Showing posts with label reviews on laptops. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews on laptops. Show all posts

HP ENVY 6-1010us Sleekbook 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

HP ENVY 6-1010us Sleekbook 15.6-Inch LaptopCustomer review from the Amazon Vine Program I am no tecno geek and my needs are relatively simple when it comes to computing so this laptop fits my lifestyle perfectly. I had no problem setting the Envy 6 up to begin using it. It was ready to go in seconds with its built in wifi. I've used the same Dell XPS for about three years, so this laptop is a welcome addition. It's super lightweight and very thin, not bulky or uncomfortable at all. Compared to my other computer, the Envy 6 is super comfortable to use. I think it would be perfect for students and seniors due to the ease of transport, battery life, and ease of operation and because it is so lightweight. I have been using Windows Vista for several years now so using Windows 7 on this notebook is so much nicer, Vista could be a pain, but I've had no problems with the operating system on this notebook and it has a lot of helpful advice to make using it easier and functional. There is no CD option on this version of the Envy Sleekbook, but it hooks up easily to an external CD drive to install programs or watch movies. The resolution and picture on the Envy is wonderful, after looking at this screen and going back to my Dell was suprising to me. The graphics on the Envy are crisp and colorful. The Envy also has bluetooth/wireless so it can be used with other wireless items like printers and phones.

The Envy also has some great features for pictures. It uses Youcam webcam software and it has a lot of fun options for pictures. My kids have been having a lot of fun using it. There are enough fun things on Youcam to keep them amused for long periods of time, even in low light. When I downloaded pictures from my SD card, the computer separated the pictures by date so I could make different albums vs. lumping them altogether and the software also uses face recognition which is a really cool feature.

The Envy surfs the internet with good speed even while playing music and having multiple windows open. The Beats audio is a really nice feature and the sleekbook comes with the standard jack for headphones. Beats audio adds a little extra touch and makes this laptop a little more jazzy and appealing, especially to kids.

My Dell laptop, gets really hot after an half an hour or so of use so I have it on a cooling pad, but it still gets too hot to use after being on it for a while, especially in the heat of the summertime. The Envy stays nice and cool while in use. I've not experienced it getting hot or over heating even after hours of constant use in hot temperatures, it gets a little bit (ever so slightly) warm but doesn't ever feel really hot. The Envy has a nice black finish instead of just aluminum which I really like.

The keyboard is also great. This version doesn't have a backlight for night use, but the keyboard is easy to use with no major clicking noise. It's quiet and comfortable. The trackpad responds great and has a pretty wide pad for navigation, at times it does take more than one click to bring something up, but this is nothing major.

Many of the games on the Envy are linked to an external gaming company, Wild Tangent and they offer free playtime with options to buy the games. The graphics and speed of the games has been really good. I haven't loaded anything like the Sims on this sleekbook as I had trouble with The Sims on my Dell, so I don't know if I will ever do that, but for seek and find games, card games and the like, this works great. I am not sure I would load it up with a lot of high graphic games as it's not really a gaming laptop but a few games would probably work just fine, just not something huge, it would probably work, but slow the unit down.

The Envy also comes with a start up Office version with options to buy the full version. I find that I usually only use Word so this is just fine for me, but for those who rely on Power Point and other programs, an upgrade is easily available, there are also easy options to use to upgrade to any Windows program or add-on you'd like to have. Instant downloads make this super easy, and the computer offers different things to you as you work. The unit is quite intuitive without being annoying.

All in all, I really like this sleekbook laptop. It's been super reliable so far with no issues. It's basic which would make it wonderful for students to do homework and surf the internet as well as for seniors who don't need a lot of bells or whistles and hot graphics on their games. This is a nice basic notebook that is super easy to use with great sound and graphics as long as you don't over load it. It's stylish and is black with a red bottom. The Envy 6 is very thin and super lightweight for easy transport. Even business people should find that this is a great notebook for travel and home use. For a low cost laptop, it's great. I paid quite a bit for my Dell and this hp seems to do everything it did without the issues I've had with it and Windows Vista. For an inexpensive laptop, I would recommend this unit for students, seniors, travellers or people who don't need a ton of extra features. It's simple and works really well without over heating or feeling cumbersome. I've had no problems with it for what I use it for which is pictures, music, e mail, typing documents, playing games and accessing the internet. Norton is included free for one month for virus prevention. For a less expensive unit, it still feels like a quality laptop, it's not made cheaply, the Envy is actually very pretty and isn't thrown together where you feel like if the wind blew something will fall off or break. The 15 inch screen is large enough for a quality picture and the graphics are really good.

Netflix also works very well streaming movies on this notebook. The picture is great and Beats provides exceptional sound-no problems whatsoever.

This is a nice solid notebook that is easy to use and looks great. I am growing fonder by the day. If I run across any problems I will be sure to update, but so far, I am very happy with the overall performance of the Envy 6-1010.

UPDATE: 9/10/12-I've installed Sims 3 using a plug and play DVD/DVD rewritable drive and I am very happy to say that Sims 3 works great on this laptop! I was actually afraid to try it but thought what the heck? I can delete the game. But, to my amazement, Sims 3 with one expansion pack even, works great on this laptop. This is just a great machine!

*****Nine months later, this machine is still working well with no problems. I have had to replace the charging cord twice because the wiring inside shorted out by getting bent or by stepping on the cord and once it fell off the bed onto the side plug, so it's my fault about the cord. They've redesigned these cords to turn to the side now instead of sticking straight out where they had a tendancy to get hit or bent. Machine is still very good and I've never had any problem with it and it's almost been a year of ownership.

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program To be able to fairly review the HP ENVY Sleekbook, I first had to stop and ask myself what exactly the Sleekbook is and isn't. Reviewing it for what it isn't wouldn't be fair, and too many people tend to do just that leading to unfairly poor reviews. So what is the Sleekbook exactly? It is a slightly more affordable AMD version of the Ultrabooks, but it can't be called an Ultrabook because Intel owns the rights to that moniker. What you get with the Sleekbook is a non-user upgradable slimmed down laptop (or large netbook) with no built-in optical drive; the battery and hard drive are not user-removable to be swapped for other drives or a spare battery. Once the battery runs down, you are left no choice but to recharge it via the power supply they send with it. This was kind of a let down that the batteries weren't swappable, but given the price and lightweight portability factor the Sleekbook was intended for, it really isn't a fault. Given that the battery life on it is exceptionally good, a spare battery isn't really needed. It's easy to get 6+ hours off a full charge.

The processor is an AMD APU, meaning it handles both processing and graphical duties. It is a dual-core design, and has plenty of power to do most any task anyone would reasonbly ask of a laptop type of computer. Heck, it even runs some games fairly well such as Star Trek Online and World of Warcraft. It has plenty of oomph to process audio and video files for those with a portable studio, and the screen is large enough and has enough resolution for minor photo-editing tasks.

The keyboard is the chicklet style, and it does take some getting used to, as does the touchpad. First thing I had to do was turn down the sensitivity on the touch-tap controls because they really pick up the slightest touch in default configuration. If you plan to use one of these much in poorly lit environments, do yourself a favor and get the next model up with the backlit keyboard. It's very hard to see the keyboard in the dark, and the chicklet keycaps combined with the compact laptop layout isn't very friendly for the touch-typist.

They quality of the built-in speakers is worse than bad, it delves into the realm of abysmal. Even my old laptop circa 2003 had far superior sound quality from the built-in speakers. However, once you plug in a set of quality headphones or IEM's, the Beats Audio sound processing really comes to life and gives everything a rich, full sound that is sure to impress.

The finish? I love the color scheme, the dark brushed metal with deep red bottom really looks great, though as can be expected the brushed metal finish is quite the fingerprint magnet. Keep a micro-fiber cloth nearby to keep those smudges under control and you'll have a really, ahem, SLEEK looking Sleekbook that is sure to turn a few heads.

Performance to cost ratio? For the money, you get a lot of performance, more processing power than most people need for average tasks. I really have to say that the price is excellent for the performance offered. Compared to comparable offerings, you really would be hard pressed to find anything better for the price, and spending a couple hundred more isn't really going to net the average user a meaningful performance increase outside of mostly useless benchmark numbers. Overall the HP ENVY Sleekbook is a no-brainer for someone looking for a budget-friendly go anywhere lightweight/thin notebook computer.

Buy HP ENVY 6-1010us Sleekbook 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Now

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The HP Envy 6 arrived in a slender box, with power cord and easy set up instructions. There was no start up disc included and none was needed. I plugged it in and it started up with basic instructions for personal account information and set up.

This laptop is slim and lightweight. It has no additional number keypad, and there is no backlight on the keys. The mouse touchpad is easy to use once you get the hang of scrolling up and down pages.

Wi-FI was set up in seconds. I was able to connect to the internet with no issues.

It includes anit-virus protection trial for 60 days. Which is a good start.

The laptop was warm, not hot, after using it for a few hours. I use it everyday for internet use, games, shopping and accounts etc., so I do charge it everyday to keep a full charge.

At 15.6, the screen is a nice size and the picture is crisp. The sound is clear with the Beats Audio, my Itunes music sounded great.

I only need a computer for recreational use and school work. This fits all my needs. No complaints at all so far. I love it!

Read Best Reviews of HP ENVY 6-1010us Sleekbook 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Here

Recieved this laptop for my wife this morning. Ran some preliminary tests to determine if it needed to be returned or if it was running at advertised speeds. Performed very well. I would emphasise that my five star rating is specific to the price point this laptop is in. Clearly this computer cannot compete with a $1000 laptop, however for its price I am having a hard time finding anything comparable.

Runs smoothly, starts up quickly and performed very well when clocking the CPU and data transfer rates.

If you want a great computer for under $600 don't hesitate, this is your laptop.

Want HP ENVY 6-1010us Sleekbook 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?

PROS: this laptop looks great, feels great, and at the beginning...worked great. It is very light and sleek, which I loved!

CONS: I made the mistake of not reading all of the reviews before buying this laptop and now I GREATLY REGRET that!!!! So first the shift key became harder to press, then before long it would randomly freeze and there was nothing to do to fix it, then left hinge on the laptop broke so the only thing on that was connecting the left side together was a FEW WIRES!!! Now you couldn't really shut the laptop and the laptop was crooked!!! Also, I thought I should state for the record that I take VERY good care of my things and the reason my laptop was falling apart WASN'T my doing!!! So because it was broken I sent it back and HP said it would take a WHILE before they could fix my laptop so they said I could pick out a new laptop....so after days and days of talking to HP I found one I liked and they said they had in stock....however they just informed me that it is no longer in stock (even though I supposedly ordered it through one of their managers a few days ago!!!!!!). I am so incredibly disappointed with the HP envy laptop and the company HP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Thinkpad X220 Laptop Lenovo, i7-2640M 2.8GHz, IPS, 12.5" Premium HD LED backlit Display, 4Gb DDR3,

Thinkpad X220 Laptop Lenovo, i7-2640M 2.8GHz, IPS, 12.5' Premium HD LED backlit Display, 4Gb DDR3, FingerReader, Bluetooth, 320Gb 5400rpm, 9cell, 720p webcam, windows 7 home premium 64 EnglishI purchased the X220 from the Lenovo website in May 2011 when it first became available. There were some 20% 30% deals back then but I think the price is always hovering around $1000 no matter what website you buy it from.

The model I got is very close to the model on this page i7 processor, IPS display, bluetooth, 4GB DDR3 RAM and slightly smaller hard drive. I'm not sure if it's mentioned here, but I also upgraded the wifi card from the basic Lenovo one to one of the Intel cards.

My previous laptop was the 5 year old IBM x41, so maybe this review is a little biased for Lenovo Thinkpads. I enjoyed using the x41, but it was becoming too slow loading up web pages, the hard drive was too small (30GB) and it ran out of batteries too fast. I was actually looking to upgrade in 2009 but I didn't find a laptop meeting my requirements. I knew I wanted a dual-core processor and SSD drive. Eventually the list grew to USB 3.0 and DDR3. When Intel announced the next gen of dual-core processor (i3, etc.) and I saw what everyone was saying about it, I decided to wait for that to come out.

It was well worth the wait. I use the x220 as my primary computer. I don't need a desktop. It might be nice once in a while to have a larger display to watch movies or pictures, but that's a nice to have. I mainly surf the web, email, download stuff, pay bills, etc. probably your average computer user. So for your average computer user, this laptop is perfect. $1000 might be a lot for a laptop nowadays, so maybe what I mean is that this laptop is perfect for your average power computer user.

Here's what I like:

Lightweight didn't weigh it but shouldn't be heavier than 3.5 lbs with the 9 cell battery

Battery life Haven't tested this one either but 6 hours on a full charge doing normal web stuff seems correct

IPS display I'm writing this review right now outside of a Starbucks. The sun is shining on the screen and I have my sunglasses on. I can still see everything on the screen very clearly. I haven't seen another laptop able to do this.

Performance Web pages load up fast. I can run Quicken, MS Office and Firefox w/o any issues. 4GB of DDR3 is nice.

Webcam I guess these are pretty standard nowadays but I didn't have one on my x41. From my side, the resolution and lighting look pretty good. I can't tell what it looks like from the other side during Skype.

Keyboard I like Thinkpad keyboards and this is no different. I like the Trackpoint and use it almost exclusively over the mousepad. Like I mentioned above, I'm used to typing on Thinkpads, and the x220 feels as good or even better than the x41. The keyboard is very responsive and not cramped at all.

Here's what I still need to check on:

Intel Widi I got the Intel Wifi card because it got better reviews. I also got it because I want to see how the Widi works. Still haven't bothered yet, but one of these days.

USB 3.0 I don't have any USB 3.0 capable devices. I'd like to see how fast I can transfer a 1GB file.

What I don't like:

On the x41 I didn't bother using the IBM software. But for the x220, I wanted to give it a try. Some of it works OK but others really wasted my time because it didn't play nice with my other software. The big one was CSS (Client Security Solutions) and my anti-virus software. I still haven't figured it out yet.

USB 3.0 is only available w/ the i7 processor. I don't think I needed i7 but I wanted USB 3.0. This seems like a waste of money to me, but I only buy a laptop every 5 years. Other people were saying to buy an i5 and then come up w/ other solutions for USB 3.0, but I hate having anything stick out of the laptop.

Lack of HDMI. It has Displayport but I'll need to get a converter. I know other laptops have HDMI built in, so this would have been pretty convenient.

Summary:

As I was writing this review, I realized that this laptop is not for everyone. You can probably go out and drop $400 for a decent laptop. I did that for my sister last November. The laptop she got was decent. But if you are a power user or your laptop is your primary computer and can afford to splurge $1000 for it, then seriously consider the x220. I'm really happy with it. It has everything I need and I can see myself using it for another 5 years. I think with an upgrade to an SSD drive and a new battery in a few years, it should keep this laptop running very nicely.

I have used the x220 for nearly six months now. We all know that the Thinkpad series are great business computers. They have a classic design, solid construction, decent support, and reliable performance. However, I believe that the x220 is equally appealing to consumers looking for a machine capable of handling the most intensive creative tasks, like video editing, photoshopping, etc.

PERFORMANCE:

Some programs I use on the x220 include Reason 5.0 for producing music, Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, and Illustrator has enough processing power to run many of these programs simultaneously. With the latest Sandy Bridge mobile processors, the x220 runs extremely fast, efficient, and quiet. Although the x220 isn't designed to be a gaming computer, I can play Starcraft 2 on lowest settings at a stable 40+ fps framerate on 1v1. Team Fortress 2 also runs perfectly smooth on lowest settings. This may seem weak, but for gamers who ar less about maxing out settings and more about framerate, the x220 does surprisingly well. There is also an expresscard slot for gamers who want to use an external graphics card configuration via a "ViDock". Finally, I don't know of a laptop with better battery performance than the x220. And replacing the battery is a breeze, unlike the macbook pro.

DESIGN:

From a design standpoint, the x220 hasn't changed much from its predecessors. One notable change is the widened aspect ratio. While some may disagree, I think this is a great change, and makes watching movies more enjoyable. I also like how the screen can fold down completely flat. The hinge doesn't seem flimsy at all. In fact, the screen folds down *MORE* than completely flat. If you want to show a friend something on your screen like an ipad, you can easily do it with the x220. No other laptop is currently capable of this. The magnesium casing makes the system feel sturdy, but the rubberized plastic is slowly starting to wear off. Not really a big deal, but definitely notable. The SDHC reader is positioned on the right side, near the front. A super convenient and easy to access card reader. There are 4 usb ports, providing plenty of interfacing options. One downside for me is Lenovo's preference of a DisplayPort over HDMI. I use a converter, which works decently, but not quite as cisp as a normal HDMI to HDMI. Finally, i can no longer use a laptop trackpad anymore. I find the thinkpad pointing stick ("nipple") to give me far superior control. I had to increase the sensitivity, but once you get used to it, it's hard to go back.

SOFTWARE:

The x220 comes pretty un-bloated with not too many extraneous programs. The ThinkVantage software is useful as it easily download and install updates for drivers. Overall, the software is nice, but not the greatest. The x220 ships with outdated Wi-Fi drivers, resulting in unacceptable performance. The volume buttons are sometimes glitchy, as with the brightness control. These setbacks, however, are not the dealbreaker for me. One positive is that the x220 ships with Windows on a harddrive partition, allowing you to easily reformat the harddrive in the future.

OTHER STUFF

A huge advantage over the MacBook Pro is the upgradeability of the x220. I easily went from 4gigs to 8 gigs of ram and I plan on installing a solid state drive in the future. The x220 comes with a rare eSata port, allowing you to install a Micro Solid State harddrive in addition to a standard 2.5" harddrive. If you keep your important programs / OS files on the micro solid state (such as an Intel 310 series), you will have SSD performance with HDD sized storage.

Another advantage is the x220's amazing screen. The premium IPS disay is IMO the most killer feature of the system. The viewing angles are ridiculous, and the color reproduction is as accurate as print media. This is a crucial feature for anyone doing film, graphic design, or photography, as it allows for the most reliable monitor. The IPS screen is also great for gaming The blacks come out super black and everything just looks like the way it's supposed to be. Some people may be concerned about the seemingly low amount of resolution, but I assure you that the x220 has the perfect amount of pixels for the 12.5" screen size. Anything else would be unnecessary and would hamper image quality. If you need more pixels, you can use an external monitor, which the x220 handles nicely. Finally, I use the x220 Ultrabase as a docking station, which is currently the best docking option for any laptop. The thinkpad docking port is actually an ultra-high bandwidth connection between all your peripherals and the x220, allowing for ultrafast and seamless docking. Until Thunderbolt optimizes its own docking options, the x220 has the edge here over any other laptop.

CONCLUSION

The x220 is not a perfect system. The price is lower than a macbook pro, but still in the premium range. Windows 7 combined with Lenovo's thinkvantage software is not on par with MacOS in terms of smoothness and bugs, but is far more tweakable, allowing the user to configure the best settings themselves (The range of options for customizing the pointing stick and touchpad are amazing). Any issues I initially had with the software, Thinkvantage was able to resolve. Overall, I believe the x220 is currently the best laptop for creative work and is more "futureproof" than the MBP. In many ways, the x220 is the anti-macbook pro. The design is less flashy and everything is more catered to the businessman yet, the x220 turns out to be an amazing computer for any consumer who requires a fast, reliable, and customizable system.

Buy Thinkpad X220 Laptop Lenovo, i7-2640M 2.8GHz, IPS, 12.5" Premium HD LED backlit Display, 4Gb DDR3, Now

I am happy to write about my experience with this Lenovo Thinkpad X220 laptop. I purchased this from Amazon about three weeks ago and I absolutely love it. I was debating between this and the 13" Macbook Air with it's aluminum body carvd from one solid piece. The specs are similar but in the end the Lenovo won out because it is user customizable, while the Apple is a closed system (you get what you buy, you can't add memory, replace hard drive, nothing). And I have no regrets. I really live this version of the system, with the faster processor (Intel i7-2nd generation quad-core running 2.8 GHz). I like the Bluetooth which is the latest spec, the USB 3 always-charging port (plus 2 USB 2.x ports), the 7200 RPM hard drive (most laptop HDs are 5400 rpm), the 9-call battery (most are 6 cell), 4GB high-speed DDR3 RAM (the best), and a lot of really great additional features, including a most wonderful keyboard (you really can't do better for a laptop keyboard, and since this is the part you interact with, it makes a big difference IMHO), a little LED keyboard light built into the top of the screen, the best pointing device short of a mouse (the red track point "eraser"), solid long-living hinges, high quality design and construction, and a host of small but delightful touches. These include a little light built into the CapsLk key to show it's status (in addition to a screen icon which displays when you change the setting), directional arrows right where you expect them, large Esc and Delete keys, and this great little fingerprint reader which is very, very convenient. I didn't think much about the fingerprint reader when I first got this machine, but what's great is you can swipe your finger while it's off, and it will start up and go into windows without a hitch no passwords, no waiting, no multiple steps to trudge through. The software for this reader is very refined every single finger is detected as a different "signature", and since you can't even use a non-scanned finger from your own hand, there's no chance anyone else's finger will work. I feel like a rich man just scanning my finger and letting the computer do all the work. The way it all adds up for me is I like this computer so much, it just makes me feel good having it around with me. I frequently take it to work (although I have a desktop there I use) and will hardly touch it, but I just like it with me. It's like a great little lap dog or something!

This computer is really fast (excellent performer) as delivered, the screen is bright and clear, I have had absolutely no problems with it to speak of, both in terms of design as well as defects. There is a review that mentions the high pitched fan, but the X220 I received has no fan noise at all. I did decide to buy the Square Trade 3-year accident-included extended warranty SquareTrade 3-Year Accident Protection + Warranty (Computer $1000-1250)with this laptop but I am not anticipating every having to use it. A few other things I've bought to enhance my ThinkPad experience: Logitech B100 optical mouse (under $10 and a real solid workhorse Logitech B100 Optical Usb Mouse Comfortable Quality Optical Precision Ower Profile Shape), LiteOn ETAU208-96 top load DVD/CD writer (a very reliable and trouble-free optical device so far, and small/portable; only requires one USB connection, most require two Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Writer Black), and the Kensington 64068F Microsaver Notebook Lock & Security Cable (simple, well made, light Kensington 64068F MicroSaver Notebook Lock and Security Cable (PC/Mac)) so I don't have to be filled with anxiety at work when I bring the X220 with me. And one more nice-to-have item, the STM Bag DP 4001-01 Vertical Small Laptop Shoulder Bag "fits most 13" screens (it's not the Alley bag, the size is SMALL for 13" laptops, I can't find the link on Amazon right now). This is a great looking carrying bag, with this wonderful padded compartment for the laptop, other pockets to fit all of the above along with the Lenovo power supply. I can even throw in my iPad in a dedicated pocket for that device. It's pricey though! Finally, I've upgraded this baby with a 160GB solid state drive (which really makes it a speed demon, no lag time for anything), and I added 4Gb memory. I know this is all overkill, and not necessary (unless you are using Photoshop, Autocad, or doing gaming the extra RAM is probably never going to be used, but it's so cheap these days, why not?) If you're thinking of gettin a SSD for this or another Lenovo laptop, keep in mind it requires a 7mm height drive, most of them are 9.5 mm. the Intel drives are 7mm (I think this is what Lenovo themselves use), but I used a Kingston SSDNow V200 (not V100 which is an older generation) which was fairly inexpensive, had the 7mm size height, and has pretty good read/write access times, like 60X faster than a mechanical drive. But you can also buy an mSATA version of a SSD which will actually install inside the Lenova X220 and you can keep the 320GB just where it is. The Kingston SSD came with cloning software so you can move the contents of the original drive right over to the SSD in about 15 minutes. You can make the mSATA drive as a boot drive as well, install the OS and use the slower mechanical drive for lots of cheap storage space. I think this machine as configured has an internal WWAN mini PCI-E device (which you can use to have built in 3G (or 4G?) mobile broadband access if you set up a contract with a carrier (it's kind of like a little cell phone in the laptop). So that would have to be removed to make room for the mSATA SSD drive.

So, as you can see, I'm having a lot of fun and draining my bank account in the process. Here is a quick run down on pros/cons to sum up:

Pros: excellent build quality, speed, performance; abolutely the best keyboard you can have in any laptop (although I do kind of like the Apple keyboards); great future-proof features like Blootooth spec, USB 3.0, and 2nd generation Intel processor; great memory capacity (16GB, I think, comes with 4GB, upgrade to 8GB for about $20); great screen (there are two versions from Lenovo, this laptop has the top of the line premium screen; viewing angle is amazing, no problems at all); 3 USB ports, advanced Display Port (easily gives you HDMI with an inexpensive converter cable); 54mm Express Card slot (replaces the old laptop card slots); SD card slot (add more memory quickly & cheaply); 720p HD camera bult into the screen bezel; dual microphones and dual speakers (speakers aren't fabulous but they're clear and just fine); and 9-cell battery pack for up to 13-hour battery life (probably more like 10 hours or so in real life I used the X220 for about a week before I had to charge it up again); the overall price is high, but it's really a great price (and is mostly discounted, like this Amazon item) if you compare it to like-configured competing laptops. The Macbook Air with similar features is about $250-300 more, for example. The Sony Vaio is also quite a bit more money; Lenovo has a "hardware maintenance" manual that shows you with many well drawn illustrations how to remove, upgrade and replace everything; Lenovo sells bases, docks, and similar hardware to add to ports and connectivity; with the bluetooth, I can have a BT mouse, BT speakers, BT headphones, etc., having the built in BT is really great (you can always buy a dongle, but then you have it sticking out a bit and using up a USB port, so it's worth a few $$ for the built in BT I feel.

Cons: the 12.5" screen is a little small (a 13" would have been better for my 58 year old eyes); when I'm using the Ctrl key, I often hit the Fn key instead and then I'm mystified why Ctrl-C doesn't copy anymore! (other than that, the keyboard design is flawless, and that's just a matter of practice); I would have preferred Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate for the price, but Home Premium is just fine; it's very light and smal but the 9-cell battery adds a little heft to it; it does NOT run hot, but can get a little bit warm on the bottom, so I suggest lifting it with some small corks or something (the battery case has rubber feet to keep it propped up at a shallow angle); that's about all I can think of.

Final note: what brought me to the Lenovo X220 was spending many hours reading reviews online, especially from the big magazines like PC Magazine. I would get really excited about a certain laptop and then there would inevitably be some fatal flaw that would take it out of consideration. This happened about 5 or 6 times until I began reading about the X-series Lenova machines, and there wasn't one significant drawback now that I have one, I can vouch for this fact, it is just a well designed, well executed, elegant, simple and joyous product. By the way, there are some really great looking laptops out there, like the Apple MacBook Airs, and the Sonys, the Lenovo is a bit of a plain-Jane, business like machine. But these laptops have a military grade rating, meaning they can take a lot of abuse without any consequence (I wouldn't put this to the test though). And the black laptop is a statement by itself. Besides, I don't want people getting too attracted to it and making silent plans for its theft.

In short, this is a wondrous and nearly perfect laptop. If you have the money, stop shopping and get one for yourself. You won't regret it!

Read Best Reviews of Thinkpad X220 Laptop Lenovo, i7-2640M 2.8GHz, IPS, 12.5" Premium HD LED backlit Display, 4Gb DDR3, Here

I loved this computer. Processor is ultrafast and it has fingerprint reader and HD camera. A really nice purchase! Only downside to me is that HD is only 5400rpm, and not that large (320GB), but for that price, it's super easy to buy another one and replace it. :) I use it with Ubuntu 11.10 and it works like a charm, everything is smooth and worked out of the box. Also, seller was fast and delivered really quickly. I read a lot of complaints about they not replying emails, but my experience was the opposite, they replied me fast and were accurate. I recommend them too!

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In short, after being literally confused on what laptop to buy next (after having a Vaio for years), a friend of mine recommended this for me. I've been thanking him for that since I got the laptop. The X220 is a great laptop for those who got annoyed by carrying the charger around, it is a "Mobile", with a 9 cells battery, you really don't need to worry much about power, and this is exactly why I bought this laptop.

Loving the performance, "bang" boot and shutdown, you don't really to waiiiiiiit for the desktop to show up and start working, that is, few seconds and the laptop is ready to work on!

I, for a minute, thought that the 12.5" could be a disadvantage as I never worked on less that 14" ones, but no, actually with the IPS display it's a big deal really.

Oh, that wasn't "in short", but on a serious note, and in short, a great little beast, get it.

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HP Pavilion dv6-6130us Entertainment Notebook PC - Gray

HP Pavilion dv6-6130us Entertainment Notebook PC - GrayBought this laptop from Office Max late January. It was on sale for $410, but I had to buy $50 worth of accessories to get that price. Haven't seen that price anywhere else. I would pay much more for this laptop. I think it is built well, sturdy, not too big. It runs cool and has enough power for a casual laptop user such as myself. I use it to surf the web and stream sports and other video. It does everything I need it to with ease, plus it stays very cool. Beats Audio is the best laptop sound I have heard. I know people with Toshiba and Acer laptops and the sound quality is not nearly as good as this laptop. The keyboard is a good size and includes a number pad, which is nice. Screen is bright and crisp. Appearance of laptop is quality as well....it has a brushed stainless steel look. Definitely one of the better looking laptops. I researched laptops for a couple months and found HP to be one of the better units when it comes to quality of materials. I thought Samsung, Toshiba, Acer, and Asus laptops felt cheap in comparison to this laptop. Keep in mind I was looking at laptops in the $400-$500 range. Many of the aforementioned laptop companies improve in quality drastically when you go up in price. I was definitely looking at the base model price range. That being said, this is not a base model unit. This is a mid-range unit that belongs in the $500-$600 price range and will compare to any other laptop in that range. Go to Best Buy and see what you can get for $500-$600 and you will see this is a superior laptop to others in that range. I have been very happy with my purchase. I had to contact HP Support on a couple occasions during setup. Support is hit or miss with any company. The first person I talked to was not much help. The second person I talked to was very helpful and knowledgeable, and he helped me solve my problem quickly. The problem had to do with connecting to my network and had noting to due with computer malfunction. Overall I am very happy with this computer and would buy it again if I needed another.

I bought this computer for about 510 bucks thinking it was worth but i now have some complains and i also have to send it to HP to fix the webcam.

1. Is weakly built, and the plastic covers above frontal speakers broke and became difficult to use it.

2. The webcam unplugged from the MoBo, and i have to send it to be repaired.

3. Extreme overheating with low-res games. Playing GTA SA or RE4 makes the gpu overheat and smells like burned.

4. Poor GPU. You can't run smoothly a game. Works Fine with arkham asylum but temps increase inmediately.

5. Disk tray screams while reading a dvd.

If you want something to play videogames during a trip or at home, don't buy it, just go for a AMD hp or a Sony/toshiba/samsung or another great computer.

Buy HP Pavilion dv6-6130us Entertainment Notebook PC - Gray Now

A good deal for a very good price, much better than I first thought. A Fully loaded device in a nice and prestigious look.

Read Best Reviews of HP Pavilion dv6-6130us Entertainment Notebook PC - Gray Here

Buyer Beware! Anytime you select an HP product, you are stuck with the worst tech support in the industry. You had better learn how to fix it yourself!

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This HP Hewlett Packard Laptop PC (Model DV6-6130US) FAILED miserably. It arrived with a keyboard that was hanging loose, it bounced up and down and caused all kinds of errors. It could not be used. We made four videos of it and posted to YouTube under the HP model number.

Then we found a hundred other reviews of HP laptop keyboard malfunctions on various HP laptop PCs too. The Escape key was broken off. The entire computer was unusable and we had to return it to the Amazon Marketplace seller, through Amazon's A-to-Z guarantee program the first week we had it.

Recommend: Do not purchase any HP laptop PC because the company is ignoring reports of defective keyboards. "Zero" stars.

Lenovo ThinkPad Core i7 500GB HDD Notebook

Lenovo ThinkPad Core i7 500GB HDD NotebookThis computer has been good so far. I am use to using HP and this seems like a solid more bang for your buck alternative. There are three things that piss me off, (1) there is a goddamn "function" key where the control key is supposed to be! Very inconvenient for people that copy paste or use any other type of short cuts. (2) the power cord is freakin' huge. (3) there is no HDMI. But, otherwise it's a really beastly comp.

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Apple MacBook MB062B/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

Apple MacBook MB062B/A 13.3-Inch LaptopWhen I first went to buy this, I though to myself, "It's an old version, so I might have to return it." I was way off! This is very fast and responsive. I figured 120GB wasn't a lot, but apparently, at this price, it's very rare! Mine did have a scratch or two, but the old tooth paste method fixed that up fine!

I got it on time and the computer was more than I expected. It runs well and its as if I had bought it at a mac store :)

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I love this laptop. I have always been a windows user but I got an iPad and when I became partially disabled and could no longer sit at a desktop and had to get a laptop I decided to try a mac, I am lovin it. It took a bit of getting used to but it's great. It has everything I need for my homemade crocheted gifts business.

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I knew I wanted an Apple Mac for my creative husband but didn't want the expense that goes with it. I was extremely pleased with the refurbished model that was fully loaded and purchased through Amazon. My husband is pleased, enjoying all of the features of a Mac and I feel I got a bargain! Thank you so much!

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I purchased this computer because my macbook pro was stolen in march. it was a great price and i love it..it works pretty much exactly like how my macbook pro worked. the only issue i had was that sometimes the charger that came with the computer would not charge the computer. because of this, i had to buy a new one for 80 dollars at the apple store. however, everything else worked great and i recieved my computer 2 days after i ordered it!

Lenovo G570 43347PU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Lenovo G570 43347PU 15.6-Inch LaptopI was shopping around for a decent laptop at an affordable price. This is one of the upper models from the G570 series from Lenovo and I could not be happier with it. I did not buy my Laptop from Amazon, I bought it from Fry's for A LOT cheaper when they had it on sale, but the performance is great. It has the new iCore 3 processor with plenty of RAM at 4GB. The keyboard is as close to a full size one that you will see on a laptop, so if you will be doing a lot of data input then you will definitely love it. The looks and style is very simple looking, but the design is great. I have talked to several computer experts and they all feel that Lenovo is the best brand out right now along with ASUS. Also if you didnt know, Lenovo is made by IBM who used to only make business computers, but they are now making personal laptops.

I have only owned this item a few days, but so far I am happy with my purchase especially as I found it at an extremely low price. The matt charcoal, lightly grooved surface of the top lid and keyboard surround is 100% fingerprint-resistant, the touchpad is very slightly pebbled to increase tactility. Very subdued, stealthy and practical style much appreciated compared to its glossy competitors.

The external switch to turn wireless off is a nice touch and I'm pleased with boot times and internet performance. Out of the 4 USB 2.0 ports, one is a combo eSATA/USB. The i3-2330M is only a dual-core running at 2.2GHZ, but it does have hyperthreading and shows up as 4 virtual processors in the Device Manager however, it lacks Turbo Boost. By comparison an i5 has 4 cores, Turbo Boost, but no hyperthreading. I'm currently testing various games to see what this level of hardware is capable of playing so far Left 4 Dead 2 is the only one I've tried, and it was acceptable.

With computer manufacturers releasing & discontinuing so many minute variations of their products, it was extremely hard to find an accurate specification list (as well as the correct images) of this item and I would mention that even after realizing there was no HDMI-out it was not enough for me to return it. It was simply too good of a price and a very limited time window for me to make my decision.

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Great computer. I just start college for accounting and this computer has a great number key pad that has been extremely useful. I have had this computer for about 3 months and I love it.

Read Best Reviews of Lenovo G570 43347PU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Here

solid purchase. I would have liked the speakers to be a little louder but find it just as easy to put on a headset and stream music. Fast and the battery life is solid. also the plug in receptacle is way more solid than my last hp product. 5 years later and two adapters it quit on me.

I love the keyboard and had my doubts that it would be as nice as my last hp, but the display is crisp and the unit seems to be just what I needed.

I would rate it at 4 stars. I hate the google chrome browser, so I downloaded mozilla and off we go. Not bad for the $399 price.

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I purchased this laptop in November of 2011 and in June of 2012, the LED display went out. I returned the laptop to Lenovo since it was under warranty. Lenovo informed me that the LED display is not part of the warranty and it would cost $300 to repair. I am guessing that anything they do not want to repair is not "under warranty". I bought an LED replacement myself and was able to fix the PC for under $50. This laptop was a rip-off and of poor quality. Service and warranty is no better.

Dell Inspiron E1505 15-Inch Laptop (1.67 GHz T2300 Intel Core Duo Processor, 2GB RAM, 60GB Hard Dri

Dell Inspiron E1505 15-Inch LaptopI used to have a lot of notebooks, more than 200, different brands.. everally I can say that Dell has great laptops, I like espessially inspiron series.. processors and cooling sistem are great.. touchpad and keybord are good..and price is not high..I recomend everione to buy dell's laptops

Samsung Silver 14" NP700Z3A-S03US Laptop PC with Intel Core i5-2450M Processor and Windows 7 Home P

Samsung Silver 14' NP700Z3A-S03US Laptop PC with Intel Core i5-2450M Processor and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade OptionI must say this is a very Interesting Laptop. It's light weight, thin and compact. I got mine for a Steel of only $400 at a local shop.

I do Have Pros, Cons and Experience Index.

Pros:

Thin and Attractive Aluminum Body Shell,

Web Cam,

2nd Generation Intel i5 Processor

Back-lit Keyboard,

20 Second Boot Time,

Slot DVD Burner Drive,

Radeon HD Graphics,

Instead of Window's Pathetic HD Graphics,

5 Hour Battery Life,

750 GB Hard Drive Split into Two Disk Dries, and

Finally No Glossy Screen

____________________________________________________

Cons:

Touch Pad!! Very Sensitive, No Split Left or Right Buttons, (Built into Touch Pad). Recommendation Small Wireless Mouse.

At Times on the lap may heat up.

____________________________________________________

Windows Experience Index:

Graphics: 5.9

Processor: 6.9

Memory (8GBRAM): 7.4

Gaming Graphics: 6.3

Primary Hard Disk: 5.9

____________________________________________________

Final Thoughts:

Expensive Laptop Depending on Budget but I Recommend this Laptop. It Compares to Macbooks 14 Inch i5 Processor Laptops.

Dell Inspiron i1764 17.3-Inch Laptop (Obsidian Black) - i5-430 2.26GHz Intel CPU; 8GB Memory; 320GB

Dell Inspiron i1764 17.3-Inch Laptop - i5-430 2.26GHz Intel CPU; 8GB Memory; 320GB HD; DVD/CD±R/RW; Windows 7 Home Premium, WirelessThe four stars here are for the notebook itself, not for the one-star seller (Link-Tronics Memory). I describe that awful experience last.

The laptop has been fast and reliable. I had the memory upgraded to 8GB. I bought it refurbished, though I would never have known that. But I saved hundreds over the price of new.

The screen is bright and the display is very good. I tend to remote into it from another machine with a big monitor, so I don't use that part very often. It is fast enough, and the Windows 7 OS has never crashed or locked up. I run Oracle Virtual Boxes that are running Windows 2008 R2 Server, SharePoint Server and SQL Server, and I give each VM 4GB of memory. Plenty of horsepower for a development machine.

As for the seller, Link-Tronics Memory: They shipped the notebook without a power supply. I paid for expedited shipping, but seller would not overnight power supply. Said it cost too much. Then they shipped wrong power supply. Finally shipped right part, but the order took about 2 weeks to complete. Seems like this was all due to carelessness and unwillingness by them to fix their mistake. The notebook is fantastic, but I won't do business with Link-Tronics Memory again.

ASUS N51Vn-A1 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop - Silver Blue

ASUS N51Vn-A1 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop - Silver BlueREVISION: I've now had this computer for 5 months and I'd like to revise my earlier review. The notebook was fantastic until the power supply issues began. I've RMA'd the product back to Asus. However, they've had it for more than 3 weeks and are still waiting for parts. I can't imagine why they don't have parts on hand for a computer this recently manufactured. When I looked for a way to contact the company about my frustration at how long it's taking to get my computer returned, I realize that no addresses or "contact us" types of information is supplied on their unbelievably BAD website. When I call the customer service number given me with my RMA information, I am assured that they'll fix it as fast as they can, but the customer service reps won't give me an address, or connect me to a higher up so I can figure out what the hold-up is or how to get a replacement. I'm deeply disappointed in Asus--they were reputed to have the highest quality laptops () and very high customer service. Yet I'm reduced to venting about my unhappiness with them and their lousy product at Amazon!

First impression review: Having very limited funds and a need for a solid laptop to last a few years, I did a lot of research into the best laptop for the money. I needed something quick and nimble to run various programs for animating and design work, and something utterly reliable, because I'm taking distance classes right now. I needed something that would still be versatile and functional 3 years from now, because I don't buy these things like potato chips. This computer fulfills all of those requirements beautifully. Perhaps anything would have been better than my 3 year old HP laptop, but the Asus seems especially quick--.pdf files open so fast I have to wonder about the laws of physics. It stays pretty cool. Vista wasn't even as bad as expected--though I appreciate the free Windows 7 trade-in.

Only one real problem: If you ever want to listen to anything without using headphones, forget it. I didn't take the warnings about lousy speakers seriously, and then I tried to watch a DVD with my kid on this thing. Simply COULD NOT be done--neither of us could hear, even with no background noise. Get external speakers! The only other problem I have had is that Vista installed funky at first and kept saying it was an unverified copy. I couldn't access the wireless network. After a websearch using a different computer, I found a quick fix and have had no other problems, crashes or freezes.

I purchased my Asus from the the Amazon seller J&R Music & Computer World, where it was dramatically discounted. It was actually so discounted that I was a little worried that they would send me the wrong model--that they must have made a mistake! No mistake, everything is correct. Moreover, they did a FANTASTIC job of packing and shipping. It think the computer itself was packed in something like 6 nested boxes, which may concern one on an environmental level, but I believe nuclear waste would have come through the mail safely in their packaging.

Update, 6/17/2010

The repaired computer continues to work great. My wife is very happy with it.

####

It turned out that the Nvidia 240M was bad on my unit. Used ASUS support to send my laptop in for service. ASUS sent me a FedEx label, so shipping was free. They repaired my unit and sent it back to me. Took a little over a week to get it back.

With Windows Vista 32 bit, it got a windows experience rating of 5.6. I installed a 500 GB hard disk, and installed Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit. It now gets a Windows experience rating of 6.4, better than my wife's AMD Athlon 64 6000+ based desktop machine.

Very happy with the laptop now.

Chris

> I cannot complete the 'Windows Experience Rating' without having the Nvidia display driver crap out and be restarted. I end up with a Windows Experience rating of two, > because of the lousy display driver. I've tried the version of the drivers supplied on the install disk, the versions of the graphics and sound drivers from the ASUS support > website, and the latest drivers from the NVidia website.

>

> Is this just another Nvidia driver bug? Or, is my hardware flaky?

>

> I just installed a new disk, and installed Windows 7 64 bit on the machine, clean install. Updated with all available updates from Microsoft, and I get the same error

> under Windows 7. In fact, I got the blue screen of death after the Windows Experience rating quit attempting to run.

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Compaq Presario CQ56-129NR Notebook Pc

Compaq Presario CQ56-129NR Notebook PcI absolutely love this little machine! It is so fast and takes up very little space. I was able to hook up my sound sytem and printer/scanner to it. I am very pleased and think it was an excellent buy for the cost.

Alienware M14x R2 AM14XR2-7223BK 14.0-Inch Laptop (Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish)

Alienware M14x R2 AM14XR2-7223BK 14.0-Inch LaptopFor your perspective into my review, I am a middle aged professor of Computer Studies that still enjoys gaming and owns several gaming laptops. I received the Alienware M14x R2 laptop in good condition and have been testing it out for the last few days. I will give in this review my first impression of this gaming laptop.

I picked this laptop mainly for it weight and size. Most gaming laptop exceeds 9 pounds this one weighs in at under 7 lbs. with the battery and charger included. Be aware that most sellers list weighs on their laptops without the battery installed or charger included.

Hardware:

Size is 13.25 x 9.5 x 1.5 and the charger is 6 x 3 x 1. (inches)

The M14x R2 included a 750 GB hard drive even though the listing on Amazon stated a 500. It is a 7200 RPM which is faster than the normal 5400 RPM that most laptops have.

The 1366 X 768 resolution 14 inch monitor is clear and sharp. You can run either the integrated graphics (Intel 4000) or the 650m NVidia depending on the application. When using a 14 inch monitor you will not see much difference by going up to a higher resolution. If you want to check out the difference there are several YouTube's that run side by side comparisons to the 768 and 900 resolutions. Really the 1366 X 768 is a sweet spot for 14' monitors. You can always connect it to an external monitor and run it at higher resolutions but for portability the 14 is a good carry size.

The sound on this laptop is best that I have ever found. Uses a Creative labs Soundblaster TRX. I am really impressed with the sound quality from the laptop speakers. With headphones it is even better.

The laptop contains very strong Wi-Fi card. This Wi-Fi picks up signals from down the block that none of my other laptops will and on campus my signal strength is much stronger than before.

Software:

The laptop comes with very little bloat ware. It came with Steam preinstalled, trial version of Office 2013, CyberLink Media Essentials, Creative labs software(for sound card control panel), McAfee antivirus 30 trial, and with Alienware applications that allow you to control the color screens on the keyboard and case. There are 7 zones of lighting and each can be different, set to pulse or morph modes, and can be activated by an application. For example I can have the 2 front case lights pulse red for incoming email or change the colors of the keyboards lights depending on which game I am playing. They can also be turn off.

Windows 8 is installed but it will boot into the desktop after you logon allowing you to skip the normal and very annoying Win 8 Metro screen startup screen. It would have been better in my opinion for a gaming laptop to have Windows 7 installed. I can understand the sales reasons behind installing the newest OS but Win 8 does not play as nice with games as Win 7. The only problems I have encountered in playing games are all traced back to Win 8. I am aware of this from having worked with both operating systems and dealing with my students and their problems. (I teach a class that uses gaming toolsets and creations of game modules). Hopefully these will be corrected in the service packs.

Gaming Benchmarks:

Games I have played in testing: Borderland 2, Metro 2033, Tomb Raider (new release), Skyrim, Bioware Infinite, and Fallout 3 New Vegas. All games played at medium to high resolutions. All these games average 39fps to 60fps. Infinite benchmark tested at high setting with average of 54fps, Tomb Raider benchmark tested using game installed setting and got 39.7fps. At custom setting in Tomb Raider I got up to 45fps easily.

Cons:

Very short battery life as expected with any gaming laptop. The battery is an internal design. You cannot switch out or remove the battery. In running Borderlands 2 in Very High mode I got 63 minutes of play before the 10% battery warning came on. If you run applications that use the integrated graphics only you can get over 2 hours of operations.

The hinges on the lid are more center based instead of being set to the outer edge. They are set 3 inches in from the outer edge. This makes it weaker than other styles. You should never pick up or move your laptop from the lid and always open and close it from the top center. The most common case breakage on laptops is the hinges. I don't see this as a real problem for me since I treat my computers with reasonable care.

There are no easy access panels to swap out hard drives or memory. You have to take the case apart.

Some may think the fan is loud at full loads. It is louder than a normal laptop but not for a gaming laptop. I have an XPS and an Asus M55 which are both louder at similar loads.

Conclusion:

High quality hardware that runs modern games at reasonable and very playable speeds. This laptop is a little high in price for a 14 inch but very portable at this size and weight. If you don't mind a few extra pounds and a larger format then go for the 15 inch Asus or MSI gaming computer for around the same price but with lower specs in some areas such as the processor, hard drives, and video. Don't be misled that larger numbers in video cards mean better performance. A 650m will outperform a 730m in many areas and a 750 takes an enormous power brick to run it. In my opinion, at this time the 650m is one of the best all-around mobile video cards on the market and pair with the 3630Q i7 CPU and a 750GB hard drive make this a solid laptop in this price range.

HP DV6-7200 15.6" i7-3630qm Quad Core Extreme Performance Gaming Laptop with 256GB SSD Hard Drive &

HP DV6-7200 15.6' i7-3630qm Quad Core Extreme Performance Gaming Laptop with 256GB SSD Hard Drive & 16GB RAM Upgrade; 2 YEAR HP WARRANTYAfter days researching laptop computers, I had a list of components I knew I would need to make my next laptop lightening fast when running and switching between multiple photo and video editing software. When researching laptops, components and price, I looked at benchmark results, offerings from the big PC chains, newegg and various custom-built laptop websites. This system won outright.

First and foremost was the Solid State Drive and this rig delivers a nice 256GB SSD. Second, it needed to have a powerful CPU and after hours of serious research, I concluded the CPU in this rig was one of the most powerful available. Yes you can get more powerful CPU's, but the cost increased disproportionately to the real-world results, therefore I happily settled on the 3630qm. Furthermore, the CPU in this rig is more powerful than the top-line MacBook Pro (see below). Next, I wanted at least 8GB RAM running at a fast 1600MHz this laptop doubles that with 16GB. I also wanted it to have 1920x1080 full HD so the display when editing photo's or previewing movie edits would be sharp and flawless. Finally, an often overlooked component on laptops is the graphics/video card. The GT 650M on this laptop is probably its weakest component, but it has 2GB of GDDR5 (note the $2,100 MacBook Pro also employs the same GT 650M but with only 1GB GDDR5 RAM, instead of 2GB GDDR5 RAM found on this laptop). Having said that, the video card is still excellent but would not allow you to play demanding games like Battlefield 3 at maximum settings in 1080p (expect to pay 2 grand if you want that on a laptop).

Geeky stats aside, this is a very nice laptop. It has a beautiful slim design, nice brushed industrial-metallic look. The finger-print reader with HP SimplePass is wonderful quick and easy to set up and allows you to log in to the PC and any website with a swipe of your fingerprint. The display is a beautiful matte non-glare style which can be seen from various angles and choosing a laptop with anti-glare (matte) displays is essential if you ever think you'll use the laptop outside or in a bright room. Its slim, lightweight and operates at an amazingly low temperature. The SSD means no moving parts and no vibration and also extends battery life. The keyboard feels really good and the off-center touchpad which I've heard some reviewers criticize is not, I repeat not a problem. The USB 3.0 ports make it easy to add a fast external hard drive if you need more hard drive space. Start-up and shut-down is hideously fast 11 seconds from dead to fully-on (try to honestly count your current laptop). Again, you can thank the SSD for that (a hybrid drive is not as fast).

Finally, a word on why this laptop is only available from one company (Eluktronics). I was initially a bit skeptical, but I went to HP's website and began to custom-build the same laptop. I noticed these components in their 'menu' and saw how the seller had obviously gone through a similar process picking components from arguably the best PC builder in the industry (HP). Therefore, you're not getting 3rd party components thrown into a HP shell, but the same quality components HP would put into their own custom-built laptops. Best of all, the seller prices them a couple of hundred bucks less than HP and is able to ship them asap. All other boutique laptop builders I looked at wanted a lot more money AND 3-4 weeks to build your PC before they even ship it. Result is I knew I was getting a bargain, quality components and a brand I can trust. (One final word: HP's website stopped offering the SSD and instead only provides the 'hybrid' 750GB drives on this laptop. I got the opportunity to try out this exact same laptop with the hybrid drive and it is way slower than the SSD.)

Finally, I confess this laptop is more than what I need right now. My wife wanted a MacBook Pro (the $2,100 model) and I knew this would compete. When you stack this up to a MacBook Pro, you have the following:

.................HP Envy DV6-7200.....................MacBook Air MD103LL/A..........MacBook Air Pro MC975LL

Processor....i7-3630QM Processor 2.4 GHz.......i7-2620M Processor 2.3 GHz....i7-3615QM 2.3GHz

PassMark....7628.........................................4164...................................7533

.................(can boost to 3.4 GHz)...............(can boost to 3.3 GHz)...........(can boost to 3.7 GHz)

Display........1080x1920 (2.07 million pixels).....1400 x 900 (1.29 million).........2880 x 1800 (5 million IPS)

RAM...........16 GB DDR3 1600 MHz.................4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz..............8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz

Video Card...2GB GT 650M............................512MB GT 650M....................1GB GT 650M

Hard Drive...256 GB SSD...............................512 GB mechanical drive.........256 GB SSD

Optical........Blu-Ray / DVD...........................DVD....................................?

USB 3..........3 ports...................................2 ports

Cost.........$1,400......................................$1,600.................................$2,068

Conclusion: The best MacBook has the better display with its IPS 5-million pixel retina display, BUT the CPU is slower, it has half the RAM, half the video RAM, and costs 50% more. The mid-range MacBook Pro shown above which costs two hundreds dollars more is pathetic when lined next to this HP model. Its CPU is almost half as fast, has a quarter of the RAM and a terrible graphics card. Winner HP Envy.

I run my computers through a bit of abuse. I was looking for a fast starting lap top that could also handle my 16 tabs in chrome, 10 tabs in photoshop, and 5 in illustrator sort of abuse (on a light day). This seems to be doing well so far. I've had it just a few months but I'm happy with the upgrades that were installed on it. I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a little more power out of a laptop and has no patience to wait for the thing to start up (thank you solid state drive).

Buy HP DV6-7200 15.6" i7-3630qm Quad Core Extreme Performance Gaming Laptop with 256GB SSD Hard Drive & Now

Its been less than a week and I have tried several different games on this thing.

Sniper Elite V2Ultra settings, 20-30 fps (this game goes no higher than 31? even on lowest settings.)

Battlefield 3 Ultra settings, 18-27 fps (low settings 40-50 fps)

Trackmania Canyons highest settings 18-22 fps (low settings stays pinned on 31 fps)

So far nothing has been unplayable on the highest settings. SO im very impressed with the performance of this laptop. However if you are a fps stickler, it might not be for you for the super high end games. You will spend another 800 bucks to get anything much better than this one.

I like the design, the keyboard is great with little to no flex, its backlit so you can type in the dark, which is a huge plus for me. The only things that im not a big fan of is the trackpad buttons, kinda mushy, you cant tell if you have clicked or not. And the up and down arrow keys are tiny, so that will take some getting used to.

Overall 9/10 would buy again.

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and I broke that promise. When HP sold me a Netbook that had an obvious flaw and burned out the mother board (reported on by numerous parties) and HP acknoledged the problem but would do nothing about it, I swore off of them. I went back on my word however and purchased this PC. I have had nothing but issues with it, culminating in a "BIOS UPDATE" from within windows 8 that black screened my computer upon reboot and now I have to send back the entire system to HP for "repair". Nice machine, unfortunately built by HP who feels that they can put all sorts of stuff on their machine to make it "better" yet does nothing but cause problems.

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Hewlett Packard QE069UARABA Hp Pavilion Dv6-6119wm Amd Quad-core A6-3400m 6gb 640gb Dvd+/-rw Win7 1

Hewlett Packard QE069UARABA Hp Pavilion Dv6-6119wm Amd Quad-core A6-3400m 6gb 640gb Dvd+/-rw Win7 15.6was very excited to receive. loved the specs. love the laptop. only thing i have an issue with is the battery life could be a little better, and every once in a great while it takes too long to run certain programs. would absolutely recommend for the price

right out of the box this computer had driver issues with the screen flickering, it beeps randomly once in a while also. The keyboard/touchpad feels cheap and there is a hardware defect in a lot of these, mine was refurbished but refurbished means "good as new" if you ask most people. 90 warranty? well support said the problems were driver issues that later software releases would take care of. not true. a large amount of people complain that while typing the mouse button "clicks" the insertion point to wherever it happens to be on random which makes writing emails impossible.

I've been an HP customer, purchasing 7 computers over 10 years and the last few purchases have convinced me that they are goin the way of dell and making crap and not admitting failure after.

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APPLE MACBOOK AIR 2.13GHZ INTEL CORE 2 DUO, 4GB RAM , 256GB FLASH MEMORY, 13.3 INCH SCREEN

APPLE MACBOOK AIR 2.13GHZ INTEL CORE 2 DUO, 4GB RAM , 256GB FLASH MEMORY, 13.3 INCH SCREENI was somewhat reluctant to purchase such an expensive item from a company I wasn't familiar with. As well as the fact that the specs were different than what is advertised on the Apple website. I researched the company and did not find any negative reports. The computer came exactly as stated and delivered in a very timely manner. The memory, speed, etc. was much better than what I would have received from the Apple Store or Website & the best part, it was cheaper!!! My daughter was very excited to get her new computer as she prepares for college. It's more than what she ever expected!

HP G62-220US 15.6-Inch Laptop

HP G62-220US 15.6-Inch LaptopI had done quite a bit of research before deciding to purchase this laptop. It was ranked the Highest in Consumer reports, and all the reviews looked good...

After 2 weeks, the hard disk crashed and had to be replaced.. Needless to say, I was quite upset, since everything I had just installed on the computer, and all the data were lost...

HP Support was better than I expected, because their service usually leaves a lot to be desired.... The only problem was that they shipped a blank hard drive with no recovery disks.. After 2 shipments I had what I needed, so I installed the drive and got the system back up and running...

Not what I would expect from a "so called" top of the line product.

My only problem with this laptop is that it shuts down in the middle of productivity because it gets too hot. My question is,

why HP didn't build a fan to keep the hardware cooled?

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i love this laptop, a powerful processor, 4GB of RAM expabdable, a good hard drive... but this thing gets insanely hot in a very short period if time... i have 6 months with it, and now i think i need to replace the therm gel on mi processor, it boots up and in a period of 10 minutes it gets up to 94 degrees Celsius. that right ther is unacceptable... also when it goes to hibernate and then it boots up it freezes, or lost conection and has to be rebooted for it to react...

this laptop has great performance, if youre not into gaming... on the times that this laptop stays under the 75 degrees, once i start a simple game like unreal tournament 1999 GOTY, it heats up in terms of seconds, also with andry birds for pc, thats just crazy, considering that i bought it a cooler master chill par with 2 6" fans located at the hotest points of tthe machine...

it gets so hot that typing gets anoying so im gona end my review here... think about other options, if i had the money i would trade this for a newer model or even a toshiba... ( my dream is a macbook pro BTW those stays under the 37 degrees... just to compare.. )

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A fine product. It served my business very well and my partner has privatised it after discovering it great qualities.

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Just replaced my desktop after it crashed yet again. Set up was very easy and took less than four hours to copy over all my files and install everything. Keyboard is awkward and taks some getting used too. Really wanted illumiunated keys and was disappointed to learn this did not have it but I forgot to look.

Caps lock button too big. Shift key too small. Wish it had a seperate number pad. The coulmn of buttons on the left is a pain in the but, I keep hitting the DVD button by mistake.

The touch pad works well and is hidden but the buttons are too far apart and hard to click.

My first windows 7 experience but so far I like it alot. Screen picture qualtiy is great.

Recommended but would have looked at the key board a bit more closely.