New Laptop for the Corsarius!
Introducing, Corsarify*! You might crucify the name, but there ain’t any other that fits the bill. I bought the sleek-looking thang last Friday at SM North Edsa’s Cyberzone, from a shop that offers Build Your Own Notebook (BYON) units. In Cyberzone, the shop goes by the name Computers & Options (CNO), while you can find it as Think PC in Gilmore and Taft.
Forgive me if I’ll boast of the laptop’s specs here — right now I’m just thrilled by them. The unit’s powered by a 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium M processor and 1GB DDR RAM. Its unique 256MB onboard memory feeds the needs of a NVIDIA GeForce Go 6400 (with max video memory of 256MB). It has a 60GB hard disk, a DVD-RW combo drive, built-in webcam (not that I’m a fan of these things), Wi-Fi, Firewire, LAN, modem, four USB slots, and memory card reader. All of this went for around Php 73,000.00 (half of which I paid by credit card); 1 Year warranty included and OS not included, by the way.
I picked these specs because even though I don’t want to fry my laptop needlessly, I’m still a gamer who needs a decent machine to enjoy the trade. To offset the heat generated by the unit, I also bought an Antek Notebook Cooler on top of which I’m now placing the laptop.
As this is my very first laptop (not a true techie, then?), I’m still struggling with the trackpad. Yes, feel free to laugh at me. Three days into Corsarify, I’m pretty much satisfied with it, except for two problems. First, the laptop’s high specs result in shorter battery life — at max performance settings for the battery, I can only use Corsarify for around 2 hours. Using it at average and minimum settings extends it to nearly 3 hours. Also, I’m quite fearful that the laptop’s white skin won’t look as elegant as it is today after months of dirt and dust. I wanted to buy a black unit, but there wasn’t any available for my choice of the bundled basic specs.
If you have the time and are interested in the shop’s BYON models, do drop by them — the guys at CNO were certainly more than helpful. You can find them near Abenson at the end of Cyberzone’s left wing (right if you’re facing the buiding). I’ll post updates about Corsarify as my relationship with her goes along; hope there aren’t many bumps in the road!
*Corsarify. Ia said “Corsarize” would sound less bizarre, but I’m sticking with Corsarify. Sounds more stylish, not to mention a jab at combining my Corsarius with Ia’s Stellify. Going the other way around, it could be Stellicor, but that might fit better for a future two-person company (wink wink). Corsarify is the, uh, portal from which the works of the Corsarius, both literary and techie, will issue forth. Ah, I’m waxing eccentric now.
Postscript. That (virtual) sexy lady posing on my desktop is Cate Archer of the No One Lives Forever fame. Beauty and brains combined; certainly hotter than Lara Croft!
Experience the thrill of buying a new computer, read an article on computer buying guide at HistoricalTextArchive.com
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July 2nd, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Memory:
I thought it was DDR2?
Stickers:
Can they _not_ put stickers on? Heh.
Dirt+Dust:
I hope somebody knows of a good laptop protector in the Philippines. One that covers every part of the latop.
Corsarize:
Rhymes with sore eyes. Or not, if you want to get strict about it.
Cate Archer:
I guess you’re not like other people who like more skimpily-clad ladies on their desktops…
July 2nd, 2006 at 11:59 pm
Ia:
Memory: Yeah, I thought so, too. But that was for another unit…the specs printed on the small paper label (remember it?) said DDR when I checked for the last time.
Dirt+Dust: I agree. Liquid cleaners are good, but a trusty laptop protector (ala cellphone silicon case?) would be better.
Corsarize: Er…I’m wondering why ’sore eyes’ was the first one to come to your mind, hehe.
Cate Archer: Well….no comment
July 3rd, 2006 at 3:49 am
Wow. Congrats! I’m envious.
Yeah, stickers suck. As for dirt and dust, well, that’s life.
July 3rd, 2006 at 7:47 am
yeah man! 1gb and 256mb! Re the batt, there are battery repacking services that claim to increase power by 30%, although ive not tried it.
new corsarify means more blog posts for the corsarius! hehe
July 3rd, 2006 at 1:03 pm
[...] And with my colleagues snapping up spanking new laptops of their own (Hiya, Dave and Phillip!), I think it’s high time I had an upgrade myself. So I’d been strolling around in the malls in the search for that perfect (as well as perfectly-priced) laptop. And I plan to purchase on as soon as possible. Cash preferred, of course. [...]
July 3rd, 2006 at 3:12 pm
JAngelo, don’t be envious. You’re next in line to buy a new laptop, right? Hehe.
Gary, battery repacking services? Will look into that, thanks for the tip. Yep, Corsarify means more posts! (That is the ideal case, of course :P)
July 3rd, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Mm, sexy laptop. (Don’t tell Fel, she’ll get jealous.)
But! Do you seriously intend to play games on Corsarify without a mouse? Because — no matter how good your hand-eye coordination — it’s torture.
July 3rd, 2006 at 3:26 pm
I’m actually using a mouse right now, hehe. JAngelo once asked me why I bought a laptop when all I’ll be using after all is a mouse. My answer was…gaming! Gah, it’s already torture for me to just browse the Net, what more when I’m playing Dota or GTA…
July 3rd, 2006 at 7:43 pm
Who knows? Maybe I just did.
July 4th, 2006 at 10:26 am
JAngelo once asked me why I bought a laptop when all I’ll be using after all is a mouse.
Yeah. The point with using a laptop is for you to have an all-in-one device. Still, your excuse is acceptable. After all, gaming on a touchpad can be hell!
what more when I’m playing Dota or GTA
Hala, baka addicted ka na! Don’t forget work ha!
July 6th, 2006 at 10:47 am
Congrats!
I’m still in dialogue with HP and the store where I purchased my HP laptop lemon.
July 9th, 2006 at 3:16 am
J, nope, di pa naman. I’ll indulge in Dota in the next week or so, hehe!
Senor Enrique, and so the nightmare continues? I share your discomfort over your laptop lemon. And to think — HP, of all companies! I sincerely hope the debacle gets over soon.
July 13th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
congratulations on your new toy! good specs for that kind of price, especially considering that it was bought in the Phils. regarding dust and dirt, you just have to use your laptop in a room that’s well ventilated but not near the window. you can also use a nice laptop case/bag and you have to clean it every now and then.
July 19th, 2006 at 3:15 am
[...] *Corsarius has his Corsarify. [...]
July 19th, 2006 at 5:28 am
Jaypee, thanks, man! And double thanks for the advice. Problem is, our house is situated alongside quite a busy diversion road, meaning it’s always an uphill battle against dust and dirt
July 19th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
How I keep my laptop clean? Hmm. I just keep it away from sweaty palms and drooling lips. Wait, how the heck can I get to use my laptop that way?
July 19th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
70k+ for a laptop. tsk i was wondering how i’m going to get my hands on those kinds of stuff.
July 20th, 2006 at 12:44 am
J, drooling lips?! Man, this is PG!
Mbacarra, just bought it with my savings (salary), but it wasn’t even enough, so I had to borrow money, hehe.
July 20th, 2006 at 5:04 am
Shoot… I got nothing, not even a desktop
July 20th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
More pics! More pics!
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:34 pm
[...] I’ll be going on another brief family reunion slash vacation tomorrow to Kalibo, Aklan. As with my last trip to our home province, I’ll be attending a wedding (and playing some rounds of DoTa, I guess). But this time around, I’ll be able to take my work with me, courtesy of Corsarify. [...]
August 19th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
70K will get you a dual core macbook with OS!
dirt, dust and grime. well, unless you get to live inside a bubble, there is no other way to get rid of them. A good blast from the vacuum (set to reverse) should do the trick.
try to go to Digital Walker (VMall) and check out their Power Support films to protect your laptop. Mac users tend to be over-protective of their gears and buy all sorts of stuff to keep it clean - iSkin (keyboard protector), invisible shield or power support film (to protect against scratches), wrist rugs (to protect against LIBAG) and port protectors (to keep dust from getting inside thru the open ports).
oh, one thing to check — keyboard scuff marks on your LCD screen. It is annoying! If you find scuff marks, get Omnicleanz - a bit expensive but it will remove the scuff marks and leave your LCD like new!
August 19th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Sir Rom, yep, I’m actually thinking of buying a Macbook, too, in the next months, hehe…hope nothing comes up to empty the savings book
That’s a lot of tips there, sir; thank you very much! Yeah, I’m envious of the iSkin I saw at Cyberzone’s Mac store…if only it would fit my laptop’s keyboard, hehe!
August 20th, 2006 at 8:13 am
don’t worry, once you get your Macbook, the iSkins will fit perfectly. Just a word of warning, though, the iSkins sold at Apple Center are imitations and not the original iSkin (manipis sobra yung fake!). To find out if it’s orig, inspect the silicone itself if there is an iSkin embossed on it.
once you have extra funds to buy a Macbook, let me know. Might be able to help get you a good deal.
August 25th, 2006 at 6:47 am
But MacBooks only have the Intel GMA for their graphics cards. I can hardly find a notebook that is armed with a good GPU (I’ve looked at so many specs in the past months, and Nvidia is _rare_ and the laptop it’s on is too expensive!).
Plus, I wouldn’t dream of dirtying a Mac once I get my hands on one, although I have vowed to own a Mac before I leave this Earth!
I do wish there were other ’skins’ for other types of laptops. Obviously cellphones are way more important in this country than computers.
August 25th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Sir Rom, thanks for the tip. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to buy one
Ia, I don’t know if I’m being shortsighted on this one, but that’s why I also spent my 70K on a laptop with Nvidia and monster gaming specs (’monster’, at least for a laptop unit). Hmm..are laptopn units more varied compared to cellphones, in terms of chassis bulk and shape? If yes, maybe that would explain the dearth of skins…or maybe you’re just right (re: importance).
September 28th, 2006 at 8:36 pm
[...] Typhoon Milenyo has just rampaged through Metro Manila, leaving our little neighborhood without power. Here’s to brownout blogging and all. I’ve got to love the scant 3-hour battery life of my Corsarify. [...]
October 9th, 2006 at 3:57 am
[...] Ia’s Risk and my very own Corsarify got to ‘meet up’ last Thursday, when I had to go to SM Cyberzone and fix a demented hard drive. The two laptops had contrasting looks — mine has that sleek, white appearance while Risk is a black thing of beauty (morena?). Being a good 10K more expensive than my laptop, Risk had slightly better specs and (in my opinion) better chassis and built-in speakers. (The laptop to the left shows that bar the defective hard disk, Corsarify’s still fine — proudly brandishing our Isulong SEOPH wallpaper!) [...]
October 15th, 2006 at 6:55 am
[...] My next project will be to fix the effing desktop PC (named, uh, Corsarius), whose motherboard/CPU needs serious some lovin’ (or whackin’). Once it’s up and running again, I plan to buy a router and share the net juice between the PC and my Corsarify laptop. [...]
October 31st, 2006 at 3:07 am
[...] I initially bought the aircon (yep, my first appliance unit purchase) to prevent potential overheating damage to my laptop. Funny thing is, Corsarify’s keys actually froze half an hour after the aircon was first turned on! [...]
July 12th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
[...] *Corsarius has his Corsarify. [...]
August 1st, 2007 at 11:30 pm
[...] [...]
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:49 am
i wont byon laptop