Review of AS5742Z-4646 - DDR3 Sdram - Serial Ata - 15.6 Inch - Tft Active

Customer Ratings:

Wecam, 15.6" screen,intel P6200 duo core, 4G Ram and 320 HD... great laptop! I use it for basic stuff: email, internetj/research, download music and that is pretty much it. I don't game at all. This is my first laptop and you need to understand that my old computer (6 years old) was a Pentium 4, 80G HD, 512 Ram. I've had this ACER for a month now and I am more than pleased with its performance. Speed is great. Screen is great. Keyboard is great (I never have to worry about my wrists accidently hitting the house pad), mouse pad is great. I haven't tried the webcam yet. Speakers are weak but I don't use my computer to listen to music. I bought this laptop for $379.00 with free shipping in early February. Too cheap. I wonder how much the workers in Asia are being paid to make them??? :(

-D

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This is my second Acer Laptop, my previous laptop was good but this one is great. I just use my laptop when I am traveling, it has WiFi, keyboard has a very good ease of use and the 15 in screen is wide enough that I can watch movies and work without any eye strain, battery life is good at least 3.5 hours. I would recommend this to anyone who needs a good inexpensive system.

Best Deals for AS5742Z-4646 - DDR3 Sdram - Serial Ata - 15.6 Inch - Tft Active

Loves this laptop. I got it for him as he went off to college. Really good buy for the price.

Discount Compaq CQ56-219WM Presario Laptop 15.6" LED display / 2.20GHz

Customer Ratings:

Compaq CQ56-219WM Presario Laptop 15.6" LED display / 2.20GHz Celeron Processor / 2GB DDR2 RAM / 250GB HDD / Lightscribe DVD±R/RW / 802.11 b/g/n Wifi / 6 Cell / Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) I was somewhat hesitant to purchase this laptop, but aside from the negative reviews here, other site's reviewers were much more postive so I took the plunge and have been quite pleased with its performance.

Pros: Very easy setup . . . especially if you go wireless. I disabled the built in mouse pad and went with a wireless mouse, and use a wireless internet connection. The computer automatically picks up the signals and you're ready to go. Took maybe 5 minutes altogether.

Some folks have complained about its speed, but I found that the Norton Anti-virus Program that comes with it was the problem. After completely removing it from the computer and installing Microsoft Security Essentials . . . it became lightning fast, especially on the internet.

Cons: Just one: I couldn't get my printer to work on it, but decided to go wireless with a printer and got a new one.

All in all, this laptop does all that my old XP desktop did, but much faster and without all the wires dangling and protruding from it. No need for a monitor screen with its wires; got the wireless mouse and wireless printer. The only wire that I have inserted is the AC cord to recharge the battery. It's lightweight, portable and fast.

Some people complain that it's no good for games and such because it's too slow. Maybe it is too slow for some games. I wouldn't know because I don't play them. I use it for emailing, surfing the web, writing and research. It doesn't come with a webcam or other bells and whistles. It's a basic laptop for basic computing needs. It comes with Microsoft Office Word and Excel, but not outlook express. You can upgrade to get the additional programs for a price.

I've used computers for years and this is my first laptop. If you're looking for a good, solid, basic, fast laptop without the frills and thrills, you can't go wrong with this one.

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Seems to be a great preformace laptop for simple use. That is what it was purchased for. The size and weight are the normal for most Windows 7 bring a lot of features that windows XP did not have.

Best Deals for Compaq CQ56-219WM Presario Laptop 15.6" LED display / 2.20GHz

I bought this laptop when i was 12 and had it for about a year. It's a wonderful starter laptop. Might not be a good work computer but a good play computer especially if you download GameBooster. It lets me do all I need and more.

Honest reviews on Compaq CQ56-219WM Presario Laptop 15.6" LED display / 2.20GHz

I have used this laptop for 2 years now, and it has been a very slow 2 years indeed.

I can't tell you how slow this computer can be. It is definitely cheap, and has trouble running basic programs like word. It's a computer that freezes up frequently, and don't you dare think you can run three programs at once without having to wait a whole minute just to maximize one of them.

It is definitely not the greatest computer, but it works. As long as you have patience and aren't playing games or doing too much, it is great.

It is definitely great if you are like me and can't fork over $500 for a new laptop and just need something to do basic things on.

It might not be the greatest, but for the price it is worth it. It is a little bulky, and the keyboard is irritating (That PowerDVD button!!!) but you get used to it after a while.

All in all, it's what you pay for.

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Edit: My fan's already gone out at the 3.5 month mark. Bad soldering or circuit board leads.

Edit again: I've had it on a cooler ever since, and now at the 13 month mark the hard drive just crapped out. At least it didn't do that during my stats grad class, but I'm annoyed that it did this a day after I finally got Virtual DJ and the Emu 0204 running flawlessly by doing nothing more than creating a new user account (who knew cluttered/default Windows 7 profiles could so foul up ASIO?). I am hoping it's the motherboard, since the fan also had an issue as stated previously, but I'm not hopeful. Still, I purchased a 2.5" SATA to USB HD enclosure to test the internal hard drive with something else to be sure. If it checks out, I may buy another CQ56 and move it into that one. I'm not optimistic or even looking forward to buying another one of these if that is the case, but I don't want to go through the LONG process of installing all my stuff again. In retrospect, I was not being too hard on this computer.

Yet another edit: It was the HD. Darn. I hardly ever took this thing anywhere and it looks mint. Turns out the backup and clone features never exactly worked properly. Perhaps I should have cloned or copied the onboard HP backup partition? Windows 7 has a clone/ghost feature built in, yet even after creating a properly-sized Fat32 partition (required apparently in the wizard) on an external drive, that still never worked. I hoped it would run in the background after turning it on in Windows in control panel with my 3TB Seagate USB drive, but no. It looks like the CQ56 cannot either boot-from or clone-to an external USB drive, which is a problem considering it has only one HD slot internally.

Furthermore, the wifi adapter is not automatically recognized and plug-and-play upon a new Windows 7 installation. That means if you're on wifi, you won't be able to ever get on the net until you either go to another computer or connect to a hard line. HP really should have included a backup DVD.

Their forums are also full of people with dead fans and hard drives.

I'm changing it to 1-star and will never buy HP again.

----

Original review:

It's amazing how much you can get now for $300. I won't deny that, but this is, after all, a single core Celeron processor without even hyperthreading. Windows 64 also needs 3GB before it starts to have breathing room to do good, stable work. So I upgraded the ram to 4GB total and it helps, but the lack of at least one more core terribly limits multitasking ability. I feel you ought to spend at least $500 bucks for a laptop at the lowest acceptable "end" still. You get exponentially more computer. With only integrated graphics, one core, and slow hard drives, even with double the ram it's just not capable of what a modern machine should do at minimum. With 4GB it can handle single tasks well if you're patient. Don't expect a snappy, crisp interface, though. The screen is also lacking in contrast range substantially. Are you getting ripped off at this price? Nope. It's durable and, aside from the crummy stiff mouse buttons, does the basics. But jumping up in price gives you more than buying two of these would. I recommend the following minimum:

4GB RAM

Multicore CPU of some type (Intel seems the most compatible)

7200rpm hard drives

Dedicated graphics chip and VRAM; not just because of the horsepower needs, but some software literally malfunctions from integrated graphics

Firewire or Expresscard slot... not just USB connectors

HDMI port

Cheap MSI G Series GT60 2OD-026US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,999.99
Sale Price: $1,999.00
Today's Bonus: $0.99 Off

I have had my GT60-2OD for about a week now. And it's been awesome. The keyboard is a pleasure to type on, the backlight and effects are very nice as well, and also as I read somewhere they did add a matte screen bezel for this generation so no distracting reflections while using your new laptop!

I have it set on a coolermaster pad made for 17" laptops, given that the screen bezel is pretty wide. Also, the laptop fits nicely inside the pad when transporting it or for storage. The cooling pad is mostly for elevation, but it does help ease the airflow around the system. Without it the temps are a little higher due to the fan intake/exhaust vents recycling some of the hot air that bounces of the wooden table which is very insulating and gets quite hot. Perhaps glass or metal tables are easier on the temps. I haven't been using the cooling pad fans, as I don't really think they would make much of a difference as the laptop is ventilated by the sides and not bottom, but I'm sure they could improve the temps by a few degrees.

I did have some modifications done to the laptop. The thermal paste replaced with IC Diamond 24 by Gentech PC and I also had 3 mSSDs installed and set to RAID 0 to get a bigger SSD C: Drive. Also, as a bonus I got my RAM upgraded to 24 gigs.

With the turbo fan on (from the touch bar controls) and ambient temps around 24 C neither the CPU nor the GPU ever go much above 80 C with heavy gaming for hours at ultra settings on the ARMA 3 Alpha which runs at around 45 FPS with default ULTRA settings. A little reduction on draw distances and reduction of MSAA to 4x instead of 8x brought it up to 50 FPS. This with no overclocking or any kind of fiddling or any other settings changed. I'm sure that both the CPU and GPU are capable of a little more, but I haven't been there yet. The only that I did was to use the new feature MSI put in place, which uses some of the battery power to complement the supply when the 180W from the AC adapter aren't enough. It's called hybrid power and to use it you just need to open the program and press OK.

But if you keep your factory thermal paste job, you might get higher temps than I did and maybe slightly slower FPS because of the system protecting itself from overheating. Some users on forums reported that some of the paste jobs were sloppy and that MSI used too much pasted and that some systems were overheating. So you may want to look into that, specially if you think your system is running too hot.

Switching between GPU's is quite easy, to force Windows to use the Intel integrated GPU isntead of the 780m all the time you have to go to Nvidia Control panel/3d Settings/ and change your global settings to the integrated GPU and then restart the PC. This way your GPU light will remain white. Then, manually choose games and other programs that you want using the Nvidia GPU from that same menu. Light code: White=Intel HD4600 Orange=NVIDIA 780m

I haven't done thorough battery tests, but as with any laptop I'm sure it greatly depends on the use. Maybe a little over an hour of gaming and perhaps 10 hours with devices turned off, minimum brightness and just light browsing and some video watching using the integrated GPU only. These numbers are invented and not any real representation. I will try to get some accurate numbers after I do some testing.

There are some annoying quirks. Whenever I plug my G700 mouse (haven't tried any other mice) the computer auto disables the touchpad. And I have to go FN+F3 to enable again. The touchpad is really nice when typing and you need to do something with the cursor quickly, not so much if it's disabled. Apparently some of the Synaptics software does this and is somewhat complicated to fix as there is no toggle setting available natively. Maybe new drivers will have that feature, but with the ones you get out of the box your touchpad will be automatically disabled when another mouse input is connected. After searching on some forums someone pointed out to me this fix

"Disable internal pointing device when external USB pointing device is attached" option in the synaptics control panel, open regedit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Synaptics\SynTPEnh, right click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it "DisableIntPDFeature". "Modify it's value to 33 in hexadecimal, or 51 in decimal to enable it to be default on." I haven't tried it yet myself. But I might try to do it soon.

I was unlucky enough to get a noisy fan when it is idling, it sound like toy car gears or perhaps a bad bearing. But a quick e-mail to my reseller and a few arrangements with MSI got me a new one coming in the mail. Which I will change myself. Since my warranty sticker had already been broken it's not an issue. Yet, you should contact MSI and ask about implications of breaking your warranty sticker. The consensus is that as long as you don't actually damage anything there shouldn't be a problem, yet I recommend contacting MSI yourself. You need to break it to upgrade your RAM with the 2 slots that are available upon opening the laptop (the other 2 are under the keyboard)

I have been thinking about doing two things to improve the aesthetics of the notebook. And that is

1)Removing the stickers, or at least just the Specs and MSI gaming series and maybe even the Sound Blaster one. The Intel and Nvidia one are fine. Since the handrest is made of aluminum, I would think that any glue residue would be easily removed with alcohol, lighter fluid or some other light solvent. This may decrease the resale value of the laptop later on, so it's a very personal call.

2)Coming from the MSI GX60, I always hated the shiny screen bezel, yet I loved the chrome MSI logo. In the GT60 I love the matte bezel but the painted MSI logo on the bezel looks very cheap and detracts from the High-end look of the notebook. I ordered a pair or metal stickers from China that I found on eaby. They will get here in about 20 days, so we'll see about that. I know that I might have to modify things a little bit. The foremost reason I think MSI chose to do this is since the bezel is matte, the stickers wouldn't play so nice with that surface. Let's see what happens. I got a 2 pack, so I have a little slack there.

As a footnote, I have been looking for good cases to keep and carry the laptop around. I haven't yet found a neoprene skin that would fit the laptop, it is bigger than a standard 15.6 incher and also thicker, but not as big as a 17 incher. I haven't yet found one but I'll keep looking. As for the case, after a lot of research I found a nice case that I think looks amazing, has a good price and offers good protection. The Condor 3-Way laptop case available here on Amazon seems to fit this laptop nicely. It seems to have a large enough pocket for the Power supply brick and has good padding and restraint all the way around. I'll post an update once I get it to see how well it fits.

To wrap it up, I read on the owners forum for this laptop over at notebookreview that to get the warranty from MSI you have to complete the online form and then print and mail something back to them (through snail mail) to get the full warranty. I haven't done it yet and I suggest you look up some information. I will try to keep this review updated with any new developments.

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Received mine earlier today and have been install, browsing and gaming for six hours.

Initial impression:

Unboxing the laptop, the overall weight of the unit and power adapter is fairly substantial. This makes a good desktop replacement, but I could not see myself carrying this daily. Overall, the construction is fairly good, but there are some short comings. The hotkeys near the top creak and are not sturdy towards the center, the laptop screen has a decent amount of flex and the same for the bottom half. The unit just does not feel as solid as the HP Elitebooks that I've owned in the past for example.

I also am not a fan of the trackpad buttons. They take a considerable amount of force to click and really force you to use the outer edges. For some reason, the buttons are a single piece which adds to the frustration. The keyboard is decent and the variable color back lighting is a nice touch.

Turning the laptop on, it greats you with the typical Windows 8 setup. There is not a lot of pre-installed applications, though I did end up removing a handful. Fortunately, the Norton software was straight forward to remove along with the other software. From there, it was easy to get online and start installing my common applications like Chrome, Steam, Avast and so on.

Gaming:

Since this is a laptop built around the fastest single mobile graphics card (780m) that was my next stop. The first game I fired up was Skyrim along with the HD texture pack and a few other visual upgrades. Due to Optimus, the installers recommends very low settings, but I set them to Ultra to start. The majority of indoor zones and towns play without a hitch at Ultra. However, out in the open world there was a considerable amount of stuttering at various times. It will take some more tweaking to find the optimal settings as well as trying other games like Crysis 3 and so on.

Summary:

While I've only had a short time with the laptop, I'm happy with the value. This makes a good portable gaming pc gaming system, but I will keep my ultrabook for mobile computing.

Best Deals for MSI G Series GT60 2OD-026US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Sadly I bought this from a popular website starting with an N and ending in G which I will never use again. I purchased there only because Amazon themselves don't have this in stock yet. BIG MISTAKE as getting an RMA has been a nightmare.

The laptop has great hardware for gaming, great sound, a good screen, fantastic keyboard. Scored 7700 on 3Dmark 11 P out of the box.

Mine has a bad issue with the fan, it sounds like a locust is stuck inside my comp. The thing rattles at idle and whines at load, like a bad bearing or similar to coil whine. The disc drive also only works sometimes. My ssd drive changes its free space available after every restart despite setting a fixed mem allocation. It will go from anywhere between 68gb and 76gb. HEAT is bad, the CPU idles at about 65C and load up to 100C unless I turn on turbo fan. The GPU goes up to 91C at load.

If I could get a refund I would but I'm stuck as they won't give one to me without paying 15% restocking. It was like pulling teeth to get a return label and my replacement isn't even guaranteed. If you buy this get it here. I hope Someday Amazon will put these places with terrible customer arrive out of business.

Honest reviews on MSI G Series GT60 2OD-026US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Having a blast with this notebook. It loads Windows almost instantaneously, runs games with the best resolution possible while still maintaining good fps and has more disk space than I can handle. What else could I ever want in a computer?

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This laptop is amazing, ssd and a monster gpu let alone the haswell which makes it last longer with battery.

Actually i'd like to have a desktop for gaming but i travel to study in america then i travel back every vocation thats 1 month or longer

Battery life maybe is not very important for this type of laptops but here u go:

If im playing heavy games it takes 1h30m-2h but if you are doing other things 5 hours is an easy achievement. As long as it doesnt use the monsterous gpu

It is still better to use the charger while playing to get the best performance out of the gpu, i see a slight drop in frames rate without it.

you might find more about this laptop in tech websites reviews or youtube videos.

Cheap Lenovo 2904-FZU ThinkPad T410s 14.1" Notebook (2.4 GHz Pentium Core

Customer Ratings:

I was attempting to go back to PCs from Mac life, having straddled the fence for some time. I bought one of these T410S's from Lenovo directly (so, this is nothing at all to say negative about this seller, only about Thinkpad T410S). I have the SSD which I must say is blazingly fast. I also got 8MB of ram. The machine is so fast. Really, did I mention it's fast?

The computer is also pretty light weight. It feels so much lighter than my 15inch MacBook.

The keyboard on these T410S's is marvelous, btw. This was always a strength for Thinkpads. This may be the best keyboard yet on a PC laptop(it is different than any others ones I've had on Thinkpads. Just overall better build quality and some nice, intelligent changes in a few keys and all. Track pad and pointing stick work great, too.).

But, the battery life has been just dismal. I have the main 6 cell battery (because of the configuration, you cannot put a larger main battery in these units). I also have the extra, ultra bay battery. I have been able to go about 2.5 hours doing regular work (some emails, word processing, spreadsheet stuff) and then it's out.

UPDATE: Turns out the main battery in the one that I had was defective. They sent me a new battery today and the machine is running with much less heat and battery life is at least twice what it was before. I would guess that with the two batteries that I might now get 4 hours or a bit more doing light work.

Screen. Not so hot. As some pro reviews on web note, not very good contrast. I am amazed that this screen is as poor quality as it is. It is, however, very bright. That's good. It's the brightest Thinkpad screen I've seen or had. But the screen is a weak spot in my view compared to something like what's on an Apple. It's also a little blotchy, so that there are some unevenly lighted sections along the bottom. I tried to get Lenovo to swap it out and they would not. I paid a great deal for this computer, and you'd think they might try to please a customer. They also made it very hard to return (I was going to just return the unit over the screen blotchiness but they were going to charge a few hundred in restocking fees.) Poor customer service experience. To buy what I think is their most expensive computer and not be happy, and not have them try very hard to make me happy about the screen problem is not impressive.

Heat. I had read a review online that suggested there was minimal heat on this unit. Not really true. It puts out quite a bit of heat when plugged in, from the fan/vent area. There is enough that if you are actually using this laptop on your lap (bizarre concept, I know), your left knee/thigh will get pretty toasty while the right is enduring nothing. This also I find annoying. How come Apple MacBooks can run with so much less heat with similar if not identical processors? PC maker just can't seem to get that down. Anyway, I find the heat not a deal breaker but it is quite annoying, none the less.

Overall. I give this model 3 stars. I'd give Lenovo and this model Thinkpad 4 stars if they would have replaced the screen for me.

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I owned the model T410s with the 250gb harddrive last Feb. 2011. One of the reasons, I decided to get Lenovo because of their tough laptop body design,durability,reliability and after watching a youtube video that demonstrates how tough the T series are. But it was a total deception of product quality. After 2 months of use, the palm rest just suddenly crack. I called Lenovo and was told that it's not covered by a warranty because I didn't bought one. Probably my mistake, but, most computer manufacturers, cover at least 1 year basic warranty, just like my older HP laptop. After 6 months of use, the screen bezel followed, with crack at the top left of the screen(see photos). This laptop is a lemon. I don't carry the T410s anywhere, it always stays in my home office. Very unfortunate and lesson learned, will never buy a Lenovo product again. I'm very disappointed.

Reviews of Dell D610 Pentium M 2.0GHz 1GB 60GB CDRW/DVD 14.1" XPH

Customer Ratings:

Had to part with my old gateway laptop of 10-12 years as AOL spoiled the speed with its invasive intrusions through my internet connection. While I miss the slot for my camera scan disc and can't find my cable, the features of the Dell laptop Latitude D610 are just fine for me. Not too many "modern conveniences" like blueray, webcam, etc. but I don't need any of that. I like the screen size, the keyboard is lovely and the size is perfect. I did find the touch pad a bit rougher than my gateway (real smooth) and so similar to the surrounding surface, that I sometimes am sliding around everywhere except on the touch pad. Don't care for the ball item on the keyboard between "G" and H" similar to IBM think pad which I never liked and don't use. I find it too hard to manipulate as I did with the think pad. But I love the touch of the keyboard and the sellers, Compusales3000, do a fine job of shipping and surprised me with 20 additional gigabites on the harddrive! I like that they check and refurbish all their items at their warehouse before sending them out, and even add little personal notes! I would definitely say they are customer friendly!

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Best Tohisba Satellite A665-3DV10X 3D Notebook Laptop: Intel Core Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,199.00
Sale Price: $849.99
Today's Bonus: 29% Off

Toshiba really hit a homerun with this thing! It out-performs all three of my PC's. I'm very happy with it's ability to do 5 things at once without getting bogged down or clogged up.

It is win 7, much better than win 8.

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Highly recommend this PC. I have always been a HP or Compaq kind of guy, but this Toshiba has won me over. Starting to play video games again after a 20 year absence. Now, in amazing 3D!!

Best Deals for Tohisba Satellite A665-3DV10X 3D Notebook Laptop: Intel Core

Just love this computer, fast, powerful, and 3d can't get any better for the price! Win 7 but can be easily upgraded if you even care.

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I've had Toshiba products in the past that I was quite happy with. This computer has many problems, any one of which would be a reason not to buy it.

It advertises WiMax. They don't tell you it's an extra fifty dollars a month. On top of that, Clear won't even let me purchase the service even at that steep price. I specifically bought this computer for the WiMax, so I could use it in the field. This turns out to have been a very bad decision on my part.

Battery life is zero. I had the laptop plugged in for days. I went to give a powerpoint presentation in front of a group of fifteen people. The battery died after 45 minutes. Fortunately, I had a backup plan in case of a technology failure.

When you type on the keyboard, you need to completely remove your left hand if you want to use the cursor pad, very annoying.

At maximum volume, the speakers are not loud enough to be heard over the hum of my treadmill.

Software bundled on the computer comes with adware that you have to specifically opt out of in order to avoid getting it. If you aren't paying attention, this software digs in deep and is very hard to get rid of.

You have to purchase Microsoft office for $100 extra. Even when I tried to pay the extra, even though I didn't want to, Microsoft wouldn't even let me complete the purchase. Their web site says, Click here and buy this software in a few easy steps, and then it just freezes, not allowing me to buy the software.

I would never buy another Toshiba product again based on my experience with this product. It does have some pluses, like good picture, and a nice feel to the keyboard. It's positive attributes all together are not enough to outweigh any one of the negatives. I was considering buying an Apple product, but I chose this Toshiba to save money and also to be able to work with Windows-based files when I receive them. This purchase was a waste of money and a very expensive lesson. I will buy Apple in the future.

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Very fast and quiet, quality build. The most important point is that the system is win 7 which is much better than win 8

HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15t-4000 (Silver); Intel Core Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $2,049.99
Sale Price: $1,499.95
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

The touch screen is of course the first thing you might notice with this lightening fast laptop. And, well, the touch screen feature is quite awesome, but the dual drives and instant on function are worth the extra expense. Getting used to the new format and layout of Windows 8 requires the user to rethink a few things, but the UI is slick and fast and easy.

This will get you noticed in the office if that is important, more important to me are the features. The light up keys, the speed of the processesor, the ram and then there is the screen. Beautiful images. Ok so I sound like an HP paid fan, but while I love their products, I have owned and used other brands and work with Macs all day at the office. So many co workers are Mac fanatics and pay much more for what this laptop delivers. The bang for the buck here is substantial. .

I was concerned moving from a 17 inch screen to a 15 inch but am doing just fine. I did buy an external DVD drive/ burner because of all the files I have at home on disk. But I have only used the external drive once so far and have yet to take it to work.

If you want Windows 8 touch screen capacity then take this model for a spin.

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Within 2 weeks of receiving this marvelous top-of-the-line computer, problems started happening:

1. The the lower right corner of the screen popped out from the lid (i.e., no longer sitting flush to the lid. I only noticed it because I happened to be working in a dark room at the time and light was leaking from the corner.

2. The W and CTRL keys started to become unresponsive.

I notified Eliktronics, but they told me to call HP. If you buy from Eluktronics, you better notice and notify them of any problems within 7 days or they absolve themselves of responsibility. Fine. HP sent out a box for me to send the laptop back to them in.

The day before it arrived, Windows mysteriously crashed and failed to boot "No OS Found" -no boot media, so no way to repair. I spoke with HP again to update the trouble-ticket. We clearly agreed that the issues were the mfg-defective screen, the keyboard, and now the SSD/HDD/OS.

The brand-new computer was sent to HP; dead as a brick. They were supposed to fix the three problems above. What I received back, was a computer that was wiped clean, the OS installed on the 5400RPM HDD rather than on the SSD, a screen that was still leaking light because they never replaced or adhered the screen, and a keyboard was neither replaced nor fixed.

Frustrated and tired of the irritation, I decided that this "premier model" was a lot less than, and that I will just bend over and deal with this POS for the next year or so and buy a different one -that works.

So, that being said, I had manually installed the SSD drivers, moved the OS from the HDD to the SSD and decide to just deal with having to make sure that W and CTRL key-presses take. And I am ignoring the popped screen.

It was a nice effort. Until last night. Now the USB 2.0 port stops working unless I reboot which seems to fix it for several hours.

This is a total lemon. I am in IT and have been computing since the old 8088 days. I've never had issues like this before.

Eluktronics won't help or take responsibility for selling me a lemon, and my wife is on the phone with HP right now to have this sent in for the SECOND time to address ALL the same issues that they didn't fix the first time I sent it in. Seems to me all they did was wipe the drives and install the OS on the wrong drive.

I've have this computer for fewer than two months... and now it's going back to HP for "servicing" for the second time in 2 weeks -who knows what I will have to fix when I finally get it back or what they, once again, won't bother to repair.

If this computer worked, it would be great and something I would recommend.

BUT TO BE CLEAR: I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND BUYING THIS COMPUTER FROM ELUKTRONICS.

Best Deals for HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15t-4000 (Silver); Intel Core

New to Windows8 and I love how easy it works on this new HP Spectre. Great laptop. Well done. I would definitely recommend this laptop.

Honest reviews on HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15t-4000 (Silver); Intel Core

This is a very wonderful device. I have been using it for the past 6 months and it has never disappointed. I just upgraded to Windows 8.1 now. I tried replacing the internal 128GB SSD because it was no longer enough for me, but discovered it was using a mini SSD, but I had already bought a Samsung EVO SSD. Nevertheless, i will buy the required type. I am in love with the system

Best Toshiba Satellite A665-S6094 16-Inch Laptop (Fusion X2 Finish in Deals

Customer Ratings:

This was my first laptop. I will never buy another Toshiba laptop computer and I don't recommend anyone else do so either.

I purchased this laptop from Best Buy and before it was 12 months old (about 5 months actually) the hard drive crashed (in warranty). Sent it back to the factory. Loooong wait. By 13 months it crashed again (out of warranty of course). I don't move it off my desk, use it like a desk top. They kept saying it must because I am too rough with it when carrying it around. One of the USB plug ins on the side for an external drive became nonworkable about 13 months as well. The display program goes to black and recovers (for now) at least 3-4 times a day. The CD drive works, but you can't rip from it or burn with it or play music because it skips and has from day one. My 14 year old HP desk top finally gave up the ghost yesterday, but I won't be replacing it with another Toshiba laptop that's for sure. I'm also through paying for the extended warranty on the Toshiba laptop at Best Buy because 1) They are a pain to deal with. 2) The lap top isn't worth the hassle to fix the next time it fails. I realize Toshiba is way past this model now this review from me will be too late to be useful, unless you are considering purchasing a used one, but I thought others that have had one might like to know they aren't the only one that has one of these useless pieces of junk. Of course, some one might be considering purchasing a used one. Heaven forbid!

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I purchased the Toshia A665-S6094 from Best Buy in late Sept 2010. In mid March the laptop had to go back to Toshiba because the whole right side of the keyboard stopped working and the touchpad would stop working correctly after a few hours of use. They replaced the keyboard, but did nothing with the touchpad. A couple weeks later certain keys would stop working intermittently but after a few weeks they all started functioning properly again however the touchpad was still messed up to the point that I had to plug in and use a mouse. 13 months after buying this laptop (less than 1 month out of warranty), the hard drive failed completely so I had to have it replaced. Found out that the CD drive is also failing. There is no reason this laptop should be failing so miserably after just 13 months. Toshiba = FAIL!

Update 12/13/11 Another month has passed and now the display driver is failing and the screen often goes black. This computer is just over 14 months old but acts as if it is 10 years old.

Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite A665-S6094 16-Inch Laptop (Fusion X2 Finish in

I purchased this laptop in November 2010. It was working great till October (11 months in)still under warranty. I started getting errors that the hard drive was failing (both Toshiba's utility and windows utility). I contacted Toshiba, and the only options were I could send them the whole laptop, and they would put in a hard drive and send it back (optimal time frame for them was 10 business days) and would not transfer any of my data. Or I could go to an authorized service provider and have them change out the hard drive and I would have to pay for the hard drive (what is the difference here versus just walking in off the street?). In either case the warranty would only be active till November. I offered to send them the hard drive so they could verify it was bad and send another they responded that they needed the whole computer. The laptop is fine, but due to incredibly poor customer service I would recommend buying another computer unless this is a secondary computer and you do not need it for anything important.

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite A665-S6094 16-Inch Laptop (Fusion X2 Finish in

Just an FYI I purchased this laptop at a brick-and-mortar retail outlet and not Amazon.com.

I had a few key "wants" when I bought my next computer. I wanted:

1) A computer that would allow me to move my entire PC around the house easily -> laptop with 802.11 a/g/n wireless CHECK

2) Minimum i3 processor -> it has an Intel i7 Q740 quad-core processor @ 1.73GHz CHECK

3) Minimum 2GB RAM -> 4GB installed CHECK

4) Minimum 250GB hard drive -> 620GB hard drive installed CHECK

5) Minimum 720p display resolution -> CHECK

6) Good dedicated memory for video -> it has an NVIDIA GeForce 310M 512MB card with available 2270MB shared CHECK

7) A full keyboard with numeric keypad -> CHECK

8) A backlit keyboard -> NO (but hey that's my compromise for everything else I got) =)

The Windows Experience Index ratings(Windows 7 scores on this laptop) scale is 1.0-7.9:

Processor = 7.1

Memory = 5.9

Graphics = 4.9

Gaming Graphics = 6.0

Primary Hard Disk = 5.9

I bought this laptop in January 2011. It was a replacement for my 8 year old Pentium 4 desktop. I have run out of options to upgrade it and I felt it was time for a new PC. We all deserve that once in a while right? :) In that respect I am not disappointed and would personally have given it 5 stars. This laptop was a very good way to break into the i7 family of processors. There were quite a few i5 laptops that were smaller with a higher price at the time. It has no trouble running World of Warcraft on highest settings and will run StarCraft 2 but only at medium settings at best. That's the most I ask of it right now anyway. The Satellite feels very well constructed and not like a toy that will fall apart.

The laptop heats up very quickly when playing games but it has never shut down or even stuttered. However I would recommend a laptop cooler(like any other laptop). I have had a Zalman ZM-NC1500 cooler for a previous laptop and I put that under it. Keeps the operating temperature down very well.

A nice bonus I didn't even consider until I brought it home is the Harman-Kardon integrated speakers. They sound VERY nice and only crack under extreme duress(heavy bass at high volumes). I was amazed the first time I played a CD through them.

The 620GB hard drive is a very nice storage solution after being used to managing everything under a 160GB HDD for the last 8 years. The laptop has a DVD burner that also has CD-RW capabilities.

3 USB ports make it easy to access outside peripherals like USB sticks and game controllers. The placement of the USB ports is questionable though. I use a USB mouse and the ports are all at the front of the system on the left side(1) and right side(2) so when I plug it in the receiver sticks out right at the base of the unit.

There's a feature I rarely use but should mention the Satellite is equipped with 4G connectivity. All you need is a data plan with a carrier and it's ready to go. Nice thing about this is the laptop can also be used as a hub for tethering devices. I have used my iPad2 tethered to my laptop and it works great.

The biggest flaw is one that means the least to me personally BUT it is also what makes a laptop a laptop the battery. I have never gotten more than 1 1/2 hours of use out of it whether it is sitting idle or playing online. I don't understand why but these days a battery should get almost 3 hours if not more. Seems the industry standard is just under 3 hours. I don't know what Toshiba did to this laptop but it seems to be built with the most "un-green" components it can possibly have. Since I use a 2nd adapter in the living room it doesn't affect me much at all but to be a fair review I have to include this information and drop a star off the rating.

I have been exceptionally happy with my Toshiba Satellite A665-s6094 laptop since purchase and I expect to get years of service out of it. Unless battery life is a major consideration I would definitely recommend this to others.

Cheap MSI G Series GE70 2OE-017US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black/Red)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,299.99
Sale Price: $1,299.00
Today's Bonus: $0.99 Off

After several days of getting to know the laptop, I decided to write a review. I apologize for the lengthy review, but there was no way I could just put in a few sentences for a large purchase such as this.

First of all, I'd like to say that the price point for this laptop is amazingly good. Sure, it could have been cheaper, but you'd lose all of the features it had!

Performance wise, it's a great laptop. It dynamically adjusts the clock speeds depending on the load, meaning you'll save a lot of battery. I've seen it run as low as 700 MHz, and I've seen it go all the way up to 3400 MHz The Haswell processor handles it very well, resulting in a very little loss of performance even when you leave it idling and decide to start opening up programs.

When you need the performance, you can expect it with this laptop.

Now moving on to the graphics part The included NVIDIA GTX 765M is nothing to scoff at. Granted, it's a laptop, so you shouldn't expect it to perform as well as a gaming desktop. For all intents and purposes, this card will run everything you need at 1080p in medium to high settings, or sometimes ultra settings! I was able to play several games in 1080p ranging from medium to ultra settings with an absolute minimum of 60 fps.

NVIDIA Optimus is another cool thing on this laptop, it will automatically determine which graphics processor to use. When you want battery life, you can set it so that it'll run on Intel's integrated graphics unit. However, when you want the performance, it'll switch over to the NVIDIA GTX 765M. You can actually see which mode the laptop is running on based on the color of the power button's LED. Blue for integrated, Orange for NVIDIA.

Of course, you can always override this and set it to permanently use integrated graphics or NVIDIA graphics. If needed, you can also configure each program individually to run on integrated graphics or NVIDIA graphics.

I have to comment about the keyboard. When I looked at the pictures, I was concerned that some buttons were cut short (Such as Right Shift, Enter, and Backspace buttons), but after handling the laptop, it proved that it was of no issue. The backlighting, while it didn't look anything like in the pictures, was still decent. It was sufficiently bright, and there was 3 modes. The first 2 modes being on/off, and the third being half lit. Apparently the purpose of this was to illuminate only the keys you'd use during gaming.

The keyboard itself was a pleasure to type on, sharp enough to receive feedback, but soft enough to have that cushioned feel. Also as an added bonus, the wrist area (the space below the keyboard) stays very cool even while playing games!

The display is perfect, there was no dead pixels. Excellent quality and color. The viewing angles are wide enough for me, so I don't have anything to complain here.

The battery life on this laptop is good, but not amazing. I haven't really tested it in different scenarios though. However, at full brightness, I was able to watch a 2 hour long movie before it died. However, I would expect the battery life to dramatically increase when you reduce the brightness and do less intensive tasks.

The temperatures are decent, idling at around 40-45c for the processor and the graphics card. I did run a prime95 stress test, as I wanted to see how hot the processor could get. The CPU did go up to 93c, but did not go beyond that. I don't expect the CPU to get this hot with normal usage or even gaming for that matter. The GPU ran considerably cooler than the CPU though. The hottest temperature I've ever seen it reach was at around 75c.

Now, moving on to the cons:

Even though I know that this is a gaming laptop, the battery life could have been better. I'm really surprised that they only put a 6-Cell battery in this laptop. It was probably to maintain the slim form factor, but still, I feel like this is something they could have improved on.

The USB 3.0 ports are finicky. On the first USB 3.0 port, it would only perform at USB 2.0 speeds, on the other port, it'll perform at USB 3.0 speeds, but disconnect constantly (USB 2.0 devices doesn't disconnect however). A firmware update fixed the USB 2.0 speeds, but it also switched ports I was having issues with, so the first port is now having the disconnections, while the second one works flawlessly. I suspect that this is a firmware issue, and might be fixed at a later date. However, it's not a big issue. It seems like a common problem, not with MSI products, but with USB 3.0 in general.

Also, on Amazon's product description page, it said that there was 3 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports. This is incorrect, there are only *2* USB 3.0 ports.

The "Cooler Boost" function on this laptop barely did anything. It might have knocked the temperatures down by 1 or 2 degrees, but nothing to be amazed about.

This thing attracts a lot of fingerprints. The area below the keyboard, and on the sides of the keyboard, and the lid all attract fingerprints.

Considering the positive aspects of this laptop, coupled with few (very) minor annoyances, this is a great laptop for the money. I would suggest this notebook to anyone who's looking for a laptop that has the performance of a desktop, and the portability of a laptop.

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This laptop is amazing! Super fast, looks great, solid build. I have been using 17" HD laptops for years and this is the best I have ever used. I bought an miniPCI-E SSD card and used Acronis to move the system image over to it and now it boots SUPER-FAST! The only issues I originally had were figuring out how to scroll with the touch pad. It's like a Macbook, you use two fingers and drag in the reverse direction you want to scroll. Took me forever to figure it out, but it works great. I also couldn't figure out how to force the video card to be the Geforce versus the Intel HD one, so the Windows Experience Index was pretty low (comparatively) until I went in to the Nvidia control panel and changed the 3D default settings. Then, it was zooming (though, no real need for it to always use discrete graphics, so I switched it back).

In the end, everything is great. I love the separate button for the illuminated keyboard and another for the "cooling down mode" which amps up the fans and lowers the laptop temp by 10 or so degrees.

The keyboard feels great. The touchpad is huge and works well (after getting used to it) and there is VERY little bloatware. The MSI utility for creating boot discs also works great (I created a USB key and 4xDVDs).

If you're in the market for a 1200.00-1300.00 performance laptop this is the one.

The screen is beautiful as is the chassis. All around, the best laptop I've ever had.

Best Deals for MSI G Series GE70 2OE-017US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black/Red)

(Updated at Bottom: 08/07/2013)

Original Review:

What can I say, the price you pay for the amount of features, specs and overall quality that you get out of this laptop is just unbeatable. Its no wonder I couldn't find this laptop at Microcenter, Bestbuy, or anywhere else; and they were selling like hotcakes online. Its amazing.

I'll go through the pros and cons (very few) of this beauty.

Pros:

17.3 Inch Screen running Natively at 1920x1080 (1080P). The Anti-Glare and Anti-Reflective work as advertised.

i7 Generation 4 Technology, boy its fast.

SteelSeries Mechanical Keyboard BUILT-IN to this laptop (with light-up keys) (Detection speed is amazing. Also has a Turbo-Fan button which pushes heat out quickly from the inner-workings.

2 USB 3.0 ports for your fast external drives & 2 more USB 2.0 ports for other devices.

Quallcomm Killer Network Manager included with this laptop (keeps you lag and Packet-loss free)

12 Gigs of RAM (Multitasking galore) + Adobe Premiere Pro and Cinema 4D work without any lag

Discrete Graphics (GTX 765M) (Plays everything on high with great frame-rates (60+), plays a few games on Ultra with 60+ frames, but most with acceptable frames (30~45FPS))

VGA & HDMI out for multiple TVs, resolutions and devices.

Bluetooth Syncing with Mobile Devices and Storage

750Gigs of space (Partitioned into 500Gigs for System and 250 for a data partition) (@7200 RPM vs 5800RPM). Included with IntelRapidStorage Technology which actually makes the drive perform closer to a 10,000RPM level than 7200.

Cools well, even without a Cooling Pad (though I'm still getting one)

No bloatware (Useless or advertising programs that take up space, memory and are annoying)

BluRay Combo Drive (How could they do this at $1,300?)

Cons:

No Solid State Drive; SSD. (Would improve performance greatly). If you are proficient at computers, I would suggest purchasing a 128GB SSD and installing it into this laptop, then cloning the system partition to it. It will make this laptop blazingly fast. I'm thinking of doing this myself soon. If you don't know how to do it, and you'd really like the performance out of an SSD, ask your local tech at one of the big stores to do it for you. Its worth the cost.

Windows 8 64-Bit (I'm getting used to it, but still prefer 7)

Low Battery Life (2.5 Hours). Its a gaming laptop though, so its to be expected. Tip: If you want your battery to maintain its maximum performance, disconnect it after its fully charged if you don't have to go anywhere with your laptop. The laptop runs fine without a battery if its plugged in.

The battery is fine for around the house and a short trip somewhere. Otherwise, if you want to go out and game, bring your charger. If you have the need for long battery life and mobile gaming on-the-go, go ahead and get a Razer Edge Pro.

For this price, there are surprisingly few cons with some very high quality parts and software included. MSI did a great job bringing together one of the best multi-manufacturer laptop builds I have ever seen. It looks sleek, it feels sleek and it runs quick and light (software wise and literally). I'd say build a desktop if you don't really need everything to be all-in-one, but the fact remains that its a very tempting buy. You could build only a little better desktop for the same amount of money ($1,300).

Update (08/07/2013):

Before you take this update harshly, let me say that I still think this laptop is very well made, works well, and is extremely high quality for an attractive price. If I could, I would buy it again. There are just a few issues that need to be addressed to make it perfect.

After a few days with this laptop, figuring out all the little nuances, there are a few minor things that you should do to have it running optimally for games. Because of this, I have lowered my rating to four stars. This takes away from the ease-of-use, which otherwise would make it 5 stars.

MSI should update their system image for their Killer E2200 drivers.

#1: Be sure that you always have the Power Options set to High Performance. Otherwise, this laptop WILL throttle the graphics card. I can't tell you how many times I've thought that something was wrong with the graphics card because of laggy games, only to discover that I had the Power Options on Power Saver. Also, make sure that the laptop is PLUGGED IN with the charger. The graphics card will throttle heavily otherwise. This makes high-end mobile gaming on the battery impossible.

#2: When you first get the laptop, uninstall the Qualcomm Killer E2200 Software, and get an official update for "Embedded Ethernet" for Windows 8 64-Bit from their official website: www.killergaming.com. This is simple and easy. The current driver that shipped with this image causes a blue screen at times. This will fix that issue.

#3: Buy a Laptop Cooling Pad. I'm not fully sure that its necessary, but I think it would contribute to the overall health and longevity of this system. It DOES have a high-end, heat producing card and processor in it, and at times it does seem to get pretty hot. The cooling pad I use (Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim Ultra-Slim Laptop Cooling Pad) has helped keep the heat just coming out of the vents where its supposed to.

Because of the blue-screen and having to have the laptop plugged in to play any high end games, and a possibility of needing a cooling pad, I've lowered my rating to 4 stars. That isn't to say those 3 things took away from this laptop, I don't mind plugging it in to play high end games or having a cooling pad, or even fixing a bluescreen issue, but for others understanding of this product that its not quite a mobile gaming laptop and it does have an issue with a driver that causes system failure, and that it could overheat, I must lower the rating.

Honest reviews on MSI G Series GE70 2OE-017US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black/Red)

Brilliant work MSI, runs like an alienware preforms like a god, could not be happier with a product this great at this price! I believe its on par with the alienware 18, just does not have random cool programs or interchangeable blacklit keyboard, or a huge hard drive. But lets serious, you can pickup a 1tb external hard drive for 3$. If you going to go anything better than this, go in to the 2000-2300$ bracket.

cons, Have not found a single con yet, besides the small keyboard layout. But you get use to it!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for MSI G Series GE70 2OE-017US 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black/Red)

This laptop runs WoW on ultra no problem, Skyrim, FarCry3 all on highest, and every other game I have thought to try. Pretty large laptop but beautiful screen. DONT try to uninstall windows 8 however because you'll need to order the recovery disks separately to get your windows 8 key back which is hidden in the bios. This laptop is definitely worth the money. EDIT: Only buy this if you frequently travel, otherwise build your own rig! It's a nice laptop and all, but it is just that. A laptop. In a few years this will most definitely not be powerful enough while a custom built PC will allow you much more flexibility. If you're a real gamer, don't buy a laptop.

Cheap Toshiba Satellite P755-S5320 Core i3-2330M Dual-Core 2.2GHz 6GB

Customer Ratings:

my dad bought this laptop and it is relly good laptop good weight and i wouild recommend this to a freind

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There are numerous forums out there about how this laptops power button sticks in the off position and will randomly shut the computer down. Do not buy. Toshiba will not help you fix the problem.

HP Envy dv7-7238nr 17.3-Inch Laptop Review

Customer Ratings:

I initially ordered this laptop after some research and finding that while some reviews exist for the base model of this laptop, none address this particular model/version. The laptop arrived in perfect condition, Amazon packed it well inside the shipping box and the product box from HP was extremely well designed. Though small this box was made for shipping! All the parts were secured well in place and the laptop itself was surrounded by custom designed foam pieces that ensured it would not be damaged in transit and any drops/bumps would be very well absorbed. When you first open the box you will be welcomed by a quick start guide, which I always find very handle about the fastest way to get me up and running without having to read the entire manual. Also enclosed was the laptop, the battery, and charger. Simple and straight-forward..perfect.

Upon installing the battery, plugging in the laptop and booting, I was welcomed by the Windows 8 setup screen, and the process went very smoothly until it was almost complete (approx 2 minutes) at which point it encountered a setup error and stated that it had to completely restart and try again. While discouraging, I watched as it seemed to fix itself and restart the setup, again asking for my information but this time setup went off without a hitch. If this happens to you, don't worry, as it will end up fixing itself and I have read that other versions of HP Laptops have this same issue.

Aside from the setup error, everything on this laptop is working well and exactly how it should. It's very quiet and well put together. Everything is solid and to this point I haven't had any issues whatsoever once up and running. This laptop, like all HP Laptops comes preloaded with a bunch of trial software games, most of which the typical user won't use and it was the first thing I uninstalled, however all manufacturers are doing this these days, so it should be expected.

A few additional features to note: This laptop does have a little bit slower processor, but it should be noted that it's a quad core, so don't let the slower listed speed deter you, as it essentially has 4 of them. This particular version of the laptop comes with 6gigs of RAM, which is awesome because these days, most manufacturers only put in the smallest amount possible. Additionally, one of my favorite features of this laptop is that it does have the fingerprint reader just below the 10 key pad, which allows you to program your fingerprint, any finger you choose or multiples, and use that as a "one-key" style access to both your Windows password as well as other passwords for websites that you go to, such as your e-mail or banking. Instead of logging in, you just go to the login page as you normally would, and just swipe your finger over the reader. Immediately it confirms your fingerprint, enters your login and password as you initially programmed it, and wah-lah, your're in like flynn!

All things considered, I would highly recommend this laptop to both friends and family. It's fast, does an awesome job of quickly loading apps and requires virtually no effort to use. One download I would also recommend to install (if you love Windows 7 and were just forced to come to Windows 8, as it's preinstalled) is called Start8. A quick Google search will bring it up and it will give you a start button again as well as a start menu in the bottom right corner.

I have only had this laptop for a short time, but I will update this review if I have any issues! However, in my opinion and research a must buy at an insanely reasonable price!

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I previously had a DV7 pavilion which i gave to family member (never had any issue with it) and looked for a new system so choose this one.

The system so far is quite fast with great sound (first system with beats sound, most new laptops sound quality is so poor).

The system does not feel or look cheap and the screen viewing is good (not great because it ships with an auto adjusting brightness which is annoying, but easily changed)

Most people are complaining about windows eight look and usage. While i agree that for most if not all windows 7 and earlier users there is a learning\ adaption curve but in my humble opinion windows eight it is actually better and has a lot more features.

I still do not like some of the pre-installed software that HP systems in general come with but once again they can be uninstalled easily.

Overall this system so far has impressed me in performance, and I am still learning more features of windows 8 that are delightful. I have tested a few games like World of Warcraft MOP, Diablo 3 and Crysis 3 and all played surprisingly well on very high or max settings.

Best Deals for HP Envy dv7-7238nr 17.3-Inch Laptop

Hp simple-pass is fantastic. Brushed-aluminum case makes this laptop look so cool. The AMD A8 processor with 6 GB is fast enough to do Minecraft game. My kids, Minecraft manias, like this computer very much. They told me that this one is faster than my laptop(core i5 second generation with 6gb). One downside is that a unknown(at least for me)brand memory(ram)is installed: ADATA (i've never heard) 4gb + Hynix 2gb. But, in terms of a working condition, No problem.

Honest reviews on HP Envy dv7-7238nr 17.3-Inch Laptop

Overall, this laptop is pretty good. It's fast, quiet, and cool (even during a video encoding for 10 minutes with 100% CPU utilization).

I haven't found many pieces of software I'd call "crapware". I've only uninstalled Norton Security software.

The fingerprint processor is fast and very convenient.

The sound quality is wonderful: rich sound and very loud. I will not need external speakers even if I want to use the laptop for entertaining a small party of friends.

There's one thing I HATE: the damn touchpad doesn't process single taps well. It often ignores them and also jerks the mouse cursor around during the taps. I've recently updated the driver for it from the HP site, but that didn't fix the problem. I will report this to HP and will wait for a resolution.

Another thing that bothers me: this seems to be similar to what Aphex242 has reported here. I can't seem to have my older HP laptop and this one connect to my network wirelessly at the same without a period of time of disconnection. When one or another tries to connect to the router (CISCO), the one that was being connected loses its connection. And my Comcast modem loses its connection to the network. After 2 3 minutes, the connection gets restored, and both computers become able to be connected to the net.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Envy dv7-7238nr 17.3-Inch Laptop

Delivery was upgraded to Overnight, although there would have been no charge for two day ( Prime). Arrived with no damage. I say "it depends on what you pay" for this laptop, because it's just not worth over $550.00. The AMD processor is a quad core, but the "speed equivalency" of this quad core processor is about that of an Intel Core i3, although the core i3 will probably come with Intel 4000 series built on graphics(new and improved integrated graphics), while this HP model's AMD RadeonHD 7640G is rather weak. And, no, I am not trying to play medium or high power games, but this Radeon and 17" display looks rather washed out, color wise, in comparison with Lenovo's equivalently priced 17" laptop. The very glossy glass on the 17" display is extremely reflective, so a partially darkened room is recommended.

Battery life? You're not really looking for any decent battery life for this, are you? This laptop should be considered a desktop replacement, and nothing else!

The Optical Drive is very fragile/flimsy! IT does not slide in and out very easily, so you must be careful when opening and closing the DVD Drive.

The keyboard, while including a keypad, is not nearly as easy to type on as the full "travel" keyboards on higher priced laptop models. One bright spot on this model is the sound: superb Beats audio.

Another area where competing laptops in this class fall short: most have 10/100 wired ethernet ( RJ-45) only, however this model does include the wireless a/b/g/n standards, and it also includes 10/100/1000 ( gigibit) ethernet port.

The hard drive speed is 5400rpm, so if you can find an equivalent laptop with a 7200rpm Hard Drive included, I would opt for it, as it will affect the general speed of the notebook ( boot times, hard drive I/O times, etc).

This model comes with 1-2GB module and 1-4GB module, for a total of 6GB memory. The maximum memory is 16GB ( two slots available). Now, If you go to the Kingston site, the configuration info for this model advises that in order to run in DUAL CHANNEL MODE (faster), memory must be installed in PAIRS To go to the max: 16Gb with two 8GB modules, will as of this writing, cost a little over $100. The installation of two 8GB modules was one of the easiest memory upgrades I have ever done ( and I have done over 200 laptop/desktop memory upgrades in the past 5 years). The bottom door is secured with one screw. Once it is loosened, the door slides a bit, and its OFF.

Another note: this comes with Windows 8, so be forewarned! No downgrade options are offered. And, make your "recovery disc" set as soon as the OS loads and is usable! Personally, the Windows 8 "tiles" paradigm does not work for me, so I loaded START 8, as a desktop replacement for Windows 8 ( 30 day trial, $4.99 to buy). Makes dealing with Windows 8 much easier: you can then get used to, and learn it at your own pace.

To sum up, this Hp Envy 17" screen model is an OK value for under $550. I would have given it another star if the price was closer to $500...and one more star for every $50.00 below that price, just for value. It will handle Adobe, and other Office applications with no problem...my wife plays Minecraft mainly with this one, and she loves it for that. IMHO, the graphics capability could be better, and the colors more vibrant, but, hey, thats me! I am more used to the Intel 4000 graphic series built in video, but at this pricepoint, PC vendors make it extremely difficult to get the decent graphics, fast ( 7200 RPM) hard drive along with gigabit wired ethernet and a 17" screen on a single laptop. The major obtacle to better performance for this midel is definitely the SLOW HARD DRIVE. If you are doing a Configure to Order on the HP site( or ANY manufacturer's site for that matter), regardless of what model you choose, ALWAYS opt for the 7200RPM hard drive.

If you can get this model for $500 or under, bump this review to 4 stars! Consider the extended warranty!

Best ASUS Zenbook UX301LA-DH51T 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Blue) Deals

Customer Ratings:

It took 3 generations but Asus has finally fixed all the problems and perfected their Zenbook line.

-This thing is unbelievably well constructed, everything FEELS as solid as it should given its price.

-The touchpad works great

-The keyboard is backlit and the keys even register corner presses

-The screen, besides being 1440p, is also extremely bright, which somewhat makes up for the glossy screen required by the inclusion of a touch screen

-The haswell processor has apparently increased the battery life significantly over the previous generations.

In addition to all of the above, this thing is literally the most beautiful device I have ever seen and since everything visible is covered in Gorilla Glass 3, that isn't likely to change as its unlikely that a laptop will encounter sand, which is the only common thing that will scratch GG3.

If you have the money, there are no compromises made with this laptop(except for high end gaming due to lack of discrete video card) as long as you are willing to wipe it down with the included giant lens cloth every once in a while to keep it looking pristine.

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I was looking for a windows ultrabook to rival the MacBook Air and this is it.

On the positive side it is very light and thin, screen is high resolution, the keyboard is amazing, long battery life, fast processor and storage.

The only real negative is that the case is a fingerprint magnet.

I compared the asus to all leading options and found this to be the best of the lot.

Review of Lenovo ThinkPad T61 7658 Notebook

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Great reliability, tough, fast, workhorse, but on my third set of NEW hinges (they last about 3-6 months max before they start to become wobbly bad design, every one of these I've played with has the same crappy hinge problem).

I like being able to swap out the memory, hard drive, keyboard easily by yourself. Since Lenovo took these over from IBM, the quality has been going down, but this one is still nicely made (again, except the damn hinges!)

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I reviewed the Lenovo 3000 N200 Lenovo 3000 N200 0769 Celeron M 540 / 1.86 GHz RAM 512 MB HDD 80 GB CD-RW / DVD GMA X3100 WLAN : 802.11b/g TPM fingerprint reader Vista Home Basic 15.4" Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) Microsoft Office Ready when I bought it earlier this year after my HP died. I had always been a big fan of the IBM Thinkpads and hoped that the 3000 N200 would be an economical replacement. Proving that you get what you pay for, I was very disappointed. I have subsequently wiped the N200 clean of Vista, installed Windows XP and gave it to my son. It works MUCH better under XP -much faster.

I had always wanted to get the T61 because... well, I like thinkpads. I like the feel of the keyboard. Their displays are crisp and beautiful and the build is solid and durable. But at the time, my budget just wouldn't allow it. But after a few months, I was finally in a position to upgrade.

I was a little hesitant since all my experience with Thinkpads had been while they were still being made by IBM. After my disappointment with the 3000 N200, I was concerned that the poor quality was indicative of Lenovo rather than just the model. But I decided to give the T61 a shot because frankly, all of the other brands out there (...cough... HP.... cough) are known failures that I had to try.

I'm VERY happy to say that the T61 is NEARLY as good as the IBM Thinkpad counterparts. The look and feel are still nearly the same. The display is probably the most similar to the old IBM thinkpads. The speed and all the Lenovo support features are excellent making recovery in the case of catastrophic virus infestation etc a breeze.

What isn't QUITE the same (and the reason I knocked a star off my rating) are a few relatively minor quibbles compared to the old Thinkpads. The keyboard doesn't feel quite as solid as I would like. The touchpad is smaller than usual -even smaller than the 3000 N200 (the one feature of that model that I actually prefer). In addition, the edge of the touchpad is very "prominent" so it is annoying when your finger is constantly bumping up against it. The case isn't quite as pleasing from a "tactile" perspective -it feels more plasticy. And finally, the finger print reader is not as good as the 3000 N200.

However, I can tell that the build quality of this system is substantially better than the lower priced models. In addition, it doesn't have the annoying "shiney" display which the 3000 N200 has and it runs MUCH quieter and cooler than the 3000 N200.

All in all, this isn't IBM's thinkpad but it is far superior to any laptop on the market today in terms of quality and it is truly worth the money.

BTW, my T61 came preloaded with Vista. I have subsequently come to the conclusion that XP is truly a better OS in terms of speed and reliability. Unless you can afford the extra 300-500 for 3gb of memory, "downgrade" to XP. Otherwise, you might as well stick with a used T41.

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Let me tell you a story. A great many years ago, I had an IBM T30. That thing was a tank. It got dropped, battered, and abused. At one point it even flew out of a bicycle toddler trailer and into the middle of a road with very minimal damage. After the life that thing lived in my care, I sold it to a friend, who abused it for 5 more years before the motherboard gave up.

After that machine, I was sold on Thinkpads, and I saved up to custom build a T61. I ordered mine direct from Lenovo and had it customized... 4GBs of RAM, nVidia graphics, Windows XP.. Later on, I put a 500GB hard drive in it and Windows 7.

Lenovo carried on IBM's legacy with the Thinkpads. The quality on this unit is fantastic.

The casing is solid and reliable, all of the components are incredibly reliable. I've never had an issue with my T61.

This thing has been taken all over, dropped, stepped on, and battered. And it's taken all of this abuse with just one little piece of plastic breaking off. The lid hinges are solid stainless steel, the top is solid magnesium, the bottom is thick rugged plastic. This is one well built laptop.

The nVidia NVS Quadro graphics used to be able to play most games with ease. The most modern of games tax it pretty heavily though. Considering it's a business laptop and not really a gaming one, this is pretty good.

All features work well on it, including the kinda gimmicy keyboard light, which actually is quite helpful in the dark. Parts are readilly availble for it as well, so it's an easy machine to fix.

Lenovo's support is second to none. After reinstalling Windows on this machine, the only thing you need to download is the Lenovo update utility and it will take care of the rest. Never seen another manufacture do that!

The only things I've really had issue with is the power supply, which failed on me after a couple of years, and the sound card, which, like most modern systems, is this little Realtek thing that sounds terrible.

But, those are my only real complaints. This poor laptop has been through a lot, and it's been a tough little beast.

I would recommend this product.

Honest reviews on Lenovo ThinkPad T61 7658 Notebook

I did not buy this laptop through Amazon but I wanted to share my thoughts here. I'm a poor counselor, living from paycheck to paycheck in highest-in-the-nation-cost-of-living state of Hawaii, and in college working toward my MSW. I needed a robust laptop to put up with college/work/personal life so I bought this T61 from a refurbisher for $130. It came with Win7, 80GB HDD, 2GB RAM and integrated graphics. Key tops were half-worn on the Home row and the LCD is wobbly from worn hinges. When closed, there is still a bit of play with the lid not latching down tightly. 6 years of existence and the laptop does creak a little on sides. I'm not complaining as this is a used T61 and I didn't expect roses.

I upgraded the HDD and RAM and installed Windows 8. The T61 boots/runs faster with all the upgrades. The non-glare LCD is easy on the eyes, although dimmer than other non-glare LCD's I've seen (this is likely not due to age, since I read similar comments written back in 2007 when the T61 was first released). The touchpad is the smallest I've ever come across on any laptop and took me a while to get accustomed to. The T61's Trackpoint is a relic from the 1990s and I feel is outdated as a mouse control device and useless like a human appendix or a vestigal tail is. Lenovo still insisted to include it (and still does to this day) apparently to keep Trackpoint fans happy. The keyboard is louder/noiser and less firm than other keyboards I've used on other business/professional-grade laptops; however perfectly usable and comfortable to type on happily for hours without fatigue. Speakers aren't loud; a bit tinny to my ears but clear. The LCD lid's rubber coating mars easily but is easily cleaned up with a wiping of Windex. Contrary to another review written here, the lid itself is not solid magnesium: instead, it is a composite plastic (not carbon fiber) over a magnesium frame. Its construction still does the job in keeping it solid and near-flexible. The T61 is of the "thin-and-light" category when "thin-and-light" was defined at around 4-5lbs (the weight of this T61 is 5.2lbs with the stock batt). I got a new 7800mah batt off Amazon.com ($25) which bumps the weight up past 6lbs. Thin, yes. Light? No.

Incidentally, batt life is 9+ hours with this new 7800mah batt under Win8 and in Power Saver mode, wifi off, and LCD dimmed to 50%.

My T61 is good, solid-feeling (and solid-looking) laptop. Everything just works. The T61's early-1990's conservative looks, severely angular lines and all-black color make it look either 20+ years old or modern and contemporary, depending on who's eyeing it (I just think it looks "classic"). Other resellers sell T61's with better specs for up to $400 (and likely in better condition than mine) but I'm happy with the one I got and the price I paid for it. //

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The T61 is too hot to handle. Since it was new, the laptop is too hot to put on your lap and becomes very uncomfortable to even lay your palms on it while typing. It inadvertently goes into sleep mode at the most inoportune times due to overheating. I read some of the posts on the web and they suggest cleaning the air intake. However, I doubt it was clogged when I bought it new and it ran very hot then. It is so hot, you cannot consider this a laptop as you couldn't possible keep it on your lap. Makes it very difficult to use.