DELL NOTEBOOK STUDIO 17-Inch Laptop (Midnight Blue)

Dell has apparently taken a new attitude of making it as difficult as possible for customers to contact them. Any number you call will turn out to be wrong. You'll be told to call another number, which will also be wrong, but you find that out only after waiting 10 minutes on hold. You will be told you're getting transferred to the right number ... you'll wait, and wait, and get disconnected. You call again, and wait, and wait, and wait on hold, then get somebody rude who tells you they can't help with anything without you digging up your customer number, order number, or blah-blah-blah. Once you give them that, they transfer you ... right back out to the same queue you had been waiting on. A formerly great American company has decided the customer is their enemy. You need to return fire.

I bought my Studio 17 direct from Dell through their education sales program (I'm a high school teacher), and I had to send it back within a day because of a problem with the hard drive. The second computer worked well for a bout 2 months, (the warranty only covered 20 days!!!). Then I continually received a "not Responding" message, the computer was freezing up even though the only programs I had on the machine were MS Office, and a grading program. It took seven calls, and a total of almost 13 hours of my time to let them test the computer over and over (the same tests were repeated!, to find out that they didn't know what was wrong. Finally I told them I had had enough and I was sending the computer back to them...but the tchnician told me he had no address in his computer for me to send it to. He also refused to let me talk to his supervisor (in India).

I'm furious with this company and would never, ever buy another Dell product again. They should be ashamed of how they treat their customers.

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First to be factual, I don't own a Dell Studio 17 because I made the mistake of trying to actually BUY one by calling their sales phone number. It took seven minutes of dueling with the robot router and responding to endless interrogations to actually speak to a sales person. I didn't have much better luck with the sales rep with customer number, phone, zip, yada yada, yada. Its easier to get a top secret security clearance. Finally after 5 or 6 minutes of third degree I was able to actually ask a couple questions about the computer, eg "How is the 4G memory configured? Does it use both bays (2+2)or can I buy a memory chip and add to an empty bay? Answer "I don't know". Question "What does it cost to add Blue Ray?" Answer "I can't tell you that. I have to run a quote to find out". A couple of quotes were finally run...the Blue Ray seems to be about a $250 option. The prices quoted were much higher than big box store prices for similar configurations. Jury is still out whether I actually buy one...but for sure its not going to be from Dell direct sales.

ADDED LATER: Now I'm REALLY annoyed. Since ignorantly contacting Dell and disclosing my information to them I have been spammed daily by both electronic and snail mail marketing junk, none of which is of any value. At no time did they indicate that my info would be used other than to "identify" me for better service. Deal with these folks at your peril. The jury is in...I wouldn't buy one of their products under any circumstances.

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I'm not a big computer guy...just give me a good screen and reasonbly fast execution and I'm happy

I went with this Dell laptop about 2 years ago because my first computer was a Dell desktop that was great; so I figured a Dell laptop was the way to go and didn't consider any other brand...I paid my $1000 bucks directly to Dell

Mind you i'm no tech-junkie...I don't stretch it any further than Word..E-mail..Shopping..and YouTube

BUT

I do type quite a bit...and this keyboard has started to fail after about 1 1/2 years....Constantly having to go back and

ix words (

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Dell XPS 14Z X14z-2308ELS 14-Inch Laptop (Elemental Silver)

Have been using this system for a couple of weeks now and love it. Great compact design, very thin for a system with a optical drive, and the keyboard is excellent.

Pros Elegant design, slim body, great keyboard + trackpad, Intel architecture, and Dell warranty.

Cons Dell bloatware. I would prefer to see Dell load very clean installs instead of some of the useless software they will load to collect bounties.

We purchased this item for a Christmas gift in Nov 2011 and gave it to my 18 year old son Christmas Day. Since then, we have had 4 major repairs (cursar pad, wifi connection antenea, 2 hard drives!!!!) Warrenty (that I paid extra to get )has been great tech always repairs product but really ...4 major outages. Last one while my son was in the middle of a major college project. All data not backed up was lost. Arghhhhh.

Lets see if Dell makes good on their promise to look into this computer. Could we have a lemon?????

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I was looking for a compact and light laptop that I can easily carry around with me and that is capable of handling graphics heavy programs, as I am a graphic designer. Price was also a big consideration. After researching many computers with NVIDIA graphics cards and intel i7 processor like this one, I discovered that besides for being absolutely gorgeous, this computer is the cheapest in its class of light and thin computers that are capable of handling a little more than microsoft office. I have to admit, the looks of this computer definitely appealed to me and may have affected my decision when buying this computer... But i have had it now for about a month and so far I have no complaints.

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This is the sleekest, coolest best looking dell laptop I have ever seen. I've owned it now for several weeks (purchased through Costco, not Amazon, for slightly more $). The specs are good. 8GB Ram, 750GB Hdd, i7core, dual core processor with hyperthreading, and a high-end clock rate during burst mode. The screen is fantastic, many more lumans brighter than my other dell laptop (an old m65).

Now why did I pick this PC? Because it is as close to looking like a macbook pro without being a mac. My personal preference for any laptop, is to immediately wipe the OS and put Ubuntu on it. I am currently running Ubuntu 12.04 with kde-plasma-desktop installed; this computer is behaving like a dream.

A quick comment on the device. It has more holes (aka vents) in it than I would like, but the engineer in me knows that this is Dell Trying to make sure the PC lasts a long time (good ventilation and heat dissipation are crucial). My Wife's Macbook Pro LAPTOP overheats often, sometimes too hot to put in her LAP. My other complaint is that while the laptop screen is well aligned with the base and clearly well attached, I can see that it is mounted .5mm (check a ruler if you can't envision how small that is) further to the right, than to the left. This extremely anal way of looking at the top when closed speaks to why I bought the PC to begin with: I wanted a precision cut and designed metal housing.

I am still giving this 5 stars, because I want Dell and the world to know that there is a class of people out there, who want precision crafted PCs like this, but don't want the inane constraints and cost-overages of a Mac.

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This is the best Dell I have ever owned (and I have owned more than 5). It is a combination of beauty and performance and I just love it. The only things I wished it had were a VGA output (it limits the projectors I can use, but it is common with Dell to be like that) and an easily replaceable battery, but that is not too much to worry about.

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Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop I15N-2733BK / Intel® CoreTM i3-2350M Processor / 15.6" Display / 4GB Memor

I wanted a decent laptop with i3 and about 15" screen. It's got a nice hard drive, it's fast, I can connect to my tv With the HDMI output. It's pretty much got everything. For the price it's a steal. I got mine locally, didn't realize Amazon sold it. But would highly recommend one. The other reviewer with the horrible review got me a little worried, but it seems like he might be writting about another model as this one is too new for him to have it for the length of time he says he had it.

This laptop is awesome! It is exactly what I needed at a great price. It handles everything and more I needed. It is fast! The HDMI output is a nice feature as well.

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For the money it is a great computer. Moves super fast. I have no a problems so far. I use this laptop for internet and for work and it is excellent for both.

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Half my life is on the computer. So I really needed one that is easy to use, reliable, good quality. (This thing is solid as a rock!) I shopped and shopped for several months, looked closely at other brands, reviews, ratings, etc, and decided this was the one for me!

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Simply the worst computer I've bought from Dell, and this was my fifth one! We paid over $800 for ours (upgraded a few items, thinking we would have it long term what a joke!) and bought it direct from Dell.

I've had to take it to a local repair place since our 1 year warranty has expired (makes you think they build them just to last past that one year mark, doesn't it??) and have spent over 10 hours on the phone dealing with various departments. As upset as I am about the product, I'm even more upset about Dell customer service department (what an oxymoron, they do everything possible NOT to provide service). I honestly think they run their business like the health insurance companies, just keep transferring the client and denying coverage until they give up.

When I was talking to their tech support rep, he admitted that they've had overheating issues with this laptop. So when your car manufacturer realizes that there's an overheating issue, what do they do? They issue a recall notice, they ask that you bring the vehicle to a dealership so they can see if your car has that problem, and THEY FIX IT, no charge! Sadly, this experience has taught me that I should not have assumed that the company I believed in would actually be customer focused. Dell tries to avoid being held accountable for their lackluster product. Do your homework before buying this piece of doodoo, just check the Austin Better Business Bureau and you'll see that they have had OVER 9,100 complaints filed against them in the last 3 years!

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HP Pavilion dv7-4280us 17.3-Inch Entertainment Notebook PC (Silver)

I've been using this computer for about 3 weeks now, and am quite happy with its performance and battery life. It has switchable graphics and automatically (unless disabled) switches between built-in graphics when battery powered and dedicated graphics (ATI HD6550) when wall cube powered. I don't use this computer for gaming, but the HD6550 is a fairly respectable card. Battery life is listed at 7.75 hours. I was originally seeing around 6 hours in my typical usage scenario (see note re change below). I am also pleased with its thermal management. When working hard it gets warm but not hot. Air exhaust is on the left, toward the back of the case, which is an acceptable location. Since it is billed as an "entertainment" laptop, there is a goodly amount of HP software installed for managing audio, video, photos, etc. I thought I would remove most of this, but found it to be relatively inoffensive and even useful at times. The hard drive is a generous 750 GB, so I wasn't too concerned about needing to free up space. I did disable the built-in backup management software in favor of adding a second 750 GB hard drive (this required purchasing an HP4000 series drive caddy and cable). I made the new drive (7200 RPM) the primary drive and relegated the slower 5400 RPM drive that came with the 4280 to backup. Having two hard drives did, of course, reduce battery life somewhat, but I still get around 5.5 hours not bad at all. I can now do backups in-situ via partition imaging, plus daily backups to an external USB drive. Regarding that the HP4280 has a powered eSATA port (combo USB and eSATA), which I use with a Seagate GoFlex Pro 750 GB drive with eSATA interface and it is fast (GoFlex pro uses 7200 RPM drive which matches the one I swapped in and made my boot drive).

There is also a fingerprint scanner which can be used to log in (password entry is still available as alternative). You have to spend a few minutes registering your fingerprint (plus one alternative print) but after that, you can log in by just swiping your finger over the scanner. It took some getting used to, but I now log in this way almost exclusively. One little trick I found place your finger over the scanner, then hesitate for just a bit (about 1/4 to 1/2 second) before swiping and it will read much more reliably. At least that's the case for me maybe I "trained" it that way. ;-)

My only real complaint is that the touch pad implementation is well, just awful. As has been noted by others, it's almost impossible to position the cursor and click to select without moving the cursor off target, and if you touch the case near the touch pad that moves the cursor. Really annoying. I added a Logitech M705 mouse which uses their tiny unifying receiver (I leave it plugged in all the time), and it works quite well, even with the receiver on the opposite side of the computer (that location works best for my carry case).

One last note this beasty has a blue ray player and Beats audio very nice combo for watching HD movies.

Overall, I am very happy with this computer. It lost one star for the schizoid touch pad and the slow hard drive.

Update 2011-05-10. Recently updated Synaptic Pointing Device drivers, and there were definite improvements in touch pad operation.

I am no stranger to laptops, this is my 6th. I've owned Dell, Toshiba and Asus laptops, this is my first HP. It is replacing my Toshiba x205-s9349 which at 3 1/2 years old has become sluggish and a couple of times shut off by itself signaling the end might be near. I spend all day (and night) on my laptop and use it for surfing, photography, watching streaming movies, updating my iPod and iPhone and watching Blu-ray movies. I also use it to watch streaming live events on ESPN3 such as ALMS racing and college football which on my old laptop I connected to my TV via 25FT HDMI TO HDMI Cable. After checking reviews and features, I found this model had great reviews and most of the features I wanted. It also was a few hundred dollars less then other computers with the same features (6gb ram, 750gb hd, Blu-ray reader, 17" display, HDMI out, 802.11n, Bluetooth). The only thing I was weary of was the Windows 7 64bit OS and running older programs. To date, I have had no issues and Windows 7 is similar to Vista, so not hard to figure out.

Pros

Blazing fast, high end processor

High end graphics with excellent LED screen

Blu-ray player

17"

Aluminum casing

Long battery life

Price

Finger scanner

Cons

No Firewire or any type of expansion card slot to add it

The converter part on the power cord gets pretty hot

Neutral

Sound, even though it has the Dr Dre Beats Audio, it still sounds about the same as my old Toshibia (although that system also had a highly touted Harman Kardon speaker/subwoofer system). Obviously sound is limited to the small size/speakers limitation of laptops.

HP Laptop reliability reputation. There was a report out a couple years back showing HP to have the worse reliability, in the upper 20% after 3 years. It was also noted that it makes the most laptops and that the smaller laptop makers, like Toshibia, had lower failure rates. To me, that study sounds flawed in that if there are so many more HP laptops, many more are going to need repair so I am not sure about the methodology of the study or if HP quality (or anyone else's) has changed since its been out.

UPDATE: I have had the computer for 9 months. 2 problems arose and were quickly fixed by HP. First, the A/C adapter stopped working. They shipped one no charge. For some reason Fed Ex shipped the part from SC to Atlanta and instead of going to the local distribution center here in metro Atlanta, it was sent to TX. So that delayed the part, not HP's fault though. I did not have to send the bad part back.

The second thing that happened, according to the H.P. Support Assistance software and third party S.M.A.R.T. software, I had some bad sectors on my hard drive, the kind that a Windows scan and fix can't help. So I contacted support, gave them the error code. They told me I needed a new hard drive and would have a supervisor call within 2 business days. The supervisor called the next day, Friday. He told me I would ship it out and I had 15 days to ship the bad one back. They take your credit card number and will charge it if they don't get the broken part back in the time allowed. It was stressed that if I sent it back after 15 days, they still won't refund the money. I got the feeling if I wasn't comfortable doing the swap, they would have me send the entire laptop in. They paid shipping of the part both ways. So, again, the distribution center is in SC and I am in Atlanta. The part arrived on Saturday, the next day. I bought an external USB drive, partitioned it so it was slightly smaller than the HD on the laptop. I followed the Windows 7 directions to make a mirror image which includes making a boot disc. It took a few hours to make the mirrors of c: and d: which was under 300GB total. d: is HP's backup partition. I swapped out the drives, and used the Windows boot disc with the external USB HD connected that had the mirror image and in a couple of hours, my computer was exactly like I had it before. HP sent discs, but I didn't need them by using Windows Backup. Once I made sure everything was right, I swapped back to the old disc and did a boot and nuke, erasing all content. One more swap and everything is great.

So, HP support has been great.

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I bought this computer after researching on Consumer Reports for a laptop to replace our home computer (a Dell desktop). Once I narrowed down my choices to this computer and a Toshiba Satellite, I read the Amazon reviews for this computer and was convinced (espectially, when someone said that they bought it to replace their iMac). At first I was thinking of switching to an iMac, but after doing my research I found this computer to be the best rated for my specific needs. I have a shop on Etsy and need a computer with a lot of memory and the ability to run multiple programs at once. I have to say that I am VERY pleased with my decision! This computer is beautiful (much better looking than the pictures), fast, lightweight, and incredibly easy to set-up. I took it out of the box, plugged it in, and within 10 minutes was ready to go! No software to load, no confusing user's manual, and very user-friendly. I was able to set-up my wireless internet connection and wireless printer in minutes with no complications. Windows 7 is an absolute pleasure to work with and I love the entire set-up of the computer. Also, the screen for this computer is huge and makes you feel like you're using a desktop :)

I've never purchased an HP product before, but I will definitely be a repeat customer in the future!

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I read the reviews about thet touch pad and thought, "How bad could it be?" I did not realize how much I do use the touch pad until I got this computer. It's practically impossible to use. I bought a mouse and am trying to get used to that. Otherwise I really like it. I use it to play SL which is a huge test of a graphics test and it performs very well. If you buy it go ahead and get a mouse, don't try to beat the touch pad, you'll end up with sore fingers.

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I've had this computer for about two months now. It was easy to set-up, had a fast processor, good graphics and screen quality, an enormous amount of memory, and a nice feel to the keyboard (although the tracking pad is useless). Unfortunately, I went to turn on this laptop recently and it failed to boot and emitted loud beeping sounds for several minutes. After three hours with an HP tech support person who had me open up the computer and reset a few hardware items and software, I ended up at the "please send your laptop to us for service." Yes, it's under warranty but I don't have my computer for 2 weeks and of course am missing deadlines. After I complained that a brand new laptop should work for longer than 2 months, the tech support person replied, "electronics are not guaranteed." Hm. Anyhow, I've been buying and using computers for 20+ years and have never encountered a new machine that has failed in two months.

UPDATE, September 5, 2011: In mid-August, HP fixed the keyboard and updated the BIOS so the computer worked for a few weeks more. Sadly, when I turned on the laptop today it proceeded to beep, had problems booting, and demonstrated keyboard failure again. If you buy this machine, make sure you back up your files daily. You'll need them.

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Apple MacBook Pro MC373LL/A 15-inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

I love this computer.

I have a couple of issues with it, but nothing big.

I hope the video helps.

I have had this computer for three weeks now, and waited to write a review until I had fully tested it. The first one arrived with a bad keyboard, was sent back to Apple for replacement. The returned macbook pro however suffered from daily freezes at which point the keyboard and mouse were locked out, but processes continued and within about 5 minutes control was restored. This turned out to be a very common problem as fully documented on the Apple web site. Fortunately, Apple released an update to Snow Leopard (10.6.4) which solved the problem for most of us.

This computer is incredibly fast, especially if one has fully loaded it with memory (8GB) and ordered a solid state drive. But even without the SSD and standard memory (4GB), it is the fastest macbook pro ever made by nearly 30%. I love it.

I recommend users order this computer with 8GB of memory if at all possible. The extra memory makes a big difference in performance and is not that much more expensive. In addition, this computer comes with two options for screen resolution. I got the high resolution display with anti-reflection, and it is a joy to work on. Now when I go back to my older macbook pro with standard resolution, I notice and am bothered by the difference.

Other reviews have listed some of the advantages of this computer, other than speed. So let me list some of the issues:

1. Graphics intensive applications generate lots of heat. When graphics is switched to the faster chip (this is automatic unless you choose to always use the faster chip in the energy preferences), the computer gets hot. Not so hot that you cannot use it on your lap, but approaching that level.

2. Computationally intensive applications also generate lots of heat. Running any program that simultaneously activates multiple cores and the fast graphics chip is the perfect storm, and this computer gets really hot on the bottom. Now you cannot comfortably work with it on your lap. If this is going to be a typical situation, get a cooling pad. I am using the logitech N100 and it completely solves the problem, but at added expense and battery drain (it uses the usb port). But I am often running calculations in the background, and for that, a cooling pad is essential. I anticipate it will also be important if you use this computer for gaming.

3. The battery life is highly dependent upon usage. The high speed graphics option is great unless you are running on battery, then it is a serious drain. Unfortunately, the software engineers did not provide an option to always use the slower graphics chip when on battery. This is an important option which should be implemented in a future release even if it means some applications will not be able to run at all. The battery issue is a flaw that prevents this computer from being a good travel computer. You cant change out the battery, and if you are traveling and the battery gets low, you simply have to close up shop or find an outlet. These are very hard to find, and the airlines often do not provide outlets on the seats or in their waiting areas in the airports.

Despite the above issues, which forced me to give this computer 4 stars, I love it. It is the best notebook computer I have ever used, although I will take another macbook pro when I travel because of the battery issues. The speed of this computer is comparable to a 3 GHz desktop Nehalem Mac Pro. The i7 chip is indeed a powerful processor and all your applications will run about 30% faster than on previous Macs.

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This was my first Mac. It arrived only after a couple of days. Packaging was immaculate as always. The Apple box itself was awesome.

Setting up a Mac and getting used to it was a breeze. Apple has so many tutorials that it is really easy to get to know things. OS X is awesome. Within a few minutes I was up and running. Configured my mail, expose, spaces, dock. Downloaded XCode, Chrome and I was up and running in no time.

So why a 4 star instead of a 5 star. Couple of reasons:

1. Running a software update brought down 1.2 GB of updates. Thank god I am on a broadband. Still it took about an hour. With the recent known vulnerabilities, I did not want to run a Mac that had known exploits.

2. The hardware itself is amazing simple design. But I was expecting I will get the "Clarksfield" family of i7 processors which are quad core. But instead, got a dual core Arrandale. Not only does it have 2 cores instead of 4, it also has 4MB of L2 cache instead of 6 or 8. I would appreciate if Apple and Amazon both were clear about this. Apple Appstore also does not mention which i7 we will get. I suppose we can blame Intel for this they make it believe that i7's are all quad cores but they are not.

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As much as I wished Apple did more changes in the new models of Macbook pro still this one is perfect in many ways: it has great design, high performance, outstanding display. Still it has a few minor imperfections: it heats a lot. I use it mainly at home and almost always it stands on the table but if I actually put it somewhere close to skin it just burns intolerably, so it's hard to call this a LAPtop :), the the curves near the trackpad where the niche for opening is (don't know how this part is called))) well for some reason they are made so sharp that they sometimes leave marked on my hands while using trackpad. Other than these remarks it's absolutely great.Apple MacBook Pro MC373LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop

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So to start I researched the new laptop market quite extensively for a computer for my everyday tasks (internet,iTunes, etc) and my graduate program that I will be starting (MBA). I have always used Windows machines and more specifically one HP four years ago and 3 Sony Vaio's since then. I have also owned all 3 iPhones and the new iPad so I thought that a MacBook Pro would be the next logical step but I have to admit that I was hesitant to put everything on the Mac platform having used Windows my whole life. However, the more I researched computers out there, there are really no PC's that have the fit and finish of the MacBook line. Most are plastic things that are made for 1 year at most. And of course they run Windows which even Windows 7 needs tending and caring more often then I prefer. I did consider the HP Envy line and while the specs are impressive I had a lackluster experience with HP so I wasn't sure that it would last at least 2.5-3 years that I need for my program. I also seriously considered the Sony Vaio Z and while impressive in specs, it is still a very expensive machine which is made more for portability and its screen flex caused me concern.

So I bought the MacBook Pro i7 and upgraded the hard drive to 7,200 RPM. I originally thought I would use mostly Windows on it and just got it for the fit and finish/styling that I really liked. I know that sounds crazy but I wasn't really planning on using the mac OS X part extensively. However, when I got the machine I must say that OS X is pretty amazing. Having used Windows extensively it is not that hard to learn OS X. Here are my findings for the machine:

Speed: The machine is blazing fast. There have been lots of articles on specs and benchmarks but just know from everyday use and even from transferring files over etc it is amazing! I personally chose the i7 chip because it future proofs the purchase and with the Amazon sale it was a great deal.

Overall System: It is a beauty to look at and work on. It is a very thin and not terribly heavy I mean if you are planning on lugging it around all day it might get heavy but it is not really bad. My old Vaio F was 6.5 lbs that felt much heavier.

OS X: It is very easy to work with. Things just work. That sounds like a cliche but in reality it is true. I think the hardest thing for Windows users like myself is trying to make things harder then they are. For instance, I expected installing my programs on OS X to be a pain like on Windows but it is so easy that I thought it wasn't working. But that is the point, things are a lot easier and you have to kind of go with it. Windows is a lot harder from that perspective. Yes after using it for years you know how to do things with it but it is a pain and you don't realize how easy it really should be until you start working on OS X.

Heat: It does get hot when you are doing a lot on it but mostly on the left side. It is not unbearable but it does heat up. But so does the Vaio Z and other machines using these chips. The design of laptops has not caught up to the chips from that perspective. So for me the heat was a wash because they all run quite hot at this point in time. This is by no means unbearable. But if you like to place the machine on your lap, probably won't work so well.

Screen: I have the base 1440x900 it is nice. I don't mind it I personally find the other one too small but again it is preference try an Apple store if you want to see the screen differences. And I was incredibly worried about glare. It picks up a ton outside because of the glass but I don't work outside so that is no big deal for me and in the house even by a window it has been fine for me. Again it is preference but I have been pleasantly surprised by the lack of glare experienced. I think the Apple Store lighting makes the glare very apparent so it is a good test of worst case scenarios but in reality in the house it is not as bad as at the Apple Store.

Windows 7/Boot Camp: Yes I do need some Windows things so reluctantly I am installing Windows 7 but I am miffed at how much space I need to devote to it. It reminds of why I got the Mac to begin with just bloated overall.

Apple Service: This I think is where it really shines. I had to use the Genius Bar to assist me in removing a stripped screw (my fault in trying to remove the cover to swap the hard drive for a faster one). Tip: Use the hardest screwdriver (Titanium) possible for it not the crap at Fry's it makes a difference. The screws are very soft and will strip quickly. So I took my new machine in without ever having turned it on and I know that Apple Store doesn't swap the drives for users but I asked the Genius to help me remove the screw. To my surprise he removed it, replaced it and then went ahead and did the install and reimaged the machine in 15 minutes. Now that is amazing service. And that is where the difference in pricing comes in. With my old Sony's I would drop good cash on those and when I went to Sony Style it was like why are you here again. They could care less about assisting me. Apple is just very different from that perspective. That is why the Vaio Z gave me pause. 2,500 knowing that they don't stand by their products is a hard sell!

Final Assessment: To each his own some people love Windows and that is fine, but I would submit to really study the build quality of the PC you are planning to purchase, the overall experience, service and ease of use etc before committing. People complain about Mac components being downgraded but honestly does it matter if you have a 1GB video card mated to a plastic rig or a completely designed system that is designed to work well together? Only the user can answer that for themselves depending on usage needs. For most the specs are great. But I think Apple did a nice job on this build and I really appreciate the fit, finish and ease of use. Is it worth the 2,000? I think so because it is a good machine for several years, has excellent service built in if you are close to an Apple Store and is just great to work on.

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MSI Computer Corp. MSI GE60 2OE-003US;9S7-16GC11-003 15.6-Inch Laptop

I got this laptop about 8 hours ago, and I love it. Let me break it down.

Pros:

Powerful (not top of the line, but powerful) gaming machine

Everything runs smooth

Big, bright screen

Comfortable keyboard

Cooling boost

Cons:

Windows 8

Small left shift key

Everything is pretty much self explanatory here.

I played Tera on it for about 3 hours, and it didn't even start to get as hot as my other laptop, which turns into a lava pit at the mere mention of "Netflix." Didn't even have to use the cooling boost option, which is fantastic by the way.

Overall, I'm happy. I'll update if anything goes wrong, but I doubt it will.

Edit: It is now Day 2. I noticed that the charger gets incredibly hot when used for a few hours. My old laptop didn't do that, though my old laptop didn't game, either. Not sure how bad this is, but its something to keep in mind. Also, the cooling boost option is fantastic. The laptop would probably die without it.

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Dell Alienware M11x 11.6-Inch i7-640 Laptop (Cosmic Black)

I love this little computer! I like having both a wide-screen laptop for long term projects, and a small laptop that I can carry for "just in case I need one" trips. This laptop is small, compact, and powerful--perfect for a videographer like myself. It runs the Adobe Master Collection CS5.5 with no trouble. I love the firewire line-in for video uploads; and it has plenty of USB 3 ports. I read else where that the only flaw in this laptop was the lack of disc drive. For me that wasn't an issue, since I have 3 external drives already. I keep the slim portable disc drive packed with the laptop, so I always have the option available. If you're looking for a small, powerful laptop, this one is a good pic!

A few months back, I bought this computer hoping for a quality gaming pc. After 2 months, it started going to s***. It overheats extremely fast, and I can't fix this because I am supposed to take the bottom cover off, but it was screwed in horridly tight, and I could not get it off. Therefore I am stuck with an $800 piece of s*** that I cannot return. Do not buy. Ever.

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I was hoping to get a decent computer when I ordered this. Since they have stopped manufacturing this model I was afraid that I would be getting a pretty beat up definently used version of the M11x. This was not so in my case! I got a pristine model which is so much faster than I thought it would be for such a small little system. I absolutely love the illuminated keyboard for such a little system.

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HP ENVY Gaming System DV7-7243CL i7 3rd Gen 12GB RAM 1TB HDD 17.3" LED FHD Midnight Black

The laptop itself is fantastic. It is blazingly fast and will provide you with more power than you ever need. Windows 8 is absolutely built for touch screen though, and you'll find yourself wondering if you're missing anything by not having one. If you, like me, don't much care for touch screen laptops, then this is the laptop brand for you.

**Edit** The first laptop was shipped to me with some damage to it. After contacting the seller, they shipped a new model out to me, giving me the ability to swap the hard drives and send back the damaged one with the UPS guy! Well done!

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Gateway 15.6" i3-370M 2.40 GHz Notebook | NV55C49u

not really that good. battery dies within 20 minutes. overheats when watching movies, playing games, etc. Sometimes it freezes when music is playing and it won't work correctly until the music is turned off. Webcam sucks. It's slow. it makes funny noises. i got this laptop because it was the cheapest one at bestbuy, and I needed a laptop. If I were you, even though it's cheap for a laptop, i'd definitely do research, it's definitely worth paying more for a laptop that's actually gonna last longer than the 90 day Norton trial it comes when you first get it.

Some battery problems but everything is functional. Sometime it overheats when playing games. Very fast procesessing time and a nice Wi fi internet card

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Sony VAIO VGN-FW490JEB 16.4" Notebook (2.53GHz Core 2 Duo P8700 4GB RAM 320GB HDD Blu-ray Read/Writ

At 6.5 pounds, the FW isn't the lightest laptop on the market, but it is probably the best value out there. Sony allows you to select a pre-built model or customize one yourself. My machine is customized:

1080p LCD Screen

ATI 4650 1gb Graphics Card

2.53ghz Intel Core 2 Duo (3mb L2 Cache)

4gb DDR2 @ 800mhz

320gb Hard drive @ 7200rpm

Blu Ray Player (Read only)

Windows 7 64bit (came with Vista 64, but I upgraded when 7 came to campus)

This machine is great for everything. Gaming, image editing, word processing, you name it, it can do it. It does get a bit hot, so lap use should be limited to the length of battery life which is roughly 2 to 2.5 hours. The keyboard is chiclet style and is unfortunately not back-lit. The speakers could be better, but I am usually wearing my MDR-500 Sony headphones (which I also recommend for people who like pop/rock music).

The only complaints I have are centered around weight and placement of ports. Like I said, it is fairly heavy. I have a messenger bag that I used my first semester this year at Indiana University, and it got extremely heavy when dragging it around campus. I am going to find a backpack so that it is not as much of an issue. It is also worth noting that its 16.4 inch screen makes this thing fairly large so it take up a lot of real estate on your desk. VGA, HDMI, Ethernet, Firewire and Express Card slot are on the left side, and the tray loading Blu Ray drive and three USB ports are on the right. I would prefer if the USB ports and Blu Ray drive switched positions (drive moves forward and USB ports move backward), however, they work where they are.

Build quality is pretty good. I always seem to compare any laptop against the unibody Macbook Pro, and the FW holds its own. Even though it is entirely made of plastic, it looks great and is of solid build quality.

I chose the FW because it was the best deal on the market. I looked at every major brand and I could not find a cheaper computer with the same specs. In fact the only one that came close was, I believe, a Dell XPS. It was almost $200 more! The FW is a mulitmedia/gaming machine. It will play Crysis at 720p medium settings at 40 fps. All other games are playable at 1080p and high settings. It can also do some pretty hard core image editing. This a great all around computer.

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Hewlett Packard TC1100 (PX284AA)

Ths tablet-laptop is a little powerhouse (thats what I call it) better than a tablet and better than just a laptop by itself. 60 gig harddrive 2 gigs of ram,

try getting that from a tablet.for around $170.00.

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HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)

I had have this computer for a month now, so here goes nothing:

Pros:

Excellent design

4GB Ram, enough for most tasks

500GB hard drive, for me that's enough for now

Small size and little weight (even lighter when DVD is removed, which is an excellent feature in itself)

Windows 7 (better than Vista, we'll see about XP)

EXCELLENT PRICE

Cons:

Battery life is about 2 hours, bound to decrease within 6 months, not on par with most other laptops this size.

Touchpad really has a mind of its own on ocassion.

Glossy design is beautiful, but it's also a fingerprint magnet

Opening it is a cumbersome task, not really bad, but a little.

Windows 7 "64bit" Some old programs I use refuse to work in such environment.

All in all a solid laptop, with excellent features (and minor inconveniences), but please, HP, this is my third HP laptop and the batteries have never been your forte. (yet I keep buying HP) DO SOMETHING!

UPDATE: The battery won't last for more than an hour and a half, so I took two stars off my review for this major inconvenience. Sorry to say this, but I no longer recommend this purchase.

I've owned my computer for almost a week now, and I'm absolutely loving it. For the money I almost bought an Hp with a T6600 processor and 320GB hard drive etc etc. I bought this for the same price as the other hp and got MORE memory and a better processor. Why wouldn't you want an upgrade of 180 GB hard drive for free? If your a student and like to have lots of music, videos and play light gaming and still have tons of room for your homework and projects, this is a great computer.

I also love how its 14" monitor, so I can take it anywhere and fit it into any bag. It has a very sleek and glossy exterior. A little bit of work to keep clean, but that's no reason not to buy a computer. The speakers are great for a laptop. I was actually surprised how clear sounds and music was. As with most HP laptops, you get the lightscribe burner, which is great, but it also comes with a disc replacement thing so if you don't care to use a disc drive, you can remove it and save some weight. But really it doesn't weigh that much.

The only downfall I have with this computer is the slightly low battery life. I think a little bit of that might be my fault cause I just plugged in and played rather than letting the battery charge fully first before I started playing with it.

Great laptop for the price.

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This is a good system to own if you can deal with a few minor annoyances.

Windows 7 works well. Most things are in different places than XP but it's easy to find them.

This system has a basic graphics card. The Windows Experience numbers warn that the Aero interface will be sluggish sometimes, and I definitely feel that's true.

The hard drive impressively large, although not all the 500GB is usable. It is split up into three partitions. One is the system restore partition (since Windows install discs are not included), and one is the quickstart partition (a fast starting non-Windows environment that lets you surf the web and browse your media collection), so the hard drive really has only around 320 mb free when you get it. That's lots for your pictures, videos, music, etc. It's also quite speedy.

4GB RAM standard, which should be more than enough, except that about 1.5 GB are used for the integrated graphics so you only have around 2.5 GB for programs. In the future, when RAM prices come down, I'll be upgrading to 8GB of RAM.

The only ads on the machine are trials of Norton Internet Security 2010 1-User, and Microsoft Office Standard 2007 FULL VERSION, prominent links to HP's accessories store (buy from Amazon instead), an ad for an online backup service, and an icon for one of Amazon's competitors (a Bay Area auction site). Not bad.

I have no problems with overheating here. The touch panel for adjusting volume is very very useful.

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I did mountains of research before committing to a replacement for my dead Sony (second dead Vaio = end of brand loyalty), and I chose this HP for its performance, value, and seeming sturdiness. The new i3 processor is fantastic and there is plenty of RAM to handle multitasking. I haven't even had to pace myself with my computing whims -I'm downloading, word processing, virus-scanning, and listening to music without worrying about overloading the system. What I like most about this laptop is the big bright display, which for me was important in the switch from 15.4 to 14.1 -nothing else in this price range compares. Finally, the machine is built well compared to others in this price range (I'm looking in your direction Asus and Acer).

Some reviewers have mentioned overheating, and I was apprehensive about this -and after buying I was constantly monitoring the temp to see if a return was in my immediate future. But really it's not so bad, better than my last Sony, and I do believe that having the i3 processor (still blazing fast, mind you) minimizes this problem in this configuration. But if heat is your number one concern, sacrifice more computing power and go for one of the new super-mobile types with the dainty processors. They will stay cooler of course.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this purchase and would recommend this HP laptop to my friends, family, and to all of you!

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I switched from a Mac to this PC, and I'm very glad I did. Windows 7 is pretty great. There's a decent amount of junk software preloaded, but also some useful software (media organizers/ players, etc), and useless but fun games.

Other than that, what's not to like, especially now that it's $50 less than the $700 I paid for it? It's 14", so it's transportable. Has a DVD drive, a ton of memory, is really fast. Multiple programs run easily. Battery lasts about three hours, but can last longer with wireless/ speakers turned off.

In contrast to some negative reviews, I have had zero problems with the computer overheating. The only reasons I can think to not purchase it are if you wanted either Bluetooth or Bluray capabilities directly installed, as it doesn't have either.

EDIT

Everything I said previously was true, but I have altered my rating to take into account the poor lifetime of the laptop. The battery power fell to zero seconds within 12 months, and the cord powering the monitor became defective within 18 months, allowing only certain specific viewing angles, and causing general frustration.

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Sony VAIO VPCS132FX/S 13.3 Notebook PC - Silver Intel Core i3-380M

For the price $599 I spent on this laptop there is not too much more we can request so I'm happy at the moment. The speed is "ok", the design and size is perfect. It's very comfortable to carry. I wished to have a Blue Ray DVD Player instead a regular DVD drive as other Sony VIAO series "14 inches Screen Size" provide but I can't say either that I wasn't aware before making my decision to purchase this laptop. I heard that the battery doesn't last for too long but to be honest I haven't used it so much until to run the battery dead and provide my feedback about it. In my opinion is you are still waiting for the laptop of your dreams but it seems that it is not still out there in the market like to risk over $2,800 I suggest to buy one laptop "Cheap" like this one so you can still have something in your hands while traveling, play around with the internet, get your job done and later on to buy that "Mercedez Benz" laptop of your dreams.

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Samsung NP700Z5A-S04US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver)

Chronos vs. MacBook. I own both. Let me first share some background on these systems. I am not comparing Windows to OSX, or Apple and Microsoft. You can read about that elsewhere. I am simply providing my observations on these two computers, specifically how they are built and how well they run Windows 7. And there's a big difference between the two when it comes to Windows 7 performance.

I use SSDs in all my computers. The first thing I did was to remove the hard drive from both of these systems and replace it with a SATA III 6 Gb/s SSD--Specifically a Samsung 830 Series SSD. The hardware of both systems supports SATA III speeds for the main drive.

The MacBook boots OSX in about 15 seconds. Here's where it gets interesting though-it takes 1 minute and 24 seconds for the same MacBook Pro to boot Windows 7. That's a big difference-but I'll explain in a moment why it is not Window's fault.

But first, for comparison, the Samsung Chronos boots a clean installation of Windows 7 Ultimate in 10 seconds. Yes, you heard correctly. From cold and powerless to Windows desktop in 10 seconds. Yes, my computer boots less time than it takes your computer to wake from sleep. (You know you want one). That time includes the time it takes for the Samsung BIOS to post, which the fastest I've ever seen. With all the software and drivers installed it adds a few seconds to the boot time. Even still, I get the Windows desktop 13.9 seconds after pressing the power button.

Both computers support SATA III interface speeds. However, the MacBook via Boot Camp cannot support SATA III (or Trim) since it does not allow Windows to use AHCI (AHCI=faster; you could hack the MacBook to force AHCI in Boot Camp, but then Windows will not go to sleep, plus other problems). MacBooks will run Windows, but they're not designed to do so. MacBooks do not have the same type of BIOS as PCs, so it takes a Macbook a long time to "warm up" before it will start booting Windows. I suspect that Apple also adds some delay in the Windows boot process just for kicks. That's what I'd do if I were Apple. It gives them (unfair) ammunition to say, "Look, we're better. The most advanced blah blah blah in the world."

On the other hand, Samsung has "optimized" their system so that BIOS posts very quickly. It seems that everything about the Samsung is designed for speed. While the Samsung includes an 8 GB solid state drive on the motherboard, that drive only operates at SATA II 3Gb/s speeds--which I'm sure will help tremendously when using the supplied 750GB hard drive. I've disabled the features that utilize this secondary SSD and it still has "instant on" capability when waking from sleep. I was able to format and mount this drive so that it appears as a drive letter in Windows. If you're using the supplied 750 GB hard drive instead of a SATA III SSD, you'll still get some of the benefits of having an SSD by using this integrated solution. In fact, the built-in SSD, in combination with the standard hard drive, will easily make everyday performance of the Samsung exceed the Macbook/Hard Drive option.

If you run Windows (exclusively) like I do, the Samsung is significantly faster in every way compared to the Macbook Pro. Everything in Windows is very responsive and quick. My purchase of the Samsung was prompted by my growing frustrations with how slow the Macbook runs Windows-even using the SSD drive-plus the quirks that constantly plagued me while running Windows on Apple hardware (which, let's face it, is not what it was designed for). In fact, the Samsung laptop is faster than my desktop computer (which is less than 1 year old) and which cost me more than twice as much. The Macbook really isn't designed to run Windows-even with Boot Camp, which is evident by the raw numbers. So the speed comparison for running Windows goes to Samsung. Samsung 1, Macbook 0. It's not even close on this one.

Build quality is the second area we'll consider. I've owned two MacBooks because, until recently, the PC makers just were not able to put together the build quality of the Apple machines. In this regard, you could still argue that the exterior of the Macbook is slightly better than the Samsung. The bottom of the Samsung is made of plastic and is not a unibody design like the Macbook, however, the plastic bottom is strong, light, and looks practically the same as the stainless finish. It also appears to be less susceptible to dings and scrapes. But on the Samsung, there is a slight ridge on the armrests, as other reviewers have mentioned, that can cause discomfort. The discomfort comes from the lack of a smooth surface right on the edge. I see a few possible solutions. You could use a very fine sandpaper to carefully smooth away the ridge, or cover it with a piece of tape. Or you may not even notice it. Either way, this point goes to the Macbook, but only slightly. Samsung 1, Macbook 1. Game on.

Next up: Under the Hood. Virtually identical. Same processor. Same graphics option as the 15 inch Macbook Pro. Overall very equal (in fact, Samsung makes some of the components inside the Macbook, including the RAM in my Macbook). Taking all things into consideration, you could say the two are pretty equal in this category--except for the fact that the identically configured Macbook (same RAM, hard drive, etc.) runs $1000 more than the Samsung. Yes, that's one thousand with 3 zeros. I know this because I checked. So Samsung gets the award for under the hood performance. Samsung 2, Macbook 1.

The Samsung has a higher resolution screen (perfect resolution in my opinion at 1600x900), although I do prefer the 16:10 ratio the Apple still uses more than the 16:9 ratio that everyone else has gone to. On the other hand, the Macbook screen is glossy, whereas the Samsung is matte, which does make a big difference. But the amazing thing is how Samsung has engineered the bezel around the screen to be so small. By doing so, they are able to use a larger LCD panel in a smaller chassis. Samsung claims to have put a 15.6 inch screen inside a 14" chassis. The Macbook has a good inch of bezel around the monitor, whereas the Samsung has a quarter of an inch of bezel on the sides and about a half inch of bezel on the top and bottom. Point goes to Chronos. Samsung 3, Macbook 1.

The Samsung has 3 USB ports, including 2 USB 3.0 ports. Macbook has two USB 2.0 ports only. I have a USB 3.0 flash drive that reads 120MB/s and writes 70MB/s. The Macbook has the Thunderbolt port. While technically capable of faster speeds, I haven't seen anything yet (other than a few proprietary Apple monitors) that work with it. Are there any Thunderbolt flash drives out there? And if there were, could anyone afford them? And if you could afford them, could you use them on anything except the newest Macs? This point has to go to Samsung. Samsung 4, Macbook 1.

The Samsung has a full-size HDMI port. Most monitors today support HDMI natively, plus it works with TVs. With Apple you have to purchase a 30 dollar adaptor to even use the video out port. Samsung also offers a VGA out option, with optional adapter. Let's call it a tie again, even though the Samsung is slightly better in this regard with the native HDMI port.

The trackpad on the Samsung is virtually identical to the Macbook track pad. For those who complain about the trackpad, it is obvious they have not discovered the track pad settings, which are unfortunately hidden away in a remote location of the Windows Control Panel. Samsung could have made these settings more accessible. Once the settings are tweaked and adjusted for your preferences, it works perfectly. I have not experienced the problem with the space bar on the Samsung that other have talked about. In fact, the keyboard seems as good if not better than the Macbook keyboard. Both are backlit. Numeric keypad on the Samsung is a plus in my book. But just so people don't say I'm an Apple hater, we'll call this one a tie too. Mmmm. Apple pie.

Now on to Internal accessibility. It is a little easier to remove the bottom cover of the Macbook. The Samsung's plastic bottom is snapped into place, so it has to be gently unsnapped all the way around the body before you can access the internal components (however the additional memory bank on the Samsung can be accessed much easier without removing the bottom). On the Macbook, the memory is only accessible if you remove the bottom. No significant difference here, though it will take a little longer to open up the Samsung.

We've already discussed price. However, the price difference between the two is so significant that Samsung gets a point for it. Samsung 5, Macbook 1. We're talking a thousand dollars more. Can you say "Apple tax"? (Don't hate me because I'm right).

Some have said that the Samsung is a clone of the Macbook. Yeah, same Intel processor, same graphics options, same keyboard, same track pad. Beyond that, the Samsung excels and exceeds in virtually every way. Samsung has built a very capable machine that is at least as good if not better than the 2011 MacBooks in virtually every area--especially if you're a Windows user.

This laptop packs an amazing amount of performance in an elegant chasis that is more compact than any other notebook on the market. Feature for feature, the Samsung Chronos notebook outperforms the latest Fall 2011 version of the MacBook Pro at half the price! The vivid 1600X900 display, the superfast ExpressCache to speed up start times, the relatively light weight for a performance laptop all make it hard for the competition to catch up. The only real drawback I can see is the Broadcom wireless n adapter is single band and so is limited in range and speed. But for $40 you can plug in a USB wireless adapter that can get 300 450 Mbps speeds.

The icing on the cake is the long battery life I can work continuously for 6-8 hours without running out of juice!

Pros: Bright display, Durable, Lightweight, long battery life

Cons: poor choice of broadcom wireless card, signal strength deteriorates rapidly after 10 feet, only single band 2.4 GHz wireless n so the 5.8 GHz band is not available

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The speed and specs on this computer is great. No problems with setup. Very easy to use and start going. The case is very good quality the small bezel on the screen is very nice. Just makes the computer look awesome. Better than allot of desk tops out there. Very fast with i7 processor and it has 8GB of SSD they call express cash for the extremely fast boot up and start up from wake mode. I highly recommend it. I would buy it again

Cons:

Few and far but cons

Track pad is not the best, good but not the best

Space bar is a hit or miss if you hit it on the edge, Not that bad though

Lastly what I did not a con. During setup I partitioned the backup drive way to big (500GB) mistake. Had to reset system to factory setting to make it allot smaller but that was easy to do.

Pros:

Everything

light keyboard is very nice at night

software to recover works nice and is easy (sadly I found out)

Almost no bloat ware. Just had to uninstall a few programs

Boot up is fast

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This is an absolutely fantastic laptop. I've had mine for a weekend now, and I love it. For $1149, you get:

Quad-core i7 processor, 6 GB RAM (easily upgraded to the max 8 GB), high quality discrete ATI graphics card for gaming, slot loading optical drive, FANTASTIC backlit keyboard with a full numeric pad, 8 GB expresse cache for quick starts and better efficiency, and an outstanding 1600 x 900 matte screen which may be my favorite feature overall.

I'm getting used to the touchpad, as I've never had a clickpad type device. It is very customizable, though, so I'm sure it will become second nature after a while.

It is extremely well built. I was initially looking for something more portable, in the 13-14 inch screen range, but the slim bezel and thin build of this machine, combined with the fantastic 15.6 inch screen sold me. The chassis is very solid and sturdy, while providing a sleek, sexy appearance. It runs cool, even while on discrete graphics mode, and I have to strain to hear fan noise.

I simply cannot say enough about this awesome machine. Samsung hit a grand slam with this one. If you are in the market for a medium sized laptop in this price range, your search is over. Buy it...you won't regret it.

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There is a common issue with the space key on this laptop in that pressing it on the edge will often not register even if you press really hard. This is incredibly irritating for a touch typist, but I solved the problem on my laptop! So if you have the same issue see my video on the quick fix over at youtube. Basically you just need to stick a square of paper between the space bar and its pressure sensor.

Also note that this S03US version is functionally exactly the same as the S01US version, with the only difference being that the first 4GB of RAM is permanently attached to the motherboard on the S03US. The S02US and S04US are likewise functionally identical. The Best Buy version (I don't know the product code) is completely different though. I have no idea why anyone would buy that one. Even though the S03US and S01US are functionally identical, I've heard that the S03US version also comes with the Pro instead of Home version of Windows, which could save you some $$.

Among the positives for this laptop are its speedy CPU and GPU, readable resolution on the bright non-reflective 15" display, light weight, stylish form factor, really superb battery life, a great backlit keyboard (once the space key problem is resolved), and a good amount of RAM and hard drive storage.

Because the positives are so great I am giving this laptop 5 stars even though it has several negatives.

First, the space key issue. This is a quality control issue that should have never occurred, and I hope Samsung will send new space bar keys to all the people who bought this laptop. But until then, you can try the quick fix I referenced above.

The choice of DVD instead of blu-ray is odd and perplexing. However, I so rarely use even the DVD and to be honest I would probably never use blu-ray if it were included, so as strange as it is that the feature is missing, I don't mind.

I am not pleased with the choice of the broadcom wifi, which does not support 5ghz wifi. I have opened up this laptop, which is very easy (close the LCD, flip it over, remove the ten screws on bottom, then flip it back over, open the LCD and gently pry the case shell loose along the edges and then close the LCD and flip it over again and gently pull the bottom off), and replacing the broadcom wifi adapter with the Intel 6230 part should be very easy [SEE EDIT BELOW]. There are only 2 antenna wires, so getting the 3 antenna version would be pointless. Also, be sure to get the one with bluetooth if you try this, otherwise you will lose bluetooth since it is provided by the broadcom wifi adapter.

The webcam camera does not work well in low light. Meh. Turn on a light, I guess.

I use the touch pad as little as possible and prefer to use a mouse. It seems to work alright for me when I need it, but I sometimes disable it while typing so I can rest my palms while typing.

Overall the negatives are not a big deal for me.

Edit Dec-2012: It is indeed very easy to replace the broadcom wifi/bluetooth adapter with the Intel 6230 part. Do NOT get the newer Intel 6235 part as it WILL NOT WORK, as I discovered. Some people have also reported issues with getting the 6230 to work, but the trick is to uninstall all Broadcom software related to the wifi/bluetooth BEFORE installing the 6230. This very importantly includes the WIDCOMM Bluetooth SOftware software. You should also download the Intel drivers for the 6230, and install them after you have removed the Broadcom software. Then open up the laptop and swap the parts and reboot. Your mileage may vary, but it worked for me.

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Acer Aspire V5-571-6605 LED Notebook (6GB Ram, 500Gb hard drive, Windows 7 Home Premium 64, HDMI, W

I love this computer.. it's light and fast and I love how the keyboard is set up.. very sleek.. it's perfect for what I need it for!

I have nothing but praise for the Laptop; great price, fantastic screen, fast and nowhere near as much heat given off as with my HP relic.

I just wish I didn't have to use Windows. As soon as it's out of warranty, I'll probably load Linux.

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Slim, sleek, lightweight and fast. Great screen. Keyboard is good, and the overall fit and finish is good silver body better than my dark blue laptop, which is a fingerprint magnet. W7 working well. I actually bought this for my wife she loves it. I may get one for me.

Larry H50

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This is the first computer/laptop that was not an H. P. I was out of my comfort zone when I purchased this one. For a short while I had a Samsung Series 3. I like the Acer laptop better than the Samsung laptop. The other thing was the Acers Windows 7 is more user friendly than Samsung Windows 8. This Acer laptop speaker has a really poor sound quality compared to the other computers. This is the only complaint I have. Good Luck.

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this is my second acer laptop and it's doing me well. getting this much RAM for the price made it worth the purchase. the screen is large and overall quite light. and it didn't come with windows 8, so that was a plus

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ASUS A53E-AS52 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I bought this laptop after a few months of longing, a few weeks of research, and a few days of price hunting. My requirements were fairly simple. I wanted Windows 7 with an i3 or better, at least 4GB of RAM (upgrade-able to 8) and a 320GB drive or bigger. I also wanted to spend no more than $500.

The system arrived within a few days and I excitedly opened it and read through the instructions (this is out of character, but I understand the importance of first start up). The first step was running the backup (4 DVDs later..) and then I worked on removing the bloat. ASUS, like so many others, ships with a bunch of crap you don't need, though in this case it was less than I expected.

The system itself is nice and quick. I have had it playing Need For Speed Hot Pursuit (the new one) and it performs nicely. I've also had it running a Folding@Home client (see ) which nets around 2000 points per day. This compares to about 200-300 on my old Athlon64 Desktop machine.

Other notes:

The power socket is on the left hand side about halfway between the front and the back, and the connector itself is a right-angle. This is a weird place, but is convenient. My wife's most recent Dell had a side connector and it was still damaged through leaning it on things it shouldn't be. I feel the design and location on this laptop would prevent a lot of those issues.

The laptop feels very cool, even while pumping out very hot air through the vent. It's warm on the legs, but by no means hot like I've experienced with older laptops.

The numeric keypad is nice, but is a little weird if you're used to the separated keypad on larger laptops or desktop keyboards. More than once I've hit the right-arrow while trying to tap zero. It can feel very crowded in that area also, with the keys from the left arrow all the way over to the ./delete key being the same size (along with those around them) so it can be difficult to place fingers without looking.

HDMI works and carries sound with it. I had it hooked in to a 55" LCD TV a few days ago playing Need for Speed quite nicely. I didn't think to check what resolution it was at (I suspect the native resolution of the laptop's panel as it was mirroring), but it looked really nice. Others may be more picky about this than I..

All things considered this seems to be a fine machine, especially for the price, and I expect it to last for quite some time into the future.

The ASUS A53-AS31-RD is a very good general purpose laptop. It works well with productivity applications, web browsing and basic photo editing. It multitasks well (playing music and working on Office applications). The area around the keyboard and touchpad and the top are each textured; that and the dark red color keep this machine from being a fingerprint magnet: good design!

Ports include an SD media slot, a LAN connection, three USB ports and HDMI out. Battery life is average; around 3 hours out of the box, although you can probably coax more out of it with adjustments in the Windows 7 control panel or the included ASUS desktop power management gadget. Out of the box it was relatively free of unwanted bloatware or trial versions of programs (kudos to ASUS for that).

This computer does not ship with recovery media; you'll need four DVDs when you run its built-in utility to create your own recovery kit (do this first!).

Overall, this is a solid laptop that should serve well for all but the most demanding computing needs. The color breaks it from the packs of black, silver and white machines out there! Watch for deep discounts to make this unit even more attractive.

Note: this machine's default hard drive configuration includes two logical partitions, with about 75% devoted to a "D" drive for data. I used Windows disk management tools to shrink that volume and restore all the free space to the "C" drive. This is just my preference, but it can help avoid issues with applications that struggle to remember "non-C-drive" locations for storing data files.

Buy ASUS A53E-AS52 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Now

This item comes in i3 & i5 versions. The i5 isn't always available, though.

This A53e might be reasonably priced for what you get, but it's not quite what I think of as a 'budget' device.

A budget laptop has an i3 processor. I'm reviewing the i5.

A budget laptop has around 250-500gb memory. This has 750gb

A budget laptop doesn't have HD screen. This does

A budget laptop doesn't usually come w/HDMI or USB 3.0. This does

A budget laptop doesn't usually come w/face detection. This does

That said, the 4gb of onboard RAM is definitely budget, but also upgradeable to 8gb for only $23. The 0.3 megapixel webcam is also pretty low-rent. So, it's obviously not the top-shelf model either.

The i5 processor is the 2nd gen variant which is a significant step-up from the 1st i5, plus it has 'turbo boost' which variably kicks in. So, it's not a mid-range i5. It's closer to an i7 than an i3.

This is the coolest-running PC I've owned. The white version has a subtle design to it. I was happy to find little bloatware.

CONS

The description is inaccurate. This is an LCD laptop, not an LED. There is no onboard bluetooth. There is no dial volume control. Instead, you must click on-screen volume control & slide or use the function & f12 keys repeatedly which is less than convenient. You can't just lower the sound immediately. That *really* bothers me. Something to consider if you sneak peaks at porn in heavy rotation. The same applies to the brightness adjustments 2 clicks & it doesn't always respond. The mouse clicker is too loud which seems kind of cheap. The speaker could be a bit louder. The webcam is below par. The screen started out bright, but seems to have gotten dimmer, even with brightness adjustment all the way up.

CONCLUSION

As with most things, I have a few gripes. Why 5 stars? A 15.6 inch, HD, 750gb, 2nd gen i5 w/turbo, stylized, dependable notebook, that comes with this type of warranty is hard to find, particularly at $560. You could pay twice as much for a Macbook that would be smaller, slower and less dependable (according to Gizmodo's 'Laptop Reliability Study'). The A53e is a steal. It has the looks and many of the specs of a more expensive model.

EXTRAS

For $23, I purchased an additional 4gb of RAM (for a total of 8gb). The 4gigs works okay, but if you're apt to have 4 or 5 programs running at once or you're into video editing, you might want to bump it up. Even if you don't work your laptop so much, adding the extra 4gb is an easy, affordable way to future-proof your computer. Get it outta the way now. Kingston ValueRam 4GB PC3-10600 L9 204-Pin SODIMM Notebook Memory KVR1333D3S9/4G is compatible & fits perfectly. (See my review there) If you're not a techie, you needn't worry about ruining your laptop. Asus makes it very easy to understand by providing a second empty slot to add 4gb. All you need is a small Philips screwdriver & 5 minutes tops. There are brief, simple tutorials on YouTube as well. Adding RAM is the most affordable way to give some extra speed and extend your computer's relevant life. If you're strapped for cash, the 4gigs will serve you fine for a while.

A word about Windows 7. You can no longer click-drag to re-order files in a folder. You can only rename them alphabetically or numerically. I downloaded IrfanView to work around this. If you want MS Office, but wish to keep your costs under $600, download Open Office at openoffice.org. It's free and offers all the functionality.

This computer doesn't come with recovery disks, so you will need 5 dvd-r disks and an hour & fifteen minutes of your time to create them. The laptop will remind you to create them every time you turn the device on.

I made out like a bandit. I can't believe I nabbed a reputable Asus with 750gb, 2nd gen i5, 8gigs of RAM and 15.6 screen for under $600. Go ahead, shop around. You'll end up right back here for this steal. For the record, Asus & Toshiba make the most dependable laptops. HP, some of the worst.

Got any questions? Lay 'em on me.

Read Best Reviews of ASUS A53E-AS52 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Here

This is my first laptop and I was a little nervous shopping. Luckily I got some good advice from friends that recommended that I look at ASUS as they felt that they were the best quality in the lower price range.

I was looking for something I could use to read and chat online, work on office documents, and that could handle playing things like The Sims 2. After weeks of research I decided on the ASUS A53E-AS31-RD.

It arrived quickly and in perfect condition. I found it easy to set up, fast, and it runs quietly. I have had no problems using it for anything I need it to do. I do wish it had came with things like word preloaded, but a quick download from OpenOffice.org fixed that.

Over all I find this to be a fast, easy to use machine, and would gladly recommend it to my friends.

Want ASUS A53E-AS52 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?

I own a Gateway 15" i3, I also own a Sony Vaio 15" i5, I also have Alienware i5...and HANDS DOWN this Asus outpreforms them all! It NEVER gets HOT, it's hibernation mode works perfectly, shuts down, open it, hit the space bar key and up it goes just where you left off. YOU WILL NOT FIND A BETTER PC FOR THIS PRICE ANYWHERE! I am now sending back my Sony and buying another Asus from Amazon!

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