Acer Aspire S7-391-9427 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Ultrabook (White)

The Aspire S7 line has quite a few models with flavors of processors, screen size, and what not. One of the newer models is the 9427 iteration. I have used it for about 3 weeks now, and the S7 is a very well designed product, well thought out, and durable. The aluminum chassis is a things of beauty and durability, making the ultrabook lightweight as well, 2.8lbs. The bottom is a tough plastic or polycarbonate which is well designed and looks very good. The cooling vents were well thought out, the hot air is pushed out the back, so using the laptop on your lap is very comfortable with no heat buildup. The S7 9427 comes with network 10/100MB and HDMI to VGA dongles, along with a leather like carrying bag, and a Bluetooth mouse. These added goodies are very welcomed in this kit. There are some major plus sides to this Ultrabook, but a few flaws, such as life no thing of beauty is not without those. The bullet list to be concise:

Pro's:

Fast Processer i7 2.0

4GB RAM

256GB SSD

Dolby sound, awesome speakers, great placement on the sides

HD 10 point touch screen, accurate and mind blowing resolution

2.8lbs

2 USB 3.0 ports

HDMI

Gorilla Glass

Illuminated Keyboard

Middle: Battery life has been around 4.5 hours with wifi on, on balanced mode do not believe anyone telling you the life is 6-7 hours. You will not see that with normal use and wifi on. One of the points for accessories, the Acer store has a second battery that screws in on the bottom which is flat, contoured, and has a battery life indicator on the side. It adds on about 3-4 hours, when used as reported on the Acer forums from people that have bought them, looks very nice it fit and form. I am purchasing one, price is $149.

Con's:

SD slot has the SD card sticking out, it does not click in. Not major, but should click in all the way.

Fans get loud at times, but this can be adjusted by software settings. Make sure to have the latest BIOS update.

Accupad, touchpad, (or whatever you want to call it) can be a little annoying with the clicks takes a little getting used to however, no accupad has been flawless even MBA. The Elan software can be adjusted for the swipes, clicks, and gestures though.

Most people buying this computer are the type of people seeking the best of the best. This computer meets those expectations in many ways so I will give it 4 stars DESPITE the appalling "secret" I am about to reveal:

The USB to Ethernet "goodie" dongle included with this computer is USB 2.0 and not USB 3.0!!

You might not think it would make much of a difference, but you would be wrong. When I bought a USB 3.0 to Ethernet adapter (for approx. $30) my speed when wired went from 24 MBPS to 36+ MBPS. In fact, no matter what time of day or night I use my computer now, the wired speed never falls below 36 MBPS -whereas before I felt thankful to get 24 MBPS (sometimes it would drop as low as 16 MBPS!). So, a more than 50% difference in wired internet speed.

What a deceiving trick! To buy a top of the line computer, pay top dollar, and then be given a hand-me-down USB 2.0 chip set adapter for Ethernet as a supposed "goodie" when the computer itself is wired for USB 3.0. To confirm it's a USB 2.0 adapter versus being a USB 3.0 adapter, go to your device manager while your included (and outdated) "free" Acer Ethernet adapter is plugged in. That will tell you.

Shame on you, ACER.

UPDATE RE FISHY PRICING AS OF 4/1/13:

I got this computer for $1,456 (the price at that time was fluctuating daily between that price and its current $1,539). So, I'm wondering if Square Trade and Amazon have some sort of deal going....because the moment the price drops below $1,500 the cost of the Square Trade warranty drops from $299 to $181 for the exact same coverage. Fishy, fishy price fixing. BUT -THE COMPUTER OVERALL IS GREAT... even with its flaws. At this point in time, you literally can't find better.

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I have been using the S7 for about 3 days now and love it! the touchscreen is fantastic with Win 8. The keyboard is a little shallow but you get used to it. No problem with the wi-fi like some have mentioned. The only thing I would have liked to see is longer battery life. Also I purchased the Targus USB 3.0 Dual Video Docking Station and it works great with the S7; super helpful with my dual monitors and other peripherals

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Nice unit.... but Windows 8 is a huge pain in the behind.

The unit does NOT come with WORD, OUTLOOK, EXCEL,`or POWERPOINT. Add $180 if you need these.

i7 chip Acer S7 is super thin, super light, super fast....it is about as portable as a full computer can be..... I like it better than a tablet. While a bit bigger, it is a complete machine....Everything I need is in it or can be put in it.

Not cheap,....but a five year hold is probable.

And it looks like it will last even longer.

Russell

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I just got my Acer Aspire touchscreen ultrabook this week and LOVE it. It was easy to set up with my Windows Office software and other software, the touch screen was easy to configure, and I feel like I have the best of the iPad world and traditional PC world in one very light weight machine. So far, all my peripherals work smoothly with this laptop (2 printers, external hard drive, external DVD drive, docking station, and monitor. It looks nice and sleek too. The only minor complaint is that the keyboard has such a low profile that I'm hitting the keys harder than needed, so my emails contain double letters by accident.

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Panasonic Toughbook T8 CF-T8EWDTZ2M 12" Laptop 120G HDD

I have this laptop, which was provided for my use, at work. I am a hospice nurse, who performs numerous home visits daily. This laptop is the perfect size, and weight. The keyboard is perfect. We recently switched from using the toughbook to a Samsung galaxy tablet. I HATE THE TABLET!!!! Personally, I prefer having a keyboard for typing. Pecking on a tablet is tiresome, bothersome, and tedious. Sadly, this is the direction we are all headed in, due to the fast growing technology field. However, I see it as a downfall. My documentation is not as good on the tablet, because I cannot "peck" as fast as I can type. Because I loved this laptop so much at work, I am looking to buy one for personal use. I would recommend purchasing the toughbook to anyone who is considering purchasing. You won't be disappointed.....

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Apple MacBook MB402LL/A 13.3-inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

I went back and forth between the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Which one? Will it be powerful enough? Big enough...?

Maybe a Sony Vaio would be better?

I'm a Windows software developer but I'm going back to school for my MBA and I wanted a smaller, simple notebook for papers and internet communication for classwork. It needs to be durable and I need it to work without a lot of fussing around with system bits.

After much research I chose the MacBook over the pro because of the smaller size and the fact that the aluminum on the pro although cool, can dent easily. The matte black finish on the MacBook is elegant, tough, and the build quality it top notch. Does the the black eventually get smears on it from your hands and fingers? Yes it does but just wipe them off every so often. It's not a big deal.

IMO, aside from a few points in processor speed the major technical thing the Pro gets your over the MacBook is a dedicated video card. The card in the MacBook uses part of your system memory and that's not a big deal if you aren't doing complex things like 3D Rendering or gaming. Even most photo editing tasks on the little MacBook will work well *if* you have enough RAM. I recommend 2GB or more.

My MacBook arrived and I couldn't be happier. I personally think the black is nicer looking than the aluminum model. And this thing is fast! It makes my dual Intel Windows tower at work seem pokey. The glossy screen probably has more glare than a matte screen but the trade off in weight and size is well worth it.

Also the built in wireless Airport is great and reception is wonderful. Just turn it on and available networks show up in your menu. It's really so much nicer than Windows. The bonus is that I can dual boot with BootCamp and run all my Windows stuff when I need to. I installed Neo Office (open source office suite) and now I can open and create all the documents for my coursework.

Don't fool yourself into thinking the less expensive MacBook is less worthy for general computing tasks than the more sophisticated pro. It's very elegant looking and very powerful. If you don't need the power and size of the pro, I think you'll be happy and the money you save can be put toward other things. Maybe a new digital camera?

I have always been a heavy Windows user dating all the way back to the release of version 3.1 (approx 16 years ago). I was never interested in the Mac do to what I perceived as the proprietary nature of their systems and what I thought was an expensive price tag. Here is what I discovered when I purchased this model of Mac:

1. It just works. The boot up time is less than half of what it takes my Windows laptop, and the shut down time (4 seconds) is only a fraction of the 30-40 seconds of my Toshiba.

2. It runs Windows Vista faster than my Toshiba. I still need to run a couple of Windows applications, so I went through the VERY easy bootcamp installation of Vista. It runs flawlessly and after having purchased Fusion for $79, I am now able to run Windows apps alongside Mac apps. Simply incredible.

3. Battery life is great. I can get 4 hours out of mine running in low power mode.

4. Why no card reader???? Almost all PCs now come with card readers to use with your digital camera. Why does Mac not include this??? :(

5. It does NOT require the regular restarts that my Windows systems have always required. Simply close the lid and put it to sleep at night, and the next morning lift the lid and you are back in business. I can do this with my Toshiba but start getting errors in Windows after a couple of days and need to reset. Also, my Macbook runs very cool (with little heat) in the sleep mode, thereby allowing me to put it in my brief case in sleep mode without it heating up. I could never do that with any of my PC laptops. They would always heat up.

6. No virus software needed. Happy, Happy, Happy. Surfing the internet is faster because of this. Also, opening a document in MS Word is faster because the Virus software is not screening it.

I purchased MS Office and loaded it. It runs great and is almost identical to its Windows counterpart in functionality. But, Word and Excel seem to boot up a bit slower than the Windows versions. This is one thing that I do not like.

7. I like the way the electric cord connects with a magnet instead of plugging in. This seems handier and better in design, but I wonder if the magnet will still be as strong two years from now?

All in all, I am extremely pleased with this Mac. When you compare the price with the included features, it is only slightly more expensive than a comparable PC. To me it is worth the extra $200.

Actually what is going to make this very expensive, is now that my wife and daughter have seen my Mac they are both wanting to replace their PCs as well. This is one expense I did NOT budget for.

Thanks for reading. Hope this helps

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I have been a PC user for many years and have had no complaints, particularly since Windows XP was rolled out. My current HP is five years old and it was time to consider a replacement. The availability of a $1000 (with rebate) Penryn based entry level MacBook from Amazon proved irresistible to me and am glad I gave Apple a try. I understand it is not a good choice for gaming due to its lack of a dedicated graphics card.

I have been using it for two weeks now and have the following observations:

* Very snappy performance including boot up and shut down time

* Smaller screen than I am accustomed to but not a problem due to the excellent fonts

* Small size and light weight is a plus.

* Excellent wireless performance.

* Amazing battery life (never less than 4 hours at 90% screen brightness).

* Very little heat generation.

* Fan and hard drive noise is very low.

* Setting up a dual boot to Windows XP is well documented and easy to do.

* Running Windows creates much more heat and consequent lower battery life.

* 4 MEG of RAM can be purchased for under $100 but it runs very nicely with 1 MEG

* I miss the two button trackpad.

* It has a relatively sharp edge where one's palm usually rests when using trackpad

* Free software is available to allow reading Windows .wmv sound files.

* Built in automatic backup capability (Time Machine) is a plus.

* Nothing is perfect but this is pretty close given the price and current technology.

For those considering a switch and willing to learn a new operating system, I highly recommend it!

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I am a software engineer with twenty years experience developing system services for MS Windows and generic UNIX platforms. For the last ten years, my experience has been with MS based servers and workstations. The last time I used an Apple personal computer was in 1980 when I owned an Apple II+.

On a whim I purchased a MacBook running OS X 10.5.2 for my wife who has virtually no computer experience and avoids all things computer. She was not happy with my home MS Windows systems and she was not happy with the available portable computers running windows.

She has taken to the MacBook like a duck takes to water. She likes the package design, the display, and the desktop layout. She does not have the experience to appreciate the thoughtful interfaces and bundled applications that come with OS X. She just knows the entire package is enjoyable and not intimidating.

Me I like the UNIX foundation to OS-X. Knowing the internals of both operating systems, UNIX is the clear winner when it comes to reliability, durability, predictability, consistency, and security. Additionally, UNIX (with its open source variants) does not suffer from conflict of interest between operating systems and applications. One always wonders if some MS Windows quirk exists to solve a development problem in some MS application. I quickly put the terminal icon on the MacBook desktop so I could indulge myself with the UNIX shell command line any time I want ;-).

I installed a third party wireless router and configured internet services on the MacBook in a few minutes. I also added a third party optical bluetooth mouse in about thirty seconds. It took longer to install the mouse batteries than configure the MacBook bluetooth capability.

Apple has a very solid package with the current MacBook. There is little that one needs to add to the MacBook. It comes with just about every hardware interface available today. It has ample processor, RAM, and hard disk storage for average users. It comes with dual layer DVD RW. The bundled suite of applications is adequate for the full spectrum of casual computing (e.g., web browsing, email, chat, word processing, photo/video/audio processing). Apple stuff is a bit pricy but you receive the value you pay for.

If you want a good comprehensive companion book for your MacBook, I recommend David Pogue's "Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual". This book is large and contains much technical detail but is very well written. It is not for the casual computing novice that finds reading and comprehension tedious.

I have used Apple support one time and found the wait to be acceptable and support engineer to be competent, efficient and attentive. I have used MS support many times over the years and found them to be equally capable.

I have not found anything I dislike about the MacBook after thirty days of usage. My wife, however, would like the Apple logo on the lid to glow red instead of white when the MacBook is powered up.

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***** 5 Stars (UPDATED BELOW)

'Nuff said about how great this computer and Leopard are.

HOWEVER, out of the box I have one DEAD PIXEL just off center which shows as a black dot the size of a small period. According to Amazon and Apple, one dead pixel is not enough to warrant replacement of a brand new computer. I know it's one tiny pixel out of a million but once you notice it you always seem to see it. It just seems to me that for $1300 you should be able to receive a computer without screen imperfections. I wouldn't care about discoloration or scratches on the case but the screen should be perfect. I don't buy Amazon's & Apple's excuse that this is acceptable: no Mac I've ever owned had dead pixels; none of my friends' Macs have dead pixels; none I've seen in Apple stores have dead pixels etc. Had I purchased in an Apple store I could have walked in within 30 days and they would have swapped it out. How can everyone I know and even my giant LCD TV not have any dead pixels but my brand new macbook has a permanent dot? On-line buyers beware.

(END OF ORIGINAL REVIEW)

UPDATE: AMAZON HAS COME THROUGH WITH FLYING COLORS AND SENT ME A BRAND NEW MACBOOK WITH NO DEAD PIXELS AT NO CHARGE. After a visit to the Apple Store (to confirm that if purchased there, they would replace it) I gave Amazon one more chance. Using the call-back feature, customer service instantly called me and without any hassle, told me that they would replace my defective Macbook. Sure enough, 1 day later my new Macbook arrived via FedEx and after staring intently at each and every pixel, I am completely satisfied. This is the kind of customer service I would expect, and makes me very happy to use and recommend Amazon in the future.

A few things I've learned in this process. If you're worried about pixel issues, as soon as you get your new computer, download a Pixel Checker program or change your background to Red, Green, Blue, White, Black (separately) and check for any stuck or dead pixels. If there is a problem and you can live with it enjoy your new computer, otherwise contact your dealer ASAP. Also, I had much better results dealing with the telephone support people as opposed to trying to resolve this by email. As long as Amazon takes care of its customers like this, I will be a lifelong user.

I wish I could change the star ratings to 5-star but you're not allowed to edit that. This is really a great computer. Super fast and perfect for my needs. Weighs 5 lbs which is fine with me not ultralight like the Airbook, but it seems lightweight enough to me. Leopard is a great OS and the bundled programs are fun and easy to use.

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Thinkpad SL410 - Intel - Core 2 Duo - T6670 - 2.2 Ghz - DDR3 Sdram - 4 Gb - Seri

I purchased an open box 2842-K3U to replace an aging ThinkPad G40. One of the first things I did was upgrade the memory to 8Gb, as I wanted to optimally run Windows 7 Professional (64-bit).

The Wi-Fi adapter that came standard was only a 2.4 Ghz 802.11b/g/n variant. If you enjoy lousy throughput in the crowded 2.4 spectrum, more power to you. I ended up getting a dual-band a/g/n adapter instead, referencing the Hardware Maintenance Manual for compatible FRUs (be advised that getting the wrong one will result in an 1802 post error). The plus side is that they can be had for cheap on the secondary market.

The hard drive was nothing special; a Seagate Momentus 250GB 5400 RPM SATA drive. I later got a Hitachi Travelstar500GB 7200 RPM drive.

Lack of Bluetooth support is not a show stopper, considering that one could get aftermarket usb adapters for cheap.

Lastly, the 6-cell Li-ion battery will last about a year or so; you know you're in need of a replacement when it can only give you an hour's worth of life.

Having an integrated webcam is a nice touch; it works well with Skype.

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Lenovo Ideapad Y560 06465LU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Looking at this product for what it is, a low / mid end gaming laptop, I think it's a good product and well priced. What this product is not is a Think Pad. This is from Lenovo's consumer line, not their business line. The Think Pads are really nice, but they cost almost 2x as much feature per feature. This is also not a gaming powerhouse. My wife's 17" Sager gaming machine out performs this in every respect, but it also cost nearly 3 x times much.

The reason I give this computer 5 stars is price verse features. Most machines specked out the same way cost 10 to 20% more. It's also from Lenovo who seems to have decent customer support even for their consumer equipment. For me, it's a good travel laptop with enough video and processing power to play most modern games and run Creative Studio when I'm away from my desk.

I have been using this laptop for 15 days and until now I have no cons about the hardware. It's very fast, you can play several games (tested: Starcraft 2, Counter Strike Source, Call of Duty MW2, Far Cry 2) and the sound is amazing. Before it I had a Sony Vaio C2D T6600, and the only thing i'm missing is the keyboard and the keyboard skin to protect it.

Now, lets talk about the software: it comes with a lot of bloatware from Lenovo. The hard disk comes with 4 partitions so you can't create a new one. You i'll have to delete one, shrink the "c:"(that comes with more then 400gb) and then create a new partition with the size you choose. BUT BE CAREFUL: before you do this, you have to create the restore DVDs because if you change the partitions the lenovo software to create the restore DVDs will not work anymore.

Another issue is the fingerprint magnetic case.

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I've been using this laptop for about 2 months, and i can say that is the perfect desktop replacement. i'll give 4 stars and a half to this machine

Pros:

1.the core i5 processor is really fast and can handle every program that you need to run, and with the added of the turbo boost is even more faster when the aplication that you're running needs it.

2.the graphics are AWESOME. I've been playing dirt 3, fifa 11, assasins creed brotherhood, grid, mafia II, and all this games run really smooth and great, using high details in 1366x768(that is a maximun resolution of the display) that is a little less display that someone can expect, but is enough for all multimedia aplications. the ati 5730 card gives amazing graphics and turn this laptop into a really capable gamers machine, and even better than some asus or alienware games laptops, that can surpase the 1000$, and the switchable graphics system work wonders in this machine. This thing flyes baby.

3.the 4 gb of ram memory are more than enough to run everything that you throw to this laptop. and if 4 gb is not enough, you always can upgrade to 8 gb!.

4.the hard disk, is not 500GB HDD. it has about 470gb at 5200 rpm, but its all right. i recomend that in the future replace the storage unit, but for 748$ its a true bargain.

5.the desing of the laptop its really atractive and modern. looks like a intelectual gamers laptop. ha ha ha

Cons:

1.the build quality can be better. this is a really delicate laptop, (thats why i say this is a desktop replacement). its all plastic everywhere, and the structure, keyboard and display area bends, at a point, that you could be worry, and because of the size (15,6")for some people it can be dificult to transport.

2.-no blue ray burner optical unit.

3.it gets a little hot under intense gaming, so i recomend to buy a laptop cooler.

4.just about 2 hours of battery use, not that good in a laptop of its price (most of the time, i use it in home plugged to the wall, as a desktop replacement)

in conclusion, i highly recomend it as a desktop replacement or as a gaming laptop because its really fast, the core i5 processor that comes whit this machine, is nearly as fast as an i7 processor, and the ati 5730 with switchable video card is really powerfull, and for the price its the real deal, the best bang for the buck.

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First Lenovo machine that I've ever purchased. The product was defected right from the start. When I turned on the first time I got Operating System Not found error. Lenovo wanted me to send the machine back to replace the damaged hard drive under the warranty. I chose to return it back to Amazon and will stick with HP that I've used before.

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Pros:

1. Looks nice.

2. Speakers sound great too.

3. No problems dual booting this machine with Ubuntu 10.04 brightness control works fine under Ubuntu which was a severe problem with Gateway laptops.

3. Recovery discs that you create from inside pre-installed Windows 7 works like a charm.

4. Four 2.66 GHz i5 cores are good enough for heavy duty scientific computing as well as gaming.

5. The display is glossy and crisp but the colors aren't that "deep". (Gamma and saturation values need to changed?).

6. The wrist pads and the keyboard don't get heated up as do similar configuration Gateway models.

7. The keypad is a joy to type on.

8. The webcam is pretty good too.

Cons:

1. i5's generates a lot more heat than Core Duo's. The air coming out of side vents do get really hot.

2. The construction of the chassis underneath is not as tough. Not as comfy as a Mac.

3. Like most laptops, the hinges of the display are not rigid.

Look for competing prices from other online stores.

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Acer Aspire V5-171-9661 11.6-Inch Laptop (Silky Silver)

To start, I own a lot of Acer products. Every year or so, I tend to inch along in my needs and feelings for laptops. Prior to purchasing this, I had an 10" Acer Aspire One netbook which I was thrilled about and a 14" Acer Aspire Timeline. I was hoping that this machine would sort of be the bridge between the things that I really liked about a Netbook (light, good battery life, very portable, and low heat) and the performance of my more beefy laptop (higher resolution, better video performance, etc).

I have to say that in many ways this meets my needs and in some others it didn't quite live up to my expectations. To start with, though, I will first say that I am pleased with this notebook, overall. I am not going to blame the product for having Windows 8 which is at times obnoxious and counter-intuitive because the product description clearly says it comes with windows 8. Some people are not going to like it though. I'd suggest you try to navigate around Windows 8 sometime with a mouse in a store if you want a feel for the experience. Everyone's going to differ on whether they think this is one step forward and two back, or the other way around. What I will say is, for what Windows 8 is, this thing flies through it and it displays everything in a slick manner.

This has had no problems running Netflix, not that you would expect it to. It can do all your normal computing, and the easy app stuff they seem to be trying to turn windows into. On top of that, this isn't a great system to play games on, but it can run the games that I have played with respectable stability. I routinely play World of Tanks on mine with middle-of-the-road type graphics, and I'm very satisfied with the mid-20's to mid-30's frames per second. If you pump it as high as it goes (or as high as it lets you) you will see the frame rate drop though to a humanly noticeable level. The same can be said for Skyrim.

Some of the things that aren't measured in the specs that you might want to be aware of. This can get rather hot. If you are doing anything complicated, this could be come a 'not-on-my-lap laptop.' If you're just playing with the internet, it usually seems to be fine. If, like I mentioned above, you're playing a game, definitely set it down somewhere else. Also, this is the first Acer that I've purchased where the sound that comes with the computer is noticeably bad. The speakers that are in this sound tinny and hollow. If you are planning on playing music, this would probably force you to headphones or a separate speaker system. I carry around an 'X-Mini II Capsule Speaker,' which is quite nice for what it is, so I can plug that in if I need pretty or more noises for whatever reason.

I needed to replace my work notebook; I had previously purchased an Acer Timeline X series in the same 11.6" form factor and it has done fairly well throughout its two-year run with me around the world (literally) other than a few niggling problems.

I had a budget of about $1,500, so I was considering the Asus Zenbook Prime in the same form factor, but I couldn't find one with the 256GB SSD. Moreover, it didn't have a full-sized SD card slot and didn't come with the old-school VGA port (this was important because many of the customers I visit do not have projectors with HDMI inputs). I finally decided that for the price, I would buy the Acer V5 because it had the same processor (Ivy bridge Core i7) and double the RAM of the Asus (8GB vs. 4GB).

It seems that the minor problems with the last notebook have been addressed and it is exceedingly fast. The only complaint is that I'm still adapting to the touchpad with integrated buttons as my last one had dedicated buttons. However, with the money I saved, I decided to buy a 256GB SSD for the computer (be sure to get one that is 7mm high most of them are 9mm and will not fit inside the chassis) and used Acronis True Image to clone the drive...wow. Screaming fast performance that takes about 15 seconds to go from completely powered off to booted and about 4 seconds to go from sleep to booted. Apps open almost instantaneously...and I still have about $500 left in the budget to buy more stuff!

A quick word to those of you that put an SSD in the device using Acronis: I used a USB enclosure to turn the SSD drive into a flash drive in order to do the cloning. I spent a couple of hours trying to clone and the only way it worked for me was when I created a bootable flash drive with Acronis and then changed the BIOS's settings from UEFI to LegacyBoot (otherwise the BIOS won't let you boot to Acronis' Linux image). The cloning takes about an hour and then you can swap the HDD and SSD. Once you swap the drives, you need to change the BIOS back to UEFI or it won't boot Windows 8. Good luck!

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No question...great performance. The VGA and HDMI ports support two monitors very well on this and all the other notebooks. The NEW Acer site allows a very smooth compare of the complex mix of features. Fortunately Amazon has the right stock.

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Just got the machine on clearence. It seems like a nice machine. The mouse pad is a bit unresponsive. I had to turn the touch pad sensitivity up to full to get reasonable performance.

Windows 8: Wow, what an impressively hard to use operating system. I really hate Windows 8. As an engineer, I really did not think it would be that bad moving to Windows 8, that it would just take some getting used to. I am considering dropping back to W7 until the new W8 comes out that includes changes due to "user feedback". I hope they do that big time or its time to switch to MAC or Unix. It would be really nice if w8 came with a built in w7 fallback option.

I went to upgrade the hardrive and could not find how to get to the hard drive/memory. The bottom of the machine has a single, very large flat panel. All I had to do was to remove the one visiable screw near the front center and slide the panel off to the front. Very nice! Remove the battery before doing this just to be safe.

I found I could not upgrade the hard drive on this machine. A normal laptop drive is ~9.5mm thick. Some of the older drives are 12mm thick. I got a new 9.5mm 1TB drive (which is thin for a 1 TB drive) and found that it was too thick for the panel to fit properly back on the machine. It turns out that the WD 500 GB drive used in this machine (WD5000LPVX)is abnormally thin (6.5mm?), most likely specifically designed for thin ultrabook type laptops. Higher capacity drives just will not fit at this point in time. All I can say is that if you want to upgrade to an SSD, check the thickness first.

The battery uses an odd "slide lock" near the back. It was not clear to me that this was a slide and that it was for the battery.

Dan

Want Acer Aspire V5-171-9661 11.6-Inch Laptop (Silky Silver) Discount?

My V5-171-9661 would have been a great laptop, had it not suffered from the two following major issues:

1) It delivers only SATA2 (3Gb/s max) speed with Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD (~250MB/s reads). The laptop has the latest BIOS v2.15 in AHCI mode and the latest Intel Rapid Storage drivers. Both Intel RST tool and Samsung SSD Magician tool report SATA2, while the laptop's HM77 chipset is known to be SATA3-capable (6Gb/s). The same Samsung SSD used to deliver ~520MB/s with my old Lenovo SATA3-capable system. Now I'm not sure if it's only this specific machine, or the whole line of V5-171-9661 is affected. I'd appreciate if someone with the same model + SATA3 SSD could post his/her results.

2) The laptop came with Absolute Software Computrace/LoJack feature pre-activated. The BIOS doesn't have any settings to turn it off or even see check its status at all. It survives the hard drive swap, complete OS reinstall and keeps creating a set of executable files (rpcnet*.exe, rpcnet*.dll) in system folders. Basically, it is a kind of controversial BIOS rootkit, which seamlessly reports your laptop location (along with other demographics) to Absolute's servers. I have no plans to subscribe to Absolute's services and I don't want my laptop to call any 3rd party without my explicit consent. So far I've been unable to find a way to disable or kill Computrace. I contacted both Acer and Absolute and I am still waiting to hear from them. However, from what I googled on that matter, the chances to get rid of this "feature" appear to be less than zero. Again, my old Lenovo also had this feature in BIOS, but it arrived in inactive state, and I was able to disable it permanently in BIOS.

Two stars taken off.

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Acer Aspire 5336-2524 - C 900 2.2 GHz - 15.6" TFT Laptop

The model number for this is 5336-2524. This computer has great performance. It is extremely light. It comes with Windows 7 Home Premium instead of Windows 7 starter so I didnt have to pay for an upgrade. I love that it has a webcam and mic. My only issue is that the audio is a bit soft but I can live with that. This is a great value for the price.

update:

The plug where the a/c adapter plugs into the laptop is loose. It falls out on it's own several times a day. I have to roll it around at different angles and use weights to hold it against the connector so it stays in contact. It's gradually getting worse & worse. If I go take a bath & I'm in the middle of something, when I come back the laptop will be powered down because the plug popped out in the middle of the bath. Now there's a short in the connection too so, often the whole a/c adaptor getts shorted out & turns itself off. I have to fiddle around for sometimes 5 minutes to find just the right twist & angle & OOps, the adaptor got shorted, now I have to unplug it from the wall & plug it back in & keep trying to find a spot where it will stay plugged in & powered on & then I have to put a weight on the plug to hold it in just the right angle... & then I have to keep the laptop from sliding in the other direction and on top of that:

The headphone jack is bad too. I have to hang a weight on my headphone cable so that it put's pulling pressure on the jack just to be able to hear anything, which might not be so bad if the speakers didn't entirely break down. I cannot hear a single thing through the speakers. Nothing at all. The speakers were always too quiet, but now, they just gave up & quit working.

Another thing, NO RADIOSHACK sells the plug that fits this laptop. I've tried. I bought a plug that came close, but it doesn't fit right. The radio shacks even refuse to order the correct size. So, is this normal for this laptop? Who cares. I'm never getting an acer again & I'll never buy a laptop with a cheap, skinny a/c adaptor connection port either.

The built in microphone is worthless too. It filters the sound badly.

I have to put black tape over the camera so that my keys type the correct words on the keyboard. Typical TI BS.

Bad speakers, shakey touchpad, cheap keys, no support for linux, great screen, lots of ram.

The speakers are terrible. They are so small and cheap that mine just blew out while playing a sound near 120 hz.

Instead of getting better speakers, they killed the volume, so you wouldn't damage the cheap speakers it came with.

Now the sound system is supposed to be able to play 24-bit sound, BUT somewhere along the line, it gets heavily corrupted. It doesn't play true 24-bit sound. It may be the link between the soundchip & the speakers. I don't know, but I am certain that the sound-quality is far less than what the sound-chip is capable of, due to cheap & crummy hardware, not just the speakers. If you plug headphones in, you still get distorted hi-def sound at 24-bit.

Finally, it's very difficult to listen to anything with the speakers, even before they were blown. If I put the system on max volume & the youtube video, or whatever on max volume, you'd be lucky to make out the words. It's that bad.

Tip to others w/ this laptop: download soundfiles as an MP3 and play it in winamp or something and adjust the graphic equalizer so all the freqs are all maxed & if that doesn't work, you can open the sound-file in audacity & amplify the soundfile 10 decibles (you'll have to clip some) & you might be able to make out the words. Or upload it to an mp3 player.

I've had 3 keys come off. I can't put them back on. My laptops take a beating.

Every now & then the touchpad goes nuts. I'll push the mouse-cursor up and it will go down. I'll push it across the screen & it just stays in 1 place & shakes a little. Sometimes it just stalls altogether, sometimes permenantly until a reboot, & sometimes for a few seconds while the (processor?) catches up. I don't know why, the processor should be fast enough.

I'm hoping I can get the sound & network... working w/ another OS. The drivers only support Windows 7. That's sad. I want to see drivers for linux & XP. Speaking of which, the OS key ID sticker under the laptop has rubbed off. I cannot read the Windows 7 key! So do I have to buy a whole new OS if the hard-drive goes? Not good.

What I like about it is that it has lots of ram, a big hard-disk & a huge screen for a cheap price, at least it did when I bought it. It's one of the better laptops I've had, except for the above issues & those are BIG issues. I'm not impressed w/ Acer at all.

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THE TECHNICAL DETAILS FOR THIS LAPTOP SHOWED WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL WAS AVAILABLE FOR UNIT. I HAD A FRIEND INSTALL THE ABOVE SOFTWARE BUT HE WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE THE WIRELES CARD AND VGA DISPLAY DRIVERS ON THE INTERNET. I CALLED THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR ACER(USA) AT 1-877-482-3091 AND TECHNICIAN DID NOT WANT TO MAKE AVAILABLE THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE IYOGI.NET/ACER*SUPPORT THE ABOVE DRIVERS. THEY INSISTED ON SELLING ME A LOCAL SERVICE CONTRACT FOR $139.00 TO INSTALL THE ABOVE DRIVERS IN MY LAPTOP. I DECLINED THE OFFER AND HAD GEEKS SERVICE INSTALL THE DRIVERS FOR $26.25

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I have had this laptop for about a year now and use it every day for school. My only complaint is that the mouse pad is off center. It's great that they put the number keypad on the side I use that often. However with the mouse pad off center, I always feel like I have to also sit off-centered from the monitor. When I try to sit more centered, my hand hits the mouse pad and, many times, it has clicked the cursor somewhere else on the screen and suddenly I'm typing in the wrong place. Other than that, it has been a good computer for the cost.

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nice looking notebook. it looks like new now damage on it. it is working just perfect and good price too.

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Sony VAIO(R) VPCEH12FX/W 15.5" Notebook PC - White

WOW. SONY is a Apple Macbook killer.

This SONY vaio is only 1/3 of the Macbook pro price. But it runs as fast as the Macbook pro.

You cannot beat SONY. I have a SONY desktop back to 1998, and it still running very fast. So, I decided to buy this SONY laptop.

I did 2 upgrade after I got this one.

1. Memory upgraded to 2x4=8gb, only cost $40

2. Upgraded the hard drive to a 96GB SSD, only cost $90

Now this SONY runs like a rocket, and it beat my iMac 27" with i7 cpu ( cost me $2500 in 2010. )

I cannot be happier.

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Art Explosion Publisher Pro Silver

• '2,000+ Professionally designed templates; Create your first document in 15 minutes or less;
• 'Ideal for newsletters, brochures, greeting cards, web pages and more;
• 'Instant 3D effects for stunning logos and headlines; 50,000+ Premium-quality graphics and 300 fonts;
• 'Create PDF files for professional printing;
• 'CMYK color separation and Pantone Color support; BONUS: includes full-featured image editor

I have had this program for years and love it! It takes some getting used to, like any program, but once you get to know it, it's great. I used to use Microsoft Publisher, which is much more expensive and I just like this one so much better. I wish they would make a new version of it. I don't understand giving something a bad review when you don't even take the time to learn it. I don't know of any program that you can just open and start using without a learning curve. I have made newsletters, business cards, posters, flyers, post cards, and much more, for our church and business.

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I downloaded the program and then deleted it. The program is VERY difficult to run! Wasted my money in buying this.

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Acer AS5733Z-4851 15.6" Notebook (Dual-Core, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HD, 6-cell, Win7)

This laptop has made it through 2 years of college for me, which is not a light task I am known for abusing electronics. I have left this laptop in direct sunlight for long periods of time, Plus in frigid cold winters of Michigan it survived. Its been thrown around in my book bag etc... but through all of these demands it remains in tact and fast as ever. The screen has true HD graphics with a remarkable refresh rate for a personal computer. I strongly recommend this laptop, as it has proven to me that Acer is a future brand name for PC'S.

IT IS AN EXCELLENT LAP TOP. I HAVE IT FOR 2 YEARS.

CONS: BATTERY CHARGE , SHOULD LAST LONGER.

ELECTRIC , WIRE PLUGS , SHOULD BE MORE EFFICIENTLY COSTRUCTED. (I AM SORPRISED ABOUT THIS FROM ACER.)

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Gateway ML3109

I've been using this laptop for a long time now. It's great. It's light weight with an ultra bright screen. It's great for surfing the internet. It does lack a little bit of memory, but I added 1 GB of memory for $20. It's a great laptop if you are looking to use it to surf the net, listen to music, or do your next paper/project.

There are two things in my life that have lasted beyond any of my wildest expectations: my 2003 Volkswagen Golf and this Gateway ML3109 Laptop. I believe I purchased this in the winter of December 2006 brand new for $450 and upgraded the RAM right away. Since then, I have been using this laptop on a near daily basis for countless hours of fun, studying, games, relaxation and past numerous girlfriends (two of which were marriage material but had issues let's not get into that).

It's big, heavy, hotter than molten lava and quite cumbersome but it's been with me in almost every hemisphere through my travels and the hard drive has probably spun more revolutions than the vertical rings of Uranus. It is now February 28, 2012 and still running strong. I do not know how this could be. Everyday I fear it won't wake up or turn on but I now consider it more reliable than humanity itself. It is possessed by a friendly demon that won't go away, and although I will soon jump light-years ahead (relatively speaking) to an Ivy Bridge (once Intel decides it made enough money off the Sandy and finally release it), I will cherish this rugged piece of machinery until the wheels fall off. It's been through Vista, upgraded to XP, and has been running Windows7 ever since it came out. I don't know what the future holds for this laptop, but I know whatever happens to it or me, nothing will ever separate the keystrokes that was had and will be had, on this ML3109.

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HP Envy DV6 Select Edition 3rd Generation Intel Core i5-3210 2.5Ghz 8GB 750GB 15.6-inch HD LED DVD+

I am not a computer saavy person when it gomes to the features for computers, but right off the bat after I read the specifications, I was pleased! The seller shipped it really fast and they were very responsive. When I opened the box it looked like a brand new computer with no cosmetic damages. The start up was nice and equipped with the right software that I needed. I was skeptical about buying this at first, and once i saw that it has a fast processor I was hooked. Overall the computer fits my life and i was very pleased with the product and service, I would def buy from the seller again.

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Asus VivoBook S400CA-UH51T Touchscreen 14-Inch Ultrabook / Intel Core i5-3317U, 4GB Ram, 500GB + 24

Great Product, sturdy, great feel, extremely fast, and Windows 8 is a whole new fund world.

I've owned an Apple, Toshiba, and and HP Pavilion dv7. My employee currently uses Dell. I did a ton of research on all-in-one computers aka convertible computers; actually had my mind set on the HP Envy. However after reading numerous professional and consumer reviews I decided to try the ASUS S400CA. I leaned this way because I have the HP to use in my home office, I have a Sumsung Tablet (my wife claimed it now because I have the ASUS), so I thought why not buy a notebook that has the capability of both a touch screen and a computer.

This computer is blazing fast, very responsive with the touch screen, and as I mentioned above Window's 8 is a great platform to use for the touch screen experience. Most of the apps that I was using on the tablet I had are available in the Window's app store. I like being able to have access to Microsoft Office (the touch version is awesome), and use the ASUS when I go on trips, or just bringing it upstairs when I sit down in the living room.

The only negative thing I have to say about the ASUS VivoBook S400CA is that the battery life isn't as good as the Tablet, but it definitely last longer than my HP off of the power cord. The longest I have run the ASUS on battery has been about 4 hours and 20 minutes.

In short, If this is what kind of product ASUS puts out, then all my future purchases are going to be from them. Extremely happy to have all of the features of a convertible computer with a price tag of under $750.00.

Upgrade to Win 8 pro went smoothly. Didn't have too much garbage to uninstall prior to using (although, there is always some). Windows 8 is performing fine in an enterprise environment (70-person domain). This comp, in conjunction with Win 8, found all printers without downloading drivers, which was nice. Laptop boots fast and the touchscreen works well.

Two negatives: the touchscreen adds a little weight and thickness; the battery appears to be built in (non-removable).

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Seriously the best Box ive ever had.

ASUS: Details matter.

14" perfect.

No DVD perfect.

SSD hybrid big difference

And the light / slim gun metal feel like nothing else.

I'll never look to any other brand.

Case closed

(thanks ASUS)

Read Best Reviews of Asus VivoBook S400CA-UH51T Touchscreen 14-Inch Ultrabook / Intel Core i5-3317U, 4GB Ram, 500GB + 24 Here

This computer has a screen with excessive glare and the touch screen and touchpad is too sensitive . The case is also prone to get smudges from finger prints. Its weight is a little heavier for an Ultrabook.

Its' positive aspects are:1)has a slim profile 2) works like an iPad with its touchscreen and using apps 3) a fast boot up time within 10 seconds and shutting down in about the same time frame. Wifi works great, never had a problem.

Still learning more on how to work with Windows 8 OS but it's very intuitive to discover how to use the OS without going through a users manual. So far everything is running smoothly but sometimes the touch screen freezes intermittently or does not respond to the touch so you can use the touchpad or keyboard and then touch works again. Usually, around the edges part of the screen, it loses its sensitivity so its annoying sometimes but luckily, you have an option to use the keyboard or touchpad or even a mouse if you want to, to overcome it.

Overall, am satisfied.

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The asus vivobook s400 is a stunning and fascinating computer, and i was really impressed with how well the touchscreen works. Only downside is that windows 8 is kind of messy sometimes (not asus' fault of course), and when it gets updated and perfected, these 4 stars will turn into 5.

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Dell XPS M1330 13.3" Alpine Laptop (White)

This laptop appears to be very popular these days, but I found some drawbacks.

The speakers provide very, very low volume. Plan on buying external speakers if you want to hear music or watch movies. The power cord does not plug in the rear, like other DELL laptops, but on the side, making it less convenient to use on a desk, if you are using the AC adapter.

Compared to other similar sized laptops from other makers, it costs about $100 than similar laptops.

Had I known all this in advance, I would have purchased another laptop, instead.

That is same DELL product, and you pay less the Direct from DELL. The shipment is on time.

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Asus X73EXR2 / X73E-XR2 / X73E-XR2 17.3, Intel Core i3-2310M, 4GB RAM, 640GB Hard Drive, Windows 7

We purchased this laptop less than a month ago. We transfered all of our files from our Vista laptop with a Belkin cable--flawlessly BTW. This machine is amazingly fast and runs SUPER COOL. I had it on my lap for two hours last night and it didn't even feel warm. It boots quickly and is big and solidly built. Beautiful bright screen and a great keyboard and mouse pad. Battery life is really good too. I did think I was getting a backlit keyboard but if it can light up, I haven't figured out how to do it.

I don't really write reviews of my purchases but I had to write this one. This is honestly the best laptop I've purchased and I've owned two Dell's and an HP. So far so good. If it starts to suck, I'll write an update.

***UPDATE***

About two months after purchasing the laptop, some of the keys became inoperable. I called ASUS Tech Support and they had me try to reinstall the driver but that didn't work. They ended up sending us a pre-paid box and we sent it back to them for repair. Since then, we've had no problems. Aside from the keyboard issue I'm very happy with it. It's still running super cool.

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