I ordered this re-furbished laptop because of the excellent price and the excellent software package. I've bee using it on a daily basis and have never had any problems with it. Great buy! I would buy from this seller again.
Showing posts with label best laptop to buy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best laptop to buy. Show all posts
Dell Latitude E4300 Intel Core 2 Duo 2400 MHz 160Gig Serial ATA HDD 4096mb DDR2 DVD/CDRW Wireless W
I ordered this re-furbished laptop because of the excellent price and the excellent software package. I've bee using it on a daily basis and have never had any problems with it. Great buy! I would buy from this seller again.
Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q870 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Gaming Laptop
This review is broken into several parts for those that would like an in depth review, or would like to know specific details.Seller: Best Custom P.C. LLC
As soon as Amazon allows me to, this company will be receiving five stars. They are the best company that I have ever dealt with (this includes offline stores as well.) They answered all of my questions quickly, and were polite and personable in their responses. I received a handwritten thank you note with my order (I ask you, when have you EVER received a hand written anything from a business, much less from the owner?)The system they sell you is double checked by two computer professionals, and everything is tested. They ship quickly, and are one of the few third party vendors that will provide you with tracking information.
Qosmio x505-870:
General:
First off know what you are getting into. This machine is not some cute little Vaio. Don't misunderstand me it looks awesome, but when Toshiba says desktop replacement they MEAN desktop replacement. To put this in perspective I have a Macbook Air which is a thirteen inch laptop. I can literally put it on the Qosmio in the upper right hand corner and it will come to the "w" key to halfway down the touchpad. To put it another way, I can open the Mac's screen and still watch a youtube video behind it on the Qosmio's monitor. There for, I don't understand some of the other reviews where they complain that it is heavy. This isn't a netbook. It isn't completely immovable though. Just understand this thing is HUGE, and lugging it around isn't going to be fun for long walks in Manhattan. The keyboard is backlit, and full sized with a numeric pad. On your left there are touch media keys that I like. Again, I have read some complaints that they are too easy to hit and I do not understand this either. Unless you are terribly uncoordinated or your hands are the size of Kobe's I don't know how you will hit them accidently. The battery has 12 cells, and with Eco mode will last a good amount of time for a machine this large (3 hours give or take.)
Parts:
The monitor is clear and crisp with a 16:9 ratio, the keyboard is snappy and comfortable, and the speakers are great for a laptop. The i7 processor is a beast, but the Qosmio handles the heat easily. I have yet to feel it get hot at all ( and I do use it as a "lap" top.) It has 4GB of RAM @ 1066MHz which is not the fastest, but good enough for just about anything you'll throw at it. The Blu-ray player is a steal for the price, and will flash labels onto burned DVDs (does NOT burn Blu-ray.) Computer has three USB ports, an eSATA/USB port with sleep/charge for your phone. One firewire 400 port, Bluetooth, one HDMI port,10/100/1000 ethernet, 5 in 1 memory card reader, PCI slot, and 2nd hard drive bay for another HD. Hard drive is a 500GB @ 7200 rpm. My only nitpick is the touchpad, it supports multi touch, but is tiny. However, wireless mice aren't really expensive, and the pad isn't horrible, just kind of out of place (The ones on the Macbooks are about twice as big). This is an amazing piece of hardware, and if you want a powerful computer this is your machine.
Buy Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q870 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Gaming Laptop Now
For the price this is 1 amazing laptop! I've thrown Star Trek Online, Bioshock 1 and 2 at it and everything played fully maxxed out w/ great frame rates. Left 4 Dead 2 even looks impressive on it! The Blu Ray drive has come in handy as well for watching movies and shows. The only complaint I have is that it is a fingerprint magnet...but honestly it is only a small complaint.Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q870 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Gaming Laptop Here
I bought this laptop about couple of months ago, from Tiger-direct cause for some reason or another Amazon price jumped overnight on that particular laptop, and tiger offered 12 months no interest and for an additional $29.00 they guarantee they will buy back the laptop for at least 40% of the purchase price depending on the shape it's in at that time. Anyhow, this has nothing to do with he review.The review:
I'm not gonna sit here describing the machine, the specs are well listed by the MFG. Let me start by saying that I consider myself a computer savvy, I'm not stingy when it comes to buying a good system, and I've always bought Toshiba laptops, and it seems to always be the case, the machines are beautiful well built but always have out of the box drivers issues, and stupid little bugs that arise from negligence, more than anything else, and I could imagine how frustrating it would be for the non computer savvy. I always tolerated this fact hoping that my next Toshiba won't have these minor annoying stupid bugs, such as bad Blue-tooth Driver, Bad Graphic card driver, Bluray Drive with no supporting oftware, bad BIOS that causes blue screens,only three USB outlets, etc.. etc...
As far as this system goes, I was able to upgrade the buggy BIOS, downloaded new one from Toshiba site, I got the blue-tooth headphones to work (needed to roll-back to an old driver? then about a week ago Realteck posted a driver that worked), but the most serious problem that this machine has is a bad driver for it's Graphic card, the machine and during light operations, goes blank, then wakes up with a message DISPLAY DRIVER STOPPED WORKING AND HAS RECOVERED, then comes back to life. Worst of all, is when watching a movie or doing some CAD drafting, the SCREEN OF DEATH COMES ON (The blue screen) and shuts your system down. I downloaded the latest driver NVIDIA had, still didn't work. All and all the machine with little more attention could be a five star. I do agree with the other 3 star reviewer, that the machine has a five star potential if given a good support team.
In conclusion here are the Pros and Cons of this system
PROS:
1Machine well built, nicely designed, love the lighted keyboard.
2Bluray drive worked great after the software update.
3Love the off switch for the tablet.
4Sound crisp but can use more amps.
5There is room for another HD (Solid state if you wish)
CONS:
1Bad graphic card driver (-1 star)
2Bad bluetooth driver (-1/2 star)
33 USB outlets not enough, 2 located where the mouse pad needs to go for right handed (-1/2 star)(external HD, mouse, ZUNE Charging, done no more USB).
4To upgrade to 6 gig RAM you have to get rid of 2RAM to make room for 4 RAM or replace both 2GIGs with (2) 3 GIGS. Marketing BS everybody does it, I'll let it slide.
5Have to go through BIOS to turn off the control keyboard and keypads lights and to enable the USB charge while asleep.
As for the Size, it's huge, what I would like to have done, and hat what I would do next time, is to buy a smaller 15 inch high power system and when a bigger screen is needed just plug in a dam 22 inch monitor, they are cheap enough. Buy the way the Targus 17" back-pack worked great.
UPDATE:
The BIOS and Graphic updates fixed the problems. Well that's my point why the problems were not fixed before release.
Still out of the box it is a 3 star system. Toshiba needs to start debugging it's systems before release, especially the expensive ones. Well they won't do that if everyone keeps on giving them 4 stars.
Want Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q870 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Gaming Laptop Discount?
This is an awesome laptop!!!!!! Im computer stupid and it makes use easy. The keyboard is a dream to use the dvd/blueray player is as clear if not clearer than my TV.For gaming the laptop is the best computer i have ever had the pleasure of using, the graphics card can handle the highest settings in any game.
If i needed another laptop this would be the one i would buy!!!!!!!!!!!
IBM Lenovo T61 Intel Core 2 Duo 2000 MHz 80Gig Serial ATA HDD 1024mb DDR2 DVD ROM Wireless WI-FI 14
The laptop itself is in great condition. I didn't see any scratches or dents. Everything on the system works great (wireless, cd/dvd,usb). Almost like having a brand new laptop. The only downside was that the battery was not able to hold any charge (4 stars). Traded in my junk laptop and paid $25 for a brand new battery. if you're interested in trading/selling, find a place near you that restors and sells computers.Overall; great buy. For future buyers, enjoy, and have fun. I know I am.
These issues are mostly superficial, and relatively minor compared with how well this device functions. The system boots up into Windows 7 at a moderately quick speed and runs pretty fast overall. The laptop I received came with two gigabytes of ram which are more than adequate and help the system run fast and smoothly. Besides the pre-installed and ready to use Windows 7, the laptop can boot into an operating system installed on a USB flashdrive by pressing F12 on the Lenovo boot screen and selecting the appropriate USB device. I use Ubuntu Linux with this method and it runs great! The battery lasts about two to four hours depending on use (two for video or internet, and four for word processing or other light use-both with the brightness turned down in the operating system), and fully charges in about that time. The wireless is fast and receives great signal strength, getting online is a breeze with Windows 7. The wireless can be turned off or on with the switch on the front of the laptop, it seems to extend the battery life when turned off. It also appears to have Bluetooth but I have no Bluetooth devices so I can't comment on that function. The laptop has 80 gigabytes of internal storage which is adequate, but if you need more you can always attach an external USB storage device. The DVD drive runs a bit slow -especially the burnerbut works well for playing DVD movies with Windows 7's pre-installed DVD decoder. The laptop includes a VGA output so you can connect it to an external VGA compatible monitor, I use an external 1080p LED LCD monitor and it works great! The laptop's speakers aren't of incredible sound quality (the bass is pretty decent but the mid-range and treble sound a bit tinny) but are adequate as basic computer speakers. The soundcard seems to be good when listening on headphones through the headphone port. The microphone port works great and it also has an internal microphone near the bottom left corner of the keyboard. The USB 2.0 ports are great for connecting devices such as USB harddrives or a USB mouse, though there's only three of them. With the touch pad, the pointing stick, or an external USB mouse, there's three ways of controlling the mouse pointer, all of them equally great and useful with a near perfect level of sensitively and responsiveness. The keyboard is comfortable and intuitively designed, my fingers became accustomed to the placement of the keys in a matter of minutes. Great for a laptop keyboard! The laptop seems to run at a temperature of 100 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit internally, it does feel a bit warm but it doesn't seem to be prone to overheating. It runs very quietly, only momentarily making noise with the fans or disc drives sometimes -even those are fairly quiet though-. Overall this device runs great and if you're looking for a cheap Windows 7 laptop that's moderately powerful and runs well, and is comfortable to use, and aren't concerned with having something completely new, I would highly recommend this Refurbished T61 Thinkpad for your purchase! With Windows 7 costing you on average upwards of $100 or so, this is great value!Purchased for my husband as a Christmas present. The worst product I have ever received.
Product came with a dead battery and the sound card lasted approx 1 month when only using it once a week to skype with a family member. Completely dissapointed in this product and their customer service. I called customer service tthey advised I would need to pay to have it repaired. They felt it was my issue not theirs since it was over a month. Even after I purchased as a Christmas gift. The amount they wanted me to pay was more than 1/2 of the amount I paid for the laptop.
Would not purchase through this company again!!The machine seemed to work fine except for the disc drive. It doesn't seem to have the right support software to run it.Happy with this laptop overall. The pad is a little small, but I've adjusted to it. It came with a dead battery, but seller replaced it immediately. Overall, a good laptop that I use for work, at a reasonable price.
Gateway NE71B11u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Satin Black)
Coming from a 7 year old dying Dell 15 incher to this beauty was like moving from a Yugo to a Land Rover...I chose the Gateway because it had the right combination of features and price...having a 17.3" screen is one of the main features that still blows me away...having a 500 GB HD didn't hurt either...plus a dual core processor and USB 3.0 and a numeric keypad...And now about Windows 8...I love it. Having had a Kindle Fire for a year made it a fairly easy transition...once you understand the layout (which really doesn't take that long) you realize how flexible it is...I use keyboard commands to do about everything and with the multi function keypad I will never need a mouse (unless I get Photoshop) And all this for a mere $400...Tablets have their place but for now I love my laptop...
Buy Gateway NE71B11u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Satin Black) Now
Had another Gateway before this one that I have had for 10+ years and could have kept using. This one of course is much more powerful and faster but I bought it because it is a Gateway.Read Best Reviews of Gateway NE71B11u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Satin Black) Here
Gateway is a great product when it comes to computers. The first day i got it I unpacked it,I turned it on,I did the set up from there on its been working great for me. The computer looks great. The keyboard very smooth fast keys. The windows 8 works great for me.I love the tiles they are easy to use.THIS IS MY COMPUTER LOVE!!! I love it and it loves me.!!! ROGER THAT !!!...Want Gateway NE71B11u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Satin Black) Discount?
Pros -Cheap
Big screen
Cons-
VERY SLOW
Terrible at multitasking, cant even play music in the background, extremely skippy
Can't game at all
Crashes constantly
USB 2.0 has glitches
Dell XPS 13 XPS13R2-1050sLV 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver Anodized Aluminum)
We ordered several of these for my job and everyone loves them, they are great speedy laptops, weight almost nothing and haven't had a single issue in 3 months of ownership.i would easily recommend this laptop to anyone.
The cons: The TN display isn't great. I prefer wider viewing angles than this. I use mine plugged in and the power cord doesn't click into the computer. Mine has a bad habit of falling out if I twitch just a little and then you end up draining your battery and not knowing it. Dell should have thought this through a bit more. An SD card port would have been nice, but that's easy enough to fix with a couple of USB ports. The mouse pad is horrible--I mean terrible. It jumps around whether you touch it or not. The keyboard feels great and the fact that it lights up is another plus, but the space bar sticks and so do several other keys. I expect that after five years of pounding on a computer. I don't expect it when it is brand new. Between the cord issues, the poor tracking on the pad, and the sticky keys, I expect better especially given what I paid for it.
Buy Dell XPS 13 XPS13R2-1050sLV 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver Anodized Aluminum) Now
I have been using this computer for about 2 months now and i really like it. I was looking for something light weight, powerful and well build.Here are some good points:
The computer is quiet
The battery life is really good ( 5 6h on normal use)
Its amazingly fast
Excellent keyboard
Good audio
The power brick is nice looking and small
Here are a few negative points:
The track-pad drivers need some more work
Dell, pre-installed software
Bad Dell support
The computer takes sometime to recognize that you have connected headphones and switch the speakers off.
Read Best Reviews of Dell XPS 13 XPS13R2-1050sLV 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver Anodized Aluminum) Here
This seems to be a fine laptop, I've been traveling with it for a couple of months now. It seems a bit finicky with internet (WIFI) connections, but that may just be due to the quality of available connections. However, the track pad is just awful. Sometimes when I don't even touch the touch pad, the mouse pointer jumps around. I don't like the feel of the pad surface, and it's not smooth so it's hard for me to make subtle gestures consistently. I've turned off all the bells and whistles (i.e., two finger gestures) and turned down sensitivity in the hopes it will respond only to deliberate touches on the pad, but it's still overly finicky sometimes and not very responsive other times. I had heard about this problem before buying, and usually use a mouse anyway, but it's still a problem.The keyboard is a bit stiff for me. I've had many Dells and, in this size category, Dell has done better with both the keyboard and the touch pad.
The startup speed is awesome.
Win8 is a mess...right in line with the usual in-between operating systems (Win ME, Vista, etc.) that Microsoft puts out in alternating cycles. I expect the next OS will be great. There may be benefits 'under the hood' in terms of speed and security, so I'm keeping W8, but I have installed third party software to suppress the Win8 experience, and that's acceptable, but still a step back from Win7 usability.
Overall, I like the laptop for what it does well and tolerate it for what it doesn't.
For the price, I rate it 3. In terms of functionality and performacne, I would rate it a 4. I can't get to five based on the horrible touch pad. The Win8 issue is not Dell's fault.
Want Dell XPS 13 XPS13R2-1050sLV 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver Anodized Aluminum) Discount?
Incredible laptop. I nuked the OS when I received it and installed Linux Mint and have not one bad thing to say about it. It's incredibly fast, light and durable. It feels very well made yet has some features I wish Apple would consider for their own laptops. For instance, I love aluminum cased laptops, but better for heat dissipation, looks great and durability. However when working with an all aluminum laptop it can get VERY hot and tends to be a bit slippery if on your clothed lap. This XPS is designed perfectly with a textured rubber of sorts on the bottom so it doesn't slide yet maintains the aluminum cover and frame.Save 19% Off
HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop
Just one week after I buy this notebook from Amazon, the price falls by $27 and Amazon refuses to match the price drop. Quite disappointing in that regard. I ordered this on a Wed, Amazon shipped on Sunday and it arrived on Tuesday with free shipping. So that was good.On to the notebook. First the pros:
Build quality is good and it feels expensive compared to most sub $500 note/netbooks.
Large keys on the keyboard while not as spacious as a regular keyboard works better than than those from Acer that use the chicklet size keys. One of the reasons why I chose this over the Acer Timeline series.
Screen is bright and sharp.
Small compact and lightweight since it doesn't have a built-in DVD drive (uses an external drive). Design looks clean and modern with none of that clunky look from the low end Lenovos or Toshibas.
Uses Vista 64 bit edition
Has HDMI port to plug into HDTVs
Dedicated graphics processor and memory.
Now the cons:
Battery life is average 2-3 hours
Uses single core AMD Athlon Neo processor which is underpowered for Vista. There're occasional lags when running basic things like browsers, Word, etc. The CPU is maxed out at 100% most times.
The initial applications and drivers installed seem to make the notebook run really slow. I tried to watch videos on Hulu.com and they were jerky and slow. After installing updated video drivers and IE8 and Firefox, it worked better. Strange for a notebook professing to be an "Entertainment" notebook to be that bad at video until the drivers were updated. Despite the dedicated graphics processor and memory, video performance is just average and can a bit slow at times.
Bloatware. There are several but not too bad.
HP MediaSmart: this is pretty useless since the notebook already has Windows Media Center. The software itself is nothing great and eats up additional memory and CPU cycles.
Bottom line: This notebook is just barely able to run Vista 64 since the CPU is underpowered. It's a compromise between a full blown notebook and netbook since it has a decent size hard drive and screen. To make it perform better, you'll have to remove all the bloatware and unnecessary applications, and download the latest software updates and drivers. I'll be upgrading to Win 7 when it arrives so hopefully, that'll improve the performance further. Also probably look into upgrading the 2gb ram to 4gb.
as I wanted. There are some reasons I didn't bought a netbook:
Almost all have 160 GB HD
It has only 1gb ram, instead some that have 2gb
Some have reduced keyboard
They don't have dedicated video card
This HP-Dv2 has more good things like:
It's also thin as netbooks
It's only 2 inches bigger than netbooks
It comes with an exteral usb dvd drive
Good processor similar to the intel atom in netbooks
More space 250GB HD
Dedicated video card
2GB ram
The price doesnt have a big difference comparing with netbooks cause
the aditional things and performance are compensated in the aditional
money. The external DVD drive is original HP, if it would be sold it
could cost like U$100.
Well those who are thinking in buying a netbook I recomend to you this DV2
the model is very nice and interesting.
Here you have a review of this product:
Buy HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Now
Straight to the point This little guy is great for the price. It runs great and I see no problems in Vista. HP's bloatware is a seperate issue.Things it can do better than a netbook:
1. Play games to an extent (slightly older games or newer ones with lower settings). Left 4 Dead ran fine on medium settings.
2. You can watch 720p HD video thanks to the discreet video! I used Media Player Classic with the CoreAVC h.264 codec. HDMI output to my HDTV played flawlessly.
The screen's native resolution negates 1080p, but even with CoreAVC 1080p is barely watchable.
3. Hard drive is larger so it holds more.
Things it can't do as well as a laptop:
1. Single core cpu doesnt to multitasking well. It was a little slow loading vlcplayer and IE at the same time.
2. Flash video on the web can stutter if it's high def. I blame Adobe for this. Flash is poorly coded. Why can this computer run 720p video with a good codec yet stumble on streaming flash video?! Adobe is working on hardware acceleration but it looks platform specific. Seems shady that I can play a 4gb video file flawlessly yet web video that streams at 150kbps stutters. Shame on you Adobe.
3. Edit photos or video. Photoshop loads and runs fine but can't handle large files well. I used a 150MB PSD file and it took forever to run some filters.
4. 1080p video basically requires at LEAST dual core.
Another downer BLOATWARE. Come on HP, things are ridiculous. I had to uninstall probably 15 different apps/trials and used msconfig to trim the startup to get decent boot times. This should be resolved with the free upgrade to Windows 7 I'm due. Clean OS load = happy computer!
Ratings 10/10 system
1. Hardware config 8/10 ( dual core proc probably would up the price $50 and GREATLY increase performance but also chip away battery life.)
2. Performance 8/10 (720p video is fine, flash stumbles, gaming performance is on par with hardware config)
3. Software config 5/10 (HP loaded bloatware, needed driver updates for best performance)
In short, this computer is a great step up from a netbook because I can watch movies on the plane, and play some games for entertainment. The battery life is about 3.5 hrs which is better than what I would get with a laptop that CAN edit video. I estimate I can get 4-4.5 hrs out of the battery if I play movies from a thumb drive (no spinning platters = power savings!) and dim the screen. I actually like the external optical drive cause it saves battery life! It does what I got it for. Plays 720p video, surfs the web, basic gaming. A netbook with similar performance is $700 at the moment, and this HP has a larger screen!
Can't wait to load Windows 7 on it. Since I'm an IT guy, I am used to tweaking units to get the best performance. I know having a straight load of Windows 7 will be best, loading only the HP drivers and performance might even go up a little more above its current "cleaned out" state. A standard user may not be comfortable doing what it takes to get an OEM computer performing as it should, but that's what it takes. That's why HP, Dell, Gateway, etc can sell computers so cheap, the money they get for including bloatware covers some of YOUR costs.
Read Best Reviews of HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Here
I got it for net of the rebate, and came with a free DVD player. Nice slick appearance, neat and light. I use the HDMI port to interface to a wide screen TV and play Netflix and other movies. I thought about paying more for the upgraded model with the dual core Neo but went ahead and took the deal for this one and I do not regret it. Without a doubt the dual core is faster, but this does what I need.It was loaded with HP garbage and it is annoying to have to spend the time to get that stuff off. HP gets two thumbs down for continuing this annoying practice.
Want HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Discount?
This is a good price BUT with one BIG CATCH! There's only one ram slot in this laptop and one 4 gig ram cost around $200. Not a good deal if u plan to upgrade the ram. From what I read this laptop runs slow if u go beyond emails, surfing....even streaming video is jerky without the additional ram. You better of getting the Dv2z with the duo core and ram upgrade from hp.
Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)
This review is for the 256gb SSD 13.3inch Macbook Air w/ 2gb of ram.(Check the comments after reading the review if you're still on the fence, I'm going over some more uses and offering more tips and advice, and if I have problems I'll note them below, I'll try and add a video review in a week or two showcasing everything after some more use, stay tuned!)
Here's a short overview of the benefits of the 13.3 inch macbook air, and things you should know prior to pulling the trigger, final recommendation is at the bottom :)
When I heard about the air I had the follow questions / concerns. Hopefully I can ease your mind...
2gb of ram only (you can custom order 4gb but you can't install this any time later on).
I was paranoid this computer would be unusable. I feel like I need 8 gigs of ram and a quad core machine just to run firefox (it gets so slow), not to mention the other tasks I enjoy doing. 2 GB is going to be far too much of a bottle neck... or so I thought!
2gb is ample ram. If you run out of ram, OSX writes to the hard disk (virutal ram, the stuff you've been told your entire life is bad and to avoid it at all costs... but with SSD, this becomes a non issue).
13.3 inch screen... Is it going to be enough to use as my main computer? Will it be too heavy to travel?
The 13.3 inch is perfect. I had a 13 inch macbook pro, I loved it, but I got rid of it because I needed a bit more screen real estate and the machine seemed a bit too slow (likely the hd was the major bottleneck).
The 13.3 inch macbook air has the resolution of a 15 inch, in the form factor of a 13 inch. It's truly the perfect combination.
Gloss (on the air) is a non issue, unlike the macbook pro 13 inch on up (where it is a issue). I thought the gloss on here would annoy me... not a bit! It's different.
The next concern I had was the processor. Honestly, I thought 1.86 core 2 duo was going to be a bit sluggish. Especially with 2gigs of ram... However, (I'm pleased to report), there's been no such problem on my end (a friend of mine bought the 11inch and the speed difference is noticeable, but compared to a 15inch macbook pro (running i5) it feels about the same, only more speedy on launching.
That's to say, with this base configuration (1.86ghz core 2 duo) you can do everything you need (including playing games like Crysis, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Starcraft) all on this little machine.
I've edited HD video on the unit (no problems), (though exporting is obviously much slower than on my imac, as to be expected, but editing and working on the footage was pretty much the same, it's only in exporting where you realize the machine is slower).
All in all the processor is fine.
So let me recap.
I was afraid the processor might be a bit too slow to use as my only every day machine (turns out it's not, granted if you edit HD video daily as your job, you might be better off with a i7... in fact you would... but if you edit video a few times a week, not a big deal).
I was hoping I might be able to play a game every now and then and was afraid the 2gb of ram and 1.86 core 2 duo would be the death of me... not even a problem. I can play call of duty modern warfare 2 (I'll come back and let you know how Black Ops is when It comes out), and Dirt 2 with no problems (granted, I'm using low to medium settings). So the processor is not an issue.
I was afraid 2 gigs of ram was far to unacceptable (almost didn't buy this because of it), but again, that's not a problem. The SSD is more than zippy enough to handle any paging if required.
(I'm typing this on firefox with over 40+ tabs open, listening to music with itunes, downloading photos from my amazon s3 account, and uploading a video via FTP to a web host)
No slow down at all. I usually experience slow down on my imac with a quad core, where here I do not.
Everything is just instant.
I was worried about the screen. I'm one of those who likes taking his computer outside on the beach, at a conference, or to a local coffee shop to get work done. The macbook pro glare was unbearable. The 13 inch screen was limiting...
The Macbook Air? No such problems, glare is pretty much a nonissue, and the extra resolution is a god send (especially if you want to do any programming or editing (video or photo).
Bottom Line:
This is the perfect computer for me right now (and I do a lot of things).
I've edited video, worked on photo's, wrote, and opened obscene amounts of tabs, all with no slow downs (again, applying filters in photoshop on 12+ mp files will slow down some, obviously, and exporting your HD video will be slower, but the actual working is a non issue).
The main benefit of this machine to me (and the reason I bought it) was so that I could use this at my desk when needed, I could take with me on the road, and when traveling.
I need to be able to edit photos (screen shots, comps, whatever) and edit video (as well as export).
I need to be able to write (using this mac it is instant, just a click of a button, no more waiting on the spinning beachball of doom for word to load up... ON MY IMAC QUAD CORE!)
I want something with a decent battery life (I got over 10 hours of use, I have the brightness set low (around 50%) bluetooth off, wireless on, browsing the web (no flash), itunes running, and typing away (checking wikipedia and google constantly, all with no slow downs at all, this thing is better than my imac!)
(To be fair, I did watch some netflix videos and hulu on my laptop as well and the battery lasted around 4 hours).
And I need to be able to carry this machine around and do all my work. This machine is just perfect.
I love it, and I love it more with each day.
Right now I have a somewhat unique setup. I have a laptop stand for the laptop (sets it off beautifully) that I use with an external keyboard and mouse (logitech wave combo, which I prefer due to ease of typing, when I need the track pad for gestures it's right there (along with my fellows gel pad).
I have a lap desk for my laptop, and the air works on it perfectly. So I can get work done on my laptop in perfect comfort while laying down, or lounging on a chair or couch at home (I don't take it with me).
I have a nice laptop sleeve that fits perfect (be.ez 13 inch macbook pro sleeve, fits the air like a glove), that I fit inside my vertical messenger bag (which houses this laptop + + a wacom tablet and my kindle will fit in there too).
So when I'm on the go I have the laptop secure and protected (I also bought a slip on pad that gives your wrists relief when typing on the laptop).
In the end, I feel this is the perfect computer. 128 SSD is enough for most people, if you install windows, you can live with 128, but 256 gives you room for your music library and editing videos.
I use an external Western Digital Passport 1tb with this laptop (requires no power cord) and I'm 100% perfect. I love this setup and I doubt I ever go back to the way things where.
No more desktop work (except to batch encode or use as a render farm), and no more bulky laptops (this thing is everything I want and need).
5 out of 5 stars.
If you do a lot of video work, or you render out animations a lot. You can use this machine to do your work, and your desktop to handle the heavy processing. Just store your files on a usb flash drive and xfer to your desktop to handle the render.
If you do 3d animation / modeling. Modeling will be fine, rendering may be a bit slow, when ready, save your file to usb drive, xfer to desktop and your done. (Or use your favorite batch rendering program).
I LOVE IT!
Here's links to all the accessories I use, and at the top under the product description you can view images of how it all looks together.
I'll come back and update this review through time, feel free to post any questions and I'll come back and respond.
Have fun, and buy one!
My Media Drive (House Movies, Photos, Music)
Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDBABM0010BSL-NESN (Silver)
(Note they have a newer version that supports USB 3.0, however the macbook air does not support 3.0 so I see no need in spending the extra cash, There is a black version that supports 3.0 and is the same price. I just already have a 500gig black one that I use so I went with silver).
My Case (Macbook air fits perfect)
Be.ez 100691 LA robe Allure Sleeve for Macbook 13.3 (Black)
My Lap Desk (use it on the couch, in the bed, lounging around, non slip and very steady)
Logitech Comfort Lapdesk
I really use it the most when researching, browsing the web and consuming media. When I'm creating content at home (other than writing) I'll sit at my desk and use this...
Logitech N110 (seems that it's not being sold right now by amazon so I can't use the insert a product link, just type it in and you'll find it, check my images at the top for more).
I use this keyboard at the desk:
Logitech Wireless Wave Combo Mk550 With Keyboard and Laser Mouse (920-002555)
I like this for the ergonomics, it feels good even while typing for extended periods.
I hope you enjoyed this review and feel free to leave a comment or question below :)
With the release of iPad last Spring, I had considered not going back to owning a new notebook, with a desktop and iPad at my disposal.
However, I decided I simply need a keyboard for some on the go work, and my machine was simply too old now.
This October 2010 MacBook Air redesign is the answer for me. Furthermore, my father chose the 11.6-inch model for extreme portability traveling. I do not travel for work, so preferred the higher performance offered by the 13.3-inch model.
I will first address the 11 Versus 13 inch as I have examined both side by side:
*11-inch is shocking to see. Not only thin, but a smaller footprint. Gorgeous computer. You can notice a slight performance hit compared to a recent MacBook Pro.
*13-inch Impressive from the side profile, footprint close to a 13-inch MacBook Pro. Performance feels at or near MacBook Pro level.
In brief, the 11-inch offers a portability never seen before in a Mac notebook. The 13-inch offers "good," portability, light weight, and you sacrifice much less performance. It seems obvious on paper that that describes the two models, and I must say, it is obvious in real world use too.
Physically, the footprint is not much different than a 13-inch MacBook or MacBook Pro that other members of my household own. However, it's the thinness and light weight of this design that brings out the "wow," for those who see it. If you want to use it on your lap in a large chair or sofa, it is simply comfortable.
The reason one would choose this updated 13-inch MacBook Air is simple. This particular model gives you the thinness and light "wow," factors that defined the MacBook Air since its introduction nearly four years ago. However, this model gives you something that was not offered at this price point previously. A nearly fully functional and performing notebook computer. The included 1.86 GHZ Core 2 Duo processor is not a slouch. 2GB of memory is not bad in efficient OS X, and the 256 GB of solid state memory is not only competitive storage capacity to similar notebooks, but yet it is INCREDIBLY fast. The slight hit in processor and memory compared to a MacBook Pro is at least partly made up for by the speed of solid state memory. Just check out the boot up time on this device. It boots up fast. Plus, when it sleeps, open it back up, for instant on. It's a new way of experiencing a computer.
This 13-inch model has a higher resolution display than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, so you will fit more of your windows, pictures, etc. on the display. Indeed, it matches the resolution of the stock 15-inch models. The display looks gorgeous too. It is a glossy display, but if you compare it to a Mac Book Pro, you will find it's a bit less reflective since it does not have the glass over the display. I like this!
What don't you get on this model and do I miss it? Obviously, once again, Superdrive is missing. I do not miss this. I have Superdrive on my desktop computer, and you can always buy the USB Superdrive for less than one hundred dollars, if you want that capability when at your desk. This Air loses the backlit keyboard, one suspects due to the even slimmer and lighter design. However, I type efficiently, so I only lose the cool factor of illuminated keys, not function.
Truly, with the add on of the USB superdrive for pinch situations, this particular model is a Mac that could actually be one's main computer. Decent processing speed, decent memory, and most of all plenty of solid state storage and the speed benefits of that storage. The graphics processor in this release is much improved over the previous generation too enabling watching of high definition videos. Two USB ports allow for connecting your iPod, external USB hard drive, USB Superdrive, printer, or whatever other USB device you might have. SD Card slot is included on this 13-inch Air model for the first time too.
Note The brand new iLife '11 is loaded on this machine too. It's fun to try out the new features of iLife on a brand new computer! iPhoto 11 enhanced full screen mode is fun to use with this high resolution display!
Why four stars? I simply have hard time giving any computer a perfect rating. I think highly of it, but the Air did already exist. It's a big improvement on it. I also believe Air will see a lot of future development in the line as Apple has hinted it is the direction of all future MacBooks.
A graphic designer, developer, or engineer might need more horse power or a larger display. However, a 2.9 pound Mac that is fully capable of being a great second Mac, or primary Mac, for many users is an incredible achievement. Do not let the significance of this creation not take us back a bit. It is an impressive feat. Recommend unit.
Buy Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Now
I bought the Mac Air 256 GB version from Apple for my wife-to-be who does very computer intensive work with image editing of the cellular level pictures she takes for her research. For those truly interested in this machine ignore the rabid frothing that the Mac hatters spout about the Core 2 Duo processor. Computer speed is not solely dependent upon increasing processor speed. The speed slowdown in today's computers is occurring because of memory and simply increasing processor speed does not make up for all of this. Fortunately, Apple has realized this in the design of the Mac Air. If you do a little digging for objective information you will find that Apple did not go with the i-series processors because of size and the inferior graphics that is integrated with the i-series processors. I have been waiting to get her a new computer and when the upgrade to the Mac air came out it was an easy decision. My wife-to-be has been a PC user her whole life and absolutely loves the Mac Air. This machine is truly a work of art designed for computer intensive work.I also use a Dell Latitude laptop at work sometimes. It is new and slow as molasses, which is not a big deal because I only use it for presentations. I assumed it had an older processor in it, but I found out it has an i5 processor and was a little surprised because, in terms of speed, it feels like I'm using a laptop made five years ago. It doesn't even come close to the speed of my girlfriends Macbook Air. I also recently started using a Mac i3 desktop under Windows OS at work that "seems" just as fast as my Dell i7 desktop. And this is by no means a knock on Dell computers as I could care less what I use. I just think this speaks volumes to the factors that affect computer speed other than the processor. And I am not a huge Mac fan and find their OS annoying, so I work on Windows for my research. I haven't used a Mac since their prominence in the 80s, but I'm slowing being won back over by the quality product they make and that I can now use Windows under bootcamp. One final point, my girlfriend has found the battery life of her Macbook Air to be much better under Apples OS versus Windows.
Read Best Reviews of Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Here
I purchased the 13" MBA a few weeks ago. It's my first Mac.There are lots of cool things about the new Macbook Airs. But what stands out most to me is the performance gain from an SSD instead of a spinning magnetic hard drive. It boots up from cold to ready in under 10 seconds. Seriously. It shuts down in about 4-5 seconds. Of course, you don't need to shut it down and boot it up from cold every time just shut the lid and it goes to sleep in 1 second. Open it later and it wakes up just as you left it in about 1 second. Really. Windows laptops have this same feature, but in my experience it doesn't wake up about 1/4 of the time, so I stopped using it. But it works perfectly on the Mac.
Reading from and writing to the SSD is very fast, whether you're installing programs or loading files. The difference is striking compared to my Dell XPS laptop, which has a 7200rpm hard drive and Core 2 duo processor with a higher rated speed.
Now that I have a laptop with an SSD as the main drive, I will never go back to one using a spinning hard drive it's yesterday's technology and just doesn't perform well, compared to this. Of course, part of the performance gain could well be due to the Mac OS X. OS X seems more stable and refined than Windows 7 (and I like Windows 7, though I'd like anything after the disaster that was Windows Vista).
The Air's integrated NVIDIA 320 graphics handles all my needs very well, though I am not a graphics-intensive gamer or video editor, just an average user.
Battery life is really exceptional. At this moment, I've been running my MBA 5 or 6 hours since the last charge, and the battery meter still shows 44% remaining. Since I bought it, I have gotten at least the rated 7 hours of battery life every time. This, too, is due at least in part to the SSD. Regular hard drives use a lot of juice they have motors that physically spin a magnetic platter 5400 or 7200 revolutions per minute. With SSD, there's no spinning disk and no motor, hence longer battery life.
The MBA runs cool most of the time. After I use it for a few hours at a time, the bottom gets SLIGHTLY warm. This is a huge improvement over EVERY OTHER LAPTOP I've ever owned or used, which get VERY WARM or even HOT.
I've only heard the fan come on ONCE the first day, when I was installing MS Office using an external DVD/CD drive. Other than that, my MBA has been completely silent and cool.
Once I complete my transition from Windows to Mac, this MBA will be my main home computer. For average users like me, it's plenty powerful enough. At home, I have it plugged into an external monitor (which requires a $20 adapter), an external mouse, plus I have an external USB drive for backups and an Apple Super Drive (external DVD/CD). I slightly regret buying the Super Drive; Amazon sells Samsung drives that perform better and cost about $30 less.
The everyday experience of using the 13" MBA is like that of using a regular Macbook, Macbook Pro, or other "serious" laptop. What I mean is, when you're using it, it LOOKS and FEELS like using a "serious" laptop, not a laptop that makes compromises to achieve ultra portability. But when you take it with you somewhere, THAT'S when you notice how wafer-thin and feather-light it is.
And for something so remarkably thin, it feels very sturdy. Build quality is excellent.
I read a lot of other reviews by long-time MB users, many of whom are disappointed that the MBA doesn't have the backlit keyboard that Macbooks have. I've never had that feature on a laptop, so I don't miss it. But for people who do, you can get an LED lamp on an adjustable arm that plugs into the USB port not a very elegant solution, but functional and inexpensive Amazon has some good ones pretty cheap.
This is probably not a huge factor in your decision, but you might be interested in knowing the sound quality coming from the headphone jack is excellent. I did an A/B comparison between my MBA, my Dell XPS, and the Lenovo ThinkPad I use at work. I used high-end headphones to listen to a track encoded in iTunes at 320 bps on all 3 machines. The sound quality from the MBA's headphone jack was great, as good as my iPod touch, and way better than the Dell or Lenovo.
On the other hand, tiny speakers built into the MBA are no better than the average laptop speakers.
If you're thinking about buying this, I have a few suggestions.
First, go to a store and see one in person. Play around with it.
Second, make sure you know all the options available at time of order. The 11 and 13 inch MBAs can be ordered with upgrades (bigger SSD, faster processor, more RAM). But, once you buy a MBA, you may not be able to upgrade these components later. (Apple says you cannot. Some user forums say you can. I'd rather not take my chances.) So, you should probably opt for as many of the upgrades as you can afford at the time of initial purchase.
Want Apple MacBook Air MC504LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Discount?
I'm a nature photographer, and I need a computer I can take into the field to download and evaluate the photos I shoot. It's simply not possible to critically evaluate a photograph in the viewing screen on the back of a camera. For years I have lugged a 15 inch MacBook Pro around in the computer pocket of my Lowepro CompuTrekker AW Camera Backpack (Black) backpack. But with accessories, that was another 9 pounds in an already camera-heavy pack.The MacBook Air (MBA) has allowed me to lighten my pack by 7 pounds, without any compromising on functionality or power. With 4GB of RAM and a 256GB flashdrive, I can even do serious photo editing with Photoshop. Battery life is very good, 5.5 hours on average while running Aperture 3 to import photos from my camera, evaluate and rate them. The flashdrive is very, very fast, and the video card is quite responsive even drawing big photos.
For all of its almost unbelievably thin form factor, the MBA has a solid feel to it and has held up well on a couple of trips already. I'll give it a real test in Antarctic conditions next, but I expect it will work just fine there, too.
What sells this machine for me is the very light weight. 2.9 pounds and still a full-feature computer, capable of meeting all my needs. Sure, there's an undeniable appeal to the form factor, but the real sizzle is the extremely light weight. I suspect this is the future of laptop computing.
HP ENVY Spectre XT Ultrabook Notebook PC - 128GB SSD
Surprised how nice it is. Battery lasts a long time. Touchpad works good. Nice clear screen. Great for when I'm out, small and light and I don't have to keep pluggin in. Performance is very good as well. After 2 weeks I'm really glad I made this choice. I have the 13t-2000 model.
Buy HP ENVY Spectre XT Ultrabook Notebook PC - 128GB SSD Now
HP Essential 3105m XU009UT 11.6' LED Notebook - E-Series E-350 1.6GHz. SMART BUY 3105M E-350 1.6G 2
This pc works really well for what i have got it for. for such a tiny 11.2 in pc it has a power to it, great vid card, and will work for what i tended it to do.
DELL D620 CORE DUO LAPTOP, 1.66 GHZ CPU, CD Burner, DVD Player, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD
The computer came without a functioning wi-fi or down arrow key. I didn't bother to find anything else wrong with it since that was enough to return it. The seller has a problem with responding to e-mails and has had the computer returned to them, without giving me my money back, for nine days now.
Please try it, it might work........
It works ok.
Buy DELL D620 CORE DUO LAPTOP, 1.66 GHZ CPU, CD Burner, DVD Player, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD Now
MSI Computer Corp. MSI GT70 2OC-059US;9S7-176312-059 17.3-Inch Laptop
This laptop is everything you'd expect from a high-end gaming laptop. From inside to outside, all features and components have been designed for top notch gaming performance.This particular model utilizes Intel's latest CPUthe 4th generation i7 8 Core processor which packs more processing potential than most users will ever need.
This model is loaded with 16 gigabytes of DDR3 RAM and is upgradable to 32 gigabytes. This is more RAM than most games will recommend for system requirements.
The GPU is Nvidia's latest mobile modelthe GeForce GTX 770m. Packing 3 gigabytes of super fast GDDR5 dedicated VRAM this bad boy will push high frame rate benchmarks even under high graphical settings. Some games will drop significantly in frame rates under super max video settings due to poor game run engines but I have never been happier with graphics performance since purchasing this laptop. This system also comes equipped with a super cooling feature at the push of a button. The fan system will kick into high gear and DROP temperatures of the CPU and GPU to extremely admirable levels making this laptop very versatile. This mobile GPU is second only to the GeForce GTX 780m which is Nvidia's top GPU model.
Three USB 3.0 slots. Two USB 2.0. Top of the line networking adapters for WiFi, LAN etc... The keyboard is the new SteelSeries with a customizable backlit keyboard that may be adjusted at the touch of a button. I have to stress how comfortable and responsive this keyboard is. I have never type so fast on another keyboard. The keyboard on this laptop is truly a wonder in and of itself.
The sound system is remarkable. Three speakersleft, right and bottom. Crisp and clear sound. No crackling or muffling. Even has some bass to it. The sound system is the best you can get for laptops. You won't be disappointed.
THE ONE FLAW...
This particular model comes with only a 7200RPM HDD. It has an open bay to add a solid state drive which will greatly increase performance when and if you upgrade. The system comes with a mounting bracket specifically for this SSD upgrade. It will be located inside the box with the power supply in a sealed bag. Windows will score this laptop at a very insulting 5.9 due to the HDD being the lowest sub score. The processor and memory score a whopping 7.9 and the graphics/gaming graphics score a very nice 7.1. Once upgraded, this laptop will score an all around 7.1.
Buyers will be pleased nonetheless. I am so happy with this system.
Save 18% Off
ASUS B53F-C1B 15.6" Laptop (2.66GHz i5-560M Processor, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive)
I really hate this laptop. very slow...slow....slowtech support is 24/7, but they don't know something deep.
I cannot add ram --only 2gb-because there is no slot.
Buy ASUS B53F-C1B 15.6" Laptop (2.66GHz i5-560M Processor, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive) Now
Macbook 13", White, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0, 2gig Ram, 250 Gb Hard Drive, Wi-fi, Sd Dvd-burner, Camera
the computer was around 400 or 450 i think, shipping was 50, which sucks, but you cant complain considering the savings your getting opposed to buying a fresh macbook. when i got it i was only slightly disappointed because the hard drive on the item on amazon said 320, the one in the computer was 160. Im not disappointed though, the mac was in very decent condition. i do also have to say the battery they sent me for it, which was brand new by the way, was a slightly different size so its very tight in the battery slot, and doesnt lock in as easily. the computer came with a bunch of good software, including a full version of office, so that was cool. overall. i recommend, for the price, you cant beat it. mac computers last for years anyway, it makes sense to buy them at half price from these guys.
Then my husband plugged in the battery charger, first it was green then changed to orange. It is still charging. When my son was setting the computer up yesterday, he tried to load a CD, the CD player made unusual noises and would not load the CD. So we ended up having to buy the software from Apple over the internet. Right now I'm not happy with the computer at all, especially after paying $449.99 for the computer and another $99.49 for shipping. Right now I feel I've been ripped off good. The first time a bought a computer through Amazon it was great, even though I'm only getting a $20.00 trade. This time I am throughly disgusted.
ASUS X54C-ES91 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
This is fairly basic laptop I use it everyday for school, netflix, etc. It's average, but it manages to stand above similarly priced laptops for a couple of solid reasons. For one, the "IceCool" palm rest is surprisingly convenient. I thought it would get warm after a while, but when I'm typing my hands are always cool and it's nice after writing for a while to be able to experience that coolness. Secondly, it's a very durable laptop. I've accidentally dropped it a few times, and it still looks and works fine. It also has a fairly long battery life; I'm still averaging about 4.5 hours of listening to music and typing before I need to plug it in.My only qualms are that the built-in speakers are fairly weak, but the best remedy to that is to simply plug in your headphones! This laptop is worth the price for a laptop that just gets it done. You won't be playing any graphic video games or anything, but for everything else it manages just fine.
Buy ASUS X54C-ES91 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Now
I bought this laptop computer for an acquittance, in the first two days of usage, she experimented a couple of BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), this happened while shutting down when installing updates, also, when I turned it on the first time, and while plugged in to the wall, the computer itself shut off (My first guess is that this was related to changing the time and date, which triggered a suspended state, but still, weird).I did a memtest+ pass without errors, and also checked the hard drive with the manufacturer's tool, no errors either.
There are dozens of preinstalled applications, half of them by ASUS, I haven't removed them all, as some seen necessary for functions like blocking the touchpad while typing.
I'm a little worried about those issues, shouldn't happen to a new user at all, but besides that, performance is acceptable, it is quiet, and lightweight for its size. I'll update any other issues.
Overall, if there weren't BSOD and spontaneous shutdown issues, this a great machine for its price.
Read Best Reviews of ASUS X54C-ES91 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Here
Was going to only give this 4 stars, but then I realized that this computer does exactly what I expected it to do and for a very good price at that. It is a quick, snappy computer that has been able to handle day to day use for the past month. I have used it for the normal stuff like internet browsing, movie watching, music listening that anybody looking for a budget computer would do. The USB 3.0 is an awesome aspect that has allowed me to use the hdd from my old laptop with this one and use it at great speeds and no problems. The touchpad is nice and big with a good texture. The size of the keyboard is nice with the numpad on the right. And, as advertised, I have not experienced over heating around the touchpad after extended use. The HDMI port is also awesome. The computer also came with minimal bloatware, and after about a half hour with revo uninstaller, I had everything that I didn't want gone for good.The only problem I have with this computer is the laptop speakers are underquality compared to my old laptop, and even when I was using my headphones, the sound was of poor quality. Nothing to lose sleep over though. It would have also been nice to have another USB port, but again, not a huge deal.
In all, if you want a budget laptop for a college student like me, or just a good family laptop that can endure everyday use, look no further. Register the warranty and the accidental damage protection plan and this laptop should last for the long haul.
Want ASUS X54C-ES91 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?
Laptop works very well with a good price for dollar. Only complaint is the processor Pentium B960 does not have physical address extension support plus the 64bit addresses are buggy. Only 3G of the 4G expansion of ram is recognized for a total of 5G (of 6G) ram total. Hopefully fixed in kernel, but it may just be an inherent flaw in the hardware.Save 14% Off
Samsung NP-RV515-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop
I just purchased one of these laptops yesterday, (1.28.2012). They were on sale at Tiger Direct for $350 + tax. I needed an Home Theater PC and this laptop was recommended to me, (by someone who was really into HTPC's), as a perfect fit for that application. The reason this laptop serves as a great HTPC is because of it's AMD, Dual Core Chip which separates Graphics section from the rest of the chip, it's also got the HDMI port built right into the side, so it's easy to hook up to your big screen LCD or LED. I am a Mac user, owning a Mac Book Pro an iPad and a couple of iPod touches, so generally speaking, I do not like machines with Windows operating systems on them. I have to say though, Windows 7 is a breeze to set up. I didn't have any of the issues that the other reviewer, (Edward Lan) had. The machine started up fine and took me through the setup process effortlessly. Based on Mr. Lan's review, I did not get into letting the operating system update, it did not ask, so I didn't go down that road. I plan on optimizing the machine to use it only as an HTPC, which means I will be stripping most all of the unnecessary programs off of it and it will sit next to the tv. I should note that I purchased the RV515 to replace a Logitech Revue, an Apple TV (2nd Generation) and a Sony BDP-S570, all of which did not provide an acceptable user experience when running the internet into a large LCD. The body of the unit is composed entirely of plastic, (in contrast to Mac which is rigid aluminum), so care needs to be taken when handling it. If you're planning on buying this laptop for a child, it would be great to have a rigid shell to use a cover or exoskeleton. I will probably end up buying a Square Trade warranty to cover it for 3 years. I'm very impressed with the unit, the software and ease of operation so far. As an HTPC, it's a perfect fit.
I really appreciate that this PC was bloatware free.
Plus full size quiet keyboard. The Touchpad works similar to touchscreens. (If this was a touchscreen my world would be complete....)
If you buy a MS PC June-Dec 2012 you can upgrade to Win 8 Pro for only $14.99 when it is available.
If you need a new computer and are on a budget you can't go wrong with this one.
Buy Samsung NP-RV515-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop Now
I love my new laptop. It is easy to use, its on the cheap side as for cost, but still an excellent computer. It came with Microsoft Office Starter, and it works awesome, loads slower than full Office and you have to deal with the advertisements, but great none the less. When my niece saw the laptop and how well it worked for me she asked me to order her one for college and she is very happy with hers also.Read Best Reviews of Samsung NP-RV515-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop Here
Super Fast StartupI'm loving it!
Has very sensitive touchpad that I need to get used to when typing, and I have set up to use a wireless mouse.
Want Samsung NP-RV515-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop Discount?
I bought this laptop for the price, and got what I paid for. 11 months after purchase the wifi card died. Two weeks later, the HDD crashes. I called Samsung customer support, and was told they don't warranty the wifi card, HDD, or other components because they don't actually manufacture them. Then I'm told I can send it in, and for only $100 they'll diagnose it. For more $$ they'll fix it for me. What a scam.
Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5133 Laptop Computer With 15.6" LED-Backlit Screen Numeric Keypad,2GB, 250
can't go wrong with this laptop. Long battery life, nice display and responsive track pad. Low heat out put also. long charging cable is a plus.
Dell Inspiron 5100 Laptop (Intel Pentium 4 CPU, Blue and Silver)
Even though it is an old computer (made in 2002) it is great for someone who is new to computers-pros:
Windows Xp Pro
Wifi enabled
faster than some modern day computers
-Cons:
A bit heavy about 8 pounds
Original dosn't come with DVD drive only cd
So overall it would be great gift for someone who would want a decent laptop, just for web, and emails
So, with her blessing, I decided to clean it up and see what I could do to get it back up to speed. I upgraded the HD to 100GB, upgraded the RAM to 2x1GB (2GB total, requires a two-step BIOS upgrade), and replaced the monitor and hood. I also added an internal wireless card and a 2-USB slim PCI express card, replaced the fan and heat sink (and thermal grease), and super-glued a fine mesh screen (normally added to case fans) to the fan intake on the underside of the laptop to prevent further dust accumulation on the heat grill and CPU fan. As an added touch, I replaced the DVD drive with a second HD, and installed a temperature monitoring program, which keeps the CPU below 100F by adjusting the CPU fan speed accordingly.
All in all...? $150-$200 tops over 2 years, and it still runs like new. It's been my traveling laptop, my emergency computer when the main one goes kaput, and is the ONLY computer in the family which is still going strong after a full decade of technological updates, advances, and changes.
I love my Dell Inspiron 5100, and will keep it even after I get a new one. Excluding the fan issue, this has been a excellent laptop.
Buy Dell Inspiron 5100 Laptop (Intel Pentium 4 CPU, Blue and Silver) Now
Sony VAIO SA3 Series VPCSA33GX/SI 13.3-Inch Laptop (Platinum Silver)
Over the years I've owned laptops from Toshiba, Compaq, Dell and Sony. Sony's have always been my favorites and this one ranks at the top of the list! It is a fast system with long battery life using the included sheet battery. Without the sheet battery it is very light-weight yet still has decent battery life.The ssd drive really adds to the speed of this system. Even with bloated iTunes installed, it boots in less than 25 seconds and that includes me entering my password.
I would highly recommend this system.
Boots really fast, system works out of the box, everything configured. I also tried a couple of video games all works like a charm.
But, as someone else here mentioned, the CPU fan is too loud. Whenever CPU does some "heavy" work, fan starts its noise and sounds like jet engine. This actually happens quite often, when I am copying files, video chatting, installing something or playing games. It is sad that this laptop makes more noise than my desktop.
This is a huge disappointment.
However, bright side is laptops great performance. Excellent backlit keyboard (even better than the previous one, which was fantastic as well). Display is amazing.
I hope that I will get used to the noise of the fan, as well as my colleagues at work.
I am also wondering if it would make it better if I install Linux, which I will surely try in the next months.
Buy Sony VAIO SA3 Series VPCSA33GX/SI 13.3-Inch Laptop (Platinum Silver) Now
overall it performs well and boots fast. looking from afar this proves to be a very attractive metallic like laptop. a closer look and feel would disappoint you a bit as the unit is made of plasticky material that looks like titanium but is not. Upgrading to 8gb is a breeze and removing extraneous bloatware is a tad of a pain as expected. Screen quality is typical VAIO, no complaint here. Available ports are adequate but not stellar. keyboard is much better than on the Ultrabook but not as nice as on the Macbook. A silver model (w/ a faster i5 than that of the previous SA23GX) is way more recommended than a black SA model but ... overall the plasticky build makes it less rugged for the road and susceptible to harsh handling.Read Best Reviews of Sony VAIO SA3 Series VPCSA33GX/SI 13.3-Inch Laptop (Platinum Silver) Here
The positives:If you're doing basic office stuff the notebook is blazing fast thanks to the SSD. I can't comment on gaming power. It will run a 1080p movie just fine with MPC and CCCP's basic setup.
High resolution screen.
I find it stylish enough and it's got pretty god build quality.
The included sheet battery is a nice touch.
The negatives:
The typical harddisk partitioning and bloatware stuff. I did a clean instal (which took surprisingly little time) to fix that up.
The screen doesn't have the best viewing angles.
Swapping between the Sandy Bridge graphics and the discrete card requires you to close all of your programs and flip a hardware switch.
Bottom line: I got this off Amazon for ~$950, that's a great deal on something this size with a 1600x900 screen and an SSD. I wasn't disappointed.
Want Sony VAIO SA3 Series VPCSA33GX/SI 13.3-Inch Laptop (Platinum Silver) Discount?
Pros:Thin, light and fast!!! Boot times are quick.
Even when clipped onto it's auxiliary battery pack, it still comes out thinner and lighter than most traditional laptops.
Cons:
Not quite instant-on.
Maximum SSD capacity is still far less than maximum IHD capacity in the equivalent model.
I just can't get used to that silly drag-down toolbar tracking the cursor around and getting in the way of window controls. Better put it somewhere innocuous.
It's sparking a bit of jealousy among the staff here.
Save 27% Off
Toshiba Satellite S875-S7370 17.3-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum)
I bought this laptop during a Cyber Monday sale and I could not have been happier with the specs I got for the price, my purchase arrived on time and well packaged (as is standard with most items shipped via Amazon Prime). Now I will break down my experience with the laptop so far into pros and cons :Pros:
Huge screen (17 inches), the core i7 CPU 3.4 GHz runs pretty much anything you throw at it (I got away with running CounterStrike Source at maxed out settings at 113 frames per second, Adobe Illustrator seems to convert AI files into TIFF files pretty fast too and AutoCAD rendering is pretty swift [all these compared to my old Thinkpad]). So overall I am happy with the performance of this laptop.
Cons:
The huge screen is not amicable to angled viewing (i.e. if you change the viewing angle the images look like high contrast/low brightness images, even like photographic negatives sometimes).
The keyboard has strangely spaced keys (some are grouped in blocks that require you to have monstrous hands to switch across blocks).
Windows 8 installed on this laptop is a pain in the nose, it seems like an OS built for a tablet and is pretty inconvenient to operate without a touchscreen.
Overall this laptop provides great value for the money, hence I gave it a 4 star rating
#1 is Windows 8. However, if you want a new laptop, buying one with Windows 8 is inevitable. Windows 8 is not bad. It just feels like a change I did not want to make.
#2 Battery Life. It is just okay. I do not let my Laptop go into any power save mode by closing the screen. If i close screen without putting it into a power save mode, it will be dead when I use it next. Regardless of that, regular use without being plugged in, it feels like it drains faster then i would like. I believe you are sacrificing battery life for screen size here. Screen size it worth it to me.
#3 When put into power save mode, there is a small white light that stays on. I find this annoying. There may be an option to stop this. I haven't checked yet.
#4 This is my biggest problem with the laptop. There F-keys are the Function keys. The Function keys are standard. Meaning: If you press F key it will do it functions. F2 is brightness down, F3 is brightness up. Only by pressing the FN key will they act as a normal F Key. ie. to close a window it is now Alt FN F4. (Instead of Alt F4 which is customary)
There is an option to reverse this, otherwise i think i would have had to return the Laptop. However, the FN symbols on the keys are clearly visible and the F keys symbols are not visible at all.
Overall It is a solid laptop and I am happy with it.
If you do not read specs well, the big difference with this laptop is it does not include a video card. It has video from the motherboard. This laptop cannot run newer graphically intense games, but i have played Company of Heroes on it perfectly fine. I am positive it could run Word of Warcraft good too.
Buy Toshiba Satellite S875-S7370 17.3-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum) Now
This notebook is exceptional. I purchased this about a month ago, and it has been great. It is super fast, less than 45 seconds from the time you turn it on, until it is up & ready to go. Windows 8 is also terrific. It takes a little getting used to, but after that, it is great. Love all of the new tiles that are on the new start screen.Exceptional notebook & operating system.
Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite S875-S7370 17.3-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum) Here
I simply love this laptop. The brushed finish on the outside is beautiful. The laptop runs very smoothly and fast. It takes hardly any time to boot up, part of which I believe is thanks to Windows 8 (which takes some getting used to, but is really a better OS than people give it credit for. I feel like it is very similar to Win7, only faster.), and it runs my games and programs exactly as I expected it to.My biggest complaint about it, would be the finish around the keyboard. It's a high gloss plastic, which means it is a magnet for fingerprints, which eggs at my OCD. I wonder if I can find a matte finish skin decal or something to put around the keyboard so that it doesn't bother me so badly.
This laptop is beautiful and well worth the money.
Want Toshiba Satellite S875-S7370 17.3-Inch Laptop (Ice Blue Brushed Aluminum) Discount?
I've gone through many laptops through the years and this one by far is my favorite. It took me a few tutorials to learn the new windows 8 but once I got the hang of it I wouldn't go back to the older windows versions. The screen is large and crystal clear. When I watch TV on it I swear it's like watching the show on my large flat screen HD TV in my living room. It blew me away! The keyboard is great and the arm rest is large and comfortable. Has all I wanted and SO much more! Arrived earlier then expected too. If you want a beautiful screen with fantastic internal programs, power, memory etc, this is for you!
Lenovo G780 17.3" 8GB Intel i7 3632QM(2.20GHz) 8GB Ram GeForce GT 635M
Pros: Packed with hardware you wouldn't expect to find in a laptop in this price range. i7 CPU, 8 gigs ram, dedicated 635m.The chiclet keyboard feels nice, with the added bonus of having to worry less about my cat running across it and ripping the individual keys out.
Plays World of Warcraft on high settings around 40 fps in congested areas. It handles Skyrim very well, and a bunch of older games not worth mentioning.
Windows 8 screams, it performs very well. I don't miss the start menu, and like a few of the apps.
Cons: Keyboard is set fairly high, which can be uncomfortable on the wrists as they lay across the laptop.
The touchpad is huge (some may think this is a pro), but it is common while typing that you rub your palms across it. It is simple enough to fix, press FN + F6 to disable the touchpad. For people who prefer mice to touchpads, this should not be an issue.
Microphone is just to the left where you rest your left wrist. The microphone itself works great, but I see this being an issue in the future as it is likely to get clogged.
Other Thoughts: I haven't noticed the flimsy display as others. It stays in place while typing I haven't taking it out on bumpy roads and don't plan to, so it does well.
Windows 8 is going to come with every laptop now, it is easy enough to figure out, learn a few keyboard shortcuts and you won't even miss the start menu.
At this price range, you are not going to have the best gaming experience. It will be good, but not comparable with higher end machines. With that said, I am very impressed with the performance of the laptop playing Skyrim, and World of Warcraft.
I tried to focus on the cons, with this review. Really this laptop is fantastic, for the price. Thus it gets 5 stars, I don't expect perfection in a $670 laptop.