ABS Mayhem G3

Pros: Commendable set of features for the money

Cons: Heavy; hot; poor optical drive; very poor battery life

Summary: I was first excited when I unpacked the box; the instructions and manual were sufficient and the system was up and running in no time. The notebook worked well for a few months but then the battery and the optical drive and the whole power supply went bad and all needed to be replaced. You have to pay to ship the unit to ABS which I did not appreciate; they pay only shipping to return the unit back to you. Each time th eunit was unavailable to me for a week or longer. The power supply and battery was fixed but somehow I had even poorer battery life after the unit came back. You don't even get 1 hour out of the system - the battery drains fast. Then, the optical drive: got a replacement which just lasted long enough to get me through the balance of the warrenty and then it went bad right after. I was hoping for ABS to supply me with another replacement in good faith but did not get so lucky. Now I am stuck with a bulky notebook and no working optical drive. I suspect that the replacement I got at the time was refurbished.

In summary, I cannot recommend this notebook or any other ABS products since they have severe weaknesses and once you're out of warranty you're out of luck. If you must buy this product get a repalcement battery and extended warranty - you're going to need both desperately!