This product shipped super fast and has been a great investment all around! Windows 8 is amazing the numerical keypad is very useful as well. I recommend this laptop to all!
Showing posts with label mini notebook laptop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mini notebook laptop. Show all posts
R500A-RH51 15.6" Notebook - Black
This product shipped super fast and has been a great investment all around! Windows 8 is amazing the numerical keypad is very useful as well. I recommend this laptop to all!
Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown IMR/Metal)
This is very light weight and easy to travel with. I love how the charge connects on the side not on the back. Windows 8 is a bit of a learning curve but it easy to navagate. This computer is quite and processes at a fast rate. Would not buy if you are super in to graphics, but for basic gaming/ youtubing it is great. Connects to the HDMI for tv use great.
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I have Lenovo G580 Laptop purchased from Office depot Last December its has pre-installed Windows 8 64-bit operation system working Fast that I did Upgraded New Windows 8.1 Preview working Successfully like New Windows 8.1 Start Themes now avialable Desktop Background Picture and choose Colors in it Start Menu & Lock Screen Slideshow really, I think Seagate 500GB Hard drive was stopped works 6 Mouth that I did turn Computer in this Morning and died hard 1 Hours that I had sold New Western Digital 500Gb install in this computer but it doesn't Windows 8 install New Hard Drive, My Dad have Called Lenovo Technician will received a Lenovo Recovery Discs with Windows 8 there is Product Key is embedded in Computer's Motherboard now that also "Windows is Activated" in it is working its don't have Lost Windows 8 Product Key now its so better My Computer is Fine working Lenovo G580 Drivers Software is in Recovery Discs had Included.Read Best Reviews of Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown IMR/Metal) Here
PROS: Good Quality and Price.CONS: Much stain with fingerprints. If you don't like it. Do not touch your self or wear glove.
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I had an issue with this laptop where the screen went dim when the adapter was plugged in. After much searching online i find out it's a rather common issue with Lenovo Laptops and had to use a workaround fix because even Lenovo doesn't know whats wrong with their product.Stick with Toshiba.
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Lenovo ThinkPad T60 1952-AP2 15-Inch Notebook - Black
I choose the ThinkPad due to my using several of them at work in a state government job. This unit arrived ready to work, I downloaded the programs I needed and was off and running without a hitch. The price was about 25% of what I would pay for a new unit and it had Windows XP instead of the dreaded Windows 7. So far so good.
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I purhased this refurbished laptop because I did not want a Dell. However, when I got this laptop the battery was dead for about two days. Afterwards,I finally got the battery to work but it kept shutting down randomly and the air blowing out of the cooling fan smelled. About two weeks later the screen flickered and the computer shut down. After a week and a half of this, I took it to a technician and she tested the CPU and said it was going bad. I am now replacing this laptop with a current model. My advice is do not purchase refurbished laptops because it is possible that it could be damaged inside!PS (left shift key defective,volume button defective,no mouse pad)
Read Best Reviews of Lenovo ThinkPad T60 1952-AP2 15-Inch Notebook - Black Here
Bought this laptop for my mom and teen aged brother and they love it, it can take a beating too. Good buy, great customer service.Want Lenovo ThinkPad T60 1952-AP2 15-Inch Notebook - Black Discount?
I bought this laptop for my Mom as a Christmas present. The first laptop I got had a problem with the display and was distorted on the right side. I sent it back and 2 1/2 weeks later I got a replacement that was all banged up. It still had a display issue and a battery that did not even fit properly. I'm probably going to return it AGAIN.
HP ENVY 17-1011NR 17.3-Inch Laptop
At the end of the day performance is the most important measure of success to me and this machine lives up to expectations here its definately snappy. In regards to games, I've installed Dragon Age, Borderlands, Crysis all run great at maximum settings. I'm confident this machine will handle my gaming needs for the next couple of years.Nice fit and finish. Lots of metal bits and overall solid feel. Its not exactly light but for a 17" its respectable. It looks good enough to leave out when company is over. I had some concern buying site unseen because I know the previous envy models didn't quite deliver in this are but I think overall this version meets the bar. Its not a mac book but it gets pretty close.
Battery life has been good so far the extra 9 volt battery is an awesome bonus.
It does have a blu ray drive.
The screen is beautiful super clear, detailed and bright.
So in the two primary areas that drove me to purchase this vs. other 17" gaming machines performance and aesthetic this machine delivers.
I have a few usability complaints though..
The mouse pad. The problem here is that the click buttons are also part of the touch bad so when go to click on things your clicking finger will move the cursor. This happens often enough to be very frustrating.. maybe a patch will come out that will address. In the meantime I've been having to plug in an external mouse because I can't take it.
The PC does something strange when it sleeps when you open the lid it will resume but the screen doesn't come back so you have to open and close the lid once again and that will make the screen turn on. Not a big deal but a bug that bothers me. And the lid is a bit of pain to open no real place to get a good grip and its tight and heavy. Its more like prying it open rather than the nice smooth lid opening experience of the mac book.
Too much cluttering software pre installed and Windows disk not included making a clean install difficult.
The Beats audio is not that exciting but i didn't expect it to be. Sounds like a laptop to me at the end of the day.
This unit ships with dual 320GB hard drives. First thing I did was order a SSD to replace the boot drive, so my experience is based on that modification. I ended up doing a fresh windows install so I never worried about bloat ware. Fortunately the installation files for everything short of the O/S were in a nice setup folder on the c:\ drive I replaced, so I can always re-install anything I may decide I want later.
At the end of the day this laptop is FAST. The windows experience index for the machine after the SSD upgrade is 7.0 which is good thing. Supreme Commander 2, Assassins Creed 2 both run with full detail at 60fps. There have been reports of unbearably hot palm rests and sub par quality on the assemblies. I had none of those issues. I'm gaming and surfing on a plain table (no cooler) and heat has not been an issue. In a quiet room I can hear the fan but typing the keys on the keyboard is louder.
The extras I like include the backlit keyboard, the status led lights on the mute and wireless function buttons, the led that lights up the RJ45 network jack when plugged in, the tiny led lights in the front left for power and harddrive activity, only having to remove 2 screws to replace the primary harddrive.
The only criticism would have to be the track pad. I've used a macbook with bootcamp and the gestures made more sense. Since the left and right "buttons" are simulated, the act of holding a "mouse" button down and dragging the mouse (when selecting text for instance) makes the mouse move in fits and jerks. I don't know if driver updates can ever fix that, but allowing us to simulate those interactions with just gestures (no physical clicks) would.
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I've been using this notebook for a few weeks and I'm very pleased with it overall. The system feels powerful and responsive but that power comes at the expense of cooling. Under heavy load the right side becomes very hot. Too hot to touch in fact and you can even feel the heat through keys like caps lock, tab and the left shift and ctrl. That's one of the few caveats of this system. The others are the lack of a FireWire port for capturing digital video and the lack of RAID support. Although the system uses two speedy Hitachi HTS725032A9A364 hard disks there's no option in the BIOS to create a RAID 0 or 1 array with the disks. In my opinion HP missed an opportunity there to squeeze a few more drops of performance out of the system with RAID 0.Many reviewers have complained about the clickpad being quirky and annoying. HP has released an updated driver that fixes the problem and it's available on their web site. Once you install the update and familiarize yourself with the multi-touch gestures you realize they're very cool and convenient.
Oddly, HP has chosen to make the secondary controls of the function keys active by default. Meaning that if you press the key shared by F7 and volume down, the volume down control will be triggered. You need to press the fn key (between the ctrl and windows log keys on the bottom row) to trigger F7. This is truly annoying at first but a quick trip to the BIOS lets you change it back to the way it should be so the function keys are triggered by default and the fn key is only needed for the secondary controls like volume, screen brightness, wireless toggle, etc.
On the software side, unlike what the PDF specsheet states, this system does NOT come with Office 2007 trial or any other office productivity software pre-installed. The Corel video and image editors are present and accounted for but you'll either need to buy Office right away or install the free OpenOffice suite like I did.
Gaming is a pleasure on this system as you would expect. So far I've played Batman Arkham Asylum on it at 1920x1080 resolution with the quality settings turned all the way up and the game is beautifully detailed and frame rate is completely fluid. Of course the system gets hot as hell during gameplay, but such is life, I guess.
All things considered, I highly recommend the ENVY 17-1011NR to anyone who wants a powerful notebook.
Read Best Reviews of HP ENVY 17-1011NR 17.3-Inch Laptop Here
I was quite surprised with the packaging this laptop came in. The box is matte black and sturdy--leaving you with the idea that some people at HP are trying to make a statement. If you are giving this as a gift, the recipient will be quite impressed.First thing I did after the 15-minute setup experience was to create the 5 backup DVDs. This takes 2-3 hours to complete. During that time I did notice the left side of the keyboard was warming up. It was really noticeable left of the trackpad, where my wrist was resting. I can tell that over time this will become a major annoyance, especially if I am taxing the processor. So, I am buying a laptop cooler. I spent the afternoon on the patio with the laptop sitting on a metal table with a lattice design, allowing air to access the bottom of the machine. This kept the left side of the trackpad much cooler.
The things you'll find in the box are two batteries and the power supply (brick). There is also a 2GB SD card. Plug that in and you'll be prompted to install the HP user manuals. No other cables or installation CDs.
One major disappointment is the lack of a 1394 port, which I use for my video camera. The up/down arrows are half-size--an unusual design concept--but they actually work just fine. The full size keyboard is one of the best I have ever used on ANY PC! The F10 key enables/disables the wireless connection.
This machine looks impressive. The case is aluminum in a steel gray color and shows no fingerprints. It has 4 USB ports, along with the others advertised. No dead pixels on the magnificent screen. I like the slide-in DVD tray design--no more hunting for the eject button which is at the upper right of the keyboard.
The Envy is quiet unless you are pushing the processor, then the fans will speed up and the heat level increases. My previous HP laptop had a screen size of 1920 X 1200, while this one is 1920 X 1080. I miss the extra screen height, but all manufacturers are going to a 16 X 9 format.
The reasons for purchasing this laptop were the processor speed, Bluetooth, Gigabit LAN and the USB 3.0/ESATA connections. I wanted a laptop that could process large video files and make my own DVDs. I'm not a fan of Windows 7 Home Premium so I installed Windows 7 Ultimate instead. It appears that the driver files on the hard drive were created on August 2010, but these files have a date of Jan/Feb 2010. As of this date (Oct. 12, 2010) the HP website has newer drivers for almost everything on the Envy. Windows 7 performance scores are all 7.0 or higher, except for the hard drives at 5.9. Installing a solid state disk (SSD) will bring the hard drive rating to 7.9.
I like the backlit keyboard--makes for easy navigation in the dark. A function key toggles it on/off. Another function key toggles the screen brightness up or down. I also purchased some additional items with the Envy: Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 Mac/Windows, Zalman ZM-NC2000Black Notebook Cooler (Black) and the Targus Deluxe Top-Loading Leather Case Designed for 17 Inch Laptops TLE400 Black). The keypad is somewhat of a nuisance. The two keys at the bottom of it are actually part of the whole keypad surface. Finding the keys by moving your finger to the keys causes the mouse to move off the point on the screen that you wish to click on. No other laptop I've ever had has shown this quirk.
Bottom line: If it had a 1394 port and a cooler surface (hard to find with a fast processor), I'd rate it a 5. But a 4 is not bad in the ever-changing world of electronics. And the Amazon price is $300-400 less than HP's website.
UPDATE: 11/17/2010
The heat level on the left side was fixed by purchasing the Zalman cooler. The Targus case holds everything (barely), including the cooler. The Bluetooth mouse works well except when the wireless LAN is running at full speed. Then the mouse locks up until the WLAN frees up. Apparently there is a single-thread chip driving the two processes. The F10 key turns both the WLAN and Bluetooth devices on/off. Using a Bluetooth mouse requires you to separately enable it in this instance.
I watched a 42-minute video last night while running on the 6-cell battery. At the end, there was 45% battery life remaining. A two-hour movie uses most the life of the 9-cell battery.
Prices should come down on this box as there is a 3D version now available from HP. Unless you really need a fast laptop, you might want to consider some of the cheaper HP versions available.
UPDATE: 06/21/2011 I replaced the 320GB boot drive with a Crucial CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 SSD. Here's how they compared using HD Tune Pro:
__________BEFORE________AFTER
Avg Seek__14.7 ms_______.231 ms
Reading____69.3 MB/sec___253.9 MB/sec
Writing_____not tested____138.4 MB/sec
The speeds are lower than advertised because the HP Envy has an SATA II controller. An SATA III version would be faster. My Windows Experience Index went from 5.9 to 7.7 for the primary hard drive.
Since my laptop came with two hard drives, I was fortunate to have the required mounting bracket.
I used Acronis Home 2010 to clone the drive.
Other Thoughts: My SSD came with firmware version 6. I read that others were having lockup/freeze problems so downloaded version 7 from the Crucial website. The download is in .ISO format so I used Nero to burn from the CD image. Since my HP cannot switch the SATA controller from ACHI to IDE mode (this is needed to install the firmware), I used an older laptop to perform the firmware update.
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Just the facts. or at least anecdotal opinions (from a non-gamer who uses this type of device as a portable development workhorse):The good:
* Fast. I've seen some other i7 units and this definitely keeps pace if not surpasses them. The memory and drives are very fast (2 x 7,200 RPM makes for some nifty RAID 1). Note that the graphics chipset seems to be set at 500MHz, not 1GHz but it seems very snappy to me still.
* The display is great -crisp and clear.
* It's VERY quiet. Amazingly the quietest laptop I've even owned.
* Virtualization works very well on this machine.
* I'm looking forward to using a USB 3.0 drive on this someday.
* Value for the money seems reasonable to me.
The bad:
* You can't have 3+ displays without a display port device. I'm seeing some confusion over whether it has to be active or not, but right now I'm guessing it has to be an active adapter to VGA or a display port monitor. I can't test the third display yet since I don't have an adapter...
* I don't like the mouse pad. The multi-touch function is a pain, especially since the mouse buttons are part of the pad. This makes resting your trigger thumb rather touchy. It'd be nice to be able to disable it entirely without having to screw with X11 but no Fn key seems to do that.
* The sound from the laptop speakers sucks. I'm a little biased on this since I'm going from the deep, epic sounds of the Harmon/Kardons of my Quasimodo to a set of speakers that have all the acoustic depth of a wet towel. When plugged into a more advanced system, they seem to work fine, but I don't really understand why I'm supposed to get all jazzed over this "beats audio" thing. The only thing it seems to beat is
* It runs VERY hot when first purchased.
The unavoidably H.P.:
* Upgrade the BIOS and all the drivers right away. Doing that alone decreased heat output greatly for me. (I haven't been to the hospital for palm burns since.)
* Battery life is not great, even with two batteries included. I'm estimating about 3-4 hours for BOTH TOGETHER. I capitalize not out of anger but to forewarn the wary shopper. This is a portable aircraft carrier, not a dingy. Higher heat levels = more power.
* Why oh why does Windows/HP feel the need to take all four primary partitions on their laptops. (Make your backup DVDs early. Especially if you're a Linux user and are planning to repartition but might want to make sure they're available for later. Just sayin'. You don't want to be one of _those_ guys that has to dig out the recovery NTFS out of the partition table by hand because you accidentally turned on the dynamic drive looking for a way to get an extended partition.)
* When initially started, before the BIOS upgrade, the fn keys would do BOTH the regular operation + the HP operation. Normally you would hold "fn" and then press F1 or what not, but the default state didn't seem to require the "fn" for whatever reason. The BIOS upgrade seems to have fixed that.
This would be 4.5 stars if possible since it fits my personal needs (if indeed I can get the third display), but since I can't I have to rate 4 since the machine isn't really perfect.
Dell Inspiron 15R 15.6" Core i5 1TB HDD Notebook
I don't know what happened to the other person but I ordered this recently and it came 2 days later, which is really fast. Everything was in the box and the laptop is awesome. Great webcam, lots of storage, and it's dell, which is a good brand. Cheap price for an amazing laptop. You won't find this deal anywhere else that's for sure.
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I found myself with a dilemma, I needed a new laptop for work, and I wanted to go with a higher end processor, either i5 or i7. However, all the laptops I found in the retail stores were now with windows 8. I could understand going with windows 8 if I was buying a touch screen or a tablet, but what is the point with a non touch screen. Also, I must add that a few years ago I went with the 'brand new' windows vista rather than the still very capable xp, and it was a disaster. We still have a few (outdated of course) cursed vista computers at work. I then thought to try and see if Amazon still had some win 7 computers for sale, and sure enough, they did.This laptop is very simplistic and adequate, runs beautifully and has not given me any issues yet. The i5 processor chews through anything with ease. I do not play high end games so I cannot comment on how it handles gaming. Extremely quiet. I can't hear the fan at all when it runs. My previous HP laptop sounded like an airplane preparing for takeoff. The 1TB hard drive is very large, I don't see myself filling it in my lifetime.
there were a few concerns I had buying this. First, I usually like to buy purchases like this locally, for ease of returns, etc. I must say my unease for future purchases like this is much less. Computer arrived in 2 days and runs like a dream. Secondly, I had not had a Dell before, but the price was good for the hardware. So far so good, definitely not inferior to the several HP computers I have had in the last few years, and much better than the Toshiba and Compaq laptops I had in the past. Third, reviews mentioned it was heavy. I will say it is much lighter than my last laptop, and just a bit heavier than my wife's HP laptop. Not at all an issue. I think it actually makes it feel a bit sturdier.
Battery life is great. can watch a couple of movies with it being unplugged
Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron 15R 15.6" Core i5 1TB HDD Notebook Here
I got this from some other store (TD). Its a full featured 5 star product.It is indeed 5520 variant, which is latest model of Inspiron 15R series.
I consider myself a more than an average user and so far was dealing with my more than 5 year old Inspiron 1720 at home, and I was left to remote desktop to work machine for cpu/memory intensive tasks. With this one i don't have to, it handles graphics really well specially 1080P videos on youtube looks much better in glossy HD screen. Battery is good for my use. I would recommend to use battery till 10% charge to increase the battery life. But to be fair I can't be mobile with this laptop. I will use my surface or phone to for that. Overall a good laptop that can keep me going for at least 3 more year.
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I bought this model laptop Nov 22 2012. It's now December 7, and I still have not been able to use it. Right out of the box, it would not create recovery discs during first time use configuration. I tried many times. I went through 21 DVD's. I had to tHrow them all away, because the computer froze during creation. I ran every Dell check/find/fix/troubleshoot/diagnose application I could find. I eventually restored to factory settings. Same problem. Contacted Dell support. Representative spent a long time trying to resolve issue, including another reset to factory setting. He could not resolve issue. So he sent me a usb drive with recovery files on it. When I got that resolved, I finally completed first time use configuration. Then, next problem. It would not recognize my 3.0 portable usb drive. Back on the phone AGAIN with tech support. After more fruitless hours on the phone, I requested, through a supervisor, a replacement unit. The supervisor refused, saying the problem was with my portable hard drive. I explained to him that the hard drive works perfectly with 5 other computers I have in the house. The Dell supervisor again refused to replace my laptop. I got in my car and took my hard drive to the local Compusa store, where I plugged it in to a comparable Dell laptop. Spun right up, and in 15 seconds it was ready to go. Back on the phone with tech support, where I had to jump through hoops yet again to reach a supervisor. He spent 45 minutes remotely trying to fix it, and finally agreed that my unit was defective and that Dell would send me a replacement. Today I received my replacement unit. First, it came without the required return label to send my defective laptop back to Dell. During initial setup for first use, it asked to configure my email. I provided the correct username and password for my gmail account, but I kept getting error messages that the username and password were incorrect. Went to support chat. Representative connected remotely, tried to fix problem, installed a bunch of unwanted 3rd party software, some of which will not close out and requires me to pay money. This did not resolve the issue, only filled my computer with unwanted crap programs. Then my mouse went to one position and stayed there for many minutes. One hour and a half with chat, and the technician had disconnected! Although he requested a callback number in case we got disconnected (I gave him two), he did not call either one. Remember, this is with my brand new right out of the box replacement for the original brand new right out of the box defective Dell laptop. Tried calling the number the service supervisor who agreed to a replacement had left (800) 624-9896. Had to leave a message. Left message, 5 minutes later I got a call and immediate hang up from that number, on both of the callback numbers I had left on the message at supervisor's extension (4543591). Called back and left another message. No one returned my call. Sent an email through Dell support. They said someone will respond in 4 business days. REALLY? FOUR DAYS?? Bottom line: I have spent hours on end over many days trying simply to configure and use a new Dell laptop with no success and an enormous amount of frustration and dissatisfaction. I have learned my lesson: "DUDE, I'M NOT GETTIN' ANOTHER DELL."
Gateway MT6707 15.4" Widescreen Notebook PC
I purchased this item, and when I received it the battery does not charge. I have other battery's of same type from my last computer of same model. It did not come with a windows disk???I called the # on the package it came shipped in and the person never called me back.
Lenovo G585 15.6-Inch Laptop (Matte Black)
This is my first personal laptop, and I'm happy with the purchase. It's good looking and fast. My only complaint is with Microsoft. They are trying to make their operating system and internet browser cleaner looking and more intuitive. Sometimes I'd rather have my options visible and let me do the thinking rather than thinking for me. That's not the fault of the computer though, and I'll get used to it eventually.
I wanted to wait until I could afford a higher end laptop but I ended up taking a shot on this Lenovo. I needed something that could handle my workload. Writing, editing, graphics, websites, social networking... and I needed one that could do it all at once.
Elphaba will be my faithful muse while I make my writing dreams come true!
Great computer, everything was set up and running right away. No issues of any sort. So happy with her.
Special Non Lenovo Note: Window 8 is a demon from the pit of hell. It literally made me cry. Thankfully I was able to run a windows shell and get my desktop back. Still haven't been able to deactivate the "charms" bar. It makes my writing life a living hell, and graphics... ughh.
Back to Lenovo. It makes Windows 8 almost bearable. Everything is running smoothly. Fast, clean, and good price too. My book is back on track.
Oh, and why did I name her Elpahaba?
I plan to defy gravity silly!
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The laptop is light and has a raised keyboard for easy typing. All the features are excellent and you are not going to get a better laptop in this price range.Read Best Reviews of Lenovo G585 15.6-Inch Laptop (Matte Black) Here
I really love this product this is my first laptop and its fast and just what i was looking for.Windows 8 is great with keeping things organized and keeps it running smoothly.Great buy.Want Lenovo G585 15.6-Inch Laptop (Matte Black) Discount?
It was a birthday gift for my college student son and he loves it! He uses it for school everyday!Save 13% Off
Sony VAIO VGN-CS215J/R 14.1-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB
First off let me say I have had a inspiron 8600 Dell for at least 8yrs and its still alive and kicking and still has all my life's files on it (pics, movies, word docs, music etc..) all within a 60gb harddrive. I did however run into a system problem with the cpu beeping and shutting down the computer a couple times which lead me to research into a new laptop.Now the review. It came down to (after months of research on Core 2 Duo's) the Sony Vaio (which the GF wanted for the fact that it came in white), and my pick again after research the Toshiba Satellite special edition which when compared to the Vaio only differs with the graphics card and bluetooth.
I opted for the Sony Vaio (which by the way is cheaper at your local...Fill in the blank major electronic store). I will say its partly due to the GF's white preference, but don't stop reading here and think its all due to that i did want good, no great specs and not want to buy another computer for at least another 5yrs.
I read many mixed reviews, and i personally got nervous. I wanted a great computer and always have been an XP person. So vista and only having a Dell made this a big purchase. Well i couldn't be happier. The computer is fast as hell, especially through Ethernet (haven't had the time yet to go get a N wireless router which i am excited about) and Vista is surprisingly fun to use. Searching for files etc. is really the only difference I have encountered. I love the 3D window scroll, and I love the new Windows Media experience with MSN live everything (TV, Music, Movies).
People have spoke about bloatware, I don't think there was alot on here to be honest. I am currently using Vaio care, and windows live one (for virus protection). I am also using the preview version of office 2007. Other than that i don't see much on here that's a problem or runs the computer slower. I have disabled the updates after i did all of them so that helps too. The battery isn't bad. On the Vaio power scheme i have it set to balanced and it lasts around 2hrs and 11mins. You can however set the power to max batter which helps it extend to 3hrs, or you can set it to max performance which speeds the computer itself up to max tasks, and windows being opened. I've had at least 10 windows up before and no lag what so ever using balanced power.
The webcam is really cool and makes me laugh at the Mac users who paid $12+ for basically the same computer. The software included can do all kinds of fun things with your image as well as let you record videos.
The keyboard is slick and very easy to type. Easier than my Dell which i find was alot more clacky than this. The touch pad is generic and the touch media controls well i haven't had much use for them but as i have played around with them although cool and different can be sensitive especially the volume (i use the icon to change the volume). The speakers are good, sometimes programs made for dolby make them sound incredible while other at times sound low (it might have to do with the program and dolby compatibility.)
Overall I am very please, everything that i need to do (internet, work with office docs, and pics & music) it does very well. There are some features i have yet to explore but this is a very solid computer and worth the money. Don't waste your time with those watered down netbooks or low priced asus computers with no specs to them. Get a laptop that has what you need in it and more, it will save you the trouble later on.
I gave this a 4 instead of a 5 because of the lower end graphics card (which hasn't been a problem just wish for future things it had the better card) and lack of HDMI (has vga instead). Other than that its a solid notebook that makes a great replacement to my old Dell.
Looksit looks pretty (for people who love pink this is a god send)
Sleek and fast no wonder cuz it has a 4 GB RAM hence at 824 this is a bargain (when i bought it this was around 950 ).i have always worked on XP so the new Vista takes a little time getting used to. but its good and different. the laptop on its own is amazingly fast and the keyboard is fun to work with. it has increased my typing speed :)
will keep you guys posted on how well its functioning after another month or so of use.I bought this computer in August for college..initially, I loved it. The appearance is perfect; however, the quality is poor. Approximately two months after purchasing, my screen would randomly turn black and my computer wouldn't turn back on. After speaking with customer service several times, we finally fixed this problem. Recently, I took my laptop back to the Geek Squad at Best Buy to tell them about the terribly loud noises that it makes. They kept my laptop for a week, then said that they heard the "jet engine sound" it was making, but that it was normal. I'm sorry, but if my roommate can hear my computer roaring from across the room then it shouldn't be normal. The noises are incredibly annoying and I find it hard to concentrate on what I'm doing...also, I have to restart often. I definitely would not recommend this computer. I have had it for 7 months, and have had problems for the past 5.
Dell XPS XPS14-3182sLV 14-Inch Ultrabook
Hi, before I begin my review, let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a tech enthusiast and I have used a wide range of laptops and smartphones. Recent laptops include:-Dell XPS 13
-Asus UX31A
-Macbook Pro and Air
-much more
So now you know my background, I will give you my list of PROS and CONS
PROS:
Build Quality. Like the XPS 13, Dell really focused on making the build quality as premium as you can feel. I actually like this feeling more than my macbook pro. I like the rubber underbelly with aluminum casing, very high class and premium. Built like a tank.
Trackpad. A very responsive and accurate trackpad. Very big, very macbook-like.
Battery life. It lasts very long. I get about 6-7 hours when doing light web browsing.
CONS:
Screen. Like the XPS 13, Dell cheaped out on the screen. They have the same type of screen the macbook air has, but the quality is way worse, and it shows. Viewing angles are very narrow, and colors change with the slightest angle adjustment.
Size. For an "ultrabook" this thing is huge. It has an ULV (ultra low voltage) processor, found in most ultrabooks, but it is as heavy and thick as a macbook pro! For the size, the power on this XPS 14 is very low in comparison with the macbook pro. It also doesn't have a DVD player, or really anything the XPS 13 doesn't have. So to be honest, I don't even know what Dell stuffed into this giant that would explain the size. Maybe more battery?
CONCLUSION:
If you don't mind the heft, I would say this would be a better machine than the XPS 13 due to the better trackpad. Otherwise, I would highly recommend the UX31A from Asus or one of the newer haswell ultrabooks. This machine is targeting a very small audience who prefers (for whatever reason) the heftiness of this laptop over slimmer and lighter ultrabooks, even though the size doesn't give any extra power or utility.
Pros
well-thought-out, solid chassis, little heavy (good thing).
decent keyboard, good feel
good battery life
i5-3317U good mid-range processor
Cons
screen. The 1600x900 display was a step up from 1366x768, but the viewing angles (up/down) were just too awful to keep this one. I'm no machine spec snob, but this one thing made the laptop unusable for me.
the palm rest part of the case is too soft and pliable. It attracts/absorbs grease and fingerprints like 2 minutes after you use it making it look like an (old) greasy fry pan.
Even the Inspiron 14z with it's cheaper overall build quality got this right. If you're into aesthetics, this one thing alone will convince you there's no "Mac" logo on the back.
bottom aluminum cap is hard to keep in place.
One more spin of this design should do it.
Apple MacBook White- 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR2 , 250GB SATA HD, Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
I think it is very deceptive that in the description from Amazon, it states 4GB BUT it only comes with 1GB from the seller. How can you feel good about yourself and sell something so misleading BUT then the seller will sell you some more GB for extra money. I am sure that are several other things in it that I am not aware of. That is what I get for buying something like a computer from you! Really makes me think about buying anything from Amazon again. I have always in the past bought alot of Amazon but I am pissed!
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 7663 - Core 2 Duo T7500 / 2.2 GHz - Centrino Duo - RAM 1 GB - HDD 120 GB - DVD-
I love this laptop. With 4gb of memory it runs faster than my new HP. My games run perfectly and I have never had any problems with it.
sad owner of tx2z just stopped working there is a faulty sodder connection between the CPU and MB HP knows of the issue but has failed their customers for not doing a recall this is my replacement.DO NOT BUY THIS!!!
this is a great laptop, although rather old and with bad specs, but this is barely worth 300$ on todays market. this is a total ripoff and makes me think twice about ever buying from this vendor again.
no i did not buy this computer from price pros, however i do own it. DO NOT PAY THIS MUCH!!!
HP Envy dv7-7250us 17.3-Inch Laptop
PROs: Absolutely INCREDIBLE light weight for such a large laptop. Setup was reasonably easy (except for my frustration with Windows 8 more on that below). A real DVD tray instead of a slot. Beats Audio = pretty amazing, customizable sound from a laptop. An amazing battery life (so far).CONs: Windows 8 (more on that below) but this is overcome-able.
This replaced a Dell 17" Studio 1735 (Upgraded) running Windows Vista, purchased new in 2008 for $1100 a magical machine for its first 18 months, at which point it began overheating & shutting down suddenly whenever it was given a processor-intensive task like watching a DVD movie or running a full-disk security scan or even converting a single camcorder video or watching a YouTube video longer than 1 minute. (Bought a Logitech Cooling Pad N120, USB-Powered, Silent-Airflow Fan with Low Power Consumption (939-000345), and that helped somewhat, but still wouldn't allow a full-system scan.)
Since 2003, I'd always bought Dells but between that miserable experience and the fact that a basic Dell Inspiron we'd purchased in 2007 as a Christmas gift for in-laws was also a lemon, I refused to buy another Dell. My last 2 work-issued laptops have been HPs, and I'd been impressed by the reliability and battery longevity, so I looked at HPs this time around.
I need a large laptop because it's our only home computer and I do a lot of photo and video editing need the big screen. The Dell weighed close to 10 pounds it was a heavy clunker but I'd always just assumed that a large laptop would be heavy. This HP is amazingly light, and weighs almost as little as my work-issued 15" ProBook.
Windows 8:
I bought this assuming I could get up to speed with Windows 8 as easily as I have migrated from the first Windows, through almost every version since Windows 95 (plus all my employer-specific versions of Windows that are ever-so-different from what we use at home). Nope. It was PAINFUL and FRUSTRATING. Part of that is my fault I just thought I could "get up + go" like I always have in the past, from ancient Windows95 and 98, through Windows XP, to Vista and Win7...I just figured it out on my own. Nope. On this machine, I fought and cursed and wrangled my way through this new OS. Two weeks later, I finally looked at the Windows 8 guides that were pre-loaded on this laptop....umm, am much better now. ;-)
Hope This helps! 5 Stars in my book!
Buy HP Envy dv7-7250us 17.3-Inch Laptop Now
Although I've only been using this for 3 days, I'm impressed with the machine: it's fast, full-featured, and has the potential to store a lot of data, which was a big plus on my wish list. The speakers and sound system are awesome, and I've streamed movies on the big screen several times already: very impressive! Keyboard works well (a little clicky, but easy to type on), and the touchpad is very nice. Getting used to Windows 8 will take some time, but I've downloaded an app that restores the Win7 shell and that makes it easier.HP continues to make awesome machines, thankfully.
Read Best Reviews of HP Envy dv7-7250us 17.3-Inch Laptop Here
I had originally purchased a Samsung Series 3 laptop as it was a very good price for what looked like good specs. After receiving it however I was sorely disappointed in the pathetic performance. I bought this HP Envy DV7 instead and am so glad I did.This is by no means a small laptop. With a 17.3" screen and over 1 1/2" thick it is still surprisingly mobile. Battery life has been very good so far and I run everything all the time on the High Performance setting. I just turn down the screen brightness which is usually the biggest draw on your battery.
This machine with its i7 processor is super fast. This laptop does have a couple of components that hold it back from its potential: a 5400 RPM hard drive and built-in Intel HD 4000 video. However, I have found the HD 4000 video to be very capable. And even with the 5400 RPM drive the machine still boots up very quickly with Windows 8. It also has USB 3.0 ports for fast file transfers with compatible drives and USB sticks.
Most importantly, and I'm surprised at some of the other reviews, but I was surprised at how little extra bloatware/junk that was pre-installed. Most of the software installed is HP software for support, recovery, etc. The extra software like HP EasyRoom (an IM/Twitter application) is all very easy to identify and remove via the normal Windows Program uninstall process. The uninstalls also go very quickly with the fast processor.
Typical of most laptops any more, this laptop does not come with installation media. The recovery program will allow you to create media and will require at least a 24gb USB stick, 6 DVDs, or 4 DVD-DL.
This laptop also has the capability of installing a second hard drive if you wanted to. This would allow you to get a solid state drive to use for the OS partition and keep the 1 TB 5400 RPM drive as a data drive for all of your files and would make this machine even faster. To use the second drive bay you do require an additional drive caddy and SATA cable to connect the second drive.
While this machine may not be a full fledged gaming PC, for the average user, it is more than capable and is a lot of value for the money paid.
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I've had an HP laptop for years and wanted a faster, more powerful one. This one is much lighter and I really enjoy the biometric finger scan in place of a password
Gateway Md2614u Laptop Notebook Pc, AMD Turion X2 Rm-72 Dual-core 2.1ghz, 3gb Ddr2 Memory, 250gb Hd
I just purchased this laptop from Best Buy yesterday, and I'm pleased so far with the results. I was a little apprehensive about making the switch to Vista 64 bit, but so far, so good. I've only found one HW item so far that I've had trouble with a little $10 USB travel mouse. So far, all other software and hardware has worked fine in Vista 64 (most importantly, my old games).I haven't run into any issues yet, just the typical bloatware that was installed on the PC by gateway. One other annoyance with the scroll function on the mousepad. The right area is dedicated to the scroll function, and it's not quite as responsive as I'd like, but so far, that's my only complaint about this laptop (one that I'll not have to deal with once I get a compatible USB mouse).
I have played both Titan Quest and Age of Empires 3, with the detail cranked all the way up, and while I had to dial back a couple of the settings, the laptop has performed admirably well. I haven't had a chance to load any FPS games yet, but feel that I'll be able to run those at medium settings.
Best laptop I have ever owned.This thing heated up fast within minutes. Within a couple of months after purchase, it couldn't be turned on. I sent it back for repair under warranty. It was returned with a new motherboard as I was told. Same problems persisted. It finally stopped working after 2 years. Meanwhile my second hand (6 years old) Lenova T61(T7300)is still kicking.I have had this laptop for almost 3 years. I had updated the memory and nothing else has been done.
I had lost the charger and got myself ebay replacement which destroyed the port by expanding. Gateway fixed the port for free and sent me a replacement charger.
I did get lot of viruses which made the laptop overheat so linux or replacing the windows every two month will help you last this computer for very long time.
only complaint is speakers and wifi card (not as good as other laptops but if you have excellent router this will not be a issue).It's an Okay laptop. A little slow running (thanks in partially to how much of a resource hog vista is). If you can get one with windows 7 I would. I personally received this laptop from my mother so it's little on the old side (maybe a year or two). I suppose it's not horrible for the price.
The looks are nice except for the fact that the outside attracts finger smudges like there's no tomorrow.
Does the job as far as running various programs. I personally am a Graphic Design/ Computer Animation student in college. This computer can run programs such as photoshop, indesign, and lightwave fairly decently without any freezing.
The battery on this pretty much sucks.... It stopped charging to full charge within only a few months of use. however I think this may also have been an issue with vista itself not recognizing the charge? As since installing linux it seems to be charging right.
Also my charge cord broke after not to long. But this may have just been how my mother was using it before she gave it to me.
I recently have had a problem with it where the computers shell (vista) began to have issues....for some reason I didn't get the disc or anything with this to reinstall it. I had to install linux (ubuntu 10.04lts for the curious) on it. seems to have made the laptop run much faster so far. The built in camera is not automatically detected...still trying to see if its compatible with linux. Really not an issue unless you want linux...which most users won't. The fact that windows went wonky on my laptop is more a bad luck issue then anything else so It's not something to worry about to much when purchasing just make sure you have windows instillation cds or the company is willing to telly you how to reinstall windows when you buy it is all.
The only true bad thing I can say about this laptop is that the keyboard is crappy. you really have to slam the keys down to get the laptop to recognize all the letters you type. Which is annoying as it will occasionally not even accept some letters and so yo'll have typos where you'll be missing only one letter in the word (and in the entire sentence as shown by my awesome you'll typo..... -_-;)
What the kid said above is true...it's a little heavy though certainly not the heaviest computer.
okay graphics card...not amazing. will play some games like call of duty and the sims...but nothing to graphic heavy.
Soooo the breakdown.
Cons:
Crap keyboard (have to press really hard to get all your letters typed)
Sloooooow internet (with vista...don't know about xp or 7)
Possible bad battery (though not sure since it now charges fine under linux)
Webcam not auto detected wit linux (not suprising...and probably not useful info to most people)
possible delicate cord
didn't get shell backup
Pros:
fairly nice looking
works for everyday use
can run programs that use a lot of ram and not crash (like photoshop, lightwave)
runs well speed wise under linux (probably with windows7 to)
Fairly good for the price (especially if you generally have better luck with computer then me and my family. lol)
HP G60-445DX - Turion X2 RM-75 / 2.2 GHz - RAM 3 GB - HDD 320 GB - DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM - GF 82
I purchased this laptop in late 2009 for $500.00 brand new. For all its flaws, I could look past them knowing I'd never buy a then new computer that cheap. Not once have I had to take it in for maintenance! It's spared me the grief that a 2 year warranty would otherwise cover. I don't expect to have any serious problems with it. It is highly recommended that you upgrade to Windows 7 home premium, and ditch Vista. Mine came with a free upgrade, and it loads much faster.Pros:
-10-Key pad! (This was what ultimately sold me.)
-Fast loading at startup and online.
-"Classic" desktop theme makes the computer compatible with older games and programs that required Windows XP to run.
-"Energy mode" makes the battery life much last for about 6 hours.
Cons:
-The shell is plastic. Try not to be careless with it.
-Portable, but not lightweight. (6.5 lbs)
-Unplugged, the battery life while internet surfing can barely make it two hours.
-Low end video card. (Nvidia 8200M) Will run "heavy" games like the sims 2, but this is not a gaming computer.
1)Don't put this laptop on your lap, you will get 2nd or 3rd degree burns
2)Do not expect exceptional battery life (although the same can be said about half the pc's on the market today) but expect to be connected to the power cable for the most part
3)It may run slowly at times but to be fair be sure the cause of that is not user based
All in all it is not a bad machine but HP definitely needed to iron out these issues before releasing this productThis is an amazing labtop. Got it for a great price and I really love it! This should have been at least 600.00 when I bought it and I got it for less than 500.00.For the price, I thought this would be a decent buy. The specs looked amazing on paper with a good processor, enough ram and memory. The big screen is nice too. It was nice having the HDMI and also SD/XD/etc card slot. Make sure you get the windows 7 upgrade too, it was well worth it.
Cons: As already mentioned,the battery is poor. I couldn't make it through a 2 hour class without it being plugged in. The battery was shot after a year. The computer itself heated up really fast... faster than any other laptop I have used; a friend told me that HP used cheap hardware for a couple of years, and that is why this model gets really hot. I also noticed early on, that the power supply connection was never secure, it seemed to wiggle easily. I also noticed that the CD drive was really loud, but that is understandable being it is a laptop.
My biggest complaint with this computer is its poor recording capability. This computer wasn't able to record anything of notable quality, from webcam videos to audio from lectures I attended (using one note). It always turned out bad, after multiple calls to customer support, re-installing drivers and updating them again, the problem was never solved. There are also multiple forums about users experiencing the same problems... just look up HP G60 recording issues.
Lenovo G570 4334ECU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
We needed an extra machine in the house and after looking at a number of reviews on Amazon, this looked like it would fit the bill. Came quickly and well wrapped. I was pleased when I first booted it up that there was very little installed crapware to remove -I removed the Lenovo-provided trial virus ware and we were good to go. From unwrapping to being on the internet was under 5 minutes. Easy wireless, great keyboard, and a crisp screen (nice size and HD quality) make this a perfect working laptop. And the price is awesome.
Buy Lenovo G570 4334ECU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Now
This is an excellent laptop computer. It beats my old HP Pavilion notebook hands-down! It never gets remotely hot and is incredibly fast. It boots in less than 30 seconds! Pair this with the great price and I'm as happy as a clam.Read Best Reviews of Lenovo G570 4334ECU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Here
I purchased this system for my son for college work for Christmas. He loves it and he is able to do his gaming on it as well as everything else. It fits in his back pack which is a nice plus. All in all, this was an excellent purchase.Want Lenovo G570 4334ECU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?
I've had my laptop for a few months now and I haven't had any problems. It isn't flashy and is a little bulkier than I'd like but it's inexpensive and works! I generally use it for surfing the web, typing papers, doing homework, and watching netflix and it does the trick. It's not the fastest or flashiest but for the price I'm glad I got it!
HP Pavilion DV7-3180US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)
Anyone unhappy with this unit is nuts or spoiled as hell. Can't really find a complaint. Fast. Been using for over a month now problem free. Took it out of the box, turned it on, set it up, and started working, and remember saying out loud "I can't beleive I own this". Most computer hardware wise for the money I could find. Solid. Only thing that disappointed was that the HP Media Bundle has issues but the Windows programs are reliable. I like to install my own media software anyway so I still give this machine 5 stars.
In short, this is an AMAZING steal for the price. The technical specs are superior to what you'll find in the more "elite" market and the performance of this PC is really impressive. In fact, I'm leaving my company and am only on Amazon writing this review as I prepare to purchase another of these models for my personal use...
PROS:
I originally thought I'd only use it for work (aka spreadsheets, etc) but started using it for video watching, gaming, movie burning, etc because it was working so smoothly. I'm a very hard PC user. I don't like to close applications and am always multi-tasking as in: several Microsoft Excel spreadsheets; a few Word documents; at least one Project file; iTunes playing in the background; Outlook running and checking mail every 15 seconds; Google Chrome open with 7 tabs; and Mozilla Firefox open with 7 more tabs. This PC has performed expertly for a year and never even paused despite my harsh use. As in, no crashes, no hesitation to respond to a click despite aforementioned heavy (ab)use and because it's worth repeating--no crashes.
CONS:
The only thing I have to report, is after 17 months of solid use, I've worn the "E" off (key/hardware works fine) and the "R" is on her way out too!
Although I had no issue with mine, I feel compelled to report that of the 4 PCS my company purchased, one did end up with a fried motherboard. To be fair, that particular employee was prone to visiting...websites of ill-repute...and could have caught himself a virus (ironic) that turned the fans off.
Buy HP Pavilion DV7-3180US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black) Now
Research the documented motherboard issue on the HP Pavilions before you buy!!!! I thought for many years that HP was a trusted reliable brand. I spent $1200 on this HP just to find out 13 months in that there is a motherboard issue. This unit overheats easily (often without you being aware) and you will lose your motherboard (and your investment will be lost). The dv7 has the same overheating/motherboard problem that the other pavilion dv series exhibits. If you buy the unit anyway (or have already purchased) watch carefully for signs of problems BEFORE the 1 year warranty expires. Motherboard problems can present initially as odd issues such as power problem (powering off, turning off while booting up, etc). ALWAYS use laptops on a hard surface. In this case using a cooling surface didn't prevent the problem but often this can help you avoid issues. Good luck!Read Best Reviews of HP Pavilion DV7-3180US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black) Here
I know that for the price your paying for this computer it isen't that bad. It only has one fluck that I have experenced and that is that the dislay drive stops responding and immediantly recovers after the screen gos black for a few seconds. It has something to do with the kernel drive 184.66 and I can't fix it because hp and nvidia haven't come up with a solution too the problem yet and yes I did a system recovery several times also uninstalling and reinstalling the driver. Other than that I really can't complain other then that little problem with the display drive. I really dont like the fact that they took out the 500GB (7200RPM) hard drive and replaced it with a 640GB (5400RPM). Overall I give this computer a 4 out of 5.Want HP Pavilion DV7-3180US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?
This is a powerful laptop, it has a decent video card and a lot of memory for todays standards. Blu-ray works fine and the power of the processor is kind of equal as a Desktop Core 2 Duo @ 2.6 Ghz. Graphics runs faster, I can play some games @ 1600*900 resolution, but others that need more graphics I play them @ 1280*720, which is not an issue for me.The only problems I have is that when you render MPEG4 video the CPU heats a lot, it goes from the 60 degrees celcius to 90 degrees celcius and that is something dangerous because the CPU can only resist 100 degrees celcius.
Other thing I want to mention is that the sound quality is bad if you let it at default, you need to install the audio drivers and try to adjust them with a lot of diferent combinations for a decent audio quality.
And the last thing about this PC is that battery doesn't help that much. If you spend your time going through the internet, etc. the battery will last about maximum 2 and half hours, and if you play games or edit video, it will only last about 1 hour.
Overall, if you want something for games and video editing this computer is fast for that but heats a lot, but if you want a computer just for navigate though the internet, this is not for you.
P.S. I recomend buying a good heat sink for this laptop.
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Apple MacBook Pro MD386LL/A 17-Inch Laptop 4GB Ram, 750GB Hard Drive, 2.5 GHz Quad Intel Core i7 Pr
As far as I know Amazon has not carried the 17 inch Macbook Pro WITH ANTIGLARE. However, you can purchase the glossy screen variants from them. I was a bit cautious and hesitant to purchase such a big ticket item from Amazon resellers especially at the great prices listed for these 2.5ghz 17 inch Antiglare MBP machines. Alas, the other review from Nester gave a bit of confidence along with the consideration that these resellers are guaranteed through Amazon's A-Z Guarantee. I did on one occasion, about a year ago, did have to contact Amazon about some memory sticks purchased through Ant-Online when they sent me the wrong sticks of ram. Although I didn't have to go through with the claim as Ant-Online did take the ram back.I placed my order through Mobile Chopper (amazon reseller) Sunday night and received it through through express mail today (wednesday). I am happy to report that my package is the real deal. Brand new, per spec, and with model number md386ll/a listed on the box. The package was shipped from Canada. I was under the impression that MBPs were more expensive there but I could be wrong. Nonetheless, my experience with the reseller was excellent. Ok, I needed to post this review with a commentary about the reseller program because, as mentioned, as of this writing Amazon does not sell the Antiglare models through their site. Not sure why but it is what it is. The resellers seem to be listing these at over $400 to $500 cheaper than the apple store and that's before tax. I am very happy with this purchase, now at this price range I'll be upgrading the ram with Crucial 16gb memory sticks along with a Samsung 830 SSD drive.
It's a lot of money for this laptop so you should definitely check them out at the apple store along with getting some reviews from owners which are not in short supply. In other words, get a real life hands on experience on one of these as a review of the laptop itself won't get you too far. I'm in tech so nowadays it's pretty necessary to be versatile and the need outweighs my personal preference although I can see myself using this as my dedicated machine. (only wish they had Fiddler for Macs).
Update 4/13/12:
I thought I had an issue with the sound and took the machine into the Genius Bar. I was having sound popping and crackling sounds when forwarding/rewinding youtube videos. They promptly replaced it with a new one after a battery of tests. Turns out it wasn't a macbook issue afterall. Youtube must have update their flash player with some bad code as my PCs were suddently making popping sounds too.
Update this machine with 16gb crucial ram directly from Crucial and it's been great. You want to be sure you use reliable memory if you plan on swapping out the hard disk with an SSD in the future. The MBPs are finicky about the kind of ram you use and problems can manifest when pairing them with SSDs in the future as many forums have indicated. Also, since this machine comes with an HD if you plan on upgrading to an SSD in the future keep in mind that Apple disables TRIM on non-Apple SSDs. This includes Samsung 830 and Crucial m4. It can be easily enabled through the terminal using a few shell commands found on the web.
There is still one manufacturer that makes a laptop with the WUXGA 17 display -Apple, on the MacBook Pro. So I bought the latest model, with faster disk drive and anti-glare display. Even upgraded the memory to 16GB (not supported by Apple). This laptop flies and I must say is best laptop I've owned in 18 years. To top it off I'm running Windows 7 Professional, flawlessly.
Pros:
17" WUXGA Anti-glare display at 1920x1200
Power adapter sounds like a small thing but the MacBook Pro power adapter is very clever, small and lightweight. Compared to the 1 lb brick I was carrying with the ThinkPad, it's an absolute delight.
Super skinny and light. Unbelievable really compared to the laptops I've recently used.
Cons:
Keyboard. It has backlighting, which is helpful. But I really miss DEL, HOME, END, PG UP, PG DN, etc. Those keys are used extensively when writing code and the two-key combination alternatives are frustrating.
Couple of other caveats: I'm not a video game player so can't speak to the laptop's video gaming capabilities. Also, don't listen to a lot of music on the laptop. Speakers sound fine to me but I'm not in a position to judge. I use an external mouse so I can't really address the trackpad.
Bottom line: When I bought in April 2012, it was the best laptop available on the market. I have no regrets and I doubt you will either.At first I hesitated to order this Macbook Pro model. Amazon does not directly sell Macbook models with different specs other than the most basic, at least not on the 17" model. I wanted the anti glare screen and most importantly the 7200rpm hard drive. The i7 processor is super fast, I was ordering extra memory from Crucial so the only bottle neck was going to be the 5400rpm hard drive from the basic model.
The reason I hesitated is that only sellers from the marketplace sell this model and I didn't know if I should trust such an expensive item to some seller other than Amazon directly. First, the description had some typos, but I contacted the seller and replied me promptly. I have to say that the description seems different if you check it out on the web browser or on the iPad Amazon app. I have no idea why, maybe the sellers have different fields to fill out for each device platform and they don't just do a copy/paste.
In my case, I ordered if from the Silverberries seller. What was strange is that this model was hidden on plain sight. If you search Amazon for Macbook pro 17" you don't get this model as second or third option. I had to specify the search as "Macbook Pro 17 7200" since I was looking specifically for the fast hard drive. Then, I got the search result. I wonder how they sell if the most basic search doesn't display it within the first page or second page.
Even though there are many reviews on the Macbook Pro 17" with the basic specs, there was no review for this model specially sold from Silverberries or a couple other sellers who have it available.
Today (March 1st, 2012) after 15 days of buying it, I am trying to help other buyers with a good review of the seller and the specific Macbook model but I found out that the Silverberries store front is unavailable and this model is available only from Semidevil88. With these strange seller names it is hard to trust them even if they have good feedback. My advice is to always contact the seller before placing and order of over $100 usd.
Overall, my experience with Silverberries and this Macbook model was great. The item arrived on time, well packed and new as described. I will not review the Macbook itself, just go and read other Macbook Pro 17" reviews from the basic model and add that I am completely satisfied with the hard drive speed and the anti glare screen. My only complaint is that I am used to my 17" Toshiba Satellite Pro with a full keyboard and the Mac keyboard is somewhat limited. I wish it had the keypad for fast typing numbers. Other than that, it is much slimmer, ligther and faster than my old Toshiba which is still a decent rig even after 5 years of use.I've had most models of Powerbook and MacBook Pros. This is my second 17-inch with anti-glare screen (typing this on the older one) and I find they are just amazingly reliable machines. Chose to get a discontinued model because the larger non-retina display suits my production and presentation needs much better. Upgraded the Ram to 16Gb. and replaced the HD with a 512Gb SSD. Excellent device.Recently bought one through MacMall new-in-box (OnSale has a *real* bad reputation). Third-party sellers are gaining some sales through professionals who are still desiring a 17" HD Apple laptop for editing, etc.; pretty soon these will be totally off the market.
This was my first personal laptop purchase and the first Mac I've worked with in over a year. Setup was actually quite easy, despite the fact my first actions upon getting the computer was to take off the back cover and yank out everything I could and replace it with a superior (SSD, max RAM, extra-large HDD instead of internal optical drive). Lion's "Internet Recovery" allowed me to direct download a fresh install after formatting my new drive with Disk Utility. Around 20-30 minutes and I'm off and running.
~Model MD386LL/A Specifics~
Pros:
Sandy Bridge quad-core is still a top performing CPU. The mobile graphics card isn't what I'm used to, but still quite good for medium range performance.
17" laptop with the Apple form factor that's thinner and lighter than any comparable model. Unibody is also pretty good with heat dissipation. If you want something light and small, buy yourself an Airbook/Ultrabook or a tablet.
Non-Retina models are still user-upgradeable in regards to disk drive, memory and optical drive bay. And the hardware improvements were practically plug-and-play.
Anti-glare screen may seem less "shiny," but I can really see the light reflections/glares on my iPhone 5, so dealing with it on a laptop would've been hell.
Lion's multi-touch features are pretty good for most tasks, save the things I would prefer to have a trackball mouse.
Cons:
Laptop vs. Desktop drawbacks: no CPU overclocking, Turbo Boost's sporadic jumps not much help for things like video/animation rendering.
Still very expensive. More so than the modern, non-Retina models. Best deals are on "fully-loaded" eBay offers, which include professional software suites along with the computer.
Being a discontinued model, there'll be less and less support for these in the next few years. That also means replacement parts will start to be hard to come by towards the end of the model's lifespan.
So far, it's been a great machine, and I look forward to tweaking it further. Will update in the future.
Apple MacBook White - 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR2, 120GB SATA HD, (DVD-ROM/CD-RW), Intel GMA
Great computer, no issues at all. It would have been a nice idea to add the model number in the description. That would have made it easier to evaluate which macbook I wanted. No issues other than that, works great. Thanks.
Dell XPS 15 X15L-1024ELS Laptop (Elemental Silver)
First things first, this is an excellent machine. Zippy fast, feels rock solid and user friendly. It is a bit bulky but like I said, feels solid. Keys are lit and feel really secure. As a whole, you feel like you purchased a rock solid machine that wasn't built with cheap materials.Pros:
1) Great specs (i7 core 2nd gen, 6 gb ram, 750gb hard drive) & performance.
2) Rock solid build & feel (keyboard, touchpad & body).
3) User friendly to setup & use.
4) Two USB 3.0, HDMI & Bluetooth.
5) Excellent speakers, best sound I've heard on a laptop.
6) 2.0 mega pixel webcam.
7) Excellent deal for students with free Xbox 360.
Cons:
1) A little bulky.
2) Power brick a little big (but to be expected with needed power).
3) 6-cell battery is ok at best (2-3 hours). A 9-cell is available but currently $179.
In summary, this is not a MacBook Pro in terms of style but it's a great performer and despite it's slightly bulky build, the machine looks really nice & solid. It's also considerably cheaper than a MacBook Pro. On a side note, a bit of a gripe regarding Amazon -despite description being accurate, the last of the item photos shows a Blu-Ray drive (available as an upgrade). A bit misleading, I think. Only the photos of the actual model being sold should be on display.
The main upgrade the second generation Dell XPS 15 has are the newer SandyBridge CPUs which run cooler and are up to 30% more efficient than previous generation i5/i7s. The addition of a 1080p WLED multi-touch display is exclusive to the newer L502x model, but in my opinion you might as well upgrade to the BRGLED if you want a nicer display. Lastly the inclusion of Optimus is a big plus on second gen L502x's due to the ability to save more battery and lower temperatures.
The Dell XPS 15 includes the speedy USB 3.0 technology and offers up 2 USB 3.0 ports, one on the left side and one on the back next to the power connector. A USB 2.0 (eSATA/powershare combo) can be found on the right side of the laptop. On the back you'll find a gigabit LAN port and an HDMI 1.4 port. The SD card reader slot is flushed with the front of the laptop covered by hardly noticeable dummy SD card.
One of the main gripes I have with this laptop is the form factor and weight. The Dell XPS 15 is a whopping 1.5" at its thickest point. With the 9 cell battery plugged in, you're looking at carrying around a 6.33lbs laptop. That is both bulky and hefty compared to its competition, the Macbook Pro 15-inch model (boasting a height of only .95" and a weight of 5.6lbs). The 9 cell battery adds to the height of the laptop, protruding about an inch from the base of the laptop. Although the incline the battery creates makes typing more comfortable, it can become uncomfortable when having the laptop on your lap for too long. The weight and bulky nature of the Dell XPS 15 make the laptop less friendly for frequent commuters. I found it best to unplug the 9 cell battery when storing the laptop in my messenger bag.
I can honestly say I have never listened to laptop speakers as good as the JBL 2.1 speakers on the Dell XPS 15. The laptop includes two speakers on either side (each boasting 4W of power) and a 12W sub-woofer on the bottom of the base. That is a total of 20W total peak audio performance on a 15 inch laptop. The speakers are not only loud, but clear at high volumes. There was no noticeable distortion when playing music and movies at full volume. The bass impressed me the most, achieving a clear booming sound. Without a doubt these speakers make the Dell XPS 15 one of the best multimedia laptops on the market.
The 9 cell battery boasts about 4 hours of general use (web browsing, light video viewing). If you're going to sit down and watch a movie, expect around 3 hours of battery life. Finally if you're going to be gaming unplugged, you'll only get an hour to an hour and a half. The newer generation Dell XPS 15 includes the Optimus technology with their video cards. Optimus claims to give better battery performance by switching to the integrated Intel graphics when you are not gaming or using dedicated GPU based programs.
The back-lit keyboard is phenomenal. Typing is a breeze and the back-lit keys are easy to read in low light. When the Dell XPS 15 first came out, you had the option to add the back-lit keyboard for around US$25, but Dell has since wizened up and now includes the back-lit keyboard automatically with any new purchase of the Dell XPS 15. If you are buying this laptop from a third-party retailer, make sure you check that it has the back-lit keyboard if that is a feature you wish to have.
The Dell XPS 15 was the first laptop to include a Skype-certified webcam. The webcam is a 2.0MP camera capable of recording 720p HD content. While performing a Skype test, the person on the other end, could both hear and see me clearer than my Logitech Webcam Pro 9000. Video footage taken with the webcam was decent, but suffered from heavy noise and framerate issues when recording at 720p.
The wireless card on this review model is the Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300. This model was quickly taken down weeks after the Dell XPS 15 release due to lack supply for the overwhelming demand. It's a shame because this little card is by far the best laptop wireless card I have ever had the pleasure of using. The range on this Ultimate-N 6300 is rated as 2x that of the Centrino Advanced-N 6200 series, but what really makes the card shine is the addition of a third antennae. 6200 cards usually have only 2 antennae. Having a third allows for faster wireless speeds and an overall more reliable connection. Speeds are rated at 450 Mbps compared to the 300 Mbps of the 6200 cards.
The Dell Xps 15 is one warm machine. Notice I used the word warm not hot. If you're using the laptop for general everyday things like browsing the web and working on documents, the temperatures will hang around 55 degrees Celsius. If you're rendering video, expect the fan to ramp up and temperatures to hover around 70 degrees Celsius. Gaming will raise temperatures even higher into the 80s.
While these temperatures are higher than what I'm used to on my personal computer, they are not entirely bad. Most laptops starve for cool air because of the enclosed nature of the chassis, so temperatures around this range are actually normal. For reference, the Dell XPS 15 does not get anywhere near as hot as its predecessors the Studio XPS 16 and Dell XPS M1530. If the warmth the Dell XPS 15 gives out proves to be too much for you, or if you're a heavy gamer, I suggest you invest in a laptop cooler. Nowadays laptop coolers run around US$20 $50 depending on how much cooling force you want.
The Dell XPS 15 is the best multimedia laptop on the market at its price point. If you can live with the slight bulky design and 6lbs weight, you'll be able to enjoy the high quality JBL speakers, brilliant BRGLED display, and more than adequate performance it has to offer. Whether you're a gamer or multimedia enthusiast, this laptop will take everything you throw at it.
Buy Dell XPS 15 X15L-1024ELS Laptop (Elemental Silver) Now
I am very pleased with this Dell XPS (L502X). Solid build, feels expensive. A little bulky, perhaps -but that's why it feels high end and not like cheap piece of plastic.The great: 1) Specs (I7 2nd Generation, 6 GB RAM, 750 HDD -mine came with 750 instead of the described 640 -thanks!). 2) JBL speakers best sound ever on a lap top -trust me. 3) Keyboard feels solidly in place & backlit love it! 4) Two USB 3.0 slots, an HDMI out & Bluetooth connectivity. 5) Performance you can multi-task all day long.
The good: 1) Machine stays cool. 2) 15.6 screen size shows off nice colors but not quite like a MacBook Pro -nice but not great. 3) Personally, I like having the Power cord, HDMI and a USB in the back. 4) Overall feel of machine -like the metal feel around the mouse pad/keyboard. Power button feels strong, like it won't fall off at some point.
The not so good: 1) Battery life is average. Three hours tops on regular, not extremely intensive use. You're going to need the expensive 9-cell battery if you want 4+ hours. 2) A little large as I mentioned above but don't let that deter you because in the end, the machine's solid build makes you feel as if you bought a quality product.
After a week of putting this machine to the test, I would recommend it. The price for the specs/performance you get is very good. If you're a student, you get an even better deal with the free Xbox thrown-in. Amazon has already run several promotions, including a $100 gift card. So if you've been thinking about buying a laptop, take advantage. You won't regret it.
Read Best Reviews of Dell XPS 15 X15L-1024ELS Laptop (Elemental Silver) Here
I purchased this laptop from Amazon a little less than a week ago and truly enjoy this product. It is the seventh laptop I've owned(third Dell). The screen is large and very bright with amazing colors. The keyboard is very nice-I LOVE the backlit feature! The trackpad is large and works very well. The sound system and JBL speakers are the best I've heard in a laptop but still don't compare to my Bose Companion 3 Series II external speaker system. I got somewhat of a bonus in that mine came preloaded with Windows 7 Professional instead of Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. The laptop is pretty fast with the CORE i7 processor and 6GB of RAM. The 640GB harddrive is nice, but definitely more than I'll ever use. It seems to stay nice and cool while running, and is very quiet. So far, so good..My ONLY complaints about this laptop are that the USB ports are not real convenient, in that they are on the side towards the rear and on the rear of the unit, and I think the bootup time could be a little faster(my Asus netbook boots up much faster). Overall, it seems very well constructed and I'm VERY satisfied with my purchase...Thank you Dell and Amazon!!Want Dell XPS 15 X15L-1024ELS Laptop (Elemental Silver) Discount?
Surprised with the overall quality of this laptop as this is the fourth laptop I have purchased, second dell. The other Dell I was disappointed by and ended up not lasting long. However this model is very well built and lighter than I expected even though it is not as slim as some laptops.Pros:
expectional price to performance ratio
Core i7
6 GB RAM
7200 RPM HDD
Well built with aluminum casing
Excellent sound.. All the other reviews are correct, this is the best sound I have ever heard from any laptop.
Backlit keyboard
Dedicated graphics card
Cons
Not a bluray drive
Graphics card only turns on when software determines it is needed... Could be great to save battery but I would have liked a physical button to turn it off and on.
Overall love this laptop and would recommend it to anyone looking for a high end performer with great speakers and nice design