Discount HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $849.99
Sale Price: $729.87
Today's Bonus: 14% Off

Screen: My last laptop was a late 2011 macbook pro. Other reviews are saying that the screen is bad and some are saying it's good. Compared to the screen on the macbook it's worse. The screen isn't terrible but it isn't going to win any awards.

Keyboard: The keyboard layout is similar to the mac. The keys light up but don't change intensity. The backspace key doesn't quite fit right. Depending on the angle you type at you may notice it when typing.

Processing: I don't know why other reviews say this laptop is only for light workloads. This i5 processor in this laptop is fully capable of heavy workloads. It can run super pi 1 mb faster than an AMD FX-8320 desktop processor. On more realistic tests its about the same as the mobile AMD A10 processors. Power usage however is much lower for the i5 compared to either processor.

Graphics: The integrated graphics in the Ivy-Bridge processors is amazing. Its no graphics card but for the efficiency its perfect.

Sound: The beats audio isn't meant to blow you away. The main benefit is the sound card driver for beats audio is not the speakers itself. With beats audio the sound quality with headphones is great!

Build/Design: This laptop is built really well. HP did a great job on the design. It's small and lightweight while not feeling cheap or sacrificing on battery. (Actually battery life is around 5-6 hours depending on usage and after removing all of HP's bloatware) The black aluminum looks really cool as long as it's clean. This thing attracts shows smudges and lint more than anything I've ever seen.

To help the washed out look of the screen try the following:

1. Right click on the desktop

2. Select "Graphics Properties"

3. Display/Color Enhancement

4. Use the sliders to change:

a. Brightness 10

b. Contrast 45

c. Gamma 0.8

d. Saturation 5

5. Apply

This does reduce overall brightness but you will get much darker blacks and a wider range of color differences. Gradients appear much better and text is much more clear.

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The fit/finish of the laptop is amazing. Very solid, reminds me of my Macbook Pro. Has all the ports I was looking for including gigabit Ethernet. (Excluded on the XPS 13 and why I choose HP) Boot times are the fastest I've seen in any laptop thanks to Windows 8 and the hybrid SSD drive. 10 seconds and your ready to launch applications.

So why only 3 stars? The Screen.... After you get over the lovely fit/finish and start the laptop your greeted to a screen with noticeable back-light bleed. Blacks appear grey and the viewing angle is extremely limited. This screen belongs on a $350 Black Friday special not an "Envy". If you can keep your angle just right the screen looks decent but having used far better screens on laptops 3-4 years older I was very disappointed. It's also worth noting the only thing inspired by the "Beats" logo is the paint. Expect below average sound from the built in speakers.

Best Deals for HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black)

This is a very elegant and very useful for those who don't need a computer that performs heavy tasks and uses heavy programs. Windows 8 is complicated but it's matter of time for you to get used to it. This windows is really fast, actually when you turn it on it takes only 10-11 seconds to get ready for start using the computer. I agree with the other customer that says that there's no problem with the screen; despite it is a glossy screen the colors are so vivid and you can see it perfectly from any angle, it's quality is great not cheap as others said. The price was worth it, I would recommend it highly for students and people who needs it for light tasks. It's weigh is ridiculously light and I like the soft color red base it has. The beats audio is impressive for an audio system of a computer, it also has the option of configurate the audio for a best hearing experience. There's a concern I have is the response of the touch pad because not always senses when you click to open something or when clicking a button but you will get used to click a little more harder for it to response. In the other features I am more than happy with this computer. Also I don't like very much that it catches fingerprints very fast but this doesn't affect the real functionality of a computer.

To conclude, this computer has a great outer design, great beats audio, really light weigh and it's incredibly fast at everything. It has a few flaws but it doesn't affect the computer's performance. I recommend it!

Honest reviews on HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black)

I've searched for a couple of months, to find another slim and light laptop with equivalent power and options as this model, and nothing has equaled or surpassed this Envy 4 1130us. In short, it's the best value machine at this price point.

Just look up the Win 7 version of this model, here on Amazon (Envy 4 1030us), and you'll find that it is an identical machine, only with 2 gigs less ram, and it sells for $100+ more.

So let's get to the important facts about this machine.

POWER & SPEED.

The combination of the Intel i5's power and the SSD and 500 gig hard drive RAID array, along with the much improved Windows 8 mass storage controllers, makes this machine blistering fast. Bear in mind that just like any other brand or model of new laptop, it has to be tweaked to perform as it should (tweaking will have to be covered later or this review will be a mile long).

I repair and tweak computers, day in day out and this is the fastest one I've had my hands on, except a Windows 7, $1,300 Dell XPS laptop that had an Intel i7 and a big SSD. I don't have it next to me to compare, but that would be the only machine that may have equaled or surpassed this one for performance.

SCREEN.

The screen is fine. Those who are complaining about it are expecting more than you can get at this price point. If you'd like the image to be even crisper and sharper, there are a few adjustments that can be made. (I may add those details as a PS at the end)

CONSTRUCTION.

Those who complained about poor construction, must have received defective models. The construction of this model is nothing less than superb. The only complaint is that fingerprints stick to it and it means that you'll have to wipe it down everyday, with a damp cotton cloth. The brushed aluminum build is fantastic and makes for a very solid machine.

KEYBOARD.

Everybody has an opinion as to what constitutes the perfect keyboard, so all I can say is that it is clearly a superior keyboard and that having the backlit feature is huge, for those folks who are not real typists, and need to see the keys to be able to type properly.

TOUCHPAD.

If you understand that this touchpad is set to work as if it were part of a touchscreen, thus scrolling up becomes down and vice versa, then you'll quickly get used to it and will soon agree that it is one of the very best on the market.

WINDOWS 8,

For those who don't already know it, Win 8 can be made to look and function just like 7, by downloading Start Menu 8 from iobit, then disabling all the charms bars and hot corners. It's only natural that I/you/we would want it to work like 7, as this model doesn't have a touchscreen, so why in the world would we want to use Win 8's new touchscreen interface (often known as Metro apps). Other than some graphics differences, it's so identical to Win 7 after the tweak mentioned above, that to the untrained eye, you wouldn't even know that it wasn't a Win 7 machine.

BATTERY LIFE.

It's simply amazing. Right now, I'm at 84% remaining battery power and the time estimate is at 5 hours and 14 minutes. I could turn down the brightness, to squeeze out some more, but it is already good for 6 hours plus, set the way it is (don't forget that this machine is well tweaked, so brand new out of the box, the battery life won't be quite as good).

HEAT.

It can produce a minor amount of heat at the back where the air exhausts. Laying the sides on each one of my legs, is 100% comfortable on battery. If you have it plugged in and it's charging, it will get warmer and may be a wee bit uncomfortable.

This laptop must NOT be used on material like cloth, a bed, a towel, etc, that can block the air intake from the bottom. If you need to use it in such a location, prop it up a bit with something.

WIFI.

I have never seen a laptop with better reception, nor one that can download as fast. If I go to a given website to download a file with any of my other computers, they download at approx. half the speed than this one does. I haven't investigated why this is, but suffice to say that it is better than what is normally included in a laptop.

All the features have been mentioned, so there's no reason to go over them again.

It's a simple mathematical equation. Does this machine give you more than similar ones at this price point? YES!

Is it super fast? Darn right it is!

Is the battery life good? It's superb!

How good is the Wifi? Beyond your expectations!

Is it well built? It's fantastic!

Is it a good looking machine? It's as handsome a laptop as I have ever seen!

Would it satisfy any normal user? Absolutely!

________________________________________________

Here are the settings that make for a sharper image on this laptop.

I found them somewhere on the internet and noted them down, then both my friend and I used them on our Ultrabooks (we both have the same machine) and we both feel that the results are excellent.

You may or may not agree and if they don't suit you, you can reset them back to their default settings.

Right click on the desktop and select "Graphics Properties".

In the subsequent window, select "Advanced Mode" then hit OK.

In the next windows, select "Color Enhancement", then set the Brightness to -20. the Contrast to 51 and the Gamma to 0.9 and leave the other two untouched.

You will find that the brightness is slightly diminished, but that the image is much more "real".

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Envy 4-1130us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black)

Everything is good except the screen. I'll not comment on other features because all of them function so far so good.

I have a HP G7 which screen has resolution 1600x900. So comparing with this (1366 x 768) I feel the Ultrabook is not better or even worse than the G7 regarding the screen. This Ultrabook is beautiful but the screen is disappointing. Currently $750 ultrabook is not as cheap as the others with better config but at the same price level.

The previous reviewer said the screen looks bleeding (too much red). It is true but the color can be calibrated (Personalize->Display->Calibrate Color). The color should have been calibrated properly when come out of factory. As he said the view angle is bad. I believe HP chose the cheapest screen on the market.

Update:

Comparing to other same kind of ultrabooks this design is attractive. Very good look&feel on real product.

What I disagree with the previous reviewer is that the beats audio is impressive. It is loud and has deep base although it is not a professional audio system which you cannot expect on a laptop.

The keyboard and touch panel are quite good quiet and responsive.

Discount Lenovo G570 4334EAU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:

The setup:

I normally use a Toshiba L755, which I love. However, due to circumstances nothing short of disastrous, it required repairs I couldn't manage myself. These took FOREVER. I needed a computer in a hurry, and my only option was to buy a new, inexpensive one. This is the model I chose.

The beginning:

When I opened the box, I was pleasantly surprised. The computer feels very well made, more so in fact than the Toshiba. First, I upgraded the memory to 8GB, which was easily done. I plugged it in, turned it on, and started the lengthy update process necessary to keep Windows happy. It completed without error. I then set about installing the software I planned to use, and expunging the bloatware, which was less than came with the L755. Heartened that this might mean there would be no teething problems, I then went to work.

The muddle:

Though not as fast, everything appeared well... at first. This did not last long.

I burn a lot of DVDs. Instructional videos, Youtube videos, home movies, work videos, etc. the quality of these is very important to me. Those I created with the G570 were a DISASTER. They locked up. They skipped. They refused to play. I was furious.

I thought Lenovo had been saving money, putting a cheap DVD burner in my machine. I upgraded to a Samsung SE-208BB, which was simple, as Lenovo clearly has thought about ease of service. This improved things a bit. Discs no longer refused to play or locked up. However, they still skipped. Fighting my desire to find a fireaxe, I then turned my attention to Windows.

I burn discs using Windows all the time. It's easy, fast, and the best programmes for burning are FREE. I know my software well, and knew I wasn't at fault. So, I started tweaking.

Nothing helped. Days and DOZENS of ruined discs later, I was far behind, and entertaining dire thoughts about 'bargain' equipment. Then I had an Idea.

The end :

I upgraded the HDD to a 750GB WD Blue. This was easy. then I popped a Ubuntu 12.04 CD in the tray, and booted to CD. I whizzed through the Install/update cycle, added the equivalent programmes, held my breath, and set to work.

POOF! Problems solved! No skippy discs, no popups begging me to 'pleasepleaseplease buy our ', no 'reduced functionality' versions of software. All was right with the world!

Wait... why isn't the BATTERY charging?!

I GIVE UP

More when I figure out what the HELL is wrong this time.

UPDATE 25 Sep, 2012:

There IS a way to keep the battery at full charge in Ubuntu!

BEFORE YOU INSTALL UBUNTU!!!: Charge the battery fully, turn OFF all LENOVO ENERGY MANAGEMENT features, even those under the 'advanced' tab, then restart the computer. Leave the laptop plugged in whilst you install and update Ububntu. Restart the computer. It should now keep the battery topped up. At least, it has for me.

There remains NO WAY to burn an acceptable DVD under Windows7.

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So far, very impressed. Fast, responsive. Like the non-top heavy lid. Keypad feel awesome, set up easy and complete walk through.

Best Deals for Lenovo G570 4334EAU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I bought this laptop on May 2011. 5 months later the left hinge came apart. It was fixed under warranty. On October 2012 the left hinge came apart again even though this laptop is handled carefully. Local Lenovo lab says they can't do anything but fix it if I pay for it. Google revealed it is a known failure. Lenovo still refuses to fix it again. Cars are fixed under recall years after warranty expires. I expect Lenovo to do the same. Meanwhile, I offer not to buy Lenovo.

Lenovo G570 4334EAU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Honest reviews on Lenovo G570 4334EAU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I purchased the Lenovo G570 for my daughter to use in college. After reading several reviews, I thought it would be a great and affordable computer for her. Was I ever wrong! How I overlooked all the bad reviews, I don't know.

Go to the Lenovo forum at: to see for yourself.

Essentially the problem is that repeated opening and closing of the lid causes internal parts to break. Many people have this occur within the first five months of owning the computer. My daughter treats her laptop gently and so it didn't start happening to her laptop until at about seven months.

Most people on the forum have had Lenovo refuse to repair it under warranty. The best solution I've read thus far is to disassemble the computer and then glue the hinges on with epoxy! We're still trying to figure out what to do.

Other than this problem, my daughter loves her laptop. However, if you don't intend to leave your laptop open all the time, I'd recommend you look elsewhere.

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Couldn't have been happier with the overall buying and setup experience of this PC. Came from amazon with a very clean operating setup, and lenovo's boot optimizer is an excellent feature.

Would have bought a 14" unit purely out of preference and habit, the offset touchpad and placement of ancilliary keys seems odd compared to every other PC we have.

...but that was all ok.. until the screen hinge levered the case of this PC open at the left rear corner as it sits in your lap. Really? It's called a laptop. People, you know, set them in their laps to type with the screen open. So, that hinge should be,, um, at least vaguely sturdy!! #fail.

Cheap Samsung NP900X3A-A05 13.3-Inch Notebook - Black

Customer Ratings:

I ordered this on Aug. 29th in the late evening, and it arrived by noon on the 31st, so I was very pleased with the speedy delivery. I'll start with the box it came in. I know, it's just a box, but it reminded me of the kind fine silverware comes in--heavy duty but beautiful.

The actual laptop is like a work of art, it's so elegant. It feels incredibly solid. You'd think being so thin, it would feel flimsy, but it doesn't.

I plugged it in and booted it up. The installation process was quick and seamless. I'd had worries about the Wi-fi because reviews on the i5 version showed many complaints of it not connecting. I had no issues whatsoever. I entered my security code and it connected immediately. In fact, it's picking it up better than my previous netbook ever did.

The keyboard has a great solid feel and after two years of using a 10inch netbook, this feels so much better. I hadn't realized how cramped my hands had been on the netbook until using this. The keys also don't click as loudly as on the netbook, so my husband will be glad for that. The backlight is awesome! It was one of the reasons I went with this over a MBA (although I heard the latest MBA now has backlight again?). I thought I'd only appreciate the backlight when using the computer in a dark room, but even in our regular evening lighting, it stood out and made the keyboard easier to navigate.

I also worried about the touchpad. I'd read that people were having issues with brushing against it and the cursor jumping. I've had no problems so far. I spent an hour and a half writing last night. I think it happened once, but I'm still getting used to the larger keyboard. I don't anticipate it happening often.

As far as scrolling with the touchpad, other than the normal learning curve with any computer, I haven't had problems. (I used my sister's Mac a few times and hated the single button. It felt backwards to me.)

Everything opens up extremely fast. Click on a page, and boom, it's open. I tend to open lots of tabs while browsing, which often led to my netbook crying for mercy, but last night, despite having many open as I sorted through my favorites, the 12th page opened as quickly as the first one.

I do have a couple of issues, though, as great as I think this laptop is. The biggest is the pin for the charger. It seems very loose in the computer. It doesn't ever feel like it's in there solidly. A few times, just in normal movement while sitting down, the pin loosened just enough that the laptop was no longer charging. I had to give it a little wiggle to make it charge again.

I had the same issue with plugging in earbuds. If the prong isn't sitting *just* right in the port, it doesn't work well. Sounds like the music is on super low volume. I had re-insert the prong a few times to get it seated right. I hope these issues, especially with the charger, don't turn into major problems. Since at the moment, they seem to work as long as I'm careful when plugging in those items, I leave my rating at five stars.

My only other issue is that the front edge of the computer is somewhat sharp. It hits my forearms a few inches up from the wrist as I'm typing. I hope I get used to it because my main purpose for this laptop is writing.

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I must say, the last few days waiting for it to arrive I have been stressing out about the wireless issue. I also was having second thoughts about the lower resolution vs the zenbook. Well, I can say that it has arrived, and it is a wonderful laptop with none of the problems i had read about on the internet. Wireless is great, or atleast just as good as the other two computers in the house, about 18mps up and 5mps down, this is because my router is only wireless g. I had read about the the power plug being loose and falling out, mine snaps in with a solid snap and stays put just like it should. Resolution is fine, a little more would be great but really, its fine. I bought two usb vga cards and have replaced my desktop workstation with this laptop running 2 panels + the laptop screen. I also used the Windows Any Time Upgrade to move to Windows Professional 64, this also went without a hitch and took about 10 minutes to complete. This laptop is extremely fast, its a joy to work on. I have 8GB of 1600mhz HyperX RAM coming tomorrow, that should put a bow on it. I have SQL Server, ORACLE and office apps loaded with no performance issues, will be loading Visual Studio this weekend.

All I can say is that I'm either one of the lucky ones, or more likely, Samsung has listened to the user base and made the necessary corrections to make this laptop the truly extraordinary geek tool it should have been from the start.

UPDATE I just installed the 8GB of HyperX 1600mhz RAM. Went without a hitch. Those of you thinking that you cannot upgrade the memory on a Samsung 9, dont worry, its a piece of cake. 10 screws on the back and your in, its about a 15 minute job. The 1600mhz memory had a dramatic effect on my Windows experience score:

Processor 6.2 to 6.2

RAM 7.1 to 7.4

Graphics 4.7 to 5.9

Gaming Gfx 5.9 to 6.1

Hard Disk 7.6 to 7.6

I LOVE THIS LAPTOP!!!!!!!

Best Deals for Samsung NP900X3A-A05 13.3-Inch Notebook - Black

I have never been a Mac fan (just couldn't get along with them plus don't like the whole "Mac is allmighty and if you own anything else you must be a dork" scene) and so I was very dubious about getting a Mac Book Air but that was the only machine that seemed to fit my needs. I then discovered and have just bought the Samsung series 9 (with the i-7 processor and larger SSD) and I am enthralled with it. It looks so cool, it's feather light, the screen and keyboard are a dream and it it's really fast too. I must say that I was somewhat in trepidation about the many reported wifi problems and sad to say, I experienced them too. However, after searching around for about 20 minutes and finding much conflicting advice from many very frustrated users I came accross a review on Amazon that advised changing the default power management settings in the wifi section from minimize power usage to maximize performance (when on battery) and voila, problem totally solved. In fact I had noticed that at certain times the wifi was fine but hadn't "joined the dots" and workrd out (duh?) that it was fine on mains power but awful on battery power. This "fix" took me all of 30 seconds to accomplish. OK, I may suffer a bit in terms of battery life but the wifi can be turned off with one keystroke when you don't need it or can't use it such as on an airplane and that is really when you need the battery the most anyway. Admittedy I have owned this machne for less than a week but in that time I have played around with it a lot (as you do with new toys) and I have no complaints at all and have not suffered any of the issues related to keyboard backlighting, touch pad performance and so forth mentioned in other reviews of this or similar models. Yes, it is a fingerprint magnet but ho-hum I can clean it with the (supplied) cloth every so often can't I? As far as the comment in another review I read about the warranty period I agree that when you register with Samsung the website states a 1 year warranty with a three month extension for registering but a large removable flashy metallic sticker on the front of the machine stated at the very top "3 Years Warranty" so I have no reason to doubt the veracity of that claim (I did keep the sticker though "just in case"). No doubt in time I may find some irritations that I am not aware of right now but first impressions are lasting and this unit is everything I wanted / expected and more right now even considering the relatively scary price tag. Nice to see somebody giving Apple a run for their money at last.

Good job Samsung!

Honest reviews on Samsung NP900X3A-A05 13.3-Inch Notebook - Black

I've never had such poor support from a company of this size. I registered the laptop and the samsung site said I'd get 3 extra months of warranty for registering it. However, my account shows only ONE year of warranty when all documentation with this says it has a 3 year warranty. I tried to email support this laptop isn't listed in the available models! They don't tie my email to my account at all so they can't get the model from my account. You can't email support without selecting a model, but this one is not listed. The support "FAQ" they have is mostly unanswered questions! The ones that are answered are not answered by samsung reps! You can ask a question, but it likely won't be answered and, if it is, it'll won't be from samsung. When I turn the laptop on in a dark room, the keyboard backlight doesn't come on! If I try to turn it on with the fn keys I get the message "since the surrounding illumination is bright, the keyboard backlight cannot be adjusted" but the room is dark! There are no detailed specs anywhere nothing to say what software it comes with, nothing to specify the version of the microSD card, no network adapter info nothing but marketing. I have an intel wifi card and haven't had wifi problems. It's a product with no support, no technical info, buggy backlight, and I guess the 3 year warranty is just a lie.

UPDATE: I'd done a quick test of the wifi and thought it worked OK, but now that I try to actually use it I realize it's useless. It won't hold a connection at all. I had to buy a USB adapter. That stinks.

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I've had this laptop for several weeks now. First the good; it is a really good looking laptop w/ a nice screen, the back lit keyboard is great, it boots/resumes very fast. Now, the not so good, the touch pad is so large that it gets in the way making it much more usable if I disable the touch pad and use an external mouse. Now the REALLY BAD, the wireless card in this laptop is really poor. I wish I had seen this review prior to purchasing the laptop(). At home, this laptop can barely deliver 3Mg down / 1Mg up while my other laptops and desktops get 12Mg/5Mg in the same room. I have the latest Samsung drivers and no amount of fiddling with settings renders anything better.

Too bad that Samsung has delivered a beautiful laptop with such a significant flaw.

Review of HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)

Customer Ratings:

I had have this computer for a month now, so here goes nothing:

Pros:

Excellent design

4GB Ram, enough for most tasks

500GB hard drive, for me that's enough for now

Small size and little weight (even lighter when DVD is removed, which is an excellent feature in itself)

Windows 7 (better than Vista, we'll see about XP)

EXCELLENT PRICE

Cons:

Battery life is about 2 hours, bound to decrease within 6 months, not on par with most other laptops this size.

Touchpad really has a mind of its own on ocassion.

Glossy design is beautiful, but it's also a fingerprint magnet

Opening it is a cumbersome task, not really bad, but a little.

Windows 7 "64bit" Some old programs I use refuse to work in such environment.

All in all a solid laptop, with excellent features (and minor inconveniences), but please, HP, this is my third HP laptop and the batteries have never been your forte. (yet I keep buying HP) DO SOMETHING!

UPDATE: The battery won't last for more than an hour and a half, so I took two stars off my review for this major inconvenience. Sorry to say this, but I no longer recommend this purchase.

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I've owned my computer for almost a week now, and I'm absolutely loving it. For the money I almost bought an Hp with a T6600 processor and 320GB hard drive etc etc. I bought this for the same price as the other hp and got MORE memory and a better processor. Why wouldn't you want an upgrade of 180 GB hard drive for free? If your a student and like to have lots of music, videos and play light gaming and still have tons of room for your homework and projects, this is a great computer.

I also love how its 14" monitor, so I can take it anywhere and fit it into any bag. It has a very sleek and glossy exterior. A little bit of work to keep clean, but that's no reason not to buy a computer. The speakers are great for a laptop. I was actually surprised how clear sounds and music was. As with most HP laptops, you get the lightscribe burner, which is great, but it also comes with a disc replacement thing so if you don't care to use a disc drive, you can remove it and save some weight. But really it doesn't weigh that much.

The only downfall I have with this computer is the slightly low battery life. I think a little bit of that might be my fault cause I just plugged in and played rather than letting the battery charge fully first before I started playing with it.

Great laptop for the price.

Best Deals for HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)

This is a good system to own if you can deal with a few minor annoyances.

Windows 7 works well. Most things are in different places than XP but it's easy to find them.

This system has a basic graphics card. The Windows Experience numbers warn that the Aero interface will be sluggish sometimes, and I definitely feel that's true.

The hard drive impressively large, although not all the 500GB is usable. It is split up into three partitions. One is the system restore partition (since Windows install discs are not included), and one is the quickstart partition (a fast starting non-Windows environment that lets you surf the web and browse your media collection), so the hard drive really has only around 320 mb free when you get it. That's lots for your pictures, videos, music, etc. It's also quite speedy.

4GB RAM standard, which should be more than enough, except that about 1.5 GB are used for the integrated graphics so you only have around 2.5 GB for programs. In the future, when RAM prices come down, I'll be upgrading to 8GB of RAM.

The only ads on the machine are trials of Norton Internet Security 2010 1-User, and Microsoft Office Standard 2007 FULL VERSION, prominent links to HP's accessories store (buy from Amazon instead), an ad for an online backup service, and an icon for one of Amazon's competitors (a Bay Area auction site). Not bad.

I have no problems with overheating here. The touch panel for adjusting volume is very very useful.

Honest reviews on HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)

I did mountains of research before committing to a replacement for my dead Sony (second dead Vaio = end of brand loyalty), and I chose this HP for its performance, value, and seeming sturdiness. The new i3 processor is fantastic and there is plenty of RAM to handle multitasking. I haven't even had to pace myself with my computing whims -I'm downloading, word processing, virus-scanning, and listening to music without worrying about overloading the system. What I like most about this laptop is the big bright display, which for me was important in the switch from 15.4 to 14.1 -nothing else in this price range compares. Finally, the machine is built well compared to others in this price range (I'm looking in your direction Asus and Acer).

Some reviewers have mentioned overheating, and I was apprehensive about this -and after buying I was constantly monitoring the temp to see if a return was in my immediate future. But really it's not so bad, better than my last Sony, and I do believe that having the i3 processor (still blazing fast, mind you) minimizes this problem in this configuration. But if heat is your number one concern, sacrifice more computing power and go for one of the new super-mobile types with the dainty processors. They will stay cooler of course.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this purchase and would recommend this HP laptop to my friends, family, and to all of you!

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I switched from a Mac to this PC, and I'm very glad I did. Windows 7 is pretty great. There's a decent amount of junk software preloaded, but also some useful software (media organizers/ players, etc), and useless but fun games.

Other than that, what's not to like, especially now that it's $50 less than the $700 I paid for it? It's 14", so it's transportable. Has a DVD drive, a ton of memory, is really fast. Multiple programs run easily. Battery lasts about three hours, but can last longer with wireless/ speakers turned off.

In contrast to some negative reviews, I have had zero problems with the computer overheating. The only reasons I can think to not purchase it are if you wanted either Bluetooth or Bluray capabilities directly installed, as it doesn't have either.

EDIT

Everything I said previously was true, but I have altered my rating to take into account the poor lifetime of the laptop. The battery power fell to zero seconds within 12 months, and the cord powering the monitor became defective within 18 months, allowing only certain specific viewing angles, and causing general frustration.

Review of HP 2000-2a20nr 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:

I love this laptop. I work in IT, no I'm not a 20 yr veteran but I know a good pc at a good price when I see it. A couple things I'll say about performance. Boot times seem fast to me, but I'll admit I'm used to my SLOW old laptop. 4g of ram is excellent, PLENTY for a web surfing email type user. So far it is sufficient for mid grade power users in my experience. I was able to run vmware (for those who dont know it's a software that allows you to run multiple operating systems simulatensously in different windows, for example Windows 7 and Windows XP). I have ran an XP virtual machine while working off my Windows 7 pc at the same time. It was very smooth transitioning, I was honestly surprised by this. (Note: I wasn't running demanding applications on the 2 systems.)

I'll admit the second day I bought this I got a shutdown error twice, but I hadn't shutdown incorrectly. This has not happened since, over a week and a half later. For the price it has a good sized monitor, battery life seems good to me but I plugin almost all the time, webcam and mic are nice for skyping. I've never owned a webcam and am very satisfied with the preinstalled software. I am not a hardware expert but I know the processor is decent. Considering my performance has been good I'd say the processor is doing it's job.

I don't do a lot of pc gaming, but I have tried some decent free to play games like Offensive Combat (a google search can find this) and the frame rates are good enough for me. I have not tried anything graphic intensive. I am also an avid musician. That said I have not had time to install Pro Tools or Ableton Live yet, but I will update later with my experience.

The ports are sufficient. I think maybe an extra usb port would be nice but 3 gives me what I need. HDMI port is also a plus. I bought this product from amazon (http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-HDMI-Adapter-Cable-Meters/dp/B001TH7T2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346614854&sr=8-1&keywords=hdmi+to+dvi) and it works great to extend to my external monitor. I use an external hard drive so the 500gb is unnecessary for me, however it is a huge amount of space and would be great for others.

The only other thing I can think to mention for any rookies is that 64bit Windows 7 is the "newest" windows operating system other than Windows 8 which will be released soon. 64bit is "better" than 32 bit. Here's why from microsoft themselves. "The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor (also called a CPU), handles information. The 64-bit version of Windows handles large amounts of random access memory (RAM) more effectively than a 32-bit system." Click start, right click on Computer, select properties: to see what operating system you currently are using.

Have a great day everyone, remember: "Everyday you have some trouble, when you worry you make it double."

** UPDATE: I added a video of me playing bass to give an idea of what this mic/webcam can capture. You can also see an intro fade and maybe 1 or 2 transitions between clips. This is the software I was talking about that comes for the webcam. PLEASE NOTE I AM USING COMPUTER SPEAKERS AND AN EXTERNAL AUDIO INTERFACE TO PLAY THE BASS THROUGH THE COMPUTER. YOU ARE NOT HEARING THE SOUND OF THIS PC'S SPEAKERS.

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First of all, I'm no computer genius. I wanted a laptop that could run Reason which is a music program for producing drums and much more. I was told by two employees from different stores that this laptop would not be able to run it. This is bullshit. Works just fine. And for everyone else looking for a decent computer for cheap, buy it. Is it the fastest laptop? No but it's fast enough. I've had no issues with the internet. I've watched videos and downloaded music with no problems. Any customer service rep out there will tell you that you need the "holy shit" computer to do anything. I promise you that this isn't true. Hope this helps!

Best Deals for HP 2000-2a20nr 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

This laptop is Amazing! It runs very fast, the speaker sound is crisp and clear. I plugged in my external speakers and the sounds great for playing music and videos! Easy to use laptop. Enjoy!

Honest reviews on HP 2000-2a20nr 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

This is a great and affordable laptop. The screen has great resolution. I have no complaints. I highly recommend it.

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So far item meets all expectations. Mainly purchased the computer for online classes and light internet browsing but it has a quick boot up and doesn't seem to lag much when opening various applications.

Review of Dell Latitude D610 Laptop + Windows XP (Microsoft Authorized

Customer Ratings:

Not pleased--after one week of use the laptop's hard drive failed completely and I had to purchase a new hard drive. With the additional costs that went into this unit I could have bought a decent new laptop.

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The computer was OK but had only one USB port which was loose and needed to be tightened before it worked. Only one USB port is not a misrepresentation -but I would think I could assume that one could expect more than one port on a computer like this!

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This is an awesome laptop. Just as it was described by seller. Stellar and super fast. Great Latitude by Dell.

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arrived in a timely manner works fine ...but loaded with trojan viruses, blackholes u name it!! over 20 found on first scan and more show up when started up

so great for use other than for putting any private data on

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I bought this for my own use during college and have since then, used it many times as a backup computer for my desktop. Battery life is long, computer is fairly fast, and the price is cheaper than a new one.

Reviews of 8.9/INTEL/4G SSD/512MB DDR2/LINUX/WHITE ( EEEPC900-W073 )

Customer Ratings:

I bought essentially the same version of the Eee from another store--and as it arrives it's not usable.

Here's why: the Xandros distribution it comes with uses UnionFS. That lets you have one read-only partition that has the file system in its initial state, and another read-write that has changes. If a file exists in the read-write partition, it's used instead of the corresponding one in the read-only partition.

That has a major advantage: if you get things totally messed up, reboot and press a key and it will return things to their initial state--all it needs to do is wipe the read-write partition.

It has a major disadvantage: it uses up more space, and with a 4 GB SSD, I found that after it automatically downloaded updates, there was very little space left. Remember, the original version is still there, taking up space on the read-only partition, while the new version is on the read-write partition--and that's separate from the downloaded file containing the update that gets uncrated into position for use. After updating one or two programs, the SSD was totally full, rendering the system unusable.

You have two choices: (1) get a larger-capacity SSD and reinstall, or (2) download Ubuntu Eee (soon to be renamed Easy Peasy) and install it, wiping Xandros from the SSD. When I did that, there was 1.5 GB left on the SSD, and a couple of updates later, there's still 700 MB left.

That said: the display is gorgeous. The touchpad is respectable, and yes, it understands two-finger scrolling. The wi-fi worked for me at a motel a week or so ago when my wife's Dell Inspiron laptop couldn't get a usable signal. Yeah, the keys on the keyboard are tiny, but I will adapt, even with stubby little fat fingers.

So: as it comes from the factory, I have to wonder whether ASUS wanted to put people off Linux--imagine the fury of a parent or grandparent thinking he was getting little Johnny a computer for Christmas only to find that after a few minutes it says the disk is full and can't be used! With a larger SSD, or with Ubuntu Eee/Easy Peasy, it's a marvelous little netbook.

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I bought the linux variant. It works great out of the box, pretty easy. Detects and connects to wifi wherever I go just fine. The included OpenOffice suite ensures compatibility with both Apple and MS office docs. I did decide to upgrade to 2 gbytes of ram from the default 512 mbyte; it makes heavy simultaneous usage of several apps smoother. I bought Kingston Technology KHX4200S2LL/2GR 2 GB 533MHz DDR2 SODIMM Netbook/Notebook Memory (Retail), swapped it in for a cheap and easy upgrade. Thought I would hate the tiny keyboard, but I adapted just fine within a couple days. Hooking up external monitor/keyboard/mouse is easy.

Couple negative points:

1. Lack of support for wpa2 wifi encryption, though maybe that will be solved in a firmware update?

2. I don't particularly like the two prong power cord, I'd like the option of grounding the power.

3. Occasionally when I plug the power in, it'll freeze and require a reboot. I suspect this has more to do with the sketchy wiring at my house than a problem with the netbook.

Edit: 2013-07-16

This awesome little netbook lasted until October 2012. The original power cord wore out a year previous, but I picked up a compatible brick from iGo. The fatal night was dark, but clear, and calm. It was on, low on power. I plugged it in. The smell of burnt plastic flooded the room. The screen turned black. I disconnected the power, waited a couple minutes, then tried in vain to turn it back on. Alas, its magic smoke is all leaked out.

I'm trying to replace this with a Google/Samsung series 3 chromebook, but the eeepc900 is clearly the superior machine. I ended up running a lean install of Arch Linux in place of the oem OS. Just before it died I was even running Eclipse 3.6 for jsf development! Fat chance doing that on this chromebook.

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I bought this model (cheaper, refurbished from a different vendor, with a gig of ram, sorry Amazon) and while I am not as well versed with different versions of linux as the other reviewer so far, Mr. Jones, I had the same storage space problem. When I started the netbook, it immediately wanted to update, and by the time it had stopped, I had maybe 50 megabytes free. So I actually took both of Mr. Jones options, I ordered a "new" old 14 gigabyte SSD from Newegg (make sure it is compatible with the slightly older M900 architecture), and I downloaded and installed eeebuntu.

So I am very satisfied with the software on the eee. I am not a programmer or terribly conversant with hardware, but I work at a University in the department that provides computer services (servers, email, computer labs, etc) so I like to be conversant with different operating systems and easy sorts of computer upgrades and repairs. And the eee provides me with some access to a type of linux (Unix, essentially, right?).

As far as my evaluation of the hardware of the eee is concerned, everything must be measured against its primary quality, its portability. So I am not wild about the keyboard, and while I think the screen resolution is pretty good for applications and how the OS icons are set up, I find the resolution for surfing only acceptable. The eee is hard to balance on my lap (not a laptop or a netbook but a wobbletop). But, again, the thing weighs practically nothing and fits well into any bag that has padding for a laptop. You probably can't use this as a portable DVD player (even with an external DVD drive) and any video you play through media player is likely to be unacceptably small. And this may not have the power to run the most demanding app's (assuming you can find some that will run on eeebuntu). Still, especially if you get this cheap, this is a good ultra moble web surfer. I have found battery life to be around a solid three hours (I may have charged it too long early on, you may get more).

Honest reviews on 8.9/INTEL/4G SSD/512MB DDR2/LINUX/WHITE ( EEEPC900-W073 )

Great little computer, but owner/vendor does not respond to several emails and submit the access KEY for registration and efficiency. So this makes the computer inefficient due to a lack of value with customer service. So I am out of bucks for the moment!

ASUS G51VX-RX05 15.6-Inch Laptop Review

Customer Ratings:

I own one of these I bought from BestBuy back in Sept and I love it. Best laptop ever. I've played just about every game on max details and this laptop takes everything without a problem.

I love it.

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I recived this ASUS G51VX-RX05 in the mail today. So far i am very impressed with this product.

Visually very appealing. White top with side and logo LED's.

Functionality-

The keyboard is very flat feeling with not much depth. The keys have a squishy feeling, while seemed to be placed in the right spots. have hit the wrong key a few times (specificaly the backspace key)

The reason i only gave this laptop a 4 star is that i orderd a new laptop but recived a Refurbished one instead.

On that note it came with two recovery disks and a driver disk.

everything was in new condition just missing the original box.

Im very happy with this purchanse but beware you will not be getting a "NEW" Laptop.

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Just under two years ago, I purchased an ASUS G51. As sharp as it is, I've had trouble with it, with ASUS Customer Service, and with the two-year warranty.

At the end of the first year, I called ASUS as the unit was overheating and powering down. The rep instructed me to go to the store and "Get a cooling pad and place it under the unit." Finally, a couple months (and a couple calls) later I told them something had to be done. The rep set up an RMA and I sent it in for repair. Why didn't the first rep do this?

More recently, I called regarding the power-cord cracking where it attaches to the power-supply. The first technician told me the notebook had a two year warranty but the power supply had only a one year warranty. What?! The second tech said that the first technician was wrong. He said that it was covered under the two-year warranty. Then he said that I would have to send it in (at my expense) and they would examine it to see if they would replace it.

This is not the way Dell cared for these matters. Dell would send me a replacement and a pre-paid return slip for my old one. In fact, the last time this happened with Dell, they said, "Keep your old power supply. We'll send you a new one free." I gave this information to the ASUS rep. She was unmoved. I explained that Dell had replaced power-supplies for my Dell notebooks, and paid for the return shipping on the broken one. She informed me that not every company is the same.

She's right. Not every company is the same.

And when it comes to Customer Service / Warranty Service, this experience has taught me all I need to know about ASUS.

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I game a lot, and this is an excellent PC. Plays everything I can think of on ultra settings with nary a stutter. After reading the notebookcheck.com stats, I was expecting a lot less, but after six months I have yet to see anything even remotely approaching poor performance. Crysis, Crysis 2, Mafia 2, Two Worlds 2, Starcraft 2; everything runs smooth as butter. My next upgrade will definitely be an ASUS machine.

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If you are looking to buy an all round quality laptop, highly capable of gaming, than i would definatly suggest the ASUS G51VX-RX05. If you go shopping at best buy, or even online your going to be baffled by all of these rediculously expensive gaming laptops featuring the i7, and the GTX 460....which is great!! dont get me wrong.......if you have $1500 to spend on a laptop :( which a lot of us dont

I had purchased this laptop from amazon about 6 months ago, and i will say, for the price, i am more than satisfied. It can tear to peices nearly any modern game on its native resolution, with the exception of Crysis, and Metro 2033 on its highest settings.

The laptop comes with Windows vista pre-installed on it, along with a ton of useful features and applications such as facial recognition, ASUS quick boot, fancy start(something like that) and a lot more. I never really got a chance to utilize any of these features because the first thing i did was install win7....i guess for every gain theres a loss, right?

The processor in this bad boy is amazing. No, its not an i7, but it can definatly run your games or any other applications seamlessly without a problem. And if need be you can upgrade to the Q1900(intel core 2 quad, 2.6ghz,12mb L2 Cache), which goes for about $225 on ebay, but the performance boost is well worth the price you pay, you'll be right up there with the i3's, and i5's.

The video card is the heart and soul of any gaming computer, or notebook...and this one has a heart of gold.

Under the hood is an nVidia GTX 260M, which features 1gb of DDR3 Video RAM...more than enough to handle even the most GPU taxing CAD software, or games.

Now that DDR3 RAM is on the market, a lot of people tend to underestimate the power of DDR2...which is kind of sad actually. This laptop has 4gb of DDR2 RAM running at 1066mhz, which is rediculous for any DDR2 RAM, desktop and notebook.

Now that we have the more important things out of the way, there is always the matter of aesthetics. The laptop definatly has a unique look of its own(i get a lot of compliments) ....in fact you'll be hard-pressed to find one with as many exterior LED's, and designs. One of my favorite things about this laptop is the illuminated keyboard, its so helpful at night when your just laying in bed and you need to type an essay, or your at a LAN party, and your in a more dim environment.

So if your looking for a good laptop, even for todays standards, just not for todays price....than this is the way to go.....6 stars amazon!!!!!!!

Best MSI G Series GT60 2OC-024US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,699.99
Sale Price: $1,639.99
Today's Bonus: 4% Off

Chasis:

The laptop is handsome if you're into the dull black thing. The entire base is composed of a monotoned strong plastic with hints of rubberization. Satisfied here. On top of said plastic the lid dons an apple-esk msi logo in the center, surrounded by what looks like aluminum with a satin long brush finish. I like it. It's aesthetically pleasing and of sound quality for the price. The hinges hold the screen firmly in place except for when the laptop is shut. There's a noticeable amount of play here because there's no latch, passing the job to the hinges. I don't like this design aspect and suspect corners were cut; however, the price is right. The keyboard, as one of the main selling points, is of course extremely aesthetically pleasing although lacks in practical performance. There is pliability in the unit which is something that takes away from the overall experience. Tactile feedback is affected from this. On a 1 to 10 scale, I'd give the keyboard a solid 5. Once again, corners were cut here.

The rest of the chasis is quite sound. No bending creaking or malleable areas noticed so far.

Noise suppression is superb. In a normal home environment with standard ambient levels, the machine is whisper quiet.

All in all, a sound chasis with sweet eye candy for the price.

Screen:

I considered alienware, dell, lenovo, and maingear when shopping and I'm happy I went with this machine because for 1600 (before tax), I got a FHD screen which is very easy on the eyes. The pixelation coefficient approaches 0 level, homogonizing the screen with your eyes' periphery. Couldn't be happier here. A solid 9.

Internals:

Of course, i7, 12 gb mem, and an mSSD cause this machine to be lightning fast. I was able to customize and set up this computer in record time, smashing any control system before it. And, as hard drive latency is a pet peeve of mine, I feel those days are behind me. Haven't gamed on it yet but normal operation is a delight. Even though Windows 8 is an abysmal performance hog, putting aesthetics and marketing for its own end before the needs of the end user, the combined performance of the mSSD, ensures minimum hard drive overhead, delivering the fullest power of the i7. Th mSSD is the real star here. With its 1,000 mbps reads, it bests any SSD. I'm able to run all my dev apps like VS 2012 and IDA Pro simultaneously with a dozen or so open tabs in Chrome, utilities, etc. Since this was the main reason I'd bough the laptop, I'm more than pleased in this category. The only tweak I see myself needing to make is a downgrade to Win 7. A loose 10.

Trackpad:

The consensus seems to be that there's little love for this trackpad. I'm satisfied with it so far. The material is all but certainly identical to the lid. Response is good. GUI driver interface with lots of options was good too. A solid 6.

Wireless: They call it Killer and now I know why. 2.2 mbps is the fastest I've ever had. Solid 8.

As for the many rest of the features of this laptop. Such as :

Camera

GTX 770M w/ 3GB MEM you can run apps on the gphx processor!

Gaming

Battery performance

Burn test

I've yet to use them. If my initial impression serves as a model, I shouldn't be disappointed and neither should you.

PROS:

FHD

i7

*mSSD*

1600 USD

CONS:

Keyboard

Screen latch

1600 USD ;)

Update: The keyboard issue turned out to be too bothersome to ignore so I ended up returning the laptop requesting a replacement. Amazon gave me a refund instead and blew the sale. I ended up going with Maingear.

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My old laptop just didn't work for the gaming I do now, so I got this.

Speed and Storage:

This is one fast beast! So fast that this laptop gets to the logon screen before the "loading wheel" even shows up! Many of the games I put on this computer also start pretty fast. I believe this is due to the Toshiba 128GB SSD which comes with this model (there's different variations of the GT60 with different specs, so be careful), and is also part of the reason I got this model in particular. I also believe this comes with one of the newer Intel CPU's that came out recently, so that helps even more. The secondary (internal) 1TB hard drive that comes with this, which, even though it's not an SSD, is pretty fast too. I have all of my games installed on the secondary hard drive, and they load very quickly.

Graphics

WOW! I get blown away by the Frames-per-second with games on this one! So much that it might be better than my desktop. Many of my games operate at framerates that are quite comfortable to play with. I believe that this laptop has a GTX 770M Graphics processor. Also, the display is a 15-inch 1920x1080 (1080p?) display, which is very clear, and also seems to have not all that bad of color accuracy from the basic looks.

Keyboard, input, etc.

The keybord? Very comfortable. It appears that this keyboard is by SteelSeries as it is said in front of the keyboard, and I've gotta say there's really that "click" feeling that feels comfortable when the keys are pressed, especially for gaming. It also has a backlight, which can have up to 3 different colors in 3 different sections of the keyboard at once. But I don't know about the trackpad; it's a bit small and the button on it is a bit uncomfortable to use at times, and I wouldn't use it for gaming. I use a mouse often when gaming, though.

Overall looks:

This thing just looks great. It really has a good sleek design, and nice looking colors (mostly black) and patterns on the chassis, too. It also seems rather sturdy to me. Kinda thick (and the power brick is too, well sorta), but considering it's meant to be a gaming laptop and there's high performance parts in it, I suppose it's a fair thickness. Not much else to say about it.

Sound:

The sound that comes out of this thing is amazing too! I usually use a 3.5mm headset and listen to music and such usually, and I really like the sound quality. Can take a little bit of adjustment in some of the tools that come with the computer for sound, but once it's done right, it's just perfect. I haven't really played around with the external speakers, but the one time I tried those, it sounded pretty good for laptop speakers. There's also a line in and a speaker out (not headphones out) on this too, so if you do some sound work (maybe even studio work), this might not be all that bad of a laptop for you.

Oh, and the price is good for what I got; really met my expectations.

So, overall, this is a great laptop and would definitely recommend it.

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I have bought this device several days ago and when I tested it, the first thing I mentioned was that

1. When you try to load it propose you to accept 2(!) license agreements with MS(R) and Symantec(R) without an options to decline both of them.

2. You can not load up from thumb-drive, despite this option is marked in setup.

After some careful reading I understood that UEFI of this device will not allow to load something that is not Windows(R), but despite switching to LEGACY mode does solve the last problem, thumb-drive still can not be used.

3. When I bought this laptop I also happened to buy the OEM version of some software on this machine. When I tried to call MSI, I got a response that I can not ask for refund, even if I am not going to use the software.

4. When I tried to install Linux on this laptop I realized that there is no driver for LAN of this "nice" device.

Summary.

I have no Idea, how this thing works in Windows world (in most cases problems with Linux drivers means that manufacturer don't care about users and use untrusted cheap hardware), but if you are not a Windows person, this device is not an option.

Honest reviews on MSI G Series GT60 2OC-024US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

So just ordered this pc the other day and I won't bother listing off hardware and all the other base info since that has already been mentioned and discussed.

But I would like to state that since I have received the laptop everything works well and I can play every game I have with smooth frame rates, in fact only issue I have when using the laptop is the windows 8 os which is a bit clunky. (os can be replaced and is based on preference so did not change overall value to me)

Really though the reason I took off a star is due to the quality of the laptop's frame, in that after getting it out of the box i noticed one of the clips holding the battery block in was a little loose and part of a bottom panel did not sit flush with the area around it.

So overall, this is a nice pc that will do what you need it to, but the actual construction of the item could be a bit better.

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it's goooooood but when i installed win7 i faced some problems, i solve most of it ,they made this lap for win 8 and that's not good

Review of Lenovo ThinkPad 43149DU Notebook - Core i5 i5-540M 2.53GHz

Customer Ratings:

For one thing, I did not expect it to come preloaded with all that gunk that nonprofessional-market notebooks have. After all, I am paying a premium up-front, right? But this came with Microsoft Office Starter 2010 "preloaded" and installing Office 2007 on top of it was such a horrible, miserable experience, and a terrible time waster. Ditto for the Lenovo's "valuable" add-on stuff where "notices" really mean sales&marketing. What a bunch of garbage!

The charging indicator does not work most of the times. It works after reboot, and then dies off. This is bad.

The wireless turns off every now and then. No clue why.

The power cord is oh-so-short! And the AC adapter gets hotter than McDonald's Coffee! Hardly the place to cut costs if you asked me. I mean, you could be at a cafe and can't use this stupid computer because the cord is not long enough!!!!

The CD player turns off automatically. Nice. To reactivate one must press the light on the CD door and all that does is to pop out the CD tray. Reboot. Fortunately, I haven't found any use for the CD drive since the initial week.

I haven't dropped it yet to test out the promised protection mechanisms... I only hope Lenovo engineers did test out all that. Now I am beginning to doubt that.

I wonder if I will recommend a Lenovo to anyone. I like the CPU and OS but that's not Lenovo. I had such better experience with Latitudes.

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Review of ASUS P43E-XH31 (14.1-Inch Screen) Laptop

Customer Ratings:

I bought this laptop since my brother who is a tech guy told me to get Asus. I did what he told me! And he is right, it is very fast and a good little laptop. The 14" screen is perfect for my use and makes it more portable. The i3 processor is everything that I need. I don't know how many laptops have the smart login, but I love using it. It's just a smooth, fast computer and I have no complaints. My brother told me it would have been nice to have a 3.0 USB port, but I can't say I'm missing it. I highly recommend!

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Bigger than I expected ... The screen has a large border (.7" sides, 1" top & bottom). 14.1 Dims about the size of a 15.6 overall (I'm glad I waited to buy a case).

Big difference in speed with the 2nd gen i3 / 'sandy bridge' ... nice.

Display is fine (it's not high-end, but it is crisp and clear, & I don't wanna pay big bux)

The multi-functional keyboard might take some getting used to.

I needed something tough, quick, & mobile ... this is it.

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This is one of the nicest laptops in the market. don't go for other brand names.....grab this one and stay cool for at least 2 years. the build quality, components, the feel...everything is nice. little bit heavy (5 lbs) but that's okay for me. the only problem ive is with the screen quality. but that will be the same for any other 1366x768 LED display. i purchased one Gateway ID series but returned it due to display issues. now im happy.You will be happy too if you get the P43e-XH31.

Honest reviews on ASUS P43E-XH31 (14.1-Inch Screen) Laptop

The laptop multi tasks very well but is slower than my 3 year old pc when it comes to simpler tasks. Start up takes far too long for a new computer. This could be an OS issue since this is my first pc using Windows 7. Battery life is just ok.

09/30/12

I have to add that this computer is very good at multi tasking and is basically as advertised. I don't think it is a bad pc and have adjusted to it. I think many of the speed concerns I had initially are Windows 7 related. After a few months with the PC, I have settled on the main issue and it may seem trivial, but it is the aesthetics. The black exterior case is ok when closed. It is the key board and touch pad that are the worst. I never thought this would bother me, but in using my PC for work and in front of clients I find this machine embarrassing. This must be the cheapest, loudest, lowest quality, looking like it came from the 1990s keyboard ASUS could find. Maybe they were paid to use it, but it flat out sucks. Then the touch pad looks filthy no matter how clean your hands are or how often I clean the surface. The click from the pad is loud and hollow and signals to everyone around me that I have a POS laptop when if fact, it works quite well. It bothers me so much that I am going to try and have it replaced. I had to share this because all the reviews I read were very positive when it came to performance but none addressed how cheap these two areas look, feel and sound.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS P43E-XH31 (14.1-Inch Screen) Laptop

I purchased this laptop on Amazon as a "Like-New" display model for less than $350 for my fiance to upgrade from her dinosaur of a Dell laptop from 8-10 years ago and her little 9" laptop that she also has. This one blows both of those out of the water. Take note that I do an incredible amount of research on any product that I purchase be it a $5 pair of socks or a $1000 television. I like getting a high quality product (which this laptop definitely is) at a bargain of a price.

The laptop itself is very stylish with a dark black textured shell. For my fiance, it is the perfect size to give performance while also allowing for portability by not having to carry too much weight or taking up too much space in her backpack.

The screen is very bright and vivid making movie watching experience great.

It has 3 USB ports 2 on the right hand side towards the front of the laptop and 1 on the left towards the front.

This laptop also features the VGA and HDMI ports on the left side towards the front in case you would like to hook the laptop up to a different display.

The touch pad is skewed just to the left of the center of the laptop. This does not bother me, but my fiance complains about her left hand constantly bumping it and moving the cursor while writing papers. Another note on the keyboard is that there is not a numpad on the right hand side. This does not bother my fiance as she never uses it even if there is one; however, I prefer having one. As a 14.1" laptop I am unsure as to whether any carry a numpad, but if I were buying for myself I would jump up to a 15.4" which does have the option.

We have not had any problems with temperatures running too hot even after a few hours of constant use. Anything more than that we use cooling pads merely as a precaution so I cannot say if it will continue to stay cool after several hours of heavy use.

It has a great battery life. Depending on the settings and what you are doing, this laptop can easily run from a few to several hours on battery alone.

The 4GB of RAM is also plenty you could probably run many games on low settings without a problem. However, this is by no means a "gamer's" computer. For someone looking to buy the computer as a business/school/social media that can also play games like League of Legends or possibly even WoW on low settings, this laptop will do the trick. The 500GB hard drive is also plenty, if anything more is needed there is always the option of an external.

One of the best features that one should always take into consideration when buying an ASUS laptop is they almost always come with the 1 year global / 1 year accidental damage warranty. This feature alone is worth an additional $50 dollars or so.

For the price I paid, this laptop was a steal. However, at the normal price point of $600+/-, I would look to spend a little more and get the ASUS A73E-XA1 17.3" which will offer the larger screen, the numpad on the side of the keyboard, a faster processor (2.3GHz i5 vs 2.1GHz i3), and a larger hard drive. My fiance does not agree with that as she would prefer the still powerful but much more portable 14.1".

HP 15.6" HD Laptop /AMD E-300 /4GB DDR /320GB Hard Drive /AMD Reviews

Customer Ratings:

this laptop has a beautiful and bright screen for watching dvds or surfing the web. The processor is incredibly fast. And, the hard drive has ample space. I highly recommend this laptop! It's a great purchase. :)

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I own three all fast and snappy (if one keeps it clean), all windows 7, not the win8 garbage. Yes the processor is "weak" in Ghtz, but I can play any modern game I can throw at it (low settings) and photoshop with ease. A good all around laptop for average users. Do not expect this to be a power house with a 18 watt processor. I put an SSD in one and I see little difference, snappier, but little difference in speed (due to processor low Ghtz) other than that it only consumes 20 watts of total power consumption now (with SSD) compared to less than 40watts before with a spindle hdd. I recommend this to all my clients who are just average, go online, play lite games, check email, etc., users. 100% satisfaction so far, and my clients. Also, its pretty lightweight. HP did it right and AMD did it better with their baked in graphics card right in the processor. Oh, yeah and its dual core. I love it.

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the processor is very slow on this laptop . The surface is very easy to get scratch .overall it could just be used for simple work .

Honest reviews on HP 15.6" HD Laptop /AMD E-300 /4GB DDR /320GB Hard Drive /AMD

I am not a fan of the new windows 8. I do not like the tiles, I find them like looking at a puzzle. This may be good for touch and for children, but it simply annoys me. I want a start menu listed, one that is organized. Otherwise, the machine works well and I am happy with it.

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I've used it everyday, it's a good computer but I'm not a big fan of Windows 8. Sometimes lag on full screen YouTube.

Sony VAIO Fit Series SVF14212CXW 14-Inch Core i3 Laptop Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I bought this laptop before it was released so I wasn't really sure of what it would be, fortunately it is a nice and stylish laptop it has a great perfomance, really fast, so far it works great for my basic homework and university work (matlab, R, C++..etc), any complains about it. It's a pain in the .. to get used to windows 8 but once yo get used to it the whole thing it's pretty easy to enjoy. It was a good purchase in terms of price/specs because I don't needed an ultra fast jet/laptop. It "fits" perfectly for my needs.

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it keeps disconnecting from the internet

and why do u have a touch screen video about a laptop that is not touch screen??? !!!!!

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Bought the Fit 14E while it was on sale for ~$490.

Pros:

-Build quality is excellent.

-Back-lit keyboard

-Great display resolution

-Decent Intel ULV processor

-Acceptable battery life.

Cons:

-Known wireless issues with the Broadcom wireless card. Frequent disconnects, link speed would drop to ~5Mbps. No resolution as of yet.

-Back-lit keyboard can be annoying. The island style keys sit well above the LEDs below, allowing the light to shine directly at you. You can disable the back-light entirely, but you cannot change the brightness.

-Viewing angles on display are not great.

-Intel case badge was crooked : (

I ended up replacing the stock WLAN card with an Intel Centrino 6235. This resolved the wireless issues. Unfortunately, the USB 2.0 ports on the right-hand side stopped working three weeks in. Returned.

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My last laptop was a VAIO that lasted me a long seven years, so this brand was my go-to when it was time to upgrade. I didn't realize it had a i3 (instead of i5) processor until I ordered (because.. apparently I can't read, so) but it hasn't seemed to make THAT much of a difference in functionality. Main pro, for me at least, with this upgrade, is the battery life. With the right settings, this thing goes for HOURS.

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This is the second laptop we have purchased and we love it. Great quality. Works good. I don't think I would switch to another brand.