Reviews of MSI X460DX-008US: 14Inch HD (1366x768) Laptop, 2.1Ghz Core

Customer Ratings:

I have been using this laptop for about a month now, and have really enjoyed it. The performance is great, even with just the i3 processor. I have been able to run some fairly intensive games on it, running Witcher 2 at medium settings yields about 30 fps, which while not great, is playable and still looks nice. One annoyance on this front is the aggressive throttling that occurs when running off battery power, making it impossible to play anything that uses the dedicated graphics card when not plugged in to a wall outlet. For instance, I was playing an older game (Railroad Tycoon 3) off the integrated Intel graphics on battery fine, but if I switched it to the Nvidia graphics, the gameplay stutters.

Another issue I have come across is the placement of some of the keys on the keyboard. The right shift key is smaller than on a full size keyboard, with the up arrow right next to it. Many times while typing, I will accidentally hit the up key instead of shift. This also occurs with the small backspace key, where I will often hit the home key instead. Otherwise, the keyboard performs well. It has a nice action without a lot of noise.

The touchpad works well, especially with the included drivers. It enables multitouch much like a Macbook does (I bought this after selling my Macbook Pro). Not quite as smooth as the Macbook, but things like three finger left swipe takes you back in the browser. Pinch to zoom also works, although again not as smooth as what a Macbook has. Two finger scrolling also works well. An issue I have come across is the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the touchpad will sometimes activate when I don't want it to, scrolling me over instead of selecting what I want. It took some getting used to.

Otherwise, the screen looks great and has good brightness when turned all the way up. Seat-of-the-pants feeling places battery life on par with the MBP. I can get a good 6-7 hours out of word processing and web browsing.

Finally, the fit and finish of this are good, better than what I have seen from other manufacturers. The weight is not too heavy. It feels lighter than the MBP, but not as well built. The body is thin, and overall it is easy to carry around.

I took one star off because of the throttling on battery without a way to turn it off, as well as the keyboard design. Without those two things, it would have been five stars.

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Note: This is actually about the MSI X460DX-216US which has apparently been discontinued http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WPUNU0/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00 but MSI has done such an awful job with customer service that I wanted to write a review on the closest model I could find.

1/20/12: Purchased MSI laptop. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. Plus it was less expensive than a comparable Dell, and it ran computer drafting programs and 3D graphics games pretty well! Especially for the cost.

6/25/12: Laptop suddenly developed a problem where, if picked up or if resting my wrists on the empty space on either side of the touchpad, the laptop turns itself off. Tried this with and without the battery while plugged in and not plugged in and it happens consistently under all conditions. Since I was out of town at the time, I just used my laptop very delicately while placing it on a desk instead of my lap.

8/15/12: Finally home. Tested a theory where I hooked up the laptop to an external monitor and used a wireless keyboard and mouse. Laptop ran without any shutdowns for well over a week (never powered off). This confirms to me that it is something within the laptop that has a loose connection.

9/3/12: Went to MSI customer support and arranged an RMA online. It was quick and painless. Things are looking up!

9/17/12: On the MSI RMA status website, my laptop is indicated as "Your RMA has been received and is now in replacement, testing, or repair process."

9/21/12: MSI called me to tell me that they can't replicate the problem. I told them that they're insane because the problem occurred for me every time I would pick up the laptop. I told them so and they said they would look into it.

10/3/12: The MSI RMA status website has not changed. Called MSI to ask where my laptop is. After being on the phone for a half hour, I was told I would be emailed with more information. Apparently they have been waiting for a replacement motherboard and my laptop will be shipped out on 10/17/12.

10/24/12: The MSI RMA status website has not changed. I do not have a laptop. Called MSI to ask where my laptop is. After waiting on hold for 15 minutes, a recording told me to leave a voicemail. I left a very irritated voicemail. Then I sent an irritated email as a reply to the email that told me the laptop would be shipped out a week ago. Then I went to Amazon.com to write an angry review.

TL;DR version:

MSI Customer service is a joke. They have had my laptop for over a month and a half for what seems to me to be a very obvious diagnosis. This was my first MSI laptop I usually buy Dell. Dell had amazing customer service and they would promptly fix my problems whenever they arose. Dell would have shipped me a brand new laptop by now. One time I sent in my Dell (desktop) computer for repair and since that model was discontinued, they sent me the newer model, which was a thorough upgrade that I got entirely free of charge. THAT is customer service. Dell, I am sorry for abandoning you. MSI, words cannot fully express my disappointment. You have failed me for the last time.

Best Deals for MSI X460DX-008US: 14Inch HD (1366x768) Laptop, 2.1Ghz Core

This laptop delivers good performance for the price however it does not last at all. From opening and closing the lid the hinge magically breaks and eventually the monitor backing separates like it was cheaply glued together. Seeing that I am currently outside of the US I can't simply return it. I was trying to cope with the broken hinge until the webcam seems to have stopped working and now two out of my three USB ports seem to be gone as well. And this is after owning it for about 4-5 months.

Great looking laptop but S***TY QUALITY

WASTE OF MONEY, WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING MSI AGAIN -_-

Honest reviews on MSI X460DX-008US: 14Inch HD (1366x768) Laptop, 2.1Ghz Core

Bought the laptop for a friend who needed a gaming laptop. The laptop was a great deal, pretty much half price to other comparable laptops. Runs D3 on high and runs smoothly.

I liked the layout of the laptop, I liked the functional buttons, very well thought out.

The glossy surface of the keypad shows some fingerprints but it didn't really bother me.

Great value, well designed gaming laptop.

Would 100% recommend.

Best Compaq Presario CQ56-115DX 15.6" 2GB 250GB Laptop PC Deals

Customer Ratings:

I needed a basic laptop for web surfing, email, writing, and some light computer programming. I got this one at Best Buy for about $. For the price I found it to be a good buy. It came with the 64 bit version of Windows 7 and had two gigabytes of memory, a single core AMD 64 bit processor and a two hundred and fifty gigabyte hard drive. Uses shared memory for graphics.

After using it for about a week I became frustrated with the length of time it took to boot up and another while for your program to load. Once your program was loaded, it would run ok but I did not run more than three programs at once. It also seemed relatively easy to stress the processor. The system monitor would indicate processor usage was at near one hundred percent by merely installing a program. The battery life was respectable and the built in wireless worked very well. I found the keyboard and touch pad to be a bit odd but I quickly got used to how they worked.

One peeve I had was that the initial memory came in two one gigabyte modules. It would have made more sense and been cheaper in shipping the laptop with a two gigabyte module. I however do not pretend to understand the business decisions of these computer manufacturers.

Bottom line.

Good value for the price but recommend increasing the memory to at least three gigabytes to work well. Good for light use around the home or at the office. I have not tried but I don't recommend games on this unit. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could but I cannot seem to give half star increments so three stars it is.

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My initial needs which lead me to purchase a laptop were mobility, media storage and playback (HD and non HD), and 3D modeling using Google SketchUp. I was looking to spend around $450-$500. After some research,this model kept making the comparison and with the price, it started looking like a winner. I made my purchase and I have never been happier. The screen is the right size for mobility, without sacrificing it's viewing capacity. Having a discrete graphics card, while not the most recent of architecture, coupled with (shared) 256mb from the DDR3 memory it performs quite well. I have to say it this laptop runs SketchUp almost as good as my desktop rig Core 2 Duo 3.0ghz 8gb of RAM and Geforce 9800GT video card. In all fairness, Sketchup is 32bit and can only address 2gb of ram, and is only a single threaded so alot of what you think are advantages to my rig, they are infact not. I guess the point of this review is..... this laptop does a couple of things at a time really well. If you push it, it will perform like a cheap laptop. If you want to surf, watch Hulu, and model a spaceship in Sketchup, she will perform like a much more expensive laptop.

I should also mention it plays Age of Empires III, Starfleet Command 3, and Command & Conquer First Decade quite nicely.

Pros

Solid hinges

Battery life is excellent

Lightweight

Runs cool and almost completely silent

excellent performance

Usable gaming capacity

Cons

No HDMI

no webcam

Overall I am completely impressed.

Best Deals for Compaq Presario CQ56-115DX 15.6" 2GB 250GB Laptop PC

This laptop is the best one in its class. Its processor is fine for the price. The ram is very fast(should be upgraded to 4 or more gigabytes to give this laptop its full potential) the hard drive is fast, but without a fast processor it is somewhat slow. the graphics card is wonderful, it actually can play WoW and many other games without lagging. The wifi card is fast as well(thank god for n wireless).The battery can get 3 hours on serious usage, and about 4:15 on very low usage with the brightness all the way down.

This laptop is the best of the cheap. If you need a computer for word processing, mail, Internet browsing, and the occasional game, the price is right for a great laptop.

Honest reviews on Compaq Presario CQ56-115DX 15.6" 2GB 250GB Laptop PC

Well let me start by saying that this laptop i got from the Nvidia settlement. It was to replace my dv9000 specific model 9428nr. my old computer had a 2.2 GHz AMD Turion (tm) 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-64, 2Gb of ram max, and a 17 screen display, and that problematic nvidia chip, dual hard drive bay. use to do a lot of work on it for engineering classes it went well and it did everything i had to, but then it started having the classical problems of losing the wireless and over heating. by then my warranty had expired from best buy. So i was stuck with a half working laptop and it was not too old is was about 2.5 years old. so then i got a letter in mail that there was a legal class action and that my laptop qualify for an exchange for an equal laptop in value. So i said why not and i ended up sending it to the Nvidia settlement. So when i got my cq56-115dx i was for some big disappointment.

cq56-115dx came with a 15 inch screen, a single core amd V140, able to upgrade to a max 8 GB of drr3 ram, ATI 4250 graphics (not bad).NO second bay for a secondary hard-drive. NO express card, No 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, No Expansion Port 3. and NO Number keypad on the right. Maybe i could have life without some of things, but what really got me mad was the single processor of the cq56-115dx. REALLY???? what a way to make it to customers who were having problems with the faulty nvidia and who paid $1200-$2000 for these laptops.

Performance of cq56-115dx as is no sugar coating

first of all you must upgrade the ram of the computer to a max of 8GB if want to be able to do some multitasking. with the 2GB of ram that came, multitasking was so painful.

After you upgrade the cq56 to a max of 8gb the computer runs a lot better. I was able to run engineering programs and do other things at the same time. but for more demanding programs the computer began to lag a lot. For example if you only run a program at a time then the computer is fine, but if you want to listen to youtube while running a demanding program forget it. solidworks with youtube on the background and some pdfs open equals total lag. Something i was able to do with my older computer.

Running videos on youtube at 1080 p is a total lag.

Last time i tried to run HD video on gametrailers web page, nothing else open, there was so much lag that i had to switch it make to standard view.

People who are going to use this laptop for Microsoft word, power point and internet they should be just fine.

bottom line this laptop will run great if you run a greedy program at a time, real multitasking is not existent with the cpu amd v140.

So i search to try and see if any possible upgrade here are the possible cpu upgrades

AMD Athlon II Dual Core Mobile DanubeChamplain

P320 2.1 GHz AMP320SGR22GM 25W

P340 2.3 GHz AMP340SGR22GM 25W

AMD Turion II Dual Core Mobile DanubeChamplain

P520 2.3 Ghz TMP520SGR23GM 25W

P540 2.4 GHz TMP540SGR23GM 25W

P560 2.6 GHz TMP560SGR23GM 25W

N530 2.5 GHz TMN530DCR23GM 25W

N550 2.6 GHz TMN550DCR23GM 35W

N570 2.7 GHz TMN570DCR23GM 35W

AMD Phenom II Dual Core Mobile DanubeChamplain

N620 2.8 GHz HMN620DCR23GM 35W

N640 2.9 GHz HMN640DCR23GM 35W

N660 3.0 GHz HMN660DCR23GM 35W

P650 2.6 GHz HMP960SGR23GM 25W

AMD Phenom Triple Core Mobile DanubeChamplain

P820 1.8 GHz HMP820SGR32GM 25W

P840 1.9 GHz HMP840SGR32GM 25W

P860 2.0 GHz HMP860SGR32GM 25W

N830 2.1 GHz HMN830DCR32GM 35W

N850 2.2 GHz HMN850DCR32GM 35W

N870 2.3 GHz HMN870DCR32GM 35W

AMD Phenom Quad Core Mobile DanubeChamplain

P920 1.6 GHz HMP920SGR42GM 25W

P940 1.7 GHz HMP940SGR42GM 25W

P960 1.8 GHz HMP960SGR42GM 25W

where copy and search on ebay HMP960SGR42GM

so at the end i bought a dual core amd phenom IIx2 N640 clock at 2.9 Ghz for $56 plus free shipping. let me tell that you what a big difference it makes. true multitasking, and now i can play hd videos without any lag. not to mention that i now have the ability to play some games.

how to replace the cpu amd v140 for a amd phenom IIx2 N640

first flip the laptop upside down on a table remove the battery. Now get a standard star screwdriver and begin to remove all the screws that you see on the bottom of the laptop. As you are taking them off remember where you took them off from. the ones with a little brown mark are bigger and thus correspond to the outer perimeter of the chassis. the little screws with blue are attached to the mother board and thus belong to inside. remove all screws even where the battery was before. Next open up and remove all screws of hard drive and remove hard drive itself. Next open up where the ram goes and remove the ram itself. remove the wireless card which has one little screw and is attached with two cables one grey an and one black or cable 1 and cable 2. double make sure you remove all screws, the hard drive, the ram, and wireless.

flip the laptop and open the display you will remove the key board. you will need a flat screwdriver if you look top left and right corners between the speaker panel and keyboard. place the flat all the way down and begin to lift the corner slowly then move the flat screwdriver to the other corner so that it becomes detached. Make sure you do not pull to hard on the keyboard as you lift tilt the keyboard and see the ribbon attached to the motherboard, finally carefully remove the ribbon and the keyboard (if you forgot to remove a screw you will have a hard time removing the keyboard and you might break it) . now remove the dvd drive just with your finger get hold of the dvd-drive and pull the dvd drive out, it should come out completely without any problems. next look where you just you took off the keyboard there are about three ribbons you need to disconnect (make sure you do it). after that with fingers of flat screwdriver began to detach the top part of the chassis off the bottom part thus exposing the motherboard (color blue). once you see the motherboard remove and attached cables to the motherboard about 4 or 5 cables remember where they go. DO NOT REMOVE THE SCREW OF THE DISPLAY YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REMOVE THEM. There are two physical screws on the motherboard take them off and lift carefully the motherboard. make sure to bring down the display because it flip on its own weight. So flip the motherboard on the back you will see the fan and the cpu. remove the cable of fan to motherboard. remove the screws of the fan. finally you will see the cpu with a flat screwdriver twist to let go of the cpu lift it up and carefully put the other back in. make sure you apply thermal paste (arctic silver only a little then with you finger spread it, it the cpu is a bit dirty clean ( clean the silver square)it with a little of alcohol and q-tip before placing it and putting thermal paste)and tight back the cpu with the flat screw driver. then began to put everythig back together. If you have open up computers before then this will be very easy.

10 mins to take everything off and another 10 mins to put everything back to together. if for some reason you do not place ribbons securely your computer wont boot and will just stay on the black screen with the fan running only and the caps lock key flashing light (happened to me. secure everything). so after you place everything together you should be able to boot into windows normally and start using the computer normally. you should have a better cq56-115dx.

Cpu $56 plus now about $40 8 GB of ddr3 ram, you are looking at $100 to make a good Cq56-115dx.

the ram i bought is crucial 8Gb kit 2x4Gb 204-pin SODIMM 512x64 DDR3 PC3--8500 CL7

I am happy now with cq56-115dx

windows rating

6.1 cpu

7.1 ram

5.3 graphics

benchmark of passmark of cpus

old laptop--2.2 GHz AMD Turion (tm) 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-64 1049

cq56-115dx--amd v140 single core @ 2.3 Ghz 674

cq56-115dx--amd phenom IIx2 N640 @2.9 GHz 1794

having said all of this, hp has no quality control and what they did to us in the nvidia settlement is very very unacceptable by all standards.its a slap on the face and on the hard earned money of people. and worst part was that my old computer was a gift from my mom and the money she wasted. If i did the same poor job i'll would be fired from my job, but hp and nvidia have gotten away with a poor job. Hope this information is of some help to others. for me its the last time i buy another hp laptop.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Compaq Presario CQ56-115DX 15.6" 2GB 250GB Laptop PC

I purchased this machine a month ago. Mine came with the AMD processor... As an avid fan of AMD/ATI I had to grab this one. The only thing I did not like is the fact that the onboard peripherals use too much of the installed 2 gigs of ram leaving only 735mb of ram for the operating system and your software. I quickly upgraded my ram to the maximum 8 gigs and this thing runs sweet... It will chew up almost anything I throw at it; Games, 3D modeling, multiple OS's under VirtualBOX and high end multimedia... Great value for the price but it needs better and faster memory than the stock it ships with.

Reviews of ASUS R704A-RH51 17.3 Inch Notebook PC Intel Core i5 4GB Memory

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $629.00
Sale Price: $528.00
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

Got this for a great price and has everything BUT the backlit keyboard that was on the page was incorrect. Although this was a major let down the price for an i5, 17.3", with 4GB of RAM was still a great price. I had done research on this laptop before buying it and knoew that was a possibility. It is very fast and provided you use it as a work computer (with maybe a little light gaming from time to time) it should last for a long time.

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The customer service with the company was stellar. The return was smooth, our credit was instant. The description stated this laptop had a back-lit keyboard. The was a must for us. Sadly the description was wrong; it did not have a back-lit keyboard so we returned it.

Best Deals for ASUS R704A-RH51 17.3 Inch Notebook PC Intel Core i5 4GB Memory

I regularly shop on Amazon.com because of the convenience, the reviews and the customer service. The experience was not a positive experience customer service wise. Initially based on the specs and the price I was really impressed. I confirmed the specs with the company prior to ordering so I was very disappointed to see that the laptop did not have the backlit keyboard that was initially listed in the specs on Amazon.com. Mistakes happen but the way they handled the mistake insured that I will not be a return customer. Amazon has since been updated to include the correct information but it was done in a dishonest manner following an e-mail exchange with the company that was very frustrating. At no point did they offer a resolution or an apology for the error. So the two stars is not for the product but for the seller. I gave a bonus star because after several e-mails were exchanged they did finally take an acceptable tone but I was still out of a laptop.

Buy Dell D610 Pentium M 2.13GHz 1GB 60GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XPP

Customer Ratings:

My first material internet purchase rocks! I needed a quick cheap laptop for school and CAD modeling (Solidworks & AutoCAD) and the Dell D610 with 2.13 ghz Pentium M cpu fits the bill just fine. Everything worked out of the box, shipping was reasonable and prompt. Not perfect...the power supply cord (which works) had ripped insulation, but this is an easy fix. This computer is a deal at $130.00 including shipping. Thanks Amazon!

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I purchased this lap top as a gift for my daughter. She had a small notebook and was thrilled with the lap top. It was used but looked new and works great.

Best Deals for Dell D610 Pentium M 2.13GHz 1GB 60GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XPP

Daughter is thoroughly enjoying the computer. Will enable her to take online classes and keep me up to date on my grandson. Service was very quick

Discount Hp Pavilion Dv8000 Notebook

Customer Ratings:

This item was misrepresented in the ad (I have screen shots to prove that) and the item was poorly packed and the seller hasn't even inquired about the damage and denies the fraudulent advertising. On top of that, I had to take the chance and pay up front before receiving the item but he wants the item back before paying me back. If I had to pay first then so should he. Also, he won't offer a partial refund to cover the damages or the repairs needed because of the fraudulent advertising. He claims others were aware of the uncommon problems (cracked screen and noisy fan) but they were NOT shown in the information I was presented with when I went to the web page he used to advertise this item. I will never trust anything this person says.

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All was perfect, on time, it is a good looking machine

-The screen is beautiful, very bright and good color reproduction.

-Wi-fi signal is strong and I haven't experienced dropped connection.

-I haven't used the touchpad that long because I always use a mouse but I tested and it works better that others I've used.

-The keyboard is accurate and it feels nice to the touch, the backlight is soft, you can barely see it with lights on. I wish it was brighter.

-There's a little to none noise fan, it gets a little hot on the bottom.

-Speakers sound surprisingly good for such a thin machine.

Dell D610 Pentium M 1.73GHz 512MB 40GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XP HOME Review

Customer Ratings:

HIGHLY SATISFIED!!! I bought my refurbished from MawishInc for about 5 months ago and it has been amaizing. I'm surprised that the price on this item just keeps on getting lower and lower. I got mine with 1gb of ram but I upgrade it to 2gb and it's a super fast computer. Much faster then any of my vista computers with more ram and ghz. The monitor is small on today's HD stuff, but the graphics card is amazing. Mine can go up to 1920x1200 with no lag on any monitor. With my shipment, I got this item with the charger and all the slots in this item worked, and still works... (thank you MawishInc). I recommend this product. (maybe not used but professionally refurbished).

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I recommend that you stay away from used computer. I had to return mine.

Discount Lenovo Ideapad 15.6" N580, Black, 4G RAM, 500 HDD, Windows 8

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $579.99
Sale Price: $352.99
Today's Bonus: 39% Off

I got a Lenovo Ideapad N580 and after 3 months of having it, it started acting up and turning off by itself even if we cleaned its vents! We had to pay $45 to send it to Lenovo company and when they sent it back it was worse than before! It was poorly assembled and after a month, it started freezing or it would just stay 'thinking' when we turned it on. A month after we sent it to the company, the cd/dvd player stopped working! It still doesn't have a year with us but we think it's a waste of time to try to send it back! Just don't waste your money or time buying a computer from them! Their service sucks!

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Even though the processor is relatively weak compare to the average i3-i5 laptops, this laptop gets the job done. I bought this laptop from Best Buy a few months ago for about $280 without tax but the exact same specs as this one listed. Highly recommend it if you are on a low budget.

Pros:

Well built

Slick Keyboard

Good Speaker

Decent webcam

**Really quiet(even when gaming)

**Rarely overheats(never really feel any heat from the vent)

Cons:

The touchpad is mediocre but I usually use a mouse so it doesn't bother me

Lack hotkey buttons such as buttons for changing the volume/mute

Number pad is a bit cram(Num Lock right next to the Backspace key)

No led lights indiciting if num-lock is on/off

Best Deals for Lenovo Ideapad 15.6" N580, Black, 4G RAM, 500 HDD, Windows 8

great computer, great value, i use this computer for work and it does all that i ask of it and allows me to work from home, also liking the lightweight design considering my previous lap top weighed about 10 pounds. great lap top for the money!

Review of 11.6" MacBook Air 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB Flash Storage, NVIDIA

Customer Ratings:

The 2010 11" Macbook Air is truly revolutionary. Its amazing that such a tiny computer can be so powerful and useful.

I had a 2009 13" Macbook Pro. Its had a much faster CPU, yet when I timed all the typical activities I do on a computer, the Macbook Air came out on top every time. The reason? The screaming fast SSD makes more of a difference in my usage than the faster CPU.

Overall a great little machine. The display takes some getting used to because its a higher DPI, text ends up smaller. Ends up with lots of information packed into the screen. I've become used to it and like it. Its also handy that Lion has several handy ways to zoom, including option-two finger scroll, and double tap in Safari. Also command + will enlarge text in browsers. Lion also has full screen mode which can help.

At home, I plug into a 28" monitor to get serious work done. For my use the 4GB RAM upgrade was a necessity. It cannot be upgraded later. I went with the 128GB SSD which is the minimum I could live with.

I love that I have a powerful system and huge display when I need it at home, and a tiny ultra-portable that I don't have to worry about taking everywhere with me.

Only downside is the cost. Low entry price but the upgrades really add up.

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Whats not to love!? This is a upgraded / maxxed 11" 2010 Macbook Air! Lean, mean, and a good value for the money.

Cheap Apple MacBook Pro MC024LL/A 17-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

Customer Ratings:

I finally made the decision to get rid of my two laptops (an HP envy, and a 13" macbook pro) in favor of this 17" macbook pro with a dual boot setup using Boot Camp. Initial impressions: The best choice I've ever made. Here's the whole thing broken down:

THE SIZE

This thing is pretty beastly, but it's not unwieldy. You definitely feel its size the second you pick one up, or move it around, but you'll quickly get over that once you open it up and turn it on. The keyboard is super expansive, the screen is unbelievable (more on that later) and you can still stay mobile with this thing if you really need to. It's not something you can easily move around with 1 hand from room to room, but if you're like me, and do most of your work at a desk, then this is a great choice to make. (Note: I also own an iPad, which is a fantastic pair with this thing, since it does about 90% of what I do on-the-go as far as mobile computing goes.)

THE SCREEN

So I mentioned already that you'll most likely fall in love with this thing like I did when you open it up and turn it on. It has the highest PPI (pixels per inch) of all the apple laptops they sell and it shows. I actually am considering not even hooking this up to my external monitor anymore, because of how brilliantly sharp it is. Colors really pop and text is easy to read. Also, since it's 17", you get a better-than-HD 1920x1200 resolution. My work is in development, so this is really a major selling point for me. I need to be able to manage all my windows in Xcode and Interface builder without tons of overlap and clicking between browsers, my chat windows and my code.

THE KEYBOARD

If you've used a macbook pro keyboard in the past year or so, you'll feel right at home with this thing. I will say this as a negative, however: It's not super comfortable on your arms right past your wrist, because the sharp edges of the laptop dig into your skin after a while.

THE PERFORMANCE

I copied over my entire OS/settings to this new macbook pro and ran some field tests to see how fast this thing is in comparison to my old macbook pro--and it screams. An iPhone/iPad project that takes 5-10 seconds to build on my old machine (core 2 duo) takes a fraction of that time here. The i5 is most definitely a step up from previous core 2 duos. I finally have a laptop I can stick Windows 7 on that is as good as a dedicated Windows machine can do. (Being able to have this 1 comp to run both environments is great!)

BATTERY LIFE

I will have to come back and update on battery life, but I can tell you that it's worlds better than my HP. That was similarly spec'ed and barely worked 2 hours on the go. This one so far is looking like 6 hours with wifi and full brightness. They have it rated at 8-9 hours, but I'm sure that's with brightness turned down and not full use the whole time. Truthfully, anything better than 2 hours with this kind of power is great for me.

TOUCHPAD

Again, if you've used a recent MacBook Pro, this is essentially identical. The biggest change here is that you can now use "inertial" scrolling, so that you can just flick your fingers to scroll long pages, and it will keep scrolling until it slows to a stop. This is very similar to the iPhone scrolling of long pages, or if you've used a Magic Mouse, it does the same thing.

Also, of note, is that of all the new copy cat glass track pads, I haven't used one that works as well as these. Even inside Windows, it performs real well and you feel productive with it. I've used other PC's with the no-button glass touchpad, and it makes me want to throw them across the room after a few minutes..

OTHER THOUGHTS/CONCERNS

While I'll keep this at 5 stars, this isn't necessarily a perfect computer. I have a few gripes with it, but they aren't really deal breakers and all the other pros make up for them so well that I'm okay with it. For starters, this has three USB ports (the 15 and 13 model only have 2) but unfortunately they are literally all lined up next to each other. If you have any kind of a fat usb device, you're out of luck for placing anything next to it.

Also, you'll most likely need to buy the mini-display port to HDMI converter because while Apple loves mini-display port, the rest of the world is just now using HDMI as its standard. You can find one here on amazon for real cheap ( Mac Converts):

Lighter than all but the lightest PCs, netbooks, etc.

The specs in the machine are pretty strong, yet it maintains a solid battery life of up to 9 hours (real world, you'll get around 7 or so with casual use, maybe 5 with some development work, a little less for VMs and so on).

The screen is sharp and vibrant, but not too difficult to read. Snow Leopard includes all sorts of zooming options so you're not constantly straining to read the text on the screen.

Once you've used a MacBook trackpad you won't want to go back to a standard one. It is a bit of a pain to have to map a right click function instead of keeping the two buttons for converts, but you'll get used to it once you find a option for you. The inertial scrolling is a keeper though.

At first, the battery life is going to take some getting used to, especially if you're used to laptops that have up to 3 hours of battery life in ideal situations.

Realizing that the MacBook Pro never needs to be shut down will also be a bit of a culture shock.

Some bullet points to consider (smaller MacBooks to the 17"):

You should expect comparable, but not identical, battery life out of the 17" from what you're used to. The only exception is the 2010 13", which has a staggering 10 hour max battery life. For that crowd, you'll want to adjust to a smaller battery life, definitely.

You can change the resolution down to something else, but know that Snow Leopard will get fuzzy. Screen resolution optimization is not a Snow Leopard strong point.

The difference between the high resolution 15" and the 17" is a matter of opinion. For me, I couldn't justify paying the price for the HR 15" when it was a few bucks less than the 17" which had a better resolution to it AND a stronger processor.

You can see from the pictures how much bigger the 17" is than the 13". For purposes of carrying, the 17" feels about as heavy as a decent sized book. It's probably not the most practical in a school classroom; for that I would lean towards the 13" as it's the most space friendly. But if you're a developer, writer, gamer, or anyone else who needs to do a lot with a little, the 17" will blow your mind.

Strictly my opinion...get AppleCare if you buy this laptop. Reason being: At its current price, it's really hard to justify, but replacing it out of warranty will be even more of a pain if something goes wrong.

Add a Solid State Drive or a 7200 RPM drive at least. You'll appreciate the added performance.

So...is it recommended? If you're one of the roles above AND can accept that there is a premium on this laptop, absolutely. It's overpriced. I'm not going to lie to you. The components in the laptop don't add up to the price Apple's asking. But it's still a solid machine and well worth a look if you want the top of the MacBook Pro line.

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This is my 2nd Macbook Pro. I average a 4 year replacement cycle since features I need determine my upgrades rather than what ever latest changes may bring. I had a Powerbook g4 1gig, then the MBP C2d, and now the MBP Core i5. I should have opted for the i7, but didn't want to push it when work was picking up the tab this time. This machine can do it all. I run bootcamp, and parallels for instructing in the use of PC and the occasional PC game that needs all the processing power/Ram it can muster.

I teach and extensively use digital photography and videography. The machine is the brain of a floor full of f800's LaCie externals connected via daisy chain. When I need flat out performance using external I use the express card 34 slot for eSATA (Now Bootable via express card port) lightening fast transfers and editing. The better performance comes with the upgraded internal 7200RPM 500GB, and the 8Gigs of RAM. The full HD display is very nice with the super bright LED backlight. You can push performance with an SMC fan control download to allow you to run full fan speed before it gets to the point that it needs cooling to preserve performance.

The new trackpad gesture controls make for faster post work. The cool black keys harken back to my Powerbook days. The super fast graphics are amazing. The battery life is unbelievable when you are not tethered to drives and don't need to be wired down, it is really nice to go all day without needing to be plugged to power.

There isn't much more that I can say that hasn't already been covered by Conrad, Samer, and others. Keep it protected as there is no idiot insurance with Apple Care Protection Plan. I have been very pleased with the Pelican 1495 Air Tight/ Water Proof case at only $130.00.

The drawbacks from the previous model as mentioned in other comments are the sharper edges of the unibody that while it looks cool, it is painful if you don't put a cloth over it. I have lines in my arms from resting on the edges. The current lack of fully updated 64bit and quad core coded apps to take advantage of the new configuration will come in time. I love my Mac! Still not putting a sticker on my car though:-)

Best Deals for Apple MacBook Pro MC024LL/A 17-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION)

Update after 2 months of use.

I am very happy. The extra screen estate is fantastic and there is no way I could go back to a 15" for my type of use (see below). I generally get about 5 hours of battery life in constant use.

Whenever we visit family now we take the laptop and do slide show or video presentations of family photos and video. The screen is just the best for this. I do not find weight to be an issue. But I am more careful and always put the laptop in a sleeve and carry it very carefully. It is so sleek I could imagine it slipping out of my fingers! But I no longer find it bulky or heavy.

For my business use I have not needed an external screen at all. I may eventually buy a cheaper Dell screen for my office.

The only con I found before buying it is that the higher resolution make menus and text small. The fixes I found have worked (see below) and for the few programs that I have not found a fix for, I just zoom the screen. Not ideal, but this is only a small portion of my working time. The ability to have two or three programs open at once to do your work is such a huge plus. The 17" really suits me as I move from office to office and from office to home. If I was a student using it in classrooms it might be too big. In airports the computer is the same size as the trays they use which makes it hard to get the computer out of the tray you need two hands so the computer always goes through first. A small thing.

I have not found it hard to use while sitting on my lap on the couch. If anything the bigger size makes it more stable. I hate to say it, but I now like to do some of my work while sitting on the couch.

And I have to say it again the screen is gorgeous. Everyone is blown away by it!

Here is the original review below.....

When considering to replace my 15" Powerbook G4 that I used with an aging cinema display I thought to have the same setup again. A 15" Macbook Pro and a 24" display. But my big complaint about my 15" was always that there was never enough real estate to do my work. Yes I could surf the web and it could sit on my lap. But for any meaningful work (and I normally need to coordinate between two or three programs) I just could not fit my work on the screen. For that reason I started to consider the 17".

FYI I run a midsize business from my home office and often travel to satellite offices. At home I prefer to work in the lounge in the evening to be close to the family. On the road I try to spend less time on the computer and more time with my clients. And I often make presentations.

I spent a lot of time demoing the 15" and 17" at the Apple Store and talking to friends in the computer industry whom I respected. They all gave me the same advice. Get a 15" and a cinema display. But I really found that with my 15", it spent the vast majority of its productive time hooked to a monitor and I wanted to get away from an external monitor.

The biggest issue I found with the 17" is that the screen resolution is so high that all text becomes very small. This is a major issue with a lot of programs such as mail unless you want to send all your messages as 18 high font. Mail and Calender are two important programs from me. I found a hack for mail that allowed me to increase the appearance of mail by 25% ( go to terminal and type in defaults write com.apple.mail AppleDisplayScaleFactor 1.25 and for calender I switched to BusyCal. With most other programs such as final cut pro and Aperture most of my time is spent focusing on the images on screen and the controls are second nature. Work and Excel allow you to zoom. Quicken is a problem and for this I just zoom the screen which looses some resolution, but I am not on the program forever. I may buy a cheap external monitor later.

So we have all read the negatives about the 17", that it is heavy and hard to move around. Well, that is true. If I was a student moving from class to class then the 15" or 13" would be appropriate. And if I was a road warrior constantly on the move, making presentations and using a projector then a 15" would be appropriate. If I did 80% of my work in one spot and another 20% on the move then I would consider the 13" and external monitor. But if you are semi mobile and looking for a laptop that allows you to fully and easily do your work anywhere, then the 17" is in a class of its own. I love being in my office during the day and if I do not finish my work I take my laptop home and finish in the evening. My wife is not upset because I am still near the family and I am happy as I can still do meaningful work.

Another issue raised is airplane use. Unfortunately in this day and age the seats are so close together that it is hard to open any computer. Unless I fly business class my 15" stays closed. If you fly a lot and in economy and need to work then the 13" does make sense.

The 17" is big, heavy, and bulky compared to the 15" but You do get used to it. And when not in use I keep it in the protective sleeve. I never did this with the 15". The 15" was my going into battle computer. The 17" feels like I am taking fine art to work and I want to take care of it.

The three best things about the 17"

1) The display is gorgeous. Aperture and Final Cut Pro are a joy to use with the 17". Forget hotel TV's if you want to watch a movie. And again in a hotel room I can do my business without compromise.

2} All my friends who advised getting the 15" are now really jealous. I think the real reason that more people do not opt for the 17" is that they are afraid to go to the extreme.

3) I was able to dispense with an external monitor and I actually feel more mobile as I never have to plug into a monitor.

If you are reading this then you are probably trying to make up your mind as to which laptop to buy. I think the choice is simple. The 17" is actually cheaper as you can dispense with an external monitor. The 15" without an external monitor is a compromise. If you are highly mobile or highly stationary then definitely the 15" is better (or even 13"). If you are semi-mobile then the 17" is just amazing and you will love yourself for having it every time you turn it on.

ASUS VivoBook S500CA-US71T Touchscreen Ultrabook Windows 8 Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $799.99
Sale Price: $638.95
Today's Bonus: 20% Off

PROS:

THE PRICE! Retail is $799 but you can find it for under $700 now. For what you get, it is a solid deal.

Great style! This laptop just LOOKS great, and lives up to its looks with most of its specs.

i7

Perfectly sized 15.6 inch VivoBook, not too small to strain your eyes but not TOO big to carry around.

It has a 24GB SSD along with the 500GB hard drive that makes starting up and shutting down the computer happen in ~5 seconds! Especially with Windows 8.

Touch screen is lag free and flawless! Finally works great with Windows 8 because they're FINALLY getting plenty of apps ported over.

Plenty of memory, and 8 GB of RAM. This laptop won't run slow at all.

Stays cool where your palms rest and the speakers work well.

HD Webcam

CONS:

(1366x768) Resolution. On a 15.6 inch screen, this could get frustrating if you're trying to watch super HD videos and such. It's ok, but not excellent.

Overall, I think if you can put up with the resolution or you won't be watching too many movies or doing something that requires 1080p, this is a great laptop that is well sized and decently light at 4.8 pounds for the size and price tag. It's fast, starts and shuts down quickly, touch screen is great, and it runs Windows 8 which continues to improve. Good for college students and business professionals who need a laptop, but be wary that the battery life will not go over 4-5 hours.

I own 2 of these. One of which is still new. Debating on selling it or giving it to my friend who loved it when he used mine!

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Im happy with this laptop is thin and light, when I bought it I was worried about some critics about the keyboard, but I feel comfortable with it, so far.

The design is very nice and everything is working perfectly, has a i7 intel processor that is maybe more than I need, but is not easy to find a touch laptop like this for the price I paid (~620), so I decided to buy it.

I haven't tested the battery life completely, but I can estimate that is about 3.5 hours.

Review of Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown IMR/Metal)

Customer Ratings:

When my husband's 6 year old Dell Inspiron laptop died, I knew I wanted one of two brands as a replacement: HP or Lenovo. I wanted to spend the least amount of money possible, and that ultimately was the reason for this Lenovo purchase.

Within the last month I found my daughter a laptop that truly surpised me in terms of its quality and speed: HP 2000-2b24NR 15.6" Notebook PC, and wanted to get that one for him, but the price on that model had increased so I went with my second choice this Lenovo G580.

First Glance:

The Lenovo I purchased was built in China for Lenovo on 1/13/13, with a Intel Core i3 (3rd generation) processor. The build quality of the Lenovo is actually a hair better than the HP with essentially the same specs at the same list price. The laptop feels sturdy. Around the keyboard is metal, not plastic, which definitely gives it a higher-end feel.

The finish on this laptop is more matte than glossy, however it does pick up fingerprints just as easily. In a brown color, which for me verges on eggplant (purplish-brown), with striations or faint streaking, it's not like every other 15.6" laptop PC you've seen. I like the look, but some will not.

Two USB 3.0 ports and one HDMI, as well as one USB 2.0 and a VGA port were all selling points, and are easily accessible on the left side of the laptop.

I'm not really happy that the AC port is on the right side of the laptop, but that has to do with the fact that where it's used in my home, the outlet plug-in is to the left and the cord has to run along the back of the machine if used while tethered.

Firing It Up:

The Windows 8 set-up went quickly. Having recently done it I knew I didn't want to get a Microsoft email and set-up a password for my husband (a relative novice 'old dog'), who I didn't want to feel as though he was struggling to get signed-in. For most this would be adviseable, but by simply saying 'no' to setting up an email and not entering a password while setting up the PC, that was bypassed.

The keyboard is not backlit, which would have been nice. The full-sized keyboard includes a numeric keypad to the right, which isn't standard on all laptops anymore.

The 15.6" display sits slightly lower than most laptops as the hinges on the laptop are flush with the bottom of the PC and not set-up like most laptops I've used.

The power settings out of the box are not set on 'performance', which dims the monitor and gives somewhat sluggish performance to the PC. I did the Windows Updates -the PC will do this for you after 2 days of operation, but why wait? I then went into Settings and changed the PC power management from 'Balanced' to 'Performance'. It gave the Lenovo a pick-me-up in speed and brightened up the display.

I also added some free programs: Glary Utilities, CCleaner, Malwarebytes, and VLC (a multi-platform media player) that works very well on all my PCs. After running these programs to optimize the system, I tested out the DVD drive.

The DVD-RW drive in the Lenovo was a bit noisy, and the integrated sound is not great. While I could view movies on the laptop, it wasn't enjoyable. It would be OK for occasional viewing of DVDs, but if you were looking for an entertainment PC, this wouldn't be it.

You can use the HDMI port to share online streaming from Netflix and HuluPlus with a bigger screen not having to worry about the whiring of the DVD drive. Viewing streaming content would also be OK on your PC, as the display is not excellent, but it's certainly OK for the size of the screen with integrated Intel HD graphics and 1366 x 768 pixels max resolution.

A cool feature that I discovered while in Settings and tweaking the power management settings, is that this laptop has a fan that blows dust out of the housing! A great idea, as dust and heat are the two biggest killers of laptops next to dropping them. Anytime you want to do it, it's as close as a click.

Speaking of 1-click convenience, Lenovo also put in a one click restore function part of Windows 8 on the desktop. So if this laptop starts acting fussy, you can have it go through a repair very easily. After you've set-up your PC, be sure to do the back-up (putting it to an external drive like: Seagate Backup Plus 3 TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive (STCA3000101) is ideal, but you can also put it on the recovery side of the hard drive. You'll be given options, and it's very easy to do.

Because my husband has never played with Windows 8 and because I knew he'd be frustrated with something new, I set up this PC with a program called Start8. It makes it possible to have any Windows 8 PC start up and look like a Windows 7 one, complete with a Windows 7 start menu that you can customize to your needs. Users of Windows 7 who miss this, can easily install this program and try it out for free for 30 days. If you like it, it's only $5 to purchase the license for it. There are other methods to do this, but none quite as easy.

I suggest doing a search for the LifeHacker article: How to Fix Windows 8's Biggest Annoyances to learn more.

Once I'd done the Windows Update, cleaned things out with Glary Utilites, Malwarebytes and CCleaner, and installed Start8, I ran a scan using McAfee Antivirus which came preinstalled with a 30 day license.

I also removed all software that had 'buy' attached to it (including Microsoft Office 2010). Programs that were put on for users to acquire apps or games again, for a fee, were also removed. NOTE: Install Google Chrome (free) and then pick and choose their free apps and extensions for these goodies.

This bloatware was annoying, and more than I found on the HP or any other PCs in recent memory. NOTE: Any easy way to find these programs is to click around, make a list and then open CCleaner's 'Tools' to see a list of programs and uninstall as needed.

Final Thoughts:

The Lenovo G580 is a solid machine for students and home users who are not looking for an entertainment center, but rather an everyday workhorse for email, Internet, occasional streaming video via Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and HuluPlus. At 5.7 pounds, it's manageable for students to carry around in a Targus Groove BTS Backpack Case Designed for 15.6-Inch Laptops TSB152US (Black with Grey Accents).

If you want to add to this PC's performance, you can boost it to 8GB of total memory an easy DIY upgrade that's fairly cheap and easy to do. Not necessary with this PC, but always a good idea in my opinion, for getting the most out of your investment.

Kingston ValueRam 4GB PC3-10600 CL9 204-Pin SODIMM Notebook Memory KVR1333D3S9/4G is a good product, but check to see what's installed in your machine prior to purchase as if yours has two 2GB if you buy one 4GB you'll have 6GB total memory versus the 8GB max. It may be necessary to remove existing memory completely and install new to max out this system.

It's build quality is excellent, and my husband is thrilled with this laptop. Those two things make this PC's bloatware, less than stellar sound and video performance, and a noisy DVD-RW drive, bearable at this low price point.

If you're looking for a gaming or entertainment PC, keep looking. However, if you have lower expectations and want a sturdy laptop for basic tasks like email and Internet surfing on a daily basis, you will be happy with this Lenovo.

UPDATE: 8/5/13

PC is still going strong. I installed a free program: Obit Advanced Systemcare 6, which cleans and maximizes performance. I still use CCleaner and Glary Utilities too, but find that Systemcare is a nice addition to keep this system running smoothly.

UPDATE: 9/9/13

I'm not sure whether it was 'user error' or the PC's OS (Windows 8, 64-bit) is to blame, but all of a sudden it would boot, but nothing would open. I couldn't get to system restore, and unfortunately I'd not taken the proper steps to create a Windows 8 bootable USB drive. (I know... I know... make sure you do it though!) I had to resort to 'OneKey' restoration to 'out of the box'. Not a big deal since my husband had 6 favorites and little else on his PC, but still irksome.

There's a small button directly to the right of the power button, this is the OneKey Recovery button. If you press it directly after the power button and while the Lenovo screen is up, you get the option to restore your system. This makes it like out of the box from the factory, so it's a last resort if you want to save your stuff. OneKey is very easy to use and worked like a charm. I followed the recovery by doing a Windows Update to get all the current Windows updates. The whole process took about 1 hour.

I recommend making a bootable USB drive and a back-up before you need to use OneKey Recovery, but it's definitely nice to have if you can't seem to make anything else work.

I think Windows 8 must have been corrupted. (I'm not a Windows 8 fan, but as of April 2014, Microsoft will stop issuing updates for Windows 7, thus not supporting it. Looks like we're stuck with Windows 8 unless we switch to Macs!) My daughter's HP running essentially the same set-up hasn't had the issues the Lenovo has had, but she's a more savvy PC user than my husband, so again, not sure if this is the PC or the user. I still like the build quality of this PC and can't justify lowering the star rating for it based upon the belief that this is an OS issue more than a PC issue.

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Bought it to be used as a workhorse in molecular cell bio lab. Works reliably interfaced to all kinds of lab equipment. The large screen is a must in such a situation and does not take up bench space like a desktop would. Keyboard is good quality with good audible bounce. Lenovo is industrial strength and reliable. Great price for Windows 8.

Best Deals for Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown IMR/Metal)

Sent this to Lenovo:

Here is my tirade. From my amazon purchase. As a small business we just don't do business like you guys Lenovo. We would be done. Out of business.

From my Amazon review:

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Great computer,maybe hardware issue oops... Not a fan of Lenovo any more!, December 10, 2012

By Leigh

This review is from: Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Glossy Brown IMR) (Personal Computers)

Got the computer in a timely mannor, thanks Amazon. Got it up and running, I was excited to try Windows 8. I was taking the leap. I like Windows 8 and after 5 minutes of getting used to the new interface it was working fine for me. We did buy this computer for our 14yr son and so it was his turn to have some fun. It worked well, very fast. Then day 2. He was playing his favorite game, and called me over because the computer was frozen. Could not do anything with it. Hard boot. No good. Used the "one key recovery" feature, to roll back to original settings. Came back up for a bit then, would not load Windows any more at all. Talked to the nice lady at Lenovo and she offered to send factory recovery disks at no charge. I will update this when we try to recover. Great computer, no so sure about the software, may need a few updates before Win 8 is perfect.

Update Dec 20th : Lenovo sent recovery disks. Attempted recovery with Lenovo on the phone to guide me. Did not work, the computer is going back to be repaired. Not too happy now, but cannot complain about the service, it was fine. I hope the machine works properly when it gets back, will update.

Update Jan 17th : Still waiting. They are replaceing the motherboard and do not have the correct one in stock at the repair center it is at, so they say, must come from China or something, not a very happy customer at this point.

Update Jan 29th : Lenovo is now not the company I would recomend

Update Feb 16th : Finally have the computer back. It is running well. Lennovo support was terrible giving mis-information and outright lies were told to us. According to the "Lenovo Depot Repair Center Repair Action Report" that came back with the machine, the repair was replace hard drive. The telephone support told us that the motherboard needed to be replaced and it was not available and that is why the repair was taking over 5 weeks. If it was jus t a HDD replacement it should have taken no time at all. There is no problem finding a HDD at a repair depot I would hope. I am a very unhappy customer Lenovo. I hope that some people will think twice about buying any product from you. As a small business owner, if something this bad happened, I would bend over backward to make sure my customer was happy in the end. No such thing with Lenovo. I asked maybe if they could put in an extra 4GB of ram to help make up for my inconvience, no reply. The only thing that really surprised me was that we actually got our computer back. Lenovo you need to seriously look at how you treat your customers.

Really, how could you let this type of thing happen? I'm pretty sure out of the "12 people found this helpful" you probably lost a sale, maybe more than one. Bad business Lenovo.

Honest reviews on Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown IMR/Metal)

I purchased this exact model of the Lenovo G580 for $360 on Office Max (Limited time offer) and it came to $390 shipped. I have NOTHING bad to say about this laptop. Many say that "Windows 8 Sucks" but I LOVE it, especially when you apply the "classic shell" it operates just as Windows 7 with the benefit of all the apps of Windows 8. The ram is sufficient but since upgrading is possible, I will do it just for S&G's, probably to 8GB or so. The Core i3 3120M is AMAZING and better than most computers I have used in the past is baseline Pentium's and Core 2 Duo's. It hasn't skipped a beat and is LIGHTNING fast. Plays Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)on full settings flawlessly with the Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics which also are surprisingly superb for medium gaming and HD video. The feel is great, the keyboard is comfortable and around the keyboard seems to be aluminum. Very sturdy and looks amazing. I have not used the 3.0 ports but it is great that they are available for future use. The laptop is surprisingly light compared to my girlfriends 2008 HP Dv5 and is easy on the shoulder. The fan is ULTRA quiet and you have to hold it to your ear to hear if it is even running, it also has a cool "auto" fan cleaning feature under "Lenovo Power Management". Startup is QUICK.

An absolute beauty for ANYONE, for school, for work, and for entertainment. Who would want anything more? Completely impressed with Lenovo and their craftsmanship. I spent SO long to find an Acer but their pricepoints with comparable hardware just dont compare at all.

BUY THIS IMMEDIATELY, do not look any further.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lenovo G580 15.6-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown IMR/Metal)

I needed a cheap, inexpensive laptop that was powerful enough to handle Visual Studio and Database development tools. I found that this machine is well up to the task of a hardcore developer. What is great is that you can expand the RAM to 8 GB (4 GB from the manufacturer). Another good aspect is that the keys of the keyboard aren't easy for kids to try to pull off :)

Discount Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop Computer

Customer Ratings:

You pretty much get what you pay for. In the case of this laptop, you don't even get that.

It is powerful enough for just about anything(other than gaming) that most people do, with its Celeron M processor.

The screen quality is bad. The bottom part of it leaks a lot.

It is entirely out of plastic, so definitely not sturdy. Mine bends, etc.

Quite heavy, not for carrying around, yet not powerful enough to be a desktop replacement.

My DVD player no longer plays dvd's without major skipping. This is probably party due to the 150 CD's I have burnt with it.

So if you want a budget laptop, and find a good deal(ie. around ~$200) then get it. It can take a beating, with a few minor things going wrong.

There are better laptops out now for cheaper than this, with Dual-Core processors, etc. If you can, get them, as this is now an 'old' laptop.

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First I'd like to say my unit is the 14.1" Wxga model, but it has the Celeron M 1.6Ghz processor, 512mb ram, and a 5400rpm 80gb HDD. I'm also running WinXP SP3. So, it is slightly better spec wise. The laptop also supports 3 USB ports, built-in 56k modem, Ethernet, VGA out, headphone and mic jacks, and what I believe is an express card slot.

The laptop is all plastic. This might sound like a bad thing, but most low to mid-range laptops are plastic. The plastic on this laptop doesn't feel that cheap, and is fairly solid. If you trying twisting the laptop there is very little flex. As far as typing goes, there is no keyboard flex at all, even when purposely pressing with a great deal of force on the keys.

The 14.1" size of the laptop would make it ideal for portability. It's not too big to be thrown into a backpack to bring to work/school. However, the laptop weighs roughly 13lbs, which is quite heavy compared to laptops on the market today. The one nice thing about the 14.1" screen is that it's not a glossy display. A matte screen is almost unheard of in the market today, everything is gloss. The one bad thing about the screen, however, is it does leak like around the bezel. My unit also had the two bottom bezel screws fall out, which allows the bottom of the screen bezel to separate. This also causes it to pop and creak when opening/closing the laptop.

I can't comment on the battery life. When I got this laptop the battery was near the end of its usable life, and I would be lucky to get 2 hours on a charge. Now, the laptop won't run at all without being plugged into the wall. The AC Adapter had to be replaced because it stopped working as well.

Obviously this laptop is really outdated in all aspects, but it still remains a good laptop for internet/email/word processing. It also works well watching DVDs, and online videos. However, anything more than standard definition will cause the video to lag a good bit making it unwatchable.

I've been using this as my primary computer for school/home use, and it gets the job done. If I were to buy a new battery, and get two replacement screws for the bezel I would have few complaints about the laptop other than its weight. Overall, it's a good laptop for its age.

Best Deals for Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop Computer

Brought this laptop from affordable deals it works great! It came WIFI ready & I was able to use it imediately. It arrived with the wrong charger but the seller shipped the right one as soon as I emailed them. The seller also told me to keep both chargers. Great customer service! Great deal on a laptop! SWEEEEET!

Dell Inspiron 17R Core i7-3632QM Quad-Core 2.20GHz 8GB 1TB DVD±RW Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I bought this laptop mostly based on the 3rd generation i7 processor, 8 GB of memory, and Terabyte drive. However, I made some assumptions that came back to bite me. Since this model is primarily sold as a home/entertainment computer and includes an HDMI port to directly connect to a TV, as well as Intel's WiDi to wirelessly connect to a TV, you would think it was optimized to download and stream movies. But you would be wrong, because it has both obsolete wired and wireless networking connections which is so surprising to me that I didn't even think to investigate them before buying this device. I did not buy from Amazon, but they should be commended for making it very clear in the first bullet points on the page: "Integrated 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, 10/100 Ethernet LAN". The current standard for Ethernet LANs is Gigabit (1000 megabit), and has been for some years, which is why it is difficult to find devices with the obsolete 10/100 ports anymore. Most current WiFi devices use the dual band N standard, which this laptop does not support. Many current computers support the newer dual band AC standard, for which routers are readily available. So far, no upgrade path is available for this computer to use the higher speed networks, other than buying external adapters and using up the precious USB ports, of which there are only 4, 2 USB3 and 2 USB2 ports. This brings up another question why aren't they all USB3 ports? USB3, dual band N WiFi and Gigabit Ethernet are basics that should be included on all laptops today, especially a higher end unit like the 17R. The performance of the wireless and wired networks on this computer can only be described as frustratingly and disappointingly slow.

This computer also is lacking a TPM chip which makes it a lot harder to encrypt the hard drive using the BitLocker software included in Windows 8. Without the TPM chip, encryption and decryption is slower, and you have to hack the registry and use an external memory card or jump drive to store the keys, which can be lost, forcing a total erasure of the hard drive to use the computer.

This particular i7 processor is not the most powerful either. Because it has quad cores and a turbo mode, you would expect it to power through any frozen screen moments. But it doesn't seem to work that way. My experience includes the computer freezing several times a day, usually when I am doing nothing more than web browsing. The 64 bit Windows 8 doesn't seem to help much with that, either.

Also, if you are expecting a backlit keyboard that is frequently advertised for the 17R, it is not included on this model. The mouse pad does not work particularly well with Windows 8 and does not seem to support gestures. It also has the common problem of most mouse pads, it causes the cursor to jump all over the place when you are trying to type, frequently causing whole blocks of text to be selected and replaced by what you are typing, or to jump into other programs entirely. Most of the time I use an external keyboard and mouse. Hours spent adjusting settings have been futile.

The display is quite nice, but nothing spectacular, and at 3.3 pounds it is a heavy laptop that is too large to fit into most carrying cases.

It does support a second drive that can be used for a solid state drive that may shorten boot times and increase speed. The battery is OK, generally lasting about 3 hours when not plugged in.

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