Showing posts with label notebook paper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notebook paper. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Discount HP Pavilion 17.3" Laptop Computer - AMD Elite Quad-Core A8-5550M

HP Pavilion 17.3' Laptop Computer - AMD Elite Quad-Core A8-5550M / 4GB DDR3 / 750GB Hard Drive / Anodized Silver / Windows 8
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: Price Unavailable
Today's Bonus: 22% Off
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I got this locally for $400 after my Asus i5 laptop overheated and crashed leaving me

desperately searching for a replacement, I got lucky.

Here's what you get, a quad core APU with Radeon HD 8550G graphics, 4Gig Ram, 740G hard

drive, and a DVD-R/W, plus a 17.3" display in a lightweight and beautifully designed

carbon fiber look silver frame with Win8/64 pre-installed.

My only con, this display could be better, the colors are a little washed out, no way to fix this

and there are only 3 resolutions, a 1600x900, a 1280x, and 1024. OK, I'm done venting, I didn't

pay for a premium piece of glass and if you're not looking at it next to your desktop display you

may not notice.

Needs more RAM, 4Gig isn't enough as 768M are allocated to the video, and as yet I haven't found

how to allocate more after I added another 4Gig stick. HP uses a captive screw on the backplate

so you just unscrew it and slide the panel down and off. But to HP's credit, the Ram that is installed

is DDR3 PC3-12800 * CL=11 * Unbuffered * NON-ECC * DDR3-1600 * 1.35V * Performance was greatly

enhanced with the addition of more Ram, the Windows Experience number jumped from 5.9 to 7.1, and

you can tell an obvious difference when you are navigating the web or running multiple programs.

As a test of stability, I opened 6 video players all running 1Gig+ files and after 20 minutes they

were all still chugging along, I was shocked actually, this has been quite a surprise overall.

Also, video editing is a breeze with this cpu, it just rips right through large files.

The chicklet keyboard is workable, but the touchpad is laggy and you will want to add a mouse ASAP.

However, after attaching to a separate monitor via HDMI I find that the colors and some of the controls

are all there. Problem is, I cant install a copy of Catalyst on this Win 8 thing to give me more

flexibility over colors and contrast. I guess I'll just have to be happy on my extended monitor...but

again, I'm limited to only 4 resolutions on a 1920x1200 monitor but I can live with that. The main hard

drive is not partitioned so its a little clunky. I'm running 3 USB devices with no lag and they connect

right up via an upstream to my Dell monitor. Also a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse were plug and play.

On the plus side, there is a Cyberlink Media Suite included that has PowerDVD and PowerDirector10

among other features. I would like this laptop better if it had Win 7, but because of all the

Bios tweaks there is no way to go in reverse unless you buy a machine with Windows Pro, then Microsoft

gives you "downgrade" rights, which is funny because Win 8 is a clear step in the wrong direction

and a BIG FU to consumers.

BTW, if you're freaking out over Windows 8, thats OK, go right ahead. Windows 7 was the best thing

Microsoft ever did, and Win 8 is just the most ridiculous hodgepodge of a software geek's wet dream

I could have ever imagined. However, 2 days after buying this laptop I have discovered a world of

workarounds and tweaks, such that I am about 70% back to the look and feel of Win 7, so there is

help out there, and most of the fixes are free. "Start8" was a good investment though that gives you

back your Start menu and kills the insanely stupid Windows 8 App screen and all its intrusive popups.

A final note, what finally made me fall in love with this model was the surprise DVD encoding time using

ConvertX/DVD 5.0. On my previous i5 (2.3Mhz) with 6Gig Ram, whenever I would encode DVDs there was a problem

with overheating, maxed out CPU usage, and maxed out Ram....then POW, my laptop would shut down. Also

to encode 2.5-3G worth of video typically took 1 1/2 2 hours. On my first run today, this machine ripped

through 2 video files totaling 2.8G in 30 minutes! WHAT??? Thirty minutes at 100+fps, with no overheats

and even though the CPU was pegged at 98%, the system was still usable, it would lock up on that i5 machine.

For an APU this laptop is a beast! 4.5 Stars, I'm very happy.

My apologies in advance for anyone with questions, apparently in Amazon's great wisdom I have been banned

from posting comments for life. But this machine has 2 memory slots, and one 4G stick installed. Did I mention

I HATE Windows 8?

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I'm using this laptop for work right now. It's great at multitasking. Maybe it's just a new computer but no complains so far. I really like the sleek design and smooth surface. Would definitely recommend.

Best Deals for HP Pavilion 17.3" Laptop Computer - AMD Elite Quad-Core A8-5550M

I got this computer on clearance from Best Buy at $460 a month ago and I can only say that it is incredible value for the money. It comes with windows 8, but can be downgraded to windows 7. The display is huge and beautiful, I'm not sure what the other reviewer is talking about! The audio and video cards are very strong and the processor is one of the strongest AMD processors around. I would recommend this laptop to anybody who is looking for an all-around workstation that can also double as an entertainment center. What really makes it amazing is the price, though! A++++++++++

Honest reviews on HP Pavilion 17.3" Laptop Computer - AMD Elite Quad-Core A8-5550M

I am a Mac user, always have been, always will... but I needed a PC for some work things that I can't do a Mac. So, I literally had 2 requirements in looking for a laptop:

1) large screen

2) it turns on

So, since this satisfied both of my requirements I bought it. I am extremely happy with the purchase (even though I abhor Windows 8) but it's served me well. I can do what I need to for work and it's got a nice clean view. So here's my Pros and Cons:

PROS:

17" screen. Crisp pictures

750 hard drive

4 GB RAM

CONS:

Battery Life is shorter than I'd like.

The touchpad has a life of its own. The double finger scrolling I'm use to on my Macbook only occassionaly works properly

The keyboard is very dark and the letters are very hard to see with anything other than direct light (I keep a USB light plugged in all the time and use a wireless mouse)

I bought mine for $399.99 at a big box store that rhymes with Vest Guy

Buy Fom Amazon Now

Monday, November 3, 2014

Discount Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A02US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black)

Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A02US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
List Price: $1,399.99
Sale Price: $1,396.80
Today's Bonus: $3.19 Off
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I considered a wide range of ultrabooks, buying this one b4 I could see it, although I did play with the prior Sandybridge version. My biggest hesitations were twofold, based on both on-line reviews of the predecessor and my hands-on playing: 1) so thin that keyboard not great, and 2) poor battery life. I am happy to say that while yes the keyboard is not great for touch-typing, it is largely true you get used to it. It's not nearly as good as my old Lenovo X series, I do still make more typing mistakes, but I think probably just below par for most ultrabooks. On battery life, I am very happy to say it's fine, much better than the predecessor it seems. I can get a good 5+ hours of it doing regular Microsoft Office work and wifi surfing. I have not tested it playing videos though, as I just use my laptop for that.

Other pros: you likely heard the screen is very bright and clear, and it's true. It's also matte, which I prefer. And yes it's just about the thinnest and lightest ultrabook (maybe Toshiba technically beats Series 9 here?). Lastly, I didn't place much importance on looks when choosing, but after I unpacked it, I realised how really gorgeous it is!

Other cons: The need for proprietary ports puts it behind say the HP. I decided that as I almost always use wifi, I can just leave the extra dongles in my travel bag (e.g., VGA dongle to present to clients), so not a big negative to me. Backlighting is only visible in totally dark rooms, not dim rooms, unlike Macbook air or some other ultrabooks. And yes the 128G version seems to largely (or only) come with the Sandisk SSD, which is slower than the competitors. The speed itself doesn't bother me (and I have SSDs in my desktops for comparison), but it has some odd qualities such as getting messed up with some bluetooth mouse due I'm told to the way those mice do I/O and overload it. Net, for most folks not noticeable. Lastly, like many ultrabooks, it comes with a recovery portion of 20G set aside, so if you buy the 128G version, you lose a large percentage of space (if I recall, after Windows you have ~45G for yourself). As I do my own imaging, I have deleted that recovery portion

Net, I am very very happy with my purchase, I researched literally every ultrabook out at the time. The biggest reasons it may not be for you are 1) different aesthetic tastes; 2) it's expensive; 3) limited ports

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

pros: light, powerful full computer (not just a netbook), short boot up time (SSD)

cons: sligthly glitchy touchpad, cost

Have had tons of desktops and laptops in past. Needed a new laptop but this time decided to get something more portable as my typical "desktop replacement" laptops in the past were, in retrospect, a hassle to lug around. Read a great cnet laptop review and decided the 13 inch was the way to go (not too small of a screen, not too heavy of a weight). Got it and love it. The screen is not too small, and if i need to i can zoom in on the touchpad. The weight is perfect. It does NOT get too hot for me as another reviewer suggested. The touchpad is a touch glitchy, but just a touch, and not a deal breaker. Reading the reviews before purchase i planned on getting a mouse, but I wont anymore b/c its not the touchpad isnt THAT bad. I gave Samsung an extra look when it came to laptops b/c of my great smartphone experience, (note 2) and I'm glad i did. OnSale seller did great and got it to me earlier than expected.

Best Deals for Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A02US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black)

Just got this ultrabook and so far I am impressed.

Pros:

Fast and efficient Ivy bridge processor 5/5 stars (latest and greatest CPU)

Aesthetically pleasing 5/5 stars (which i could give more stars here)

Extremely thin and light (lightest and thinnest laptop I have seen, including 13.3 inch new Macbook Air) 5/5 stars

Windows 7 PRO 64-bit standard (difference between A01 and A02) 5/5 stars

Pretty quick charging (~1 hour from close to no charge to almost full) 4.5/5 stars

Screen is BEAUTIFUL (1600x900 is really amazing to see in person) and matte screen works well. 5/5 stars

Backlit KEYBOARD YES!!! 5/5 stars

Cons:

Touchpad is not the greatest and takes a little getting used to. I'd give it 3.5/5 stars

SSD Be aware the SSD in this model is the Sandisk U100 128GB. This is a slow SSD, but still loads better than a HDD in terms of performance. 3/5 stars

4GB soldered RAM to the motherboard; non-upgradeable. N/A stars

Ports:

1x USB 3.0

1x USB 2.0

Headphone jack

Displayport

MicroHDMI

mini LAN port(requires included adapter)

So far, in my limited time with this ultrabook, it is indeed among the best I have seen (I checked out UX31A DB51 as well). The good news is that the SSD is upgradeable. Be aware, this laptop uses a mSATA SSD. My perfect laptop would be this one with a 512GB mSATA and SSD performance rivaling my desktops' Vertex 4. Alas, I will wait for SSD prices to continue to drop like a bag of bricks so I can cheaply upgrade the SSD. Right now it looks like Mushkin makes a good 240GB mSATA drive if you have-to-have the fastest SSD.

Bottom line: If you can live without integrated ports and a DVD drive built in this is the Windows equivalent of a Macbook Air essentially, except this comes without all the Apple fan boys and their snottyness. This is indeed an elegantly designed and a well thought out machine; perfect for those who are always on the go.

Update: I have decided to return this laptop for a few reasons:

1) Touchpad drivers are finicky at best (caused Windows 7 to freeze and jump out of Aero mode)and randomly highlights things on the page as you move the cursor.

2) Slow SSD ....at first I thought I could live with this machine having a slow SSD, but I quickly realized that I need a faster drive and I am not willing to spend more money on an already pricey machine. I'd rather go with a cheaper machine and then replace the HDD with a fast SSD, but perhaps the new machine will have lower screen res and weigh a bit more.

3) Lack of integrated ports. In my opinion, I will loose the dongles and/or forget about them at home so it's best to go with an integrated solution rather than use dongles (Eliminates going with the MBA as an option since this too uses dongles).

My bottom line remains the same. This is great for someone who 1)is on the go all the time 2) can live without integrated ports, and is mindful to bring dongles and 3) doesn't mind a slow SSD.

For me, at this price, a slow SSD and finicky touchpad is ultimately the dealbreaker.

Honest reviews on Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A02US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black)

I am an owner of a MacBook. Therefore, saying that I have "high standards" when it comes to laptop computing almost goes without saying. I bought this laptop because I needed it for law school, specifically since you cannot download OneNote onto Apple and that program ROCKS (Shame on you Microsoft: Apple users can get almost every Office program but OneNote? Really? Please change this policy immediately).

I digress, so let me get right to the details:

Pros:

-The matte non-glare screen is amazing! I have yet to experience any problems.

-Keyboard is wonderful and incredibly functional for typing.

-Touchpad can be configured to be more OR less sensitive!!! THIS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT for professional students such as myself who find ourselves from time-to-time accidentally "palm-swiping" the Touchpad while typing. The result is that the pointer would move to another part of the page while typing (causing headaches). The Touchpad is visibly embedded into the computer and that reduces the likelihood that this will happen.

-Easily rivals the Macbook Air for lightness.

-Very intuitive controls (esp. on the keyboard).

-Boots incredibly fast.

-Samsung software can easily configure updates/problems on their proprietary PCs and their support staff has been very helpful thus far.

-Design is STUNNING.

-Does not easily get scratched and has a very nice texture.

-The screen hinge feels great and stays stable.

-An ultrabook in every sense of the word.

Cons:

-Battery life can be improved (but maybe at the cost of how ridiculously light it is).

-Screen brightness could be increased (but this may affect the aforementioned battery life).

-When you close the lid, it can come into contact with the keys, leaving small square-ish marks upon the screen. You won't see this when the screen is on but will be reminded of it once the computer goes to sleep.

-Keyboard keys could be spread out just a few mm (now I am getting nit-picky).

Conclusion:

-If this is within your budget, GET IT.

-If you have a little more to spend or can wait then buy a newer version of this laptop or one with more RAM. Again, as a MacBook owner, I'm blown away by how well Samsung did in putting together a BEAST of an ultrabook.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A02US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black)

I am typing on it now. Which brings me to my biggest problem with it. It gets hot. My hands are very very warm right now. Its bearable but much hotter than the 15" Samsung I also am testing. I have the luxury of having both but one at least is going back. I have to buy a few more for business and this is the test.

Right away the size. turned me on. It so small, light and the display quality so much better than the 15". But actually using itits too small. I prefer a larger screen and keyboard. But hey this is the trade. These things are getting so small that perhaps we really have reached the turning point of too bloody small for pratical use. I dont really care what anyone at a cafe thinks I do like to carry less at the airport but the difference in these ultrabooks is not that great. 3lbs or 3lbs .... talk about getting lazy. Hmm the heat is a bit much now. Perhaps stuff is packed to closely for airflow.

My unit (NP900x3c-ao2ca) has a liteon 256gb SSD. Better than the u100 sandisk in the 15" so they say. My test programs showed it to be faster in all. Real life I don't notice a difference. The display is much much better quality than the x4d 15" version. The PLS screen has great viewing angles and blacks be black but with detail view able. Nice but has a mild green hue that I cant seem to dial out. Yes I am splitting hair at this price point. I will say the Apple screens are still better but this one is getting very close. Wifi is still an issue for Samsung. Move away from the router and signal drops faster and more than any of my other devices. It suffers some of the same trackpad issues as the x4d. Trackpad just isnt great. Workable but apple is so smooth why not samsung?

My case is a little out of whack. One corner "swoops" up and stands proud so the unit bounces and doesn't lay completely flat. This bothers me at the price point. The x3c is much more $ than the comparable Mac air. So yes I want it all and perfect too! Plus is the case is out then each time I rest my wrist on it I am flexing the sides .... that's how circuit boards fail.

I got mine on sale. Otherwise I wouldn't have even considered it an these are priced VERY high. THe sale brought it just a little over the mac. Overall is a beautiful machine, snappy, fast boot .... but it does get hot. The fans are not moving as much air as the 15". I must give credit to Samsung as these fans are dead silent ... on both the ultrabooks I have here. The 15" x4d gets warm but never hot. The 13" X3C is getting warmer as I type this review and concerns me as to how it will degrade performance. Or maybe something is blacking airflow? There have been complaints about quality control and general build quality

Backlight is so so. Connectivity is minimal. 2 USB and a network requiring Dongle. and there goes the trackpad .... I was typing and it went crazy once again with false clicks and dragged stuff around. Samsung needs to address this.

Overall a super portable ultrabook that looks great and have a nice display. My problems working with its size are just preference. The other kinks are not total deal breakers but something to consider when paying top dollar. 8mb RAM should be here IMO. 4gb .... not enough as the RAM is soldered to the board and not upgradable. Perhaps they simply couldnt fit more in the package. It is the smallest and lightest computer I have ever used. 2 pounds 7oz.

To have a working computer this small really is an impressive feat.

Buy Fom Amazon Now

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Discount ASUS G53SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop

ASUS G53SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
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I have been researching getting a new laptop for quite a while now. I am quite experienced with computers in general. I'm not really a PC gamer (I prefer to game on Xbox 360 and PS3 because I like to be in the living room). That being said, I like powerful PCs, because they do everything faster, so I was seriously considering an Alienware, the MacBook Pro, and this Asus. The Alienware has a really cool design, and great performance. The Macbook Pro was very sleek with a nice, elegant design, and provided the benefit of being able to install native Windows XP via Bootcamp (I still need XP for some of my vintage PC stuff). The Asus has a very cool design, very good performance, nice graphics card, excellent specs, and a beautiful 1080p screen. To get the same specs as the Asus on the other 2 you'd have to pay almost twice as much.

So I didn't like the other two twice as much as the Asus, so I took the plunge.

I ordered it from Amazon because of the very favorable experience I'd had with them in the past. I read about them putting the laptop box inside of another box with no padding, allowing the laptop to shift around during shipping which is not good for drives, etc. Some said to order 1 day shipping to avoid this. I ordered 1-day shipping, but they still shipped it in a larger box with no padding, so this part isn't great. I was very unhappy with the shipping arrangements (they shipped it signature required, which I understand given the $$$; I tried to get UPS to hold it at the distribution center because I wasn't going to be home so I could pick it up later that day they said NO, the shipper has to call to do this I called Amazon and they contacted UPS, but they DIDN'T tell UPS that I wanted to pick it up that day, so I had to wait a day. Ordinarily this is OK with me, but I paid $50 to get it overnight so I was not happy. I emailed Amazon about this. They apologized and refunded my shipping cost, which was nice of them.)

Anyway, I eventually got it. Opening the laptop box, it's well packed. I comes with a Republic of Gamers bookbag and gaming mouse (both with ROG logos and both seem to be high quality) pretty nice extras.

The laptop just looks so cool. I'm very glad I decided to get the 15" screen as opposed to the 17". Both have 1080p, and I like a screen with higher density pixels. Really nice design on the whole. Magnetic lid closure, bright clear screen, no dead pixels. It's really quiet and stays quite cool, although I haven't given it a real test yet. I burned my Recovery DVDs without a hitch. Tested the media reader, camera, microphone, ports, etc. Everything checks out. The keyboard does have a little flex, but it's hardly noticeable. If no-one told you it had the flex, you probably wouldn't have noticed it. Sure, if you STARE at it when pressing keys, you notice it, but I think people are really blowing this fault out of proportion. The key backlighting is nice, but it looks a little messy with the light escaping from the edge of the keys. I would prefer that just the letters on the keys are lit. The trackpad works well, although smaller than many other laptops, and much smaller than the MacBook Pro. It's very zippy, and runs everything very quickly. Lots of bloatware, but I'm in the process of reinstalling a clean windows copy.

Design things I would change: 1) I would have put the power plug in the back because it looks so messy in the middle of the right side of the laptop. 2) I would like to have had the USB ports towards the back not the front, so the cables stay out of my way. 3) screen hinge is a bit stiff, so you have to hold the base down while opening it to keep it on the table, 4) screen doesn't pivot back quite far enough for me. These quibbles are pretty minor though.

One thing that is clear the moment you open this thing up. It's so masculine. It really makes the MacBook Pro seem quite girly. The stealth-fighter look is totally badass. Now I love macs, and I've got a few, but this machine just makes you feel like a man (grunt, growl). Yes, it's heavier and thicker than the MacBook Pro, but I plan on using it as a desktop replacement anyway.

So I'm very happy with my purchase. I would have liked to have a Blu-ray drive in it. Given the sale price with the $150 rebate on top of that, it can't be beat for value.

If you've been considering it, GO FOR IT! I think you'll be very happy with your choice.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I received this laptop yesterday and I've been very satisfied so far.

Packaging: Amazon put the laptop box in a larger box with no padding. It could have easily shifted back and forth in the box. Previous users mentioned this problem so I opted for the overnight delivery to minimize UPS handling of the unit. It seems to have worked.

Screen: Looks amazing although strangely there wasn't a plastic covering when I first lifted the lid. There was no damage or scratches so it didn't bother me so much.

Sound: It's nothing fantastic but it's doable. The laptop has a sub woofer so it's definitely better than most out there.

Video: I tried playing starcraft II at 1920 x 1080 at "Ultra." It wasn't amazingly smooth and there was a bit of lag. I turned the resolution down and textures to high and the game works flawless. This is the only game I've tried so far. 3dmark01 score was 39,421.

Keyboard: I love the backlit features. I've had no problem with it so far. I read reports that the lights will sometimes go out but I've yet to experience that.

Mouse/Backpack: Quality items. The backback is pretty awesome and stylish. The mouse is a Razer Abyssus.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the purchase. There was a lot of bloatware pre-installed however. I simply removed everything that wasn't windows related and installed the drivers again (included on a CD). All of the hotkeys work great and windows boot-up is very fast. I would definately recomment this computer especially since Asus is offering a $150 mail in rebate. Mine is already in the mail.

Note on rebate/warranty: You have to send in the warranty card that comes with the notebook. I've read that if you don't mail it in you will experience troubles in the future if you need to utilize warranty repair. The mail-in rebate is very strict and has small details you have to include be sure to read the instructions carefully. The most annoying part is the UPC code there were so many I didn't know which one to include. It turns out the one I needed was taped on the very tough cardboard box. I just sent the cardboard cutout itself.

UPDATE: 7/25/11

I've been experiencing freezing issues. A couple of times per day my system just freezes. It has yet to freeze while gaming though. When I'm viewing pictures, browsing the internet, etc. When the computer freezes, about 5 seconds later the system makes a large "beep" noise. After a few seconds it unfreezes for about 5 seconds but the freezing continues it's a never ending cycle. I have tried for hours to get ahold of phone support, but while I'm waiting for an agent I get disconnected which leads me to believe phone support is non-existent. I've written an email but it says it'll take 48 hours to respond. I've dropped my review from 5 stars to 1 until this problem gets handled.

UPDATE: 09/23/11

Problem has been fixed. I forgot exactly what I did but it was related to hibernation/sleep mode (which is now disabled).

Best Deals for ASUS G53SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop

I realize that this laptop probably isn't very popular anymore, but I thought I would chime in on it anyway.

The Good-

In terms of hardware for the price, this laptop really can't be beaten. Starcraft II can be run on Ultra/High, and multiple processes (eg. Photoshop, Sony Vegas, Powerpoint) can all run simultaneously with ease. The 12 gigs of RAM is frankly a bit much; I don't think I've gotten over 4 gigs of usage at a time. However, it can be useful if you're looking to create a RAM disk.

The screen is extremely sharp and vibrant. The keyboard illuminates nicely, and the "flex" that other reviewers mentioned is really insignificant. The default sound, while nothing special, is pretty good for a laptop.

The Bad-

Most of the bad things about this laptop are annoyances, and not that bad at all. For example, all of the ports are on the side, which makes things very crowded. Also, sometimes the keyboard fails to register a keystroke, although this isn't common enough to be frustrating. Of course the battery life is horrid, but that comes with the territory.

The Ugly-

There is a freezing issue associated with this laptop. I have to manually reboot the computer because it completely locks up. Another annoyance is that the sound card in this computer is garbage. My subwoofer barely works with it, and (the sub) works perfectly with my friends $600 Dell and my iPod.

Overall-

The tone of this review may have seemed negative, but really the laptop is pretty awesome except for the annoyances. It's powerful, looks good, and is cheap (for what you get). 4/5 stars

10/2/11 edit: Upgraded this review to 5 stars because I fixed some of the issues with it. The freezing issue can be avoided if Hibernation or Sleep mode are not used. The sound card is fine. A pre-installed THX program was set to laptop speakers, preventing the sub from working properly. It sounds great now. 5/5

Honest reviews on ASUS G53SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop

I had the ASUS G53Sw-A1 for about a month now. The first thing I did was put it to a rigorous, non-stop, two maybe three day download. After which I would play a game that takes a fair chunk of the processor to run. The game ran smoothly and the cooling fan (I call it the jet-engine) stayed cool although it did get hot when the GPU was running. I was impressed that only the region around the vent heated up and not the entire back surface of the computer. Even more impressive was how cool the laptop stayed when the gpu was not in use. Casual use of this product for however many hours will barely produce any heat. The ventilation system is top notch for the price!

I own an old 32" 360p t.v. so the difference between HD and standard definition was made very clear (no pun intended). This laptop provides vivid colors (along with other visual preset settings like "theather mode") and sharp pictures. 1080 pixels is enough said. Sold with a high tier graphics card, this is deal is really a bargain. I don't know how people tests Graphics card but just as a benchmark, I'll note that I've played BFBC2 on this laptop. It ran smoothly despite the high settings (although you can really go beyond 4x filtering without compromising the frame rate).

The laptop speaker comprise a strip of space just in front of the keyboard. I don't like the sound quality but would rather listen to the audio of this laptop over another laptop's audio any day. I use headphones most of the time so I can't give an accurate review of the audio quality although the sound outputing to the headphones is great. It had a nice range of power for you party animals and casual listeners out there.

When I called ASUS tech support for help with nonresponsive Function keys, they directed me to download some drivers and the problem was fixed within 10 mintues. I wasn't happy that the laptop wasn't shipped with this particular driver installed but it was a minor detail. Tech support is mediocre but I don't expect a jolly welcome from my laptop provider.

Windows 7 runs nicely on this laptop. I like the slide-show background feature. The first thing I did with this laptop was load the computer with 146gig of files. It handled them without incident.

My only gripe was the battery life without the power adapter. You'll get about 3-5hrs of use running no applications, 2 hrs of use running nonstrenous applications, and 45mins-1hr intensive running of the gpu.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS G53SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop

This computer is a monster. I was able to play all the games I wanted including WOW, Crysis 2, SC2 and Portals at high resolution.

It also included the following:

1Targus Gaming Backpack.

2Razor Gaming Mouse.

I have no complain about the laptop itself just about Amazon packing it was not that good however ASUS packing was good enough to protect it.

I have had this computer for over a month and I have not faced any problem. I did an update of the drivers and even changed the OS to a ultimate edition.

I am running GNS3 with several routers and the computer performs smoothly. The battery is not great but it is not bad too. I mean if you are playing then yes the battery will last no more than 2 hours, however if you are working on any office program it might last 3 hours.

Yes, I strongly recommend this product, I talk with Amazon about the packing issue and they were extremely polite about it and gave me several solutions.

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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Acer Aspire V3-772G-9402 17.3" Core i7 500GB Notebook Reviews

Acer Aspire V3-772G-9402 17.3' Core i7 500GB Notebook
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
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We went about shopping for a high end notebook with in Redmond and all the way to Portland that finally ended up on Amazon. Wow I should have known that the best place to shop for quality notebook would be Amazon. I would have certainly saved time, effort and money :)

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Friday, August 22, 2014

Discount Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5537 15.6 -Inch Laptop (Black)

Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5537 15.6 -Inch Laptop
Customer Ratings: 3 stars
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I bought my Toshiba laptop almost three years ago. It's been great. My husband and I both use it as our primary computer and move it all over our house. I know it's gotten bumped and jostled a lot but it works perfectly. This computer is fast and user friendly. As a banker I love the 10 key option. The computer itself is easy to carry although not the lightest computer I've ever held. It's also comfortable to type on unlike other laptops I've owned and the keyboard is almost as large as a standard keyboard. The screen is large and the picture quality is great I watch a lot of instant videos on my laptop and they always come through really well. This computer has already lasted much longer than both Dell and HP computers that I paid twice as much for. I could upgrade but this computer works so well I have no desire to. I'm planning on buying my husband one for his birthday and I know my next computer will eventually be a Toshiba too. I've never had a laptop I actually loved before. This one is just awesome and so reasonably priced!

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I bought my C655D a few months ago at a local store when it was on sale. Even though the 2GB memory is not a lot, it's enough for my needs! I use it daily for watching streaming videos, a few times a week DVDs, and I also use it to surf the web and use Word and Excel. For web surfing I use it to participate in Amazon's Vine program. The laptop is fast enough, and thanks to IE9, I've been able to consistently log on quickly and request stuff I'm interested in trying out. I'm typing this review on the comforable keyboard. I find the C655D a good inexpensive laptop that's much faster than a netbook which costs about the same or even more. The screen is big and bright and it's nice to have a numeric keypad! Currently I have 5 tabs open in IE9, Word 2010 open, Windows Live Mesh and Messenger running in the background, I also have WMP 12 open but paused on a streaming video, and I just downloaded LastPass in the background. The C655D feels fast and responsive all this time! For virus and spyware protection, I use the lean and mean and highly effective Microsoft Security Essentials, which is free for all Win7 and Vista users. (XP users can get the free Windows Defender, also from Microsoft.)

Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5537 15.6 -Inch Laptop (Black)

Computer is lightweight and very easy to use. Power consumption is resonable as well as battery life.

Cost is very affordable

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5537 15.6 -Inch Laptop (Black)

Windows 7 license was pirated or already used. Sent laptop back. Recieved full credit. Toshiba support was really bad. I'll never buy this brand again!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5537 15.6 -Inch Laptop (Black)

I owned a previous version of this computer which I really liked. The first thing you need to know is that this computer requires a fairly unique power source so if you want to order extra power cables, it is going to be a pain and expensive. The computer itself has a long lasting battery, is fast, and has beautiful graphics.

I love the light up keyboard but do not get any liquids anywhere close to it. You should consider investing in a keyboard cover since even a fraction of a drop of liquid can short out the keyboard.

Now for the downside, the computer bluescreens constantly. There is some kind of a change to the software from its previous incarnation that interacts badly with something I have loaded and causes constant bluescreens. I have fairly basic software. The longest I have gone without blue screening is three weeks. However, mostly it blue screens multiple times in a day. I have reloaded the operating system twice and I have had the computer into an authorized Toshiba repair shop multiple times and I still have the problem. This is a deal breaker for me and I have reverted to using my old computer.

Therefore, I give it two stars.

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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Best HP Pavilion g6-2237cl 15.6" HD LED Laptop, AMD A6-4400M, 6GB RAM Deals

HP Pavilion g6-2237cl 15.6' HD LED Laptop, AMD A6-4400M, 6GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Beats Audio, Windows 8
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
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It's not a Mac, but I could not afford two Mac's so I got this for my daughter because most of homework is received on the internet. She loves it, it was about the only one that had windows 8 and 1TB HDD. She loves the Beats Audio and the price was amazing for the holiday season. No complants here.

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It's really fast, but, for me, it's annoying that every time I start it I have to activate Num Lock key; otherwise it wouldn't generate any number! Besides, I had to implement certain tricks to get somehow used to Windows 8.

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Saturday, August 2, 2014

Cheap ASUS N53SV-EH71 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Silver

ASUS N53SV-EH71 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
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The quality of this laptop far surpasses its price. In addition to having great specs, this laptop is also really well-built. The fans are silent and efficient. The laptop barely gets warm even under during gaming. The laptop chassis is solid and compact. Th brushed aluminum cover is elegant and does not suffer from fingerprint build-up.

Unlike the earlier version which I returned (n53sv-xe1), EH71 does not have its predecessor's disappointing keyboard flexes. The screen is vivid and bright, but the viewing angle can be a bit better. My only complaint at the moment is the huge, easily scratched plastic screen bezel. I decided not to go with the high resolution model because the text gets a bit too small.

Also, I was amazed at the battery life of this laptop. Using power-saving mode, this laptop lasted 5-6 hours.

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It's unfortunate that they moved the price up to $940. It was $690 when I ordered it and was an awesome deal at that price. I didn't look at too many laptops in the $900 range, but it's probably still a reasonably good deal at that price.

The system runs current games smoothly on "high" settings, and games over a year old run smoothly on the highest settings. So this won't cut it for a die-hard gamer, but it's great for casual gaming.

I quickly upgraded the ram to the 16GB max with 2 of these Crucial 8GB Kit (4GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600 Memory Module (CT2KIT51264BC1339) (totaling 4 sticks of 4GB). Swapping out the ram took all of 2 minutes. I work from home online and often have several programs running and over 100 tabs open in my web browser. So having enough memory to run smoothly for hours with a heavy load without having to reboot is awesome.

NOTE: Amazon's specs lack detail here. They should point out that the ram is PC3-10600. A lot of laptops in the

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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Best Acer Aspire E1-571-6492 15.6 Notebook PC (Intel Core i5-2450M Deals

Acer Aspire E1-571-6492 15.6 Notebook PC
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
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I pretty much like this Machine. Overall VERY good computer. The computer is really fast. It works great for all of my needs. I would recommend this product. It also worth to upgrade to 8GB and switch to 180 SSD.

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It is light with battery. It is neat with all features that satisfies a home user. Although the sound of keyboard may be a little louder than I expected, it does not bother me and it works perfectly fine. Compared to other similar products on the market, the price is quite a great deal. Overall, I enjoy much on this one.

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it was working fine for a few weeks, then i started having problems. the product looks good though. ill go for a mac bext time

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Friday, July 18, 2014

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black) Reviews

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p 15.6-Inch Laptop
Customer Ratings: 4.5 stars
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I have to admit, I was a bit concerned when I first purchased this product and was waiting on shipment because I realized there was an SLI version for only $200 more. However, when I received this laptop, IT CAME WITH A GT750M SLI ALREADY INSTALLED (not to mention the bluray player as well!). This laptop config is WELL worth the price with the 4th gen i7 processor, 16 gb of ram, 1TB of HD and 24gb of SSD, and TWO nvidia GT750M SLI! I instantly downloaded all my games and booted up Guild Wars 2 first. It ran like a CHARM; all settings maxed and doing World Vs World with huge battles.

I am upgrading from an Alienware m11x R1 and I don't think I have EVER had a gaming experience as amazing as this one. I recommend this to ANYONE looking for a gaming laptop at an affordable price that can play ANY game on the market right now with all settings max.

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As other reviews have mentioned, there were some discrepancies with Amazon's description of this product in regards to the supposed model number. Amazon's info is a bit all over the place on the product listing, but we have confirmed that this is, as far as I know, the BEST Y510P spec/bundle out there. This model is not even available on Lenovo's site (I checked regularly for a system spec'd like this), and those on Lenovo site were also not as good of a deal price-wise. At time of purchase, Amazon's price was $1,179.99 (MSRP is $1,299.99).

This PC includes the following:

-Intel i7-4700MQ (2.4GHz, up to 3.40 GHz. 6MB Cache)

-16GB RAM

-1TB HDD

-24GB Cache SSD

-Nvidia GT750M built-in

-Nvidia GT750M Ultra-Bay module (to make the system SLI GT750M)

-BluRay BD-RE/DVDRW Ultra-Bay module (swap-able with SLI module) [YES, IT BURNS BLU-RAYS IT SEEMS, this is an expensive drive!]

-1920x1080 Anti-Glare LED Back-lit Screen (another good rarity as the others I found are a glossy screen, such as those on Lenovo's site)

-Plus the usual slew of standard features found on most laptops these days (USB 3.0, USB 2.0 [with always on capability], phones/mic ports, Kensington lock slot, 720P webcam w/ dual mics, card-reader, HDMI, VGA, LAN, Bluetooth).

Fit 'n' Finish:

Knowing Lenovo's high quality already, as I've worked on many laptops throughout the years, I knew this was going to be a solid system. The whole system has a very nice fit and feel, rather classy in a way too. It's overall very tight with solid build quality featuring brushed metal on the top surfaces such as the lid and the area surrounding the keyboard/touch-pad, accents in red. Considering how powerful of a system it is, I was surprised by how thin and light it felt, especially compared to what I was coming from (ASUS G60JX). The system is very aesthetically pleasing. Also, being a fan of the red/black color scheme, this was very attractive to me. The keyboard has an adjustable back-light, which illuminates the keys in a red color (most notable in darker settings). Keyboard is very pleasing to type on. I use a mechanical keyboard on my desktop system and this one has a nice tactile response reminiscent of a mechanical. Another big point for me, and a must-have, is the inclusion of the number-pad. I cannot use a laptop without a number-pad as I frequently use it for work. Most 15" models do not include them, requiring buyers to step up to a 17" or larger to get one. This Lenovo has a number-pad which means it was ahead of many of the competing models right from the get-go in my eyes. Onto the touch-pad, it is rather large and surprised me with how many functions it has. The software allows many different gestures (incorporating multiple fingers if you so please), settings, and etc. Sensitivity of the touch-pad is also quite nice, but I had to turn it down a bit for me and increase the resistance to wrist movement. Out of the box, the touch-pad settings were a little too touchy, but spending the time to adjust them to your liking is definitely worth your time.

File/Desktop Performance:

The system has run flawlessly since I received it. It's very fast and gets increasingly faster as you use it (as this is how the 24GB SSD cache functions). The more you use the PC, the more it figures out which files are being processed frequently and adds them to the cache. Lenovo uses ExpressCache (pre-installed and configured), so you do not have to do anything additional to start to see the benefits. The 16GB of ram is also nice to have (and the same amount I have in my desktop system). I tend to load up a PC with applications like Photoshop, multiple browsers with a ridiculous amount of open tabs, and more at all times, which tends to eat up RAM like it's a delicious cookie. Having the 16GB RAM is definitely awesome in this regard as, much like my home system, I have not been able to come close to full utilization; however, even on an 8GB system, I start to slow them down. System has been very responsive and a pleasing experience to use. Programs launch instantly, which is always nice. When it comes to PCs, I need them high performance and running fast or I get cranky.

Display:

The display is quite nice as it's a Full-HD (1080P) LED back-lit LCD with anti-glare (matte) screen. As I mentioned above, all the other systems (or at least those on the Lenovo website) come with a glossy screen (which was the only thing I was not too excited about). When I received this and noticed the anti-glare, I was pleasantly surprised. Using this system mostly for work being under fluorescent lights, I was very happy that this had anti-glare. The screen also boasts very good brightness and a large range of adjustable brightness. The color accuracy and over-all picture is quite good for right out of the box (I will calibrate with Nvidia controls later, but no rush). Having a resolution like 1080P in a 15" model is nice as you really cannot notice individual pixels like on a much larger screen. On my home system, I use a 27" screen and the difference is quite noticeable.

Sound:

The stock JBL speakers were surprising when I first used them. I loaded up some music and I thought something was wrong initially. These little laptop speakers actually have some bass response! My ASUS (while featuring Altec Lansing) had a rather shrill, bright sound with very little low-end response (and nothing below around 500Hz). These speakers on the Lenovo are a big improvement. Not only do they have low-end response, but they get rather loud also, which is a pleasant surprise. I listened to quite a few tracks of music and while they are not audiophile quality like my home or car setups, these are the best laptop speakers I've used yet. Plenty good enough for listening to some tunes while at work, watching videos/movies, or playing games.

Gaming:

Why did I purchase a SLI-GT750M laptop for work?! Well, let's just say sometimes it gets boring at work (or if I'm away from home for any substantial length of time)! Anyway, the other night I loaded up Rise of the Triad (2013 re-boot by Interceptor Entertainment / Apogee) and set the game on "Ludicrous" (it's highest settings). I loaded up the first level on the highest difficultly and had myself a fun-filled frag-fest. The game ran beautifully with all the eye candy turned on. While that game is not the most cutting edge game out there graphically, it still looks good with the eye candy turned up and is a fast paced type game where having anything but a high frame-rate is unacceptable. Also, I had been playing this at home on my i7-3770K @ 4.8GHz and over-clocked AMD 7970 (clearly a more powerful system), but the enjoyment level was just as good on both. I loaded up a few other games for a quick spin and again was very surprised, usually being able to do at least "high" settings, but obviously some games on their tip-top settings would leave a less than desireable frame-rate. Over-all, however, this laptop provided a much better gaming experience than I would have expected. I'm quite happy that I decided to get the system with the SLI GT750M as that definitely helps (and most games support SLI these days). I should also mention that the sound quality coming from the JBL speakers while playing games was quite good as well. There was plenty enough sound with no distortion to become fully immersed in game-play, which is exactly what you want from your speakers.

Conclusion:

This was purchased mostly as my work laptop. As a desktop system builder, tweaker, overclocker, etc, I have very little patience with a slow system. This system is quite an awesome upgrade from my ASUS G60JX as it blows it away in every way possible and is a much better fit to my desktop system. Lenovo builds a quality system (as I know from doing repairs on various systems throughout the years) and this one does not disappoint. I really cannot complain about anything so far as it's exceeded my expectations thus far. Time will tell how it holds up, but I'm confident it will be good. Lenovo is the number one laptop I recommend to people who ask me for laptop advice and so far, that recommendation has always proved solid as the systems really are built well. It's a dream to work on and I actually look forward to turning it on (or waking it from sleep as I usually do), both of which are very quick. The fact that I can also do some high-quality gaming, movie-watching, and listen to tunes and not have my ears cringe are all positives as well. I highly recommend this system. I am not going to spend much time commenting on the Windows 8 as I know some people are sketchy about it. I personally have been using Windows 8 on my desktop system since last year (and currently using the 8.1 Preview, which has some great changes and additions, coming official in the Fall). I thoroughly like W8 after configuring it to my preferences.

If I had to make any gripes, it would be battery-life. It can get about 3 hours, but I wasn't really expecting much more than that on a standard capacity battery. Also, Lenovo does install quite a few apps from the factory, however they really don't slow the system down, so it's not a huge deal. I just disable and uninstall the ones I do not want / will not use. Both of these are fairly minor gripes considering the positives of this system.

I will update later if I come across anything else worth mentioning, also feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments section.

UPDATE: I installed the Blu-Ray Ultra-bay module... It's actually a Blu-Ray BD-RE drive, so it can burn to Blu-Ray disc. Pretty damn awesome if you ask me as these drives aren't cheap by any means! I thought it was only a Blu-Ray player / DVDRW combo, not the case. The part is a MATSHITA BD-MLT UJ262 (look it up if you want) featuring Panasonic Blu-Ray lens (judging by the Panasonic logo on the top). I've also added some pictures to the User Photos on the Amazon listing, so, check it out!

UPDATE 2: Battery life improves if you disable SLI in Nvidia control panel OR remove the GT750M Ultra-bay module in favor of the BD/DVD drive. Last night during testing of the BD/DVD drive, I was getting over 3 hours.

UPDATE 3: The USB ports on this system have a great feel to them. They are very tight and have a nice definitive click when inserting a device. Another thing which is nice, and was part of my reason for Lenovo, is that the headphone and microphone jacks are metal barrel. It's far too often that the plastic barrel jacks break if you jolt them while something is plugged into them. The steel barrel jacks definitely hold up better I've noticed. Also, the fact that the barrel is tightly fitted into the chassis means that there is no wiggle room for the jack to move around again strengthening the jack by adding rigidity and no possible way for it to shift and break, unlike how most companies employ the plastic type.

UPDATE 4: Windows 8 Pro Performance Assessment results:

Processor: 7.8

Memory (RAM): 7.8

Graphics: 7.7

Gaming graphics: 7.7

Primary Hard Disk: 6.9

Pretty solid results. Windows 7 had a max rating of 7.9, Win 8's max is now 9.9. The HDD performance is better than I had anticipated considering I rarely see regular HDD's score higher than 5.9 unless they're under RAID-0.

Best Deals for Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black)

Differences between the $999 Y510p and this one, that make this one a much better deal:

1. this one comes with the maximum 16 Gigabytes of RAM installed (2x8GB), the $999 one only has 8 GB (2x4GB)

2. this one has the 24 GB solid state drive installed, the other one does not come with a SSD

4. this one has a writable internal Blu Ray drive included for the Ultrabay, the other one does not. To install the Blu Ray you slide out the SLI graphics card.

Now, these are 3 pretty major upgrade items included for an extra 180 bucks especially considering you cannot even buy Ultrabay peripherals from Lenovo at this time. In other words, this one is fully loaded with every upgrade as soon as you open the box.

Honest reviews on Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p 15.6-Inch Laptop (Metal - Dusk Black)

I have had the y510p for about 5 days. Other than being a finger print magnet I found it to be a extremely fast laptop. The screen is NOT glossy but has a fine textured antiglare finish. I have a dell 2713h and it is every bit as good! Nicest screen I have seen on a laptop other than a retina display. The keyboard is very comfortable and has a good feel to it. Like the backlighting and easy to adjust brightness. The only drawback is the 5200 rpm hdd which I am swapping out with an ssd. I will move the hd to the drive bay as I rarely need the second graphics card. Not a big issue.

There seems to be a change where the 4600 intel graphics chip is being used most of the time rather than the gpu's. works great at 1440 or 1080 using hdmi. I can only assume Lenovo is trying to address the low run times reported by some users. The fans are quiet unless you are heavy gaming. Not sure how much the cash sad helps but is seems quick to boot and load programs. Faster than I expected. This is really the first laptop that really has some power. I have a VAIO i5 and It feels like a net book in comparison.I bought it to run autocad and pcb pads and it handles those programs amazingly well. I do not want another "tower",

I am not a gamer per se and was really looking for a high performance machine and I found it at an extremely good price. I have been running windows 8 for some time and still learning to drive it. I think I have passed the threshold of frustration and now beginning to enjoy it.

There seemed to be a lot of complaints with the trackpad, however, the one I have works great! No complaints. the speakers are "ok" but was expecting more.

In summary.

Plus: keyboard, performance and the screen is amazing! USB ports are fast.

Cons: bit heavy, hard to keep case clean of finger prints, and documentation. Glossy bezel around screen could be better. The USB ports etc. are up front and cabling gets in the way (minor complain). No type "n" on wireless, It is not easy to rest on your lap in the summer.....

All in all the performance is certainly capable of competing with any upper mid range DIY desktop without needing a set of wheels to move it. I am impressed and hopefully I can say the same thing in a year from now. And one more thing about the display. It is usable outdoors. It is much brighter than other laptops on is much easier to view than my ipad or iPhone. Lenovo made a really good decision to use a top quality panel!

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Hi I don't normally do reviews but I felt it was needed for this laptop. Let me first start off by telling you I have experience with computers a lot and I currently own a gaming desktop as well. Also, i wanted to clear up any confusion of whats included, because if youre like me at all you research for days to find the right pc with the best options. Lets get started.

Features

This laptop comes with many features. I bought the one specced with 16gb ram, dua NVidia 750m's (sli, well get more into later), 4th gen i7-4700 haswell processor, and 15.6" 1080p antiglare screen. the cpu is clocked at 2.4ghz with smart boost technology that will automatically overclock to 3.4 ghz if the cpu is in need (mostly for gaming. This model does actually come with a 6-in-1 sd card reader/writer, 2 3.0 usb slots, 1 2.0 slot, hdmi output and stand rj45 Ethernet connection port. Feautring a 720p camera for supposed hd video calling. Last but not least, this model definitely includes a blu ray player, I have inserted and successfully installed it.

Gaming

I mostly bought this laptop for the intent of gaming when im not at my pc and also for running AutoCAD and various other design programs im taking through college. This laptop performs beautifully and at a cheap price of $1279.99 at the time of purchase. When I got the laptop I, it does in fact come with an NVidia 750m installed into the ultrabay. With this sli onfiguration, I can run Battlefield 3 on ultra at 30 fps and on high at 75 fps, Skyrim on ultra at 60 fps, starcraft 2 WoL and HotS on ultra at 140 fps. I also got the chance to beta test Elder Scrolls Online ;p that runs maxed out at 60 fps. SO, what im saying is these graphics cards are certainly here to stay for quite a few future games.

Ultrabay

This model features the ultrabay where you can swap out the current NVidia card for a blu ray, a better card, a fan, or even a ssd. However, at the moment I do not know where you can buy these peripherals so ill update it if ever find out, more on that later.

Optical Drive

Now ive definitely had some extensive tests and issues with the optical drive that comes bundled into this computer. I will tell you now, it is 100% possible to play blu rays as I have watched 3 since I figured it out. When my package arrived, the box containing the optical drive just said removable dvd burer, upon opening you will learn it is the Matshita bd-uj262 blu ray reader/writer drive! Now, a few people have complained about having to upgrade Cyberlink Power DvD (used to play your dvds in the drive, like a windows media player) and others saying just download a program that plays blu ray. I can assert with confidence you 100% HAVE to upgrade, an extra $71, which if you don't really care about blu ray playback isn't a problem, but I really enjoy movies and blu ray. The reason I know its this way is I did download several other programs to get it to work and it never worked so I just bought the upgrade. However, after the upgrade they still didn't work, so I called Lenovo and tried to figure this out. Apparently our "Dual nvidias" are built into "one removable unit" rendering the blu ray use less sinc it needs a graphics card to play. Knowing a lot about computer I called B******* on that. One of the cards is built into the computer permanently, and in order for your omputer to recognize its there, you must update the intel onboard graphics, then nvidias, then it will work. SO, after much hassle I finally got it to work and I cannot ven begin to express how satisfied I am with the beauty of the picture. If you cant get your blu ray working, just comment or email me (wilkinsontaylor33@yahoo.com). Id love to help.

JBL Speakers

Not much to say hear, they have a pseudo-5.1 surround but the bass isn't too deep but what do you expect from laptop speakers :p I think theyre fine as I use external speakers and headphones anyway!

Trackpad

A lot has been said about the trackpad being bad, and I agree to an extent, but heres why. There is no separate buttons so the whole thing is usable for mouse cursor movement, which can get annoying but its no biggie for me as I use an external mouse anyway.

Power

The battery last around 3 hours playing basic games like minecraft, however if youre using to play music while you clean up or do homework you can get around 4.5 hours!

Storage

Comes with 1tb HDD and a 24gb cache ssd. Now, I have had the laptop 2 days and alreay noticing a difference with the ssd. The more you use a certain program or file (such as startup, and games) the faster the computer will load these. cool feature I think!

Misc

Havent tried the usb 3.0 yet but it does have a solid grasp on usbs plugged in(plugged my mouse in for a bit). The keyboard is reminiscent of my Cherry MX RED mechanical keyboard, tacktile feedback with slightly more resistance. Heat ventilation vents out the sides of the graphics cards and also out the bottom. As of now my internl temp n any component hasn't gone above 72 degrees celcius. Not bad for 6 hours of skyrim :p I have read the a cooling pad drastically reduces that number as well.

All in all, Im very very happy with this laptop, considering everything you get the $1279.99+$71.00 for that software you have to get is an amazing price. I wanted to do this in depth review for those out there skeptical of the laptop and whats in it and how t runs. I guarantee you wont be disappointed in it! If you have any questions, again comment or email me (wilkinsontaylor33@yahoo.com) Id love to help!

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Thursday, April 3, 2014

Cheap Sony VAIO E Series SVE15132CXB 15.5-Inch Laptop (Black)

Sony VAIO E Series SVE15132CXB 15.5-Inch Laptop
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
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I purchased my Sony Vaio from the Sony Store in October, but this is the same brand. Initially I was excited about receiving it. The keyboard is beautiful, the screen is wide, and the performance is quite strong. I only listed my title as it being a "good computer" because this is the first computer I've come across that battery depletes even when not in use and automatically stops charging and switches to battery usage even when plugged in. This will happen even if the battery is not fully charged. To this point this is the only big issue I have with the Sony Vaio.

Also, I read a lot of reviews about the hassles of the touchpad and I figured that maybe it just takes some getting used to. It does... The touchpad can be annoying at times and takes some practice to become familiar with it. Most times I have to click repeatedly just to be sure my option is selected.

Overall I will rate the Vaio E series an 8/10. It wasn't the fabulous computer I thought I'd be getting, but I'm quite pleased with it. I guess since the E series is aimed at people on a budget, what could I expect?

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If your wireless drivers mysteriously break and are unfixable, as mine was, and you have to re-install Windows, you are in for a world of pain. Sony's site has drivers that will literally make your computer inoperable. I am on my third re-install now, first I downloaded a rootkit from Sony's site, then a battery program bundled with the VAIO control center hosed me. I will never buy a VAIO again.

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Everything Perfect! I love it. Nice notebook. Xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

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Thank you for the laptop :D. I don't have any problem with the product. My new laptop is wonderful. Have a good day

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I gave it one star because its a Sony, that's it. I had high hopes but windows 8 sucks, the mouse sucks, the computer shell sucks because all you see is finger/oil marks. I feel like it was made half-ass I really loved there previous laptops.

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Sony VAIO VPC-EB47GM/BJ 15.5" Notebook (2.66GHz Intel Core i5-480M Reviews

Sony VAIO VPC-EB47GM/BJ 15.5' Notebook
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
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This laptop was purchased as a multi media tool for capturing and editing video. The speakers are the very worst that I have ever owned in a laptop. Volume is very low and fidelity is non-existant. I have three other laptops, including a Gateway net book that have on-board sound far superior to the Sony. I was also unhappy with the media card slot. It will not hold a card firmly enough to maintain a reliable contact. For me those are major drawbacks, because of the intended use of the machine. Other than that, the computer is fast and reliable although pricey.

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This is a great laptop. It could do everything I wanted it to from playing games, surfing the web, anything. Although the speakers where not very good, but I always have headphones so It wasn't a big deal for me. It's fast which I love being a impatient person and the start up for me took around a minute. This was a amazing buy and I suggest it for anytone that is just getting a laptop for the first time.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO VPC-EB47GM/BJ 15.5" Notebook (2.66GHz Intel Core i5-480M

The laptop was in good condition, so in short, i like it..I use it now, so there is nothing wrong, everything is operating good.

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Monday, March 10, 2014

Best DELL LATITUDE D630 INTEL CORE 2 DUO CENTRINO 1.8GHz 60GB 1GB Deals

DELL LATITUDE D630 INTEL CORE 2 DUO CENTRINO 1.8GHz 60GB 1GB CDRW/DVD 14'WIDE XP PRO WI-FI
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
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I have bought two of these computers from Data Sales Co. within a few weeks of each other. The first one worked great with no problems, however the next one I bought worked for only 4 days. Granted it is a refurbished model but come on...four days?! Anyway all I wanted to do was return this dud for another one of equal value (I didn't even want money back) After 2 weeks of ZERO response from Data Sales Co. I'm going with one star due to Very poor communication (none to be exact). Beware of buying this computer from Data Sales.

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A great computer for the price. You cant do better for what u get . I will buy another next year.

Best Deals for DELL LATITUDE D630 INTEL CORE 2 DUO CENTRINO 1.8GHz 60GB 1GB

This laptop arrived in good condition. Is every thing it was advertised to be and is giving good service as of now. Don,t have to use it a great deal since already have an alternate. Very satisfied as to price and laptop.

Honest reviews on DELL LATITUDE D630 INTEL CORE 2 DUO CENTRINO 1.8GHz 60GB 1GB

there was a huge crack in the back of computer and i wasnt impressed with it at all i would have returned it but by the time i used it it was to late

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Excellent! I receive it in perfect conditions and so far is working perfect. Is very easy to use and is very fast and it serve the purpose for why I bough it.

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Best HP Pavilion 14-f020us 14-Inch Touchscreen Sleekbook Deals

HP Pavilion 14-f020us 14-Inch Touchscreen Sleekbook
Customer Ratings: 5 stars
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I recently purchased this laptop from an outside source(sorry Amazon)and I LOVE it! The keyboard is easy to type on, the touch screen a cool feature and the size is perfect. This is my first new laptop in years. The Windows 8 takes some time to get used to but once you unpin all the stuff you don't need it's quite easy to figure out.

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