Asus UX31A-BHI5T11 Ultrabook 13.3" Touch Screen Laptop 4GB Memory 128GB SSD Radiant Black

DESIGN

Very sleek, very strong and very lightweight. Asus says, "Inspiring Innovation"? This point is questionable, since it so closely resembles a thin-profile laptop of another OS, but it is a good design nonetheless.

Some people complain that this particular model with a black finish `attracts fingerprints'. Really, it doesn't attract more fingerprints than anything else you touch, but does show them quite prominently. For me, this is very low on the list of complaints, especially since it does not affect `normal use' of the laptop. I may even prefer the black finish to the silver-gray, since it looks more professional.

I would prefer that Asus would make their "ASUS" logo at the bottom of the screen smaller, but this is also a minor point.

DISPLAY

Let's get this out of the way: You're buying this laptop because of its great 1080p screen, right? Make no mistake; Asus has serious build-quality issues with their Zenbook displays. It has been a known issue since the first UX31A models and before, and, unfortunately, they have not fixed it on the latest touch version.

Light bleed is rampant on all of these units, and I have yet to see a Zenbook without light bleed around the edges of the screen. If this is a potential issue for you, do not even consider buying this laptop. For me, I can tolerate (but do not like) this light bleed, so long as it does not interfere with normal use. But on this point--normal use--I have had additional issues. My 1st unit had so much light bleed in the bottom-left and right corners that it caused white backgrounds (word documents, websites, etc.) to appear yellow in those areas, several square inches into the screen on both sides. My 2nd unit had less of the corner yellowing, but a significant orb of uneven backlight in the center of the screen, extending several inches upward. My 3rd unit (and hopefully final) I would call the `least problematic' of the 3, though certainly not perfect by any means. There is some irregularity of the backlighting, and light bleed on the edges, of course, but nothing so jarring that it will prevent me from normal use.

IF you can find one of these laptops that has few enough issues with the display, you may then proceed to enjoy the clarity of the high resolution, 1920 by 1080 pixels. It may be of concern to some that the high resolution might interfere with comfortable use of the computer in Desktop mode. With Windows scaling set at 125%, however, and Google Chrome default zoom also set to 125%, I have not found this to be an issue at all.

The IPS display allows for very good viewing angles, which helps alleviate the age-old problem of constant readjustment of the screen. The brightness is also very good, compensating greatly for the glossiness of the display. A note about brightness: I noticed that the display would `flicker' when on battery power if a screen with a light background was switched to a screen with a dark background (as if dimming, when auto-brightness and adaptive brightness were turned off), and vice versa. It turns out that there is a setting in the Intel Graphics software called "Display Power Saving Technology". I unchecked both of the "Power Conservation Features" in the Intel Graphics and Media Control Panel to alleviate this problem.

The hinges on the display are questionable. They allow for easy opening of the screen, which is good, but also tend to allow the display to fall backward once open. Any time I give the computer a good bump or pick it up quickly, the display opens to its full extent. Fortunately the good viewing angles of the IPS screen make this less of an issue.

KEYBOARD

The keyboard is above-average for an Ultrabook. It is not as good as a ThinkPad keyboard, but actually better than the Lenovo Yoga keyboard. The keyboard itself does not flex in the middle, very solid. Key travel is short, but it is pretty crisp. Coming from a ThinkPad myself, the biggest adjustment has been the short travel of the spacebar. Nonetheless, I have found my stride within a few days and now type almost as well on this one as I did on the ThinkPad.

Backlighting on the keyboard is a big plus. As many users have noted, once you have this feature, you will find it hard to go without it. Three levels of brightness allow for some variableness if you like.

The secondary functions of the Function keys (F1 thru F12) require use of the "fn" key on the keyboard. What adds insult to injury is that there are no dedicated volume button elsewhere. So adjusting the volume always requires 2 hands, a big pitfall if you like to keep one hand on an external mouse.

But! There is a remedy... until Asus is willing to fix this. Download and install a key-remapping software (such as KeyTweak), and remap f10 to Mute, f11 to Volume Down, and f12 to Volume Up. You won't have use of those f-keys anymore, but if you're like most users, you probably never used them anyhow. I further did a re-mapping of the Context Menu and Right Control keys to dedicated Home and End keys, respectively, since I use Home/End keys frequently and do not care for them being relegated to second-class functions of the arrows.

TOUCHPAD

The touchpad is average. It is not great, it is not terrible. I find pointing to be pretty accurate, but two-finger scrolling to be abhorrent. Note on this point though: There are currently 3 touchpad drivers available for the UX31A from Asus' website. The oldest of the 3, version 32, has much smoother two-finger scrolling than versions 35 or 36. The newer versions may have more accurate pointing, but worse two-finger scrolling, so pick which is most important to you. I am using version 32 for now, and it works okay. Adding a smooth scrolling extension to your web browser can somewhat improve the experience as well.

The surface of the touchpad is not the smoothest for gliding your finger across. I find it to be a bit 'sticky', even though the surface appears to be smooth. Maybe adding a slight texture to the touchpad would improve the situation.

SOLID STATE DRIVE

It says "128 GB", so how much space do you actually get for you files? Less than 70 GB. It's a shame, really, that over 45% of the supposed space is eaten up from the start. Manufacturers need to become more forthcoming about this truth, and do a better job of partitioning the SSD if possible.

WIRELESS

Unlike the Lenovo Yoga, this model includes a professional-grade dual-band Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 wireless adapter for 802.11agn networks, which supports 5 GHz frequency for reduced wireless congestion. I have not had any issues with wireless performance.

NOISE

One of my favorite features about this laptop is how quiet it is. The fan is running most of the time, though very quietly, even in a silent environment. I was not very impressed with the high noise levels of the fan on the Lenovo Yoga.

WRAP-UP

There are a host of other features on this laptop, but other reviews can provide information on their function. I have documented the particular aspects which I found to be of particular concern. Overall, the positives still outweigh the negatives, and in every respect, this laptop is FAST. I plan to keep it, even though Asus still has a long way to go in fulfilling the second half of their motto, "Persistent Perfection". It still has a lot to offer compared to the competition, and, if they would get their act together with the display defects, I would even recommend it to a friend.

OTHER MODELS CONSIDERED

Lenovo Ideapad Yoga, Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon, Dell XPS 12

UPDATE 2013-02-11

Overall I am still very pleased with this laptop. I did have an issue with the CTRL key 'sticking', which may have been due to remapping the CTRL key to a dedicated END key. I removed this remapping and reinstalled the keyboard driver and have not had this problem since.

I have also been much more pleased with the touchpad since installing a more generic version of Elantech's touchpad driver available from Acer's (not ASUS's) website. I am currently using the Elantech Touchpad Driver version 11.6.8.001 (found under Acer Aspire S7-391). Touchpad sensitivity is better, palm rejection is better, and overall there are more customization options than what ASUS provides with their touchpad drivers.

UPDATE 2013-03-25

Now using Elan touchpad driver version 11.7.8.5. Pointing is smooth and accurate.

Amazing notebook. Asus has really stepped upstart with all of its design. It's directly competing with thin MacBook Air, which I almost got but this is what beats the Air:

-screen resolution is 1920x1080, very crisp, bright display

-128GB flash drive

-touchscreen

-windows 8

Here is what I love about this zenbook/:

-all metal, durable design. This is no cheap plastic materials

-glass, touch screen

-ultra cool to touch, silent

-ultra fast USB 3.0, mini HDMI, display port

-only 2lbs

-fast, responsive Windows 8, boots up in 8 seconds, back from sleep in 2 seconds

-good battery life

-comes with a very nice Asus case

Here's what I didn't like:

-only 90GB of free space

-when screen is all black there are light leakage on all sides

-wish the power charger was magnetic or simpler like Vivobook

-bloatware that no average consumer needs

This is by far the best notebook I've ever owned. I've installed Adobe CS6, and it runs like butter. Much better than Samsung quality and even the overpriced Sony. Asus really gets the value, design, and quality. Would recommend to anyone who's looking for an awesome notebook.

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What's great about it: Most everything,, size screen back lit keyboard, touchscreen

What's not so great: sometime wifi is a bit touchy

Firstly. for some of you that have noticed the sound not being up to par. You can enhance, (make louder) the sound by clicking on the speaker icon on task-bar, when menu pops up click on enhancements, and again click on loudness enhancements ... wala,,, much better sound output. if you are playing music while doing this you can hear the difference the menu settings make. real time

The Screen is to die for.. So much better than any i have had in the past, I don't have to constantly move the screen tilt to get just the right angle. I can see clearly now... LOL from the sides at a better angle also. Vibrant colors, slight bleed on start up, but once on page not seeable for me at all.

This computer is a complete remake of the last year model, which i happen to have two of. Keys are great, Hardly ever miss a stroke, and when i do it is my fault. Back lit keyboard is beautiful in dim light, or typing while wife is sleeping. Fast, Responsive. but sometimes i do loose the wifi for some reason,, usually after a sleep period.. I think it is probably due to Win 8.

Speaking of Win 8. I hate it.. Usually stay in the win 7 area. and have added CLASSIC SHELL to get the full function of the tool and task bar. along with the Start menu. I use LibreOffice. seems to work in place of the previous Microsoft scaled down version. I really don't like having to reach over the keyboard and swipe the screen to search for things. I have had cancer in the right shoulder and makes it difficult to continue to reach forward, Esp while hunting for something..

The Screen Fonts in the Win 8 interface are entirely too small.. Have tried many options to make them bigger... so some thing i am not doing i guess... Of course that may be because this screen has the absolute best resolution i have seen IN A STORE. besides the $2000 Mac Pro, so even the small fonts are clear,,, just too darn small.

Over all, I really like this better than any notebook i have had, including my Samsung s9 which was terrible on the battery 2.5 hours as is the s5 i still have. The Asus will get 6-7 hours battery life in every day usage.. Depending on your individual settings. The Mac Air is one nice book, but the screen scares me to no end,, Having a busted one sitting in my basement. Cost more than it is worth to replace on a two year old model. the screen on Asus Zenbook has edge to edge glass.. not just a film as on many computers. Will make it a bit heavier.

Really if you want a great, stylish, functional ultrabook, ?? You cannot go wrong with this one, for the money..Kind of hard to get but worth it.. Buy from best buy, or AMazon,, If you don't like the computer, take it back in 30 days... No restock fee.. Caution, If you take it back, you might have "RETURNERS REMORSE"

If you have read my review on the old Aenbook, you would know i hated it, but this new model is way above any i have used. ANY.

This product is...GREATTTTTTTTTTT Plus it is a WINDOWs machine.. All my software works with it

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This is the best ultrabook on the market to me (despite its minor cons), and it is a PC! I cannot rave enough about how beautiful this machine is. If you're getting one, make sure you get this randiant black color, as the regular one has a silver body which to me is a bit boring.

Pros:

* all metal casing has brushed circular patterns on the surface and a really Apple quality solid build

* very thin and light (0.9" and 2.9lbs)

* high-res screen with brilient colors, great for movies

* touch screen for win 8

* fast and silent

* lit up keyboard

* comes with nice sleeve and accessories in its own pouch

* nice touch pad

Cons:

* light bleed around the edges (the

* cannot change/remove battery (just like Apple products)

* expensive (this is subjective)

* only 4GB ram and not upgradable

* weak graphics processor (not a gaming machine)

* metal casing is easy to scratch (use care!)

* touch screen is too glossy and attracts fingerprints like honey to ants (apply a screen protector to fix)

Handle the machine with care, and it is easily the most beautiful piece of hardware you can buy. BTW, the ASUS TX300 is coming soon, but I will keep this machine still because even though the idea of a transformable ultrabook and tablet sounds really appealing, the fact the machine will not sit stably due to being top-heavy and the hinge will likely become loose over time due to constant connecting and disconnecting tells me it will not be practical in the long run. Not to mention it will be more expensive than this.

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Computers nowadays come with more processing capacity than most of us (among non-gamers) need, so I usually don't bother to do some research in that front. I needed a new computer and my priorities were, therefore, the screen (high resolution, touchscreen and no bigger than 13") and low noise levels. You get all that with this machine. But there are some aspects I don't like and this is the reason I gave it only three stars:

With 128 Gigabytes of physical memory, I would not call this machine an "ultrabook", but an "infrabook" instead. I knew about this limitation so I can't complain about it. What really disappointed me is that to get a bit round this problem I bought a 128GB SD card to have it permanently installed as part of the computer memory. And here I got a sad surprise: the card only makes it halfway into the slot (as opposed to enter completely as it did in my much smaller 11" older notebook). Half of it poked out of the machine, making it an ugly sight, unsafe (you can easily lose it) and not suitable to carry around (without removing it). Money lost in this try.

On ergonomics: the borders were designed to close tightly and look then "aerodynamic" (so it is kind of annoying to open it you need strong nails), not for user's comfort. In fact, depending on how you use the computer, the sharp metallic edges will definitely hurt your wrists. Other reviewers liked the solid finish of metal personally I prefer good old plastic, as it is less conductive of heat and therefore it does not have that "cold" feeling on contact with the skin. But this is a matter of personal taste.

I can confirm some difficulties with wi-fi connection that another review reported. In a network where my iPhone and other laptops can obtain signal normally this computer often looses connection. Therefore I have to restart the computer to get it back (very nice if you are busy working and with several documents opened...).

Finally Windows 8. It is difficult to express how much annoying this new system is, and how much time I had to waste trying to make it work relatively similar familiar (i.e to Windows 7) so I would not be lost in their bizarre world of invasive and nonsensical organized (?) screens and shortcuts. I have grown tired of Microsoft during the last years and with this new release I am ready to move to Linux whenever I have some time to do it. Other people are ok with Windows and I respect that, but I wish my choice of not liking it would be respected as well, so I would not to have to swallow (and pay for) it every time I buy a pc. But this has been too much to wish for in a long time already.

My overall assessment: Awesome screen and pleasantly quiet and good looking machine. If you are ok with the limitations above (not my case), it is a good buy.

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AS5742Z-4646 - DDR3 Sdram - Serial Ata - 15.6 Inch - Tft Active Matrix

Wecam, 15.6" screen,intel P6200 duo core, 4G Ram and 320 HD... great laptop! I use it for basic stuff: email, internetj/research, download music and that is pretty much it. I don't game at all. This is my first laptop and you need to understand that my old computer (6 years old) was a Pentium 4, 80G HD, 512 Ram. I've had this ACER for a month now and I am more than pleased with its performance. Speed is great. Screen is great. Keyboard is great (I never have to worry about my wrists accidently hitting the house pad), mouse pad is great. I haven't tried the webcam yet. Speakers are weak but I don't use my computer to listen to music. I bought this laptop for $379.00 with free shipping in early February. Too cheap. I wonder how much the workers in Asia are being paid to make them??? :(

-D

This is my second Acer Laptop, my previous laptop was good but this one is great. I just use my laptop when I am traveling, it has WiFi, keyboard has a very good ease of use and the 15 in screen is wide enough that I can watch movies and work without any eye strain, battery life is good at least 3.5 hours. I would recommend this to anyone who needs a good inexpensive system.

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Loves this laptop. I got it for him as he went off to college. Really good buy for the price.

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Lenovo B570-1068BAU Laptop Computer / Intel Pentium Dual-Core B960 2.2GHz Processor / 4GB DDR3 Memo

This laptop was my 2012 Xmas gift from my daughter. Although the laptop was delivered to my daughter by end of November I did not see it until the Christmas day. I was very excited. After using it for a couple of week I was having some trouble with the touchpad mouse in the laptop--it would constantly freeze. I called Lenovo service on January 16,2013 for assistance and after hearing a brief description of my problem i was put in touch with their software support team. Before I could talk to the tech someone from the warranty service team told me that I should consider buying their premium warranty service for $179 since only one service call was free. If in my case the problem required more than one call this premium warranty service was valid for a year. I asked if I would be able to cancel the warranty if I did not need it --I was told I could do it within 3 weeks from the date of purchase.I bought the warranty but I felt it was really a high pressure sales tactics. Their software tech team then attempted to resolve my mouse problem and even after spending a number of hours could not fix it. I was told by them to contact their hardware support team becuase they thought it was a hardware problem. Ok--I called the warranty service to cancel my warranty service and refund the money they charged my credit card well before the 3 week deadline. Here comes the twist. They said they would only refund me $90 since the software tech service charge was $89. When I said that I was told that one service call was free it was completely denied!!! A similar story for the hardware tech service--I was told that my laptop had only a basic warranty for one year. They would offer me a 3 year service for $84. I bought it and they told me they would send me an email confirming my purchase within 24 hours. I never got their emai--after about 5 days I called why I did not receive this confirmation. This time I was told that this warranty was not for 3 years--it would be for 2 years only. I gave up--asked for a refund and still waiting to be reimbursed. What an experience!

I have owned the B570-1068AJU version of this laptop for over a year. I use it primarily for email, watching Netflix, and listening to MP3's. Without getting into specific hardware specs, it has plenty of power for that. I've never tried intense gaming on it. Knock wood I've never had any problems getting the hardware to work properly. For example the web cam worked flawlessly for Google chat and the optical drive burns discs without any problems. The SD card reader is very handy for transferring pictures from a camera. This laptop isn't going to win any beauty contests but for someone like me who is interested in function over form, it doesn't matter. It's not too heavy either. I also like the included software. It allows you to log in via face recognition (keep in mind this is not highly secure). I also like the software that requires you to enter a password when inserting a USB drive. It keeps you safe from someone trying to hack your laptop with a USB drive. My only gripes are with the keyboard and mouse layout. The right handed shift key is too small and in an odd position. It frequently causes typos. Also it is nearly impossible to avoid tapping the touch pad while typing. Thankfully it can be disabled so I just use a wireless mouse. Otherwise the cursor jumping around and clicking on things like the laptop is possessed. In short I think this is an excellent laptop for someone looking to do the basics yet still have portability.

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Gateway ID49C14u 14.0-Inch Laptop (Arctic Silver)

I replace my old Pavilion Artist Edition for this one.

this is an excellent laptop, real HD graphics, fast, ultra light and portable.

I've always had Gateway computers, and if there was ever a problem, customer service was helpful and never expensive. They make it easy. I bought this laptop for my son 6 months ago and another for me 2 months ago. Speed is fantastic, graphics nice! And, it does not heat up at all. My son takes his to college and it lasts plenty long on the battery. Price is rightt too! I recommend Gateway to anyone who loves a good, reliable computer, with great customer care.

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Asus K73E-BBR7 17.3" Laptop (i3-2350M Processor, 4GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive, 17.3" LED, UMA graph

Well my expectations were low with this budget laptop from Asus. I have recently bought a high performance quad core laptop from HP (HP Pavilion dv7-6b32us) and was very disappointed as how poorly bios was designed. So my thought was Asus is a much smaller company so they would be probably won't be any better than a bigger company like HP. And I am glad to report that I was so Wrong. Asus' BIOS is perfect which uses standard ACPI tables and let you choose IDE mode in the bios which can make it a breeze to install older OS (Win 200, XP, BSD etc).

Also performance and display was nice. Sound was louder than usually tiny laptop sound. I was presently surprised to find out that one of the memory slot was vacant which would definitely make it easier to upgrade ram (it had only 1 stick of 4GB DDR3 ram). Also they have not advertised it but this laptop had another bay to install a second hard drive and you do not need to buy another cable to add additional hard drive since this laptop use standard SATA connectors. Although a hard drive caddy was not included for second hard drive but I am delighted to find out the Asus has given end user option to add second hard drive. Use of industry standards in BIOS and hard drive connector is a huge plus for me.

I did not notice any issue with the touch pad that some users has experienced with older Asus laptops. I was also able to find the Win-XP drivers for all the devices since Asus uses industry standard compnents from well known manufacturesres like Atheros, Realtek, Intel and Broadcom.

Laptop's build quality is not the best but I think it is adequate for a budget laptop. I have to say that I am going to replace another laptop for may parents later this year, and yes it would going to be an Asus.

ASUS A73E-AS31 17.3-Inch Laptop (Mocha)

Just purchased have used for about a week, really nice computer with Windows 7 Home, Password Sign-in face recognition, wifi/blue tooth, LED screen, built in camera. MS Office Basic. 42.0 USB ports, SDHC card reader, full size chicklet style keyboard with touch pad, mini HDMI output, DVD drive. Connect easily to any network thru wifi, easily updated on window update, plus Asus update site for it's own software, You will love using the full size keyboard, the 17" screen, and the fast response time when surfing the internet, plenty of storage on it 500 GB HD for all your files and software. The only thing I notice the most is the weight of 7lbs, but then again it is 17" LED display vs a 13" 0r 15" display, a good replacement computer for a full size computer setup. It definitely not one of the newer ultra thin notepads, but for those wanting a computer for years to come it should serve them nicely. Asus gives you a lot for the money in features and tech a well thought out notebook computer for those thinking about buying an Apple notebook, but at less than half the price.

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Gateway NE71B11u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Satin Black)

Coming from a 7 year old dying Dell 15 incher to this beauty was like moving from a Yugo to a Land Rover...I chose the Gateway because it had the right combination of features and price...having a 17.3" screen is one of the main features that still blows me away...having a 500 GB HD didn't hurt either...plus a dual core processor and USB 3.0 and a numeric keypad...

And now about Windows 8...I love it. Having had a Kindle Fire for a year made it a fairly easy transition...once you understand the layout (which really doesn't take that long) you realize how flexible it is...I use keyboard commands to do about everything and with the multi function keypad I will never need a mouse (unless I get Photoshop) And all this for a mere $400...Tablets have their place but for now I love my laptop...

Nice size, fast performance, screen brilliant, but might need to get a bigger battery other than that everythings running smooth

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Had another Gateway before this one that I have had for 10+ years and could have kept using. This one of course is much more powerful and faster but I bought it because it is a Gateway.

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Gateway is a great product when it comes to computers. The first day i got it I unpacked it,I turned it on,I did the set up from there on its been working great for me. The computer looks great. The keyboard very smooth fast keys. The windows 8 works great for me.I love the tiles they are easy to use.THIS IS MY COMPUTER LOVE!!! I love it and it loves me.!!! ROGER THAT !!!...

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Pros -

Cheap

Big screen

Cons-

VERY SLOW

Terrible at multitasking, cant even play music in the background, extremely skippy

Can't game at all

Crashes constantly

USB 2.0 has glitches

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Samsung R540-JA04 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver)

I've had this computer for a week and so far, so great!! It took about 15 minutes to set up right out of the box which is amazingly fast compared to some computers I have purchased. What saved a boat load of time was not having to create a back up system restoration CD since it came with one -that right there made me fall in love with Samsung! I love the keyboard because there is a little bit of space between each letter so you can feel if your fingers start to move off the key -I sometimes have problems typing on laptops because the keys butt right up to one another. The "mouse pad" is better than a lot of other laptops I tested at the store but I still bought a wireless mouse. I was able to sync the laptop up to my wireless router and network it to my desktop computer (which is still running XP) pretty effortlessly, and I am by no means an IT person. I can now print from my laptop to the printer that is hooked up to my desktop computer via the router and network. LOVE IT! The battery doesn't seem to be the best out there. It seems to keep my laptop powered for maybe a little more than four hours, which is just fine for me but some other people might want to purchase a longer lasting battery. The battery pack does have a button that you can press to see how much "juice" is left so you can test it without having to turn the computer on. That was something I didn't expect to find but is a really nice feature that I'm glad to have.

The i3 processor is pretty quick and I'm really glad I didn't cheap out and go with anything less than the i3. I tested the camera just to make sure it works and it was pretty easy to use. I don't skype or anything so I probably won't use it much but it is nice to know it's there if I need it. The speakers sound ok nothing like the Boston speakers and sub I have on my desktop, but hey, this is a laptop. They are definitely not the worst laptop speakers I have ever heard and they have a decent volume to them.

It didn't come loaded with a bunch of crap software like some other computers I have purchased. Again, loving Samsung for that! It did come preloaded with Skype, Adobe Reader, and some games.

Overall I'm extremely pleased with this laptop and I would definitely make the same decision to purchase. I guess only time will tell on whether or not I will still love it in a year but right out the box it is awesome.

I think Samsung is becoming quality leader in computers and tvs.You get Sony quality without paying Sony prices.The computer came as ordered in a few days ,and I was very impressed with the beauty and quality of the Samsung.I registered and was informed that Samsung had added 3 more months to my warranty .Now that's what I call a great company.Setup was easy even for a non techie.I was surprised to find a watered down Word & Excel which was great since I never used all the functions of Word .Since Outlook express is no longer available ,I researched a little and downloaded Thunderbird and then found thet Microsoft had an email client called Windows Live Mail which is an improvement over Outlook Express .Setup was great ,I just typed in my email address and my password and that was it.No more configuring incoming ,outgoing, Windows took care of that .So far this laptop boots fast and is a pleasure to work with.I purchased Rebit5 a recovery system which I bought with 1tb hardrive and backed up everyhing .If I had one complaint it would be the computer is a little on the heavy side and the battery only last around 3 1/2 hours .But I come back to the reason I bought this laptop ,where do you get a computer like this for $499.99 ?

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I love this laptop! It has everything I need and the price was affordable. My only complaint is I ordered a silver one and they sent me a brown one. The brown shows every fingerprint, I am very disappointed about this! I do not feel like going thru the return process so I will deal with it.

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Bought this laptop for my mom and she loves it. The price was perfect for the amount of performance. It is a great laptop for emails, pictures, videos, and business.

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I usually trust Samsung computers but not this one. Adult owned.

ProcessorThe i3 is slow and cannot handle multiple processes at once.

MemoryPrograms constantly crash and computer freezes because of lack of memory.

CameraThe built in webcamera is very laggy.

Mousepadvery sensitive to moisture on fingers.

Hard DriveDecent size amount of storage.

CompatibilityDoes not like to play nice with anything I plug into it.

For the amount of money paid for this machine I am very disappointed.

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Toshiba Satellite A305-S6858 Core 2 Duo T5750 2.0GHz 4GB 320GB DVD±RW 15.4" Vista Home Premium (SP

Even thought this is my first laptop and I'm known in the house to "kill" anything that is eletronic. I find this computer exteremly reliable.

It did crash on me but that was my fault. Went on the wrong sites had to many virus and malware and it blinked out. I sent the laptop back to Toshiba and they fixed it within 2 weeks.

But I like the speakers they supply a decent sound, the mouse pad will get hot in long duration, due to the design and the finish you will be able to see your fingerprints (but thats something stupid to complain about), very fast on the internet no matter what (DSL, Cabel), a lot of storage space, and the software is very user friendly and I've never had a problem with Vista. It works like a breeze.

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Toshiba Satellite L645-S4104 14.0-Inch Laptop - Grey

Still learning to use it but seems to be a robust and quite fast laptop. I have purchased now my third Toshiba and will remain with the brand for total satisfaction with all products so far.

Im very happy with the stylish look, very fast and robust.

Im only missing the firewire port, never would guess that it did not have the 4 pin al least!

Only downside could by that finger prints are very noticeable on the keyboard!

EXCELENT PRIME ONE DAY SHIPPING

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Haven't had the computer that long, but so far, no issues. I can't comment on the software factory installed, as I reformatted the computer as soon as I got it (just don't like factory installed computers). It runs pretty quickly, and has plenty of HD space. Any other computer with the specifications of this one would have been 200 dollars more.

This is my second Toshiba, and I've been very happy with both so far.

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This laptop pretty much covered my basic laptop needs. I don't do much on the computer besides check email and type a couple of documents, but so far I have not had any problems. The only minor negative i have found is that the keypad retains fingerprints. I read this on a review prior to my purchase so it was expected.

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I purchased my Satellite 15 months ago and have loved it until two weeks ago when the 2 USB ports on the right-hand side came loose and fell inside. I took the computer to a repair shop and was told this is a common issue with Toshiba laptops due to the weld Toshiba uses for the ports; they couldn't repair it but could send it in to Toshiba for repair -at a cost of $400! I contacted Toshiba and was told that since I was 5 months out of warranty, they could repair it, but it would cost me ... $400! If you go online and search for "Toshiba USB Port Loose", you will find a slew of people that have experienced the same issue with their Toshiba laptops, even current year models. Save your money and purchase a different brand of laptop.

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Dell Inspiron i15R-1633sLV 15.6-Inch Laptop

I am surprised at the negative reviews of this little lap top. It is attractive and more importantly worked out of the box. After booting, I went immediately to Windows update and downloaded 61 updates and all loaded successfully. This little beast

then recognized my other system computers and downloaded music and software for various printers. I have been able to load and run older versions of Microsoft Office, Dragon Naturally Speaking,download video and music from the Teaching Company and and Amazon as well as update Skype..... The keyboard is perfect for my rather

weak touch, but not overly sensitive. Multiple open programs work quickly. I was expecting that an i3 would be slower and have hesitancy with all that I threw at it

but it just churned on. I have not tested the HDMI port yet but will update the review later.

One reviewer mentioned that the Windows 8 update would be problematic, but I don't think so. I see also that the links for the 15 dollar rebate AND the Windows 8 upgrade for 14.99 have been restored and I was able to register this computer at Dell Advantage.. no problem.

The service tag is present both on the box AND below the battery. A manual of the computer's specs can be easily downloaded at DELL.

I really do see more rapid data transfer with the USB 3 ports. There are four USB ports not three and the aforementioned HDMI.

This is my sixth or seventh Dell computer in the last several years. While they all have some battle-scars (mostly due to my travel and bad habits) and a few naggling problems; they all can still function.This computer is the least priced with the most power and ease. The sound is a bit weak and tinny but is easily remedied with a stereo connection.

Thus, I would rate this computer an outstanding value, working well out of the box

and exceeding expectations. I am uncertain if the Windows 8 upgrade will be a benefit or an aggravation as this computer segued into our home network Windows 7 premium with ease and perhaps unnecessary updates are just that!

I sympathize with those that received a problematic or DOA computer. Last year the same happened to me with another internet vendor (Tiger.....)and it really has taken a lot of time and effort to deal with it.

My opinion would be to give this laptop a try: Amazon will always back up their warranty and it would not be difficult to ship a defective unit back.

Good Luck!

Update: I just tested the unit with respect to the HDMI port functionality. I went online and streamed a lecture I had downloaded from the Teaching Company. I then projected via the HDMI port of the 15 R 5110 to a Sony internet TV. The laptop performed extremely well in both connecting to the WIFI and streaming in real time and the HDMI port to the TV via a generic Amazon HDMI cable. There were no buffering issues, hesitations or drop outs and the quality of the picture was excellent. I had to fiddle with the Sony TV controls a bit to get the audio to come thru, but when it did it was excellent. The quality was equivalent to the AV output I get from my Blue ray disc player playing ordinary DVDs. No complaints. I hope this is helpful for all of those who have doubts about this little i3 laptop. I am not a gamer but laptop is a good companion and appears to be very reliable to specs. It does not run hot. I posted a review of the generic 15 R 5110 from May 2011 in the comment(3) section of this review. I hope this helps.

Got this a few days ago when I ordered it from a black Friday deal(yeah so that offering was not a scam, some people did get one). It was a Christmas gift so I wasn't planning on opening it. After reading the 4 reviews for the product on 11/29 I decided I better open it and check it out...cause if it can go wrong, it will...that's my luck.

Anyway, I opened the box with a fair amount of trepidation, and it was in there, so far so good. Next I unpacked it and plugged it in waiting for the blue screen of death, smoke, hard drive clicking, a total lack of activity, or anyone of the myriad of other signs indicating issues with the product.

Well after holding my breath for a few seconds the machine started right up, went through its initial use procedure, got online through my network and is now being updated. PERFECT, works great! No ISSUES. Was just what I ordered and arrived as described. Now I can't guarantee it will still be working in a few months, but right now I am a very satisfied buyer.

To address issues in other reviews:

1) I bought it with windows 7, it came with windows 7, I didn't buy it for any windows 8 upgrade special so no points off there.

2) Not repacked came new in a sealed box, no points off there. I must point out that one reviewer complained that no one checked his laptop to make sure it was configured correctly prior to shipping and another complained that his had been opened, so it comes down to how do you please everyone? Me, I want mine unopened please.

3) A reviewer said his did not work, mine did so no points off there. Who knows maybe he forgot to hit the start button. This one doesn't automatically turn on when opened unless it's already been turned on...hey I've seen weirder things than that, like the guy who emailed brighthouse from his home computer to complain he couldn't get online from his home computer.

Bottom line I have a working Dell I3 with 750GB hard drive, internet access, and it is a 15.6 in laptop running windows 7. I have what I ordered, it works fine, so 5 stars.

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This has one of the best keyboards of any laptop I have tried. I type 50+ words a minute and this keyboard helps to reduce mistakes. I never hit the touch pad while typing. That was a big problem with an HP laptop that I used to have.

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I ordered my computer on Jan 8 and it was delivered on Jan 16, that is super fast for an order from Hawaii, with free shipping! The computer arrived in excellent condition, brand new. I plugged it in and followed the prompts and was ready to download my programs and use my computer within 2 hours. The keyboard is a little too flat for my liking but I can get used to it. The cursor jumps all over the place but I will find a fix I'm sure. Good deal for $472, free ship to Hawaii, 6gb ram, 750 hard drive and intel i3 processor. I love it that it came with Windows 7 since I'm not ready for Windows 8. Will update review later.

PS...to keep cursor from jumping all over when typing, press Fn and F3 keys to lock the keypad. Good to go!

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See UPDATE below, dated 3/24/13. Original review 12/12)

I needed a basic laptop that was less than $500 and was dependable. I went through no less than 3 expensive HP laptops (around $2500 each) that were all lemons in less than 2 years, and had to hassle each time with the company from which I purchased them because I also bought an extended warranty. After my 3rd HP laptop crashed for the second time, I decided to buy a relatively inexpensive computer from Amazon.

This was $470 with free shipping. I bought the Dell Inspiron because I really like my Dell home computer which is also an Inspiron but has a wireless keyboard. This laptop loaded up in no time at all. In less than 10 minutes I was on my work website and printing to my wireless printer. It already had MS Office 2010 installed, so all I had to do was enter in the product key. I purchased MS Office 2010 from Amazon for $94 and it came on a disc and allows downloads to 3 PCs.

This laptop has a 15 inch screen which is larger than I really needed. For this reason, it's also a little heavy, but that doesn't bother me. Today I sat in an easy chair with the laptop on my lap and, surprisingly, it never got hot after working for 9 hours from home.

I like the keyboard and large touchpad which gives my wrists plenty of room to rest while typing. If there is not enough room for your wrists to rest, the wrists end up resting on the edge of the laptop and can get really uncomfortable. This laptop doesn't have that problem.

The one disadvantage I found, which may not be a problem for most, is that the power cord plugs into the left side of the unit. While it's still 8 feet long, with the plug being on the left side and my outlet located to my right, it didn't quite fit into the outlet located across the room. I solved this problem by plugging it into a surge protector (which will no doubt be better for the unit to protect it from surges). I still don't like the cord hanging over my legs, it would have been nice to have it plug on the right side or in the back. I consider this a minor nuisance.

It is Windows 7 and has a CORE-i3 which is plenty fast for the work I do. The keyboard doesn't light up, but the display light is bright enough so it doesn't need it, even in dim overhead lighting. It has more memory than I'll ever need, and also has DVD/RW.

I'm happy with my purchase. I'll never waste my money on expensive computers, especially HP, again.

UPDATE: 3/24/13

I am sad to report this computer is a LEMON. It crashes every week when I am in the middle of a program, despite my running Webroot Spysweeper daily before I power it off. It crashes in different programs, like MS Word, my work program, amazon.com, etc. The Dell touchpad also fails to work many times, despite my changing the sensitivity. It is frustrating to try to scroll down, only to have the screen stay in one place. Maybe not all of the Dell Inspiron laptops are lemons, but I certainly bought one. Next time I'll stick with local Best Buy and get the warranty.

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Dell Latitude D600 Pentium M 1.4GHz WIFI 256MB 40GB DVD 14.1-Inch XP Pro with Restore Cd, bonus 512

this purchasing process was excellent!the seller is prompt,courteous and customer service driven.the product was bought to replace my college students broken one.it was just what he needed,no frills,perfect working and practical condition. of course he would prefer something more hip with every bell and whistle conceivable, but then again,he'd rather drive a cadillac instead of the familys 8 year on minivan,too.

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HP Black 14" Pavilion Beats sPecial Edition dm4-3099se Laptop PC with Intel i5-2450M

this laptop is perfect... people say that the audio is no different on this laptop then any regular laptop... but that is not true. if you know how to mess with the sound settings, youll figure out that this laptop has very high quality sound. better than ive ever hear before. its super fast. love the bluetooth. i play the music from my HTC Rezound via bluetooth. sounds great. really good range as well. runs games very well. hd video looks amazing. the core i5 is awesome. no problems at all with the speed. if youre thinking about buying this... do it. i wouldnt recomend buying it from amazon though. the shipping is harsh on the laptop. i bought mine from walmart for $758

I just got this laptop from Walmart and I can't believe the speeds I can get. The Intel i5 is really fast and the battery life is better than average I would say. I have to agree on the other reviewer on the audio. It is better than all my laptops I ever had! It is very clear and it is really great when watching Netflix, playing video games, and especially listening to music.

The laptop does not have a dedicated graphics card which is a bummer but the Intel HD 3000 graphics card can play all my steam games well and a couple games include: Portal 2, team fortress 2, Just cause 2, and even the new counter strike, which may say looks great! I can get about 2.5 to 3 hours of gaming on this laptop which is above average for gaming. I did not buy this laptop for gaming cause I already have a rig that can do it all.

The performance on this thing is great! I like how the machine has office and outlook starter installed cause as a high school student I don't have to worry about buying Microsoft office. Every program opens up quickly and makes my life easier.

Also I like the red backlit keyboard which adds a more value look to it and I must say the red makes it look more beautiful than a white light for the keyboard.

I get about 4 hours of watching HD movies on this machine and the beats audio makes it enjoyable!

This laptop was well worth the money I paid for and if you have any questions ask away!

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This is a nice looking laptop but there are some key features that are not described above.

Bluetooth with WiDi (for wireless connection to HDTV)

Beats Audio with 2 speakers and a subwoofer

Full-size red (back-lit) keyboard

HP Imagepad with on/off button and precision multi-touch gesture support.

Digital media card reader for Secure Digital and Multimedia cards

2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 (new technology)

1 HDMI (for wired connection to HDTV)

I hope this helps people decide if they want this laptop.

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Fast & Smooth Delivery.... So Far Soo Good everything on it is excellent perfect can't wait til i try it out with my DJ equipment

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I purchased this laptop for school after I had purchased a tablet. I didn't like the tablet, even though there were reviews from many saying it was perfect for college classes. I opted to buy this laptop and gave the tablet to my husband. What initially geared me to choosing this one was the backlit keyboard. I knew I wanted a keyboard that lit up because there were times I was doing homework in the dark cause the little ones were sleeping or I was in the living room while the others were watching a movie (I know I should be doing my hw in another room, but I liked the movie! haha) The fact that the keyboard lights up red was an added bonus, it's awesome, I love it. The fact that the light is not bright is a plus.

I also love the fact that it has a fingerprint reader. My husband and I both have our own profiles on the laptop and with just a swipe of a fingerprint, it will switch profiles. The only thing is that sometimes the fingerprint reader will have some trouble reading the print. It will let you know that you need to swipe your finger slower, then it will need a longer swipe, then move over to the right... that did get a little frustrating, but just the fact that it has that option is cool! You can also choose what fingerprint you want it to read.

The sound it ok, it's not as loud as I had expected. I did think because it was a Beats edition, it would be loud, clear, and have some bass, but it sounded like a normal laptop to me. Would be nice if it was a little louder.

I like the look of the laptop as well. The flat black is awesome and you can't really see many fingerprints as you would on another laptop. It's sleek, fairly lightweight. I do like the fact that it has a cd/dvd player.

Overall, I think I made a good choice. It's fast enough for what I use it forschool, pictures, web surfing. I would recommend this!

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HP Pavilion dv6-3040us 15.6-Inch Laptop

My take on this experience is: 1) Don't buy computers from Amazon. 2) If you think customer service should fix a problem on a brand new computer to your satisfaction, don't buy HP.

The story: My son was heading off to college, so we wanted to get him a good computer that would withstand all that college could dish out. We thought the HP Pavilion was the one. We ordered it from Amazon which was our first mistake. Once you open the box, Amazon will only refund 85% of the purchase price. Therefore, if something is wrong, you can't send it back to Amazon without losing money even on a defective computer. There was a problem with the monitor immediately upon taking it out of the box. Since we couldn't send it back to Amazon, we called HP customer service. I asked for a new computer since the one that was defective was received less than 10 minutes prior. Customer service told us they were sending us a box to return the defective computer -they sent it to the wrong address delaying the return (my son started college without a computer for the first two weeks). Then they told me they would fix the defective computer rather than replacing it. Full price for a fixed defective computer? I argued the point to no avail (don't get me started on how bad customer service is at listening to what you are saying; they have canned responses to what they think you mean and it is extremely frustrating). I finally sent an e-mail to HP and got a case manager in the US. They still refused to replace it; only fix it. Good thing I have a two year warranty!

After 1 week of use, the computer seems fine. Let's see how I feel after a few months.

This is the first laptop I have owned, I wasn't too sure about getting a laptop because I have always had a desk top computer and didn't think a laptop would be up to my standards for use. However, I quickly learned how wrong I was. This laptop is very portable, and has so many built in features it's just crazy. I love the HP SimplePass where you swipe your finger print for logging in, it just gives me that added satisfaction that others wont be able to log into the laptop unless I allow them to, and with 6 kids in the house who are all teenagers, there are many things I don't want them to be able to access using my laptop. I also love the new Windows 7 and all the new things you can do that makes it easier to to do multiple things at one time such as using the split screen option where if you drag a window to the side it will resize it to that side of the screen and you can do the same thing to a different window on the other side and it makes homework a lot easier to do. The one-click launch option for photos, files, games, music, and so many other areas saves a lot of time searching for things and makes it right at your finger tips. The keyboard is a nice size, I have used some other laptops where the keys are so small that I keep hitting the wrong letters and that can get frustrating when typing an assignment for school or an email. I love the size of the laptop, it's not too small and it's not too big, it's just the right size. It also has an HD screen so everything is sharp and it makes watching movies or catching up on tv shows that much more enjoyable. I love the fact that it has 3 different usb ports as well as a card reader to upload pictures from my camera quick and easily. I looked at many different laptops before buying this one and I am so glad that I decided on this laptop, it just has so many added features that it puts it well above the quality of any others that I was looking at. I would highly recommend this laptop to anyone who is looking for an easy to use very efficient laptop.

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I absolutely love my new HP laptop! it is much faster and easier to use than my old HP pavilon. (this one had XP and only 80GB hard drive and had long since been passed up technologically but still ran) that is why i purchased another HP Pavilion. I am impressed with the fact that windows 7 can read almost everything that the older programs have in them. It is awesome. i use this for school, for business and also for some work. i reccommend it to everyone and the graphics are great. The sound system could be a little better. i have not determined if it is program related or what but sometimes sound is normal and other times i can barely hear-probably related to older programs playing in windows 7.

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I bought this computer about a year ago, and had nothing but problems, most of them to do with the video card. It finally died on me in November. It ran way too hot and fried its own video card, and now it won't even turn on.

Things I liked: the biometric scanner.

Things I disliked: countless problems with the video card, didn't run very fast, unreliable, runs hot, prone to overheating, low battery life.

For the price, I'd say skip it and go get a really good Assus or Dell.

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It is an excellent product, I like too and it has worked in the right way, everything I buy in this way always leaves me satisfied with what I hope, thank you very much!

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HP ENVY 17-2280NR Notebook PC - Gray

Let me lead off by saying I'm a devoted fan of HP's laptops and desktops. I use equipment from just about every manufacturer and always seem to come back to HP (speaking solely of Windows OS machines, my choice for Linux and Apple of course would be different). So I was really excited to be able to get this Envy 17 at a really good price.

For the dollar, it's loaded with an impressive array of hardware (RAID Array 0 HDs, slot BluRay, true HD display), the extra battery was a bonus, and the ability to upgrade RAM from 6GB to 16GB was sweet.

Turned on and was wow'd (in a good way) by the 1900x1080 display. Played a little with it and was then wow'd (in a bad way) by the laptop locking up. No problem I thought, just the Envy finishing initial OS installation reboot and drive on.

But no, the system would lock up continually (and usually in the middle of some disc/RAM intensive operation) and completely. A bit frustrating, but such a sweet laptop. Maybe a little system maintenance would fix the problem. So on to some Level 1 tech fixes reseat/swap RAM, reinstall system, clean out bloatware, check BIOS settings, etc. In the end, nothing I did could rid the system of the dreaded lock-up. Could be the RAID setup, could be a million things. But I wasn't interested in paying for a laptop that was going to spend more time in the repair shop or in the post than in my hands. So I did a system restore back to the original OEM setup, packed up the box, and submitted for a return back to Amazon.

Three final thoughts. First, look at reviews of other Envy models (especially the Envy 17-2290NR). You'll note many reviews where owners are having similar problems and returned their laptops to Amazon. So Amazon, if you're reading this, you might want to talk to HP about this. This isn't good for either one of you.

Second, kudos to Amazon for their return policy. I have bought/buy almost exclusively from Amazon (to include computer hardware) and rarely have a problem (this is the first computer I've received that had a DOA issue). I really appreciate Amazon's customer service and easy return policy. As a result, I plan to stick with Amazon for 99.9% of my shopping needs.

Finally, while this Envy 17 experience was a disappointment, I plan to stick with HP. I'm no "fan boy." For example, I thought HP's giving up on the Touchpad and WebOS was stupid, bordering on imbecilic. But occasional stupid things aside, I think that when one takes an objective look at what HP offers and their prices, HP remains an excellent value.

Screen is very nice. Slot loading Blu-ray, back lit keyboard and sound quality are excellent. The graphics adapter crushes most things thrown at it. Coupled with the processor included and there is little this thing cannot do. The power brick is giant but that is to be expected. Little bloatware too. Very satisfied thus far.

UPDATE: Finallly got around to playing some 3D games on Steam. Guess what? The machine will shut down after about 2 minutes every time! The fans are insufficient to cool the processor and it overheats each time. I've tried elevating the machine and removing any speck of dust from the fan assembly to no avail. Do not expect to game on this machine. Thanks Amazon!!

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The keyboard have the function keys changed. It's necessary combine to get the function (inverted). It's like anoyng 'breaking standard'.

However, the most awful is the touchpad. It moves the mouse pointer to ramdom positions on the screen. This makes you click on the wrong area. Even setting up the touchpad for the better settings, this seems to be a 'normal' behavior. Beyond that, the touch sensibility is not good, even tunning the settings. Such CPU, RAM and HD could be included in a better computer. Another fault is the few USB ports.

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I purchasd this from Amazon because the benefit in price was such that I could deck it out with third party poducts and still save a bundle over purching the configration I really wanted directly from HP. I have other laptops and a desktop, so I was in no hurry to get this unit fixed. The HP warranty is out, but I have a 3 year third prty extension in case the unti ges back and ca fix the software myself. This review is witten one year after the purchase.

There were some surprises.

1. The unit has two drives in a RAID 0 configuration. RAID 0 puts data striped across the 2 drives so when you read large files you can be reading different pieces of the file simutaneusly from both drives. But, RAID 0 has your data on both drives and if you ever have a failure, you loose ALL your data even though you have 2 drives. RAID 0 is also more difficult to backup. Windows backup of RAID 0 identifies the backup size as that the partition which is spread over the 2 physical hard drives, in this case 1 Terabyte. Thus a restore requires that a 1 terabyte partion be available and that the data is fully backed up. Third party software must be procured e.g., Easus partion Manager, (takes a geek to operate, so no typical user should purchase this laptop unless they have a geek friend.

You an use Easus (or the like) to shrink the 1 TB partiton to more managable size. Windows disk management will notallow sufficient shrinkage.

2. The 2 drives are controlled by special Intel hardware and software (Intel Rapid Storage) part of which is hiden in the BIOS and not seen by the OS. In my opinion this gains a bit of performance at the cost of simplicity and data securty. It is not easy to remove this feature and is undocumented feature as provided by HP, but there s some help in forums. I have spent aproximately 12 hours reconfguring my drives including several hours on the phnone with HP and watching the system doing backups and restores. Afterthis, I am currently exactly where I started, but I now understand the details of the processes involved. I intend to removeIntel Rapid Storage and install RAID 1 (mirroring) on the 2 drives with a system volume (C drive) on each physical drive and a D vlume on the second drive mirrored on the first physical drive. The performance should be equal or better than RAID 0 with benefits oneasy backup and recovery. I will likely use windows to do th raid.

3. Undocumented lack of features. I was told by HP that this laptop WILL NOT support solid state drives because the entire run of this production was made eliminating features to save money. Presumably there are other missing features.

4. No docmentation specific to this unit. Using the HP Owner software (which is actually quite good) for the HP ENVY 17-2280NR Notebook takes you to the documentation for the standard model. HP support could not find any documentation for this one off model.

On the good side, this unit has plenty of power and HP had revolutionized their support where they are actually trying to reflect the best interests of the customer. The screen is beautiful and the hardware is solid. It does not overheat. During the learning process to undo RAID 0, I was able to talk to some of their HP's best support people. Unfortunatley, it does not help when the engineers are directed by HP Product management to release a product without adequate documentation. Support cannot adequately support undocumented features for which they have not received training.

Update 2012 12 19

I have just backedup my data and via Easus Partition Manager shrunk my main partition (C drive) to 70GB and then backed up to external drive with Windows backup (system image). 30 minutes of work, several hours cmputer run time. ready to remove rRAID and Intel Rapid Storage Technlogy management of drives and then restore from external hard drive via bootable recovery disk. I can then mirror and configure cache n second drive to boost performance and provide data security.

Update 2012 12 21

I am unable to restore the system image I madeusing windows after shrinking the C drive so that the restore would fit on one drive. I found out that the internals of the sytem image folder do not contain ".vhd" files for the actual system image but instead contain backup sets. Restoe aparently can't work with themand gives me a error saying it can't restore to the target. My guess is that this has something to do with the Intel Rapid Storage manage and my not having enabled ACHD driver before doing the system image and breaking the RAID 0 array with the firmware which destroyed the data. But bottom line is that I no longer care and am re-installing and accepting the data loss. I have now re-installed via HP Recovery disks. Now comes the long task of reconfiguring windows so it is usable, removing the bloatware, and re-installing all the many third party products.

Bottom line is do not put Intel pseudo raid 1 on a 2 drive laptop unless you are into S&M Pain or have a real good backup & restore method.

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I didn't buy the notebook from Amazon but I am posting this because I am a very happy Amazon users and buyers need to be aware that when you are buying an HP ENVY you are at the mercy of your luck. I am writing this while my hubby is driving all the way back to FRY'S ELECTRONICS to return the worthlessMAC PRO look alike.

We just bought it couple of hours ago and when I registered the screen started blinking and I couldn't do any trouble shooting after a few restartswe gave up on the damn thing.

Waste of a star...

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HP- Envy Ultrabook 14" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500 GB Hard Drive - Midnight Black/Natural SilverModel

I love the ultrabook, carry everything plus the laptop everyday, so I would like something light and compact . The size is perfect. Without optical drive , it saves a lot of space . And I just need to get an external drive for it $30 . Di not have to carry a huge backpack with heavy laptop all the time. Fast , run great . Screen is wonderful, bright. , beautiful outside and inside. Love window 8. Just one week to get used to it, and much superior than win7

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Thinkpad R52 1847 - Centrino Pentium M 750 1.86 Ghz - 512 Mb - 40 Gb - CD-rw / D

I Had To Constantly Remove The Battery Due To The Laptop Freezing Up Each Day. However, It Is A Very Good Laptop Otherwise, Fast For A 6 Year Old System. I Had To Return It Due To This Problem.

Pros:

It's cheap,cheap,cheap. Does a decent job for the price. Feels very tough and sturdy.

Cons:

It's kind of heavy and the battery life isnt going to carry you that long (roughly 2.5 hours with LinuxOS and *I think* old battery) but I leave it plugged in most of the time and have watched a 2 hour movie on the battery alone.

The R52 is getting pretty old tech in laptop terms. I don't use it for any heavy/intense gaming or anything it should last for quite a while :)

Recommendation:

Buy it if you want a simple browsing laptop or to read/watch some movies on it.Maybe as a backup to store your personal data that you need to quickly access if your main computer ever goes down. Don't expect some awesome machine though; it's a dinosaur!

PS Double check what you're getting! If it says no HD you need to get one (I bought a small flat usb drive and put Linux on it, works great) Does it come with a charger? (I have the cheap chinese charger on here and it works fine) Are there any other problems with it?

Goodluck

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Thought i was getting a deal but i guess i didnt read the bottom line. Lap top computer delivered with no power cord and no hard drive. did return finally 10/12................Hoping i get my money back

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I thought this model was a little newer, I guess not, it works good and does what it has to however it was much to my surprise to not have a windows key on the keyboard. Over all it works fine.

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Great communication with this seller. This was a great value for the $. I think I got the good end of the stick on this one. Haven't had one problem with this laptop since purchase. I will purchase from this seller again. 5 star plus!

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Dell Studio 1737 (Ruby Red)

Bought this refurbished on Woot! and have to say couldn't be happier for the $450 i spent. It zips along when i am running lightroom as well as sometimes four office apps at the same time. Onne drawback though is, that because i upgraded to 7, and it didn't ship with 7, that dell won't help any issue i have in regards to drivers etc.

The comptuer shipped with some pretty weak speakers, so i talk to dell and in a week i had new speakers installed and they do the job admirably. HDMI out is nice so is the card reader. Haven't had a single issue with performance, as it should be more than enough for almost everyone.

This is a base model Dell Studio 1737. This appeares to be a refurbished downgrade. The keyboard feels as though it has had some use....a little quirky....the "e" needs extra pressure to register....the keys are very noisy and give the sense of being a used item. The graphics card, an intel 4 series is just adequate. The studio original box with the original disks is present, a nice touch. The quirkiness continues; this is a Vista32; the included disk is a Vista64. The bluetooth is either disconnected or not present. I like the looks of this computer. I don't like the quirky, noisy, heavy touch keyboard. Oh yeah, the screen looks good,too, with enough brightness for me! My only real disappointment is the keyboard; otherwise, I would recommend this. Don

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I have a dell studio 1737. same one i have had for years. few faulty things to note about this laptop if in your in the market to buy, buy it new unless your computer savvy. its a great computer but one of the main things it is sent back to dell for, the hinges, so if your constantly opening and closing your laptop, i would not reccomend this for you, i just now started having this problem and replaced my hinges, it took a good 4 years for me to get that problem because well my laptop is pretty stationary, i dont move it alot.

if you dont move this laptop like i do or have it for just work, it would be a great asset.

ive had mine for years, i bought it early 08, here it is still kicking in the end of 2012. the beauty of it is consitering the fact that usually computers go antique the minute you open the box, not this one. all you need to do is up the ram after a few years and your good to go. this is a great computer and if you can get it your in for a great multimedia computer. but as i sad before, baby those hinges, if your not tech savvy, it could get costly to fix those little buggers if you have to take it to get it "professionally" repaired.

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This computer has always had a really hard time connecting to the internet wirelessly. It usually takes at least 4-5 tries, and it is definitely a problem with the computer; it happens everywhere. On top of this I practically have to be sitting next to the wireless source, which kind of defeats the purpose of having wireless in the first place.

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ASUS U47A-RS51 i5-3210M 2.5GHz 14.1" Notebook

(I'll try to remember to update this in a few months as I'm only 24 hours in to using the laptop, but I know I could have used more reviews when I was shopping so I wanted to share some initial thoughts.)

This unit is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a bigger screen than a netbook, but something small/light enough to easily carry around and this is perfect for that. So far battery life is great and I've had no problems connecting to various wifi networks, printers, etc.

Set-up went smoothly. There was the typical time to let Windows update (this product DOES have Windows 7huge sell for me!) and then it was good to go. I did choose to uninstall some of the existing programs, but that seems to be a standard issue on most units. I have since installed all of my software (skype, itunes, stata, etc) and they are all running perfectly, including some work with a pretty big data set. You do have to make your own back-up discs (which again, standard) and submit some information for the warranty, but I consider that time well invested.

Since other reviews have mentioned the trackpadit's definitely wider than on any of my previous laptops. However, I haven't had any problems with accidental dragging or my palm touching while typing. I'm not sure if I have smaller hands, or just hold my wrists up higher anyway, but if that has you on the fence I would try to find one in a store to test out. I may end up disabling some of the zoom features as I don't intend to use them, but I haven't had any problems so far.

Things that I wish were a little better: the webcam quality is kind of lownot bad, but not any better than my previous laptop (several years old) and I was hoping to see some improvement. However, people I've skyped with have reported hearing me clearly, so the built in microphone apparently works well. The speakers are on the bottom of the unit, and while the volume is fine, the quality is kind of off. The music sounds kind of tinny, or like there's an echo. However, when I plug in headphones, that sound quality is fine. So I guess I'll be using headphones (or maybe external speakers) more often. However, I don't consider either of these to detract from my ability to use the laptop for all its necessary functions, and I expect to lose some of the bells and whistles when I buy a mid-price laptop, so I'm still giving five stars.

UPDATE: Less than 48 hours after first turning on this laptop, I am getting a boot failure screen indicative of hard drive failure. After an hour on the phone with tech support I am being instructed to send it to a service center (I pay for shipping and the box). Since it's still under warranty the actual fix is at no cost, but I am still going to be without my new laptop for weeks while they fix the problem. This is my first Asus product and is likely to be the last the way things are going. I really liked the laptop while it was working but 48 hours to hard drive failure is ridiculous.

UPDATE #2: On the suggestion of a friend I took it to Best Buy before mailing it in. The guy opened it up and the hard drive wasn't connected to the rest of the laptop. For whatever reason, there weren't any screws holding it in place. He found some screws, put it all together and made it stay together, and now it's fine. I'm glad it was such an easy fix, but I'm taking a star off my original review for Asus selling laptops that are apparently not put together well.

Before this computer I had a Dell Studio 1537. It worked, but not as well as this thing. My main reason for upgrade was because my last computer could not run a DJ software (Traktor 4TRAK edition) and the DJ controller itself (Numark 4TRAK) without freezing. This laptop met all of my must haves. It has a good processor, great RAM, backlit keyboard and more.

I mainly use my computer for web browsing, listening to music, and producing and mixing music. This machine gets the job done with ease. There's rarely any sign it's having a hard time processing my request. I first want to list a few of the things I love about this computer:

What I love:

Backlit keyboard

Chicklet keys (like a Mac!)

Speed of the computer

Comes with bluetooth capabilities

Matte screen (really keeps those finger prints at bay)

Cool to the touch (doesn't get hot at all compared to my old Dell, and it will be even cooler after I install my Samsung 840 SSD.

Touchpads abilities (works like Macbook controllers ex/ two finger tap=right click, two fingers to scroll, and three fingers down to view desktop)

Design (I think this computer looks like a Macbook, it's very sexy, I just hope to God it doesn't scratch easily)

Windows 7 (so glad I didn't get stuck with another awful Vista and I didn't have to go up to Windows 8 which I've heard terrible things about

Starts up quick (comes back from sleep instantly)

I love this computer so far but I'd like to list the things that bug me about it:

Problems:

Bloatware (everyone complains about it, this thing has its fair share, but really only takes about 30 mins-hour to get it all off)

Touchpad(everyone who uses this thing complains about touching the touch pad while typing. I'm having a very hard time not moving the mouse while using it, and I can't seem to find a program that disables the touchpad completely while typing)

HDD (doesn't have an SSD. I purchased a Samsung 840 to put in this thing but couldn't figure out for the life of me how to install Windows on it. I even tried burning an .iso of Windows 7 and booting it up off of that but kept coming back with a "drivers not found". I ordered a SATA cable and will clone the HDD to the SSD. I may update how that goes and comment on the speed of the system if I can get it running properly)

Touchpad continued... this thing drives me absolutely nuts. I can't stand clicking by actually pressing the pad, I need to tap it. The pad is so hard to press down. It feels as though I've broken it in a little but it's still too firm for me.

Overall I can't dock any stars, this machine does everything I need and want it to do and more. I will continue to update this review as I use the computer more and more. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a notebook with an ultrabook look.

Update: I installed my Samsung MZ-7TD250BW 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 GB Sata 2.5-Inch into my Asus U47A and it is much much faster!! From a cold boot I am able to see the desktop at 18 seconds and the desktop and all of the services and background apps are loaded by 25 seconds. Not only is the boot time faster but also the time it takes to launch programs... it's almost instant. My internet also feels faster, not sure if that's from the SSD but I don't think it hurts. Before installing the Samsung 840 I need to purchase Vantec CB-ISATAU2 SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter Supports 2.5-Inch, 3.5-Inch, 5.25-Inch Hard Disk Drives (Black) and used the Samsung data migration software and was able to clone the Asus U47A hard drive (so Windows 7 would launch) and it worked flawlessly.

Very happy with all of my purchases. Would recommend everything listed, especially the Asus U47A.

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The laptop is nice looking. I like the back-lit keyboard. It seems plenty quick but then the problems start.

The wifi connection kept turning off. The only way I could restore it was to let the windows troubleshooter fix it. It would tell me that the wifi is not enabled. What? I enabled it five minutes ago, using the same troubleshooter application! I look into it further and the problem is with "wireless console 3" which is an asus add-on bloatware. I mess around with it and I think its stabilized. For now anyway.

The touchpad is too big. There is no way I can type on this thing without brushing up against it and moving my cursor around everywhere. If I'm not careful I'll end up messing with the entire screen, zooming in or out etc. The only way, really, is to hold my wrists up and out from the center of the keyboard. Not comfortable at all.

I'll continue to work with it and see if its something I need to get the hang of. If not then I am going to try and return it.

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The sticker on the computer itself says 750GB HDD. Came with two separate hard drives, a 254GB (209 w/ OS) and a 419GB (Empty) drive that total to 673GB. This is well below the advertised capacity.

I was pleased that the computer ran so quickly when it first came but it has quickly become sluggish and slow to boot up.

A wireless mouse is a must with this laptop. Absolute worst trackpad I've used in my life. The keyboard is very nice and comparable to my Macbook Pro in quality.

I bought this for schoolwork (engineering) and it fulfills that task adequately, but I will be sticking to my 2012 MacBook Pro for everyday computer use.

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Before I say anything else: the trackpad's working great for me! The trackpad was something that I was worried about after ordering and reading all the reviews. Right now I'm removing some bloatware and installing programs while surfing the web. So far, the trackpad hasn't given me any problems, and the gestures work perfectly. It clung to my fingers a bit when I initially used it, but I guess it was because it's brand new, because it's doing fine now.

For not-so savvy people, make sure you pop in the laptop's battery when you get it!

I'm installing Photoshop CS2 currently, and I'll update this with how well it runs. I'm sure that it'll be fine though-compared to my old laptop (good ol' Thinkpad X41 served me well), it's wonderfully quick in everything.

Screen is matte, which I like. Speakers are placed on the side facing you, so the sound quality's pretty good (my last laptop had the speakers on the bottom, which was weird and ill-placed). Keyboard is wonderful to type on! Backlit keyboard looked funny initially at an angle, but it's nice. The computer is like a Mac design-wise, but the proportions of the laptop don't give it that Mac-feel (if that's what you're going for), since the shape of this laptop is more rectangular (due to 14" screen). But it's a very pretty laptop. :) It's heavier than my old laptop (which was 12" and ridiculously light), but it's much lighter than the laptop my sister has. I think I would be able to carry this laptop around in a bag, along with a few other items (which was one of the main things that I was looking for when I was researching for a laptop).

Overall, super satisfied with this product! I'm taking this laptop with me to college this fall, and I'm sure that it'll be perfect for the job. :)

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