MSI Computer Corp. Notebook GT60 0NC-004US;9S7-16F311-004 15.6-Inch Laptop

The beast inside just screams performance! You won't get any similar 15.6" gaming laptop with these specifications and price. You even have to pay almost double if you get another brand with the same specs!

Screen: excellent Full HD matte-type (prevents glares)

CPU: one of the first laptops to carry the 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i7s great value right there!

GPU: another one of the first few laptops to have NVIDIA GeForce GTX 600M series (670M on this model) on this, you will be able to run most, if not, all current games on High settings, even the most demanding games to date.

RAM: 12GB with 1600MHz speed is more than enough to have, and on its current OS (Win7 HP), you can already max out its performance to 16GB (still expandable to 32GB but I don't see the point and the use for now)

HDD: 1 TB = 2 500GB in RAID 0 config is a great plus, boosting the performance and speed of your HDDs to almost double compared to a single setting config.

Sound: the sound system on this laptop is already the best out there, period. The clarity and the crispness of the sounds are very noticeable, and I am playing more music now than ever on this machine.

Keyboard: made by Steelseries, a renowned brand for high-quality keyboards the backlighting is a beaut, and fully-customizable lighting effects to boot!

Battery life: compared to a head-on competitor (one with an 8-cell only) the battery life of this machine lasts around double than the other the other averaging 1 hr 30mins vs 2 hrs 45mins on this thing... I couldn't be happier!

Overall, again with specs vs price, this laptop is currently the one with the best value out there across all 15"s. I heard they will release models of this and its bigger brother the GT70, with GTX675Ms and GTX680Ms soon, but that's a different story.

A very happy owner right here!

So, i've had this laptop for over a month now. My desktop was 5 years old, and i needed a new work laptop. So, i was looking for a work and play computer which i have to take home every night. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights i have experienced:

Personal/Gaming PC:

I am a dj, and have been extremely happy with this computer for a few reasons. The sound card is 7.1, it is fast enough to run any audio program i have thrown at it, and the speakers and subwoofer sound very good. I also am a gaming junkie, and have enjoyed BF3 and Civ5 perfectly on this (two of the more graphic intensive games i play). I had to manually switch the discrete card on after the first time i booted up Civ5 and watched it perform only on low settings, realizing that was just the IvyBridge doing work. Regardless, i am happy i waited for the IB. I play games like Torchlight on the plane and in between, and the 4000 does great for the lower end stuff. Even DOTA2, which has poor programming considered, will run just fine on the IB. When you do use discrete, there are really only a few games it cant handle. There is a nice turbo button located just above the keyboard if you want to squeeze an extra 4% computing out of the processors, but its really unnecessary unless you are playing something extremely intensive.

Work:

When i first went to Fry's electronics, i was debating between MSi and Asus. I have 3 friends who bought the last ROG laptops and they all had great experiences. I was inbetween; MSi had significantly better guts than Asus for about $100 less; 2 raided 500 gig HD's, a better discrete card, and more memory? I didnt understand why Asus was lacking so much. So, i took a chance on the brand name after doing a little poking around. Since i am disconnecting at least 2 or 3 USB ports every day, and the power charger probably 2 times a day, i did buy an extended warranty for 3 years for $200. I did this before even taking the computer home. Even after this past month, i am not sure if it was money well spent or not. The case is very sturdy, it is very thick (which i like), and it is made of metal and hard plastic. I am uncertain on the soldering of the ports, so if anything goes out i believe it will be that as i use them multiple times per day. I upgraded to windows 7 business, and am very happy. i have had no connectivity problems with my business network, and have had an easier time getting on our domain than the company supplied laptops! they were able to fit a very nice numerical pad on this keyboard and i am thankful for that.

Keyboard:

The keyboard is really the worst part about the computer, unfortunately. Actually, not the whole keyboard, just the space bar. You have to hit it in the middle of the bar, or at least where the color lights are on it. anything to the outside of the two bars will not register the stroke even if the button presses down. it is a very attractive looking keyboard and the color changing options are easy and quick to navigate. I typically have a wave rainbow when at home, filtering across the keyboard through 5 colors, and quickly switch to red or blue while at work. I have gotten a lot of comments about how great it looks, which makes me so angry that this space bar can upset me so much!

Network card:

The wireless card is top notch. It picks up signal better than my previous external wireless adapter for my desktop, and seems to have a stronger connectivity throughout. Only good things so far. It also worked flawlessly when i went to Germany and Italy.

Weight:

IT. IS. HEAVY. This is a desktop replacement, make no mistake. This is not something you take everywhere with you; it goes from my home desk to my work desk, and not many other places. Still, its better than the old lan party says of a monitor plus a tower, so it beats that. But i would not recommend this to a student who wants to take it to every class to take notes on. Your back will not be happy with you!

Final thoughts:

One last reason i picked this MSi over the Asus was future-proofing: a maximum of 32 gigs of RAM can be installed as well as the ability to have both harddrive bays replaced and upgraded. The asus was maxed out at 12, and had one HD. A SSD will significantly improve the speed of your applications, so eventually i will take that plunge. But that it my point; i anticipate having this computer and improving it for the next 4 years. I can see the ASUS getting tired after about 2 years or so.

When i started this review, i had originally put 4 stars. After writing, it became clear to me that my only REAL complaint is about the space bar. At the conclusion, i bumped it up to a five. If you can get over the space bar issue, you will love the dollar for value of this computer. Just remember, this thing is meant for 2 places; it is not as a buddy you take everywhere! I am reservedly optimistic about the quality of hardware; it seems like it will last a long time but who really knows? Ive never had an MSi before, but i feel good about it since i got the extended warranty. Ive heard some horror stories about their customer service, so if you get a lemon i would just take it back to the retail store. If i ever do have a customer service experience, i will come back and update.

If you are a gamer on a budget, looking for a solid upgrade, you can feel confident in this guy. The screen looks pretty good, the webcam is good, and graphics are outstanding. I personally HDMI out to a 27" samsung LED when i game, and everything looks PHENOMENAL on it. For work, the screen does more than the trick. I am very happy with my purchase so far, and think others with the same mindset will feel the same.

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This thing just arrived the other day, and I gotta say I am impressed.

I was able to play Skyrim on "Ultra" with several graphics enhancement mods, at a good framerate.

Pros:

Very powerful (especially for the price!)

Nice keyboard (pretty lights and no flex anywhere, even space bar)

HD matte screen

OUTSTANDING speakers can get loud, and very decent quality for a laptop.

overall nice design, performance, and pricing.

Cons:

Don't like the way the power button "feels"

The mouse-pad and clicker are "meh"...

It is very heavy

Some bloatware (though it does ship with the Win 7 disc but I didn't want to do a clean install, just b/c I didn't want to mess with the RAID configuration).

The fan can be a bit noisy (I hesitate to put this here, because it really isn't tragic or that noticeable, it just is a very little bit louder than one might hope).

Overall so glad I got this awesome laptop!!!

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Maybe I just got unlucky. I've never had a laptop with this many problems.

Out of the box I couldn't use any Windows Live clients because the network card blocked access. A few weeks later, a driver update fixed that. Ok. Driver problems happen.

Then trying to get many games to work properly with the Optimus graphics setup is just a giant pain the ass. And anything DX10 has serious problems no matter what I try.

So then RAID array started failing. And then the USB ports. And now the GPU has started hitting 95C.

I contacted MSI through the warranty website. They told me I had to take the laptop apart and replace the thermal compound under the heatsinks before they would consider warranty service. Of course doing that voids the warranty.

Not the quality or the customer service I expect after buying a $1600 laptop. Will never buy another MSI product.

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This computer is a great buy, but beware the chassis is somewhat flimsy. Every time I open my laptop I have to press the plastic piece down at the top (controls volume, wireless, etc) because it pops out. It is quite annoying. The plastic piece at the top is also very prone to scratching. I was cleaning it with a microfiber towel and it left minor scratches. I was able to scratch it very easily with my finger nail. Other than that the computer is very fast and equipped to run most of today's common programs. I would recommend it if the first two problems don't bother you. I also recommend backing up your data because the computer ships in RAID 0 (if you bought the model with two hard drives, not SSD). That means if you lose one of the two hard drives due to some malfunction, then your data is pretty much gone. I am able to run very graphic-intensive programs as well as virtual machines with no issues. You will need to update the BIOS (usually by flashing from DOS since MSI doesn't have a GUI installer for Windows 7 64 Bit) if you plan on virtualizing. All-in-all it is a great computer for the price.

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HP HP Pavilion g6-1b50us 15.6-inch Notebook PC - Black

First of all, if you're a "hunt and peck" typer, this review is not for you. The hardware and everything for this computer is worth more than the price, and for that I would give it 5 stars. I did a lot of shopping and couldn't find anything that compared to this model in this price range. Other than the keyboard I really do love this laptop.

The keyboard, however, is practically useless. I bought this computer to display images while I'm on-location for photo shoots and for when I travel, and when I bought it, I was at home and didn't have any need to do much typing on it. But the first time I tried to log into my Facebook, email, bank acct, etc I kept getting "wrong password" errors over and over. It left me scratching my head. I wanted to blame the computer, but I couldn't think of any logical reason my computer would be denying me access LOL. Eventually, I did the very deliberate "hunt and peck" method to reassure myself that I WAS indeed typing my passwords correctly, and that worked. It wasn't until I actually had to TYPE out an email to someone using the laptop that I noticed immediately what the problem was... the keyboard will not type double characters (like cookie becomes cokie, jello becomes jelo, etc). After that realization I figured out my password problem was the fact that most of my passwords have double letters or digits in them, and because when you type in passwords you only get little dots or stars, I didn't see what was happening. I took the laptop back to the store (I didn't buy it from Amazon) and they switched it with a new one, insisting that it must be broken. They wouldn't let me exchange it for a different model because I didn't keep the box. But the new one did the same thing. Ultimately, I tried 3 of this exact model, and the problem existed in all 3 computers.

I called HP and they said they'd never had any complaints about this computer not typing (which can't be true because I noticed the other reviews on here mention how sticky the keyboard is) and that they could do nothing to help me. They had the nerve to suggest I buy a regular USB keyboard for it, and I was like, "that defeats the point of having a NEW LAPTOP!" I spent a great deal of time online researching this issue, and no matter how many keyboard settings I changed, the problem still persists. It's like the sticky key function is stuck in the ON position, even though it's off.

I learned two important lessons that I would like to pass on: spend plenty of time playing around on a computer in the store before you buy it. Spend time actually typing on it and see how it feels and responds to your typing style. The mouse, too. Also, NEVER, EVER, NEVER throw the box away to anything until after the warranty has expired (or at the very least, the store exchange policy period has expired).

I bought this with a rebate 3 weeks ago and unfortunatley came away very underwhelmed. The mousepad is not very touch friendly. and the keys are sticky.

The most frustrating thing was that one day after only having the laptop for 3 weeks, the screen faded to black and couldnt be fixed. I called HP customer support and they said they're aware of this hardware issue (really?!) and I owuld have to send the laptop for repair. They couldnt assure me this issue wouldnt crop back up. Avoid this laptop at all costs. HP won' be able to help you at all if it breaks.

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OK. I'm going to give the Windows Experience specs first:

Processor: 6.2

Memory: 5.9

Graphics (Windows Aero): 3.8

Gaming graphics: 5.2

Primary hardisk: 5.8

Not too shabby. Right now, the only thing I've done on this machine is surf, but compared to my OLDER 32-bit, 1 GIG RAM laptop, it smokes. However, I'm really frustrated on the stupid mouse and a little frustrated with the keyboard. I USED to do a lot of scrolling with one finger on the right side of the mouse pad. NOW I can't even use the "old" click-and-drag feature of the mouse and scroll bar very well. You think you're dragging the scroll bar and it either starts and scrolls nicely, doesn't scroll at all, or scrolls then stops. Using the mouse pad gestures, it's even more inconsistent. I've tried playing with the settings and there may be a slight bit of improvement, but none that really makes a consistent difference. I've tried turning off the gestures, but then I can't scroll AT ALL.

The keyboard: I'll be typing along and I'll notice that SOMETIMES the letters don't show up. I find that I have to hit the backspace key because I'll think, "I know I hit that key, why the heck didn't it show up?" (backspace, backspace, backspace, grrrr) Basically I have to press the keys a bit harder every now and then. Definitely something a bit cludgy about the keyboard. Some people have really complained about the keyboard; I find that there is something amiss, but not as much as others have reported.

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Search 'HP g6 overheat' and you'll know what I mean. Mine was bought 12/2011 and is now worthless. Started overheating 6 mo. ago. Smells like an iron. Screen goes black when hot (every 10 minutes.) I'm shopping for new one now. I trusted hp brand so did not buy warranty thinking, foolishly, it would last more than a year and a half. No more HP for me. Any laptop with vents on the bottom is a design problem. Gotta go, damn thing is going to burn down the house.

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except for the not so long battery life on here. only about 3 or 4 hours depending on what you are doing so not so good for school like i was hoping to use it for. other than that in great condition with speedy delivery.

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Oregon Scientific Batman PowerWing Laptop

This laptop is perfect for my 6 year old grandson. The level of the challenge will progress with his age, which I find to be an excellent feature.

My son received this almost 4 months ago. The Batman laptop is durable and fun to play with. my son plays the Spainsh Q.A. mostly. The laptop uses the voice of Batmans.

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My great-nephew is 5 and having a great time w/ a computer just like mom's. It takes a little parent instruction in the beginning. Well worth it.

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I had bought this for my 6yr son and he's learning spanish off of it now! The games are fun and educational. My 4yr son wants one for himself. Worth it!

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great fun, this was an excellent item bought for my son as a b-day gift. would continue to purchase gifts from amazon and the deals are unbelievable and worth the time. xcellent laptop

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Acer Aspire V5-171-6675 11.6-Inch Laptop (Silver)

Acer made a good name for themselves by providing reliable desktop computer components, and that reputation carried over when several years ago, the company advanced into providing laptops. Now after owning three of them, I have never been disappointed in the operation or reliability of any of them. This one is very small and solidly built and it has a brushed aluminum finish I really like in contrast to the nice shiny metallic finishes usually associated with Acer laptops.

So now we enter into a new era of Tablet computing and Windows 8, and it is a definite change from the previous computing we learned so well. Advancing cautiously with the help of Acer's desktop, Windows eventually revealed that it is still the same old Windows inside with a new graphical sugar coating and some new enhancements that make it very appealing for use with the new Touch Screen Tablets that are steadily gaining in popularity.

Windows 8 has your back if you still find better use for a computer than a Tablet, so this Acer has the familiar touchpad mouse built into its keyboard, but I still prefer using a BlueTooth mouse whenever possible. Additionally, many Android users may find Windows 8 is very similar to using the data provisions of their cell phones, complete with an endless number of available apps.

This little 11.6 inch wonder in electronic wizardry will always remain readily available whether I am at work or travelling. Sized the same as the newer Tablets, I consider this laptop to be better provisioned, and best of all, it sells for about half the price of a top-rated Tablet. It is provisioned with the least expensive version of a set of three new CORE Intel processor configurations that increase in cost at each level of complexity, but really don't provide enough in additional abilities to warrant a higher price over what I already have in this very basic laptop computer. This i3 runs very cool and is built into the smallest laptop frame Acer provides, and I even have a little accessory carrying case for it.

This laptop is too small to accommodate a mounted optical disk drive, but that is easily fixed since there are several external CD/DVD RW drives available at a nice price, all provisioned to plug into a laptop's USB ports for immediate use. Regardless, Acer Support provides a Recovery Flash Drive for this computer that can be plugged into one of its USB ports if a recovery to factory specs ever becomes necessary.

With a little more time researching some of the other similar laptops available from Acer before purchasing this one, chances are I would have also seriously considered the Acer Aspire One laptop. That would have saved another couple hundred $$ since it is a very close duplicate to this one. The only real difference is its slightly slower Intel processor, but it also has a smaller but more practical 320 Gig hard drive, which for all my needs is still HUGE. Either one of these laptops is perfect for students who must store and do their work on a fully provisioned computer, and there are also some AMD provisioned 11.6 Acer laptops as well at an even lower price.

This is a nice, solid, basic laptop. I've only had it for about a week, so can't speak of its longevity. Physically, it is very solid. I've noticed some laptops out there have a little bit of wiggle in the screen or keypad, but this one is solid, which is impressive for being so small and thin. They keyboard is easy to type on for me, but I have tiny hands... my larger-handed husband has some trouble, but its not his laptop. The mousepad is OK, I would prefer dedicated left and right click buttons rather than pushing the pad itself for this, but I'm getting used to it. There are a lot of USB ports for being such a small computer. I also appreciate that the screen is very clear and bright... so bright, I even had to turn it down. The screen is also wide-screen, so even though the laptop is 11 inches, it is almost just as wide as my 15 inch... I was concerned it would be difficult to read being so small, but this was not the case. The sound is weird, the speakers are on the bottom of the laptop, so if its on my lap, my lap mutes a lot of the sound... when its on a hard surface, its fine. But, I don't plan on using the speakers, I use headphones if I ever REALLY need to listen to anything anyway. Its no bother for me, so it wasn't a negative, but others might find that info useful. The computer was super easy to set up, its processor is VERY fast, websites pop up quickly. I personally don't like Windows 8, but there were plenty of websites out there (CNET mostly) that helped me download some free programs to bypass some of the annoying Windows 8 features (start screen, start menu, hot corners, etc.)... but this is to no fault of the laptop. Solid laptop and a great price. Highly recommended.

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The laptop is great when plugged into a wired network, but is honestly hopeless on wifi.The wireless card drops internet connection every 5 or so minutes, and sometimes it comes back on its own, sometimes you have to open and close the wireless adapter, sometimes you have to reboot the laptop to fix it. I have two other laptops in the same room, a dell and an asus, both work great on wifi without problems. The wi fi signal is great. I have looked online and read a few reports, wifi problems appear fairly common with Acer laptops with this qualcom wireless adapter.

Because I purchased and installed office on this machine, I am now stuck between a rock and a hard place. I can return the laptop for credit and lose the $120 I paid for office because I have to buy a new copy, or I can keep the laptop without working wireless. Some choice that is! 2 stars is generous. Dont buy this laptop if you need reliable wi fi connection.

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Okay this is a pretty capable little notebook computer. The i3 CPU will make it considerably faster than the older generation Intel Atom chips. The quality seems decent for a $450 part.

Now here's some information that can save you some grief:

1. The BIOS is set up from the factory so that you can only reach it from the Windows 8 environment. I spent the better part of an hour trying different keys and combinations in a futile attempt to reach the BIOS aggravating. The following is courtesy of user "gr8stapeoftx".

From the Windows 8 Sidebar:

Settings

Change PC Settings

General

Advanced Startup

Restart Now

Troubleshoot

Advanced Options

UEFI Firmware Settings

Personally, I don't like this setup. I Like the Bios to be agnostic of the operating system. What happens if someone decides to downgrade to Windows? Fortunately, once you reach the BIOS screen from Windows 8, you can set the bios to work in legacy mode. After that, the F2 key will get you into the bios upon bootup.

2. Getting to the internals is incredibly easy. I think it is literally just one screw to remove the bottom chassis plate. Upon removing the plate, the RAM is a breeze to upgrade. There are two slots, and one of them is populated by a 4 GB chip. You can add another 4 GB chip for a total of 8 GB. Doesn't get easier than that.

3. Hard drive now this is much more tricky. If you are looking to replace the conventional hard drive with an SSD drive like I was, pay attention. Many of the SSD drives on the market will *not* work with this computer (Sandisk Extreme, Kingston, OCZ Vertex, Crucial M4, etc.) Why? Because they are all a tad too tall at around 9.5 mm. They must be of the 7 mm variety. The Samsung and Transcend drives seem to work because they are around 7 mm.

All in all, this is a pretty good computer for your money. I wish the battery life was more like 6 or 7 hours, but the battery is not sealed, so you should be able to buy aftermarket batteries down the road.

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I am a college student, and the V5 is a perfect choice for me. the laptop is only about 2 lbs. I can hardly feel it in my backpack. The battery life is about 3 4 hours, I don't have to worry about bringing the power cord. For a 11.6 inch laptop it feels really good when I'm typing. The material that its made out of doesn't get dirty easily. The CORE I3 processor is amazingly quick. This laptop does more than what I need.

The reason why I'm giving it a 4 star is because I dislike Windows 8. it suites better for a Ipad, tablet or a smart phone, but it's a pain to work with on this laptop. The speakers are placed under the laptop, so to me the sound is a bit muffled. (I usually use ear buds, so it's not a problem) The battery is difficult to remove because you have to insert a small object (like a paper clip) into the release latch while your pulling it out.

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15.6" Gateway® NV59C66u Intel Core i3 Laptop 4GB Notebook 500GB Computer with BLU-RAY

I was looking for a new replacement laptop and bought this one from Best Buy, party due to the many good reviews it had. I have been very satisfied.

My old laptop chugged and chugged on the hard drive, and I had decided that my next laptop would have a 7200rpm hard drive for the speed factor. However, I never found a laptop I liked with a 7200rpm hard drive. Furthermore, after doing research on hard drive speeds, I found out that a 7200rpm hard drive is not necessarily faster than all 5400rpm hard drives. This laptop has a 5400rpm hard drive, and I have been very satisfied with the speed.

My old laptop did not play videos well, stuttering on full screen standard def videos due to low processing power. I decided that my new laptop would need to handle 1080p full screen videos smoothly, and so far this laptop has been doing that.

As I researched new laptops, I noticed that some laptops seemed to get too hot. I have been impressed with how cool this laptop runs. Now mind you, you have to give it proper ventilation. If you are smothering the bottom by having it rest on a blanket, it will get warm/hot. But if you have it on a flat surface like a lapdesk, etc., it runs relatively cool. It's even cooler than my old laptop.

My old laptop had static on the headphone port, so I wanted to make sure that this one did not, and I have not noticed any static.

I'm glad I got this laptop, and I would recommend it.

I bought this laptop as a replacement a year and a half ago. It has worked very well for me since then, no problems with the system. However, the hardware has slowly deteriorated over time, just from regular use. The screen hinge on the left side has loosened and when I went to open the laptop today, the hinge ripped a bunch of the plastic off the corner of the screen and the corner of the laptop itself. Another issue I had was that the charger plug also came loose, causing the laptop to not recognize that it is plugged in. Overall this laptop works well, but the hardware issues after long-term use that I have had would cause me not to recommend it to others. The hinges especially appear to be poorly made.

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I have probably been through a dozen or so laptops over the last 19 years so believe I have a little experience.

I purchased the Gateway a little over a month ago. It is for personal use at home, not business. Primarily for web browsing, email and as a mobile media center. Overall, I give the Gateway high marks. It appears to be reasonably well constructed with a good feature set and represents a good value. The blue ray player and HDMI were important to me and appear to work fine.

Saying that, I would probably return it if it were not outside the 30 day policy. It is a personal thing but I find the ergonomics to be lacking.

1. The keyboard does not feel right. I am a fairly proficient touch typist (50-60 wpm) and continually hit the wrong keys. I haven't pulled a ruler out but believe they are oversized. Anytime I place my fingers on the keyboard, I have to search for the little nubs on the "F" and "J" keys to confirm my hands are in the right place.

2. Mouse / Touchpad Again, I can't get this right. It does not fall naturally to my hands so the use is awkward. It does not feel intuitive to me and, in fact, is counter productive.

If I had to use the laptop for an extended period of time to actually do work, an external keyboard and mouse would be a requirement.

Another personal preference I have discovered while using the Gateway, what is ideal display size. This is the first laptop I have had with a 15.6" display and it will likely be the last. It is just too large and bulky for a laptop. My wife (who has a Compaq with similar display) tried to tell me this but I disregarded. Wish I had taken her advice to heart. I think a 14" is just about perfect and that will be my next laptop.

I don't want to sound like I am bashing the Gateway because it is priced very competitively with the features I wanted and has been completely trouble free. It just doesn't feel right and will probably sell soon unless I can find a way to adjust to it.

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I have good luck with Gateways in the past and this one is another real winner from the value standpoint, with a fast, cool running CPU, plenty of memory, a spacious and fast hard drive, n-wireless, plus Blu-ray and Wimax built in, you cannot beat this laptop for the price.

It's the only i3 laptop so equipped at this price point that I could find.

Setup was a breeze, thanks to Windows 7's near painless setup procedures. Almost no crapware to get rid of beyond the ubiquitous Norton Anti-virus (use free Avast or AVG and save the ridiculous yearly fees charged by Norton et al). Exceedingly quiet, as most laptops tend to be, and good battery life....about 4 hours when new. Not the best but not bad.

Don't need wimax yet but I tried it and it works. If you can afford the hefty monthly fees and live in area where this is available, it might but worthwhile. Nice to have if you need it in the future.

Keyboard may be the only downside. As a touch typist, I don't particularly like the square flat chicklet keys, but for those who want a stand alone numeric keypad, it's there on this larger than usual laptop keypad.

Screen format is 16:9, great for watching Blu-ray movies but shorter than the usual 15.6-inch screen. Screen quality is good but not great. There's HDMI out for connecting to larger screens.

Some don't like the satin "espresso" (brown) finish but it like it better than the shiny piano black of my old laptop, which showed every finger and palm print. Touchpad works OK, supports gestures.

Very good built in speakers, best I have ever heard on a laptop. Special "social media" key for launching all the usual suspects in one keystroke.

A good deal for the money.

My 5 year-old core2duo Gateway is still cranking but decided to upgrade because the battery was toast and wanted to move up to Windows 7. Hopefully, the new one will be as reliable as the old one, which cost a third more and is a bit heavier.

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Bought this laptop for my wife for Christmas 2010. After 11 months of use the only issue I have is that it is slow on occasion. The screen is good, battery life is ok, blu-ray drive is great, and has plenty of memory and hard drive space for everyday computing. Built in camera is okay, maybe 3 out of 5.

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Dell Latitude E6400 Laptop

I've owned my Dell Latitude E6400 for about six months now, and have been working with it almost daily -running a bunch of web development and graphics editing software. Have not had any issues with this laptop that would make me regret buying it, overall -very positive experience. The performance is solid, I had Win XP Pro on it, and now upgraded to Win 7 Pro, and it runs like a charm! The battery life is very good (I have a 9-cell battery) -the longeste I've kept the laptop running non-stop is 4 hours, and never needed to plug back in; the screen size (14") is a good balance for travel and working in comfort. The built-in wireless adapted sometimes needs to be restarted (there is a switch on the side -turn it on and off to restart the wireless, not a big deal at all), but I only noticed that this needs to be done after the system comes out of hibernation. I bought this laptop with a deep discount (it was refurbished by Dell), had some reservations at the time of purchase, but am a very happy camper now -no worries!

This is pretty much configuartion that I got and performance is pretty good with this laptop.

Lighted keyaboard had an impact on decission when I decided to buy this laptop and it is really nice and usefull feature that I was looking some time for it.

Pros:

Very stable, no reboots and doesn't get frozen even when moving/shaking it

Good metal construction --> no flexing

Good set of connection slots for perrifferrals

Backlit keyboard

Very bright screen but not the best color rendering

e-SATA external connector

Internal Intel wireless 5300 AGN WiFi card is excellent

Cons:

LCD display is somewhat washed out although very bright

It gets very hot even just browsing internet after relatively brief period. Poor ventilation.

Somewhat heavy for its size

Average battery life (little bit over 3hr of usage when just browsing internet via WiFi with standard battery)

Proprietary HDMI connector (need to buy separate pigtail adapter)

I have it almost for a year now and no crashes or some issues or glitches so far.

Overall very good business laptop.

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Shipped w/i 3 days. 3-4 hour battery life depending on what you have running. Can dual boot operating systems (I have linux and windows 7). Can play low end games like minecraft/FATE/Half Life really well. Runs extremely fast as long as you don't overload it with too many processes.etc. Doesn't come with web cam. Ram, cpu, HDD are all upgradeable!!! Buy it you wont regret it!!!

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I bought this laptop about 3 years ago and it still works fine I replaced my hard drive for more memory but it's only for people who don't do gaming because it lags a lot. So this laptop was meant for business, school, etc besides gaming. I would say this is a low end laptop not the best ones out there these days but I would say this is really light and portable I bring this every where with me every time my kids and I go to starbucks.

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This was my first laptop and I'm not (really) disappointed. For a few more $$$'s I could have had a larger hard drive (this one being an 80GB) but no serious problem if you augment it with the 256 GB flash drive I chanced upon to use as my storage.. I haven't gone through everything that this laptop offers (forget the norton and use another product). For the price I'm totally satisfied with this Dell.. No built-in web cam but that's not a mark against it in my book as I do not use them anyway.

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Panasonic Toughbook 19 Tablet PC - Centrino 2 vPro - Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 1.2GHz - 10.4" XGA - 2

This is one of the best computer but made with very bad keyboard, typing is very hard on this computer. tacchscreen is ok since it moono touched, it was much better that it was a multitouch screen instead of single touch. panasonic with these great product has the worst customers services, and worst support system. If it was not the product i could give Panasonic 1 star only of its customer services. I hope this is helpful for you

Our fire-rescue department utilizes the toughbook to capture our reports on all the calls we run on. They are great laptops and are heavy duty as the name implies. Our toughbooks have fallen from 4-5 feet on many occasions with no adverse effects to the computer. Very durable, good keyboard and fast processor. I am pleased....and I am on a busy rescue doing on average 10 reports a shift.

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This computer is tough and I know it. We use it at the station to watch YouTube videos and use it to figure out how huge our pensions are going to be while we are waiting to rescue cats from trees. We've dropped it and it hasn't broke-but so what if it does-the taxpayer will just buy us a new one.

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I did not buy this model--i bought the CF-30, which cost me more than twice as much as this one is listing for...

it is a rugged computer, So, these computers rarely break. But they do sometimes break.

If yours breaks, forget about it. Just go buy a new one.

I don't like worrying about my warranties, so although the computer comes with a well-written standard warranty, i purchased

the

$250.00 Protection Plus Warranty Upgrade (Years 1-3) plus i purchased the

$180.00 Toughbook Premier 3 Year Service Upgrade and i also purchased the

$175.00 3-Year On-site Service

My computer broke (i dropped it--not from Six feet, but from about the height of my bedside table...

Panasonic made me prove the warranty by sending a copy of my sales reciept before they would even talk to me about service.

Then they tried to talk me out of having the on site service, saying it would be faster and easier if i just sent them the computer.

The onsite service guy was nice, but had not been trained on how to fix the Toughbooks, so he took it home with him and sent it to Panasonic.

That was a week ago.

The onsite guy said i should leave my hard drive inside the computer.

He called later and said Panasonic would send me a new computer right away.

Then he called back and said that they would not cover accidental damage...and i should have bought one more warranty...

I pointed out that the warranty covered "non-intential damage"...their representative said that while "non intentional" seems to mean "accidental" it does not mean that "accidental" is covered!

The manager at Panasonic promised to look into my case...but never called me back.

One of my warranties included 'overnight' service.

I was later told that "overnight' means next business night, which, on a Friday, means Monday...but because Monday comes after Sunday, Monday means Tuesday...

Anyway, they have my money, and my computer....and this review.

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Gateway NE56R13U 15.6, Intel Celeron, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive, Windows 7

You really can't go wrong with this deal at Target. We're talkin' Win 7 64 bit, 3 USB ports, HDMI, cardreader, 4 gig ram, 320 gig HD, 15" display, 6 cell batt, Intel CPU, DVD burner. I'm continually amazed at these prices and values. Picked one up for the in-laws so grampa could have his own laptop! For web browsing, pictures, and the basics, you don't need to spend over $350 with today's prices.

My only complaint is the Function keys are reversed (why would they do that??). If you want to use the actual F1-F12 keys, you need to hold down the FN key. This means that these keys work directly to enable/disable things like wi-fi and trackpad etc. So if grampa inadvertently hits the F3 key, he'll turn off the wi-fi. I don't think this was a smart decision by Acer/Gateway.

UPDATED Never mind my complaint about the function keys! As noted in the comment section, this can be changed in the BIOS setup SWEET!!

Also got this for $250 from Target. I only got it since I had the top end model since 2010. The only difference between the two is the CPU one Intel this one and the other is AMD. Both dual core 2.0GHz vs 1.7GHz in this one. But the L2 cache is 2MB instead of 1MB in the one I had. Same 4GB of RAM but this one can be upgraded to 8GB. Both have the same LED/LCD HD panel. Mine has optional Blue-Ray player that gives you higher contrast panel very deep blacks. Other than that the keys placement is the same. You'll learn to live with it in time. For the price this is not a bad laptop if your in the market for one. The Target sale will end when they're gone no rain checks. But if you can get one or more time is right to give all your kids and you and the wife one. Can't go wrong with this purchase. It only comes in one color black with touch of grey. Panel is glossy ultra bright you want that type of panel you don't want flat matted type ones are washed out look and older technology LCD it has to be LED which this one is.

3x USB ports

1x Full HDMI port

1x SDHD Card Port

1x Power

1x Stereo Head phones

The one I have has all of that plus red amber lite soft touch controls. Still this one not that heavy like the one I have. If you able to get on one buy it!

Update 8.12.12

Had order additional 4GB from Amazon for $21 and install it. Now 8GB with 7.48GB usable. Index rating gone up from out to the box 4.5, then tweaked changing the system from the default power (Balance) to High Power 4.9 and now it's 5.0.

1. Before you do anything with this tablet you need to get Norton Removal tool too take off the bloatware.

Run that twice. Freeware just search for it on Google

2. Run Pc-Decrapifier (freeware) That finds everything you have installed and then you choose what to take off. Hint keep all ACER software.

3. SmartDefrag (freeware) use that for boot defrag, MFT, pagefile and system. Set to once every first boot

4. Slimcleaner or Cloud System Booster (both freeware) or ToolWiz Care freeware

Do 1 thru 4 and that laptop will be quicker.

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I have to say this is a great little laptop for the low price of 249.99 at Target and with the "red card" they took an additional 5% off.

I can't say enough good about it for the money.

It has 4GB of DDR3 Dual Channel memory for fast everything!

A 1.7Ghz Dual Core processor is plenty fast enough for everything i do daily on this laptop.

Youtube videos are crystal clear and in HD thanks to the Intel HD card with 128 of dedicated memory and up to 1700 shared.

It has a very good webcam with built in microphone and is very clear on Skype.

For what i paid i am extremely happy to have this as an "everyday use" system.

I have owned about every brand of laptop from low end to high end and this one, well, i have no complaints.

Read Best Reviews of Gateway NE56R13U 15.6, Intel Celeron, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 Here

For the price, I guess this laptop is ok but it does have some flaws. As other reviewers have pointed out, it doesn't come with discs. You have to create back up discs, which I did immediately after getting it up and running. It did crash on me and I had to rely on those back up discs. They did get it back up and running but I had to wipe it and start all over again, so you have to make sure that you continually back up your data files or you will lose things.

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I did not buy this on amazon but i will give you an idea of this computer. This computer stays fast for a very long time and i love this computer. It has a video camera and a microphone so you can use video camera chat for any program. I would definetly recommend this to you. if your looking for a computer that is a good brand and lasts along time this is definetly a computer for you. i have had this computer for a while and i love it so much that it has changed my computer experience.

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HP Spectre XT 13-2050nr 13.3-Inch Laptop (Silver)

First, this ultrabook is awesome! Starts up fast, thanks to the 128gb SSD. High quality brushed aluminum casing, USB 3.0 connection, HDMI output, WiDi connectivity and backlit keyboard.

Now, for the not awesome part (this is for me. for other users, this might be sufficient..), only 4gb of ram, and it's on-board, meaning not upgradable. Ram prices are cheap nowadays and it would be more awesome if the ram is not on-board so you could put an 8gb stick. One more thing, there's no option for a higher resolution screen. 1366x768 is nice for 13 inch, but a 1600x900 would be a nice option. 1 USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0, now why not just both 3.0?

If you buy this directly from HP, there is an option to upgrade to an i7 proc, and 256gb SSD. But still no option for a higher on-board ram, or higher resolution screen.

Pros

Core i5 IVY bridge processor, ULV The processor is a ULV version (Ultra-Low Voltage). This is slower compared to full-pledged i5 processor. All ultrabooks have the ulv processors. The number one advantage of this is lower TDP (low wattage), which means longer battery life for the notebook. In return, the performance is slower too. The i7 ulv version is only dual core compared to the quad core for regular i7 non-ulv.

HD4000 graphics This is considerably faster than the older HD3000 found from the sandy bridge processors. You should get 30~40% increase in performance, so you should be able to play even the latest games, but not with high settings. This can even outperform older dedicated gpu like nvidia gt620m

128gb SSD Fast reads and writes compared to a regular HDD. Windows bootup and shutdown is quick as well as opening up applications. Upon logging in to windows, you can even click the internet explorer and start browsing. You can't do that with an HDD, you have to wait for a few seconds before you can start browsing.

WiDi connectivity Note: You'll need a Widi receiver connected to your HDTV in order for you to use this functionality.

Backlit keyboard Isn't this nice? Now you can use your laptop during night on a dark room or in a low light situation, and you can see your keyboard clearly. No more guessing with the correct key (unless your a very good in typing)

Cons

4gb on-board ram, not upgradable

No option to upgrade the screen

Pros: Great design and features. You get full Adobe Elements photo and video editing software, and two full years of Norton. Keyboard is well set up and has decent travel when compared to the samsung series 9 or asus machines (at hundreds of $ less, i might add) and the trackpad is excellent--smooth and responsive.

Many blogs and reviewers gripe about the screen, but at 13.3 inch, the resolution works. I briefly had the higher-res Spectre 14 and the higher res screen made things a little too small on this size machine--don't get me wrong, it was a gorgeous screen aside from the defects I experienced on two separate models, but the XT screen does the job well. Build quality is very good for windows based machine. Specs are good too--Ivy Bridge i5, 4 gig of ram and a speedy SSD.

Boot up time is minimal and it awakes from sleep almost instantaneously. Battery seems decent too. From what I can tell so far, I get roughly 5-6 hours out of it. Minimal bloatware. This machine feels light and sturdy. I get the feeling it will last me several years. On board speakers are decent, but i probably wont be using them much. I didn't buy this for beats audio, but listening through a pair of good headphones is great.

Cons: Although it is a well built machine from HP, it isn't perfect. Screen wobbles a bit and the underside has a soft-grip, but plastic quality to it. The SSD is fast, but a lot of the space is eaten up by the system restore partition. I'd rather have that space and put the system restore on an SD card or something. Out of the box, you're looking at about 70 gig available. But with SSD, you trade speed for space. And this thing is fast.

I think the screen is nice, but the colors don't blow me away. I don't expect to be playing any new games on this, but it seems powerful enough to dabble. Also the memory is on-board so you can't upgrade it. That may be a problem in two or three years.

Other Thoughts: Overall a great computer. If you're looking for a computer with equal build quality to the macbook air and don't care about the OS, just go with a macbook air. This machine comes close, but little things like screen hinge balance (so you can just open with one hand) aren't there. HP definitely did a great job paying attention to detail, but they overlooked a few superficial things. Of the available options, this one is the best for the price. I wanted a Windows machine, and after extensive research and screen defect issues with two HP Spectre 14's, this one is the best available for the money. All the other ultrabooks seems to have some issue with the screen, trackpad, cheap keyboard or poor build quality--these manufacturers can't seem to get it right, and a computer like the macbook air kind of destroys the competition (in terms of build quality).

You're not getting a super-hi-res display here, but you're getting a great computer with very good specs and excellent support from HP. They're trying. Really. And if you're in the market for an "ultrabook" today then you can't go wrong with the Spectre XT when you consider the other options. I really shopped around. Went to stores and played with tons of different models in this price range--Acer laptops felt poorly made; the Asus machines had weird screen bleed on the display models and the trackpad--the main method of input--was terrible; other HP's were either non-SSD or had strange ripple defects on their screens (Sandy Bridge Spectre 14's); the Samsung models, once you figure out the huge difference between the 2011 and 2012 thirteen-inch models had junky keyboards and were incredibly expensive; I wouldn't touch Vizio yet and they haven't been reviewed well; Dell's... meh, they didn't have a good feel either; Lenovo has a weak plastic keyboard tray and a ton of flex. It felt like it was going to break.

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This would be my 3rd ultrabook. I own the Samsung Series 7 and the Asus Zenbook. I love both of those ultrabooks so when I got this one, I wasn't expecting it to blow me away or anything. I was quite wrong. This is a really great overall laptop. The design is flawless, built in audio speakers are superb, and an SSD drive makes booting up extremely fast. This was great because I mutli task a ton and this handled everything perfectly, incredibly smooth. The battery lasted me almost 6 hours mutli-tasking between web pages and work, which was less then I expected, but still about on par.

What I Love:

-4 Speakers

-Speedy i5 Processor

-SSD Drive that makes booting up Windows 7/8 incredibly fast

-Stylish & Sleek Design

-Keyboard is great compared to other ultrabooks keyboards

What I don't Like:

-Can't upgrade RAM

-Screen is sub par compared to other ultrabooks

Despite a few drawbacks, I would still place this in my top 5 ultrabook list.

Read Best Reviews of HP Spectre XT 13-2050nr 13.3-Inch Laptop (Silver) Here

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This is a beautiful thin and light computer with a fast processor and solid state drive. The brushed aluminum on top (behind the screen) and around the keyboard (where you put your wrists) is very nice looking and doesn't show fingerprints easily. (We also own an HP Envy 4-1030us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black) which has a brushed black aluminum finish and that shows fingerprints very readily.) The bottom is silver colored plastic and blends well with the rest of the laptop.

This is an Ultrabook, a designation owned by Intel (the maker of the computer chips inside this laptop) to designate thin and light computers featuring their products. This computer is an excellent example of what they are trying to encourage. My scale weighs it at 3 lbs 2 oz and my calipers measure it at 0.68" at the widest dimension.

The 13.3" screen looks great (resolution of 1366x768) although it is glossy instead of matt. It isn't going to "wow" anyone, but it is a fine screen and a decent resolution for the size. There is a great loss of fidelity if the screen is tilted too far up or down, but it is easy to get a position where it looks fine. Off axis (someone sitting to your side), it is much better with just a little degradation until you get to extreme angles. 13.2" is a good size to be both portable and useable. 15" and above is just too big and below 12.5" I feel it is too small.

The keyboard is composed of flat and square keys and is full sized. It has a backlight that I think it the right intensity (the 14 inch Envy I have it too bright) so it isn't overpowering when using your computer in a darkened room (e.g. while watching TV). The insert, page up, page down, home, and end keys are not dedicated keys but instead are on top of other keys (arrows and prt scrn) so you have to shift to use these. No big deal.

The touchpad is a multitouch that works very well. It supports two-fingered scrolling, pinch and zoom, and two-finger rotation, among other things. Where it is less ideal is when you need to click and drag, as when you want to select multiple items on the desktop or you are scrolling with a scroll bar. This is a necessary tradeoff to enhance the multitouch functionality over the older mode of mouse pad and buttons. Once you get used to it, there really isn't any downside and it is an overall better experience to never have to use a scroll bar. By the way, the whole pad is a click button, so you can just scroll with one finger if you press firmly on the scroll bar. I am a left-handed mouser so sometime I accidently double-tap in the upper right on a box that turns off the mousepad and I need to double-tap to turn it on again (and then double tap to do the thing I wanted to do in the first place!). A little thing, but something to be aware of.

The computer is fast with a very good i5 processor. i5 is Intels main line (i7 is faster, i3 slower). It runs HD video just fine and I don't notice any lag even when multiple programs are open. I'm not sure who would benefit from an i7 (perhaps a gamer). I think most anyone else would be very happy with the performance of this computer.

The performance is aided by a solid state hard drive that makes starting the computer, opening programs, and shutting down very fast. The computer starts from off in 16 seconds, resumes from sleep in just a few seconds. On the Windows performance index (I uploaded a screenshot), the hard drive got the hightest possible score (7.9). The slowest component is the memory, but that is still pretty fast. It would have been nice to have more memory (I'd choose 8 over 4 if I could) but the memory is not upgradable. That said, this is a very fast computer and I am suggesting more memory out of "conventional wisdom" than any perceived need for it.

The solid state hard drive is nominally 128 GB but the way the hard drive folks count bytes is different than windows, so the drive is actually only 119.4 GB. Furthermore, 4 GB are dedicate to hibernation (equals your memory size), 15.4 GB for the recovery partition, and 0.2 GB for booting, giving you only 99.6 GB of useable hard drive space. Windows and other programs take space from this, giving you about 71 GB of free space. This should be enough for most folks, but this will be quickly eaten up by video files, a large music collection, or a picture library. You are trading speed for capacity ($100 will buy you a 1,000 GB conventional hard drive or 128 GB solid state drive) with this computer. Other HPs use a hybrid system (small SSD with conventional hard drive) which might be a better compromise. Advanced users would be able to disable hibernation to recover that space if needed.

The webcam (1280 x 720) is fine but it doesn't quite look HD. I am using it inside at night at fairly low light conditions, and it works well, just not stunning. I've seen cams that work better.

It has fewer ports than a typical laptop, but I find I don't use many anyway. One USB 3.0 is fine for backing up, a USB 2.0 for charging or a mouse. HDMI for video is pretty standard and an SSD slot for transfering pictures is also welcomed. They also kept a ethernet connection, which is nice for large file transfers on the network.

I was happy to see very little bloatware. There was nothing on the desktop and only a few Adobe products on the taskbar. I've put a copy of the untouched desktop in the images. I disabled the Adobe products (premier and photoshop essentials) using the settings under the HP docking utility (Launchbox) which puts them on the taskbar. I also uninstalled Norton antivirus and put in place Microsoft Security Essentials (which is free and works well.) I also uninstalled the Bing Bar and Microsoft Office 2010 trial edition as I have a full version from my workplace. (There is no CD drive so I have to install Office over a network; you could use a USB drive as well).

This comes with Beats Audio, which just means the sound system meets some standard put out by the "Beats Audio" people. This includes slightly better speakers and a "subwoofer" to improve bass response. I think it does sound very good compared to other laptops I've had, although I'm not going to give up my headphones or home stereo. Don't expect great sound, but is more than passable and certainly fine for casual videos and such. On other laptops I'd find watching movie impossible without external speakers, but this is fine and speech is clear. For music you can certainly hear an improvement with bass response, but it isn't very deep and the highs are still a bit tinny, as one typically finds on a laptop. Volume is more than adequate. Overall a plus, just don't expect miracles here.

The laptop is packaged very well. Inside the box in which it is delivered is a black box with the logo. Open that and you see the laptop inside a soft cloth sleeve and nicely done quick-start graphics. Pull a tab and a zippered bag with the power supply is revealed. A bit useless in the long run, but something to consider if you are getting this as a gift or when presentation matters.

Overall a top-notch laptop in looks, usability, and portability. If pressed, I couldn't give a good reason not to get the somewhat less expensive HP Envy 4-1030us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black). This is more compact and lighter, but overall both have been great so far.

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I looked for a long time to get the computer I need, and this does the trick perfectly. I upgraded from a 3-year-old Acer 11.6-inch screen running Intel Celeron and 2MB RAM. It was a workhorse, but it is slow. I need ultra-portable because a travel with a work laptop, too, and I need my own computer and I have to carry both on to the plane.

So I had these requirements: ultra-portable (see above); fast (just because I am impatient); backlit keyboard (so I can use on a plane or watching TV in low light at night); long battery life (I need to work and watch a full movie and listen to music on a cross-country flight and be able to use in the airport beforehand); and good sound (because the Acer stunk in that department). Check in all regards.

Unlike the other reviewer, I think the fan noise is minimal to non-existent (maybe there was something wrong with that one). And it runs very cool.

Complaints: The solid state hard drive is fast, but I thought I'd get a little more out of the 123 GB size. I ony used 65 GB on my Acer and had 235 GB to spare. But this machine, while it says 123 GB, has a D recovery drive that leaves the C drive with 99 GB. After all the software and my basic music and pics and documents, and after I load a few rented movies for a trip, I am down to 48 GB to spare. I have a bunch of flash drives and a 500 GB portable, but still, that is cutting it closer than I expected.

My only other complaint is that the plastic around the screen seems a bit cheap. My work laptop is an HP Elitebook, industrial-grade, and I think I expected a bit more integrity from HP. It closes more delicately than I expected with a plastic-against-metal sound that is a bit inartful. That said, it is the only "cheap" thing I could note. Everything else seems world-class so far: great keyboard feel, the backlit keyboard is attractive and functional, I like the trackpad (just the right umph to make it work without being touchy), and it looks and feels solid, like a Mac book Air (except for the noted concern).

Okay, one more little concern. My Acer rated at 9 hours, and it was good for 7.5-8.5 with my use (more than enough). This HP rates at 8 hours, but I'd say I am getting only 5.5 to 6.5 out of it. Still enough for what I need, but I liked the extra-security of the 8.5 hour machine (in case I forget to recharge before I get on the plane).

As for bloatware, I didn't think it had any. There was a 2-year Norton subscription which is fine, and it comes with (a huge plus for me) Adobe Photoshop (a $200 value at least). Nothing else but necessary stuff.

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Toshiba Portege R835-P55X Laptop with Intel Core i5-2410M 2.30 GHz processor, 4GB DDR3 1333MHz memo

I bought this computer a year ago for college and did not see a single computer at college that I would rather have (for the price). I love the super-small, lightweight design. I can carry it in a backpack and the backpack feels empty. It is easy to carry around campus and use anywhere I want. The battery consistently lasts over 5 hours--more if I make an effort to use less battery with toshiba's eco setting. It is plenty fast for me and does all I need.

There are a few things I don't like about it. I wish the keys were backlit. I have trouble typing in a dark room (I'm not a very good typist though) unless I turn the screen brightness up all the way. The keyboard is small, but easily usable once you get used to it. The screen is a terrible glossy finish and it's nearly impossible to see in direct sunlight. In Adobe Photoshop CS6, there are a couple features that cannot be used with Toshiba's graphic processor, but it does ALMOST everything I want. These are all little complaints, and, as you can tell, they did not even warrant a loss of a star on the review from me.

If you want a portable, light computer that can do almost anything you ask of it, you will not be disappointed with this laptop. I highly recommend it.

Edit: Found out how to use touchpad's multitouch gestures. Very handy.

I got this laptop through the Microsoft store because they were offering a student discount. I bought this laptop for %719.99 plus tax. So far it has topped my previous laptop, the Sony Vaio VGN RW. I honestly thing that for the price it tops even the macbook pro's. The Toshiba has the core i5 with amazing battery life and portability.

The only drawbacks is that the speakers aren't that impressive but other than that it has performed well beyond expectations. I highly recommend this laptop for those who save a bit of money but still have the functionality of a macbook.

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I hate that I have to return the Toshiba Portege R835-P55X back to Microsoft. I love the size, the weight, the power, and the silence of the fan while doing regular computing. The reason I have to return it is because when I play flash-based games, it slows to a crawl, the fan gets very loud, and it heats up to dangerous temperatures. I checked the temps one time and my digital thermometer read 145 degrees. Thank goodness it wasn't on my lap. The only other complaint I have is the keyboard is a little hard to use. The keys are very slick and need a bit more pressure to depress. I use my nails to type so this wasn't a pleasant experience for me.

For others contemplating this model or other R835's from various sources, I would recommend it as long as the problems I experienced were just because of my defective machine.

Barring the defects:

PROS (in addition to the above-mentioned):

* Fast start-up from sleep

* Hot USB so can charge items even when the computer is off

* Plays HD videos very well

* Long battery life (however, didn't get close to 9 hours, maybe 6)

* Easy access "Eco" button to switch between power saving or max power

CONS:

* Keyboard

* No visual for volume up/down

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I like the appearance most, metal and decent.

Of course superlight and easy to carry.

battery lasts at 5 hours at regular use.

And quick reaction, large drive space.

Screen a little small to some people though.

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Toshiba Satellite U845t-S4165 14-Inch TouchScreen Laptop (Sky Silver Brushed Aluminum)

This laptop exceeded my expectations, it is thin & light while not compromising performance with its i5 processor and 6 GB of RAM. I bought this laptop after CNET dubbed it their "most recommendable laptop of 2013" so far. The battery life is fantastic. The touch screen is very responsive and the battery life is fantastic compared to its peers. The only downside in my mind is the screen could be a higher resolution. I did not know what to expect switching to windows 8 from windows 7 after reading very mixed reviews. I personally think windows 8 is fantastic once you get the hang of it and it boots in 5 seconds! At under $800 dollars this a solid buy that I do not regret.

This laptop starts up instantly. No waiting around. The touchscreen is something I have to get used to but it's an interesting feature. The visuals and graphics are all very good. I was going to use this one mainly for my writing, but since my main laptop began having issues right after I bought this one, I've had to use this for everything. So far it works just as well and better. Super fast and light. This is a great purchase if you're looking for an ultrabook.

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Many legacy Windows programs don't work well on this machine. The same programs work well on other Windows 8 machines, including a laptop and desktop. There are also unaccountable delays of 3-5 seconds when executing common functions. Tech support couldn't figure out what the problem was. The item was returned without incident for a full refund.

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I have used number of Lap tops from different brands for last 20 years and I found Toshiba U845t-S4165, by far the best value for the money I spent. Very light to carry and sleek looking!. It has provided me with all the features that I was looking and more from a lap top. I got the products within few days of ordering and highly recommended.

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I bought this and went through the automatic registration. I made sure it was working properly and everything seemed to be working fine. I did not install any additional hardware or software, and the second day of use, began getting blue screens with error codes every few minutes. I thought maybe there was a problem with internet explorer, so I downloaded Firefox from Mozilla's website. That did not fix the issue. I shut the computer down after it had automatically closed down a few times, and after that the keyboard would illuminate after turning on the power button, but the screen wouldn't even turn on at all.

There was no phone number included in any of the documentation for support or help, and I couldn't look anything up online since the computer wouldn't work at all.

I had to wait until going to work today to access the internet since the Toshiba left me high-and-dry. I'm very, very, upset to say the least. If Toshiba can't make a product that will work, exactly as shipped from the factory, for more than 2 days, I've got my doubts about how reliable this model would be even if I had been lucky enough to get a "good one".

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HP ENVY DV7T-7200 Quad Core Laptop, Intel® CoreTM i7-3630QM, Full HD Anti-glare LED 1080p Display,

This is my first HP laptop. I'm really impressed with the style and the performance of this laptop. After doing a lot of research I was looking at purchasing either this HP or a Toshiba Qosmio x875. I had actually first purchased the Toshiba but returned it after finding this HP.

Once I first received the HP I could tell immediately that it was much thinner, had a better overall style, much faster boot time and a better display than the Toshiba. My last 2 laptops were Toshiba's, I was always told that Toshiba makes the best laptops. This HP really does give you the most for your money. This comes with 3 hard drives, 1080p display and a blu-ray reader and writer.

The only negative is that when I received the laptop the keyboard wasn't completely attached, but after pushing down on one of the corners it snapped back in and works perfectly. The other negative I can think of is the software for the fingerprint reader crashed a lot for me in the beginning and I could never get it to work on Google chrome. After I uninstalled it and reinstalled it, it worked flawlessly.

I would recommend this laptop to anyone who is looking for a desktop replacement or just a very powerful laptop.

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Toshiba Satellite C655-S5512 Intel Pentium B960 2.2GHz 4GB 320GB DVD±R/RW 15.6" Win7 (Black)

I really like this computer, until it stops working. Bought it to Skype with my kids while on vacation and for school. The day before we left it just wouldn't turn on, only had it for a week or two. So I exchanged it at the store and now five months later it has happened again. This time during finals and they want me to send it away to be fixed. Since the same thing has happened to me twice on 2 different devices (at the worst times!) i would say to keep shopping..

I purchased this computer used for $260 dollars. I installed 8 GB RAM for $50 and a solid state disk drive (SSD) for $125 dollars. So, for a $435 dollar investment I now have a nice laptop that boots windows in 10 seconds.

The B960 isn't an i7 by any means, but I have an Acer i7 with a similar configuration of memory and SSD disk and this Toshiba does what I need it to do just fine. I have no complaints. I mostly surf the web which is lightning fast with the SSD and use MS Office. I also run turbo tax and quicken and they all perform just fine.

I'm running Win 7 64 bit, so I can't comment if Win 8 would bring this machine to its knees.

This Toshiba was so easy to work on installing the memory and hard drive. On a B960 Acer where I recently did a similar memory and hard drive upgrade, I had to totally disassember the Acer and dismantle it down past the motherboard. The Toshiba has trap doors that made the upgrades a breeze.

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I love the finish, which is kinda textured so you don't have to look at the smears of the shining finish ones. It is very expensive looking and runs like a dream. I am very pleased with all its features.

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A good computer that I've used over one year. Applications work smoothly, colors are clear, and keyboard is comfortable for a notebook.

Av

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I'm used to cheap computers, that's all I've ever had. This is the worst laptop I've ever bought. It's only been a month and a piece broke where the screen connects to the base and the top part in the corner is peeling back. Also, it has problems staying connected to the internet. I would not buy this computer.

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Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4058 14-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in Helios Grey)

I am a college student and I was looking for something powerful enough to multi-task yet compact and light enough to tote around. I did a lot of research and this was the most bang for the buck. It has been great in every way. Ignore the posts about the loud fan, it isn't THAT loud, besides the biggest problem with laptop failure is overheating. What would you rather have? I highly recommend this product.

This is a 700 dollars laptop sold at best buy. Fast laptop, great size, and does not get hot. Great for its price

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So far so good. Everything works well. Over all I think it is a good little laptop. It is quiet and does not overheat. My two least favorite things about it would be the speakers and the battery life. I listen to alot of music and I think the sound quality is poor but because it has many ports I can connect external speakers. I think that it is important to be able to connect external devices, printer, camera and back up storage. The Toshiba tech support is also helpful. I like it and would recommend it. Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4058 14-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in Helios Grey)

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Gave this to our Granddaughter for HS graduation.

She loves it. It was easy to setup and get onto

the internet. Had free virus protection for 30 days.

(that is a must have) So............so far so good!!!!

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Although this has a triple core processor, it has no L3 cache, so it's going to run slower than some dual cores that are available. It also gets super hot under load. It was almost enough to burn my finger. The exhaust port felt like a stove, and I only had it for about 3 months, and I was hitting temperatures above 65C at load. It's just sad.

The high-gloss black plastic is annoying. It attracts oil and dirt from your fingers and it will get messy fast. The bezel surrounding the monitor cracked within one month of purchase.

The graphics card leaves much to be desired. It won't play many modern games, even at low quality with every detail setting disabled. I got about 2 frames per second in Dead Rising 2. I got about 10 fps in Mafia 2. It barely plays Fallout Vegas at low detail.

All in all, the worst $620 I ever spent in my life. Should've went with an HP again. My older HP laptop is not only faster, it's still running like the day I bought it. The L645D is the third Toshiba I've had with major heat problems. The specs look attractive until you investigate. I won't buy from Toshiba again.

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Gateway MC7801u Refurbished Notebook PC

Backlit keyboard is the best feature and makes using this laptop far more versatile. Unfortunately, the keyboard itself is not as effective for everyday use. The center area of the keyboard is not as well supported so you have to punch the keys a lot harder to get them to register on the display. A large HDD (320GB) and 4gigs of user memory, along with Intel Centrino 2.0GHz CPU, make this 64bit Vista PC performance's better than most laptops in the under $600 price range. The WEI is only 3.7 because the integrated graphics support, although "accelerated", is not as good as most full size Desktops with dedicated plug-in video card. The 16" LCD is a true 16x9 widescreen display and looks absolutely stunning. Also built-in to this laptop is 1.3MP webcam, microphone and two speakers. HDMI output connector is a nice bonus. Only thing missing is Bluetooth support and a BluRay DVD player, but at a significantly higher cost. Internet WiFi access is very fast and makes for a seemingly much more reliable connection than my even my two year old high end desktop PC. All in all a very good value and one of the few Notebook PC available at any price with a backlit keyboard.

...Never had a single problem with it. It was finally stolen while I was on vacation or I'm sure I would still be using it. It's a workhorse.

I'm not a gamer, so I can't speak to that, but it ran every application I threw at it.

Drawbacks: It's heavy.

I never replaced the battery in all that time and it was starting to go bad on me.

And, the power connector was a weak spot. I had to reinforce it to keep the cord from disengaging.

Still, a great laptop. I don't think it locked up once in three years.

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I bought this laptop when it was still in stores. Keyboard is the worst part, you have to hit every key in the center an firmly, the keys started popping off mine in a couple months. The touch controls work when they want and will sometimes flicker on and off.

This computer cannot play 1080p or 720p files, it struggled to use itune's visualizer. Games don't run well if ever. WoW gets about 18-22fps on the lowest settings. The battery has a life of about 1 1/2 hours and will stop working after 6 months (I've had 2) whether or not you use it.

Max is 4gb of ram

Does not have a dedicated video card like it says on the box (shared 1024mb)

Not a full sized keyboard

Don't let the gloss screen pull you in you won't be watching anything hi-res on this computer.

The backlit keyboard has never had a problem and the 4 usb ports and hdmi port and the fact that it had an expansion card slot are the only reason I'm giving it 2 stars. IMO this laptop was not worth the 800 I bought it for and is defiantly not worth more than 200-300 in-box much less used. Gateway was once a trusted brand but they've really gone down hill in recent years.

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ASUS G74SX-DH73-3D 17.3-Inch 3D Gaming Laptop - Replublic of Gamers (Black)

This Asus 74SX-DH73-3D laptop has gone way beyond my expectations!

I have trouble even finding words to describe this laptop. Beautiful, sleek, powerful and truely plays games incredibly well! Looks like a stealth jet and built like a tank! I bought this laptop to play Battlefield 3 and Skyrim (when it comes out), never seeing a laptop play graphically intense games as well as a gaming desktop, I was doubtful. But after loading BF3 and firing it up, those doubts disappeared instantly! The auto graphic settings in the game set everything to ultra and high and plays at those levels without a glitch. Come on Skyrim!

I did plenty of research and comparisons between this and other Asus g74,g73 and g53 models and the DH73-3D model won out, even despite its price. All the issues that other models have had have been fixed in this model. I keep trying to find a con or issue with this laptop but haven't yet other then the 3D mode switch next to the power switch only switched between different power modes until I did the 203 BIOs update(which was easy as pie, lol). This fixed the button to act only as a switch to turn on or off the 3D and switching between different power modes is now controlled by the function btn and space bar. Have I mentioned this laptop is freaking Sweet!!! 120hz Screen is WOW!!!! Worth the price difference from the models without it.

The 3D is amazing and works so effortlessly. I bought a 3D Blu-ray to test out the 3D movie aspect, beautiful. Just pop it in and put on your glasses and enjoy. Gaming in 3D also is really amazing, cool and has brought life to some of my older games like CounterStrike Source. The first time I started CSS on this laptop (and haven't adjusted any settings yet), the game started and it was playing in 3D, talk about taking an old game and turning it into a new one. I didn't even know CSS could be played in 3D. Can't wait to test it with other games. Amazing!

I really like the included gaming mouse, in fact I have been using it instead of my Logitech G700, it reminds me a lot of the older Logitech MX gaming mice. Didn't find much of any bloat-ware. If you are planning to reload OS, at least start it up and do the online registration and don't forget to mail in your warranty card asap also. Sound is loud and clear. When I plug in my headphones, it only gets better.

The cooling truely is amazing, after playing BF3 for a few hours and then stopping, the air coming out of the back cools off in minutes showing how well it dissapates heat and runs cool.

I've always (over 15yrs) used Asus when building gaming desktops and pc's and have never been disappointed, and this laptop just confirmed that Asus is still the best.

This thing is big and heavy but to me, both of those terms mean badass. This thing blows away my gtx/quad-core desktop. Go sit next to a Mac user with this laptop and you will see them start changing there mind about pc's.

In short, this Laptop is worth every penny and once I add my new SSD, I don't think I could be any happier with a laptop. If you want the best, this is it! Do it, join us, the Republic (of Gamers) wants you!

(Update 11-11-11)

Skyrim runs flawlessly on this computer, auto-detect sets the graphics to ultra settings and playing it in 3D is even more awesome.

Added SSD drive, So now its even quicker and a little lighter, worth the upgrade.

=== The Good ===

This laptop performs well as a result of the pairing of a quick CPU, a quick GPU, and plenty of RAM for each. I purchased this laptop to use for game playing and game programming and I'm pleased with the performance of both. The keyboard and chassis stay cool even after being on all day, so cool that it's very difficult to tell if the laptop is on by feel.... it feels like room temperature to me. The screen hinge does a good job of keeping the screen in a steady position even as I type this review while sitting on a couch with the laptop on my lap. The matte screen is bright and crisp, with a much nicer surface coating texture than my desktop IPS LCDs. I haven't used the 3D glasses much yet, but even so I recommend this model over the other G74SX models that lack the 3D display since the matte screen and very high brightness capabilities of the 3D panel make it possible to work in what would otherwise have been poor lighting conditions for the dimmer, glossy-screened 2D models.

The memory configuration this laptop ships with is three 4GB DDR3-1333 SODIMMs, two DIMMs in one bank, and a single DIMM in the other bank. Mine shipped with the same Samsung 1.5v DIMMs mentioned on other reviews on the internet. Because I write a lot of code that can take advantage of more memory, and because having a non-uniform memory configuration can cause performance irregularities I decided to upgrade to 16GB. I was unable to locate a reliable source for a fourth, matching Samsung DIMM so I bought four 4GB DIMMs DDR-1333 DIMMs that Crucial recommends for this system. As a bonus the DIMMs from Crucial only require 1.35v, which should help further reduce the laptop's temperature compared to the original 1.5v DIMMs. Eager to use the laptop, I ran just a single pass of Memtest86+, but so far, so good. I've not experienced a single bluescreen or any application instability, and my WEI Memory score went up by 0.1 point.

I wanted a faster boot and applications drive so I swapped out the primary 750GB WD Black drive for a Intel 320 Series 160 GB SATA 3.0 SSD. I'm very pleased with the boot, login, and overall responsiveness improvements. After installing the SSD I installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64.

edit 28 Nov 2011

I have also since replaced the secondary hard drive with a Samsung 830 Series 128 GB SATA III SSD, also with great results.

-

I also wanted a wireless card with better support in other operating systems and a better reputation for good performance than the wireless card this laptop shipped with an AzureWave AW-NB037H, so I purchased and installed an Intel 6230 WiFi + Bluetooth 3.0 adapter. Installation was painless, and fn+F2 (the enable/disable wireless button) works great still.

edit 28 Nov 2011

I've now put about 60-70GB of data across the Intel WiFi card's network link.... no problems with drop outs or performance.

-

I also picked up this Right Angle 90 Degree Converter for 5.5 x 2.5mm Connector LC53 adapter for the power cable to ensure that the power cable didn't get in the way of my mouse. It works great, but may have been unnecessary based upon where I'm finding I keep my mouse.

After my modifications, my WEI scores are:

Processor: 7.5

Memory: 7.6

Graphics: 7.2

Gaming Graphics: 7.2

Primary hard disk: 7.7

After installing Win 7 Ultimate I found a good reference of where to get the latest drivers for this system on the Republic of Gamers Forum. I was pleased to discover that this laptop, even with the 3DVision support, can use the stock video drivers from the Nvidia website.

edit 28 Nov 2011

At night sometimes the display was feeling a bit too bright, so I installed the Asus Splendid app/driver so I could quickly swap color profiles and found one of the color profiles it includes is a lot easier on the eyes.

-

The laptop is sturdy, has a pleasant feel, and the keyboard spacing is very comfortable. A nice backpack and gaming mouse ship with the laptop.

=== The Not-so-Good ===

There are lots of mentions of keyboard woes with the G74SX on the internet, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm running the 2.0.3 BIOS and latest keyboard filter and ATK drivers. Here's what I found... quite a few keys needed to be broken in a bit to register properly, when encountering a missed keystroke, I carefully exercised the offending key about a dozen times, the key feel noticeably changes for the better and all is well. The only on-going issues I'm experiencing are:

if I hit the left-most or right-most edge of the left arrow key I can basically press it all the way down without it registering. It was easy to learn not to do this... to write this review I had to hunt around to remember which key it was that had this issue.

my right shift key will stick in the down position (and registering as being down) if I push it all the way down by pushing on the center of the bottom edge of the key. To get it un-stuck I have to gently lift the top center of the key using a finger nail. I've also found this very easy to avoid doing... all I have to do is only push down on keys when my finger tips aren't on the edge of a key.

Sometimes the fn+something key combinations seem not to register... no idea what's going on here... I think it's usually when I've hit the same combination several times in a row before the on screen indicator pops up. For example if I'm changing the sound volume or screen brightness.

edit 28 Nov 2011

So F3 definitely requires more force than the rest of the keys to register a keystroke. This was a bit annoying in Minecraft though it didn't get long for me to get used to hitting the key a bit harder. For whatever reason I think I tend to type lighter on my laptop keys than my desktop keyboard. The amount of force needed to make F3 work on my laptop keyboard is less than my normal typing pressure on my desktop keyboard.

-

All that said I've experienced none of these keyboard issues while programming, gaming, or writing this review. So, yes, keyboards really ought never have these issues, but I'm finding these issues are rarely triggered in my normal usage of the laptop, and thus don't spoil the experience.

Additionally the slippery surface of my trackpad appears to be a sticker, and it's installed ever so slightly out of alignment such that the lower left hand corner sticks up a very tiny amount. Looks curable with a sharp crafting knife, but I haven't had the time to try that remedy. This hasn't caused any issues, just something I noticed while inspecting my laptop.

While writing this review I just noticed that the trim in front of the trackpad buttons can make some popping noises under relatively heavy pressure. (I wasn't paying attention when trying to click a trackpad button and pushed down hard on the trim and it made stiff buttony sounds.)

=== Conclusion ===

I'm very happy with this purchase, and I'm glad I opted for the 3D model with the bright, matte screen. I'm enjoying gaming on this laptop more that on my faster, purpose-built desktop which is not at all what I expected when I bought this.

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I have had this PC for about two weeks. I was agonizing between this machine and the Alienware X18. I finally decided on this unit due to comparable hardware at a much better price, and reliability ratings as high as anything on the market. I couldn't be happier with my first impressions of the ASUS.

My main concerns with a PC are the things I spend the most time with... the display and the keyboard. The screen is stunning and bright with the perfect anti-glare coating. I had read that the Alienware machine has a very high gloss screen and was like a mirror. If you hate those type of screens (as I do), then you are in for a treat on the ASUS. Did I say stunning?

Next the keyboard. I was hesitant due to other reviews about missed keystrokes and a dislike for the "chiclet" style keys , but I've found it quite comfortable and have had no issues with missed strokes. The larger engraved letters and back-lit keys are an awesome aid to my 56 year old eyes. The separate number pad with the wide space between it and the other keys is a nice touch. The touch pad, although I really don't use it much, is large and responsive.

I'm not a game player, but rather a web/media/CAD/application developer who needed a robust desktop replacement with the guts to burn through some of my processor and graphics intensive work. I have yet to bog this thing down (or even make it breathe hard), and it does it all in quiet and cool style. I really can't hear any noise or feel any heat even when working for hours with this brick on my lap. For me, it's been virtually silent.

I REALLY like the sturdy feel and rugged look. Big, yes. Heavy, yes. Sweet, yes. 3D is a bonus and the glasses work well (with the demo provided).

If you are considering this unit, then I highly recommend it. If you are still hedging, ASUS is available at Best Buy so you might want to give one of their models a hands-on review before clicking the "Buy It" button.

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This is my review of Asus G74SX-DH73-3DE model laptop.

NOTE: This review is typed after installing Sentelic Touchpad driver v9.1.7.7. Before that (with driver version 9.1.3.5 or earlier), I could not type anything on ASUS G74SX. This driver seems to make the laptop bearable. New driver made me think there is a chance of keeping this laptop, while I was almost on the verge of returning it. Ironically, this driver is not even available easily on the Asus website. That means Asus people did not bother to look at thousands of posts complaining about touchpad and keyboard problems. If they did, they do not want to show the solution by posting these updated drivers on their drivers list. Their "Asus Live Update" utility is one worthless misleading app that started telling me that `all drivers are up-to-date' from day one, all the while I was updating drivers left and right with newer versions. How did I find these latest drivers? I had two weeks to spare and Google on my side (nothing can hide from Google, even if Asus wants to hide their latest drivers).

Now that I vented my frustration, here is my review of the laptop features.

Physical features:

Heavy at 9.7 pounds. Power brick (2.5 pounds) comes with a long cord. Screen size is 17.3", but the overall size is larger. It does not fit in normal 17" size laptop bags. Asus provides a backpack free. Together with mouse and other accessories, total weight could reach about 14-15 pounds, barely fit for traveling on flights. It has solid and sturdy build. Keyboard has num-pad spread out to the right and arrow keys spatially separated. Touchpad is big (more on it later). Upgrading the hardware is easy due to the placement of hard drives and memory. A simple plate secures them with a single screw and press tabs.

My laptop came with the following specs:

ASUS G74SX-DH73-3D Intel Quad Core i7-2670QM (2.20GHz) Processor, 17.3" Full HD (1920x1080 @ 120Hz) "3D" LED Display, 12GB DDR3 1333MHz Memory, 1.5TB (750GB 7200RPM x 2) Hard Drive, Blu-Ray Burner, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M 3GB GDDR5 Graphics Card, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit, Bluetooth V3.0 / USB 3.0 / Illuminated Keyboard / 3D Vision Kit

Keyboard:

Looks and feels good. Without appropriate ATK driver, you will not be able to use it due to the lag. You could type as fast as you want, but you will only see few keystrokes registered. It has single key layout (Chiclet keys) mounted through an aluminum plate. This makes it sturdy and it can withstand furious typing when you're using your keyboard for game play. Keyboard is backlit but back lights are not turned on until you boot (if you have a boot up password, you have to type it in the dark). Keys are not overloaded (no hot keys) and most functions are on the fn-keys. Other reviewers complained about problems with registering multiple keypresses, some keys not working well, etc. Arrow keys are also hot keys for media playback (fast forward, rewind, play/pause, stop). These keys have significant lag when you use to navigate in a word document or browser. Arrow/media keys are spaced out and are placed between keyboard and number pad. Home, pgup, pgdn, and end keys are above num-pad all the way to the right making them not usable for most office work.

Screen:

Bright (good for sunny outdoors if you can take it out), crisp, matte (no annoying reflections), good viewing angles, 3D capable. Nicely tucked in the black frame. The display is fixed to the base using single sturdy hinge. Its range of motion is between closed to about 135 degrees bent backwards (it does not bend flat backwards).

Touchpad:

This is the worst component of this laptop and makes every other nice feature pretty much unusable. Mine came with Sentelic Touchpad (never heard of them). It caused/causing so much frustration to me and my family members who tried to use it. This could be a deal breaker. No amount of description can convey the problems accurately. I feel the only way to use this laptop is to totally disable the touchpad. It is a big touchpad plush mounted with surrounding surface. Buttons are also plush mounted. Its placement is below F/C and L/. keys. When you place your hand on the home row of the keyboard, you will cover more than half the touchpad with your palms. Unless you strain your wrist, there is no way to avoid touching this touchpad. Since it is not recessed, you will not feel it. Attempting to press the buttons is challenging because there is no spatial differentiation. You have to gaze down at it to see the buttons. On top of these challenges, the cursor keeps jumping around the screen randomly with up-to-date driver from Asus website (v9.1.3.5 or earlier). What you can do is: download a more up-to-date driver (Google search: Sentelic Touchpad Driver 9.1.7.7), which has a feature called `Asus SmartSense'. It simply disables the touchpad when you are typing and enables it when you touch on a configured spot. As I specified at the beginning, this makes it bearable. It still causes cursor jumping, but less often. Here is what Asus says: "ASUS SmartSense is useful to users whose hands may unintentionally touch the pad while typing at keyboard. With ASUS SmartSense enabled, the pad is disabled while user is typing at the keyboard. The pad keeps disabled until finger moves on the activation region which is a circle you can configure by specifying the center and the size." As I use this laptop more, I figured it just makes it more bearable, but not good enough. Asus says: "Inspiring Innovation, Persistent Perfection". I think they are inspiring us to innovate solutions to the problems they created. They have to be persistent to make it perfect, because they are not getting it right in first or second attempt (this problem existed from earlier model G73). In these two weeks, I learned so much about Asus that I never knew. I am guessing all other reviewers who gave 5 stars do not use the touchpad.

Performance:

I upgraded it with Crucial 256 GB SSD and total 24 GB memory (win 7 home premium can use only 16GB, but Ubuntu Linux was able to use 24GB so mother board has no problem with up to 32GB). My Windows Experience Index now shows the following:

Processor: 7.5, Memory: 7.6, Graphics: 7.2, Gaming Graphics: 7.2, Primary hard disk: 7.9

With this configuration, it feels like it is flying. Even with highest loads, laptop was cool and silent (you could confidently say, it is a cool laptop!). It takes about 5 seconds to get the boot up password. After SSD upgrade, windows boots up in about 15 seconds (to get login icons). Once password is entered, it takes another 15 seconds to load desktop/initial programs. Only problem I noticed with the graphics card is that at 1920x1080, it could only serve external displays at 60Hz, not at 120Hz available for laptop screen. I noticed some frames skipped when connected to LG 3D TV via HDMI cable. When running the 3D demo connected to external TV, I saw some scenes skipped altogether. When playing `Need For Speed: Shift', I could see some frames blacked out, more so on external screen than on laptop screen, but I could see flickering on both. These problems probably could be eliminated by reducing the frame rate/frequency.

Battery Life:

Battery can last from 1 hour up to 4 hours depending on usage. If you put laptop in Battery Saving mode, you will see better battery life but overall performance is only suitable for basic tasks. In High Performance mode, you could run down the battery in an hour.

UPDATE 01/19/12: BD Player & DVD Burning

Blu-Ray discs play well. I viewed 'Pirates of the Caribbean' 3D BD, it looks great. With Active Shutter Glasses it appears slightly better on Asus screen compared to playing in 3D on Panasonic BD Player connected to LG 3D TV with passive glasses (both at 120Hz). Playing on Asus and connecting to external LG 3D TV works at 60Hz only.

DVD Burning takes about 2+1+3 minutes (burn+finalize+verify) for an ISO image (nearly full on disc).

UPDATE 01/19/12: Wireless

I tested wireless connection with 802.11g at 10/5 speeds, no loss noticed. I don't have router with N, so I could not verify packet loss reported with 802.11n.

UPDATE 01/23/12: Camera and Microphone

I used built in camera and Microphone for Google talk and video chat. Picture quality was good. Microphone picks up voice well and other side could see and hear very clearly. On my side, I could hear little bit of (microphone) echo through speakers. Probably I need to adjust Realtek driver configuration.

UPDATE 01/23/12: Still having some issues with touchpad (BIOS 203, Sentelic 9.1.7.7 driver with customized activation area for SmartSense). Surprisingly, touchpad has very few problems with default driver in Ubuntu Linux. I still have two family members very unhappy with it (Windows users). Looks like I am going to return it at this point (I am not expecting much to find in configuration or drivers to improve its behavior).

UPDATE 01/23/12: *** Asus Service and Support ***

I took out my upgraded memory and SSD. After inserting the original hard drives back, it booted up from primary drive, but does not recognize the secondary drive. The ribbon cable that connects the drive seems loose, but can't do much with that part. Owner's manual says one ribbon cable is included in the packaging, but could not find it. I called Asus Support. After explaining what happened, first thing he said was "You are not supposed to open the laptop, it voids the warranty"! So much for their advertisement about easy upgrades and all the instructions in the manual on how to open and replace hardware!! Now Warranty is void. He also said ADP (Accidental Damage Protection) does not apply. The rep said it has to be mailed to them and it will take 10-14 days to service the laptop. He also said customer will be liable for all charges if they find the problem was caused by customer. Oh boy! When I compare this to Dell's warranty/support, nowhere close. This Global Warranty thing appears to be a sham. Now I feel 5 stars for this product and service are not at all justified.

1 Year Accidental Damage Protection (ADP)3

Accidents happen. But when they happen to your ASUS notebook purchased in the US or Canada, you have extra protection. Whether your notebook is damaged by accidental spills, drops, electrical surges, or fire, ASUS will fix it or replace it during the first year after purchase.3

This is rather a lengthy review for my standards, but wanted to put out as much as I could to help fellow shoppers (hopefully, it saves a week or two of your time potentially spent on these reviewed features). My final decision to keep it will be made in few days based on further tests (I am considering Dell Precision M6600 as alternative, but costs $400 more for similar specs.)

Final Note: I made my final decision. This is going back for sure. I am also reducing one star from 3.

Want ASUS G74SX-DH73-3D 17.3-Inch 3D Gaming Laptop - Replublic of Gamers (Black) Discount?

[[ASIN:B005PAJIGC ASUS Republic of Gamers G74SX-DH73-3D 17.3-Inch 3D Gaming Laptop (Black

Pros:

Ordered Friday, received Monday. Great service Amazon!

All I can say is that this things is just sooo sweet. Laptops are just now (recently) being able to compete with This is the first laptop I've ever owned, because I've always felt I could build a much more powerful desktop for the money. This laptop approaches being more powerful than anything I could build in a desktop for the same amount of money.

I've been setting it up and playing with it for the last 3 days, and I've yet to find anything I could even call a blemish.

Keyboard types easily and great (if using a mouse, disable the touchpad, it gets in the way of typing alot of times). Asus gives some really neat wallpaper (pics of the machine itself) that look great.

Cons:

If I had it to do all over again, I'd go to: and order the laptop from them, because you can 'build it', choosing the components like a special order. I'd choose slightly different options (like making it 16Gb of memory instead of 12, SSD drive(s) or drives instead of the two 750 Gb drives, etc.)

It comes loaded with ALOT of software, of which about half is just crap (trial versions, and watered down software). If you build your own machine by ordering it from , you have the option of them NOT installing all that stuff.

All in all the best choice of Laptops available... Amazon, Newegg, Tiger Direct, etc. If you want the most powerful laptop available for your money, then this one comes out on top of all available choices.

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