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Entered CNET Catalog: 01/24/2006
SKU: CNETABSMAYHEMG4
Manufacturer: ABS Computer
Product summary
The good: Great application performance; decent gaming performance; InstantOn feature; power-saving GPU toggle; comfortable keyboard.
The bad: Warranty not upgradable.
The bottom line: The ABS Mayhem G4 Revolution offers strong performance, appealing design, and some great features at a relatively affordable price.
Average user rating: 0 stars Not yet available
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 03/20/2006
At just over 6 pounds, the midsize Mayhem G4 Revolution seems quite lightweight, until you add its 1.2-pound power brick. Measuring 14.9 inches wide, 10.7 inches deep, and 1.4 inches thick, the Revolution is not particularly sleek, either. But typing is comfortable, thanks to a roomy keyboard that feels firm and offers excellent key travel. The spacebar is small, and the Insert and Delete keys sit along the bottom row instead of in the top-right corner, but we didn't find that it affected our overall typing experience. We liked the fully programmable touch pad with a dedicated scroll area.
The Mayhem G4 Revolution's 15.4-inch wide-screen display, with a 1,280x800 native resolution is sharp and easy on the eyes. DVD playback also looked great, thanks in part to the higher-end Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 graphics subsystem.
Some slick usability enhancements include InterVideo's InstantOn technology, which lets you play DVDs and CDs, as well as other media files on the hard drive, without booting the Windows OS first; there's also a switch that lets you toggle the powerful but power-hungry graphics card on and off to save battery life. The Mayhem G4 Revolution runs right down the middle in terms of ports and slots, with headphone and microphone jacks, modem, Ethernet, FireWire, S/PDIF, S-Video, and three USB 2.0 ports (for this price, we'd expect four--or more--USB ports). There are also a Type II PC Card slot (though no ExpressCard slot) and a four-in-one memory card reader that recognizes Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, and Memory Stick Pro formats. The features list is rounded out with a DVD burner and integrated 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi.
Our test unit featured a fast 2.26GHz Pentium M 780 processor, 1GB of 533MHz RAM; an Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 graphics card with 256MB dedicated memory; and a 5,400rpm, 80GB hard drive. The Mayhem G4 Revolution scored an impressive 177 on our SysMark 2004 portion of CNET Labs' benchmark tests, ahead of both the expensively configured Dell XPS M170 and the pricey $2,599 Asus W2V. The Mayhem G4 Revolution's GPU, which was high-end in the previous generation of graphics cards, delivered 26.7 frames per second in our Doom 3 workout--faster than the Asus but a touch below what we look for in a gaming machine and far behind Dell's top-of-the-line graphics card.
ABS backs the Mayhem G4 Revolution with an average one-year warranty that also includes a year of 24/7 toll-free phone support. However, the company offers no warranty upgrades or extensions.
SysMark 2004 performance (Longer bars indicate better performance)
 |
BAPCo SysMark 2004 rating | |
SysMark2004 Internet content creation | |
SysMark2004 office productivity |
ABS Mayhem G4 Revolution
177
206
152
Dell XPS M170
170
209
138
Asus W2V
163
192
139
Doom 3 High Quality, 10x7, 4XA (Longer bars indicate better performance)
|
Id Software/ActiVision's Doom 3 |
Dell XPS M170
87.5
ABS Mayhem G4 Revolution
26.7
Asus W2V
20.9
System configurations:
ABS Mayhem G4 Revolution
Windows XP Home; 2.26GHz Intel Pentium M 780; 1GB PC 4200 DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 6600 256MB; Fujitsu MHT2060BH 5,400rpm
Asus W2V
Windows XP Media Center; 2.13GHz Intel Pentium M 770; 1GB PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon x700 128MB; Fujitsu MHV2100AH 100GB 5,400rpm
Dell XPS M170
Windows XP Media Center Edition; 2.26GHz Pentium M-780; 1GB PC 4200 DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 GTX 256MB; Fujitsu MHV2100AH 100GB 5,400rpm
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 User Rating: 
8/10
Good System, a little pricey
Pros: Powerful chipset, good graphics, very good benchmark
Cons: Low battery life, runs hot on right side, should have better design for the price, DVD ROM see below
Review: This laptop has served me well through Iraq. I shipped it first to Puerto Rico then it got shipped by my family to Iraq. The laptop came in great condition and still works to this day (a year from when I bought it). I can play graphic intensive games without a glitch. I play F.E.A.R, No real issues with it except that my DVD ROM sometimes disappears from Windows if I don't use it for long. It does not affect gameplay.
The laptop runs quite hot on the right side but it never affected performance. It is a solid powerful computer even if it is a little older. I think the price was too high considering it does not have any nice buttons to increase and decrease volume, etc. A solid low to medium gamer laptop that will last for a long time.
The screws in the bottom tend to get loose for some reason. But mine did have a velcro tied to a cooling system that I pulled sometimes so that might be the problem.
Although the company itself has mixed reviews I can frankly say I have never had to call then so I don't know.
The laptop runs quite hot on the right side but it never affected performance. It is a solid powerful computer even if it is a little older. I think the price was too high considering it does not have any nice buttons to increase and decrease volume, etc. A solid low to medium gamer laptop that will last for a long time.
The screws in the bottom tend to get loose for some reason. But mine did have a velcro tied to a cooling system that I pulled sometimes so that might be the problem.
Although the company itself has mixed reviews I can frankly say I have never had to call then so I don't know.
User Rating: 
3/10
Questionable Company!
Pros: Custom Built Units
Cons: Bad, Bad Service!
Review: I would have to agree with jadiche8's comments. I have one of the ABS desktops, during less than a year of ownership the floppy and the CD burner went out. I had a hard time getting that replaced. I wasted a lot of time due to limited hours on their schedule. I called the tech line then from there it goes through many steps before they would admit it?s bad. Then someone is supposed to return a call you back and give authorization number. That took over 2 weeks because no one called back which I had to call them back. Then you have to down your unit and send them the part from there they?ll review it then send you the new one. From the time I called the first time on the problem to the time I received the replacement part, it took about a littlie over 4 weeks and I?m not kidding! I like having a customer built unit, but the pain of customer service is what you would have to put up with. Dell had pretty customer service in their earlier days, but a few years ago when I called to try to get tech info I was talking to someone in India that turned me off completely. I might try CyberPower next and see how that goes.
User Rating: 
1/10
BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY
Pros: IT USED TO WORK
Cons: HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I am a repeat customer and hate this company now. EXPECT THE WORST SERVICE FROM THIS COMPANY YOU CAN IMAGINE. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM YOU WILL CALL TO BE PLACED IN A QUEUE ONLY TO GET AN OPERATOR WHO WILL THEN TELL YOU A TECHNICIAN WILL CALL YOU SOMETIME IN THE NEXT DAY. THEN WHEN YOU TALK TO A LIVING TECHNICIAN THEY TELL YOU THEY WILL SEND THE PARTS WHICH HAVE NEVER ARRIVED DESPITE REPEAT CALLS OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS. EVERY CALL BACK PUTS YOU IN A LINE ONLY TO BE TOLD SOMEONE WILL CALL YOU BACK WITHIN A DAY. A CALL TO THE NUMBER ON THE COMPANIES WEB SITE GOES TO AN ANSWERING MACHINE!!! SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GO ELSEWHERE.
