HP Pavilion DV7-2170US 17.3-Inch Entertainment Laptop

I loved the look of this machine out of the box. It's thin, with a very large screen.

Pros: Huge Screen, designer case, fast cpu(ranked in top 30 for notebooks), graphics card(ati! 1GB of gddr3 ram!), good support from hp, 2 speakers w/sub,

hd audio,hdmi out, good screen resolution(1600x900), full keyboard, 500GB Hard drive, 4GB of ram.

It can run todays computer games very well. Applications open very fast. Very good integrated mic is very sensitive and can pick up anything.

Cons: low battery life, heavy, bloatware, glossy screen and chrome touchpad.

The battery life is way to low to really consider this machine something you would use on trips or flights over 2 hours long without plug

available. I also didnt think that laptops could be heavy untill I carried this laptop around the University of Texas campus. The glossy screen

reflects everything and anything making it hard to see the screen outdoors or near a window with bright light coming through. The chrome touch pad

is not as good as a plain jane plastic touchpad in that when you drag you finger, there is a little too much resistance for my liking( a little less

friction than rubbing your finger across the bottom of a shoe, unless your fingers are free of any residue, ie oils., then its smooth).

Overall this machine is a great laptop allowing me to keep my desktop off now since I purchased it. Even though my desktop is a high end gamming rig, this laptop has essentially replaced it. That being said, there are probably those of you who will not want to lug it around where ever you go. If you do, do purchase a laptop backpack as a brief case design even with one with a strap would tear into your shoulders. The battery life is annoyingly low, but is expected from a laptop with a large screen and discrete graphics card. If you want more battery life choose a laptop that has integrated graphics, but performance will be much lower. The only laptop out there that I have seen with performance and big screen, with an 8 hour battery life is a $3000 mac! Vista is no isssue here as the machine is perfectly capable of running it flawlessly. THERE HAVE BEEN NO ERRORS OR BLUESCREENS!!!!! The user who rated this machine with 1 star messed up his machine him self. He is obviosly a novice user. You only get bluescreens on computers due to user errors 99.999% of the time. I have had no issues at all with this notebook.

I ordered 2 of these laptops for my wife and I. The laptops came packaged very good, with no defects, and were delivered the next day after the order was placed. Both screens had no dead pixels what so ever and were perfect. All extra ports(useb, hdmi, ect) do not get in the way of each other. The laptops came with the hp mini-media remote, ac adapters, user guides, and pollishing cloths. Setup is a breese with HP's setup program. Do note that HP Games from wild tangent is much like a video game arcade, where you purchase tokens to play the games. 500 tokens a month for 6.99 per month. All antivirus software and office software is a trial version. I recommend unistalling the trial versions of office, hp wild tangent games(the games are not free!!!), norton(horrible, bloated, antivirus software), and the sling box software(uselesss without a slingbox for your tv). Free antivirus programs are out there.

I am giving it only 4 out of 5 due to the battery life. Otherwise you will not be disappointed. PC PitStop is a website that benchmarks computers, it ranked my system among laptops in the top 9% in the world, graphics got the top 3%.

Windows Vista Performance Index Ratings:

Processor: 5.2

Memory(RAM): 5.9

Graphics: 5.9

Gaming Graphics: 5.6

Primary Harddisk: 5.6

Any questions just comment on my post.

I researched multiple computers from several brand names and settled on this one. It came loaded up nicely and the price was very reasonable. Overall, I've had it almost a month and I'm really enjoying it. I haven't begun to explore all that it can and will do. No problems and it has been a pleasure to this point. I also took advantage of the Amazon account and got 0% interest... and apparently no payments (until the offer end date).

Buy HP Pavilion DV7-2170US 17.3-Inch Entertainment Laptop Now

The computer itself is good. finger print shows easily. If you are looking to install engineering programs on it it is better off buy the HP Pavilion Dv7-2270us because it got the 7200 rpm HD. As for Amazon Company, it is one of the best to deal with. I sent an e-mail to the customer service and explain the problem with this model # (it has the 5400 rpm HD). Amazon issued a full refund including return shipment fees. Thank you Amazon for your service.

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Great Laptop Performance. Fast for all entertainment needs. Huge and fast hard-drive and good monitor resolution. The webcam's capturing capabilities are not as neat as in other HP's models but still works great with all Instant Messaging and VOIP networks as MSN and Skype.

Great graphic imprint. The downside for the finished materials look is that this plastic is in particular too shiny and has to be cleaned constantly to avoid smudgy appearance.

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First, let me qualify by saying 1) My experience with the HP Pavilion dv7 might be a fluke, and 2) Amazon doesn't seem to sell my exact model number, so I'm injecting the review here, because HP deserves it. My specific laptop is closely related to the one advertised on this page.

Normally, I don't write a review at all, if the product really sucks my experience might be a fluke, or if it's a book I might have misunderstood the intent. But this laptop has been such an inconvenience, that a bad review seems like real justice.

The battery is too heavy & bulky. The laptop had to be sent back several times; the first time, they 'fixed' the motherboard, the third time they had to replace the motherboard. It still has problems if you try to work with only the battery (i.e., the A/C disconnected), you risk the laptop suddenly shutting down even when the battery is fully charged.

There are other problems as well, and frankly the memories of wasted hours are too painful to drudge up.

I can't say great things about HP support, either. Oh sure, they try to resolve things, they aren't impolite or anything (although sometimes the accent gets in the way, so who knows if they are polite or not). But there's just too much back and forth, for many problems that you end up resolving with Google searches in an eighth of the time.

One great benefit this laptop will give you it will train you to backup your computer fairly frequently (I use Acronis for backing up & restoring, and it's a godsend), because you never know when you will have to send it back to the shop.

It was a bad mistake, choosing an HP laptop based on the look and feel of the keyboard, especially when past experiences with Toshiba have always been positive.

Try another HP series; steer clear of the dv7's.

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HP EliteBook Revolve 810 11.6" G1 Tablet Notebook - D3K50UT

I'm updating my review now that I've resolved the problem...

Update: I managed to install win 8 and office 365. It took me about 6 hours as is was not as straight forward as stated in the installation instructions; had to go through some trouble shooting. I found great resources online to guide me through various hurdles. Now that everything is working I am very excited. The computer / tablet is beautiful, and the win 8 technology allows me to switch from desktop to touchscreen tiles so I can integrate work and play; very cool! I'm increasing to 4 stars and not 5 because of the frustrating start. If win 8 had been pre-installed I'd give it 5 stars.

I just got my computer out of the box and learned that Windows 8 is not installed, and instead it has windows 7 and a DVD with windows 8. What's the point of shipping tablets without win8? The technical details specs of the product clearly state that this product comes with windows 8 (see technical details). I inferred from this that win 8 was installed. I just went back to the product details and noticed that there are a couple of words in the product description that sate that this product has win 7 and a license for win 8. I did not pick-up on this at the time of purchase. The product description and technical details are not clear enough for my standards. This is quite frustrating because I'm not very tech savvy and because the computer does not have a DVD reader so I am unable to install windows 8. I just purchased an external drive online and will have to wait a couple of days to install windows 8. I hope the installation of windows 8 goes smoothly. And I hope I have no more surprises. I'll update my review once I've gone through the windows 8 installation process. For now I'll give it 3 stars because it seams like a great product (laptop + tablet + win 8 technology + small and cool design) but I have not been able to run it yet. (FYI I've been using apple for the past 4 years so I have high expectations of user-friendliness) More to come...

Save 4% Off

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Portege R500-S5006V Intel Core 2 Duo U7700 1.33GHz 802.11a/b/g/draft-n Wireless 12.10" WXGA 2GB DDR

i was looking for a laptop that was lighter and better made than my Dell D620. This one fit the bill. Toshiba did not lie about the weight like Dell. The D620 was 1/2 pound heavier than adverized with the battery out. The Toshiba weighs less than half what the Dell does, withthe battery in, and meets the spec.

The display is very good, beats the Dell hands down, and has enough viewing angle that I cna acutally use it in coach class. Battery life is around 3 hours for my useage which is disk and CPU intensive, Circuit modeling and lots of spreadsheet recalcualtions.

Time will tell if it is more reliable, but I can't imagine it would be less.

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Toshiba Satellite A305-S6858 Core 2 Duo T5750 2.0GHz 4GB 320GB DVD±RW 15.4" Vista Home Premium (SP

Even thought this is my first laptop and I'm known in the house to "kill" anything that is eletronic. I find this computer exteremly reliable.

It did crash on me but that was my fault. Went on the wrong sites had to many virus and malware and it blinked out. I sent the laptop back to Toshiba and they fixed it within 2 weeks.

But I like the speakers they supply a decent sound, the mouse pad will get hot in long duration, due to the design and the finish you will be able to see your fingerprints (but thats something stupid to complain about), very fast on the internet no matter what (DSL, Cabel), a lot of storage space, and the software is very user friendly and I've never had a problem with Vista. It works like a breeze.

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Apple MacBook MB402LL/A 13.3-inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

I went back and forth between the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Which one? Will it be powerful enough? Big enough...?

Maybe a Sony Vaio would be better?

I'm a Windows software developer but I'm going back to school for my MBA and I wanted a smaller, simple notebook for papers and internet communication for classwork. It needs to be durable and I need it to work without a lot of fussing around with system bits.

After much research I chose the MacBook over the pro because of the smaller size and the fact that the aluminum on the pro although cool, can dent easily. The matte black finish on the MacBook is elegant, tough, and the build quality it top notch. Does the the black eventually get smears on it from your hands and fingers? Yes it does but just wipe them off every so often. It's not a big deal.

IMO, aside from a few points in processor speed the major technical thing the Pro gets your over the MacBook is a dedicated video card. The card in the MacBook uses part of your system memory and that's not a big deal if you aren't doing complex things like 3D Rendering or gaming. Even most photo editing tasks on the little MacBook will work well *if* you have enough RAM. I recommend 2GB or more.

My MacBook arrived and I couldn't be happier. I personally think the black is nicer looking than the aluminum model. And this thing is fast! It makes my dual Intel Windows tower at work seem pokey. The glossy screen probably has more glare than a matte screen but the trade off in weight and size is well worth it.

Also the built in wireless Airport is great and reception is wonderful. Just turn it on and available networks show up in your menu. It's really so much nicer than Windows. The bonus is that I can dual boot with BootCamp and run all my Windows stuff when I need to. I installed Neo Office (open source office suite) and now I can open and create all the documents for my coursework.

Don't fool yourself into thinking the less expensive MacBook is less worthy for general computing tasks than the more sophisticated pro. It's very elegant looking and very powerful. If you don't need the power and size of the pro, I think you'll be happy and the money you save can be put toward other things. Maybe a new digital camera?

I have always been a heavy Windows user dating all the way back to the release of version 3.1 (approx 16 years ago). I was never interested in the Mac do to what I perceived as the proprietary nature of their systems and what I thought was an expensive price tag. Here is what I discovered when I purchased this model of Mac:

1. It just works. The boot up time is less than half of what it takes my Windows laptop, and the shut down time (4 seconds) is only a fraction of the 30-40 seconds of my Toshiba.

2. It runs Windows Vista faster than my Toshiba. I still need to run a couple of Windows applications, so I went through the VERY easy bootcamp installation of Vista. It runs flawlessly and after having purchased Fusion for $79, I am now able to run Windows apps alongside Mac apps. Simply incredible.

3. Battery life is great. I can get 4 hours out of mine running in low power mode.

4. Why no card reader???? Almost all PCs now come with card readers to use with your digital camera. Why does Mac not include this??? :(

5. It does NOT require the regular restarts that my Windows systems have always required. Simply close the lid and put it to sleep at night, and the next morning lift the lid and you are back in business. I can do this with my Toshiba but start getting errors in Windows after a couple of days and need to reset. Also, my Macbook runs very cool (with little heat) in the sleep mode, thereby allowing me to put it in my brief case in sleep mode without it heating up. I could never do that with any of my PC laptops. They would always heat up.

6. No virus software needed. Happy, Happy, Happy. Surfing the internet is faster because of this. Also, opening a document in MS Word is faster because the Virus software is not screening it.

I purchased MS Office and loaded it. It runs great and is almost identical to its Windows counterpart in functionality. But, Word and Excel seem to boot up a bit slower than the Windows versions. This is one thing that I do not like.

7. I like the way the electric cord connects with a magnet instead of plugging in. This seems handier and better in design, but I wonder if the magnet will still be as strong two years from now?

All in all, I am extremely pleased with this Mac. When you compare the price with the included features, it is only slightly more expensive than a comparable PC. To me it is worth the extra $200.

Actually what is going to make this very expensive, is now that my wife and daughter have seen my Mac they are both wanting to replace their PCs as well. This is one expense I did NOT budget for.

Thanks for reading. Hope this helps

Buy Apple MacBook MB402LL/A 13.3-inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Now

I have been a PC user for many years and have had no complaints, particularly since Windows XP was rolled out. My current HP is five years old and it was time to consider a replacement. The availability of a $1000 (with rebate) Penryn based entry level MacBook from Amazon proved irresistible to me and am glad I gave Apple a try. I understand it is not a good choice for gaming due to its lack of a dedicated graphics card.

I have been using it for two weeks now and have the following observations:

* Very snappy performance including boot up and shut down time

* Smaller screen than I am accustomed to but not a problem due to the excellent fonts

* Small size and light weight is a plus.

* Excellent wireless performance.

* Amazing battery life (never less than 4 hours at 90% screen brightness).

* Very little heat generation.

* Fan and hard drive noise is very low.

* Setting up a dual boot to Windows XP is well documented and easy to do.

* Running Windows creates much more heat and consequent lower battery life.

* 4 MEG of RAM can be purchased for under $100 but it runs very nicely with 1 MEG

* I miss the two button trackpad.

* It has a relatively sharp edge where one's palm usually rests when using trackpad

* Free software is available to allow reading Windows .wmv sound files.

* Built in automatic backup capability (Time Machine) is a plus.

* Nothing is perfect but this is pretty close given the price and current technology.

For those considering a switch and willing to learn a new operating system, I highly recommend it!

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I am a software engineer with twenty years experience developing system services for MS Windows and generic UNIX platforms. For the last ten years, my experience has been with MS based servers and workstations. The last time I used an Apple personal computer was in 1980 when I owned an Apple II+.

On a whim I purchased a MacBook running OS X 10.5.2 for my wife who has virtually no computer experience and avoids all things computer. She was not happy with my home MS Windows systems and she was not happy with the available portable computers running windows.

She has taken to the MacBook like a duck takes to water. She likes the package design, the display, and the desktop layout. She does not have the experience to appreciate the thoughtful interfaces and bundled applications that come with OS X. She just knows the entire package is enjoyable and not intimidating.

Me I like the UNIX foundation to OS-X. Knowing the internals of both operating systems, UNIX is the clear winner when it comes to reliability, durability, predictability, consistency, and security. Additionally, UNIX (with its open source variants) does not suffer from conflict of interest between operating systems and applications. One always wonders if some MS Windows quirk exists to solve a development problem in some MS application. I quickly put the terminal icon on the MacBook desktop so I could indulge myself with the UNIX shell command line any time I want ;-).

I installed a third party wireless router and configured internet services on the MacBook in a few minutes. I also added a third party optical bluetooth mouse in about thirty seconds. It took longer to install the mouse batteries than configure the MacBook bluetooth capability.

Apple has a very solid package with the current MacBook. There is little that one needs to add to the MacBook. It comes with just about every hardware interface available today. It has ample processor, RAM, and hard disk storage for average users. It comes with dual layer DVD RW. The bundled suite of applications is adequate for the full spectrum of casual computing (e.g., web browsing, email, chat, word processing, photo/video/audio processing). Apple stuff is a bit pricy but you receive the value you pay for.

If you want a good comprehensive companion book for your MacBook, I recommend David Pogue's "Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual". This book is large and contains much technical detail but is very well written. It is not for the casual computing novice that finds reading and comprehension tedious.

I have used Apple support one time and found the wait to be acceptable and support engineer to be competent, efficient and attentive. I have used MS support many times over the years and found them to be equally capable.

I have not found anything I dislike about the MacBook after thirty days of usage. My wife, however, would like the Apple logo on the lid to glow red instead of white when the MacBook is powered up.

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***** 5 Stars (UPDATED BELOW)

'Nuff said about how great this computer and Leopard are.

HOWEVER, out of the box I have one DEAD PIXEL just off center which shows as a black dot the size of a small period. According to Amazon and Apple, one dead pixel is not enough to warrant replacement of a brand new computer. I know it's one tiny pixel out of a million but once you notice it you always seem to see it. It just seems to me that for $1300 you should be able to receive a computer without screen imperfections. I wouldn't care about discoloration or scratches on the case but the screen should be perfect. I don't buy Amazon's & Apple's excuse that this is acceptable: no Mac I've ever owned had dead pixels; none of my friends' Macs have dead pixels; none I've seen in Apple stores have dead pixels etc. Had I purchased in an Apple store I could have walked in within 30 days and they would have swapped it out. How can everyone I know and even my giant LCD TV not have any dead pixels but my brand new macbook has a permanent dot? On-line buyers beware.

(END OF ORIGINAL REVIEW)

UPDATE: AMAZON HAS COME THROUGH WITH FLYING COLORS AND SENT ME A BRAND NEW MACBOOK WITH NO DEAD PIXELS AT NO CHARGE. After a visit to the Apple Store (to confirm that if purchased there, they would replace it) I gave Amazon one more chance. Using the call-back feature, customer service instantly called me and without any hassle, told me that they would replace my defective Macbook. Sure enough, 1 day later my new Macbook arrived via FedEx and after staring intently at each and every pixel, I am completely satisfied. This is the kind of customer service I would expect, and makes me very happy to use and recommend Amazon in the future.

A few things I've learned in this process. If you're worried about pixel issues, as soon as you get your new computer, download a Pixel Checker program or change your background to Red, Green, Blue, White, Black (separately) and check for any stuck or dead pixels. If there is a problem and you can live with it enjoy your new computer, otherwise contact your dealer ASAP. Also, I had much better results dealing with the telephone support people as opposed to trying to resolve this by email. As long as Amazon takes care of its customers like this, I will be a lifelong user.

I wish I could change the star ratings to 5-star but you're not allowed to edit that. This is really a great computer. Super fast and perfect for my needs. Weighs 5 lbs which is fine with me not ultralight like the Airbook, but it seems lightweight enough to me. Leopard is a great OS and the bundled programs are fun and easy to use.

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Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830TG-6450 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop (Cobalt Blue)

This laptop met and exceeded all of my standards.

I'm a grad student and my computer needs are admittedly pretty basic (Internet, Word/Excel, the occasional game, etc.); however, I wanted a computer with specs that weren't going to be completely obsolete in the next four years. I move around a lot and I'm constantly whipping my laptop out, so I needed something light and easily transportable. Also, seeing as how I am a grad student, I couldn't break the bank.

PROS

Battery life. The 8-9 hour figure is not an exaggeration. This is by far one of the nicest features. I go out all day without bothering to bring my power cord along. It's about 6PM as I write this; I've been on my laptop repeatedly throughout the day since 8AM, and I still have 2.5 hours of battery life to go. Love it.

Performance. With an i5 Sandy Bridge processor and 4GB of memory, the speed is definitely noticeable. I regularly have 20-30 tabs and windows open at any given time and I've never noticed a drag. I realize that that isn't saying much for those who really like to milk the performance out of their computer -so you probably want to refer to other reviewers on this factor -but as an average user I'm very satisfied with the speed. I should also note that this laptop doesn't run hot. Ever.

General design. Everything is very well laid out. The chiclet keys are great, the trackpad isn't annoyingly off to one side, the click of the mouse isn't loud (a personal pet peeve), and there are no unnecessary buttons cluttering up the keyboard. I wasn't sure about the cobalt blue at first but now I rather like it; it's toned down enough that the laptop still looks professional, if that's a concern.

Portability. I'm constantly moving from place to place throughout the day, and it's so nice to be able to pull my computer out whenever I need it. It starts up very quickly upon re-opening so I can jump back on it right away.

Price. $699 honestly feels like a steal for the quality of this laptop. I did a lot of research before buying it and I think this laptop is the best value out of all the comparable computers in its price range.

Other minor perks: The webcam resolution is surprisingly good, and there's a little programmable button on the keyboard that you can use for whatever you like.

I'll let other reviewers comment on the speakers because I'm honestly not enough of an audiophile to properly assess the quality. For the basic stuff I use them for (Grooveshark playlists, YouTube cat videos, etc.) I have no complaints.

Also, it should be noted: This laptop DOES have an optical drive. I don't believe that it's mentioned in the specs above.

CONS (read: minor annoyances)

It comes preloaded with crapware so be prepared to do a clean install of Windows 7 if you feel so inclined.

I sometimes hit the Fn button when I'm trying to hit Ctrl. They're both pretty small keys and right next to each other.

It's probably a matter of adjusting a setting, but I'll occasionally brush the trackpad in such a way that I zoom in and out of whatever window I'm working in, which is a little annoying.

Bottom line:

This is a fantastic little machine, perfect for students and people who are on the go a lot.

I got my AS4830TG-6450 today. Machine looks good out of the box. Light weight and has very good finish.

I just began as per the quick start instructions. I put the machine on charge, turned it on, completed initial configuration and set up. Battery was showing 73%. I wanted it to be 100% before I could actually test the battery life. While it was on charge, I got rid of most crapwares. I let Windows install all the updates. Activated and updated AV (It comes with 60 days trial of McAfee will switch to AVG soon :) ). Got rid of all Start-up programs those are not useful.

It took 12-14 sec to shut down and 30-35 sec to boot. Data transfer with USB 3.0 was amazing. It took approx 12 sec to transfer 1 GB of data from my portable hdd (3.0) to laptop hdd. At point I had 15-16 tabs opened in IE, WMP running, Canon utility programs running, MS word running at the same time and there was no lag in performance of this machine. It works at pretty good speed.

Chiclet Keyboard is good. Every key stroke is recognized. Track pad is smooth and good. Keys are set up in bit different positions than my earlier Dell and HP. But, it's not a trouble. Camera is average, but i am not bothered with it. It works fine for me on Skype :)

Heard horn liked tone from in-bulit speakers when used on Skype (But only once). Sound quality looks good otherwise. Would try it connecting to external speakers.

Screen resolution is very good. It looks bright. Core I5, 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, 650GB hdd, 14" LED/LCD display is not a unique combination and there are many machines available in market with this combination. But, there are few things which makes this purchase worth -

1) NVIDIA with 1GB of VRAM is a plus. Haven't tried it though for gaming!

2) When it was charged to 100 %, I restarted the machine and let it run without AC power. I am using it since 5 hours now and it is still showing me 4 hours of charge left. Well, battery may will discharge faster if I pull more out of hardware (run/burn DVDs or continuously transfer data). But for an user like me, who spends most of the time on internet, looks 8-9 hours of battery life very much achievable with this machine.

3) It does not get hot. This is outstanding.

4) $699 is a steal for a machine of this quality.

This is my first Acer and I am very much satisfied with my purchase.

Buy Acer Aspire TimelineX AS4830TG-6450 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop (Cobalt Blue) Now

I love this computer super fast , long battery life, great speaker of any laptop I ever touched except of course the HP's but connected to speaker its really good especially via HDMI if you looking for a super light and thin aluminum laptop with DVD-rom of course 640GB and 3.0 USB what else can you ask for this price.:-D

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Very nice laptop with amazing performance. 4 cons but not deal breakers for the price.

I was skeptical about the combination of colors but the blue and silver design of the body of the laptop are very eye catching, it looks professional and has a very solid build (The screen frame material is annoying though, see cons below).

14" screen size is just perfect with 1366 x 768 resolution, it's the same resolution as the 15.6" but in a smaller package.

Performance is excellent, very very fast. Laptop came with 4gb (2gb x 2gb) of ram, it was very fast but still upgraded it to 6gb (2gb x 4gb) for even faster multitasking. Don't really need 8gb.

Windows Experience Scores: Processor: 7.0, Memory (6GB RAM): 7.4, Graphics: 5.9, Game graphics: 6.7, Primary hard disk: 5.8

The NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M with 1GB DDR3 VRAM graphics card did an excellent job for a laptop and a big difference if your going heavy on video usage like playing mid-high graphics games. Played Starcraft II and WOW it was awesome no hiccups, video was flawless and very clear at ultra performance. Make sure you purchase an external cooling system though cause like all laptops it will really heat up when playing games (I got the Cooler Master NotePal U1 Notebook Cooler with 1 Fan R9-NBC-8PAK-GP. It's small, fits nicely underneath and does an excellent job keeping it cool! It also inclines the laptop for easier typing and places screen higher so you don't have to hunch your back and look down).

Laptop fans are on the quiet side and don't really heat up unless your playing games, running power hungry programs or seriously multitasking. I would still purchase the extra cooling noted above.

Battery ran for 5 hours working on normal day to day stuff on integrated graphics, highest screen brightness and @ 2.40GHz full power no turbo boost.

640 GB @ 5400 RPM hard drive, space and speed are more than enough. Would not upgrade to 7200 RPM because of prior bad experience, it will make accessing info faster but this laptop is fast enough! I stay away from faster drives anyway, after a few months they get annoyingly noisy and heat up to the point that it literally burns your laptop. So leave it as is! Never tried solid state drives though, so I can't really say anything about those.

8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive is all I need, no Blu-ray is ok for me.

Speakers are of pretty good quality for a laptop. Like it says, it's professionally tuned not very loud but you get a well balanced sound. The speakers are not at the back top like it seems, they are placed at the front bottom part of the laptop...not an issue really.

HDMI is priceless for connecting to TV or a bigger screen, always a must have in any laptop now a days.

3 usbs are enough for a portable to move around.

Bluetooth is a nice extra but I don't really use it.

Chiclet keyboard is extremely comfortable to type on. Not had any problem with keys.

Cons

Screen quality looks good but not as neat and bright when compared to my Sony laptop. If you're not picky then you won't even notice it. I gave it 4 stars because of this minor issue for me but may be a big issue for others.

Why or why do they keep using the smudge magnet reflective material for the screen frame, I just don't get it. Nice and shiny but put your fingers on it and it looks dirty.

A little heavy for the size.

Battery is built-in so you won't be able to remove it easily. Not a problem really but if you ever spill liquid on it you won't be able to rapidly cut all power so no circuits get fried. Battery power is cut though when you remove the back lid to add extra memory.

It was a very good purchase @ $699. Exceeded my expectations! I did my research and nothing comes close to this price performance wise. So, if you don't want to spend much on an excellent 14" laptop with great looks and the cons won't be a problem for you then this is the one. Enjoy!

*Updated on 12/02/2011 Added a few things...some more pros and 1 con. I've had it for like a month now and I'm extremely happy with this little monster. Fastest laptop I have ever had!

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I discovered the CostCo version (4830T-6841) of this PC on the way to Bestbuy and ended up buying it, despite its lack of a separate number pad, after quick comparison shopping at Bestbuy. It was listed for $599 and came with all the specs above, but with 6G RAM, no Bluetooth, and *no crapware*! After I finished initial setup, there was precisely 1 icon on my desktop, the Recycle Bin. But it also included Office Starter (Word & Excel) and MS Signature security. The latter was new to me, but far preferable to Norton or McAfee trial versions, not least because it promised no annual renewal requirements.

Both the keyboard and the trackpad feel solid and big enough for my hands. I solved the number pad problem at BestBuy by getting a $65 Logitech solar-powered wireless keyboard (with num pad) that will work with either my laptop or my netbook (an Acer AspireOne 722 with a spongy keyboard and jumpy trackpad), as will my earlier-bought Logitech mouse. So I can leave one tiny USB unifying receiver plugged into each PC that works for both input devices. But they will only work if one or the other PC is asleep or out of wireless range. (Otherwise they get confused about which control tower they're talking to.)

During setup, I kept marveling at how little heat the new processor generated. When I finally turned the PC off after 8 hours of constant usage, it was only as hot as my little Acer netbook gets after 1 hour of minimal activity. The speed was less of a surprise because I was replacing a 4-year-old HP dv4 laptop with a 32-bit processor.

After the battery was fully charged, I unplugged it and got exactly 4 full hours of very heavy I/O usage from it: (1) downloading and installing files from the web and across our local wireless network; (2) copying massive files from my Seagate external HDD (which took 15 min to load all my photos on the USB 3.0 port, after taking about 2 hours to copy them off the old HP with its USB 2.0 ports); and (3) all the while playing music CDs at full volume (sharp, but not very loud, and not very bassy on the new PC) and keeping the screen fully lit. The next day, I got about 8-9 hours of battery life, leaving it unplugged on my desktop and using it intermittently throughout the day in more typical fashion, allowing it to sleep from time to time.

The most annoying feature for me is the placement of all the connectors in the front half off the base (to make room for the vent on the left and optical drive on the right), where any USB 2.0 device on the right side risks getting repeatedly bumped by my mouse hand. And the wires from any video, HDMI, and USB 3.0 devices on the left leave little room for reference materials or coffee cups close by.

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ASUS UX31A-DH51 13.3-Inch Zenbook ( Silver Aluminum )

I've had this laptop for two days so far and it's a pleasure to use as well as gorgeous to look at!

It cold boots in six seconds and wakes up from suspend-to-RAM in two; the IPS screen is excellent and the i5 CPU, 4 GB RAM, and SSD give the system incredible speed. There are some downsides: I'm still getting used to the trackpad (no distinct buttons a first for me), and it isn't quite as thin as the marketing pictures would suggest (though the listed product dimensions are accurate), but I think this laptop is a great deal for $800.

After it arrived, I booted into Windows 8 to make sure all the hardware was working. After specifically testing the function keys and the speed of restarts, I updated to the latest BIOS, disabled UEFI Secure Boot, and then installed Ubuntu 13.04 Desktop 64-bit from a USB flash drive. Another reviewer lamented the space lost to the pre-existing partitions (I found boot, efi, Windows recovery, Windows OS, and factory recovery), but I opted to let Ubuntu have the entire disk (minus a couple hundred MB for two boot partitions). After formatting, it gave me 117.3 GB total, with 4.5 GB used by the OS after installing.

Once I was running Ubuntu 13.04, almost all of the top-row function keys (e.g. sleep, keyboard backlight adjust, screen brightness adjust) worked out-of-the-box. The exceptions are that wireless enable/disable doesn't always seem to work and I haven't had a chance to test the video output selector. The screen auto brightness doesn't work, nor do the function keys attached to C, V, and Space (in the factory configuration those last three were attached to software bundled by Asus within Windows, so I suspect that I could configure apps in Ubuntu to respond in a similar fashion, but I have not tested this).

The Bluetooth, USB-to-Ethernet (using the included adapter), web cam, built-in mic, and SD card reader components have all also been tested and they all work well without any configuration.

If you're looking for a sleek, portable, Ubuntu-ready laptop which doesn't sacrifice power or break the bank, I would recommend giving this laptop a chance.

Slim, solidly built machine. Uni-body construction. Fewer ports built in, but a VGA and Ethernet dongles are included in their own matching case. #1 feature: the MATTE Full HD screen. Feels like I'm working on 15"+ screen. I thought it would make texts too fine to read comfortably, but the default setting for text is set at 125% at full HD and is very easy on the eyes. And yes, its matte, not glossy (THANK YOU ASUS!!!). Check out notebookcheck.net review of this and other machines.

As mentioned, there's a couple caveats to owning this puppy. If you video chat a lot, either invest in an add-on digital camera as the built in camera on this harks back to the 90' cell phone camera 0.3 MP and painfully slow. I can't put it any other way: the camera sucks. Its deliberate, as the thinness of the lid at that point limits the camera. If you cannot live with this nor be bothered to buy a separate digi-cam, this ain't your fix. Look elsewhere.

The other concern is more important. Though its listed as a 128 Gig SSD, only 66 Gigs are actually useable, as the rest are defined for Windows, backup, etc. I haven't had time to investigate all the software that comes along with it from ASUS. While I abhor bloatware, the few programmes that I did check out so far are essential add-ons for the full Win 8 experience, such as the ASUS Touchpad software for example. Some others may choose to reduce these partitions for more usable room but I don't need to go there just yet. having a flash drive or cloud adds lots of extra storage for files, which is what I'm planning on doing anyway. I know that 2 gig out of the 4 total are permanently on the board, so that the RAM can be upgraded in future. I'm not yet sure about the SSD, though it would seem highly unlikely that it cannot be upgraded.

While others cannot overlook the poor excuse of a digi-cam in 21st century, nor the actual 66 gigs of useable space on the SSD out of the gates, for my intents and purposes, it fits the bill, which is why I'd give it 4.5 stars (if I could...).

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I like the Zenbook. Very fast, light and portable. Great design, with two USB3 ports and accessories for projector and LAN connection.

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So far, so good. Was able to load with Ubuntu 12.10 (but wireless didn't work out of the box), so loaded 13.04 and wireless works well. I also tried Fedora 18 and 19a, but no luck even booting with either. Windows 8 was different, but not what I want.

The zenbook is fast and keyboard is very usable. Screen is sharp and nice to work with.

I've only been using it for a few days, I may add more comments later...

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I have ms2010 office in the apps. When I click on it, it says I need the 25 character key to open it. No key in the packaging. Called asus, they said call ms. Called them and they said it was probably a trial copy. That is not what office says when you try to open it, it has a checkmark by the run the program and when I click on that it then asks for the key code Anybody experience this? Thanks.

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Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

This is an able computer, but the so called value additions that make this model $300 more expensive than the standard Macbook Pro 13 are hardly worth it. If you're thinking about buying this version of the 13 inch Macbook Pro, please consider taking a look at the standard Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop.

The only difference between this $1499 MBP 13 and the $1199 MBP 13 are processor speed and hard drive space this MBP 13 has a 2.66ghz processor and 320 gb hard drive while the standard MBP 13 has a 2.4 ghz processor and 250 gb hard drive.

So you're paying $300 more (20% of the cost of the $1499 MBP 13 or 25% of the cost of the standard $1199 MBP 13) and getting only 70 gb more hard drive space and a processor faster by 266 mhz (Approximately 10%). Whether that's worth a $300 price difference over the standard MPB 13 is questionable.

Everything else is IDENTICAL in both MPB 13's Superdrive, backlit keyboard, multi-touch trackpad, screen (1280 x 800 resolution Glossy LED backlit screen), iSight camera, Nvidia Geforce 320m integrated graphics, speakers, amount of ram (4gb good for multitasking),number of ports(1 Firewire 800 port,2 USB 2.0 ports), SD Card slot, wireless capabilities (802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000). THE SAME EVERYTHING.

The software included is also the same OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is also standard on both models

Let's consider a situation where you choose to buy the standard MBP 13 instead of this model. You'd save $300.

You could then put it towards purchasing a 500 gb hard drive (for approximately $80 on Amazon) and install it yourself. That's a bigger hard drive than the one included in this $1499 model. The installation instructions are included in the MBP 13 manual and it doesn't void the warranty. You'll need a Philips #00 screwdriver. Installation videos are also available online.

You'd also have $220 left with which,(if you decide to) you could buy Applecare or Squaretrade and protect your machine for 2 more years after the first year limited warranty runs out.

If you're interested in using your money optimally, do consider the standard Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop It's 99% identical in terms of hardware and capability in comparison to this $1499 MBP 13 and is in all aspects, a much better value for money buy.

Hope this helps!

I mentioned it in the video portion of the review, but the first step to purchasing a Mac is to determine if you are ready to make the leap from the world of the PCs. Personally, for my day-to-day use (and creating video reviews for Amazon.com) I love using Macs. They are very intuitive and importantlythey always seem to work. Rarely do programs randomly close down or does the computer just completely freeze.

Now that is out of the way why should you consider the 2.66GhZ MacBook Pro? Is it really worth the extra cost versus the Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop and the Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop? For me the answer was a (pretty) easy, yes. I love the increased speed in Video editing provided by the 4G of RAM (compared to the 2G on the standard Macbook) and the 2.66GHz Processor.

A run down of the things I like about this model

The display is awesome the LED screen is very crisp and uses less power.

Firewire port -

SD card reader it comes in more handy than you might expect

10 hours of battery life

The 4G of Ram helps with video processor and other memory intensive activities

Super Fast... programs open almost instantly.

I was able to load all of my old programs using Time Machine

Aluminum frame I had some issues with the plastic on our previous Macbook

Very lightweight

The wireless N card seems to work much faster than the N card on our older Mac ...in truth, it seems like it help to expand the range of the router Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station (Simultaneous Dual-Band) (MC340LL/A)

I really do like the backlit keyboard I know it seems like a minor thing, but we really do like it.

I do recommend purchasing the Apple Care. It is expensive but Apple customer service can not be matched.

Final VerdictWhile the Macbook Pros are more expensive than comparable laptops to me it does't make much of a difference the Macbook Pros are worth it. They work perfectly out of the box and offer great performance. I really couldn't be happier

5 Stars No Second Thoughts on this Purchase

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I programme a lot and use my laptop for both intensive work and sometimes for games too. It handles both supremely well and has a very crisp screen that's easy on the eyes. I got the 256 SSD harddisk and it's bloody quick! I changed over from my IBM thinkpad basically for the ascetics of the new macs (and the fact that I found out there are two programmable mouse buttons on it!)

Battery life is around 4-5 hours with normal use I'd say. With careful and low level stuff, I think maybe 6-7 hours is possible doing reasonable things... If you do almost nothing but use a text editor with everything else off one may well get 10hrs out but I've never tried it.

I got the 13 inch because I prefer something portable and sleek, which the mbp certainly is! The only thing I have against it is that the resolution for the 13" is very low for a high end laptop these days and you can't fit as much information on one screen as I would like. Typically at work I have to plug in an external monitor (non-apple, which displays to the full capabilities of the screen without fault or hassle).

Otherwise the computer sometimes runs a little hot (though nowhere near as hot as my old ibm).

It is in summary a very good laptop the best I've ever owned. It also helps that it's thin and gorgeous.

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This is my first Mac ever, and I absolutely love it. The only downside is the high price, but this laptop is certainly worth the price you pay. The trackpad is amazing, and the aluminum unibody is so nice. The keyboard feels so good to type on, and the backlit keys look awesome. I won't get into the software too much, but Mac OSX is so user-friendly and the programs that come on it are fantastic.

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I'm in a small Production Company so we work with Mac's. My old Macbook Pro a 15" video card finally died was an issue with my model but lasted 3yrs of heavy use. Our Company owns several Macbook Pros and just recently bought the small 13" 2.4ghz to data manage footage from our RED cameras. After My MBP broke I started using the 13" for other tasks since it was just sitting there and was very surprised by how much I really liked the small form factor I was allowed to take it home for a weekend and liked it so much that I just ordered the 2.66ghz version to replace my downed machine.

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Lenovo 15.6" IdeaPad Laptop V570-1066AWU / 2nd Gen Intel Core i5-2450M 2.5 GHz processor / 6GB DDR3

• 2nd Gen Intel Core i5-2450M 2.5 GHz processor / 6GB DDR3 Memory / 500GB Hard Drive / Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive / Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit / Silver Gray

I have enjoyed using this laptop for about 6 months. Intel i5 processor is fast and 6GB of RAM makes multitasking a breeze. Start up is fast, about 20 seconds until fingerprint reader. Really like the fingerprint reader feature, keeps data quite secure. Keyboard has nice feel and touchpad is very responsive. Only change would be a larger delete key. The fit and finish is excellent. The brushed gunmetal aluminum cover and keyboard looks great. Appearance is much better than plastic. Highly recommend this laptop.

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This laptop is value for money,it has a very good performance and no problem with the hardware and drivers,booting and multitasking is fast and reliable.

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I type A LOT. This computer is NOT one I'd recommend if you also type a lot. The keyboard layout is not so great the shift key on the right is much smaller than a standard shift key. I thought I'd adjust to this, but after having the computer for almost a month, I'm still having to search for the shift key while typing, and I often hit the arrow-up key instead, which then requires me to readjust my position in the text I'm typing. Really an unnecessarily bad feature. However, this I can handle in comparison to the touchpad. My goodness!! This thing has a mind of it's own! I'll want to scroll down and it will instead enlarge the view of my screen. I'll want to enlarge the view of my screen and it will instead scroll down. I cannot copy things the way I'd like to either instead of highlighting a line of text to copy, the touchpad will interpret my attempts at highlighting as me wanting to pull and drag the text elsewhere (which might be all right if I was able to highlight an entire line before it attempts to do this). Totally useless. All this being said, I have to add that it's a fast machine. This is why I gave it 3 stars. It's worth the money in that respect for sure (I bought mine new for a little over $500). If you don't mind fumbling with a possessed touchpad, and having to search for the shift key over and over again (which slows down typing and leads to errors), then I'd recommend this laptop. But, if you type a lot or enjoy properly navigating with a touchpad mouse, DO NOT GET THIS LAPTOP!!

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Lenovo V570 Laptop review

"by Witness I have had this laptop for over a month now, and I have to say, it is a rare gem! This computer has components in it that you normally do not find in this price range (649.99 at Best Buy..."

"I have never seen a laptop with so many features for such a low price..."

"It seems too good to be true, but I assure you as an owner of one that you will not be disappointed if you purchase one..."

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HP Pavilion g6-2230us 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Computer has a nice screen, Windows 8 is new to me so having to get used to work between the regular desktop and the Windows 8 interface. Very fast, good RAM, excellent hard-drive space and fast read/write speed

I received this today. Ive been playing with this for about 6 hours. At first, I wanted to send it back because of windows 8. Navigating to the desktop seemed like a task....until I read the guide. With 1 click of a button I had my desktop view and online.

Downloading APPS is similar to my iPhone. Its kind of weird but if this was a touch screen, this would be awesome!

So far, this is cranking. I will do a follow up in about a month.

I bought this for school. I couldn't beat the price.

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I bought this computer to replace a 5 year-old Dell laptop which served me very well. I use my computer for writing, creating spreadsheets, recording recipes and a little bit of photo editing, and of course, for email and browsing the Web. I wanted a smaller, more lightweight computer than my old one. I didn't need a big powerful machine for graphics or gaming. I probably wouldn't recognize studio quality sound if it jumped up and bit me.

So...I read every review of this and similar products and talked to my son the computer database administrator. I considered previous positive experiences with HP desktops. Finally, I looked at my budget and took a deep breath and ordered.

Two days later, I received my new computer in perfect condition. I've had it for a little over a month, and I absolutely love it. The keyboard is the right size. I like the touchpad. Its texture compared to the smoothness of the rest of the case) makes it easier to work with. The screen is easy to look at. The computer does everything it's supposed to, and more. It is much faster than I expected. It's exactly what I need.

There's on thing that I do not like at all, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the computer. I hate, hate, hate Windows 8. It is meant for a touch-screen computer, and it leads to much frustration when i'm using the touchpad to navigate. I move my finger the wrong way and I'm suddenly in a completely different screen. The icons on the start screen are annoying. I've yet to figure out how to make them disappear or even get smaller. Fortunately, I am willing to figure things out and am gradually mastering the blasted thing. I still don't like it, but I'll eventually learn to live in peace with it.

Overall, this computer easily earns five stars from me.

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this is a great pc especially for the price. I've had it for about two months now and I have absolutely no complaints about it at all! Its fairly quick and super sleek looking, I'm even learning to love Window freaking 8.

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The computer itself is great. Long battery life, has a majority of the programs I needed already installed. Just don't care for Windows 8 yet, but that will come in time.

Definitely Recommend for a reasonably priced "Quality" Laptop, you can't go wrong.

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Dell Inspiron M5030 2800B3D 15.6-Inch Laptop (3D Black)

I got this laptop recently, why the 5 stars? Because its Functional for my needs. Most Important Specs are:-

Windows 7 Home premium, AMD Athlon Dual-Core 2.30GHz,4.00Gb RAM,320 GB Hard Drive,4.1 Overall windows Experience Index. This is NOT a laptop for Gamers, or persons who want to run applications like AutoCAD, ARCGIS, or Adobe Photoshop, Why? because the processor is a Dual-Core its wayyyy behind in today's terms. This is a great laptop for young children, university students (those who are serious about schoolwork and dont play games like HALO,Dragon Age etc. lol) I use it for checking my emails on the go, and for typing reports and my occasional chess game. Other specs are listed on this page (scroll up). It has a nice patterned finish and comes with built-in wi-fi and a dvd burner. I will update further as i monitor the performance and durability of this laptop.

**UPDATE** 22nd June 2011

I have decided to give a 3 month update. The laptop still continues to perform well. No noticeable cracks (as yet) on chassis as is customed with SOME DELL laptops especially around the corners (my DELL Inspiron 6400 has cracks). Yes it has no HDMI,no bluetooth a downer but not critical features to me. Some reviewers have misconceived my opening statements, I never said you cannot play games on this laptop, I'm saying that given the laptop hardware specifications certain applications (listed above) and games (not going to list too numerous) will either not run or run with slow frame rates especially newer titles.I use Autocad and ArcGis and when working on rendering 3D drawings (AutoCAD) or Queries for Analysis (ArcGIS) the laptop freezes but these are huge files.Your experience may vary depends on your type of usage.

One commenter made the point about the memory, its stated that the laptop comes with 4 GB installed DDR3 RAM (1333 MHz, 2 DIMM slots). Yes it comes with 4GB, however in the BIOS the frequency of the memory is 1066Mhz. Now some might say that this can be changed by doing this or by doing that, that's not the point (it cannot be changed by the way the fields are read-only) its advertised as 1333 it should come that way. Keyboard shows no signs of fading but sometimes i get delayed keystrokes could be software related though.

In summary still a good buy (I paid 399.99),I have no regrets with this purchase SO FAR.

I bought this laptop on sale recently, and so far, I have no real complaints. Set up was simple and fast, and it connected right away to my WiFi. It's obviously not a gaming machine, but I installed some of my favorite (though not current) games (Portal, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and 2), and they run just fine. Overall, it works as advertised, and for the price, I don't have any serious complaints.

The "3D" finish might not appeal to everyone, but I like it. It hides fingerprints very well, and it plays with light in a nifty way.

I haven't had any reason to use the webcam, but did test it to make sure it works. It's low-res, but good enough for basic things like chatting.

The software dock in Windows is a nice touch.

Pros: a nice bright display (I actually had to turn it down a bit), a roomy keyboard (I consider the lack of a number keypad a definite plus), and Windows 7 64-bit Home runs very fast.

Cons: no HDMI port (it has VGA), plastic case feels a bit flimsy, and the speakers are rather tinny. These cons are minor, in my opinion. Bloatware wasn't too much of a problem, either (I uninstalled only a few things). I do wish the memory card reader included CompactFlash for my older DSLR camera, but that's just a personal preference. Most devices don't use this type of memory card anymore.

Other notes: all the various ports are on the left side of the machine (one of the USB ports is at the very front of that side, which might get in the way for some), the DVD drive on the right, the memory card reader on the front, and nothing but the battery compartment on the back.

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Good value at $399 my sale price. I found it fast but heavy and upgradable. The "3D" finish is not attractive to me but will prevent fingerprints. I needed this laptop to run VMs for demos and development and this was in my price range. I found that the memory upgrade to 6GB was no problem($43) and keyboard removes ok for the memory access. Windows anytime upgrade got it to Windows 7 Pro for $89. Right now it is running an XP machine in virtual-pc and a 2008 server in virtualbox but having trouble running both at same time. The dvd writter works great and 3 USB 2.0 ports are handy. The wireless network is g and wired is 10/100 not 1000. I think networking could be better and the other external port is only vga should maybe be hdmi

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After ten days or so of using this computer I have not encountered any problems with it. This is my first laptop but my fourth Dell computer so I am not anticipating any major problems. Setup was a breeze and I especially liked the way it found my existing router so I can use wireless internet. Just make sure you have your routers "security key" available to complete that part of the setup. Now I am able to sit in my backyard and be online at the same time which was the reason I purchased this particular laptop. I have very nice Dell desktop so I did not need a top of the line laptop loaded with bells and whistles and lots of great features. If that is what you are in need of then I suggest you buy something else. This machine makes a great secondary computer and really for the price you can't expect it to be much more. Three USB ports is sufficient for me, a Cd/dvd burner that so far is working very well.The three in one card reader is also a nice feature. Now as far as the battery goes it charges up pretty fast but the charge does not last that long which I guess applies to most laptops. Sound quality is not so good, I mean if you're looking to play music you might want to invest in a pair of speakers to hook up to the front audio port. Picture quality seems just fine to me, brilliant and sharp and easy on the eyes. There is no HDMI connection but does anyone really connect their computers to a television? As far as the pattern on the case (small circles) that I have seen some other reviewers not so happy with I don't think it's any big deal. I'm just happy this computer is working as nice as it is so far. It starts right up and loads up quickly every time I turn it on. As for preloaded applications/programs, you really don't get much. There are the usual free games that we are all familiar with in Windows and some others that I'm pretty sure you have to pay for to play most of them on line. There is also a popular CD burner program (won't mention the name) that if you really want to use then you must upgrade to the premium version and that is going to cost you. So basically it's useless. For me, for my needs this was money well spent for a secondary computer. I did not expect to get all that much for the price but what I did get was a computer that works and so far that I am really enjoying.

One Year Later: After using this laptop for one full year I still feel it's worth the price for a good secondary computer. In my case as I've already mentioned I needed one to take outside with me. I have had absolutely no problems with this laptop as far as performance goes but of course there is a reason for me to update my review. The one and only reason I'm updating this review is because of the battery life. To put it as nicely as I am allowed, it stinks! The battery life just stinks! On a full charge I'm lucky to get two full hours from it. Sure I can tone down the brightness to get longer battery usage but who wants to look at a dull, dark screen? Now perhaps the battery that came with the laptop wasn't very good to begin with, I have no idea of knowing that. So this morning I am considering purchasing the replacement battery sold by Amazon thinking maybe I will get longer battery life. I just don't know if I want to risk spending over thirty dollars on a new battery only to find out it did not solve the problem. The idea of a laptop is to be able to take it with you, into the back yard for instance. Less then two hours on a full charge just does not work for me and I'm not about to start dragging extension cords out the window. So once again this is a nice laptop as far as performance goes and hopefully anyone thinking of purchasing it will receive a better battery with it than I did. Unless of course all of the batteries that come with this computer stink!

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I am floored to read all the reviews on this computer stating motherboard failure. My computer is 18 months old and won't turn on. The screen is black and then a series of 7 beeps follows. After much time on the phone with Dell I've discovered it is the motherboard and a repair would cost over $400. I am just one of many many people having the same issue. Shame on you Dell for no addressing this issue and making it right for all your customers. There needs to be recall on this model due to so many having problems with the motherboard. So here I am about to shell out come $$$ on another laptop. Buyer beware!

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Lenovo ThinkPad W510~~Intel Core i7-720QM//4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM//NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M Graphics

It's a pretty good laptop. Doesn't have a Texas Instruments Firewire chipset so make sure you get appropriate peripherals that are compatible with it's chipset.

It has a high-pitched sound when you're using with no wall charger. The battery indicator is tricky as it's always changing.

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Apple MacBook Pro MC724LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

Let's assume you're confused between buying the "standard" $1199 Macbook Pro 13 and this "high end" $1499 Macbook Pro 13.

I'd like to help in simplifying the decision making process.

This "High end" model is still not a good purchase (with regards to value) when compared to the "standard" Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

The ONLY differences between the two 2011 MBP 13's are minor and consist of a super small processor speed difference and hard drive space. The standard MBP 13 has a 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor + a 320 gb 5400 rpm hard drive while the high end MBP 13 has a 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor + a 500 gb hard drive.

For value conscious consumers, I've pasted Speedmark 6.5 and Geekbench results below. Speedmark is Macworld Lab's standard test tool for benchmarking Macs. It's used to test overall speed and efficiency of macs. Geekbench is the most recognized benchmarking software for Mac.

Speedmark 6.5 results:

2011 Macbook Pro 13

13" MacBook Pro 2.3GHz Core i5 dual-core Score = 140

13" MacBook Pro 2.7GHz Core i7 dual-core Score = 155

Only 15 points more. Not even a 15% difference.

Geekbench Benchmark results

13" MBP 2.3 GHz dual i5 2011: 5948

13" MBP 2.7 GHz dual i7 2011, 6796

A difference of 848 points which equals up to a 12% difference.

So you're paying $300 more (20% of the cost of the $1499 MBP 13 or 25% of the cost of the standard $1199 MBP 13) for a 12% difference, a 400 mhz processor speed difference (not at all major in any way as seen in the benchmarks) and a 180 gb hard drive space increase.

EVERYTHING else is is the same in both models, from the 1280 x 800 resolution 13 inch LED screen to the Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics to the Superdrive DVD burner to the Thunderbolt Port,FaceTime HD Camera, backlit keyboard, 4gb ram, two USB 2.0 ports, Wi-fi B/G/N, bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit ethernet

The software included in both models is the same too, Mac OSX 10.7 "Lion" and the iLife suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is also standard on both models

What if you chose to buy the standard MBP 13?

If you did that, you could then buy a 500 gb hard drive Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 2.5 Inch, 8 MB Cache, 5400 RPM SATA II WD5000BEVT for $ 55 and install it yourself in your standard MBP 13 which would then have a hard drive just as large as the higher end MBP 13.The installation instructions are included in the MBP 13 manual and it doesn't void the warranty. Installation videos are also available online.

And you'd still have $245 left to buy an AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac Laptops 13 Inches and Below (NEWEST VERSION) or a SquareTrade 3-Year Laptop/Tablet Warranty Plus Accident Protection (Laptop/Tablet $1000-1250) to protect your shiny new MBP 13 for 2 more years after the standard one year warranty is up.

Until Apple actually puts in a major differentiation feature or upgrade in the higher end MBP 13, I'd recommend you shop smart, save your money and opt for the standard Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop. It's 99% identical to the more expensive MBP 13 and a much stronger product when it comes to the value for money factor. And use the rest of the money to buy a warranty and a hard drive upgrade if you feel like.

Hope this helps!

NOTE Fellow Amazon customer Diane (Her comment can be seen in the comments section of this review) has spoken to an Apple rep and she had this to say "Even the Apple Rep that I spoke with at the Apple store recommended the MBP 13 as is and said the differences were not worth the extra money. Said the average user would not notice any differences in the 2 units just cost." Another Amazon customer, Marcin (His comment can be seen in the comments section of this review) said an apple salesperson told him ""We have both on the shelf. But there is no reason to buy i7, you will not see the difference".

Something to think about. Thank you.

UPDATE Professional review site Notebookcheck.net did a review of both Machines. I've posted the links to the full reviews below as well as summary quotes.

Quote # 1 referring to the performance difference between the standard and high end MBP 13 ( link

"It's also interesting to take a look at how the model at hand measures up to the weaker MacBook Pro 13 version with a Core i5 processor. The less powerful model performs 91% as quickly as the Core i7 model, that is, only slightly slower."

Quote # 2 Referring to the battery life of the standard MBP 13 ( link

"The model we're reviewing here trumps the more powerful version of the MBP13 with an 11-16% longer battery life in all test scenarios (note: wifi test results not comparable)"

So the standard Apple MacBook Pro MC700LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop has better battery life by 11 to 16%, has 91% of this "higher end" MBP 13's performance ability AND costs 25% less.

Hope this helps!

I have been on a MacBook C2D 2.4 Ghz (with 6GB RAM) for the last 3 years and wanted to upgrade and the MB Air seemed to be the right way to go. Selling the iPad and the MacBook and getting the Air 13" w/ 4GB RAM and the 256GB SSD, to be precise. At the Apple store I realized the the MacBook Air (at this time) is really older technology in an amazing form factor, but I did not feel compelled to spend $1800 on pretty much the same CPU as I just had for 3 years already. Then the new MB Pro showed up, and after 72h with it I am super happy.

This MBPro with the new i7 2.7 Ghz CPU is about twice as fast as the 2008 MacBook I had. It scored 6800 points on Geekbench. Installing Office Mac 2011 and Adobe CS3 was super fast and I look forward to have VMWare Fusion running much better than on the older MacBook. I just watched the full iPad2 keynote (1h) over wireless on battery plus 1 hour of surfing, battery says 4h left, awesome! I already swapped the hard drive for a 320GB/7200 and in 6-12 month I might go SSD, but for now I stay with regular disks. There are some great 750GB /7200rpm drives now for about $100.

It's slick. I love the illuminated keyboard, finally on the smaller pro machine. The trackpad is awesome. The new LED screen is super crisp and bright. The new graphics HD 3000 chip is pretty good and enough for light Photoshop work. I can only recommend it. If you think MBP 13", go for the fastest CPU like this one (2.7 i7) and get all the rest of the upgrades later. Additional RAM is cheap these days and better HDD and soon the prices for the SSD will come down as well. Swapping the hard drive is easy and the same as will all the Pro models of the last 2 years or so. I can't wait to put like 500GB of SSD into this in 1-2 years and have it fly... Love this machine, best Mac ever (after PowerBook and 2 MacBooks).

Buy Apple MacBook Pro MC724LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Now

I went looking for a new laptop. My requirements were 13" Screen, backlit keyboard and 8+ hours of advertised battery life. I have always been a PC user and do IT support for a living. This is my first Mac and I am very pleased with it so far. While the OS is a learning curve the hardware is plain awesome. The new core i7 processor is blazing fast. I'm able to run 2 Virtual machines which keeps my gets me my Microsoft fix without even having to reboot. Backlit keyboard is everything I hoped it would be and the battery lasts a solid 6 hours which isn't bad for the advertised 7 hours of wireless surfing.

Read Best Reviews of Apple MacBook Pro MC724LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Here

I am a long time PC user that has gradually migrated over to being a Mac fan. This review is not really technical but instead general observations I've had changing from PC to Mac and some things I ran into along the way.

It all started with an iPod touch and finally sold me on Mac after having an iPad for the last six months. So when my old HP started giving troubles after nearly six years I decided to break down and try a Mac. But I decided to wait for the 2011 version to hit the stores before I made my investment. Two days ago they were announced so I found myself in Best Buy earlier this evening. I spent some time chatting with a very nice Apple rep in our Greenville, SC store named Bobby. The store didn't even have them on the shelves yet but he made sure I got one from the high racks where they were stored.

I asked things like would it work with my existing flash hard drive, is the wireless N compatible with my old G router, can I upgrade the memory and hard drive later. I was pleasantly surprised with a yes on all accounts!

The thing that got my attention was that he says the hard drive can be upgraded to solid state drive (SSD) later on...when the prices for those become more reasonable. At first I thought about getting the SSD but the amount of memory I wanted didn't justify the added price so I got the SATA instead. I also thought about the 750GB drive but ended up with the 500GB and will opt for an external drive later. The memory is also upgradable to 8GB later as well...not a hard DIY fix.

So I've been playing with my shiny new toy all evening. When I opened up the box and started going through the initial setup I got a little frustrated because, being a PC user, I didn't know the track pad actually clicks! So I went through the menus with tab and what I discovered to be the spacebar for enter. It didn't take me very long to figure out how to change the track pad settings to work with a light touch to single click instead of physically clicking the pad button. Hint: go for the settings gears icon along the bottom first.

I also didn't like the name that got selected for my home folder during the initial setup. (I clicked through it a little too fast...). To change this I just went in the users and made a new profile that was admin, logged off, logged on as new, and then deleted the old one. Of course I had to make my track pad settings again.

Google mail, calendar, and contacts were a breeze to set up!

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. I was worried that it would be hard to learn a new operating system but with a little playing around I think it'tonot too hard to figure out. When you get stuck, hit the Google website and usually you find someone before you had the same questions.

A good place for news and how to guides is the iPhone Blog, Lifehacker, and Make Use Of (look them up on Google).

...and so the discovery continues!

Want Apple MacBook Pro MC724LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) Discount?

This is my first Mac in my 15 years of IT life. My requirements were 12" or 13" screen, lightweight, good battery life, and should look beautiful. I am a Software Engineer and do a lot of photography, and sometimes make videos too. So I needed a laptop which has high performance, good battery life, and a beautiful design.

I was considering Macbook Air, Macbook Pro, and new VAIO Z for a month, and decided to get this Macbook Pro 2011. The price on Amazon was pretty good. This Amazon price (discounted & no tax) was actually better than the student price after tax. I decided to get an Macbook Pro with core i7 2.7Ghz since I cannot use nice CPU for Air (it is limited), and I had been using 3 VAIO models (SR, SZ, Z) laptop for last 3 years so wanted to try Mac. I am very pleased with my purchase.

I love the user interface most, the speed, and battery life although it took me little time to get used to my first mac. The new core i7 is really fast, and I upgraded the ram from 4gb to 8gb to use Parallels faster. Backlit keyboard is so beautiful, and multi-touch trackpad is super convenient. Two fingers with all-way scrolls, and three fingers with browsing back and forward.

I would say this Macbook Pro (lighter than 2010 version) is the best laptop for me so far over my former experience with VAIO, HP, Compaq, Acer, Samsung, Netbooks, and etc. Someone complained about heating problems, but I don't feel like that. This amount of heat is much better than HP, Compaq, and better than VAIO.

If you don't need super fast laptop, I recommend you a basic model of Macbook Pro. Your main usage is web surfing and documenting, I recommend you to get a Macbook Air. If you never used Mac, I strongly recommend you to experience it. BTW, when you buy a Mac, get a basic model if it is possible and upgrade it. It will save you a lot of money. I upgraded RAM by myself, and will upgrade HDD to SSD soon. I can't wait to use SATA III SSD on my MBP!

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Acer Aspire AS4830TG-6457

crystal clear display amazing prossesing power great graphics and amazing battery life what more can a college student want in a laptop

I really love it.I An aggressively priced thin-and-light with excellent battery life and strong all-around performance, The price is very good .It's an all-star laptop perfect for any buyer seeking maximum value.

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Toshiba Satellite L555D-S7930 TruBrite 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - 2 Hours 30 Minutes of Battery Life

I purchased this laptop as a replacement for my 5+ year old Dell Inspiron. Having recently had some bad experiences with Dell, I decided to try a Toshiba.

It's a good laptop for someone who isn't a road warrior-both the size and relatively short battery life make it less than ideal for lots of travel. Both of these problems stem from its very large screen (big screens tend to consume a lot of power), which is its biggest selling point. The large screen is great for work and watching films.

On the down side, the built-in speakers provide poor sound quality, which is not a problem if you use head phones.

Another minor drawback is the mousepad, which is positioned in such a way that your wrist is likely to tap it when typing, causing the cursor to jump inappropriately. You can tweak some settings on the mousepad's sensitivity to minimize this effect.

Toshiba Satellite L555D-S7910 17.3-Inch Laptop Black/Grey

Toshiba makes a decent laptop, but if you buy one of their products do not think for a moment that your warranty will be honored! I had an adapter cord (and transformer) that failed, and it has now been over 2 weeks that Toshiba has been "unable" to send me a replacement cord. They claim it is on "back order" with no date in sight as to when the part will be available. Of course (they tell me) I can go into a store and buy a replacement part myself (over $100) but they will not reimburse me for that I will simply have to wait for the back order in order to have it replaced under the warranty provisions. In essence, they are telling me that in all of North America they cannot put their hands on one of their own power cords, even though I could just walk into any store and buy one myself! This, they say, is their "policy" and the policy cannot be changed. In my book, this is not "policy" but rather consumer fraud buy their product, assume that you have a warranty, but when it comes to fulfilling their warranty obligation you're told to wait indefinitely or just go buy the replacement part out of your own pocket. Frankly, I had expected better from a company like Toshiba, and my experience has made me conclude that I should never consider buying another of their products ever!

Buy Toshiba Satellite L555D-S7930 TruBrite 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - 2 Hours 30 Minutes of Battery Life Now

This is my 6th Toshiba Satellite laptop. Bought first one in 1998 when I was driving a truck. Have never had a problem with customer service with Toshiba as one other person has said. Lost my hard drive somewhere between Chicago and San Antonio, when I got to San Antonio on a Friday afternoon at 3:00.pm they got me in at 4:00.pm and it was fixed and I was ready to go by 6:00.pm The only time I had to wait on a part was in Charlotte, NC on a Friday for a new screen and I was at my sister's house anyway and it was ready to go by 10:00 .am., since it was all under warranty never paid a cent for repairs or parts. I am happy with this laptop because I do like the bigger screen. The one drawback that I can see is the touch pad because it is in an awkward position but you can fix that by buying a mouse and turning the touch pad off. Simple easy solution to a minor problem. The last one cost $3600.00 5 yrs ago and had a lot less on it so the price is reasonable. I would recommend this product for someone who likes a big screen.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Satellite L555D-S7930 TruBrite 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - 2 Hours 30 Minutes of Battery Life Here

Pros:

* 17,3 inch flat screen!!.

* Fast!.

Cons:

* The originall battery life, just 2 1/2 hours.

* Webcam low def.

* Office's 60 days trial.

* Not pre installed antivir.

In general I'm happy with my laptop. Most of the cons are things that I can fix or buy.

Want Toshiba Satellite L555D-S7930 TruBrite 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - 2 Hours 30 Minutes of Battery Life Discount?

this is the first laptop I have owned so my experience can only relate to a product I have. Purchased this computer for under 500.00 a week ago and have been thrilled. Has a great screen and a large keyboard that works well for an average typist. Delete button is strangely placed, but the keyboard reacts well at the factory settings. I have not found the touch pad to be in the way of typing as some have said. The touch pad is nice because of the texture and the fact it is virtually invisible when you look at the computer. It shows no fingerprints of any kind. The rest of the computer does pick up prints that are easily taken care of.The screen is a bit reflective in some settings and may work a little better with a filter or just change the backround of your pages and it helps. It is a bit large so it is not going to fit most standard briefcases. I have found several sleeves that work well and a bag that works. I take it to work and although a 15.6 would be a bit easier on the back...the large screen and great keyboard more than make up for it. Windows 7 has been great fun to learn and does provide some nice features. I run mozilla fiefox so i have told some features will not be optimized by not using IE. Set up was easy for home wifi a couple of other places have required a bit more work. Not sure how well the webcam works, not a big point for me. It is a beautiful product to look at, feels solid and has worked well for me.

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