This has very nice features and is easy to use. Wasn't sure about Windows 8 but after playing around with it for a couple of hours I like it a lot. Would recommend this product!!
Showing posts with label mini notebook reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mini notebook reviews. Show all posts
HP Pavilion g6-2219nr 15.6" Notebook PC
This has very nice features and is easy to use. Wasn't sure about Windows 8 but after playing around with it for a couple of hours I like it a lot. Would recommend this product!!
Samsung Series 3 NP305E5A-A03US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver)
This laptop would make the perfect family notebook, desktop replacement on the go laptop, or even a college gamer laptop!!I played Batman Arkham City, Half Life and did the 3d Marked 2011, with low settings and just used the stock unit with out any adjustments:
Arkham City:
Average:18
Maximum:20
Lost Coast50fps
I did the free edition of 3DMark 11:
Graphic Test:
1-2.4
2-2.35
3-2.75
4-1.61
Physics Test-6.01
Combined Test-2.06
I got this as a "College Gamer" laptop. I could have spent more, but I don't feel it was necessary. The fastest graphics card in a laptop will cost you thousands of dollars, while a basic desktop card, like the one i got in my desktop, will out perform any laptop. So i saved my money and upgraded my desktop and got this affordable guy!
This little guy has a better multi-touch pad than the silver apple computers, and i am not lying. I can't emphasize on how much the feel of the mouse and the keyboard are when it comes to choosing this laptop. It makes the actual use of this laptop much more worth it! The only mouse that has as good as feel is the $1200 MBP.
This AMD Model is the way to go. From everything i know, the graphics will out perform the stock Intel graphics that are in the more expensive laptops. The quad core AMD is very powerful cpu. The i3 line are just dual core's that are slightly faster, but have way less graphic power! Not to mention that Intel charges more. So you get a great price/performance when you stick to AMD!
Description of Laptop:
It doesn't have any place where your finger prints smudge. The lid is solid and not all shaky. The screen is actually really crisp. Surprisingly there was very minimum bloatware, like a bunch of games, samsung software that is useful and a pack of cyber link software.
The GPU isn't the best you can get, but for under $600 you can't get anything this strong especially on the Intel's. All the other brands at this range all lack in 2 or more places and all the others lack when it comes to graphics.
This one is seriously top notch compared to the others. They all have smudge city, cheap plastic, worth-less touch pad and flimsy keys. The chiclet keys on this make cleaning it much easier. and way easier to use.
The weight on this is very light and I could barely feel it in my backpack. I started a timer from the second the computer booted and the battery said 100%. When the timer started I began playing Arkham City with 75% lighting. The laptop went "4 HOURS", with about 20% left. It probably would have gone another 30-40 minutes, but I don't like draining the battery.
There was surprisingly no heat at all. The hottest spot is on the left side of the mouse, but the other side was just cold. The sound on this can get as loud as you need. The sound played beautifully and was real crisp. I mean it was really nice quality!
Unless you want to spend an extra $250-$500, then this is your best bet for a good gaming/college laptop. Actually this is a laptop that everyone should get! Think of the graphics as the best you can get for under $800-$900!
1.5 Ghz Quad core processor with Turbo Core (2.4 Ghz)
4 GB of RAM
Multi in 1 card reader
BRIGHT, vibrant, matte finish screen
Full sized chiclet keyboard
500 GB HDD
Bluetooth
Discrete class graphics processing unit with 512 MB RAM with HDMI capable of 7.1 audio output
Light
Mostly ingerprint resistant
Webcam and digital microphone array
Easy access hardware upgrades
3+ hour battery life on "full" charge
Real, fully functional restore disc set
Can be easily and safely overclocked
Cons:
Some keyboard buttons are a bit small, placement makes editing your typing a chore sometimes
Touchpad gets in the way when typing
HDD is 5400 RPM instead of 7200
Frame around keyboard and screen is not fingerprint resistant
Battery configuration is slightly annoying
Restore disc set is one part aggravation
3 USB instead of four, no 3.0
Optical drive will not read all types of recordable media
Bloatware is partially necessary
----------
Indepth:
1.5 Ghz Quad core processor with Turbo Core (2.4 Ghz) can be overclocked to 2.4 for base speed and 2.6 for Turbo Core...and it's stable! (The free k10stat program is required, but not included.)
4 GB of RAM, with one slot unoccupied. Throw in a second stick 4 GB and max out the system to 8 with ease. (This upgrade should be a priority. The full 8 gigs really make a difference.)
Multi in 1 card reader (You'd be amazed how much you'll use it. Can also be used to make your spare SD cards function as a ReadyBoost device. (creates a cache to help with HDD read times speed up)
BRIGHT, vibrant, matte finish screen with no glare, no gloss to grab fingerprints. Beautiful.
Full sized chiclet keyboard with numeric pad, really comes in handy since the Fn key isn't always needed.
500 GB HDD is spacious, even with their recovery partition. They even give you partition software that makes it simple and easy to customize your PC.
Bluetooth works amazingly well. Grabs a hold of all the signals I've sent it's way.
Discrete class graphics processing unit with 512 MB RAM is more than enough power to run Source engine games such as Left 4 Dead at 1366x768 with everything maxed out in the graphics settings, along with 2-4x AA and 16 AF! Even Sega's Sonic Generations and Activision's War For Cybertron can be run at 1024x768 to 1366x768 with medium graphics quality and look gorgeous, with no drops in frame rates.
Lightweight. Not a back breaker if carried in backpack, or shoulder bag. Weighs 5 pounds, even!
Easy access hardware upgrades with ONE panel and screw to remove. So easy. HDD, RAM and optical drive access in one spot!
Real, fully functional restore disc set...with a catch. The Windows disc is factory made and comes in the box. The drivers/software disc must be made by the user, through an easy to use wizard interface.
Battery configuration is slightly annoying because of the 80/100 setting. When charged all the way to 100%, the overall life span will diminish like all batteries of this type. You have to go into the BIOS to fully unlock the battery, plus settings in Windows. A real hassle. If you leave it locked at 80% (factory, out of the box setting) it's supposed to ensure long life of the battery.
Restore disc set is one part aggravation because the optical drive is picky about which brands it'll use. Philips will not work. Maxell and Verbatim will. Of those that won't, it won't even read them or detect their presence.
Bloatware is partially necessary to get full functionality, such as enable/disable of: wifi, touchpad, backlight, print screen key, you get the idea. Without it, many important things will not work. At all.
All in all, this is a very powerful system for under $400.00. As is, it's a fantastic multimedia machine. With the mods I made (maxed out RAM, overclocked CPU, Blu-Ray I added) this is a hearty HTPC, with medium to high gaming, that is easily a desktop replacement PC that's portable!
I highly recommend it. Fantastic machine.
Buy Samsung Series 3 NP305E5A-A03US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver) Now
I am a computer person. I do my research before I purchase anything and usually know exactly what I am getting for my money. I found this beautiful little machine and grabbed one for $399 while they were at Best Buy. I was completely surprised by the performance of this little beast. First of all, the laptop is beautiful, light, feels well built, and has a battery that lasts 4-5 hours even while streaming video over wifi. What really blew me away however was how strong the AMD processor and graphics capabilities are for a notebook at this price point. Since the video card shares system memory I bought another 4GB stick of DDR3 Ram for about $30 and installed it in the second slot (A nice feature) that starts empty on this laptop. I can run World of Warcraft on high with consistent 60fps everywhere, or even on ultra with up to 60fps in dungeons and 20-30fps everywhere else. I was also able to run The Old Republic for several hours at a time on medium settings with 30fps. This is a fantastic laptop for the price point, and for the mobile gamer or MMO person it gets the job done. The screen is very clear and resolution looks great, plus the HDMI port is a nice plus. Bluetooth built in is a feature usually found on more expensive laptops and makes uploading photos from your smartphone an absolute breeze.Aside from the RAM upgrade, I would also recommend a decent laptop cooler mat, as like every other laptop this thing can get a bit hot after several hours of gaming. One that props the laptop up a little allowing air to move beneath it is the best. I picked up this one at best buy for $20 and it does a great job:All in all I paid less than $500 for the Laptop, Ram Upgrade, Cooling Pad, a nice case and a mouse for when I game.
This is unbeatable and if you are considering doing any gaming at all, I would definitely recommend these AMD systems over the I3 and I5. Only when you get up to I7 do they start beating the A6 in graphics capability.
Read Best Reviews of Samsung Series 3 NP305E5A-A03US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver) Here
I liked this laptop and still kinda like it, I got what it says on the box, fast, lightweight and cheap. The only reason what I am giving a 1 star is because of the material what is made of, pretty cheap plastic. I mean this is a portable device, the case material gotta be enough resistant for the daily handling: holding, lifting, open/close the lid, whatever. Well the story is after 2 months of having this computer, after a full day of working on it (was pretty hot btw) I grabbed from the left side of the case using one hand (lid open) and then I heard the crack and a big fissure appeared at the topcase, from the internal side of the lid support until reaching the keyboard (even through the keyboard by now), I gotta say this is not a heavy laptop, it weights the half of my former vaio computer and I am really not a strong person that crush stuff while holding it. I would feel better if I just dropped it or something, at least it would be my fault, but in this case I don't feel that was my fault, it wasn't a crack on the screen which the most common thing that might happen when you hold a laptop badly, it was a fracture on what's suppose to be the strongest part on a laptop. The temperature might also influence in this situation, but if you have bad quality plastic and heat then there is not surprise. Called Samsung and they consider this as an accident so it's not covered by the warranty. The crack is on the topcase, which is not a common replaceable part, after digging on the web for a replacement found a chinese site that sells the top cases for this brand, 50 bucks + shipping, received it today and during the replacement just found out that everything is cheap regarding this computer from screws to wires used on it. I almost broke the new topcase while replacing it. So beware about this product, use both hands while holding it, treat it extremely careful like you were holding a baby.Want Samsung Series 3 NP305E5A-A03US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver) Discount?
Before buying this I had my doubts if I'd ever get used to or get to like this weird keyboard. However, it did not take long. The keyboard is nice. The touchpad is the best I've had so far yet in a laptop.The screen resolution is amazing once you get the proprietary ATI driver installed.
I had a little trouble with this system at the start. It would boot to blank black screen in Bodhi 1.3 and the current Linux Mint. However this seems to be an issue with "new hardware" and the lag time of linux support for the chipsets related to the amd a6 3400m family. luckily google pointed me to a message board thread relating to this; setting the linux kernel boot parameter with the option "radeon.modeset=0" made mint and bodhi installable from CD.
My summary of pros and cons is listed below.
Pro:
--speed of quad cores and GPUs, as well as the internal drives and memory; amazing, especially considering the low wattage of the integrated CPU chip--a supercomputer that runs on batteries, something that could not be imagined a decade or two ago.
--great value for a sub 500 usd laptop.
--amazing crisp display; has hdmi output also.
--great touchpad, good keyboard, and first impression makes me believe quality of components seems nice.
--fits in a backpack; light and fairly compact.
Con:
--bluetooth (nor wifi) cannot be turned off from bios directly or from keyboard fn buttons--needs --software to do it. haven't figured out how to make linux do it yet.
--no caps or num lock lights.
--only 3 usb jacks (1 left, 2 right)
--linux setup and support leaves a lot to be desired; thank goodness for message boards, google, and the kind geniuses posting on said boards.
--I'm still very bothered and annoyed by not being able to shut off the RF of wifi and bluetooth with a single tap of two buttons like I was in my old laptop.
HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop
Just one week after I buy this notebook from Amazon, the price falls by $27 and Amazon refuses to match the price drop. Quite disappointing in that regard. I ordered this on a Wed, Amazon shipped on Sunday and it arrived on Tuesday with free shipping. So that was good.On to the notebook. First the pros:
Build quality is good and it feels expensive compared to most sub $500 note/netbooks.
Large keys on the keyboard while not as spacious as a regular keyboard works better than than those from Acer that use the chicklet size keys. One of the reasons why I chose this over the Acer Timeline series.
Screen is bright and sharp.
Small compact and lightweight since it doesn't have a built-in DVD drive (uses an external drive). Design looks clean and modern with none of that clunky look from the low end Lenovos or Toshibas.
Uses Vista 64 bit edition
Has HDMI port to plug into HDTVs
Dedicated graphics processor and memory.
Now the cons:
Battery life is average 2-3 hours
Uses single core AMD Athlon Neo processor which is underpowered for Vista. There're occasional lags when running basic things like browsers, Word, etc. The CPU is maxed out at 100% most times.
The initial applications and drivers installed seem to make the notebook run really slow. I tried to watch videos on Hulu.com and they were jerky and slow. After installing updated video drivers and IE8 and Firefox, it worked better. Strange for a notebook professing to be an "Entertainment" notebook to be that bad at video until the drivers were updated. Despite the dedicated graphics processor and memory, video performance is just average and can a bit slow at times.
Bloatware. There are several but not too bad.
HP MediaSmart: this is pretty useless since the notebook already has Windows Media Center. The software itself is nothing great and eats up additional memory and CPU cycles.
Bottom line: This notebook is just barely able to run Vista 64 since the CPU is underpowered. It's a compromise between a full blown notebook and netbook since it has a decent size hard drive and screen. To make it perform better, you'll have to remove all the bloatware and unnecessary applications, and download the latest software updates and drivers. I'll be upgrading to Win 7 when it arrives so hopefully, that'll improve the performance further. Also probably look into upgrading the 2gb ram to 4gb.
as I wanted. There are some reasons I didn't bought a netbook:
Almost all have 160 GB HD
It has only 1gb ram, instead some that have 2gb
Some have reduced keyboard
They don't have dedicated video card
This HP-Dv2 has more good things like:
It's also thin as netbooks
It's only 2 inches bigger than netbooks
It comes with an exteral usb dvd drive
Good processor similar to the intel atom in netbooks
More space 250GB HD
Dedicated video card
2GB ram
The price doesnt have a big difference comparing with netbooks cause
the aditional things and performance are compensated in the aditional
money. The external DVD drive is original HP, if it would be sold it
could cost like U$100.
Well those who are thinking in buying a netbook I recomend to you this DV2
the model is very nice and interesting.
Here you have a review of this product:
Buy HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Now
Straight to the point This little guy is great for the price. It runs great and I see no problems in Vista. HP's bloatware is a seperate issue.Things it can do better than a netbook:
1. Play games to an extent (slightly older games or newer ones with lower settings). Left 4 Dead ran fine on medium settings.
2. You can watch 720p HD video thanks to the discreet video! I used Media Player Classic with the CoreAVC h.264 codec. HDMI output to my HDTV played flawlessly.
The screen's native resolution negates 1080p, but even with CoreAVC 1080p is barely watchable.
3. Hard drive is larger so it holds more.
Things it can't do as well as a laptop:
1. Single core cpu doesnt to multitasking well. It was a little slow loading vlcplayer and IE at the same time.
2. Flash video on the web can stutter if it's high def. I blame Adobe for this. Flash is poorly coded. Why can this computer run 720p video with a good codec yet stumble on streaming flash video?! Adobe is working on hardware acceleration but it looks platform specific. Seems shady that I can play a 4gb video file flawlessly yet web video that streams at 150kbps stutters. Shame on you Adobe.
3. Edit photos or video. Photoshop loads and runs fine but can't handle large files well. I used a 150MB PSD file and it took forever to run some filters.
4. 1080p video basically requires at LEAST dual core.
Another downer BLOATWARE. Come on HP, things are ridiculous. I had to uninstall probably 15 different apps/trials and used msconfig to trim the startup to get decent boot times. This should be resolved with the free upgrade to Windows 7 I'm due. Clean OS load = happy computer!
Ratings 10/10 system
1. Hardware config 8/10 ( dual core proc probably would up the price $50 and GREATLY increase performance but also chip away battery life.)
2. Performance 8/10 (720p video is fine, flash stumbles, gaming performance is on par with hardware config)
3. Software config 5/10 (HP loaded bloatware, needed driver updates for best performance)
In short, this computer is a great step up from a netbook because I can watch movies on the plane, and play some games for entertainment. The battery life is about 3.5 hrs which is better than what I would get with a laptop that CAN edit video. I estimate I can get 4-4.5 hrs out of the battery if I play movies from a thumb drive (no spinning platters = power savings!) and dim the screen. I actually like the external optical drive cause it saves battery life! It does what I got it for. Plays 720p video, surfs the web, basic gaming. A netbook with similar performance is $700 at the moment, and this HP has a larger screen!
Can't wait to load Windows 7 on it. Since I'm an IT guy, I am used to tweaking units to get the best performance. I know having a straight load of Windows 7 will be best, loading only the HP drivers and performance might even go up a little more above its current "cleaned out" state. A standard user may not be comfortable doing what it takes to get an OEM computer performing as it should, but that's what it takes. That's why HP, Dell, Gateway, etc can sell computers so cheap, the money they get for including bloatware covers some of YOUR costs.
Read Best Reviews of HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Here
I got it for net of the rebate, and came with a free DVD player. Nice slick appearance, neat and light. I use the HDMI port to interface to a wide screen TV and play Netflix and other movies. I thought about paying more for the upgraded model with the dual core Neo but went ahead and took the deal for this one and I do not regret it. Without a doubt the dual core is faster, but this does what I need.It was loaded with HP garbage and it is annoying to have to spend the time to get that stuff off. HP gets two thumbs down for continuing this annoying practice.
Want HP Pavilion DV2-1110US 12.1-Inch Entertainment Laptop Discount?
This is a good price BUT with one BIG CATCH! There's only one ram slot in this laptop and one 4 gig ram cost around $200. Not a good deal if u plan to upgrade the ram. From what I read this laptop runs slow if u go beyond emails, surfing....even streaming video is jerky without the additional ram. You better of getting the Dv2z with the duo core and ram upgrade from hp.
Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5230 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
I bought this laptop based on the previous reviewer's comments, thinking that I may have found a decently priced laptop great for my needs. I took advantage of buying the computer at a local Brandsmart at a cheaper price(hint hint) than Amazon prices. It's light weight, large screen, and the keyboard is very easy to handle.My concerns after using my laptop for the past week:
1. The computer runs pretty slow for typical web browsing sites; I was very surprised by this because this is a brand new laptop and shouldn't have this issue as though it was infected with a virus that will slow down the processor.
2. There isn't a notification that warns of low battery life before shutting down in the middle of my work. I checked the settings and it is set to show a warning but for some reason doesn't show up at all.
3. The battery life isn't that impressive. I've had other laptops that I've used off and on, shutting it down when not in use, and this laptop doesn't seem to last more than a few hours of minimal use.
For the price, it's okay. But I am disappointed with the speed and battery life.
Buy Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5230 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Now
It is probably just my luck. Right out of the box, the box seal was broken( this maybe Amazon's fault) so it may have been returned previously. Then the user agreement has another seal, has a bunch of abusive terms, giving Toshiba access to your computer. It says that if you do not agree you shouldn't break the seal and should return the item. I wish they said that in item description. Being a Christmas present for my kid, this could have been a disaster. I agreed to the abuse. Then, I found I am the lucky owner of a free Windows 8 upgrade that I did not want( description says win 7).The reason I returned same day was the fact that the item was defectivetracking pad started freezing. Shipped right back( Amazon's returns are amazing, pick up scheduled at home). Thank you Toshiba for getting my kid a new Dell. He loves it!Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5230 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Here
I can't believe no one has mentioned the awful speakers! Sounds come through like from a tin can. Trying to do make any music buys on Amazon or iTunes is impossible because of pounding headache caused by playing even a preview. Toshiba tech support tried to help but determined the speakers are just what was put on the computer. Older Toshiba Sat speakers were fine, these are crap.Want Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5230 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Discount?
As a retired computer software engineer, I have purchased a Toshiba higher priced laptop. A few months after the one year warranty expired their own Toshiba brand hard drive failed. I had to replace that at my cost. Fortunately I maintain good backups. Toshiba will not support anything past 12 months.Later I discovered that the Bluetooth function was non-existent although the invoice indicated it was to include LAN and Bluetooth. I conversed with Toshiba for about two weeks requesting that they credit me a small amount or provide me with a Bluetooth adapter which they manufacture (their cost about $12). They passed me back and forth between warranty service and their sales department never once offering any solution other than stating it wasn't their problem. Their powerless support people seem to all be in the Philippines but their dozens of case managers seem to do nothing but make recordings of their customers problems for their legal department. Their solution is to deny deny deny. Avoid Toshiba products.
You will not be dealing with Amazon once you own a Toshiba unit. Avoid Toshiba as you would a plague. They have a customer service department that operates like a brick wall. They stonewall everything. Avoid Toshiba. My advice. There are many other brands to purchase. I read the complaints on the so-called BBB site (kind of a scam I believe operated by businesses for their own benefit) and was amazed to see all the thousands of others having similar results dealing with useless Toshiba customer service.
Hewlett Packard LW178UARABA Hp Pavilion Dv7-6187cl Intel Core I7-2630qm 2.0ghz 1.5tb Hd 8gb Ddr3 17
I've been holding out for a new laptop for a couple of years because every time I configure one on HP's site, I end up with a laptop costing 1800 or more dollars. Finally I found this one for about 60 per cent of that and it has almost every feature I would have configured on my dream laptop. The I7 at 2.0 GHZ is very fast; just less than the maximum you could order for hundreds more on HP's site.It doesn't have a blue-ray burner but that wasn't on my list. It does have a blue-ray player.
At 8GB of RAM to start and max of 16GB, this has plenty of power for now and room to grow. I run a couple of VMWare virtual machines on it with out even a hickup. Four processor cores, hyperthreading, and 8GB is a lot of computer in a laptop case. I may upgrade to 16GB just to say I have it.
It comes with two hard drives of 750GB each. That's a must two drives on an HP machine. If you order a single-drive model either you get a model that doesn't support two drives or you get a two-drive model that is missing required hardware to install the second drive. Better to get the smallest dual drives than to get more drive in a single drive. This is a good middle ground: two large drives at 750GB but 5400 RPM so they're not terribly fast. 5.9 drive speed on WEI. But with two drives, I can replace the boot drive with an SSD and still have an affordable data drive. The dual drives was another must have for me.
CONS: There is one negative. It's almost a must have for me and I'm very disappointed that it isn't there. The ATI graphics driver doesn't support rotating the screen. Brand new 2011 model laptop with a 2003 ATI graphics chip. I sometimes turn an external monitor to portrait mode (long way up and down rather than side-to-side) and use it to display slideshows of pictures. You can't do that with this laptop. Neither the laptop display or any connected external display can be configured to display rotated. It's a significant limitation; every other PC I have had in 10 years, including all other HP laptops, have supported this.
In spite of the one con, and even as much as I have always used that feature in other PCs, this is a pretty good laptop and I will keep it.
October 21, 2012 update: I finally found a solution to the rotation problem. It seems to work to varying degrees for different people. Search the Internet for "Display1_RotateCaps" and "Display2_RotateCaps". You might find the instructions for setting those registry values to 1 or to 7 and for different laptops from HP but the instructions remain the same for any laptop. I set the value to 1 on my laptop and didn't try setting it to 7. For some, they get full capability. I never could get a menu option to set rotation but I did finally get rotation to work using the keyboard shortcut configured in the Intel video control panel. I can't do full rotation but I can do 90 degrees and back to normal. That meets my needs so I haven't gone further.
Dell Inspiron 1750 17.3-Inch Obsidian Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 42 Minutes of Battery Life (Wind
I got this laptop as a Christmas/graduation present from my parents. Overall, I'm so pleased. The battery life is amazing, the display is awesome, and the fact that it already came with Windows 7 was really convenient. And it's so lightweight! As a web design major, I carry this thing around everywhere. My previous Dell brickbook nearly dislocated my shoulders. I'd recommend maybe getting a different color if you're worried about fingerprints, though, as they're quite noticeable. The only negative thing I have is the touch pad gestures. I thought that the "pinch" zoom in/zoom out features would be really handy but while browsing the web it would often zoom in and out on me without me doing much. But I just disabled that feature and it's great otherwise. :) It's a great buy, I'd recommend it to anyone.
It has now been 1 year that I've had it and the screen is going out. There's something wrong with the hinge and it makes the screen do very funny things and I have to jiggle it until the screen is clear. So, this is the worst laptop ever made. It's just kind of cheap as well. The plastic on it is awful.I got a great deal from Dell for a refurbished Inspiron 1750. There were no surprises, I knew what I was getting, and I've been very happy with it since. I wanted to balance the reviews for this, because 1 was a Dell customer service review, which has nothing to do with the product. It's capacity is way above what an average Internet/Word user would need, and the weight considering the size is lighter than most 17+ inch screens.
Sony VAIO(R) VPCEH12FX/W 15.5" Notebook PC - White
WOW. SONY is a Apple Macbook killer.This SONY vaio is only 1/3 of the Macbook pro price. But it runs as fast as the Macbook pro.
You cannot beat SONY. I have a SONY desktop back to 1998, and it still running very fast. So, I decided to buy this SONY laptop.
I did 2 upgrade after I got this one.
1. Memory upgraded to 2x4=8gb, only cost $40
2. Upgraded the hard drive to a 96GB SSD, only cost $90
Now this SONY runs like a rocket, and it beat my iMac 27" with i7 cpu ( cost me $2500 in 2010. )
I cannot be happier.
Toshiba Satellite P775-S7148 17.3" Notebook (Intel Core i5-2450M 2.50 GHz, 6GB DDR3, 750GB HDD, Win
This is a great laptop with great features and great ergonomics. I was searching for a laptop that had a quick key menu above the keypad and discovered that not many laptops have that feature these days. I also wanted back lighted keys but it wasn't a deal breaker, however the the menu keys are backlit that can be toggled on and off. I was stuck between this one and a Sony at my local store and decided on this one. Seems like I was getting more computer for the money and again backlit keys wasn't the deciding factor.The big plus of this particuliar model has to be the big screen and blueray player, absolutely rocks! I've owned this latop for a couple months with zero issues so far.
This computer isn't a gamer in my opinion because the video processing is provided as a function of the CPU. However, it runs Mass Effect 3 ok, but Mass Effect 1 not so much. Not sure what else it will handle or won't. Additionally, this thing heats up quite abit when running games on it so I bought a laptop cooler to help solve that. I'm not a tech guy but I imagine running it constantly like that would probably take a toll on the CPU so I don't push it anymore now that I'm home, that's what the desktop is for.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this computer and spend more time on it than my desktop now. If I had it to do all over again I'd probably get another with a dedicated video card. I didn't like the looks of the Fusion X2 finish at first glance but I like it now. The battery life is ok I guess, it'll go for a couple hours if I'm just surfing the web. This thing works great for me for what I use it for you'll have to be the judge if it's right for you.
Dell Inspiron 17 i17RM-1452sLV 17.3-Inch Laptop (Moon Silver): 3rd Generation Intel® CoreTM i5-331
I buy these for work use. Really. Why? Because at this price, they're close to disposable. With a Core i5 or i7, these are as fast as their "business class" peers, at a fraction of the cost. Sure, they're less solid feeling than some of the business class systems, but again, so what? Build strength does not seem to have any relation to the extent of punishment users give them, and these are tough enough (I say this after deploying something like 18 of them). My company has a laptop culture, both in an effort to encourage users to take their systems to meetings, etc. as well as to mitigate the frequent power outages in our building. Our regular users (not "power users" or developers, etc.) get these and external monitors which are nicely driven with the HDMI port. It would be nice if Dell gave them Gigabit Ethernet, but alas, they are 100MBps. Again, it's serviceable and no one has expressed any dissatisfaction with them. Go aheadpoint ant laugh at me, but my amortized costs are exceptional.
Gateway NE71B07u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Satin Black)
I did not give it 5 stars because I think it is a little slow for a brand new computer. I do not like Windows8. but the computer itself is nice, sleek, and shiny. It is very light weight.
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Price was great and my wife really enjoys her new machine. For the technically non-savvy, a jump to Windows 8 is frustrating, but that's no fault of this machine. Great graphics and the best buy I could find for what's essentially my wife's facebook and email readerRead Best Reviews of Gateway NE71B07u 17.3-Inch Laptop (Satin Black) Here
DVD player makes a lot of noise ... unless you hold it. I do love the big screen.I hate Windows 8 ... maybe thats just my bias towards what I am used to. But having to find a separate pane to close out of an existing window sems stupid to me. Worse, that pane that should open up at the top of IE when you move the cursor to the very top often times won't show up. Not sure if this is Windows bug of my failure to uderstand how it should work.
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Should have done more homework/research before purchasing. It is a whole lot of freelance and whimsy! Found it similar to what I would consider "Herding Cats"!! I just couldn't work with it. Not a match with my way of thinking!