It is as good as I thought it would be! I love the buttons display and is very practical to use and very quick.
Showing posts with label netbook vs laptop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label netbook vs laptop. Show all posts
Acer Aspire AS5733-6838 Laptop, Intel Core i3-380M, 2.53GHz, 4GB, 500GB, 15.6" HD CineCrystal LED-b
It is as good as I thought it would be! I love the buttons display and is very practical to use and very quick.
Asus R500A-RS51 15.6" Notebook Computer, Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5 GHz, 6GB DDR3 RAM, 750GB HDD, Win
Solid computer, no frills. It does everything I need and I picked this up for about 550 dollars as a replacement for a Toshiba Satellite. I like this computer better. The only reason I am rating it 4 stars is because the left and right click is performed by pushing in the corner of the finger mouse pad, essentially there is just one big square to do your mouse moving and left/right clicking the bottom corners of the pad. It's just really awkward and there is a learning curve, sometimes you try to left click, but the pad thinks you are trying to move the cursor instead because like I said the pad is somewhat awkward, this leads to all kinds of fun like typing, then moving your cursor and having your cursor jump to some odd part of the page, or somehow it highlights a certain part of text, then you start typing and it replaces the text you accidentally highlighted, in some odd spot on the page.Good battery life, lots of little cool features, Sub optimal clicking set up.
Enjoy,I was recently robbed of my Laptop computers and I had to get a new one. ASUS was my only choice because they never disappoint me. The new slick one is awesome ad it's faster and lighter.As usual, Amazon is the best and this computer is great! The seller was quick and the laptop arrived quickly and expertly
packaged. Best of all, I love this laptop. It's fast, solid and once registered with Asus, I was assured by their customer
service that I could call for assistance at anytime for as long as I owned the laptop . What more could you ask for! Great
laptop, great seller. Thanks Amazon!The computer has worked very well so far, the only thing I don't like much is the touchpad, maybe I am used to the classic two-button touchpads and not to the Apple kind.
Anyway the laptop works really well and the price is very good.
Toshiba Satellite C875-S7303 Laptop (Intel Core i3-3110M, 2.4GHZ, 17.3-Inch, 4GB Memory, 500GB Hard
its a nice laptop i think, i have had almost 6 months now and no problems, the core i3 performs very well for a dual core processor,the only shortcomings i found were the the somewhat delicate case, and the very weak intel hd4000 graphics, however i am able to play most games out today on the more modest settings, all in all, i am happy for now and its great for someone on a small budget that likes games.
This laptop was 350 at BestBuy over the holidays no longer being sold by Toshiba or retail stores. I owned another Toshiba Satellite purchased about 6 years ago that I still use and rely heavily on. I wanted this one to use as a backup and updated version. Bad move. I also hate Windows 8. It is so 'intuitive' that it takes several extra steps to navigate what I want and bypass the flipping screens and access charms, etc. I hate it because one cannot establish settings to the level other windows products allowed and seems incredibly more limiting toward users who would bypass some of the forced settings to establish their own. I know people hated Windows XP when it came out and it remains one of the most popular, functional OS out there and is still supported as a result -but I'm just frustrated that basic stuff like java, printer drivers, adobe flash, etc. all knot-up this particular computer. I'm frustrated that the mousepad crapped out at 4 months and windows updates have now crapped out the CDDVD driver. I can do a hard reset, but after the 5th time in under 2 years, it's a pain to have to resort to that to regain the use of the drivers this system is supposed to provide. I will avoid the Win8 issue going forward as I plan to become an Apple customer. Anything that was good with Toshiba is offset by Windows 8.Just love it and use it all the time!!! You couldn't do any better. Want to be another one in the futureToshiba has been very good to me over the years with their $300-$350 range computers. I don't use it for too much but internet surfing and Word documents. This model was very disappointing however from the moment I touched the keyboard and felt its flimsiness. I am disappointed that Toshiba would make something so crappy to type on that it would actually miss letters as you type. I can only imagine what it will do as it gets older. Everything is still working 4 months later but I don't expect much when I see that they cheaped out on something so fundamental as the keyboard.Very Sloooooow....Not good for games or even facebook....Not alot of computer for the money....Too late to return....stay away from this computer!!!!!
HP Pavilion tx2513cl Entertainment - Turion X2 RM-70 / 2 GHz - RAM 3 GB - HDD 250 GB - DVD?RW (?R D
I bought a refurbished one of these back in 2010. Everyone complains about HP computers, but I never had an issue with mine. The battery holds less charge than it did when I first got it, which is completely understandable since it's over 2 years old, but even that is not much of an issue since I am using the regular battery and not an extended life one. When I got it, I immediately upgraded from Vista to 7 because of my own preference and for a while the drivers that support the pen and touch features were not fully funtional (the pen feature worked, but the touch display didn't). Early last year, they released the updated drivers so now it is fully functional. The laptop does get kinda hot at times, that is true. Apparently, this is something that all of the HP computers made in similar build to this one do. Really, if you just sit it on a flat surface (like a table) and make sure there are no obstructions near the vents, the latop runs quite smoothly and the heat shouldn't be much of an issue then.A neat feature about this computer is that it is Wacom Penabled and comes with Wacom drivers installed on it. For an artist, like myself, this is very handy as this feature is can utilize the pressure sensitivity of the screen. The 3 gigs of RAM already on the computer work pretty well, but I will be adding another gig to max it out for the artistic programs I use that really consume RAM, like Photoshop or Autodesk Maya. It actually runs fine with the 3 gigs though. It also comes with a little remote control that works with the media content.
Sometimes the fan gets kinda loud, but that seems to happen only when the computer is using a lot of memory. I do not recommend leaving disks in the computer when it is just starting up as it sometimes gives problems at startup. The battery does stick out the back and it is kind of annoying, but that's not really a funtionality issue as it is more of an aestetic issue. The only crappy thing I find is that it is not very easy to find a relatively cheap laptop case that fits it, since it is bigger than a netbook and smaller than most normal laptops but again, that is not a funtionality issue.
Overall, I am very pleased with this computer. It works for everything I need it for.
there since I did not purchase it in Brazil.
The transaction went well. No problem there but HP does have a problem with
laptops over heating.
IBM LENOVO IdeaPad Y470p Laptop - i7-2670QM 2.2GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M 1GB, 500GB HDD,
I purchased a Lenovo hoping that the quality of their product would be better than previous laptops I've had in the past. I am unfortunately disappointed.I purchased a brand new Y470P from Lenovo and it gave me consistent freezing issues. I tried reinstalling the OS, I called up tech support and did everything they recommended, and had to send the computer in for them to repair. Not only did they not repair it, but it's in worse condition than it was before. After getting the computer back from them, I noticed that they replaced my graphics card with a different brand card, either hoping I wouldn't notice or doing it by mistake. It still has the 'Radeon Graphics' sticker but now it's NVIDIA on the inside. That in itself isn't a biggie. I went online and found that the one they replaced it with is marginally worse. However, the problems that I'm experiencing now are worse than before. It fails to go into sleep mode or hibernation by itself now, so I have to manually do it and hope that it does it successfully. No more closing the lid and being on my way, I now have to babysit it to make sure it goes to sleep. If I ever leave it unattended and unplugged I come back to find that the battery is entirely drained since it failed to go into sleep mode by itself. The fan speed is always high, making it noisy constantly, unlike how it was quiet before. (and I checked to make sure the cooling settings were the same)
Now I have to wait until the end of the semester to have it 'fixed' again. (I would do it now but I'm a CS major and need to have a computer to do my homework -not having it for two weeks isn't an option)
EDIT (11/01/2012): I'm changing the review from a 1 star to 4 star because Lenovo gave me a new computer to replace the faulty one. The old one started blue screening so I had to have it replaced. The new one isn't refurbished and it's a newer, better version of the one that I had, so I'm happy.
I've been using this computer since October 2011 (although I purchased it in July, I didn't get it until then because Lenovo would only ship it within the US and I was in Europe back then). I have done pretty much everything with it (office, internet, gaming, data analysis (MATLAB), CUDA computing, etc) and it never had a problem. I have played Crysis 2 at very acceptable frame rates on Medium and to a lesser degree Maximum (not Ultra) graphics settings. I have also played Battlefield 3, Assassin's Creed and NFS: The Run. All run generally smoothly, but of course in computationally intensive scenes the frame rate drops which is what you would expect from a GT550M GPU.
One of the greatest things about this laptop was its battery life: I literally have used it for 13 hours straight on battery power (of course with WiFi off, minimum screen brightness, etc). But the thing with the battery is not its capacity, it's the utility that Lenovo provide you that beautifully takes care of energy consumption. However, the downside of the utility is that it's not available for Linux (they have been upgrading the utility I believe so there might be a version that runs on Linux too these days). So on Linux I would get only like 3 hours of battery power normally. If you use the laptop on battery with maximum demand (like playing Crysis 2 on Maximum graphics settings) you only get like 1-1.5 hours of battery, suggesting that the power management utility is phenomenal (as it can extend the battery life to up to 12-13hrs).
I am very happy with what I have gotten from Lenovo (given the price) so I would get more Lenovo laptops in the future.I have had my laptop for about a year now and I still love it. I have since upgraded it to Windows 8 and installed a SSD to run the OS alongside with the provided HD. Runs fast, battery lasts all day for school. Runs everything from adobe products to office without a problem.
Dell Inspiron 15 15.6" Laptop, AMD Dual-Core E-450 1.65GHz, 4GB, 320GB, AMD Radeon HD 6320 Graphics
I had been looking for some time for a good deal on a below $450 laptop running Windows 7 (not because I like running Windows, it is just outside my budget to purchase a Linux machine also). I always prefer Dell because of the quality and the excellent technical support (just try to get an HP computer repaired under warranty) but was having trouble breaking that $400 line. When I saw this M501R laptop offered for $369, I ordered it very quickly, just doing a quick scan of its capabilities and reputation on the net. 4 GB RAM, dual core processor (don't mind this moderately powerful AMD chip since I am not doing video processing or the like on this machine), 500 GB HD (5400 RPM is slow, but for Internet and document, photo processing it is fine), CD/DVD read and write (don't usually see this included on a below $400 machine), big (15.6 inch) screen with fairly nice resolution (hey, what do you want for this price)---not quite as precise display as the higher priced dispalys but my wife likes it fine for TV and movies anyway, Windows 7 Home Supreme (whatever---no one sells lower than "Supreme") keeps you in the MS monopoly plot for now, though I do recommend using OfficeLibre (used to be Open Office---free superior equivalent to Microsoft Office handles all document processing needs and is compatible with MS) as I did to avoid purchasing overprices MS stuff, and GIMP if you are an Adobe Photoshop user but don't have a spare grand lying around. Good audio---run the output into a laptop stereo stand. Windows Live Movie Maker is a plus with Windows 7, giving you pretty nice YouTube video production capability. Don't need an email application since GMAIL and HOTMAIL have great web interfaces. Jump on this!
Using the built in HDMI port I connected the laptop to my 55inch 1080p hd tv and using an app called WIFI Mouse HD, i could use my phone as a mouse and keyboard on a 55in tv. The fan is super quiet as well.
The Laptop comes with something called WAVES MAXXAUDIO which is supposed to make movies and games and music sound "extra sweet" what it really does is make the sound reach further away but makes the sound sound tinny. Not really that great. Battery isn't bad nor good. The Web Camera is also not good nor bad,
Overall, this is the best laptop to buy for the price. I recommend you buy it here to save yourself at least 50$ for most ppl who don't need to pay tax on Amazon.
Using the built in HDMI port I connected the laptop to my 55inch 1080p hd tv and using an app called WIFI Mouse HD, i could use my phone as a mouse and keyboard on a 55in tv. The fan is super quiet as well.
The Laptop comes with something called WAVES MAXXAUDIO which is supposed to make movies and games and music sound "extra sweet" what it really does is make the sound reach further away but makes the sound sound tinny. Not really that great. Battery isn't bad nor good. The Web Camera is also not good nor bad,
Overall, this is the best laptop to buy for the price. I recommend you buy it Best buy ans save yourself 100$.I thougt the low price and the fact that it had Windows 7 made it worth the risk of buying. Never again. With this computer, I have to be very careful when typing a message, even as I'm doing now, because the cursor jumps around to another spot in the message. And frequently, I mean very frequently, I had to troubleshoot to get it to connect to the internet when other wifi devices in the house worked just fine. Annoying. Also no number keys pad, but I could have lived with that. I rarely write negative reviews, but this was a very poor choice on my part. I'm going to save up and get a good one next time.
Update: The company has been very prompt in responding, and has said they would accept a return with a restocking fee (which is perfectly understandable since I'm sure they have to go into the computer to make sure you have deleted all your personal stuff, etc.). So the company seems wonderful, but not this particular laptop.
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Toshiba L555-S7008 i5-430m 2.26ghz/4gb/500gb/dvd
My old laptop died and I needed a new one fast since I had a paper due in two weeks. I ordered this 17.3 inch laptop and they gave me a delivery date only one day before my paper's due date. Imagine my surprise when it came in only four days later. I was able to plug it in, run a cable to my old computer and was up and running that day. I got my paper don in plenty of time for a rewrite and wound up with an A in the course. By the way, I'm at ITT Tech and do know something about computers. Toshibas are the best. My old computer was a VAIO from Sony and though I only had it for two years, and I paid a lot for it since it was top of the line, the DVD player went out six months after I bought it, the sound was horrible and the screen started going out on it just a few weeks before went out completely. It was in the shop several times.Now my new Toshiba is perfect and I really like the fact it has a numeric keypad and I can do math calculations on it.
However, there are some drawbacks: it only comes with 4GB RAM, and if you want the maximum 8GB (as I do), you have to buy a memory upgrade, which costs over $400!! As all new laptops, it does not have neither an internal modem, nor phone port (which was a big surprise to me!!), and if you need to dial up for Internet connection (as I do), you have to buy an external modem (between $30 and $50). While Windows 7, with its bit-64 is better than Vista (which Micrsoft is quitely dropping), you will need hours to download series of updates for all you previous devices and software. Luckily these are free, but just a waste of time.
All in all, it is a good buy, especially if you don't need to dial up, and you don't mind paying over $400 for RAM upgrade.
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Buy Toshiba L555-S7008 i5-430m 2.26ghz/4gb/500gb/dvd Now
I have been purchasing Toshiba laptops for the last decade...never again. I bought 1 of the L755 series right after Christmas and within a couple of weeks keys started popping off the keyboard, the alt key gets stuck and you have to bang on it 3-4 times before you can type. I was a totally satisfied Toshiba user for a long time...no more.Read Best Reviews of Toshiba L555-S7008 i5-430m 2.26ghz/4gb/500gb/dvd Here
Dell Vostro V3500 15.6" Notebook, Intel Core i3-350M (2.26GHz), 2GB DDR3 Memory, 250GB HDD, DVD Sup
We have had our Dell Vostro laptop for a little over a year now and have been happy! Awesome machine! My only complaint is the space bar on the keyboard. You have to strike it close to the middle or else it may not respond. The keyboard does seem a tad chintzy. Other than that, I am glad we have made this purchase!
Acer Aspire V5-571P-6642 15.6-Inch Touch Screen Laptop (Silky Silver)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I've had mine for a few hours so these are just first impressions:The build quality is very high this laptop feels solid despite being very light. The design is clean and simple, the screen is bright and the colors are vibrant. The sound is well above average for a laptop, but that's not saying too much.
This is my first exposure to Windows8 and from what I read in the press, I was expecting to hate it. On the contrary I think for home use it's going to work out perfectly. If you are comfortable with the iPhone style interface you'll have no problem with Windows8. During the initial setup boot it shows you the two main things you need to know in order to navigate. With that I was up and running. I wasn't too sure about the touch screen idea: love it for my phone, but how would the ergonomics feel with a laptop? Answer: awesome. With the Windows8 "tile" based interface, touch just works. I've barely used the touchpad since I got this thing. My other computers seem lame now. Again, this is based on a few hours of use, but the first impressions are very good. I think the Windows OS has made a big step forward out of the cluttered mess it was.
I work in the computing industry so I looked a little closer into some of the specs for those who like to know these things: the CPU, as noted is an Intel i5. That doesn't really tell you much, since that can refer to multiple generations of Intel chips. In this case it is the latest and greatest "IvyBridge" dual-core Intel CPU (22nm, Tri-gate transistors). This is a 17w(!) CPU. That is insanely low power for the performance you are getting. This CPU also includes some fairly robust integrated graphics on the die with 16 graphics execution units. This is 4 more than the previous high-end, and 10 more than the current "second tier". I've read up on the benchmarks and it out classes many discrete graphics solutions. This should actually enable you to do some fairly decent gaming on your laptop if you so choose. It will won't compete with a dedicated "gaming" laptop with high-end discrete graphics, but then again it won't cost you 2-3K. One thing to note is that the Intel graphics drivers generally fall short of AMD or Nvidia when it comes to some of the more high-end graphics settings. Most users don't even know how to get to those features, but if you are serious gamer this is something to consider. On the other hand when it comes to mainstream applications and video performance, Intel performs as well or better than the competition.
A few things to note: this laptop has a nice big 500GB hard drive, but it's a conventional drive and not a solid-state drive. All conventional drives are at risk of failure, and so you should pick up a cheap external back-up HDD just to be safe (or sign up for an online back-up service from somebody like Amazon). It's cheap insurance. Another thing worth mentioning is that while this is not an "Ultrabook" it's pretty close to being that thin. While cool looking, it does mean you have an adapter for network cables and VGA displays. Nobody should need a VGA display connector anymore (the laptop has a conventional HDMI port) but if you plan to plug into a network you have the adapter to think about. Fortunately the wireless on this laptop is first rate. I've got a pretty high-end business class HP laptop from work, and this Acer blows it away on connection speeds.
So my overall impression? This is a great laptop and based on what I've experienced I can comfortably recommend it to anyone. Any doubts I had about Windows8 have been erased. It's simple, intuitive and with a touch screen, computing is kind of fun again.
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Just a note that after a week of using this laptop I still really like it. I'm finding Windows 8 is fairly intuitive to use and learn. That being said if you are really used to tweaking around in the old Windows there are some frustrating moments trying to figure it out in Windows 8. However overall they've made configuring things like privacy settings *much easier* so I think the average user will find themselves doing things in Windows 8 they would never do in Windows 7.
I still think that touch is why Windows 8 works and I'm not sure I could suggest buying a non-touch laptop with this OS. I've really gotten hooked on the "10 fingered" touch. It makes my "two fingered" touch on my phone seem antiquated. This makes me wish there were more convertible tablet/laptops out there. It seems like laptop makers are missing the market here.
After a few weeks, I can say that we're pleasantly surprised. The V5 is quite thin and light compared to the other laptops we have around the house (Lenovo G770, Lenovo ThinkPad T420s, Compaq CQ56, HP DV4, and HP DV9000). The backlit keyboard is quite nice, both in appearance and feel. Typing away feels good, with just the right amount of tactile resistance. Of the models we have, only the ThinkPad outclasses the V5 in this area. The inclusion of a numeric keypad was an added bonus, as only our 17" models have these. For me, the addition doesn't make the keyboard feel cramped, but, my hands are on the smaller side, so this could vary. The touchpad itself is very sensitive, with a surface that lets your fingers glide right across it easily. I'm not a touchpad person myself, but I did check out the extensive adjustments and gesture control options that are built in, just before turning them off. (Yes, I know, how antiquated of me.)
The battery life is very good, with ours lasting just under 6 hours while doing some light gaming the whole time. This bested the older models we have, but came in about the same as the pair of Lenovos. Speaking of gaming, the Intel graphics chip inside isn't a slouch, but, it's not going to come close to what can be had with a dedicated gaming laptop or other laptop with decent graphics chip from NVIDIA or AMD. The CPU is certainly powerful enough, especially when backed by Intel's Ivy Bridge chipset, but expect to be turning down the graphics options if you're into heavy gaming (first person shooters, RPGs, etc). For your typical tasks, like web surfing, emailing, document creation, watching videos, playing games on Facebook or Pogo, and the like, you'll be more than happy with the performance. In terms of overall performance, I feel the V5 held put itself ahead of the rest of our pack, with most everything seeming to run a bit quicker and more smoothly than on any of our others.
Yes, V5 comes with Windows 8, but, I'm not going to try and review that, as it's a whole beast in and of itself. I would like to note that the V5 does come with a fair amount of bloatware, those programs that no one really wants but the manufacturer stick in there as a "value add" item. The V5 wasn't nearly as bad as the HPs and Compaq, which are notorious for the amount of garbage they come with. Bummer there wasn't a full copy of Office Home and Student instead of the trial version, but I can't actually complain about that since I knew that what it came with in the first place. Lastly, and the only thing I will say about Win8 is that it runs very smoothly compared to some prior new major releases (*cough* Vista *cough* WinME *cough* Win95). Not a single hitch to be had during this whole time, and we've been putting the V5 through it's paces.
Lastly, just a few bits on the V5's other features. Touchscreen! Yes, it works very well, but you'll likely love it or hate it, depending on if you like reaching up to the screen a lot and if you don't mind cleaning the screen a lot more often than on a conventional laptop. The HDMI output has come in very handy for things like gaming, watching Netflix, and web surfing on an HDTV. Our son loves it for the gaming, so he and his friends can all watch the action without having to crowd around the person at the keyboard. Sound quality is decent enough, though you're not going to get quality enough to satisfy an audiophile. The webcam is...well..meh. It works well enough, to be sure, but don't expect crystal clear and grain free image quality. It's simply not that great, at 1.3MP.
Overall, I think the V5 is an excellent machine in terms of price, performance, and features. I'm almost tempted to trade my G770 for it but...I really like the bigger screen. Our son is loving it, and as previously stated, hasn't run into a single hitch yet. Only time will tell if the quality inside is up to snuff though.
Buy Acer Aspire V5-571P-6642 15.6-Inch Touch Screen Laptop (Silky Silver) Now
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program On paper, this laptop has a lot going for it a 3rd generation Ivy Bridge i5 dual core processor, 6 GB RAM, a 15.6" multi touch screen, a 5GHz wifi adapter (Atheros AR5BWB222), 3 USB ports (1 USB 3.0), 5 hour battery life (as per the product specs in reality this is about half that), and a modern design aesthetic.Unfortunately, the more I used it, the more I ran into its limitations, and hence my 3 star (It's Okay) rating.
1. Performance.
Its Windows Experience Index numbers (on a scale of 1 to 9.9) are:
Processor (6.9), Memory (7.1), Graphics 4.5, Gaming (6.2), Hard disk (5.9)
The V5 is really hurt by its anemic Intel HD Graphics 4000 chip (only 128MB of dedicated video memory); as well as by its 5400 RPM hard drive.
2. Construction
This is a handsome laptop, but its cut corners soon become apparent with use it feels plastic-ky and less well finished than my other laptops.
3. Usability Touchpad
The touchpad is located too far to the left making left clicks a challenge, has a stiff click action, and tends to lose sensitivity when performing click-drag operations (when closing Modern/Metro apps, touch pad drags were often ignored.)
It supports Win8 actions such as invoking the Charm menu, but these were easy to trigger inadvertently yanking me out of my thoughts.
4. Usability Keyboard
The keyboard is firm, full sized, and backlit. However, some keys are simply too small, and the Caps/Num Lock keys provide no indication when active.
5. Usability Touch screen
The touch screen is the perfect complement to Windows 8's Modern/Metro interface, and is natural to use. However, right click and click drag actions were harder to pull off, and I kept resorting to the mouse.
Reaching across the keyboard can be an uncomfortable action depending on user position.
Touching the screen can also be sacrilegious for those sensitive to screen smudges :)
6. Screen
The display was sufficiently bright, with adequate color reproduction. Its 1366x768 resolution is measly for a 15.6" screen, but has the benefit of making text easier to read and icons easier to click since each pixel is larger.
7. No built-in Ethernet/VGA ports
In a tragic design decision, these ports are only available using a separate adapter cable. That means I not only have to pack this itty bitty connector each time, but I also have to worry that I will misplace it :(
8. Battery life even with light use, the battery ran down in 3 hours. This is too short for mobile use.
9. Integrated Optical Drive a nice touch, but as expected at this price point, Bluray is not supported.
10. Software
This unit was surprisingly clear of bloatware (except for NTI Media Maker). Even the trial Windows Office 2010 is a download link. Unfortunately, Acer was just as sparing with useful software.
Who is this for?
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This laptop seems to be aimed at users with light to moderate usage needs it should be adequate for Internet browsing/streaming, general home use, and for school homework. The larger pixels at this resolution and screen size should also be easier on older eyes.
However, gamers, road warriors, developers, and other power users will likely be better served elsewhere.
Conclusion
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While this may seem to be a lot of laptop for the money, I found that there were some material compromises.
How satisfied you will be with this laptop will depend on which of these compromises matter to you.
Happy Computing!
~Damodar
Read Best Reviews of Acer Aspire V5-571P-6642 15.6-Inch Touch Screen Laptop (Silky Silver) Here
I have only been on this laptop for a few hours, but I wanted to share how great my experience has been! Yes, it's a new OS so it takes a little getting used to, but the touchscreen and the keyboard can be interchanged flawlessly and if you are familiar with previous windows versions you can get yourself going with a little brain power. Anyway, this review is for the laptop. All specs are accurate. This laptop is so thin for it's size! It is heavier than I wanted, but still light for it's dimensions. The screen is beautiful and very responsive to touch. I love the keyboard as well back lit, but only when being used. The track pad does NOT have buttons on it, instead you need to double tap the trackpad if you don't want to use the touch screen. A little different than what I am used to but I think I can get used to it. Love all the USB ports, including one that is 3.0, and the hdmi port. Another big thing for me, an SD slot. For photo editing, this is really helpful.Amazon's price was the same as trusted tech sites, so I went with them since I am a prime member.
Overall, I realize it's still early, but I am very impressed with my initial impressions. For the technical specs you are really getting a good deal. Acer's reputation is really not as high as it should be they make great products.
Want Acer Aspire V5-571P-6642 15.6-Inch Touch Screen Laptop (Silky Silver) Discount?
This is my first review ever on a product, so excuse me if it's a tad jumbled or jumps from subject to subject. I guess I should also mention that this is for the 6648 model that is Best Buy exclusive ($519, but i3 processor)I received this laptop as a gift after I sold my gaming desktop computer. I am about to start graduate school, so I was in the market for a nice, efficient laptop for school work. I fully intended on buying a Surface tablet, but after extensive review and playing with this in-store for a few minutes, I decided this would do much better for my needs.
So there I was in Best Buy, wondering why this was so cheap. From first looks of this device on the exterior, I was drawn towards it. The shell has a nice smooth, silvery exterior, but is actually plastic. Oh well, it looks great. The backlit keyboard is just an awesome bonus, as NO OTHER keyboard in this price range has this feature. Seriously, I HATE having a bunch of light on, and I cannot function without a backlit keyboard. The track pad is nice and large, but guess what? I hardly use it due to the AWESOME touch screen feature.
The touchscreen itself is insanely accurate, even down to the small menu boxes! It's so great to use, that I find myself neglecting the large trackpad below the keyboard. One really negative aspect of the touchscreen is that since it's so great to use, you WILL notice horrible smudges. I happened to have a slight cold when I got this last night, so just remember to keep your hands clean before groping the screen with your dirty hands.....just saying.
I'd consider myself pretty high-tech, and just recently, I laughed at someone for getting a windows 8 laptop and crying about it not being touchscreen. Man, I need to go apologize to them. I think I'd cry to if this didn't have it! Windows 8 is......unique. I've tried the windows 8 phone platform and did not like it one bit. Windows 8 on a touchscreen-enabled laptop is pretty slick. If you don't like the tiles you can always switch back to a classic desktop for a minute for more familiar navigation. It does take some getting used too.
I don't really have TOO much experience with laptop keyboards, but this one seems to do just fine for me. It's a good mixture of softness and firm "clickiness" to let you know you've hit the key successfully. I don't feel as if I've had to compensate for anything while typing, which is good because I type close to 100 wpm. I imagine I'd be pretty upset if I had to slow down my typing deliberately to make up for a keyboards faults. Like I've said before, I just could NOT live without a backlit keyboard. It helps tremendously, even during the day. At night, it's a blessing. Keyboard keys are nice and bright, and are illuminated by a nice, bright, white LED lighting. (I could be biased somewhat as well, because white those bright, white, almost light blue LED lights are my favorite at Christmas!) Just as a bonus, there are a full set of numbered keys to the right of the main keyboard. The keys also have a nice matte finish to them. It's really nice to type on I've found.
For all of the aesthetics so far, the screen is really nothing special to look at. I mean, hey, it's not bad, it's just not GREAT. Like I said, I'm a techie, but I can live with the screen. The native IE browser appears washed out while typing this. Colors just don't "pop" out. It's definitely not an iPad Retina display (Before you cry bias, I've used Android products primarily over the past few years. I can just recognize when certain brands have better qualities, and Apple makes ridiculously awesome screens. Truth.)I watched a few YouTube videos and an episode of Battlestar Galactica and Family Guy on Netflix, and was neither amazed or disgusting. It's just.......a screen. For $519.00, an awesome backlit LED keyboard and touchscreen, I'll manage!
The audio is actually pretty decent for a laptop. It touts a Dolby Advanced Audio Virtual Surround Sound capability. I mean, I dunno, I'm no Audiophile, but judging purely in comparison from the laptops I've owned before, this laptop seems to project sound a little better. No bass to speak of (obviously), but pretty decent. No distortion on 100% volume. I find the best to be around 50% volume. I can definitely hear it from across my bedroom at 50% with ease. No complaints whatsoever about the sound on this laptop.
All of the reviews I have read on this battery describe it as terrible. I agree. It drains really, really fast. I have no benchmarks or tests to prove it from, but I can attest to the reviews. It is just. plain. horrible. Whatever, I don't plan to take this camping, or skydiving, or watch DVDs for hours on a car trip with it. It's a core i3 laptop, I just plan to do work with it for a graduate program, so I plan to be in civilization and near electrical outlets like 95% of normal Americans. This is fine with me. All hail the electrical outlets.
What else to say? I have really, really enjoyed using this laptop so far the past day! I am still figuring out various aspects of windows 8. Some are annoying, some are cool. As a previous power PC user, it is slightly aggravating that I can't just jump in and go, but the new part of me is enjoying something fresh and fun. The fact that I have an Xbox 360 is even sweeter, as this integrates awesomely with my Xbox! Game requests and messages from my friends all are shown on the tile screen to let me know. It's really cool. I love how in windows 8 you can split screen with applications! This is where touchscreen really, really shines. I couldn't imagine doing some of these functions without it.
Like I said, this is the Best Buy exclusive variant, which is $519.00, but replaces the i5 with the i3. I couldn't imagine performance being any different with the i5, maybe slightly faster if anything. It comes with 4GB, which is been sufficient for me. Power users might want to consider an 8GB upgrade. Startup time for the laptop seems to be lengthy, but I've been spoiled by an SSD. I will be looking to upgrade to an SSD if possible. I can't think of any other upgrades I think would be necessary.
Overall rating (purely subjective, and no scale or previous experience for judgment):
Windows 8: 4/5 This is due to some annoying aspects of Windows 8.
Display: 3.5/5 I feel this is an average screen, nothing horrible, nothing fantastic.
Touch screen: 5/5 This touchscreen is AWESOME, and INCREDIBLY accurate. After using it, I would NOT recommend getting Windows 8 without a touchscreen capable device. You are missing out on so much!
Keyboard: 5/5 I am a power type, and do not have to compensate for anything while typing. Keys are slightly small, but so are my hands. Backlit keyboard is just incredible, as I found no other laptop in my price range that offered this option.
Sound: 4/5 Horrible low end (It's a laptop, duh). Good representation of mid/high ends with music. 50% volume is the sweet spot for me, and music sounds good, clear across my bedroom from previous laptops I've owned. I'm no expert, but it sounds good enough for me.
Hardware: 4/5 Nice options for a budget laptop. 4GB DDR3. 500GB HD. Second Generation Core i3, which is quick enough for all the applications I use here. Intel HD3000 graphics, which is good enough for HD videos and all the apps. Comes with Bluetooth, Wireless, and all the necessities. Having an SSD drive, 8GB, and possibly Intel HD4000 GPU would have been nicer, but saving ~$200 bucks is definitely worth the downgrade for what I use this laptop for.
Battery life: 2/5 My non scientific testing of just running it slightly to see the drain seems to match up with more through reviews and bench testing. It drains really, really fast. But like most technologically savvy Americans, I am near electrical outlets. It's acceptable if you don't use it on commutes or long trips. Who uses a laptop in a car anymore anyway?
Overall, I give this laptop a 4.5/5. I really am not including the battery life, as this would drag the rating down. Its quick, THIN, and meets my needs perfectly so far. If you get this, you won't be disappointed. And if you can find one for $519.00 at Best Buy, I would HIGHLY recommend you snag it while you can! I would be hard pressed to believe you'd find any significant performance differences between the i3 and the i5 for what you would use this laptop for. I hope this review has helped!
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Toshiba Satellite P755-S5381/ i5
I have owned this computer which is no longer available in most outlet stores, online, and other sources any more. However, I purchased this one a year ago and it is running strong. First time Toshiba owner and I am impressed with the quality of the product. Picked mine up at a local office store for 600-700 bucks.
HP Pavilion G7-2243us 17.3"Laptop (AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M CPU, 6GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB Hard Drive, AM
I also bought mine and Staples for use in my classroom and I love it! The Windows 8 is really neat for organizing the programs you have open. It's easy to manage. I use this computer and run 4-5 large programs at a time and it is extremely fast! The tech man at my school recommended this specific computer since it has a 4core and I'm so glad I went with this one. Plus the screen is large and very vibrant.
I have also played Battlefield 3 in medium-low settings just fine.(doesnt draw fps so i dont know extacly what fps)
I use Adobe Photoshop CS6 as well as Premiere and After Effects.
Plays 1080p video perfectly (my old computer couldnt)
Unless you are using a 3d program to render full 3d scenes i dont think you would have any problem for Video and photo editing, and light to medium gaming.
Also I use this computer paired with a Laptop Cooler (any). It brings the temp down about 10c and runs faster.
Also if you use something like Razr Game Booster, or something that will allow you to close down background services it will improve your gaming.
CONS:
Only thing I do not like is the screen. I edit photos and I feel if I dont have the screen at a perfect 90degrees, the colors and lightness/darkness in pictures changes. So I dont feel I can get an accurate edit of the photo.
Maybe I will upgrade to an HD monitor to pair with this laptopThis my first Windows 8 computer --purchased for my wife. I dislike Windows 8, she hates Windows 8. HP Support says you are stuck with Windows 8. You can not downgrade to Windows 7. They will sell you the Windows 7 disc but will provide you NO DRIVERS to support Win 7. You must get drives from the manufacturers of each of the components HP puts into the notebook. If you downgrade support and warranty are void.
So...it's good hardware and value. Beware before you buy-----love windows 8!The keyboard of this laptop doesn't have a pause/break key. This means that ctrl+break doesn't work. When I called HP support they told me that HP hadn't provided for this function. No big deal to people who aren't programers but if you are running code and need to interrupt it or accidentally create an endless loop you have to stop the parent program using task manager--not the best solution.
NQ088AWABA - HP EliteBook 2730p Tablet PC Centrino 2 vPro - Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600 2.13 GHz - 12.1
This is my second HP business tablet. You can find my review of the 2710p somewhere on Amazon. The fact that this is the second HP tablet I bought should tell you something.My model is like the one listed here, but with an outdoor screen (higher contrast for use outdoors).
The positives:
+ LOW weight. Check the specs, but having schlepped everything from a "desktop replacement" 17 inch laptop to a netbook, I can say that this thing is LIGHT.
+ LONG battery life. I haven't run down the internal battery yet, and it has gone well over 4 hours. This may have something to do with Windows 7, which I have installed. A 4+ hour battery life at this weight is awesome. I'll add the slim battery slice and probably have over 12hrs of battery life.
+ Well-built. This computer, like its predecessor the 2710p, uses lots of metal and feels solid in your hands. I abused the heck out of my 2710p, and never had any problems with any hinges, latches, screen, etc.
+ Fast. My 2710p was a 1.2GHz/4GB RAM, which felt pretty slow. This one feels very fast and responsive in comparison, and much faster than an AMD 1.9GHz dual core that I also have. With an SSD, this thing would really fly.
+ Quiet. This one is even quieter than its predecessor. The fan rarely turns on. I can take notes in meetings without the disturbing whine of the fan.
+ Screen. The screen is awesome. I can work outside in sunlight with snow on the ground. Writing on the screen is very natural feeling, like writing on paper with a good ballpoint pen.
+ The little things. Built-in camera works GREAT with any video phone/conferencing app. There is no feedback, camera quality is good, and frame rate is good at 800x600. Stylus doesn't get lost due to a friction lock (2710p stylus would pop out and wander away). Keyboard has a good feel and is full size.
The negatives:
Speakers. I didn't think the speakers could get WORSE than the 2710p, but the speaker on this thing is barely louder than a headphone removed 30ft from your head. The speakers are simply awful.
Video output. There is no DVI output. Come on HP, this thing is not a 10-year old platform, why can't you put a DVI port on this or the dock?
2 USB ports. TWO USB ports is NOT enough. Period.
Power block. The power block is small, but it could be MUCH smaller. This tablet fits great in a portfolio, but where do you stick the power block? I guess if you have the slim battery slice, you won't need the power block much, but still, it sure would be nice to have a tiny power supply BUILT IN to the laptop so that all you need was a cord. Compaq made laptops with built-in power supplies many years ago. I'd really like to see that come back.
Screen. I know I said the screen is awesome, but I'd like just a bit more real estate and higher resolution. There is about 1/2 inch all the way around the edge that they could stuff some more pixels into.
Summary:
This tablet, like its predecessor, is a winner. No, it's not a Mac, and I'm very happy about that. I don't need to be "cool" with my electronics, I need them to do what I want and how I want without paying extra for "cool" and fighting the manufacturer at every turn to get the thing to work the way _I_ want. Besides, there is no Mac tablet. Once you use a tablet, you will wonder how you got by without one. I only considered this one and a Thinkpad, because I want the touchstick mouse, which is MUCH easier to use than an external mouse or touchpad when you are in a vehicle or moving around. This one gets a nod with its add on battery that is a slim slice on the bottom instead of a bulky extension on the back. I also got burned a couple of times after Lenovo bought Thinkpad.
Get this tablet for half price from HP refurb. For less than this thing costs new, I got it with an external 24" screen, 3 year accidental damage, docking station, external keyboard, extended battery, and received it in 3 days.
HEWLETT COMPAQ PRESARIO 110C-1001NR MINI NOTEBK - VA729UA#ABA
you gotta be weary about ordering online, especially when it comes to computers. But my choice of the hp mini 110was based purely on price, what i could afford, and for that, its pretty darn good. it was freshly restored by the seller
to factory condition meaning the hard drive was formatted and the operating system was completely reinstalled.
for me that is a must in a used computer. overall a great value for the budget minded student or parent.
Acer AS5552-6838 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black)
I tried to write a review which was rather lengthy but somehow got mysteriously deleted when I was almost finished. OK, so let's try this again. This machine handles heavy duty programs but its Achilles Heel is the touchpad. First of all, there is apparently no way to adjust sensitivity. Unreliable, unpredictable scrolling. Unwanted links pop up all the time when unprompted. Completely flat profile on the touchpad so that you cannot feel your way to find the left click. I hate this. Why couldn't they put a simple bump there? I have resigned myself to the fact that I will simply use a remote mouse. Otherwise, no problems, so far.
Buy Acer AS5552-6838 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black) Now
The integrated video card on my last laptop dropped out, and I needed a new one asap. After a day of extensive research, I ended up buying this one, and I'm very happy with it. It's powerful with far fewer hiccups than any other laptop I've owned and without being overpowered and overpriced. I've already got a self-built tower that cost tons and handles games laptops aren't for that unless you enjoy spending money. That said, I do a bit of gaming on it, and it handles it fine. I'm not exactly running 16x AA, but I am able to set the graphics settings pretty high. Games = heat = short laptop life, though, so enough about that. I installed Windows Ultimate on it, and it runs fine. If a laptop couldn't at least run an OS, I guess I'd be worried.The appearance is nice. The mesh black is nice because of the lack of fingerprints, as everyone has pointed out. The screen is glossy though, and it's fingerprint city. The speaker sucks, which everyone pointed out. I thought they were exaggerating, but it really is awful. You can max everything out and still have trouble making words out from a foot away. On the upside, the fan is very quiet, so that won't interfere with sound. There's also a camera, which is nice, if you're not paranoid. There's built-in software/bloatware for it, but we all know we're just gonna use gchat or skype. The best thing is the keyboard. It's big and easy to get used to, and I love having a full numpad on a laptop. The key design (not sure how to describe it...chiclets?) makes it pretty quiet too. The only big flaw on the keyboard is that the numlock key is right next to backspace, and I often find myself accidentally hitting that then running into trouble when I try to type numbers later (the 0 key is Insert when numlock is off frustration GO!).
The last thing to touch on is the infamous touchpad. Honestly, I think people are blowing it way out of proportion. Every once in awhile, it will zoom when I try to click or not zoom when I want it to, but it's not any worse than any other laptop I've owned. When you use a laptop enough, you get used to making sure you don't inadvertently touch the touchpad when you're trying to type. Usually that's only somewhat effective, but, with this laptop, I almost never have any accidental touch issues. It works great. The mouse buttons are annoying, as people say. It's one big button and you just kind of have to know where left click ends and right click begins. Is that really so tricky though? Yes, it's very annoying the first few days, but your thumbs gain the necessary muscle memory very quickly, and that issue becomes obsolete. In other words, the touchpad issue is not an issue. I'm happy with this laptop and would recommend it until the tech gets surpassed.
Read Best Reviews of Acer AS5552-6838 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black) Here
pros: I really like the acer aspire 5552-6838, it is fast processor for someone browsing the web, emails, pictures. screen is bright with good resolution and good size. cons: speaker is weak, only has one, no very good quality, the battery does not last very long..Want Acer AS5552-6838 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black) Discount?
Overall so far very surprised by quality of the computer. Quite an impressive processor, noticeable zippiness all around in Windows 7. The 4gb of ddr3 ram is running at 1066 mhz so its plenty fast to do all notebook type things. I am running multiple windows and about 12 tabs and no slow down whatsoever. This review is subjective because I just got this thing today. The mesh pattern is quite nice and for any normal user it more than meeets the power needs. Another important thing to mention is that it remains surprisingly cool.
Toshiba Portege R400-S4933 - Core Duo U2500 / 1.2 GHz ULV - Centrino Duo - RAM : 2 GB - HD : 80 GB
I bought this laptop from all the hype about the upcoming WiMedia UWB technology, I was anticipating blazing speeds with a wireless docking station that I would never have to hook a cable to. What I received was a docking station that the units own documentation said it was only reliable "up to 18 inches" and the reality was in order to get acceptable video quality had to be 12 inches or less. My Ethernet connection crawled at about 2 Mbps.The laptop is light and functions well, but don't waste your money on the wireless docking station, the performance is a real disappointment and almost unusable.