Showing posts with label cheapest laptop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheapest laptop. Show all posts

Hp 2000-219dx Laptop, AMD Dual Core E350 Processor 15.6", 3gb, 320gb,webcam,supermulti DVD Burner,a

Hp 2000-219dx Laptop, AMD Dual Core E350 Processor 15.6', 3gb, 320gb,webcam,supermulti DVD Burner,amd RadeonTM Hd 6310 Discrete-class Graphics.This laptop is a good alternative to a netbook, if you were thinking about getting a netbook, get this one instead. It has a big screen to work with, and has a well-sized keyboard. The keyboard buttons are not crammed together since they forego the numeric keypad. I personally don't use Windows, and i took a chance and was able to easily install Debian Squeeze (6.0). The laptop comes with the latest chipset from Realtech (the RT8188) and if you use any type of Linux, you can compile the drivers easily from the source (provided by RealTech). If you use the preinstalled Windows 7, then don't worry about this, it'll work out of the box. The only complaint I have is that the trackpad buttons (left click, right click) have a cheap feel. This isn't a dealbreaker by any means.

Great keyboard, good-sized screen, works great with Windows or Linux.

The battery lasts around i'd say 2.5, maybe up to 3 hours. I think it was advertised as more, but I think manufacturers on the whole tend to exaggerate (perhaps they calculate based around just watching the BIOS config screen till it dies instead of real-world use).

I've been a Toshiba laptop fan for years, but when I went to shop for the latest Toshiba line I was stopped in my tracks by their new keyboard design, which uses a number pad and shifts the entire keyboard and mouse pad to the left so far that it becomes unusable.

I saw the HP Pavilion 2000-219DX and tested the keyboard and immediately fell in love. HP did a great job here. The keyboard and mouse pad are centered and it just feels perfect when typing. I'm a writer so it's very important to have a keyboard that works and this one is one of the best I've used.

The other big benefit of this laptop is that it's extremely quiet. I detect very little, if any fan noise. I don't know what they've done with this one, but the battery life is nothing short of amazing. I unplugged it the other day and worked on battery power all day. Granted I was only doing word processing and some web browsing, but battery life puts this laptop, with its power, 15-inch screen and onboard large 320GB hard drive, on par with netbooks for usability away from a power source. Again well done HP!

The only things I'm not entirely impressed with are the screen, it's average; it's processing speed, when working on big photo or video files it leaves something to be desired. I'm still using the stock 3GB of RAM. It should perform better with a RAM upgrade; also the right side placement of the power cord and two of its three USB slots. When will laptop makers realize that a lot of people use and external mouse and don't want wires coming out of the right side of the machine to interfere with mouse movement? Fortunately there is a USB port on the left side too, so it's not a major issue. One other minor complaint is the onboard mouse pad. Unlike the Toshiba's I've used, it doesn't have a scroll function on the right side of the pad. I miss that.

Those very minor complaints are the only things that keep me from giving this otherwise excellent machine five stars.

Overall though this laptop is an exceptional value, with its top-of-the-line keyboard and battery life. Stick in some additional RAM and you'll be ready to do about anything on this that you could with a desktop.

Highly recommended.

UPDATE:

After buying additional RAM (now 6GB total) and working with this computer for a couple of months, I want to report that it is quite slow when working with large photo files, or any other type of large amounts of data that require a lot of processing speed. After running Windows 7 Performance Tests it turns out the AMD processor in this computer is the weak link. The processor scored only a 3.8 (out of a possible 7.9).

So scratch wheat I said about putting additional RAM to make this computer a fast performer. Processor speed is important. With its slower processor the laptop is limited in terms of doing photo or video editing.

Buy Hp 2000-219dx Laptop, AMD Dual Core E350 Processor 15.6", 3gb, 320gb,webcam,supermulti DVD Burner,a Now

Best laptop keyboard I've ever used. Chiclet keys of the current and 1st-gen MacBooks don't compare. The 13" Macbook Pro with the 320M, similarly arranged in discrete islands of individual soft-lettery, does not promote long-term typing with the unforgiving aluminum surface. This 2000 219dx by HP, at the 15" size-form, delights in its tactile rest.

I've also tried the chiclet-style keyboard of the HP dv7-4273us; comparably, the 2000-219dx keyboard is superior. You may find the "give" that is, the flex in the latter a little disconcerting, but it certainly confers a fast-typist certitude of responsiveness. It takes a single design team at a huge corporation to rail against the chic-boutique and this laptop does it.

Congratulations to the hardware designer(s) at HP who stuck to your guns and manufactured this beauty. I would buy five of these for the rest of my life. One would be sent to the computer museum as a reference model of superior scissor-switching.

I've never used the Thinkpad. But if you are a zealot for mobile keyboards, thinking you'd always have to use an external at home, dimly forlorn at the current, fallow fashion of finger finagling, you'd be hard-pressed not to try this trip fantastic.

Walk in to your local Best Buy and try it.

As for everything else, this laptop has been known to work with Ubuntu, and a previous reviewer said it works with Debian. So I'm pretty good to go with LFS.

Update 10/18/2011: Everything works in Ubuntu 11.10. Proprietary graphics, Skype webcam/mic, suspend/hibernate, wireless. Keyboard continues to amaze.

Read Best Reviews of Hp 2000-219dx Laptop, AMD Dual Core E350 Processor 15.6", 3gb, 320gb,webcam,supermulti DVD Burner,a Here

Dell Inspiron i14Z-1424BK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black)

Dell Inspiron i14Z-1424BK 14-Inch LaptopThis review is about the 14Z, this model's immediate predecessor, but with key similarities that make a review worthwhile. I have had this machine for 4 months, and basically I am very pleased that I have it. The keyboard action is terrific, and the placement of keys is perfect, making touch typing a pleasure. The backlit keyboard is outstanding I have decided I can no longer live without a backlit keyboard like this. The machine runs fairly quietly you can hear the fan, but it is definitely not intrusive, and I happen to be very sensitive to fan noise.

On the other hand, there are some negatives. The left and right buttons under the keypad are terrible. It feels like you are pressing on a board, and like pressing a board, you can not tell how much of a press is enough to make contact. It is incomprehensible that after all these many years of making laptops, Dell can not come up with better mouse buttons than this these buttons are an irritation every time I use them.

Likewise, Dell has not provided 2 headphone jacks (1 microphone and 1 headphone) instead they have combined them into 1 jack. So you need to buy an adapter, which is easy and cheap. But the quality of the voice input is bad every person I call on Skype or Google complains of the voice quality. So I have had to buy a headphone/microphone unit that is USB, and use up a USB port. I would rather have the traditional 2 jack input for microphone and headset.

Dell allows for system recovery by creating backup media. However, they do not allow you to create backup media on an external drive you can only create it on a flash drive on on blank CDs or DVDs.

If you are tempted to buy this machine through Dell's website, don't. Buy it through Amazon. I made the mistake of going through the Dell website, and they loaded $350 worth of extra services onto my order that I did not know were being added and would have refused if I had known. But they allow you only a few hours to o.k. the order, without showing you the extras unless you specifically request to see them. Order through Amazon.

I brought my 14z around Nov 2011 and did not open until Xmas day. However, the mouse touchPad, as CNET editor's review mentioned, most time, it lags behind finger movement. It even freezes time to time. I spent 4 hours, two sessions with Dell India support team. No result. Support Rep concluded that I need to have it shipped back to service depot.

* So you think the nightmare stop there. Wrong.

Depot shipped back my laptop and said that the issue was at Hard Drive. And more interesting thing is that they do not have hard drive in stock to fix the issue and will send me one in the mail.

* So you trust their diagnose and waiting for hard drive come to solve the issue, wrong.

The hard drive came . But it was blank and bare. Dell does expect you to install per my conversation with them. It requires to open the cover, remove the screw and mounting bracket, put bracket on another one and put back. Well. No OS, Not pre-imaged. After many hours my time to install the OS, Driver, Networking. Voila, Hard drive is not the issue. Problem still there. Wonder how they came up with this root cause

*So you think they will allow to replace with a working one. Wrong

I called customer service and escalated the case to up management. No result. The up escalation team even playing the hard ball and asked me the follow their procedure to have onsite person to fix the touchpad. So escalation team cannot resolve the issue. Push down to customer service again.

*So you think the onsite engineer should fix the issue, right. Wrong.

The engineer came, replaced the touch pad, no work. Replaced the motherboard, , not work.

*So you think the customer service will resolve the issue by replacing this bad one to good one. Wrong

They asked me to ship back again. Can you believe that? Ship back again. You kidding.

Six strike. I did not buy this and ask for a replacement or sue them for wasting my time.

*Finally, after two days internal discussion, they agree to replace this with working refurbished one.

So after 6 strikes, more than 12 hours, 6 fedex shipment between me and Dell. Issue finally resolved. What is really wrong? The issue really is dell customer service team is so far to reach in India. They just follow all the procedures posted on the wall. Every issue has to follow the play book. That is why Dell deeply fail on me. 6 Strikes.

So lessons learned

1: Buy Dell products if you know how to fix it. Or buy dell if you have time to deal with their support Team.

If you answer no to above lesson, then buy apple.

2: If your support rep name is Mandeep, ask for another rep.

3: If you got 14Z with last 4 digits are ZRQ1, ask for replacement before it was mine.

Oh, forget one more thing, do not believe any reviews on Dell's web site. They post only selected reviews and mine was just get filtered out.

Buy Dell Inspiron i14Z-1424BK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black) Now

I bought one of these refurbished. An Expresso black polished body wrapped an i5 processor, 6 GB memory and 640 GB 5400 rpm HDD.

Construction:

The aluminum encased body feels sturdy and light weight. There is very tiny flex on the keyboard and palm rests. While I would not label it a fingerprint magnet, some fingerprints are definitely visible and the case will need some periodic wiping. While the overall construction looks very good, the very discerning will definitely note that it does not have the finesse of Macs. But at less than half the price of a Mac, there is no room for grumbling on this count.

Connectivity:

It comes with two USB 3.0 and one mini-display ports to ensure it does not become technologically obsolete in a year or two. It also has the standard HDMI, USB 2.0 and SD card reader ports. The processor is also Widi enabled. It does not have VGA or DVI ports.

Audio/Video:

The display is gorgeous and the audio, while not spectacular, is very good and is loud enough without the headphones. The web camera is also good for video chats.

Keyboard/Touchpad.

The touchpad is smooth and the sensitivity can be configured through the Windows Mobility center. The touchpad buttons though are really hard and clicking on the outer edges of these buttons will give you sore fingers. You have to press them around the middle or inner edge to be kinder to your fingers. The keyboard is good though I felt it could have been a touch softer to type (I have a Lenovo Ideapad where using the keyboard is a real joy).

Wifi:

The wifi is pretty good and I did not have any issues using it.

Battery:

Battery life is very good and I get by 5-6 hours on a charge with medium level of processing.

Performance:

The laptop did not come with much bloatware and the boot up is pretty fast (remember this is 5400 rpm drive). I have some occassional issues with the CapsLock key wherein pressing it removes the focus in text editors. But it is just a minor hindrance.

Conclusion:

This laptop is sturdy, lightweight, and arrayed with the latest ports. Because of a few minor issues (stiff touchpad buttons, capslock key issues and need for occassional cleaning of case to remove fingerprints), I will give it 4 stars instead of 5. (Note that my laptop has the i5 processor. This is a review of the Inspiron 14z N411Z model in general).

Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron i14Z-1424BK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black) Here

Just picked up the Dell Inspiron i14Z-1424BK in Diamond Black from BB. Configuration: Intel Core i3-2350 , 4GB DDR3, 500 GB (7200 RPM)

Appearance:

I had checked out the model in store so I knew what I was getting into. The Diamond Black color is not 100% black, but definitely closer to black than the brownish espresso black pictured in the Amazon listing. Pretty sleek appearance for a laptop at this price point. Thin profile throughout except for the 3/4" battery bump sticking out from the bottom near the back.

Hardware:

So far so good. Everything booted as expected. I'm transitioning from an older Dell model so the keyboard feels natural. Not as soft or smooth as some of the other models I tried, but that's a very minor nitpick. The touchpad seems responsive and I don't see any of the issues with the click-buttons that another reviewer alluded to. Occasionally the double finger scrolling doesn't pick up on what I'm putting down. If I could change one thing I wish I had my dedicated volume buttons back but there seems to be a trend against that.

Software:

The typical Dell add-ons: Mcafee, Roxio ,etc. I'll be dual booting Linux so bloatware and pushy Windows programs aren't a huge concern for me.

Overall:

I had looked at this model, the HP dm4, and a selection of larger 15-16" models. I'm traveling a good bit so the portability of these 14" models stood out to me. For half the price of some of these "ultrabooks" you can get solid computing power in a compact form. Don't expect a gaming laptop, but for everyday browsing, document editing, and smaller computation tasks this seems like a good fit. I'll update after a few months of use.

Want Dell Inspiron i14Z-1424BK 14-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black) Discount?

I bought this laptop specifically to run Ubuntu 12.04 and it passes with flying colors...everything works out of the box and well. As for the laptop itself, it's a Dell which means its slightly cheaply made. The trackpad button are really tight and one of the hardrive screws stripped using the correct driver; it was just soft metal and they used locktight on the screw too. I didn't get the illuminated keyboard and do regret it but without it works fine too. first thing I did was max the RAM to 8g and swap out the harddrive for a small SSD which rocks! Windows 7 is gone and good ridden...it sucked from the moment the laptop booted up. I kept it on the original hard-drive so I can sell the laptop later with the original setup on it. all in all good hardware but your not going to game on it. graphics are good but this isn't the laptop for gaming.

Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV-10000BLK 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black Matte with Textured Finish)

Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV-10000BLK 15.6-Inch LaptopI was looking for the perfect laptop to replace my old Toshiba. This laptop works great, no complaints so far. The price for this laptop is actually a steal with how fast the processor is. My mom bought one as well (her first laptop). I will update my review later if any problems arise and/or if my mom has anything to add.

Pros: Boots super fast (like SUPER FAST), lightweight (I carry it to class with me), Windows 8 is actually very easy to use once you get the hang of it (even the most computer illiterate person could figure it out), I LOVE the number pad as well

Cons: None yet

Sound Quality: It's loud enough for a laptop. I actually find the sound pretty efficient, but don't expect any "super bass" or anything.

But once again, this would be the perfect laptop for you, especially if you don't want to go buy an expensive MacBook.

The first thing that you'll notice is that it's extremely lightweight and is very uncomplicated. This is something that my 87 year old mother-in-law would be able to use right out of the box. Since she's never used a computer before, that says a lot. Many of the everyday apps that you use on a daily basis, are preloaded into the device. It comes with things like YouTube, Gmail and other Google products, and there are literally thousands of free apps available. It starts up very quickly and according to Google, updates are installed automatically. I've found all applications to run smoothly and quickly.

Buy Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV-10000BLK 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black Matte with Textured Finish) Now

love this, windows 8 is very easy to use, light weight, great for travel. the quality of this laptop was as expected,

Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV-10000BLK 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black Matte with Textured Finish) Here

i was searching for a good laptop, and then my friend told me to have a look at this one. Bought it, and after few days i fell totally in love with it. First of all its really fast, and lightweight, so i can carry it anywhere anytime. Battery lifetime is good, and the laptop has a very nice design. Anyway couldnt be more happier, no troubles so far with it and i hope there never will be.

Want Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV-10000BLK 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black Matte with Textured Finish) Discount?

The laptop arrived in 3 days in the original Dell packaging which was fairly protective of the unit being shipped.

Start up was surprisingly fast with no issues at all.

I am an avid Windows 7 user and was a bit reluctant going to Windows 8 due to the Metro UI interface.

I did a bit of reading of tutors on the net during the time the unit was in transit It was an easy transition to Windows 8 for me it does have the familiar desktop (with no start-up menu) and the Metro UI stat-up screen it's very easy to switch between the desktop and Metro screens.

All in all I had about a 30 minute learning curve before I was fairly comfortable with Version 8.

The more I use it the more I like Windows 8 coupled with this laptop.

Its fast, has no connection issues and is noticeably thin which makes it great for computing in just about any location in the home.

Battery life is excellent as well as the unit having a nice textured look. I am completely satisfied after a week of ownership.

I would highly recommend this Dell to most anyone looking for a mid priced performance packaged Laptop.

I like it!

MarvC

Save 28% Off

Dell Studio XPS 1645 Laptops pack the power you need for work or play, Intel Core i7-820QM Quad Cor

Dell Studio XPS 1645 Laptops pack the power you need for work or play, Intel Core i7-820QM Quad Core Processor 1.73GHz, 6GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHZ, 320GB 5400RPM Drive, 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670, 15.6 inch Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen WLED LCD, Blu-ray Disc Combo, Back-Lit Key Board, Windows 7 Premium 64 Bit, 370 Bluetooth Module, WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Card, 9 Cell Battery, 2.0 MP Webcam, BlackIt is a good sturdy gaming laptop. It has a lot of computing power. I have it for over 2 years now without any problem so far.

Honestly, I wish that the motherboard did its job and booted when turning on the computer. This computer is sexy, fast and a joy to compute with. Each time I turned it on, it booted only after a hard shut-down. It never made it out of the Dell logo and blue progress bar. For $2300 it should do better. The exchange unit (which I cancelled) had inferior parts substituted. DUH! Like I wouldn't have noticed. And oh yeah, part shortages mean't waiting another three weeks. Let's see, ordered the laptop 9/6, received 9/16. Problem with the boot-up from the beginning. Stupid me. Waited until 10/2 to contact Dell Support. BTW: It is not award-winning support if you're told to disconnect the AC and remove the battery and then push the power button for 45 seconds, then put it all back together and turn it on and your troubles are gone. Hmmm, okay, being jerked-around for two weeks and then told mid-November replacement arrival time but we're not sure. So the laptop is not exactly "bricked" but not exactly what one would expect for premium dollars.

To recap: Dell built an expensive laptop for me with shabby quality control (faulty motherboard), battled with me for two weeks before offering an exchange (with inferior grade parts), telling me the queue for the exchange is 15 business days (3 weeks), and already I've made 1/12th payment to DFS and the next due in two weeks.

My best advice if you want this laptop: order but be prepared. Everytime you speak with Tech support, memorialize the conversation, ask for the rep's name AND badge number AND extension. Be professional and don't take it personally although it is your personal money :-)

Remember it is NOT your fault the computer is non-operative. It is the company you purchased it from DELL.

The DFS people can help to cancel the order much better than Tech Support.

Although I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, it is pretty stupid of Dell Computer company to tell me to wait 3 weeks to get an exchange AND that then exchange is not the same Like I wouldn't notice? So tonight back goes the laptop that I couldn't load programs and data onto, the laptop that I couldn't use for work (to make money to pay for the computer) and entertainment when needed.

All this to be insulted; to have made payments to DFS and have NO ONE say, can we at least offer you a gift card? Or, we'd like to hold your payments in abeyance until we resolve the problem to your satisfaction. We value you as a customer.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN and hope that there are no goblins in your laptop!

Buy Dell Studio XPS 1645 Laptops pack the power you need for work or play, Intel Core i7-820QM Quad Cor Now

I have to say, I have yet(Knock on wood), and hopefully will never experience anything wrong with my XPS 1645. Dell is GReat, and I have had problems with other laptops from them, but now I am very happy.

I would def buy Dell again, but I will be switching to Mac when ever this computer gets too old/slow.

so all I have to say is

I love Dell.

Read Best Reviews of Dell Studio XPS 1645 Laptops pack the power you need for work or play, Intel Core i7-820QM Quad Cor Here

I purchased a Dell XPS 1645 lap top as it was hailed as their best machine. I had constant problems with it crashing randomly. In order to save time, I paid a dell 3rd party service center to reformat the hard drive. Still the problems consisted. I kept calling Dell tech support. They kept trying things. Finally they sent out a service technician to replace all the insides of the lap top, the mother board, hard drive, everything. Still problems persisted. Random crashes continued. Finally I called them to ask for my money back as the lap top they sold me never has worked since the day I bought it. I thought I by being patient they would fix it. However, they told me that my 21 return window had expired and that they could do nothing for me. So, I have a $3,000 Computer from Dell that doesn't work and they won't take it back. They won't refund the two additional AC adapters that I purchased with it either. I will never buy another Dell again.

Want Dell Studio XPS 1645 Laptops pack the power you need for work or play, Intel Core i7-820QM Quad Cor Discount?

Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz 4GB 320GB Blu-ray/DVD±RW DL 15.5" Windows 7 Home Pr

Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz 4GB 320GB Blu-ray/DVD±RW DL 15.5' Windows 7 Home Premium w/WebcamI had this laptop for about 16 months and the connector from the mother board to the screen seem to have bad connection. I have to open the screen very far back, about 135 degree. If I tried to open the screen to about 90 degree, the screen becomes blue with some lines. I did a search on youtube and found many people either have the screen not turn on at a certain angle or having the blue screen like what I am experiencing.

Sony customer support is in Philippines and they can barely speak their name. They do not try to understand what the customer tries to say. It is abnormal for a laptop screen to go bad after only 16 months. I am very disappointed in Sony. The product is poor and the customer support does not even speak or understand English language.

I'm not one of those tech savvy types with a sense of entitlement, so I'm very happy with this little computer. It holds a charge for six hours and I can take it anywhere in the house, (or world for that matter, unlike my 10-year-old desktop which is full of viruses and all of our crap.) I use it for word processing (sold separately), and general internet: Blogger, Facebook, the library, recipes, Pandora, Signing Savvy, and other work related stuff. On a Grandma note: you can use the keypad to adjust text size which is a plus for those of us who now wear bifocals. That, and you can entertain small grandsons with captivating train videos on YouTube. It's not meant to be a powerhouse computer, and I didn't need a powerhouse computer, so I am very pleased with this product.

Buy Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz 4GB 320GB Blu-ray/DVD±RW DL 15.5" Windows 7 Home Pr Now

I bought this computer in November 2009. It still runs like brand new. The display is great for a laptop this size and the Sony Vaio name in itself is award winning. The Blu-Ray player is a nice added feature. For the performance, packaging, design, durability, battery life, product price and style, this laptop hits the money. It has been my best and most valuable electronic equipment purchase to date. : )

Read Best Reviews of Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2GHz 4GB 320GB Blu-ray/DVD±RW DL 15.5" Windows 7 Home Pr Here

Dell Latitude D600 14.1-Inch Laptop - 512MB RAM, 30GB Hard Drive

Dell Latitude D600 14.1-Inch Laptop - 512MB RAM, 30GB Hard DriveThe Dell Latitude D600 is really a nice little laptop. It has numerous great features like built-in wifi capabilities, 512MB of memory, a highspeed processor that makes this laptop just speed along. I think its only flaws-and minor ones too-is the limiting 30 GB hard drive that can get filled up far too quickly and it's small screen. While 15.6 is a standard size, it can be hard to read sometimes nontheless.

Yet this laptop is a great bargain for the price as is. Still, once I got it I decided to upgrade the hard drive and get a mouse to replace the sometimes troublesome pointing stick. If you need a good laptop but don't have a major budget, this is the one to get.

Ron

Loaded with USEFUL programs.

Perfect for a college student/or anyone who just wants to sit on the couch and work/surfing net/etc.

Buy Dell Latitude D600 14.1-Inch Laptop - 512MB RAM, 30GB Hard Drive Now

Good to have if you're just starting out in college. Has the basic Microsoft 2003 office programs, along with some other goodies. It's been alot more than I expected it to be. Very good price for an awesome computer.

Read Best Reviews of Dell Latitude D600 14.1-Inch Laptop - 512MB RAM, 30GB Hard Drive Here

I am very happy with my laptop, of course it is not brand new, I bought mine used, but it looks and works like brand new. The manufacturer was very easy to work with and was very determined to get me a product that I would love!

Want Dell Latitude D600 14.1-Inch Laptop - 512MB RAM, 30GB Hard Drive Discount?

Item got her in two days. We had questions and got super fast response and Exellent service. Very happy with laptop and customer service.

Lenovo IdeaPad U410 437685U 14-Inch Ultrabook (Gray) | Intel Core i5-3317U Processor 1.7GHz , 8 GB

Lenovo IdeaPad U410 437685U 14-Inch Ultrabook | Intel Core i5-3317U Processor 1.7GHz , 8 GB DDR3, 750GB 5400rpm Hard Drive, 32 GB Solid-State Drive, NVIDIA 610M 1GB DDR3, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bitI got my Lenovo U410 2 days ago, first impression:

PROS: Very good Laptop in term of speed and battery life. Great price (I got it for 729$) for its specs. Great finishing and looks very fancy. Light and low noise.

CONS: Very Disappointed with this Lenovo U410 since it is impossible to use the wi-fi connection. The internet connection is very slow and it disconnect very often. In my opinion the wireless antenna is not well designed and not well integrated in the system. Probably some interference with the aluminum chassis. I would point out that when the wireless connection goes down there are interference and bad connection also on surrounding devices. My second laptop and ipod lose the connection with the router too. So the interference hypothesis is consistent.

Updating the driver or do whatever is written online on the forums doesn't help at all.

I solved this problem turning off the laptop wireless device and buying and USB Wi-Fi Adapter (unfortunately 60$ out of my pocket). Now I can connect to internet without problem.

Save 25% Off

HP ProBook 4540s 15.6" Business Notebook PC - C6Z36UT

HP ProBook 4540s 15.6' Business Notebook PC - C6Z36UTIt was easy to set up right from the box.It came preloaded with win7 which was my choice.It has a very durable case,strong hinges and an incredible keyboard.The display is sharp and crisp.There was hardly any bloatware to remove.

The only thing(very minor) is that the external speaker jack is in the front which is unhandy at times as I like to use an external

keyboard from time to time.

It came eqipped with 4gig of ram which is OK for most things.I added 4Gig and it made the laptop very quick.

I would highly recommend this unit for any one.

Arrived on time 3 weeks ago. Easy setup. Wanted a laptop to replace an aging, slow-moving tower used mostly for email, Office docs and, more importantly, streaming video to our tv. Our goal was to have the Notebook's on-board display + VGA & HDMI displays lit up simultaneously. Intel (processor manufacturer) specifications stated "Supports 3 displays," but a pre-sale HP support guy said this was not possible and that only 2 would be available at a time. We didn't have confidence in his answer, so decided to go ahead and buy. Turns out he was right, though it can be done by adding a $150 multimedia docking station.

It was a bit bumpy getting the various displays configured for switching back and forth. At one point I thought that it might require plugging and unplugging the external displayswhich did not make me happy. I called HP post-sale support for assistance and got a guy who told me that the laptop *was* capable of using all three displays simultaneously. But he wasn't much help in showing me how to work out the software (Intel Graphics & Media Control Panel) configs to switch monitors and I had a sense that he was in above his head. He left me with the time honored "Update the graphics driver."

After poking around a bit, I found an HP app already installed which informed that I needed quite a few HP updates (some probably programs I will never use), but the graphics driver was not one of them. I confirmed that the driver installed is the latest. After installing the updates, I was able to get the monitors co-ordinated and we are doing fine.

What impressed me the most was that, a few days after my call, the HP tech guy *rang me up* to inquire if the problem had gotten resolved! I cannot remember the last time a customer service rep from any company called me back to find out if I needed additional assistance. For that alone I would give HP 5+ stars if I could.

Buy HP ProBook 4540s 15.6" Business Notebook PC - C6Z36UT Now

MSI GT683DXR-423US 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black

MSI GT683DXR-423US 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop - BlackI received this laptop early today. It came packed to the point that it was a chore to take everything out, which was great since my product had no chance to mess up while in transit. Although I have only received this laptop today, I can already see that I love it.

Pros:

-The sound is truly wonderful. I played youtube songs on my laptop, and no matter how high, or how low I put it, it sounded crisp and clear. The DYNAUDIO works excellent. It makes you feel like you are really in a game, or if watching a movie, just sounds amazing.

-Keyboard. The keyboard is excellent. The keys are nicely spaced apart, making it simple to type. It also comes with a keypad, which is excellent since there are many laptops of this size that don't have one.

-The turbo fan works wonders. I played a game for around an hour, and unlike my old laptop that would get really hot after 20 minutes of playing, this laptop stayed cool throughout the entire hour. Although some people say the fan is loud, I could barely hear it while playing my game, and with headphones on, you won't even know it's on.

-The Cinema Pro is amazing. It makes the colors sharper, more crisp. It really makes the movies, games, pages that you are looking at pop out. It is just absolutely beautiful.

-The software on this game is great, as is the video card. I played L4D2, with all my settings maxed out. The game play was smooth, with not one hitch nor lag nor frame freeze. I loaded almost instantly into each new level, when it would take me a few minutes with my old laptop. The images are much nicer, the resolution amazing.

-The keys are marked with arrows. You can tell it's a gaming laptop by how the red arrows point forward, backward, left, and right. It makes it much easier to find and use the buttons for moving about in the game.

I haven't been able to thoroughly go and look through the entire laptop, so I will update this review once I do.

Cons:

-No instruction manual. Although many of you think no big deal, you will be surprised how difficult it is to navigate this laptop. Although the laptop does come with some papers explaining what the buttons are, they don't really go into detail on everything. So you have to figure it out as you go. And even if you have time to just press every button and see what it does, the same thing can't be said for everyone else. I prefer to start up windows, do the new software updates, and go.

-The mouse pad is iffy. Mine is very touchy. If I touch it lightly, it will sometimes jump around the screen. Other times if I don't press hard enough it won't move. I solved this problem by using my wireless mouse. You can get a $15 wireless mouse and your problem will be solved. It doesn't bother me in the least.

-I am personally having trouble with the text on my laptop. It is very small, and I've looked everywhere and I can't figure out how to change it. The laptop is hard if you are a beginner just for the fact that it has so many things going on in such a small packaged. So if you are really interested in this laptop, I would read up on laptops, and on MSi's just so you have a chance.

Other then these small issues, I absolutely love this laptop. I happily forked over 1500 bucks for this baby. It does everything I was looking for, plus more. The features on this laptop exceeded my every expectation, as it will yours. If you are looking for a laptop with many features that really work, and amazing graphics at a decent price, this is the one for you.

I needed a laptop on which to do video editing. My old machine could not handle the work at all. This machine has all the power needed, and a large enough screen to see what I'm doing. There is so much RAM that my machine generally runs with 6 GB used at all times, but with only 20% of CPU usage. Awesome.

Other reviews said the keyboard was not good. Wrong. The keyboard is very nice, solid and quite.

There are two things that I don't like:

1) The keyboard is not backlit. I would greatly prefer a backlit keyboard.

2) There is no light indicating if the caps light is on.

3) There is no light indicating when the power cord is plugged in.

In summary, it could be better in some small features, but it's got it where it counts.

Buy MSI GT683DXR-423US 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black Now

I needed something more portable as I work 3rd shift security, so thought it would be good to have a laptop with me. This is actually the best laptop I have ever owned. It plays every game that I throw at it with no problems. Plenty of ram, graphics ect ect. When I go home, I hook it up in my room to my 37" Flat tv and watch netflix or crackle movies via HDMI connector. The only thing that got me was it was a little expensive (for me) I know that's not the fault of the seller. I just wish Game laptops were a bit cheaper. I was willing to pay the extra cash so that I could have a decent video card though :) No complaints, Meets and Exceeds Expectations. Thanks MSI.. Will be using you again for all of my laptop needs. Screw the Alienhead!

Read Best Reviews of MSI GT683DXR-423US 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black Here

This laptop absolutely sucks. Within 2 weeks of buying it / using it, it gave up and threw in the towel.

I fire it up and play for about 5 minutes and get some fuzzy lines and then the display cuts out. Backlight is still on, just a black screen. So I rebootno screen at post. Then I think that maybe I didnt seat the mxm cards correctly/or needed to clean the contacts. Did that and fired it up while it was apart, got post. Turned it off, put it back together, no post. Took it apart again, searched google. I then noticed the the caps light was on, and the num and scroll were flashing. Followed a random response on google and reseated my ram. Post again, and again. Anyway, I'll be playing skyrim and my fans will kick up and fuzzy lines will come up lightly at first then really intense then stop completely. Sometimes when the fans are barely spinning.

Want MSI GT683DXR-423US 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black Discount?

trust me ,if u wanna buy a game computer, go for G73.

''' is the worst computer ever !!!!!!!!!'

It takes 5mins to start the Windows, and now i can't even log in .

THIS IS'''''''''''

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''','''''''''''.

Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop Computer

Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop ComputerYou pretty much get what you pay for. In the case of this laptop, you don't even get that.

It is powerful enough for just about anything(other than gaming) that most people do, with its Celeron M processor.

The screen quality is bad. The bottom part of it leaks a lot.

It is entirely out of plastic, so definitely not sturdy. Mine bends, etc.

Quite heavy, not for carrying around, yet not powerful enough to be a desktop replacement.

My DVD player no longer plays dvd's without major skipping. This is probably party due to the 150 CD's I have burnt with it.

So if you want a budget laptop, and find a good deal(ie. around ~$200) then get it. It can take a beating, with a few minor things going wrong.

There are better laptops out now for cheaper than this, with Dual-Core processors, etc. If you can, get them, as this is now an 'old' laptop.

First I'd like to say my unit is the 14.1" Wxga model, but it has the Celeron M 1.6Ghz processor, 512mb ram, and a 5400rpm 80gb HDD. I'm also running WinXP SP3. So, it is slightly better spec wise. The laptop also supports 3 USB ports, built-in 56k modem, Ethernet, VGA out, headphone and mic jacks, and what I believe is an express card slot.

The laptop is all plastic. This might sound like a bad thing, but most low to mid-range laptops are plastic. The plastic on this laptop doesn't feel that cheap, and is fairly solid. If you trying twisting the laptop there is very little flex. As far as typing goes, there is no keyboard flex at all, even when purposely pressing with a great deal of force on the keys.

The 14.1" size of the laptop would make it ideal for portability. It's not too big to be thrown into a backpack to bring to work/school. However, the laptop weighs roughly 13lbs, which is quite heavy compared to laptops on the market today. The one nice thing about the 14.1" screen is that it's not a glossy display. A matte screen is almost unheard of in the market today, everything is gloss. The one bad thing about the screen, however, is it does leak like around the bezel. My unit also had the two bottom bezel screws fall out, which allows the bottom of the screen bezel to separate. This also causes it to pop and creak when opening/closing the laptop.

I can't comment on the battery life. When I got this laptop the battery was near the end of its usable life, and I would be lucky to get 2 hours on a charge. Now, the laptop won't run at all without being plugged into the wall. The AC Adapter had to be replaced because it stopped working as well.

Obviously this laptop is really outdated in all aspects, but it still remains a good laptop for internet/email/word processing. It also works well watching DVDs, and online videos. However, anything more than standard definition will cause the video to lag a good bit making it unwatchable.

I've been using this as my primary computer for school/home use, and it gets the job done. If I were to buy a new battery, and get two replacement screws for the bezel I would have few complaints about the laptop other than its weight. Overall, it's a good laptop for its age.

Buy Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop Computer Now

Brought this laptop from affordable deals it works great! It came WIFI ready & I was able to use it imediately. It arrived with the wrong charger but the seller shipped the right one as soon as I emailed them. The seller also told me to keep both chargers. Great customer service! Great deal on a laptop! SWEEEEET!

Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop Computer Here

Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4050 14-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish, Helios Black)

Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4050 14-Inch LED LaptopThe L640-L655 Toshibas have a serious software and BIOS issue with the cooling fan. The issue is well-documented on the official Toshiba forum. The cooling fan runs fast and loud (you will not be able to use this computer in airplanes, libraries, classrooms, group work sessions, etc. due to fan speed). The loud fan will prematurely wear out the fan spindle, and uses excessive battery. I am encouraging anyone even considering the purchase of these lines of TOshiba computers to do online research and search these words: Toshiba forum cooling fan constantly. You will see many threads, but the main one has now thousands of views and elucidates the problem well. If you don't wish to look at it now, you will be looking at it intently once you purchase this model of TOshiba. Thus far, there is no fix for this cooling fan software issue. I am posting here as an owner of a Toshiba in this product line and simply as a method to help my fellow Amazon shoppers with a known issue. You certainly can buy or pass based on your own experience and research. Thank you and happy computing.

6/82011: Still issues. Some Toshiba laptops have a fan and cooling issue that is software related.

Google "Toshiba forum cooling fan constantly on", or highlight and right click what I have type here to see the 13 page thread on this subject. The most recent 5 pages are 3-4 non-Toshiba computer programmers trying to solve the problem as Toshiba has been uncaring and useless. The key is to read the thread from the beginning to review all the people who first define the problem. I encourage anyone seeking a Toshiba computer to review the thread to see if their model is affected before purchase--most models are with AMD processors, but some are Intel latest chipsets (e.g. i5). It is not "a few bad computers", it is computers in each of the series specified. The post on the Toshiba Forum from FunkeA dated May 30, 2011 at 4:11pm has a list of Toshibas affected by this issue.

This post is totally informational for you, a potential buyer, so that you can make your own informed decision about which computer to buy before making the purchase. Whether you buy Toshiba, one of these models, a different model, or a different brand, is completely up to you. Thanks and have fun time computer hunting.

Haven't had this unit very long but all seems to be great at this point. I like the small screen and light weight. I would suggest buying a Toshiba wireless mouse to use with this instead of the built in one or a cheap one like Microsoft. Love the LED screen, crisp and clean picture. First time user of Windows 7 so just getting used to it. More later as I use it more.

Buy Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4050 14-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish, Helios Black) Now

The design is very good. I bought this computer for my 9 year old nephew. It is easy to use, yet allows your processor to work fast and efficiently. Although the use that we are giving is very basic I'm sure you can work heavier.

It has built-in web cam is an important detail.

We have not had any kind of technical failure, so we are very happy. By the excellent results already bought another one.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4050 14-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish, Helios Black) Here

Purchase on December 15, 2010, still have it working it very hard to until around jan 2012 the keyboard finally need to change reason some keys refuse to type. got another replacement keyboard for and it is still going strong. up to now i have no heating issues or break down. recommend to other but i did got it on deal for 459 last time.

Want Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4050 14-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish, Helios Black) Discount?

This is my first AND LAST Toshiba product! Bought two laptops (L645DS4050) last December and just having WAY too many issues with them both. My kids complain constantly about various issues including NOISE (very noisy fan, running hot, random shutdowns and rebooting issues etc. etc.

Now one of them has a broken left click button too! Not to mention the very cheap feel of these things. My Dell Inspiron is 10 times quieter, better quality and ZERO issues.

Goodbye Toshiba, hello Dell!

Certified Pre-Owned MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4 GHz, 2 GB of RAM

Certified Pre-Owned MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4 GHz, 2 GB of RAMI bought this laptop in June 2011. About 1 month after receiving the laptop the screen would go black for no reason and the keyboard would phantomly type. Attributing the problems with the screen to the laptops age I made no attempt to fix it since it was still useable by adjusting the brightness. Unfortunately about 1 week ago the screen totally went black. So I took it to the apple store to get either the invertor cable or lcd screen or both replaced. In doing so apple called me back 2 days after dropping it off to tell me that someone had spilled significant amounts of liquid on the laptop and they wont touch it without sending it to their repair department for no less than $750, more than the laptop is even worth. Unfortunately the laptop totally crapped out after the date that I could get amazon to file a guaranteed A-Z claim.

So thanks for lying about selling me a damaged laptop that you obviously ruined and sold before the damage was obvious to me the sap who was totally taken by you. I advise that no one trust this crappy person and I rely on Karma to pay you back for the $500+ you stole from me.

WOW...what a great Mac. It replaces my aging G4 PowerBook. It is faster, lighter, has a larger screen, and does everything I could want. And the cost was half of a new one. Kudos to Instant Replay Electronics. Prompt delivery, great product, and good price. No one could expect more.

Buy Certified Pre-Owned MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4 GHz, 2 GB of RAM Now

So this product works so well. Since this Black Macbook came out in late 2006 at a staggering price of $1600 I have wanted it and never got around to buying it up until they stopped making it. Then this year I decided to try and get a refurbished version as I already bought a refurbished Ibook G4 for my mother earlier in January 2012 which works wonderfully for her. I am so pleased I did. Although the seller I bought this from had 100% positive reviews, I was thinking I might end up being that one person who has a problem with them, especially since the shipping was not as fast as it was described by many(came day before the last day it was estimated to arrive). I am so glad I ignored all my fears and bought it. It works so so well and came with so many surprises from the seller that I wasnt expecting and feel so blessed that I received them. I mean, as a designer, who wouldnt love to buy a laptop with the entire CS5.5 Suite AND Final Cut Pro installed in? So far it hasnt been a month but the black Macbook works well. Its been upgraded to Mountain Lion OS so I am able to do my work at warp speed. It has Face Time installed although I am yet to use it. My only issue was I know the 2.4Ghz Macs have the illuminated keyboard but this one doesnt seem to do that :(. If I can figure out a way to make that happen I will be in 7th heaven. Highly recommend this refurbished product for anyone who cant afford a Mac Pro at the moment but still want to be able to achieve great things on a reasonably fast system.

Read Best Reviews of Certified Pre-Owned MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4 GHz, 2 GB of RAM Here

Was more than expected and had extra software, very happy with quality and total experience with this buyer and highly recommend!

Want Certified Pre-Owned MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo/2.4 GHz, 2 GB of RAM Discount?

Really quick for the price, makes a great every day laptop & gotta love the black case. You can't go wrong.

Lenovo 15.6" Core i5 180GB SSD Notebook

Lenovo 15.6' Core i5 180GB SSD NotebookI got this laptop as a replacement for my dying MacBook, and have had no hardware problems as of yet. I installed 16GB of RAM I bought from Crucial (i.e. not from Lenovo). I currently run Mint 13 with MATE (which runs like a charm). Hence, I cannot say much with regards to how well the Lenovo distribution of Windows will run. Nowadays, the only time I use Windows is running MS Office inside of VirtualBox. I give it one 2.6GhZ CPU and 2GB of RAM, and it runs fine. Albeit, the limit of my Windows usage is Chrome and MSO, so I wouldn't know about heavy computing in Windows.

Lenovo, unlike any other manufacturer, puts function before form. Here are some specific things I admire about it:

1. It is the only non-Apple laptop I have found that has a keyboard that is pleasant to type on.

2. It has the lost and forgotten mouse thingy in the middle of the keyboard (don't know the technical term for it).

3. The trackpad is flush with the rest of the top plate, making it much easier to clean.

4. Unlike MacBooks, the edges are rounded, so you don't get sores on your forearm after extended usage.

5. The CD drive is a tray instead of a slot.

6. Unlike MacBooks, extended usage of the laptop on top of lap does not result in third-degree burns.

Mine came with Lenovo's own flavor of Win7 Professional 64-bit. I used it for maybe half an hour before I installed Mint, but I can say this:

1. If you want Windows 7 Professional, buy it seperately, and upgrade it yourself. Lenovo's version comes with a good bit of unwanted trial software. This is true of any brand, so don't let it turn you off Lenovo.

2. If you want upgraded RAM, buy it separately, and install it yourself. It isn't that hard, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying it from Lenovo.

3. Don't get the fingerprint reader. If you don't have a choice with regards to getting a fingerprint reader, make sure to disable it in the BIOS. Fingerprints may seem more secure than passwords, but they aren't. Fingerprint readers can be spoofed easily. Using a fingerprint reader instead of a password is like using a password that's literally written on your computer.

If you want any given upgrade, if possible, buy it separately and install it yourself. It will save you a lot of time and money.

Things that I don't like (there aren't many):

1. The physical switch to unlock the monitor seems somewhat flimsy. I anticipate that it will be the first thing to break.

2. The physical monitor is somewhat flexible.

3. It seemed a little heavy at first, but you get used to it. What is one to expect with a 15" laptop? It is certainly lighter than a 15" MacBook.

Toshiba Satellite T235D-S1340RD 13.3-Inch Notebook PC - Gemini Red

Toshiba Satellite T235D-S1340RD 13.3-Inch Notebook PC - Gemini RedNetbook computers are ultra-portable and handy. They have more computing power than an iPod but not enough for more serious computing processors are slow, keyboards are small, and the tiny screen requires 20/10 vision.

The 13.3" Toshiba is a nice compromise. It's still quite portable and the keyboard and screen are as usable as a traditional notebook computer. I found that it's good for several hours of hard computing on one battery charge.

I expected somewhat better initial performance due to the dual core AMD processor and 3GB DDR memory. After some extensive benchmarking, I found that the slow 5400 rpm internal hard disk was the principal reason for slow performance. Cloning that hard disk to a Corsair 60GB "Force" Solid State Disk (SSD) and then substituting the SSD for the slow mechanical hard drive resulted in a fast and responsive system. It's even quite quick with 64 bit Windows 7. I retained the mechanical hard disk and put it into an Eagle eSATA external 2.5" disk enclosure and use it for near-line storage when needed. The Corsair SSD has enough room for the OS, a lot of application programs, and data.

If you're a business user, be aware that this netbook ships with Windows 7 Home version and you'll need to spend another $90 dollars to upgrade to the "Pro" version of Windows 7 so that you can run 32-bit business programs and connect to regular business networks. I did the upgrade, with teeth clenched at the extra cost, because I use this as a business system.

I PURCHASED THIS COMPUTER AND IN THE TECHNICAL DETAILS IT CLEARLY SAYS IT COMES WITH "GENUINE WINDOWS 7"----THIS COMPUTER DID NOT AND I HAD TO SPEND 200 DOLLARS ON WINDOWS FOR THIS...

Buy Toshiba Satellite T235D-S1340RD 13.3-Inch Notebook PC - Gemini Red Now

I have had this laptop for about a year now.. I use it almost everyday and it works well for what i do.. Web browsing, chatting, and light powerpoint work. The only issue i have with it is the Fan gets noisy when it rev's up i am guessing because the processor is getting warm.. I wish it was quieter. My gateway net book is much quieter when rev'ed up. All in all its a fast light laptop. ITs been around the world t times to pretty god with traveling!!!

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite T235D-S1340RD 13.3-Inch Notebook PC - Gemini Red Here

Toshiba Satellite T235D Gemini red 13.3 it comes with great features like 3GB RAM, 320 GB of Hard disk, product description is confusing cause it says it could have either AMD or Intel so I was not sure which one I was going to get. But the only thing Amazon does not tell you is that it does not come with CD or DVD driver and it was a huge disappointment!

Want Toshiba Satellite T235D-S1340RD 13.3-Inch Notebook PC - Gemini Red Discount?

IS GOOD LOOKING FROM OUTSIDE. ACTUALLY, I BOUGHT IT AS A GIFT NOT FOR MYSELF.( I USE A MACPRO WHICH I LOVE ALOT).

BATERY LASTS UNDER 3 HOURS, SO THE 6 PROMISSED HOURS IS A BIG LIE

THE SCROLLING IS NOT VERY SMOOTH TO CONTROL

IT IS A VERY MEDIOCRE COMPUTER FOR THE MONEY. I PAID $528

IS NOT REALLY "UP TO DATE" SO TO SAY. I DO NOT SEE MUCH IMPROVMENT FROM THE DELL LAPTOP I HAD 5 YEARS AGO.

IS ALSO GETTING SUPER VERY HOT

OVERALL, IS A BIG DISAPONTMENT . I WILL NOT RECOMAND IT.

I WAS TRYING TO RETURN IT, BUT WAS NOT POSSIBLE.

Gateway NE51B14u 15.6-Inch Laptop (Satin Black)

Gateway NE51B14u 15.6-Inch LaptopGot this for my spouse for web surfing as a replacement laptop due to price and specs. We had a pretty bad first week with this laptop due to Windows 8, with some frustrating errors that I had to research online and fix. The major issue was The Blue Screen of Death/random rebooting. Felt like returning it, no questions asked, but was too upset. Anyway, also had some security issues with Internet Explorer (picked up intrusive software "helpers" even with Windows 8 default firewall and defender), so using Firefox now, with MalwareBytes and CC Cleaner. There was a frustrating two weeks of dealing with Windows 8's layout and "hidden" features that were so easy to find in previous versions. Be sure to uninstall the bloatedware and useless "apps".

Runs fine now for watching videos, blogging, picture editing, spreadsheets, Yahoo messenger, and Facebook. No more critical or fatal errors. However, moving files around/renaming files is slower than a standard Windows 7 duo core desktop from 2010.

I don't care for Windows 8 (I didn't care for Windows 7), but most non-techies use it at work and at home so I get forced into it. The main issue for me with Windows 8 is that it pretends it has a layout like a tablet or smart phone, and focuses on social media. So all of the file management and PC settings are out of place and "in the background". Microsoft has made an operating system that has been "dumbed down", but as soon as you perform searches for help online you will see that thousands of people have issues and questions with this operating system.

As far as the actual Gateway laptop, the speakers aren't that powerful, and the keyboard layout is frustrating, especially the fact that you have to hit Function Key (bottom left) and a function number (F2) to rename instead of just F2. Can only be changed in BIOS, which is something a casual user should never have to think about.

The screen is good, as is boot-up time.

Your mileage will vary, of course, but I couldn't recommend this product due to my personal experience. I expect a new laptop to work fine out of the box for a casual user (my spouse) and not require technical help on Day 1.

It`s a good machine, but I dont know when num lock or caps lock are turn on or turn off

Buy Gateway NE51B14u 15.6-Inch Laptop (Satin Black) Now

Asus X54C-RB01 Intel Celeron 1.7GHz 15.6" 2GB 320GB W7HP 64

Asus X54C-RB01 Intel Celeron 1.7GHz 15.6' 2GB 320GB W7HP 64Very pleasantly surprised although I shouldn't be as ASUS always produces great products at a great price. ASUS has been making motherboards and such for almost 30 years. Seems strange as most people have not heard of them except for the last few years,guess it must be a "techy" thing.

Picture and sound are excellent, nice to have a USB 3.0, no bloatware and all the bells an whistles of a much more expensive unit. ASUS produces most of the parts themselves, guess that's why the price is so low. Can't go wrong with this one!

I've had this laptop for a few months and I've been very pleased overall with the quality of the build and the value. The only issue I've had is with the jumpy nature of the trackpad, but there are newer drivers available online that will fix the issue. Both the Synaptics and the Elantech drivers appear to work and playing around with different ones got my issue under control.

As for the specs, they are bare-bones, but workmanlike. Stock, this would be a fine device for kids or a college student. I actually purchased it to upgrade and found that I could change the following:

1. Swapped CPU for a Core i5-2450M. This is a technical upgrade that requires nearly full disassembly of the base to get at the motherboard. It will void your warranty but it does work. The BIOS has the microcode for the new CPU and works perfectly.

2. Swapped network card for a dual-band 803.11n/Bluetooth combo card (Intel N-6230; soon to be further upgraded to an Intel N-6235 with Bluetooth 4.0). Asus does not whitelist the Wifi so this worked perfectly. As an added benefit, the function toggle automatically recognized the Bluetooth portion and allows you to toggle that as well.

3. Swapped DVD for a Sony Optiarc Blu-Ray Burner. The screw mount keeping the drive in place is under the keyboard, but it is very easy to remove.

4. Swapped the stock keyboard for the chicklet keyboard from the K53 series. This fits perfectly, exhibits none of the flex or imprecision of the original.

5. This comes with 2gb of memory soldered to the board and one open slot. Asus claims a maximum of 6gb of memory, but I've added an 8gb stick and it recognizes and utilizes the additional Ram. Sisoft Sandra indicates that the motherboard can actually handle up to 32mb of memory, so when 16gb stick become available I am going to give one a try as well. Right now, the 10gb works great!

6. Swapped the standard 4-cell battery (was getting about 2.5 hours on a full charge) with a 6-cell version from a Asus K53...now I'm seeing more than 4 hours of run time.

7. Swapped the HDD for an SSD. This is a SATA 3 motherboard so be sure to get a SATA 3 SSD to recognize the full speed benefit. The stock hard drive is partitioned to 119gb for the C:\ Drive and the remainder as a D:\Data drive. I purchased a 128GB and the cloning process went smoothly. For the easiest cloning process, I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than the 128gb. If you don't want the Blu-ray, you can also buy a optical drive bay 12.7mm adapter and put your old hard drive in there for additional storage. I would prefer the optical drive and an external USB data drive.

8. Yeah...I went ahead and upgraded to Windows 8...boot times are incredible. I added Stardock's Start8 to make the desktop act like Windows 7 and I couldn't be happier with the performance.

All-in-all, I now have a laptop that has many features that can only be found on models costing 2 or 3 times more than I spent combined.

Buy Asus X54C-RB01 Intel Celeron 1.7GHz 15.6" 2GB 320GB W7HP 64 Now

If you are after a low end laptop, ASUS is the way to go. It's sturdier than cheap Dells and... well, I don't think anybody else makes cheap laptops worth talking about at this point. I've had the previous generation of this (X52) for over a year. It's dead now due to a massive water spill accident and I got X54 to replace it.

Read Best Reviews of Asus X54C-RB01 Intel Celeron 1.7GHz 15.6" 2GB 320GB W7HP 64 Here

HP Smartbuy EliteBook 8540w

HP Smartbuy EliteBook 8540wHP laptops have been disappointing to me. I personally would not buy another HP product. But I have this laptop for work.

If you are left-handed, you operate the mouse next to the fire-breathing cooling fan exhaust and your hand will be burnt. This laptop runs hot; the exhaust temperature exceeds 55C. So why does HP place the cooling on the left side not on the back?

After a year of use, the first button on the touchpad stuck and is no longer useable.

This is the worst computer I've ever owned. The specs are impressive, but it was incredibly poorly designed. The placement of the fan makes it so that the computer overheats and shuts itself off regularly. If you're doing any kind of work that requires heavy processor usage, save early and save often, because this hunk of junk WILL crash on you. Not only that, it's heavy. I recommend that you use this PC as a paperweight, but not a computer.

Buy HP Smartbuy EliteBook 8540w Now

I have bought this machine after giving much consideration to competition and specs. The HP is not the latest in terms of processor since there are machines out there that have i7 second generation processors for about the same price or perhaps less. What attracted me this system is not the latest in terms of processor clock speed but overall build quality and configuration that is paired in the very nice and fast package? Most of the main points for me, since I do use this computer for 3D CAD is the graphics card and chipset. The performance QM57 chipset in the HP vs. for instance Asus`s G73SW-XA1 (HM67 chipset which is just a main street chipset)is significantly better in the performance and security departments. Also as many of us start to use the new generation wireless routers HP as of right now is the only machine that uses true 5ghz network speeds with Intel's Ultimate6300 Intel's ultimate 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi adapter for business and home. The Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6300 dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), 3x3 adapter delivers up to 450 Mbps¹ bandwidth, maximum range and reliability, and unique Intel-only features including Intel® Wireless Display, and Intel® vPro(tm) technology support. In closing great machine, yes not the latest but a solid performer with 3 year warranty with good price to boot at Amazon if you're not a gamer this machine will last you for a long time.

P.S. Do your research before you buy, read the small print cross-reference with components manufactures and you'll have a good buy and great machine that meets your needs

Read Best Reviews of HP Smartbuy EliteBook 8540w Here

I have had this computer for about 2 years, using it primarily for school use. The computer has done its job for the most part. Windows Professional isn't exactly necessary for business students, as my primary uses for this computer are Chrome, Office, iTunes, and Torrenting. I think the main reason why I went with it was because it had the side number pad (I use excel frequently for accounting and finance).

I purchased a 3-year warranty for it and I'm glad I did. The screen is very flimsy you must be careful about grabbing the cheap plastic that encases the screen along the sides. I've done this twice and I have had to get a new screen both times. With that being said, the screen is very high quality and the resolution is almost comparable to my Retina Display iPad.

This computer is incredibly heavy, and is not ideal for travel, walking to class, bringing to work. Also, the battery life is not great (4 hours?) and the computer gets very hot if it is sitting on your lap.

Maybe I did not buy this computer for the proper reasons, but it is not that amazing. Very average.

Want HP Smartbuy EliteBook 8540w Discount?

Bought this laptop almost three years ago, and have never had a major issue with the thing. Everything still works except for the little keyboard illuminator which got jammed shut (which I never used anyway).

I am most impressed with this machine's ability to survive spills. I spilled an entire beer right on the keyboard, and after quickly flipping it over and removing the battery and keyboard, I let it dry overnight. The next morning I pried all the keys off and soaked them and scrubbed the board, then rinsed the whole keyboard with distilled water. 12 hours later the machine was working, and as clean as it was brand new.

The thing has also fallen off multiple counters, no problems yet. Battery still lasts a long time.

Overall a great buy.