Toshiba Satellite U845-S404 14.0-Inch Ultrabook (Sky Silver) Reviews

Customer Ratings:

At first I loved it. 3 whole weeks of computer bliss before the first pixel went. Then a while line of pixels. I called them and they said it was definitely under warranty and to send it to the Toshiba repair center. They told me to back it up when I turned it on to do that the screen looked even worse! It was basically a crappy screen death spiral. After 3 weeks of thinking about it they said it was not under warranty and I would have to pay them $600 to fix it. After 7 hours on the phone with them I called Amazon. The AMAZING people at Amazon took it back!! Toshiba almost cost me the Toshiba refund because even when I asked for them to return it to me broken so that I could return it to Amazon, they lied about when they shipped it, lied about the shipping method. It took 3 weeks to be returned. This was my 3rd Toshiba and probably 10th that I have participated in the purchase of / recommended (parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles)... it was also my LAST. Lessons learned: only buy computers from Amazon; never buy Toshiba.

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Do not buy Toshiba. Screen just all of a sudden cracked. Bought from Best Buy and they refused to even look at it because they said Toshiba was the only company that would not accept them sending it. Toshiba wanted to deal directly with the customer. Toshiba won't replace or fix even though it was within warranty. Spent a LOT of time on the phone trying to get them to fix my computer and they said the warranty does not cover a cracked screen no matter what. Horrible computer, even worse customer service.

See link for others who have had the same problem:

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I have owned many Toshiba laptops...the one I have now is only 2 years old and won't start anymore. I checked Toshiba Forums and many others have the same problem. Toshiba wants $119 to diagnose it and $354 to fix the motherboard. At that point, I would just buy another laptop...of course never a Toshiba again. Trust me...stay away from this brand.

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite U845-S404 14.0-Inch Ultrabook (Sky Silver)

Purchased from Amazon July 2012. Enjoyed Traveling with computer light weight and good battery life. Miss the numeric key pad and the mouse pad buttons do not work if you are touching the other mouse pad button. Only surprise was the slow ethernet port. 100 speed is ok, but seems like it should be 1000 speed.

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Great computer fast works good light weight afforadable. My Third Toshiba and I love this one more than the last. They keep getting better.

Lenovo Ideapad Y560 0646-2EU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Reviews

Customer Ratings:

Let me start off by saying that this is a very fast computer. I7 makes it a blaze and with 4 gigs of ram it holds its on on any advanced program or game. The videocard in it is more than enough to run Modern Warfare 2 at some high settings and it'll run most things without a hitch. It is relatively slim as a desktop replacement laptop. I categorize it as a desktop replacement for a few reasons I'll explain later on. Now, other things that it does well size and weight are great for all of the power that you get. The build is pretty solid, although I could go for a studier base.. it'll give you a little flex if you pick it up from the corner.

Now the cons:

The battery life is very short, but what can you expect while running a quad core and a dedicated graphics card.

Mobility wise you can pack it up and bring it around with you but with very little juice and time on the go you better bring along a power cord. Also, the size makes it so that it'll fit into a backpack but you are going to feel this thing when you are taking it around with you. I came from a 13'' macbook pro that I thought was fantastic for mobility and for battery life but it lacked on the speed realm.

The screen.. come on, this should be at least a 1680x1080 screen. There's no reason for it to be 13XX by 7XX. The screen itself is decent, it's nothing terrible but it is not on par with MBP's screens.

The track pad is a little too grippy for my tastes, and you'll have to drag your finger around with some force to get it going.

The track pad placement is not the best, as I hit it constantly with the bottom of my palm while I am typing on the keyboard. It could be / should be placed a little differently... I didn't have much trouble typing with the MPB again but with this I am getting my cursor pushed around and put into the middle of my sentences causing me to go back and fix them.

Now for the ugly:

This computer Blue screen of deathed on a regular basis and hard locked when doing too much video and audio at the same time. I looked into this is great detail on Lenovo's forums and I have fixed it somewhat. I got rid of the original bloatware installation of Windows 7 and found a regular version to install. After that I updated all of the drivers as best I could, and then I updated the BIOS as well. I sometimes still get some hard locks, although very rarely now. Also, I get the "BIG POINTER" problem that sometimes shows up for other users of this particular laptop. So with that said I had some serious functionality problems getting this laptop to run correctly for me. I had ubuntu on it for a time and it ran without a hitch, but why are we going to be putting ubuntu on a $1000 semi gaming computer? Doesn't add up for me at least.

Would I recommend it?

I think its a great computer when it works. I think if you know what you are getting into you are going to get a deal. I think that if it worked constantly I wouldn't have a reason not to recommend it. If I didn't have the functionality issues with it I'd tell people that the screen is a little weak but it's a hell of a deal with all that horsepower in it. Think of it as a dragster that has weak brakes.. super fast, but not the most functional for day to day driving.

I would not recommend it only because I would have gone with a ThinkPad not an "Ideapad" This is obviously a cheaper and less reliable solution to a ThinkPad and it is more geared towards your gamer crowd than your business crowd. If I could do it again I would go ThinkPad without a second thought. Who needs I7 in a computer that's only going to run an hour hour and a half without a power cable? Get this computer as a desktop replacement that's more affordable and smaller than a $2000 alienware.

If you want mobility and more functionality, go with a ThinkPad or equivalent.

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Laptop worked fine for about 11 months. It then started crashing with Blue Screen very frequently. Sent it to Lenovo Support, they pretty much replaced every thing but the screen and keyboard. After a couple of months Laptop fails to start intermittently Display Driver failed to initialize. Spoke with Lenovo support team and I will have to send it back to Lenovo support team.

Issue with Lenovo Support -

Purchased 1 year extended warranty from Lenovo Support on Dec 2011.

I still did not receive the Purchase and warranty Information.

I have been calling Lenovo Support for almost 2 months to get this information.

Every time I call them, they say that they will send it in 24-48 hours and I still did not receive any information. This has been going on for almost 2 months.

I am now stuck with a Laptop which does not work and Extended Warranty which I cannot use.

I would neither recommend this product nor the extended warranty service from Lenovo

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This laptop has been sent to the Repair Depot 3 times for "Faulty Motherboards" and each time the interval has grown shorter until upon the third time, the laptop CAME BACK with a cracked side near the power jack. When the computer's harddrive finally gave out, I sent it back and the Lenovo repair team let me know that they could not fix it because it was apparent due to the crack in the side that there was user inflicted damage.

A computer made of terrible parts and terrible service backing it up.

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A simple google search will let you know that there are known common hardware issues with this laptop. Works well until it doesn't. Lenovo customer service is unresponsive and have no qualms about asking you to pay for known hardware issues that are not your fault. Also, they will sit on your laptop without any available information for up to 3 weeks without returning your laptop.

Bottom line: you don't want to buy a product that has to go back twice for hardware-related repairs within the first 10 months, especially if they are not use-related.

If customer service was more responsive and known hardware issues were fixed as part of a recall, this really would have been a great machine.

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I have owned this laptop for well over a year now and I haven't had the best experience with it, but it has been functional enough for continued use.

We'll start with the good.

PROS:

The speakers on this computer are impressive, really. Being sort of an audiophile and highly critical of most laptop speakers, the JBLs in this model do a fine job and then some. They are relatively loud, very clear, and the intelligent touch-settings allow you to transition smoothly from configuration to configuration for movies, games and music. Additionally, the video output is fairly good which makes this a decent machine overall for entertainment.

The keyboard and touchpad are apt and comfortable. When I was shopping around I found myself in search of something that wasn't going to make me tired of using it after 30 minutes. Trackpads can make me crazy, and this one fit my needs well. Zoom and scrolling work quite well and the keyboard makes it so that you don't have to attack each letter or symbol.

Aesthetic design and portability have been nice. The lid has some neat, platonic graphic work on it and the orange rim around it is a nice touch. It's pretty slim and the edges taper off nicely for comfortable portability.

Now for why I am not very happy...

It is unfortunate that the above aspects are so nice, because the valuable facets of operation on this machine are lacking.

CONS:

We'll start with the biggest physical issue. The screen is floppy. That's right; floppy. When I open the lid it will move back and forth about an inch removed from its true position. It's not entirely unusable as I've found ways to compromise since I am still using it, but it's seriously a nuisance. You will also find yourself mad at how badly this thing smudges. Be prepared to wipe it down with a micro-fiber cloth daily. Over time the lid's contact with the rest of the computer when closed will also incur scratches on the screen and the casing that are irremovable and annoying if you like your computer to look nice. The rubber pads to keep this from happening don't really work and eventually fall out.

Operation is pretty unfortunate. The sound card goes in an out, as if it's picky about what it likes to play. Sometimes I have to close programs that use sound and reopen them for it to recognize the output. Strange, but pretty much a problem since the first month that I've had it. This machine also gets pretty damn hot. Sometimes it's almost unbearable to have it on your lap and I hardly do things to truly stress the system, unless you count iTunes, Office, Skype and a web browser. Don't bother with much gaming as it will lag and struggles often with loading and rendering of graphics. Don't even think about running video editing programs that are heavy on resources like Vegas as your projects will crash. Additionally, be prepared to encounter BSODs. Finally, a huge problem is that startup is SLOOOOWWWW. This can be resolved by removing bloatware, but only to an extent. You should probably configure this thing yourself with a fresh install of Windows if you want optimal startup in addition to fixing a number of other problems.

Battery life is terrible. When I use the computer in classes that are an hour and fifteen minutes, I am prepared for it to be nearly dead by the end. Additionally, the battery will sometimes cut out of recognition and your system will require a restart and battery removal to solve the problem.

I have had other problems with the computer that would require more detailed description, but here's the final staggering gunshot to the foot for this product. I had to order twice before I received a functioning model, and still all of the problems above have existed with this one. The first one that I ordered had a screen problem, something I suspect to be due to a problem with the assembly. If you don't want to deal with some hassle, don't trust this model.

OVERALL: This problems with this machine are numerous, and there are some great features, as well. Unfortunately, the bad overwhelms the good and I will never purchase from Lenovo again. It's sad to say, considering the great number of positive things I heard about the company, but this experience has ruined their reputation, for me. Perhaps there are some other very dependable models that they have made, but I wouldn't count on this one ever again.

Buy Acer Computer AOA110-1722 Aspire One 8.9-Inch Notebook PC

Customer Ratings:

UPDATE 08/29/2008: Received my new Acer Aspire One today. Wow, one day shipping from J&R rocks! The blue AAO with Win XP looks just like the Linux version: there is the SD "Storage Expansion" slot on the left side and a multi-format card reader on the right, 3 USB ports, etc. It boots up pretty fast and runs the so familiar WIN XP OS. I liked the Linux graphics, but to be honest, as a Windows user, I felt lost. So far, I haven't had any problems with the wireless (knock on wood) that I have experienced when I used the Linux version. Yes, you can hear the fan, as some of the reviewers have mentioned, BUT, it is not nearly as annoying as they claim. I can live with that. The Hard Drive is listed as 120GB, however, it shows up as 105 GB. The windows XP version comes with a 60-day trial of MS Office 2007 and McAfee Security Suite. Curiously, it also comes with InterVideo WinDVD, although, as you are aware, there is no DVD drive. Other programs included are: MS Works, Adober Reader 8, IE, MSN, Windows Media Player, Windows Messenger, Windows Movie Maker, Acer eRecovery Manager. I installed Firefox without a glitch. So far, I am very pleased with the laptop. It's not a $2,000 Sony or Mac, but it's a great value. It does what it is supposed to do. I am glad I returned the Linux and ordered the Windows. It works better for my needs.

UPDATE 8/28/2008: So, Amazon dropped the price on Acer Aspire One with Linux OS. However, the Win XP version continues to be overpriced compared to other online retailers. I've decided to order the blue Win XP machine directly from J&R for $369.99 and will get an additional 15% off via Live Search Cashback (total price after cashback excluding shipping: $314.41). I decided to go back to the familiar XP configuration simply because I believe that learning Linux will involve too much effort to justify the cost. In addition, the Linux version of Acer Aspire One appears to have more wireless bugs than Windows. We'll see how the Win XP netbook performs.

UPDATE 8/25/2008. So far I haven't seen any price reductions by online retailers. I think they are waiting to purge their inventory. Best Buy, however, does have the blue Acer Aspire One with 1gb Ram, 120 gb HD and Win XP Home for $349.99. So far they are the first ones to jump on the Acer price drop bandwagon.

UPDATE 8/20/08. Acer just (4 hrs ago) made the announcement on Market Watch that it will slash the prices for Acer Aspire One to $349 for Win XP and $329 for Linux. I miss my Acer One and will order one again as soon as retailers update their prices. I thought it was a great deal for $379 but for $50 less it's an absolute bargain. I do hope that I won't have anymore wireless problems with this one.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I had purchased this laptop from J&R in blue with Linux and it was in my hands the very next day. I really liked Acer Aspire One from the moment I pulled it out of the box. It's very compact, light, elegant, boots in no time (20 sec). I am a first-time Linux user and was actually pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use. I followed the instructions from one of the Amazon reviews here to unlock the full OS and was able to add Skype (Fedora version) without a problem. OpenOffice is very straightforward and easy to use, email setup was a breeze. I plugged it into my cable modem and loved the very fast web page loading times. All in all, it's a great little laptop alternative, the screen is easy to read, the keyboard size is adequate for error-free typing, the trackpad took some getting used to but it was fine within a couple of hours.

Now to the negatives:

-the surface is very prone to fingerprint smudges

-the screen is very glossy and reflective, but the brightness compensated for the fact that I could always see my reflection on the screen

-the left and right mouse buttons are oddly positioned on either side of the keyboard, so that takes some getting used to

-now last but not least wireless connectivity problems. I've had the Acer Aspire One for over a week and have tried every single approach out there to get the wireless connection on it. the wireless networks would show up on the connection manager, but when I would attempt to connect to a particular network I would get an error message saying connection was terminated. One of the networks I tried to connect to was my own home wireless network which successfully worked for all of my other laptops. I tried the WEP protocol no success, I changed the router settings to WPA tried to connect no success, I changed it to the open network no success although I am sure my neighbors appreciated the open net access they could steal from me in the interim. I've searched the web for a solution and found out that this wireless problem seems to be an issue for a number of Acer Aspire One users out there. Some were able to fix it by running Live Update on a wired connection (I did it, but it didn't fix the problem), some played with sleep modes, reboots, etc. None of that worked for me. I tried to look up this issue on the Acer website, but their customer support is not very user friendly. So, I gave up, called customer service for an RMA# and am returning the Acer Aspire One today. I wish it had worked as I liked it so much, but it's no use to me without wireless connections and I believe that if I purchase a brand new item, it has to be fully operational straight out of the box. So, goodbye my dear sapphire blue Acer Aspire One, you will be missed, I hope your maker solves the wireless problem and I will buy you again when that happens. I would recommend this product without reservation if only the wireless problem is resolved.

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I bought this netbook to keep in my backpack at all times for email and web opportunities while I'm out and about. Other netbooks seem to suffer a bit from spec bloatbigger drives, more memory, higher prices.

Pros-

1. Small and light. Really light. I also have the eee pc 1000h. The difference is dramatic.

2. Given it's size, keyboard is ok.

3. On a purely personal note, the blue color is great.

4. Cheap, cheap, cheap. I picked mine up for $309. Other comparable netbooks seem to be up over $400.

5. I really like the Linux operating system. Its more like a PDA's. Lots of apps are included. Upgrading to latest versions looks easy.

6. Quiet

7. Very fast boot

8. Second SD slot that adds to drive size is a cool idea. Now if 16 or 32gb SD card prices would just come down, things would be great. I have lots of media files on SD's for other devices, I can plug them in and still have one free.

9. After seeing the 7" screens, I think the 8.9" is as small as you can go and still have it useful

10. Total travel package is really light. Small, light power brick and cord.

Negs-

1. Battery life is good, but would be amazing with a 6-cell

2. Shinyget used to lots of fingerprints. Would have been much better matte.

3. Included sleeve will protect from scratches, but not much else. No padding, no zipperjust basically a plastic pocket. I'm looking for an aftermarket sleeve.

Because of it's specs its more of a net appliance than notebook. But if you're looking for a cheap way to use hotspots and apps that don't require lots of resources, this is great.

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I bought the Blue Acer Aspire One (XP version with 120 gigabyte HD) just as soon as one was available. Did not buy it from Amazon because the price was higher than a local retailer (Micro Center). Micro Center has dropped the price to the Acer suggested retail price of $349 (XP). I did see the Linux Version at Circuit City for $307. So far no real complaints except that the touch pad is difficult to work with and it is not very precise. Actually the buttons are awkward to use and it often "double-clicks" seemingly on it's own. I use a mouse now. So far I have not needed a DVD player since I usually rip my DVDs "for my own use" and load them via the USB port on a Jump Drive or use my card reader. I purchased a home version of MS Office and simply entered the code. No need for the DVD just the code and it worked seamlessly. As noted the exterior is very prone to smudges and I find myself cleaning the unit regularly. I did note that the fan noise is a little loud when used in a quiet room but at coffee shops and other WIFI hotspots it is not noticeable. Again no real gripes and for the price it does what I was hoping for, a small websurfer with the capability of performing more complex tasks if needed. I purchased it for the price of a good PDA and it surfs the web better than my iPod Touch. Its a winner in my book...

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It comes with Linux, but it's packed with everything you need while traveling! I was looking for a small alternative to my heavy 17" MacBook Pro for surfing the Internet while traveling, and this was the right device! Not only does it find wireless connectivity easily with its built-in wifi, it comes with two media slots (actually, one is a SDHC-specific slot for adding more memory space). All you have to do is plug in a HDSC card and it does everything for you.

It's also pre-installed with OpenOffice, which is a great and free alternative to Microsoft's Office. It's compatible with MS Office's applications, too (just in case you're wondering). Boots very fast since it's running on Linux and uses a solid-state disk. If you are looking for a stylish, affordable, small laptop for surfing the net and office applications, this is for you! It's very light and comes with a nice faux-leather sleeve. If you have never used Linux before, the learning curve is very easy since this version of Linux uses a similiar windows-based GUI application, and no commands are needed.

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Beside the lesser time at booting up, the software seems really easy to operate with, which is Linux. After a little hack for installing more things, then I just added a bag of the kind that are used with portable dvd players, and extra 4 gig SD memory and a tiny retractable trip mouse (because my fingers are simply too big for any touchpad), and was amazed at how fast everything stuck together. It connects fast to the wifi network, so I have no complaints there, it browse really well. No moving parts gives the battery a long run for the money, and the screen really looks right. The camera is awesome, mics are ok, don't expect too much from the speakers of course. And it runs everything really fast, suspiciously fast I might say. No more than 3 process at a time... just in case. I took a long trip by airplanes, three legs. In every plane was able to use it for about an hour. For that price, I better start getting addons. 325$!!! wow!

Reviews of HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14-b124us 14" Touch Screen Laptop - 3rd

Customer Ratings:

This little thing is lightweight and fast! Seems to be working well, but what I didn't realize was that it does NOT have a CD drive? I have Office and Smart Draw Photo on CD and can not load them on here, so I had to order an additional external CD drive, still waiting for that to come to see if it works, since it doesn't specify Windows 8. My brother, an MCSE, was surprised that it didn't come with some version of Word on it, but it doesn't, you can either purchase Office 10 or use a trial version. All other files from my old laptop had to be brought over on a flash drive. Another issue you don't think about is the touch screen. It's quite staticy, worse than a normal screen, and if you have dogs, it becomes a dog hair magnet. The hair doesn't blow off and when you go to wipe it off, you end up scrolling to another screen. Kinda funny, but something to think about. All in all, great little computer for the price, but be sure to make provisions if anything you need is on CD, and be prepared to step up the vacuuming, lol!

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I bought this for my daughter for use in school and I have to say I really like this computer. The lap top is very fast, has great memory and a hard drive with enough space for everything you need along with sky drive as long as you have an MSN account. I thought the keyboard lit up on this but my mistake and it isn't a big deal. I have no idea why there are some people out there not liking Windows 8 but I have no problems with it and just have to learn how to get around on it. What also is good about this computer is that the battery can be replaced when it goes bad which is a negative for my Toshiba convertible which is a tablet/lap top. I highly recommend this computer and as usual HP makes another good product.

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love this laptop!! I don't know why I didn't buy it sooner! It's light, thin, fast and just the right size for a college student like me. The windows 8 at first is tricky but after a while you get the hang of it. Anyways shipping got here very fast got the package within 5 days and couldn't be happier!

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I absolutely love this laptop!! It is amazing!! Especially the touchscreen, the HD quality is soo good its so crisp and clear. Also I love the speakers on this, I can really hear the bass when I'm listening to music. & of course can't forget about the windows 8, it was complicated at first but once you learn how to use it..it's a breeze. I love this laptop!!!

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This is a great laptop. I have been using Mac for the past 5 years simply because it runs and windows always seemed to freeze up or cause problems. This computer is about $400 cheaper than a Mac and runs just as good if not better. I love it and I love Windows 8 as well.

Best ASUS K52 Series K52JR-X4 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown) Deals

Customer Ratings:

Been an Asus fan for a long long time. Jumped on this deal for what I expected to be a "performance" laptop, man am I disappointed. First off, the hard drive is a slow as hell 5400RPM which has no place in a machine with this price tag, shame on me I never checked the spec. In addition to that, its not a 320Gig drive, the system is only reading 282Gig and Asus for some bizarre reason decided to partition the drive into a 74G C: Boot Drive a 208G D: Data drive. Makes no sense, its confusing and cumbersome.

My biggest beef with this machine is the 18 (EIGHTEEN) shortcuts I found on my desktop when I booted up. All flavors of crapware that I don't want and don't need that include a 90 day subscription to Trend Micro Anti-Virus which MaximumPC magazine rated as the WORST AV package on the market in their May 2010 edition. Now I know that doesn't mean much, but its disquieting when the defacto Hardware Champion of the entire computer industry (IMO) loads up a new machine with a truckload of unrecognizable garbageware like Splendid Utility and AP Bank, among others I've never heard of and don't have any use for. Oh well, while cleaning all this junk out of my HD I also noticed the boot time is right at 4 minutes, that's with the included utility Asus Fast Boot engaged. Sheesh!!!

On the upside, the display is bright and crisp and the graphics are amazing. And, the real good news here....there are two open DIMM slots so you can easily upgrade to 8Gig of system memory and hopefully improve the performance of this machine. Not a fan of the chicklet keyboard either, and you will find it almost impossible to navigate in the dark.

Very disappointed in Asus, and ya know it would have been nice to get a media player that's compatible with the Blu-Ray drive but alas....and good luck finding one that's even compatible with Windows 7 that doesn't cost $100, well there is VLC for your DVD's but that's about it. The battery gave me 70 minutes on a full charge before the initial boot. I don't expect my mood to soften anytime soon as I am still cleaning this thing up, BUT it does look good, and for a 15.6" it very lightweight, so I got that going for me.

3 Week Update: OK OK, now that I have massaged this thing and gotten rid of all the pre-installed junk provided by Asus I am VERY impressed. This machine is a multimedia/multitasking monster, and the Power 4 Gear power settings will give you about 2 1/2 hours on the battery, and it runs very cool, no heat discharge at all. The display is the most impressive thing about this laptop, I was forced to buy glasses to read my old HP but don't need them with this LED backlit panel. And the graphics are nothing short of incredible. Still not a fan of the chicklet keyboard, its just not as intuitive as it should be. And I think I can still benefit from a memory upgrade but right now that's only around $100 for another 4Gig and I'm hoping that improves the mouse function...not as responsive as one might hope, maybe its a resource thing, we'll see.

Anyway, I'm still upset about all the preloaded junk that came from the factory, Asus knows better but if you're going to take over the world there are things you just have to do as an OEM I suppose. They still make the best hardware out there IMO. So after the courtship phase with this thing I'd have to say I'm very pleased and semi-happy with my new laptop. BTW, PowerDVD10 is the most reliable media player I've found for Windows 7. VLC falls down on some formats and and I've never really liked Windows Media Player. Too bad Asus doesn't provide an OEM version with this unit, haven't tried a Blu Ray disc yet but they cant look any better than a regular DVD on this display.

FYI. if you're into these things, these are the Windows Experience numbers on a scale of 1 to 7.9:

CPU 6.7

RAM 5.9

Graphics 5.1 (Desktop and Windows Aero)

Gaming Graphics 6.2

Hard Disk 5.7

After cleaning everything up and re-running the scores, the CPU performance went from 6.5 to 6.7. Everything else stayed the same. Pretty strong! Also boot times have been cut in half, I can live with that. However, my biggest complaint now that I've upgraded to 8Gig of RAM is that the touchpad (Elan Smart-Pad) still doesnt work. And thats after turning off ALL of its services except the basic functions. HELLO ASUS, FIX THIS PROBLEM!!!! If you buy an Asus laptop you have to expect to have touchpad problems out of the gate, complaints are posted all over the web dating back 3-4 years, and you cannot install the latest drivers....they just wont install. My fix was a Microsoft 3500 mouse which I should have bought with the machine. Problem solved. A 5 star product if not for this pathetic Elan Tech "Smart-Pad"

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I was looking for a laptop with both a Intel Core I5

processor (the I7 laptops seeming to all for for at

least $300 more) and one with a blu ray drive. Also,

I do NOT like the shiny surfaced laptops where you

leave fingerprints and smears all over -this one is

shiny on the outside but they use a matte finish where

you rest your hands so fingerprints really aren't an

issue.

The laptop feels well built and looks very nice without

being flashy. I love the keyboard, with the keys spaced

apart from each other a bit. No place for crumbs to drop

in :P The screen is very clear and bright. It boots up

quickly and runs all my programs on it quickly.

I can't speak for battery life as I usually always run with

the power cord plugged in. As for gaming, I use it mostly

for work and running Office 2007 on it and for browsing, so

I can't say how well it will do with gaming, although I would

think it would be pretty good.

My only complaints would be the speakers don't go up very loud

and don't sound the best -but what laptop speakers ever do?

And I would like to go up a little higher on the screen resolution-

1366x768 being the maximum resolution in Windows 7.

But overall I am quit pleased with my purchase, especially for

the excellent price.

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Good notebook for its price. Use it mainly for programming use and it answers my needs. Graphics display is great.

Honest reviews on ASUS K52 Series K52JR-X4 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown)

I haven't really put it to the test in terms of processor and multimedia, etc. But for everyday use such as video-playing (internet television and DVD movies), also photos, it's great. Boots up fast, and yes it can run for 24 hours, including video for the majority of that time, without getting noticeably hot and there's NEVER a fan kicking in at least that I can hear. Amazing. I prefer the OS partitioned off from the main storage drive. It's simply more efficient and faster to scandisk and defrag-and I like that I didn't have to figure out how to set up partitions on my own.

When I originally decided to buy a laptop, I thought I wanted a netbook something lighter, thinner and more portable. But the ASUS has so much more power and nice specs for several hundred dollars less than than any of the netbooks. And frankly, I bought this ASUS because two non-commissioned salespersons at Office Max simply raved and raved about the company and the quality of their US-Made parts and assembly. They both drooled at this model on the shelf and referred to it as the "dream machine" they'd choose. I know I broke the heart of one of them when I bought it. This was the last one they had in stock. I, too, love the brushed metal textured body and touchpad. I'm a messy typist. I also bought a silicone keyboard cover and screen cover. Unfortunately, this model is way too nice (and big) for me to trust putting in my bike messenger bag and taking to school.... But that's okay.

Freeware and trial software installed all over the desktop is a minor problem. I'm sure all the partnerships help with lowering the cost ASUS charges-so okay. It took me a whopping ten minutes to uninstall the programs including the annoying antivirus program that provided a pop-up screen every ten minutes asking me to install it.

It took me less than 20 minutes to have the new laptop up and running with all the configurations for Windows Update, product registration, and other first time customizations. Easy, clear directions from ASUS, including how to make your own restore disks, which took an extra hour to burn, but easily ran in the background while I used the PC. Backup discs will need to be on DVDs-CDs are not sufficient. That should have been obvious to me, but when I called tech support to confirm this, I got a fast, polite response from a real person. I highly recommend their tech support department.

My last laptop was going on 7 years old. Night and Day difference and the price I paid for the new ASUS was nearly half of what I paid for my older laptop USED.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS K52 Series K52JR-X4 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown)

The ASUS K52J laptop arrived yesterday, 2 days before the expected delivery date.

After removing the junk software, icons and installed MS Office 2010, Adware, Firefox and other software, so far I like it.

This laptop is fast, it boots up quickly. It is only warm at the fan opening area after using it all day. The fan is quiet.

The DVD/Blu-ray software is on a DVD disc and it is old! I need to install it myself. It can't play Avatar. I need to download PowerDVD 10 to play latest blu-ray disc.

The LED display is better than my HP laptop! It is nice and bright, just like my 23" ASUS LED monitor.

The battery holds about 2 hours 15 minutes of charge. Not too good and not too bad.

The keyboard is nice with just enough space among keys. I can hit the key with confidence. The number keys are smaller.

Wireless is strong. It connects when I am in basement, router is on 2 floors above.

It also comes with Cyperlink DVD suite that allows me to burn CD, create video, print label and more.

A software to create funny video using its build in webcam. Webcam is not high definition like my HP laptop.

I connected HDMI to TV. It needs a reboot to output the sound to the TV. Took me couple hours to figure this out (Felix told me to reboot...). But it is very nice and very easy without any adjusting on the TV or on the laptop. I attached 2 pictures. Only connect laptop with one HDMI cable to TV, it carries both video and sound.

The facial recognition software is not too effective. The lighting needs to be the same every time. The finger print reader on my HP is better.

One more thing. I don't like the hard disk partition. It has 2 partitions, C: and D:. C: has the windows software and is only 78GB. The rest of the space is in D:

It means I need to use D: to hold all my personal files.

I created the "My documents", "My pictures", "Downloads", "My video", "My music" into D: drive. Then change the library property to point to these directories. In the Windows Explorer, right click of the "My documents" to open property, then remove the existing one and change the folder location. Same for other folders under "Library".

I wish it just has one big C: partition, it makes life easier !!

Since I got a good deal and paid only $549 for a re certified unit so I give it 5 starts. If I need to pay $800+ for a new one, I would return it to get another Gateway or HP. There are many good choice for $800.

Buy Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14" Core i5 500GB Notebook

Customer Ratings:

Great little laptop that does most things well. It's not going to be a good gaming laptop due to the relatively underpowered integrated Intel 3D graphics, somewhat slow HDD, and small screen, but for general web surfing, streaming video playback, "light" gaming (i.e. Flash games), non-intensive photo editing (Photoshop Elements), and drawing in Inkscape (if you can stand the small screen), it's more than adequate.

I purchased my unit at 0ffi¢e Depot during the Black Friday sale week. In the course of my research, I found this identical unit was available direct from Lenovo's website during the summer for a price under 450 with various coupons.

And just really quick, my list of negatives with this unit (which may not be negatives to you, depending...) and rational behind my 4-star rating:

no option for a lighted keyboard or keyboard downlight

no option for higher resolution screen

no numeric keypad, not even in the traditional laptop sense of pressing Fn+NumLock to switch the right side of the alpha-keyboard into numeric mode (this is a feature I used occasionally).

no option for a BluRay drive

no USB 3.0 -not that I have a need for this yet, but it's a standard feature on many competing laptops

I liked this laptop so much, I purchased two E420 units (identical 1141-A24 models) and gave one to my dad, who has been using a well-worn IBM T-43 ThinkPad I handed down to him. I had a chance to compare the old school workhorse side-by-side with the E420 and made the following general observations:

The anti-reflective qualities of the matte-finish screens is comparable, but the E420 is brighter by a wide margin

The T43 had an "old school" 4:3 aspect ratio, vs. the wide screen 16:9 of the E420. This results in a narrower but taller screen for the older computer, but with a denser resolution (1400x1050) and more "room" vertically on the desktop. For most web surfing, photo editing and drawing, this older 4:3 is still the preferable aspect ratio.

The E420 is about ¾" wider than the T43, despite the T43 having a "bigger" 14.1-inch screen (this, again due to the aspect ratio)

Whereas the T43 had a parallel port, modem, PCMCIA slot and a PS2 Mouse Port, the E420 boasts an SD card reader, Bluetooth 3.0, 4 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, eSATA, and a 34mm ExpressCard port. Similar features include fingerprint reader, TouchPoint controller, VGA-out, DVD-RW, and an Ethernet port.

Build quality still leans in favor of the old T43, but the E420 is no slouch. The T43 was nearly around ¾ pound heavier, but the body was slightly thinner and the screen more rigid. The E420 body feels "hollow" because it's just not as densely packed, and probably doesn't have the substantial metal subframe of the T43. However, the E420 is far and away stiffer and more rigid than my 2-year old Lenovo value-line G530, which has a flexy screen and feels "squishy" (like the bottom is pressing in) when I grip it.

The E420 has a larger touchpad and a keyboard that's closer to a real PC keyboard, not the "chiclet" style keys with minimal movement that the T43 features.

The E420's Boot time is 35 seconds to the logon screen, and with a quick finger swipe over the fingerprint reader (this one works quickly and reliably!), it's fully booted and ready to use in under a minute. The Windows Experience Index registers at 5.7, singling out the hard disc as the bottleneck in the system speed, followed by the RAM read/write speeds. So a fast SSD would only marginally improve the overall WEI score, and couldn't make too much of an improvement to the boot times.

The screen bright screen is great in the window-lit room I primarily use, and viewing angles are very good side-to-side. There is a sweet spot in the tilt that inverts quickly if not adjusted just so. Yet I find it acceptable for close-in viewing. Sound quality is decent, though not audiophile quality -nothing worse than your average clock radio.

Lenovo has placed most of the system functions (screen brightness, volume, web cam on/off, etc.) to the top-row function keys, then went one step further: they made the function key require a two-key press to activate (for example, instead of hitting F5 to refresh or F11 for full screen, I now have to press Fn-F5 or Fn-F11), but the auxiliary commands are now single-key press (press JUST F5 for the web cam). It's a little something to get used to, and it's a situation where a keyboard backlight would have been appreciated in darker settings to help me find my way.

All ports to the sides of the body, with the exception of the RJ45 jack. Thank goodness, no audio ports sticking out of the front edge. If you opt for the optional 9-cell battery, it would protrude out the rear by about an inch. And no more confusing the headphone port for the mic port: this computer uses a single integrated "smart" port, though I suppose it requires a new single plug (or USB) headset for my Skype calls.

I am using this laptop successfully with HP's Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse, which requires Windows 7 + an up-to-date network chipset, and doesn't require any port-sucking USB dongles.

The computer comes a little bit bloated with Lenovo's software, most of which is good, some of which is unnecessary. Fortunately, my biggest headache, Norton Anti-Virus, was easily removable via ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. The others you'll have to pick through depending on what Lenovo features you'll find valuable. Lenovo even saw fit to ship this unit with Google Chrome installed, which manages to make an appearance before Microsoft's Internet Explorer has a chance to pop up. However, in my case, it was Chrome v12 (current version is 15), and it wouldn't automatically upgrade itself. I had to uninstall Chrome and download a clean version of the current software.

A rundown of the included Lenovo software, most of which is optional to keep installed and/or use:

A quick boot utility that speeds boot times

An auto-lock feature that, if no inputs are sensed after a user-determined amount of time, turns on the web cam and looks for a face. If none is detected, it password locks the laptop.

An orientation sensing utility that allows the user to turn the unit sideways to read PDFs and other documents, automatically rotating those docs to fit the portrait view.

A recovery utility to burn a recovery disc from the hard drive's recovery partition.

The fingerprint reader software, which on this unit works reliably, usually on the first swipe, and is quick.

Last thing worth mentioning: if you want a number pad and can stand an extra ~1½ in width, a version of the 15.5-inch E520 model has exactly the same spec (actually, with a faster 2430M processor) for almost exactly the same price. You'll get the num pad, but you'll still be stuck with the stock 1366x768 resolution, with no 1600x900 option available on Lenovo's website).

For a computer I use daily for web surfing, video watching, some light Inkscape drawing, Photoshop Elements editing, and lightweight gaming, the E420 fits the bill in terms of price, value/quality, and speed/functionality. It's by no means cutting edge, it certainly isn't the best looking nor the smallest/lightest of the bunch, but it's designed to be carried around and used in any number of tasks with a minimum of headache. Five to six hour battery life is to be expected (unless under heavy video playback), and 9 hours are achievable with an upgrade to the extended 9-cell battery.

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Compared to my 3 year old Acer 5515 this is a rocketship.

As configured the WEI is 5.9, the HDD and memory are the bottlenecks.

Keyboard is amazing, the touchpad is also great. The trackpoint, thaat is new to me and I am still working on it.

Startup from fully off to any webpage is less than 1 minute.

From sleep it is just seconds.

The ThinkVantage Utilities are nice, makes updating very easy.

I will be increasing the memory to max, and am considering a SSD for future installation.

I dont replace computers that often, every 2 to 3 years, I fully expect this to last that long.

I would, and have, reccomend this to anyone.

Best Deals for Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14" Core i5 500GB Notebook

Was able to find this particular configuration at a brick and mortar store with a much cheaper price than offered here. The laptop has a clean look. It's not the keyboard I know and love from my work T400, but the nubbin is right where it should be and I love it! Good battery, good WiFi, quiet fan, and great start-up time. Good little machine that easily out performs my wife's bigger and supposedly better spec'd HP from last year.

If you can find the Core i5 model, go for it.

Honest reviews on Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14" Core i5 500GB Notebook

Just as the title says my motherboard died after about 4 months of owning this laptop. Lenovo had me ship the laptop out for repair, and took 4 weeks to finally ship it back. They refused to be flexible with delivery and tried to ship it while I was on vacation. Instead of leaving it for a family member to pick up later, Lenovo refused to change the shipping options and had it shipped back to themselves. After contacting Lenovo support again I won't expect to be able to try this whole shipping disaster again for another 2 weeks. From new to completely dead in 4 months is simply not OK. Six weeks turn-around time on a completely dead laptop is simply not OK. Since IBM stopped manufacturing Lenovo, quality has gone severely downhill.

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Update June 2012: The computer died for a THIRD time... same problem... even though it had been used twice since arriving from being repaired. Lenovo kept claiming it only had been repaired once (and sometimes never) and that a replacement wasn't an option. They also kept claiming that my year-long warranty expired (after only eight months... several weeks of which they had the laptop in their facilities) and made me pay for an extended warranty to receive any service even though I provided a receipt and registered it when I bought it. After weeks of waiting and submitting proof that I had the computer repaired before for the same problem, they relented in sending a new computer... though it took so long they sent a different model.

Update March 2012: The computer did suddenly die again exactly as it did before in early January. After going through weeks of trouble trying to get it fixed, it was finally fixed again. I had to escalate the problem to get it repaired however. It wasn't easy. I've actually had to replace the computer since this one is gone more than with me and I need to get work done.

Update November 2011: Lenovo did finally fix and ship the laptop back to me three weeks earlier than the 'earliest' possible date, but it was still gone for weeks. In order to push the repair through to this earlier time I had to call nearly daily (waiting on hold for an average of 30 minutes each time) as well as send numerous e-mails. They didn't automatically do anything to speed up the process and I'm not sure if the computer will suddenly die again at any minute, so I still recommend looking at a Toshiba instead.

Update October 2011: The motherboard suddenly and completely died while safely resting in its bag (to the point I can't recover data without taking the machine apart and collecting the hard drive, which voids the warranty). Lenovo has been quick to get a repair box out, but after quoting two days and promising six, they now won't tell me when I will see it back. I've demoted the rating because a dead motherboard after less than two months is really sad, especially because I've been ultra-careful with it and it happened while it was turned off and unplugged between uses. Having a repair on a new laptop take several weeks longer than I've owned it is unacceptable.

-

Original Review in September 2011:

This is a great sturdy and agile laptop for the price. It includes features not easily found such as a non-glossy screen and fingerprint reader. The hard drive while smaller than others in the same price range is much faster, which is more important when you are multitasking. It is not extremely heavy and the screen is big enough to get things done while remaining portable. A big glossy screen may be great for watching movies, but this laptop wins if you are just trying to get work done.

I have been using this computer to run word processors, engineering applications, and browse the web all at the same time without trouble. I have also installed a Linux partition and it runs dual boot easily.

The computer does have extra features for when you are not working. The fingerprint reader works great and is very convenient. The webcam and mic work well and I thought the speakers were louder and clearer than other laptops I looked at in the same price range.

Reading other reviews I wondered about the wifi. I've found the wifi works great for me in all kinds of places (home, school, restaurants... secure and open) and I've had no issues all at in Windows. If you load Linux, you need to make sure to turn on the wifi and get the settings correct.

That being said, there are minor issues (that I didn't feel were big enough to rate lower based on my usage). One is that the huge touchpad is great and aligned well, but it interferes with the keyboard and you must change your settings to turn it off while you type. Another is that there are no hard drive lights it would have been nice if the read dot of "Think Pad" on the keyboard did this rather than just stay on. The battery didn't hold a charge well at first, but a few full discharges and recharges fixed that. The DVD-combo drive is extremely loud and I definitely wouldn't be able to enjoy playing a video with it because it would be impossible to hear. However for the few times I use these drives, it isn't a huge deal. The power cord to the transformer comes out easily unless you plug it in REALLY tight. Lastly, the function key is placed where I expect to find the left "Ctrl" key, which is annoying when I'm trying to use shortcuts to copy and paste. I'm probably going to change the keyboard layout (in the operating systems) soon in order to deal with this.

Pros:

Non-glossy screen for working in well-it areas

Windows starts up super fast and has great features for students and professionals

Fingerprint reader works great

Speakers are clear and loud

Fast spinning hard drive

Sturdy construction

Good size for carrying around in a backpack

Cons:

No hard drive working light

DVD drive is very loud

Function key is placed where the Control key should be

Points to keep in mind:

Wifi needs to be tweaked in Linux (works great in Windows out-of-the-box)

Touchpad settings much be adjusted to avoid problems when you type

Battery must be cycled when new to hold a charge well

You need to plug the cord into the transformer REALLY well for them to stay connected

Overall, I recommend this laptop for anyone looking for a computer mostly for serious work. If you will be playing videos (especially from a DVD), then this probably isn't what you are looking for.

Review of Acer Aspire S3-391-9499 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $999.99
Sale Price: $749.99
Today's Bonus: 25% Off

Super slim, efficient power usage, and Windows 8 is (mostly) a great operating system. I have 0 complaints about this notebook besides the few issues I have with Windows 8. (However, I still view Windows 8 as an improvement over Windows 7 overall).

A word of warning for the media user; the speakers are very quiet, and even at the highest volume, watching shows on it can sometimes be hard to hear. I use my iPod station as speakers, so this isn't an issue for me, but it's worth mentioning.

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I am very happy with this purchase so far. It is taking me time to get used to windows 8 but the computer is super fast with the solid state hard drive. The customer service was great I had a question and they responded right away.

Best Deals for Acer Aspire S3-391-9499 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne)

This laptop is all I expected. The color looks great. I'm still getting used to Windows 8, but apart from that, it's awesome. Only problem I see is that it has no cabled network port, but I already expected that. Also, I have seen other reviews talking about the wireless network card. To tell the truth I haven't had any problems with it yet, it's working great.

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire S3-391-9499 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne)

The laptop is so light I get nervous that I might hurt it --So far (6 months) I haven't. It's perfect in my backpack to take to class. Windows 8 is definitely something to get used to -It's truly my only complaint and is really about the operating system. Choose wisely my friend I would recommend getting a touch screen with Windows8 -I didn't get a touch screen and have to use an external mouse instead.--Get the touch screen!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Acer Aspire S3-391-9499 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne)

It's really portable but the battery can only use for about 3 hours. And I think it's cost-effcient. I just can say these things.

Cheap ASUS U52F-BBG6 Refurbished Notebook PC

Customer Ratings:

The facts

1) Large, bright screen

2) Quiet fast performance

3) Solid build quality hinges, screen, chassis, keyboard

4) No evidence of refurbishing...just like new

The qualitative

1) The color is really brown, but it feels soft and looks very expensive

2) My 9 year old uses this computer and carries it around the house all the time...with no impact

3) Had to re-install the wireless & video drivers, seems the built-in WiMax & Wi-Fi create slow wi-fi logon

4) Flawless performance after complete re-install of Windows 7 pro, Intel Wi-Fi & Video drivers & removal of Asus linux software

5) Windows 7 index = 5.9 (amazing for an i3 laptop)

6) Awesome price

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I own one of these machines, and I love it! I have had mine for a year. These things are built like a tank. I've owned other ASUS components in the past for my desktops, so this is the first full-featured product I own from them, and I am not disappointed.

I use this machine almost everyday. I sometimes leave it running for more than 48 hours at a time, as my job is 24/7 on call. It runs super quiet, you can barely hear it. It also has a great heat sink. I run various distributions of linux, and windows 7 64-bit on it. All work flawlessly. I have never had a problem with it. Also great for watching movies and playing some of the less resource intensive 3D shooters out there like Half-Life2 or Quake4.

I highly recommend the machine!!

Reviews of ASUS A53SV-TH71 15.6" Black Laptop / Intel Core i7-2670QM / NVIDIA

Customer Ratings:

Firstly, I BOUGHT THIS WHEN IT WAS 700$ I see the price is now $750-$800 now.

Okay I bought this on TigerDirect when it was on sale on black friday, and I could not pass it up. I needed a laptop for school and gaming (mostly gaming..hehe), and I had to get this one. I have been searching for a YEAR to get the perfect laptop for me. Even waiting on the next generation Sandy Bridge! So glad I waited too, it's better than the original i7.

You won't find a laptop like this that can do it all, from gaming to school work to business.

Pros/some descriptions

It isn't bulky, it's average size 15.6inch laptop

Graphics card than can change from the Intel stock graphics card to nVidia GT 540m. If you aren't sure if this graphics card, here . This can play every game out there on the market, atleast on lowest settings for a couple of years to come.

Sturdy, aluminum palm rest and around the keyboard, scratch resistant.

Mid range gaming laptop

4GB Ram, and it is actually 4GB not something like 3.75GB of RAM. If you want more it can upgrade UP to 8GB. (UPDATE 1/16/2011 I upgraded to 8gb ram (4gb x 2) for 40 bucks from newegg, this laptop is even more amazing now)

FAST processor. This is the fastest processor on the market for a laptop at THIS PRICE ($700) WITH a real graphics card.

Doesn't overheat, can be quiet When I'm just surfing the net I don't even hear the fan, and the laptop is cool. Even when gaming it isn't hot. But you must have the left side of the laptop be a little clear, and not get things in the way of the fan. It blows hot air out which is a good thing. It stops it from overheating. Also like the IceCool Technology says, the palm rest keeps cool despite all of this. The fan revs up when gaming but it isn't insanely loud at all, I have heard WORSE from my dad's 14inch laptop.

FAST overall

Minimal bloatware. Just download CCleaner and just click away what you don't want. It took me like 20 minutes to take off all he bloatware with restarting, etc. Most of it is just Asus pushing their software. My 2005 desktop came with more bloatware.

-Average screen, not too glossy.

HAS USB 3.0!

The front isn't much of a finger magnet

Sound system is average but not bad

Just mentioning, but it has a chiclet keyboard.

Just saying, but a 5400RPM hard drive. This thing is still fast even if you wanted a 7200RPM.

Has modes like Entertainment Mode, High Performance Mode, Quiet Office mode and Battery saving mode. With a click of a button it switches. The panel will be on start up, and it's in the control panel somewhere. But I use the modes all the time.

If you didn't see in the description, it has a 5 in 1 card reader.

Windows 64 bit

Build in microphone

Cons

Before I do this, I'm not one of those people who say not having a certain aspect is a con, that is dumb to me. Like if it doesn't have blu-ray, that's not a con, you bought it like that...

Battery life is below average which is expected. You'd get like 4 hours max with just surfing the internet with Intel graphics card switched. To do this, go to the control panel, hard ware and you'll see the nVidia graphics control. Switch to make sure you get the right graphics to play games.

The battery port is on the left, that might be weird to some people.

THE BRICK IS HUUUUGGGGEEE. You can still carry it around, and it's expected to be huge because of what this laptop holds, and the power it possesses, but be wary it's huge. It'd like, eat my dad's 14inch HP's battery pack LOL. But it's not heavy or anything.

-The HDD (hard drive) is not 640GB, it is 571GB, and in two partitions. The main partition, local disk C was 239GB and the next partition, disk D was 332GB, which did NOT make sense because C is the main drive. HOWEVER, I just merged the partitions in 1 minute (youtube it,t here's a video and it works and its short), and now my local disk C (main drive) is 571GB and now I have more space.

The whole smart pad thing doesn't seem to work that great. When I don't have my mouse in, when I'm typing all of a sudden the cursor would move and it'd type somewhere else. It's weird, it seemed to work in the beginning but I just tried it and it's super sensitive. Before when I did brush my palm on it, it didn't move, now it does... must be the angle it's on. Right now it's on my lap haha.

The battery locks are a big shaky, something like a button on a toy that isn't all the way in. I know it won't come off, just wish it was a bit sturdier. When it's on my legs I can hear it moving like shackles. But it's not going to fall off or anything.

I don't know if this happens on all laptops, but this happens on mine. When I plug in my USB mouse, and my headphones at the same time, I can hear this annoying ringing sound, and it happens everytime the laser on my mouse gets brighter (when I move it). This happens because the USB slot and headphone slot are on the same side. TO GET RID OF THIS, USE A WIRELESS MOUSE. Probably more convenient anyway. FIXED get a wireless USB mouse to fix the noise. If any other problems occur, get one of those USB hubs. It's like 6 dollars on here.

Even though this did come with the laptop, some people might find the resolution a con. But I see no problem in it. It's average to me.

NEW con add, webcam sucks though. But what laptop has a good webcam lol.

So yeah overall his is a fantastic laptop. I think it's easy to open too if you have any trouble with the fan or overheating, so you can just open it up to clean it later on and not do crazy things like remove the screen.

Great for gaming and anything you want to do.

The only game I have played so far is League of Legends on this, and it plays on high at 60fps (as high as it goes, LoL doesn't get any higher overall, so this plays it to the max) and the game is more good looking than I thought LOL. On VERY high it runs at 40fps. I also played it for hours (I'm a nerd I know) and it DID NOT overheat and I had no problems at all. Of course the fan revved up but of course it will. It's not too loud either (I have heard laptop fans that sound like planes) I think if any laptop started to overheat, it has dust in the fan or it needs a new thermal stock (google it). I mention heating and stuff a lot because I have read MANY laptops overheating that are mid-range gaming laptops. I am just trying to get the point across, this isn't one of them. Even the Acer laptops that like $600, it's a deal but they will burn over and die (HP too).

GET THIS LAPTOP!!!!!!!!!!

I'll update anything if I feel it's important, I've had this laptop for 2 weeks.

EDIT : by the way, this computer gets to about 65 degrees celsius when playing League of Legends, which isn't bad. Some peoples computers go to 80 degrees celsius when playing games!

Edit 2 : I fixed the ringing sound when you have an USB mouse and headphones on... just get a WIRELESS mouse. I got this one and it works perfectly

edit 3 : I forgot to mention, the webcam sucks but what do you expect from a 0.3 mega pixel camera lol. There is a mic as well, and I am guessing the audio is fine because my friends were able to hear me perfectly through the mic. Seems amazon deleted the websites I put up on this review... just google the graphics card and click the notebookcheck link and you'll see what the graphics card can do.

I have had no issues or crashes. I was so scared I was going to get a lemon. I've had the laptop for 3 weeks now. LOVE IT!!!!

I have tried more games. I tried Combat Arms and another MMORPG. IT RUNS SMOOTHLY! No issues whatsoever. Again though hot air blows out of the left side, don't be alarmed. If you aren't too vein you can have the graphics on low and that wouldn't rev up the fan so much. If you go into the cities you don't lag like crap haha.

update 1/16/2011 : btw I recommend you do the recovery DVD's. Also if you decide to keep the Power4Gear (you'll see) when gaming put it into HIGH PERFORMANCE. It really makes a difference. I had mines on "Quiet Office" mode and I was getting like 5 fps on Vindictus. I put it on high performance and I was getting like 60 fps. It's a click of a button, you'll see.

This laptop when gaming has not gotten higher than 81 degrees CELSIUS. Yes that's hot, but the palm rest is cool. It just blows hot air. Don't let anything get in the way of the vents. But this laptop does NOT overheat. It's just hot on the left side. Again, get a laptop cooler anyway. This is good considering laptops get to 100 degrees Celsius (that's overheating)

when gaming.

This laptop has 5 stars at TigerDirect (where I bought this from) from 26 reviews. I wasn't kidding when I said this laptop was amazing.

update 5/20/2012 I've tried other games too. Now the fan is audible. It blows out hot air and this laptop as gotten as hot as 85 CELSIUS. This is unavoidable playing demanding games. But anyway, games I've played are GunZ, NBA2k12, Team Fortress, S4League, and all of them run smoothly. I have no problems at all. I'm one of those people who actually don't care about the looks and just the performance. So they played even better under low quality or medium quality. But this thing can handle anything. ANYTHING!!!!!!!! it doesn't even try with those games lmao. My comp has actually gotten the hottest under the game SECOND LIFE. I think it's because of the way it's structured... it's not really a 5GB game you download or something. It's like through a browser type thing which requires more energy and whatnot. I don't like Second Life anyway. Those anime looking MMORPG's are the way to go lol!!

update 9/20/2012 Aw I see this laptop isn't available right now. It's been a year and a half now. I don't even have dust in my vents. This laptop runs everything, it's fast, it still multitasks. Runs games so smoothly still. I love my lappy!

Update 12/9/2012 Updating just the fact that I've had this for a year now. Still going strong. Doesn't overheat or anything. I have a laptop cooler in case. But I have no complications. I love my laptop like a pet! lol. For games I've played Dragon Nest, LEFT 4 DEAD 2! No complications. This can play any game I feel. The fan might run crazy though. I am more of a gameplay type person so I put everything on low anyway.

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I have recently bought this product from amazon and this is awesome for this price. very solidly built and properly finished with care and very good design. I like the design and keypad. Good product form asus. Thanks

Best Deals for ASUS A53SV-TH71 15.6" Black Laptop / Intel Core i7-2670QM / NVIDIA

I am going to keep this short and too the point.

I received this laptop on January 24,2012 and to this day it is still working like it came right out of the box.

Speed: Incredible. It makes me want to cry. Even if My internet is slow...it just..it just moves fast. I don't know how to describe it....but its an incredible experience.

If you need a laptop for everyday purposes. THis will fit you perfectly. Business...Schoolwork...etc.

Gaming: It's not a gaming laptop...but hell yeah it can GAME!. IT was able to Bioshock Infinite on High with some settings on Ultra. Yes the fans emit heat and sound loudly, but on low it is way better. And hey the screen isnt 1920 x 1080 so having the settings on low will still look fine.

Ram: At first I thought 4gb wouldn't be enough. I saw laptops that had 32 and just felt I was being cheap. But hell I have never felt like I needed more Ram...running games..browsers...video clips..simultaneously..still no need for me.

Keyboard:...Fantastic. When I first purchased this product, I was worried because I hate flat keys. I feel they making gaming difficult. This keyboard changed my opinion. Infact I know prefer them.

Mouse: Awesome as well. Sensitive and it has the common extra features (pinch to zoom and use two fingers to scroll up and down). It is also sensitive to these features.

Design: Just beautiful...Just Plane Beautiful

Review of MSI Computer Corp. MSI GT70 2OC-017US;9S7-176312-017 17.3-Inch

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List Price: $2,435.64
Sale Price: $1,899.99
Today's Bonus: 22% Off

I only wish this came with an option of Windows 7. But I managed to finally customize my Windows 8.

The computer is very fast and it has all you need. I don't know another brand which offers such an amazing laptop at this price.

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Dell Inspiron N5030 iN5030-1723OBK 15.6-Inch Laptop (Obsidian Black) Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I had tried to order this laptop with the 10 key layout version, but was told it had been sold out. We opted for this one and it is a good laptop for our needs. We had a copy of windows office that we installed, because it only comes with a bare bones trial version, hence the price.

I can have Excel, Internet Explorer, and Windows Media player all working at same time without problems. Or my daughter can play games online and it works fine. Not great, but fine.

It burns DVDs and has a webcam for Skyping. So it has almost all the stuff, just not the 10 keypad. Battery life is good. For a regular user this is a solid laptop for the price.

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I like the new laptop. Always had good service from the Dell desktop we had. Had a Toshiba laptop but it was junk from the get-go. The Dell is plenty fast for my needs web surfing, e-mail, a few spreadsheets, etc. A couple of complaints I adjusted the touchpad but it still seems way too sensitive. Also could do without McAfee popping up every little while warning me of how much danger I'll be in once the 30 days of protection expire.

Overall I'm very satisfied. It was an easy set-up out of the box and so far does everything I need it to do and very well.

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i will have to say this is the worst laptop i have ever owned. i had a problem with it after about a month of owning it. some of the keys would stop operating at random times. the two buttons used to navigate the mouse totally quit working. so, i have to double click the touch pad to be able to do anything, which is a pain because it calls for 3 or 4 clicks. i had to buy a wireless mouse to be able to navigate effectively on the computer. my main complaint i have is about a week after owning the laptop it wouldn't charge at all. it would say the electrical current is low and it would operate slow if i plugged it in. come to find out, i have to have it in the same place every time i plug it in and the laptop to charge. which is about a 20 minute task each time i want to charge my laptop. the charger is a circular one so i had to spend about 3 hours finding the location that it will charge in order for me to mark the location. all in all, a really awful buy and i wouldn't recommend it to anyone ever.

Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron N5030 iN5030-1723OBK 15.6-Inch Laptop (Obsidian Black)

I share the opinion with other reviewers and can state that this is one of the worst laptops I have ever owned and I've owned about 15 in my lifetime. The only other that was worse was another Dell. They have really gone downhill from what I once considered to be a decent product.

The battery stopped holding a charge and the power supply had to be replaced early on. Worst of all the LCD just stopped working one day and displayed nothing but a white screen. I checked around and many others had run into this same issue. After 2.5 years of use the machine was worthless. To make matters worse, I'm a software consultant who bills by the hour and these failures led to a loss in billable hours.

Family and friends come to me when they're looking for new computers and I can state with certainty that I won't recommend Dell to anyone again.

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I have this laptop with windows 7 on it, and it has given me more trouble than any computer I've owned before or since. The first problem I had was a power supply problem fried the hard drive. Oh well, these things happen from time to time. Called dell support and got a new harddrive installed (which they incorrectly assured me would have all the original programs on it). Went about my day. Problem two arose a little while later. The computer completely locked up. Hard restart resulted in windows not being able to boot. Startup repair does nothing, whether run from the reinstallation disc or from the computer recovery partition. Since the computer was no longer under warrenty by this time, I recovered my files using a drive enclosure, formated, and reinstalled windows. which worked for about a week. Just enough time to get it just how I wanted before it did exactly the same thing. Looking to replace the harddrive, but I don't have high hopes for that solution.

The computer doesn't come with much processing power or ram compared to most decent computers now, and won't be doing much more than internet browsing and using microsoft office. Dell support is crap and their build quality leaves something to be desired in anything but their flagship products.

tl;dr: this computer is not reccomended

Best Dell Inspiron 15R 15.6" Core i5 1TB HDD Notebook Deals

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I don't know what happened to the other person but I ordered this recently and it came 2 days later, which is really fast. Everything was in the box and the laptop is awesome. Great webcam, lots of storage, and it's dell, which is a good brand. Cheap price for an amazing laptop. You won't find this deal anywhere else that's for sure.

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I bought it from other place on BF. I5, 8GB and 1TB for cheap price. No complain. I love it.

Best Deals for Dell Inspiron 15R 15.6" Core i5 1TB HDD Notebook

I found myself with a dilemma, I needed a new laptop for work, and I wanted to go with a higher end processor, either i5 or i7. However, all the laptops I found in the retail stores were now with windows 8. I could understand going with windows 8 if I was buying a touch screen or a tablet, but what is the point with a non touch screen. Also, I must add that a few years ago I went with the 'brand new' windows vista rather than the still very capable xp, and it was a disaster. We still have a few (outdated of course) cursed vista computers at work. I then thought to try and see if Amazon still had some win 7 computers for sale, and sure enough, they did.

This laptop is very simplistic and adequate, runs beautifully and has not given me any issues yet. The i5 processor chews through anything with ease. I do not play high end games so I cannot comment on how it handles gaming. Extremely quiet. I can't hear the fan at all when it runs. My previous HP laptop sounded like an airplane preparing for takeoff. The 1TB hard drive is very large, I don't see myself filling it in my lifetime.

there were a few concerns I had buying this. First, I usually like to buy purchases like this locally, for ease of returns, etc. I must say my unease for future purchases like this is much less. Computer arrived in 2 days and runs like a dream. Secondly, I had not had a Dell before, but the price was good for the hardware. So far so good, definitely not inferior to the several HP computers I have had in the last few years, and much better than the Toshiba and Compaq laptops I had in the past. Third, reviews mentioned it was heavy. I will say it is much lighter than my last laptop, and just a bit heavier than my wife's HP laptop. Not at all an issue. I think it actually makes it feel a bit sturdier.

Battery life is great. can watch a couple of movies with it being unplugged

Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron 15R 15.6" Core i5 1TB HDD Notebook

This is a great work station for the price (I paid $550 on Cyber Monday for 1TB hard drive, i5 processor, 8GB ram, and Intel HD 4000 graphics)

I have owned mostly Dell laptops, and have had mostly positive experiences with all of them.

I first owned a Dell Inspiron 1705, followed by a Dell Studio 1535.

The Inspiron 1705 set the bar, whereas the Studio 1535 was a huge disappointment.

With the Inspiron 15R, Dell fixed all of the problems the Studio 1535 had:

No longer has "touch sensitive media keys" that glitch and freeze up and are accidentally activated; it has proper FN buttons

Has a FN button to easily disable the touchpad, which is great for mouse users; no longer grace the touchpad with palms while typing and no need to open up the touchpad software a manually disable and re-enable

Touchpad is bigger and better; the Studio touchpad often had problems detecting motion and had a tendency to freeze up

Made of better material that doesn't scratch as much; the top of the laptop isn't high-friction material, so it slides into backpacks more easily

Had USB 3.0 ports, and the media card reader is place in a better location; overall, however, the Studio had better port placement

Keyboard has a plastic grate that goes over the keys and makes it harder for food/dust/crumbs to fall under the keys; keys also seem a bit quieter

Sound comes from the front underside of the laptop, rather than from the back upperside; overall has better/louder sound quality

Webcam is slightly better, but the microphone is infinitely better; no longer have to use an external webcam to skype properly

Overall better aesthetics and design; the Studio was ugly, awkward, and thicker

Came with Windows 8, which sucks on anything but a touch-screen laptop or tablet; however, if you purchase "Start8" from Stardock for $5, you can get your Start Menu back, and you can boot straight to Windows Desktop

Very satisfied so far with this computer. It fixed most the problems I had with my Dell Studio 1535, and was purchased for a very affordable price.

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I got this from some other store (TD). Its a full featured 5 star product.

It is indeed 5520 variant, which is latest model of Inspiron 15R series.

I consider myself a more than an average user and so far was dealing with my more than 5 year old Inspiron 1720 at home, and I was left to remote desktop to work machine for cpu/memory intensive tasks. With this one i don't have to, it handles graphics really well specially 1080P videos on youtube looks much better in glossy HD screen. Battery is good for my use. I would recommend to use battery till 10% charge to increase the battery life. But to be fair I can't be mobile with this laptop. I will use my surface or phone to for that. Overall a good laptop that can keep me going for at least 3 more year.

Cheap Acer Aspire Timeline AS4810T-8480 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop - 8

Customer Ratings:

Weight: At 4.2 pounds I wouldn't call it light as air but it is very portable and I have no problems carrying in hand. If it's in a backpack I hardly even notice it there. My books are heavier and more cumbersome. The slim design definitely helps in making it that much more portable also. If you want something that so light it wows you every time look for a laptop weighing 3.5 pounds or less. Again, I have no problems carrying this laptop around with me all day. I weight 135 lbs as a reference point.

Battery: This is really where it shines. You really do get a little more than 8 hours if everything is turned down. But since I don't work for 8 hours straight on a laptop I turn up the brightness, stream video, browse websites, use Word, listen to music and still get an amazing 6 hours plus. The AC adapter is small and light weight if you need to carry it around.

Design: The lid is made of aluminum and unfortunately is a finger print magnet (maybe I just have oily fingers). The notebook is in a very conservative gray. It won't turn any heads but that's perfect for me in a meeting or in class. The keyboard is flat surfaced but feels great, took almost no time to get used to it. Overall the notebook feels very sturdy with a little bit of flexing if I press hard on the side of the keyboards. Hinges have a good feel to them.

Performance: It won't play 3D games nor can you do intensive video editing but it's more than fast enough to do your basic tasks. Basic meaning email, web browsing, music, occasional DVD, using Microsoft Office 2007. I can have Office, Firefox with multiple tabs and music running with no slow downs at all. This is probably 80% of consumers anyway. It also loads and runs Photoshop just fine. However it will not run YoutubeHD since it is flash based and depends solely on the processor. DIVX and videos codecs that can offload to the GPU work just fine. I was able to watch videos in 720p just fine.

Important notice: You MUST MUST update the video driver, LAN driver, and Bios to get it to function correctly. The initial drivers caused the machine to run very slow and crash often. After the update it runs perfectly. If I could take a half star I would. I ended giving it five stars because it comes with a free upgrade to Windows 7, which makes this machine last even longer, run even faster, and would not have had the initial driver problems. Can't wait for the retail release!

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I bought this Acer 14 inch for it's battery life and ease of mobility for college. I like it so far. I did delete a bunch of trial ware and games because I don't need that. I downloaded my copy of MS Office 2003 in place of the 60 day "free trial" of MS 2007. It is fast for me. I found out it doesn't have a modem for my dial up internet. Yes, I live in a cave. It does have wifi b/g and draft N. I haven't tested the battery life just going by what others have already said. I really won't push this computer much but for me an everyday student I think it's going to be fast. I mainly will use it for taking notes, writing term papers and in between classes maybe getting on the internet at a hotspot. One thing I don't like is the shiny black plastic of the keys. It does show alot of fingerprints. I guess I just like my old Toshiba keys better. The keyboard is nice but I have large hands and it takes getting used to.

In the box came a CD with driver updates. Thanks for everyone who complained because it made my life alot easier since I couldn't immediately connect to the internet. I would have given this computer 4 1/2 stars. If it had a modem then it would deserve a full five stars. It has everything a college student could ask for. I hope it lasts at least three years. By then hopefully I can afford a better computer.

I have used this computer for a week now and it has exceeded my expectations. I understand now that this class of notebooks doesn't come with a modem because it's in the ultra portable class and that would defeat the purpose of having the modem installed. I love it so far.

Best Deals for Acer Aspire Timeline AS4810T-8480 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop - 8

Great computer for the priceoutpaces the $1000 Dell I bought last year in every way. A nice light weight pairs with a very sleek look; the whole layout is very efficient without sacrificing familiarity. Quite a lot of bloatware that was easy to remove. The touchpad is small but feels good; the left/right click buttons are just one bar that seesaws, but it works well. The keypad is nicely responsive, I like the pressure and depth, though of course it's a highly personal preference. I haven't pushed it in terms of performance yet, but so far it does as well as the specs would lead you to expect. All in all, for this price, it's one of the best deals around.

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire Timeline AS4810T-8480 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop - 8

Pros: A twice long (real time) battery life, super light weight for 14" screen laptop w/internal DVD player, & glossy screen w/ great colors. Aluminum chassis & metal lid vs. molded plastic. Wireless easy to set up. Great price + Windows 7 upgrade.

Cons: Speakers tin sound unless I use headphones then really improves. Bloatware and a bunch of driver updates and potentially bios too. Acer customer service reps no help for soft or hardware issues and their web page for driver updates is a mess.

I did extensive research before purchasing at Office Depot for $549 mid October. I primarily wanted a laptop (not netbook) that was this weight or less and that would last at least 6 hours while travelling, if not more. While I use Office software, it's secondary so while not super fast, still faster then my last LT which was 4 years old.

There were some very helpful reviews on Tiger and Amazon about what needed to be updated to prevent crashes. Thus, I was willing to take on the hassle of having to load a bunch of driver updates and potentially flash the bios (which I have not yet had to do). I did most of the driver updates but not all of those related to the wireless or other optional features as there is no help on Acer's site to determine if they are relevant.

I did have some freeze ups until I turned off the sleep function. Most were then eliminated but I updated the bios to 1.28, and most drivers, as many reviewers at other sites said it was needed. So far so good but the Acer site is very un-user friendly for finding the latest driver. They just keep adding new ones in no particular order. Also, before using wireless, turn off the Windows Security Functions (as much as it lets you) assuming you are using Internet Security Software.

While the customer service is very weak (compared to Dell most of my computers including current XPS One) or Gateway (4 years ago)), they did send me a free recovery CD set (since I was unable to make them after wasting 5 DVDS). I like the feel of the full size key board but am not a touch pad user so cannot comment use a wireless optical mouse. Volume could have a bigger range so louder option.

Finally, yesterday I used the free software to upgrade Windows 7 and was fairly simple (esp since did not add much software except Office prior). Acer update disk helps only problem was at end after install was done. The new OS did not recognize my DVD drive; needed to finish the process by inserting Acer disk back in after Windows. Restarted once and it was there which was a nice surprise as there have been problems reported about this on the Windows 7 microsoft blog.

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This is my first Acer computer, aesthetically speaking it is the nicest looking laptop I've seen so far and one of the thinnest -measuring at a mere 1" thick. The 14" screen, weight and dimensions are just a fraction more compared to an ordinary Netbook, but you get much much more. For one; you're not getting an Atom processor but an Intel Centrino Core2 Solo CPU. Yet small, but it also comes with an integrated DVD Burner -almost unheard of for a 14" size notebook, as opposed to having an external unit dangling around. These are only a few good reasons why I bought the unit, but...the ultimate deal was the long battery life! Acer claimed that it can pull more than 8 hours. Reading my reviews here on Amazon (also from various other sources) most reviewers seems to have stood by their claims. So for this I am willing to sacrifice the trade-off of not purchasing a Dual Core or Core 2 Duo CPU system but instead opted for the ultra low voltage 'Solo' core for its battery life;

Although the 8480 was deemed versatile for most apps but it wasn't user-friendly "out of the box". Acer did not update their Timeline series with the latest BIOS and necessary drivers before rolling out to the masses which resulted the computer in a constant 100% CPU spike and ultimately rendering the unit to freeze, therefore a forced-shutdown/restart is the only solution. For this, it has caused a large number of confused day to day 'Average Joe' and the typical novice computer consumer letdowns, not to mentioned; the numerous negative feedbacks as to why their newly purchased computers did not add up to the mfg claim.

Some of the folks that bought and researched should know what has to be done to get the unit running in tip top condition, but for those of you who haven't, here's what you MUST do before using the notebook for the first time:

1.) Have 3 blank DVD discs ready for burning and making the recovery discs because Acer (and most Manufacturers these days) does not provide any.

2.) Go to Acer's support site and choose your model, but here's the trick; in between the top part of the page and the drivers' lower part of the page, there is very tiny drop-down box for you to choose your Operating System -make sure you choose the right one. For example: choose "Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit" if you are using this OS. Most people tend to miss out on this part because it is pretty hard to see on the page.

Update to the latest Bios (there are two released simultaneously; one is the regular and the 'OE' stands for "Olympic Edition"

3.) Update to the latest Video Driver

4.) Update to the latest WIFI driver

The rests of it are optional.

Upon my updates, the unit has performed flawlessly, there are no more 100% CPU usages but in the 10-30% range and applications seems to run much smoother like it supposed to. The one thing that still hinders is the 'Sleep Mode'; if you closed the lid and reopen it, the unit tends to freeze up a bit and takes time for it to completely come back to its original state. This happens mostly if you have a browser opened at the time of closing the lid. Acer needs a new BIO for this, or perhaps Windows7 will rectify this dilemma.

Pros:

*Light Weight

*Thin

*Battery Life (8+Hours)

*Screen resolution and bright enough

*DVD Burner (Integrated)

*4GB DDR3 RAM

*320G Hard Drive

*HDMI port

*Keyboard (quiet, very nice play and solid feel with no diving/caving while typing -unlike my Toshiba Satellite)

*Mouse Pad (very responsive and non-erratic)

*Design/Beauty

*Very solid feel -no flexing or creasing of any sort

Cons

*Single Core processor

*No 'Caps Lock' light

*No 'Number Lock' light

*Tiny Power Button -tiny meaning it is designed to work only with the tip of your fingernail (needs to press twice to power ON or hold for 3 seconds -only if you are using the AC cord with the Battery detached, otherwise just press once with Battery attached)

*No Express Card slot

*No eSata

*No Phone jack (couldn't use Windows Fax)