Acer Aspire AS8951G-9600 18.4" Notebook PC

I've had this massive screened beauty for 4-months now with not a single glitch! I replaced a 15" Dell XPS, and this larger screen size is very welcomed. Here are some observations:

1. Sheer size. This laptop is in the category of DTR (desk top replacement). In other words, this machine is large enough to feel like an acceptable replacement to a full blown desktop system. The beauty of a DTR is how much cleaner your desk will look with the laptop open or closed.

2. The screen is bright and beautiful. The glass covers nearly the entire lid and there is a 1/2" black framing under the glass on the sides and bottom. The framing is slightly larger on the top where the web-cam resides.

3. The lid operates solidly. It does not have a wobbly feel. The hinge is tight enough that when you open the laptop, you have to hold down the lower half of the machine as if you are prying the two halves apart.

4. The keyboard is full size and includes a ten-key number pad. The keys are what is called 'chicklett' style. The keys operate properly but I am still not used to the unique arrangement of some of the key. Especially annoying are the dedicated half-size directional arrow keys. I could turn off the NumLock and use those arrows, but I use numbers a lot. The back-lit keyboard is a first for me, and I like it a lot!

5. This machine does play (but not burn) BluRay. (Honestly, blank BD disks are still expensive. An external USB drive is a better method of data storage.) Also plays and burns DVD & CD. This optical drive is a tray loader. I prefer slot loading only because when I have the tray extended I always feel like I could accidentally break it.

6. The sound system is incredible! Six speakers including a sub-woofer. When watching a movie on this computer I'm about 3-feet from the screen, and the picture quality and great sound are in competition with my large screen HDTV and THX sound system. It's that good.

7. Of the 5 USB ports, one is USB 3.0 which allows my primary backup drive to do it's job in a fraction of the time compared to USB 2.0.

8. Because of the sheer size, I will not be hauling this around on a regular basis. I have a netbook that I carry to school. But I did want to have a case for this machine for those rare occasions. Again, because it's to big, finding a case took hours of searching! Here is the model I found that I purchased. Cut and paste this into Amazon's search bar: Everki Advance Laptop Bag Briefcase, Fits up to 18.4-Inch (EKB407NCH18). (I wrote a review on that case love it.)

9. The machine connects rapidly to wi-fi. There is an easy access dedicated button on the front left edge of the device that instantly brings up the wi-fi and bluetooth toggles.

10. The bottom line for me when selecting this machine was company reputation and price. The laptop has perfectly handled all the heavy processing digital media editing and processing software that I have installed. Not a single burp in four months.

I would feel comfortable recommending this machine to any friend or relative seeking a DTR. In the realm of 18"+ screens, the market is still narrow. You could go with another manufacturer and pay more. Just compare the specifications and make your own wise decision.

I have had this laptop for only a couple months and it is still under warranty. The battery life is nice but I have already sent it in twice to be fixed. The first time was because of a crashing issue and the second time was because a group of pixels in the screen died. Each time I had to pay for shipping and was without a computer for more than a week.

My real issue is that after getting the laptop back from the pixels issue, less than two days later more pixels died. I called ACER customer support and they told me that I would have to pay for the screen to be replaced this time even though the laptop was still under warranty. I find it unacceptable to be required to pay to replace something that they were just supposed to have fixed two days ago!

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Pros: Excellent overall package.

Classy understated aesthetics, with a nice brushed aluminum finish.

Solid construction, very rigid for it's size. Seems slimmer and smaller than you'd think for an 18.4" screen.

Keyboard ergonomics are good, keys are well spaced and have a nice tactile feedback.

The removable touch-pad works well and is actually more than a novelty. It works in both normal and landscape orientation.

System stays cool and quiet during normal use, and only gets a bit louder and warmer when running games.

Speakers are surprisingly good, for a laptop mind you...

The Hard Drive is formatted as just one partition (Yay!).

Came pre-installed with Windows 7 Ultimate!? Not advertised as such, but thanks!

Has a minimum of "bloatware". Took me about an hour to get everything the way I like it.

Pretty much everything you could want in a "desktop replacement". An outstanding value for this role. There is nothing it can't do, truly a Jack of All Trades.

Cons: Just a little shy in the memory dept. 1333mhz, or at least the option to upgrade would have been nice.

The video card is not top-of-the-pile, but it is a nice mid-level card with good battery and thermal performance.

The hard drive really shoulda been a 7200RPM. This machine has some serious horsepower but it somewhat hamstrung by it's slowish (but spacious!) hard drive.

Other Thoughts: I have owned many laptops over the last 20 years, this is the best one yet. I use it for CAD, 3D Scanning, 3D Printing, Office Apps, Internet, Games, Videos, etc... While not the absolute best at any one of them, it excels at all of them.

I would have paid another $200 for a better Hard Drive and Video Card.

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Acer didn't even bother to wire the 2nd hard drive bay.

It costs you $60+ for the cable and brackets and lots of research to make the laptop usable.

I will NEVER buy an Acer again.

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After about 10 months, it quit turning back on after sleep. Now, it just randomly shuts off after being on for a while. Before that, I would have given it a 5 star rating.

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HP Promo Compaq 625,ATHLON P340 CPU,15.6 HD Ag Led SVA,UMA,WEBCAM,3GB DDR3 RAM,3

I ordered this laptop few days ago. We were so excited when the laptop arrived at our home, but the excitement did not last too long. It never got started. It took 3 hrs to appear Welcome screen and then half an hour later black screen appeared. Will not suggest anyone to buy this. It did not meet our expectations.

Great computer for a teenager who is starting to use computers. Good quality, runs good, keyboard is good, good audio. He loves it.

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The HP 625 Notebook is a great piece of machine.

Pros

2.20 Dual core processor

320 gb Hdd

built in webcam & microphone

Cons

No status light to indicate CPU usage

PC runs a bit hot

Would have liked a true bright lcd (but thats just me)

Great machine cant complain

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Lenovo ThinkPad 4177Q5U 14-Inch Notebook Computer

T420 at my point of view it is a good notebook computer. when I first got it I am really agree with it. the T420 arrived in the Dec 7th 2011. after 4 days the computer screen goes fuzzy. I was shocked a first time why it happen to me because I have never had this problem before with another Notebook computer Sony and Dell. Even it wasn't a business Computer. little bit felt sad. I don't know if any one had the same problem like me before.

Hi everyone, I have been searching for a good laptop so far. I have also experienced a wide range of laptop brands. But this is the best one I have until now. Thinkpad T series are among the best series of the IBM. The Thinkpad T series in general and T420 in particular has very sleek design. Everything is so comfortable for users. The systems is awesome, it runs incredibly fast and smooth, especially it is the coolest computer compared to other computers I had, even at room temperature with full HD video loading. It is plastic cover but very durable and strong. Battery is incredible long lasting. Highly recommended with display type 1600x900.

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ASUS G73 Gaming Series G73SW-BST6 Notebook

Pros: I've had it for a week now and all I can say is WOW, It runs and eats any task I throw at just as fast as my desktop (My desktop has a Phenom x4 @3.5Ghz and a GTX460 @900Mhz).

Gaming wise I've only tested Skyrim so far and I have all view distances on max with x2 AA and x8 AAA shadows on meidum and I get 30FPS+ everywhere in the game and most places can get 50+ easy. I'm pretty sure this laptop can play any game out there in medium/high with low to none problems

Performance Wise: The HDD comes with 2 partitions 1 for OS and the other for Data, if you don't mind choosing where to exactly download stuff and where to place it it shouldn't be a problem at all, the Computer has 3 handy buttons on top left side of the keyboard for either turning lights off keyboard, changing performance to entertainment, high perf, battery saver and finally changing the way screen looks (like quick presets on a TV).

Continue in other thoughts.

Cons: Not a con, but just a warning: This thing is HUGE!

Other Thoughts: Refurbished VS New: Considering this model is refurbished I haven't had any issues with it at all involving any hardware malfunction etc, I update the Nvidia drivers to the latest and all the drivers for Trackpad, preset buttons etc and they work just fine, the keyboard backlighting is very good and the Fn button has keys to lower and raise brightnes on it just like the screen. I've tested it with heavy performance sessions under Prime 95 (application to make your RAM and processor use as many threads/resources as possible to test voltage or hardware malfunction) and both fans work 100% as they raised the RPMs to max you can certainly feel they are taking a HUGE amount of heat out of the case.

Other stuff: Weight is to be expected and if you have never owned a 17.3 laptop you are in for a BIG surprise as this thing is as huge as a laptop can get.

I really hope anyone who buys this enjoy theirs as much as I've been enjoying mine, I will post if I find any errors with it along the way.

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Sony VAIO VPCEH34FX/L 15.5-Inch Laptop (Blue)

The only thing I will recomend for this laptop,is, buy another 4gig memory card and expand it to 8. I got a card at best buy for 25 bucks, and it really made a vast improvement in my computers speed. I'm sure you can find one at Amazon for less, but its well worth the investment. If you get a card, Youtube has many videos on how to install it. Trust me, it was easy. It took 5 min. You will not have to have a shop do it. Just remember to remove the battery before you do it, and have a small philips ready.

I did tons of research before I purchased this computer, & I'm so glad i purchased this one! Set up is a breeze. I love the pattern on the computer, it completely eliminates finger prints & smudges. I have read reviews that said not very good speakers/sound. But, I have to disagree, mine is powerful & I love it! The offset track pad is in the perfect position for typing & very convenient. Fast shipping,(I chose 2 day)arrived exactly when it was estimated. Tracking was dead on accurate. I love this computer, hopefully it lasts a long time! Overall review: BUY IT!!!

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I couldn't be happier with my new Sony laptop. I switched from an HP Entertainment laptop and have no regrets. Being a neat freak I especially love the texture of the outside and wrist rest area that doesn't show fingerprints. I was able to set it up and get going in no time. I read some comment regarding the screen size being smaller... doesn't bother me at all. Love it!

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Best 6hundred bucks ever spent this laptop is everything and so much more! I searched and searched for close to a year (NOT KIDDING) to make sure I got something that was worth every penny. And I'm more then satisfied w/my new pink VAIO. I love this thing and treat it like gold. lol It's my first but my Mother in-law has gone through so many laptops (none were Sony) in the past 3 years it's insane. and it's not like she dropped any of them they just couldn't keep up with all the work she does and did and just burnt out on her or overheated. I have always had and grown up around Sony products and they've always held up to there standards.

If your thinking about a new laptop and your not sure this is a great buy!

But do your research and never make a purchase until you feel a 100% confident in what your investing in.

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I like the finish, it feels great. I also like the # pad on it. The speakers aren't that loud so I got the gogroove sonawave from Amazon for 24.99 & it sounds wonderful now.

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Apple MacBook Pro ME664LL/A 15.4-Inch Laptop with Retina Display (NEWEST VERSION)

I am a first time Apple buyer and I love this machine. It was fast to set up, intuitive features and layout. The Retina Display is crisp and easy to use, the keyboard has a great feel to it, the construction is great, and the machine it self if very responsive. The battery life is actually a little more than 7 hours with the SSD hard drive I average about 7.5 to 8 hours on a normal day.

The only thing to be careful of it the display there are two manufactures for the display, LG and Samsung. The LG display has an image retention problem, while the Samsung display does not. But there is no way to guarantee which machine you are going to get. But Apple will replace the machine if you do get an image retention problem.

SUMMARY: This is a solid computer with a gorgeous display. The integrated solid state memory is incredibly fast, and so far I haven't had a single crash or hang after about a month of usage. If you know you want a Mac laptop, this is the one to get, I think. It's a nice balance of size and power and utility. Consider it a solid desktop replacement with four cores and enough screen real estate (especially in scaled mode) to really get work done. On the other hand, it's not a behemoth like the 17 inch MacBook that, and is very easy to carry.

WHAT'S GREAT (and a few tips):

* High resolution screen. In normal mode, you get crisp letters and pictures, and adequate screen real estate for most tasks. When in scaled mode, you get the equivalent of a 1900x1200 display, great for doing certain tasks like programming or using applications not yet written for the retina display.

* Solid state drive. The integrated solid state drive is amazingly fast, and uses a 6 GB/s SATA connection right on the motherboard. It also allows for the incredibly thin form factor. I'm not sure, but it seems faster than normal solid state drives. The lack of a cabled connection shouldn't matter noticeably, so maybe it's just my imagination. Either way, it's really nice to not have a spinning drive, and liberating to use a laptop without having to constantly worry about how much you're moving the computer and wondering if you're going to damage the drive.

By the way HERE IS HOW TO PICK OUT THE RIGHT SIZE DRIVE: Spend a lot of time figuring out what kinds of things you're going to do, and how much disk space your media will take up, and how those needs are going to grow in the three to four years you own the computer. And then just order the largest drive available. Trust me, you'll thank me later. The integrated solid state drives on these Retina MacBooks can NOT be upgraded later, so it's better to have too much and not need it then have too little and regret it. Even if you never come all that close to filling it, you'll have a faster computer than can do a better job keeping the drive defragmented and you won't ever have to worry about wearing out the solid state drive (they have only so many erase cycles they can handle and this gets exacerbated if you keep the drive close to full and things fragment).

* The OS. This isn't going to matter if you're already a Mac user, but OS X is really starting to hit its stride. I'll be the first to say it was not a great OS for a long time, and was slower and less reliable than Windows. However, it's really come into its own with 10.7 and 10.8. The full screen mode is a great way to reduce screen clutter and the tyranny of resizing and arranging windows, and yet is evolutionary and fits in with existing applications well, unlike the revolutionary and ill-fitting "start screen" of Windows 8. As much as I like what they are trying to do with Windows 8, right now it's a very messy OS that feels like two operating systems competing with each other. The Mac just seems more elegant and well-designed, Windows 8 feels like the middle of an awkward transition.

* It's light. Ridiculously light. If it were any lighter, it would start to feel "cheap".

WHAT'S BAD (and a few rants):

* No power or battery indicators! What the heck is Apple thinking? This is supposed to be a "professional" level computer and they screw us out of a battery or power indicator! These used to be on all MacBook Pros. Is there a level above Pro I don't know about? Sometimes it's nice to know if your computer is off or just asleep, and it's ALWAYS nice to be able to see how much charge the computer has without having to turn it on or wake it up.

* The screen isn't terribly bright. It's generally not a problem, but in a room with bright sunlight, the screen can be hard to see. Evidently the retina MacBooks suffer from the same problem the retina iPads initially did, which was that the pixel density resulted in a screen that transmits much less of the backlight than a standard resolution screen.

* The iSight camera is terrible. They call it upgraded, but I'm not sure what camera is worse than this. It's noisy, has terrible low-light performance, and if it's HD, I'm not sure where they are getting the pixels from. The driver also isn't smart enough to figure out how to expose for a central subject, so if you try to do a video chat near a window, the person on the other end will get a great picture of what's outside of your window, with your pitch black silhouette just there to just add drama, I suppose. Again, what is wrong with Apple that my iPhone has a better camera than my $3000 computer?

All in all, though, I'm very happy with the machine and very glad I purchased it. If they didn't cheese off on some of the components above, it would be an easy five stars.

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Purchased through Apple directly to get the corporate discount, since my state charges tax on Amazon purchases anyway. I've had a number of Apple laptops over the years, and (not surprisingly) this one is the best. It is slim, speedy and well constructed. No image retention problems that I've seen. Resolutions at 1440x900, 1680X1050 and 1920X1080 all look fantastic, allowing you to choose between more display space (with a little interface lag) and a standard amount of display space (with no lag). Text is crisp at all resolutions. I noticed at first that the fans were spinning up with some regularity, but since a recent firmware update I haven't noticed them once. To be honest, I just haven't seen the variety of problems mentioned in another review.

I can absolutely recommend this machine to anyone who wants or needs a prosumer level laptop. For home use, a Macbook Air is probably a better bet...its lighter and substantially less expensive. Just don't look at the retina MBP's display, because you WILL want it!

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I am a first time Mac user and I must say this machine kicks ass. I mean literally this Mac just leaves even the most flashy ultra books far far behind in the rear view. I have always had a love hate relationship with Apple products. Something like an Average looking guy would feel towards a handsome hunk in school, just wondering how and why females drool over him, what does he have other than a face like a Greek god and hair like strands of gold. But the biggest irony follows when you find out that the hunk is a really nice, fun guy to be with and u become best friends the first time you get to know each other. That is exactly what happened within the first 10 mins after I put this machine on. This mac is my new best friend. And also this is a gift from my wife so this makes it even more special. To the ones who are still trying to make a decision between This model and the one with a 5400 rpm hard drive, I would recommend just spend an extra $300 and get this one with an SSD. This one is an entirely different animal. The transfer speeds are phenomenal and multitasking is just a breeze.

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I replace my MacBooks roughly every three years and it has been apparent for a few months now that it needed to be done. This was a big upgrade from my last Mac with a bigger screen and hugely improved functionality.

I spend quite a lot of time on my laptop each day doing various tasks which include reading articles, books and blogs as well as photo editing for my shop and watching movies. I do play a bit of one video game as well. This laptop is amazing. The reduced eyestrain was evident after only a few hours. I find myself wanting to use the laptop over my mini ipad (but once the retina screen is available on that I will get it!).

The detail in watching a very vivid TV show such as Defiance is brilliant. You can see so much more of the background action and it actually made me pause several times to marvel at the surroundings to the plot.

Reading books on this screen is easy and reading articles an being able to click links back and forth without eye strain from changing visuals is fabulous.

The one game that I do play, World of Warcraft, runs smoothly and there is quite a bit more detail in the background. I actually think I might have to turn the graphics down a bit because there seems almost to be too much information for my brain to handle.

The various programs I use are running very smoothly and it was a matter of an hour or so to finalize the update process once I received the laptop and get everything running.

I was a bit surprised to find no DVD drive (didn't actually even think to check this when I purchased) but honestly I watch a DVD movie only rarely and it will be easy enough to purchase a separate drive. The world seems to be moving towards digital download anyway so I'll probably replace most of my DVD collection in time.

Overall I am extremely pleased with my purchase and only wish I had done it sooner.

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TOSHIBA Satellite L505D-LS5010 Notebook PC - AMD Athlon II Dual-Core M300 2.0GHz / 15.6" HD LCD / 4

Pros

Cheap price (460.00 for mine with shipping)

Dual Core processor

4gb DDR2

Windows 7 x64

Plenty of inputs, but lacks a modem (shouldnt matter for much, but con for me since it is a work computer)

Cons

A bit weak in the graphic's department (Fine, unless you plan to use this for gaming)

rather weak battery life (Lowest brightness + Eco Mode gets me 2 1/2 hrs)

Does not come with Driver or restore disk!

I bought this laptop looking for something cheap and powerful, and this thing has power aplenty. Boots in around 20 seconds. It can handle WoW at max resolution, even in Dalaran without chugging, so it is capable of doing some modest gaming. If your like me and looking for a powerful laptop for under 500 dollars, I really cant recommend this laptop enough. I am starting a job as a field networking engineer, so having my own laptop was a must. I had to buy an external 56k to USB modem and a USB to DB-9 Serial converter, but I really didnt expect to find a laptop that had such old technologies standard anyway, but it is worth noting. The battery life may prove to be an issue during long class sessions or long nights on site, but at around 2 hours, it is satisfactory.

Pros : Ram, cpu, and hard drive compliment each other well. Integrated video card is impressive: Rise of Legends and Age of Empires 3 run very well with settings at 3/4 of the max. Win7 Premium was a welcome addition (I had thought basic would certainly be installed.) Very light and reasonably quiet. Screen and keyboard take some getting used to (both are wider than standard), but are well-suited to most tasks.

Cons: Almost all the bundled software is useless and adds a significant amount of overhead to usage. Overall I spent 3 hours uninstalling and updating. Windows 7 is definitely the best Windows OS so far, but severely lags behind the most popular Linux distros, namely Ubuntu and Fedora, for everyday use and productivity.

The battery life is average: 2 to 4 hours, depending on how you use it (however it's not a big issue to me.)

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I have always liked Toshiba in that they keep adding more features to their laptops! This one is no different. The dual core technology enables this machine to multi-task on a whole new level. The wide screen allows for enjoyable movie/TV watching. I also like the windows media center addition. This laptop is very versatile when compared to those of equal value.

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HP Compaq 8530P, CORE2 Duo T9600 Cpu, 15.4 Wsxga+ Panel, DVD+/-rw, 320GB Hard Dr

These i7 powerhouses are a bit heavier than some cheaper models...but they are built rugged and reliable. The screen is huge and bright. I have been using one as my primary machine for over a year now (in and out of a docking station), and have yet to have any issues. Highly recommended.

This laptop has met and exceeded al my expectations I have been using one everday for well over 2 years. It has NEVER had any issues

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Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-5246 13.3-Inch HD Laptop (Black Brushed Aluminum)

When receiving the package, I immeadiately charged it. Afterwards, downloaded all the programs that I needed to replace my four year old laptop. Talked to the internet company to get that started (my fault b/c I forgot a step to set up). After my set-up was done, I absolutely LOVE it!!!!

My soul purpose for the Timeline is writing. But I do need to carry the laptop to different locations and interview clients. And this "dream" laptop is a sure delight. The processing speed is quick for what I do. Downloads are fast. And the biggest plus....this laptop does not get HOT like my old one. So, I'm ditching the "lap"top cooler! I'm free to roam.

The Battery life is outstanding! I surfed the web for over two hours(unplugged from the ac adaptor) before I came to write this review, my indicator is showwing 90%...8 hours left! WOW!!! Granted, I did some tweaking to the display and power adjustments. But still, 8 hours left after two hours of surfing the net....I love this laptop!

Now the down side. If you're looking to webcam with this laptop, you'll be disappointed. You need to be outside for the proper lighting. Or you can have the lamp light your face if you're indoors. I have adjusted the webcam to a certain degree, but still the quality wasn't there. But like I mentioned before, the soul purpose is for writing.

PRO: Lightweight, Battery life!

CONS: Webcam quality.

If anything should arise in the near future, I'll add it to my review.

I highly suggest the Timeline X to everyone who is in my position.

Addendum:

Someone asked for the Windows Experience Index:

Processor: Calculations Per Second..... 6.3

Mem(RAM): Memory Ops Per Second..... 5.9

Graphics: Desktop Performance for Win..4.7

Gaming Graphics: Performance..... 4.9

Primary Hard Disk: Data transfer..... 5.9

I bought this for $699, shipping included directly from Amazon about three weeks ago. As you can see from some of the discussion thread, the specifications on this system listed by Amazon were changed several times along the way I think Amazon could do a better job in making sure they get the particulars of a specific model right when they are listing a new system. (I noticed this wasn't just for Acer, seemed to be the case for many new systems).

That being said, I love this little Acer system overall. I've been in high tech for over 25 years and I've gone through a lot of computers. I've had this one aboug three weeks and it has exceeded my expectations in most areas.

Form Factor

Small, light, and compact; yet feels solid when you carry it. Doesn't overheat like many systems. Speakers for a laptop are pretty good, as is the webcam. I think most 'average users' will be okay with both. While the keyboard and wrist area are fairly good at not picking up fingerprints, the same can't be said for the top of the system the black matte surface tends to show them.

I like the multi-card reader (it's hidden nicely in the front left corner of the system) and the HDMI support is a real plus as well for me since I plug this into my standing monitor quite often.

If you're used to opening up your laptop with one hand (due the help gravity gives you in dealing with your older, heavier laptop) you may miss that the Acer really needs two hands to open the lid, else the bottom tends to come off the table while you're trying to open the 'clam shell' hinged top. A small thing I adjusted to quickly...

In general, doesn't seem to be a lot of flex in the system, no creaking or moaning when I carry it. it reminds me a little of a well-built car when you shut the door solid sounding, not a tin can. (I've had a lot of tin can laptops over the years...) I have noticed a slight looseness in the left hand side plastic that covers the LED display, but it's not enough to bother me.

Peformance

The Intel HD graphics, i3 processor, and 4GB of memory help this puppy hum right along. The only complaint would be the slower 5400 speed drive. It's not necessarily noticeable, but it's too bad Acer doesn't include a faster 7200RPM drive. Also, for future reference, the system can hold 8GB of memory, but it comes preinstalled with 2 2GB DDR3 1066 SDRAM memory modules so keep that in mind if you are planning to upgrade memory at some point in the future you'll need to swap out both cards to get to 8GB.

High resolution video streaming, various online playbacks, and online performance in general is excellent. (See my note below about wireless throughput). In general, I'm very pleased with the graphics on this system.

Pre-installed Software

A couple of the Acer preloaded softwares seemed a little flakey. I uninstalled most of the preloaded software. In general, there is some clean-up if you don't want to take advantage of all their 'offers', but no more than most other systems.

Keyboard

Didn't mind the 'island' key layout, though it did take a couple minutes to get used to. Keyboard overall is responsive and has a very good 'full keyboard' feel. I thought the response of the multi-gesture touchpad was pretty good overall and think that if you haven't had one before, you'll like the functionality.

CineCrystal Backlight LED Display

Some people don't like this type of 'high-gloss' display. This system doesn't seem to have much glare/reflection issues; viewing angles are good, and the brightness is almost too bright I adjusted the default power settings to turn it down some.

Wireless

I did have one issue with the wireless (which turned out to have nothing directly to do with the Acer system, but I thought it was important to include here for anyone looking at Windows 7 and N-router compatibility). The Acer found my network easily, and Windows 7 configured everything correctly so it worked right away... but, I noticed the throughput seemed very slow. I ran a speed test online (dslreports) and realized my throughput was terrible even though I was configured to use my N-router and was only about 5 feet from the router when I did the test. I little research showed a lot of people complaining about slow and disconnecting wireless on Windows 7 systems (mostly during the Windows 7 beta, but still a lot since production release).

My problem turned out to be related to my router (it needed to have it's firmware updated to the latest version). Once I did that, the Acer connected wirelessly like a rocket. I'm averaging 11-12Mbps download on comcast; prior to update my wireless router firmware I was getting about 950Kbps download speed wirelessly. So if you have an N-router and are moving to a system with Windows 7, and you notice any performance issues, you may want to double check and make sure your router firmeware is the latest version possible.

Also, be aware that the preinstalled wireless drivers for the Atheros miniPCIe card are more current than the ones on Acer's website. So if you are troubleshooting wireless issues, be careful to check versions before assuming Acer's website has the most current.

Batter Life

While the 6-cell battery is good (Acer also makes a 9-cell you can buy as well), it's not giving me anywhere near 8 hours of battery life not that I expected it to. There are good options and a lot of granularity for adjusting performance/battery life profiles. I've been running mostly in the predefined 'balanced profile' and find I get about 4 to 4.5 hours of battery life which I think is more than reasonable. I suspect if I wanted to I could prolong the battery by running in the 'maximum battery life profile', but I haven't worried about it since my old laptop (Dell XPS) was lucky to get 2.5 hours. I did play with the maximum battery life profile a little and didn't notice any slow down in performance only that it dimmed the display quite a bit which is always a big culprit when it comes to consuming power.

Acer Support

I had a chance to deal with them when I noticed my slow wireless connectivity. In general, they seem to try and handle support via email, and although they are responsive, the responses seemed very automated and generic (try installing latest drivers, check obvious things). If you are used to troubleshooting issues on your own, I think they can complement the process. I never got the point where my issue was escalated hight enough to get any real help from them as I'd already solved it on my own. That being said, their site does a pretty good job of organizing their drivers by model and OS.

Last Thoughts

I had considered buying an Apple Macbook Pro or Airbook this time around, but for the price difference, this Acer can't be beat. I'd also looked at various higher/lower end notebooks, ultralight notebooks and ever a few netbooks. If you don't mind not having an optical drive (and to be honest I thought I would miss it, but don't) a 13.3 inch system like this Acer, with the new Intel i3 processor (they also have a model that comes with the i5) can't be beat for the price. It's solid and seems to be a good little workhorse.

Buy Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-5246 13.3-Inch HD Laptop (Black Brushed Aluminum) Now

Computing Needs: Internet browsing, Email, Word/Excel, organizing photos, listening to music, Youtube, and HD/Blu-Ray Playback.

Pros:

* Thin & Light

* Fast & Snappy performance (standard i3 processor!)

* Plays Youtube/Hulu 1080p content perfectly (no stutter)

* Bluetooth 3.0 (The spec listing is wrong again...)

* Great Battery Life

* Solid/Quality Construction

* Aluminum brushed exterior and overall design looks very nice

* User-friendly Touchpad

* Solid Keyboard

* Laptop never gets hot, warm at most even under stress

* Quiet

* Bright and Clear LCD.

Cons:

* At the time of purchase, specs showed it includes external DVD drive (which it does not).

* Gray areas of notebook is more silver-gray than charcoal-gray as shown.

* Glossy LCD Panel no problem indoors, but hard to see in outdoor sunny conditions.

* Weak 5400rpm hard drive is bottleneck of this system.

* Bloatware/Unwanted Apps less than some rivals but still a pain to remove.

Worthy of Noting:

* Touchpad(made by Synaptics) and palm area is much better made than the ASUS UL Series. Unlike the ASUS UL series I tried, this 3820T doesn't collect much hand oil/fingerprints, and fingers glides through easily even after prolonged use. Also, the Touchpad & Gestures both works very accurately and the touchpad buttons are very easy to press.

* Keyboard: Keys are quiet when typing, no flexing, and feels more solid compared to ASUS UL series.

* Chassis: Solid laptop casing and assembled very well. There are no loose parts and no squeaking pressure points.

* Wireless: For those who care, the wireless chip inside the 3820T is an Atheros AR5B93. The wireless connection is stable with decent range.

* HDMI out to 1080p LCD monitor worked without much effort. Just plug and play, and choose settings you want in Intel HD Control Panel. I don't have a Blu-Ray drive so have not been able to test Blu-Ray playback. However, YouTube 1080p x264 played perfectly, no stutter and uses about 30% CPU.

* Sound is adequate for quiet to moderate noise environments. If you want a digital audio connection this laptop also includes a digital-out SPDIF option.

* Drivers that came with the laptop is NEWER than Acer Support Website. If you want to do a clean installation of Windows 7, you'll need to hunt down updated drivers on your own.

* Heat/Noise: The notebook stays cool and is lap friendly. You can feel the warm air pushed out of the side fan when playing 1080p clip, but the body of the laptop stays at room temp. It stays quiet throughout intense and light-use.

Final Thoughts:

*Great price/value/performance/quality. I would buy again and recommend to others.

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This computer has demonstrated seriously impressive speed, performance, portability, and battery life in the 2 weeks I've had it. It's lighter and runs cooler than my 2-year old black 13-in MacBook Pro, and it took about 3.5 hours of moderate use (web-browsing + software installations) to reduce battery charge to 50%. It remains super-fast even when I'm on the web, playing music, and installing programs at the same time.

I've also inadvertently put this computer through a serious stress test, which it passed in impressive fashion: I was installing a program (from a legitimate vendor that shall remain nameless) that went out-of-control and opened about 40 web browser windows, and yet the computer didn't crash! It apparently had the CPU and memory capacity to handle all those processes until I finally was able to use the Task Manager to rein them in.

This laptop is not without some minor faults. The trackpad is not as sensitive to multi-gestures as I would like. As other reviewers have mentioned, its webcam quality isn't great. And of course there are several annoying pre-installed programs that I opted to remove. Personally I think its performance more than makes up for these shortfalls.

The lack of a built-in optical drive is a minor inconvenience, but nothing that an external drive and an optical drive emulator can't overcome. The only thing I really miss from Mac OSX is the native multiple-desktop support (though apparently there are free downloads available for that too)...Windows 7 has something comparable to every other feature I regularly use on a Mac.

Windows Experience Indices (whatever they're supposed to mean):

Processor: 6.3

Memory (RAM): 5.9

Graphics: 4.6

Gaming graphics: 5.1

Primary hard disk: 5.9

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I just received my Timeline today and immediately swapped out the drive with a 128G AData SSD with Ubuntu 10.04 32bit (32 bit because I pulled it from my previous machine that was 32 bit, I may go to 64 bit at some point). Boot to login using encrypted LVM is about 6 seconds. Everything was detected and just a few tweaks were needed to the xorg.conf to get HDMI switching to work. HDMI audio works, wifi works great, I really haven't found anything yet that doesn't work. Battery life of 8 hours seems fairly optimistic, but I've been running it awful hard as a burn in and I'm getting about 4 hours (screen at 100%, CPU at 1.85Ghz, boxee playing pandora non stop over wifi) I suspect that 6 to 7 hours will be closer to norm. Suspend and resume works like a charm. Open the lid and resume is within 2 seconds (remember, SSD not an HDD). The keyboard is excellent and heat is a non issue. It does get warm, but I would say less than 100F. I'm trying to get the bluetooth to wake up now, but haven't had much luck. I've also spent all of 5 minutes on it. I have no idea how this machine runs in windows, but I would not hesitate to suggest it to anyone that is looking for a nice linux machine.

Pros: Screen is bright

machine is very quick

heat is a non issue

card reader is located intelligently enough in the front of the machine

It looks very pro. Feels light but substantial

Makes a happy little ubuntu box, compiz works

Cons:I don't care at all for the shared wifi/bluetooth button. It's just confusing.

I use encryption on everything, encrypted volumes, folders, etc. It would be nice if this i3 was one of the models with

hardware AES support, but it has enough CPU available that it's not like I really notice.

Notes:

You'll need to add the following to the xorg.conf in the Device section to get switching to HDMI to work

Option "AccelMethod" "uxa"

Option "EXAOptimizeMigration" "true"

Option "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"

You'll also need to add the following line to /etc/default/grub to get the brightness hotkeys working

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=Linux"

then run sudo update-grub. acpi_osi is not a typo, it's not acpi_os

Update, I just found that I actually had the atheros driver for the NIC already installed, you will need to download that. Never did get the bluetooth to work and battery life in normal operation (wifi, virtualbox VM running, playing MP3s and surfing) is right around 6.5 hours. Otherwise this thing has been a joy.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E530 6272-4GU 15.6-Inch Laptop

I ordered this laptop (Edge E530 62724GU) from Amazon, specifically with Windows 7. I think Windows 8 is usable, but better suited to machines with touchscreen hardware. When I got the package, I thought that the computer was not new. I was wrong it was new; it had been opened to remove the original Windows 8 Pro and install Windows 7 Professional.

I bought this computer for my wife. After spending some time removing unneeded software and adding needed software, I had become familiar with it. The sound and camera are adequate for her needs, and the laptop itself seems sturdy. The software installed was more useful than some of the crapware on other new laptops.

My wife likes the feel of the machine, and the weight is acceptable; for lighter weight, you will pay more.

The display has 1 dead pixel, but she has not noticed it. If it had 3, I would have sent it back. It's annoying, but not a serious problem.

If this laptop lasts as well, and as long, as it feels like it will, it will have been money well spent.

I purchased this a few months back with the help of my son who is a computer science whiz ( what kid isn't nowadays, except mine wins awards all over the country because he's so smart!) Anyway, I know nothing about computers, all I can share with you is that it came very well packaged, 2 days after I put my order in. when my son set it up and did whatever it is you do to make them run, he had no problems. It seemed fairly easy and I was using it just a few hours after he started. The keyboard is very comfortable for me. I am not a big person, I wear small gloves so have small hands , they fit nicely when I am typing. The screen is a perfect size with nice color to the screen. I like the extra numbers bar on the right. It's light weight and thin so not inconvenient to carry. I've had no glitches or problems with this computer since purchase. Have been really happy.

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This is a solid 4GB Core I5 machine with a fast hard drive (7200rpm) and it comes with Windows 7 installed and with a Windows 8 upgrade. With sufficient memory, the fast drive makes more difference in the computer's performance than a fast processor. The multitouch touchpad takes some getting used to. Because the computer has both a trackpoint and a touchpad, the 3 mouse buttons are above the touchpad. The primary user of this machine has been using XP at home and Windows 7 at work and does not like change. Windows 8 would be a very traumatic change. With Windows 7, this machine was the perfect upgrade, minimizing the change from the previous machine. I did delete some of the bloatware that ships with the machine. I also had to go to the Lenovo downloads for this machine to download and install the trackpad software so that I could shut off some of the functions that were causing confusion.

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So I bought this laptop to replace my g/f's old Dell XPS 1340 that started overheating. And I have to admit. I am disappointed by this unit. Let's start with the build quality. Now the machine itself had no scuff marks and the plastic matte finish was alright, something to keep it simple, but I have to admit, the way that thing attracts grease is scary. I only used it yesterday and the trackpad and wrist-rest look so greasy. Everytime I used it, I had to keep wiping the surface. (I was trying to remove the bloatware for my girl, we'll get to the software in a bit). But my major concern with the build quality was the laptop dvd drive. Now MAYBE it was just a q/c problem with the one I got, but I simply HATE the fact that the drive is sticking out and doesn't close flush with the surface of the laptop.

Now for the software issues. Let's start with some positives. I came with Windows 7 Pro which I love wholesomely, but sadly, the machine didn't come with any serial key for it. So god forbid there is a software issue and I have to reformat? I am DEFINITELY NOT using that Windows 8 cd they gave me. Going to use that as a coaster! So that also kind of pissed me off. I have to see if there is some sort of third party software I can find online to extra the serial key from the machine so I can store it for future use.

Moving onto the bloatware. It comes with a bit of 3rd party software along with some lenovo bloatware. They were fairly easy to get rid off, just had to put up with the machine rebooting for every single bloatware I wanted to get rid off.

But the final thing that pissed me off, and dropped this review to 3 stars (I wish I could have given it a 4) was a very interesting problem. I have been using computers for some time and I know my way around the machine. But what I found VERY strange last night when I was running through the updates was a weird "failing to configure" error. So because it's a factory bought machine the updates were behind and I understood that. Usually I run the update programme, it finds 71 new updates so I just set it to run the updates automatically. Easy? NO! EVERY SINGLE TIME I RAN THE UDPATES, I kept getting a failure to configure error, So I ended up having to SELECT each pair of updates from oldest to newest, one by one and let the computer install the updates one by one. Needless to say that took 2 HOURS to finish. But it finished none the less.

I finally cleaned up the machine and got it running the way how I wanted it so I am contented for now. It's really for my g/f but she is not tech-savy so I am hoping there are no future problems. Lenovo has usually been renownd for built quality and software quality, that's why this particular machine confounded me. Did I just happen to get the one bad egg?

As for other things, the screen shows fairly clear for what an Intel HD4000 supposed to do. In the future, I shall upgrade the RAM for her so it runs more comfortably. They audio is fine, the Dolby Software does help to boost audio quality, however I did notice it glitch when I was trying to set up SKPYE. Don't know when Microsoft is going to sort out that problem.

I know the review was long, but I wanted to be meticulous for future customers who wish to purchase this item. There were not much others with clear reviews. So to my fellow amazonians online. I hope this helps!

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Don't buy this computer i bought one a couple of months ago an in a few months the battery died i had to go buy a brand new hundred dollar buttery after i bought the battery it started overheating I would be browsing the web and it would just turn off and it wouldn't come back on until i started it shut it off and started it again a couple of time after a while i decided not to move it and it worked fine for a while until i could no longer get wifi. I had to connect the laptop to the router or the internet would not work after that the fans died and the laptop would come on for a few minutes go white and shut off after that i decided to just cut my loses and get a new laptop

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ASUS VivoBook S400CA-DH51T 14-Inch Touch Ultrabook

I have been using this laptop for the last few days and my initial impressions are highly positive. I bought it as a gift for my wife but I had to take some time with it before giving it up. She was using an older 17" Dell and was tired of carrying around an 8 pound laptop so I started my search. With Windows 8 coming out I knew I wanted a touch screen and the only model in my price range was this Asus. I have had plenty of experience with Asus motherboards and video cards and they have always been great products so I decided to take the plunge. So far it has been a wise decision.

When I opened the box I was impressed with how thin and light the laptop is. Compared to my Dell XPS 15 this thing is tiny but packs a screen just 1.3" smaller. While it is light weight it still feels very solid in your hands. The laptop weighs about 4.0lbs by my scale. Surprisingly the power brick is tiny as well, measuring about 3"x3"x1" and weighing 1.2lbs. My wife wanted something smaller to carry around and this fits the bill perfectly.

Opening the lid reveals a 14" touch screen with 1366x768 resolution and the keyboard/touchpad combination. The screen is bright and clear and the viewing angles are very good. Love it or hate it Windows 8 is included and having a touchscreen makes it even better. The screen responds well to your touch and the only time I see fingerprints on it is when the screen is off. The top of the laptop however shows more fingerprints than the screen. I was initially concerned with the lower resolution but on this size of screen it works well and my wife actually prefers it over the HD resolution of my Dell as it makes text easier to read.

The laptop has a Chiclet style keyboard that is not backlit. I have read about people having issues with the space bar on other Asus models but it appears to have been resolved because every key has been very responsive. The touchpad works well and supports multi-touch gestures such as pinch to zoom and two finger scrolling. After some use I like the touchpad and buttons. The touchpad and buttons are all one piece with the buttons slightly elevated to provide a click when you press them. You do not have to press very hard on the buttons and they do not feel stiff or mushy. In the center of the buttons is a line to show you left and right. I prefer the touchpad on the Asus over my XPS.

On the left side of the laptop are two USB 2.0 ports, a memory card reader and the microphone/headset jack. On the right side there is 1 USB 3.0 port, a full size HDMI port, a VGA port, an Ethernet jack and the AC jack. There is no optical drive but with high speed memory sticks and the internet I don't see this as a problem. If you really need it there are plenty of small, cheap external drives available.

We have had the laptop for a few days day now and the battery life is very good. Over the first few days we used it quite a bit and only charged it once a day. Tonight I unplugged the laptop from the charger (it was at 93%) and watched Netflix for the next 3 and a half hours and the battery meter says it still has 1 hour or 21% of the battery left. The brightness was set to about 30% for my test. I would guess 4 to 5 hours of battery life will be average.

Sound on this laptop is good but not to the level of my XPS 15. There are two speakers on the bottom of the laptop to the left and right sides, angled to bounce the sound off whatever surface the laptop is sitting on. I cranked up some music and the sound is clear at any volume with no distortion but lacked a little fullness in the low and mid-end. I listen to a lot of music while at work and I certainly would not complain if I had to use this laptop to do it.

The included wireless N adapter has good performance with speeds up to 7 MB/s when transferring files to and from my HTPC in the living room over 40 feet away. It connected to my wireless network right away and reconnects almost instantly when resuming from sleep. The wireless radio only operates on the 2.4mhz band and while Asus' webpage says that Bluetooth is included, I don't believe it is. I can't find anything in Device Manager for Bluetooth Devices.

Performance has been very snappy thanks to the dual core I5 processor and 24gb SSD caching drive. Applications launch quickly and boot times are minimal. Even my wife has noticed how much speedier the computer is than her old one. I have not done any gaming on it yet but will amend my review when I get a chance. I will note that there is some bloatware installed on the machine such as McAfee that you should get rid of as soon as you can. Windows 8 includes Defender by default so why Asus loads McAfee is beyond me. Asus Updater was also showing an error in the desktop when I booted but that cleared up after Windows 8 installed some updates.

Overall this is a fun little computer and using the touchscreen with Windows 8 has proved to be a great experience. This review has been my opinion so far but after finally giving the computer to my wife it doesn't look like I will get it back any time soon. Now that she can play Bingo Blitz with the touchscreen it looks like I will have to get one of my own! She summed it up to me in two enthusiastic words, "It's Fun!" And here I thought this was a work PC...

I'll keep this short, and just put what I consider relevant. My first computer had a cassette drive, and my first laptop wasn't much more advanced, so I've had a lot of experience with this type of technology.

My opinion of this product is that it's the finest built laptop I've ever handled, with one exception the wi-fi. To be fair, it might be a Windows 8 thing, a driver thing, or a hardware thing, but the wi-fi goes out randomly every hour or two. Disabling the wireless and re-enabling brings it back.

Other than this, and again I don't know it's the laptops fault this is perfect. If you like the feel of a Macbook, but not the price, this will make your day. Aluminum chassis, excellent touchscreen (which brings Windows 8 to life, without it, Windows 8 is garbage), the weight, and the thickness (under an inch) are matched only by the quality feel and operation of the product as a whole.

In short this thing rocks, buy it.

UPDATE: I contacted Asus, and although I can't explain why, their fix worked. Uninstall the wireless adapter from device manager, restart, reinstall, and bam I no longer randomly disconnect. 5/5 now

Update #2: Asus website, and support, insist this product is not sold without bluetooth. The amazon page does not list yes or no for bluetooth. Long and short somehow the system I received from Amazon has no bluetooth. Asus support insists that's defective hardware, as they only sell it with the Qualcomm Atheros Bluetooth. They (Asus) gave me an RMA number to ship it back, and they will send me one with Bluetooth correctly functioning. Big hassle and for this I took off a star.

Update #3: So I got my Vivobook back, after only 6 days, which was impressive, with a note which read "This product does not come with Bluetooth"...

That after 2 techs told me (pre-rma) that it did, the specifications page on their website still says it has Integrated Bluetooth 4.0. Removing a star.

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This is one of the cheapest 14" touch screen laptops available (

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ASUS 1215B-PU17-RD 12.1-Inch Ultra Mobile PC - Red

TigerDirect recently lowered the price at $299.99 from $349.99 to make room for the new Fusion E-450 model coming out.

There's no difference in performance between this model with the E-350 APU compared to the E-450 APU that's coming out. You are only getting a little graphic boost in the 3D arena with the E-450 APU. You are paying for a full laptop performance at a netbook price with this model.

0. The notebook has a dedicated power button to boot into Asus Custom Gate Cloud OS which runs Google Chrome browser so you don't have to always log into windows 7. I would think this would save you battery.

1. Compared to other Fusion notebook like the HP DM1z, Lenovo x120e, and Sony YB: you are getting bigger 12" screen and a USB 3.0 with the Asus.

2. Battery: I'm getting around 5-6 hours on a full charge doing web surfing and streaming videos.

3. Keyboard: keyboard is nice. There is a little flexing but it's not that bad.

4. Built Quality: On par with other fusion notebook. This notebook does not feel cheap.

5. RED VS. BLACK Model: This RED model is less of a finger print magnet compared to the ugly matte black model. This red has a nice block-like print which makes the notebook look nicer than the ugly matte black.

6. Touchpad Issue Fixed: The touchpad issue is FIXED on the red model. You do not have to remove the silver plate underneath the touchpad which caused weird behavior.

7. Power Cable: The power cable head is very, very tiny. You have to be carefull when plug in and out. You can easily bend the head.

8. What is it good for: web surfing, Light photoshop, Audio mixing, Daily productivity, MS Office work, music, Watch HD movie, Light 2-D/3-D gaming, DVD convertion, Bed room Djing with Serato Softwares

9. What is NOT good for: HD Video editing, Heavy duty photoshop, Heavy duty 3D gaming, Professional DJing with Serato Softwares

10. RAM UPGRADE & OPTIMIZATION: I suggest spending the extra $25 for a 4 GIG RAM upgrade. This will boost the RAM 6 GIG Total which will improve in performance speed. Also, if you are techie savy, go to CONTROL PANEL>>SYSTEM>>ADVANCE SYSTEM SETTING>>PERFORMANCE SETTING>>ADJUST FOR BEST PERFORMANCE. This will turn off all Windows 7 animations which will speed up the notebook performance speed.

11. TigerDirect Policy (little bitchin' helps): Do NOTE that TigerDirect will charge you for shipping if you decided to return the item and only gives Tiger Store Credit for price adjustment. They lowered the price of this notebook the same time they shipped my notebook. It took a little bit of bitching for them to refund me the different as an exception. Demand to talk with the manager.

12. Conclusion: This is the best Fusion E-350 notebook you can get for $299. Other fusion notebook are selling at least $400 and up. Major advantage of this Asus 1215B is that you are getting a bigger 12.1 screen and a USB 3.0. If you are on a budget and looking for a powerful notebook on the go, you can't go wrong with this Asus 1215B.

First off, I bought the silver version of this model, not the red one.

This is the best value of a netbook you'll find. The AMD Fusion e-350 is definitely the best CPU/GPU combo you'll find in a netbook, especially at this price. The e-350 is a dual-core 64-bit CPU that runs at 1.6 GHz (it's 60% faster than the AMD c-50 you find in the top-selling Acer netbook). This is the usual frequency of the Atom processors, but the e-350's clocks are more efficient, making it more equivalent to an low-voltage Core 2 Duo. I tested out the CPU/APU by playing a blu-ray image file. It played perfectly fine, so you definitely won't have problems with any 1080p video or light gaming. It runs pretty cool and the exhaust is in a nice position on the left side.

The 12.1 inch screen is 1366x768, perfect for 720p video. It's nice and bright with a glossy finish in a great size. There's a USB 3.0 port on the right, which is a really nice feature. I haven't used it yet since I don't have a USB 3.0 hard drive, but it should easily double the speed of a compatible external hard drive when compared to USB 2.0.

This computer comes with Windows 7 Premium 64-bit with 2GB of RAM to handle it nicely. I usually run around 900MB of occupied RAM, so 2GB should be plenty for most users. However, I am upgrading to 4GB of 1333MHz RAM soon (this comes with 1066MHz RAM). With the starting configuration my system obtained the following Windows 7 User Experience Index scores: Processor=3.8, Memory=4.8, Graphics=4.2, Gaming graphics=5.7, HDD=5.6.

I love the design of the silver version of the 1215b. It has a brushed metal design (but really plastic) lid and touchpad. This finish is much better than the black version in terms picking up fingerprints. It does pick up fingerprints, but they're only slightly visible. The keyboard is a full-size chiclet keyboard (not 92% size like the 10" netbook), has good key travel, and no detectable flex. The touchpad is quite large, equivalent to most full-size laptops. The multitouch features work great. The bottom is a nice textured black plastic. This type of finish would have probably been better for the lid of the black version since it doesn't pick up fingerprints.

Overall, performance is great, especially for a netbook-sized computer. I can get about 6 hours of use from the 6-cell battery with light internet browsing.

Cons:

-The finish on the black version is a fingerprint magnet.

-The glossy finish on the inside of the lid is and around the keyboard picks up fingerprints.

-Some people may not like the smaller-than-normal right shift key. Personally, it does not bother me.

-The 320GB hard drive runs at 5400 rpm, but I'd obviously prefer a 7200 rpm drive. The HDD works fine, but the extra speed would be nice. Personally, I don't care about this much since I plan on upgrading to a 64GB SDD for around $100.

-This only has a 100 Mbps ethernet port; I'd really expect a gigabit port in 2011. However, I'll just be using Wireless N, so it's not a big deal for me.

-***Some people have reported trackpad issues with this model. I have yet to have any of these problems, but I know there is a fix available. Just google "Asus 1215b fix" and you should find a solution.

Overall, this is an EXCELLENT value and the highest-end performance you can possibly find in a netbook. I got mine for around $300 after Circuit City dropped their price by about $50. That's about $130 off its usual price. Feel welcome to make a comment on this review if you have questions.

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I received the package very promptly and the correct items were shipped. The laptop is actually pretty awesome, but it did not arrive in working order. I had to reload windows 7 with one of my extra keys since the one on the bottom of the laptop wouldn't work. After installing all of the factory drivers one by one I realize the mouse is acting funny. It got worse over time, and within a couple weeks I had to take the mouse/hand rest plate off and remove a random pad that seemed to be grounding out the touch pad.

After all the repairs I'm happy as a fat kid with cake. It was a refurb, but I would use caution when buying this product if you don't know your way around a laptop.

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I received a 64 bit version with USB 3.0 and did an 8GB upgrade with 1333 RAM and a 60GB SSD. I did have to remove the pad and foil from under the trackpad in order to stop the problem with the cursor doing weird stuff. I am very pleased with the product overall now that I have fixed everything. You won't find anything similar at this price point!

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Great little mobile Windows 7 laptop. Does what is expected. I wanted a small travel travel computer with a little power, but nothing extravagant for web browsing, email, webcamming, and light game play. It does quite well and even plays some impressive game play more than I thought it might (It plays Star Trek Online well and CitiesXL 2012). I do recommend a dedicated mouse. It has served me well for almost 2 years.

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HP Pavilion dv4t 14.1" Laptop

I bought a HP dv4t a bit over a year ago and it has already started to fall apart. the software runs fine, but this laptop tends to get really hot, even if i am just watching a movie. i cannot even play any games on it due to this overheating issue. i even bought a laptop cooler and it still gets too hot. Also, this laptop remains at my home and i am really careful about it. But something is already loose inside and the keyboard is dipping on the right side. When i open the screen, it gives this crackle and this worries me. For this price, i recommend getting some other brand that is more sturdy and wont fall apart after a year.

I bought the laptop 13 months ago and after 2 months, the battery was unable to hold a charge anymore so it was no longer portable. HP claims that the 1 year warranty covers everything EXCEPT batteries and it will cost $150 to replace. Now, 13 months later, the screen is DEAD and wont project. HP claims my warranty expired 2 weeks ago and it will cost $482 to replace (which 80% what I payed for the laptop to begin with...not including replacing the battery for $150). Did I mention that the replacement battery no longer holds a charge anymore? when I unplug it, it only lasts 6 minutes!! Avoid at ALL costs!! It is a money pit and HP won't stand by their products at ALL unless you pay crazy amounts of money. Please learn from my mistake!

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Excellent and capable laptop. Had to install XP as vista Home was a bit sluggish out of the box. This was a gift for my wife. It's heavy but the 17" screen is worth it. It fell on the floor few time (kids !!!) and still functions like a work horse. I think it will run great on windows 7.

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It came to our home 3days before commitment date. Fast and reliable... Great Job!

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Dell Mars Black 15.6" Laptop PC with Intel Core i5-480M Processor, 6GB RAM, 640GB Hard Drive, Windo

I was looking for a great laptop that would be able to respond to all my digital needs and hopefully I found this.

With a 6GB RAM, this laptop can handle everything you could simultaneously. You will love the the extra light weight, you barely feel anything on your lap.

SRS Premium Sound integrated gives you a complete personalization of your sound quality. As on the description, you have a 640GB Hardrive that will hold all your musics, videos, games, movies, etc...

I also found the Intel Turbo Boost Technology very handy when it comes to run heavy programs at the same time, it gives you that extra boost(up to 3Ghz)when you need it.

Bluetooth also integrated (couldn't ask for more). Battery life is pretty decent for a Windows laptop(up to 4hrs on Balanced power plan).

Sleek and professional design.

Webcam can deliver HD videos which is simply amazing.

Finally, the processor is so "robust" that even when you have many programs running at the same time, your CPU usage is usually less than 20%.

Great value for the price, would greatly recommend it to laptop buyers.

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ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX31A XB72 - 13.3" - Core i7

The screen is incredible. I have an ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A-XB72, a MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and an iPad, etc., and my Zenbook's screen is the most vibrantly colored and sharpest display in the world. The SSD is so fast. I have no wait time (except IE haha). Seriously I love this machine for my work, travel and personal play.

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Samsung - Touch-Screen Ultrabook 13.3" Laptop - 4GB Memory 500GB HDD + 24GB ExpressCache - Silver -

I stumbled upon the bad reviews left for this laptop and felt the need to share my experience. I converted from mac, since macbook airs were exceeding my budget. I cannot do windows, so I installed the next best thing to macos: ubuntu linux. A review I saw online suggested installing linux on the build-in SSD drive, which is used for windows fast boot otherwise. It works like a charm. My laptop now boots super fast and stays super fast. It loads firefox in 4 sec (initial load, not from cache) under Ubuntu. Oh, I also did not have to load any drivers for Linux, everything just works.

All of the components of this laptop function flawlessly. The problems reported by other reviewers, such as spotty wireless, slowness, etc must be due to windows 8. It is not fair to blame this laptop for those. I also kept windows 8 and playing with it from time to time, and have not seen any problems there as well.

I like the keyboard and trackpad the most. They are very comfortable to use.

For this price, this laptop is highly recommended.

I usually think most negative reviews are due to defective items or people not using the product correctly. In this case, the negative reviews couldn't be more accurate and I have little to add, other than my low rating.

This machine has the most spotty wifi I've ever seen, it will connect to a network, then after you close the lid, putting it to sleep, it won't connect to the same exact network it was just on when you wake it up 5 minutes later (and I'm talking even giving it a full 5 minutes to wake up)! I've uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers about 50 times, as it's the only way to get it to reconnect.

For a Core i5 with "ExpressChache" it boots up, and runs programs, slower than my wife's basic Core i3 HP Pavilion laptop that was half the price and has more USB 3 ports and an optical drive....

The customer service is awful. I never complain about tech support in other countries, as I personally feels it gives customers the benefit of 24/7 tech support, but when you can't understand a word the technician is saying and they can't understand you, it's kind of a problem. I'm used to them forcing you to try steps you've already tried before but when they don't even understand what you are saying when you try to explain what you've already done... Ugh.

Also, and I'm not sure if this was mentioned in previous reviews, the Samsung specific apps that come installed with the machine don't work properly. The "SW Update" (to update drivers and Bios and programs) won't let you hide updates you don't want, like it keeps telling me I need to reinstall the Norton Suite it came with despite my having another antivirus installed, and half the driver updates fail. There's even an update for the wireless card but it fails every time, even when I'm hard-wire connected by Ethernet! The "S Service" app (which is supposed to allow Samsung techs to connect remotely to your PC through the internet) starts up, says "there is an update to this program", downloads the update, starts back up, says "there is an update to this program", downloads it, restarts... You get it, over and over again. I let it do this for 5 hours hoping it just had a lot of information to download but it was still going!

Now my biggest irk. I called customer care about the wireless issue, which I've seen reported everywhere EXCEPT on the Samsung Support Webpages, and after a while I was told to send the Ultrabook back to Samsung. They paid for shipping but I was responsible for packaging the Ultrabook, where as most other companies will send you a box to make sure the machine is protected in transit, and told if the software needs to be re-installed, they will charge me $40 even when it's under warranty!!!

My advice, if you have the money to waste on something that won't work correctly right from the start, waste it on something else.

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This item absolutelly overperforms its price, good price, great sound, perfect size, the touch screen wroks great, I'd buy I again if i went back on time. I've had it for 4 months and I've had no problems with it plus I've found it very easy to carry in my constant trips

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I purchased the Samsung NP540U3C-A01UB in December 2012, along with a very similar Sony SVT13126CXS Windows 8 touchscreen ultrabook. I first applied all available software updates from the vendor and from Microsoft, and then connected them wirelessly to an elevated ASUS RT-AC66U router and installed the Intel Anti-Theft technology software (see my review at Amazon if interested). For the purposes of this review I will compare the Samsung to the Sony, since these machines are quite different from the Windows 7 PCs that I have in the same environment.

Regarding the utility of Windows 8 and touchscreens, using this system feels like a cross between using a Windows computer and a smartphone. Using the touchscreen lets you do some fun things with multi-touch gestures, but the price to be paid is that content creators (i.e. users of Desktop legacy software) have to do a few extra keystrokes or touches to start their tasks. Since all new Windows laptops ship with Windows 8, I thought it best to pay a little extra and get a touchscreen ultrabook. Certainly the light weight and 6 hour battery life are a big improvement over my Dell E6510 laptop. However the Dell achieves twice the wireless throughput (90 Mbit/second at 45 foot range through 4 walls) of either the Samsung or the Sony.

The Samsung is about 0.3 inches narrower and shallower than the Sony, and looks smaller, due to its rounded outer edges. It has been criticized for its sharp inside edge, although I haven't found that to be a problem. Both systems fit in a Case Logic 13 inch ultrabook case. The Samsung's Windows 8 Experience Index Score (top to bottom) is 6.9/5.9/4.7/6.2/5.9. Compared to the Sony, the weak points of the Samsung are: (1) Wireless adapter sometimes drops the connection (at locations where other computers can stream video with no problems), (2) Samsung software (e.g. the substitute for the Windows 7 Start Menu) and touchpad driver sometimes stops working or glitches, and is fairly annoying and confusing in that the software update application keeps prompting you to install software you may not want or need, (3) The Windows 8 Experience Index memory score is only 5.9, vs. 7.3 on the Sony, and the same-priced Sony ships with 6GB instead of 4GB RAM, and (4) The AC power connector is very small and could be accidentally damaged.

It is possible that the Samsung may have longer battery life than the Sony, because its memory runs slower and its fan runs less often. The Samsung also has more comprehensive advanced processor power management settings than the Sony does (e.g. a System cooling policy).

The bottom line for me is that I like the Sony better, but if Samsung improves their software and the memory issues prove not to be a problem, then the NP540U3C-A01UB deserves consideration if minimum size, sleek design, and longest battery life are paramount for you.

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I purchased this laptop about 3 weeks ago and exchanged it today for a Macbook Air.

1st complaint: Windows 8

Windows 8 is not user friendly or easy to get used to.... did not enjoy having to go online to look up how to do simple things. The app tiles are obnoxious and not handy. Windows 7 was functional....Windows 8 took about 50 steps in the wrong direction. :/

2nd complaint: Slowwwww

So slowwww, slow to switch between apps, slow to open apps, slow in general.

3rd complaint: Fan noise

On the days Skype would open and I was talking to a friend, he asked me if someone was mowing the lawn D: and this was just the fan noise going directly into the built-in microphone.

4th complaint: Picture files

Pictures save to multiple locations, not all to the same one. I am used to Macs where everything just makes sense intuitively....this did not make sense. Every camera app ends up having it's own file of photos. :/

These are the reasons I had to return. Did work very well for Netflix, enjoyed the screen clarity and great audio. Touch screen was responsive but I found it to be gimmicky and not actually that useful. Maybe fun for kids (playing games) but for that purpose, why not just get a tablet or iPad?

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Toshiba C675D-S7109 17.3" Satellite Laptop 1.5" thin, Webcam with Facial Recognition, 4GB Memory, 3

My husband, who is very computer knowledgeable, and I really like this laptop for several reasons. The touch pad is not so sensitive that it moves my cursor while I type, The speed is reasonable and several other reasons. The only reason I did not give this laptop a 5 star is rating is that the power jack has a very loose fit and does not stay connected to the laptop so I am continuously pushing it in.

Great value, nice screen, good for daily use.

This is the lowest price 17.3" laptop. Very very affordable, and well build, have almost everything I need.

I also bought a 60GB SSD for $50, and installed in this laptop. And this laptop runs like a rocket.

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However after playing with the computer for 2 weeks i later discovered that the computer kept giving me a warning notification saying: THIS COMPUTER DOES NOT HAVE A GENUINE COPY OF WINDOWS 7 INSTALLED" and another notification advised me that "YOU MAY BE A VICTIM OF SOFTWARE FRAUD".

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I received a brand new DEFECTIVE laptop. I bought this laptop (not through Amazon) for my very un-techy aunt, so when I received it I unpacked it to create an account for her and get some software installed/removed before turning it over to her. At the screen where you create an account name is where I realized what a POS this computer was. The keyboard was completely defective...most of the keys (at least 90% of the keys) did nothing. There were keys that did respond though...the backspace key inserted a "k", the "t" key inserted a "j", the "d" key inserted a semi-colon. None of the arrow keys worked. None of the number pad keys worked. The enter key did not work. I could not do anything with this laptop.

How this laptop got through quality control reflects on the the Toshiba brand, and based on this I will never buy a Toshiba anything again and will give that word of caution to all my friends and family.

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Dell D610 Pentium M 2.0GHz 1GB 60GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XPH

Had to part with my old gateway laptop of 10-12 years as AOL spoiled the speed with its invasive intrusions through my internet connection. While I miss the slot for my camera scan disc and can't find my cable, the features of the Dell laptop Latitude D610 are just fine for me. Not too many "modern conveniences" like blueray, webcam, etc. but I don't need any of that. I like the screen size, the keyboard is lovely and the size is perfect. I did find the touch pad a bit rougher than my gateway (real smooth) and so similar to the surrounding surface, that I sometimes am sliding around everywhere except on the touch pad. Don't care for the ball item on the keyboard between "G" and H" similar to IBM think pad which I never liked and don't use. I find it too hard to manipulate as I did with the think pad. But I love the touch of the keyboard and the sellers, Compusales3000, do a fine job of shipping and surprised me with 20 additional gigabites on the harddrive! I like that they check and refurbish all their items at their warehouse before sending them out, and even add little personal notes! I would definitely say they are customer friendly!

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ASUS G74SX-A1 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop - Republic of Gamers

I'm extremely pleased with this purchase and would recommend looking for a gaming / high performance laptop. I've been using the Asus G74sx-A1 literally as a laptop. When I purchased it I was concerned about its size and weight, however after many 5+ hour sessions I'm still comfortable with the notebook on my lap and the mouse on the arm rest of my sofa.

****Disclaimer****

I'm using a OCZ Vertex 3 120gb SSD as the boot drive.

******************

Pro -

* Performance is perfect for the applications I run: World of Warcraft(settings high-ultra), VMware running multiple guest machines, minecraft, starcraft 2 (settings ultra)and adobe products.

* The LCD screen itself has vibrant colors

* Fans are silent! Heat is almost non-existent anywhere on the laptop aside from what the vents are blowing out.

* Keyboard layout is comfortable, the back-lit keys are a nice touch.

* Installing upgrades is so easy. The access panel on the underside of the laptop is simple to open(all you need is either a flat head screwdriver or a coin). Components are laid out well and are easy to reach / access.

* Running Linux Mint and Back Track with no issues.

Cons -

* Keyboard performance, at times key presses are missed. It might be the way I hit the keys or a driver issue. I'm currently using the atk 1.10 driver. ***Bios Update 202 has fixed all keyboard performance(missed key strokes) issues I had***

* Speaker sound quality is fine but the overall volume seems to be a bit low.

A SSD in my opinion is a fantastic upgrade for most systems. Money well spent.

In the next week I'll be installing SolidWorks to test out some 3D CAD action.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask, I'll do my best to respond in a reasonable amount of time.

First off, I want to mention that while the G74 is kind of marketed as good for games, don't let that scare you off if you're just looking for a quality, high end notebook for other uses. The system doesn't look flashy or anything, and being good at running games just means it's good at running anything else you can throw at it too.

I get a little technical in some places here, so please feel free to ask if you've got any questions! I'm kind of trying to answer all the questions that I had about it before I bought it.

In no particular order:

-the G74's keyboard is one of the best I've used on a notebook. It LOOKS similar to my Macbook Air's keyboard, but the feel of the keys is better-they're less "mushy" and have more travel. By notebook standards it's quite good, and it also feels more solid than most notebooks.

I love having a number pad, though should mention that for some reason it's not a "true" number pad. Like on a desktop keyboard, the numberpad is actually completely separate keys, while on the G74, the numbers are duplicates of the numbers above your keyboard. Most of the time that makes no difference, though it does mean you there's no number lock on the keyboard to turn the numberpad into arrows and the like. (It does have almost full sized arrow keys in between the numberpad and regular keyboard, and also has typical page up/page down buttons, etc., and of course normal keyboards work like normal when plugged in to it.)

-The screen is way above average by notebook standards. The only fault I can find is it does have some light bleed when the system first boots before Windows loads, though I haven't noticed it once the system's booted. Contrast and viewing angles and the like are way above average (Anandtech's reviews of the G73 have shown it having the best contrast of any notebook screen). I'd rather have a "matte" screen than glossy, but 99% of notebooks are "glossy" now, and it works fine. (I should note about half of my use of the system is hooked up to a 24" monitor through an HDMI to DVI adapter, using an external keyboard and mouse).

-The system is advertised as having an excellent cooling system, and it really seems to. When you're just browsing the web or anything it's very quite, though what's impressive is that it doesn't really get much louder under full load. I think under load it's the quietest notebook I've ever used (much quieter than my Macbook Air or previous Asus N80). Dell's M15x is the only comparable system I've used when it comes to how cool it keeps the CPU and GPU when running Folding @ Home on them, which maxes out both 100%. Although it's not as strenuous as Folding @ Home, right now I'm playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on it just to make sure it does okay, and it seems to hold the GPU to the upper 50s or lower 60s, and the CPU just slightly warmer than that. That's easily 20 degrees c cooler than the other notebooks I've used, despite the G74 having higher end hardware it's having to cool.

Intel's i7 processors overclock themselves when needed, if they're running cool enough, and impressively, even maxing out 8 threads of Folding at Home, the CPU kept itself overclocked to 2.5GHz the entire time, which is WAY better than I was expecting.

-Running Modern Warfare 2, I'm able to max out all settings at 1920x1080, and seem to get average frame rates in the 80-90 frames per second range (probably dipping in to the 60s and going as high as 115+). That's with everything set to max except antialiasing off (I never see the point to it at such high resolutions, though I did play with it on, which seems to reduce frame rates by maybe an average of 10-30fps, which is still excellent, though I can't tell any difference in the graphics at that resolution). It almost always looks silky smooth.

I should mention that 1920x1080 is over 2.5x higher resolution than the game consoles can run this at. While they can OUTPUT at 1080p, they're actually RENDERING at 720p or below and scaling, and of course have lower quality effects settings, lower quality textures, etc.

-As per above, I'm very happy with Nvidia's Geforce GTX 560. It's 15% faster than the 460 model in the G73 this computer replaced. Nvidia does have two GPUs that are faster than this, but still, this definitely gets the job done with room to spare. I should note that the Best Buy model of the G74 has a slightly "crippled" version of this GPU, with a 128-bit memory interface instead of the full 192-bit interface that the more expensive versions of the system ship with. (From everything I've read, that "crippled" version is still excellent for the price.)

-Sound through the headphone jack is clean, with no hissing or anything. That should be a given, but I've used more expensive notebooks than this that have bad hissing and crackling through the jack. (The only way to hear crackling is if the microphone is cranked up.)

-As advertised, it's very easy to access both the RAM, and hard drive bays on this system-technically you just need a coin or something to unscrew the bottom. It comes with 3 of the 4 DIMM slots filled (12GB total). Right now as a power user, I'm okay with 4GB in Windows 7, so 12GB is just complete overkill...but I'm not complaining!

The only aspect of the design I don't like is that the second hard drive bay uses a ribbon/cable connector instead of plugging in to a fixed SATA connection, if that makes sense. If I ever swap hard drives again, I'll just unplug the cable from the drive, and not also from the motherboard.

-The system seemed to run fine as shipped, though I did do a clean install onto an Intel 320 series SSD that I bought, with my own copy of Windows 7. If you plan on doing something like that, probably all you'll want to install in terms of drivers from Asus' site are the Ethernet driver, and the "ATK" driver (this is for the keyboard, to make the special function keys work, like volume up and down, screen brightness, etc.). Oh, and of course I reinstalled Asus' Blu Ray playback program too. Windows handled everything else just fine, and I got the video drivers from Nvidia.com...

...Speaking of which-one of the reasons I bought this system is it's one of the few on the market that DOESN'T use switchable graphics, and that DOES let you install Nvidia's normal video drivers, you don't have to use special modified ones from the manufacturer, that never get updated.

I'm just running Nvidia.com's newest drivers for my OS and GPU, and they installed without incident, with no hacks or tricks or anything-they install just like if this were a desktop system.

I also love that this DOESN'T use "Optimus" (switchable graphics). Many notebooks are now using the integrated graphics built in to Intel's new CPUs as the GPU, and then through fancy driver tricks trying to use a real, separate GPU for things that need it. At best, that hurts performance-you'd be stuck with the GPU having to basically send finished screen shots over the PCIe bus to the integrated graphics, which basically play it as a movie. That's at BEST. At worst, it hurts compatibility with games and other programs, introduces weird bugs, makes it harder to get driver updates, etc.

Again, to be clear, the G74 DOESN'T do that-it just has a normal setup where the integrated graphics are NOT used, and the Geforce GTX 560 is what's connected directly to the monitor....which is a good thing.

For "normal" programs like Microsoft Office and Open Office, Firefox, etc., it's lighting quick. Fastest computer I've used, and really a joy to use.

I personally find this very portable-it's not that much heavier than my 14" notebook was, and I really don't find it any less portable than my 14" Asus or 13" Macbook Air. The only "problem" isn't really a problem with it, it's just hard to find a case that it'll fit in easily. I'm trying Targus' XL case next, which will hopefully get the job done.

-Unfortunately, like virtually all notebooks now (even my Macbook Air) the G74 doesn't come with a clean OS disc like computers used to. It does have a program on there that lets you make recovery discs, which took four DVD+RWs, and I think you should also be able to make recovery discs using Windows 7's built-in back up program ("Create a system image", and "Create a system repair disc"). I made all those discs, but didn't actually use them, since I had a copy of Windows 7 Pro I bought for it.

So...I'm really happy with this. It's pretty much perfect if you're looking for a pretty high end, yet not too pricy notebook. You can get even more powerful, but you may end up spending 2x the price, or more even. The more expensive models I looked at from other companies had other things I didn't like-like some used Optimus, others didn't let you use Nvidia's normal video drivers, etc., so...I really think this is one to consider!

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I was so excited to get this laptop. The specs on it were incredible. I got it and sure enough, it was super fast. After a while I started noticing weird keyboard issues and worse, sporadic activity with the touchpad. I typically use an external mouse at home so it didn't get to be a big deal. But then I had to start taking it to school, to meetings, other places where I just wanted to use the stupid touchpad without it lurching all over the screen. I figured this would be a simple update.

Boy was I wrong. As I began to read through the ASUS forums, seeing comments from hundreds of other users with the exact same problems and no fix available, I began to get that sinking feeling in your stomach that you get when you realize you've just spent a ton of money on a lemon. BIOS updates don't work, driver updates actually made the problem worse.. When I discovered that ASUS has known about this issue for over a year and has not only failed to address it but continues to ship the laptop, I was furious.

I don't mind going through a little hassle to update some software components, but when yo have hundreds of complaints of hardware issues right out of the box it begins to wound the reputation of the manufacturer in this case, ASUS. I've always been a huge fan of ASUS. My last laptop was an ASUS, and despite the fact that all but two of the USB ports eventually failed, I was impressed enough that I decided to drop money I barely had on this nice new laptop. I'm supremely disappointed with the laptop and with ASUS's failure to address the issue.

If you want to get this laptop, pray that you don't have the same problems that thousands of others are having with the keyboard, numpad key (which his laptop doesn't have it has a calculator button instead), and worst of all, the trackpad. Some people report they don't have these problems. Thousands report they do. All of the good things in this laptop are eclipsed by this very serious basic hardware failure.

If you do buy this laptop, test it out for two days without getting too invested in it. If you start having any problems with the trackpad the cursor lurching over the screen, the cursor freezing up, etc etc, return it immediately. Don't think you're going to get it fixed through some easy software tweak.

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Love this laptop so far. Yeah it does come with a good amount of bloatware but as long as you know what you're doing its a quick fix. The computer is amazingly fast much better than my G73SW I had recently purchased. It runs silent and has easy access panels to provide quick access for upgrades. The computer runs games like Crysis and The Witcher 2 without batting an eye. Blu Ray drive is also always nice to have. The touchpad almost appears to have a film over top of it but i think thats just how it is designed. Overall loving the product, just make sure you send the warranty information in for the Accidental Coverage as soon as you get it. Tech support can leave alot to be desired as they don't genuinely seem interested in helping you and it is easy to see you are talking to someone from overseas although they would leave you believe they aren't. Otherwise 5 star laptop.

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I purchased this computer about a month ago, and waited to write a review so i could get to know it better. I will say right now, i love this laptop, it can run just about everything with the graphics maxed like a breeze. The only exception to this that i have found is Shattered Horizon which i purchased from steam for $5, now $20. The game is a very intense outer space FPS, so the physics are so advanced and taxing on your processor that i had to stick to normal settings. The game is still absolutely fantastic you really don't notice a difference in the levels of graphics anyways. I don't know why i see reviews about a poor wireless card, i own a terrible router, it's a good 8 years old by now, and i can still play massive games of Starcraft 2 online with "Ultra" graphics settings on everything.

I have used this computer for hours on end and not felt any heat on the keyboard, around the trackpad where i rest my wrists while i'm typing, or up on the speakers (placed between the top of the keyboard and the monitor). There is slight warmth coming from the fans in the back, but that is being pushed away from me, and i don't ever feel it so i don't care. The backlit keyboard is nice for some late-night gaming as well.

The backpack this computer came with is very nice, and i usually use it to carry around the computer (duh), power cable, mouse, mousepad, and external hard drive for transferring data and backup. It's a little rough putting the computer in the bag because the fans in the back make it so much bigger, but it's not a problem, and it wouldn't fit at all in other 17" computer bags, which is probably why it came with this bag. The mouse as well, is awesome, it has three more buttons than the standard mouse, one on top that toggles 5 different sensitivities, which is helpful when switching from many different things at once, and two on the side that you can program to do what you like. When on the internet, they are forward and back buttons, and in gaming, whatever is most convenient.

The only complaint i have about this laptop is that both of the hard drives are split in half, so the computer reads that i have four 375 gig drives instead of two 750 gig drives. Other than that, this laptop is perfect.

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