Lenovo ThinkPad X201 3680X08 12.1" LED Notebook Core i5 i5-520M 2.4GHz1. the weight is very light;
2. the quality is very nice;
3. the price is very cheap.
Showing posts with label notebook 11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notebook 11. Show all posts
ThinkPad X201 3680X08 12.1" LED Notebook - Core i5 i5-520M 2.4GHz - Black
Lenovo ThinkPad X201 3680X08 12.1" LED Notebook Core i5 i5-520M 2.4GHz1. the weight is very light;
2. the quality is very nice;
3. the price is very cheap.
DELL LATITUDE D630 INTEL CORE 2 DUO CENTRINO 1.8GHz 60GB 1GB CDRW/DVD 14"WIDE XP PRO WI-FI
I have bought two of these computers from Data Sales Co. within a few weeks of each other. The first one worked great with no problems, however the next one I bought worked for only 4 days. Granted it is a refurbished model but come on...four days?! Anyway all I wanted to do was return this dud for another one of equal value (I didn't even want money back) After 2 weeks of ZERO response from Data Sales Co. I'm going with one star due to Very poor communication (none to be exact). Beware of buying this computer from Data Sales.
Buy DELL LATITUDE D630 INTEL CORE 2 DUO CENTRINO 1.8GHz 60GB 1GB CDRW/DVD 14"WIDE XP PRO WI-FI Now
This laptop arrived in good condition. Is every thing it was advertised to be and is giving good service as of now. Don,t have to use it a great deal since already have an alternate. Very satisfied as to price and laptop.there was a huge crack in the back of computer and i wasnt impressed with it at all i would have returned it but by the time i used it it was to lateExcellent! I receive it in perfect conditions and so far is working perfect. Is very easy to use and is very fast and it serve the purpose for why I bough it.
Thinkpad X220 12.5" 320GB 4G, windows 7 professional, I7-2620M, 9 CELL BATTERY
I bought this laptop on a business trip, which was delivered to my home even earlier than my return. I met some tech problems with the unfamiliar win7 OS, the seller helps with great patience. So far, the laptop works quite well.Save 28% Off
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 3444F7U 14' LED Ultrabook - Intel - Core i7 i7-3667U 2GHz - Black
The X1 Carbon is very light, charges fast, and has the perfect screen resolution for it's size (1600x900). The model I purchased has an i7 / 8GB / 180GB SSD, so it is super fast. The keyboard is so much easier to use than the Macbook Pro and Air models, and you really start to enjoy using the touchpoint once you get used to it. It also is fully Linux compatible, so you can run Ubuntu out of the box.Save 21% Off
HP Envy 4-1115dx 14-inch Touch Ultrabook
After poking around a store and peeking in the returns cage, I found my HP Envy 4 at a heavily discounted price due to a missing battery? Really? The battery is built in. I had been shopping for literally months for an affordable Ultrabook with a touchscreen, backlit keys, small footprint, an I5 CPU, and for under a grand. The closest one I could find was an Acer M5, but that one has all the USB connections in the back (yes, under the monitor hinge), and the power button is on the front edge?!? Silly design.The HP Envy Touch 4 is nearly perfect for me, especially after the minor tweaks I have made, and plan on making. It would be perfect if it had an IPS screen. Like most TFT screens, you have to angle it right to get the most contrast. However, the screen looks better out of the box than the Acer M5. 4GB of ram is a little light for my Photoshop needs, but I can add more ram with the removal of the bottom casing. The first and easiest tweak involved a little angelic program called Classic Shell, which not only boots straight to the Windows 8 Desktop, but also adds a Windows 7 style Start Button! I have NO use for the Start Screen or Screen Formerly Known as Metro. I didn't when I beta-tested it, and I still don't. Metro is a shameless marketing ploy to get on the app bandwagon. Silly Microsoft! Apps are for kids!! With Classic Shell, you get all the familiarity of Windows 7, with all the speed of Windows 8.
The backlit keyboard is hard to find among the plethora of laptops out there, and this keyboard is perfect for me. I had considered an Asus Q500 laptop once, but the grey backlit keys were a turn-off. My last laptop was a 17-inch with a 10-key number pad, and I never used it as much as I thought I would. This keyboard is just the write size for the writing I do.
The sound is nice through the headphones, and okay without. How much sound can you expect from a 14-inch laptop anyway, Beats Audio non-withstanding?
The battery life is adequate. I haven't timed it, but I've easily used it for over 3 hours with still plenty left. It is a 4-cell Lithium Ion Polymer battery, much better than Lithium-ion alone.
I really don't use the touchscreen that much since I installed Classic Shell.
Boot-up is under 15 seconds!!
Pros: I5 CPU, super fast PC3-12800 ram, touchscreen, 2 USB 3.0 on the left, 1 USB 2.0 on the right, and SD card reader. Small, thin form factor.
Cons: Nearly 5 lbs, Windows 8, no access doors, no IPS or hi-def screen. Hey, it costs under $800 everywhere, less for an Open-Box deal!
Alienware M17X - Laptop with IntelCore 2 Quad Processor, 17" LCD, 4GB RAM, 500GB HARD DRIVE - Black
People complaing about this laptop over heating are the one's not treating it correctly. Not leaving it on surfaces that it shouldn't be on (couches, cloth, etc) or not using cooler pads and running very hard games might cause over heating. Mine personally has never overheated. I run alot of things at the same time, and the computer is always super stable and never hangs up. This laptop has a very nice, sturdy design. It is rather heavy but I also feel like I could run it over with my car and it would still be ok. I like the customizable lights, the design, the durability, and the specs. I have not had a problem running anything on this laptop that I have wanted to.
I'm not very tech savvy and I'm not a gamer but I spend a lot of time online. I wanted the fastest laptop available for that simple task so I ordered the Cadillac version of the M17x which set me back nearly $4,000. For that much money, the thing should perform flawlessly even if you drop it off a cliff.
Since I've owned this POS, I've gone through three power cords, spent approximately 30 hours on the phone with Dell "support", had three different service visits to replace the motherboard and other components.
Despite all that, the M17x overheats causing random shutdowns every hour or two. Two or three times a day the screen will just go blank and I'll have to do a forced shutdown and restart. It's ridiculous.
You would be wise to not chalk my experience up to getting a random lemon. Too many others here and elsewhere have had the same or similar experiences.
The bottom line is that Dell/Alienware are putting out outrageously overpriced pieces of junk. If you buy one, there is an excellent chance you'll hate yourself for it.
And if the thing needs to sit on a cooling pad or in a meat freezer to work properly, sell it with a cooling pad or a meat freezer.
My actual rating is negative 5 stars.Over priced piece of junk!!! Poor design!!!! Many heat problems!!!! Buyer beware!!!! Get a postage meter because you will need it for the many back & forth returns in your future!!!!!
HP g7-1310us (17.3-Inch Screen) Laptop
OK, so to add some perspective to this I will say that I upgraded from a 4 year old underpowered Dell laptop with barely a gig of RAM so any upgrade would be a good one for me. That being said, I am still very impressed with my initial experience with this product. I got it for what I consider to be a very reasonable price under $550 and less than it would have cost direct from HP, even with their promotions and dicounts. The 640gb hard drive is huge for a relatively 'normal' user like me; I have a digital photo album, about 500-600 songs and a few videos saved so storage is not likely to be an issue for me. It comes with 6gb of RAM so the performance is pretty speedy (for me, it's lightning fast compared to my old Dell but that is probably not the case for many others). Set up was a breeze and it worked smoothly right out of the box. My only issue is that I had some older software that is no longer compatible with Windows 7 but that's not an HP issue and it's a minor point regardless.So, I've only had it for about 5 days but so far it's great. As I said the screen looks great love the 17" size which will come in handy when I stream movies from Amazon. The responsiveness and boot up times are very good so far. The other surprising thing, pleasantly, is how light it is for it's size. I'm not saying I would carry it around with me everywhere but if/when I do need to move it around I can tell that it won't be very much of a burden.
So all in all very satisfied with this upgrade and would certainly recommend this for any normal uses like general web browsing. Not sure what serious gamers would think I imagine this isn't targeted at them anyway but I do play an online golf game with pretty good graphics and it performs very well. Hope my initial impressions are helpful to someone else.
PROS:
Incredibly fast start. The "welcome screen" pops up with very minimal delay...even after a reboot.
Excellent display clarity I'd rate it equivalent to most HDTV's.
Very fast downloading/use of internet
Style wise, it looks impressive & has the technology to match
Minimal "crapware"
Boasts 6GB RAM for a very reasonable price
CONS:
Makes Mom's 1 year old, 15" HP laptop look like a sluggish netbook (not that I'm jealous...lol).
All in all, for $529, this is an amazing deal!
Buy HP g7-1310us (17.3-Inch Screen) Laptop Now
I purchased a HP g7-1310us (17.3-Inch Screen) Laptop and it was delivered within 2 days. I mainly use it for work and it has all the features I was looking for. The monitor is huge, which I love. The keyboard is big. Resolution for camera is awesome. It's very fast and I can't wait to use it everyday. It's pewter color and slim. Fabulous !Read Best Reviews of HP g7-1310us (17.3-Inch Screen) Laptop Here
Just got this laptop last week, and I am VERY happy. I use it mainly for internet browsing, Email, Skype, and movies. A breeze to set up, didn't even have to read directions. It practically set itself up :-) Love the screen resolution. I do not do gaming, if that is your intent, you may want to increase graphics capability. This is a great laptop, at an excllent pricepoint. Very quick response, and reboot time. One tiny annoyance is the "hard click" on the buttons below the touchpad, but I can live with it. The touchpad itself is great and has high sensitivity. Overall, I love it, and would highly recommend.Want HP g7-1310us (17.3-Inch Screen) Laptop Discount?
There's some little known facts about this product that nobody else has mentioned before and maybe you should know:PROS:
+ You CAN scroll up/down on the touchpad as it comes configured to scroll with two fingers at the same time but you can configure it the way you want it to scroll by just accessing the control panel > hardware and sound > synaptics touchpad.
+ The Speakers are good and loud for a laptop.
+ There's actually led indicators for HDD, power, disc tray, num lock,caps lock, battery charge, webcam indicator, ON/OFF wireless indicator, ON/OFF touchpad indicator.
+ Very quiet fan: you can only really hear the fan when turning ON the laptop afterwards it goes really quiet.
+ The battery charge can last (with the power saver option) 4+ hours which is good for a laptop with a big and vibrant screen.
Neutral:
+The Windows Experience Index awards this laptop with a score of: 5.7 which is determined by the lowest subscore (Graphics: aero performance on a desktop but Gaming graphics has a score of 6.3!), this is good considering that this laptop doesn't have a dedicated graphics card.
CONS:
There's a lot of bloatware indeed but it can be easily removed.
The Design of the up/down arrows is not optimal but usable.
The max resolution for the webcam is 640x480.
So there you have it, the pros out-weight the cons and for a laptop on this price range it's a very good buy.
Fujitsu FPCR33452 LifeBook A1220 15.6" Notebook PC
In my family, I have two younger brothers. Neither of them respect personal space. On top of that, I take my laptop practically everywhere with me. I have had this laptop for 5 years and I am on my first need to repair it now. It's been through a lot with me. The touch pad still works, this thing is as durable as laptops could ever be. It's suffered being dropped on the ground, spilled on, all sorts of horrifying things that come with taking care of two younger brothers and it's still working strong. It's fully capable of playing games, I have yet to have it overheat on me even during the summer, and the battery only recently started giving me trouble. After 5 years, the first thing I have to do is get a new battery and have the DVD-R repaired (since it stopped working about 3-4 days ago).My only complaint would probably be the absolutely craptastic speakers. Some things I watch I can barely hear the audio on top volume, but headphones fix that just find so it's not that big of a deal. That said, if you want a laptop that can handle whatever you throw at it, this is definitely the way to go. I'm the kind of person who uses my laptop more than any healthy person probably ever should and it's lasted me this long, so for a person who doesn't do a lot of work/entertainment/etc. online, I would highly recommend this laptop.
Lenovo ThinkPad W530 24382LU 2.60-3.60GHz i7-3720QM 4GB 500GB 7200RPM HDD 2GB Quadro K2000M 15.6" F
I researched for some time which workstation class 15" laptop could replace my desktop as a portable workstation. After looking at Dells, Sangar, Toshiba, etc. I chose the Lenovo W530. I had a very good experience with a Lenovo G570 I purchased earlier for another employee and it gave me good expectations for this unit. The price and feature ratio on the W530 was very hard to beat. I really wanted the Nvidia Quadro 2K card for CAD work and few offered it or something similar as most are focused on gaming. I'm not gamer, I wanted this for my work/home computer as 75% of my work entails CAD/CAM along with IT support.The one feature I REALLY wish it had was a 10 keypad and the Ctrl & Fn keys reversed in position. The G570 has a 10 key in a nice chicklet style keyboard with the Ctrl & Fn keys in the correct position. Why Lenovo can't give this keyboard style in a high end laptop is beyond me. At least the included keyboard is very nice to type on, except for occasionally hitting the little red navigation nub above the B key. I could get along without that nav button just fine. It works, but I don't make great use of it and it interferes with typing more than it helps with navigation. Luckily I mostly use the unit with a USB full sized keyboard and mouse.
The other aspect of the W530 I am not very fond of is the Intel LAN/WiFi cards. This is for 2 reasons. First, I have found the Intel WiFi cards to be the least compatible with routers of all the WiFi cards I've used in laptops. I have had the same experience with Sony VAIO laptops using the Centrino cards, they are very finicky to connect. I had to reconfigure my FiOS router at home to get it to connect and most of the time you need to turn off the Ivp6 feature in the card settings or it won't connect. I have never had this problem with Atheros, Nvidia, or other WiFi cards. It is also not readily recognized by many Linux Distros, a fair sized negative in my book. Second, I do NOT like Intel's PXE boot agent which interferes with accessing the BIOS menu. After the Lenovo Tech support agent failed to help me get around it, and much trial and error on my part, I found out if you simply hold down the F1 key for an extended period it will eventually go past the irritating PXE boot agent menu and into the BIOS settings. I cannot find a way to turn this feature off and I have zero need for it. Since it's built into the on-board BIOS Intel's bootutil program won't control it, I tried that option and it doesn't work with on-board PXE. My beef is more with Intel than Lenovo.
The Webcam is pathetic, seriously. For a high end laptop the Webcam is not even in in the ball park for this decade, it's nearly useless. I tried to skype with it twice, gave up, installed my Logitech 9000, and things rocked, super clear, no lag etc., the way it should be. Do not plan to use the Webcam, just forget it's there. The built-in microphone isn't much better. It works but the audio quality is poor, my skype recipients told me I sounded like I was in a barrel. I just switched to the microphone on the Logitech and bingo, audio quality was right there.
The Speakers are pretty decent for audio playback, movies etc.
Other than the above issues I have been quite happy with the unit. I bought it with the 4GB of RAM option with the plan to upgrade it to 16GB. I was stoked to find out they ship it with the 4GB in the hard to access primary RAM position under the keyboard and the 2 slots for extra RAM on the bottom empty. I was able to plug in the 2 x 8GB sticks I bought and end up with 20GB on board in a matter of minutes, very nice. I have no complaints on the speed of the unit.
The Nvidia Quadro 2K (2GB) card has been so so. It's compatible with my CAM/CAM software but not nearly as fast as I'd hoped it would be running packages that use surfaces. You can use Nvidia's software to configure which GPU runs your applications, either the Intel HD 4000 or the Quadro, or let it choose automatically. You can also configure details of the Quadro. In many instances I find the HD 4000 GPU just as fast which doesn't speak highly for the Quadro card. This isn't a reflection on Lenovo but rather Nvidia. After some research on the card I found they really choked it in terms of the RAM R/W speed. If this feature is a big part of the buying decision (as it was with me) do some research on the card's performance first. This is my one disappointment.
I have been using the system with Lenovo's MiniDock Plus Series 3 and it works great, love it. I run a twin screen setup off the docking station plus the built in screen for a total of 3 screens and it works very smoothly. I have also used the VGA out port for a single extra monitor which works fine. The Win 7 Pro OS is very good about remembering your settings for different monitor setups. I think the docking station approach is completely worth the extra couple hundred dollars, plus you get a second power supply, that's hard to beat. Speaking of power supplies, the 170w supply is a beast. It pumps out the power but sure is a brick to carry around. I'm thinking of getting the smaller 90w unit just to keep in my carrying case and leave the other two 170w bricks at home and work.
I have the 9 cell battery and the life is pretty good if you set it up to optimize battery life. I've gotten 4-5 hrs of run time from it which is pretty dang good for a high powered laptop. The 9 cell battery does stick out the back an extra inch or so. If you want a flush fitting battery you need the 6 cell which would also make it slightly lighter to carry. If you carry it around a lot I'd suggest the 6 cell and 90w power supply, the two would shave off more than a pound from the combo I think.
I have not had any problems with the unit and it's been rock solid in operation. I'm pleased with the 1920 x 1080 HD display. I recently replaced the 500GB HDD with a Seagate 750GB hybrid drive to improve speed and capacity. I cloned the new drive using the Apricorn USB 3.0 SATA kit and it worked flawlessly. The new drive booted up like it had been in there the whole time. I was able to resize the primary partition during the cloning to give me a sizable second partition for my data files. I set the fully configured OEM drive aside as a backup. The HDD bay is easy to access but be careful of the screws holding the caddy on the drive, they are ultra tight and I think have some thread lock compound on them. The first time you remove them have a good fitting screw driver and be very careful or you'll strip the heads of the screws. Once you get them out it's no longer an issue.
To recap, overall I'm very pleased with the laptop and would recommend it. It has a VERY solid build feel and an excellent array of ports. The ultrabay is nice for swapping in other drive options. I had to buy a mini display port to HDMI adapter cable to connect to a big screen TV but it works fine. You'll most likely find that cable in the MAC stuff, it's common for them. If I had a choice I would not get the Intel net cards but you may not have the option. They do work once you tweak the settings. If you can't connect to WiFi try turning off the Ivp6 option first. If you come face to face with the stupid PXE boot agent menu hold down the F1 key for a long time, it will get you past it and into the BIOS setup.
Final note to Lenovo, offer an updated keyboard with a 10 keypad and the Ctrl & Fn keys reversed, ie just like the keyboard in your G570, you know how to do it. And PUT IN A REAL WEBCAM!!!! Professionals use WebEx, Skype, etc for business video calls more and more, it's an essential tool for remote communications. My wife's $350 ASUS netbook has a far superior webcam in it.
If Lenovo fixed the keyboard layout and gave it a state of the art webcam/microphone I'd rate it 5 stars.
I hope this helps somebody considering this laptop.
I was excited to get my new ThinkPad W530, but it was nonfunctional out of the box--something wrong with the communications sequence, from the motherboard to the antenna which makes any kind of internet connection not an option. Lenovo tech support had me reload the OS, replace the hard drive, re-reload the OS (from media this time), use an ethernet connection (luckily I have one!) to run the dreaded Windows updates, run hardware diagnostics, and more. All to no effect. A decent company (and you know they're out there!) would have had me ship them the machine for repair and shipped a new one for me the same day and fixed up the defective one for sale later on.
A month later, I'm finally in the queue for a repair which will take a week or so. I have to deal with the repair process, evaluate the repaired machine, and had to argue with staff to ensure that I was still eligible to return the thing if I don't like the way it works when I get it back.
Lenovo Customer Support, particularly on the sales side, is grossly inefficient. None of the people you talk to when calling them with issues has real authority to help you. This can be very frustrating if you are an individual or a small business. Tech support is competent but not well linked to sales side in the event you need to return product, so techs lean to having customer make repairs on their end instead of asking you to send them the unit to repair at their leisure while providing the customer with a functioning machine.
Do not purchase from Lenovo unless you have strong internal hardware support staff and a dedicated person to manage communications with Lenovo...or just really need a particular feature on their machines. If you have issues with CS, press to speak with supervising staff and express concern with their process. Currently, staff are reluctant to let you go to supervisors, probably due to internal regulations that penalize sales staff for putting customers first. Perhaps they can improve.I recently made this purchase via the official Lenovo store due to my old laptop's battery giving out and have had nothing but grief throughout the entire process.
First of all, I was deciding between this and the M6400, but decided to go with Lenovo due to talking to a sales agent and getting assurance that it would ship before would. What he failed to mention was the delay that would be caused by customs, and the fact that it also ended up shipping 2 days after the stipulated date that he assured me of. 48 hours is a long time when you have deadlines every day in the actual working world.
But that's just overeager sales people, right? So secondly, when I finally checked my order status, I was shocked to discover that the configuration I had listed no RAID whatsoever. I had to look up the product manual to discover that there were some W530 models that actually did not have the RAID mboards in them, and after going back and forth between Lenovo sales/tech phone support (thanks for redirecting me everywhere and not actually answering my question, by the way Lenovo), I ended up getting a solid answer from the user forums: that there ARE no RAID models available at the moment, and not for a few months at least.
I'd like to point out that at NO POINT in the ordering process was this mentioned, anywhere. And on the main product page, it mentions that it supports RAID. If not for the fact that I needed it urgently and had no time to go through the process of cancelling the order and going with a instead, I would never have gone through with this purchase.
So anyway, I finally get the laptop, set about stripping out all the existing software and going with a fresh install of Win 7. And then I get BSODs whenever the AC is unplugged, which took me yet another 4 hours to diagnose before I discovered that the BIOS wasn't updated. After flashing it, now the ExpressCard slot no longer works (thankfully that's not a critical problem, since it just means I lose one USB port). The customer support tech I contacted had the gall to tell me that I had too much RAM that was causing the problem!
Additionally, if you do end up choosing to go with a W530, do yourself a favour, and get the full HD screen (I got the 1600x900 because I hate having screens with anything higher than 90DPI). The lower-end screens have absolutely b ad colour gamut and viewing angles (completely out of whack white point and blue gamma). It's worth mentioning that this is the first ever screen I have actually had to use a colour calibrator to correct gamma, instead of eyeballing it like I usually do. It's that b ad. And I've calibrated Phillips screens before.
Build quality, despite what most people think, is actually not-so-good. The keyboard panel sags, the general material used (with the exception of the screen housing, which is actually quite well-built) is crappy plastic all over and the new keyboard rubber dome feel is not as crisp as other manufacturers' (Acer/Asus actually has better feel)
Also, the lack of a numpad. I knew I was already going to miss it, but it boggles the mind as to why Lenovo chose this new layout, presumably to fit in larger drivers for the speakers, which are massive. Unfortunately, I think it's a poor compromise (who the hell mixes on laptop speakers anyway?) since the speakers don't sound that good at higher levels, and have b ad response through the mid-range of tones. I always use an external sound card and monitors for my audio, anyway, so it's not a huge issue for me. No Caps Lock/Num Lock indicators, however, which means you have to rely on a OSD display, which takes up RAM and CPU, along with GPU draws to screen. So, pretty annoying.
So...the good points. The general aesthetic is actually alright, the matte finish is welcome, and the arrangement of ports (with the exception of zero USB ports on the right side) is alright. The RAM slot positioning and HDD slots are well thought-out, making upgrades accessible and less frustrating (but to be fair, almost every manufacturer has caught onto this these days)
In summary, however, with all these problems of reliability, fraudulent sales, and absolutely useless tech support, there is no way I could recommend this to anyone, or any Lenovo product for that matter, considering this is the way a professional product is being marketed and supported. I am terribly disappointed that in a already small market for workstations, Lenovo has chosen to blatantly disregard its offering, I suspect, in favour of its probably more profitable consumer lines.
Just remember: we're the ones making the actual entertainment media for those products.The hardware is great, everything you would expect from Lenovo in a workstation grade laptop. However, you may spend an entire day chasing drivers and loading the color calibration software yourself. When mine arrived, it barely functioned and had no wireless, discrete graphics, optical drive, or wireless monitor capabilities and the device manager was full of exclamation points. I had to load the X-rite software myself and run the first color calibration routine, something Lenovo claimed they would do at the factory. Once you actually get the laptop up and running with the right drivers, it works great, but I wouldn't recommend this to someone who need a machine that works right out of the box.
ASUS G75VW-DH72 i7-3740QM 3.7GHz GTX 670M 16GB RAM 256GB SSD + 750GB HDD BLURAY Windows 8
< So After getting in contact with iP Camera they said they were sorry and offered me a refund on the computer. I am happy with the end results and iP camera getting in contact with me asap. >I will leave what I wrote as a warning to other buyers unless the description gets fixed.
Here is what happened.
I received this computer today all sealed up. No work done by HID and also does not come with 3740QM processor. (as per iP camera after talking with them, Be careful as what is in the description is not what you will get.. I am not just a mad troll or reviewer. I bought this hoping it would be everything that I ordered and even gave it a chance after reading on the box that it was not what I ordered, I opened it started it up and went into device manager to make sure it had the 3740qm. Nope.... Stay away they will just charge you huge for lower grade computer. It is not a bad computer as is at all. But when you pay $2,200 you want what you paid for. This is a good computer at the $1800 price range not this price. I will give it 3 stars for iP camera fixing it but the description not getting fixed.
that i purchased from IP Camera Store from the moment I booted it up. I
have been trying to discover a way to mend the problems but everything has
failed me(ASUS TECH SUPPORT, ASUS FOURMS). ASUS gave me two options return it to the supplyer or send it to them for the to attempt to fix it. There main place is in california im in florida i don't want to wait a month for something that might be fixed. The computer screen is constantly flickering while unplugged from the power cord.From the moment i turned it on to set up my profile on windows 8 it started
to flicker. I have gone to the official ASUS ROG website to
find a solution and have fond that there are several people with the screen
flickering issue and no one has a solution that has worked for me. I have
also had issues with unresponsive programs and randomly closing me out of
programs. My back light keyboard does not turn on with the fn+f4
combination. The laptop has also had an issue connecting to my WiFi while
all my other electronics have no issues. This laptop is over 2200$ and was
not expecting it to have any type of issues.I received this laptop on Tuesday 12
Feb 2013. ROG forms told me to see if a return is possible and receive a
swap for this computer for another one of the same model. IP camera store was my supplier i contacted them and they routed me back to ASUS. In conclusion I am going to return this computer and rebuy it hopeing that it is not a lemon. The computer while plugged in is a fantastic piece of machinery (minus the random screen flickering. I strongly believe that I got a lemon and that is the only reason why I have rated this product 4 stars. I will return here once I receive a new one and will up date on the return process with this company "IP CAMERA STORE".
UPDATE: -"March 01 2013"-
Took me a week but I just noticed. HID work on itNone! Description on CPU completely wrong, extremely over priced. My review went from 4 to 1 star. I want a complete refund for my product. Do not buy this product! It will not be what you ordered.
As advertised is,
ASUS G75VW-DH72 i7-3740QM 3.7GHz GTX 670M 16GB RAM 256GB SSD + 750GB HDD BLURAY Windows 8
The CPU it does have is:
Intel(R)Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
I am upset.
-Faulty Product
-Not as advertised
-Completely overpriced for actual sold product
*UPDATE* -"March 05 2013"-
I do want to thank Pavel from IP camera store that has been nothing but completely helpful in this whole situation and they have great customer service and respond to you very quickly. He set me up with a shipping label which made everything very easy sent out the package yesterday. Now it's time to wait for the refund.
The discription error is on Amazon. I have called them and have told them in two diffrent pages that they have discription errors and they just blow me off. Shame on you amazon what kind of business are you running here..
*UPDATE*-"March 08 2013"-
The item was delievered yesterday afternoon at 2PM. Got in contact with the IP store and now waiting on my refund.
Buy ASUS G75VW-DH72 i7-3740QM 3.7GHz GTX 670M 16GB RAM 256GB SSD + 750GB HDD BLURAY Windows 8 Now
It came fast and works great. A MUST have for gamers, as well as everyday speeding business men! I RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE ... who can afford it lol. ;)
Lenovo Z585 15.6-Inch Laptop
I was looking for a medium-sized laptop that I could take to college with me. I wanted something that had decent battery life, and one that was able to play most of my video games on at least medium settings. I have a large, dual monitor gaming set-up with a gaming desktop, so I have that to play all my graphic-intensive games on ultra settings, but I wanted to be able to do school work and some play on the go. This laptop performs extremely well. I can play minecraft, league of legends, warframe, etc, on Medium-high settings with no lag. Web pages seem to load faster on this. It's quiet, but the fan does kick in when you switch it to high-performance mode and get gaming.It took me a while to get used to Windows 8, because my desktop is still at 7, but once you do, it isnt too bad. I miss having a regular start button, but they are supposedly coming out with 8.1, a free update that will give you the old functionality. Sometimes I feel like I'm using a tablet more than a laptop.
The speakers on this thing are amazing, They have dolby home theater speakers on the front, and a built-in software to control surround sound and what it sounds like with headphones/without headphones. Truly amazing sound. I love it.
The battery life is NO where near 5 hours. That is a complete lie. I get maybe 3.5 hrs on "power saver" mode, and maybe 2.5 on "High performance" mode. However, I rarely am without a power outlet, so this isnt too big of an issue to me.
This laptop starts up lightning fast, has amazing hard drive space, and a decent amount of RAM which can be easily upgraded.
The only thing I've found that bothers me is Skype. Once you sign into the Skype app with one account, you have to log out completely from microsoft and your email, etc, to log into another one. So far, it only lets me download the skype app, and not actual software to use on the desktop. A major pain for me since I have a personal family skype account, as well as a gaming one without personal information. I can't easily switch between them.
I did not buy this from Amazon, I bought mine from an actual store for about $80 less.
Buy Lenovo Z585 15.6-Inch Laptop Now
Bought this for my wife for Christmas and it works as advertised. Laptop is a great performer for the value.Worked flawlessly out of the box.
Sorry about the previous user mishaps, but for me it worked as a charm.
Read Best Reviews of Lenovo Z585 15.6-Inch Laptop Here
i bought this laptop looking for something that would be able to do a lot for the price. when i got the laptop i started testing it out right away everything i threw at it wouldn't slow it down at all. i have plated assassins creed: brotherhood, GTA: IV, minecraft, and bioshock infinite at default settings with no lag at all and 60 fps the only time i has frame rate problems was when i tried recording gameplay using fraps which was too much for the processor to handle. as with the wifi it does seem slower than my old laptop its fast enough that it doesn't bother me but for you internet speed junkies a $20 usb wifi card can fix that. 4 stars for speed/gaming capabilities -1 star for slower wifiWant Lenovo Z585 15.6-Inch Laptop Discount?
stylish, fast and quick shipment. I love the keyboard and the fast processing speed for the OS. Nice job, lenovo. Glad to have you as a gift for my s/o.
ASUS UL30Vt-X1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (11 Hours of Battery Life)
I had been excited about the ULxxVT series from Asus since they were first announced a couple months ago. I originally purchased the UL80VT back when it was released in October but ultimately returned it due to a very noticeable dead pixel right in the middle of the screen. This was probably for the best as a week with the UL80VT made me realize it was bigger then I needed and I didn't really have much use for the optical drive.Due to my brief ownership of the UL80VT I knew certain things to expect with the UL30VT but I have to say the UL30VT has exceeded my expectations. While I never felt the build quality was bad on the UL80VT it's much better on the smaller UL30VT. Clearly due to the smaller frame everything is quite a bit more solid as there is almost no chasis flex at all. The keyboard is okay. Everything is well spaced although the small right shift key is a bit annoying. Honestly the only thing about the keyboard that isn't great is that it's a bit on the noisy side as its very clackity when you type. I know a lot of people don't like the dimpled ASUS touchpads but honestly I don't think it's that bad and it has tons of multi-functions that really make it a joy to use. The single button touchpad button isn't as firm as on the UL80VT so its a bit easier to press for those who don't just use tapping. The screen is also in my opinion much better then the UL80VT in regards to contrast which I felt was subpar on the the larger model. Viewing angles still aren't great but they aren't on most laptops these days. The hard drive is a bit noisy but it's not really that noticeable.
I know a lot will be made of battery life on these UL models and it should be pointed out that this comes with the 10 hour battery, not the 12 hour one Amazon lists. Even still its a 63whr, 4400mah 8 cell battery that I have easily been able to get 7 hours of wifi web surfing and there still being life left (sorry, I haven't had it long enough to do a full battery test yet). So while it would have been nice to get the larger 84whr battery I don't think I will have had too many instances where I will even need it. Also just to correct another incorrect part of the Amazon listing, the UL30VT weighs 3.92lbs according to my precision scale with the battery installed. Still plenty light for me but I don't know how they got 3.7lbs that is listed here. The UL80VT also has the wrong weight listed in it's listing as it weighed 4.8lbs when I weighed that back in October.
Overall I am very happy I waited for the UL30VT, the idea of creating an overclocked low voltage system is a genius concept that ASUS has executed very well here. The end result gives the user performance equivalent to a regular full voltage Core 2 Duo while still providing great battery life. There is truly nothing else on the market like the VT series laptops and for $799 you get a lot. Sure the larger battery or longer warranty of the A series UL models (this is an X model) would be nice but it would then cost more and lets be honest, it still has better battery life then most systems on the market and almost all consumer laptops only come with a one year warranty to begin with! Given the price I can't recommend this system enough, sure there are a few things that could be improved but for me it's exactly what I needed in a laptop at hundreds less then I was originally expecting to pay.
I've put together some sections where I am going to describe settings and specific control panel functions that work optimally for my uses, and I tell you what to expect when using them...this is a User's Review as much as it is a Review for pre-sales questions and general interest. Hope you like it!
**13.3" 1366 x 768 pixels HD LED Backlit LCD Display-nVidia G210-M 512MB Video+ Intel GMA-4500 Integrated Graphics, SWITCHABLE GRAPHICS ENGINES! RealTek HD Audio! nVidia HD HDMI Audio!
It's not the brightest display(200 Nits by measurement) nor the most defined by contrast, unless you get into the nVidia CP and adjust things...so go to nVidia Control Panel (right click, on the desktop), Adjust Video Color Settings, check "Dynamic Contrast Enhancement", and "Color Enhancement", then hit 'Apply' and BAM! Your LCD will become very, very nice, with deep blacks, browns and blues, while the bright colors themselves will 'Jump Out At You'--you'll think you are looking at a much more expensive computer's display. That's something that anybody can do to enhance the graphic power of the nVidia G210-M 512MB discrete video card output, and it does make a HUGE difference...try it, you'll like it!
The native HD display is capable of rendering virtually any type of content with either of the video settings, as the GMA-4500 Intel Graphics (integrated video, that uses up to 4095MB of system RAM if the computer has 8GB RAM...with 4GB of RAM the video uses up to 1795MB RAM) are capable with HD content. It's just the nVidia card, however, that you want to use (whenever possible, ie not on battery) that fetches up 30-40FPS+ with Call of Duty: World at War for example! Yes, this notebook is a gamer's delight, to a point...don't expect 70+FPS in deep battle scenes with heavy, hard detail settings, but it is adequate for playing virtually any of the current crop of 1st-person shooter games...Crysis, literally any game available right now. It's that good!
When on AC Power, PowerGear4 Hybrid set on High Performance and Turbo Boost, fire up any game you want and the UL30Vt-X1 springs to life, loads the game rapidly, enter your control panel Option settings and you're off and running, full screen if you want...this is a fantastic nVidia graphics engine, and it will do the job. I also have had xlnt results playing HD video/audio content.
Do you like Hulu content, the online TV that displays programs/movies in HD? This is one notebook that will not disappoint Hulu fans, so let's get cranking! Open up "The Dresden Files", for example, the Canadian Sci-Fi/Suspense Thriller from 2004-2007 that Hulu has all the archives of, choose Full-Screen Mode in the controls on screen, and WHAM! You're watching full HD video at 1366 x 768, and the UL30Vt-X1 will come through stutter-free, without any problems at all. The CULV CPU, the 1066mhz DDR3 RAM, and either of the graphics engines will do the job. You can count on this computer 100% with any type of video content, either online, HD movies from DVD's, or even BluRay discs can be played (with a player, of course) at full screen resolution. This video Rocks!
It helps if you have the latest, and greatest Flash Player Beta 10.1.55.xx installed, but that's optional as is a browser other than IExplorer (I've been using Google Chrome). The sound is xlnt also, coming from Altec Lansing speakers which are positioned in the chassis front edge, left and right, for true SRS Surround Sound action via the RealTek HD Sound Manager. You can access the manager's controls by clicking on the System Tray's hidden icons, RealTek HD Sound Manager, double-click on it and choose from 30-or more different sound effects! Here's a couple I found to be optimal:
RealTek HD Sound Manager: Set it to Stereo for headphones, then check "Headphone Virtualization" if you use headphones like I do 90% of the time. In Sound Effects, click on "Rock" which will enhance the sound just enough to put a slight EDGE on the drums, cymbals, bass is enhanced, and mids are subdued with voices accentuated perfectly. Click on "Living Room" for the Environment which stops any acoustic 'echo-effect' which many of the other choices will do. Then go to the last panel there, Default Format, and choose the Hz: I found that 24-bit 96,000Hz are perfect for this system, which is set OEM @ 24-bit 48,000Hz, just not enough Hz for my ears! TRY THOSE OUT! You will thank me a bunch, those are great settings for headphones every time!
As for the speakers, they sound great with the same settings turned up to at least 70%... That's right, they will NOT distort at those settings I've listed above, which is what you want every time not a bunch of unnecessary sound effects. Experiment all you like, I did, but you'll come back to those settings I just listed as they are pretty pure, nicely enhanced music settings without bringing too many special effects to the party.
**Keyboard, Special Fn Controls, PowerGear4 Hybrid (Power and Energy Saver Settings), GraphiX Boost Button (Switchable graphics!), HDMI Port Viewing!
This is a fantastic chiclet-style keyboard with about a 1.5mm reach per keystroke, so it's TIGHT and nice, just like your best girlfriend is, right? I mean who wants a weak pulse that doesn't squeeze, not I! The keyboard does not flex, as it's structured over a metal frame, that has a couple fans and some acoustic things underneath it when you take it off to check it out (don't tell Asus, but we got the take-apart directions!), so if you like chiclet-style you'll love this one 110%! There are some special functions, so let's get into them and let's see how she performs and works for us.
The Function Key, just below the Shift Key of course, performs a bunch of nice things for us, and here they are:
Fn F1 = Computer Put To Sleep
Fn F2 = Computer WiFi and BT Controls (Bluetooth)
Fn F5/F6 = LCD Brightness UP and DOWN
Fn F7 = Turn Off LCD Display (!)
Fn F8 = Turn On, Off, External Display, or Projector
Fn F9 = Turn Off/On Trackpad (VERY IMPORTANT!!--YOU'll use it a lot!)
Fn F10 = Audio Defeat (all audio, speakers, headphones all of it!)
Fn F11/F12 = Speakers/Headphones Volume UP or DOWN
Fn Space Bar = PowerGear4 Hybrid Energy Saver Settings, Power Settings
Fn Pause, Break = For Use In BIOS
Fn Prt SC/SysRq = Print Screen, System Rq
Fn Insert/NumLk = Insert and Number Lock
Fn Delete/ScrLk = Delete and Screen Lock
Why did I just list all of those? Because nobody else has who has done a review yet, that's why, and people want to know these things! People who don't own the computer yet..! And there's no owner's manual to speak of either with the UL30Vt-X1/A1, it's a pathetic thing that's a generic "Notebook PC User Manual". That's why I listed everything of importance that the Fn Key strokes will accomplish, and besides, it's my review, and I get to write what I Want!
Next we've got Switchable Graphics, and the Asus P4G Hybrid Switch/GRAPHIX BOOST BUTTON, which is at the left, top corner of the keyboard surface, not on the keyboard of course...Click it once, and click it again, and you cycle through the three possible choices therein:
1) Auto Detect Mode The computer detects whether you are on Battery Power or AC Power, and adjusts the video output accordingly...battery gets Integrated Intel GMA-4500 graphics, AC Power gets nVidia Graphics, every time!
2) Power Saving Integrated Graphics The computer detects nothing! You are on Integrated Graphics no matter if you have it on Battery or AC Power, you are stuck with it!
3) High Performance For you performance phreaks, here you go! It's the setting which gets you nVidia Discrete Graphics on battery or AC Power, it doesn't matter you get HIGH PERFORMANCE!
***Now there's been discussions about the P4G Hybrid Switch/Switchable Graphics button in the various forums that support this computer, and I'm going to explain a couple things that you need to know, and how to avoid thinking your computer is broke to boot! This is a discrete switch, and it does NOT work all the time. Along with Turbo Boost, there are caveats to operation, which I will get into real quick-like for owners, and for prospective buyers both.***
I'll try and make this clean, clear, short, and sweet, but I may have to repeat myself a couple times, so don't mind the dialog...If you notice that the switchable graphics switch is OFF, and is not working it's probably because you have selected Energy Saver preferences that are not allowing nVidia Graphics to load, so here's how you solve this issue if you want nVidia back! Restart the computer, and immediately begin tapping F2 fully, every 1/2 a second or so, not stacatto-like, but 1/2-second intervals...That will get you into BIOS, which is where we need to go!
Once into BIOS use the arrow keys to cycle over to the Final Screen, (rigtht side of the choices, all the way RIGHT!) the DEFAULT Screen as it is known, where you set User or Manufacturer Values to use. SELECT "LOAD MANUFACTURER DEFAULTS!" After you do that, exit BIOS and SAVE the Values... Hit F10 once, Return, and WHAM! You're out of BIOS and the computer will load Defaults from Asus Gods! (not kidding!) It will take awhile for the computer to return to the desktop, don't think it's broken, it's NOT! Log on normally, and once the desktop stabilizes, it will take a few seconds as opposed to the normal Fast Boot Routine...then Right Click on the Desktop!
Voila! nVidia Control Panel Returns! It should be in the selections that keystroke generates, and THAT is HOW you get back the MISSING SWITCH, and the nVidia Control Panel if it ever happens to you, so that is down, dirty, done.
Next time you restart the computer, or shut down then restart, go back into BIOS again, ie hit F2 as above while the computer is offline, after Restart or Power Command is given, until BIOS Screen shows. Go back to the Default screen, the last BIOS Screen you can load, this time use the arrow key to select "Load User Defaults", then Exit BIOS...then F10 again, Return again, and KABAM! You're out of BIOS, and the computer will start up normally, Fast Boot is again enabled (if you have enabled it or it's at Default), and the desktop quickly appears. CHECK AGAIN... Right Click on the Desktop! Does the nVidia Control Panel appear as one of the choices? Yes? Good! All is Well in Asus Land now!
That is how you reset Power4Gear Hybrid Controls and nVidia Control Panel! Got IT!? Good, now let's get onto some more interesting topics, but that is how we get things back to Square No. 1 with the Control Panels.
**Next topic, the HDMI Port, which is on the left side of the computer, next to the USB Port there. All you have to do to enable HDMI is insert an HDMI Cable, select the correct HDMI port setting on your HD TV, insert the HDMI Cable into the HDTV's HDMI Port, and WHACK! The Asus UL30Vt'X1 Desktop is on the TV! If necessary hit Fn F8 to dismiss the desktop altogether on the computer, just remember to hit Fn F8 again when you dismiss the HDTV and take the HDMI cable out of the computer/HDTV! Easy!**
***Now some folks have complained about the computer's Trackpad, and I for one don't have any problems with it. There is NEW SOFTWARE out for the trackpad, which was released the week of February 28, 2010 at Asus Central, so go to Support at the Asus web site, enter the UL30VT as your Support Model Choice, select "All" to select software, firmware, and utilities, and hit Return! That will transport you to the software web pages for this computer, where you can download the new Trackpad Drivers if you want them, if you need them, or if you just have to have the latest of everything with this computer. I don't need the new software, but some do, so there you go.***
As for the trackpad being a pain, and dragging or erasing letters and numbers when you are typing fast, like I do: TURN IT OFF! That's what I do, when I am typing madly, and that ends the problems of the "Trackpad Blues"!! So hit Fn F9 and SLAM! Done Deal, trackpad is disabled so you won't be bothered with it, and that's the end of the story. When you want it back, Fn F9 =RETURN OF THE TRACKPAD! Simple In, Simple Out!***
***That's the story there, so let's get into a look at the Energy Saver Control Panel, and how that works, that is P4G Hybrid all over again, sorry about that, it's redundant in the computer too!***
P4G Hybrid is chosen by the keystroke Fn Space Bar = 4 Modes of Energy Saver, preferences that are OPTIONAL, you don't have to use these settings, or you can MODIFY THEM in the Control Panels area of the operating system! That is what I have done with ALL of them, because the arbitrary controls didn't suit me, but nonetheless I am going to pretend I didn't for this review, and I'll tell you what the controls do, and what to expect...
**Battery Saving Mode: The processor will cycle to no more than 60% full power, down to as little as 5% available power. The screen will dim to approximately 60% brightness. The hard drive will go to sleep quickly, as quickly as in 5 minutes of non-use. The display will DIM to 30% if not used. Now, the freaky part, the Desktop Will VANISH, the one you were looking at before you selected this mode will! If you have been using Gadgets, they will VANISH! A new Desktop Wallpaper will appear and your custom or normal wallpaper will disappear also! WHY does it do all this? To save POWER, that is why!
Battery Saving Mode is one I use often, and I've customized it to my way of looking at the control panel now, but other than my customization it's still selectable by Fn Space Bar=Battery Saving. I've also customized the settings in the control panel itself, apart from the operating system control panels! That is correct, the OS Control Panels can be customized, just like the Control Panel itself can have certain settings changed, just make certain that they do NOT conflict with what you have set in the OS Control Panels!! ****IMPORTANT!!****
**Entertainment & Quiet Office Mode: The Processor will be set about about 1000Mhz, and the normal settings will be Moderate. Display will dim, etc...these two settings I don't use much, so will let the user discover more about them, but they are available by Fn Space Bar selection...take it from there.
**High Performance Mode: Everything is optimized here. The CPU will be @ 100% power for minimum and maximum speed, maxxed out. The screen will be @ 100% brightness. The HD will be set at NEVER in terms of sleeping. The screen will dim during period of non-use, but not to 30%, just a little dimmer than 100%. Now, the tricky part...
****HIGH PERFORMANCE TURBO MODE****
Click on the word TURBO, and it turns RED, but only after a RESTART! That is correct, to enable Turbo function you must restart the computer, and after that it is enabled UNTIL YOU DISABLE IT MANUALLY in the control panel once again! TURBO MODE=+33% CPU or shall I say, it is overclocked to 1733Mhz! That is correct, the computer overclocks from 1.3Ghz to 1733Mhz upon being restarted and it will STAY THERE ONLY IN HIGH PERFORMANCE MODE--will stay there until it is deselected, the computer is restarted once again, and BAM! Back to 1.3Ghz.
Do not worry about the overclocking--it is a good thing! The computer is FASTER, it is capable of editing video, audio, etc...you can use it like it has a 2Ghz CPU in it at that point, because it is practically there. So that's a nice surprise for owners of the UL30VT series. The performance is very adequate for a computer that is normally just saving energy @ 1.3Ghz or less, for long battery life and run time, low wear and tear on everything in general. Now a word about the CPU in general, and how this computer performs with a popular utility.
I used Everest Ultimate to do some comparison tests of the CPU, the memory, the video card, and this is a surprisingly adequate machine, especially using Turbo Mode and High Performance in P4G Hybrid Control Panel. I found that the computer was the equal or better than many faster machines, some with the word AMD before their Quad Core CPU's and at speeds up to 3Ghz, so it was a surprising statement. Everest revealed a bunch of secrets of the computer so let's look at some of them of interest:
Field Value
CPU Properties
CPU Type -Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo, 1733 MHz (6.5 x 267)
CPU Alias Penryn-3M
CPU Stepping R0
Instruction Set x86, x86-64, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1
Original Clock 1300 MHz
Min / Max CPU Multiplier 6.0x / 6.5x
Engineering Sample No
L1 Code Cache 32 KB per core
L1 Data Cache 32 KB per core
L2 Cache 3 MB (On-Die, ECC, ASC, Full-Speed)
Multi CPU
Motherboard ID ASUSTeK Montevina
CPU #1 IntelGenuine Intel(R) CPU U7300 @ 1.30GHz, 1733 MHz
CPU #2 IntelGenuine Intel(R) CPU U7300 @ 1.30GHz, 1733 MHz
THAT is my computer in overclocked mode, so you can see that for yourselves. It described the CPU as being a Penryn-3M, a most capable mobile C2Duo CPU, and the motherboard from Asus is called Montevina! You can see the CPU has 3MB of L3 Cache at full speed on die (whatever speed the computer is operating at), a good thing again! The more L3 Cache the more information the CPU can cache at speed!
This is more from Everest Ultimate, and I hope it translates into the format here, but if it does not I'll edit it out...never tried it before! You can see here that the maximum memory amount is 8GB! And indeed I have installed 8GB of fast Crucial DDR3 1066Mhz SDRAM in my UL30Vt-X1, and it just flies...it's a bird all by itself now, and is a very capable multi-tasking machine now with 8GB RAM! Here's the readout on my computer in terms of the chipset:
North Bridge Properties
North Bridge Intel Cantiga GS45
Supported FSB Speeds FSB533, FSB667, FSB800, FSB1066
Supported Memory Types DDR2-667 SDRAM, DDR2-800 SDRAM, DDR3-667 SDRAM, DDR3-800 SDRAM, DDR3-1066 SDRAM
Maximum Memory Amount 8 GB
Revision / Stepping 07 / B3
Package Type 1363 Pin FC-BGA
Package Size 2.7 cm x 2.5 cm
Core Voltage 1.05 V
In-Order Queue Depth 12
Memory Controller
Type Dual Channel (128-bit)
Active Mode Dual Channel (128-bit)
Memory Timings
CAS Latency (CL) 7T
RAS To CAS Delay (tRCD) 7T
RAS Precharge (tRP) 7T
RAS Active Time (tRAS) 20T
Row Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC) 104T
RAS To RAS Delay (tRRD) 4T
Read To Precharge Delay (tRTP) 5T
Four Activate Window Delay (tFAW) 20T
Write CAS Latency (tWCL) 6T
Refresh Period (tREF) 7.8 us
Error Correction
Memory Slots
DRAM Slot #1 4 GB (DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM)
DRAM Slot #2 4 GB (DDR3-1066 DDR3 SDRAM)
Integrated Graphics Controller
Graphics Controller Type -Intel GMA 4500MHD
Graphics Controller Status Enabled
Graphics Frame Buffer Size 32 MB
PCI Express Controller
PCI-E 1.0 x16 port #2 In Use @ x8 (High Definition Audio Controller [10DE-0BE3] [NoDB], NVIDIA GeForce G210M [10DE-0A74] [NoDB])
Here is one familiar quotient out of Everest, called PhotoWorxx, which compares the computer with a lot of very powerful machines, standards in their own class, and it came out surprisingly strong! You can see that the UL30VT came in 12th in this field of contestants, an amazing feat to me anyway...these are partial results, condensed to save space...more than 50 computers were ranked and this one came out 12th!
--------[ CPU PhotoWorxx ]----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4x Core i7 Extreme 965 HT 3333 MHz Asus P6T Deluxe X58 Triple DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 CR1 35393
8x Xeon E5462 2800 MHz Intel S5400SF i5400 Quad DDR2-640FB 5-5-5-15 25575
4x Phenom II X4 Black 940 3000 MHz Asus M3N78-EM GeForce8300 Int. Ganged Dual DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 CR2 19168
4x Core 2 Extreme QX9650 3000 MHz Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R P35 Dual DDR3-1066 8-8-8-20 CR2 17431
8x Opteron 2378 2400 MHz Tyan Thunder n3600R nForcePro-3600 Unganged Dual DDR2-667R 5-5-5-15 CR1 15896
2x Core 2 Duo E6700 2666 MHz Abit AB9 P965 Dual DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 CR2 11922
4x Core 2 Extreme QX6700 2666 MHz Intel D975XBX2 i975X Dual DDR2-667 5-5-5-15 11706
8x Xeon L5320 1866 MHz Intel S5000VCL i5000V Dual DDR2-533FB 4-4-4-12 9621
4x Xeon 5140 2333 MHz Intel S5000VSA i5000V Dual DDR2-667FB 5-5-5-15 8626
2x Athlon64 X2 Black 6400+ 3200 MHz MSI K9N SLI Platinum nForce570SLI Dual DDR2-800 4-4-4-11 CR1 7653
2x Core 2 Duo P8400 2266 MHz MSI MegaBook PR201 GM45 Int. Dual DDR2-667 5-5-5-15 7534
2x Core 2 Duo 1733 MHz Asus Montevina GS45 Int. Dual DDR3-1066 7-7-7-20 6896
8x Opteron HE 2344 1700 MHz Tyan Thunder n3600R nForcePro-3600 Unganged Dual DDR2-667R 5-5-5-15 CR1 6622
4x Phenom X4 9500 2200 MHz Asus M3A AMD770 Ganged Dual DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 CR2 6532
2x Athlon64 X2 4000+ 2100 MHz ASRock ALiveNF7G-HDready nForce7050-630a Int. Dual DDR2-700 5-5-5-18 CR2 6419
2x Pentium EE 955 HT 3466 MHz Intel D955XBK i955X Dual DDR2-667 4-4-4-11 6058
****Battery Run Time, Theoretical and Practical****
The utility that I like to analyze batteries with is called EmBatPower Battery Utility, and it's a legitimate contender for one of the most esoteric battery utilities that I know of, yet its accuracy is XLNT, so bear with me as I list some attributes of the OEM battery, how I describe it generally, and what kind of use I've been able to get out of it in the first 3 weeks of ownership, after Leveling the Battery, which is to discharge it down to its reserve status, then charge it fully.
The battery is made by Asus, and it's called a UL50-44, Its design capacity for charge is 61,600mWh or 4400MAH converted to MAH. My particular battery will charge up to 60,732mWh, about 99% of full design capacity, a commendable figure considering battery science is inexact in general, but that's very good! Fully charged, the voltage of the battery is quite high, @ 16,583mV, or 16.58V actual voltage. Asus tells us in advertising that we can expect up to "11 hours" of battery run time with this 4400Mah, 61,000mWh battery, which I find incredibly WRONG in actual use. I have used the battery extensively in the 3 weeks I've had the computer, discharging it no less than 15 times thus far, full discharges down to where the battery goes into Reserve Mode, and the computer Hibernates, this at about 4% of capacity to protect the computer and the battery.
During my tests I have had enabled typical things that most people would also have enabled, and I did not turn off key functions, so these are real world averages and they are quite different from Asus '11 hour run time' scenario. That just isn't possible with normal use, and here that is graphically put:
Run time with BlueTooth & WiFi, ON, iTunes ON playing music constantly without break: Discharge down to 4% battery to Hibernation each run:
Run 1) 6 hours 14 minutes
Run 2) 5 hours 45 minutes
Run 3) 5 hours 57 minutes
Run 4) 6 hours 06 minutes
Run 12) 6 hours 11 minutes
Run 14) 5 hours 37 minutes
Run 15) 5 hours 58 minutes
Then for runs 7-10 I charted run time with iTunes OFF, BlueTooth Off, and WiFi On:
Run 7) 7 hours 05 minutes
Run 8) 6 hours 58 minutes
Run 9) 7 hours 11 minutes
Run 10) 6 hours 45 minutes
Finally, I tried my best to eek the most battery run time possible, with WiFi Off, BlueTooth Off, and iTunes Off, with the computer virtually idling but a work script writing to disk in Microsoft Word until the computer went into Hibernation:
Run 5) 7 hours 45 minutes
Run 6) 7 hours 49 minutes
There you go, the average for all of that is in the mid 6-hour range, and that is where a user should expect to get out of this battery with normal things going on, nominal settings...not bare bones virtually everything turned off and the computer idling!
I haven't addressed WiFi or BlueTooth, but those are XLNT also! Range is top-notch in both. It has "Intel 1000BGN" WIFI, note the "N" there, 2.4Ghz "N" mode for network Gurus. I've neglected some things, I know, but I also covered a lot of techno-stats and info, so I hope I didn't lose anybody doing it!
With all of the positive things going for this notebook, plus it looks fantastic in black--don't let anybody kid you it doesn't because it does, this is a winner! It earns the Wavey Davey Ultimate Performance Gold Award, because it does things that a much faster, larger, more expensive notebook might do, but for a pittance. Get yours before they are all gone, and it will be soon enough! Black is indeed beautiful in the UL30Vt-X1!
"There is no substitute for quality," Gottlieb Daimlier said around the turn of the 20th Century, and he founded Mercedes-Benz automobiles...I say the same thing about this super-performing machine. There is no substitute for this Asus, it's the hands down winner in the small notebook class, bar none!
Buy ASUS UL30Vt-X1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (11 Hours of Battery Life) Now
Over the past 3 years I've owned a few ASUS laptops, and have not been disappointed by a single one thus far. Not only are their products great for the price, but ASUS has always given me top of the line customer service which definitely matters with laptops compared to a desktop PC which are somewhat easier to self-service.The UL30VT in my opinion is the perfect all around package for any type of user. Whether you may be a business user or a multimedia-phile, all the bases are covered with the UL30VT while offering advanced graphics power in a thin and light package that is easy to haul around.
KEYBOARD 10/10
I instantly fell in love with the keyboard on this unit. Being a 13.3 inch laptop with a widescreen display, the keyboard is nice and spacious, giving just the right amount of tactile feedback for my personal preferences. The keys are a bit louder than I would like them to be, but the overall experience of typing on this unit is fantastic. The chiclet keys, spacious layout, and overall comfort with the large and not-too-hot palm rest make it an absolute hit. Only thing that this unit would need is backlit keys to make it better.
SCREEN 6/10
With the release of LED backlight technology in LCD screens, you would think that the display on most of these units would pop out at you, but not so in this case. Over a few hours the screen doesn't necessarily burden your eyes with extra strain, but the viewing angles from top to bottom are horrid at best. Left to right angles are more forgiving, offering an approximate viewing angle of about 160 degrees. Quality of high motion video on the screen is up to par, but overall the contrast, color saturation, and missed marks on blacks make it quite uninviting at times.
GRAPHICS POWER 8/10
For such a sleek and compact unit at the listing price at Amazon for 799 US, you can't really beat it. With Turbo33 Mode on and utilizing the G210M, i have been able to play single and multi player Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare without a hitch at its native resolution. Granted i did do some extra modifications in the BIOS of the laptop (albeit not much), it definitely exceeded my expectations for what i paid. Flash and Silverlight video are almost flawless with some extremely minor hiccups, but overall the streaming and native multimedia experience on this laptop is superb.
Hooking the laptop HDMI to a 1080p 50" LCD is impressive nonetheless, and watching any sort of content makes it a joy to have. As usual, Fn functions work flawlessly on this laptop as well making it a great Home Theater option for those people without a dedicated pc/nettop with their setup.
BATTERY LIFE AND HEAT DISPERSEMENT 7/10
So far utilizing integrated graphics and the battery saving profile of the packaged ASUS software, I've been able to squeeze out about 8 hours max with constant media streaming and wifi surfing. To be honest, this was a little higher than I expected with the lower included 4400mah battery and the advertised 12 hour longevity. In real world usage, I would say that its safe to assume you'll get around 7 8 hours with normal usage. Gaming on another hand is a battery drainer as usual, leaving me topped out at 3 hours playing Call of Duty over wifi. I have not gotten a chance to try DVD or Bluray drainage, but I would suspect it would last you around 4 5 hours max.
Of course like any CULV, this unit doesn't require the use of loud fans, as well as not being as hot as other Core 2's and Quads. Heat on the palmrest never even bothered me as well as having the laptop on my lap for casual surfing, but with the discrete nvidia graphics, things tend to get a little worse, but plenty bearable.
OVERALL 8/10
I don't use any kind of system with my ratings, its just what my personal connotations of each aspect of the device give me. I would highly recommend this laptop to anybody, whether you be a highly mobile road warrior, or a lecture bearing college student. With the spacious 500GB laptop, it should serve any purpose well and then some. Now granted the HDD is partitioned into two sections: 116 for the Operating system, and 334 for data, so this is something to be aware of if you plan on loading a lot of hard disk hogging software.
In my opinion, this unit should have an option with the higher capacity battery. I would personally consider this a hit device and eliminate the other UL30 models as having switchable graphics is definitely a must for the small price difference. If you're arguing between the new VT model and other UL30 series models, the small price jump is definitely worth it even if you don't plan on gaming or graphics developing. Having the extra oomph just in case never hurts, as I'm sure some multimedia that you may want to watch in the future will definitely benefit you, even if it is a little.This is just a quickie review since I've only had the machine for 6 hours.
Out of the box there's manuals, warranty card, AC adapter, back-up DVD's and the laptop.
The machine comes with a 1 year ADH (accidental damage & handling) warranty which you must activate within 60 days by sending in a warranty card. Other models come with 2 year parts and labor warranties, but this model comes with 1 to cut costs. Speaking of which, another area where they cut costs is the battery. It's a 4400mah battery that is stated to achieve a 12 hr run time. I'm seeing about 10 hours of battery life in power saver mode, still a great amount. The last thing I that bugs me is the wireless card. It's Intel, but it's only a 2.4Ghz card. I have a dual band router and would have liked to take advantage of 5Ghz. But at least it works fine and doesn't seem to have any issues like others seem to have experienced on other models (UL30A).
That's the end of the negative stuff. Everything else is to be great so far.
Build Quality (9/10)
I'm comparing this machine to a Sony Z750D which my fiancé uses. The materials on the Sony are better but actual build quality is very similar. No squeaking or sharp edges anywhere. The machine feels very solid and sturdy. The keyboard has very minor flex and is very comfortable to type on. One thing some may find awkward is the placement of the "home" button which is right next the "backspace" key. Those of you concerned with this aspect need not worry.
Graphics Performance/CPU performance (8/10)
With the CPU overclocked to 1.73GHz paired with a NVIDIA G210M video card, the laptop has no problems handling everyday tasks such as word processing, email and internet. The machine also has no problems handling HD content. Games such as L4D2 and Counterstrike Source run great as well. More in depth benchmarking can be found elsewhere on the net.
*edit* Let me add that I'm comparing this machine to the Sony Z which has a much faster processor. That being said, this machine is still fast and can hold its own. The addition of the Intel SSD makes this a 9/10 but since not many will add an extra HD like this, I took the 500GB into consideration.
Heat Management/Acoustics (9/10)
The laptop never got hot to the touch even during stressful games. You can go for hours on end with this machine in your lap without discomfort. The noise of the fan never became an issue. It is even quieter than the Z750D in that aspect. However, I must add that I am using an Intel G2 SSD. I switched out HD right when I received the machine. So take that into consideration as the traditional drive is a bit noisier.
Hope this helps.
Want ASUS UL30Vt-X1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Black Laptop (11 Hours of Battery Life) Discount?
I am adding a new comment:I have a little buyers remorse due to the difficulty of updating drivers for the graphics card. There are applications that will not work because they say I need to install a newer driver, but due to the graphics switching, updating drivers doesn't seem to be a reasonable option. The ASUS website is pretty bad for support.
[I have lowered the review to 4 stars due to the lack of a true installer for Windows 7. This means that I am unable to use the Windows 7 Recovery Media since one of the files on the my Drivers & Utility CD seems to be corrupt. The recovery media requires the Utility CD, forcing me to abort the reinstall of the OS in a bad state. If I didn't have an unused upgrade license to Win 7 Professional, my machine would have been left in limbo
If the Driver CD works, I imagine it is a very simple process to restore the OS.
Still a very nice machine. It is unlikely that many of the Driver CDs will have the same problem, so this likely won't affect many. Nevertheless, there would have been an easy workaround if there were a real Win 7 installer disk.]
My UL30Vt-X1 arrived on Friday, December 4. I have used it quite a bit since then. I give it 5 stars because it delivers a lot for the price in a nice package.
My wireless has been great. I know some were concerned about this. I have had no problems whatsoever. The screen looks good, though the viewing angle vertically is extremely small.
There is less 3rd party software on the laptop than came with my HP and Dell laptops, which is a good thing. Most of what comes preinstalled are ASUS utilities. These utilities tend to have no documentation. I Googled some to find out what they were. I went ahead and registered the Trend Micro antivirus that came with it and will use that for the free 60 days before installing Avast.
I like the Fastboot utility. It allows you to manage what starts immediately at startup for quicker booting. I assume that everything still starts up eventually, but some are delayed to allow you to get control of the OS first.
It is light and feels good when I carry it. It stays cool on my lap. The speakers also do a good job compared to what I expected. I haven't carried it around outside yet, so I can't yet vouch for its ultraportable-ness.
I'm still trying to figure out the implications of the warranty card. It says that you get another year of the accident warranty if you submit the card within 60 days. Does this mean my warranty for hardware failure would end in a year, but if hardware fails and then I decide you pour water on the machine, I could then get warranty coverage during the second year?
The video mode button is very convenient. Turning the turbo on and off is not as easily done. It requires going into an applet and clicking on a button (and then rebooting). I would like to see a one click method of overclocking (though rebooting would still be required). Perhaps something in the system tray could offer this.
I was sad when I found out that only black would be available for the UL30Vt at first. I thought the silver version had an incredible profile and black is so business world. The machine looks quite nice, but is a bit drab. The blue function labels on the keyboard help some, as does the subtle speckles in the palm rest. Finger prints are as bad as you can imagine.
I am not yet comfortable with the keyboard. I feel I have to hammer the keys to get them to register at times. Especially the space bar. The spacing is good -I have had no problems touch typing, apart from the 40 unregistered space bar hits in this review. Regarding key placement, my only complaint is that it is not easy to increase the volume with one hand due to the distance between the F12/volume increase button and the Fn key that needs to be pressed with it. My hand spans that distance uncomfortably.
The tracking device is a mixed bag. The stickiness is good for letting you know your finger is in the correct location, but it takes practice to get two finger scrolling down pat. I am improving, but it still can be a chore. I modified my 2 and 3 finger clicks to be right click and maximize respectively. I was disappointed that the maximize would only maximize. Doing it for a maximized window would not un-maximize it. Hopefully a driver upgrade could fix that if I complain to the maker. I do not like the trackpad button. It seems a blatant example of compromising function for form. Even that doesn't work well as it has a gift for collecting fingerprints that look even worse then the fingerprints on the chassis. I find myself wiping down the palm rest and mouse pad a lot, but it does look nice wiped down.
I haven't had a chance to test the battery because I have been indexing around 230GB of PDFs that I copied to my hard disk and want to get that done as soon as possible.
This grade may be inflated because of how much I hate my most recent portable laptop before this from HP.
Apple iBook 12.1" G4 (1.33 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive, OS 10.4.11)
I've had a 12" iBook G4 since 2005 and it's still my favorite notebook for browsing the internet, writing letters, and even reading pdf's. It's very lightweight and I consider the screen the perfect size. It's held up very well. One of the keys has a hairline crack and one of the rubber feet on the bottom fell off but I clean it every month or so and it still looks almost new.My only criticism is that it gets a little warm so I keep it on top of a clipboard when holding it in my lap. No viruses, no crashes, no worries.
When netbooks started becoming popular a couple of years ago, I had to laugh because I already have a lightweight, handy netbook. In fact, I'm using it right now to write this review. Given a choice between a new Asus or Dell netbook or a used iBook G4 for the same price, I would take the G4 without thinking about it for a second.
The 1.33ghz has built-in WIFI and bluetooth, so my external keyboard works perfectly with it, and I use it in any coffee shops or WIFI zones while travelling.
The weakest point (in my perspective) is that it's not a powerhouse processor. If you're thinking of making movies on it, you're going to find yourself spending a good bit of time. But for 95% of what people do on laptops, this thing ROCKS! The battery life ranges I've seen 45 minutes, and with a brand new battery 3.5hrs. i'm also a super power-user, so I generally "run the wheels off" anything I use.. so comparatively you might see it last a wee bit better..
The comparison to a netbook is very true. And this thing actually has a hard drive! and, what's best: if you lose it or it gets stolen, you're not out $1300 --the purchase price is very reasonable by comparison. I know a handful of folks with these 12" 1.33's, and they all love them.
Buy Apple iBook 12.1" G4 (1.33 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive, OS 10.4.11) Now
The Apple iBook I purchased from Amazon was the best purchase that I made.I was considering buuying a new one from Wal Mart, but came accross the used i Books from Amazon and decided to purchase 2 of them. One is still working good, the other one had a problem.When I got the computer it was a bit scratched up, but it still runs decently fast and I have had no problems with it.I was very dissappointed with this purchase. It is so slow you could take a nap between clicks. I also have never used a Mac before and it is very difficult in my opinion to use.
Toshiba 15.6" Satellite C855D-S5232 Laptop Notebook PC
I purchased this as MY first laptop after having many PC's and netbooks, as well as Smartphones and Tablets. From Apple to Blackberry to Android sysytems. I have never felt the need to have a laptop being that almost everything I need to do can now be done on most tablets and smartphones. However this Laptop's Dual Core Processor is really fast and I also Love that it came with Windows 7 instead of Vista. The face recognition feature is really quite cool. It is a LOCK feature so if your laptop were to be stolen for example, instead of them hacking past your password they cannot duplicate a picture of your face & NO a PICTURE of YOU WILL NOT work. It has to be the real deal. So unless they steal you along with your latop & you have some SECRET AGENT, 007 SH** on your laptop. Without your face they are S.O.L. & your laughing all the way to the bank. I also installed Microsoft Word and MacFee full service for 2 years all for under $200.00 at my local Office Depot during their Labor Day sale. It has some great upgrades like your read write DVD Burner, smart card reader, long battery life and LCD Backlit Trubrite screen. It has 4 ports, ethernet jack ofcourse and also bluetooth compatiable. I can go on and on about all the fantastic features this basic laptop has. However for being your basic laptop it sure has a lot of extra bells and whistles on it! I would highly recommend this for your first college student or highschool. Or just for photo storing, skyping, your basic surfing needs are met and thensome! Only CON I have found is definatly need a skin if fingerprints bother you, as much as they do me. Other than that this is truly a steal for the cost!!!
Wrote with this product.
Buy Toshiba 15.6" Satellite C855D-S5232 Laptop Notebook PC Now
Best Laptop ever for the price. Good quality product. Both my Husband and I each have the same Model and we would buy another if needed. Highly recommend this product.Read Best Reviews of Toshiba 15.6" Satellite C855D-S5232 Laptop Notebook PC Here
I bought this computer at a store and NOT through Amazon. I bought it because I needed to surf the internet and do some banking on it. I don't play games, watch videos or download stuff so I did not need anything fancy. The hard drive failed after 60 days. I took it back to the store where I bought it and they told me they could not exchange or fix it. I had to go through Toshiba for repairs. The employee at the store told me that Toshiba has had a lot of problems with their hard drives failing and he quietly told me the computer was junk. He apologized and told me he would have recommended another computer for roughly the same price if I had talked to him before buying this one. I contacted Toshiba and in order to get the computer repaired I had to pay for shipping ($25) to get it fixed. I would not recommend this product due to the fact you it will cost you to have it fixed if it fails under warranty. I have never had to pay to have anything fixed under warranty. I would give it zero stars if I couldWant Toshiba 15.6" Satellite C855D-S5232 Laptop Notebook PC Discount?