Gigabyte's G-Max N411

Name: Gigabyte's G-Max N411 - Page 2
Brand: Gigabyte's

by Andrew Ku — Tuesday, February 08, 2005, 03:00 PM EDT

Construction: Build, Appearance, Size

Construction: Building, Appearance, Size

Very Sleek

The notebook is cased in a simple white enamel-like plastic, which is softer than some of other composite materials we usually see from the big three system manufacturers: Dell, HP/Compaq and IBM. The top of the notebook is somewhat reinforced with ridges, which we assume is to make it safer to place something on top of it. Practically speaking, the ridges provide no real benefits, so they may just be there for aesthetic reasons.

Opening the notebook is easy enough, as there is no clip, security tab or otherwise. The weight of the display lid is what keeps it in place when closed. It almost feels like there is a weak magnet holding the lid shut, but there are no magnets used in the case design of the N411. While the clip-less design makes it easier to use the notebook, we feel it comes at the expense of long term use. Those on the go will find it annoying to have their lid possibly swing out during travel, either in their backpack, briefcase, or holding it in any manner that would put the forces of gravity to work.

The feel of the notebook is fairly sturdy, but the casing material could use some improvement, when we compare it to the likes of notebooks from Dell, HP/Compaq, IBM.

Front (left to right):

Left Speaker
Right Speaker

Left (left to right):

Lock jack
Modem jack
4-pin mini IEEE1394 port
USB 2.0 port
Exhaust vent
headphone port
microphone port

Gigabyte actually uses a multi-bay design for their optical drive, which gives them and users more options in the long term, but the manufacturer is providing no direct options other than the Mashita OEM 9.5mm extra slim optical drive.