ABS Mayhem Blackhawk is 3.8 pounds of Merom and GeForce goodness

It's not always easy to balance power and portability when it comes to gaming notebooks, mainly because gamers want to stuff as many graphics cards, fans, and sticks of RAM as possible into a big screen package. Well ABS Computer Technology's new Mayhem Blackhawk may only offer a 14.1-inch XGA display, but it makes up for the relatively low resolution by offering a Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics, up to 2GB of RAM, and 160GB of storage in just a 3.8-pound enclosure. Also on board are a DVD burner, three-flavor WiFi, your choice of XP or Vista, and of course the all-important 56.6kbps modem. All this and more -- like a free Logitech headset, Age of Empires III, Far Cry, and MS Works 2004 -- can be yours starting at $1,500.

[Via Computer Shopper]

[Ypoknons @ Mar 3rd 2007 10:21AM]

That's actually pretty light for the specs - and that 7600 means it can do some serious gaming. The resolution is is a bit light though - it's nearest competitor, the Asus A8jS, has a 16:10 1440x960 screen and a Geforce 7700, but also weighs 5 pounds. Too bad the next generation - with DX10 graphics cards (e.g. Asus VX2), it seems - is due out in April.

[Arnie @ Mar 3rd 2007 11:41AM]

The configuration mentioned will cost the buyer about 1708$ which I would be gladly willing to pay for this thin and light gaming laptop!

[ethana2 @ Mar 3rd 2007 12:35PM]

With your choice of Vista or XP. How 'bout not. I want Ubuntu with Cedega. And a touch screen. And Spanish and English support both installed. And can I use that GPU for folding@home once they come out with a Linux stream co processor client? How about its idling specs? If I'm in xfce with no translucency typing up an .odt, is it still going to draw a ton of power? What about the CPU? Does it have clock gating? Dynamic voltage throttling? Is the GPU PCIe 16x? How hard is it to replace? Does the dialup modem add cost?- I don't want it.

I wish it was easier to build laptops from parts. Sure there's the "customize your laptop" deals, but I want to pick everything down to the south bridge cooling.
But then, I'm not the average consumer...

[Megatomic @ Mar 3rd 2007 2:34PM]

So get the cheapest OS option they allow and install your own OS. And regarding the hardware options you want - show me one laptop where you can customize down to the mobo cooling.

Be realistic.

[bophojones @ Mar 3rd 2007 12:41PM]

so when you say three flavor wi-fi....are we saying a-b-g or now b-g-n?

[greg @ Mar 3rd 2007 5:54PM]

From ABS website:

Weight: 3.28lbs/ 2.4Kg

2.4kg = 5.29 lbs.
I wonder which one it is? 3.28, 3.8 or 5.29?

[idunno @ Mar 3rd 2007 4:41PM]

ethana2,

Are you completely idiotic? It's a GAMING laptop. What you want isn't even close to the same category of this laptop. Try maybe installing Ubuntu on a tablet PC or something, that's at least mildly close to your fantasy...

[daliminator2000 @ Mar 3rd 2007 7:40PM]

I'm a little skeptical about that weight...it doesn't seem realistic.

But if it IS actually 3.8 lbs...why couldn't this have come out earlier?!! *&#%@$!!!

[Stranger @ Mar 4th 2007 8:29AM]

3.8 pounds sounds impossible, it would put it in the same league as laptops with 12" screens and integrated graphics.

[Stranger @ Mar 4th 2007 8:33AM]

Hey, it even says 5.2 lbs on the website. And it's not a XGA screen, it's a WXGA or WSXGA+ (1440*900) screen. the the website seem a bit schizofrenic.

[chris @ Mar 4th 2007 9:01AM]

who would want to install a 56k modem on a gaming laptop?

[wesrubix @ Mar 5th 2007 1:35PM]

I got in touch with ABS on the phone and got some clarification about the Blackhawk laptop:

The laptop is 3.28 pounds WITHOUT the Optical Drive and battery.

The laptop weigh 5.2 pounds WITH the Optical Drive and battery.

The screen is 14.1 with 1280 x 800 resolution.

While the screen is ok, the weight was too good to be true.

[wesrubix @ Mar 6th 2007 9:41PM]

more from an email from ABS:
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Thank you for contacting ABS.

There is some discrepancies between the real specification of the Mayhem Blackhawk and the specification on our website. Here is the correct information:

The barebook of the Mayhem Blackhawk is Compal GL-30. And the screen resolution of the laptop is WXGA 1280X800. And the whole computer weighs about 2.5kg.


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