involve my paying another $40 twice for shipping both ways. But the real point of this issue is simply that I would have waited another month based on my intuition (as I had told him earlier) had the owner stated the truth back in December that a price change was possible, instead of saying that a price change won’t occur in the near future. But then later he offers in his defense that the factory never tells him in advance. Back in December he should indicated he never knew when changes could occur – just as he indicated after the fact, when I confronted him after the notebook was delivered and the price had changed.

I cannot in good conscience trust him again, nor muster the blind confidence I once had in PowerNotebooks prior to experiencing this last (and final) exception to the claim on their website: “Since 1999 We have been Providing Excellent Customer Satisfaction…...” My experience indicates otherwise. I now believe that the credibility and trust belongs to the Sager factory personnel who build these high-performance notebooks with unwavering dedication and consistent quality. I will be buying the next generation Sager D900 (likely sporting the new Intel hexacore) from a different reseller.
"

"I would give PowerPro a five star rating for the ordering / buying process alone, but what really impressed me (and I mean this - truely impressed) was their handling of a minor problem I had with my laptop.
To be accurate, it wasn't even a problem but rather the lack of a firmware feature that would come in handy for me. After figuring out that MSI (manufacturer of the barebone system my order was based on) would have to be involved I more or less expected that this would be the end of it and I just would have to wait and hope that MSI would include what I wanted in some future firmware version. Had they handled it that way it would have not diminished my customer satisfaction.

The way the PowerPro support team pushed the issue with MSI went way, way beyond what should reasonable be expected of vendor support. My computer now has the feature I wanted and I am left with a deep satisfaction about having bought from a company that really cares about their customers and their products.

This review might seem a bit too glowing, but the fact is that I would have never been able to resolve this without the initiative of PowerPro.

So a double thumbs up to them!"

"I was in the market for a new powerful laptop to use move for Web development rather than gaming. I was very interested in having a laptop custom built in order to be optimized so it could be a screamer for my projects. I spoke with the rep at powernotebooks.com and was very happy with the service they provided. He specked the perfect machine out and I purchased it right over the phone. I have been using this machine since June and love it. I am almost certain I will be coming back to powernotebooks for future machines."

"I recently received my new NP7650 laptop, and I'm really impressed with the purchase planning process, the feedback support, and the final quality of the device!!! Based upon a recommendation by my much more tech literate son (who got a very high end gaming machine from PowerNotebooks.com last year), I easily set up a customized order that arrived flawlessly in a very few days, ready to run, and with great customer service follow-up throughout the process. I was able to mount excellent and high performance hardware in my unit for well within my planned budget, and avoid the cheap and failure prone "typical" innards of a routine "consumer" purchase. Based upon recommendations, that was very important, and differentiated this equipment! I'd certainly recommend looking into the PowerNotebooks.com product menu and taking some time to discuss your real long term component needs. I'm very satisfied with my decisions, and would indeed shop via them again for other equipment without hesitation !!
Chuck"

"I recently purchased my fifth laptop from PowerNotebooks.com and once again their website and personal service were excellent. Over time I have purchased additional equipment from them and gone back to discuss warranty repairs and have had nothing but superior service, provided with an accommodating attitude by a knowledgeable staff. I haven't got the time to waste looking for laptops anywhere else."

"My first laptop several years ago in the 1990's was a Sager. I always remembered that thing was bullet proof and never died. My son now 19 started researching computers, and after several weeks of research announced he had decided on a Sager Notebook. He said this is the best laptop available, with the best components, at the best price. I laughed when I saw it was a Sager, and said that is good brand.

Don was our salesperson was very helpful and answered all of our questions, from beginning to end, and on Christmas morning my son was a very happy boy. He has had a steady stream of friends coming and saying that thing is fast! Sager will be getting some more business from this household.

Not only would I recommend Sager and Powernotebooks.com, I would have a hard time justifying getting any other brand."

"Powernotebooks.com was very helpful and communicative through the entire order process. Once I ordered they requested I call them which I thought was kind of odd, but after talking to them I understood why. They went through the specifications on the laptop I was ordering to make sure I was getting exactly what I wanted, and it was very much appreciated. After placing the order, it got held up in customs, and they were nice enough to send me and email letting me know about this to keep me informed. All in all a very pleasant experience. I heard of them from a friend, and I would without hesitation suggest them to any of my friends who are intended to buy a laptop."

"Donald and Tim were very helpful, knowledgeable and made ordering my laoptop easy and convenient. There was no hassle or pressure and they pro actively communicated every stage of the process.

I would definitely recommend Powernotebooks.com!"

"Received the Powernotebook by Sager Model 8760. The CPU is the I7 extreme. I am very please so far. Even though the dual 500g hard drives add weight, I don't mind this because this is a desktop replacement system for me. The layout of the keyboard and adjacent keypad is ergonomic and easy to use. The scren is very clear presenting pictures and videos in excellent clarity. have no cons at this time."

"I ordered a cutomized laptop from PowerNotebooks.com...a GREAT company! As I am in the military and deployed to Iraq, the machine took some time to arrive (due to expected complicatons when delivering something to a combat zone, by my move to a diffent post while the machine was in transit, and by the usual hold-ups associated with Registered Mail). I finally received it...and its performance is nothing less than superb. However, I was MOST IMPRESSED by their customer service department--specifically with one of their representatives, Charlotte. She continually went "above and beyond" to ensure that the computer made it to me "safe and sound." As a matter of fact, it is because of her actions that I am typing this message right now! This laptop is OUTSTANDING!...but its quality and craftsmanship are a mere a function of PowerNotebooks' overall standard of EXCELLENCE! Thank you Charlotte!!! And to the rest of the staff: Thank you too!"

"Ordering from this company was a very good experience; I got quick replies to all my questions and updates on what what going on with my laptop. My laptop is working great now that I have it, and I would definitely recommend powernotebooks.com to anyone that is out looking for a laptop."

"Awesome service. Two representatives, Donald and Tim spent extensive time with me both over the phone and by email in answering highly technical questions and assisted with hardware specific recomendations for the software I planned on using with the new laptop system. When they didnt know, they researched my question and responded very quickly. When I changed the specs for my new system after the initial order, they passed on a recent price reduction implemented by Sager during mid production of my system. The system I purchased is a Sager N9280 - it is absolutely the fastest, most powerful lap top on the planet - I researched my purchase extensively for over a month before deciding on Powernotebooks.com - I definitely made the right choice. "

"It was with great hesitation (and more than one long phone call to the company), that I sent PowerNotebooks a wire transfer for my order in 2007. I'm just not used to handing over a big purchase like that!

It was the beginning of a great customer service relationship, and I'm here today to tell you that I've bought from them again: after 2 years with my last Sager, it was no question that I'd be back to PowerNotebooks when the time came that I needed another powerful laptop. I just purchased an NP9850.

Do the research like me and you'll probably find the same thing: no negative reviews, almost no complaints handled by the BBB, because they've rarely had complaints that needed handling, ever. I had one small error in my 2007 order and they seemed honestly embarrassed by it and bent over backwards to make it right.

Over the past two years I've felt perfectly at home e-mailing or calling if I had questions about my Sager (an NP9621), and they were pleasantly patient when I repeatedly called and e-mailed checking on the NP 9850. We got it last night, it's clearly been carefully tested before it was thoroughly packaged and shipped to me via UPS, and so far it's also clear just from handling that I've purchased a quality product.
I recommend PowerNotebooks to anyone who wants the best notebooks in the industry, without having to pay Alienware-level prices. Highly recommended."

"My entire experience with PowerNotebooks was flawless. I made my order in mid-November and during the Thanksgiving holiday, I had noticed that the price on the Sager 8662 had dropped. I sent an e-mail to Donald Stratton and he replied promptly, assuring me that I would get the new low price. Much to my surprise he also upgraded the monitor to 1920x1200 and matte material completely for free.

Although I have spent only a few days with my new laptop, I am positive I made the right choice. The build quality is just amazing and it slices through every game I throw at it.

If there is one complaint I can make it would be that the production time was rather long. It took a little less than three weeks to ship but I think that's more of an issue with getting the computer from Sager than PowerNotebook's fault.

Overall, my entire experience with PowerNotebooks (and Donald Stratton in particular) has been flawless."

"The PowerNotebook Experience

I was in the market for a new laptop after the graphic processing unit on my HP Pavilion dv9700 fried (do not buy an HP product). I wanted a laptop that could play the latest video games and still be relatively portable. After an enormous amount of research, I settled on a Sager NP8690 with the following specs:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M
15.6” Full HD (1920x1080)
i7-820QM (1.73~3.06GHz, 45W) w/8M L3 Cache
4GB DDR3/1333 Dual Channel Memory
500GB SATA II 3GB/s 7,200RPM Hard Drive
Windows 7 Premium

The following is a list of resellers offering the same system/same specs (18 October 2009 pricing and lifetime reseller rating):

A Gear Notebooks 2118.48 reseller rating=0 (0 reviews)
Factor Gaming 2404.00 reseller rating=9.17 (6 reviews)
Malibal 2135.94 reseller rating=9.86 (52 reviews)
PC Torque 2118.48 reseller rating=9.86 (277 reviews)
PowerNotebooks 2118.48 reseller rating=9.95 (1547 reviews)
Pro-Star 2118.48 reseller rating=6.15 (13 reviews)
Sager Notebooks 2194.00 reseller rating=5.07 (36 reviews)
Xotic PC 2106.84 reseller rating=9.87 (139 reviews)

Alienware offered a similar model (the M15x) with the GeForce GTX 260M vice the 280M for $2474.00. However, Alienware did not offer a fingerprint reader or number pad like the Sager. It was basically the same laptop with an inferior video card, sleeker design, and light-up keyboard for an extra $350 bucks (no thanks Dell).

Overpriced resellers (Factor Gaming) were immediately removed from my list. Any reseller with a lifetime rating less than 9.0 were next to go (A Gear, Pro-Star and Sager Notebooks). Malibal, PC Torque, and Xotic PC appeared to be upstart companies compared to PowerNotebooks. Out of 1547 customer reviews, they still maintained a 9.95 lifetime rating. Reading the customer reviews explains why. PowerNotebooks pays a great deal of personal attention to their customers. Plus, (I consider myself a patriot) anyone willing to fly “Old Glory” on their website deserves my hard-earned green backs as far as I’m concerned. I purchased my computer from PowerNotebooks the next day.

I was very impressed. Mr. Stratton was quick to answer all my emails and address any questions or concerns I may have had. It took some time, but they were able to ship to my overseas APO here in Baghdad. Mr. Stratton even included a few Nutri-Grain bars to snack on out here which was extremely thoughtful. Bottom line…you know you’re ordering from real people and not some automated factory. I will definitely purchase from PowerNotebooks in the future. It’s a great company.

P.S. The Sager NP8690 will rock your face off!!!

-Kevin

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