you are ripping people off the price for this computer is less then 400.00 for it I know I just bought one
Showing posts with label colored notebook paper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colored notebook paper. Show all posts
Disney Netpal by ASUS: 8.9 inch LCD Solid State Drive Technology Windows XP Home - Princess Pink
you are ripping people off the price for this computer is less then 400.00 for it I know I just bought one
Lenovo Thinkpad T530 2392AQU 2.60-3.30GHz i5-3320M 4GB 500GB 7200rpm DVD-RW 1GB NVIDIA NVS 5400M 15
In response to my last review this company was very polite and had great costumer service , they contacted me right away about my issue... Ended up having to contact Lenovo and fix the operating system... Which wasn't difficult due to the great customer service from Lenovo as well! Over all and after fixing the issue I'm please with this product!
Samsung Series 5 NP500P4C-S02US 14-Inch Laptop
On the windows experience index the specs are:Processor : 7.1
Memory : 5.9 ( I upgraded it to 8 gb ram now it's 7.5)
Graphics: 4.8
Gaming Graphics: 6.5
Primary hard disk: 5.9
I had this laptop for about a week now, and I gotta say I love it. It's very fast. I usually don't game that much, the only game that I play is "league of legends" and this laptop can handle it very well. I play on all high settings and still get 60fps. The keyboard feels very nice, very comfortable to type on.
The speakers are amazing! It's very loud when you put it on max. Speakers are also very clear.
I'm a new user to windows 8, and honestly windows 8 isn't really that bad. It only takes a couple of days to get used to. I tried testing out how long the battery would last. The battery lasted for about 4 hours when I had the brightness at max settings while streaming videos. The computer fan's quiet, it doesn't get that loud. Overall, I love this product.
First off, there is no back-lit keyboard. There are settings for it, but it is not there. The plug is on the motherboard, but nothing is plugged into it. Also there is no sub woofer as mentioned in the specs. Samsung has the same errors on their site, so I don't know who to blame. Anyone who purchased this laptop, I feel bad, because you were lied too. I will be sending this back as soon as possible. Its a shame, because it seems like it would be such a nice laptop.
Buy Samsung Series 5 NP500P4C-S02US 14-Inch Laptop Now
Just a few first impressions after spending a couple hours setting up this laptop.1. The laptop that arrived was white, not gray as shown in the pictures. Not a big deal but some people might be put off by it.
2. **Uninstall 'Intellimemory'** While I was removing all the typical bloatware I noticed that RAM utilization was around 95%. Almost the entire 4GB was being used but barely 1GB of programs were using memory. Odd. Uninstalling 'Intellimemory' freed up all of the RAM and the computer runs much, much faster. I can't stress how important this is. This laptop is almost unusable with 'Intellimemory' installed....why would they do this??
3. The processor (Ivy Bridge i5) and RAM (DDR3 1600mhz) is above average for a $500 laptop but everything else is what you would expect at this price level. The display has nice colors but suffers from the 768p resolution and poor viewing angles that most laptops share today.
4. It is a very nice looking laptop. Not too heavy, not too thick, attractive looking.
5. Installing an SSD should be a priority. The only real bottleneck in the whole system is the 5400RPM hard drive. With an SSD installed, you end up with a very nice laptop for an investment around $620 total.
Read Best Reviews of Samsung Series 5 NP500P4C-S02US 14-Inch Laptop Here
I opened this computer's package on March 5th, 2013, and it's been around 4 days since then, so I have been able to review this computer from its beginning to the end of its first four days. Please keep in mind that college student is reviewing this and likes to play games (not first person shooters, though) when he has free time. Any updates have the form YYYY/MM/DD.*~The basic specs, which I think are important, are:
1. Intel i5 3210 2.50Ghz processor (a fantastic 3rd gen i5 processor at this time)
2. 4 GB RAM (I'm pretty sure that it's a DDR3, assuming that it's one stick)
3. 64bit with Win 8 (I don't mind Windows 8, but I'll list out its points later; the points I made are irrelevant to the laptop as a whole, since it's just the operating system and not about the laptop itself)
4. Integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics card (Intel has come far in its integrated processors)
5. Dedicated Nvidia GeForce 630M graphics card (this is what stands out for being $500; such a great deal. It's not that much better than the Intel HD 4000 graphics (I looked up video card reviews), but it's nice to have a graphics card with a processor dedicated to it.
6. Four USB ports (two of which are 3.0 USB)
7. A headphone/microphone jack (the only con to this computer in my opinion; I rather have separate jacks but can't wish for everything).
8. 5400 RPM hard drive (the "bottleneck" as one reviewer describes; will explain this later).
9. Fan on the leftside (it does a little hot when you game, but it's not alarming; personally, I like this better than having it on bottom, but lefties should be wary if they can tolerate this type of thing).
10. No backlit keyboard, even though some Fn keys on the keyboard exist for it. I plan to change these Fn keys in the future, if I can. Will update in comments if I ever get around to it (and if I remember >.>)
11. Speakers are good. If you're a musician or want something bassy, consider getting speakers for your needs.
UPDATE 2013/03/11: Speakers are clear and fairly loud. My previous laptop was pretty quiet, so I experienced a nice transition of sound.
12. Not as light as a ultrabook, but it's definitely not heavy to carry around.
13. I love this type of keyboard (the keys, man, THE KEYS). Not sure how to describe it, but I love it.
14. The screen size is a nice size.
15. UPDATE 2013/03/11: I did not know that this laptop had a SD card reader until today. It's located on the left side of the mouse bad, under the light that shows that the power is on for the laptop. Another plus for me.
16. UPDATE 2013/03/25: Screen collects dust/dirt, and it's noticeable. Not sure how I feel about this.
17. UPDATE 2013/03/25: Wireless connection has dropped me twice within an hour today for some reason. I'm not sure what is the cause for this, but I suspect that it has to do with the firmware or the driver of the wireless part. I contacted Samsung about this issue, and the customer service representative, after telling me update the driver through SW Update (which I already did), made sure that I didn't set the connection as a meter connection (it's a setting that turns off your connection after a certain amount of time, which I don't have on). Then, he advised me to "Forget My Network" (another setting) and to reconnect again. This may or may not solved my problem with wireless connection (we'll have to see), but it did fix my issue with loading Facebook's News Feed (which often seems to stop loading after I scroll down or click on "More Stories"). The customer representative mentioned that there may be incompatibility issues with the new Samsung drivers and the route older firmware. If this problem proceeds, either one should roll back the wireless drivers, or back up his or her information, do a system restore to the original factory settings, and proceed to update all drivers except for the wireless one. I'll update in a week to see if I still have any problems with the wireless connection.
*~Things that I have not checked out:
1. If RAM and hard drive are easily accessible (I'm pretty sure that they are, but too lazy to check :p ; will probably update this later either her or in the comments).
2. If fan is accessible (will check out later when I have the time; update will either be her or in the comments).
*~Important points concerning with changes that I made to the computer:
1. Intellimemory: this greatly overuses your RAM. I think that it's suppose supply things into your cache to load things faster, but it's just a hindrance. It shoots up my RAM to 87%. Your memory should be fine, around 30 to 40% if you don't add more RAM to the 4GB you already have, once you uninstall this program).
2. Uninstalled of some of the Samsung bloatware and apps.
3. Destroyed Norton trial, and used the default Windows antivirus and firewall.
4. Installed important or entertaining programs and apps (Firefox (including NoScript), Chrome, Malware Bytes, Spyware Blaster, CCleaner, foobar2000, AIM, Google Talk, Steam and other games, Python, Java SDK package, IntelliJ, Sublime, TortoisesVN, WinSCP, putty, DropBox, Media Player Classic, etc.)
5.1. Installed important Windows Updates. I recommend installing the optional updates if they concern your drivers or Microsoft programs that you use (ex: Office 2013).
5.2. SW Update/Updating Samsung drivers. This is important. It will take a while, but it's definitely worth it. You may encounter problems in updating some drivers (for me, it's the BIOS (now UEFI BIOS, which makes Windows 8 boot up much smoother) and one or two Bluetooth drivers). To fix this problem, go to SW update, look for the model, download the drivers that you need, run and install them (and you can delete the files afterwards). This will definitely help the update with Samsung drivers. I solved this by calling Samsung's Customer Service. In my opinion, one guys does not entirely represent the customer service (I don't view an apple tree as terrible if it has a bad apple), but I did have a great guy who helped me through the drivers issue.
UPDATE 2013/03/11: I also apply the "Bad-Apple-Not-Equal-Bad-Apple-Tree" perspective to computer products, but there is no doubt in my mind that Lenovo (Asus is pretty up there as well) makes great laptops; however, Lenovo laptops, unless they have great deals, are a bit too pricey for my basic needs, which is why I basically bought this laptop, even though it barely had any reviews at the time that I bought it. Don't get me wrong, I did see some great Lenovo laptops under $600 and even under $500 that were deals or on sale, but the Samsung Series 5 NP500P4C-S02US's 630M graphics card won me over.
6.1. Here's where the hard disk bottle neck comes in. The computer was very slow in getting to the login screen/loading the OS; it took more than forty seconds. I'm not entirely sure if the problem was due to the computer getting accustomed to itself (an analogy is opening the of spaghetti sauce for the first couple times; it's really hard to get that lid off, but it's easier after multiple tries!) or if it was the boot order, but I did alleviate some of the problem in the following point. However, keep in mind that the disk usage will still sometimes spike, but it'll not be as often as before I made the change that is mentioned in the following point.
6.2. Anyways, what I did was that I changed the boot order. I changed the boot order to the hard drive as first and the Windows Boot Manager as second. To do this, press Win key + I (go to Settings), click on "Change PC Settings", click on "General," and, under the "Advanced startup" section, click on "Restart now." After restarting, you will go a light blue screen. Click on "Troubleshoot," click "Advanced options," and click on "UEFI Firmware Settings" (the "new BIOS"), and restart your computer once more. You can change your BIOS settings (but I just recommend just changing the boot order). An alternative route is just hold the SHIFT key at the login screen access the UEFI. For some reason, the computer boots up less than thirty seconds after that. Now, the computer seems to boot up less than fifteen seconds, which is too much for me to comprehend this speed (I still feel like I live in the XP era). Programs load much faster than before.
7. Defragged my computer using the default defragger that came with Windows 8.
*~How does the Samsung Series 5 NP500P4C-S02US fare in games:
1. LOL: After several games, I got a bug splat once in League of Legends for putting everything on very high, so I went to Riot's "debugging" tools to help get rid of the bug splat. Once I put shadow on medium, I haven't ever had it since. I manage to get 60 fps on very high settings before and after the bug splat.
2. DOTA2. Plays Dota2 just fine on everything high (I did put shadow on medium, though). Don't remember the fps, but everything was mostly smooth.
3. OTHERS: Other games that I have are Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Portal and Portal 2, Bastion, and other Steam games, but I haven't tested them yet. Might update here or in the comments in the future.
This computer is great for casual gaming. It also works well in competitive and current games, but for some, medium settings are needed to play smoothly (ex: Crysis 3, there are some reviews about Geforce 630M graphics card). If you do not have a budget, consider getting a laptop with a much better graphics card. If you do have a budget and want to experience the highest graphics for every current game, consider getting a desktop. If you are a college student like me who likes to play games (sometimes, even competitively) in decent graphics, have a budget, and need a transportable computer device for school needs, this laptop is for you (the deal was so much better when it was $500, but now, the price increased).
Altogether, this laptop is fantastic and is fit for my school and gaming needs.
*~The pros:
1. Very fast now.
2. Boots up very fast.
3. The processor is really fast.
4. Did I mention that it's really fast?
5. Dedicated graphics card (even if it's low end).
6. Sound is nice.
7. Light to carry around campus and not hurt your back.
8. Keyboard design and the feel of the keys (personal preference).
9. Screen size is perfect (may be a little small for those who game, but I like it; again, a personal preference).
10. Plays some games on very high settings.
11. (UPDATE) Has an SD card reader.
*~The cons:
1. one jack for microphone and headphone (a small, unimportant, and personal preference)
2. Intellimemory (easily solved)
3. Boots up slow at first (a very difficult problem at first)
4. Minor driver update problems (for me, I had to call customer service; the guy I called was great, but Samsung should address these driver issues soon).
5. Disk usage sometimes spike (not sure why it spikes, but the spike will go down after a while; a SSD should easily solve this problem).
6. Cannot play all games on high settings very smoothly (Not a con for me == another personal preference; I'm fine with medium settings).
7. (UPDATE) Fn keys for non-existent lit keyboard settings; I'm not sure why this bugs me, but I'll update if I can find a solution for changing the settings for Fn keys.
8. (UPDATE) Screen collects dust, and it's noticeable.
*~The potential future:
1. Buy RAM (seriously, it's cheap. If you customizing any laptop on a website, get the smallest amount of RAM possible, and buy and install the RAM later. It's worth the effort and the price).
2. Get an SSD (can solve the boot problem without what I did earlier. SSD prices are going down and can only continue to go down. It will make all of my programs boot so much faster. I would buy one if I had the money).
*~Now, for the little Windows 8 tidbits that is not relevant to the laptop review:
1. Not really sure what the hate is about. Sure, the learning curve is a bit high, and it's hard to find some things, but you'll get used to it, especially most of it is just like Start button in Windows 7; what I'm saying is that Windows 8's Start Screen is just a glorified Start button.
2. Besides everything mentioned in the first point of Windows 8, everything in the desktop is the same. EVERYTHING.
3. I do not like the default settings for some programs in Windows 8, but they are easy to change (though, they could be unnoticeable). Examples include default defrag every week and default recycle bin warnings are off.
4. Task Manager is absolutely awesome and appealing. Now, you can change your Startup in there (a great, new feature!).
5. I really don't mind Windows 8, but there are some features that I wish that it kept from Windows 7 (like having folders in your search when you type some stuff in; Windows 8 doesn't detect all folders, but it does detect all progams and apps).
Conclusion: Windows 8 is pretty cool, and I like the direction that Microsoft is going.
Keep in mind that what I think of Windows 8 does not affect the overall laptop whatsoever.
I'm really content with laptop, since it's great for school and a little gaming, which is why I gave it a five out of five. I do have small personal preferences, but it shouldn't hinder the laptop as a whole.
If there is any additional comments that you would like to know, please comment below, and (hopefully, if I remember) I'll get around to it.
Want Samsung Series 5 NP500P4C-S02US 14-Inch Laptop Discount?
Got a great deal on this computer for my daughter and she LOVES it! Great look and just the right size for her to do all her teenage computing on!Save 22% Off
Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black)
I will come back and update this review [done, several updates have been added below] as I have more experience with this laptop, but since there are few reviews, I thought I'd get something up quickly to help others out as they do their comparisons. More details later, for now, let's talk about gaming performance, as I suspect that's what most people will be wondering about.Simply put, the gaming performance is excellent and beats any comparably priced machine I am aware of currently (March 2013). The dual Nvidia 650M SLI GFX cards will outperform a 670m and usually be snapping on the heels of a 675M (even beating it on occasion, though very rarely). The 675m is usually about 10-12% faster, but in some games like Skyrim, the 650M SLI combo actually wins (by a hair). Let's just say that nearly all games will run in their high/ultra settings with a few tweaks, and even the tough games will run on mid to high settings at full HD resolution. Turn down a few settings or lower the rez and almost anything will run smoothly at high frame rates. As Nvidia improves their drivers (this is still a very new config) performance should only get better.
So, in short, you get exceptional gaming performance at this price point, especially considering the 1920x1080 HD resolution (most comparably priced rigs will have lower rez displays). This is a TN display, not IPS, but it is a good TN display with excellent color, good viewing angles, and good contrast ratios. It is also bright, though the glossy screen does show reflections, the glossy finish does help with color saturation and contrast. Indoors, it will usually not be a problem. And here's a good place to say that this is a *portable* notebook, but one that will usually be tethered to A/C power for gaming. It's more of a desktop replacement than a laptop. Still, only about 6 lbs., so not bad to grab and move around. Update: Also, when on battery power, only one GFX card is available, you must be on A/C power to run in SLI mode.
It has a sleek looking case (aluminum), truly great red backlit keyboard (one of the best I've used), and red accents on the speakers (which sound pretty good for a notebook). All the basic ports, bluetooth, HDMI, USB 2.0 (1) and 3.0 (2) -however, no optical drive, that bay holds the second GFX card instead. A special DVD/Blu-Ray module can be purchased and swapped out with the second GFX card if you wish, or you can use an external optical drive which works fine and is what I do, as I already had one handy.
Gamers will nearly always be using a mouse, so the iffy touchpad (not awful, but not too good for gaming) won't be a problem for most. The keyboard is very nice and even has a numeric keypad scrunched in. Typing feel is above average. When you are not gaming, this unit makes a nice high end work rig as well (think video editing, photoshop, audio, etc.). It doesn't hurt that you've got an exceptionally fast CPU and a bunch of RAM stuffed into this thing, either. Benchmarks are great.
The 5400 rpm hard drive gives many pause, but it is a good quality Samsung drive with an SSD cache and, really, it works pretty well and is faster than I expected. In normal use, I hardly even notice any lag compared to my SSD rig. No, it's not as fast all the time, but it's perfectly fine and not something that bothers me at all. Not yet anyway. For gaming, I doubt it will be an issue. The new windows 8 secure boot BIOS make it harder to swap out for an SSD (though it can be done, it's not trivial), so this may still be a consideration for some. I'm happy to leave the HDD in place, myself.
Great gaming and media performance, great performance overall, really. Nice Full HD screen, Good speakers, Plenty of storage and memory, plus good, solid build quality make this an attractive choice and an excellent value.
Update: Five weeks in and I remain very happy with this rig.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Some notes that I think might be useful to those considering the Y500:
- On CPU performance, the Y500 beats many more expensive gaming rigs thanks to the newer Core i7-3630QM 2.40 Ghz quad-core processor capable of running 8 threads, and equally important, capable of single-thread burst modes up to 3.4 Ghz.
- Not all games support SLI GFX, some will run only with a single card. Even then performance is pretty good as the 650M used runs at a slightly higher clock speed than usual and Lenovo has used the faster DDR5 RAM and plenty of it, so even a single card has strong mid-range performance. Luckily, almost all newer games *do* support SLI mode.
- I have posted an image (gallery "user" images at top left of product page)showing some benchmark results for Skyrim where the 650M SLI tops a 675M in med and high settings and ties it on ultra (full HD) settings. See notes on image for more info.
-There are tweaks you can apply to make Windows 8 look and act more like Windows 7, if that is your preference. I see no need to install Win 7, though I do prefer it, being more used to it. Gonna have to accept Windows 8 sooner or later. ;)
-Most often noted "cons" by others, battery life of only 3-4 hours, not an issue if you're plugged in most of the time (as I am). Hard drive at 5400 rpm not as bad as many make out. It's a good performing drive even at 5400 and you get less noise and heat. The SSD cache works well. Having 1 TB of storage is good for gamers, too, given the size of newer games and media (music, videos, photos, etc.). No DisplayPort if that matters to you. Not an IPS display, but a pretty decent TN panel. Some have complained about the exhaust ports, not an issue for me, but could be for some depending on how you use and position your notebook.
I knew ahead of time that the trackpad and the keyboard might leave something to be desired, but I was not prepared for the degree to which this affected my ability to use the computer. The trackpad is just...straight up aggravating. There is a clear lack of spit and polish with the user friendliness of the keyboard/trackpad.
Let's take the trackpad -
Good:
*Nice texture
*Synaptics, so at least theoretically a good piece of hardware
*Two finger scroll
Bad:
*This is a circular problem. There is no physical button you have to push down the trackpad; if you want to *click* the trackpad, you have to put just a few more pounds of pressure down on it than seems reasonable, and the computer seems to agree, as doing this appears to actually depress the entire pad into the body of the laptop by a few mm and sometimes make a disconcerting creaky noise; since you don't want to have to try to click the pad, you want to tap it, and here is where software fights you right and left for control of the computer. Granted I have my mouse sensitivity set very high, but it has been really frustrating to tap or double tap on things and find that for whatever reason the mouse has moved in some direction during that action. Unavoidably, there will be times where you HAVE to click and hold something while you drag it around or resize a window or something, and this is next impossible without turning on the click lock feature buried in the mouse settings, which you will then have to flip on and off every time you plug in a mouse, which you will DEFINITELY be doing because it's the only way to make mouse interface with this computer in any way a pleasant experience. It's enough to make me say that it's a shame this computer didn't come with a touchscreen so I could just avoid the trackpad for clicking things, which should say something.
*Even the fastest tracking speed seems a little sluggish to me. This may be a Windows problem and not a Synaptics problem, but I thought I'd mention it.
*Major smudgefest. Doesn't bother me all that much, but it sure doesn't do much to preserve the sleek look of the machine.
Now the keyboard-
Good:
*Backlighting is GREAT. I LOVE having a backlit keyboard, and having a couple brightness options is pretty handy too.
*Good solid keyboard. It feels great to type on. Not mushy or wiggly. For a laptop, I think this is a totally acceptable keyboard.
*Number pad! Hooray!
Bad:
*I don't know who the hell patented what that causes Windows PC's to hide all their most helpful function buttons BEHIND the function keys, but it's stupidly frustrating. Basic things like brightness, volume, keyboard backlight, and all the fun little additions lenovo gives you for quick access to search functions or program switching or whatever they're all spread out in, I guess, contextual places on the keyboard. That's great except /why aren't they on TOP of the function keeeeeeyyys/?! Who uses those flim flammin keys so frequently that they take precedent over these basic, extremely important things? Why do I need two hands to turn down the volume. Also,
*WHY IS THERE NO MUTE KEY?
*The right shift is fun sized. Since my last keyboard lost it's left shift to someone spilling water on it, this is very hard for me to work with. Not a deal breaker, but again, a needless minor annoyance.
Maybe all these things are significant to me because while I am a gamer, I am also a person who likes to browse the internet and get other stuff done, and these sorts of basic UI problems significantly impede my enjoyment of this computer. Basically, I *need* a computer for all sorts of communication reasons, and these sorts of things can be done very easily and very well by a huge variety of computers. I have a 2006 Macbook Pro that fills my computer *needs* really well. It sends emails and skypes and clicks the stuff I intend it to click and even scrolls down in the direction that feels natural to me, which is all I ask of any computer. I also have computer *wants* i.e. I *want* a computer that I can play Skyrim, and Tribes:Ascend, and Starcraft 2 on, and I presently have a Y500 that yawns in the face of these challenges. I was really hoping that it would cover my *needs* as well, but it falls flat on its face in that department, so I can't really justify the combined 15 or so lbs of computer it now takes to cover all my bases here can I? And which do you think is still under a return policy? *Sigh*
EDIT: I forgot to mention, that I had a few technical problems with the SLI cards. I installed and played enough games from my Steam and Humble Bundle accounts to fill up about 65% of the hdd, which, since it's a terabyte, I believe is impressive. Several of the games had some very strange, very quirky problems that are hard to describe. Weird stuff like not scaling text properly at some resolutions, or not behaving normally unless run in a windowed mode. Some games refused to work at all, and one even refused to explain itself it simply closed without comment every time I tried to run it. I also had some graphical issues outside of games, specifically while using Chrome. At least two dozen times during the month I owned this computer, the screen would randomly black out, then pop back on at full brightness (not awesome in a dark bedroom watching TV) reporting that the graphics card had crashed and had been recovered, followed by Chrome locking up and needing to be force closed and reopened. These are all likely driver related issues that Nvidia will likely (hopefully) hammer out in the future, but it's worth knowing if you're thinking of buying this computer.
Buy Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black) Now
When I bought this unit from Amazon, the description indicated 2 USB 2.0, but there is only 1 USB 2.0 continuous on. Also includes 2 USB 3.0. Nice machine. Hard drive could be faster (5400). No CD/DVD disc Drive. Ultra bay nice feature and can make for a faster hard drive or CD/DVD solution.Read Best Reviews of Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black) Here
I bought the nvidia 750m SLI version of this from Lenovo which is the most recent version of this laptop with the 1 tb hdd, 16 gb ram, and SSD.Pros: The all black notebook looks good. The red backlit keyboard looks wicked and is functionally practical for typing in a dark room. It's really eye catching too. It's surprisingly thin for such a powerful laptop. The price point of $1200 for SLI simply blows away the more expensive competition especially if you get it on sale. The ultrabay swap concept is great.. The screen is high quality and games look fantastic on it. The SLI is a beast and can handle pretty much every current game at least on high if not max settings.
Cons: A few parts of the notebook feel remarkably cheap such as the plastic bezel frame around the screen. (they couldn't use brushed metal??) The trackpad is odd and the response feels off. The indicator lights are too small. The two vents blow directly to the side on your mouse hand if you end up using a usb mouse. They should have gone with a rear heat venting design. It's a bit heavy at 6 lbs but not too bad. One major concern I have is how hot this laptop runs when playing games. I'm really hoping Lenovo lives up to its reputation for quality components and this notebook doesn't eventually burn out. I'll update this review at a later date if that happens..I hope I won't have to ever make that edit.
Other than that this has been a great laptop so far and lives up to its hype as a gaming machine.
Want Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black) Discount?
First off, for the price, this laptop is great. SLI, backlit keyboard, 16gb of ram, and 1tb of hd space are all the great features in this laptop. The screen is beautiful at 1920x1080 and pc gaming is amazing with the screen and gpu. Other complaints on here state the lack of optical drive or a crappy touchpad, the touchpad does sound rather cheap but works fine. I use a mouse so I don't use the touchpad very often. The lack of optical drive is understandable because its replaced with an extra gpu. The ultrabay allows you to switch between an extra gpu, a fan, another hdd, or an optical drive. Windows 8 gets some getting used to. After a week it feels natural and with the installment of software like pokki or startisback, this gives you a start button and the option to boot straight into desktop mode, bypassing the metro UI completely. I thought the 32gb ssd was for the operating system for fast boot times, but its just for cache. Not that this laptop needs an ssd for a faster boot, I still get 8 second start ups everytime. If you are looking for a computer similar to this but with a bluray drive and 3d, check out the toshiba qosmio, similar price but bulkier. Gaming on this is a breeze, and with a 3d monitor, games and movies look amazing. Every game so far has had optimal settings for ultra high, crysis 3, metro:last light, and tomb raider are some examples of games that play without stutter. The JBL speakers are some of the best laptop speakers I have ever heard, sound is clear and crisp. I feel as if this computer is lacking some ports, I thought I would have had more than 3 usb ports. I ordered the toshiba dynadock to compensate that though, it gives me 6 usb 3.0 ports 2 video cards for extra displays, 5.1 surround sound, and extra usb 2.0 ports for the hell of it. This computer has some nice features like a 1-button back up system, energy management tools and dust removal program that puts fans on high and pushes out dust from inside. Don't have many complaints about the laptop, except maybe the battery life, but with the amount hardware the bad boy is powering, its expected.
MSI X320-037US 13.4-Inch Laptop - Black
The MSI X340 is an extremely slim (0.7" thin) and light (just under 3-lb) laptop that rivals the MacBook Air, but without the high price tag and it also runs Windows! Vista Home Premium 64-bit to be exact. I have an Lenovo U110, which is an amazing laptop all on its, but I found myself wanting a bigger screen, and the x340 is the perfect answer, its 13.4" LED-backlit LCD screen is bright and show good vivid color contrast. The keyboard is not as responsive as the Lenovo (which generally regarded as having the best keyboard in the industy), but nevertheless, it is a very respectable keyboard that show little flex during typing. The HDMI 1080p works perfectly on my Samsung LCD, which I used quite often not just to watch video, but also to simply use it as a large computer monitor along with my cordless Logitech keyboard and mouse. The HDMI also passes audio to my Samsung LCD TV speaker, not sure if it pass 5.1 digital surround signal since I don't have an HDMI AV receiver. This is just about the most perfect ultra-portable laptop, with its price, weight, large 13.4" screen. The only thing I can think of that would make this laptop perfect is an additional USB port (currently only 2) and the additional of a second/right mouse button, and perhaps a slightly more powerful battery. The standard 4-cell last a little over 3 hours of mixed use with Wifi on at all time with FTP upload, web browsing, document creation and screen brightness set at about 75%. I know some of you might also want to add DVD/blu-ray drive to the mix, but the resulting increase in price, size and weight will not justify the benefit. This is a wonderful laptop for those of us who want a small and light ultraportable with a large screen, but didn't want to spend more than $1000 for a new laptop.
The packaging and design of the X340 are beautiful, and contrary to some other reviewers, I do not find it to be too plasticy or the keyboard to have too much flex. I think Timothy Lam's review is spot on so I won't duplicate. The machine runs Vista 32 respectably right out of the box, but I immediately upgraded to Windows 7 32-bit without a hitch or DVD drive using a shareware program called Virtual Clone Drive. Projected battery life increased by about 20 minutes to 4:07, but I have not had it long enough to cite what you can realistically expect. If that is unacceptable there is supposed to be an optional 8 cell battery, or you should consider the X320 with Atom Z530 and 8 hour battery life for $600 (same size and great screen).
I think the screen size is ideal for an ultra-portable, and despite the screen being glossy, I noticed very little glare, especially compared to the HP 1000. Although the touchpad lacks 2 discreet buttons, I found it to be excellent, as are the speakers for a notebook. The light weight and ergonomics were perfect for chilling on the couch, and working or surfing. It really is a delight to use, and kind of intoxicating.
In summary, depending on your needs, there is virtually nothing to dislike about this computer and I think MSI has scored a big hit in this 13.4" ultra-portable category.
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The MSI X340 is an extremely slim (0.7" thin) and light (just under 3-lb) laptop that rivals the MacBook Air, but without the high price tag and the MSI runs Windows! Vista Home Premium 64-bit to be exact. I have an Lenovo U110, which is an amazing laptop all on its own, but I found myself wanting a bigger screen, and the x340 is the perfect answer, its 13.4" LED-backlit LCD screen is bright and show good vivid color contrast. The keyboard is not as responsive as the Lenovo (which generally regarded as having the best keyboard in the industy), but nevertheless, it is a very respectable keyboard that show little flex during typing. The HDMI 1080p works perfectly on my Samsung LCD, which I used quite often not just to watch video, but also to simply use it as a large computer monitor along with my cordless Logitech keyboard and mouse. The HDMI also passes audio to my Samsung LCD TV speaker, not sure if it pass 5.1 digital surround signal since I don't have an HDMI-capable AV receiver. This is just about the most perfect ultra-portable laptop, with its price, weight, large 13.4" screen. The only thing I can think of that would make this laptop perfect is an additional USB port (currently only 2) and the additional of a second/right mouse button, and perhaps a slightly more powerful battery. The standard 4-cell last a little over 3 hours of mixed use with Wifi on at all time with FTP upload, web browsing, document creation and screen brightness set at about 75%. I know some of you might also want to add DVD/blu-ray drive to the mix, but the resulting increase in price, size and weight will not justify the benefit. This is a wonderful laptop for those of us who want a small and light ultraportable with a large screen, but didn't want to spend more than $1000 for a new laptop.Read Best Reviews of MSI X320-037US 13.4-Inch Laptop - Black Here
Pros:* Beautiful design
* Lightweight
* Runs Vista well
* Cool operating temps
* Did I mention beautiful design?
Cons:
* Absolutely horrible keyboard
If MSI does not release a replacement keyboard for purchase, I will likely get rid of this thing.
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Other than the keyboard, I absolutely love this machine. The LED screen is bright and crisp just as my MacBook Pro. I was just about to buy MBA before I read about this laptop.I installed Ubuntu 9.04 and with minor tweaks (mostly to xorg.conf for the weird screen resolution), got everything working correctly. I need to use Unix as I'm a software engineer and the performance of this does not disappoint. It is now the portable machine for the RubyHead.
ASUS 1225B-SU17-BK 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Asus has made a fantastic product at a great price. I previously owned an Eeepc 900 and loved it for about five years. I learned to use linux with it, I fell in love with Ubuntu using it and really got hooked on having a computer smaller than a pad of paper. I was worried that the Tablet would end Netbooks for good and hated the idea of a crummy throw away operating system made for cell phones, and incapatibility with windows. Then I heard Asus was coming out with this next-Gen netbook and I was excited. I have had it for a while now and feel it deserves a review. I Love It! It is so fast for its size and has tons of space. I run my website off of it and use it for writing papers, editing photos,watching movies and basic email/internet use.
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Before I begin I will provide a little more information about the product that should be given in the description.The Windows Experience Index is 3.7. The individual ratings are as follows.
Processor 3.7
RAM 5.6
Graphics 4.3
Gaming Graphics 5.8
Primary hard Disk 5.6
The 320 GB HDD is partitioned into two partitions. One 99.9GB and the other 183GB. Not really sure why they did that but not really a negative.
The Netbook also comes with a TON of bloatware. Tons of ASUS apps such as a top dock, a special media sharing app, a BIOS updater, E-CAM (adding effects to the webcam) and a trial of TrendMicro AntiVirus. There might of been more that I forgot because I uninstalled most of them as soon as the device booted up.
Interestingly it also has a built in OS that you can quickly boot into by pushing the button next to the WiFi button. Good for quickly checking something on the internet.
The Netbook as a whole is very solid. The Keyboard is a little cramped but not bad seeing as it is a 11" screen. The backlight is very bright and crisp. The tracpad is a little over sensitive out of the box for my liking and the uni-button on the tracpad takes time getting used to.
The webcam is the usual low quality webcam but has a physical switch that blocks the camera and also a digital zoom button along with a on light for the paranoid.
Under the tracpad there is a on light, charging light, HDD light, WiFi light, and a caps lock light.
It has a app for sending media over WiFi to other devices but I don't have a device that supports it to test it out on.
Summery:
Good Excelent battery life (5+ hours of actual use), Decent keyboard, great performance for the price, built in operating system
Bad Amount of bloatware
Weird Partitioning of HDD.
I will update this review is anything breaks or goes wrong.
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I wanted hardware that was this small cheap and packed. I needed high specs like 4Gig ram and decent processor. I didn't want to have to pay for windows since it gets flushed when I get it anyway but the general public hasn't accepted that M$ is on its was to being phased out anyway. Other that that all the hardware works great with Ubuntu and my requirements. Free shipping was fast and reliable. First week but running strong and looks slick too. I respect ASUS for kicking my ACER habit. I will be buying ASUS for my work horse Desktop now. I recommend this to anyone looking for a portable mobile with good specs and especially to open source computer nerds who could appreciate this piece of machinery. :DWant ASUS 1225B-SU17-BK 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?
We got this for my wife to use while we travel, paid a little under $500 with software and a padded sleeve included. It was the only computer we could find that had decent speed & 4 gigs of RAM, was ultra portable that cost less than $800. We could have gotten a tablet but she felt the storage and ports of a real computer would be more useful. It's very compact and is surprisingly fast -with the 1.6 dual-core AMD chip it runs 64-bit Windows 7 no problem. The display screen is nicer (although much smaller) than the one on my $1100 Thinkpad. I thought the smaller 11.6" screen would bother me but it's not bad at all. It remains to be seen how well it will hold up while traveling throughout SE Asia for months on end, but I'm hopeful.Save 11% Off
Acer Aspire V3-771G-6851 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)
Hello,This is a really good laptop for the price. When I first buy this i thought it would be too big, cause it's 17.3. But I was wrong It's Perfect! And it's not heavy.
It also heave a really good ventilation system, Keeps it really cool.
Beside that I can play almost every game in Market with good settings. I can play Dota 2 everything on maximum with 0 lag, it did not tested other games yet tough.
But, for 700 bucks it's a really good deal! RECOMEND.
im able to play borderlands 2 at 720p everything maxed out at 40-60 fps, i havent tested BF3 yet but i figured it shouldnt have any problems, in conclusion the 640m is a very capable gpu backed up by an incredible ivy i5 processor
the build quality seems quite solid, usb 3.0 ports are pretty much appreciated..
on another hand the screen doesnt have a good view angle so it could be a pain if you dont watch it right in front
bottom line, very good laptop for the price, if you dont need a huge gaming laptop but still want to play some decent games get this one!
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Just as the title implies. I bought this laptop about 2 weeks after black Friday for $600 along with a copy of Far Cry 3. The game runs excellent. I run it on "medium" settings flawlessly and it still looks really good. The game automatically put my settings on medium but I wanted to see how it played on higher settings. I tried playing on both high and ultra settings which surprisingly worked pretty well. The FPS was pretty playable even on ultra however the computer would run a little hot so I keep it on a very playable tweaked medium setting (tweaked as in I set a few of the settings to high). Still looks/plays great. If your into games a little older like Skyrim, you will be pleased to know this computer can handle Skyrim pretty well on high settings. I haven't played Skyrim to much on this laptop so I don't know if having a large battle raging around you may slow it down or not but I'm sure if it does you can tweak the options a bit to make it run great again.So overall I am very pleased with how this computer runs games. Its got a great i5 3rd generation processor, decent webcam, a little heavy but that's to be expected of a 17 incher. The battery isn't all that great, but I'm sure most people will keep this guy plugged in, especially considering how large this computer is. The touchpad is just ok, a little wonky. But just as with the battery, I am sure most people will use a USB mouse so it is a non-issue. Windows 8 is meh. Its not bad but I prefer windows 7. Desktop mode does a decent job of simulating windows of olde but adding a mod to include a start button may be needed for those of us who were perfectly fine with windows 7 or even XP. (I still try to forget about Vista) However this is software, not hardware so it doesn't really change my rating, besides W8 is completely workable, just a little ugly, for me anyway. Also, if I were a little less impressed by the guts of this computer I would have knocked a star for the purely aesthetic problem of a super finger-print friendly paint job. Seriously. Finger prints LOVE this big guy. Otherwise for the price (and I did a LOT of browsing and comparing) this is an excellent computer for budget minded gamers.
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This laptop was a steal considering i bought it for only $650. Looked every to find this latop for a lower price but it could not be achieved. Newegg had it for $750 and acer had it for $ 720. It play modern games with no problems. At first i hated windows 8 but i know love it. It just takes time to get use to.Want Acer Aspire V3-771G-6851 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?
While I did have 1-day shipping, the laptop came well packaged and in perfect condition. I first opened the box to see a VERY large and shiny new laptop and began to mess with it. Turned it on, typed in my preferences, and got going in about 5 minutes. There was not a whole lot of bloatware; it was gone fairly quickly. Over the next few hours, I learned about all of the wonderful features that I did not pay attention to when I bought it.Pros:
*Large screen; 1600x900 resolution
*Bright colors
*Great Processor, Nice RAM, good Graphics card
*plays all of my games on highest graphics with no problems (LoL, GW2, D3, minecraft)
*Runs quiet
*Dolby Home Theater; the sound bar sounds almost like surround sound. The sound is simply amazing.
*HD camera / Mic
*Windows 8 is AMAZING
*Fantastic internet connection
*Dual Hard drive support
Cons:
*Kind of slow Hard drive; this is okay because there is support to put in an SSD (only costs around $100)
*ultra finger print magnet
*Being a gaming Laptop, you are going to have a low battery life and there is really nothing you can do about this no matter which gaming laptop you get, even being low end as this one is. However, this is okay because you will have it plugged in all of the time anyway since the laptop can run in high performance when it is plugged in.
*Being a glossy type screen, the colors are brighter, but it is very glary outside. This is also not a big deal because you will need it plugged in most of the time anyway.
Final Thoughts:
I love to play games, but I needed a laptop over a desktop and I needed it to be cheap. $700 for a low end gaming laptop is an amazing price (This would be a good price for even a desktop). Other laptops with the same stats should go for $900-$1000, but Acer is a great company with an amazingly low price. With all of the extra features, this is, BY FAR, the best laptop you could possibly buy for only $700. I would suggest this to anyone looking for a gaming laptop on a budget.
********EDIT******IMPORANT*****
So I come home today and my power jack is cracked and it got pushed in, completely trashed; I have to find a way to fix it myself. I call acer and ask them if it's covered in the warranty and they told me that it would cost $199 to fix a power jack that is pushed back. I'm not going to buy anything from this company again, I am genuinely disappointed in Acer for this. The laptop is made of cheap plastic and it's only a matter of time before everyone has the same complaints as me. Don't buy this laptop.
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G62-339WM
I am a Sony Vaio user big time. I bought this because it was a good deal at the time and I have to say I did not experience any of the things mentioned in the other review above but it is not sony quality either. As my first Hp it did not make a great impression. I guess when it comes to laptops anyway you get what you pay for. The functionality of it was fine but the track pad wore a lot faster then what I am use to and the letters on the keyboard are beginning to fade after less then 2 years just small things like that but to me it made a big impression.
Dell Inspiron 15R i15R-1843sLV 3rd Gen Intel Core i5-3210M 8GB 15.6" LED 1TB Windows 8 Moon Silver
This is my first windows 8 laptop, it very useful and I am thinking to buy a surface. I like it.
Toshiba - Satellite C655-S5082 Laptop / Intel Celeron Processor / 15.6" Display / 2GB Memory / 250G
For the price this is a great laptop! So far so good. I got it up and running out of the box in no time. The speed of the computer seems pretty good, haven't run any extremely resource heavy stuff yet-I will later, Ill update in a few months. A few pros and cons for you:PROS:
VERY LIGHT! I'm surprised that with the size of this, it is not heavy at all.
Beautiful ScreenThe colors and video look great!
Pretty good battery life-I watched a full movie on one charge, and a few hours of regular internet surfing and work.
Pretty thin-for the price, I thought Toshiba would put this hardware in a clunky package... I was wrong.
Stays cool-my last laptop got pretty hot, especially when burning CD's or other heavy stuffthis one barely gets warm!
CONS:
Keys on the keyboardWhat you think you'd see on a kids laptop, plasticy and clunky. C'mon Toshiba-is it that much more expensive to put somewhat nice keys on this thing?
Speakers-terrible.... perhaps I was spoiled by my last laptop-they are almost handheld radio quality.
Other than that, I'm pretty happy with this purchase. Also considering this price, it really cant be beat (If you don't mind the cons).
**********UPDATE*********** MAR 2011
I am still pleased with the laptop. No major performance issues yet.
However, I have another con that I MUST add. Quite frankly I am disappointed that Toshiba, who are not exactly novices in the laptop field, would do this. There are NO USB ports on the right side. This might not seem like a big deal, but if you want to use a mouse (not everybody likes the touch pad), you have to buy one with a long cord, or a wireless mouse. My retractable cord mini-mouse was useless with this laptop-too short.
Your USB cords get jumbled up because they are all in one place on the front left side. I would have bought another laptop at a comparable price if I knew that. Well, there ya go. Thx!
Listed here at $396 the verdict on price value is easy-wait and shop around. There are a host of laptops one step above this (athlon II dual core/3 gig ram/3 usb) that can be had in the $350-$400 range with just a little shopping around.
Now flip the context to entry-level value and the tale becomes a bit more interesting. My impressions of this are still somewhat brief as I am using it essentially as a loaner so I'd have something at my apt. while my regular laptop is in the process of being replaced due to faulty hardware. Judging it from the price range my parents found this at (289.99) this holds up much better.
The hardware is very basic, a 2GHZ single-core Intel Celeron processor with 2 gigs of RAM, 250 Gig Hard drive, 2 USB ports, and that's about it. It does have a few luxuries however that make it quite nice in the basic laptop department.
1.LED+low power processor+ only 2 gigs of RAM= Solid battery life. I have not taken this to the duration of the battery, but after about an hour of browsing the internet on battery alone without lowering display brightness or taking any other power-conserving steps the machine still had an estimated 4 hours of battery life remaining. The low power usage also means this machine has so far ran extremely cool compared to the two other laptops I've owned.
2.Nice keyboard-My first laptop was an older Toshiba Satellite that served me well for about two years but had a somewhat cramped-feeling keyboard considering it had a 15.4'' display and 10-key. This one doesn';t have as nice a feel as my HP, but still is fairly nice and the 10-key is an added bonus.
3.Installed software-In addition to the now standard 64-bit Windows 7 they also included a nice feature of making Office 2010 not simply a short-term trial, but instead adding a stripped-down basic version of word and excel that has no expiration date, treating the full version of office more like an update.
Final verdict (aka tldr version)--
Given these aspects of the machine mentioned above this is not going to be supplanting anyone's desktop or higher-end laptop any time soon, and listed at $396 on Amazon much better machines can be found for the price. But in the right sale (say just at or under $300) and setting this could be the perfect machine for someone looking for a budget machine to fill basic needs (web-browsing, word processing, playing music--assuming a small investment in speakers) or someone looking for a cheap secondary machine to take on the road with them and as as a netbook with improved display/keyboard and no need for an external cd/dvd player.I decided to get this @bestbuy after helping my mom shop for a laptop for my brother before Christmas. Works great for everyday computing/school and video converting. Was disappointed in volume loudness so I did some snooping and found a fix.
Right click on the speaker icon in the lower right area of the taskbar. (next to the power and internet connection icon)
Click "Playback Devices",
Click on "Speakers" to highlight it,
Then click "Properties"
Then the "Enhancements" Tab
Then check "Loudness Equalization"
then Apply and OK
Worked for me and increased volume to a much better level.
Hope that helps those that this issue annoys.
Overall the best laptop for the price ($299) once the loudness issue is addressed.
Webcam and mic would have been nice but I usually never use the webcam on my desktop. I have a "Sony Electret Condenser microphone ECM-DS70P" I bought off eBay for 99 cents+ shipping that works awesome with Google Voice when plugged into the mic input. Easy fix that is small and portable.
What's great about it: Low price, Toshiba/Japanese reliability, Fast, Widescreen
What's not so great: Webcam and mic would have been nice but not needed.While I do have some issues with this laptop, for the price, it is definitely worth it. I got it as my laptop to take with me to college my freshman year of college. Also bought a desktop, but wanted an inexpensive laptop for the portability. I weighed my options and got the toshiba satellite c655.
I'm not going to waste anyone's time so I'll get down to the pros and cons of this laptop.
Pros:
-Size is perfect to fit in a backpack or briefcase, absolutely no problems there.
-2 USB port, an SD port, and an ethernet port. (Standard on most laptops)
-The mouse pad!!! (It has multi-touch technology similar to a mac. 2 finger scroll to scroll up or down and pinch to shrink or enlarge.)
-decent battery life, an hour and a half when power saver mode is off.
-The keyboard feels nice, keys are soft, but do not feel fragile.
-It has a number pad. (I could never have a computer without one.)
Cons:
-Download time is atrocious. (Took me 15 hours to download software for a class when my roommate had it in under 2.)
-The multi-touch can be unresponsive, but I still love it.
-As far as I've seen, there is no way to adjust the sound on the keyboard, you have to open the speaker settings
-There is not enough contrast between the mouse sensor and the laptop casing. (I often think I'm not touching the mouse sensor, when it turns out that I'm writing a paper and all of a sudden I'm typing halfway across the page.
Neither pro nor con:
-I think Toshiba cut the price on the laptop by putting an average processor into an outstanding laptop. This makes performance very slow compared to my desktop. (I didn't want to spend the money on a more expensive laptop, so am I at fault here? I think so, not Toshiba)
All in all, I am very satisfied with the performance of this computer. There are a few minor problems, but for the price, I doubt you'll find a better buy. Toshiba makes phenomenal laptops, and I am a happy customer.
Would give it 5 stars, except that I am rating Amazon's product, not the laptop itself. I got it on sale at BestBuy for a cheaper price, and this was over 6 months ago. If Amazon dropped their price on this, I would certainly bump the rating to 5 stars in a heartbeat.
Lenovo ThinkPad W530 24384CU 15.6' LED Notebook - Intel - Core i7 i7-3720QM 2.6GHz
Fast and complete. Windows 7 Pro pre-installed, but Windows 8 Pro discs delivered with the laptop!Battery of 9 cells makes it last many hours with no need to plug it on.
A little heavy, but it's not an intended for mobile use.
Fujitsu FPCR61381 LIFEBOOK NH751 17.3" Notebook PC
I've had this laptop for a week and so far it's great. The screen is big and beautiful. It is huge but it's supposed to be. It's a desktop replacement. It also runs very quiet compared to other laptops I have. And there is a space for an additional hard drive. That is a HUGE bonus, and wasn't mentioned anywhere when I bought it. Stylewise is looks great too, especially the big speakers on top. The touchpad is very sensitive, and works much better than on other laptops I've seen, once you get used to it.The only real issue I had with it was the spacebar. If you didn't tap it right in the center, it wouldn't make a space. It was driving me nuts when typing. But I pried out the spacebar, put a small piece of foam underneath to force the button underneath down a little farther, and it worked like a charm. Now I barely touch the spacebar anywhere on it to make a space. It works perfectly.
UPDATE November 2012: About six months with this computer and it still works wonderfully. No problems.
I also miss the illuminated keyboard on my Asus.
Other than that it's a good computer.
Acer Notebook AS5560-8225;NX.RNTAA.001 15.6-Inch Laptop
I can play lots of games on this laptop as-well as work efficiently. Looks nice, feels great. I Really think this computer is exceptional.
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Fujitsu Lh532,intel Core I3-3110m, 14" Screen Display, Notebook with 4gb Memory, 750gb Hard Drive,
It arrived fast and booted right up to good old Windows 7. Build quaility feels great. Keyboard has a waterproof liner under it. Monitor is crispy clear and the system is very speedy. The reseller also included a really nice laptop tray with a fan that runs off the USB port. Loved the entire experience.
Dell Inspiron i15R-2632sLV 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver)
First off, this laptop is actually a Dell Inspiron 15r 5520. Dell has no record of the model # i15R-2632sLV, and WILL NOT be able to help you if you refer to this model # (have no idea why Amazon lists it under this name). There are 4 configurations to the 15r 5520, and this is the best one. This information can be found directly from Dell here: This is a very powerful laptop for the price. The Intel Core i7 3612QM handles multi-tasking seamlessly, and the 1TB hard drive is larger than most that you will find in this price range. While it would've been nice to include a 7200 rpm hard drive (like the comparably priced Samsung Series 5 laptop which also has a Core i7), the 5400 rpm drive will not produce as much heat, especially during tasks like gaming. The processor is more than powerful enough to make up for the slower hard drive speed as well. The design is sleek, the keyboard feels very comfortable, and the whole case is a quality build. If you are looking for a fast, powerful laptop at a low price, this is a great choice.
However, note that if you are interested in playing the most current games at high settings (a "hardcore" gamer), this is not the laptop for you: the graphics card is integrated into the CPU, so there is no dedicated graphics card, and thus the graphics card can't be upgraded. It includes Intel HD Graphics 4000 (currently the highest rated Intel HD Graphics set as per the date of this review), which is perfectly able to handle most games, but will be unable to bring you the most current games at the higher-end settings.
Overall I would recommend this laptop to anyone other than intensive PC gamers who crave the razzle-dazzle of fully realized optimal graphics from demanding games (such as Battlefield 3). I can't say enough about the power of the processor for the price. Most comparable to: Samsung Series 5 NP550P5C-A02US, and Sony VAIO E Series SVE1511MFXS.
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This is a great computer, very fast, i can watch netflix, have 10 browsers open, and have downloads going in the background and there is still no lag time for new tasks. The video quality is great, and there is plenty of hard drive space for movies and music. Carefull with the case the sliver scratchs so very easy and shows bad. It comes packed with alot of crappy trial software, tho, it took over an hour to unload all of it.Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron i15R-2632sLV 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver) Here
From very early on, the computer has had trouble with going into sleep mode when it shouldn't; these days it's usually fine, but throws a fit every now and then. And it has seemed kind of slow given the fancy hardware. I called Dell and they tried to deal with it, but required either a steep one time fee or an even steeper service contract. I got the one time fix to deal with the sleep mode problem. The problem went away for the next several days. But a week later it was back again. Perhaps reinstalling windows would fix things, but it's a hassle.Otherwise it's been alright.
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The computer is very fast and very good! Intel Hd 4000 graphics are very good for the price.8 gb of ram, plenty to keep programs running smooth. You can't go wrong with a terabite (1000) Gb hard drive!
Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV80 17.3-Inch 3D Gaming Laptop - Fusion X2 Finish in Red Horizon
I purchased this laptop a little over a month ago and I am really happy with some aspects and disappointed with others. The 3D works great. The movies look good and so do the games played in 3D. It has some upconvert abilities when it comes to the 3D. It will upconvert DVDs only and not blurays or so far as I can tell. I could never get standard blurays to play in 3D but I'm sure you can find software that will do it. The PC runs great for normal activities but when it comes to gaming it does not run so great. The PC runs hotter than most as it is, although nothing too bad under normal use, however, when you try to play a game you get stutter for maybe 30 seconds where the frame rate drops significantly. This happens about every minute or two so it is annoying. The graphics are great but this stutter is a major issue that has not been addressed by Toshiba yet. For me even when I lower the graphics the stutter still occurs so it doesn't seem to matter. If you look this issue up on the Toshiba forum you will find several people having the same problem without an apparent solution. If Toshiba puts out an update to fix this problem I would give it 5 stars and recommend it but as it stands I would only recommend this computer if you don't plan on gaming. Weird that this laptop is advertised for gaming but yet has such a problem with doing the very thing it was marketed to do. **UPDATE** I forgot to revise my review but after the BIOS update the games play fine now without any stutter. I give the laptop 5 stars now.
This laptop is replacing my asus g73 Gaming laptop while a great laptop I do believe the Toshiba trumps it in several categories
Obviously this is the 2nd gen Intel Sandy bridge and blows away the other i7 chip in the asus
it also has the GTX 560m 3d capable video card. Which was a nice upgrade
The screen size remained the same but the Toshiba pulls off a win here as its a bit nicer quality the true 1080p resolution capabilities prob. help it in this categorize
Really It dominates the Asus except for the following in my opinion
I think the Asus design is more appealing
I think the keyboard is much nicer on the asus from a touch and input perspective.
the touch pad buttons are huge steps up from the Toshiba buttons.
So far i love this laptop and looks like its going to work out for a long time to come.
Buy Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV80 17.3-Inch 3D Gaming Laptop - Fusion X2 Finish in Red Horizon Now
I bought a Qosmio X775-3Dv80 after Xmas from Amazon in 2011. Screen went bad the first week. Amazon sent me a new one. 3D and display card went south 2 weeks later on the second one. Amazon sent me another replacement.Kudos for Amazon!!!
Wifi went out 3 weeks later on the 3rd one. Called Toshiba instead of Amazon. Toshiba repaired it (reinserted the wifi card).
5 months later, wifi crapped out again. Sent back to Toshiba. Toshiba repaired and sent it back.
However, upon reception back from the repair, I found a 2-inch long crack on one corner & a chip on the top cover, prying marks inside (trying to get the keyboard out?), and keyboard not seated all the way in. The shipping package undamaged
I contacted Toshiba again and was promised a "complementary" one (I didn't ask for it)
Days later when I called them about it, Tosh rep said NO such RECORD, but told me to send it back for repair.
I did so and got an email from Toshiba saying warranty doesn't cover cracks, and wanting $175.99 to fix it. What???? They broke it.
Called them again and got transferred to a case manager. I spent 30min with him explaining that Toshiba wanted to charge me for damage cause by the repairman, etc. He just kept repeating "Toshiba's warranty policy does not cover physical damages.", and " is there anything else I can help you with?" no matter what I tried to explain.
The previous rep told me to send it back in for repair instead of sending me a different unit???
I was so discussed that I told him "just send it back". It took them 5 weeks to send the damaged laptop back to me.I am happy with my purchase. I have no real complaints about this laptop, the only problem I have had is with the 3D viewing falling out of synch after a few minutes of viewing with the 3D glasses, which tech support tells me will be resolved with a BIOS update which they will walk me through. Very fast, beautiful large display, handles anything I have thrown at it. Highly recommended.I have had this computer for about a year when it started shutting down without warning. No error message, no blue screen of death, no kernel dump. It just shuts down completely and doesn't come back up again. So I did a search on the internet and found that this is a common problem with the model and many people have experienced it. Apparently the only cure is to have the unit replaced with a different model. If you get the same model, the same issue will crop up sooner or later. Toshiba is aware of this issue but still continues to sell a defective product. Before you decide to purchase this product, just do a search on the internet using the model name and 'shutdown' and you'll see what I mean.
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HP ENVY dv6t-7300 Quad Edition Notebook PC
Envy is a good name for this line of laptops, it is simply stunning to look at and hold; with that said I believe it could have been assembled with more care. The power and HDD status lights on mine shine through the adjacent USB port and DVD drive, also there is a light rattle from the speaker on the underside of the computer. I do have a slightly different set up then what's stated above (I added the lit keyboard, 1920X1080 HD screen, Geforce, and Bluetooth) but those features aside I still love this computer, finger print scanner works, battery life considering the wealth of high end components isn't too bad, I get 3 hours with the screen bright and the keyboard light on. I had a problem with the WIFI booting slowly from sleep mode, updated driver from HP fixed that up quick. It stays at a reasonable temperature unless your gaming in which case it should be in a hard surface anyway. The glowing HP symbol in the front along with the black metal finish on the cover and the silver accents make this laptop very classy looking, I think more so than a Macbook, which to me is too simple. The keyboard and touch pad are both very quiet and feel very solid and offer good resistance, the finger printer reader works very well too. Windows 8 is weird and we (as a society) aren't use to it yet but that will come with time, it's not so different from Win7 that I can't use it, but there are things I find annoying about it. Before I start really complaining about the new OS, I'm going to wait to see how the first service pack looks. I would absolutely buy this computer again, especially at the promotional price I paid!
Buy HP ENVY dv6t-7300 Quad Edition Notebook PC Now
After purchasing the Envy dv6t-7300 brand new, I powered it up and it did not work. After a 2 hour call w/ HP, and then updating hardware and drives, it works. Overall I am satisfied with its performance.Read Best Reviews of HP ENVY dv6t-7300 Quad Edition Notebook PC Here
HP Pavilion DM3-1030US 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Prem
This is a beautiful machine. Check it out -4.2 lbs, 1" thick, Magnesium case, 7200 rpm HDD, spectacular HD display, 4 GB memory, 320 GB Hard Drive, Iconic keyboard Windows 7, 4 USB ports, HDMI port, great WiFi,etc. etc. All for under $600! It's astonishing. One begins to wonder what truck they steal these off of. Yes, my title is correct, "Macbook Killer." Look at the two machines side by side -they are pretty much the same thing. Yes, the Macbook Pro has a backlit keyboard, ok. But the DM3 has an HDMI port, which means I can attach it to my HDTV and play Neflix or Itunes movies, or youtube, etc. in High Definition. Sure, it has no optical drive, but folks, cd's and dvd's are becoming old technology, and being replaced by thumb/jump drives. Even software will be coming on these. Actually, the DM3 weighs almsot a pound less than a Macbook by eliminating the optical drive, and the advantages of using an external drive are many. Keyboards are almost identical, case is a toss up, display's are similar, windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard has its plusses and minuses going both ways. Yes, the Macbook is more powerful for high intensity graphics, but if you are using your computer as most people do, you will not notice the difference. But the knockout comes at checkout: It is less than 1/2 the price of a similarly configured 13" Macbook Pro!It is so far superior to any netbook that there is no comparison there. Yes, it's not perfect. It does re-charge slowly, and the trackpad takes some getting used to. But it has so many fantastic features, when you factor in the price, it is the best value out there in ultraportable computing.
I have been using portable computers since the mid-eighties when they were 25 pounds with tiny monochrome screens floppy drives and cost $3000. Now for under $600, they are 1/6th the weight, yet 100 times as fast with 3000 times the storage and much more functionality. Think about how amazing this is! You will love this little machine.
Pros:
HDMI works well for watching Hulu on my HDTV.
Brushed metal case means fingerprints aren't a problem.
Quiet fan and hard-drive.
Wi-Fi is easy to set up (Windows 7 is rock solid).
Light-weight and easy to carry or stick into a travel bag.
13.3 screen size is a happy medium between a Netbook and a Laptop.
Keyboard is easy to use.
4 Gig of RAM is snappy.
13.3 screen size is a happy medium between a Netbook and a Laptop.
Cons:
Battery slowly drains if not plugged in.
Mouse pad wants to start Sticky Keys at times. Fixed by disabling Sticky Keys. Occasionally the mouse pad is briefly unresponsive.
Notes:
Although the battery lost 10% of its charge in 30 minutes while surfing the Web in normal mode, it recharged to 100% very quickly.
A CD drive would sap energy, which is why it's not included (you can buy an external one if you need it).
Overall, this is a great buy for the price. I really enjoy using it.I've only had this machine for a couple days but it's very nice so far.
Pros: sleek, widows 7, plenty powerful, lots of ram and drive space, battery life, graphics card is decent, weight
Cons: power plug sticks out pretty far when plugged in, but not a big deal. Updated the track pad driver after one freeze and it hasn't locked up again since. No gigabit lan. Memory card reader won't read MS Duo without an adapter, not a deal breaker. Small up/down arrows, again not a killer, I'm already used to it. Track pad is a little sticky.
The biggest problem I've had so far isn't a ding against this computer, it's a windows 7 issue. Games for Windows Live wouldn't update, couldn't uninstall, couldn't reinstall. Finally got it working, but don't ask me to repeat the process.
I saw a guy on the interwebs frantically searching about how to change the DM3 Function Keys back to the standard F1, F2, F3 etc. It's in the bios. Hit Esc during startup, then F10 to enter the bios, configure from there, it's on the third tab or thereabouts. I may keep them as the media keys, don't know yet.
Games: Runs Halo 1 very well, runs Team Fortress 2 pretty decently, Dawn of War II is playable with everything turned way down. So that's a pass for the graphics and processor as far as I'm concerned.
My favorite thing about windows 7: You can select a group of files, right click and change their meta data! So awesome! Updating mp3 tags is a breeze!
I didn't want a desktop replacement, I wanted a laptop replacement and this fits the bill. I'm coming from an old Sony PCG-SRX99 so I'm used to not having an optical drive. Windows 7 lets you mount one on the network anyway.
Very good overall. I'll update if anything changes.
EDIT 11/29/2009
The touchpad is still unresponsive after coming out of sleep. It's turning into a major issue. Hopefully a firmware update comes out.
EDIT 12/14/2009
Now I have a bad pixel, right in the middle of the screen. Always on green. I've knocked down the rating to 3 stars, and thinking about sending it back.What comes in the box?
User manual
AC Adapter
6 cell rechargeable battery
Notebook
Construction
The notebook is compact and light which makes this highly portable for traveling. This is a compact device that fits nicely on my lap or an airplane tray table. The screen is a glossy 13.3" Widescreen and reflects glare in areas of bright light. There is no wrist pad flex but quite a bit of screen flex. The lid is a brushed Magnesium alloy that easy to wipe clean. The integrated camera is positioned above the screen.
The keyboard layout is well positioned and intuitive. No dedicated keys are present, except for the power switch and WiFi Radio button. Function key allows control of volume, brightness, sleep, lock, fast forward, reverse and play. The function key allows you to use the keys as a numeric keypad.
The touchpad is metallic in color and uses gestures to scroll, zoom and rotate. The mouse buttons take a touch too much pressure to depress and there is no integrated mouse stick, like you see on IBMs or other business machines.
Indicator lights in the front right edge are present for charging status and when the hard drive is being accessed.
This laptop is very quiet and I barely hear the fan. The bottom of the notebook (right where the Windows License sticker is located) is warm but not hot/uncomfortable.
In addition to WiFi, this has Bluetooth capability.
The left side of this notebook has the power Jack, network port, HDMI, 2 USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks. A card reader accepts SD, Memory stick pro, Multimedia cards and XD Cards. The right side of the notebook has lighted power buttons for the WiFi radio and Power for the notebook. 2 additional USB ports and a port for a laptop lock are also present.
This laptop is supplied with Windows 7. There is an MS Office 60 Day Trial and a trial of Norton Internet Security.
Operation
Use of this notebook, given the size and very good battery life make this a practical company for someone always on the go. The keyboard is comfortable and the features make this a great multimedia machine for traveler.
Screen quality is good but a touch too dim for my personal preference. The maximum screen resolution us 1366x768.
Sound quality is average but not powerful. Speakers are in the front edge of the notebook made by Altec Lansing. Dynamic range is limited and has high and midrange frequencies with a weak base.
Battery life in real time applications (WiFi, Bluetooth off, screen brightness on high, and running the Internet is about 4.5 to 5 hours. Only with Bluetooth and WiFi off, and screen brightness to 75%, Power Saver mode, can you approach the 6 hour mark. High Performance mode cuts battery life by about 20%.
Pros
Cost
Quiet
Lightweight
HDMI
Card reader
4 USB ports
Bluetooth
Fit, Finish and construction
Cons
No optical drive
Weak speakers
Slightly dim display
Conclusion
Given the size, cost and capabilities, this notebook rivals the larger laptops for its more than capable processing power and rivals netbooks for the size and price point. This laptop is worthy of consideration!I bought this item to replace a three year old 14 inch eMachines laptop that I spilled coffee on (yeah yeah I know). I looked at netbooks for a while because I liked the portability and lower price but realized that for $100-$150 more I could get this nice 13 inch laptop which fell right where I was looking to be. Netbooks are restricted with processor speed, ram, size (if you're looking for something slightly larger) and functionality (you can only get it with Windows Starter Edition).
So when compared to a typical laptop, is this a great machine? Well that depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a small laptop with very reasonable performance all around that won't break the bank, then yes this is a great machine. On sale this unit can be found for around $500-$550 right now (if you are patient and keep an eye on prices) making it a steal in my book. I won't go into all the details since the other reviews pretty much addresses them all but here are a few others and thoughts:
Yes the track-pad is awful. It is fairly slow even with the settings set as fast as they can go. The clicking of the mouse button requires a "click" which I personally like over ones that seem to click every time I brush up against it but once again this may frustrate some people. I use a mouse 90% of the time so the track-pad hasn't been a deterring factor (although it does leave crazy amounts of fingerprints).
The keyboard is great if you ask me but if you use many shortcuts like some people tend to do, you'll find having to use the function key a bit of a hassle. I've read in another review that for example the F keys can be programmed in the bios to be just that without the use of the function key, so that may be an option worth changing for some. I am a bit surprised though that the keyboard does tend to imprint fingerprints too, but once again not a deal-breaker.
The fan is not very loud (at least not mine although I read a couple people complain about it) but I found the bottom of the computer does tend to get a bit hot and sometimes the top where you rest on the keyboard. This isn't unlike many computers and this thing is very slim yet fairly powerful so I suppose it's to be expected. If you're the type that feels any heat is bad, then you may want to look elsewhere.
The lack of a CD drive is worth noting. Through the use of things like Nero to burn images of programs you only have on CD, Daemon Tools to read them, and Bit Torrent to get programs in digital form this is fairly easy to deal with but if you have limited knowledge of computers you may find that just installing your old version of MS Office that is on CD will be a challenge. On a netbook the lack of a CD drive wouldn't even be worth mentioning but because this unit falls under the laptop category in every way then it's worth noting as a negative.
Lastly, the battery life while I haven't extensively tested seems to be a bit poorer than I thought it would be. I however don't give it much of a chance since I always have the brightness as high as it goes, wireless on, etc etc. Using the item in lo-fi to gain some extra battery life isn't worth it to me but should I be without the accessibility of an outlet it's good to know that I can get by when changing the settings.
So if you can get over these setbacks (like I have) and can get this laptop for the $500-$550 range, then I highly recommend it. If paying more, then the ASUS UL30A should seriously be considered. It's got very similar specs except double the battery life plus some of the cons of this laptop such as the track-pad and such seems to not be present with the ASUS. Choosing between the two basically boiled down to price for me and I've been very happy so far. As far as choosing between a small laptop like this or a netbook, all I can say is that current netbooks don't have the processor speed, included and expandable ram, and video playback capabilities that this laptop has. I can run multiple programs, including my accounting software, along with antivirus software, all at once without it skipping a beat.