Sony VAIO(R) VPCF122FX/B F Series 16.4" Notebook PC - Black Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I'm giving this one 3 stars. I don't see the big speed improvement when compared to my 2 year old Dell. Then again, I haven't tried any games that would take advantage of the 1G video card or heavy processor intensive work. I mainly use it for everyday use like email, MS Office, browsing, running a web site, etc.

Things I don't like:

Keyboard: It takes getting use to. Typing on the raised keys is defintly diffenent then the conventional keyboards.

Hard drive: Not the fastest at 5400rpm. I might upgrade to either with a SSD or a 7200rpm HD. Also, you can hear the HD spinning, reading and writing under the keyboard. Clicking sounds are a little annoying.

Memory: Only comes with 4G when it could support max of 8G. Comes with 2x2G and if you need to upgrade, you need to pull out the existing memory. It's a waste of money.

Weight: Little on the heavy side.

Comes with a Blu-Ray reader and not a Blu-Ray burner

Bloatware: :Added Value" or not, I've uninstalled tons of unwanted software.

Back-lit keyboard (goes off after few seconds. Can't leave it on all the time)

Things I like:

Large screen, 16.4"

Ease of making backup media in case the hard drive crashes. You'll need 3 DVDs.

Back-lit keyboard (makes it easier to see the letters in the dimmly lit room)

Price; I got mine really cheap as I bought it as an opened box and it was a previously retuned item.

Bottomline: Not a bad machine; I wouldn't have bought it for the full price;

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I purchased a Sony Vaio VPCF122FX and I'm not happy with it. It seems to be running hot all the time. The cooling fan is very noisy and you cannot watch a video or listen to music without this high pitch noisy fan running in the background. I've used a DELL E6400 laptop and it is super quiet by comparison, regardless of how many windows I've got open or applications I've got running.

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Bought this laptop a year ago and of course after the one year warranty, things go south.

The laptop is flimsy, as the majority of the case is made from plastic. When you pick this thing up, you can feel and hear this thing cracking and flexing. Not Good.

As a result of the flimsy case, components began failing. First the blue ray player went out, but not completely, it still plays blue rays and burns DVDs and cds. It just won't read regular US DVDs. I've reformatted the hard drive, installed all updates, and cleaned it and everything under the sun! After contacting sonny about the problem they recommended the drive needs to be replaced.

Second, the hard drive failed after I reinstalled everything after the failure of the blue ray drive. Luckily I had an extra 320 gig laying around. The disk drive's failure was mechanical, possibly due to the lack of internal support or shock absorbing properties of the case itself. I do not travel much; it's a shame after about 4 trips in a backpack the drive/s fail.

After the hard drive and blue ray drive failures, I was convinced things were ok again. Wrong. As I am Skyping the wife, in mid sentence, the keyboard and touch pad quit working. I'm thinking virus, although I have up to date Norton, driver failure or something. After troubleshooting every software possibility, it turned out the ribbon that connects the display buttons and keyboard, have a bad connection. I wiggled the ribbon, which is located under the speaker panel by the caps lock lights, and the keyboard came back. The touch pad, however still does not work. So I took it all apart to find that a manufacturing flaw caused the ribbon of the touchpad to be pinched between the case. Over the course of a year, the thin and flimsy ribbon wore through.

I use a Bluetooth mouse so I had to borrow a usb mouse to install my Bluetooth mouse, but now everything is working, except the touch pad of course.

With how unreliable this computer is, I would never use it to type an important document, you never know when this thing will fail you. I'm going to give it to my 6 year old to play with.

On the plus side, despite the slow hard drive, the processor, graphics, ram and esata port are great.

The display is fuzzy, not very clear.

Never again Sony.

Seth

Lenovo IdeaPad Z580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Gray) Review

Customer Ratings:

I received this laptop in November as a gift. My wife bought it from Lenovo directly. We now have two Lenovo laptops in our house with zero complaints. For the price, this is a great deal. It has a 1TB hard drive with 6GB DDR3 RAM. It loads faster than any of my other computers and has more memory than I could need. It also has 2 USB 3.0 ports for fast transfer speeds and 2 USB 2.0 ports. The speakers sound as good as you can ask for from a laptop. We paid a little extra through Lenovo for a built in card reader, which is very useful for transferring picture and video files easily, but an external reader works well too. The DVD drive works well, but the open button is a little difficult to find by feel since it is flush with the drive. The metal case looks sharp and is well built. Overall, I have no complaints about Lenovo. I have had 1 Lenovo for 2 years and this one for 6 months with not so much as a hiccup.

Note on Windows 8. I hated it so much I almost paid to put Windows 7 back on this computer. The biggest frustration was every time I touched the touchpad, the ridiculous "Charms Bar" would pop up along with a gigantic clock. It drove me insane. Lenovo support and their software support told me there was no way to get rid of it. Blogs said to mess with the registry files which scared me as I'm not a computer guy. I finally just disabled the installed touchpad in the control panel. It reverted to the basic touchpad functions without all the "intelligent" options. Now it works great and I no longer want to throw my computer across the room. I don't really use any of the Windows 8 features and I just use the old desktop format that I'm familiar with. Hope this helps.

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Works well, handle tasks thrown at it, nice design, good battery life. Would recommend this to anyone looking to use it as a student or for small business, who also wants a machine to handle multimedia without any lags.

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The computer is fairly fast, has a good sound system, solid keyboard & keys. Doesn't get hot fast. Nice screen appearance.

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Only negative is lack of backlit keyboard. Touchpad seems too far left. Nice finish, Excellent value, considering my processing and speed needs

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Just started my own business and needed an affordable laptop that was powerful enough to handle my applications. This works great and even has a 10 key on it which I need. Not sure about Windows 8 yet, but the computer works great.

Review of ASUS UX32VD-DH71 13.3-Inch Zenbook ( Silver Aluminum )

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,299.00
Sale Price: $968.95
Today's Bonus: 25% Off

This is a great ultrabook if you are willing to upgrade it w/ a SSD (Samsung 830) and some RAM (8GB Mushkin). After that it's the most powerful gaming laptop will you need (for now). I installed Windows 7 on the new SSD and Windows 8 on the built-in 24GB SDD to dual-boot. It's very light and it's one of the very fun ultrabooks that can be upgraded. The pros:

i7 ivy bridge processor

Upgradeable memory (2GB + 8GB)

Upgradeable hard drive (SSD). Use the old 500GB with an enclosure for some portable storage

Upgradeable wireless card (maybe later to the 802.11ac standard)

Discrete graphics card Nvidia 620M

3x USB 3.0 ports

Normal sized HDMI port

1920x1080p resolution

Built-in 24GB SSD

Decent sound

**** UPDATE 07/11/2013***

After having this for a while I must say it is quite a good powerhouse after the upgrades. It's still not as powerful as my desktop but for travel it works great. The only gripe about this is that the trackpad isn't as good as what I would like. I would definitely recommend a mouse if you are planning to use it for long periods of time as the trackpad is very sensitive. Sensitive to the point when I want to double click that it moves the mouse ever so slightly and on this high resolution that slight movement will cause you to miss your target at times. Hopefully they will replace a software upgrade to fix that.

Everything else works as expected. :)

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Got this laptop in March ($1,249.99) and I've been so pleased! I'm here to share the love for this excellent machine (: It's difficult to find a laptop that is this thin, AND has a dedicated graphics card, AND has 1980x1080 resolution IPS display. Clean install your OS upon arrival and upgrade to an SSD and you will have an epic powerhouse in your hands.

GENERAL:

Dedicated graphics card (nvidia GeForce GT 620M 1gb) covers all my gaming and graphics needs.

This laptop is beautiful. It is slim and feels solid. I don't believe in covers/protectors and have an affinity for deserts so it's been dragged around on sandy surfaces, gardens and roofs so the cover has faint scratches, but it's held up very well for all my haphazard abuse. It comes with a very nice sleeve for slipping into tool-filled backpacks. I was actually terrified at how thin the chassis is when I removed it for upgrades, but when tightly clamped to the rest of the laptop the machine is very solid. Yay structural engineering \o/

The 13" IPS display is perfect. The matte texture and 1980x1080 resolution are a righteous combination. For those you haven't experienced matte IPS display, it's such an upgrade from normal gloss screens that at times it feels like you're reading a Kindle. I never thought I've become a display elitist until I got this computer.

UPGRADING RAM:

I'm happy with my 6gb of RAM. I recommend Google to see how much RAM you /really/ need; even gamers only usually need 6 or 8gb. Unless you're CADing in multiple VMs simultaneously I wouldn't worry about it. If you do fall into this category, then be aware that there's a 2gb DDR3 1600Mhz DIMM soldered to one slot in the motherboard, which means only one of the slots are available for upgrade, making the max 2gb + 8gb = 10gb RAM. I've heard you can unsolder the RAM but I was advised by a EE that this requires the use of a reflow gun and may be a tricky operation. But if you are truly running applications that eat a monstrous 16gb, then you might have the means for the deed. And note that the soldered RAM is 1600Mhz and find a matching one, for best performance.

UPGRADING HARD DRIVE:

I replaced the hard drive with a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD and life is beautiful (: Restarting my laptop is about as convenient as waking it from hibernation. Samsung 840 Pro series is the best of SSD at time of writing, but if you're going for something cheaper be aware that the slot is 7mm tall, and check the SSD height before purchasing or you may have to do awkward modifications (refer to Youtube for guidance if applicable). You'll find that Samsung 840 Pro is usually on sale somewhere on the internet, and can find a 256GB for

Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV-6190BLK 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black Matte Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $431.99
Sale Price: $367.98
Today's Bonus: 15% Off

As a college student on a budget, I really needed a computer that would do many tasks on the road without hurting the wallet. I have a prehistoric 7-8 year old Dell Dimension E510 desktop that is super slow. So, I made the decision to buy a laptop under $400 yet still faster than my desktop.

I set my eyes on this laptop from a local electronics store. I compared specs, from the size and weight, to the nitty features like the number of USBs. And so, here I have it.

Let's start off with the design.

The design of this notebook is, well, plastic. However, it isn't cheap plastic. The materials used are actually pretty good for its price point. The notebook is nice and rounded around the corners and the thickness of this notebook is about one inch. Now, most notebooks for this price point would be much thicker...Around 1.3in-1.4in, but Dell managed to squeeze everything in 1 inch. This is pretty darn good considering the tools this notebook provides. On the left side of the computer you have a headphone/microphone jack, 3 USB (2 USB 3.0) (1 USB 2.0), Ethernet, HDMI cable, and a power outlet. On the left side you have the optical drive and one more USB port (2.0). So the total amount of USBs this notebook has is 4. 4 USB ports, 2 of which are 3.0. USB 3.0 is relatively new for the market, and this allows much quicker transfer speeds compared to the 2.0s. However, most computers at this price point do not have USB 3.0s, or if they do, it would only be one or two. But keep in mind that this notebook has 4 USB ports. And at this price point, most if not all computers only have about 2 or 3. The optical drive is also a neat feature. For a 1 inch laptop that has an optical drive is pretty impressive considering the price. Most notebooks that are 1 inch or less usually skip the optical drive. Now, the bad thing about the thinness of this notebook is that it does not have a VGA port. You might need a HDMI to VGA port adapter for that. However, considering VGA's thickness and the thinness of notebooks that are coming out each year, VGA is bound to be obsolete due to the benefits of HDMI.

On the interior, the notebook has a LARGE track pad. And this is good especially when it is running on windows 8 (I'll get to that later).

Below the track pad, there are two left and right buttons. These buttons feel and sound cheap but that is not to be unexpected. When running, the track pad get quite warm. You really can't fault the computer for this because this is a one inch notebook. Since the ram sticks are essentially below the track pad, prepare yourself to have warm fingers. The keyboard is an island style keyboard that are evenly spaced. The key travel is okay. After writing a 5-6 page essay. It's also got a 10 key number pad. However, I do wish that number lock had a tiny light located on the button like the caps lock does. As I'm typing, I sometimes reach over to the number lock while attempting to backspace. One minor complaint is keyboard flex towards the F8-F10 keys, not a big deal since these keys aren't often used. Also, like other reviewer have mentioned before. This computer has a sharp lip. As you are typing, the sharp lip is somewhat irritating. Doesn't hurt to take out a fine grit sand paper is smooth out that lip.

Lastly, the spacing between the keys have a glossy finish. I notice that this attracts dust and requires occasional cleaning.

As for the hardware,

You get 500gb of storage but only 456gb of that storage is usable (the non-usable storage has to be used for the operating system. It runs on 4gb of ram and although it is sufficient, you may want to upgrade to 6 or 8 gigs of ram as you load more programs. But if you're an average web browser, 4 gigs is good enough. To just give you a idea at idle, it is using about 46% of the computers ram. The computer has one extra slot. Downside is that this computer only supports up to 8 gigs of ram DDR3 PC-12800 (you can't fault Dell for the 8GB of max ram since the processor can only handle 8GB). Upside is that when you throw in that extra ram slot, it will give you extra performance due to the dual channel configuration. After removing all the bloatware and Windows finally settled in after dozens of updates this notebook starts up well under a minute. Considering a startup to be when the computer starts to idle.

-by the way, uninstall the additional trial anti-virus. Windows 8 already has Defender and so that antivirus will just eat up your resources, I think it comes with Kaspersky or McAfee-

The operating system,

Now, I'm coming from Windows XP and 7, to be honest...Windows 8 is actually pretty cool. However, if you're an old geezer who likes the traditional interface, Win 8 probably wouldn't be a great option. Anyway, the big benefit of this laptop that allows you to enjoy Windows 8 without the use of a touch screen is the large track pad. This Dell has a 4 and 1/2 inch track pad and using multi gestures features makes it extremely easy.

Of course, you can always disable the Windows 8 start up and have it behave like Windows 7. (Look up Windows 8 RetroUI) Other than that, the OS would definitely benefit with a touch screen but without it the system is still enjoyable.

Battery life,

On a full charge, I get around three to four hours of regular internet browsing.

Now for the thinness of this laptop, this computer has a 4 cell battery vs the 6 cell that are in most laptops. Under intense radio loading such as streaming, it will drop to 2 hours...Maybe 3. Keep in mind; you do not want to torture your batteries. The lithium ion batteries used in modern laptops do not like to be charged and discharged abruptly as this will diminish battery life. But, I'm willing to sacrifice 2 cells for a thinner and lighter laptop than have a big and heavy 6 cell.

Screen:

15.6 inches, 1366x768 glossy.

Screen resolution isn't an issue here since most laptops--especially at this price point, have this type of resolution. The problem I commonly have is the viewing angles. This Dell uses a TNF panel, which is offers a distortion of colors when it isn't at the right angle.

As for the glossy finish, well, it sucks. It still amazes me why computer corporations still use a glossy finish. The glossy finish and the bad viewing angles makes it somewhat of an unpleasant experience.

The WLED screen is bright but the colors could use more saturation.

Webcam:

It is equipped with a 1 megapixel camera.

After using Skype, the picture quality is pretty good.

If I compared it with my other Lenovo G560 which has a 0.3 megapixel camera, the difference is like light and day.

Processor

Okay, so it doesn't have TurboBoost or 4-way processing.

I have using an Intel Pentium Processor on a Lenovo notebook on Windows 7 and it's pretty good. It gets through most tasks however you must know your limitations.

Considering the computers size, weight, and battery configuration, the processor is clocked at 1.8ghz on dual core. I have previously used a Pentium 4 @ 3GHz (a single core processor) and this laptop is significantly faster considering the dual core. Out of box, it scored a 4.7 on the Windows Experience Index. After everything got settled in with the way I liked it, it dropped to a 4.6. Using my way of testing the processor speed, I calculated Pi (Using SuperPi) to one million digits and it did it in 21 seconds. Not bad considering my Dell Desktop does it in 43 seconds... It handles HD streaming off YouTube without problems however when you stream in 720p you CPU usage hovers around 40-60%. Yet, doesn't give you a lot of room of other tasks.

Gaming? Well, not much. Don't expect to play WoW or Crisis. It should handle basic games.

I was able to play RuneScape on the highest screen settings (other than full screen) with the use of their client rather than the browser. The CPU usage hovers around 80-90%. Game play was still smooth considering it is a 3D game. However, with 80-90% usage, again, does not leave much room for other tasks.

Upgrades:

The only upgrades you can do to this laptop is RAM and hard drive. The stock hard drive runs at 5400rpm and although it is pretty quick, a solid state would be pointless because you'd be most likely dissatisfied with SSD's price and storage (until they get cheaper). If 500gb is too little, a 7200 rpm hard drive won't hurt.

The computer comes with 4gb of ram. Although this is sufficient for basic tasks, it isn't configured as dual channel. Filling that extra DIMM slot will give you better memory storage as well as graphics performance. So why not do it?

The CPU/Processor--unfortunately, cannot be upgraded. This is because it is a Ultra Low Voltage Processor (ULV) that is soldered onto the motherboard. This is a big down side since later down the road, you can't upgrade to a used processor at a significantly low price.

It's portable, offers a large track pad, good keys, and is loaded with 4 USBs and an optical drive @ just one inch. Overall, this is a great laptop but I wouldn't consider this to be a everyday user. (I use it as a primary since I'm coming from a prehistoric computers, in fact this computer is twice as fast than my old desktop) The processor is the caveat. If you have the option, go for their higher end "i Series" of Intel Core Processors.

-UPDATE-

I reran the Windows Experience Index (WEI) and it jumped from a 4.6 to a 5.1. I guess Windows obtained a better score after removing bloatware and installing the latest drivers. Additionally, a dual channel RAM configuration will allow a slight bump in graphics performance.

So here are the subscores that the WEI came up with:

Processor: 5.9

Memory (RAM): 7.7

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Sony VAIO VPC-SC1AFM/S 13.3" Notebook (2.3GHz Intel Core i5-2410M Reviews

Customer Ratings:

fast delivery. the vendor said the condition of the computer and match the product I received. They say it has some outside cosmetic scratches and interior clean, but They did not mention that the some keys from the keyboard felt stuck. they work but the do not recoiled. you also need to upgrade many of the windows programs on the net. overall, It is a portable computer compare to 15.6" which is kind of big to carry on all the times. It is like a tablet but with lot of computing power. After searching and comparing for 5 hrs and buy the best computers in the $400 range. I decide to get this one (it play blue rays-I feature that many computesr don't have). I can used it as a bluray player in the hotel's TV. I can save my bluray disc on the HD.

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I am a big fan of the Sony S model, I have had Z models and for the money and comfort as well as conveniece, I pick the S hands down. The laptop is full of goodies all priced as a bundle which was exclusive to Best Buy. The color silver looks great, nice backlit keyboard with a full 2mm keystroke for comfort and speed typing. Very responsive cpu & graphics with a built in "onboard" blu-ray player and DVD/CD read & write. The display is great and typical of Sony products. The speakers are liveable, I would still recommend a "capsule speaker" for about $30. For the budget minded person who demands some performance, this is it. The Sony Vaio S model wreaks of style and has a beautiful display. The performance is equivalent to it's competitors who often have a larger & bulkier chasis. I would like to note there is a newer model of this one available now, not sure of the model number but I believe it now has 6 gig of ram vs. 4 in this model. The important thing I like to mention about this "blue-label" laptop as the market calls it, is it's value. Lot's of good things that make it great deal as opposed to configuring one on your own on the Sony website. The appearance, quality & performance of this laptop make a great laptop for all sorts of users. Great job Sony.

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blu-ray works good for a 13" laptop thats why I bought it. and the price was right also lots of memory

Reviews of HP Pavilion G7-2235DX AMD A8-4500M X4 1.9GHz 4GB 640GB DVD+/-RW

Customer Ratings:

laptop is good but does not have a lighted keyboard as in the description. had some problems with Norton blocking internet access.

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I purchased this as a temporary laptop as I saved up for a more expensive and powerful computer. But upon first use I was surprised by this laptop's power and efficiency. The screen is beautiful. Not something I was expecting. Also the AMD A8 APU provides more then enough juice for watching movies and playing modern games on low or medium settings. Everything about this laptop is great. My only complaint is that upon 2 occasions this laptop has become hot to the point of being uncomfortable. This temperature was reached after playing games for about 4 hours straight, but still...it was hot. Other than the heat, I have no complaints and I am completely satisfied with this computer.

HP G62-358nr Notebook PC, Charcoal Review

Customer Ratings:

I didn't purchase this computer from Amazon, but would like to give it my good review. I bought it directly from HP several years ago and have found it to be bullet proof. The only upgrade I did was to increase the onboard memory. I found the HDMI out is great for connecting to TV, the speedy optical disc drive with Lightscribe, the fast processor and other enhancements make it a winner even in todays high tech world. I hate to admit it, but if this baby doesn't die with a mechanical or software severe enough to kill it, I will keep it for a long time and not be enticed to upgrade. I might add I am not that anxious to upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 which is what comes with all the new PC's anyway.

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Cheap HP Pavilion dv7-4165dx AMD Phenom II Triple-Core N850(2.2GHz) 17.3"

Customer Ratings:

I got this from another vendor as 'refurbished' for a similar price to amazon's.

Screen: huge, glossy, lovely. 1600x900 17.3"

Keyboard: interestingly different than most. I don't know the name of what this tech is called. The keys are not butted up against each other but separated, flatter, straight/individual. I like it a lot and I bet it's great for people with big fingers (or poor typing) who might normally hit more than one key. I'm not fond of the arrow key approach (it shrinks up/down to fit together between left/right) but I'll adapt. Has number pad. Bummer though, the numlock key has no light on it nor on the dash so you have no idea if it's on or not. However, the wireless and the 'mute' alt-function buttons have tiny lights as does the left caps lock. Black keys, typical of nearly all laptops nowdays, which since I use my laptop at night in the dark--and use a diff keyboard during my job hours so my brain-patterns are always 'adapting'--drives me crazy. There are little glow in the dark stickers you can get for keyboards to help with this.

Dash controls: nothing but power button and touch pad, however, media controls are built into function keys with ALT usage.

Touch pad: upside: large, smooth, defined edge. downside: pain in the butt to try and click. Not reasonable for constant use. The alternate 'tap' function so far is incredibly inconsistent. I may need more time/practice. A whole lot of it apparently. That is quite bothersome. Previous reviews I read elsewhere griped about this also. I don't think it's enough to weigh against the merits of the machine which are many--I'd still buy it--but if you don't mind mice (USB) because you mostly use it on a flat surface, you might want to get one. Definitely be sure you go into control panel and mess with your settings. It does have the various options for scroll, zoom in, zoom out, and 3-finger launch which is neat.

Ports: all the standards, USB on both sides, multi-option media card reader. Power cord on right side, sticks out the normal amount for laptops (alas). Standard wireless for this day and age. 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN

Guts: has a pretty decent processor, 4G RAM (the main reason I got this). If you do advanced gaming or 3D animation you'd want something with a lot more speed and RAM, but I do basic graphics and database work and it's fine for all that. Hard drive is large (640G). Go get 'minitool partition wizard' from cnet (free) and you can split it into a few drive letters for more practical storage/scanning/searching/defragging. (Note: if MPW it won't let you create a partition due to 'no MBR keys', change the non-C 'primary' drives this HP has in place to 'logical' (right-click to do that), then it will.)

Peripherals: has mic, internal speakers, webcam. These don't seem special to me but I'm no expert on that. The optical drive is CD/DVD, Blue-Ray and Light-Scribe which is about as much as you can ask.

The case is actually lovely, metallic silver with fine lines of engraving. The back of the lid has the round HP logo that is lit up. I guess so either you can tell it's on when it's closed or just because it looks neat.

Power: typical AC plus a battery said to be much longer life than normal -and this despite the huge bright screen. I have not yet had cause to test this to verify it though. 9-Cell 93WHr Lithium-Ion Battery

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

Other software: well it's a typical fairly low-end laptop. So you mostly have a bunch of crappy bloatware that wants registration and you should uninstall it and use quality open source based software instead, if clicking a link to uninstall (control panel is where you do that) or install something (once you download an install file to your hard drive) doesn't seem too challenging. Use MS IE to go get free Firefox and Chrome then close IE. Use one of those to go to CNet and get free Avast (an Anti Viral program). Reboot. Uninstall the junk you don't want. Install all the windows updates critically needed. Install the various free software you might want. (I recommend: OpenOffice suite for all the microsoft-like programs, free. 7Zip or WinZip utility. Music Monkey or Jet Audio free jukebox. FileZilla free FTP. When possible stick to download dotcom and cnet dotcom for s/w because they will make sure it is 'clean'.) Textpad is not a free editor but is 'nagware' and is a good customizable colorcode editor if you write code or do much in text. This PC does however come with some decent software free such as two Corel graphic/video programs and Roxio. (I prefer PhotoShop but I can't afford it so I only have it if I steal it. PSP is a good program though. I haven't seen the photo version but the graphics version actually has a photoshop-style interface option.) The microsoft office stuff this machine says it comes with is just to suck you into $. So try OpenOffice which is just as good. Or just use google docs if you're not too demanding and like the idea of being able to get to your stuff from any computer anywhere.

Warranty: mine came with 90 days and I bought an extra year, I'm not sure what amazon's options are.

I think this is a really good computer for the price. I have had every brand of basic laptop (the

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Review of Samsung NP900X3A-B02 13.3-Inch Notebook - Black

Customer Ratings:

I received my Series 9 a couple days ago and I have to say I love it. The size is perfect for traveling and the Core I5 processor delivers more than enough punch for any applications I use. Really, there are many reviews on the Series 9 virtues and my experience with the system overall is in line with everyone else's: it is a great computer.

However, there is one glaring issue that purchasers should not gloss over and that is the weak wireless abilities of this system. Before buying mine I had read the plethora of issues people were having with wireless, but there also appeared to be various fixes for the weak performance. And honestly, I assumed that after more than 6 months on the market any issues would have been resolved. But not so, at least with my system. As of today, I have tried every correction I could find on the Internet (my computer has the Intel wireless module, not the Broadcom so there was no need to replace it) but nothing has corrected the problem. I found a couple reviews where brave users had removed their covers and found that the wireless signal increased substantially, but decreased again when the covers were re-installed. So, based on my experience and what I have read, it appears to be a serious design issue where the Series 9 covers are interfering with the wireless signal, and that is no easy fix.

On the plus side, I have noted that the problem is only with the 2.4 Ghz wireless and NOT the 5.0 Ghz wireless. I use a Netgear Dual band router at home so I was able to try both bands. I normally use the 2.4 Ghz because it has better range than the 5.0 GHz, but even if I am able to get 4 bars on the Samsung with the 2.4 Ghz wireless signal (and that is while standing within 10 feet of the router only), the signal drops out so frequently that it renders the connection useless. Most pages provide the "Page cannot be displayed". To compound this problem, when I am traveling, most wireless access points I encounter are still 2.4 Ghz bands, so I will essentially not be able to use the computer while out of my home, or I will have to install a USB wireless dongle, taking up one of the 2 available USB ports. I should note when I say this that most of my time on a computer is spent on web-apps, so wireless is critical to me. Using a dongle for wireless is not particularly appealing to me.

On a more positive note, I noticed that on the 5 Ghz band, while I may only get 2-3 bars signal, my connection is stable and FAST: I am getting about 22 Mbs transfer through SpeedTest.net, which is as good as any other computer I have on the wireless network. So if you are primarily using a 5 Ghz router, you probably will not have any issues (making the broad-based assumption that your experience is the same as mine).

If you are not surfing the web and just using the Samsung as a work horse, again, I think you will be exceptionally pleased with this computer. Only the wireless is an issue and it should not be underestimated, as I did.

Sorry for the long-winded review, but I felt that it should be clear to potential purchasers that the wireless problem is a big elephant at the dinner table still. Looks like my Samsung will be going back next week and that makes me sad.

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Finally, a PC product that's as attractive as anything from Apple. I've had mine for a month and I still get real tactile and visual pleasure from using it, or just looking at it. Samsung has fixed whatever the wifi issue was. Clearly, they should have been more open about the problem and so able to explain that they'd fixed it! Wifi performance is on a par with my old Asus UL30, which was always good.

System performance is definitely hindered by out of date drivers. Run the update (as you should anyway) and both processor and graphics benchmarks jump to where they should be. It's a big difference and explains some odd reviews in which the Samsung was substantially outperformed by competitor products with identical hardware.

Battery life is also better than most professional reviewers have shown. First, the screen is wonderful. It's bright, a lot brighter than the competition, and non-relective. I run mine at around 15%, unless I'm working outside. Nice touches like the backlit keyboard and the adaptive brightness use up juice as well. Now that I've set everything up, I'm getting 5 1/2 hours with a mix of writing (Final Draft) and web browsing, wifi on, bluetooth off.

Build quality is excellent. Despite what you may have read, the whole thing is duralumin, no plastic anywhere. Ports for everything including USB 3.0, although you'll need an adaptor for the HDMI. Like everyone else, I wish they'd put in a standard SD card slot rather than the micro. But you CAN close that flap with a card inside. Push it slightly deeper and then shut it. I bought a 32GB micro card and put it in. Problem solved.

Really not much more to say. The whole thing weighs 2 lbs 14 oz. It's the best laptop I've ever owned, by a long way.

Best Deals for Samsung NP900X3A-B02 13.3-Inch Notebook - Black

I had ample time to read the reviews of all ultrabooks. I was also aware that many new models will be launched at CES 2012 but I will leave the U.S. in a week's time, so I could not wait. And I am glad I did not. For me this is the perfect laptop and I have had many different models before. Works like a charm, excellent hardware, and absolutely no problems with touchpad nor wifi. I purchased a refurbished unit that came without the Samsung software installed. In this connection I had to call 1-800-SAMSUNG a few times. The speed and competence with which they help is truly outstanding. Most pleased.

Honest reviews on Samsung NP900X3A-B02 13.3-Inch Notebook - Black

I purchased this as a refurbished (by Samsung) product. I had a few qualms and contacted the seller more than once. Each time, the seller was extremely prompt, courteous, and informative. I went ahead and bought the NP900X3A-B02US. From order date to receipt: only 3 days! It was well-packaged and as described. There are a few minor scratches that are barely noticeable (noticeable only because I used a flashlight and scrutinized every inch)...to be expected in a refurbished product.

It's only been a few hours since I've received it. I've updated the drivers and backed up system files (also did a full backup), began personalizing it to my taste, began learning about all of the bells and whistles (still much to learn), connected to my network wirelessly. All went smoothly and very quickly and easily.

I encountered only one minor problem. At first startup and during Windows setup, the system froze. Went immediately to Samsung support website using another computer and initiated a chat with customer support. The problem was resolved before our chat was over, only a few minutes. The CS agent was courteous and knowledgeable about my problem. Very satisfied.

The NP900X3A-B02US is a beautiful tool, very pleasing to the eye, elegant, and a joy to work/play with. So far, I like everything about it. I had a bit of a time locating the USB plug and the other plugs but found them after checking through the installed User Guide. All of the plugs are behind a lid. I like that feature because it should keep out the dust. Never had a computer that covered the plugs before. The laptop is not only beautiful, it is very light. I like that. I like the keyboard and found no problem with it or using it. I like that the keyboard is backlit.

I purchased this particular model because I wanted a fully SSD with 256GB total capacity. I also purchased a 500GB portable external drive to store my system and all backup files. I have a 500GB Cardinal backup drive on which I store all of my data, photo, music, video, and other miscellaneous files. So I'm covered.

I gave this review only 4 stars because I intend to update it after using the laptop for a few weeks. I may then upgrade the review to 5 stars.

I want to again comment on how pleased I am with the seller concerning this purchase.

***********

27 Sep 2012

I've had my S9 for 2 weeks now and I am still extremely happy with it and can't seem to keep my hands or eyes off it. There are many other good-looking laptops out there but until I saw this one, I never saw one more beautifully elegant...and it performs greatly, too! Haven't learned all the features yet but wanted to add a couple of comments.

I've had no issues with the wireless connectivity. Connects on startup, no disconnects, and always 5 bars. The other point I wanted to add is this: I have owned several Samsung products (TV, cell phones, etc.), I trust their products and have never been disappointed, I've had no problems with their customer service on the occasions I needed to contact them. My customer service experience have all been online chats with their technical support agents at their website--no email or phone calls. Maybe that's why my experiences have all been good. The tech support agents were courteous, knowledgeable, spoke English very well, and resolved my problems immediately, usually within minutes.

When searching for an ultrabook, I considered both Sony and the MacBook Air. They both had beautiful products with a lot of great features. However, they both also had one huge negative for me--they are both extremely proprietary. Nearly all after-market accessories and parts for their products (I have had their laptops and a Sony TV) had to be purchased from them and their prices are expensive. I don't like being forced to buy their products. Don't get me wrong; both Sony and Apple have excellent products. I just want the option of buying what I want or need from whomever I want and get the best price for it. So I opted for Samsung with no regret.

****************************

21 Feb 2013

I am still very pleased with this ultrabook. In fact, I am considering the purchase of a 2nd one from the same vendor. I really wanted one in a color other than black but I wouldn't be dissatisfied with another black one. I still think it's beautiful and very well-made. I have had no problems with the wireless connectivity or with bluetooth. My 2 BT mice connect in mere seconds; all I need do is turn it on and they're ready to go.

This laptop runs VERY cool, barely feel any warmth to the hand, no heat rushing out the sides from underneath the laptop. I'm running the SETI program on it nearly 24/7. It does not slow down my use of the unit to surf the web or work on any other program or to play (simple) games. I don't like the fast-moving violent video games. The webcam is excellent though I hardly ever use it. The sound volume is more than satisfactory and has a nicer tone than either of my VAIOs or Gateway laptops have/had. I originally planned on upgrading my RAM to 8GB but, for my use, I find it isn't necessary. The 4GB it came with exceeds my needs.

So, yes, I am seriously considering purchasing another one of these--same model, same vendor, and once again a refurbished unit by Samsung. The price is right $999 plus $16 s/h. If the 2nd unit is as great as this one is, I will be extremely pleased. Why a 2nd one? I always need a spare on hand...just in case. I don't want to use the VAIOs any longer. Maybe I'll donate them to a school or someone handicapped.

I have absolutely no reservations about recommending this refurbished unit from this vendor to anyone for purchase. Samsung has not let me down with any of the products I've purchased from them--cell phones, HDTV, cameras, video cameras, dvd/cd player/recorder. Samsung makes beautiful, quality products and for me, they have provided A++ online customer service support for all of their products. I will never return to Sony or Apple for any of my electronic wants or needs.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung NP900X3A-B02 13.3-Inch Notebook - Black

I've had this laptop since August/2011. I did not get it on Amazon there was a *great* deal on-line from another supplier and I took a chance on them. This is without a doubt the best laptop I've ever had. Thin, light, fast, with a superb screen. The keyboard and touchpad are top notch. The audio is excellent for such a small machine. No fans going on and off, instant boot, dual-band wireless (2.4 and 5Ghz, which I wasn't even aware of when I purchased it...) make this thing amazing. Highly recommended.

Discount ASUS X301A-EB31 13.3-Inch LED Laptop Windows 7 home premium

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $569.00
Sale Price: $479.95
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

Just got this laptop a couple of weeks ago! The screen is pretty nice (1366x768), because its so small the 1366x768 screen looks pretty crisp. I cant complain about the keyboard its very good, however I would like it to be back-lit! The performance is what I expected it to begood for almost anything except for games, I'm a student so i use it for writing and surfing the web and it does the job well! Battery life is great reaches 5 hours however that depends on how u use it! Its fairly light, its not as light as an ultra book, however its lighter than a typical 14 inch laptop and can be carried in a bag easily. It has a great selection of ports. I would like to add that it looks much smaller and thinner than it does on the above pictures. On the negative side it had a lot of bloatware! I installed a fresh copy of win 8 Pro and now it runs smooth. In addition to that the black version is a fingerprint magnet, i cant say that for the white version. I did have some issues with touch-pad driver and the Bluetooth is nonexistent, but i didn't try installing it because i never use it -I don't know anyone who does! The track pad does the job well, its not a MacBook but its smooth and precise! Otherwise i would recommend it to any student that wants a light laptop with solid battery life.

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At $430, this is definitely the bang for your buck.

* BUILD

Although the frame is constructed entirely out of plastic, it has a sturdy feel to it. It's not flimsy. Not heavy but not ultrabook-light either, pretty thin. However, this thing is a fingerprint magnet. Using rubbing alcohol and wipes removes them. The bottom of the laptop tends to get warm, but this "IceCool" sorcery manages to keep your typing space cool. This laptop does not have an optical drive.

* BATTERY

The battery life is decent you can get a good 4-5 hours of usage. The charger comes in two pieces, the power cord and the adapter. There's no velcro strap :(

* KEYBOARD

The keyboard is very nice chiclet style. No numpad, the home/end keys are nested under the arrows. I'd recommend putting one of those silicone covers over it to prevent dust/crap from getting in.

* POWER

@2.4 GHz & 4 GB of RAM, this will handle all of your basic office/web browsing needs. To give you an idea, I'm running iTunes, Skype, 10 tabs on Firefox, 7 on Chrome and some background processes. This amounts to ~75% of the RAM being used. Should be ok for light gaming (e.x. Minecraft), don't go crazy.

* SOFTWARE

This is where it (and most mass-manufacture brands) sucks. It's loaded with A LOT of bloatware. You can uninstall it manually or just install a fresh copy of Windows (USB boot though; no optical drive).

Additional note(s):

Best Deals for ASUS X301A-EB31 13.3-Inch LED Laptop Windows 7 home premium

I was looking for a light weight laptop to get everyday tasks done but didn't want to spend too much money. This felt like it fit the needs perfectly.Alas' once I got the product, it was such a big disappointment. I have used ASUS tablets and thought this laptop will be of similar quality like them. But this laptop is made of plastic and doesn't feel well built at all. Moreover, it takes a while to boot and the key board is not very comfortable. I could go one but whats the point, it ended up going back to Amazon.

Honest reviews on ASUS X301A-EB31 13.3-Inch LED Laptop Windows 7 home premium

Love the fact I could purchase this computer with windows 7... Has been fairly easy to

adjust from windows XP since I am not computer savvy..

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The first item I received came with a defective battery and a defective power source. The laptop would go off after I disconnected the charger, also the touchpad was damaged and not properly attached to the laptop's structure. I then requested an exchange on the same item. The second laptop arrived with a defective monitor, when I turned it on I would only see grayish colors with low brightness and low contrast. That is it; I had a really bad experience with this Asus product and will not be buying any other product with the Asus logo ever. Although I want to point out the excellent costumer service I received from the In-amazon store I purchased the laptop from. They were very responsive and handled the exchange and the refund in a professional way.

DELL D620 CORE DUO LAPTOP, 1.66 GHZ CPU, CD Burner, DVD Player, 1GB Reviews

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The computer came without a functioning wi-fi or down arrow key. I didn't bother to find anything else wrong with it since that was enough to return it. The seller has a problem with responding to e-mails and has had the computer returned to them, without giving me my money back, for nine days now.

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This computer is good enough for school online, like LIBERTY.EDU or wherever you dream of going; its worth the price for an education with money back for federal financial aid refunds. Or games for kids............

Please try it, it might work........

It works ok.

Cheap Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 031946U 15.6 LED Notebook Core i3 i3-380M

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I got this laptop from an IT school. Considering it was part of the tuition and it is supposed to be used FREQUENTLY in class especially for VMs (virtual machines) ie, Server 2003 and Server 2008. I am very disappointed with their (the school) choice of laptop. I eventually upgraded the 4 gb of RAM to 8GB max (cost $50). I had also went ahead and upgraded the stock 5400rpm, 320 GB SATA HD with a crucial 512GB SSD (cost $300). I transfered the whole OS/Drive onto the new SSD via a USB/SATA cable, worked like a charm. Now, instead of waiting literally 5 minutes for Windows 7 to load. The OS is up and running in 30 seconds. For me the cost of $350 was ok, even though I had already kinda' paid for it in my tuition. I use it as a 'test' laptop. I will most likely try to find ways to upgrade/change the FAN and CPU (maybe to an i7).

So, I would value this laptop at $400 max. There are others out there that can be upgraded piece by piece and still be under the asking price of $600.

hope this helps.

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Buy Toshiba Satellite C855D-S5100 15.6-Inch Laptop (Satin Black)

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List Price: $529.99
Sale Price: $349.99
Today's Bonus: 34% Off

Wanted to review the item as of the few reviews posted complaints are a result of windows 8 not the computer in the review. Windows 8 sucked at first but you can actually add Start button apps that make it not suck. The Pokki start menu is very good and can disable some of the annoying features of Windows8. With desktop mode and an actual start button I have been pretty happy with Windows 8's very snappy performance and ability to add gmail/google calendar apps to my task bar.

Now moving past windows I would like to provide an actual review of the product. Lets start with you get what you pay for. I paid

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Reviews of MSI Computer Corp. Notebook GT60 0NC-004US;9S7-16F311-004 15.6-Inch

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The beast inside just screams performance! You won't get any similar 15.6" gaming laptop with these specifications and price. You even have to pay almost double if you get another brand with the same specs!

Screen: excellent Full HD matte-type (prevents glares)

CPU: one of the first laptops to carry the 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge Core i7s great value right there!

GPU: another one of the first few laptops to have NVIDIA GeForce GTX 600M series (670M on this model) on this, you will be able to run most, if not, all current games on High settings, even the most demanding games to date.

RAM: 12GB with 1600MHz speed is more than enough to have, and on its current OS (Win7 HP), you can already max out its performance to 16GB (still expandable to 32GB but I don't see the point and the use for now)

HDD: 1 TB = 2 500GB in RAID 0 config is a great plus, boosting the performance and speed of your HDDs to almost double compared to a single setting config.

Sound: the sound system on this laptop is already the best out there, period. The clarity and the crispness of the sounds are very noticeable, and I am playing more music now than ever on this machine.

Keyboard: made by Steelseries, a renowned brand for high-quality keyboards the backlighting is a beaut, and fully-customizable lighting effects to boot!

Battery life: compared to a head-on competitor (one with an 8-cell only) the battery life of this machine lasts around double than the other the other averaging 1 hr 30mins vs 2 hrs 45mins on this thing... I couldn't be happier!

Overall, again with specs vs price, this laptop is currently the one with the best value out there across all 15"s. I heard they will release models of this and its bigger brother the GT70, with GTX675Ms and GTX680Ms soon, but that's a different story.

A very happy owner right here!

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So, i've had this laptop for over a month now. My desktop was 5 years old, and i needed a new work laptop. So, i was looking for a work and play computer which i have to take home every night. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights i have experienced:

Personal/Gaming PC:

I am a dj, and have been extremely happy with this computer for a few reasons. The sound card is 7.1, it is fast enough to run any audio program i have thrown at it, and the speakers and subwoofer sound very good. I also am a gaming junkie, and have enjoyed BF3 and Civ5 perfectly on this (two of the more graphic intensive games i play). I had to manually switch the discrete card on after the first time i booted up Civ5 and watched it perform only on low settings, realizing that was just the IvyBridge doing work. Regardless, i am happy i waited for the IB. I play games like Torchlight on the plane and in between, and the 4000 does great for the lower end stuff. Even DOTA2, which has poor programming considered, will run just fine on the IB. When you do use discrete, there are really only a few games it cant handle. There is a nice turbo button located just above the keyboard if you want to squeeze an extra 4% computing out of the processors, but its really unnecessary unless you are playing something extremely intensive.

Work:

When i first went to Fry's electronics, i was debating between MSi and Asus. I have 3 friends who bought the last ROG laptops and they all had great experiences. I was inbetween; MSi had significantly better guts than Asus for about $100 less; 2 raided 500 gig HD's, a better discrete card, and more memory? I didnt understand why Asus was lacking so much. So, i took a chance on the brand name after doing a little poking around. Since i am disconnecting at least 2 or 3 USB ports every day, and the power charger probably 2 times a day, i did buy an extended warranty for 3 years for $200. I did this before even taking the computer home. Even after this past month, i am not sure if it was money well spent or not. The case is very sturdy, it is very thick (which i like), and it is made of metal and hard plastic. I am uncertain on the soldering of the ports, so if anything goes out i believe it will be that as i use them multiple times per day. I upgraded to windows 7 business, and am very happy. i have had no connectivity problems with my business network, and have had an easier time getting on our domain than the company supplied laptops! they were able to fit a very nice numerical pad on this keyboard and i am thankful for that.

Keyboard:

The keyboard is really the worst part about the computer, unfortunately. Actually, not the whole keyboard, just the space bar. You have to hit it in the middle of the bar, or at least where the color lights are on it. anything to the outside of the two bars will not register the stroke even if the button presses down. it is a very attractive looking keyboard and the color changing options are easy and quick to navigate. I typically have a wave rainbow when at home, filtering across the keyboard through 5 colors, and quickly switch to red or blue while at work. I have gotten a lot of comments about how great it looks, which makes me so angry that this space bar can upset me so much!

Network card:

The wireless card is top notch. It picks up signal better than my previous external wireless adapter for my desktop, and seems to have a stronger connectivity throughout. Only good things so far. It also worked flawlessly when i went to Germany and Italy.

Weight:

IT. IS. HEAVY. This is a desktop replacement, make no mistake. This is not something you take everywhere with you; it goes from my home desk to my work desk, and not many other places. Still, its better than the old lan party says of a monitor plus a tower, so it beats that. But i would not recommend this to a student who wants to take it to every class to take notes on. Your back will not be happy with you!

Final thoughts:

One last reason i picked this MSi over the Asus was future-proofing: a maximum of 32 gigs of RAM can be installed as well as the ability to have both harddrive bays replaced and upgraded. The asus was maxed out at 12, and had one HD. A SSD will significantly improve the speed of your applications, so eventually i will take that plunge. But that it my point; i anticipate having this computer and improving it for the next 4 years. I can see the ASUS getting tired after about 2 years or so.

When i started this review, i had originally put 4 stars. After writing, it became clear to me that my only REAL complaint is about the space bar. At the conclusion, i bumped it up to a five. If you can get over the space bar issue, you will love the dollar for value of this computer. Just remember, this thing is meant for 2 places; it is not as a buddy you take everywhere! I am reservedly optimistic about the quality of hardware; it seems like it will last a long time but who really knows? Ive never had an MSi before, but i feel good about it since i got the extended warranty. Ive heard some horror stories about their customer service, so if you get a lemon i would just take it back to the retail store. If i ever do have a customer service experience, i will come back and update.

If you are a gamer on a budget, looking for a solid upgrade, you can feel confident in this guy. The screen looks pretty good, the webcam is good, and graphics are outstanding. I personally HDMI out to a 27" samsung LED when i game, and everything looks PHENOMENAL on it. For work, the screen does more than the trick. I am very happy with my purchase so far, and think others with the same mindset will feel the same.

Best Deals for MSI Computer Corp. Notebook GT60 0NC-004US;9S7-16F311-004 15.6-Inch

This thing just arrived the other day, and I gotta say I am impressed.

I was able to play Skyrim on "Ultra" with several graphics enhancement mods, at a good framerate.

Pros:

Very powerful (especially for the price!)

Nice keyboard (pretty lights and no flex anywhere, even space bar)

HD matte screen

OUTSTANDING speakers can get loud, and very decent quality for a laptop.

overall nice design, performance, and pricing.

Cons:

Don't like the way the power button "feels"

The mouse-pad and clicker are "meh"...

It is very heavy

Some bloatware (though it does ship with the Win 7 disc but I didn't want to do a clean install, just b/c I didn't want to mess with the RAID configuration).

The fan can be a bit noisy (I hesitate to put this here, because it really isn't tragic or that noticeable, it just is a very little bit louder than one might hope).

Overall so glad I got this awesome laptop!!!

Honest reviews on MSI Computer Corp. Notebook GT60 0NC-004US;9S7-16F311-004 15.6-Inch

Maybe I just got unlucky. I've never had a laptop with this many problems.

Out of the box I couldn't use any Windows Live clients because the network card blocked access. A few weeks later, a driver update fixed that. Ok. Driver problems happen.

Then trying to get many games to work properly with the Optimus graphics setup is just a giant pain the ass. And anything DX10 has serious problems no matter what I try.

So then RAID array started failing. And then the USB ports. And now the GPU has started hitting 95C.

I contacted MSI through the warranty website. They told me I had to take the laptop apart and replace the thermal compound under the heatsinks before they would consider warranty service. Of course doing that voids the warranty.

Not the quality or the customer service I expect after buying a $1600 laptop. Will never buy another MSI product.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for MSI Computer Corp. Notebook GT60 0NC-004US;9S7-16F311-004 15.6-Inch

This computer is a great buy, but beware the chassis is somewhat flimsy. Every time I open my laptop I have to press the plastic piece down at the top (controls volume, wireless, etc) because it pops out. It is quite annoying. The plastic piece at the top is also very prone to scratching. I was cleaning it with a microfiber towel and it left minor scratches. I was able to scratch it very easily with my finger nail. Other than that the computer is very fast and equipped to run most of today's common programs. I would recommend it if the first two problems don't bother you. I also recommend backing up your data because the computer ships in RAID 0 (if you bought the model with two hard drives, not SSD). That means if you lose one of the two hard drives due to some malfunction, then your data is pretty much gone. I am able to run very graphic-intensive programs as well as virtual machines with no issues. You will need to update the BIOS (usually by flashing from DOS since MSI doesn't have a GUI installer for Windows 7 64 Bit) if you plan on virtualizing. All-in-all it is a great computer for the price.