Reviews of Toshiba Satellite P755-S5274 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:

I purchased this laptop 6/30. I received and un-boxed it 7/5. It is well-equipped for the price.

Positives

-The 2nd Gen Core-i5 has excellent benchmarks, comparable and even better than some 1st Gen Core-i7. (See Passmark Benchmark ratings)

-The video card puts out 1080p video without issue. It is not really capable of doing any gaming but that is to be expected at this price from the Intel HD 3000.

-For the price point the theoretical specs are fabulous, hence my purchase and excitement upon arrival.

-It comes with a full size keyboard built in which I enjoy. The sizing and spacing is all acceptable although the backspace is a touch smaller than I would like.

As far as negatives are concerned,

-The webcam is horrendous, I mean, it works, but the resolution and video quality is pretty shameful. I knew this going into the purchase and was willing to accept it, but if you are hoping for a decent integrated webcam this is not a computer for you. Of course you can always get a very high quality external webcam which will best any internal.

-Toshiba Bloatware, I haven't fully investigated them, but a lot of them are redundant to services that windows provides, or just excessive little power hungry toys. Thus far I do actually like the extra power settings, but that is the only one among many.

-Other Bloatware (Extra links to install trial programs...etc)

Now, the reason for 1-star.

The laptop I received on 7/5 was defective. The audio card integrated on the motherboard was deemed defective by Toshiba. Of course Toshiba customer support made me re-install the driver, and "revert to factory settings". I found this excessively annoying as I has just opened the box and reverting to factory settings wouldn't do anything. Regardless the problem remained and they agreed it was defective and told me I could send it to a repair facility (a brand new laptop? and wait a few weeks, i think not). Or Amazon could send me a new one. I have had better dealings with Amazon than Toshiba so I opted for a replacement. Props to Amazon for the prompt replacement (it arrived within 24 hours). Now, believe it or not, the 2nd laptop is also defective. I then had to call Toshiba again to inform them of this. They didn't seem to find it odd that two of the exact same computers are both defective. Anyway Amazon is refunding me the money and I intend to get something else. Preferably not Toshiba despite my previously high impressions of them.

I would be interested to know if anyone else is having these issues. For anyone who may be skeptical as to the fact that two computers are both defective let me assure you sound was tested with several samples of audio from the HD, and the internet. It was also tested on both computers using the laptop speakers, Sennheiser Headphones, and a high quality system with Polk Audio speakers.

Bottom Line:

The specs are great, but I cannot recommend a computer that has come defective 2/2 times. Once is acceptable, it happens, but twice is not acceptable and both Amazon and Toshiba should be ashamed to be selling faulty merchandise repeatedly.

[UPDATE]

After receiving a third defective laptop I have ordered a Lenovo from Best Buy. I cannot fathom that nobody else is having this issue. This has been tested on numerous receivers, numerous cords, numerous speakers. I have had friends with me to verify that I am in fact not going insane, and Toshiba has verified they are all defective. The error occurs upon setup without changing factory settings at all.

Stay away.

In other news the touchpad is definitely a little far to the left and while typing I often touch it with my left palm. Minor issue though.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Bear with me here folks, I'm still trying to pull together my thoughts on my brand new laptop here, consider my review a "first draft". :)

Received this laptop early this morning. My first impression is pretty good, but I've only been with it for a few hours thus far. I've surfed around online some, streamed some HD video, played a couple games, and removed a ton of bloatware.

Was a little worried at first, because the first boot-up took quite awhile, but once I removed some bloatware, shut down, and booted up again, it's ready to go within 20-30 seconds. After running it for 2 hours straight, mostly surfing around online, it's not hot enough to even call it warm, so it should be good about keeping cool. The fan seems to come on pretty often, but it's not very loud, it's mostly just the sound of air moving in and out. Wireless internet seems to work perfectly, and I easily connected to my network.

I actually quite like the touchpad on it, which is strange for me to say, because I'm picky about touchpads. I think it works well, and it's slightly textured, but not overly so. The keyboard seems nicely built for a laptop too.

I don't own much in the name of games, but I've played some Sim City 4 and The Sims 2 on high settings without any hiccups. HD video streamed smoothly as well.

Overall, I'm quite happy with my purchase. I'll be updating this review once I spend more time with it and finish getting my thoughts together.

Edit: Okay, so I never updated my review, too lazy to do it. However, it is now February 3rd 2012, and this computer is still up and running like new. I've owned it for 7 months and I have had no problems, even though I run it about 7 hours everyday. It continues to run cool, fast, and with no issues at all.

Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite P755-S5274 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Black)

This is my first laptop, and even though I've only had it for 9 days, I believe I've drawn a conclusion already.

Pros: 6gb ram and huge 640gb hard drive

Extremely smooth Youtube video playback

USB 3, Bluetooth 3, Wireless B/G/N, HDMI and VGA out

Quiet

Great battery life (in my opinion?)

The "chiclet" style keyboard is incredibly easy and satisfying to type on. The keys give off a satisfying light click, and they're far enough away from eachother so I rarely hit another key.

I have never seen an HD Youtube video play back so smooth before, not even on my desktop with an Nvidia Geforce GTS 250.

Speaking of video performance, Minecraft plays as smooth as my desktop plays it. I have not played other games, but DO NOT buy this laptop for gaming; you'll likely regret it.

It takes 22 seconds from power on (with the BIOS option "Load BIOS onto harddisk" checked), until you get a usable Windows 7 login screen.

The laptop has quite a few ports and features including: USB 2 and 3, Bluetooth 3, Wireless B/G/N, and HDMI and VGA out. Very handy to have and use all of them.

Internet browsing is far from slow, it feels much faster than my desktop.

You can only hear the fan occasionally speed up, if you strain to hear it in a quiet room.

Battery life is awesome, I was able to type an entire 725 word essay from start to finish with 10% left.(3 hours at least, maybe 4. I lost track of time)

Speedfan claims both cores are idling at 109f, but you can hardly feel any warmth from the laptop even after several hours of use.

Display is glossy, vivid and bright. Some may see it being glossy as a con; it's fine indoors, but tough to use outside (I never use it outside).

The numpad is an awesome feature to include, it was one of my main requirements in a laptop.

Windows 7 makes everything feel instant and responsive.

I've never run out of ram with the included 6gb.

Now onto the bad stuff (Minor whining on my part)

Cons: Keyboard is not backlit

Off center touchpad location interferes with typing

Dust magnet

Bloatware madness

Speakers suck(ish)

This laptop has doesn't have backlit keys, not a con if you know how to type; I just always thought they looked cool at night.

Regularly while typing, my hand rests on the touchpad and jumps the mouse around as another reviewer also mentioned. Annoying at times, just reposition your left hand slightly.

Needs to be wiped off daily or it grows a beard of dust. (Or maybe I just need to vacuum my room more than once a year)

Copious amounts of bloatware -some bundled with drivers. Google a program before deleting to make sure you don't inadvertently kill flashcards or the touchpad.(Happened to me)

Extremely slow until you kill off bloatware and stuff you don't plan on using.

As another reviewer stated, I have had the laptop claim it had an hour of battery life left, then 5 minutes later, it shut off. I remember reading through the Toshiba manual, and apparently it has to kind of "calibrate" the battery meter and run itself down once in a while to be accurate; I am guessing this applies to the first cycle especially. It has not done this since.

Speakers are clear, but severely lack bass. Using skullcandy earphones remedies that problem.

The bright Satellite letters and line above the touchpad can be turned off in the BIOS. I believe another reviewer said that already.

I am not a picky person, so these cons don't annoy me enough to be worth subtracting a star. The bottom line is that this is an awesome laptop for everything except gaming. (After you get over the minor quirks.)

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite P755-S5274 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Black)

I've had this laptop for about two weeks and I love it. It's fast and loaded with a lot of useful features. Multi-tasking, installing programs, removing crapware and transferring data onto this machine have been a quick breeze.

I love the keyboard and number pad. They both have a normal set-up so you don't have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out where a certain button has been misplaced (an issue I've had previous laptops/netbooks I've owned and other models I've tried out in stores). Keys are pretty easy on the fingers and feel nice to the touch. Keyboard is NOT backlit as far as I can tell but it wasn't an important feature for me so no minus marks there.

Screen is crisp and has good contrast; it's not washed out like a lot of laptop screens I've come across in my research. It's viewable from almost any angle so it doesn't need to be at an exact precise angle for you to see the screen well-lit.

Speakers can go pretty loud for laptop speakers. They aren't the best speaker quality but pretty darn good for a laptop.

Unlike previous laptops I've had, this one runs pretty cool. Haven't had an issue with heat at all (even when I've absentmindedly left it running on top of the bed or on carpet). I do feel heat being pushed out by the fan but the system itself remains pretty cool to the touch (ie you won't burn your lap if it's resting on your leg and you'll probably have no need for a laptop cooler fan).

Other people have commented on the placement of the touchpad. This was a concern for me before I purchased it but it turns out that I rarely have an issue with it. Once in a while the touchpad does act up while I'm typing but in comparison to a lot of other models I've tried out it's a pretty minor problem. The touchpad on/off key is conveniently located near the touchpad so it can be switched off right away if you need to do some heavy-duty typing.

Laptop has a high-quality plastic feel (yes, it's plastic). No flexing in the keyboard or case; feels very sturdy. The grooved design all over the laptop is a nice touch that prevents fingerprint smudges.

An added bonus is the free Xbox for students. I haven't received the xbox credit yet. I'v contacted Amazon and they swiftly replied that the xbox credit is on it's way so we'll see how that goes.

It took me a while to decide on buying this laptop since I couldn't find the exact model in any brick and mortar store to try out personally. You can't go wrong with the specs but I would recommend going to an electronic store and trying out similar Toshiba models to see if you like the configuration of the keyboard, touchpad, etc since those are all based on personal preference. I think I tried out P755-S5215 at Best Buy; it has nearly an identical appearance. For the price the specs on this machine are great. No regrets so far, very happy customer.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba Satellite P755-S5274 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Black)

I replaced an 8 year old Satellite with this computer. This new computer is very quick, keyboard keys have a nice touch. Fairly quite, lightweight and solid feeling. Windows 7 seems to be pretty good.

I find that the dolby advanced audio is not good and distorts music, try turning it off to make your music sound good. Also when you plug your speaker line into the headphone jack, select the headphone option, otherwise the line-in option also takes away from the music.

I was afraid that off center keyboard would be awkward and it is. Maybe I will get used to it. There is very little room for the left palm to rest on the computer and frequently inadvertently touches the mouse pad causing the mouse to do things I don't want it to do.

I chose toshiba again because my previous satellite served me near flawlessly (replaced hard drive once)for 8 years.

Discount Hp Probook 4540s C9k70ut 15.6' LED Notebook - Intel - Core I3

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $619.00
Sale Price: $536.59
Today's Bonus: 13% Off

I actually bought this model [a few weeks ago] w/ the I-3 Core Intel processor at Best Buy [online] for $499 w/ free shipping. I'm a IT/Network/Computer professional so I knew that the difference between the I-3 and I-5 processor is not all that great, and just boosting the RAM up to 8Gb [on this laptop] gives you plenty of operational efficiency and speed. Also the 7200 rpm hard drive gives much faster data transfer than the [standard] 5400 rpm found on most laptops, so [with the HP 4540-S] the extra cost of the I-5 is a waste of money AND if you're going to "step up" you should really go to the I-7 processor.

The features on this laptop are very good and the authentication/security software is excellent. I especially like the efficiency, speed and added security of the facial recognition and fingerprint authentication, which is uncommon for a laptop in this price range. I will also point out that most of the "problems" people have talked about here with the 4540-S are very easy and fast to fix by those with a reasonable knowledge of computers/software/hardware/protocols, but most people have minimal [troubleshooting/resolution] skills [and] "bite the dust" when confronted with the simplest difficulty.

NOTE; This particular item has the 5400 rpm hard drive, so find one with the 7200 rpm HD

So all you need to do is add 4Gb more of RAM [$40] and you're good to go with this laptop.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

So far so good, nice laptop. Will let you know if there are any problems in the future. bye bye.

Best Deals for Hp Probook 4540s C9k70ut 15.6' LED Notebook - Intel - Core I3

After my beloved $300 toshiba satellite died I spent weeks researching windows 7 laptops and ended up with this computer. It seems well made and has some good features. Processor is pretty fast as well. This problem is with the mousepad. This is by far the worse Iv'e ever encountered. Some of it may have to do with my skin? I say that because the pads that are really smooth and shiny like my toshiba had and the asus have work really well for me. This one sucks. Can't use it. It has no response to my fingers. Sometimes I have to hit it 7-10 times before it will click. I will move my finger all around and the cursor won't even move. I see why people over pay for macbooks.

Best Sony VAIO Duo SVD13215PXB 13.3-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen Deals

Customer Ratings:

First: the Amazon product description isn't accurate. This laptop contains a 256 GB SSD, but no conventional hard drive. (They currently list it with a 500 GB HD, which is not correct.)

The good: this is the laptop I'd been holding out for. It's fast enough and capable enough to run Adobe Photoshop with no problems or to allow me to manipulate a hugely complicated Excel spreadsheet filled with formulas without any noticeable lag. At the same time, it wakes up in less than 2 seconds, and the touchscreen when folded down into tablet position is great for taking notes on. The battery lasts far longer than most laptops, generally giving me 8-10 hours of work before running out. It's shockingly light.

The bad: while the hinge works great, I worry about its long-term sturdiness. The webcam light often stays on, which is creepy. The angle of the screen isn't adjustable, so although the brightness makes it readable from many angles, if you'd like a different angle than the default for ergonomic reasons you're just out of luck.

No buyers remorse on my part a week into having it, but I'd say that the primary audience is people who need high performance, long battery life, a touch screen, and light weight all wrapped up into one package that they're willing to pay a premium for.

UPDATED: It appears to be the case right now that there's no pressure sensitivity for the stylus in Photoshop. That might or might not be a dealbreaker for folks, and it might or might not eventually get fixed with a driver update.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I own the Sony Vaio Duo 13 with i7-4650, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD and Windows 8 Pro. It is an impressive convertible ultrabook.

Build:

The device feels very solid and has a premium feel.

The left and right edges of the screen bezel has a slight lip near the middle that catches your fingernail (it's not perfectly flush).

There are two hooks on the base that attaches to the bottom of the screen to keep it secured when the screen is up, but the hooks can sometimes miss and the screen needs to be realigned. If the Duo is on a 45-degree or more slant then the screen will become unhooked and hang loose.

This ultrabook does not have a lock hole.

Weight:

The Duo 13 is lightweight for a laptop but not light enough for one-handed use as a tablet.

Screen:

Beautiful IPS display.

The screen can be hard to view in direct sunlight.

The screen is great, although a 60-degree angle (like the MS Surface) instead of 45 would be better. The IPS display has decent viewing angles so I can live with that.

The sliding screen design allows the screen to be closer within reach than traditional laptops. I like this design over others where the screen is further at the edge of the base.

Having the screen on top and slide out has its benefits to be used as a tablet/slate without having the keyboard in the way. This was one of the main reasons why I chose the Duo over the Pro.

It would be nice if the screen can somehow flip out of the way if you didn't need it. All I need is the keyboard when connected to an external display and the blank screen is just in the way.

Other ultrabooks may have higher resolution screens but 1080p seems sufficient for this 13" screen. The screen magnification is set to 125% by default, which still allows a large workspace. Setting it to 100% gives you a very ample workspace but items can be too small.

The touch accuracy works as intended, but it can get tricky to pinpoint some buttons in desktop mode with your finger. This is where the pen comes in handy.

Note that this screen only has 5 touch points instead of 10, but I haven't found the use for that many touch points. Windows 8 doesn't allow you to drag multiple items with multiple fingers anyways.

I had the Duo custom built at Sony's online store and had them apply the screen protector at the factory. The screen protector does takes away some glare, glossiness, and color.

Note that output displays are limited to 1080p. I wish it could go higher for my higher resolution monitors.

It has a flat surface for use with Windows edge gestures.

Keyboard:

The keyboard could be larger with more key travel.

The keys are very well spaced and I can type at full speed. Most of my typing errors are from missing the right Shift key and pressing Up on accident.

My main gripe is that the right Shift key is too small. I find myself frequently pressing Up instead of Shift with my right pinky finger on accident.

The key travel is very shallow and takes some getting used to.

Trackpad:

It's small but does the job.

The trackpad does the job but I rarely use it. I cranked the sensitivity up so it is more usable.

It's easy to accidentally tap the touchpad while typing so care is needed while typing. Good thing Sony included a hot key to disable the trackpad (Fn + F1).

The left half left-clicks and the right will right-click.

Gestures work just fine with the Synaptics drivers and can be customized.

The pen does not work on the trackpad.

Pen:

The pen works as intended. It comes in handy for accurate pointing but I can live without it.

It feels nice and solid but could be more comfortable.

The top half of the pen where the clip meets already broke loose, as if the super glue no longer sticks.

It is not a Wacom pen so limited apps can use the sensitivity feature at the moment.

The clip holder snaps into place and is much better than having nothing to hold the pen. If it weren't for the clip holder then I would probably leave the pen at home.

The "ink well" holder is built in and slides out when needed, but I rarely use it.

Cameras:

Mediocre cameras on front and back.

The front camera is not adjusted to account for the 45-degree angle screen. If the screen is up then the camera will also be looking up 45-degrees.

Included is a FastAccess Facial Recognition app to log in, but it is pretty slow at recognizing faces.

Connectivity:

No wifi issues here. The wifi signal is stronger when the screen is propped up.

Bluetooth works as intended.

I haven't tried Intel Wireless Display but look forward to testing that out since it's built in.

Performance:

This ultrabook is no slouch!

The SSD allows for fast boot times as well as quick read/write times. It'll boot up in about 10 seconds and restart in about 20 seconds. It almost instantly wakes up when resuming from sleep.

The i7 CPU doesn't break a sweat when I push it.

The fan is not too loud (there's a setting in Vaio Control Center that allows you to adjust the fan noise and CPU performance).

The vent hasn't gotten hot, but the port side where the power plug can get warm when I'm charging it and running multiple USB displays off one port.

Battery life:

This was one of the main selling points for me. An advertised 10 hour battery life was unheard of until Haswell came out.

I can get about 4-5 hours using CPU intensive apps like Traktor to mix music at regular screen brightness and timeout settings. I can picture it lasting 6-8+ hours if I try to conserve power by lowering the screen brightness and shortening the display timeout/dimming settings. I have the display set to dim in 1 minute to 0% and it has helped with battery life.

The battery doesn't seem to drain when the laptop is in sleep mode so I just put it to sleep instead of shutting down.

It charges pretty quickly at about 1% per minute.

--

Conclusion:

I like this convertible ultrabook very much and I can picture myself using it for years to come. I can recommend it to others.

It is overpriced but you get what you pay for (powerful CPU/GPU, good battery life, beautiful display, quick SSD [probably the most expensive part], solid and thin build). This is a premium ultrabook.

The battery life, screen, keyboard and weight could use some improvement to earn another star. If the battery could last 10 hours as advertised under normal use then that would be great. The screen would be better if it were adjustable or at a 60-degree angle. The keyboard is not the best but works for daily use. It could be lighter for one-handed use.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO Duo SVD13215PXB 13.3-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen

This is a review of the stock version with 8gb RAM and 256gb HDD.

My needs include grading and commenting on papers and exams for graduate school students. I wanted a convertible tablet with digital ink capabilities, that was larger than the typical 11.6 inch tablet. I needed something that could handle very large PDF files, so I could read and mark-up coursebooks in PDF form. Ideally, I would be able to replace my iPad and Macbook Air with one device.

Along the way, I tried the Asus Transformerbook TX300. It was too heavy, lacked the digital pen capability, and too slow in handling large pdf files. (It also had defective keyboard unit). I tried the Samsung ATIV 700t. The ATIV 700t had digital ink, but was as sluggish as the Transformerbook with large PDF files, and the screen was too small at 11.6 inches.

I thought a long time before going with this Sony -not sure I liked the slider form; concerned about the Wifi problems people seemed to have. But, I went with it, and find it to be extremely useable, and a great fit for my purposes.

The slider format, I've discovered, is far superior to the detachable tablet approach in the Transformerbook and the ATIV 700t. For marking papers in MS WORD, I can easily change from typed comments to handwritten comments, just by sliding from notebook to tablet. It's quick, and simple. Durability may be an issue, but I plan to get Square Trade or some other kind of extended protection.

The unit is light enough that I can and do take it with me to work on a daily basis, as I did with the iPad. It boots up very quickly. Easy to use it to get work done in the subway, or wherever.

I have not had any significant Wifi problems. It gets a signal (though weak) two floors below where the router is, and a strong signal on the floor where the router is. I had considered the version with ATT broadband, but decided I could use the mobile hotspot function of my phone. The Sony connected with that Wifi from my phone just fine as well.

Battery life is great. It's reassuring not to have to worry about the computer losing its charge before I lose interest in doing more work.

I've seen that many observers are questioning whether this Sony has any real market. From my perspective, this Vaio Duo 13 has a great design and set of features for students and teachers.

Of course, some things could be better. The key travel is too shallow. As is true with almost all Windows machines these days, the aspect ratio is not right for reading in portrait mode (something that students and faculty would likely want to do). Windows programs for marking up PDF files are far more cumbersome than is Goodreader for the iPad -hopefully someone can create a program like Goodreader for Windows 8. (This is not a Sony problem, but something that a person switching from iPad to this might want to consider).

But, again, having a real computer, with real computing power, with a sufficiently large screen, in such a light form, with all my Office and PDF programs, able to handle multiple programs simultaneously without getting bogged down, easily convertible from notebook to tablet, and with the active digitizer -it's really a great package.

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO Duo SVD13215PXB 13.3-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen

I looking for great laptop and good for tablet. This machine is amazing fast and great responsive in many ways. It can be one of my favorite gadget if it does not have serious Wifi connection problem. I use Apple Time capsule (old version) as my router to internet. Normally, I use my computer, tablet far from it around 15-20 feet, nothing go wrong. All my machine work and run internet extremely fast and never have disconnected problem.

My new Sony Duo 13 is show only 2 bars for Wifi connection (all other devices show 5 full bars) but on top of that they running all download super slow and disconnected from my router occasionally. I have to move my Duo very close to my router, the result is super fast as 10 times as 15 feet away. I try to update all the driver and patch of window 8 by lay it down next to each other.

The result is the same. I have to returned it to AMAZON. sorry.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sony VAIO Duo SVD13215PXB 13.3-Inch Convertible 2-in-1 Touchscreen

I was intrigued by the Duo 11 but hesitated due to its difficult to use smallish keyboard and short battery life. Thanks to Intel Haswell and Sony's updates, I finally get the perfect hybrid laptop I've been waiting for. Beautiful and light weight, fast, 1080p multi-touch IPS screen, long battery life, decent keyboard and a pressure-sensitive stylus.

Agree with the first review, Amazon need to correct the HDD spec, it is a 256GB SSD. The top end model with the 512GB SSD cost 2700. Anyway, I've used it for a few days and here's my initial impression.

Pro:

Beautifully designed and thin, form factor is quite an eye catcher

Surprisingly light, feels like holding an 11" notebook instead of a 13" one

Boot up is incredibly fast, takes only a few second like a game console

Performance is very snappy, the i7 is plenty fast for most computing use

Quiet and cool under light use, have not tested heavy loads yet

Beautiful 1080p IPS screen. 1080p is about prefect for 13"

Usable back-lit keyboard

Real touch pad instead of some weird pointing device, though a little small

Very good battery life for such a fast notebook, approaching that of a tablet

NFC. May not be useful but good to know it's included

Pressure sensitive digitizer and supported art software included

Con:

Screen angle not adjustable

Screen is quite glossy but expected just like in most tablets

Hinge does not seem very sturdy so be more careful with it

Only the screen bezel is white. I wish the entire body is white

Keyboard keys lacks travel compare to normal notebook

Does not have a slot to keep the stylus in

Not Wacom digitizer so third party support may be lacking

Non-removeable batteries

No RAM slot

A little pricey

Overall I am very pleased with this hybrid notebook and my wife loves it. I really wanted the Duo 11 when it came out but my wife did not like it. Glad I hold out for the Haswell update. The Duo 13 is better than the Duo 11 in every aspect. The larger screen is more useful for 1080p, the larger keyboard is more practical, and it is amazing that Sony was able to keep its weight almost the same as the Duo 11. And thanks to Haswell, battery life about doubles. It is more expensive, but in this world you usually get what you pay for. I would give it 4.5 stars, but since there's no half star, I give it a 5.

Other thoughts: this is my first Windows 8 experience. I took an evening to learn it and it was pretty nice. After a while the touch experience feel quite natural. Only thing I miss is the Start menu, glad that 8.1 is almost here and will bring the Start menu back. On the other hand I can understand users on a desktop with a non-touch screen would complain about the start screen.

Best Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop I15N-2657OBK / Intel® CoreTM i3-2350M Deals

Customer Ratings:

NO TEN KEY BOARD. THE TOUCH-PAD BROKE AFTER ONE MONTH. HOWEVER, THE CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS GREAT. THEY SENT A TECHNICIAN TO MY HOUSE!!!! TO FIX IT. SO I CAN'T WHINE TO MUCH ABOUT IT. I DON'T LIKE THE SCROLLING AND I AM NOW HAVING A NETWORK PROBLEM THAT THE DELL HELP DESK OFFERED TO FIX FOR $110.00 EVEN THOUGH MY COMPUTER IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Discount Sony VAIO T Series SVT13135CXS 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver)

Customer Ratings:

It was very hard to choose between this Sony, the Macbook Air, or the Asus UX-31A but overall I'm sort of content with my purchase. The first thing I noticed after opening the box was how small it is, which is a good thing. It also is very attractive, with very sleek aluminum case. As far as performance goes it seems to be adequately fast, but windows 8 has been hard to get used to, but that is expected. There are a couple things that have been bothering me, one is the fan. It's not extremely loud, but it is constantly running and you can hear it. I had a Samsung previously and I rarely heard the fan. I figure that after owning it for awhile you might not notice it. The other thing and probably the biggest problem like many other computers is the trackpad. The gestures are very annoying and you find yourself executing functions that were unattended. The touchscreen is also not very accurate and you will find yourself hitting things by accident as you are trying to scroll down the page. As I try to scroll to the bottom somehow I end up highlighting half the page in blue, and this happens all the time. You might be able to buy better for $850 if you wait for new Laptops to be introduced over the summer. This does not have a backlit keyboard and has the standard 1366x768 screen. Many laptops at this price range have a backlit keyboard and a higher definition display. If you want a slim, light weight, sleek laptop under $900 this is for you. I do however think you will get more for your money in the near future.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I'll start by saying that I did not purchase this at Amazon. Went to Fry's and price matched with Amazon. Close enough. hehe

The new T series are beautiful laptops. Made of aluminum and shinny metal, the SVT13136CXS really stands out. The 3rd generation i5 processor makes everything much faster. Apps on the Sony open just as fast as my Surface Pro. Legacy software is fast, too, but does lack a little speed, mainly because of the hybrid drive in the Sony. The Surface is 100% SSD. Still, was very surprised at the hybrid drive (500HDD + 24GB SSD) in Windows 8. Boot time is less than 10 seconds. Actually, it booted quicker than my Surface Pro.

There is one reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 and that's mainly because of the current webcam issue that I happen to encounter. Before I bought the laptop, I did read about the webcam issue and I thought to myself, most of the time it's driver issue and I'm pretty sure a fix will be released. I'm not sure if this is a Sony problem or a Windows problem, but it seems the camera, after one use, goes black or very dark and grainy. You can increase the brightest or mess with setting all you want and still have no results. Well, after trying different things I noticed that the problem is in the "Camera" app in Windows 8. If you open Skype or any other application that uses the webcam, the issue is nonexistent. Seems like the Camera App is not loading the drivers (maybe too fast of an app? lol). Anyhow, I only use the webcam for Skype and/or Facebook so once I noticed that the camera works fine with those two, I was happy and could care less for the "Camera" app in W8.

One other tip I'll throw in there. If you can find a deal at the Microsoft Store, like right now where it's on sell for $799, then I'd order the laptop from them and take advantage of "Microsoft Signature". It means a laptop sold by MS will not come with junkware and you'll have Windows Defender for free. If you don't mind doing the work, like I did, then the first step is remove all the junk software from the laptop. You'll feel better afterwards :)

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention, this model doesn't have a DVD/CD drive. If you are looking for something similar to this laptop, but need a drive, maybe give the SVT14127CXS a try. That model has a 14" screen, 128GB of SSD storage, and a DVD/CD Writeable drive.

I'm very happy with my purchase. I prefer the larger HD space, but do appreciate the SSD for booting quickly. The only issue, so far, is the webcam. In reality, the issue is the camera app in W8. Works great with Facebook and Skype.

I'll keep you posted if anything changes, but as of right now, very pleased.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO T Series SVT13135CXS 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver)

The laptop is aesthetically amazing.

Only problem is mine hangs a WHOLE lot. I've tried reseting it using VAIO ASSIST many times doesnt work. I guess theres an issue with rapid wake too.

Oh, and it's mousepad isnt really good.

The touch is AMAZING though.

The camera doesnt work properly using the camera app. Realpoor quality.

Audio is WOWOW.

Doesnt boot up in 2 seconds, mine takes 12-15 even on sleep wake. I dont know why.

Battery backup is really nice.

Overall mediocre but i guess thats just something with my model only? Dont know really but it turned out to be unexpected and disappointing, though.

UPDATE: 18.5.13

It crashed again, this is getting too much. I took it to SONY and they said there was some problem with my laptop, they recommended me only to buy from Sony directly. Weird stuff.

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO T Series SVT13135CXS 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver)

I have been a Sony laptop fan through three Z series laptops. With the Z series, I paid top price (over $2,500 for each computer) and would get three years of superlative performance. The screens were tack sharp and accurately represented true colors, which was important for me in the Photoshop work that I do. But Sony has withdrawn Z series laptops. Perhaps their high price depressed their sales. Who knows? From time to time, I have worked on lower end laptops and have been delighted by their performance. Also, my $500 iPad performed as well as my Z machine, so I thought that perhaps the time has come to look into a lower priced device.

When shopping for a new computer this past Spring, I reviewed more than a dozen products. I spent two weeks investigating them. Unfortunately, you don't really know if a laptop works for you until you've had a week or two experience using it to learn its quirks and to see if it fits with your style. After balancing the pros and cons of different features on a dozen laptops, I found that I didn't really know which laptop was best for me, because creating lists is just a paper exercise. So I went with the Sony T series because of my good previous experiences with Sony computers. Big mistake.

Here is what I discovered:

* The touchpad is terrible, truly horrific. There are no left and right buttons, only a single square. The bottom left hand corner serves roughly as a left button, and the bottom right as a right button. When trying to use either, sometimes you get it right, often you do not.

* When clicking on an object on the screen, you have to tap the EXACT CENTER of the touch pad and you have to come down at a perfect 90 degree angle to the surface. If you are slightly off center or if your finger touches the touch pad at a slight angle, nothing happens. I taped a small piece of scotch tape to the center of the touch pad surface so that I could feel the center when working, but it was no go.

* The screen is shiny so that you always see the reflection of something on it. Also, images aren't crispy clear. I would call it an "anti-retina display." Finally, its colors aren't true, so I can't use it for my Photoshop picture editing.

* The touch screen is hyper-sensitive. I'm afraid to sneeze when using my computer, because the slightest disturbance sends the cursor flying this way and that and paragraphs of text get covered with the blue highlighter, text expands or shrinks, or I jump to a different application. The cursor itself constantly plays hide-and-seek and it often isn't visible against the white background, so I make heavy use of the Ctrl button to find out where it is.

* The keyboard is terrible. You cannot press keys at even a slight angle. Also, some keys need to be "cleaned" two or three times a week (i.e., remove the cap), otherwise they cease to function. I normally type at 70 wpm, and find that the keyboard behaves reliably up to about 35 wpm, then starts jamming or skipping letters beyond that point. In writing this short review, I have already encountered about twenty keyboard glitches.

* The laptop is not particularly light. I suppose reviewers who say it is light have been working with really large clunkers. My wife purchased one of the last Z series machines about 15 months ago, and it is a much lighter.

One more problem -a Windows 8 problem, not a Series T problem. Windows 8 is tough to work with. Microsoft believed it was losing out to the interfaces employed on touch screen tablets, so it adopted a clunky touch screen operating system for serious business computers. But it is inadequate for the needs of serious business users who are concerned with typing documents, conducting spreadsheet analyses, etc., not flipping through hundreds of photos or resizing images. The tablets are designed for fun and spontaneous access to the Internet -they serve a different function from business computers. With Windows 8 wed to the Series T, we get the worst of both worlds.

What's good about the Series T? It's quick start up. It has a solid state "booster" drive that let's you get moving within 4-5 seconds. On my Z laptop, it would take more than a minute to get booted up. That's about the only advantage I've found.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sony VAIO T Series SVT13135CXS 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Silver)

Great value for the money and has everything we need. Is a replacement computer for a family computer and the portability was the key need here with good features. The touchscreen takes the need for a mouse out and makes for a much more suitable work experience. Thanks.

Reviews of HP ProBook 4530s (XU017UT#ABA) Intel Core i3 2310M(2.10GHz) 4GB

Customer Ratings:

This laptop has everything you could possibly want as far as tech specs. You got a sandybridge i5, 4 gb of fast ddr3 ram, USB 3.0 slot, hdmi out with hd codec ausio outputs for home theater systems. And the price is a steal of a deal. I got it at 666.02. The price on this thing certainly fluctuates on amazon so patience and a watchful eye on this one will probably get you the best price.

Before going to my in depth rants here's a quick sum up for those that don't want to read the whole thing

So to sum it up

The i5 2410M 2.3 ghz with turbo boost to 2.9 ghz and HD 3000 graphics performs well in games and everything else, all at the same time too

The 4 GB DDR3 1333 does its job while leaving room to upgrade

It has all the desirable features I was looking for such as

7200 RPM HDD

USB 3.0

i5 sandy bridge

spill proof keyboard

720P webcam

Great battery life (though I haven't been able to really test that)

Light weight

Win 7 Pro

Num pad keypad

Bluetooth

Wireless N

gigabit ethernet

Light weight

It is amazing, you should buy it. I found most laptops have the same basic specs with 4 gb ram and a i series cpu with a 320-750 Gb 5400 rpm HDD, 15.6" screen, keyboard with keypad, and a built in webcam. Then each brand has there own extras and quirks, like toshiba never seems to have gigabit ethernet it's always 10/100. Asus likes to only have a 640x480 webcam, though they also have a accidental 1 year warranty with their laptops. Those are just a few examples I saw when searching for a laptop. This one is a sneaky little fella out of the main line of hp's consumer lappys that has all that you could want at a more than fair price. I highly recommend it

Now for some semi-organized scatter brained rant of a hopefully informative review...

The Sandy bridge i5 2410M is awesome. Not sure what the other guy is truly talking about as far as lacking integrated graphics. I do realize that a high end dedicated card will do better but the sandy bridge with the HD 3000 graphics is by far the most impressive on board graphics I have ever seen. For example I have tried running basic games on other laptops with them struggling to run at 640 x 480 with all settings at low. This thing can smoothly run Crysis on medium graphics. I am not a hardcore pc gamer so I haven't tested every game ever but the a few of the ones I have tried mostly just to see how it does are Crysis, Portal 1, Bulletstorm (demo), Half life 2 episode 1, Bioshock 1 & 2, & Mafia 2 (demo). All of which run smoothly at low to medium graphics and look amazing. Mafia 2 is one that runs at the lowest settings and still looks great, of course that game recommends a quad core processor and a high end video card or 2 to run at high settings so with that in mind running it at all is impressive. As well I do light editing for photos that works smoothly, not photoshop or anything of that sort though. As well I watch movies, it plays netflix hd beautifully, though that's not that hard. I have played some 1080p videos out the hdmi that are gorgeous. The windows sound settings claim that the hdmi audio out support all the current HD audio formats. DTS HD Master audio, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD etc. This shows when it's hooked up to my Home Theater Receiver. Sadly I don't have a way to test this because it doesn't come with a program that supports that output. Which is a slight disappointment considering it comes with arcsoft TMT 3. But the digital audio codecs are disabled in the program which makes that player useless. Though the DVD editing software in that bundle isn't so useless.

As far as this glorious cpu's speed and power, it is just straight up awesome. Being the techy geek I am I monitor the speed and temps using Speccy. It ranges from 800 mhz per core at idle use to the advertised 2.9 ghz but that's only one core at a time, the other is usually around 2.6-2.7 when the other is at 2.9. Under my normal workload, which is relatively heavy and involves lots of multi-tasking. it boosts to 2.6-2.7 at temps of 60-70 Celsius. Which at first sounded high to me but that's just where these things run. The cool part about that is even when it is 70 Celsius or more in there you don't feel the heat. And of course the 4 gb (single dimm [stick]) 1333 DDR3 ram certainly helps with all that fun stuff as well.

Also in the performance category is the 7200 rpm Hard drive. I have found that this is hard to find in main stream laptops in this price range. The majority have 5400 rpm. Trust me when I say that the 7200 makes a difference. And the 500 gb is of course plenty of space.

There are of course other fun features such as the 720p webcam, the usb 3.0 slot, the "Spill resistant" keyboard, which I have not and will not test. The keyboard itself is very nice. It has the num keyapd and the buttons press smoothly. The mouse pad takes a bit of getting used to with the multi finger gestures for scrolling and such. But you can play with plenty of settings to turn that on or off and customize it and such. And the fact that it has win 7 PRO instead of just home premium is also a big plus.

The bluetooth 3.0 is also great. I have a Bluetooth mouse that connected easily and I continue to have the joy of a wireless and recieverless mouse. I have also synced my phone with the Bluetooth to sync it with outlook and put music on it and the like.

The Wireless connection is great. If I had to give a con it's that it only supports 150 mbps. Since it is a combo adapter with the Bluetooth replacing it would lose the Bluetooth. I actually tried putting a intel ultimate n adapter in it, only to find that HP has a very restrictive bios, so be careful when buying upgrades, cross check with hps's site. But I also discovered in that process that the under belly is very easy to get to via the maintenance slider thingy. Can't remember the technical term at the moment, but it has a tool-less entry system to all the user upgradable parts that is next to the battery. Back to the wireless though, regardless of that 150n instead of the more standard 300n it still has a great connection. It also only supports 2.4 ghz, kinda makes me sad to not be able to use the 5 ghz 300 mbps connection from my router but it's a small sacrifice for a constant great signal anywhere in the house or office. I work in a basement office with the router not in optimal position for that and still get a ~70 mbps connection that runs smooth. It speeds test just as fast if not faster than other 300 mbps computers on my network as well. So the wireless connectivity is awesome.

The screen is also beautiful, and the speakers are impressive for what they are. It's certainly not audiophile status but it works for quiet music and such.

This laptop also is very light weight, barely feels like it adds any weight to my backpack.

Also it's shiny and silver. I didn't actually know what color it would be when I got it since there weren't any good pictures, hence why I added some. It looks like there is a better stock picture now though. I'm not one to care about finger prints on the finish but if you do care this one doesn't have that problem.

There is a bunch of bloatware, but that is expected with hp type brand computers. Though it isn't all useless. The security program powered by digital persona gives a user friendly set up for the finger print scanner and the face recognition. When using the scanner and face recognition it adds like 10-20 seconds to start up time, which is a bit annoying so I don't use it anymore, but I'm not currently in a environment where heavy security is necessary. When I take it to college in the fall that might change. It also includes drive encryption features, something called evernote, and the arcsoft media suite. It's update software is also nice for the average consumer though I'm still a fan of checking their website manually myself. But the bloatware isn't too hard to get rid of so it's not that big of a deal. I personally have got rid of most of it, but to some it may be useful and worth keeping. Like the other guy said you will also have quite a bit of windows update to get, but that is to be expected with any new computer.

So it is all in all practically perfect. The only things I would change is the 150 mbps to a dual band 450 mbps. Thought that was just at first when I found out it only had 150 mbps. Now I don't care so much since it works amazing the way it already is. I highly recommend this laptop or its little brother with the i3-2310M that has just about all the same features.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This laptop has all the features that anyone would practically need. The price keeps dropping so any newcomers will definitely benefit from its lowered cost.

The only reason I didn't give it the full 5 star treatment were several reasons.

cons first

1. No instruction manual, download the HP 4530s pdf ONLINE, I Goggled it.

2. No Win 7 Pro Repair disk, available separately for $10 on Amazon or eBay.

3. Download Win 7 Pro updates from Microsoft, many and timely but necessary.

4. UPS delivered, arrived OK but packing was almost non-existent in a large box. The HP box had enough packing though, so the laptop seemed protected.

5. Be prepared for a lot of garbage which can be removed.

positives next

1. After running setup which was timely, I was impressed with the numerous features and add-ons that came with this model. I compared this HP with several other makes and this laptop excels against similar

i5-2410s.

2. Value for monies paid will surely increase buyers interests obviously.

3. This Sandy Bridge make all the previous i5s pale in comparison. My recommendation is to get the i5 with its turbo boost and never look back.

4. The newly listed price from Circuit City/Amazon is fantastic for a "Sandy Bridge" i5 laptop.

5. The unit seems sturdy enough.

6. I like the ease of upgrading the laptop. Flip it over, remove the bottom plates and you can get to the RAM, HDD, etc quite handily.

7. The HD+ screen was quite a bonus for these old eyes.

8. The offset touchpad was OK.

9. The Cap lite is a necessity for me and this unit has one.

20. The Intel video with its turbo boost on shared video is supposed to really make a difference, as told to me by a friend who swears by it. We shall see.

Overall, I'm looking forward to video editing and doing Photoshop, which were my main reasons on getting this HP. As to its reliability, time will tell.

Footnote, June 7.

Runs quite cool and very quiet. No problems so far. May need to get a Vi Dock 4, or better; to boost my integrated video. Seems that the onboard video is a bit lacking and adding an Ati card via the expresscard slot should solve that problem.

Footnote, June 15.

Discovered HP Documentation earlier when investigating Programs and the PDF was very informative. (Wish there was a note inside the box upon opening)

Onboard HD Video is very good for intermediate gaming and video editing. The Crucial 4GB RAM which I added today will handle my multitasking needs quite nicely. Buying and installing the Crucial RAM was most inexpensive method for any upgrade and easy. My PhotoShop and Illustrator applications plus my Sony Suite will benefit highly with this increased RAM.

Best Deals for HP ProBook 4530s (XU017UT#ABA) Intel Core i3 2310M(2.10GHz) 4GB

This is a very thoughtfully engineered and full featured business oriented laptop. Some positive features that set it apart from other second generation sandy bridge core i5 laptops in this price range:

An express card 34 slot for high bandwidth peripherals

An excellent keyboard with numeric pad

A matte screen finish (thank you!)

A generously sized, sensitive and configurable multi-touch trackpad from synaptics with a on/off switch

Very easily accessible components and fan ducts to keep dust bunnies under control

This unit purchased from Amazon comes with a 1 year warranty.

After using it for some time, I have some other observations... There are no OS rescue disks included or the ability to burn them yourself. Booting to the OS recovery partition is the only way to restore the computer to the factory state. Needless to say, it is a useless option when your hard disk dies. Also, the image eats up around 16GB! This is totally unacceptable. It was not helpful when swapping in an SSD.

The included software is comprised of "special" offer trials for office 2011 and norton internet security, adware, bloated "maintenance" programs, and a "security" suite that poorly duplicates functionality already included with windows 7. There is no unified uninstall for these programs and with the exception of the included Arcsoft media suite and hp power management utility, the only useful function of the included software is to lull the user into a false sense of security. HP, please stop! Expect to spend about 3 hours removing these useless packages.

Without the hindrance of the included bloatware and with an SSD equipped, this laptop becomes the weapon of choice for people who like to get some work done on the road. It is sturdy and pleasant to use, with understated design for buttons and non-distracting illumination. The LED back-lit screen has poor resolution (1366x768 ? please.), but is otherwise high-quality. Finally, I cannot say good enough things about the keyboard! Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and I think that you will be too.

Honest reviews on HP ProBook 4530s (XU017UT#ABA) Intel Core i3 2310M(2.10GHz) 4GB

I've had this laptop for about six months now. I'm reasonably happy with the laptop itself. I use it for word processing, spreadsheet, downloading photos and editing, and on-line games. Just routine stuff. The Windows 7 software takes a little getting used to. There's a game that my kids like to play where you walk by pressing the directional keys. If you're walking a long distance and holding the key down for awhile, the computer seems to think that you're telling it that you want it to do something and the game is then messed up. (I'm convinced that this is my computer's fault, not the game's.) This is my first experience with W7.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP ProBook 4530s (XU017UT#ABA) Intel Core i3 2310M(2.10GHz) 4GB

We've had this machine for a couple of weeks now and it's an excellent performer. Excellent feature set for the money it's really hard to beat. The ProBook line is oriented towards heavy daily use while still being reasonably priced. Core i5-2410M processor, 500GB 7200 RPM drive, 4GB RAM, Win7 Pro 64 bit, Webcam, SD card reader, Gigabit LAN, wireless N. Plus it's got a solid feel. The display is nice and bright and very clear, but I wish it had more pixels. 1366 x 768 is really limiting so figure on plugging this into a larger monitor for extended home use. A BluRay drive would have been nice too.

It seems that all store bought machines are loaded with trial versions of a lot of different software. It gets annoying until you get it all out of your way. I guess that's how they get the cost down. There was a Microsoft Office shortcut on the desktop. I entered the serial number from my store bought Office package and it all just worked. Never had to insert the disk.

If you're in the market for a machine in the $650 $750 range, I'd definitely recommend this one. You're not out a whole bunch of money but it still feels as though it should hold up for 5 years or so.

NOTE: I ordered this from one of the third party suppliers and they shipped me the i3 version poorly packed in a beat up box. I returned it and ordered one from Amazon and got the correct one in a nice straight box. Cost me $90 more but it was worth it. Regardless of who you get it from, check it to be sure you got an i5. I'm still waiting for my refund.

UPDATE: Upgraded rating from 4 to 5 stars. Yes I had a couple of minor gripes, but at this price point, it's a stellar deal.

UPDATE II: Finally received the refund for the i3 machine I returned. The merchant was Portable Guy and they were responsive to emails and courteous. They took the time to explain what caused the shipping error. I'd consider giving them another shot.

Discount Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $949.99
Sale Price: $829.99
Today's Bonus: 13% Off

I will keep it brief and simple. I was hesitant at first when I got this laptop but I got it at a great deal.

It's huge, so get a big laptop backpack to lug it. Yet it is not heavy. Just long. May not fit in standard 17" business bags.

Features not always mentioned. It has 2 hard drive bays. Comes with a 1 tb drive, but supports sata III Solid state drives at the same time. Pop in a solid state, and you will be extremely happy.

It has 2 GPU's. the HD 4000 and the Nvidia 650m. Do NOT go by benchmark sites. I have done by own benchmarks, and clearly most of the previous that did early reviews, did so without setting the benchmark programs into the NVidia list, so they in fact benchmarked the HD4000 gpu, not the 650m. Most of todays models with this mobile chip have both from various manufactures, the HD4000 is meant to save power consumption, the GT650m for high end gaming.

The screen is clear. THe only gripe is the resolution is not full 1080p (without a tweak) Close however. Some games may not have this res, so you will have to use a tweak, or if you play via HDMI, it will support full higher 1080p out to a HDTV.

Has a lot of Acer soft you may not need, uninstall or disable if that is the case.

I plays Battlefield 3 at highest levels, buttery smooth.

Wifi is sensitive and reliable.

Plays the Final Fantasy XIV ALpha nice an smooth at high settings.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

First I have to tell you that I didn't buy this laptop on Amazon. I would have, had I not found it on a different site during a week long sale on this model. The sale is long over. I did find the reviews on Amazon helpful and wanted to add my own. Having said that, I spent about 2 weeks doing research on laptops because I wanted a desktop replacement that ran specific games reasonably well. Originally I wanted to purchase an Acer V3-571 series but, all other things being equal, a few things changed my mind and made me buy this model. 1) This laptop has an extra hard drive slot that I can use for a 256gb SSD 2) An extra USB 3.0 port 3) Better screen resolution.

Pros:

i7 processor will not become obsolete for a couple of years at least.

That extra slot for an SSD (I haven't got around to installing it yet).

The GT 650m graphics card isn't the top of the line but it is very good (more on this later, see gaming).

The internal fan is very good. It pumps out a ton of heat which means the insides are cool. I have been using it for gaming and haven't felt the top or bottom of the unit become warm let alone hot. Initially I was concerned about this because I read a few reviews about this laptop becoming hot but I'm thinking it could have been a problem with those individual units because mine does not have this problem at all. I bought a nice cooling pad but it's just sitting in it's box.

The price. Even at the non sale price I'm looking at now this thing is a bargain for the performance you're getting. Yes it has a few things that I would like to be different but I'm not willing to spend $2,000 for perfection.

Cons:

OK first thing, I read reviews about the short battery life. People claimed sub 2 hours. They must have been talking about writing documents or sending email because if you are gaming off the battery you're looking at 45 minutes on a full charge.

Not the fastest hard drive but if you plan on upgrading to SSD and using the 1TB hard drive for songs or videos it won't matter.

Big. But you already know that. This thing really should be used as a portable desktop. Be sure to bring the power supply with you.

I read reviews about the glossy finish on the unit... Holy fingerprints Batman! I knew it was going to be bad but I wasn't prepared for the reality lol. Have a chamois handy, you'll need it.

Gaming:

I think many of you, like me, want to do some gaming. Here is my experience.

World of Warcraft on ultra settings 40-60 FPS, this will drop in raids. High settings 80+ FPS and no problem handling raids.

Guild Wars 2 high settings 40-60 FPS. If you do PvP with a ton of people around you it will have to be set to mostly med with a few high settings. Then expect 30-60 FPS depending on how cluttered the screen is.

Planetside 2 Absolutely smooth on high settings. I did get some stutters in heavy action but I had other programs running in the background.

Hope that gives you guys some ideas for gaming performance. Make sure to set the GT 650m card as the default for your games because the HD4000 in the machine will run them but not nearly as well.

Bottom Line: For what I paid for this thing I am extremely happy and I think you will be too.

Best Deals for Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)

Got mine today.. Just an amazing product from ACER.. Nice alluminium finish.. cool glossy looks (one drawback here is fingerprint & dust can be noticed easily)but a totally bundled package and POWERFUL machine. You get looks and performance both.

1 17.3 inch Screen

2 Intel i7 3632QM Processor

3 Nvidia 650M DDR3 Graphics with Optimus technology (I tested Dishonored, Assassins Creed & CS-Global Offensive the run damn smooth on high details without any lag).. \o/

4 8 GB RAM

5 Windows 8 64 BIT (No gaming issues on windows 8 just perfect)

6 USB 3.0 & Bluetooth 4.0

7 Sound quality is very clean..

8 keypad is awesome (but NO backlit)

No DVD or software disc is included.. but u get microsoft office 30 days trial pack & Mcafee 60 days trial pre installed.. and some of acer applications.

the only reason i give it 4 star and not 5 is coz it dont come with blu-ray rom but instead comes with pioneer DVD/RW and front webcam is just ok kindish, otherwise its classic in its class..

Definately recommended.. ;)

THANKS :)

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)

Before I get into too much detail about this laptop let me tell you, this is a MUST buy for ANYONE who wants a FAST, POWRFUL, or INEXPENSIVE computer to use. This is an OUTSTANDING laptop, with only a few cons that I will go over. But first, the good stuff:

PROS:

* It's VERY fast! With the quad core i7 processer and 8GB of ram, you never have to worry about this laptop slowing down. You can run multiple applications at the same time, and it still won't break a sweat.

* There's PLENTY of space! This laptop comes with an 1TB hard drive, though you only get to use about 900GB, after Windows 8 software is installed, it's still more than enough space for music, movies and games.

* GREAT graphics card! Most benchmark websites will rate the "NVidia GeForce GT 650M" as a mid-ranged graphics card. However I have, Skyrim, Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, Civilization 5 and many more games, running on High settings and I get 50-60 FPS with each game. For some people reading this and not understanding what I'm saying, it means I can run those games with High graphic settings and get smooth gameplay! Which is great for a "mid-ranged" graphics card.

* NICE display! It won't blow you away or anything; however, the 1600 X 900 screen resolution makes games, movies and YouTube look pretty good!

* TREMENDOUS price! Most gaming laptops can cost over $1300 or more! But for around $900 you're getting an OUTSTANDING deal!

And now for the bad:

CONS:

* The lid is a little flimsy. I'm not saying it's going to break on you, but it's not the sturdiest lid I ever seen on a laptop.

* The disc tray is also a little flimsy. Again, it's not going to break on you, I just think it's worth mentioning.

* The battery isn't the best. I can only get about 4 hours off of this laptop when I'm using the battery. And that's not including when I'm playing games. If you ONLY want to get a laptop so you don't have to keep it plugged in for more than 4 hours at a time. Then DON'T get this laptop! Though keep in mind, that with MOST powerful gaming laptops (not including Alien Were) you're going to have a crappy battery life, no matter what.

In conclusion, this is a nearly PERFECT laptop and with such a low price with great system specs. There shouldn't be much holding you back from getting this laptop!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)

I read all of the reviews specifically on this laptop on Amazon and Newegg and both places had people having problems with the wifi connection dropping randomly. I called Acer support for help, and while the man I talked to was hard to understand, he helped me update my wireless lan drivers through the website. It was so simple! I don't know why people are hating on this laptop so much when the issue could be resolved so easily.

I can see why some people don't like Windows 8. Most of the apps don't make sense because of the lack of a touch screen on this laptop. Other than the fact that the start button is missing, the user interface is nice. I realize that I hardly used the start button anyway. You can still get to the command and search functions by pressing windows button + X. It's not that hard to get used to!

Pros:

I love that the keyboard keys all have a little bit of space in between them, the arrow keys are independent of the shift button (I've had a laptop that had the shift button right next to the up arrow button on another laptop and it was terrible, this laptop however, does not have this problem), and that there is a number keypad. The speakers are located above the keyboard and the sound quality is wonderful. The battery life is excellent. I've played 2 long games of League of Legends before having to plug it back in. That's about 2 hours of gaming, which exceeded my expectations. I also play Diablo III and various Steam games on this laptop and it runs everything with ease.

Cons:

Sometimes when I pick up the laptop, I accidentally open the CD drive because the eject button is sort of on the underside of the opening. The caps lock button has no light indicator.

Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase. This is a high quality laptop for an affordable price. I'm glad I gave it a chance despite of what I knew about the wifi problems.

Buy Toshiba Satellite L755-S5242 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Grey)

Customer Ratings:

This is a pretty solid laptop. I switched from an 08 macbook pro to this laptop so I was initially planning on being underwhelmed. The only reason I decided to switch to a PC was my macbook was running out of warranty (which I used heavily). I was able to sell it for the price of this PC with a 3 year warranty. Obviously the construction of this laptop isn't as impressive as the macbook (plastic versus aluminum). However the function and responsiveness of the operating system is similar and impressive. This is my first windows 7 experience, and I have been impressed so far. For the price of this laptop I don't think you can go wrong.

My favorite things about this toshiba besides the improved ram and storage over my macbook are:

1. Track pad lock feature, this is really handy if you use your word processor a lot.

2. 10 key keypad on this laptop is a nice feature that I didn't have on my macbook

3. The side vent cooling feature is really nice, this laptop stays cool all the time.

4. Battery seems to be pretty good(although my macbook's battery was also really impressive and could run for hours unplugged even after years of use).

The only con is the amount of crap that comes preloaded on these PC's, but I am sure that is not unique to this laptop. That is something apple figured out a long time ago. It is really overwhelming trying to figure out which programs are important and which are not. Especially when you haven't used a PC in years.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

My 4 year old Toshiba laptop was getting a bit long in the tooth so I decided to get an updated one. Due to budget restraints, I couldn't get the P-series Toshiba with the upgraded graphics, so I settled on the L-series. I've had this laptop for a month and found a few interesting points that might help some of you out there.

1. This laptop is not heavy at all. The weight is really well proportioned.

2. Intel integrated HD graphics are a joke. Don't expect to play any games at any decent quality resolutions or settings.

3. The Realtek wifi adapter is about the lowest quality you can find. It would disconnect all the time, never connect at anywhere above 72mbps. If you get this laptop, spend the extra $25 on an Intel Centrino 6200 mini pci card.

4. Ram is cheap. Immediately upgrade this to 8gb of ram. As of this writing, you can pick up 8Gb for $35.

5. The touchpad multi-touch is really annoying. How annoying? I've magnified/de-magnified my screen at least 4 times while writing this.

6. The numberpad throws me off. I'm not used to it on a laptop.

7. The 500gb hard drive is OK. I'd prefer a 7200rpm model, but I can deal.

8. No bluetooth. It's a

Best HP ProBook 4540s C6Z35UT 15.6' LED Notebook - Intel - Core i3 Deals

Customer Ratings:

Very happy with the laptop so far. Not a huge fan of Windows 8, but the build quality and look of the laptop is excellent. Feels solid, a wide variety of inputs/outputs including VGA for those of us who still need it, and HDMI for the future. A solid laptop at a good price. The Intel I3 processor is very solid, and I haven't had any software or hardware issues.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I purchased this laptop not expecting much but it is very solidly constructed, has a plethora of features and is lightweight. Perfect.

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.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

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.

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

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

Apple MacBook White - 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR2, 120GB SATA Review

Customer Ratings:

The company actually gives you more than what you are paying for. I couldn't be more pleased!!!

It is everything I needed and more!!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

The 4gb RAM has been perfect, the wi-fi picks up signals from further away than I expected. It's been great to use. The only downside to the one I got is the battery doesn't hold a charge for long (An hour and fifteen, tops), and the charger must have been used a little roughly by the previous owner. I've needed to push the charger and wire to get it to turn on. Other than those, with the right little additions, this has been my favorite laptop

Best Deals for Apple MacBook White - 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR2, 120GB SATA

Great computer, no issues at all. It would have been a nice idea to add the model number in the description. That would have made it easier to evaluate which macbook I wanted. No issues other than that, works great. Thanks.

Honest reviews on Apple MacBook White - 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR2, 120GB SATA

I love my IMac notebook, I use it constantly. I can sit in my favorite chair & hold it on my lap & send messages to family & friends, do IM'S while I'am watching a program on the TV & we are discussing it on my notebook. LOVE IT

HP EliteBook 8470p B5P22UT 14 LED Notebook Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5 Review

Customer Ratings:

I have used different types of notebook computers for over ten years. But this HP notebook is the best I have come across. It has all the new known technology and is strongly built with a long life battery.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Cheap Dell Latitude D610 Pentium M 1.6GHz 1GB 40GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XP

Customer Ratings:

Got laptop and within a day lost windows and now wont load or anything.. not happy at all with the dell laptop.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I was looking for a second computer, specifically one with Windows XP. I read the seller's notes and was I surprised when it arrived. It arrived sooner than I'd expected. What I got was much more than I expected; the "scratches and scuffs" I didn't notice. The "works great" is the Honest-Abe's truth. It's always a risk buying used; I'm glad I took the chance on John Amrhein. Couldn't be happier!

Best Deals for Dell Latitude D610 Pentium M 1.6GHz 1GB 40GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XP

Very impressed with the product and the seller. First of, i received the laptop way faster than expected. Its in very good physical condition. I dont know much about laptops, but its seems to be working, hopefully as i dig further into it i would continue to be pleased. The only thing is, i hope this seller or any others can be more detailed about the conditions of their products, because it can really help. I almost didnt buy this laptop bc i was afraid it would be in bad shape.

Honest reviews on Dell Latitude D610 Pentium M 1.6GHz 1GB 40GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XP

Got it in short time, was everything they said it would be , plus!! no complaints none at all, would recommend if your looking at this comment. I sure didn't go wrong!!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dell Latitude D610 Pentium M 1.6GHz 1GB 40GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XP

I purchased this laptop for my brother's daughter who is 11 years old for educational purposes, as well as, playing games and stay connected to her family and friends. She loves her laptop and it was readily available for a faction of the cost. It works well even as a used item. No problems with this item as of yet.

Discount Toshiba Satellite L675-S7113 17.3-Inch LED Laptop (Grey)

Customer Ratings:

Excellent laptop, But, the keyboard skips letters typed and also inserts double letters of some typed. Typing is very frustrating.

Toshiba hasn't fixed the problem in 6 months... they say they are on the verge of fixing it.

There are a lot of people wishing they had never bought the computer... you may want to hold off until it is fixed or buy from a different brand.

You can check out the forum on Toshiba's website to see what aggrivation they have caused their customers:Think twice before buying...

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I like to research when I purchase electronics, and I can say that this is a well equiped computer. It is just perfect, the price is great, I love it.

Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite L675-S7113 17.3-Inch LED Laptop (Grey)

EDIT: Do not buy. Laptop will crap out in about 2 years.

I LOOOVE this laptop. I'm 15 years old and this is my first laptop that I have to myself.

Pros

-Windows 7 home premium

-Built-in Webcam/Audio

-Fast

-Ram Upgradeable

-Nice texture, feel

-Good shortcut keys F1 F2 ect

-Semi good battery

Cons

-LOUD click.. suggest getting a USB mouse that isn't as loud

-Outside case feels loose around screen, might cause a problem in the future.

-Speakers sound a little muffled

-Fan breaks after 2 years

-Overheats

-Battery life diminishes to almost nothing after 2 years

I suggest getting this, but not if you're into gaming.

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite L675-S7113 17.3-Inch LED Laptop (Grey)

Ordered a laptop on a Weds, and Got it on a sunday, in Afghanistan. The computer is exactly what was advertised, and will do buisness them again. Keep up the good work!!!!!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba Satellite L675-S7113 17.3-Inch LED Laptop (Grey)

Excelent laptop, perfect alternative to a desktop, for those who spend much time working on computer.

The only minus is that the battery runs out of power too fast, maybe because of the large screen.