Reviews of Sony VAIO(R) SVS13A25PXB 13.3" Premium Notebook PC - Black

Customer Ratings:

Good computer. Windows 8 comes preloaded which is a pain. More trouble than it's worth with a non touch screen computer. The computer it's self is very fast. Ergonomics are good. Keyboard is still a good usable size. Don't love the mouse pad, but easy fix with a blue tooth mouse. Screen is average although the graphics when on my standard 1080 p monitor are above average. There is a light sensor that automatically sets screen brightness. I had to disable it because the screen would constantly flicker brighter and darker.

All in all a good value.

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The hardware is great, but you need get used to Windows 8.

This computer is very fast, light. Really worth its price!

Best Deals for Sony VAIO(R) SVS13A25PXB 13.3" Premium Notebook PC - Black

She is a great computer with a lot more power that the tiny ultrabooks.

What I do not like is really the sound. Not yet they have found no solution for him.

For the rest, for normal tasks a lot of RAM, Hard Disk SSD, and super video plate, although I will always use the HD4000 as it is in these hybrid equipment.

The cabinet fashion repeats with my predecessor VPC-SA4FGX/BI.

A little expensive for me, since I live in Argentina, and I have spent around 1870 dollars(final in my office), but to my 50 years, I prepare some gifts, since life is very short to save money.

I have just found a more cost-reducing offer that he is and in 17,3"incredible! "Sony Vaio SVE1712BCXB 17.3" 2.80GHz i7-3840QM 16GB 500GB SSD AMD 7650M FullHD Windows 8 BD-ROM"

Thanks Amazon! Amazing....Joe

Discount ASUS U57A-BBL4 15.6" Laptop, Intel Core i5-2450M CPU, 6GB DDR3 RAM

Customer Ratings:

I bought this product about 2 months ago, strictly for school. I needed a laptop that had the storage room to hold all of my pictures, music, videos, and school files. All in all I've wasted about 150GB in just that, and to still have about 580GB to use, is GREAT. I also needed a laptop that could run editing programs, because of the i5 processor I could run multiple internet windows, iTunes, Photoshop CS5 Extended without it even slowing down a bit.

I don't mind that the keyboard is NOT back lit, like the previous review I also misunderstood and read that it WAS back lit. But at the end of the day it really makes no difference, yeah it would be a lot nicer but if you know how to type (which I'm assuming a majority of buyers know how to) it won't make a difference. It has a full keyboard so when I'm inputting numbers I don't have to go to the top row and input them horizontally. I personally, prefer inputting numbers vertically, I don't know with cellphones being that way, calculators and a heap of other devices to me this keyboards number pad feels great.

Don't get me wrong, not all of this laptop was shimmering gold to me. Let me begin by saying that none of these things I'm about to point out make me change how I feel about this laptop, the mouse pad is a little TOO sensitive. The first few days you find yourself being frustrated because you might close your windows because you grazed the mouse pad, or realize that you're no longer typing where you intended to. The good thing about this oh so sensitive touch pad is the fact that because it's so smooth and sensitive it responds EXTREMELY well.

The sound on this laptop can be a 9 to me, it handles all of my music well ranging from death metal to Chopin, or whatever I feel like listening to. The reason why I say it CAN BE a 9 is due to the fact that the speakers are, wait for it.....on the bottom. What? Yes, the speakers are on the bottom. As a student at first it really really pissed me off because what do students love to do? Do their homework comfortably on their bed. And if you don't have those little laptop stands like I don't, your sound becomes muffled and sounds like it's underwater. If the speakers weren't on the bottom it'd be a 9 but because of this I will give the sound a 6.5-9.

I want to touch one LAST thing before I conclude my review, the day I went to go purchase this laptop at Best Buy there was a disgruntled buyer returning this EXACT Laptop. He was complaining that the product description was false and that it did NOT have a memory card reader. It does, don't fret, it's a little hard to find but it's RIGHT BENEATH where the little stickers of INTEL and HDMI are. Just lift a little bit and you can see it there.

In conclusion, don't let the little flaws of this laptop stop you from buying it, I am actually considering purchasing another one for my Mom. You get your moneys worth and it will handle everything you do well. Oh and I know that there will be people looking for reviews on how well it handles games, the best it could handle (that I tested) was BF3 on normal settings.

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I like it, it's pretty fast w/ lots of room for storage

for under $500. was a great buy

one disappointment, but, was my misunderstanding

I read back-lit..........I taught it was ,,the keypad was back-lighted....NO BIGGIE..

Best Deals for ASUS U57A-BBL4 15.6" Laptop, Intel Core i5-2450M CPU, 6GB DDR3 RAM

This product is a piece of junk, doesnt do anything i want it too. too bad i cant take it back to the store or else i would. it sucks.

Acer C720 Chromebook (11.6-Inch, Haswell micro-architecture, 4GB) Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $249.99
Sale Price: $249.00
Today's Bonus: $0.99 Off

To give some background, this is my first Chromebook. I own a PC which I use for gaming and editing video files; and I've owned an '08 MacBook (recently died, which prompted this purchase) and a '12 MacBook Air (donated to Mom), both of which I primarily used to surf the web, check email, watch youtube, and play music and video files.

I needed to replace my MacBook so I researched my options, and based on my needs I narrowed my choices down to the Acer C720 and HP Chromebook11. I read through the limited reviews available at the time, and the overall theme was that the C720 offered greater performance over build/screen quality while the HP11 offered better build/screen quality over performance. I've always valued function over form so the C720 it was.

I'm glad to report that, IMO, the claims against the C720's screen some of which made it sound like it was a total POS are unfounded as I feel it's as good as my Macbook Air's screen. Of course, the build quality isn't the best, but it's not like it feels like a flimsy toy by any means. The keys and touchpad feel thinner, lighter, and of lesser quality than my MacBook but still adequate; and for $250 it's a solidly built machine that meets or exceeds all of my expectations.

At the time of purchase the available reviews had not covered whether this machine could meet my main criteria (detailed below in order of importance), and I am pleased to report that the C720 passes with flying colors on all counts! (Note, my '08 MacBook could not play 1080p video from my Sony Action Cam or GoPro (without the help of Plex Software), a limitation of the CPU/GPU.)

1. smooth playback of raw 1080p video files from my Sony ActionCam and GoPro 3 (1080p HDMI output to HDTV also works great!)

2. efficiently browse the web no realistic limitation on open tabs/windows (thanks to the 4gb of ram)

3. compact size (the C720 feels just slightly heavier than my Macbook Air and a hair larger in all dimensions)

4. great battery life (based on a full charge and screen at 70% brightness, the battery indicator esimates 7 hours of use)

5. ability to continue using all of my external HD's (some laptops I've used before don't play nice)

Overall, I am super impressed with the C720, and IMO at $250 it's an outstanding bargain for a very capable machine. Assuming your primary use is similar to mine surfing the web while on the couch / in bed, and playing music and videos this laptop will surprisingly meet most if not all of your needs. The Intel Celeron Haswell chip, while dumbed-down, enables this Chromebook to match the performance of my MacBook Air for all my intents and purposes and even surpasses my older MacBook in video playback. I'm officially a Chromebook convert, and I don't see myself missing my MacBook anymore! I'll update this review as I develop further impressions but so far I am very happy with my decision to go with the C720.

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==UPDATES==

10/27/13 Added in some additional side notes

This review is going to assume that you're OK with the idea of a Chromebook that you're OK with using pretty much nothing but the Chrome browser. You won't be able to use Skype or Microsoft Office here, neither will you be able to use things like Final Cut Pro or Photoshop. However, you'd be surprised at how powerful some of the things you find online have become: there are substitutes for programs like Skype and Microsoft Office, found in the form of Google's Hangouts and their productivity suite. More complex programs like Photoshop have yet to be replicated online, but there are basic photo and video editing software now as well. If you're OK with this idea cloud computing which some have named the "next generation of computing", then I encourage you to buy a Chromebook. They're optimized for the web and only the web. You won't have to deal with viruses and updates are automatic. It's simple, it's fast, and it's efficient. But only if you can handle the limitations.

The Acer C720

With the C720, Acer has fixed the most glaring issues of its previous generation of Chromebooks most noticeably replacing the HDD with a SSD, decreasing the boot time to a mere 7 seconds, and upgrading the processor to a 4th generation power efficient Haswell processor, improving the battery life to an impressive 8 hours. With a $249 price tag, these specifications alone makes this a tempting buy, but let's look at some of the other factors first.

The Externals

To keep a long story short, it's not great. Compared to the catchy design of the HP 11, Acer's Chromebook looks kind of ugly, It's all gray color scheme is pretty boring, and the bottom of the Chromebook is filled with vents (see picture above). That being said, it's not a bad design either. It's thin with a slightly tapered finish, and it's light and easy to hold. Looks aside, this Chromebook is perfectly functional and definitely an upgrade if you're coming from the previous generation. It's actually pretty sturdy it doesn't bend easily and it seems like it can take a light beating. I've been traveling around with it and I don't feel it at all in my backpack.

The screen has a 1366x768 resolution with a matte finish. It has poor viewing angles, but it's perfectly fine if you're using the Chromebook alone. The keyboard works pretty well if you're used to previous Chromebook keyboards or Apple keyboards, you'll be used to this one. Keep in mind that the caps lock key has been replaced by a `search' button, though you can always remap it in the settings if you miss it. The clickable touchpad also works well it's surprisingly responsive and the 2 finger scrolling works well. You use a 2 finger click for right clicking, and you can also do a 3 finger swipe to switch tabs. The smoothness of the multi-touch capabilities really surprised me here. Also, regarding the webcam, it's exactly what you'd expect from a $250 laptop. It'll work well enough for Google Hangouts, but don't expect to look like a supermodel. However, it's definitely a bit better than the HP 11's webcam it's not as grainy and it works a little bit better under low light situations. Speakers are also pretty loud for such a small notebook, but the sound quality is average.

This Chromebook also comes with a variety of input/output ports (1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, 1 SD, 1 Kensington lock, 1 Mic/Headphone), much more than the HP 11, and I've found the abundance of ports to be quite useful. Finally, note that there is a fan in this Chromebook, but it's barely noticeable: you have to lean in close and be in a quiet room before you can hear it.

The Internals

This is where this Chromebook really shines. For $249, we're used to getting a sluggish computer, but that is not the case with this Chromebook. The Intel processor and a generous 4GB of RAM really shines here, and it shows in the performance. It can handle multiple tabs with no problem and runs 1080p videos and graphically heavy websites smoothly. Unlike the ARM based Chromebooks, there are no stutters or pauses which might distract you from your work and research. Once I used this Chromebook, it was really hard to go back to the HP 11. The battery life lasted around 8 hours for me, but the best part is that it only takes around 2 hours to fully charge, which is pretty fast in my opinion.

All in all, I love Chromebooks because of their simplicity and speed. It works so well for those who just need to surf the web and do some basic writing or note taking and I'd recommend everyone to give it a try before dismissing the idea. You'd be surprised at how much we depend on the web these days. Personally, I've been waiting for a Chromebook which combines good battery life and performance with a decent design, and I think this model does just that (even if it falls a bit short on design). This would be the perfect model for those who prefer function over form, and for $249, it's an absolute bargain.

Some side notes regarding the other models:

I've used the Samsung Series 3, the Acer C7, and the HP 11, and this model trumps all of them in terms of performance.

The screen on the Hp 11 is the best out of all 3, with the best contrast, brightness and viewing angles.

This model has the best battery life for an 11 inch chromebook, though I think the 14 inch Hp chromebook is supposed to have 9.5 hours.

Also, for those interested, this Chromebook comes with the standard perks of 100GB of Google Drive for 2 years, 60 days of Google play music, and 12 sessions of GoGo in-flight internet.

Feel free to ask any questions below in the comment section!

Best Deals for Acer C720 Chromebook (11.6-Inch, Haswell micro-architecture, 4GB)

I got Samsung Chromebook last year and have been using it for about a year. As soon as Haswell Chromebook was announced I ordered it because the ARM chip in Chromebook sucks. Its extremely slow. Enter Intel Haswell. Its freaking awesome. Pages load quickly, and no matter how many tabs you have open, this chromebook keeps going blazing fast. I am sure 4 gig ram also helps. So to summarize:

1) Superfast. Orders of magnitude faster than Samsung Chromebook (and HP Chromebook-11 because it also uses the same crappy ARM chip)

2) Awesome battery life. I got close to 9 hours

3) Screen is better than what I had in Samsung Chromebook. Same resolution, but more bright and colors are not as washed out as with Samsung.

4) Super thin and light.

5) Both Keyboard and trackpad are good

Best $250 I spend

Honest reviews on Acer C720 Chromebook (11.6-Inch, Haswell micro-architecture, 4GB)

This model replaced the old model C710. I want to do a brief review on the hardware.

CPU.

I am happy with the update because it comes with the newest Intel Haswell generation Celeron 2955U dual core 1.4GHz CPU. The older model only clock at 1.0GHz. But still keep in mind Celeron is low-end cpu from intel so don't expect too much for performance. This chromebook is about easy functionality such as web based things, emails at a very minimal cost.

The build quality.

This machine is made of plastic. It is very well built, feels good in my hand. Also I noticed it is pretty resist fingerprints.

Boot speed.

Boots very quickly from sleep, I personally never shut down this machine I always let it go to sleep mode, so the instant on from sleep mode is a very good feature for me.

Display.

1366 x 768 resolution on a 11.6" matte TN display. Not a very bad resolution on a 11.6 inch display, however you do need to do some angling back and forth to get the best viewing angle. This display is not too bad for me, I know you cannot compare this display with IPS but for this price there is nothing to complain about.

Keyboard and trackpad.

Nice and large, giving the fact this is a very small device. I like the rigid feeling. When I press the keyboard, I do not get much movement with all of my hand so that is a good thing.

Trackpad is standard chrombook trackpad and it behaves pretty well for me. It supports two fingers scrolling also.

RAM and Storage

4gb of DDR3 ram. It is pretty standard for laptops nowadays, but for chromebooks this is a change. Most chromebooks today still come with 2gb of ram.

16gb of SSD, you don't get too much space but it is not a big deal for me. This chromebook is web based so I do not see why I need the extra storage.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Acer C720 Chromebook (11.6-Inch, Haswell micro-architecture, 4GB)

This is my 2nd chromebook (also own a Samsung ARM Chromebook). This is the exact combination of speed, quality and price I've been looking for. It's slightly bulkier but is still really small and feels great to use. I'm running Ubuntu with a window manager alongside Chrome OS and have about 40 tabs open (and a bunch of other apps) and haven't noticed any performance issues. This is the chromebook I've been waiting for.

Differences from the Samsung ARM Chromebook:

The keys are less wiggly, this keyboard is nicer to type on and better protects from small amounts of liquid spilling on it

The trackpad is much more sensitive

The screen is a bit nicer

This thing has a fan which runs nearly silent but makes it slightly bulkier (still only 2-3 lbs). Because of this, there are vents across the bottom and rear, and the rear footpads are slightly raised (facilitating heat exchange). All this differentiates the feel of it from the Sammy ARM (which is literally just a board and no moving parts).

The footpads are rounded which makes it less grippy to the surface below. To fix this, drag the laptop around a bit to wear off a tiny amount of the rubber coating.

The Acer is MUCH faster. Even with swap enabled on the Samsung, it doesn't come anywhere near the Acer in speed. I'm more productive on it.

The battery lasts about 2 hours longer (running the same apps, doing the same tasks) despite the fan(s), etc.

Buy Samsung ATIV Book 6 15.6-Inch Full HD Touchscreen Laptop (Mineral

Customer Ratings:

**update 8/21**

this computer screams...no junk..nothing! i took things a step further (i guess i was bored) the other week and completely formatted the laptop with a fresh copy of windows 8 via usb.

this gets really kinda techie so if your not up to the task just skim over this part of the review.

from Microsoft's terms of service. "May I make a backup copy? Yes, you may make a single copy of the software for backup purposes.."

do the following at your own risk.

with some google searching...you will need to download the official .iso format of windows 8 file named: en_windows_8_x64_dvd_915440.iso and make sure it matches the id sum: 1CE53AD5F60419CF04A715CF3233F247E48BEEC4. (official version)

after thats downloaded then google: Windows7-USB-DVD-tool (don't worry it works with win 8 too)

run the program and select the .iso and make your bootable usb of windows 8. (i used a 4gb sandisk thumb drive)

copy all the files off the same thumb drive and reformat the drive to a fat32. why? samsung boot cant read NTFS format.

then put all the boot files you took off back on the newly formatted thumb drive.

unplug the usb drive.

reboot your pc. repeat pressing f2 during boot to enter bios.

change under advanced tab fast bios mode to disabled.

change usb charge in sleep mode to enabled.

save settings and reboot. put in the win8 usb in the 2.0 usb slot (right side) and boot to bios again by repeatedly pressing f2.

go to boot tab change your boot order to the usb instead of the hard drive to top of list. save and exit.

win 8 install screen will boot. select the install a fresh copy option. delete all partitions. install win8. you will not need a win 8 key. you own win 8 and the key is imbeded in the samsung bios system. there will be no option to put a key in.

when booted in windows 8 and you have a big smile that your computer is completely clean...do a google search and download the sw update software. re download all software/drivers via samsungs software.

everything work like a charm now. fresh and clean windows 8.

i also recommend start 8 software. i prefer a desktop experience and having a start button like win7.

afterwards, go back into bios and reverse your settings to the defaults, what they were before you changed them.

enjoy friends!

**update 6/26**

just a quick heads up!

do not bother updating to the new intel driver released 6/4/13 for wifi.

i tried it for a couple days and the wifi issues came right back again.

just stay on the microsoft wifi driver and you will be fine.

**update 6/19**

after a month this computer is still a beast. after reading the long thread and discussion about putting in a SSD, and it being too difficult i figured i would give a shot at installing one. (remember now i have no tech experience). well let me tell you it was retarded easy...and i did it in 20 minutes. and man this thing screams!!!

so you want to upgrade the ssd? do it. its easy. and don't worry the back comes off super easy and no it wont snap if you pull carefully.

steps you ask? don't mind if i do. :)

(before proceeding with this please order some nitrile latex free gloves and a micro philips screwdriver)

*order the samsung 840 ssd with the data transfer cable kit. (to clone your current hard drive)

*install data migration tool off samsung website and clone hard drive. (it took about 45 min)

*shut down computer, flip over computer, unscrew ALL back screws.

*start at front computer corner (left or right, doesn't matter) with a credit card pop up the edge.

*take that same card and push it down the crack on the whole front side of computer.(it will pop all the clips out, don't worry it wont break)

*do the same on both sides pulling the cover back. only thing now that should be connected is the back corner hinge things.

*push the back plate forward off the hinges and the enire backplate will come off.

*unscrew harddrive mount screws.

*unscrew hard drive holder screws.

*replace hard drive with ssd.

*reverse all your steps and re-boot.

this thing boots in 3 seconds now completely and opens all programs instantly.

ill post a few pics under user pics. enjoy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

ive had this laptop for a few days so far so i will update this review as time goes on.

the good:

1920x1080p resolution w/touch on a ultra book style laptop.

dedicated GPU plus integrated.(good for those who play a game now and then)

back-lit keyboard

the touchbad: i love it, works almost as well as a mac...no joke.

amazing speakers...no joke very good for a laptop.

solid built laptop with premium feel.

decently thin with what i think is a perfect size screen/keyboard

aluminum body.

small power brick.

5ghz wireless support.

decent battery life.

2 video outs (hdmi/vga for dual monitor support)

core i7/8gb ram

the bad:

no solid state hard drive (you can notice it slows loading speeds down a tad)

no matte screen :( screen will have smudges especially touching with your finger.

aluminum body does leave smudges, but not that bad.

the plastic in-between the keys on the keyboard is GLOSSY! so dumb. it gets all greasy looking in-between keys. the picture they have showing it on here it looks matte but believe me its not...not a huge deal but whatever.

fn lock key, adjustable everything, u can even turn the fan noise down or completely off.

THE BIGGEST CON?

Intel 6235 wifi driver. If you on wifi it cuts you off randomly sometimes...and its really annoying, It is not the chip its the DRIVER. was almost a deal breaker but heres the fix:

getting rid of the "intel" driver and reverting to Microsoft driver.

1. Uninstall the Intel Proset wireless software/driver from the computer under control panel uninstall program. (not the blue tooth just the wireless)...after thats done..

2. Open device manager/network adapters

3. double click centrino advanced-n 6235

4.click driver tab

5. It should say driver provider Microsoft / 12/5/2011 / 14.8.8.75

6. click events tab to see if driver service added was (NETwNe64)

that will fix the drop problems.

then fine tune your adapter

1. click tab power management / uncheck allow computer to turn device off to save power

2. click tab advanced / make sure transmit power is set to highest

well i love this thing. its awesome. its slick. its powerful and it will make you very happy.

questions? just ask.

buy it

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Ok--all the reviews about this laptop are true. It's great for the money.

However, there are some design considerations to keep in mind. 1rst--the battery is buried in the unit. So you won't be able to swap out the battery (or take the battery out). 2nd--unlike some other laptops (ASUS comes to mind)...this Samsung laptop comes out of sleep & hibernation via the power button... hitting any key won't do it; you HAVE to use the power button. 3rd--if you hold down the power button for 5-20 seconds, it doesn't necessarily reboot.

This combination opens the door to a catastrophic failure. If you get stuck in sleep mode...how will you reboot the computer into post? That's what happened to me after the first morning with this laptop. If holding down the power button doesn't work to reboot out of sleep mode, then SOP is to take out the battery--except you can't with this unit. Engineering woopsie. There is a little pin hole in the back that is supposed to disengage the battery but my suspicion is that it doesn't fully do so. Likewise it might be pretty hard to total drain the battery. So your stuck in sleep mode.

After the first day with my new laptop I had what amounted to a brick blinking 'sleep mode'. I called Samsung customer support--the guy was real nice but he couldn't get the laptop out of sleep mode any more than I could.

Thank goodness I bought with Amazon. I was able to return this Samsung unit with no problems and I bought another brand with better engineering.

Best Deals for Samsung ATIV Book 6 15.6-Inch Full HD Touchscreen Laptop (Mineral

Pros: Nice design, solid feeling keyboard, touchscreen, good specs

Cons: WiFi Drop-outs, Auto back-lit Keyboard, Heating/Fan Issue (on first laptop), minor smudging, no SSD

May 14th 2013

Received this laptop today and almost immediately noticed it had a fan and heating issue. Alot of heat keeps being produced at minimal cpu usage (only surfing the internet) so the fan, located right underneath the screen by the hinge, keeps kicking into an abnormally high rpm to cool down the system. The system continually becomes very hot and the top of the keyboard, possibly thanks to the fan location, becomes hot to the touch as well. This includes the 3 or 4 top rows of keys, making it extremely uncomfortable to use for even brief typing periods. Also putting the computer into the lower performance mode with the F11 Fn doesnt do much to fix this heating issue.

In short this means it is a very loud and extremely hot system most of the time... which needless to say completely ruins the computer.

I contacted Samsung about the issue and after about a good 45 minutes they suggested i send the laptop in for repair. I am awaiting a replacement laptop from amazon at the moment, will update to see if same issue occurs or if it's just an isolated defect.

During the periods of time when it is not behaving this way however i am pleased with the laptop (although keep in mind ive only had it for a few hours now). The keyboard is surprisingly very comfortable, the touchscreen works well, and the overall mechanical build is of high quality. The screen has almost no wobble but has some reflection to it like any device. The 1080p graphics on it are a surprising huge step up from the 720p of my 4 year old laptop too.

The matte finish of the case unfortunately allows for minor smudging, which might bother some especially if moving from a silver finish like myself, but isnt a major annoyance. The few times i tested the JBL speakers i was impressed. They are certainly nice especially compared to your typical laptop speakers.

Apart from these minor things and the heating issue I had the Ativ book 6 is a first rate computer by my standards.

5/16/13:

Received replacement laptop yesterday and was suffering from same heating/fan issue initially for a bit even after the initialization and all the updates were completed. Today however the fan has been low and heat minimal unlike the initial laptop. Ran the replacement laptop at max cpu usage and experienced the same heat as what the initial laptop experienced at 3% usage, fan wasnt interchanging btwn rpms though which is another good sign for this one. Also confirms something was terribly wrong with the first unit. Additionally putting it into low power mode with F11 puts the fan to a whisper even quieter than the 'low' rpm it has been at today (had no effect one defective unit fyi).

To be more specific than before the defective computer became very hot where the fan blows causing the keyboard keys to become hot and uncomfortable. Fan would not run at a consistent rpm for a long duration but rather interchanged between medium and high, along with a rare low, when simply browsing the internet. Running the photoshop app alongside certainly made it worse. Plugging the battery charger in also causes the fan to increase rpm and vice versa independent of the charge on the battery too on both computers.

5/27/13:

Had this replacement computer for awhile now and was experiencing frequency wifi drop-outs and connectivity issues. After uninstalling the intel driver and reverting to the windows one (as described by dissed in the review below) I have not experienced any issues! Had to change power settings as well so that the computer wouldnt turn off the wifi to save power.

Another issue is that the computer automatically turns on the keyboard back-lighting during low light conditions. The reason this is an issue is that you are unable to turn this off and unable to control the brightness level.

Certainty had alot of headaches with the defect unit and wifi issues, these things aside this laptop runs great!

So in quick summary computer initially has lots of wifi issues/drop-outs and is prone to become a bit hot/noisy under heavy loads. Unable to turn off keyboard back-lighting during the night and smudging is pretty common on the casing (but not too bad). Battery life was about 4.5 hours in my case which is alright considering the i7 and graphics card inside this laptop. Lastly had to make a few setting changes due to alot of automated things that dont make any sense (like putting the computer into sleep mode after 1min idle on battery and disconnecting wifi adapter after 5min). Meaning that someone who isnt great with computers might want to avoid all this hassle.

Honest reviews on Samsung ATIV Book 6 15.6-Inch Full HD Touchscreen Laptop (Mineral

I love everything about this laptop. The display is gorgeous Full HD. The JBL speakers are fantastic. The touchscreen is very responsive as well. I do have a couple issues with this Laptop though. It came with a dead pixel to the left center of the screen, it's only really noticeable when watching darker videos or darker backgrounds. But during those particular times, it can be quite annoying. On top of that, I'm having the same WiFi issues as the other two reviewers are having so far. If I am just sitting in a webpage typing and the laptop isn't attempting to connect it's fine and seems to be working great. But if I go to youtube or another website to watch an HD video, sometimes even just a basic webpage, the WiFi will start doing the same thing as the other reviewers. As expensive as this laptop is, I'd expect the Wifi to work properly.

I love Samsung products, I own a Galaxy Note 2 cell phone, I have a Samsung Google Chromebook, a Samsung HD Television, and now this laptop. I'm hoping I can have it replaced with a model that has a fixed WiFi card and preferably without the dead pixel. I'm going to give it a day or so and see if the WiFi issue gets resolved, but if it doesn't I will most definitely be returning the laptop and hopefully having it replaced with a fully working model.

So I'm giving this Laptop a 2/5 for shipping with a dead Pixel and a pretty terrible WiFi issue. Changing battery settings didn't help my issue at all. But I'll happily give this a 5/5 if I can get the dead pixel and wifi issue resolved.

----------------------------------------------------

UPDATE:

I received my replacement Laptop today and the WiFi was still an issue for me. After reading "Dissed" review (which was added after my original review) I followed his advice and deleted the default Intel WiFi drivers and let them roll back to the basic Microsoft drivers and I've had Zero issues since then. The WiFi is working perfectly and quickly. It's also nice that this unit has no dead pixels. (also, my original model was having Touchpad issues that I didn't notice until after I wrote my original review) this unit has zero issues with that at all. It's an amazing laptop with a top quality screen. Worth every penny. I have now kept my promise and will upgrade this review to a 5/5. Fantastic Purchase so far.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung ATIV Book 6 15.6-Inch Full HD Touchscreen Laptop (Mineral

I must say, this laptop was a great purchase and I have zero regrets. Its a touch on the heavy side for a laptop this size, but the trade off is an easy one; its feels incredibly sturdy. There are couple of issues that are definitely not make or break, but are quality of life wishes and things to maybe consider:

Windows 8, while not as awful as it is made out to be, is pretty bad. The curve is somewhat steep moving from Windows 7, but not insurmountable. Red a guide before the purchase and pick one up frequently as you use this machine. It helps.

The WiFi does drop out when you close the lid and open it up. a quick toggle of the airplane switch turns it back on. This can likely be controlled via some of the device/power options, it its so incredibly minor, I haven't even poked around.

The Catalyst control panel is a bit confusing, but once its sorted an properly set up, the switching between graphics cards is seamless and the Radeon sings and the heat output is not that much greater.

The speakers are on the bottom of the laptop. Odd choice, I thought, but I usually (if not always) have headphones on.

The bloatwaree is fairly easy to remove.

The good is great though:

The graphics are stellar and the display when cranked to the max is beautiful. Deep, rich and colorful.

The backlit keyboard is great, it is bright enough to be seen in a well lit room and not so bright that it burns out your retinas in a dark one.

It's a pretty quick little computer; the hard drive is spacey as well.

The laptop itself runs quietly and with very little heat even after an hour or two of run.

The touchscreen is very responsive; much more so than many of the floor models I've seen at certain electronics stores.

I would buy it again and not think twice about it. Dollar for dollar, I have yet to see a better value.Suggestion, however: grab a windows 8 compatible mouseLogitech Zone Touch Mouse T400 for Windows 8 Black (910-003041) for instance.

Cheap NV76R23u-53214G50Mnws 17.3" LED Notebook - Intel Core i5 i5-3210M

Customer Ratings:

For years it been Gateway computers only.... I believe in them... They last long....

A couple years ago I bought a Gateway NV79C52u 17.3 Inch Laptop Velvet Blue: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y733KU/ It's been through a lot of use, not to mention travel. It's still holding up, but is basically for business only. I like so much I tried to find one for personal use but couldn't. Gateway/Acer complicates matters when it comes to getting a Gateway, anymore... When I see what I want on their site I have to do an almighty search to find it on or offline... There was nothing locally. I did find this one (as close to the NV79C52u, as possible) via Amazon/TigerDirect -after multiple searches....

It came directly from TigerDirect. The laptop arrived safely and well packed...

The BLUE NV79C52U has headset/mic/usb/power(and more) on left; 2.0 usb / BlueRay driver on right. Speakers at the front, underneath / Windows 7. It has a sturdy DVD/BlueRay.

The WHITE NV76R23U seems heavier; Ports are on the opposite side... mic/headset/power/3.0 usb on the right w/ DVD drive no Blueray ; Wide/Long Speaker behind the keyboard. Windows 8.

Okay... I'm not a Windows 8 Fan... And Gateway has too many Apps installed, but they can be uninstalled... Thank goodness the old-fashion desktop is available that's where I put my icons for quick access... I'll figure out Windows 8, slowly... and maybe I'll like it...

here are the features to WHITE NV76R23U amazon/tigerdirect

Key Features and Benefits:

Intel Core i5-3210M processor

2.50GHz, 3MB L3 Cache

4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 8GB)

Gives you the power to handle most power-hungry applications and tons of multimedia work

500GB SATA hard drive

Store 333,000 photos, 142,000 songs or 263 hours of HD video and more

8x SuperMulti DVD Double-Layer drive

Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats

10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN

Connect to a broadband modem with wired Ethernet or wirelessly connect to a WiFi signal or hotspot with the 802.11b/g/n connection built into your PC

17.3" HD Ulbrabright LED-backlit display

Intel HD Graphics 4000 with 128MB of dedicated system memory

Additional Features:

Built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam

5-in-1 memory card reader

2 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x headphone/speaker/line-out jack, 1 x microphone-in jack, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 x VGA port, 1 x HDMI port

6-cell lithium-ion battery, up to 4.5 hours battery life

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Cheap Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955 Celeron 900 2.2GHz 2GB 160GB DVD±RW DL

Customer Ratings:

Item was better than expected!!!! We love it and I had to keep my brother from conning my six year old out of it! Seller included a professional laptop case with purchase price!!! Looking to replace my own laptop and will only buy from this seller!

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I bought this one for my son for school purposes. I started out good but I did have to upgrade the memory and the operating system to windows 7 and now it works great. It was ok before and my son was just using it for school projects since he got a lil older he now uses it for everything thus the upgrades. I would recommend this product but note you will have to udgrade eventually.

Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955 Celeron 900 2.2GHz 2GB 160GB DVD±RW DL

I've done all the steps to not get to here, and have not had satisfactory results, as the seller did not answer my claims, I see that shows no interest

Discount Acer 15.6" Laptop 6GB 750GB | V5-571P-6815

Customer Ratings:

Quick shipping, excellent product and by far the best pricing I could find--this was a great purchase. I would definitely recommend to others!

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Super computer for a great price! This is a great entry-level laptop with touchscreen capabilities. Perfect for basic, general use. No issues thus far.

Marathon 7" (178mm) Intel Atom 2GB 1.6GHz HDD 32GB Windows XP Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $3,550.00
Sale Price: $3,030.74
Today's Bonus: 15% Off

I love. Many good time. I use for to build many mansion and for to fountains. Have good number to find thing in air. Trouble I am to have, is it were only one! I am to buying many more!

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Reviews of Acer Aspire V5-122P-0600 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Chill Silver)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $529.99
Sale Price: $444.42
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

I was looking for a lightweight (3 lb or less), touch screen, Windows 8, around the $400 mark laptop for my Mom who is a light PC user, definitely requiring user support often. After purchasing an Asus 10.1 notebook, after about 2 hours I was sure this was not the right notebook and I needed to find something better. The Asus had the Centrino processors which turns out run hot so the fan was loud and the laptop would be hot pretty much the whole time, and it only had a dual processor. Even after optimizing it and removing some power consuming apps, the poor laptop still seemed to struggle to run. Plus the screen was tiny, not a touch screen hence the $300 price tag. After some research attempting to remedy the Asus' shortcomings, I purchased the Acer Aspire v5 after going to Best Buy and actually handling the laptop. I was impressed at its weight, how slick and well designed it felt, and most importantly, it felt like a real laptop not a toy (like the Asus). What a great purchase! After spending 3-4 days configuring it and learning the new W8 OS and all these apps I've never handled, I am a Windows 8 convert and definitely considering buying an Acer Aspire for myself.

Pros

* Price What a great price for such a loaded laptop! Paid only a little over $400!

* Design Solid notebook, slick design with all necessary ports

* Weight Light weight, about 3 lb with the battery

* Touchpad is a dream. You have the mouse click options which are missing on some other notebooks. It is sensitive just enough, it is not in your way when you type, it doesn't jump around your apps when you touch it. Best of all, I did not have to load any additional drivers or updates for the touchpad.

* Touch screen although the resolution isn't super high on paper, what a great crystal screen! Love the colors, vibrant and clear from the box, didn't have to adjust anything. And the screen is so well designed for the touch, it is sensitive just enough to get you around without many errors.

* In the box laptop, power cable, basic manual for start up and warranty, dongle for VGA

* Fan super happy with the low quiet fan and cool laptop, all that with a quad processor laptop! Kudos!

* Sound speakers provide loud enough volume for my aging Mom with slight hearing issues. Good clear sound as well.

Unknowns

* Battery don't know, have not had the battery below 75% so I don't know how long it would take to drain it.

* Performance not sure if this isn't due to everything being new and having to load for the first time, but some apps and screens take 5 to 10 seconds to load. Hoping this would change once everything is configured and used at least once. It could also be due to our W8 inexperience, time will tell. The laptop does start fast from sleep mode, although when you open the top it doesn't start automatically, I have to press the power button for it to wake up. There is probably a setting somewhere about that, but that's not a big issue right now.

Cons:

* Probably the only tech spec that is below the rest of the components on this machine is the camera. Grainy images and video. Oh well, all the rest is great so hard to complain given the price.

* Had to install 30+ app updates which took several hours. The notebook was loaded in Nov 2012 so by July, all loaded apps had new versions pretty much. This is not an Acer or laptop issue though, can't hold it against them since this is something we have to do regardless of what brand and laptop we purchase.

* AcerCloud is a good idea but boy, there was NO information about what and how to use it, and after loading a bunch of its related apps to the laptop and the mobile devices, I had no idea how to move files/photos from the mobile devices to the laptop, just no way to do that based on the few menus in the apps. It was super frustrating, and even research online on the acer forums was useless. After wasting about 2 hours, I moved onto SkyDrive. After 30 min and some research, it still didn't seem intuitive enough so I did some more experimenting and settled on DropBox. What a relief, the app came with a short and sweet guide, telling me exactly how to load my files from one device to the other and the app itself was pretty intuitive as well and didn't require 4 different apps (like the AcerCloud), just one! Plus it kept giving me more and more free space the more I used it and the more devices I added. Hope this solves my file sharing needs long term!

* Would be great if the touch screen laptops came with a Touch Pen also, makes it so much nicer to browse the screen. I used one that came with another purchase I made on Amazon. Again, not really an Acer issue, just a nice to have suggestion.

Other

* Windows 8 bit of a steep learning curve and there were no tutorials or instructions on the laptop or at least not that I easily spotted. There is definite initial frustration with the OS, lasted about 3 days. But after installing Windows 8.1 preview version (which brings back the Start button of sorts), after finally finding the Control Panel (it was frustrating hunting for it or accidentally stumbling on it but not knowing how to knowingly get to it), I was more and more comfortable with the OS and seeing its advantages.

After moderately learning how to get around myself, I setup up the Start screen and apps for my Mom. I then braced myself and showed my Mom how to use her new laptop, expecting a long drawn session. It was quite a surprise to see how well she took to using the touch screen and figured out how to get around! She has always had trouble with the mouse pads and even more with the touch pads, it was a relief to see that she easily handled the gestures on the screen and learned how to get around surprisingly faster than I expected. She loved the screen clarity and the vibrant colors. After that, I knew I had the right laptop!

In conclusion, I am very impressed with this quiet, lightweight, hard working, crystal clear machine! After a bit more tweaking and learning more about the OS and the apps, I am sure it will be even better! Will try to provide an update after some longer term use but for now, we are definitely in the honeymoon phase!

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I got this Acer touch screen computer about two weeks ago and have been really really happy with it. It's extremely portable -so small and light it fits in every bag I have. And the touch screen is cool even if I don't use it much (I typically dock into a monitor and keyboard so don't really need touch). And I am using it as my primary work computer so it's on ALL day with lots of open programs, which the processor is handling no problem. I think the only drawback is getting used to Windows 8. Because I use the computer for work I am in Microsoft Office programs all day and those work in "classic" mode so the switching between tiles and classic is a little annoying. But even with that I'd totally recommend it to others. Am even considering buying another one for my daughter as her first computer!

Best Deals for Acer Aspire V5-122P-0600 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Chill Silver)

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program When looking at sub $500 laptops, it really is hard to find something that will be everything to everyone. If you get a feature here, you lose one there. I went into the Aspire V5-122P thinking I would see this but I had to admit, I am rather impressed.

First up, I downloaded all of the Windows Updates and removed most of the bloatware that is loaded on the machine. I also let Microsoft's Windows Defender take over as my anti-virus and spyware protection. There were well over 60 updates and due to the slower nature of the hard drive, it took a good while for me to get in "working" order to my tastes.

Next up, was to set up an account for my 5 year old daughter with Family Safety, which I highly recommend to anyone with kids.

After I got it where I want, it was time to put this thing to the test. The first thing I did was load steam and downloaded 2 of my favorite games: Portal and Portal 2. I knew Portal would run fine but I was rather surprised that Portal 2 ran with near the highest settings with hardly a stutter. The graphics card handled the game quite well.

Next up, I connected my Bluetooth mouse for gaming. Strangely, the Bluetooth device was disabled in the device manager so I had to enable it. Once enabled, I selected the Bluetooth icon in the system try and it opened up the "Modern" Bluetooth manager. I powered on the mouse and I was in business. Worked like a charm. (using the Microsoft Sculpt mouse.)

Microsoft Office ran well and the "modern", Windows 8 apps opened with decent speeds.

The screen is nice but when compared to say, the Microsoft Surface, it isn't the greatest. The colors were better than expected and the touchscreen was very responsive. I found myself using the touch screen much more than the track pad. Don't expect to use this outside much as it isn't terribly bright and it has a lot of glare.

Audio was OK and even at 100%, it could have been a little better.

The processor is only a 1GHz dual core AMD. I've always been an Intel guy, so this is my first AMD. It scores a 2.9 experience rating and I did see some issues with video playback on Facebook as it was choppy. It is 64 bit and allows access to all 6GB of memory, so for general use, this lap does fit the bill.

About the only gripe is the hard drive speed. It does seem to take a good while for some applications to open. It is 5400 and in tandem with a slower processor, it will make for a slightly sluggish experience.

Bottom line, I can recommend this laptop. Compared to an ASUS in the same price range, it beats it hand down as far as having brighter colors and having a better GPU. Windows 8 honestly should only be experienced with a touchscreen and you will get that and more with this ASPIRE V5-122P.

Honest reviews on Acer Aspire V5-122P-0600 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Chill Silver)

UPDATE (15 July):

Amazon did a price drop about 3 weeks after I bought this, and when I tried to get a price match, I was told they only do price matches up to 7 days after the ship date. To me that's just poor, poor customer service!!!

______________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE (1 JULY):

Just installed an SSD Kingston Digital 240GB SSDNow V300 SATA 3 2.5 (7mm height) with Adapter Solid State Drive SV300S37A/240G to help improve system performance and what a difference! Webpages load faster, downloads are quicker, copying to or uploading from a flash drive the speed in which these things are done have all dramatically increased!!!

Best browser to use with this laptop? Firefox & Chrome. IE is slower for some reason; the webpages load slower and IE locks up a lot. If I don't close the tabs in IE, then I get the "not responding error." With Firefox, I can just minimize the browser and not have to close all the tabs out!

I suppose I could have tried to buy a $800 laptop that had an SSD or an i5 or i7 processor, but it's hard to find one that comes with both. You usually have to choose and pay more. Also, this subcompact laptop comes with a touchscreen & a backlit keyboard! Not to mention that it's a joy to type on the keyboard and the portable size is what I was looking for.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

INITIAL REVIEW (27 JUNE):

PROS:

lightweight

6GB SDRAM

backlit keyboard

touchscreen

very quiet (no loud fan noise)

processor works quite well for light gaming, web surfing, Facebook/Twitter; MS Office tasks

option for a 2nd battery (not yet available, though...)

includes adapter (ACER Converter Cable) for VGA connection

CONS:

processor can't handle heavy programs: AutoCAD, etc.

downloads take longer than usual, especially if you're trying to download a large file... or if you are trying to download multiple files at the same time.

can't have many tabs open in IE10

only one (1) USB 3.0 port

no HDMI/Ethernet port; need adapter (ACER Converter Cable sold separately)

This works for me because I don't 'do' gaming; I only use this laptop for a little bit of this and that: school work and web surfing. Battery life is about 5 hrs on the Power Saver setting. The 11.6" screen doesn't bother me. Also, I am a proud owner of a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (16GB, White) which I probably use more than this laptop! So between this laptop or my Samsung tablet, I have plenty of "processor power."

For those looking for a cheap, portable laptop to do general everyday tasks, then this subcompact laptop is a good choice it's really great for those who have a desktop or larger laptop and just need something more portable for around the house or for a trip to the coffeehouse.

For those who need more horsepower, an Ethernet connection and a bigger screen, should look elsewhere for their computing needs.

Hope this review helps, folks! ;-)

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Acer Aspire V5-122P-0600 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Chill Silver)

I purchased this Acer Aspire about a week ago, and am definitely impressed with what this device brings to the market. It was very hard to find a super affordable, Quad-Core, Touch-Screen, Windows 8 Laptop/Ultrabook that I was comfortable with buying. I am a software developer, so I have to have Visual Studio and SSMS SQL Server installed on all my machines to be able to work on projects and what not. I was worried Visual Studio would take forever and not perform on this device, but I was wrong. So far this device has been able to easily and efficiently handle all the tasks I have thrown at it. Now don't get me wrong, it's not a super blazing fast machine, but it is by no means slow. I would call it efficient. And you can't beat the fact that you have a touch screen Win8 laptop for under $400 now. I totally recommend this device for all uses, other than a gaming laptop and video editing.

There are two semi-minor cons with this device, one is the touchpad (not a fan, it's just a bit awkward to use), and the screen resolution makes icons and Windows (Browsers, etc) too large for the screen. Other than those two gripes no worries, I just attach a wireless mouse, full keyboard, and second monitor to it and my two minor gripes are gone!

Discount Lenovo® IdeaPad Z570 (1024-DBU) Laptop Computer With 15.6"

Customer Ratings:

They advertise this computer as one with an HD screen. It's not... Everything seems to be OK but that.

The build seems nice, the keyboard feels OK, the price is excellent. The speakers are not great, but for a laptop, the do the job.

I will update this later as I use it a bit more. I just set it up some minutes ago.

Update, some days later: As I said, the computer performs very well, the i5 processor is very fast. I plugged it to my TV through HDMI and it works flawlessly. I'm planning to buy an external AOC screen for photo editing (a big one perhaps).

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Computer is fast and reliable. My son uses it for Adobe Photoshop with no speed problems. Recommended. Great price latest technology. Very impressed with Lenovo.

Best Deals for Lenovo® IdeaPad Z570 (1024-DBU) Laptop Computer With 15.6"

Very good computer, i fully recomended! For a lower price i get a high performance computer. Lenovo is actually one of the best options in the market.

Honest reviews on Lenovo® IdeaPad Z570 (1024-DBU) Laptop Computer With 15.6"

I liked this PC, it is very fast and made of high quality materials. The only thing I did not like so much is the keyboard because the keys are narrow. The touch of the keys is very good though. My wife does not see it as a problem because she has narrower fingers.

I for the price we have paid, we could not ask for anything better.

I am waiting for the price of the ultrabooks to go down to replace my Lenovo notebook PC but until then we will stick with the traditional notebooks around in the marketplace.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lenovo® IdeaPad Z570 (1024-DBU) Laptop Computer With 15.6"

Be Careful!!! I ordered the Lenovo Z570 laptop and what I received was not what Amazon was advertising. I ended up with something inferior. Although Amazon refunded the item, it was a huge frustration that adds to my existing sentiment about purchasing digital product online too much uncertainty and not enough control. Buyers Beware!!!

Review of ASUS X44H-BBR4 14"-Inch Laptop (Brown)

Customer Ratings:

I would sell the Win8 I have now, but I need Win8 for work. So I sell the Win7 which isn't being made anymore! Many older people I think will have trouble with Win8 and want to go back to Win7 and be searching for those computers, not wanting to compromise their new Win8 laptop by uninstalling 8 and installing a copy of Win7. Bad idea... Win8 computers are built differently.

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Buy ASUS G74SX-DH71 Full HD 17.3-Inch LED Gaming Laptop - Republic of

Customer Ratings:

If you're a gamer and you refuse to drop a bundle of money on overrated Alienware rigs, this is what you should aim for. The power on this machine is simply phenomenal! With the hardware it currently possesses, it's enough to run any game on the market at the highest level of detail.

Pros: Lightning fast, lightweight for a gaming laptop, more bang for buck, runs cool and stays silent, beautifully designed, includes nice bag and gaming laser mouse with purchase.

Cons: Touchpad is a little sketchy (I'm sure if you're gaming, you'll either used the included gaming laser mouse or use your own), shell can scratch very easily.

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**** Edit ****

i have since the original posting upgraded the ram from 16gb to 32gb with no issues.

CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory

********** end of edit **********

The good:

12 gb of ram

bluray drive

17.3" screen that looks bigger

intel second gen i7

usb 3.0

The bad:

it comes with the nvidia 560gtx instead of the 570 or the newer 580

its no light weight. you don't want to carry this around all day.

if you are like me and go to lan partys then you will enjoy not having to drag around a case, monitor, keyboard, etc....

i put in 16 gb of ram and it was easy there is one big cover on the bottom with a screw that gives you access to the ram and hd's.

the next thing i will do when i can afford it is put in a ssd drive

my windows 7 experience index on this system is

Processor: 7.5

Memory: 7.9

Graphics: 7.2

Gaming graphics: 7.2

Hard Drive: 5.9

what sort of disappoints me about the numbers is i have a older laptop with a 460gtx that gets the same numbers (graphics).

so must be a setting or something slowing it up.

the hard drive speed will get better when i put in a ssd or if i can figure out if i can raid 0 the drives.

when i got this system it was between the MSI that has the gtx570 and this one.

i heard the MSI has a better warranty but don't matter if you can't get a hold of them, and that has been my experience with MSI.

i had bought 2 motherboards in the past for systems and needed tech support for both. one had to flash the bios because the with out it the board would not recognize the cpu. the second contact was a bad mobo. both times could not get a response from MSI.

the one thing i cant understand why laptop makers still do it is put in vga connectors i would much rather have 2 hdmi ports on the system.

but over all i am pleased with this system and would recommend it to anyone, with or with out the changes.

Overall Summery:

Great system

Some areas of improvement

Not meant to be carried around much.

Who should get this system?

Gamer's

it runs

battlefield 3 great

crysis no problem

skyrim with ease

cod wm3 great

wow lol ya i play it runs great

this does out perform some of my friends gaming desktops

Best Deals for ASUS G74SX-DH71 Full HD 17.3-Inch LED Gaming Laptop - Republic of

I don't know how I could have gotten a better laptop even if I had spent more money.

Graphics: Awesome

Screen/Video: Awesome

Keyboard: Excellent (takes some getting used to)

Fan Exhaust: Excellent (blows out the back not down)

Mouse: Excellent

Startup: Excellent

I am extremely pleased this computer. The screen is huge and the processing power is perfect. I play Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with maximized graphics. I'm unsure of the FPS because I've never felt the need to check. It plays so smooth. I do restart the computer after about 6 hours of playing. I did have one issue with the cursor twitching but the restart fixed it.

Startup is very fast. Windows 7 takes about 30 seconds from hitting the power button to having all startup programs finished.

Keyboard is excellent. The keys need to be pushed slightly harder than I'm used to but that may be due to my hand position. The mouse that comes with it is responsive and I have no complaints. I really like the fan exhaust design. The heat blows out the back of the laptop not the bottom. The styling is cool and I also like the rubberized finish. As stated in other reviews, it does not smudge easily like glossy laptops. Although it does smudge but I haven't tried to clean it yet, I'm sure a damp towel will take care of it.

I travel with it a lot and the backpack that came with it is great. It is a brick to carry around if you worry about that sort of thing.

The touch pad was very sensitive but I just turned it off when a mouse is plugged in. I have not tried the Wifi yet. I haven't tried the BlueRay player yet.

Honest reviews on ASUS G74SX-DH71 Full HD 17.3-Inch LED Gaming Laptop - Republic of

This computer is AMAZING! As a girl aesthetics matter even if they shouldn't and I have to say this is a gorgeous computer, I call it my Transformer pc haha. I am a big gamer and I really wanted a computer that could handle 55 fps or more at 1080p and this computer does it! Also I am a graphic designer so I use the adobe software to create my products. I learned my adobe trade on a mac and I was a little worried that I wouldn't like how it carried over to pc or that the computer would lag. I have to say, after effects runs faster on here than the imac I have at work (if you set it up to render that way). I know that at times it might seem like core i7 might be overkill but in the long run there is a big difference in the speed of the i5 and this one. I personally would never use the 3d aspect because I do not own a 3d tv but i've heard some friends of mine say that this computer does a good job with that too. Overall the speakers are very good. This was my first really big purchase on amazon and I was a little weary on rather or not I could trust it to get here in one piece if you will. Not only was I highly impressed with the amount of packing in the asus box but there were two amazon boxes around it. I will NEVER doubt amazon again on that. It comes with a very nice backpack that is bigenough to carry the laptop, that brick of a charger, a two inch binder, turtle beach headset, wacom tablet, mouse, and my kindle. It also comes with a fairly nice gaming mouse. It is wired and there is a spot on top that you change the DPI. It is not specified anywhere what that is but the highest speed is so fast i have to cut it down a couple.

Pros:

hard drive 1500g (double the most expensive alienware laptop)

graphics card 3g

screen resolution 1080p

screen size 17.3 in

backlit keys (like a mac)

CHIC LET KEYS! (this makes typing and gaming life so much easier)

The 2 giant fans in the back (I was afraid mostly that it would be very loud but it actually quieter than my previous hp, also it never gets warm underneath)

It is 64 bit (there is a special adobe photoshop CS5.5 which runs very very smooth on here)

Cons:

Weight (now given that is is a monster it does not seem so heavy unless you have to carry it all the time. At university it is kind of a hassle but the included backpack does a good job distributing the weight)

the charger (it is about the size of the xbox power block, now i knew it would be big and it doesnt really seem all that big until you put it next to your old charger)

The driver is missing for the webcam (someone said that it is broke, its not you just need to download the driver)

Here is a list of games I have ran on here as of today that work flawlessly:

Left 4 Dead (game wasn't made in 1080p but the highest res looks great)

Left 4 Dead 2

Dungeon Defenders (SO PRETTY)

Mass Effect

Mass Effect 2

Bioshock

Portal

Portal 2

Oblivion

Skyrim

Overall this is by far the best computer i have ever had, it runs so smooth and i have never had it lag or freeze up on a program. Defiantly worth the small fortune it cost. I highly recommend this computer over any of the other g74s series and a mac/alienware. It's cheaper that the competitor and asus has great customer service. Also it comes with a card you send in and you get a year accidental damage free (ie spills, drops, surges ect.)I will probably post pictures of the mouse and backpack. Good Luck and if you decide to treat yourself to this beaut enjoy!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS G74SX-DH71 Full HD 17.3-Inch LED Gaming Laptop - Republic of

Having doing alot of research VIA the Republic of Gamer forums and on Amazon.com I decided to buy this masterpiece of Asus Engineering.

Before Anything Else I am going to list the hardware and put things in bold that need to be there to avoid confusion when buying.

System Specs:

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Review of HP Pavilion dv6-6110us 15.6-Inch Entertainment Notebook PC (Black)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $649.99
Sale Price: $619.89
Today's Bonus: 5% Off

This laptop is an amazing value for the price. I purchased mine from HP's online store with the following specs:

15" standard screen

Blu-Ray player upgrade

AMD A6 Processor

USB 3.0 included (10x faster than USB 2.0)

HDMI port (for connecting to the modern plasma screens, etc)

The case is very attractive and has a sleek, grey shape.

The cutting-edge AMD "Fusion" processor produces amazingly-smooth graphics (DVDs, Youtube HD videos, Netflix, Hulu, etc). I run complex financial risk simulations on my DV6 laptop, and they complete within seconds. My previous laptop, an Intel Duo Core from Geteway, took minutes to finish the simulations, but this new HP laptop finishes 5x faster!

Naturally, internet browsing is awesome, as web pages seem to open within the blink of an eye. I never realized that an upgraded laptop could make my life so much easier. The laptop is incredibly fast and powerful, yet it produces virtually no heat.

I also watch BluRay movies from a projector connected to my DV6. Again, I have to compliment the amazing graphics capabilities on this laptop; completely smooth video!!

Hulu and Netflix caused my my old Intel Duo-Core laptop to stall and choke, but this new AMD-powered laptop runs completely smoothly on this laptop! If you have broadband internet, you will never see any flickering or missed frames.

At this price, the DV6 is the best value you will find. It runs better and has a better build quality than similar laptops that are usually priced in the $800-$900 range.

I think HP and AMD did a fantastic job with this laptop. I am a very happy customer.

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HP sent me a defective screen on my new HP laptop. I requested them to replace the computer and they asked me to take a quick-ship model at a higher price. In addition, I have to pay for it first at a higher price with lower specs!! I asked for the manager and they rejected me saying they are busy.

I have bought 4 HP Pavilions over the last 10 years and this is how they repay me. If there are no problems, I am sure HP is fine. The real problem is if there is something wrong and you are stuck with their customer support. After 10 years, I am going with another brand. I have also spent 80 minutes on the phone with no avail.

I have put a similar comment on their HP website. Do you know they exclude the 1-star and 2-star comments from the consumers?!?! Therefore, I thought it is only fair for the consumers to know. If there is something wrong and you have to deal with their customer support, you will literally get the short-end of the stick. Therefore, you should think twice before purchasing from HP.

I have wasted two days of my life dealing them and now I am investing a full-day going through all the HP e-commerce sites to let the consumers know. Good luck with your purchase with HP.....

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I just received this computer today and to tell you the truth it is an awesome computer. The display screen is flawless and just gorgious with its brightness. The updates took less then 1hour so it was pretty fast. The A6 quad core works awesome, this computer can handle anything you throw at it with awesome resolution. The speakers are so loud and sound great. The keys are nice and easy to hit, they're not like some computers which has them hard so you have to press pretty hard to use them but rather this once has it just right.

This 500dollar computer out performs a 800dollar computer any day of the week. If your thinking about purchasing a computer for school, entertainment or just to play some hard core gaming but at a reasonable price, not like those $2000 alienware computer, then this is the computer to buy. You cannot go wrong with this computer. Do Not be afraid of the 1.4ghz processor, its a A6 quad core!!! Thats four cores that work consistenly to keep up with your demand, and the weight of the work is distubited evenly to the four cores so it hardly heats up. Its literaly impossible to hear the fan. Im trying my best to listen to it and it makes almost nooo noise whatsoever.

In Summary, If you want to purchase a great computer that can handle anything you throw at it then look no more and purchase this computer immediately.

Honest reviews on HP Pavilion dv6-6110us 15.6-Inch Entertainment Notebook PC (Black)

I purchased this laptop to replace my old Gateway.

The specs of this computer are fantastic!

The 4GB of memory is definitely enough to run most common software. 640GBs of hard drive space is going to take a LONG time to fill.

Unfortunately, the A6-3400M Accelerated Processor isn't at the top of the A6 series, but it will still help you get your tasks done. The higher processors will be found on high-end entertainment machines. I'm still happy with the chipset this laptop comes with!

The AMD Radeon HD 6520G isn't top of the line either, but video quality is still pretty great! As well as gaming, I was able to run World of Warcraft (at high settings), and both Doom 3 and F.E.A.R. at medium settings each.

As far as the way the laptop looks, the glossy black with silver borders looks very classy! Also, I've noticed that it prevents fingerprints on the case. That's a huge plus for me, especially coming from my old laptop which would have my fingerprints EVERYWHERE.

The keyboard looks quite different than you find on most laptops. It's a full-sized keyboard with an island style number pad, which is useful for quick number typing, or whatever else you plan to do. I do have an issue with the keyboard, however: up and down arrows under the right shift key are incredibly small.

The laptop is missing a fingerprint reader, which you can find on the HP DM4 series and higher end DV6s and DV7s. The 6110us doesn't come with integrated Bluetooth either. Something else that a lot of people look for is Beats Audio, which this computer doesn't have. However the built-in Altec Lansing speakers are good stock speakers, which provide decent sound quality and bass.

The Windows 7 Home Premium on this laptop ships with Office 2010 starter, which is nice in some ways. It has Microsoft Word, Powerpoint and Excel, but unfortunately doesn't have all the features as the full version of Office 2010 Home and Student, Home and Business, or Professional. It will do the job if you're just planning on using it for simple tasks.

Aside from the missing features which are found on higher end laptops, this machine has everything I was looking for. I'm a college student and didn't need anything super extravagant. This laptop certainly does the job, and I'm happy with my purchase.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Pavilion dv6-6110us 15.6-Inch Entertainment Notebook PC (Black)

Got the HP-DV6-6110US after a dissatisfied experience with the Toshiba Satellite L755. Returned the satellite and picked this one up. Has a good build quality. The keyboard layout is a bit strange and needs to get used to. Keys feel a bit sticky compared to my macbook(less then half the price who's complaining). The AMD processor takes care of my needs. Surfing, basic pic editing, word documents,netflix streaming and gaming on onlive. A bit too much of bloatware but easily uninstallable. Most of these cheaper laptops have basic Windows 7 which doesnt let you backup to a wireless network drive. Plenty of connectivity options. Cant beat it at the 449 price I got it at the local staples.

HP Pavilion dv6-3010us 15.6-Inch Laptop Review

Customer Ratings:

I bought this unit two weeks ago from the office store named after the stadium where the Lakers play. The tech manager recommended it based on the specs, price and the fact that it had the lightscribe laser that could firmware upgrade to the new color lightscribe and a DVD burner that could easily be replaced by a Blu for about $99 via HP direct, if I wanted. It also can be upgraded to 8GB of RAM, something not all of the newer notebooks can do...many still max at 4GB. They had it on sale for $200 off list, then I had a $50 off any computer coupon, $50 for trading in an 8 yr old desktop, and there is a $50 rebate out there, for those willing to find it. At this price, I figured, "what the heck, I really didn't need that Core i5 that much, did I?"

Wow, now that I've owned it for a while, I am impressed. This unit is light for a 15.6" lappie and runs cool, I get almost 4 hours on the std battery (6+ hrs on a recently purchased 9 cell!) and it is fast and easy to use. It took a while to get used to the keyboard (HP trying to emulate Apple here...island style with no num pad) and the touchpad is challenging, at least to start (again, the Apple emulation thing....): however, I love how easy it is to turn off the touchpad and, with the built-in bluetooth...something you don't find all of the time in these lappies...it is easy to just add a bluetooth mouse, and away you go. Internet connection is great, with the unit smacking my Dell netbook upside down from any spot in our home....

Typically, HP has their bloatware installed, but that can be easily fixed. As others have reported, the USB ports are a little tight; however, I've had no issues with them at all. I love the new 'champagne' color as it shows no fingerprints at all compared to their previous units. I would have preferred the AC connection to be on the back instead of the right side; however, I can work around this. The speakers sound great for a low-end lappie...might've liked a little more volume on the top end but: what the heck....

The screen is bright and resolution/picture quality is excellent for a low-end lappie. Built-in webcam is OK, however, I would have preferred a higher resolution; however, the built-in bluetooth more than makes up for this as I use the bluetooth more. The AMD dual core proc with premium ATI graphics is a workhorse and does it's job well. A high-end gamer machine? Nope...what do you expect for this price?

Not sure about those who rate this poorly. They must've gotten a bad unit 'cause I'm quite pleased, especially for the price.

Recommended, especially if you can get the price down like I did.

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Let me start by saying that I have had this computer for about 8 months and that I only paid 450 for it new. That was the reason I bought it, other than I have an old HP laptop that is still kicking (longer than my moms, wifes, and brothers Dell). So I suppose I am partial to HP's. The reason I am writing this review is because in hindsight I wish I would have spent more and got either a better overall computer or at least one without this AMD processor.

The Good:

-Screen is nice bright and crisp

-Lots of ram and features for the money

-Keyboard is pretty good but does feel a little flimsy(has not broke yet so it must be ok)

-Solid hinges: have not loosened over time

-Windows7 Is a huge upgrade from my old HP that still had xp

The bad:

-Battery only lasts about 2 hours unplugged(sometimes less)..on the good side, the charge still holds the same as new

-Cooling fan: Gets ridiculously loud(always has)...it sounds like its going to get up and fly off the desk. I know its to cool the processor but should it really get that hot? ...maybe that is why the battery life is pretty short

-Start up time: I know it is not an Apple but why can you start them in literally 2 seconds and be on the internet and this takes 2 minutes(come on Microsoft).

The Really Bad:

-Touch Pad: Absolute garbage. It does things if you are typing and your fingers are merely close to it...It is so obnoxious when typing because it will all of a sudden move your cursor to some random spot in your paper so now you are typing into the middle of your paper, and have to erase and then go back. IT DOES THIS ALL THE TIME. If I had known about this, I would have not bought this PC.

On a good note, you can disable the touchpad. I bought a wireless mouse to overcome this and it is now fine. (Microsoft 4000:first battery lasted 5 months and I never even turned it off!)

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So I looked at the negative reviews and I must disagree. I work on several computers every day and you must adjust to each keyboard so to blame the "extra keys on the left" for mistakes are user error. My system has been flawless so far, had it since October 10. I have done 2 bios updates and as long as you don't screw with it when updating they work just fine. Now to the track pad yes it is a little sanative but with use you can master it. I almost always use an usb mouse with this system and that solves it all.

All in all a nice system for a decent price have recommended it to several people who are satisfied with theirs too!

Honest reviews on HP Pavilion dv6-3010us 15.6-Inch Laptop

i have had it for a month with no issues. i it has no problems. who knows what it may devlop in the future, but as far as laptops go it works great and is fast.No hardware issues no software issues. I read some of the bad reviews, if they are true well i thinks theirs a case of bad luck. But my machine works the way it should, fast and has not let me down with any issues

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Pavilion dv6-3010us 15.6-Inch Laptop

I have had this computer for a few years now and I am about ready to throw it at a wall!!!!

It has overheating problems like crazy because the "brilliant" engineers at HP put the heatsync for the cpu right in front of the fan so it collects dust there and causes the laptop to get very hot and overheat! By hot I mean singing to the skin! It is so hot that an dual-fan cooling mat won't even keep it from overheating!

The overheating has also greatly affected the battery life limiting it to 5 minutes! It is practically a desktop!

The trackpad is also very annoying and I greatly prefer to use a wireless mouse.

Another downside is that if you do a fresh install of say Windows Ultimate, nothing works! NOTHING! You have to somehow get all of the drivers from HP's website and install them on your laptop!

Then we come to the processor itself! An AMD Turion II processor... I do not have a clue what I was thinking buying this! It can't do half of what I'd like it to! I have now grown to distrust and hate most of all HP products!