Dell XPS 17 Laptop, i7-2630QM, 8GB DDR3 Memory, 17.3in FHD WLED AG (1920x1080) Screen, NVIDIA GeFor

If you can swing the price tag, definitely go for it! (Yes, it`s pricey, eek! but compared to what you'd pay to get all this on a Mac, it's pretty reasonable.) I did a TON of research and this was the best computer I found that had all the bells and whistles I was looking for. (The XPS 15 is great too, but if you can do it, go for the bigger screen and the extra toys it's worth it!)

I came close to getting the HP Envy 17-2070nr instead, because the design is a lot prettier, but the screen on the Dell in my opinion is superior so crisp and clear with rich vibrant color just beautiful as compared to the HP's more washed out colors, so that's what made me finally opt for the Dell.

Touchpad I've heard people complain about the two finger scroll, but you can adjust it to one finger scroll on the right hand side where its more comfortable. Sensitivity is terrific and the pad is nice and large.

Heat issues If you keep it on a flat surface it's stays cool. I haven't had any problems by raising it up a hair, it runs even cooler than my desktop. If you want to mostly use it in your lap, go for something smaller/more portable.)

Backlit Keyboard wonderful... The HP was a bit dim and backlit just around the keys, whereas here the keys themselves are lit up and you can adjust the brightness settings.

Keyboard The 17" comes with the full keypad (includes the numeric pad which the 15" doesn`t have) and with the brushed aluminum finish where your palms rest, it's so smooth and soft to type on really a pleasure.

Battery Life not great, but I'm not doing a lot of power saving features I use full screen and no sleep mode, etc., so you may have better results with different settings.

DVD/BluRay Slide loading rather than the tray would have been nice, but I've heard people say they're more difficult to repair. Picture quality is beautiful for both haven't used the 3D yet.

Speakers I confess, I'm not as wowed as everyone else seems to be. They are better than most other laptops I've heard, but overall I think laptop speakers have a long way to go. The speaker design on the XPS 17 is nicer than the 15, where they kind of look like weird grills on either side. These are integrated better to the left and right of the palm rest.

General Adjustments I've had zero issues so far (yay!) but I did make a few adjustments based on issues other people had, like not being able to "wake up" the screen or black screen...I changed the settings so it never falls into sleep or stand-by mode, and changed the windows updates to "ask me before installing." This is important because letting updates work on auto-pilot can cause problems.

Cosmetics As mentioned above, the HP was a lot prettier, but Dell had the upper hand most everywhere else, so I opted for the ugly duckling, lol. It's not horrid looking, it's just sort of industrial and plain, but the brushed aluminum finish is really nice and it is very solid, well built. Sony Vaio was nicely loaded, but it looked cheap/flimsy in person and if I'm paying over $1,000 for a computer I want something substantial. Toshiba Satellite was nice overall, but lacked the backlit keyboard and the vibrant screen. All the models are super speedy and you get that info from looking at the specs.

So there's all my reasons why I recommend the Dell. I got kinda wordy here, but these area the types of reviews I appreciated when I was looking for a new laptop, so I hope this helps! :)

Okay, this machine is amazing... although I've been tethered to a desktop for 6 years, except for occasionally borrowing my daughter's laptop when I traveled. I haven't traveled with it yet (just got it) so not sure how I'm going to handle the weight, but so far, it doesn't seem too uncomfortable to move around with despite it being a 17".

I love how it has a "bump" towards the back. Not only does it allow you to grab it easier when closed, like to pull it out of your bag, but it also elevates the machine to a comfy typing position and allows air circulation for extra cooling. It runs prety quiet too, something I worried about, and I am running some pretty graphic intense software on it with no issues, no heating (though I do use a cooling pad), no lag, and no jet engine fan noise. The keyboard has a nice comfortable size, a plus for me, and a full number pad too. And it's not loaded with crapware either--unless you count McAfee, something you can't even opt-out of at the Dell Store, but I easily got rid of it.

As for the specs, if you know specs, you know what you are getting. I did price something similar at Dell, but since at Dell they are custom building, it was way pricier! Also being custom built I wound up being distracted by shiny things I wanted to add that I really didn't need, driving the price up even higher. On top of that I would have had to wait a few more weeks before they shipped it, as opposed to getting something already put together and shipped immediately (seller was amazing too, I had my machine in just a few days). This was way convenient, had exactly what I was looking for/needed and I didn't have to wait.

all in all, great...fantastic

Buy Dell XPS 17 Laptop, i7-2630QM, 8GB DDR3 Memory, 17.3in FHD WLED AG (1920x1080) Screen, NVIDIA GeFor Now

Super powerful system Dell sells these anywhere from $1500-$2000 so you can get a pretty good deal at Amazon. Bought mine from a third party seller and couldn't be more satisfied. This thing screams and the benchmarks are ever better than my desktop that's only about a year old. This laptop should last at minimum a few years without having to worry about upgrading. Especially like the fact it has 8GB of RAM and the 3GM graphics card. Windows screams on this!

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I ordered this with trepidation because I read more than a few reports of problems right out of the box. Not for me.. fortunately. I am upgrading from a Dell XPS 1730 with 2 nvidea SLI graphics cards. In MHO.. the SLI thing was not successful.. many games could not detect it.. and the machine ran very hot, all the time. This machine is a total wowser.. there are low end graphics on the motherboard that are fine for word processing, etc. but the 3G Nvidia card is fabulous! I am playing SkyRim with everything set to very high. The framerate is great.. the screen and graphics are so spectacular that I often stop and spend a long time just admiring the view in the game! The raised lip on the battery keeps everything cool..the system does blow some heat when really working but the fan is quiet. The speakers are nice, the Blue Ray drive runs quiet ( my old one sounded like it was trying to give birth!) The windows rating for this is only 5.9.. I think 7200 rpm drives are slow.. but only in comparison to everything else.. the other scores were between 6.9 and 7.6. The battery life is also awesome. I got 5 hours just playing games and watching CD's. Impressive. I wish I had got the model with the backlit keyboard and the 3d glasses ( I am sending away for the 3d stuff, can't do anything about the keyboard tho)..Other than that I could not be happier with this purchase. PS..If you purchase one of these, go on the Dell support page and run the graphics diagnostics on this rig.. it will blow you away.

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I loved this laptop at firstthe screen looked beautiful and the colors are rich. Then sitting in my office, simply pulling down in the top left corner of the screen to close it, I heard a "crunch." The screen cracked, so now I have a big black mark with horizontal and vertical lines in the top left of the screen.

Dell's answer is "sorry, screen damage isn't covered under warranty." I didn't abuse it, drop it, or do anything to void the warranty, but they won't fix it. To add insult to injury, after an hour on the phone with the Dell Center in India, Dell wants to charge me $528 to repair the screen (and I'd lose my laptop for a couple weeks). Needless to say, that's not the right answer. I've owned laptops for 25 years, and I've never had a screen crack sitting on a flat desk just trying to close this. (Purchase protection on my credit card didn't help because it was more than 90 days since I purchased it).

This laptop is VERY fragile, and extremely costly to repair. Let the Buyer Beware, because Dell sure doesn't care.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 1143ADU 15.6" 320GB 4GB

This laptop is good for everyday use with powerful enough cpu and 4gb memory. Edge is a good model from Lenovo, better than the low end models. At least this is a Thinkpad. For a little more than 500 bucks, I am ok with this model. This can be used for light games but not a real game machine though.

I've been buying Lenovo laptop computers for the past 15 years (back when they were called IBM's)! I specifically buy Lenovo's because their keyboards feel the most natural to me, I learned to "touch type" on an IBM Selectric typewriter in the 1980's, and the keyboards on Lenovo laptops always seem the easiest to type on to me.

The other reason I prefer Lenovo laptops (over all other brands currently on the market) is because they still offer the "TrackPointer" pointing device. It looks like a tiny eraser located between the G & H keys, but what it does is allow us touch-typists to move the mouse/cursor and click the left or right mouse buttons without ever taking our hands off the keyboard. All the other computers on the market require you to use the "track pad" or an external mouse, both of which require taking your hands off the keyboard. So, I'm very glad that Lenovo still offers the "eraser" pointing device, that allows me to type and move the mouse easily!

As for this particular model E520 laptop, I can say that I've owned one for about 6 months now and it works great. Looks more sleek & sexy than earlier Thinkpad laptops I've owned. Has plenty of ports (USB, HDMI, E-Sata, SD Card slot, etc), and the hard drive, RAM, Wireless N, etc all work just fine. Also, I've contacted Lenovo Tech support over the years with various questions, etc and have always found their English-Speaking, Atlanta based tech support to be very good overall. I'm planning to keep this laptop, and will continue to buy Lenovo products as long as their laptops still offer the Trackpoint pointing device!

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Since I received this machine on August 2011, it was sent to repair to a Lenovo authorized dealer 3 times already, on Nov 28th. 2011 they replaced the mother board; on Dec 29th. 2011 they replaced the hard disk; on June 6th 2012 they replaced the motherboard again. The Lenovo warranty expired on Aug. 22th 2012. On Aug. 28th, it had a problem with the hard disk again and I paid to replace it because Lenovo refuses to extend the warranty. Now it is broken again and the problem is with the mother board that needs to be replaced again.

I spend more time fixing this unit than effectively using it. I am very unhappy with this purchase. I never had or heard some saying it was needed to replace a computer motherboard 3 times and hard disk twice in less than 12 months period.

I contacted Lenovo and asked them replace the machine; they claim they cannot because it was bought from a third party dealer and there is not they can do about.

I found other users complaining about the same problem and someone informed that model has a design problem. It has to do with a batch of faulty EEPROM chip used in the Edge series produced at the end of the 2011.

I would like to return this notebook and have the money back or exchange by another one that has the same features, but I have to accept the loss because Lenovo warranty cover only for 12 months period.

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Bought this laptop in April 2012, a few months later the laptop would spontaneously shut down after a few minutes of use. After some investigation, I discovered that the fan was shutting off right after BIOS and the laptop was overheating.

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Fast Reliable really like it!

build quality can be improved.

It works very well had no problems.

Great Laptop for it for $499

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HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Note: since I wrote a few reviews for some very simliar DV6 models Amazon has cross posted all those reviews.

I posted a long review of the current crop of DV6-21xx series of notebooks here: HP Pavilion DV6-2170US. The models are mostly the same with different CPUs (one has a discrete graphics chip). All include the newest mobile processors from Intel which eclipse the older Core2 line in terms of performance. Those with integrated graphics include Intel's new HD graphics which are also a big improvement over Intel's old 4500HD graphics (which are still inferior to discrete graphics chips from AMD/ATI and Nvidia when it come to 3D gaming). I would suggest avoiding the older DV6 13xx and 12xx series unless you can get a really good price (which may happen as HP discontinues them).

Here is the summary of models I posted in that review:

If you're staring at the various DV6 models trying to decide which one to buy my advice is (based on the models available when I wrote this):

For home users who aren't gamers you can save about $100 if you go with the HP Pavilion DV6-2150US 15.6-Inch Laptop which combines a Core i3 with Win 7 Premium and a 6 cell battery. The performance for non-gaming software will be very close to the more expensive i5 models and you'll save money by going with Win 7 Premium and a smaller battery.

If you need good battery life, run higher end software, or like to game a bit go for the HP Pavilion DV6-2170US which combines the Core i5 with the 12 cell battery. The Intel graphics aren't the best but it's a big improvement over past products. This is the model I think has the best balance of features.

If gaming matters more than battery life you should probably look at other laptop lines but if you are sold on the DV6 go for the HP Pavilion DV6-2190US which has a quad CPU Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M graphics. It's only got a 6 cell battery and that CPU and graphics are going to drain it quickly. You'll pay about $200 over this model.

If you have a lot of older software consider the HP Pavilion DV6-2157SB Small Business Edition which comes with Windows 7 Pro (which can run older software on a WinXP kernel). It has a Core i3 and a 6 cell battery. It also has a different finish ("Plaid Mocha") but I haven't seen it so I can't comment on it.

Been shopping for a new computer for over a year now as I could no longer put up with my slow-as-molasses 2003 Gateway. Shoulda' tossed it long ago, except I'm on a budget. I saw this HP Pavilion DV6 1250us at a huge (nearly 20%!!) discount at one of the chain office supply stores so I jumped on it. I'm completely knocked-out by how fast this thing is runs like its hair's on fire! I timed it at 1 min 20 seconds to completely start-up, connect to wi-fi and be ready to go. My 20GB+ library of iTunes opens in about 5 seconds flat.

My favorite features are; the jaw-dropping sharp, bright, vivid display, next generation faster memory (4GB DDR3), faster than usual 7200rpm hard drive (320GB), and the excellent integrated graphics card (with 1.6 GB memory!!) for watching smoooth on-line video (hulu etc.). I find Windows 7 to be not so different from XP. It has wireless N glad I thought ahead when I replaced my router a year ago. Lots of USB ports (3 + 1 combo actually), and a little remote control that stores in the expansion slot, though I'm not sure how useful that will be... Battery life was good (2-1/2 hrs without economizing, after running it down to 5% & recharging it a few times to break it in).

Did some research and found that this brand new i3 processor (released Jan 10, 2010) operates similar to a quad-core, so it's not too easily bogged down. Now the Norton Security Suite that I get free from my cable company runs in the background and I don't even know it's there. My old computer would sputter and fuss for 20 minutes or so just getting an update.

So far, it runs like a champ with anti-virus going, burning a dvd, multiple tabs in Firefox open, and torrent down & uploads going all at once. Also easily handles Word documents with lots of artwork, which used to be a problem for me. Took me awhile to connect to my home wi-fi because I didn't realize you first have to turn on the wireless via a touch-switch above the keyboard. Set-up wizard and on-screen prompts did not make that clear, but I figured it out before long. Wasn't crazy about the case design but it's not so bad... looks like rings left by a glass on a wood table. HP even includes a little polishing cloth to keep it shiny a nice touch.

Overall, I'm thrilled with it. Cost half of what I payed for my Gateway in 2003 and I feel like I finally have a REAL computer that I'm confident will be current for at least a few years. I highly recommend you pick one up if you have the means!

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I'm a big fan of HP products. I've owned 4 HP notebooks and 3 printers over the last 10 years. I've also owned a Dell, Averatec, and Toshiba laptop over the same time period.

Pros:

1) Numeric keypad. The keys are a little slimmer than keypads on other notebooks (i.e. Toshiba and Sony models) but it isn't too hard to get used to. I use this a lot.

2) Good battery life. I haven't fully drained it yet, but it looks like it's at least 3 hours/.

3) Runs cool. I can use it for hours on my lap and it doesn't experience the heating issue my previous HP and Averatec laptops ran into.

4) Overall, for a budget laptop, the overall build feels like a good quality.

5) eSATA

6) Remote I never use these, but I may this time since it also has a HDMI output.

Cons:

1) The BIOS is locked. This is kind of annoying. I don't mean you can't get into it, but merely, some of the features or options aren't made available. I've never seen a BIOS this limited (and I've owned a lot of notebooks [see above] and desktop systems. This probably won't matter to most people though.

2) As odd as it sounds, HP technical support told me it won't support a SATA SSD. I've read some laptops have problems with this.. I haven't actually tried this myself but I probably will. I'm hoping HP support just doesn't know what they're talking about and just don't see it in the supported hardware list.

3) When the notebook goes into sleep mode, I get weird horizontal lines that forces me to reboot. I've tried refreshing the display, having it output to an external display, changing resolution, etc but those methods don't work. This may just be my laptop or a driver issue.

4) Easy to get fingerprints all over it (probably due to HP's finish).

5) Dust seems to be very noticeable on HP's finish

Notes/Neutral:

1) Doesn't utilize a latch on the lid to lock it in place. The lid close tightly though.

2) No USB or other I/O ports on back of laptop. It only has 3 USB ports.

3) Power cable is on the right side of the laptop towards the back.

4) Audio ports are on the front right and there are two headphone jacks. This seems fairly typical of a lot of HP notebooks but I've never had to use it. Still nice to have.

5) There is a docking station expansion port on the left. Haven't tried it yet (don't own a dock), but at least you know it's compatible with a docking station.

6) No modem. This doesn't bother me but for those of you who still use dial-up might want to know this.

7) Does come with 802.11n and works as expected.

Overall, I think this is a good notebook for a student or someone like me who doesn't do much with his notebook but tosses and abuses it a lot during travel.

UPDATE: 14 June 2010

Okay, so I bought a OCZ 60GB SSD. I didn't think it seemed right that I couldn't upgrade to it, so I figured it was a calculated risk. Anyway, the SSD works fine. There are a few issues to consider though... The recovery DVD you made will not install to a smaller drive, so you'll need something like Norton Ghost to do it. I looked into using free utilities and couldn't find any (i.e. Clonezilla, Partition Wizard, etc). Or, you need to buy a regular copy of Windows 7 and install it from scratch.

The boot times do improve significantly. I don't know if it's worth it, but my laptop now completely boots up in about 30 seconds. Applications start almost immediately. However, I would probably avoid the upgrade again only because I miss having the drive space.

Also keep in mind, if you do upgrade to a SSD to optimize it. There are a few tutorials online that tell you how to edit your registry to get the most out of it.

This also means HP tech support loses a star since they told me it wasn't possible.

While I was reloading the factory install, I did notice that there is a minimal install of the OS. It does come with some HP utilities, but a lot less. So I definitely recommend that you re-install if you don't like having too many applications preloaded. It takes about an hour.

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I just got this and it booted right up, the screen quality is very nice, much better than the older style of laptops with the satin finish. This high glass finish really makes the screen stand out. I've used laptops by dell, lenovo and gateway in the past so my first impressions are below.

The laptop is not heavy, very reasonable and despite the 6 cell battery, most times I'm plugged in so it's not a big deal to me. I haven't timed out the battery yet but so far as with any new laptop is seems to do just fine. I wish it came with a cover or bag of some sort until I get my laptop bag, but I guess I'll be careful.

The side connectors are well laid out, I don't see issues with too much in a spot, it all seems pretty nice. My version did not have a modem (which I hope we don't need much longer). The one thing I'm trying to determine and it may be my misunderstanding but this should have "N" network wireless ability but when I booted it up, my dual band router only showed the regular G.

The big thing I like is the touch controls of the keyboard layout, everything is touch sensor, no buttons to break. The other thing that I really like is the pc does not get hot like older laptops do. It has no "side vents" for the cpu so it's clearly a much cooler operations than its earlier laptops. I always had to make sure I powered down the laptops in the bag or they'd overheat. With this style I'd be surprised if I had an issue. It comes with a little video remote that is nice if you are watching movies on a flight or don't want to mess with the keyboard. The hdmi on the side probably would be of good use if showing videos that way.

I personally don't care for the "bubble" design on the black finish, it could have been left alone without that stuff but oh well. As I work with it more I'll be able to post more but it's a very nice laptop and they even have a 50 dollar rebate on some locations.

As far as gaming, I haven't tried it so far but I'd suspect in most average games this I3 should do fine. I'm sure on call of duty versions it probably will not work well but I have a home desktop pc for that kind of gaming.

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A less expensive laptop with a more dated dual core processor would have nicely served my business needs, but when a sale price brings this puppy closer to $650 or less, it really justifies going with this HP's Intel i3 processor for the enhanced processing power, especially when dabbling in personal multi-media. It's a feature rich machine that offers some ability to grow with your needs because it is so well ported. It comes with 4-USB, an external eSATA to attach a speedy external backup/storage drive, an HDMI port and companion laptop remote control, external monitor, 5-in one card reader (ooops, not Compact Flash, regrettably), ExpressCard 54 slot, 100-mbps RJ45 and Wireless N Draft networking, Bluetooth, and capped by a double-layer DVD/CD read/write drive.

Where the rubber meets the road, I was nicely impressed with how well the N-Draft wireless adapter downloaded a 311-MB printer driver software suite file ... less than 10-minutes ... and I finally get wireless service anywhere in our single story home through several walls. Hot dog, Cat5 is now dead. I have since teamed it up with a Seagate BlackArmor external backup/storage drive that promises up to 3-GB/S eSATA transfer. However, I'm using it via USB at this writing and am greatly pleased at how fast that connection works, as it is, for basic backup and off-machine file storage. I likely won't go eSATA, but can.

I'm not a 'touch-pad' fan, using it only when a wireless mouse isn't possible. This one is like any other and I find the right-side touch-scroll bar to work when I don't want it to and to not work when I do. No doubt that's a combination of me and the nature of that annoying little beasty.

The 15-inch class screen on this version is just right for these 60-year old eyes that have worn glasses since dirt was made, but I have a hit or two. First, it was dramatically bright out of the box with blacks washed out and the light-blue text so prevalent on websites very washed out and difficult to read. The good news is that the Intel graphics driver offered the needed adjustments to bring the brightness and contrasts under control and it even includes a text enhancement routine that capably took the harshness out of black text as delivered. It still displays digital photos with way too much brightness and I have not been able to get it under control. For basic multimedia / DVD movies and such the display is still serviceable with sharp imaging. Other versions of this model can be equipped with cable/satellite/off-air TV tuners and connections.

HP's bloat-ware was within reason and largely ranted on with on-line backup offers. Windows 7 Home Premium now comes with scheduled system image and data file backup routines, but one must upgrade to PRO in order to back up over a network. It will work with an attached external drive, so the on-line vendors are now relegated to those worried about fire and theft. Win 7 networking is much improved and connected to all our shared resources within our home network without complaint. However, it now comes configured with a 'Homegroup' system that has yet to make any sense to me over the "workgroup" method, which is now somewhat buried in the operating system.

HP's included MediaSmart software also doesn't make intuitive sense especially with the photo display/editing features for basic snapshots. Picasa is still hard to beat and the serious photos still go through Canon's Digital Photo Pro. I also have a problem with an HP 'Web Printing' plug-in for Internet Explorer. This piece allows for selecting a partial section of a web page screen for printing. However, an HP update for this module has fully and fatally crashed Internet Explorer 8 within a week of buying the laptop. This appears to be limited for reasons unknown since neither HP nor Microsoft has rushed to get it fixed and I didn't shed much of a tear over losing it as a bloated, boat-anchor browser in favor of Google Chrome. But, for IE8 fans, get this ... Microsoft says that IE8 is now an integrated part of the operating system and does NOT offer an IE8 download for WIN 7. As a result, it shall now stay banished.

Windows 7 also provides a relative performance rating routine for computer hardware. At this writing, it is on a scale of 1-to-7.9 with design for future updating. It rates individual hardware areas for performance and gives a score based on the single lowest scoring area ... it is NOT an average. I don't see why you can't review this score on the store shelves in order to pick a laptop that meets your individual performance needs. This HP rates 4.2 for its "Desktop Graphics" system, which speaks pretty darn well for the rest of the machine. For a gaming screamer laptop, there are different DV6 derivations that score higher, but for a good, well equipped, feature rich system I think it's fair to say that the DV-2150 is a 'mainstream' screamer that does a ton of things exceptionally well under the hyperthread Intel i3 core.

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Acer 15.6" Intel i3-2310M 2.10 GHz 500GB Notebook | AS5750-6421

I bought this laptop as a post birthday gift for my man and I can say it was totally worth the saving. Since it is almost our 7th year together, I wanted to gift him something that he would really love! Acer was one of the first brands that came up with the latest intel 2nd generation core series processors and I found this one with more options in the price that suits my pocket. The delivery was finely on time, nothing unusual happened.

I would like to add the things I like most in the laptop and these are also the things that I didn't find in other laptops of the same price range. I don't use it everyday, so it is based on my experience with the laptop and the things that he agrees too. First of all, I just love the keypad; it's very user-friendly and I practically could work faster when I used it. ( I am a freelance writer so I do a lot of typing :p)

Secondly, the upper side of the laptop, which may not be very apparent from the pictures here, is textured. This makes the surface scratch and shock proof and makes it look extremely elegant in comparison to the laptops with glossy finishes.

The laptop is so lightweight that I can literally place it on my laps, sit in the couch and work for hours (I did it!).

Right now, I can't think of anything that I'd point as a minus one for this smart device. The only thing I experienced the other day and my man agreed too, is that when you use it while charging on your laps, keep your hands off the HDMI port because it may give you a very minor (you may not even notice it) electric shock. It's better to use the laptop on the table or any wooden surface while charging it. It also can be avoided you are in contact with anything that doesn't conduct electricity within.

He bought a Targus bag from a retail store for the laptop and it is till day serving great. He has a desktop PC with 22" LED, core i5 and other stuff but all he uses now is this laptop! I am so happy that it turned out just the perfect gift for him!

He is an average user and seeing him using it for almost 2 months now, I would definitely recommend it.

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Dell Latitude E6400 14.1" Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53Ghz, 160GB Hard Drive, 4096Mb RAM, DVD Drive

Looks like it is new, not a scratch, operate good, i like the feel of it just two problems the technician told me that the 2Gb memory was (1GBX2) instead i got it as (2GBX1), i also got DVD reader and not a DVD burner, and i had to reinstall the OS bcuz it keep crashing when it was booting, it also used came Windows 7 64bit n not Windows XP

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MSI X460DX-008US: 14Inch HD (1366x768) Laptop, 2.1Ghz Core i3-2310M, NVIDIA GeForce GT540M, 4GB DDR

I have been using this laptop for about a month now, and have really enjoyed it. The performance is great, even with just the i3 processor. I have been able to run some fairly intensive games on it, running Witcher 2 at medium settings yields about 30 fps, which while not great, is playable and still looks nice. One annoyance on this front is the aggressive throttling that occurs when running off battery power, making it impossible to play anything that uses the dedicated graphics card when not plugged in to a wall outlet. For instance, I was playing an older game (Railroad Tycoon 3) off the integrated Intel graphics on battery fine, but if I switched it to the Nvidia graphics, the gameplay stutters.

Another issue I have come across is the placement of some of the keys on the keyboard. The right shift key is smaller than on a full size keyboard, with the up arrow right next to it. Many times while typing, I will accidentally hit the up key instead of shift. This also occurs with the small backspace key, where I will often hit the home key instead. Otherwise, the keyboard performs well. It has a nice action without a lot of noise.

The touchpad works well, especially with the included drivers. It enables multitouch much like a Macbook does (I bought this after selling my Macbook Pro). Not quite as smooth as the Macbook, but things like three finger left swipe takes you back in the browser. Pinch to zoom also works, although again not as smooth as what a Macbook has. Two finger scrolling also works well. An issue I have come across is the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the touchpad will sometimes activate when I don't want it to, scrolling me over instead of selecting what I want. It took some getting used to.

Otherwise, the screen looks great and has good brightness when turned all the way up. Seat-of-the-pants feeling places battery life on par with the MBP. I can get a good 6-7 hours out of word processing and web browsing.

Finally, the fit and finish of this are good, better than what I have seen from other manufacturers. The weight is not too heavy. It feels lighter than the MBP, but not as well built. The body is thin, and overall it is easy to carry around.

I took one star off because of the throttling on battery without a way to turn it off, as well as the keyboard design. Without those two things, it would have been five stars.

Note: This is actually about the MSI X460DX-216US which has apparently been discontinued http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WPUNU0/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00 but MSI has done such an awful job with customer service that I wanted to write a review on the closest model I could find.

1/20/12: Purchased MSI laptop. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. Plus it was less expensive than a comparable Dell, and it ran computer drafting programs and 3D graphics games pretty well! Especially for the cost.

6/25/12: Laptop suddenly developed a problem where, if picked up or if resting my wrists on the empty space on either side of the touchpad, the laptop turns itself off. Tried this with and without the battery while plugged in and not plugged in and it happens consistently under all conditions. Since I was out of town at the time, I just used my laptop very delicately while placing it on a desk instead of my lap.

8/15/12: Finally home. Tested a theory where I hooked up the laptop to an external monitor and used a wireless keyboard and mouse. Laptop ran without any shutdowns for well over a week (never powered off). This confirms to me that it is something within the laptop that has a loose connection.

9/3/12: Went to MSI customer support and arranged an RMA online. It was quick and painless. Things are looking up!

9/17/12: On the MSI RMA status website, my laptop is indicated as "Your RMA has been received and is now in replacement, testing, or repair process."

9/21/12: MSI called me to tell me that they can't replicate the problem. I told them that they're insane because the problem occurred for me every time I would pick up the laptop. I told them so and they said they would look into it.

10/3/12: The MSI RMA status website has not changed. Called MSI to ask where my laptop is. After being on the phone for a half hour, I was told I would be emailed with more information. Apparently they have been waiting for a replacement motherboard and my laptop will be shipped out on 10/17/12.

10/24/12: The MSI RMA status website has not changed. I do not have a laptop. Called MSI to ask where my laptop is. After waiting on hold for 15 minutes, a recording told me to leave a voicemail. I left a very irritated voicemail. Then I sent an irritated email as a reply to the email that told me the laptop would be shipped out a week ago. Then I went to Amazon.com to write an angry review.

TL;DR version:

MSI Customer service is a joke. They have had my laptop for over a month and a half for what seems to me to be a very obvious diagnosis. This was my first MSI laptop I usually buy Dell. Dell had amazing customer service and they would promptly fix my problems whenever they arose. Dell would have shipped me a brand new laptop by now. One time I sent in my Dell (desktop) computer for repair and since that model was discontinued, they sent me the newer model, which was a thorough upgrade that I got entirely free of charge. THAT is customer service. Dell, I am sorry for abandoning you. MSI, words cannot fully express my disappointment. You have failed me for the last time.

Buy MSI X460DX-008US: 14Inch HD (1366x768) Laptop, 2.1Ghz Core i3-2310M, NVIDIA GeForce GT540M, 4GB DDR Now

This laptop delivers good performance for the price however it does not last at all. From opening and closing the lid the hinge magically breaks and eventually the monitor backing separates like it was cheaply glued together. Seeing that I am currently outside of the US I can't simply return it. I was trying to cope with the broken hinge until the webcam seems to have stopped working and now two out of my three USB ports seem to be gone as well. And this is after owning it for about 4-5 months.

Great looking laptop but S***TY QUALITY

WASTE OF MONEY, WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING MSI AGAIN -_-

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Bought the laptop for a friend who needed a gaming laptop. The laptop was a great deal, pretty much half price to other comparable laptops. Runs D3 on high and runs smoothly.

I liked the layout of the laptop, I liked the functional buttons, very well thought out.

The glossy surface of the keypad shows some fingerprints but it didn't really bother me.

Great value, well designed gaming laptop.

Would 100% recommend.

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ASUS X83VB-X2 14.1" Notebook PC - REFURBISHED

my board is out for RMA which I would buy another even if it was unfixable (ASUS P6x58d extreme edition). In the mean time I have this little laptop doing all my work. Everything from CPU to memory is discrete (upgradable). It's currently hooked-up with an HDMI connection to a Samsung T240 monitor and also my desktop keyboard, mouse, headset, gamepad and a printer. I still have unused USB ports. My X832B-X2 even came with Windows 7 and was refurbished by the good people at Asus. Gods honest truth I even bought one for my son who plays games on his. Before spending big bucks on a new over priced laptop check this one out.

This is my second Asus X83V22, the kids took the first one bought. This laptop is great because it is super easy to upgrade which is NOT very typical of laptops. I bought a Q9100 cpu which is a quad core CPU and had it changed out in 10 minutes. The video card is also swappable! I also like the laptop because it is power packed full of ports and features with 3 usb ports, firewire, pcmcia card, flash card reader etc.. downside to this laptop is that it comes with Vista. I downgraded to XP..not an easy task on this laptop, but doable.( dont blame Asus for this, but M$ for pushing their quirky OS on manufacturers ) The laptop, on occassion, has some glitchiness with bluetooth and usb ports..I think this is a hardware design issue, as I have said, i have 2 of these laptops one with Windows XP the other with windows 7 and they both have issues. Rebooting always fixes the problem.

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Dell XPS 15 XPS15-1053sLV 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver Anodized Aluminum)

Dell has fixed almost all the issues with this laptop and it runs great! Battery doesn't last as long as i would like it to. After first day it got stuck on bios screen but i fixed it with the other reviewer's link. I would recommend this laptop to anyone looking for one. No wifi issues at all!!!

The laptop looked absolutely lovely and I wasn't dissapointed by the looks. It was also very fast and my colleagues were all impressed.

Unfortunately, after the first day, the laptop refused to boot and got stuck on the Dell screen at the beginning. I tried all sorts but couldn't get it to work. Finally, I browsed the internet and found that others too had experienced the same problems. Luckily, instructions for sorting out the problem were on the Dell forum see below.

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Acer AOD270-1375 10.1 LED Notebook Intel Atom N2600 1.60GHz 1GB DDR3 320GB HDD Intel GMA 3650 802.1

I work with a lot of teenagers and see what is fast, efficient or not regarding electronics. After spending a long time, probably a year, contemplating what kind of device would suit me best, I have rejected smartphones (why squint and suffer with a tiny screen plus expensive data plans) as well as Apple products because from what I see with Apple, the device is just the down payment. Every app costs! Then there are the weird connectors that are not always easy to come by, plus connectivity issues. This little notebook uses wifi and no extra charges to connect using my home network. The only tiny thing I did not particularly like was that it came with Windows 7 starter so I had to install the full version later. But, having done that, it works like a charm and is as light as a paperback book in my bag. The spec that says it is 8lbs is just plain wrong. It is about 1.5 lbs if that. The screen is bright and clear with very good color, 3 USB ports, SD card slot and came with a power adapter. Definitely value for money. My other Acer laptop which is nearly 6 yrs old still works like a charm also, just a little too heavy for the frequent travel that I do.

this laptop was a gift for my 16 yo grandson, he loves it , i am very pleased with acer it is the brand i use for my desk top computer and i love that as well

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Samsung Series 7 NP700Z7C-S01UB 17-Inch Laptop (2.40 GHz Intel Core i7-3635QM Processor 8GB DDR3 1

First of all, I'd have to say that I am very impressed with this product, though it does have a few minor flaws.

The good: Nice, bright 17.3" matte HD screen, backlit keyboard, 8 GB RAM, Windows 8 preinstalled.

This laptop has a nice, solid frame that doesn't flex much, making it especially suited to pick up one-handed while it's running without having to worry about the battery unlatching and turning the machine off (a problem with my last laptop). It is weighty, but about right for it's size I guess.

It's painless to disassemble the back cover to access the hard drive (about 8 screws), though it will take a little effort to pry the cover off. I took mine apart to replace the stock 5400 RPM hard drive with a Seagate Momentus XT 7200 RPM drive. I'm also not a fan of having a built-in DVD drive on my laptop (wasted space to me), so I stuck the OEM 1 TB 5400 drive there to back up my OS and data drive using a hard drive caddy from my last Samsung laptop.

It looks as firm and well-built inside as it is on the outside. I love the brushed aluminum frame. It dissipates heat fairly well, even with the extra mods. It doesn't get anywhere close to the heat output of my wife's MacBook Pro 15". I don't hear the fan ever, and my temperatures sit around 50 degrees C.

You may read other reviews about the battery being "integrated" and customers who worry about what to do when it comes time to replace it. In this laptop, after removing the back cover, you have full access to the battery which just plugs into the motherboard. One drawback is the motherboard has 4 GB RAM soldered into the board and is not easily accessible by removing the back cover. The other 4 GB doesn't require the entire back cover to be removed at all, it has a separately latched compartment that is bound to the bottom by a single screw. It IS upgradable to 8 GB, for a total capacity of 12 GB of RAM for this machine. 8 GB is sufficient for Windows 8 for now (for what I do anyway), but if you run virtual machines while doing other stuff you may consider the upgrade.

I don't do much gaming, but the graphics seem ok. It has both the built-in Intel HD graphics and a discrete Nvidia graphics card.

I've also read other complaints about the Wifi card. I have had no issues so far out if it.

The screen is amazing, a 1920 X 1080 HD screen. This makes watching movies very enjoyable, but sometimes the on-screen font can be a little difficult to read without changing font size or DPI. I prefer to use the Microsoft ZoomIt tool to get around this.

The not-so good: Battery life is so-so, 5400 RPM drive sucks, reinstalling Windows 8 is a major pain on this laptop (see below), trackpad takes some getting used to.

I am a fairly experienced computer technician and I love to start fiddling with my laptops as soon as I get them. This being no exception, I figured I'd just slap a copy of Acronis on the computer and backup to my new hard drive. Not so fast! Windows 8 out-of-the-box comes with UEFI Secure Boot enabled, which effectively binds an OS installation to the BIOS. After I cloned the original hard drive and installed the new one, the laptop wouldn't boot. After changing some settings in the BIOS (turning Secure Boot off), I could boot the drive (blazing fast on the Seagate Momentus XT by the way) but I had lost a key feature of Windows 8. So I opted for the clean install. Be prepared to format a USB stick for EFI boot plus extracting the contents of the Windows 8 ISO to the stick. I could not get an external CD drive to work with the UEFI BIOS. End of story. It may work better if you keep the original DVD drive though. The whole process (research included), took about 3 hours. But after all the crap, Win 8 installs just like on any other computer.

By doing a clean install, be warned! You will no longer have access to Samsung's pre-installed apps in the Windows Store. Still haven't found a way to reinstall them. A minor flaw.

The original hard drive was SLOW. Very slow, even with the 8 GB Express Cache. The 8 GB cache on the Momentus XT works much better. You do have plenty of space with 1 TB though. And that's good, because out-of-the-box Samsung uses multiple partitions (2 system, 2 recovery partitions). The 2 system partitions are a product of Secure Boot and Windows 8, so there's nothing you can do about those. The 2 Samsung recovery partitions use up about 24 GB of space. I deleted these during the clean install, but if you don't keep your Windows 8 disc on you, you may want to consider keeping these partitions.

The battery life with all OEM hardware was only about 6 hours. This was 2 hrs less than the Best Buy salesman had advertised (which jives with Samsung's claims on 8 hrs). After adding the extra hard drive, I find that I get about 5.5 hours of battery life, which is ok for what I need the laptop for. Just understand this is a full-featured, desktop replacement laptop and not an ultrabook.

I read a lot about the Elan touchpad issues with this laptop. A lot of people don't like it. Mine came with Elan driver 11.2.7.1 out-of-the-box. This was ok, and I didn't experience the touchpad causing the pointer "jumping" too much on the screen. It's definitely sensitive, which is good for the Windows 8 gestures. Be prepared to change some settings in the Control Panel. After making a few tweaks and spending some time with the touchpad, I've come to actually enjoy it as much as the Synaptics on my last laptop. I especially like the 2 finger tap that mimics the right-click of the touchpad. I really don't use the integrated touchpad click buttons that much.

Final thoughts: This is a great laptop that is worth every cent. I feel like I'm getting twice the computer for half the price I'd expect for these many features.

Important to note that Samsung has the worst warranty process I've ever experienced, and as a result, I'll never purchase their laptops again. I've had Toshibas, Dells, IBMs, etc. I'm a high-end power user (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.) and I'm also extremely tech-savvy when it comes to fixing electronics. I purchased this laptop and the drive crashed after 2 months. I had to send the laptop to their Texas facility (it took 3 weeks for the turnaround)... 2 months later, the system crashed a second time. In a 1 year period, this laptop has crashed a total of 4 separate drives. Each time, reloading my system with all my software takes a good 4hrs. Imagine, each time you lose your laptop for 3 weeks. Their "executive customer relations" department is without a doubt, the worst, rudest, and most arrogant department I've ever had the misfortune to deal with. Samsung's entry into the laptop market really leaves a lot to be desired. This has been a nightmare experience from beginning to end. They don't give a damn about the customer.

When they finally offered a "same as or better" replacement, they considered that offering me a 15.6" laptop screen instead of the 17.3" I currently had was the "same or better". Also, their "refund" was not for my full purchase price it was for $200 less after a year of continual crashes. I finally gave up with them, filed a claim with Amex platinum and they refunded me the entire price let them deal with this garbage. My time is worth much more than spending in excess of 10hrs dealing with Samsung...

Incidentally, after the 1TB drive failed that arrived with the system, I purchased a solid state drive. It then crashed that drive. Luckily that drive (by Crucial) was under its own warranty and they have had to continually replace it for me 3 times. At this point, they won't replace it for me any more as it's obvious the fault is with the laptop. So, I'm out the price of the solid state drive ($350). Samsung, even though they accept responsibility that the laptop caused the failures will give me no reimbursement at all.

It really is the absolute worst customer service. It is not only the laptop that stops me from buying from them again, it's the support if something goes wrong, you really are in trouble.

Buy Samsung Series 7 NP700Z7C-S01UB 17-Inch Laptop (2.40 GHz Intel Core i7-3635QM Processor 8GB DDR3 1 Now

Nice looking and solid design notebook with good price compared to other brand names. So far every thing is working well. I do not have problem with weak wireless connection and over heat issue as I read some reviews previously. The fan is running rather quite which I like it. This notebook model is pre-loaded with Windows 8. At first I was disappointed with Windows 8 because it did not have the old start menu and it forced me to use Window Metro GUI. After downloading the free Classic Shell from the Internet and installing it, I now have the old start menu back and I have a choice to use Metro GUI by selecting Shift + Window key. I am happy with the purchase.

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I love the computer. Exceed my expections. Good packing. Good product. On time and affordable price. Samsung best computer. like it.

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It's perfect for me! Not expensive for the specs it has, it runs great games like GTA4 on best quality easy!

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Sony VAIO EH2 Series VPCEH24FX/P 15.5-Inch Laptop (Blush Pink)

This is an excelent computer! However you must know that it brings a lot of extra Sony programs (software) that gets your computer VERY SLOW. Uninstall all those programs as soon as you open your computer and that will fix the speed problem.

After about 10 uses and only 6 weeks after purchase, unit went totally dead. Sony "customer service"( a term used loosely) has promised, promised and promised to make it repair and has failed to deliver on every account changing story every time an inquiry is made never actually doing anything promised. Save yourself the headache on this one... I wish I had. This is not a knock on Amazon as purchased elsewhere just trying help everyone else considering this brand.

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The first few months i was happy with the product then all of a sudden it decides to start heating up. The sony center says they will replace the sink, fair enough everything cant be perfect. In the meantime i bought then accident warranty which extends the protection for 2 years. Turns out the heat sink was just the beginning, few months later the power source stopped working and they did replace it. then again in a month the mother board crashes, they take a whole month to replace it. Then finally the keyboard stops working. At this point i asked them to either replace my computer or give me my money. They come back with neither even though i paid extra to extend the warranty. From this day on i have decided never to buy another sony product ever again. Sad to see such a company fall to such levels

Read Best Reviews of Sony VAIO EH2 Series VPCEH24FX/P 15.5-Inch Laptop (Blush Pink) Here

This SONY PC is nice! Once out of the box I proceeded to connect to the Internet and made the three recovery discs using blank DVD + R discs. This process was simple using the on screen directions.

Other than having to buy software that used to be included in days gone by this computer rocks for the price, technical specifications and quality of being a SONY.

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Decent cheap little lap top. I was shocked how slow it was compared to my 4 year old dell studio but for the price it's better than a netbook.

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HP g6-1d70us (15.6-Inch Screen) Laptop

Love this laptop. Definitely a bang for one's buck. As I write this, early March 2012, I got this machine for roughly $400 here on Amazon. This was a pretty great price, especially considering I found the exact same model on several other sites well exceeding the $600-$700 range.

A really solid laptop perfect for everyday use, and beyond. The 15.6" screen is extremely bright, and has excellent resolution. As someone who watches a lot of media (videos, movies, tv shows, etc) on my laptop, the screen is great. The Intel i3 Core, 4 GB of RAM, and mid-level Intel graphics card all make for a snappy machine that is also acceptable for light, online gaming. A sizable hard drive, over 600 GB, won't be filled easily. Add a wireless card, built in webcam, and Bluetooth, a feature which has become more prominent in the last year or two, and all your bases are covered. The Bluetooth is great for 'no cable' transferring of files to and fro from your Bluetooth devices.

The audio is no slouch either. We all know that many a laptop speakers out there have their problems; They don't get very loud. They sound tinny. Not enough bass. Too much treble. etc etc. While the speakers here aren't exactly perfect, I'm pleased to report they are more then solid. On maximum levels the audio gets quite loud and remains mostly tin free. I also have to say, after experimenting with not only online videos, but various audio/video formats, the sound quality rates about a 7.5 on my scale. Pretty high considering some of the bad audio I've experienced, even on high-end laptops.

The machine comes in at just slightly over 5 lbs. Perhaps a tad heavy for some, but still hardly cumbersome. The machine itself is a handsome matte finish gray, and when closed, it's rounded edges give it a modern, almost IKEA-esque quality. If I had one overall quibble, and it's a very minor one, it would be the keyboard. While the keys have a soft, pleasant tactile feel, the keyboard itself is a tad on the small side. This is made more frustrating considering the size of the machine.

Bottom Line: Looking for a solid, mid-level, wallet friendly laptop that can handle a variety of tasks and situations? This one will easily fit the bill. Overall, an excellent value for what you're getting.

I have been using HP's for a very long time and find this one very quick and useful. My only comment is that is a little heavy and serves much better on a desk then if you need to take your laptop out..meetings, room-to-room etc.

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I recently purchased this laptop to replace my out of date Gateway and found the price to be great for all of the features that it has. It arrived in a timely manner (2 days) and was well packaged from Amazon. I was looking for a laptop with a 15.6" display and not a keyboard with the 10 key function. Here are the pro's and con's that I discovered:

Pros

Easy to set-up

Vivid display, HD quality

3.5+ hours of batt life over wi-fi

Charges quickly

Full size keyboard easy to type on

Windows 7

Decent built in camera

Cons

Not a fan of the trackpad, poor for internet scrolling

Would recommend purchasing a wireless mouse

Heavy, but well built

No docking station available from Amazon or HP

Overall I am extremely satisfied with this purchase, I purchased an HP for my parents for Christmas and they are also liking theirs as well, but I was able to get mine for over $100 less! Very happy customer, would recommend this product for anyone.

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This is no doubt the nicest and fastest laptop I have ever owned. However, it is not perfect. The Core i3 is plenty fast for streaming HD videoin fact, that was my main criteria when searching for a new laptop. The Pentium, Celereron, and low end dual core AMD processors simply can't handle HD video. You must get the equivalent of a Core i3 or better.

The good things about this laptop are it is small (at least is smaller than my 6 year old laptop of the same screen size) and light weight. It's got an HDMI port (which should be a requirement of all computers these days) and plenty of USB ports. I recommend attaching a "port saver" for the HDMI connection if you constantly use the laptop with different HDTVs. The mouse touchpad also has a nice feature that lets you turn off the touchpad with a double tap in the corner.

The bad is that the battery is difficult ro remove and install. Not impossible, but harder than it should be. I also don't like that the monitor does NOT have a clip to lock it down. It's just spring loaded so that means you have to hold the bottom of the laptop with one hand as you use the other hand to raise the screen. Again, not a deal killer, but a minor annoyance. Since the laptop has this spring loaded monitor, that means there is not enough room for any USB or VGA ports on the back of the unit. All ports are on the side including the power jack. The last thing I'm not crazy about is the monitor itself. The colors are way to intense. But that is a problem with all LCD displays IMO.

No, this laptop isn't perfect, but I do still like it and recommend it. To get a perfect laptop you would have to pay 2-3 times more than this one.

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Love the design, it's simple and elegant. I'm not even close to being an expert in computers, I mainly am a writer and use it as such, for my work. I do however see an issue when I try to run multiple programs, but I am inclined to think that is most laptops.

All in all I am pleased with my purchase, if you're looking for a laptop this is one of the best I have had and not all that expensive!

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Sony VAIO VPC-EB46FX/BJ 15.5-Inch Widescreen Entertainment Laptop (Black)

This is outstanding value for the price. It has a lovely, clear screen and performs well.It is far lighter than I expected I was concerned that with the larger screen I'd find it a bit unwieldy, but the weight is not an issue.

This is my first Sony Laptop. I expected it would be better than my three other laptops. However, I was disappointed with the speaker. Its sound is too soft even when I turn the sound control to the maximum position.

Except the bad speaker and small RAM (just 4GB), the computer performs well.

I suggest that if you like a Sony laptop, let try another one. Don't buy this one.

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I bought Sony VPC-EB33 from Amazon. First the sound failed then the hard disk failed. I have been trying to get the hard disk replaced but in Vain eventhough i have warranty for 1 year.. apparently they have some mismatch in the purchase date between amazon and sony.. I cannot believe this..

Crap!!

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I bought this Vaio 1 month ago and I am really happy!

Is really easy to use, and the only problem is the speaker (sound is not good), but I had another Sony vaio and the same " problem" ..

The keyboard is excellent, and the notebook is really fast!! I am really happy!

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It's been almost 2 weeks since I had the computer. It has a very nice keyboard. I love typing with it. But the touchpad is hard to control. In addition to that, touchpad is placed slightly to the left to easily use your right hand to control the mouse. If you are left handed, this is not the product you'll want to buy.

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Toshiba Satellite L505-GS5037 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Not too long ago, I needed to buy a new laptop computer since my old Dell computer nearly died. (There was some sort of hard drive problem that would only allow me to start up in 'safe mode.') After scouring Amazon for several days, I decided upon this Toshiba Satellite computer. It seemed like the best value for the money I was willing to spend.

Pros:

Big screen -This is great for watching movies in true 16:9 ratio. The screen is also really bright so you won't miss any details.

It has a number pad -I really like being able to use 10-key typing to enter numbers in documents and web sites. Having a number pad is surprisingly necessary.

Fast start-up / Fast wake-up -This computer has enough resources to start up quickly from an off state. The start-up feels like it could be a little bit faster, but, again, it is still significantly faster than my old Dell. I usually don't put my computers in hibernation mode when I walk away for any extended period of time, so I can't critique that feature of this computer.

Stylish -This computer looks sleek and sophisticated. It is a real joy to look at.

Generous system resources -This computer has 4GB of RAM and 500GB of hard disk capacity. It also has those new Intel processors that feature "hyper-threading" technology. Since Windows 7 is a system hog, a new laptop should at least have 6GB of RAM, but 4GB seems to be just fine for this machine. I can switch quickly between programs, start programs quickly, and end them quickly, too. A 500GB hard disk is just an astoundingly huge amount of storage space. There is more than enough space for photos and movies.

The mouse-pad -I don't know how Toshiba did it, but the mouse-pad is the coolest feature of the laptop. The mouse-pad looks like it was spray-painted on top of the plastic shell. It also works really well AND it offers multi-touch functionality. If you need to increase the size of the font on a web page, all you do is spread two fingers on the mouse-pad. It is actually pretty damn cool.

Cons:

Atrocious speakers -OK, the worst feature in this computer are the absolutely horrible speakers. The sound that comes from them is tinny and without depth. I find it interesting, to say the least, that Toshiba would have a mid-range computer with decent hardware specs but include insufficient speakers. Whoduthunk?

Not enough ports / Bad port locations -Again, for the amount of hardware specs this computer has, Toshiba only included 2 USB ports. The laptop shell is spacious enough to include 4 USB ports without any problems. My old Dell laptop had 4 USB ports. Also, the USB ports and power DC-in locations are really inconvenient: They are located on the right side of the machine. Most people are right-handed BUT protruding cords interferes with desk space which, in turn, limits the space that most people might have because of the locations of the ports. The USB ports and DC-in power port should be re-located to the back of the machine.

Other details:

The computer is finished with a matte black plastic shell. Just so you know, matte (any color) shows off every single speck of dust and finger print! After I type this review I'm going to wipe down the whole machine with a clean cotton cloth. Also, the keys are matte black, too, so they really show off finger prints! Don't laptop manufacturers know that laptops are dirty machines?! This laptop also weighs 6lbs. For me, it isn't heavy, but for others it might be too heavy.

Final thoughts:

Overall, I really like this laptop. It has plenty of resources for a multitude of applications. I can play some graphically intense games without too many problems. It has plenty of processing speed, RAM, and hard disk space for just about anything you can throw at it. This is a great all-around mid-range laptop. The only reason I didn't give this laptop a 5-star rating is because there simply are not enough USB ports, and the locations of the ports should be on the back of the machine instead of the right side. The speakers are also sub-par for what could have been included.

I got this laptop about 1 week ago, and I am generally pleased with the quality. Everything worked smoothly out of the box, and it's been working flawlessly with my wireless N D-link router. Toshiba's functions key controls for hibernating, changing video output, etc are well designed and intuitive to use.

On the minus side, the speakers are a bit tinny sounding. The video output is adequate for casual movie viewing, but will not satisfy someone looking for HD like video. This notebook has integrated graphics without a discrete video card and would not support high end games with 3D graphics. I also could not get an older game like diablo 2 to work. Additionally, Toshiba does note recommend trying to upgrade the video card (although it's possible), and doing so would void the warranty.

On a side note, I tried this computer with Toshiba Dynadock and did not find the speed sufficient for smooth operation. I would not try to dock this computer, or in general any computer that is not designed to be docked.

Overall, this is good computer for the price. It will be good for work and casual video viewing, but do not plan on playing games or using it for watching high quality video.

Buy Toshiba Satellite L505-GS5037 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Now

I purchased this Toshiba Satellite laptop approximately one month ago and I love it. It does everything I want it to do and more. The display on the monitor is gorgeous. The keyboard is the perfect size and I absolutely love the number pad. I always said that if they would just put a number pad on a laptop that I would buy it. So I Did! I have had a few little quirks with Windows 7, software wise, but I was able to navigate through them. The webcam works well enough for what I use it for. The facial recognition software can sometimes be a bear, but for the most part works.The only think I would change about this computer is the glossy black keyboard and outer shell. It shows fingerprints like you would not believe, but I have learned to adapt. I also love the mouse. It is integrated into the keyboard surround and looks the same but it has a different texture. Overall, two very enthusiastic thumbs up and a great buy for a busy mom, college student or anyone just looking for a functional computer that is relatively inexpensive.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite L505-GS5037 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Here

I love this laptop, but must confess that I bought it for my son so I have had little time with it. He also loves it, but isn't into reviewing, so here goes:

This is an absolutely beautiful laptop that does anything anyone could expect or want it to. It's fast and there's plenty of room for photo, music, and video storage without upgrading the RAM, though it is an available option in the future. As always, Amazon processed the order and it arrived the date that it was scheduled to. I did two-day shipping with the entire order. I thank Amazon for perfect service.

Once I charged this laptop I removed several programs that we didn't need or want the QuickBooks, the Norton 30-day trial stuff, the Google Toolbar, and a few other programs. I later installed Open Office and removed the MS Office Home and Student trial version. Windows 7 Home Premium is great! I waited till the Vista phase was over to purchase because I knew I didn't want Vista. The only thing that I didn't appreciate is that MS Word is not included, but as stated I solved that problem with Open Office and it works great. I also installed Mozilla Firefox as the default browser, including a variety of Firefox add-ons, but left IE in it.

Watching DVDs on it is better than watching them on a tv, but of course that depends on the quality of your tv. I tend to dislike track-pads and ordered a Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000 Winter Blue at the same time, but as track-pads go, this one is pretty good and better than any I have ever encountered. Still, it all works perfect with the mouse. I don't know what problems other reviewers had with the wireless connection, but for us it was fast Wifi and perfect from the very beginning. The keyboard is also great, accurate, and easy to use. We haven't tried the webcam yet. There is no need to contact customer service, so I cannot comment on that. We are tech-intelligent so it's not likely that there will ever be a need.

Now for the cons:

Every reviewer that mentioned the tinny sound of the speakers is correct, although my son didn't have any issue with them. I think Toshiba could have done better with the speakers though.

Yes, you'll never get away from those fingerprints, but aren't almost all laptops like that these days? It is a gorgeous glossy case!

The battery life leaves something to be desired, but then I couldn't find a similarly priced full laptop that promised anything better. My son gets about 3 hours from the battery when watching a DVD, browsing the internet, and using IM all at one time.

I would recommend this laptop to anyone and intend to purchase one for myself in the next couple of months.

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This is a great laptop for everyday computing. It's not a powerhouse, but still very nice. Media center is great, with netflix you can stream movies right to your laptop. I'm not sure what the other reviewers problem was with his wireless connection. I'm guessing his wireless card had some issues. I connected to my network within minutes of completing the set-up. I would recommend this laptop to anyone looking to watch movies, listen to music, browse the web, or any other everyday computer stuff. Also, there is a jack to hook this computer directly to your TV, so you can watch your high def movies on the big screen.

Why not 5 stars? No Bluetooth.

EDIT: *One year later*

So 13 months later-one month after warranty expiresHard Drive dies. Take it for what you will. I took my rating down one star. Will not buy another toshiba laptop. Or a toshiba tv for that matter (almost the same scenario with the tv). I'm pretty much just going to avoid any toshiba product from this point forward.

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Toshiba Satellite A15-S127 Laptop (2.0-GHz Celeron, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

As an owner of a Toshiba S127 and this S157, I can tell you that this thing is pure quality. Dell's laptops have gotten almost pitiful in quality, while IBM are insanely priced. Where's the quality, inexpensive laptops? Toshiba is your answer.

Trust me guys. Get this model. I bought the S127 and ended up giving it to my mom. This model comes with the built in wireless Internet (which is awesome), 40GB of storage, 512MB DDR (XP uses MUCH more than 256MB even doing the simplest tasks), and 2.2Ghz Celeron (you can't tell the difference between 2Ghz & 2.2 Ghz,trust me).

I scored my S157 in brand new condition for $825 off some really nice guy off eBay I struck a deal with. (I picked it up locally)

I'm going to review every single thing about this laptop, sequentally. Please note that this is an unbiased review:

1.) Keyboard: Probably the best keyboard i've ever used in over 18 years of computers. I loved these soft key laptop keyboard. Doesn't have that annoying cursor thing in the middle of the keyboard that some people like to use. (Most despise it, though)

2.) TouchPaD: Works great. Two basic buttons, silver color, and work perfectly.

3.) 15" XGA screen. The screen is nice, bright, and vivid, but I definately could use SXGA (1280x....) XGA is only 1024x768 and is just enough for basic tasks

4.) Speakers: Silver titinium stereo speakers. They work adequately for basic needs. What can I say? They're laptop speakers. Go pickup some Logitech Z-340s for $30 at Best Buy. They will compliment these nicely.

5.) Design: Design is superb. The laptop is suprisingly thin (1 inch) and the colors are perfect. Really great job.

6.) Weight: 6.15 lbs, according to my measurements.

7.) LEDs: The LEDs are great. 5 basic small LEDs that tell you what's going on. Nothing fancy.

8.) 802.11b Wireless (S157 only). This is great. You can save your PCCard slot; you can also disable/enable the device whenever you want. Someone mentioned somewhere that the built-in wireless card means it uses the notebook as an antenna. I don't believe that though.

9.) CD-RW/DVD ROM: Works perfectly. I would've perferred a trayless drive (like the Pioneer 16x DVD drives) but hell, this is great. They both work great.

8.) Battery Life: Battery life is not as good as I would like it to be. I get 2 1/2 hours max out of this computer on a full battery charge, assuming light working conditions. Extra battery costs $150+tax at Best Buy or Circuit City. I'm using my mother's S127 batter. ;)

9.) Noise Level: Both computers are dead silent. There is a fan that turns on once in a while to cool the computers. The fan isn't loud at all.

10.) PC Card Slot: It only has 1 PC Card slot, but that's not an issue anymore now that I have built in wireless internet

11.) Ports:

Serial: Great but I don't use it.

Parallel: Ok, I still don't use it.

2x USB 2.0: Now, this is beautiful. I have several USB devices, some even USB 2.0, that I use with this computer.

Neither models come with S-Video, DESPITE what some specifications say. The model also comes with external VGA for connecting to a projector or external monitor.

RJ45 (Ethernet) AND Modem already installed. What a great value.

12.) Performance:

Hard drive: Works decently. Only 4200 RPM, so don't expect mind-blistering performance, but it's fast enough even for an end user.

Processor: 2.2Ghz Celeron is like a crippled P4; nevertheless, it performs almost all basic functions with ease. Gamers apply elsewhere.

Sound: No comments. Sound works. :)

Video: This is my biggest complaint (besides the microphone) about this model. Comes with 32MB Intel Extreme Graphics (Shared). Because it's shared with system memory, people tend to think it's 64MB Intel graphics; believe me, it's NOT. It's 32MB Intel extreme graphics that will let you do only the basic video or gaming. Don't expect any kind of performance from this. I really wish Toshiba had put an ATi Radeon mobility in here, but for the price I'm not complaining. :-)

* Software: I don't use the software that comes with this bundle, but make sure to check the personal cons below for additional details.

* Toshiba Utilities: As with most utilities, I don't like running manufacturer's utility files, but Toshiba's aren't _that_ bad. (I still don't run them, though). They allow you to control most of the function buttons at the topic and assign them different functions.

Build Quality: This is where the laptop truly shines. Putting IBM's insanely high quality and price tag, this is the best laptop you can get for budget-price quality. Toshiba rules.

Personal Cons:

* No built in Microphone. The thing has a port for a microphone, but I really, really wish Toshiba had put one in. I know this isn't an issue for most people, but I use microphones on a daily basis. They're cheap, granted, but that's another thing to lug around.

* Rebates: Ugh, I hate rebates. I got my S127 for $760 (after 8.5% tax) and after $250 rebates. I got my S157 for $825 cash from some guy on eBay.

* One thing that annoys me is that Toshiba has loaded this comp with plenty of useless junk like AOL, Special offers, etc. This is an easy fix. I just wiped the drive and put XP Professional on there and boom, it's done. :) The S157, IIRC, comes with Microsoft Works, which I don't use.

If you want more detailed pictures of this laptop, search on They have both models and detailed pictures on it.

I hope I haven't missed anything. :)

I've had my Toshiba a little over a month now and could not be happier. After a major investment in a Sony Vaio 2 years ago I was devastated with its tragic,unexpected death due to a bizare internal power "arc" (as described by the repair shop). Rather than replace the entire mother board for over $800 I did some homework and lots of shopping around. For a great number of us who want an easily transportable machine for word processing,email, and a bit of gaming I don't think anyone would be disappointed considering the fantastic price and reputation of the Toshiba name. Sure, if you are looking for top notch speed and super high speed gaming capability this is not the model for you and you aren't going to get those qualities for this price. This is a great machine for "grown ups" as well as students who need the basics and believe in getting the most value for their hard earned dollars. The only thing wrong that I have found is the battery life comes closer to 2 hours than 3, but hey...that's enough time to watch most DVDs on your next plane trip. Thank you Toshiba!

Buy Toshiba Satellite A15-S127 Laptop (2.0-GHz Celeron, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) Now

I recently purchased this laptop and find it to be a very worthwhile investment as a first laptop for any person. The spacious 30GB of room, excellent video and 256 MB of DDR Memory should be enough for day-to-day duties and for students and office workers on the go. The large screen works and looks great, and the speakers, although not very loud, come through as clear as I've heard on any laptop. The laptop's physical appearance is sleek, with a medium-sized thickness for the body, and nice appearance from the outside. As for cons, the lack of firewire ports, two USB ports, and lack of 'quick-launch' buttons take away from the beauty of it, but for this price, you get more than what you pay for.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite A15-S127 Laptop (2.0-GHz Celeron, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive) Here

We're primarily loyal fans of Micron computers, but when it came time to getting my wife her long-awaited laptop computer, we forced ourselves to look around (largely due to cost considerations) and ran across many positive reviews (and a fortuitous price deal) on this Toshiba Satellite A15-S127 Notebook.

My wife's been using it regularly for about a month or so now, and she couldn't be much happier. The computer has been steady and dependable, as well as light and easy to carry and settle into place, and durable enough to handle a little bumping around during and between uses. The 15" screen is clear and sharp (and only slightly darkened when viewed at shallow angles), our Netgear MA521 wireless network card connects the machine to our home network without a hitch, CD-RW drive works great (including allowing her to burn her first custom CDs), etc., etc, etc. She uses mostly lighter apps such as email, web-browsing, word-processing, etc., but even her basic uses of Photoshop seem to do well enough (although for those who are serious about Photoshop or similar usages I'd suggest a stronger non-Celeron processor).

My wife's only negative issue so far is the TouchPad. This may be in part just something to get used to (as opposed to the more familiar mouse), but the 'Pad does seem erratically (and frustratingly) jumpy at times. But the notebook does have two ready USB ports, so we should be able to find her a nice trackball to plug in and take care of that problem.

Overall, the wife is very happy with her new "puter", and her new connected mobility. And that's good enough for me.

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I bought the Toshiba Satellite A15-S1292 for about $550 after all (annoying)mail in rebates and for the cost I paid, its an amazing machine.I have also installed Redhad Linux operating system (I can work in either Redhat Linux or Windows XP)and a wireless PCMCIA card & there have been no problems.I dont have extreme processing requirements & for all the work that I do,this machine is pretty fast.

Things I like-

1.There is ample palm-rest space so there is no strain at all when typing.

2.The display is an inch above the keypad and it gives you a feeling that you are looking into an ultra thin monitor.

Things I dont like-

1.Junk Software that comes along Quicken,AOL,Drag'n'Drop the cd writing software(was Horrible).

2.The keyboard is bouncy & really annoying.

A note to those who want to play with BIOS settings. Normally if you want to enter BIOS,pressing F1 or F8 or Del key(One of these three) will take you there.But with Toshiba you will have to start up XP first and then go to BIOS through Toshiba console.

Overall I would say that this is an EXCELLENT performance for a budget system.

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Dell Inspiron i17RN-2929BK 17-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black)

I purchased this laptop as an extra computer in case something happened to my desktop. My husband has his own business so it is necessary to have a working computer at all times. This computer has a 17 inch screen and also a numerical key pad, unlike previous laptops. We are very pleased with the performance and also we love the ability to change the color. This is my 4th Dell computer and I have always been pleased with the quality and the technical support that we have used on several occasions.

Quite the step up from my old 2004 Dell Inspiron 15" that still works great...the chassis is just wearing out from everyday use. I have nothing but praise to give Dell. They make an affordable, quality product. This is the 4th Dell computer in my house...my second. I have and would recommend them over and over again to anyone who asks!

Buy Dell Inspiron i17RN-2929BK 17-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black) Now

I bought one at bestBuy. An glossy blue polished body wrapped an i3 processor, 4 GB memory and 500 GB 5400 rpm HDD.

Construction:

The body feels sturdy and light weight. There is very tiny flex on the keyboard and palm rests. Overall construction looks very good. At this price, there is no room for grumbling on this count.

Connectivity:

It comes with two USB 3.0 ports. It also has the standard HDMI, USB 2.0 and SD card reader ports.

Audio/Video:

The display is gorgeous and the audio, while not spectacular, is very good and is loud enough without the headphones. The web camera is also good for video chats.

Keyboard/Touchpad.

The touchpad is smooth and the sensitivity can be configured through the Windows Mobility center. The touchpad buttons though are really hard and clicking on the outer edges of these buttons will give you sore fingers. You have to press them around the middle or inner edge to be kinder to your fingers. The keyboard is good though I felt it could have been a touch softer to type.

Wi-Fi:

The wifi is pretty good and I did not have any issues using it.

Battery:

Battery life is about 3 hours on a charge with medium level of processing.

Performance:

The 2nd Gen Intel® Core(tm) i3-2350M processor provides higher performance than my previous laptop with i5-520M and it runs really cool.

Conclusion:

This laptop is sturdy and arrayed with the latest ports. I'd highly recommend it to everyone.

Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron i17RN-2929BK 17-Inch Laptop (Diamond Black) Here

this laptop is super. worked perfect rite out of the carton. nice design, nice screen , speed is great. love it!

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Im older so don't know and cant judge the bells and whistles of the product but it works well for me and its attractive looking. The only issue I had with it is that it came with lots of games on it (not my thing) and a 30 day free trial of McCaffey but I bought Norton already and so had to pay someone to get that stuff off my computer (told you Im a real basic user). Sometimes I have gliches and manage to muddle through and I don't understand how to find cookies and get rid of them. Then scan disk and defrag are difficult to find so any problems I had were not with the machine but the way the software was set up. The computer itself is great and now I don't have to drive my powerchair to the library to use a computer so I am very grateful its working well. I was concerned because it was a big buy for my budget.

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