HP Pavilion dv6-7010us 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The HP Pavilion dv6-7010 laptop computer is top-notch and will make an excellent gift for the college bound student or budding writer. It has stylish midnight black aluminum casing and boasts a 15.6 inch wide screen that is suitable for most users. It's large enough for good graphics without being too bulky or heavy to carry in a case while traveling, although it might be a bit large for comfortable use on an airplane. The color resolution is brilliant in full HD 1080p (pixel resolution 1920 x 1080) thanks to the AMD Radeon HD 764G, which might not be sufficient for hardcore gamers, but is appropriate for playing video games at optional lower settings.

The keyboard is an HP standard design with a numeric 10 key added on. The keys feel nicely weighted and firm, with generously sized touch-pads. The processor is an impressive AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M with generous memory: 6GB total. Paired with the Radeon video card and 3060 MB graphic memory, the HP Pavilion dv6 will support Photoshop, CorelDRAW, AfterShot Pro , and your other favorite creative software programs. The operating system is Windows 7, Home Version. The system powers up and is ready to work in about 30 seconds.

This laptop computer features Beats Audio technology great sound quality, with a sub-woofer fitted on the underside of the laptop.

There are four USB ports for connecting external devices, or for adding a standard or wireless mouse, if you don't care for the touchpad style pointer. Also notable is the lock option on the touchpad.

There is surprisingly little bloat-ware installed on this laptop. It comes with adequate software programs such as Microsoft Office 2010 starter (with the option to purchase the full version), Evernote, Blio and Skype. Unfortunately, the anti-virus Norton is in trial version, but that is commonplace with new computers.

The quality is exceptional and I expect this HP laptop to last and deliver the same standard of excellence I have received with my older HP PC, which has given me years of reliable service.

I only got my dv6 today, but I've delved into it and spent several hours updating and tweaking it, all the while debating whether or not to return it. I was initially impressed by the capabilities of the built-in speakers, the fingerprint recognition, and the high definition display, which handled a few PC games with no visible lag on decent visual settings. Right out of the box, it was a keeper.

But then I downloaded "important updates" from Microsoft, which have now caused all my games to crash upon launch, due to an inexplicably missing graphics driver. I've continued to download updates for the better part of the few hours I've had the computer, all the while wondering if I'll have to start all over again due to overheating. It's already reset twice for this (in less than 24 hours of use, mind you), and I've only used it on my desk or lapboard and it resets without warning and without any noticeable physical heating underneath. For a computer that advertises its intelligent cooling technology, and having just traded up from a laptop that never overheated in five years of use, that seemed a bit odd. I would rather not have to buy more accessories to fight such a glaring and vital issue, especially after having shelled out the money for the computer itself. I mean, what good is a laptop if you have to constantly worry about that, and if you must carry around cooling devices to prevent losing work? And I know that there was that checklist on the product description page, but the image with which we've been provided actually has the Blu-Ray Logo on the disc drive. Yes, the description is there, but it's a bit misleading the way it's all set up.

I'm still on the fence about this purchase. It has impressive capabilities, especially for this price, but the overheating is a gigantic issue, and I'm still trying to figure out what happened with these updates that has prevented me from doing what I could do before I installed them. I'll stick with it for a few days longer and see if I can't work everything out.

UPDATE: The issue has been resolved, thanks to the easy-to-follow HP online support articles. Still trying to fix the overheating issue.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I love this laptop. For many reasons. Primarily I like the fact that it's 15.6 inches not a behemoth yet handles all my multimedia needs flawlessly. The hi-def capable screen is well built and very thin, as is the whole laptop. Some of the included HP software and hardware are true innovations. It stays cool during long use and power is managed well.

First I fully charged it then I took it for a joyride the day I got it and started uninstalling programs I didn't use and installing programs I wanted on it. (took Norton off hate Norton...went with Microsoft Security Essentials which if microsoft does nothing else right does fully integrate and does not slow down your sytem like battleship norton! Tho I'm not saying the Norton on this laptop would since I didn't try it.) Fired up the wifi and did the obligatory updates first and the Windows 7 home premium was surprisingly up to date (it downloaded 235mb in less than three minutes). Put sounds on first so I could work and listen and that 'beat' sound system is everything my grandkids told me it was. Really full sound from laptop speakers! Tested out the new 'swipe' motion touchpad (does not have touchscreen and lamentably no blu-ray player yet does have multi-dvd writer player) and found with a little practice these old arthritic hands may just wind up using those motions more than the usual touch navigation system (have laptop mouse on the way for backup). Before I knew it I had been going at it for about six hours and my battery was still showing at least an hour left! NOW THAT IMPRESSED ME! Then I got the literature and read that the battery can last up to eight hours. My how times have changed. The AMD quad processor makes it move along like my desktop and even at 2.3 whatever max (I'm not a tech) it still handled multiple tasks without slowing down to a zombie pace. For instance I had some Hi-Def camcorder footage I wanted to watch so after transferring the files to my new laptop I used the hdmi port (comes with one) to connect it to my Panasonic plasma tv and watched it in Hi-Def without a snag. I like the fact that the stuff the laptop is supposed to do out of the box it does without hitches and snags and needed workarounds.

When I got everything I wanted on it I plugged it back in and charged it up again and then went to dinner and some shopping and came back and decided to test it's movie playing capabilities and boy was it great! The picture on my old Indiana Jones DVD popped on that screen and the sound was like being in my own mini-theater. (I use Corell) It also gave me a chance to try out my new 3.0 usb external harddrives since it has 3.0 ports and capability (the system is Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit) and I'm amazed at the added speed of transference with the 3.0 connections. On this device about 40% faster than on my pc which is 2.0. It comes with the aforementioned 8 hour battery and power cord adapter and is sleek and has a brushed metal cover. Mine is black and looks 'kewl' according to my grandson. At the price, and I have tested those 300 and 400 dollar units with the fancy I whatever intel processors and they don't process as fast as this baby, it's worth the extra to get the beat sound and the consistant quad performance. It seems sturdy and I like the fact that it stays cool too. So this old grandpa highly recommends it. I'm hoping I get to keep it cause the grandson is already scheming on how to trade me his much slower one for a speedy one for college this year!!!!

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Ok I researched and researched every laptop made around the $500 mark. For the money I think this is by far the best one out. The AMD quad core processor 6gb of ram and the AMD Radeon HD 7640 graphics are perfect for what I need. I run over 100 processes and use up ALOT of memory and this computer handles everything I throw at it and still runs nice and cool. The resolution is GREAT! The Whites are Bright and the Battery Life is better than AVG. Setup was a breeze and the finger print recognition is another plus. Beats audio made My Headphones and my Desktop speakers sound better than they ever have. The only complaint I would have is HP customer service is under educated about their products and when you call in for an issue you might find that you probably know more about your new PC than the Employee will. Hooking my laptop up to my HD T.V was quite an issue. MY TV would not recognize the resolution from my PC through my HDMI cord or my VGA cord. Other than that if your looking for a sleek looking, great sounding, quick machine for Under $600 I dont think you will find a better all around PC. Now if you're a hard core gamer and that's all you do, you might want to go another direction but for a user that loves to have 10 windows open in Chrome meanwhile like to have safari open and 20 gidgets widgets and midgets running in your background THIS IS THE COMPUTER FOR YOU!!! 4.5 out of 5 the only deduction is no blu ray :(

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First of all let me start and say, product received and exactly as advertised.

Now, I bought this machine for my daughter, right now I use a US$ 2850.00 Dell Latitude E6420 with Core i7 and 8GB of DDR3 (1600 Mhz), 500GB HDD 7200RPM with FFS Technology and Quadro Card NVS4200. My laptop score under windows shows 5.2 no matter how much I tweak it. When I opened my new daughter's HP Pavilion DV6-7010US machine, it took me few minutes to continue setting up the operating system and register it. Another few minutes to update both, the laptop and the operating system. Now it is ready for testing.

The machine is pretty fast for its configurations and of course its price. After the second boot to the OS everything is smooth and stable, even with all the HP loaded unnecessary products and software. After that I have tested some heavy duty programs and renders; it runs perfect. I tried some heavy duty 3D games such as Second Life with the original SL viewer and Firestorm. I was surprised! The graphics are on medium but much better than many other machines with better processors and graphic cards.

With Second Life I noticed some heating since the game uses one of the most powerful graphic engines in the whole world, tweaked the graphics card options and the SL viewer and BANG! It is even more smoother and faster.

Well.. After all, I can tell this is one of the best machines ever released for its value, for a bigger or middle type users, nothing else is needed. And I do congratulate AMD and ATI for such processor. I've been always a fan of them that company.

Regards,

NATTARIOUS

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ASUS U52F-BBG6 Refurbished Notebook PC

The facts

1) Large, bright screen

2) Quiet fast performance

3) Solid build quality hinges, screen, chassis, keyboard

4) No evidence of refurbishing...just like new

The qualitative

1) The color is really brown, but it feels soft and looks very expensive

2) My 9 year old uses this computer and carries it around the house all the time...with no impact

3) Had to re-install the wireless & video drivers, seems the built-in WiMax & Wi-Fi create slow wi-fi logon

4) Flawless performance after complete re-install of Windows 7 pro, Intel Wi-Fi & Video drivers & removal of Asus linux software

5) Windows 7 index = 5.9 (amazing for an i3 laptop)

6) Awesome price

I own one of these machines, and I love it! I have had mine for a year. These things are built like a tank. I've owned other ASUS components in the past for my desktops, so this is the first full-featured product I own from them, and I am not disappointed.

I use this machine almost everyday. I sometimes leave it running for more than 48 hours at a time, as my job is 24/7 on call. It runs super quiet, you can barely hear it. It also has a great heat sink. I run various distributions of linux, and windows 7 64-bit on it. All work flawlessly. I have never had a problem with it. Also great for watching movies and playing some of the less resource intensive 3D shooters out there like Half-Life2 or Quake4.

I highly recommend the machine!!

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HP Pavilion TX2500Z 12.1-Inch Widescreen Laptop

Bought one of these for $2000 with the best memory and options.

8 months down the roadthe CD/DVD/ LightScribe drive no longer works, 1/3 of the USB drives no longer works. The tracking pad makes my fingers raw, and when I plug in the mouse, its erratic as well. If you are at a desk, plan on using the unreliable wireless anyway, because the port for a wired cord is in the right front, which means if you are using a mouse you knock the internet cord out all the time. I got the best memory available for this computer and it still runs Vista at a glacial pace. The touchscreen is cool, except no matter how many times you calibrate it, your writing appears 1/2"-1" away from where you intended it.

My 4-year old Mac runs better. Look at different computers, this one isn't worth the money.

I purchased a TX1000z in March 2008. Things worked relatively well until May 2009 when it suddenly started shutting down for no reason. I would have to let the laptop sit for a couple of hours before I could get it to turn on again. After several weeks of this, the laptop finally died due to a design problem with the motherboard. This is a common problem for this line of laptops. Search 'TX1000z motherboard' on the HP forums and you will quickly discover the extent of the issue. If you buy this item get an extended warranty because the motherboard will most likely fail a few months after the factory warranty expires.

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Overall this is a nice laptop especially for the cost. There's a couple things to consider.

If you're looking to do a lot of drawing, keep in mind the pen is not pressure sensitive, so it's more limited than a drawing tablet.

The page up/down keys are up at the top rather than the more intuitive location next to the arrow keys.

The touchpad surface is not as comfortable to use as other laptops I've owned, but with the pen and touch screen, you don't have to use it as much.

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While I love the design, the touchscreen, and the tablet capability, it's not worth the money. Numerous times I had to replace the adapter, it repeatedly got viruses eve with protection, and after less than a year the laptop simply gave out. I decided it was not worth the money to fix it again, and bought a cheaper, similar laptop that I haven't had an issue with.

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Save your money! Don't buy this piece of junk. Serious design flaw with the mother board....just do a google search on the TX1000 line regarding mother board failure and you will see. Mine went bad after 2 years. Save your money and get an ASUS net book.

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Lenovo Thinkpad X100E 11.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I have used this as my main work machine, doing office / productivity work, for about a month now. It is a great small laptop, especially for the price.

Build quality is superb. The X100e does not have a roll cage (i.e. internal metal skeleton) like some higher-priced X and T series Thinkpads, but you'd never know it, probably because the small size makes it largely unnecessary. The case is nice and stiff; the hinges are superb; and in general the build quality seems to be a cut above the T6x series, at least. However, I do miss the slightly rubbery paint from my other Thinkpads; this black matte paint is smoother. Still nice, but not as nice.

The keyboard is the best I've used on a laptop. It is superior to the ones on my T60 and T61, previously my favorites.

The touchpad is also superb.

I've disabled the camera, partly because I'll never use it and partly to save on battery life.

The screen is very nice and bright. In fact I have to turn it down from the brightest setting sometimes indoors, as it can hurt my eyes due to the extreme brightness. The resolution is just fine for doing research, writing, etc. After a quick period of adapting, the screens on my T6x series feel huge and overly tall by comparison. It is enough resolution to dock side-by-side windows and work with dual documents, barely.

I haven't had any problems with heat. I think this may be because I don't stress the video card much if at all. The bottom gets quite mildly warm under prolonged use.

Performance is just fine in my book. With 9 windows of Google Chrome open, two Word documents, one Notepad text file, Windows Media Player playing an HD movie, two Windows Explorer windows, Adobe Reader 9 opened to a large PDF file, TrueCrypt drive encryption running, AVG, and Warcraft III-RAM usage was around 1.2 gigs, and processor use hovered around 60-70%.

I am not a big gamer. Playing Warcraft III against my 4-year-old, though, at full res with all eye candy turned on runs smoothly.

Going further on the performance angle, the AMD MV-40 is often roughly compared with a Pentium M 1.6 GHz or thereabouts. That is probably pretty accurate, but my machine feels a bit faster than machines of that rough vintage, such as the T4x series. This is probably due to the SSD, faster RAM, faster better everything else etc. in the X100e. So you would essentially get a better-than-X41 performer in the X100e in my opinion, for a budget price. Not bad for doing productivity work at all, though it is no speed demon by today's standards.

I spent roughly $100 to upgrade to an X25-V SSD, which noticeably improved performance. After the upgrade, my Windows boot time is 25 seconds, shutdown time is under 10 seconds, sleep/standby mode time is 4 seconds, and resume from sleep/standby is 2 seconds. The 160 GB drive my machine came with went into an $8 enclosure and now serves backup duty.

Battery life easily goes beyond 5 hours for the type of work I do (before the SSD upgrade it was generally around 4:30). I have the processor set to max out at 60% in battery mode, and the screen is generally set to around 5-6 brightness, which is usually enough.

I still don't have Photoshop loaded on this machine. I think that's where the processor's shortcomings would be most noticeable, processorand ram-hungry applications like that. But this is not a slow machine IMHO.

I also don't think most people would need more than 2 GB of RAM, unless using something like Photoshop where they wanted better performance. Simple multitasking that most people would do probably wouldn't need more than 2 GB. Even with music running in the background, a slew of browser windows, etc. I just don't see how it could stack up to 4 GB. It seems to be an increasing practice to load a machine with 4 GB or even 8 GB of RAM, but I wonder how many eager buyers realize that the RAM they're buying will never be used.

Of course, I am running Windows in a minimal way. I guess some OS features could consume extra RAM, although I wouldn't know what they are. I tend not to like a lot of junk running in the background, unless it will actually help me run my programs or the machine.

The machine is very attractive and professional-looking. People constantly ogle it, and I've received many questions about it. I personally prefer the size to that of the X200 (the X100e is noticeably smaller).

The lack of an optical drive is definitely a negative for me. It makes it much mroe of a hassle to install things. If you don't already have an external drive, take this into account.

The lack of the Thinklight is also a downer. It is one of my favorite Thinkpad features, and I wonder why Lenovo couldn't have charged an extra 25 cents or whatever it costs for a single LED light and a bit of wire. I suspect it was intentionally left out to differentiate the X100e more from the X200.

Another really disappointing drawback, for me, is the tiny half-size media card reader. An SDHC card will only insert halfway, meaning I cannot have a built-in, always-ready backup device for my most important files. I understand the machine is tiny, but they still could have squeezed in an extra few millimeters for a bigger card reader. The card reader also has no documentation, apparently, meaning I have no idea if any of the formats it supports (which I cannot figure out) would fit completely inside the reader. I plan to follow up with technical support on this.

The ordering process was not so smooth. Lenovo customer service sent me an .xls file, telling me to update it and send it back them to start my service contract. Eventually they caved on this, after I griped. It just didn't seem fair to make people install Microsoft Office or similar program to get what they bought, and in any event I didn't have an office program installed at the time. The machine itself was back-ordered and took weeks to produce, and the status was seldom updated. The machine and accessories came piecemeal: first the extra power supply, followed weeks later by the machine, followed later by the neoprene sleeve.

However, I am really glad to be able to take advantage of Lenovo warranty service. I bought next-business-day support for three years. I have never been anything but impressed with IBM or Lenovo warranty service, and since this is my work machine I needed it.

All in all, this is my favorite notebook, ever. I would buy a Thinkpad netbook if they made one, but this is not a netbook. Netbooks are characterized by super-cheap price, excellent battery life, poor performance, and usually by poor ergonomics and durability. This machine offers perfect ergonomics, great durability, enterprise-class service options, middling battery life, and middling performance. I'm not bothered by the "netbook" name some apply to this machine, but I would not, could not do my everyday work on a netbook. This machine, I can.

The single biggest drawback, for me, is the battery life. But if I wanted longer than 5 hours of battery life, and wanted better performance and even better durability, I would have saved up for an X200 series. For what it is, this machine is perfect for me.

After having the computer for a week, I was about to toss it out the window it ran so slowly. I know this model isn't the same one you'll find on most review sites, since they removed a lot of the available "upgrades" to get the price down to $399, but they really shouldn't have skimped on the 2nd gb of RAM. I highly recommend this little guy, but only if you spend the additional $25 (that's how much I spent at Crucial.com) for 1gb of ram. I've never installed hardware on a laptop before, so I was a bit concerned about any traps the manufacturer may have laid, but it was super easy to remove the plate and snap in the gb!

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Nice little netbook style laptop. Too slow without additional memory which I pumped up to 4 gig and needs bigger hard drive. Functions well though runs kinda warm as do most laptops so nothing unusual. I bought it mainly to have something to take on the road and this will meet my purposes. I like the small lightweight size. Who needs an IPAD.

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I bought the Thinkpad X100E when my regular computer needed extensive work for some period. It's a bit slower (a good bit less memory), but it seems easier to use, and the keyboard is more comfortable. I don't miss my old Toshiba at all. I did have to get an accessory CD R/W unit, but it works well. One nit It requires re-entering the password after each time it goes into sleep mode, and I can't find a way to diasble that feature. And it runs slower if I don't clean out history, etc. daily. But, a great unit for it's size.

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In the world of 11.6 inchers, those that are not quite laptops & not quite netbooks, the Lenovo

Thinkpad X100e stands head & shoulders above the competition.

I ordered the bare bones, matte black model, running 2 GB mem/ 160 HD.

It came standard with Windows 7 Home premium, Window's best operating system to date, which is also

leagues beyond Windows 7 starter (which is featured on just about all netbooks).

The screen is a non-glossy matte, yet it's absolutely gorgeous!

The screen is HD, backlit, and very bright & clear.

The machine itself is built like a tank: Solid, extremely durable, albeit a tad on the heavier side.

The keyboard is among the best i've ever used on any Laptop or netbook, for that matter.

If you like to write, or type, this is the portable machine for you!

I had read about problems with the unit running hot & a noisy HD or fan, but mine seemed to run cool & quiet, right out

of the box (mine was a Refurbished model in almost new condition).

When i ran multiple applications, it would run slightly warm, but nothing beyond that.

It streamed video (both HD & regular youtube) fine.

I downloaded a couple movies & video clips, all which looked great on the standard Windows media player.

Also of note are the speakers!

These are fairly loud & full sounding, compared to other laptops & netbooks.

For a small machine, it does put out a decent level of sound.

After a week of use, i can honestly say i love this machine.

For about fifty dollars more (or less, i got mine for $315.00), you can get a compact laptop that runs circles

around any netbook on the market, in both build & function.

The only minor thing to consider is, because of Lenovo's attention to quality & overall durability, this machine

is heavier than most netbooks & 11.6 laptops.

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NEC Mobile Pro 900

I really wanted a more powerful Jornada 720 which is sort of the claim that NEC puts on this product. They keyboard is pretty good and some parts of the design like the placement of the CF slot and the PC Card are perfect. However, this is not exactly a small form factor like the Jornada it is about the size of a Fujitsu P1120 or a Avertec P. Weight wise it is about .5lb from the the P1120 and 2lbs from the Avertec. A good part is that it does have the ability to instantly turn on but the screen is terrible. In fact probably the worst screen of any PDA / Laptop I have seen. It is all washed out. I wanted this so that I could throw it in a Gym bag and if needed instantly turn it on and trade stocks through a TMobile Aircard. I found that the syncing with ActiveSync 3.7 was terrible, sometimes it would work other times it would fail on WinNT2000K and with XP Pro it was a nightmare. Part of the NEC 900 that is rotten is the OS. THe HPC 2000 is just plain buggy. The AirCard software would die while it works on a PDA and over 6 laptops and tablets.

Pros:

+ Turns on fast

+ CPU is definately faster than Jornada like 4 times as fast

+ CF/PCMCIA slot are position nicely and takes both I/II

+ Keyboard excellent

COns:

+ Too big just isn't small enough to be like a Jornada and too small to be like a P1120 or Sony TR1 or JVC Interlink all of which are much more powerful

+ Screen is worst I have ever seen

+ Syncing/OS is out of date and difficult

Bottom line for the price it isn't too bad if you want something light to type on or run excel spreadsheets that will last 8 hours. They keyboard is awesome so if you have large fingers and need an ultra portable this is ok if you can get around the screen.

NEC did a good job with this one! With the improved battery life, the USB slave port, the flash ROM, OS, and the 400mhz processor NEC surely made a seller! Many people do not realize that this unit is not running Windows XP, so this unit can out speed most laptops with its operating system!

People need to actually give HPC devices an honest chance, and with the right expectations. They will not be disappointed!

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with good features for an IT department. Your mileage may vary, but it is not really suitable for consumer use. Yes, the keyboard is surpisingly good, the screen sharp, the time to load screaming fast, and it has a good suite of features. On the other hand, for this very experienced user, it took an inordinate amount of time to get it to synchronize with the desktop or connect to AT&T Worldnet. Once connected, however, I couldn't get the unit to resolve domain names (i.e., I couldn't actually connect to the world wide web). The straw, however, was that two programs would not terminate, and NEC support confirmed that my only alternative was to remove the batteries and do a hard reset. It's a shame, and my experience may not be typical, but you're warned--don't try this at home.

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I bought a used NEC Mobile Pro 900 to use as a digital typewriter to take with me to coffeehouses while I work on my novel with my writing group. While it can access the wifi in the coffeehouse with a gold orinoco card, I find that the wifi is too slow for anything but the most basic use. Finding items that are compatible with the antique software and hardware has been a challenge. It will only accept a CF card up to 8 gigs. I use a transcend 512meg CF I card with it and find that it works the best for transferring my text in and out of the word processor to my desktop. I also have a 1 gig CF card that I use to flash it with software. Mainly, I use the software that came with it, a thesaurus and a word count program that I found for free on the internet.

However, despite the negatives of this old machine, it has proven to be a good writing instrument. It is instant on/off, is smaller than most netbooks on the market and has a rugged construction. While the keyboard is not full sized, it is large enough to type on comfortably. The battery life is much better than modern netbooks, I can get a good eight hours on a fully charged battery. The touch screen and stylus took a little getting used to as compared to a mouse, but I find that after a while it was just as easy to use. I like the infra-red transfer feature. I also own an alphasmart and the infra-red works between the two. I can also hook up the alphasmart via USB connection and the NEC will recognize it as a keyboard.

If you buy a NEC Mobile Pro 900, you need to be aware of the compatibility issues, but otherwise it is a nice little machine and I can recommend it as an inexpensive distraction free writing device.

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This unit runs Windows CE operating system by Microsoft. Great built-in apps (Office, Excel, Access, Power Point, etc.). The keyboard is a bit cramped for speed typing.

This is my least favorite PDA device (I also have the IBM-Z50, HP Jornada 680 and 728 models, Casio E-125). The NEC 900 was built mainly to be used in industrial settings. The screen is dull and somewhat washed-out.

I only take this unit with me to job-sites in high-crime areas, so if I lose it, I won't care that much!

Still ... It's better than a PDA with no keyboard. The screen is OK when indoors. There is a lot of Windows CE software out there (on the Internet) for free. Good for the kiddies doing their homework on the run.

Better units are the Jornada 680,728 series light, small and good screen,

and the IBM Z50 its almost full-size keyboard and great IBM support.

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Alienware M14x R2 AM14RX2-7222BK 14-Inch Laptop

I would like to say this laptop runs great for any medium setting games you wish to play. The custom lighting is also very fun to fool around with. It does its job but not as much as you would expect for the price tag. You are definitely paying for the name brand.

However, the most important part is the fact that this laptop is faulty. The left hinge breaks after a certain amount of time no matter how well you treat your computer. It just happens. The real bummer is that Dell customer service refuses to acknowledge this problem and forces a hefty price tag to fix it. Also, this computer seems to have an overheating problem.

Pros:

Runs great

Cool Settings

Cons:

Hinge Problem

pricey

overheating

Dell's warranty is terrible. If you have any problem with your laptop, they will not help you. I owned a 14x R1. The craftsmanship of Alienware line is gone. Don't want you be the next victim. Don't believe me? Just go Google M14x hinge problem in google. You will know why. I have the hinge problem.

Update 1: I try to fix the hinge problem myself, so I opened up the monitor . Both hinges are mounted to two tiny magnesium plates. The problem is, the left hinge is 2 mm thick with a big cut out in the middle, and right one is a solid 6 mm plate. The uneven force distribution is what made the hinge fail. I try to look for replacement in ebay(search M14x hinge and see it for yourself). It seems like the R2 has the same design. $5 epoxy glue fixed it for me, don't know how long that last.

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At first I was like "yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!" after a while i notice that it wasn't all that great and I'm 50/50 with this! It can't even handle League Of Legends when i play it

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I am absolutely in love with the color scheme and everything about the placement of the ports / HDMI INPUT!!! my only complaint ( day one of getting it) is that it has no numberpad... just gotta get used to not having it. everything runs so quickly compared to my last computer.. i didn't realize how fast an i5 processor was.

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PLEASE READ THIS FIRST IF YOU EVEN CONSIDER BUYING THIS PRODUCT OR ANY ALIENWARE/DELL PRODUCTS!

I have been an owner of this exact product for the past 3 months, and all i can say is it has become a living nightmare! I bought this product to function as my main computer for both college and gaming, and when researching this product all i did was look at the good reviews and didn't pay much attention to the bad ones, and friends telling me not to buy it. When i first received this laptop and tried to download a game from disc, it would not and i needed to restart the computer to make it load from disc every time. If you have this problem too when you get this, only things to come in the near future are blue screens related to the motherboard, and by then it will be too late to get a refund.

For me, it has been only 3 months, i have gone through over 300 minutes of tech support, 2 motherboard replacements(each time needing a technician to come and do the replacement), and now a complete computer replacement coming while i have to deal with a computer with no sound and a broken graphic chip for 10+ days, yet its to hard for dell to give a refund. If this was just 1 motherboard, i would say, oh one faulty piece of equipment and no worries, but 3, factory new, BROKEN motherboards, all with the same issues, and its clear they have low quality standards for such and expensive piece of equipment.

All i can say, is if you read this, and you decide not to buy this product or ANYTHING from dell, then i guarantee you i have just saved you money and frustration. And if you did buy this product and have no problems. I am glad you had a good experience, but the fact i am not the only one with this type of problem on such and expensive piece of hardware, is reason enough to see that Dell has quality problems and do not strive for a uniform product standard and see our difference in opinions as prof of my claim.

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HP Pavilion 14z-b100 Sleekbook,AMD Dual-Core Processor E1-1200 1.4Ghz CPU, 4GB memory, 500GB hard d

Skipping the fluff, here's the pros/cons -

Pros:

Somewhat lightweight (I don't think they include the battery weight in the specs)

Low profile

Cons:

Comes installed with Windows 8 (the worst OS on a computer, ever)

When trying to downgrade to Win 7, HP offers absolutely NO support

Battery life is not very long

UPDATE:

After less than two months, the screen is already scratched...by the keyboard, itself! the small lip above the trackpad has been hitting the screen and has caused permanent pitting on the screen. Absolutely awful design, demoting it to one star.

I haven't used it much yet, but compared to my old netbook with the Atom processor, it flies. Downloading and installing applications such as Open Office, required 98% CPU which drove the cooling fan quite hard, and initiated a warning window of excessive CPU usage. Nice quality graphics. I bought it for College use and not gaming, so it appears like it may be fine.

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MY HP LAPTOP,WINDOWS 8,"EXCELLENT",ILOVE IT ,MY FRIENDS LIKE AND ADMIRE IT MORE,,BUT I WILL SHOW THEM HOW TO GET IT .

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I give 1 star for the timely delivery. Only problem is, this brand new laptop does not start. It just keeps restarting saying that there is some error that requires the computer to restart.

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Toshiba Satellite C655-S5049 15.6" Laptop (Intel Celeron Processor 900, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive

I've had this Laptop for a week now and I love it more everyday. I was very surprised at just how fast it is. I'm the type of person that tries to do 10 things at once and I love that I can have 10 different pages open going back and forth and the Laptop zooms right alone with me. A Hugh plus in my book is the number pad, when your use to a desktop keyboard and start using a Laptop it is a wonderful feature. To be completely fair there is one flaw the built in speaker is very low, but if you use headphones it has a great sound. So, for the money this is a GREAT Laptop. I still can't believe all is has to offer for such a low price.

I got this LT at a very good price. It looks nice and has a great keyboard, but the touchpad will require "tweak to touch and taste", it has a lot of adjustment options. I was able to adjust mine for great response. This unit is fast enough for everything I've tried so far. It looks good and feels well built. However it has some surprising omissions, namely no webcam, no bluetooth, and only two USB ports! Each of these items of themselves are surprising, but all three?? This is practically unheard of these days. Also be aware that both memory slots contain 1 GB each which means you would need to get a 2 GB memory module in order to upgrade to 3 GB, etc. This unit is also somewhat noisy at times, and gets quite warm in operation. However if these items are not a problem for you then you should be quite pleased with this LT.

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The good: 1. Very low price. During the Holidays you should be able to buy this model under $300.

2.Very clear display in a wide screen format (not always the best for web)

3. User user friendly keyboard separate number pad.

4. Good battery life. (3 hrs+)

5. Wireless-N Wi-Fi standard.

The bad: 1. Very basic model with no bells & whistles. Only 2 usb ports, no web cam, only basic (read poor) laptop sound & speakers. Lacks dedicated short cut keys.

2. Ships with 2 1-GB memory sticks. Really the minimum for Win7. $60-65 to upgrade to 4GB.

3. Mouse pad is a little quirky to setup. (I use a usb mouse so no problem EXCEPT only 2 usb ports)

4. Single-core Intel Celeron processor is just barely fast enough for Win7. Just web browsing & basic tasks can easily bring CPU to 100% usage.

5. Mine shipped with Win7 Home 64 bit. You may find that Win7 64 bit is not easily compatible with some older software. Itunes was a pain to install in 64 bit version.

Overall for the price (I paid $259 & have seen it for less on Black Friday) the Toshiba is a pleasant surprise and a decent value. If you're paying much over $320-350 I'd shop around.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite C655-S5049 15.6" Laptop (Intel Celeron Processor 900, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive Here

I got this on sale at Office Depot for $400 yesterday. It works ok so far except for a few minor things. If you notice, a lot of recent laptops stopped using keys with beveled edges. The new ones are mostly flat and not as easy to type with. I think it's to cut costs. The mouse on this computer seems to be a little goofy. It will not let you keep two fingers on the mouse at the same time, it will freeze the mouse. Also the mouse seems to pause a lot and the arrow sometimes disappears for a few seconds. Also the mouse pad is offset from the center of the computer to the left side of the computer so you have to reach over with the right hand to use it. That's a little uncomfortable. I can't figure any reason why they did that. They've lowered the height of the screen by an inch so the new format is wider than previously. That again is a puzzlement to me because webpages are typically taller and narrower. But all the newer computers are doing it. It's too bad that the designers can't resist changing things all the time. My previous computer was a Compaq F700. Except for the annoying Vista, that was a great computer with a really good mouse in the right place and a comfortable screen size.

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I purchased this Toshiba C655-S5082 back in Nov 2010. I was at work during the day and wanted this for my GF at the time so she wouldn't get bored and could surf the net while I was away. She ran off with Satan, but the laptop stays and I'm happy that I bought it.

I will get to the cons first...

1. The speakers suck they simply aren't loud enough. I plugged in some speakers I kept from my old desktop PC and it's perfect. I can hear sound :)If you take your laptop with you often I would suggest buying some micro USB speakers to accommodate this model. Or buy a different model.

2. The pad you scroll the mouse with could be better. It's a little sloppy and not precise like many notebooks. If you use your notebook alot it might drive you a bit nuts after awhile playing line up the arrow to the destination you want to go. I bought a Logitech wireless mouse and love it, it works great with the C655-S5082.

3. 2 Gigs of memory isn't really that terrific now a days. I would bump it up to 4 gigs which is the maximum amount of memory this lappy will do. 4 gigs is plenty. Go find yourself a stick of DDR3 2gig memory. I think I paid like $25 for mine a year ago. Just look around you will find it probably for even cheaper.

Now the Pros....

Intel Celeron processor, sure it's not a Pentium but it's still an intel chip. A year or two down the road when you go to sell this if you decide to. it being " INTEL " will keep it's value up some over an AMD chip. Not saying Intel make a better chip than AMD by any means. Both pretty equal just one has better resale value or appeal. The Celeron being a cheaper processor works out good for the initial buyer.

$299 :) Any way you look at it this is a kick ass deal. I love Toshiba, in my opinion they make the best notebook computer in the business. I have owned a couple Toshiba Satellites over the years and they have impressed.

The screen is excellent > very vivid and with great color. Toshiba have some of the best displays for LCD technology LED, they are the makers. In fact they make some of the highest resolution screens for Smartphones too. The screen quality goes pretty far with me. I know all computers and notebooks are High def, so none will look bad. Toshiba just have screens down better than anyone overall on the computer side. Toshiba make an excellent television set as well. Can you tell I love Toshiba lol.

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2530P C2D/1.86 12.1W 3GB 120GB DVDR WLS WVB-XP SBY

I bought this computer about 9 months ago, and it has been the best buying decision that I have made on a computer. The size is a big factor. It's a 12" computer, but it also has an optical drive (it's optional anyway). So it's small but versatile. You can get it with 80GB, 120GB, and 250GB hard drives, so the expandability is fantastic. Mine is 120 GB Hard Drive. It's got an Intel dual core 1.86 GHz processor, so it's pretty fast for a netbook/ultraportable sized laptop. The new 2540p has a processor that it 2.1 to 2.5 GHz the newer version is much faster, but I've had no issues with mine as it relates to speed. I have 4GB of RAM in mine, but you can expand up to 8GB (which is more than enough). The Processor bus speed is 1066MHz and the RAM bus speed is 800MHz, so not perfectly ideal (matching bus speeds would be better to avoid bottle-necking), but again as it relates to speed... not much of an issue. The screen is FANTASTIC!!! No glare at all, and great resolution! It's no commercial art quality screen, but more than functional. Great for watching movies and television online. The keyboard is HUGE! I can't believe that they fit one this size on an ultraportable! I love it. I will probably buy the upgraded 2540p when this one has had it (but don't expect that to be for a long time). I have MIcrosoft Windows XP on mine (it's faster than Windows Vista and Windows 7), so mine is configured for business functionality and not multimedia ultra-userfriendly. I still think it's great. I LOVE this computer!!!!

Quick Specs:

12.1" 1280 x 800 non-glare screen

1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor @ 1066 MHz bus

4 GB RAM @ 800 MHz bus (up to 8GB RAM possible)

120 GB Hard Drive (80, 120, and 250 GB HD available)

95% full size Keyboard

DVD-RW Optical Drive

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Razer Blade (Win 8) RZ09-00830500-R3U1 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)

Pros:

-The build quality and attention to detail on the laptop is exceptional, rivaling the MBP. It's one of the only windows laptops in existence where you can tell a lot of thought and care went into the design and build.

-Fan noise level is decent even under load.

-It's light and thin enough to put in a bag and transport on a regular basis.

-It's got a powerful cpu and gpu capable of driving even graphically demanding games at smooth framerates, and completely demolishing anything system-friendly like Torchlight 2 or League of Legends.

-SSD caching makes many common tasks extremely fast.

Cons:

-Battery life tends to be a bit short even when not gaming.

-No second audio port for my headset.

-Up/Down directional arrows are dinky. Games often use the d-arrows, so this is suboptimal. It could be solved by a 'directional arrow' setting for the switchblade, but they curiously omitted such a setting. Speaking of which...

-Switchblade UI is fairly immature and lacks vital customization options as of now. Seems like something that will be fixed eventually, but I would prefer a cheaper laptop without the switchblade. Most gamers are going to attach a gaming mouse, and gamers don't really need flashy optimus buttons because they memorize their hotkeys.

Conclusion:

The Razer Blade fundamentals are strong--specs, build quality, design, portability. There is nothing else like it on the market. The immature and expensive switchblade ui holds it back from greatness.

Update:

I've found out how to customize the switchblade UI buttons, and the functionality I wanted (the ability to attach custom macros and pictures to buttons on a program-specific basis) is there, I just wasn't able to figure it out by messing around. This is interesting and negates a couple of my criticisms, but I think I still would have preferred a less expensive Blade without it. Also, apparently the audio jack is combined line-in and audio. Not as convenient as two jacks, but better than what I thought.

Update2:

After using the laptop for a few weeks, I've definitely come around on the switchblade top buttons. I've created a variety of macros for games and normal windows applications, and being able to tag them with custom text and pictures has really upped my productivity. I've raised my review to 5 stars from 4, although I think the switchblade software still has a ways to go.

I've been a fan of Razer products for a while. Not just the products but the company philosophy of making quality hardware with gamers in mind and so when I saw the new Razer Blade I instantly fell in love with it. The sleek Macbook Pro look, the hardware to actually play games on more than decent settings, and the extras that wow on first glance and then blow your mind when you start to use it. This is definitely the work of people who sat down with a vision and made it without compromise.

This laptop hits the nail on the head in so many ways:

The Design

First off let's look at the competition and their view of a gaming laptop: Huge, plastic, loud, heat blasting, flashing colors, powerful gaming desktop replacements. They get job done but the appeal is more geared towards teens that show it off to friends. It's not something you want in public and not something you really want to lug around with a power brick half the size of the laptop. It doesn't really have a place outside of the gaming world. It is in all senses of the word a toy, and an expensive one at that. In general todays gaming laptops have the bells and whistles but aren't refined products. Enter the Razer Blade a sleek thin .88 profile weighing in at roughly 6 pounds sporting a clean black matte coat over a full aluminum frame with green lighting accents and logo. You wouldn't even know it was a powerful gaming notebook until you launched Battlefield 3 and marveled at how well it played. The Razer Blade is a classy product pulling design cues from the Mac Book Pro, the Optimus Maximus keyboard, and gamer preferences for matte screens and a clean finish. No crazy lights, no heat blasting exhausts, and the only part of this laptop with a shred of plastic on it is the keyboard and with the power brick roughly the size of a remote control it's the most portable gaming laptop there is. And of course sticking to their motto "For gamers, by gamers." They've planned much of the layout and design for the general gamer: Moving the ports to the left side leaving the mouse free to move around without obstructions. Removing the optical drive because most PC gamers are downloading everything they need. Moving the trackpad to the right side and adding custom OLED keys that can be modified with macros, shortcuts, any custom pictures as well as being able to use the trackpad as a browser, email and an array of other apps so you can check guides and email and browse the internet all without leaving the game. I couldn't make a better laptop if I designed it myself. The only thing that bugs me is it doesn't have an IPS panel which would of given a great viewing angle and color reproduction. That's not to say the viewing angles are bad on this laptop, or even the screen quality, but if you're going to set the bar high with the build quality of everything else on this laptop, give it a IPS screen too.

The Hardware and Software

So you're looking at this laptop which means you obviously want two things out of this laptop: You want it to be portable and you want to be able to play games on it. My concern coming from a plethora of other laptops is that with laptops you get either/or. You either get mobility and Intel HD 4000 graphics or some mid-range video card that won't play League of Legends past medium settings. Or you get power and make it a "laptop" in the loosest sense of the word. In other words it's a desktop that moves but it'll play your games on high settings, at least for a year or two before its outdated. Neither of these are the desired result. The Razer Blade however does an excellent job of merging these two together to make a balanced laptop. Now before I go any further, yes, you can buy a desktop for half the price of this and get 3-4x the performance but that's not the point of this system or any other gaming laptop. The point is having a system that can play those same games but is mobile, you don't have to move a monitor and tower along with all the other peripherals if you want to go to your friends house and play a game with them you move one thing and that's all. Laptops will never compete with a desktop computer as far performance goes and if that's what you're looking for in a gaming laptop you'll be disappointed no matter what laptop you buy. But that comparison shouldn't be made. They're for two different purposes and you have to accept that to justify the price/performance ratio. Speaking of performance this notebook is pretty good on it. Sporting a Nvidia Geforce 660m and Intel's new Ivy Bridge i7 processor this thing doesn't only game, it games well. In the time I've received this notebook to the time I wrote this review I've tried Dawn of War 2, Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Borderlands 2, and Far Cry 3, and it played all of the with 35-45+ frames per second on high settings. The human eye can't see past a little over 30FPS so this is more than acceptable especially for a gaming laptop. And when I say 35FPS I mean minimum, no dips into the 20s and no sign of lag and the games look fantastic I am more than satisfied with the performance of this laptop and this is coming from someone who was concerned he wouldn't be able to play games with the high graphic preferences that he's used to. One last thing that makes this a good laptop: No bloatware. This laptop comes clean without any extra software except for the Synapse 2.0 required to run your touchpad apps. No cleanup required after purchase.

What I Would Change

This is a gaming laptop that doesn't look like the average gaming laptop. Its thin, its sexy, and its powerful. But no product is perfect and a few things could be changed:

Allow color customization Green is good and looks great and this feature is kind of gimmicky but people like to customize stuff especially laptops with their own wallpaper and themes and browsers. It's an extension of our personality and the simple ability to change a color can make a huge difference.

The high price It's understandable why the price is so high: the build quality is excellent; without and sponsored bloatware, and not being one of the major computer manufacturers these things can get expensive but if there was a way to cut the cost without losing the quality it would be more of a reason to buy. I think the price is the biggest turn off when buying this product.

A larger hard drive; this should be obvious and it shouldn't cost much more. Throw a terabyte in there.

IPS screen as mentioned before.

Other than that this is an excellent laptop. It's the best quality I've ever owned or seen in any other laptop and it does what it supposed to for something targeted to gamer and I'd strongly recommend if you can afford it. Also I saw concerns about the touchpad and being left handed being an issue. Im left handed (and most people who are left handed still use their right hand to use their mouse but with touchpads on laptops we tend to use our left hand to browse) and I haven't had issues with the touchpad placement. It feels like your using a mouse and its easy to get used to.

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I have a desktop PC for gaming and this laptop.

Pro:

It is able to run all the games I have in Steam smoothly.

It is lighter than most of the laptops that I used.

Big screen!

Fast boot up. I have never used SSD before so I am not sure if this is the fastest SSD. But its definitely much faster than my 3.5" hdd in the desktop.

Gaming-wise, I cannot feel much difference except on max setting. The framerate its lower than my desktop but I expected it.

Cons:

Heat. It can get quite warm. There's once when I rocked my chair and my thigh hit the bottom of the table top. I could feel the heat from the bottom side!

LED display. The button functions are good to have but can live without. But there's no way you can play FPS with the LED. Simply too slow.

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Although it is a little overpriced the computer works flawlessly. The track pad takes a little time to get used to but is a great feature. The computer is very light for its size and is probably the best looking on the market .

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The title says it all. Regretted so badly. But doing work and playing games on this is epically awesome. Just don't get windows 8.

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ASUS N56VM-AB71 Full-HD 1080P 15.6-Inch Laptop

Build:

First of all, the build quality on this machine is EXCELLENT. Having never owned any asus product, I'm seriously impressed at the build quality on this thing. Even though I only paid $899, this feels like a $1500+ machine. The aluminum finish is fantastic and feels really good. I will say it's a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but that's nothing a quick wipe with a cloth won't fix. Also, since Amazon doesn't disclose this, the ASUS logo on the front lid is BACKLIT. Some reviewers have knocked on the weight a bit, but for everything you're getting, it's a non issue. Unless you weigh about 30lbs, I don't see how you could knock on the weight.

Keyboard:

The keyboard is great. I very much enjoy the feel of the keys and the response is excellent. Even for someone with big hands like me, I have no trouble typing at full speed. Also, this keyboard is BACKLIT for those of you not sure, and it looks great in the dark. You can also adjust the level of brightness as you see fit.

Touchpad:

Wasn't too happy with this at first but I've grown to like it. I'm a big fan of the pinch to zoom and all the other features it comes with. Yes, sometimes you might not get the exact response you want or you'll accidentally zoom in on something, but the touchpad is great. No regrets and no serious complaints.

Performance:

Initial boot up takes a bit, but even with all of the bloatware ASUS puts on this thing, it's pretty fast. The i7 along with the 6GB of RAM really makes navigating through all programs a breeze and I've no freeze ups or noticeable lag. I plan on installing an SSD sometime in the near future and doing a clean install but for the average user, there shouldn't be any performance issues.

Graphics:

As some reviewers have previously mentioned, you are using dual cards for graphics. The laptop uses the Intel 4000 for non extensive actions and the NVIDIA for heavy graphic tasks such as gaming. I don't really plan on gaming at all so this is perfect for me. But from what I've read, gaming shouldn't be an issue.

Display & Sound:

The display is AMAZING. Videos, websites, programs......everything looks excellent. Hands down the best display I've used on a Windows machine. I would highly recommend pushing for 1080p if possible. The sound quality for a laptop is amazing. It's loud and clear. I've just started doing insanity workouts and using this and the sound and look of everything is amazing. No complaints at all. I haven't used the included speaker, but I'll get around to it. Webcam is also nice and clear and video chatting is no issue. Other party can hear me loud and clear with no echo.

Overall, I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

I asked a few questions about this laptop from other reviewers but could not get an answer... to anyone who needs to know, it does indeed have a backlit keyboard. I got mine this morning and it's simply beautiful, the screen and sound are amazing, typing is a joy and I could not be happier.

I really wish Amazon would get proper specs up for this. I ordered in hope that it would have a backlit keyboard, and I got lucky.

I will update this review with more info if I find anything worth remarking on the specs speak for themselves, and of course there is a ton of nonsense bloatware, but that's easily dealt with.

I highly recommend this machine to anyone who wants something that looks good and you can be proud to own.

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I received this laptop about four days ago and still in the process of removing and loading software. Started with the standard operating procedure, Windows updates and removing McAfee (this requires a special removal tool from the McAfee website to do a clean uninstall). Had trouble with the wireless connection crashing and had to call Asus customer support who directed my to their website to download a new driver for the Atheros AR9485-EG wireless adaptor. Seems to have taken care of the problem from what I can tell. 1920 x 1080 resolution is nice most models with that resolution are $1,200 or more.... 750 GB and 6 GB ram great specs. Having some problem with the spacebar. I type about 70 w/minute and it doesn't respond as well as I am used to unless I hit it dead center and pretty firm. Other people reported a similar problem after researching this issue in forums. I will wait for a few days and if needed have Asus install a new keyboard under warranty. Sound/speakers are OK not great and for movies I would recommend external speakers. This model has the separate numeric keyboard off to the side (good for working on spreadsheets) which makes the model a bit larger and likely heavier.

Ran down the battery yesterday and got over 4 hours out of it no games but lots of installing and downloading. Good buy for the price and is has everything once could ask for for a desktop laptop.

Update I had to return the first laptop because I did not want to go through the hassle of getting the keyboard repaired Amazon exchanged it with no problem (same model) and the keyboard on the replacement laptop works great. The first one didn't have the backlighting (or maybe it was a driver problem) this one works without any hitches.

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Received it yesterday, great turn around time by Amazon. That said, I have the following gripes with this laptop already.

1). I bought this laptop hopefully to build a Hardware Specification equivalent of a Macbook Pro without paying the Apple Hardware Tax and without having to use MACOS.

2). Window 8 Sucks. Hated it immediately. I would have bought the Windows 7 version of this Laptop, except it is slightly different and has less base memory. So I bought the Windows 8 version and just installed my own copy of Windows 7.

3). The UEFI is locked to Windows 8. I removed the hard drive and replaced it with a SSD. The Boot process would not hand-off to Windows 7 during the setup process when using UEFI and mounting Windows 7 install as a CD. If I toggled the "Launch CSM" setting in the BIOS to "Enabled" this worked fine, but without UEFI. Less exciting but still very usable. (CSM means Compatibility Support Module and it's a UEFI setting for backwards compatibility with older BIOS devices.)

4). The only 16gb memory I was able to get to work to upgrade this machine to 16gb was Kingston ValueRAM 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 (PC3-12800) Non-ECC CL11 SODIMM Notebook Memory (KVR16S11/8). I tried three other sets of 16gb DIMMs without any of them working before I found the Kingston. Thanks to the person in the comments who suggested it.

5). The upgrade plate is on the bottom toward the front and merely requires removing the one center front screw. This involves prying up the plastic foot thing in the center and unscrewing. Easy access to the HDD, the Memory and the NIC from there.

6). The laptop was both heavier and thicker than I expected. This is not a fault of what is reported, but a fault of my expectations. Temper your own expectations to match.

7). As others have noted here and elsewhere, the trackpad gets in the way of typing sometimes. It's very easy to click things with you wrist while typing. I personally think this is true of many laptops due to my own typing style, so YMMV.

8). Once I got Win7 installed on the SSD, this laptop screams. Really loved how fast it boots. Haven't installed much yet though, so we will see.

9). If I could not have gotten Win7 working I would have RMA'd this faster than you can say... well, just about anything.

10). If you are looking for Windows 7 x64 Drivers, you will not find them on the Asus website under the N56VJ model. You need to look under the N56VZ model and use those drivers. The N56VJ and the N56VZ are basically the same computer with slightly different specs. All the drivers are common and seem to work just fine. Drivers can be found there.

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I spent a lot of time searching for this machine. Well, okay, I spent 5 hours one night waiting for my paycheck to clear. I investigated a lot of different machines, including the higher-end Asus gamer rigs, and I settled on this one. Including tax I spent about $450 less than I would have on one of those boxes, and I'm happy with my purchase so far. So let's get into the review.

The good:

The screen is really good, but it's not as good as my Vaio from several years ago. Basically the viewing angle is great left-to-right, but the vertical viewing angle leaves a bit to be desired. It's still better than my last laptop, a Toshiba Satellite. This one has about 20 degrees of vertical tolerance, and the matte finish helps a lot with sunlight, so it's at least a step-up from my last machine. Cautious thumb-up on the screen, it's within my tolerance zone, and when you view it at the correct angle it looks fantastic.

Performance is very respectable. Diablo 3 runs full detail with everything on high in 1280x768. LA Noire runs about 50 frames in the same resolution on performance detail (though you have to hack it to overcome the hardcoded 30fps limit), about 30 frames with detail on max.

The build quality is impressive. The unit feels very solid, and I'm impressed that it comes with 1 year of accidental damage protection. Amazon tried to upsell me a year, and I almost bought it because I didn't realize that it already came with the unit. My friend tells me the Amazon policy kicks in after the manufacturer policy, so it still might be worth it if you want to play it safe, but I'm confident I won't drop my laptop, so I'm going to gamble for a year. I don't mind the island keyboard at all, and I haven't had any problems with the spacebar like other reviewers reported.

The audio is great. I don't expect much from onboard speakers, so to say I'm impressed is an understatement. Clean, crisp separation of the left and right channels, you'd almost think it was magic, provided you are right on top of the machine. In my experience laptop speakers fade out over time, though, so I wouldn't make my purchase based on that. It's just an added bonus.

The bad:

The home, pgup, pgdn, and end keys are in a crappy spot. That will take a lot of getting used to.

The unit isn't raised on the bottom, so you have to keep it on a flat surface at all times. I'm using my old broken laptop for the time being as a surface.

6GB ram? Really? I think Asus did that just to make you buy a more expensive machine. The 8GB models cost a lot more. I'll be popping my own ram in before too long.

Occasionally the swap-monster eats my mouse movements. So far this hasn't happened in games, but it's concerning. I'm planning to upgrade to an SSD (or maybe 2 SSDs) before too long. I'll update the review when I do that.

The air runs pretty damn hot when I play games. For now it's not a problem. The bottom of the unit feels only slightly warm. Over time this will mean I will need to dust out the unit to prevent it from overheating, and the problem with that plan is that the intake for the fan is far, far away from the vent. So I'm thinking I'm probably going to have to take it apart from time to time to get the dust out, instead of using my standard strategy of just blowing out the fan. In fact if past experience is any indication, I might just replace the fan. Laptop manufacturers tend to cheap out on them.

The trackpad is not quite as bad as people say it is, but give up on pressing the corners. But hell, I knew it sucked going in, and I usually plug in a mouse anyway. I'd recommend getting yourself a bluetooth mouse and disabling the thing. Still, given all the terrible reviews on it, it's surprisingly usable. I haven't had a problem with multi-touch.

I will update this review as the machine ages.

Update, ~1.5 weeks:

1. The trackpad really is as bad as everyone says. I take back anything good I had to say about it. Get a bluetooth mouse for sure.

2. There is definitely a problem with video playback and audio glitches with the software that ships with the unit. I would recommend this computer, so far, to an intermediate to advanced user. The problem seems to be related to McCafee. I couldn't swear on it, but after I got rid of it the glitches seemed to go away. Bottom line is that I recommend reinstalling the entire operating system, and wiping the disk.

3. My computer crashed over Thanksgiving. I think it was my fault but I'll never have proof. The machine comes with a C: and a D: partition. I married the partitions, and the next time I booted the machine, I couldn't boot windows. Long story short I had to reinstall. So far the machine is a lot better than the factory installation, so I would recommend wiping the machine for advanced users and the adventurous.

This is a nice little machine if you (are, or) have a really good friend who is a nerd. After having to reinstall I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. I will update again as new information is available :).

Update 2 weeks:

I'm downing my rating to 4 for a few reasons.

1. It's a damn good screen, and has a nice finish, but the leds are too bright at the top and bottom edges.

2. As someone pointed out in the comments, the battery life is pretty standard for Windows machines -bad. About 3 hours with a brand new battery. I have access to power most of the time so it's not a big deal for me. For some others it probably will be.

3. Having run for a few days after my own clean install, it shows how crappy the factory software install was. Definitely reformat if you can lay hands on a Windows 7 home premium 64bit disk (your license key that ships with the unit works with any Win7 HP64 disk).

4. The trackpad is even worse than a lot of people say... it's above the bezel a little in spots on my unit.

But after a reinstall it runs super-smooth with very decent graphics performance as well, which was my main objective. I'm not sorry I didn't get the ROG laptup instead, so overall I'm still pretty positive about the purchase.

Hard drive hasn't gone bad on me or anything, but seeing as that's a common problem I may get an SSD sooner rather than later. I kinda knew that going in as well. To some others in the comments: I considered Samsung but IIRC the units I saw had ATI cards. After my linux experiences I insist on NVidia for now. The card in this one is pretty decent, but I'm sure it will be out of date in about 2 years or so. It's not top of the line or anything, but it will play XCom and Skyrim in high detail, especially after the reinstall.

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ASUS G73SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

First things first. This is the REVISED version of the Sandy Bridge chip-set. For all of you who are worried about the recall you don't have to worry when buying this laptop.

I purchased this laptop as a replacement for my old HP G60. I have been wanting to buy a new computer for some time now but had never looked too deeply into it. I originally wanted to build a custom pc and never thought that a laptop could keep up with a desktop. That is until I saw this computer. This computer is an amazing piece of hardware which manages to stay cool to the touch after hours of operation. Never would I have thought that I could find a laptop this powerful, let alone for under $1800.

PROS:

It has the new i7 Sandy Bridge which can tear through any task you throw at it.

The nvidia GTX 460M with 1.5 GB of DDR5. Windows tells me this card has 4GB total memory

Great speakers for a laptop. Never have I heard such sound come from a laptop.

The screen which as far as I can tell has about the same contrast as my 40 inch LED TV.

Can output 3D onto a 3DTV through HDMI

The keyboard has a great feel and the back light looks great every time I see it

The finish feels great to touch and does not show fingerprints.

This computer has BY FAR the best cooling I have seen on a laptop. It stays cooler than my old G60 which would power off if left sitting on a flat surface and would burn my hands.

CONS:

Honestly I dont have any cons that I can find. Just some problems that I am sure most people wont experience. After I installed virpe antivirus i got a BSOD and had to do a system restore to fix. However after the system restore I had to uninstall the drivers for the back lit keyboard and re-install them so they would work again. That and this computer came with Google chrome pre-installed. It would not open or uninstall. I had to install a new copy of chrome for it to work and now on my add/remove programs i have 2 copies of Google chrome.

Overall this laptop far exceeds my expectations for what a laptop can do. Most desktops will have a hard time keeping up with it. If you are in the market for a desktop replacement I honestly cant think of a much better way to spend $1800.

I bought this computer because I am a budding photographer and casual gamer. I couldn't believe how much computer I got for the price. I purchased the computer 2/1/2011 and it arrived 2 days later. The first thing I tried to do was create the recovery discs only to find out the computer would not burn dvd's. I had called Asus before making the purchase to make sure the blu ray combo drive would burn dvds and i was assured that it would. Asus created a RMA and I send them the machine and received it back 10 days later only to find the same issue. I called and got another RMA and sent it to a different location and received a machine 10 days later that would burn dvd's.

Then I found out about the sandy bridge recall. I opted for the advanced replacement so I could keep my machine while they sent me a new one but the new machine I received would not burn dvd's. So now I have another RMA and hopefully they get the issue fixed on their first try this time.

While I had a fully functional machine I absolutely loved it. It is blazing fast and whisper quiet. My brother has the previous years version of the Asus ROG and it sounds like it is going to exploded while playing W.O.W. Everytime I have spoken with Asus customer support it has been a pleasant experience and the turn around on the repairs has been quick. Its an awesome machine but a frustrating experience.

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First off, I ordered this from Amazon on April 6 and received the redesigned version. From the recent reviews, I can see that others ordering it around the same time were still getting bad models. This one came from Arizona. Once the nervousness of getting a bad model was gone, I could go to work.

First thing I did was a clean re-install of Windows 7. I used the guide at notebookreview.com (Google search "clean windows 7 asus", it will be the first result). Since the G73SW-A1 does not come with a Recovery disc, I had to acquire a (legal) Windows 7 Home Premium install disc. (Note: when activating a retail copy of Windows 7 with the OEM product key, Windows will make you activate it by phone, which is automated and takes 5 minutes) As long as it's the same machine and Windows 7 Home Premium, you can activate it with the OEM key infinite times.

The -A1 comes with 2 500GB hard drives. The first HDD is split into 3 partitions (hidden restore, Windows drive, spare) and the second HDD is split into 2 empty partitions. When I did the clean install, I wiped all drives and erased all partitions, leaving C and D drives. With Windows 7 and Drivers/Software discs in hand, a restore partition is unnecessary. Someday I will clone the C drive and replace it with an SSD.

Overall early impressions:

Pros:

-Very fast: 100% loaded in about 30 seconds from power-on

-Nice build quality: good screen hinge, rubbery wrist-rests feel good. Fingerprints not really an issue. I still get a kick out of the stealth fighter styling.

-Very bright LED backlight and clear screen (though it's a glare-type).

-It remains quite cool at the bottom (my old Inspiron 9300 was a scorcher)

-Nice keyboard backlight

-Good quality backpack and mouse

Cons:

-Keyboard design: space bar does not work if tapped at the very bottom. It works OK if I hit it harder or centered. The arrow keys are too small and crammed between the number pad and Ctrl and Shift keys, so it's hard to find them just by touch.

-FN keys my old Inspiron 9300 had buttons for Mute, Volume Up/Down, Play/Pause, Previous, Next and Stop all on the front of the laptop. On this one, they're all integrated onto the keyboard, using the FN button. (just a minor nuisance, really) Also, the Play/Pause/Stop/Previous/Next buttons are pretty much useless as they only work with Windows Media Center. (If you disable WMC, the buttons default to Windows Media Player) Again, the Inspiron 9300 buttons worked with whatever media player was on at the time.

There's also this weird glitch with the desktop icons. I like to have a clean desktop (no icons). If you disable them in Display Properties, the icons reappear after a reboot. It turns out Power4Gear (ASUS's power management software) is the culprit. Go into its advanced settings and tell it to hide desktop icons for all power settings.

Overall, I'm very happy with this machine. No BSODs or system errors of any kind so far. The NVIDIA video card seems to be doing a very good job. All of the drivers on the machine and on the DVD are current, so I only had to update Windows 7. The keyboard will take some getting used to, that's all.

Read Best Reviews of ASUS G73SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black) Here

I owned the previous model and the good thing is this came out during exchange period. i got this from a regular store and not amazon.

Clarification on specs: the hard drive is a hybrid drive meaning it has large cache and 4 gigabyte ssd built in. This should make it faster like an ssd. I haven't tested this yet so I cant say if it makes a difference.

First impressions:

pros: the build quality is superb!!! its is so solid with no give. the screen doesn't rock back and forth like many other 17 inch computers. It is cool and runs so smooth with minimal noise. The drive is still a bit noisy when it spins.

the built in video chip( within the processor) should improve battery life) not that this is an issue with a desktop replacement)

cons

-volume cant be raised or lowered by pressing 1 key. You have to press fn+ another key. annoying but not major.

Vidoe camera not impressive at all. may 1 year old macbook pro isight is much much better.

the finish feels great in your hands and doesn't attract fingerprints however i feel like it will collect stubborn dust over time unlike a metal finish.

overall this a great laptop very fast and responsive with minor issues but hey nothing is perfect!

Important update:

someone kindly posted in the discussion this link which i find concerning. there seems to be a flaw in the design of sandybridge chipset. I have not experienced any issues yet but i am considering sending it back. again actual laptop design is flawless but this seems like a serious issue with the intel chipset.

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This is the second laptop I have owned, the first being an Alienware from before the Dell assimilation over 4 years ago. What is that, like 25 years in laptop/dog years?

I was looking for the sweet spot of High Definition, gaming speed, large media storage and Blu-Ray playback. 3D gaming and video playback priced any laptop I looked at into the $2k category without any other benefit. This laptop fulfilled my needs within my budget plan of $1800.

Windows Experience rating for all aspects of the computer 7.0-7.2 except the hard drives at 5.9. The hard drives, 2 x 500gig Seagate Momentus Hybrids, gave a very respectable bootup speed despite the seemingly middle of the road rating. The computer has a solid feel to it and does have some flair of appearance. It is quiet in operation and despite running the cpu to 50 Celsius for several hours it never felt warm under my hands. My old Centrino based Alienware would get almost uncomfortably hot. The camera built into the top of the monitor frame is de rigueur for all laptops now and is mostly appreciated for it's lack of absence. The monitor is exactly what I wanted, hi-def and no problem pixels. There are some specialty keys on the left of the lower half of the machine near the hinge, located where they will be distinct. The keyboard itself feels a little flimsy but I had no problem typing on it. People who need near secretarial quality may find it a bit lightweight. The wireless card built into it was superior to anything I have used to date, without question. I have used external antennas to compensate for my Alienware's wimpy wireless card for years and this built in beats them all.

The extras included were a backpack by Targus which I would rate 3-4 stars out of 5 as it lacks any character or more importantly, pockets of any quantity. It is sufficient however, so it does not rate badly. The mouse that is included is solid but, strangely, there was no driver I could find for it on the Utility disk and although clearly branded as ASUS was not specifically supported on their website. You can't even register it under it's model number. However some research showed it was a ASUS GX800 mouse and thus responded well to that driver. Thank you to those who researched before me and put their discovery on various laptop forums!

This laptop was exactly what I was looking for given my budget of *Not to Exceed $1800*. Performance can be enhanced by substituting an SSD drive for the primary but that would once again drive the price to $2k+ pretty quickly. I am pleased with my purchase and feel safe recommending it to others looking for most of what performance is out there without paying for bleeding edge.

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HP 2000-2b29WM 15.6" Intel Pentium B960 (2.2GHz) 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 500GB Hard Drive Windows 8

I was nervous about buying a refurbished laptop as it was my 1st time. However, the laptop was new and I am very pleased with ths purchase so far!

just had to get used to windows eight but the computer works well. WE stopped using our desktop ever since we received this laptop

Buy HP 2000-2b29WM 15.6" Intel Pentium B960 (2.2GHz) 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 500GB Hard Drive Windows 8 Now

This laptop has all the features you could ask for and a great price also. After researching other laptops I found this one. It has the computing power and memory that will make my work on this machine up to date.

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ACER ASPIRE 15.6" 5745-5425 BLU-RAY NOTEBOOK i3 4GB AS5745-5425

Laptop came on time and works and plays beautifully! One of the best laptop i every owned.I recomment this laptop to anyone looking for a nice laptop for the price.

I've had this a little over a month now and I can say I am pleased with it. Considering I got it for 350 it was a steal. It does freeze up for about 3 seconds every now and then but it doesn't happen enough for me to hate it. Love that i can play my bluray discs on this instead of having to use a TV. Overall good buy.

Buy ACER ASPIRE 15.6" 5745-5425 BLU-RAY NOTEBOOK i3 4GB AS5745-5425 Now

I am using this Computer for School and is working perfect. I am recommending this computer to my Friends and Family. I have no complaints. I did not buy it from Amazon but this is a Great Site to purchase this computer and other items from. They are Fast and Quick and will help you if you have problems.

Thanks

Joe

[....]

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Apple MacBook Air MC234LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

I don't think I'll go back to regular "full-size" laptops again. I didn't think that the weight difference between my 15.4" 2008 MacBook-Pro and the "AIR" would be so substantial, but it is. My back is thanking me. Even with the power supply and my average bring-to-work payload, I often forget that I'm wearing a bag.

As far as general computing goes, it has been -by far -the most pleasing computing experience I've had in over 17yrs working with computers... no doubt because of the SSD.

--Average applications load in one or two "bounces", tops.

--Web pages load faster

--No stuttering when displaying the contents of a a folder, scrolling through image galleries, etc.

--Startup/Shutdown times.

Other PROS:

--Screen is perfect. I was worried that the glossy screen may be a little bothersome, though I've yet to come across a situation where it was a problem and I've taken it everywhere with me.

--Its build seems "solid". Maybe it's a trait of the new unibodies, but, when the lid is closed; it feels like a solid piece of metal that would be very difficult to damage. Maybe im naive, but I no longer feel the need to wrap my laptop in 4 layers of protection to keep it from damage in my bag.

CONS:

--Today's laptops support up to 8GB, typically in 2x 4GB configurations. It would be nice to see support for a 4GB module in the future.

--Typical complaints: no firewire or eSATA, only 1x USB.

--Runs a little hot, and I'm not fond of the location of the exhaust vents.

OTHER:

Don't call it a netbook or a laptop. It's the best of both worlds. It deserves its own category.

First of all, make sure that the battery is working properly. I just returned one with a bad battery -it kept telling me that there was no battery present and also the system kept stalling. But i did play around with one that worked properly.

I'm only going to speak about the SSD (higher end) version. If you are going to get this MacBook Air, I completely feel that you are wasting your money buying the lower end version. The lower end drive is terribly slow and feels underpowered whereas the SSD drive version beats a faster MacBook Pro with a HDD. To further illustrate, the Macbook Air SSD opens up Adobe Photoshop in 3 seconds. Word in 2 seconds or less.

So here are the pros:

--super, light...it's addictive, wonderful. You'll carry it everywhere, annoyingly so.

--good battery life. I think the battery life in real world conditions even beats out the 7 hour battery of the Macbook Pro. Seems to use less battery and more intelligently

--AC converter is also light to carry around (but i still think it should be lighter)

--sturdy, and able to comfortably hold with one hand

The cons:

--don't use this for multimedia, other than simple video, YouTube, etc. If you try playing HD video on this machine loses frames

--the speakers! sorry, the speaker. don't use this machine for presentations that involve sound. hard to hear in a busy environment (such as trade shows). really i think this is the worst con!

--the USB port is hard to reach, difficult for those USB Verizon/Sprint/AT&T mobile broadband sticks. You have to use with a cable. But i think this is just a little cosmetic issue

The non-issue issues:

--lack of DVD drive. Other than installing software or viewing DVDs that someone wants to you watch then and there, how many times do you really need to do this? If the answer is frequently, then this machine is definitely not for you (go with a Macbook Pro). If occasionally or infrequently then the networked DVD drive (using Bonjour) works really well. If you feel a need to get a portable drive, then don't get this machine. It wasn't meant for this, really.

So, who is this for?

--writers! Screenwriters, students, business writers, writers, period. This is the funnest machine to use if you are a writer, period. you will love the ability to take this everywhere, put in a small, light bag, just open it up and start writing, either in Word, Pages, Final Draft, etc. (I HIGHLY recommend using a service like Dropbox - -so that whatever you write is automatically synced over the air to your home desktop, automatically! -no need to worry about losing your work ever!).

--traveling business people who need to show off pictures, electronic brochures, etc. Even to walk around shop floors and plop that Macbook Air out of a bag, hold in hand as you are walking

--road warriors, photographers on the road, journalists, etc.

Buy Apple MacBook Air MC234LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Now

I'll say it straight away: I love the MacBook Air (MBA). I am a PowerBook collector, and have been using Apple's portables for many years, so I have some solid background in relation to their portable computers.

You may not know this, but in 1997 Apple had what, at the time, could be considered as a MBA. It was the PowerBook 2400c. What a machine it was. Small (10.4" screen) and light (4.4 lbs.). It came sans floppy drive: floppies were built into many laptops around the time the 2400c hit the streets, although they were on there way out. It also had reduced ports, but still included 2 PC Card slots. Strangely, it has a sort of unibody case, a landmark in design at the time. Underneath, you will find no interruptions in the case: it's all one, and the case wraps up and around smoothly. Released only in Japan, with just a handful of the units making it to the US, it is a rare machine indeed.

I think the reason Apple confined it to the Asian market was because the keyboard is 87% the size of a full-sized keyboard: it's a netbook size keyboard. People are larger in other parts of the world, so they may have thought that users wouldn't take to it in those areas. Overall, the 2400c could be considered as a netbook: Apple's first and only netbook to-date.

But what about the MBA you say. Isn't that a netbook? The MBA is a ultra-portable laptop, rather than a netbook. It's a full featured laptop. Apple never meant it to be a netbook. It makes hardly any of the compromises that netbooks make. You get a full-sized, backlit keyboard. A 2.13 Ghz Core 2 Duo, with an Nvidia 9400M, 256 MB graphics card, the same one found in Apple's MacBook and entry MacBook Pros. Some compromises are lack of a firewire port; 1 USB port; no ethernet port; no DVD-drive...

But with things like Remote Disc, etc. I don't need any of these things that are missing on the MBA, especially since this is a companion computer to my Mac Mini and MacBook Pro.

This model is much improved over the first generation MBA: better graphics chip, faster processor, and cheaper. Combining these specifications with such a thin, light design is impressive. What about its performance? It performs very well, I am happy to report, after 5 months of use. iWork, HD playback, web surfing... It's the SSD that really helps things along. Shutdown times, application launches, everything is speedy because of the SSD. It's actually faster for many tasks than pretty much any MacBook/Pro that is running a standard platter hard drive.

But things like converting audio and video... the MacBook Pros will outperform the MBA because of their faster processors and ability to use more RAM. This leads to the following question: Can the MBA be used as a sole machine? My answer to this is yes, depending on your needs. It is capable of being a sole machine. But if you are someone working with video, audio, and the like, you would be wise to go with a MacBook Pro (i.e. 15"). But still, this machine is capable enough that you can throw pro apps at it and it will work for you.

Here is the caveat with the MBA though. Don't have too many applications open at once, because it only has 2 GB of RAM. There are a few service providers out there who will unsolder the RAM from the MBA's motherboard, and solder back on 4 GB of RAM. If I were using this a a sole machine I would probably go for that service. But you can still get by using it as a sole machine with 2 GB of RAM.

Here is one piece of advice: get click-to-flash. It shuts down flash in Safari, or whatever browser you are using, and makes internet surfing more manageable on the MBA. It's not that flash makes browsing on the MBA impossible, it's just that it frees up resources and speeds things up. With flash heavy sites like YouTube, playing flash videos, for instance, can cause this model to heat up some, and then, by default, the video will become a bit choppy. This will only really happen if you are obstructing the air vents on the MBA. So if you are not using click-to-flash, make sure your MBA's vents are clear and free of any obstructions when web surfing.

But, mind you, flash in Safari causes even the MacBook Pros to heat up...

Let's now get back to what really sets this unit apart from anything on the market: it's super light and super thin. I did an in depth comparison to the Dell Adamo, and determined that the MBA is actually much thinner overall than the Adamo, even though the MBA is thicker than the Adamo at its thickest point. It's just that more of the MBA is significantly thinner than the Adamo, so overall it's much thinner, and it shows. Not only this, but the MBA is much more powerful: better processor and better graphics.

It is a joy to use and carry such a small, thin and light device, especially in comparison to lugging around the MacBook Pro 15.4". And for those of you who are switching from the venerable PowerBook G4 12.1", you won't be sorry. This machine makes it look antiquated, and its speed leaves it in the dust.

Other things I like about the MBA specifically: the screen is great. The best screen Apple has ever done. Somehow it is less reflective than my 15.4" MacBook Pro. The trackpad is nice and large, too. The retractable ports are really cool, and battery life is decent as well.

For those contemplating a netbook, I was too. I finally decided that netbooks just made far too many compromises and opted for the MBA. I guess my logic went exactly along the same lines as Apple, since Steve said during the MBA Keynote that netbooks make too many compromises and aren't worth the trouble. But if you want something diminutive for very light computer use, netbooks might be your ticket item. For me though, I couldn't live with the paltry processing power, small keyboards and trackpads, and tiny screens.

Lastly, one thing to keep in mind is that this machine, because it is so thin and light, is a tad fragile. It's still rugged, but you have to be more careful with it than, say, a MacBook. I wish the screen would open up more, but other than this, and the heat issue as described above, it's pretty much a perfect product.

Apple, well done.

Read Best Reviews of Apple MacBook Air MC234LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Here

After owning and enjoying the first generation Macbook Air (1.6 MHz, 80GB drive), this unit is an unbelievable upgrade. For the same price as the original, this unit is incredibly faster. Programs start up about 3 times faster and the SSD drive is silent and extremely quick. Startups and shutdowns are noticeably quicker too. My initial experience has indicated that the battery life should be better as well. I was also impressed with the browser speed pickup as pages seem to render all at once without the typical lag the original unit had.

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One thing you might not notice unless you read the product description carefully is that the USB Ethernet Adaptor is now included with the computer. So it is a mystery that this adaptor is listed as a commonly purchased accessory for this model. I almost bought one myself.

The MacBook Air is an unexpectedly nice aesthetic improvement in using a computer. Lightness, thinness and silence (with the SSD) make a surprising difference. Another thing I like compared to the MacBook Pro is that the edges of the case are tapered, not sharp 90 degree corners that scrape your arms. Particularly if you are considering the 13" MBP, the MBA is definitely worth a serious look.

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