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ASUS X55A-BCL092A Laptop Computer / 15.6-inch Display Screen / Intel Celeron B820 1.7 GHz Dual-core

I was super hard pressed to buy a laptop for my job, but pretty short on cash. I bought this laptop as a referb and got a decent deal on it.

Pros:

-Lightweight and compact. (I actually had to buy a smaller bag to carry it in even though it had the same screen size as my last laptop.)

-good for surfing the net

Cons:

-Low processing power/memory (I have a difficult time multi-tasking with this laptop. its pretty much a single task dedication machine)

-Only 2 USB ports

-No indicator lights for things like numlk or capslk

For the most part this laptop suffices as a basic running machine, but dont expect to much from it.

I got this laptop for less than $300 and I love it. I just wish it came with operating instructions. I love the handwriting element,but can't find the pen that goes with it.

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My laptop isn't functioning as I expected nor meeting the standards describe in the advertisement. I unable to type in a web address into the server or write or send e-mails. This laptop is useless and I would like a refund or a new machine.

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Dell XPS XPS15-9375sLV 15-Inch Laptop (Silver)

I've had my Dell XPS 15 for about two weeks now and I believe it is an excellent computer. For the past 2 years, I had been using a Dell Inspiron and and I have played with the Dell XPS L502X (The Previous Generation Model) so I decided to give this one a look as my computer for college. There are many great aspects about this laptop, and while there are definitely some things that could be fixed, it's still a great machine for multimedia lovers, students, and even gamers.

Hardware-

First of all, the hardware is absolutely fantastic. I'm not going to lie, it's a pretty unabashed copy of the Macbook Pro. On the outside, the only main difference is the color of the aluminum. However, the inside has a extremely nice black coating that gives the palm rests a very comfortable feel as well as a unique look. While the design is very sleek, the laptop is still quite heavy at almost 6 pounds. This isn't as bad as it sounds, but for people who will be taking this everywhere, it might be worth testing the weight and seeing if it's for you. Thankfully, the weight does make the laptop feel very sturdy and while I wouldn't be slamming this into the ground anytime soon, it should still survive the occasional drop.

The keyboard and trackpad are great as well. The keyboard could do with a little more depth, but it is still comfortable to type on and I had few complaints as I was typing this review. The trackpad is simply amazing. It is made by Synaptics and it is flawless. I've even stopped using a mouse due to its performance. It feels amazing and multi touch gestures work perfectly. It puts pretty much every other Window machine to shame. My only nitpick would be that it has trouble differentiating right and left clicks every now and then but outside of Apple, no other manufacturer has such a good touchpad.

Many people have complained about the WiFi and honestly, I've had no major problems. Reception is slightly weaker as compared to other laptops, so I'm guessing the aluminum is interfering somehow. However, I'm still getting around the same network speeds as compared to other laptops, although my speeds have been slightly lower so hopefully Dell can fix this with a driver update.

Display and Speakers-

The display is a 350-nit TN panel covered with Corning Gorilla Glass. While IPS panels, such as those found in the new Asus Zenbooks, have a more varied color gamut and better viewing angles, the display on the Dell is still awesome. Everything is crisp and clear, and most text is readable without having to zoom in. Contrast is great with the low black levels and viewing angles are still great. The L502X had a better color gamut but this is still a great display, especially for those coming from the traditional, low quality 1366x768 TN panels.

The speakers are great as well, even if they don't impress as much as the display. They're loud and clear but they're a bit lacking in bass, especially coming from the L502X with the integrated subwoofer. That being said, they still outclass most every other laptop in sheer volume and clarity. Dell has some included software that you can mess with to provide you the sound that you would like.

Performance-

I've never been a fan of benchmarks, and I generally rely on real world testing to see how the computer does. So far, I've been nothing short of impressed. The 3rd Gen Intel i7 and 8GB of RAM handle everything smoothly and lag is virtually nowhere to be found. I've opened multiple windows of Chrome playing 1080p video and I still have no trouble doing other activities. The computer does use a traditional hard drive instead of a SSD, and while performance could benefit from the addition of a SSD, I honestly haven't seen the need to. The hard drive is plenty fast, but it does generate a noticeable amount of heat under the left palm rest, so keep that in mind. The Dell also uses a 32GB SSD to quickly start up and shut down the computer, as well as quickly open frequently used applications and so far start up and shut down times have been great, although they fall short of SSD only computers, especially ultrabooks.

As far as games go, the 2GB NVIDIA Geforce 640M video card should be able to play most everything at respectable frame rates, although you will probably have to turn down some effects if you want to play games at the full 1080p resolution. However, games such as Assassin's Creed Revelations and Skyrim look great and the computer has no problem with playing them with most effects turned up. There have been many complaints of throttling, especially have 1-2 minutes of intense gameplay, but I've noticed no problems. If you purchase the laptop, I would suggest upgrading to the new BIOS as to make sure you don't come across any throttling issues.

As far as bloatware goes, Dell has been surprisingly lenient. There's very little true bloatware, other than the annoying McAfee trial, some included Dell software, and Microsoft Office Starter 2010 (which isn't even really bloatware) so kudos to Dell.

Noise and Heat-

Unfortunately, the laptop has a tiny bit more noise than I would like. This probably has to do with the fact that it uses a hard drive, instead of an SSD. That being said, if you're browsing the web or doing regular office work, you'll never hear it, especially if you're playing music. But if you start playing games and doing some other intense multimedia work, the fans will spin up and definitely make themselves heard. Thankfully, the fans are located in the hinge so you're not exposed to the air and the computer doesn't tend to heat up to the point of discomfort.

Like I mentioned before, I suspect the hard drive generates a certain amount of heat which is noticeable, but never truly annoying. I had no problem using the machine on my lap for hours.

Battery-

Unfortunately, the battery is sealed within the machine so there's no replacing it without a lot of effort. However, I find the battery to be plenty sufficient for most activities. Obviously, the display will use the most power so toning it down, and deactivating things such as the keyboard backlight will extend the battery life a great deal. If you're just doing plain web browsing mixed in with office work, expect around 4-6 hours of battery and if you're playing video, expect around 4-5 hours. This is acceptable, although some Ultrabooks and Macbooks do feature slightly better battery life.

Wrap-Up-

Like I said, I believe this is a fantastic machine. While it would have been nice if Dell had some more original design features, it's still rock solid and actually feels better than the Macbook Pro. General performance is great, and the screen and speakers make this an excellent laptop for anybody interested in viewing a lot of movies or listening to music. The occasional gamer will enjoy the dedicated graphics and everybody will appreciate the respectable battery life. If only it was around $100 cheaper, it would be absolutely perfect and I believe it would then deserve 5 stars for being such a great all around laptop. For now, I'm giving 4.5 stars and rounding down until Dell can work out some of the kinks with the WiFi and throttling other users are reporting. If you're a college student who needs a machine with better battery life and less weight, I would suggest the new Macbook Air or the new Asus Zenbooks but this machine will handle everything you need and more.

I purchased this computer after buying and returning a MacBook Pro just couldn't wrap my mind around OS X after 20 years of windows. Old habits die hard! This is a fantastic computer excellent display, trackpad technology getting closer to Apple, excellent construction, and overall excellent performance. The only problem, and it is major in my opinion, is that the WiFi speed drops to near zero when more than 10 to 20 feet from a router. The WiFi problem has been extremely well documented on the discussion threads at Notebook Review online. There is even a Dell representative answering questions and disseminating the latest updates. As of today, 1 August, Dell does not know if the problem is software (drivers) or hardware related. Driver updates and swapping the WiFi card to another brand have not yielded success, so signs are pointing to a hardware problem, but nothing has been confirmed by Dell.

Bottom line if WiFi capability at a distance of more than 10 feet from the router is required, purchase with extreme caution until Dell can ensure the issue is fixed. If Dell cannot offer a fix soon, I will return mine while I still can.

Buy Dell XPS XPS15-9375sLV 15-Inch Laptop (Silver) Now

So I just had to write this review feel like I owe it to Dell for putting together such an awesome laptop. This is going to be a short one but hopefully useful to somebody:

Laptop's wireless works fine. (ref other review)

It is SOLID. Awesome build quality

Screen -was my #1 consideration. it is unbelieveably sharp! with wide view angles and extreme color definition. I LOVE IT

Discrete graphics performance -Really good -surprisingly good actually for a laptop. I can play SWTOR on almost the highest settings. Looks really good. Plays smooth. Doesn't overheat

Only other thing I'll say is definitely do get it with windows 8. Yes no touch screen. But what's cool is the latest models touchpad is designed for win8 so you can flick in from the sides to pull up charms menus etc --right on the touch pad -which is also pretty awesome itself.

Can you tell I like my laptop? HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Read Best Reviews of Dell XPS XPS15-9375sLV 15-Inch Laptop (Silver) Here

When I first took my XPS15 out of the box I was quite impressed. I was a PC user but got a 2008 Macbook 13" and am now moving back to PC (for my laptop anyways). This thing looked great. I loved the silicone surface around the keyboard and the metal case. After extensive use it stayed cool and quite. On my girlfriends 2012 13" Macbook you can hear the fan whirring all the time. I can even hear it when I Skype with her. This thing came with a lot of features that other laptops offer as upgrades that would push the price well over that of the XPS15 (1080 screen, blu-ray drive, NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, etc). All of this would make it a great laptop but....

THE WIFI DOESNT WORK!!! As stated in another review, moving more then 10 feet away from a wifi signal will diminish your network connection. I have a brand new dual band N router and this thing has such a hard time connecting to it. My 2008 Macbook can connect to the router better from the opposite end of the house then this thing can right next to it! Even with my network connection is shown to be "good" at 100mbps+ nothing happens, pages don't load, no ping response, I can't even go to my router configuration page. Drivers, replacement wifi cards, DIFFERENT wifi cards won't fix this problem. The only solution seems to be to get an external USB wifi adapter. So really, with computers today, I don't care if this laptop had a 56-core processor at 999 tera hertz and 89273423 terabyte cache and the battery lasted 5 years on one charge. If the wifi doesn't work it's useless.

Another pet peeve I have with this thing is the touchpad. When typing, the SLIGHTEST graze on the touchpad will move the courser while I'm typing and sometimes highlight a whole selection that will get replaced while I'm typing. There is preinstalled Dell touchpad software with settings to eliminate accidental touchpad contact while typing but it doesn't seem to work at all. I have to very consciously lift my wrists up while typing to avoid touching the touchpad. I like that the touchpad is very large but there is a huge downside to it. There is also something about it that makes an annoying clicking sound when you press on it. It's like an old ball (non-optical) mouse with buttons that click very loudly when you press on it. The ENTIRE touchpad is like an old mouse button.

Great looks, nicely lit keyboard, good price. HUGE downfalls. If you NEED a laptop right now but don't depend on wifi then this is a great computer and maybe someday in the future Dell will fix the wifi issue (I'm pretty sure it will require a new screen which is where the antenna is located) and improve the software for the touchpad. If you want something that works likes its supposed to now, well, there are better, cheaper options out there.

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This laptop is a perfect MacBook Pro alternative. I bought 16GB of RAM and replaced my HDD with another SSD. Works amazingly fast and is sleek and thin with great battery life. Way better specs than the MacBook Pro --and HALF the price. The Gorilla Glass and 400-nit 1080p screen gives the Retina Display a run for it's money --extremely bright and super sharp. Dell has had some mistakes --but this is NOT one of them. Excellent laptop, excellent price.

HP Pavilion TX2500Z 12.1-Inch High-Definition Laptop

Just look on the web to see all the problems with this machine, issues with wireless failing, over heating and video card dying. Indeed it gets so hot you can burn yourself and do not set it down on paper or it may start a fire. Avoid this machine and possibly HP.

It pains me to write this as I have been a big HP fan but recently their laptops are disappointing.

The company that sold me this item lied about what the system had on it. When I called them they told me they would send me the part that I need for free and I STILL HAVE NOT RECIEVED IT. This have been two weeks ago.

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Acer AC700-1090 11.6-Inch Chromebook (3G)

This is a great product built around the new paradigm of cloud computing in its truest form. I would recommend it for both business and personal use. Everything is on the web. You lose the entire book and all you need is another notebook or just any computer with a Chrome browser to start working again, INSTANTLY. Same goes for future upgrades, or when your dog decides to bury it in your backyard.

There are not any software packages to install or maintain, hard drives to de-fragment or virus software subscriptions to update or to bog-down or interfere with applications. It all just works! No more having to bug your family or neighborhood IT Guru and no more trips to Best Buy that cost as much as this single machine on a service invoice from the Geek Squad.

If you have a 3g/4g phone that you can tether it to, buy the WiFi only model and save $100. Acer AC700-1099 Chromebook (Wi-Fi)

While both the Acer and Samsung are great machines, it's worth the extra $50 for the extra 1/2 inch of display. (And I think the battery is a little stronger in the Samsung too.) Samsung Series 5 Wi-Fi 12.1-Inch Chromebook (Black)

It's the last "technology" change you'll ever have to go through! And you'll actually be happy you did.

This product is amazing. I have been using this for about a month now and I have only spent about 15 minutes on another computer since I got it. The Chromebook is simply that good. You cannot beat 8 second start-up time. There are times where I miss a feature or two from my old Windows computer, but I cannot bring myself to use it because 8 seconds is so much better than 6 minutes. For surfing the internet, the Chromebook is best. For streaming music, it is still best, provided you use an external speaker. Google Docs is great for typing reports and making presentations due to the auto-save feature. The Chromebook CAN play games, but only casual online games. What one must understand is that this is not a total replacement for a PC, only about a 95% replacement. Most of the problems stem from not being able to use iTunes or Java, two programs that we have grown to use quite a bit. This makes downloading music, syncing with an iPod, and playing games hard (and in the case of syncing with an iPod, impossible). Other than that and other programs you might need for a job, this thing is glorious. You want to use the internet? Just flip open the lid and you'll be on in 10 seconds. You done? Hit the power button, close the lid, and walk away. The battery life is also really good (not as good as advertised, but still good). For somebody who wants a lightweight,low-cost, fast computer for casual browsing that they can take anywhere, this is the item for them. You will inevitably be annoyed by what it cannot do for time to time, but remember how annoyed you were by your PCs slow start-up time and viruses. This is better. Much better.

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Never before has "caveat emptor" been more true than in the case of the Chromebook. Personally, I love the Chromebook, and am writing this review from my own Acer AC700. The key to enjoying this, and similar, devices, is knowing what it is, and what it is not.

What is it? In short, it's a cloud computer. If most of your work is done online (as mine is) or you're looking for a device to connect to the internet, freeing up your primary computer for someone else to use, this is nearly perfect. What I needed was a small device with a true keyboard that could get me online when I needed to be, and the AC700 delivers exactly that.

What is it not? It's not a computer. If you're expecting Windows, MacOS, or Linux, do not buy any Chromebook. You will be frustrated, you will be angry, and you will sound like you did no research on the unit when you review it. If you need a computer to run programs or games, like Photoshop or SWToR, you need a computer, not a cloud client.

All said and done, my AC700 does exactly what I expected it to, and I could be happier with it.

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For reference this review is written by a road warrior. I travel throughout the southwest United States in an unforgiving environment. The laptop is exposed to extreme heat (think 170 degrees in the car when it is 120F outside) during the day and can be transitioned into a colder environment at night. Most of my customer visits usually last about 10 minutes.

The reason I love this Acer is primarily the boot times and battery life. If you close the lid the laptop automatically enters standby and can remain in this state for a few days without a charge. When opening the lid the laptop is ready to go in less than a second. I also noticed my other 2 Netbooks occasionally have problems connecting via wireless when coming out of standby or occasionally hang while this Netbook has never needed to be rebooted.

The display is excellent with great brightness control. It has a little glare in full sunlight but the screen is still usable by turning up the brightness.

If you have an alternative Netbook from Dell or Toshiba you may also notice all the keys are smaller. Acer compromised. The Acer keyboard is missing function keys (you don't need them anywhere on this machine), a delete key, CAPS LOCK and Windows key. By removing these keys Acer was able to give us a full size keyboard with standard size keys. (For those of you who are older and remember the old IBM keyboards.. this keyboard feels more clicky which I love).

I will also note the integration in Google apps is really impressive. The webcam works right out of the box with gTalk or Gmail's webcam app. When uploading and downloading files it connects directly to Google Docs (as well as a local storage folder if you need it). It also supports memory sticks with drag-and-drop support between the local machine and Google Docs / GDrive.

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Unlike this model, the Samsung Series 5 550 is fast enough to watch Youtube reliably and use some WebGL apps. It also scrolls more smoothly.

Within the same generation of common Intel reference design or whatever (clusters of these netbooks tend to have about the same specs), I prefer Acer's appearance to Samsung's. I also trust their brand more because they've been attempting to offer Linux laptops (the Aspire One) almost as long as Asus has, and because they offer the dignity of a removable battery unlike Samsung and Apple. But the performance gap between generations is too wide to act on this preference right now. I hope this will change because I enjoy supporting Acer.

Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook (Wi-Fi)

Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A05US 13.3-Inch Premium Ultrabook (Ash Black)

I spent several weeks researching laptops, specifically ultrabooks. I had the misfortune of spilling coffee on my Macbook Air, rendering it a very expensive paperweight. As happy as I was with the Air, I went in search of alternatives.

Although I was unable to find a Samsung Series 9 in a physical store, I went ahead and ordered it anyway. I am glad that I did, it is the perfect size, slightly smaller than the air in both length and width, and as for thickness, it's thinner at it's widest point, but thicker at it's smallest. Overall, it's a match for the size of the air, it just doesn't come down to such a fine edge as the air in the front.

As for the machine itself, it's great. Below are some pros and cons I've experienced so far.

Pros:

Screen is bright, 1600x900 is a great resolution. I know people are holding out for the 1080 version, but this is enough for me.

The keyboard is great, some reviews talk of bad feedback, or that the press is too short. I don't have a problem with that at all, I find typing on the device to be simple.

Speed. Wow, is this thing fast. Restarts are

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Lenovo IdeaPad U260 08763CU 12.5-Inch Ultraportable Laptop (Mocha Brown)

I have had the U260 for a few weeks now and have nothing but good things to say about it. The fit and finish is excellent. The keyboard is one of the best notebook keyboards I have ever typed on. I use this notebook for work often and a good keyboard is frankly hard to come by in the notebook world. Also, the low weight is a huge plus for dragging this machine to and from the office. The performance is great for my purposes. I don't game, but I do use Netflix streaming and occasionally run memory intensive programs for work purposes. The U260 handles these tasks with ease. The notebook runs much cooler than previous laptops I have owned with no noticeable fan noise. I had originally purchased an HP dm3 directly from HP. I returned the dm3 as it came brand new out of the box with a screen bezel that had separated from the screen back. Upon return, HP sent a new dm3. The right touch pad button of the replacement ceased to function after only 2 days of use. I ended up getting a refund and upon further searching found the U260. I can't begin to describe how much better the U260 is than the dm3.

Less than 5 months after receiving this computer I had issues with the lcd display. I sent the computer to Lenovo for repair. Everything was covered under the warranty and they guaranteed me a 6 day turn around time after they receved the machine. However, due to a parts shortage the wait was more like 8 weeks. Once it was sent backed to me I immediatly noticed severally flaws on the machine that were not there prior to sending it for repair. There were dead pixels throughout the display. The casing on the side of the screen was loose, and the computer would autimatically restart every time I booted it up. I called Lenovo, and as of now i am waiting for a call from their management for a full refund.

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This review is not so much for the consumer, as I doubt anyone is still looking to purchase this over-rated, over-priced item. I would just like the manufacturer to know how I feel about being stuck with their product and Lenovo's website doesn't offer a persistent review feature.

Yeah, the laptop looks good on the outside. Looks aside, I'm disappointed in it after having it for less than two years.

To beat a dead horse, the battery life is essentially non-existent... maybe enough for you to unplug the laptop and go to the library and locate an open socket.

Also, the keyboard trim--as also previously noted--has started to (and/or possibly has been) warp.

So, yeah, it's great getting compliments for a nice-looking laptop; but it doesn't function up to par and I fear it is starting to materially degrade. Maybe I'll leave it on my desk as an ornament as I complete my work with a more functional laptop.

Read Best Reviews of Lenovo IdeaPad U260 08763CU 12.5-Inch Ultraportable Laptop (Mocha Brown) Here

I first saw this laptop at Fry's and couldn't believe that something like this could be made by lenovo. It's kind of soft to the touch but at the same time surface doesn't get dirty. Exterior design of this thing is amazing, no apple or any other laptop I've seen are even close. I bought this for my wife and it's worked just fine for her for a year now. Battery life is too short for an ultra-portable, if you keep the screen at full brightness you will get around 2 hours of continuous use. It gets very hot at times which doesn't affect the performance much but can be uncomfortable. It looks like trim around the keyboard is starting to peel a little bit.

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Toshiba Portege R835-P55X Laptop with Intel Core i5-2410M 2.30 GHz processor, 4GB DDR3 1333MHz memo

I bought this computer a year ago for college and did not see a single computer at college that I would rather have (for the price). I love the super-small, lightweight design. I can carry it in a backpack and the backpack feels empty. It is easy to carry around campus and use anywhere I want. The battery consistently lasts over 5 hours--more if I make an effort to use less battery with toshiba's eco setting. It is plenty fast for me and does all I need.

There are a few things I don't like about it. I wish the keys were backlit. I have trouble typing in a dark room (I'm not a very good typist though) unless I turn the screen brightness up all the way. The keyboard is small, but easily usable once you get used to it. The screen is a terrible glossy finish and it's nearly impossible to see in direct sunlight. In Adobe Photoshop CS6, there are a couple features that cannot be used with Toshiba's graphic processor, but it does ALMOST everything I want. These are all little complaints, and, as you can tell, they did not even warrant a loss of a star on the review from me.

If you want a portable, light computer that can do almost anything you ask of it, you will not be disappointed with this laptop. I highly recommend it.

Edit: Found out how to use touchpad's multitouch gestures. Very handy.

I got this laptop through the Microsoft store because they were offering a student discount. I bought this laptop for %719.99 plus tax. So far it has topped my previous laptop, the Sony Vaio VGN RW. I honestly thing that for the price it tops even the macbook pro's. The Toshiba has the core i5 with amazing battery life and portability.

The only drawbacks is that the speakers aren't that impressive but other than that it has performed well beyond expectations. I highly recommend this laptop for those who save a bit of money but still have the functionality of a macbook.

Buy Toshiba Portege R835-P55X Laptop with Intel Core i5-2410M 2.30 GHz processor, 4GB DDR3 1333MHz memo Now

I hate that I have to return the Toshiba Portege R835-P55X back to Microsoft. I love the size, the weight, the power, and the silence of the fan while doing regular computing. The reason I have to return it is because when I play flash-based games, it slows to a crawl, the fan gets very loud, and it heats up to dangerous temperatures. I checked the temps one time and my digital thermometer read 145 degrees. Thank goodness it wasn't on my lap. The only other complaint I have is the keyboard is a little hard to use. The keys are very slick and need a bit more pressure to depress. I use my nails to type so this wasn't a pleasant experience for me.

For others contemplating this model or other R835's from various sources, I would recommend it as long as the problems I experienced were just because of my defective machine.

Barring the defects:

PROS (in addition to the above-mentioned):

* Fast start-up from sleep

* Hot USB so can charge items even when the computer is off

* Plays HD videos very well

* Long battery life (however, didn't get close to 9 hours, maybe 6)

* Easy access "Eco" button to switch between power saving or max power

CONS:

* Keyboard

* No visual for volume up/down

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Portege R835-P55X Laptop with Intel Core i5-2410M 2.30 GHz processor, 4GB DDR3 1333MHz memo Here

I like the appearance most, metal and decent.

Of course superlight and easy to carry.

battery lasts at 5 hours at regular use.

And quick reaction, large drive space.

Screen a little small to some people though.

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LATITUDE E5400 P8600 2.53G 2GB SYST160GB DVDRW 14.1IN C2D WVB/XPP

Note: My company gave me this laptop for work purposes. I've used it for over a month now. I didn't pay for it, so don't know what the cost of this laptop is elsewhere on the internet or in stores.

Build: Looks like a good sturdy laptop for office use. Durability wise, no problems so far.

It does feel heavy for it's size though. It is ugly because it's a "business class" product and not a home or a media class product. The screen size is thicker than other laptops that you get today.

Configuration & Performance: Mine came with a Core 2 Duo, and 4 GB ram. Shipped with Windows 7 professional. So far it has handled whatever I've thrown at it quite well. I've tried a couple of videos on it, the speakers are alright. I've used it for running Visual Studio (2010) and Eclipse (Helios) and it's handled both really well. The boot up time feels a little high for the configuration, but it's not too bad.

Noise: The fans are extremely silent and not just on power save mode. I haven't heard a peep out of this laptop so far. I'm really weird about the noise factor and I have to say so far this laptop has fared well in that department. The hard drive is dead silent (as it should be!).

Keyboard & Pointer devices: The keyboard just sucks. The keys are way too soft so you don't get the feel of pressing them. Yet, they make that typing sound. Just weird. The touch-pad isn't responsive enough even after a lot of tweaking with the dell software. Neither is the pointer in between the keyboard. In fact the pointer is so weird, it registers a left click when you accidentally touch it while typing. That's really annoying when you're trying to get work done! Overall, the keyboard, the touch-pad, the pointer seem very cheap and flimsy. The behavior is erratic and I don't think it's a software issue.

Display: The brightness is fine. The "auto-brightness" is nonsense. The laptop has a light sensor which adjusts the brightness level depending on ambient light. It just doesn't work. As much as someone's shadow standing over your shoulder messes it up to a huge extent. At times there is no change in light and it still flickers. I've just turned it off. The max-brightness is bright enough for work in direct sunlight. Overall, the display is ok. Nothing to brag about, but nothing really big to complaint about either.

Adapter etc: The power brick is nice and thin and the cord has a power indicator on the tip that connects to the laptop. The problem is it stays on even when not connected to the laptop, but I guess they designed it that way so you'd know. The LEDs on the laptop aren't very bright. BUT, I find the HDD light rather annoying. It keeps flickering way too much indicating heavy disk activity even when it's just idling. This indicator shouldn't even be there IMHO. It's pointless.

One thing I like is the ability to stop the battery from charging so you can leave the laptop constantly plugged in when you want without worrying that it'll reduce the overall battery life.

Conclusion: Ok, if you want something to work with occasionally. It's not very comfortable to carry around. You might want to get a mouse and keyboard to use with this thing. I'd say this laptop is worth 500$ given what I've seen so far.

Our school purchased a Latitude laptop for every teacher in our school this year. They are very useful if you are looking for a paper weight or need to flatten out student paintings from art class. Otherwise, they are useless. All of them crash at least once a day, and I mean with the ominous blue screen featuring the ominous fatal error message. Several crash in lieu of a screen saver-students come in for a class, you teach for an hour and return to the computer to complete you work and, Voila!, the lover blue screened fatal error message. This has happened this morning six times already and it is only 10:26 am. I recommend you spend your money elsewhere, Perhaps in decorative paper weights with the blue bird of happiness instead of this lap top with the blue screen of despair.

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I was given this laptop by the school and I want to say that this laptop is absolutely horrible for its intended purposes.

It is flimsy and cheap. The back light is a constant issue and it heats up at the drop of a pin.

The fan spits out plastic after too long of a usage.

Requires constant restarts due to "internal issues"

The keys fall off.

The whole thing is loosely screwed together, leaving the screws to loosen and fall out.

It crashes and or freezes with light knocks (i. e. putting my books on my desk when the computer is out)

I am currently using this laptop to write this review but I would prefer anything over this... thing. In other words, this product is a no go. Get yourself the HP Pavilion dm4-3170se 14-Inch Laptop (Black) or the Lenovo 14" Core i5 500GB HDD 4GB DDR3 Ultrabook. They are cheaper for the value and more funtional. Summary: Don't. Buy.

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The computer was in pretty rough condition when recieved. Cracks in the case but so far it is working well. Battery does not seem to hold a charge but keeping it pluged in is working for me at this time.

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when i bought this computer it looked wonderful because i knew what i was buying, this dell latitude was made for professional and educational work, when i began using this laptop i erased the windows vista it had and put a fresh copy of windows 7 professional. this computer has been by far the best laptop i've ever owned, i have always purchased from dell and dell never lets me down because i knew what i want. i work as a real pc tech and i know what im in for.the laptop contains 2 wwan slots, capability for cellular data, extra wifi cards, gps, you name it. It also contains 4 usb slots, bluetooth, 14.1 inch wxga lcd screen, 6lbs body weight, interchangeble cd drive to put hdd or other items in the cd-rw slot. also hd speakers capible of reaching 24,bit 192000 hz studio quality sound. s video port for tv, i 1394 port. vga port for external lcd. ethernet and modem port, headphone & mic port. the original battery lasts me 4 hrs on full use using windows 7 pro. my E5400 has been with me a whole year since i have owned this laptop and it has never let me down ever. i even went camping with it and traveled with it also, and my friends always expect for my laptop to die out on me and never has it crashed or physically broken or nothin. the body on this laptop isnt ugly it's called having a secure strong body frame built to last, i'm constantly using this latitude for work and home and it still runs smooth as from day one. people who have a school version, don't assume the pc itself is crap because it's not. on this type of computer the bad work is not on the physical parts of the laptop its the software that runs it. most of the time schools or education places purchase this model of computer because it was designed for easy (IT) networking, meaning that the pc can be controlled and maintained by some lazy fat guy sitting behind a desk and work on it. In my opinion this pc is for the feint hearted and people who are ready to physical demand on the pc. I purchased this pc directly from dell.com because this series is not availible at retail stores. :D very good battery life on this type of dell model

Samsung Series 5 NP520U4C-A01UB 14-Inch Laptop (Silver)

I bought this computer for my work and it works perfectly at my work. I compared all of similar computers and realized that this model provides most reasonable price. I am not sure about the quality of Samsung's service, but so far I am very happy with that.

HP Pavilion G6-2239DX Quad Core 2.7Ghz 640GB 4GB Windows 8 15.6" Webcam HDMI

I was skeptical about buying an HP after some of the recent downtrends with the company but they made some major structural changes in the last year and decided to give HP another shot! Let me tell you, they did not disappoint. I love this laptop and at the price Amazon has it for, it cannot be beat. I paid $449 and got it within a few days! Beautiful piece of equipment and it runs very fast! Anyone looking to give HP another shot I recommend to try out this laptop, great specs for the price!

I have owned two HP Pavilions, and been happy with both. My 8 year old one (which had Vista) is starting to get glitchy, so I decided to buy a new one.

I bought one elsewhere, and after going through the wizard that came with it, it would not load Windows, so I returned it.

This one loaded okay, but I absolutely hate the new Windows 8, so I am still using my old computer while I try to figure out how to use the new one.

Windows 8 seems like it was designed for a touch screen rather than a regular mouse, and I guess if you have endless time to mess with it and try to figure out where they hid all the controls, you might enjoy it. I dont.

There is no start button any more, just a start page with tiles constantly flashing things I don't need to know, and most of the controls are hidden around the edges, where you have to hunt for them.

I have used Windows XP and Vista, have an Android tablet and an old Apple laptop, and never had a problem with any of them. I can usually figure out new systems fairly easy, but not this one. I don't know who thought Windows 8 was a good idea, but if I can figure out a way to get rid of it, I will.

*****

Update... I was lucky enough to sit next to a computer programmer on a plane, and he told me about a download that puts a traditional start page on Windows 8 (apparently a lot of people hate the new format). It's called classic shell, and can be found here: http://classicshell.com/ With it the computer is much more usable.

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I got the refurbished model of this, saves you money and doesn't really make a difference from my experience. My only complaint with the laptop is that there is a lot of bloatware, but that's easily solvable. One important thing to mention is that the title says it's a quad core processor, but it is only dual core. Not that it's that big of a deal, but the A6-4400M is a dual core 2.7GHz processor. It's still pretty solid for the price, and you can always go to eBay to upgrade the processor to an A8 or an A10, both of which are quad core, for about 100 bucks or so. The chiclet-style keyboard is nice, and the speakers are good for a laptop, the battery lasts about 4 hours of continuous, light use, about half that if you're playing games or something more intensive. Windows 8, love it or hate it, runs perfectly fine on this machine. If you can find it, buy the refurbished one from Best Buy though, it costs around 255 bucks after tax and shipping and handling, considerably less than the refurbished one on here, although I was unable to find it on there to review. Anyways, good laptop!

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HP Compaq nx6125

I purchased this reconditioned HP Compaq nx6125 laptop for my daughter as a Christmas present. It arrived and my husband plugged it in and checked it out. Everything seemed to be working so it was put back in the box and wrapped. On Christmas day, my daughter opened it and plugged it in. Again, everything was working. She plugged the battery in for several hours and it did not hold a charge so she plugged it back in and left it all night and part of Sunday. Again she tried to use the computer with the battery but it only showed 1 bar. I sent an e-mail through Amazon to the seller on Sunday, December 26. As of today, Tuesday, December 28 I have not heard anything from them. I am hoping the seller stands behind his product and replaces the defective battery, because it was never able to be used. This computer works well when it is plugged in but she has not been able to test it with the battery.

If the company stands behind their product and it is straightened out I will update my post. Otherwise, I would not purchase from this seller again.

Acer Aspire V5-571P-6831 15.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Silky Silver)

I bought this product at my local electronics store. I have no major problems with this laptop, but the wireless adapter seems to fail constantly. I have connected to my wireless router 37 times in the past 3 hours. I have search Acer forums for answer, but most other customers are experiencing the same problem as me. Seems Acer has not found a solution to the wireless issues that me and other customers have already experienced. I will be returning this laptop due to constant dropped internet connections via wireless access. Other than that, I think anyone else can enjoy it,but if you don't mind hard wiring it to your router for internet access...then you'll do just fine.

I took a gamble on this laptop because it seemed that most reviews on any version of this laptop comments on broken wifi.

The reason I took the gamble was thanks to another review that stated how to fix the wifi issue, but luckily when I received my Acer Aspire it worked fantastically out of the box.

The first time you power it on it takes awhile to setup the files, but that's to be expected.

Once the initial setup is finished everything is good to go. Wifi works fantastic. I had absolutely no issues with it.

The touchscreen is awesome and I truly had no idea how much I would enjoy it.

The backlit keyboard is fantastic.

This is not a gaming computer! Don't go in thinking all your supposed game should work. Just a disclaimer.

The only two issues I've had are:

1. The battery isn't as nice as I would like. I probably get 3 hours of heavy use. I still haven't looked into an extended battery.

2. About once a week you should completely restart the laptop to free up all your volatile memory.

Overall, I completely love this laptop. I'm on it right now typing this review. It actually works so great that, even though it's 3 months old, I still haven't transferred even half of my files over because it's just so great out of the box.

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The product largely does what it's expected to do: CPU is fast, integrated graphic chip is good for non-gaming applications, and touch-enabled screen goes well with Windows 8 Metro interface. Out of the box, wifi indeed is not stable (obvious compared with other devices connected to the same network: changing to "limited" connection and then coming back after some time). Installing the latest driver from Acer's support website has solved the wifi problem, but the bluetooth no longer works. Since I use wifi all the time while seldom connecting to a bluetooth device, it seems to be worthwhile trade-off for now. Hopefully Acer can introduce a patch that can make both wifi and bluetooth reliable.

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ASUS Republic of Gamers G51JX-A1 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (Blue)

I did a bit of research and this laptop seemed pretty highly anticipated by those looking to buy and well received by the few that already had them. I also saw that it seemed most of the initial shipment came with 1333MHz DDR3 ram instead of 1066. I opened mine up and it does have 1333MHz. A supply issue I guess. Very nice considering it's a $150+ upgrade on some websites.

I installed Borderlands and it seemed like a dog at first, then I realized I didn't have the AC adapter plugged in. It automatically goes to a power saver mode when only on battery (of course) and it makes a big difference. Once plugged in I put all the settings on high except for anti-aliasing at 4 instead of 16 and resolution at native 1920x1080 it ran a little slow. Frame rate was around 30 usually. Fine for most games but not a FPS. At 1280x720 the frame rate was in the 50s. I played for about an hour and it was running very hot so I stopped for a while. I bought this laptop to replace an older Dell laptop I had because I burned out the vid card on the Dell, so I was a bit worried, maybe needlessly.

The keyboard is fine but the keys are real slippery, could use some kind of texture or concave shape. They are lighted which will be very useful (hit Fn+F4 when you 1st get it, mine were turned off).

Could use a USB in the back (I like to use a cooling pad) but it has 2 on each side near the front which is nice.

Lights on the lid are annoying. The side ones turn off in battery mode, I'll have to look into a setting to turn them off all the time. The logo light in the center of the lid never turns off.

I like the physical switch for wireless and bluetooth.

No dead pixels, I'll be looking close for 30 days but I hope to not have to RMA. Nice warranties on this thing, definitely a selling point. Watch out if you try to buy an ASUS from Best Buy --they do not honor all the standard ASUS warranties, I think the accident insurance. Because Best Buy wants to sell you their own insurance for $179.

The thing I don't like the most about this laptop is the screen size. Not the resolution but the actual physical size. There is approximately a 3/4 inch bezel on the sides and bottom and nearly 1 1/4 inch at the top. This makes the laptop less attractive visually also, like it's chunky and thick. The large top bezel is likely because of the webcam which I will never use. The screen could easily be 16+ inches which would help lots with the high resolution. At 1920x1080 for a laptop you need all the size you can get. Text at 100% is tiny but mine shipped at 125% so that's smart on their part. I primarily use it for painting in Photoshop and Painter so the high resolution is great. Trying to show someone text on the screen is difficult when they can't read it unless they are real close.

One other thing I didn't like was 40+GB of pre-installed software. Why anyone would want all this crap is beyond me. I was going to wipe and reinstall but there is the quick start OS which I need to look into and see if that will be wiped and if there is any difficulty reinstalling it. I pretty much always plan on wiping a new computer but most people wouldn't so that is a factor.

I got my backpack and mouse, I see some others didn't.

Oh yeah it's not black, even the darkest part of the lid is a dark blue.

So:

+Free ram upgrade

+speedy

+lighted keys

+wireless switch

+free backpack and mouse

-slippery keys

-physical screen size

-bloatware

All in all very happy with it.

Yeah, I guess you could be upset that you didn't get some complimentary swag or whatever with this machine, but I didn't buy it for swag.

Let's get down to business, shall we?

Pluses: Gorgeous, smooth graphics in Star Trek Online, DDO, Champions Online and Team Fortress 2 with the sliders cranked just shy of the max. EAX sound is amazing: even sounds decent out of the built-in speakers (really rocks with my headphones though). CPU performance and multitasking is sweet and responsive. I have multi-surfed Word, Visual Studio and Photoshop CS with no lag or issues.

More ports than you can shake a stick at: plenty of USB, eSATA, FireWire (1394) and even HDMI (which outputs to full 1080p if that floats your boat). Bluetooth devices are easily paired. Amazing Windows 7 performance (rates a 5.9 Windows Experience out of the box, with 6.6s in graphics, before any tweaking)

This thing is a sweet PC for money.

Cons: Runs hot. Be sure to keep side vents for cooling free. Might be worth investing in a cooling mat for this bad boy. Also, can we please not pre-install a bunch of crap on our new, high-performance gaming machines? I had to uninstall a bunch of cheesey ASUS games and stuff before I could really get down to business.

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Overall, I'm very happy with this laptop. I don't use my computers unplugged very often at all, so battery life isn't a big issue. I was a bit timid about buying another Asus since my last one was defective, but the 2 year warranty made me feel better about taking a chance on this model. This may tell how long it's been since I bought a laptop but it was common to see 2 year warranties and frankly I'm surprised that not all the Asus models offer this coverage. To be fair, I give this laptop 4.5 stars, being dinged primarily for going "cheap" with the OS choice.

Gripes:

Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium for a "high end" gaming platform just doesn't make sense. I was expecting, at a minimum, the Professional version at this price point. As an aside, nearly all my complaints are around Windows and the lack of it's ability to run many not-so-old applications that I depend on. So be prepared to also drop some bucks on newer versions of programs that won't run on 7 that were perfect on XP. Also, approximately 100gb chunk of the 500gb hard drive is not available out of the box thanks to Microsoft's "instant upgrade" OS to Professional/Ultimate are already on the drive. I guess it's convenient for some to upgrade this way but I always insist on a Physical Disc for that day the hard drive craters. (Asus: It would be helpful if you offered instructions or an "uninstall" option to delete these files for those of us that want our hard drive space for our use), or maybe I should charge Microsoft rent?

No Blu-ray. Ok, maybe I shouldn't list it as a gripe since I knew it didn't have this when I bought it, but seriously, why go through the hassle and expense of a true 1080p display and NOT have a drive to watch/load Bluray or HD titles?? I hope Asus will make a replacement drive available with Blu-ray/HD capability at a reasonable cost. By the way, Microsoft did not think it important to support HD playback in Windows 7 (incredible blunder!) and as of this date I have not found a pre-installed application on this machine that will play Bluray/HD files! More $$$ for a program for that I guess.

Speakers: The sound is best summed up as anemic. I was expecting much more from the Altec Lansing branding...while they sound ok (not great by any standard, as an audiophile), my biggest gripe is VERY LITTLE OUPUT AT MAX compared to my last HP notebook which would get loud enough to embarrass me! No worries with this one in this regard, sadly. (Asus,I've gone through all the convoluted menus to try to tweak more output but I'm disappointed!). Not enough bass nor treble. . Perhaps I got a bad sound module?? At least the headphone output is quite good.

The included bag, while appreciated, is just large enough to carry the laptop/power brick, mouse and few knick-knacks. It feels a bit on the cheap side compared to my other Targus bag. Perhaps it's easier on your back this way. ;-)

This is not really a gripe, just a "heads up": Heat! Under heavy load (or any graphics intensive operation) this puppy will pump out some BTU's! It's main exit vent is on the left side and I've found it quite handy for keeping my coffee HOT (not just warm!). This is almost a plus but I can see why Asus didn't want to advertise this. Just be careful for spillage. The heat is extreme enough under load that I worry about anything remotely flammable within a foot or so of the vent. Asus did a great job of keeping the heat off the keyboard and upper area (although it definitely will be welcome in the winter, keeping your hands warm while you type!). I have read that the Intel i7 chip is a HOT chip under load, so this is going to be "normal" if you run an i7 quad core, no matter who builds it. The i5 I had previous was also a hot machine, but the i7 is definitely hotter.

What I like:

The part of any laptop you look at the most and thus, in my opinion, the most important part, the display,is sharp and bright. Colors are natural and the "Splendid" application allows one to customize viewing almost limitlessly. Perhaps 1080p on a 15.6" screen is a bit overkill, but I'm not complaining. I do find myself zooming in a lot though.

Keyboard lighting is great and you can adjust the intensity (3 settings to choose from). The ergonomics is fair and I really love having a keypad on the keyboard. The keys feel a slight-bit on the "cheap" side but they work just fine. I say "fair" on the ergonomics since the edge of the palm rest tends to "bite" into my lower forearms after a few minutes. The top of this palm rest is coated with a "rubbery" layer which is comfortable enough but the edge is just a little too sharp for my tastes. This is not a big issue but I'm very thorough and critical of my big ticket items.

Wireless: The best and most sensitive I've witnessed yet. I'm amazed at the range this laptop wireless has from the base station. Almost double anything I've used prior to. Well done Asus!

Bluetooth: I've had issues using Skype (about the only time I used the bluetooth) with it dropping my Plantronics headset after a few minutes in a session. It could be just Skype's software, I don't know. The headset works flawlessly for hours at a time with my Blackberry. Perhaps there is a conflict? I'm going to find out the problem and update when I do.

Gaming/graphics capability: I consider myself a casual gamer but I've been VERY impressed with the frame-rate even at full 1920X1024 resolutions! Runs X3, Silent Hunter IV, Half-Life 2 with all options maxed no problem. (Heat! will be generated!) I will update on this as I try other games. My main use for this power is TurboCAD as I do a LOT of design work and this machine flies through everything I throw at it.

The included mouse is great! I've always used logitech mice but I think I found a new alternative. It isn't wireless (which would be even better) but it is a joy to use.

The touchpad, while not the "new" style of the one on my other Asus, is much nicer to use. I HATE the multi-fingering gesturing and I MUCH prefer having a scroll bar like this one has. It also will auto-shut off when a mouse is attached (software option). This touchpad is great!

I plan on doing a 90 day update so stay tuned.

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On paper this machine seems to have it all. However, there is one major issue it completely shuts down in the middle of gaming. When running COD MW2 the machine would make it about 5-10 minutes into the game and would then completely shut off as if someone had cut the power to the machine. We tested this over and over with gaming as well as with several different stress testing tools (Furmark, etc.) The laptop did not shut down in every single instance, it happened about 50% of the time. While running non CPU/GPU intensive apps we had no issues. After making several calls to ASUS support, they could not determine the problem and wanted me to send the unit in for repair (after only having for 2 days). Thankfully Amazon let me return the unit for a replacement. However, we just received the replacement machine yesterday and are having the same exact problem with it!

After doing some digging on the internet, it appears others have had the same problem and is a known issue with these laptops. All indications point to the fact that either the CPU/GPU are getting too hot or the power supply itself is getting too hot and the machine completely shuts down.

You may want to look at other options when considering this laptop especially for gaming.

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I can't say enough good things about this machine. Yes, the "gameboy" packaging is a bit garish and it is a fingerprint magnet, but it's what's on the inside that counts. The ultra-high-density screen is amazing. Speed is incredible and the features can't be beat for the money. As an IT professional, I have dealt with Asus' technical support in the past and have found them to be outstanding. The free accidental breakage coverage is unprecedented. Get yours now!

Toshiba Qosmio X875-Q7390 2.8-3.8GHz i7-3840QM 32GB 500GB SSD + 1TB 5400rpm HDD 3GB NVIDIA GTX 670M

Is a Product only for USA. If your are outside USA or you go in a trip to many countris in the world you do not have guarantee coverage. Not correct the Toshiba policy not to support/guarantee a product of almost $3000. Do not Buy toshiba products.-

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