Selling my Sager 8790 (artifacts are included free)

oresteez · 08-24-2007, 01:36 PM

The time has come, and with a heavy heart, I am selling my Sager 8790...(D87, D87P, D870, D870p, etc.)

I've been plagued by the video card demons and they have blessed me with permanent artifacts. I thought about having Sager replace the mobo, but I really don't have the 400 bucks to have it repaired...so I'm just going to sell what I have and then upgrade my desktop...

It's a shame, because other than the video, the laptop is in great condition and is working fine. I was going to just keep it and use it to view the web, etc...but the artifacts are annoying, so hopefully someone else will be able to part it out, or repair on their own.

Here's the background:

The laptop was purchased in April of 2004 from PC Torque. I have babied it since the day I received it. I've done regular cleanings under the keyboard, inside the case fan, and inside the heat sink/processor area. I've applied arctic silver to improve heat dissipation, etc. This machine has definitely been given better care than most of computers you will come across.

I've had to RMA it once, because the ethernet port stopped working. They replaced it with a new motherboard around May of 2005 and it was working fine until a few weeks ago when the artifacts started.

Laptop boots fine, and everything works great, other than the video artifacts.
They will sometimes show up during bootup, or wait until after you log into to windows. I've tried downclocking the video card, but that did not help. By the way, this video card has never been overclocked.

My screen is in beautiful condition. As far as I can tell, there are no dead pixels. There are no scratches on the screen, and it has only been cleaned using microfiber cloths.

The only thing I'm removing from the machine is the hard drive. I'll replace it with a 30 or 40 GB if you really want one, but I'm sure you already have a drive you will want to use.

Everything else that came with the machine is being sold...specs are below..as well as pictures.

3.0 Ghz Pentium 4 processor 800 mhz FSB
1.0 GB memory (either pc2700 or pc3200..whichever came with the machine..)
17 inch LCD, 1680x1050 wide angle, glossy..I think its considered WSXGA+?
internal wireless 108 b/g
DVD/CDRW

Like I said, machine will boot and works fine other than the artifacts. There is a small crack near one of the hinges which I would imagine is from normal wear and tear, since the machine has never been dropped, and was always carried/stored in my big Targus backpack.

I did some checking for prices on ebay, and other laptop sites, and if I part out all the pieces, it looks like it would come out to be a fair bit over 350, but since I'd rather not take it all apart, my asking price will be $350. I will accept almost all payments: Paypal, check, money order, cash (lol)...up to you..just ask me and we'll work something out...naturally if you send a check, i'll have to wait for it to clear before shipping...which i'm going to guess will cost around $25....if it costs less, i'll send you the difference...and i'm pretty sure i have the original box that the machine came in...

Any questions about anything, please don't hesitate to contact me...

For references, I have an ebay account, the name is Oresteez
I've also been a member of notebookforums.com since Dec of 2002, have owned and/or used many Sagers, and have contributed a lot of posts to the forums over the years.

I have just recently discovered notebookreview.com, which I have been very impressed by...which is why I'm posting here as well

Lots of pictures below...

Here's the screen, you can see the artifacts, but can also see how nice the picture still is...

This is the small crack near the hinge...

Picture of the keyboard...little bit of shinyness on the left side of the palm rest..from normal use..

Also, I reinforced the wire on my power cable with some electrical tape. The rubber started to detach from the brick unit, so I pushed it back in, and covered it with tape. Power adapter works fine, there's no exposed wires, or anything of that nature to worry about. It should be handled with care though. I do believe this can be fixed by an electrician or even an electrical hobbyist for a very small amount of money, should you be worried about it...

So that's that...any questions, don't hesitate

tangent · 08-24-2007, 01:49 PM

what video card does it have?

Kierkes · 08-24-2007, 02:06 PM

It says 9700 on the Machine.

oresteez · 08-24-2007, 02:25 PM

Yes it's the 256 MB Radeon 9700

Johnny T · 08-24-2007, 02:34 PM

I have to say, i had the same problem with my 9700 too (see sig), but it was still under warranty so i got the mobo replaced. But I dunt know whether this will happen to yours or not...what happened to mine was that the problem just got worst and worst untill I can hardly see the screen properly...