The AVADirect Effect
As a custom builder looking to show off its performance hardware, AVADirect packed each W860CU notebook with some of its best performance hardware. This begins with 4GB of Kingston’s DDR3-1333.
The empty Mini-PCIe socket above (with the insulation-wrapped antenna wire) appears to be where the Bluetooth controller would go on a production notebook, since the production notebook actually includes one in the base price. Two sinks hide the Intel Core i7-820QM processor and the graphics module.
AVADirect offers hard drive capacities up to 750GB, but chose instead to outfit these test samples with a performance-oriented solid-state disk drive.
The W860CU includes a 42.18Wh three-cell battery. AVADirect doesn’t offer a second internal battery, but anyone who would like to carry a spare for the original battery can add it to their configuration sheet for $123.
A 120W power brick adds 1.6 lbs. to the necessary accompaniments.
Accessories include a folder with software and documentation, a DVI-I-to-VGA video adapter, a cleaning cloth, the remainder of the tube of thermal compound, and a telephone cord for the modem.