Lenovo Thinkpads have always had the best keyboard layout in my opinion. This economy priced model has everything my college student needed at a great price. Unlike the Compaq CQ's and the low end HP series, this unit has Intel processor not AMD. You can get it with an AMD but why really? For the price point of this unit it feels great, not cheap. I like it so much I am going to order another one for me since this one is for my daughter in college.
Shipping from this vendor was a little slower than others, but not unbearable. I guess Amazon's fast shipping has spoiled me.
If you need a great value in a laptop, you might really like this model.The computer seems to slow down a bit sometimes when a couple applications are open which is why I gave it a four star rating but overall i am happy with the purchase
Showing posts with label fastest notebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fastest notebook. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
Discount Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420 1141BTU 14' LED Notebook - Core i3
List Price: $1,158.06
Sale Price: $949.99
Today's Bonus: 18% Off
I have been pleased with this laptop. It stays relatively cool when in use and lasts quite a while on the battery supplied (I get about 4+ hours when word processing and browsing the web). I have a slightly different model. I have an E420 1141-A51. This machine is not for gaming. I have had problems with the video card drivers. Games and some video processes have caused the system to freeze or blue screen. After resolving these issues, I steer clear of these kinds of applications.As it was my first time to buy a laptop via internet, I was little nervous. But there was no problem at all. This new laptop is working very well and I am so satisfied.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Reviews of HP Mini 1000 Notebook (Intel Atom Processor N270 1.60GHz, 10.2" LED
I just picked up the HP Mini 1000 with 10-inch screen, 1GB of system RAM and 60GB hard drive today for a family member and it's a great notebook. Technically, it's a "netbook" because it uses the low voltage Intel Atom processor and uses a smaller screen. Basically, a "netbook" is just a compact, lightweight notebook that has a weak processor and generally a smaller hard drive and less RAM than a full notebook.
The benefit of the Mini 1000 is that it's extremely easy to take with you everywhere, and unlike most netbooks this computer actually has a reasonably large keyboard that makes it easy to type.
Although the Atom processor isn't as fast as other new dual-core processors found in full-size notebooks, the Atom has more than enough power for web browsing, working in Microsoft Office, listening to iTunes, or very basic photo editing (although I wouldn't suggest buying a netbook for Photoshop work).
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the built-in speakers on this netbook. You can listen to iTunes songs and movies without needing to use earbuds (unless you don't want other people to hear what you're listening to).
There are only two minor issues that I have with the Mini 1000. First, the mouse buttons are located on the sides of the touchpad rather than underneath the touchpad ... which takes time getting used to. The other is the fact that the "Infinity Display" is highly reflective which makes it hard to read the screen outdoors in bright sunlight or while you're inside your car during the day. Under normal indoor lighting the screen is gorgeous, but take it outside and you can't see what's on the screen because of the reflections on the screen. If you don't use your notebook much outside this isn't a problem.
Overall, this is a great netbook.
1. The keyboard is almost full sized, and is true to most industry-standard layouts. Several of the other netbooks have tiny right shift buttons and smaller buttons, and I honestly don't know how people can type efficiently.
2. The screen is 10.2 inches, whereas most netbooks are right around 9 inches. Note that the resolution is still the same; however, the extra inch is welcomed.
3. The touchpad is a decent size, and has a built-in vertical scroller, which comes in VERY handy while surfing the internet. One gripe is that the mouse buttons are located on the left and right sides of the touchpad, and they feel very awkward at first. However, after a day or two, I started using both hands to manage the mouse controls. I use my left finger to click the left mouse button, and the other to move around the mouse. So, the button placement actually didn't turn out to be a dealbreaker for me.
4. The form factor and exterior design of this netbook is far better than any others. The computer is less than an inch think, and has a very sleek look when closed.
Now, here are a few minor complaints:
1. Currently you can only get the computer with a 3-cell battery, which will get you anywhere between 2 and 3 hours. I highly recommend picking up an extra AC adapter ($49 on the HP site) in the event that you need a quick charge.
2. there is a lack of external ports on the computer the biggest issue being the lack of a VGA port. So, if you're looking to hook this up to an external video source, then you probably shouldn't go with this model.
So, if those last 2 issues won't affect you, then I can definitively say that this is one of the best netbooks on the market right now.
Although I was an Apple convert of 5 years these tiny gems seemed to be able to do everything I wanted with a mobile computer (remember I still have a functioning iBook... and a new iMac). I wanted something that was very portable and light. I wanted to be able to surf the net, read emails and type the occasional document. And I figured I could live with Windows XP at a push, so I started my research. I read all the reviews. I flipped through every PC Mag I could find. And I tested them in-store.
The HP Mini 1000 got my attention for three things
a) The stylishly compact design and high quality build
b) The almost full size keyboard
c) The amazing screen with glowing colours
Now to be honest I must admit that it looks a lot like the black MacBook (which has been discontinued) and as a Mac user I do like design. But the keyboard is so easy to type on compared with the other ones on the market. And the case is very very stylish and professional looking (unlike some of the other netbooks out there). And the edge to edge glass covered screen makes it look even more impressive. The build is solid and it is sturdy enough to throw into a backpack.
I also appreciate the lack of extra pre-installed trial software as well so I don't have to spend hours removing it.
Oh, but I forgot to mention the price! It's about 1/3 the price of a Macbook! Not bad in these bleak times.
First off, let's set the parameters. This isn't a multi-core Pentium processor machine with a high end dedicated graphics card. It isn't meant for running the most processor intensive applications faster than any other computer on the market. Most of you have one of these number-crunching machines at home already, or perhaps a high-end laptop with all the power-intensive support. This is a "Netbook," which means a slimmed down laptop that can be used for basic functions, such as web browsing, e-mail, and some minor picture viewing.
That's a bit deceptive, because when you read descriptions like that, you expect that the HP Mini 1000 will essentially be a performance "dog" that can handle only a web browser, and perhaps Picasa. I can tell you, that's a real mistake.
There's no doubt this in one of the lightest and smallest computers you've ever seen, but, surprisingly, it is also one of the most sprightly performing laptops you're likely to find in the price range (and speaking of price, it's basically a steal at between $400 and $500; I had two other laptops not long ago that were both sub-3 pound devices, and they each cost over $3,000). I went ahead and just took a gamble on loading all of a trial copy of Microsoft Office 2007 (Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, etc.), and then just piled on other applications I typically use on my regular laptop (a dual core T8100 processor in an HP Dv2000 body), including picture viewers, utility programs, etc.. Surprise. It not only handled all the software, but it runs the programs remarkably well, with little lag time and surprisingly deft performance. The Intel "Atom" Processor powering this thing can easily be seen as a "sleeper" technology that people are going to increasingly talk about.
Boot time is also surprisingly fast. Mine usually loads within 20 seconds, certainly faster than my "powerful" laptop. Of course, the Mini is running Windows XP, not Vista, but still, that's pretty impressive. (By the way, I also installed Windows 7 RC1, and it worked just fine.)
The wireless has thus far worked without problems. I connect to my home network with high security settings, and to public locations using open networks, all without a hitch so far. (The unit, however, does not support draft-n specifications, so you'll be connecting at g speeds.)
The physical construction of this unit is excellent. Yes, it is small and light. But it is also sturdy in the way it feels, with little squeaking and a solid construction. The screen is bright and clear. And the keyboard is one of the best I've seen in any laptop. How did they do this?
Finally, when youfeel the tiny weight and size of the battery as you take it out of the box, you'll be thinking that it will run 30 minutes, tops. Well, with the Atom processor sipping current at exceedingly low amounts, you'll likely see some 90 120 minutes on a single charge. It's amazing.
You can probably tell I'm impressed with this device, because I am. If this is the beginning of "Netbooks," then I think they will become increasingly popular as people discover them.
Rating for Size and Weight: Five Stars
Rating for Price: Five Stars
Rating for Configuration: Four and 1/2 Stars
Pros:
1. Exceedingly light and small
2. Beautiful physical appearance
3. Clear and bright screen (but glare can be an issue)
4. Remarkable performance, even with software suites such as Office 2007
5. Excellent keyboard with good tactile feel and large size layout (how is this possible?)
6. Wireless that actually works
7. Lightweight adapter cord (you've been stung on this before, haven't you? They finally got it right.)
8. Two USB 2.0 ports, plus a network port and a HP adapter output port
9. Built-in webcam
10. Can put in a 2Gb memory card (even though it claims 1Gb is the limit)
11. Very good battery life for such a dimunutive battery
12. Great price for the package
Cons
1. No draft-N wireless available
2. Bluetooth not on every model
3. HP Proprietary connector required for VGA output
4. Non-common 1.8" hard drive format limits upgrade options to the 1.8" format
5. Screen resolution, though very good, is not as high as we might wish (but is good enough)
6. Display does not fold back as far as most laptops
7. Outstanding performance probably drives us to push the unit past its stated purposes (i.e., just don't be upset if you can't run a C++ compiler while listening to Windows Media Player and editing an Excel spreadsheet)
To sum it up, this is truly an outstanding breakthrough if you understand what the unit is designed to do. I'm already seriously considering substituting my main laptop with the HP Mini for most out-of-home tasks. Five stars.
First I should mention I didn't pay the price Amazon is asking, I bought it direct from HP's site for $450 (built to order, same configuration as this model).
I also own an Acer mini with the same processor, ram, and XP.
Well after using both the Acer and the HP I much prefer the HP simply due to the beautiful screen. In other departments Acer got it right like having three usb ports, a 100GB larger and faster hard drive, and a 6 cell battery to name a few. But did I mention the beautiful screen on the HP? I love it! This doesn't come (or at least mine didn't) loaded full of ad's and crap which was very nice, there was very little to uninstall before I went to work configuring it to my personal taste and loading my software. Thank you HP for not bogging this one down with useless crap, it is very appreciated and will keep you in mind next time I'm looking for a similar product. Also I love the fact that the Windows Install CD came in the box, Acer wasn't so generous in that department.
HP really should include a nice slip case in the box, unfortunately none of the manufacturers do so I was forced to buy a generic third party case off of Amazon like everyone else, I'll post a review on the case and how it fits in a week or so once it arrives and I've tested it out.
Does anyone know if there is a way to upgrade the ram on this one yet? As far as I know there isn't but it would be nice to have 2gb verses the 1gb that it comes with. I should mention it runs pretty good on just 1gb I simply am a demanding consumer.
I usually buy most of my electronics on either Amazon, Newegg, or eBay but this time the price difference was remarkable I actually saved $250 by buying directly from HP.
I hope this review is useful to those of you out there debating which one to get, remember none of the other netbooks will even come close to this HP as far as screen quality goes but for the dollar Acer gives you a little more bang for your buck in the other departments.
The benefit of the Mini 1000 is that it's extremely easy to take with you everywhere, and unlike most netbooks this computer actually has a reasonably large keyboard that makes it easy to type.
Although the Atom processor isn't as fast as other new dual-core processors found in full-size notebooks, the Atom has more than enough power for web browsing, working in Microsoft Office, listening to iTunes, or very basic photo editing (although I wouldn't suggest buying a netbook for Photoshop work).
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the built-in speakers on this netbook. You can listen to iTunes songs and movies without needing to use earbuds (unless you don't want other people to hear what you're listening to).
There are only two minor issues that I have with the Mini 1000. First, the mouse buttons are located on the sides of the touchpad rather than underneath the touchpad ... which takes time getting used to. The other is the fact that the "Infinity Display" is highly reflective which makes it hard to read the screen outdoors in bright sunlight or while you're inside your car during the day. Under normal indoor lighting the screen is gorgeous, but take it outside and you can't see what's on the screen because of the reflections on the screen. If you don't use your notebook much outside this isn't a problem.
Overall, this is a great netbook.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I've been keeping an eye on this "netbook" market for the past 6 months, watching dozens of various models hit the retail stores. I stumbled upon this little gem in a local Costco it took about 3 minutes of messing around with Costco's floor model before it was apparent that this is currently the best netbook on the market right now. Here's why:1. The keyboard is almost full sized, and is true to most industry-standard layouts. Several of the other netbooks have tiny right shift buttons and smaller buttons, and I honestly don't know how people can type efficiently.
2. The screen is 10.2 inches, whereas most netbooks are right around 9 inches. Note that the resolution is still the same; however, the extra inch is welcomed.
3. The touchpad is a decent size, and has a built-in vertical scroller, which comes in VERY handy while surfing the internet. One gripe is that the mouse buttons are located on the left and right sides of the touchpad, and they feel very awkward at first. However, after a day or two, I started using both hands to manage the mouse controls. I use my left finger to click the left mouse button, and the other to move around the mouse. So, the button placement actually didn't turn out to be a dealbreaker for me.
4. The form factor and exterior design of this netbook is far better than any others. The computer is less than an inch think, and has a very sleek look when closed.
Now, here are a few minor complaints:
1. Currently you can only get the computer with a 3-cell battery, which will get you anywhere between 2 and 3 hours. I highly recommend picking up an extra AC adapter ($49 on the HP site) in the event that you need a quick charge.
2. there is a lack of external ports on the computer the biggest issue being the lack of a VGA port. So, if you're looking to hook this up to an external video source, then you probably shouldn't go with this model.
So, if those last 2 issues won't affect you, then I can definitively say that this is one of the best netbooks on the market right now.
Best Deals for HP Mini 1000 Notebook (Intel Atom Processor N270 1.60GHz, 10.2" LED
I had been considering buying a new Macbook to replace my ageing iBook G4, which at 3 years old is getting ready to be retired. My ventures into the electronics shops to play with the Macbook brought me into contact with netbooks... and was I amazed at their price!Although I was an Apple convert of 5 years these tiny gems seemed to be able to do everything I wanted with a mobile computer (remember I still have a functioning iBook... and a new iMac). I wanted something that was very portable and light. I wanted to be able to surf the net, read emails and type the occasional document. And I figured I could live with Windows XP at a push, so I started my research. I read all the reviews. I flipped through every PC Mag I could find. And I tested them in-store.
The HP Mini 1000 got my attention for three things
a) The stylishly compact design and high quality build
b) The almost full size keyboard
c) The amazing screen with glowing colours
Now to be honest I must admit that it looks a lot like the black MacBook (which has been discontinued) and as a Mac user I do like design. But the keyboard is so easy to type on compared with the other ones on the market. And the case is very very stylish and professional looking (unlike some of the other netbooks out there). And the edge to edge glass covered screen makes it look even more impressive. The build is solid and it is sturdy enough to throw into a backpack.
I also appreciate the lack of extra pre-installed trial software as well so I don't have to spend hours removing it.
Oh, but I forgot to mention the price! It's about 1/3 the price of a Macbook! Not bad in these bleak times.
Honest reviews on HP Mini 1000 Notebook (Intel Atom Processor N270 1.60GHz, 10.2" LED
I've been using this HP Mini 1000 Netbook for a while now, and decided to write a review for Amazon because I'm so impressed with the device. If you are considering a "Netbook" like this, chances are you've never owned one, and are perhaps a bit skeptical about the device. So was I.First off, let's set the parameters. This isn't a multi-core Pentium processor machine with a high end dedicated graphics card. It isn't meant for running the most processor intensive applications faster than any other computer on the market. Most of you have one of these number-crunching machines at home already, or perhaps a high-end laptop with all the power-intensive support. This is a "Netbook," which means a slimmed down laptop that can be used for basic functions, such as web browsing, e-mail, and some minor picture viewing.
That's a bit deceptive, because when you read descriptions like that, you expect that the HP Mini 1000 will essentially be a performance "dog" that can handle only a web browser, and perhaps Picasa. I can tell you, that's a real mistake.
There's no doubt this in one of the lightest and smallest computers you've ever seen, but, surprisingly, it is also one of the most sprightly performing laptops you're likely to find in the price range (and speaking of price, it's basically a steal at between $400 and $500; I had two other laptops not long ago that were both sub-3 pound devices, and they each cost over $3,000). I went ahead and just took a gamble on loading all of a trial copy of Microsoft Office 2007 (Outlook, Word, Excel, OneNote, etc.), and then just piled on other applications I typically use on my regular laptop (a dual core T8100 processor in an HP Dv2000 body), including picture viewers, utility programs, etc.. Surprise. It not only handled all the software, but it runs the programs remarkably well, with little lag time and surprisingly deft performance. The Intel "Atom" Processor powering this thing can easily be seen as a "sleeper" technology that people are going to increasingly talk about.
Boot time is also surprisingly fast. Mine usually loads within 20 seconds, certainly faster than my "powerful" laptop. Of course, the Mini is running Windows XP, not Vista, but still, that's pretty impressive. (By the way, I also installed Windows 7 RC1, and it worked just fine.)
The wireless has thus far worked without problems. I connect to my home network with high security settings, and to public locations using open networks, all without a hitch so far. (The unit, however, does not support draft-n specifications, so you'll be connecting at g speeds.)
The physical construction of this unit is excellent. Yes, it is small and light. But it is also sturdy in the way it feels, with little squeaking and a solid construction. The screen is bright and clear. And the keyboard is one of the best I've seen in any laptop. How did they do this?
Finally, when youfeel the tiny weight and size of the battery as you take it out of the box, you'll be thinking that it will run 30 minutes, tops. Well, with the Atom processor sipping current at exceedingly low amounts, you'll likely see some 90 120 minutes on a single charge. It's amazing.
You can probably tell I'm impressed with this device, because I am. If this is the beginning of "Netbooks," then I think they will become increasingly popular as people discover them.
Rating for Size and Weight: Five Stars
Rating for Price: Five Stars
Rating for Configuration: Four and 1/2 Stars
Pros:
1. Exceedingly light and small
2. Beautiful physical appearance
3. Clear and bright screen (but glare can be an issue)
4. Remarkable performance, even with software suites such as Office 2007
5. Excellent keyboard with good tactile feel and large size layout (how is this possible?)
6. Wireless that actually works
7. Lightweight adapter cord (you've been stung on this before, haven't you? They finally got it right.)
8. Two USB 2.0 ports, plus a network port and a HP adapter output port
9. Built-in webcam
10. Can put in a 2Gb memory card (even though it claims 1Gb is the limit)
11. Very good battery life for such a dimunutive battery
12. Great price for the package
Cons
1. No draft-N wireless available
2. Bluetooth not on every model
3. HP Proprietary connector required for VGA output
4. Non-common 1.8" hard drive format limits upgrade options to the 1.8" format
5. Screen resolution, though very good, is not as high as we might wish (but is good enough)
6. Display does not fold back as far as most laptops
7. Outstanding performance probably drives us to push the unit past its stated purposes (i.e., just don't be upset if you can't run a C++ compiler while listening to Windows Media Player and editing an Excel spreadsheet)
To sum it up, this is truly an outstanding breakthrough if you understand what the unit is designed to do. I'm already seriously considering substituting my main laptop with the HP Mini for most out-of-home tasks. Five stars.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Mini 1000 Notebook (Intel Atom Processor N270 1.60GHz, 10.2" LED
This is a great little netbook but for the price HP should include bluetooth and wireless n in addition to the installed b/g wireless of yesterday.First I should mention I didn't pay the price Amazon is asking, I bought it direct from HP's site for $450 (built to order, same configuration as this model).
I also own an Acer mini with the same processor, ram, and XP.
Well after using both the Acer and the HP I much prefer the HP simply due to the beautiful screen. In other departments Acer got it right like having three usb ports, a 100GB larger and faster hard drive, and a 6 cell battery to name a few. But did I mention the beautiful screen on the HP? I love it! This doesn't come (or at least mine didn't) loaded full of ad's and crap which was very nice, there was very little to uninstall before I went to work configuring it to my personal taste and loading my software. Thank you HP for not bogging this one down with useless crap, it is very appreciated and will keep you in mind next time I'm looking for a similar product. Also I love the fact that the Windows Install CD came in the box, Acer wasn't so generous in that department.
HP really should include a nice slip case in the box, unfortunately none of the manufacturers do so I was forced to buy a generic third party case off of Amazon like everyone else, I'll post a review on the case and how it fits in a week or so once it arrives and I've tested it out.
Does anyone know if there is a way to upgrade the ram on this one yet? As far as I know there isn't but it would be nice to have 2gb verses the 1gb that it comes with. I should mention it runs pretty good on just 1gb I simply am a demanding consumer.
I usually buy most of my electronics on either Amazon, Newegg, or eBay but this time the price difference was remarkable I actually saved $250 by buying directly from HP.
I hope this review is useful to those of you out there debating which one to get, remember none of the other netbooks will even come close to this HP as far as screen quality goes but for the dollar Acer gives you a little more bang for your buck in the other departments.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Buy DELL ell Obsidian Black I15-2255bk IntelCore i3 500GB HD 4GB Ram
attention is very good staff, their response times are very accurate .Computer with very good performance .. really what I expected,It is really slow although it has i3. I want to return but time has passed through almost 2 months
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Buy Dell Inspiron 1545 15.6-Inch Jet Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 34
List Price: $619.99
Sale Price: $619.00
Today's Bonus: $0.99 Off
I've owned several laptops and would be considered an intermediate to advanced computer user. I've built my own desktops, tweaked a few laptops and owned various brands of laptops including HP, Fujitsu, Sony and Dell (Inspiron, Latitude and XPS series).
I purchased this laptop directly from Dell based upon Consumer Report's November 2009 article recommendations where the Dell Inspiron 1545 was rated a 'Best Buy' for every day computing. I purchased it for my husband who will use it primarily for watching an occasional movie from Netflix streaming wirelessly on our home network, emailing to share jokes and videos with his friends, and browsing the Internet.
After setting it up, which other than running into a snag with my home network was a breeze, and playing with it for about an hour, these are my impressions.
The PROS:
+ Comes with Windows 7 no need to upgrade, and the 64-bit combined with the more than adequate memory makes things move nicely. Slightly different than Vista's look, but should be easy to use.
+ Adequate hard drive (mine came with a 320) for storing photos, videos and music.
+ Great 1.3mp webcam which delivers pretty nice snapshots (not too grainy) as well as excellent video (very little drag of movement).
+ Good speakers! Better than those on my Dell XPS, for which I paid 30% more less than a year ago.
+ 3 usb ports
+ Bright 15.6" display; nice size. I sometimes find the 13" on the XPS too small and the Fujitsu had a 17" which is fine for a desktop replacement but really adds weight to the overall unit.
+ Virtually silent running. No fan noise to speak of and yet...
+ Stays cool to the touch! Not worried about overheating on this one.
The CONS:
Keyboard is OK, but not as responsive as some others I've used.
The touchpad seems a tad small and the buttons (left/right click) seem too low by comparison to the keyboard. It could be the size of my hands (small...) but I tend to think it's just the layout.
The high gloss finish inside and the glossy display (versus matte finish) look cool, but do show fingerprints and reflect light to the point of sometimes being a nuisance.
There is no 'media only' button like on the XPS where you don't have to turn on the computer to watch a movie, but this is something that higher end laptops would have and may simply be a perk to paying more.
Heavier than some others, but at under six pounds, it's still not too bad.
Matte finish on the outside shows greasy smudges where you've touched it. I have the same issue with my XPS, but frankly I've never found a finish that doesn't show something.
Not a multi-media or gaming powerhouse. It will play dvd's and games, but if you're buying a laptop and really into those things, spend a bit more and make sure you upgrade your video and audio to support your interests. The 4GB of memory really helps as much as anything and I didn't notice any issues with the media I tested.
SET-UP:
The only issue I had with setting up this laptop was with my home network not being accepted because Windows 7 didn't like the security settings I had in place. I could get the 1545 to recognize my network, but it wouldn't connect until I changed the settings. I had my wireless settings on WEP and Windows 7 wanted WPA. Once I changed the settings, the laptop connected. I then had to go to 8 different devices on my network and make sure they were happy. Only one item: Myine Electronics IR001 WiFi Internet Radio Adaptor wasn't happy, but eventually accepted the settings with some concentrated tweaking.
BATTERY LIFE:
Battery life seems to be about 3.5 hours. I think the 4+ hour estimate is high, but that undoubtedly is also based upon what things you are doing on the laptop and mobile power settings.
CONCLUSION:
If you purchase this Dell you are getting a solid workhorse for every day computing for a fair price. I think it's quality is certainly higher than an Acer with the same specs, and backed by a 1 year warranty from Dell. (Having had a Dell laptop that needed the keyboard replaced recently, I truly think the warranty service provided by Dell they came to my house the next day is exceptional and worth the small price hike over some other brands.)
The Dell Inspiron 1545 is perfect for a student, a grandma who likes to email or wants to keep up with the grandkids on Skype, or anyone who has no need for the latest and greatest gaming, multi-media computer. For a laptop with a webcam, 4GB memory, and Windows 7 (64-bit) that's ready to fly right out of the box... it's a good choice.
**WIRELESS NOTE: If you are having trouble connecting to a wireless network, be sure you check the included 'set-up guide', page 10, to find the wireless key on your keyboard. You can inadvertently press this key and turn off your wireless capabilities. Handy on airplanes... not so handy at home.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
The performance of this laptop is outstanding compared to most laptops in the price range. It's unfortunate that Dell decided to preload Mcafee's security suite on the machine. Uninstalling Mcafee disables your network connection preventing you to get online. Reading up on this machine, it seems many people have this issue with the Mcafee suite. After reinstalling all of the software, this machine is pretty speedy. If you aren't sure how to reinstall Windows and all of the applications, be prepared to pay for subscriptions to Mcafee. You will be permanently offline if you choose to remove it.The webcam will keep kids entertained for hours with its facial recognition software. You can put goofy hair, hats, and other decorations on your face real-time. Not really a practical feature, but it is pretty cool.
Aside from software bugs on the machine, this is an awesome computer, and it feels quite sturdy. It seems to be a pretty solid machine, and I think I will enjoy having it.
Pros
Windows 7 runs well.
Wonderful widescreen display
Plenty of ram (4gb)
Speedy processor for a laptop
Built in webcam software with facial recognition is awesome!
Battery life is decent for a machine this size.
Machine runs very quiet.
Keyboard is very quiet, and buttons are easy to press.
Very attractive computer.
Cons
Built-in Mcafee software disables your network connection if you uninstall it.
Dell includes reinstallation discs, not recovery discs.
Most of the pre-loaded apps cannot be reinstalled from their DVDs if you choose to reinstall windows.
Glossy finish on the inside of the laptop is prone to fingerprints/smudges.
Lack of dedicated media buttons (shared with F1-F12 keys)
No HDMI
No Bluetooth
No Blu-ray
Only 3 USB ports
Lack of 10 keypad
Best Deals for Dell Inspiron 1545 15.6-Inch Jet Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 34
I bought mine from Dell with a little better price but I buy a lot from Amazon and find the reviews helpful. I have a Dell XPS which is a high end Dell and running my benchmarks it is really preforms quite well considering the cost. Like one lady said the sound is better than the xps, maybe the best I have heard on a laptop. The screen is about a 1/2 inch shorter from top to bottom but about 1/2 inch wider. I thought I would be to skinny like the new 16:9 but its fine. The screen is excellent in sharpness and color very good. The intel graphics card is ample for video and is ok for older games. I am not a gamer high end graphics are not a issue.It does have 32mb of its own ram and the rest is shared. Dell has finally installed a app to back up the system for restore like other oems. The roxio is pretty much worthless and you need something else for the normal burning that windows 7 cant do.Mine came with 15 months of mcafee and I uninstalled it as soon as I got it. It is a resource hog and will slow your computer to a crawl at times. Microsoft finally has a free security essentials app instead of having to pay someone else to protect your computer and I use it as well as Avira anti virus (free)from time to time. I am going on 4 hours battery now and the battery says I have 50 minutes left. It only has 1 led for power and low battery, I dont care for this and prefer a full set of leds to let me know whats going on. Software indicators work but or a cost cutting feature.My only problem is the space bar feels loose at times and hinges for the monitor are quite stiff and hope they don't break.
I have had my share of problems with Dell and have sent back 2 different computers. To be honest this is the best computer for the money I have had. Only time will tell if it holds up or not but I am quite happy with it. Charging $40.00 for a different color (on there website)lid is a rip off to me, but each to their own. Mine came with 3gb ram and I added a 2gb chip for 4gb I had and it does make a difference. I would keep an eye on the price as they do change. One of the main reasons I bought this is because I despised vista, but I have had no problems with 7. My wifi and networked worked with no problems.
Update: a nice feature that might confuse some people is that the fn key need not be pushed to use the media keys and the sound volume and brightness. There is a bios setting that can change the priority of the fn key to media first or number keys (like f1 f2 f3) first) It is set by default to media first. I have never seen this before but I like this feature.
Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron 1545 15.6-Inch Jet Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 34
We bought the Dell Inspiron 15 (1545) to replace an aging ACER laptop as an "everyday" laptop for my teen son to use for homework and casual gaming. For the price, the performance, features and display have far exceeded our expectations. While not a gaming or graphics power machine, it has more than enough processor speed, memory, and hard drive space for our needs.This is a very simple laptop to set up and use. The box only contains the PC (with battery already installed), the power supply, and a packet of software CDs (which I did not use) with minimal documentation. The instructions recommended charging the laptop for 12 hours before using the battery, which was fine as I just left it plugged in while configuring the machine. The initial setup took about 20 minutes, and was very straight forward as it found and connected right away to my WEP protected home WiFi network. The Windows 7 configuration was straight forward and no errors were encountered. Dell also recommends updating the BIOS right away and the instructions are included in the documentation. It was a very easy process and only took another 20 minutes or so to complete.
PROS:
+ Windows 7 is preinstalled 64 bit OS, works well
+ Very Nice 15.6" Screen Very clear and bright
+ Good Webcam and Software Provides better than expected image and video quality
+ Fast DVD+RW Drive
+ Large Hard Drive
+ Large Amount of RAM
+ Good Touchpad very responsive and doesn't have the "random jump" issue seen on other laptops
CONS:
Only 3 USB Ports, no HDMI, Firewire, etc
Finish is a Fingerprint Magnet!
Limited Pre-installed Software Comes with MS Works and a MS PowerPoint Reader
Overall this is a good value laptop that will meet most general daily office, homework, and web surfing needs.
Recommended!
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dell Inspiron 1545 15.6-Inch Jet Black Laptop - Up to 4 Hours 34
I have been using an ancient desktop computer for far too long, and to upgrade it would have been more trouble than it was worth. I had been looking into getting a laptop for quite a while, as I wanted something I could take to my band's rehearsals to record demos and burn copies for my bandmates to work on songs. My father surprised me with the Inspiron 1545 for my birthday a month ago, and so far I have had little to no trouble with it whatsoever.I have not really used this laptop for gaming much, but everything I have used it for works fast and flawlessly. I do a lot of photo editing, art, and music recording, and even when multitasking everything runs smoothly. I have also never had an error resulting in any loss of data (this should be a given, but coming from the machine I had been using, it is a blessing). I primarily use simple single-track audio recording, but I have also installed and on occasion have used professional multi-track recording software for writing and recording music at home (one track at a time), and it seems to run very well on this system. The built-in speakers aren't the greatest quality, but I haven't found many laptops that do have great speakers. It is also very easy to plug it into my HDTV in order to use an extended desktop, which is very convenient for programs like Photoshop.
This laptop is plenty powerful enough for the average user's needs, and unless you're looking to do a lot of PC gaming I don't think you would need anything much more powerful. I did buy Spore and have played that a bit and it ran fine, but otherwise I cannot speak for its gaming capabilities. It would likely be sub-par for any graphics intensive games.
The only real complaint I have is that the touchpad occasionally seems to not want to respond properly. This is a rare occurrence, and taking my finger off of it for a few seconds usually seems to solve the problem, but it is very frustrating when it happens. Also, double-tapping the touchpad works as if you are holding the left-click (which I believe is standard), but it is far too sensitive and too easy to accidentally activate this feature. These are minor annoyances, but annoyances nonetheless and are primarily why I gave this product 4 stars instead of 5.
I have, fortunately, not had to deal with Dell's customer service (and of course I hope that I will not have to) so I can't speak for that aspect of the company. From what I have read they seem to have a growing reputation for poor customer service, but I will not subtract from my rating based on reputation. I will say that when I went to their site to download drivers I was recommended to try their download manager which did not work. Once you try to use this feature it will not give you the option to simply download the drivers directly until you delete your browser cookies. If they are able to over-complicate something as simple as downloading drivers (the most basic aspect of tech support) I shudder to think what I may have to deal with if real problems arise.
I feel that I should point out that it is difficult to judge any Windows-based PC by reading user reviews. I have read a good many reviews of laptops where the consumer is unhappy with the product due to crashes, slowdowns, slow startups or other problems after a couple weeks to a month or more of use, and more often that not those problems arise due to viruses/driver conflicts/general software problems and not a flaw in the hardware itself. Most people that aren't very tech-savvy that have problems with a PC/laptop in the first couple months will immediately blame the hardware instead of their questionable browsing/downloading habits. Too many people don't realize that having fifteen instant messengers, weatherbug, and other unneeded programs running at startup WILL cause it to take longer to start up. I recommend anyone reading user reviews on these types of things to keep that in mind.
To summarize, this laptop has been great for me thus far, and other than some minor quirks with the touchpad I have really had no problems to speak of. It starts up fast, I never have problems with slowdown even when multitasking with more demanding programs, and though I was hesitant about Windows 7 after the abomination that was Vista, I find myself absolutely loving it.
For the price, I would definitely recommend this laptop.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Samsung Series 3 NP355E5C-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Review
I bought this as a cheap beat up laptop. Turns out it's among the best I've ever owned. A half year into it, after using it 6 10 hours most days, it has yet to give me even a single problem. Not one crash, not one malfunction. The only wear came on the keyboard, where the letter paint has come away a bit. Not bad though.
Some other reviewers have claimed that this computer is slow. I'm not going to doubt them, but that has not been my experience whatsoever. The computer is as fast as any other that I have used and I run multiple programs (like Photoshop, Word and Firefox with plenty of tabs open) all at once. A friend purchased a Sony Vaio at the same time and has had nothing but problems, including with speed.
I recommend this computer.
Some other reviewers have claimed that this computer is slow. I'm not going to doubt them, but that has not been my experience whatsoever. The computer is as fast as any other that I have used and I run multiple programs (like Photoshop, Word and Firefox with plenty of tabs open) all at once. A friend purchased a Sony Vaio at the same time and has had nothing but problems, including with speed.
I recommend this computer.
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This item was as described, one of my favorite laptops. Well made, great function, great quality for the price, thanks!Best Deals for Samsung Series 3 NP355E5C-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
Out of the box it comes with so much "bloat" that it's a challenge to weed through to the worthwhile pieces of software. The product is nice, hardware is more than decent, but for some reason, it hangs up from time to time. I haven't added any additional software yet, and I'm on 100Mbps fiber for Internet. Just sometimes when watching online videos or surfing the net it slows. It's not an extreme problem but it can be frustrating. I won't fault it for the issues I have with Windows 8.Honest reviews on Samsung Series 3 NP355E5C-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
I ordered this as a Christmas gift for my husband. It is a slow computer! We have tried everything and it just does not have the speed of the other laptops in our family. And Windows 8 yuck! I don't want it on mine!Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung Series 3 NP355E5C-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)
My son loves this computer. It's sharp, fast, and plays his games perfectly. The only flaw would be that the bottom is light so when it lifts the whole computer when you open it must keep weight on the bottom while lifting screen so can't do it one-handed. My son keeps it in his room, plugged in, at all times, so I can't speak to the battery life. But, overall, it's a great computer at this price and we love it.Sunday, July 6, 2014
Review of LATITUDE E5400 P8600 2.53G 2GB SYST160GB DVDRW 14.1IN C2D WVB/XPP
Note: My company gave me this laptop for work purposes. I've used it for over a month now. I didn't pay for it, so don't know what the cost of this laptop is elsewhere on the internet or in stores.
Build: Looks like a good sturdy laptop for office use. Durability wise, no problems so far.
It does feel heavy for it's size though. It is ugly because it's a "business class" product and not a home or a media class product. The screen size is thicker than other laptops that you get today.
Configuration & Performance: Mine came with a Core 2 Duo, and 4 GB ram. Shipped with Windows 7 professional. So far it has handled whatever I've thrown at it quite well. I've tried a couple of videos on it, the speakers are alright. I've used it for running Visual Studio (2010) and Eclipse (Helios) and it's handled both really well. The boot up time feels a little high for the configuration, but it's not too bad.
Noise: The fans are extremely silent and not just on power save mode. I haven't heard a peep out of this laptop so far. I'm really weird about the noise factor and I have to say so far this laptop has fared well in that department. The hard drive is dead silent (as it should be!).
Keyboard & Pointer devices: The keyboard just sucks. The keys are way too soft so you don't get the feel of pressing them. Yet, they make that typing sound. Just weird. The touch-pad isn't responsive enough even after a lot of tweaking with the dell software. Neither is the pointer in between the keyboard. In fact the pointer is so weird, it registers a left click when you accidentally touch it while typing. That's really annoying when you're trying to get work done! Overall, the keyboard, the touch-pad, the pointer seem very cheap and flimsy. The behavior is erratic and I don't think it's a software issue.
Display: The brightness is fine. The "auto-brightness" is nonsense. The laptop has a light sensor which adjusts the brightness level depending on ambient light. It just doesn't work. As much as someone's shadow standing over your shoulder messes it up to a huge extent. At times there is no change in light and it still flickers. I've just turned it off. The max-brightness is bright enough for work in direct sunlight. Overall, the display is ok. Nothing to brag about, but nothing really big to complaint about either.
Adapter etc: The power brick is nice and thin and the cord has a power indicator on the tip that connects to the laptop. The problem is it stays on even when not connected to the laptop, but I guess they designed it that way so you'd know. The LEDs on the laptop aren't very bright. BUT, I find the HDD light rather annoying. It keeps flickering way too much indicating heavy disk activity even when it's just idling. This indicator shouldn't even be there IMHO. It's pointless.
One thing I like is the ability to stop the battery from charging so you can leave the laptop constantly plugged in when you want without worrying that it'll reduce the overall battery life.
Conclusion: Ok, if you want something to work with occasionally. It's not very comfortable to carry around. You might want to get a mouse and keyboard to use with this thing. I'd say this laptop is worth 500$ given what I've seen so far.
It is flimsy and cheap. The back light is a constant issue and it heats up at the drop of a pin.
The fan spits out plastic after too long of a usage.
Requires constant restarts due to "internal issues"
The keys fall off.
The whole thing is loosely screwed together, leaving the screws to loosen and fall out.
It crashes and or freezes with light knocks (i. e. putting my books on my desk when the computer is out)
I am currently using this laptop to write this review but I would prefer anything over this... thing. In other words, this product is a no go. Get yourself the HP Pavilion dm4-3170se 14-Inch Laptop (Black) or the Lenovo 14" Core i5 500GB HDD 4GB DDR3 Ultrabook. They are cheaper for the value and more funtional. Summary: Don't. Buy.
Build: Looks like a good sturdy laptop for office use. Durability wise, no problems so far.
It does feel heavy for it's size though. It is ugly because it's a "business class" product and not a home or a media class product. The screen size is thicker than other laptops that you get today.
Configuration & Performance: Mine came with a Core 2 Duo, and 4 GB ram. Shipped with Windows 7 professional. So far it has handled whatever I've thrown at it quite well. I've tried a couple of videos on it, the speakers are alright. I've used it for running Visual Studio (2010) and Eclipse (Helios) and it's handled both really well. The boot up time feels a little high for the configuration, but it's not too bad.
Noise: The fans are extremely silent and not just on power save mode. I haven't heard a peep out of this laptop so far. I'm really weird about the noise factor and I have to say so far this laptop has fared well in that department. The hard drive is dead silent (as it should be!).
Keyboard & Pointer devices: The keyboard just sucks. The keys are way too soft so you don't get the feel of pressing them. Yet, they make that typing sound. Just weird. The touch-pad isn't responsive enough even after a lot of tweaking with the dell software. Neither is the pointer in between the keyboard. In fact the pointer is so weird, it registers a left click when you accidentally touch it while typing. That's really annoying when you're trying to get work done! Overall, the keyboard, the touch-pad, the pointer seem very cheap and flimsy. The behavior is erratic and I don't think it's a software issue.
Display: The brightness is fine. The "auto-brightness" is nonsense. The laptop has a light sensor which adjusts the brightness level depending on ambient light. It just doesn't work. As much as someone's shadow standing over your shoulder messes it up to a huge extent. At times there is no change in light and it still flickers. I've just turned it off. The max-brightness is bright enough for work in direct sunlight. Overall, the display is ok. Nothing to brag about, but nothing really big to complaint about either.
Adapter etc: The power brick is nice and thin and the cord has a power indicator on the tip that connects to the laptop. The problem is it stays on even when not connected to the laptop, but I guess they designed it that way so you'd know. The LEDs on the laptop aren't very bright. BUT, I find the HDD light rather annoying. It keeps flickering way too much indicating heavy disk activity even when it's just idling. This indicator shouldn't even be there IMHO. It's pointless.
One thing I like is the ability to stop the battery from charging so you can leave the laptop constantly plugged in when you want without worrying that it'll reduce the overall battery life.
Conclusion: Ok, if you want something to work with occasionally. It's not very comfortable to carry around. You might want to get a mouse and keyboard to use with this thing. I'd say this laptop is worth 500$ given what I've seen so far.
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Our school purchased a Latitude laptop for every teacher in our school this year. They are very useful if you are looking for a paper weight or need to flatten out student paintings from art class. Otherwise, they are useless. All of them crash at least once a day, and I mean with the ominous blue screen featuring the ominous fatal error message. Several crash in lieu of a screen saver-students come in for a class, you teach for an hour and return to the computer to complete you work and, Voila!, the lover blue screened fatal error message. This has happened this morning six times already and it is only 10:26 am. I recommend you spend your money elsewhere, Perhaps in decorative paper weights with the blue bird of happiness instead of this lap top with the blue screen of despair.Best Deals for LATITUDE E5400 P8600 2.53G 2GB SYST160GB DVDRW 14.1IN C2D WVB/XPP
I was given this laptop by the school and I want to say that this laptop is absolutely horrible for its intended purposes.It is flimsy and cheap. The back light is a constant issue and it heats up at the drop of a pin.
The fan spits out plastic after too long of a usage.
Requires constant restarts due to "internal issues"
The keys fall off.
The whole thing is loosely screwed together, leaving the screws to loosen and fall out.
It crashes and or freezes with light knocks (i. e. putting my books on my desk when the computer is out)
I am currently using this laptop to write this review but I would prefer anything over this... thing. In other words, this product is a no go. Get yourself the HP Pavilion dm4-3170se 14-Inch Laptop (Black) or the Lenovo 14" Core i5 500GB HDD 4GB DDR3 Ultrabook. They are cheaper for the value and more funtional. Summary: Don't. Buy.
Honest reviews on LATITUDE E5400 P8600 2.53G 2GB SYST160GB DVDRW 14.1IN C2D WVB/XPP
The computer was in pretty rough condition when recieved. Cracks in the case but so far it is working well. Battery does not seem to hold a charge but keeping it pluged in is working for me at this time.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for LATITUDE E5400 P8600 2.53G 2GB SYST160GB DVDRW 14.1IN C2D WVB/XPP
when i bought this computer it looked wonderful because i knew what i was buying, this dell latitude was made for professional and educational work, when i began using this laptop i erased the windows vista it had and put a fresh copy of windows 7 professional. this computer has been by far the best laptop i've ever owned, i have always purchased from dell and dell never lets me down because i knew what i want. i work as a real pc tech and i know what im in for.the laptop contains 2 wwan slots, capability for cellular data, extra wifi cards, gps, you name it. It also contains 4 usb slots, bluetooth, 14.1 inch wxga lcd screen, 6lbs body weight, interchangeble cd drive to put hdd or other items in the cd-rw slot. also hd speakers capible of reaching 24,bit 192000 hz studio quality sound. s video port for tv, i 1394 port. vga port for external lcd. ethernet and modem port, headphone & mic port. the original battery lasts me 4 hrs on full use using windows 7 pro. my E5400 has been with me a whole year since i have owned this laptop and it has never let me down ever. i even went camping with it and traveled with it also, and my friends always expect for my laptop to die out on me and never has it crashed or physically broken or nothin. the body on this laptop isnt ugly it's called having a secure strong body frame built to last, i'm constantly using this latitude for work and home and it still runs smooth as from day one. people who have a school version, don't assume the pc itself is crap because it's not. on this type of computer the bad work is not on the physical parts of the laptop its the software that runs it. most of the time schools or education places purchase this model of computer because it was designed for easy (IT) networking, meaning that the pc can be controlled and maintained by some lazy fat guy sitting behind a desk and work on it. In my opinion this pc is for the feint hearted and people who are ready to physical demand on the pc. I purchased this pc directly from dell.com because this series is not availible at retail stores. :D very good battery life on this type of dell modelThursday, July 3, 2014
Best HP Pavilion g7-1365dx Laptop - AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M Accelerated Deals
I bought this laptop several weeks ago, right after it came out on the market, as a replacement for my old, obsolete Lenovo Thinkpad R61e (and as a backup for one of my desktop computers that, at nearly 7 years, is really showing its age). I was attracted by the balance of price and features, and so far I haven't regretted this purchase for a single moment (though I did get a wistful moment when I saw a similar HP model at a local computer shop that had a Blu-Ray drive :) )!
The g7-1365dx is one of HP's latest entrants in its highly successful Pavilion series of notebook/laptop PC's, with a slightly less capable twin in the g7-1355dx model which came out about a week after this model did (the only difference is that the 1355dx has a 500GB hard drive as opposed to the 1365dx's 640GB hard drive). With a quad-core AMD A603420M CPU, Radeon HD 6520G graphics, 640GB hard drive, 17.3" display (bigger across than some desktop LCD monitors!) and 4GB of DDR3 memory installed, we have here a suite of features that's comparable or superior to a great many more expensive laptops, so much so that one hesitates to call this machine a "budget" laptop for fear of unjustly labeling it a cheap or corner-cutting machine, neither of which it manifestly is.
I strongly recommend adding another 4GB of RAM to this computer, a cheap upgrade which I performed within an hour of purchase. This simple upgrade will significantly boost the power and speed of a machine that is already highly capable. The Windows 7 Home Premium system starts up and shuts down quite speedily. The graphics unit is rated as "A6" by AMD, the second-highest rating on its scale, which means that this computer is at least theoretically capable of playing Blu-Ray discs with the appropriate hardware. You will need to buy an external Blu-Ray drive, however, and probably a HDMI cable to connect the drive to the available HDMI port (the computer also has a traditional monitor port for connection to an external monitor). The hard drive has more capacity than the internal hard drives on any of my other computers, but depending on how much data you have to store, you may want to purchase a compact external HD to take along. The machine is very elegant in design, with an attractive black/silver-pewter color scheme, and has a satisfyingly hefty, solid feel. While it weighs 6+ pounds, when stored in its laptop bag along with the peripherals I've purchased for it, the whole package actually seems to weigh less than my old Thinkpad!
Some users feel that the built-in speakers are a bit puny, but it's my experience that speakers on notebook PC's tend to be comparatively undersized/underpowered affairs due to the constraints of the design, so I'm not really bothered by that (plus which, since I'm hearing-impaired, the sound system is less important to me anyway than the graphics quality). And speaking of which, the LCD monitor delivers beautiful, crisp, clear pictures. Fans of cutting-edge FPS games might need to step down the graphics level to play their favorite games on this machine (notebook PC's, again, tend to have less powerful graphics than desktop PC's so are usually not the best options for playing highly graphics-intensive games in any case) but other genres of games (e.g., strategy games like the Civilization series) should play without any issues. I got Cyberlink PowerDVD, my preferred movie-playing software, installed it on this machine, and it works like a charm very important since playing video away from home is one of the more frequent uses to which I intend to put this machine. (At the time of this writing, I haven't experimented yet with the built-in webcam.) Take note, also, that the hard drive is actually _larger_ than its marketed size of 640GB; the usable partition shows up as 678GB in all reporting software, along with two smaller recovery partitions, totaling some 700GB (which makes me wonder if HP actually installed a 750GB HD in this model remember that usable formatted sizes on a hard drive are always smaller than the size on the label but decided to market it as a smaller one).
No computer is ever perfect, though, and I do have a few quibbles with it. The battery life is advertised as being "up to 5 hours, 30 minutes", but that's marketing talk; as it comes from the factory, battery life is probably going to be closer to 2 hours and you'll need to do some work with the power scheme to stretch out the battery (and be sure to buy a spare battery once they become available for this model). There are only 3 USB ports, a common limitation on laptops, but if you have several USB devices to run, you'll need to buy a USB port hub. The media card reader only accepts SD and MMC cards, so I had to buy a USB card reader that accepts xD picture cards (the type that goes with my camera). The arrow keys are fairly small, which can lead to some awkwardness with certain games and applications that require lots of arrow-key manipulation; a USB keypad with full-sized arrow keys might be in order here.
All things considered, this is probably the best, most powerful laptop PC I've ever owned, and right now it's the single most powerful PC I do own! I strongly recommend this machine to anyone who's looking for a notebook that delivers a sound balance of features, power and price.
EDIT: (February 25, 2012): Grab this machine while you can. It's *already* (!!!) being superseded by the dv7-6c95dx, whose main differences seem to be that the latter system boasts Beats Audio, a redesigned keyboard and 4G capability. However, the dv7-6c95dx appears to cost up to $350 more, which makes it a very poor cost-to-value choice for the relatively minor improvements. Also, watch for another model called the g7-1355dx, which is identical in all respects to the 1365dx except that the 1355dx carries a 500GB hard drive as opposed to the 640GB hard drive of this model (this is very likely due to the ongoing hard drive shortage which may have restricted supplies of the 640GB hard drive used in the 1365dx).
UPDATE (March 21, 2012): The hard drive advertised as being 640GB in this laptop is actually 750GB! I found this out this morning when I installed the PC analyzer program HWInfo64 onto my own machine (I recommend it, by the way). That explains why the primary partition is listed as 676GB, nearly 40GB more than the stated/marketed capacity of the HD in advertising, and why there are two additional smaller partitions available for recovery and maintenance. This is a GOOD thing it means that you're getting even more of a bargain when you buy this machine, because you're going to get a hard drive that's bigger than anything found on anything except high-end laptops. I have no idea why HP chose to advertise this drive as being so much smaller than its actual size; perhaps they were concerned that people might see the actual formatted size of the drive and, not being aware that formatted capacities of hard drives are always smaller than the unformatted capacity, complain mistakenly about malfunctioning parts or even false advertising.
So I decided to purchase the: HP Pavilion G7 1365DX.
How do I remember the name by heart? Naieve one you are, 'tis the fact that this computer is brand new off the lines, and has virtually no developer support for it as of yet. I've scoured thousands of Google pages looking for everything and anything about this laptop, but alas, to no avail.
I will give the Laptop a good year to mature, before I can port Mac OS and Linux onto the device.
My review:
-Stock: 7.2/10
-Upgraded: 8.6/10
Stock Hardware Review:
6 Hard Drive Speed
8 Performance
8 Battery Life
5 RAM Speed
9 Graphics
----------------------
36 / 5 = 7.2 Rating
Pros:
-At these speeds, the Laptop was quite fast. Blazing actually.
-Plenty of Hard drive room, very slow access speeds.
-RAM is sufficient for everyday users.
Cons:
-The multi-tasking just isn't as good with only the original 4GB of RAM. (This is especially true if you set Windows to utilize all four cores simultaneously.)
-Power users will notice slow RAM access speeds, and will want to upgrade to faster/larger sized RAM.
-Normal/Slow HDD read/write speeds will cause slow down on games, and higher Graphically-based programs or Processor heavy programs will feel that wait time.
After Upgraded RAM and HDD Review:
9 Hard Drive Speed (Increased to Caviar-Black 1.0TB
9 Performance
7 Battery Life
8 RAM Speed
9 Graphics
----------------------
42 / 5 = 8.4 Rating
Pros:
--The Laptop will set your house on fire by how Blazing fast it actually is.
-A Mushkin SSD sped Windows 7 up to Jesus speeds.
-RAM is sufficient for heavy multitaking, and RAM intensive programs.
Cons:
-Installation can be problematic for a novice user.
-Can be pricey for replacement parts.
The 640GB hard drive is more than enough for me. Currently I have 498 GB free, and roughly 120 used GB memory. When this computer was purchased, HP had put about 30GB on it of its own software and windows 7 and etc... What I do is download 20 movies, watch them, and erase. So I do not foresee myself every getting half of this Hard Drive used up. Even if your someone that stores lots of data, 640GD(roughly 600 able to use) is still plenty. The graphics card is said to be very good but not optimal. In my opinion from what I can tell, it is very strong and impressive. The visuals are as good and better than my last laptop, and barring HD TV blu-ray quality, this wil suffice for most users.
The 4 core processors allow very high multi-tasking. I have had about 6-8 programs in the foreground running, and probably 4 or 5 in the background running with VERY minimal slow-down effect.
The audio and speakers sound great and pretty powerful for tiny laptop speakers. The dvd-drive is great, the 3 USB ports are enough for me, the battery life tends to be about 3 to 3.5 hours on average battery power savings(50% screen brightness, etc..). The webcam is as good as any built-in webcam usually comes. It has 6months of internet security on it. The best buy warranty is $270 for 3 years of the full, "black tie", broken, damaged, water damage, vitrus, full warranty that covers literally anything at all.
The many HP programs include so many that I wont list them all, there are about 12 or more off the top of my head. Some are new that I have never seen and still exploring them. The 17.3 inch screen size is larger than my last 15.6 and the difference is visually much better. It technically is 1.7inches but it feels like 2" or more difference. I love it. I have downloaded 5 or 6 games that are racing, golf, etc and they all play fantastically. Graphics are great even when there is alot of action on-screen.
The mouse pad is my first of this kind. Instead of the smooth pad, its bumpy and rough in order to detect motion better. You can only tell this in person, so try it out when you are in-store. I love the design.
The hard drive acceleration allows the processer to speed up when necessary. When it's not using accelerated mode, the copmuter is fast enough. When it comes on, there are no issues that it can't handle, seemingly(of course the biggest games and movies and everything playing all at once would be tough, but for any standard use it is great. I have absolutely no regrets with this computer and I will enjoy having it for the full 3 years of the warranty. I love this computer so much. Im nota HUGE computer guy, but I love my computers if you know what I mean. I think this computer is A) reliable, B) powerful, C)smooth and sleek. If your budget is $500 or less, I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this. You can not be dissatisfied unless you expect $900 range while paying $500. Other than that, satisfied is what you wil be. Goodluck computer shoppers and I hope I madeyour decision easy..HP is a very reliable product and above all easily my favorite..
The g7-1365dx is one of HP's latest entrants in its highly successful Pavilion series of notebook/laptop PC's, with a slightly less capable twin in the g7-1355dx model which came out about a week after this model did (the only difference is that the 1355dx has a 500GB hard drive as opposed to the 1365dx's 640GB hard drive). With a quad-core AMD A603420M CPU, Radeon HD 6520G graphics, 640GB hard drive, 17.3" display (bigger across than some desktop LCD monitors!) and 4GB of DDR3 memory installed, we have here a suite of features that's comparable or superior to a great many more expensive laptops, so much so that one hesitates to call this machine a "budget" laptop for fear of unjustly labeling it a cheap or corner-cutting machine, neither of which it manifestly is.
I strongly recommend adding another 4GB of RAM to this computer, a cheap upgrade which I performed within an hour of purchase. This simple upgrade will significantly boost the power and speed of a machine that is already highly capable. The Windows 7 Home Premium system starts up and shuts down quite speedily. The graphics unit is rated as "A6" by AMD, the second-highest rating on its scale, which means that this computer is at least theoretically capable of playing Blu-Ray discs with the appropriate hardware. You will need to buy an external Blu-Ray drive, however, and probably a HDMI cable to connect the drive to the available HDMI port (the computer also has a traditional monitor port for connection to an external monitor). The hard drive has more capacity than the internal hard drives on any of my other computers, but depending on how much data you have to store, you may want to purchase a compact external HD to take along. The machine is very elegant in design, with an attractive black/silver-pewter color scheme, and has a satisfyingly hefty, solid feel. While it weighs 6+ pounds, when stored in its laptop bag along with the peripherals I've purchased for it, the whole package actually seems to weigh less than my old Thinkpad!
Some users feel that the built-in speakers are a bit puny, but it's my experience that speakers on notebook PC's tend to be comparatively undersized/underpowered affairs due to the constraints of the design, so I'm not really bothered by that (plus which, since I'm hearing-impaired, the sound system is less important to me anyway than the graphics quality). And speaking of which, the LCD monitor delivers beautiful, crisp, clear pictures. Fans of cutting-edge FPS games might need to step down the graphics level to play their favorite games on this machine (notebook PC's, again, tend to have less powerful graphics than desktop PC's so are usually not the best options for playing highly graphics-intensive games in any case) but other genres of games (e.g., strategy games like the Civilization series) should play without any issues. I got Cyberlink PowerDVD, my preferred movie-playing software, installed it on this machine, and it works like a charm very important since playing video away from home is one of the more frequent uses to which I intend to put this machine. (At the time of this writing, I haven't experimented yet with the built-in webcam.) Take note, also, that the hard drive is actually _larger_ than its marketed size of 640GB; the usable partition shows up as 678GB in all reporting software, along with two smaller recovery partitions, totaling some 700GB (which makes me wonder if HP actually installed a 750GB HD in this model remember that usable formatted sizes on a hard drive are always smaller than the size on the label but decided to market it as a smaller one).
No computer is ever perfect, though, and I do have a few quibbles with it. The battery life is advertised as being "up to 5 hours, 30 minutes", but that's marketing talk; as it comes from the factory, battery life is probably going to be closer to 2 hours and you'll need to do some work with the power scheme to stretch out the battery (and be sure to buy a spare battery once they become available for this model). There are only 3 USB ports, a common limitation on laptops, but if you have several USB devices to run, you'll need to buy a USB port hub. The media card reader only accepts SD and MMC cards, so I had to buy a USB card reader that accepts xD picture cards (the type that goes with my camera). The arrow keys are fairly small, which can lead to some awkwardness with certain games and applications that require lots of arrow-key manipulation; a USB keypad with full-sized arrow keys might be in order here.
All things considered, this is probably the best, most powerful laptop PC I've ever owned, and right now it's the single most powerful PC I do own! I strongly recommend this machine to anyone who's looking for a notebook that delivers a sound balance of features, power and price.
EDIT: (February 25, 2012): Grab this machine while you can. It's *already* (!!!) being superseded by the dv7-6c95dx, whose main differences seem to be that the latter system boasts Beats Audio, a redesigned keyboard and 4G capability. However, the dv7-6c95dx appears to cost up to $350 more, which makes it a very poor cost-to-value choice for the relatively minor improvements. Also, watch for another model called the g7-1355dx, which is identical in all respects to the 1365dx except that the 1355dx carries a 500GB hard drive as opposed to the 640GB hard drive of this model (this is very likely due to the ongoing hard drive shortage which may have restricted supplies of the 640GB hard drive used in the 1365dx).
UPDATE (March 21, 2012): The hard drive advertised as being 640GB in this laptop is actually 750GB! I found this out this morning when I installed the PC analyzer program HWInfo64 onto my own machine (I recommend it, by the way). That explains why the primary partition is listed as 676GB, nearly 40GB more than the stated/marketed capacity of the HD in advertising, and why there are two additional smaller partitions available for recovery and maintenance. This is a GOOD thing it means that you're getting even more of a bargain when you buy this machine, because you're going to get a hard drive that's bigger than anything found on anything except high-end laptops. I have no idea why HP chose to advertise this drive as being so much smaller than its actual size; perhaps they were concerned that people might see the actual formatted size of the drive and, not being aware that formatted capacities of hard drives are always smaller than the unformatted capacity, complain mistakenly about malfunctioning parts or even false advertising.
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This computer is a pretty decent upgrade from my old 2.4 Dual-Core with Intel Extreme Graphics. My old Laptop was over four years old, and you could tell it had seen it's days.So I decided to purchase the: HP Pavilion G7 1365DX.
How do I remember the name by heart? Naieve one you are, 'tis the fact that this computer is brand new off the lines, and has virtually no developer support for it as of yet. I've scoured thousands of Google pages looking for everything and anything about this laptop, but alas, to no avail.
I will give the Laptop a good year to mature, before I can port Mac OS and Linux onto the device.
My review:
-Stock: 7.2/10
-Upgraded: 8.6/10
Stock Hardware Review:
6 Hard Drive Speed
8 Performance
8 Battery Life
5 RAM Speed
9 Graphics
----------------------
36 / 5 = 7.2 Rating
Pros:
-At these speeds, the Laptop was quite fast. Blazing actually.
-Plenty of Hard drive room, very slow access speeds.
-RAM is sufficient for everyday users.
Cons:
-The multi-tasking just isn't as good with only the original 4GB of RAM. (This is especially true if you set Windows to utilize all four cores simultaneously.)
-Power users will notice slow RAM access speeds, and will want to upgrade to faster/larger sized RAM.
-Normal/Slow HDD read/write speeds will cause slow down on games, and higher Graphically-based programs or Processor heavy programs will feel that wait time.
After Upgraded RAM and HDD Review:
9 Hard Drive Speed (Increased to Caviar-Black 1.0TB
9 Performance
7 Battery Life
8 RAM Speed
9 Graphics
----------------------
42 / 5 = 8.4 Rating
Pros:
--The Laptop will set your house on fire by how Blazing fast it actually is.
-A Mushkin SSD sped Windows 7 up to Jesus speeds.
-RAM is sufficient for heavy multitaking, and RAM intensive programs.
Cons:
-Installation can be problematic for a novice user.
-Can be pricey for replacement parts.
Best Deals for HP Pavilion g7-1365dx Laptop - AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M Accelerated
I bought this in early February. I spent $450 on it, which is a great bargain. I previously owned an HP dv5-1235dx for $679, and due to a few viruses, I got credit for a brand new laptop with warranty, and bought this one. This laptop is twice as good as that one, which was very strong for me and I loved it and still love it, and its $230 less. Part of that is that computers become more bargains as the years pass, and the same price gets you abetter laptop year after year.The 640GB hard drive is more than enough for me. Currently I have 498 GB free, and roughly 120 used GB memory. When this computer was purchased, HP had put about 30GB on it of its own software and windows 7 and etc... What I do is download 20 movies, watch them, and erase. So I do not foresee myself every getting half of this Hard Drive used up. Even if your someone that stores lots of data, 640GD(roughly 600 able to use) is still plenty. The graphics card is said to be very good but not optimal. In my opinion from what I can tell, it is very strong and impressive. The visuals are as good and better than my last laptop, and barring HD TV blu-ray quality, this wil suffice for most users.
The 4 core processors allow very high multi-tasking. I have had about 6-8 programs in the foreground running, and probably 4 or 5 in the background running with VERY minimal slow-down effect.
The audio and speakers sound great and pretty powerful for tiny laptop speakers. The dvd-drive is great, the 3 USB ports are enough for me, the battery life tends to be about 3 to 3.5 hours on average battery power savings(50% screen brightness, etc..). The webcam is as good as any built-in webcam usually comes. It has 6months of internet security on it. The best buy warranty is $270 for 3 years of the full, "black tie", broken, damaged, water damage, vitrus, full warranty that covers literally anything at all.
The many HP programs include so many that I wont list them all, there are about 12 or more off the top of my head. Some are new that I have never seen and still exploring them. The 17.3 inch screen size is larger than my last 15.6 and the difference is visually much better. It technically is 1.7inches but it feels like 2" or more difference. I love it. I have downloaded 5 or 6 games that are racing, golf, etc and they all play fantastically. Graphics are great even when there is alot of action on-screen.
The mouse pad is my first of this kind. Instead of the smooth pad, its bumpy and rough in order to detect motion better. You can only tell this in person, so try it out when you are in-store. I love the design.
The hard drive acceleration allows the processer to speed up when necessary. When it's not using accelerated mode, the copmuter is fast enough. When it comes on, there are no issues that it can't handle, seemingly(of course the biggest games and movies and everything playing all at once would be tough, but for any standard use it is great. I have absolutely no regrets with this computer and I will enjoy having it for the full 3 years of the warranty. I love this computer so much. Im nota HUGE computer guy, but I love my computers if you know what I mean. I think this computer is A) reliable, B) powerful, C)smooth and sleek. If your budget is $500 or less, I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this. You can not be dissatisfied unless you expect $900 range while paying $500. Other than that, satisfied is what you wil be. Goodluck computer shoppers and I hope I madeyour decision easy..HP is a very reliable product and above all easily my favorite..
Honest reviews on HP Pavilion g7-1365dx Laptop - AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M Accelerated
I am very happy with this laptop. It runs quickly and smoothly. Downloading items from the internet sometimes takes a matter of seconds where with my last computer is took several minutes. The biggest problem I had was that this laptop is so big at 17.3" that I had a hard time finding a good computer bag that would fit it!Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Pavilion g7-1365dx Laptop - AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M Accelerated
This is my first HP and let me tell You I am very impressed with this performance. The Graphics are great. The speed is phenomenal, and just overall a great purchase. It was out of this computer, Samsung, or Toshiba. All had similar specs, but what sold me on this computer was better options for the price. I would recommend this computer to anyone.Monday, June 30, 2014
Review of HP ENVY TouchSmart 15t-j000 Quad Edition Windows 8 Professional 64
List Price: $1,499.99
Sale Price: $1,288.88
Today's Bonus: 14% Off
with it's combination of CPU, large (and upgradeable) RAM, and latest generation of CPU core, is amazing, you don't need to pay extra for a professional laptop.
With this laptop you have the latest generation of CPU, very large RAM, a very good sound (the laptops are not generally characterized in this regard), Good Hybrid disk of 1TB, backlight keyboard and fingerprint reader with good software and good recognition. And it's touchscreen, is excellent for Windows 8. Very recommended.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Reviews of Sony VAIO S Series SVS1311BFXW 13.3-Inch Laptop (White)
This is my second vaio. after going through all the options on amazon i chose this one for the smaller size and significantly lighter weight than my last one. I decided that since i use the laptop mostly in bed or travel the size and weight was the first priority. I love how light it is and the battery life is amazing. My last one got down to about an hour and this is such an improvment. My only real complaint and it is a big one is the track pad. It is so annoying. Instead of the traditional pc right and left click buttons they have emulated the mac style trackpad and it is a disaster. So what if you can swipe, flip pictures and pinch the screen bigger and smaller when everytime you just want to click on a hyperlink or open a new tab it left clicks when you want to right and vise/versa. There doesn't seem to be a consistant place on the pad where you can guarantee it's going to do what you want it to do. When I bought my son his second vaio i made sure it had the traditional split keys below the track pad because it would have driven crazy. I wish I had known but i'm suffering through since i like everything about it. you have been warned!
I needed to make a few adjustments to become happy, though. Out of the box, it was VERY slow for an i5, mostly due to the Sony bloatware. Even after I removed the majority of the Sony bloatware, it still didn't seem as quick as it should be. I decided to upgrade the HDD to a solid state drive. I put in an Intel 520 series 180 GB, which although is smaller, it's more than I need for a part time portable laptop (I did check with Sony and they indicated swapping out the HDD would void the warranty, but if I had issues I could easily put the old one back in for service). I also added in another 8 GB memory chip (12 GB total now). The SSD and more RAM difference was huge. The laptop is now MUCH quicker and boots up and shuts down in less than 15-20 seconds.
Overall, it's hard to call it an ultrabook at 3.8 pounds, but it is very light and portal for a laptop that has an optical drive. I agree with others that most of the time, you don't really use an optical drive on a laptop, but it sure is better to have a built-in one than external on the few times you usually need it.
The display is a matte finish and more than adequete. I've seen clearer displays with a gloss screen, but it's clear enough, plus you don't get and glare or reflections with the matte finish. I like the white finish more than I originally thought I would. I also like the back-lit keyboard, but if I did have a complaint about it, it would be using it during the day. The keyboard keys are gray and the light is white. If it is not substantially dark, it is hard to read the keys. There are settings so you can set to only turn on the back-lit light when it detects darkness.
The mouse pad is a little sensitive, but after using it for a little while. It's not the best I've ever used (MacBook), but it's not the worst I've ever used.
I picked up the laptop during Amazon's lightning deals during Thanksgiving, and I'm happy with the purchase for $629. For me it was between this laptop and a ASUS Zenbook UX31E-DH52. The ASUS lost out due to being $300 more, having Windows 8, had so-so reviews (a lot of complaints about touchpad), and there seemed to be some concern that HDD's were harder to upgrade due to proprietary connectors.
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I've only been using it a few weeks, but I'm happy with the purchase.I needed to make a few adjustments to become happy, though. Out of the box, it was VERY slow for an i5, mostly due to the Sony bloatware. Even after I removed the majority of the Sony bloatware, it still didn't seem as quick as it should be. I decided to upgrade the HDD to a solid state drive. I put in an Intel 520 series 180 GB, which although is smaller, it's more than I need for a part time portable laptop (I did check with Sony and they indicated swapping out the HDD would void the warranty, but if I had issues I could easily put the old one back in for service). I also added in another 8 GB memory chip (12 GB total now). The SSD and more RAM difference was huge. The laptop is now MUCH quicker and boots up and shuts down in less than 15-20 seconds.
Overall, it's hard to call it an ultrabook at 3.8 pounds, but it is very light and portal for a laptop that has an optical drive. I agree with others that most of the time, you don't really use an optical drive on a laptop, but it sure is better to have a built-in one than external on the few times you usually need it.
The display is a matte finish and more than adequete. I've seen clearer displays with a gloss screen, but it's clear enough, plus you don't get and glare or reflections with the matte finish. I like the white finish more than I originally thought I would. I also like the back-lit keyboard, but if I did have a complaint about it, it would be using it during the day. The keyboard keys are gray and the light is white. If it is not substantially dark, it is hard to read the keys. There are settings so you can set to only turn on the back-lit light when it detects darkness.
The mouse pad is a little sensitive, but after using it for a little while. It's not the best I've ever used (MacBook), but it's not the worst I've ever used.
I picked up the laptop during Amazon's lightning deals during Thanksgiving, and I'm happy with the purchase for $629. For me it was between this laptop and a ASUS Zenbook UX31E-DH52. The ASUS lost out due to being $300 more, having Windows 8, had so-so reviews (a lot of complaints about touchpad), and there seemed to be some concern that HDD's were harder to upgrade due to proprietary connectors.
Best Deals for Sony VAIO S Series SVS1311BFXW 13.3-Inch Laptop (White)
Get rid of the bloatware and you're good. Be warned though, these Sony power supplies will die on you. Not sure why but everyone I know who has a Vaio has had to buy another one.Honest reviews on Sony VAIO S Series SVS1311BFXW 13.3-Inch Laptop (White)
i bought this computer from Amazon warehouse in used-very good condition. i am extremely happy with the physical condition of the laptop. it looks brand new and the laptop itself is beautiful. i absolutely love the white, and it's the perfect size. now to the frustrating part... windows had been reinstalled so it isn't factory. none of the Sony drivers were included... this sucks, because there are quite a few features that won't work without them. for instance, the track pad was awful, painfully slow, and wouldn't do any of the things described (pinch to zoom etc) until i installed the proper driver from Sony support. missing battery drivers keep forcing hibernation. i couldn't even follow the steps in the start up guide because none of the top buttons will work without drivers. there are numerous other drivers that need to be downloaded as well, and some of them just won't install without the factory version of windows. I've had the laptop for 3 days now and I've spent those days chatting, emailing, and phoning Sony support trying to resolve issues without much luck. i really do love it, but i think i might have to return it if i can't get it running properly... also, if you are expecting any of the software mentioned in the description, it's not there either... I'd love to just do a clean factory reset, but you have to buy the disks from Sony, and i wasn't really expecting to have to put this much time and money into something i was planning on enjoying right out of the box.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sony VAIO S Series SVS1311BFXW 13.3-Inch Laptop (White)
Nice laptop. Color is simply awesome. Everything is great except the starting sound which freak out at times. that scratching sound is annoying.Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Discount Amd Athlon II Dual-core P320/2.1GHZ/4G(2GX2)/320G(5400)/15.5LCD/ATI
This computer came defective. First, Sony's support told that was a BIOS setup problem. The computer had a lot of crashes (blue screen) and seemed to be not reliable to work with. I sent it back to Amazon.
320 gb hard drive big but not huge, and hey its a laptop
Cons: video card is great for everything but pushing polygons.
shared video memory is the lose would like some on board gddr5 even 128 mb only would be a huge increase than shared ddr3 ( at least its better than shared ddr2 )
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ddr3 ram is nice320 gb hard drive big but not huge, and hey its a laptop
Cons: video card is great for everything but pushing polygons.
shared video memory is the lose would like some on board gddr5 even 128 mb only would be a huge increase than shared ddr3 ( at least its better than shared ddr2 )
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Samsung NP-RV515-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop Reviews
I just purchased one of these laptops yesterday, (1.28.2012). They were on sale at Tiger Direct for $350 + tax. I needed an Home Theater PC and this laptop was recommended to me, (by someone who was really into HTPC's), as a perfect fit for that application. The reason this laptop serves as a great HTPC is because of it's AMD, Dual Core Chip which separates Graphics section from the rest of the chip, it's also got the HDMI port built right into the side, so it's easy to hook up to your big screen LCD or LED. I am a Mac user, owning a Mac Book Pro an iPad and a couple of iPod touches, so generally speaking, I do not like machines with Windows operating systems on them. I have to say though, Windows 7 is a breeze to set up. I didn't have any of the issues that the other reviewer, (Edward Lan) had. The machine started up fine and took me through the setup process effortlessly. Based on Mr. Lan's review, I did not get into letting the operating system update, it did not ask, so I didn't go down that road. I plan on optimizing the machine to use it only as an HTPC, which means I will be stripping most all of the unnecessary programs off of it and it will sit next to the tv. I should note that I purchased the RV515 to replace a Logitech Revue, an Apple TV (2nd Generation) and a Sony BDP-S570, all of which did not provide an acceptable user experience when running the internet into a large LCD. The body of the unit is composed entirely of plastic, (in contrast to Mac which is rigid aluminum), so care needs to be taken when handling it. If you're planning on buying this laptop for a child, it would be great to have a rigid shell to use a cover or exoskeleton. I will probably end up buying a Square Trade warranty to cover it for 3 years. I'm very impressed with the unit, the software and ease of operation so far. As an HTPC, it's a perfect fit.
I really appreciate that this PC was bloatware free.
Plus full size quiet keyboard. The Touchpad works similar to touchscreens. (If this was a touchscreen my world would be complete....)
If you buy a MS PC June-Dec 2012 you can upgrade to Win 8 Pro for only $14.99 when it is available.
If you need a new computer and are on a budget you can't go wrong with this one.
I'm loving it!
Has very sensitive touchpad that I need to get used to when typing, and I have set up to use a wireless mouse.
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It is on sale at CompUSA (stores only) this week for $349. Add 8GB ram for only another $20. I am ecstatic this machine is a great value. I gave my iPad to my husband (it's his birthday today). I was not that impressed with the iPad; sure it's a glitzy way to surf the internet but if you have to actually USE a portable computer for anything beyond pleasure you need a REAL computer. The real turning point was when I discovered I couldn't even plug my iPod into the iPad to sync my iTunes? I need USB ports! This PC has 3.I really appreciate that this PC was bloatware free.
Plus full size quiet keyboard. The Touchpad works similar to touchscreens. (If this was a touchscreen my world would be complete....)
If you buy a MS PC June-Dec 2012 you can upgrade to Win 8 Pro for only $14.99 when it is available.
If you need a new computer and are on a budget you can't go wrong with this one.
Best Deals for Samsung NP-RV515-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop
I bought this laptop for the price, and got what I paid for. 11 months after purchase the wifi card died. Two weeks later, the HDD crashes. I called Samsung customer support, and was told they don't warranty the wifi card, HDD, or other components because they don't actually manufacture them. Then I'm told I can send it in, and for only $100 they'll diagnose it. For more $$ they'll fix it for me. What a scam.Honest reviews on Samsung NP-RV515-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop
I love my new laptop. It is easy to use, its on the cheap side as for cost, but still an excellent computer. It came with Microsoft Office Starter, and it works awesome, loads slower than full Office and you have to deal with the advertisements, but great none the less. When my niece saw the laptop and how well it worked for me she asked me to order her one for college and she is very happy with hers also.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung NP-RV515-A02US 15.6-Inch Laptop
Super Fast StartupI'm loving it!
Has very sensitive touchpad that I need to get used to when typing, and I have set up to use a wireless mouse.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Cheap HP 2000-2b10NR 15.6-Inch Laptop
List Price: $399.99
Sale Price: $345.00
Today's Bonus: 14% Off
I was a little bit nervous purchasing this laptop considering the specs listed on amazon's site are different. The top of the page says the computer has Windows NT operating system and the bottom said Windows 8. I took a chance and ordered the computer and I LOVE it.
Its very fast and picture quality is amazing. I love that it has an HDMI output. My only computer only had VGA. The difference in streaming video on the computer and onto the tv is amazing.
Windows 8 is taking a little while to get used to. I was using Windows 7 previously but I'm starting to get the hang of it.
The laptop is light weight, sleek and the keyboard feels good on your hands. Overall I def recommend this product. I think everyone will love it!
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recieved my computer in only 2 business days. and love it so far. I dont really like windows 8 but the computer is greatBest Deals for HP 2000-2b10NR 15.6-Inch Laptop
this is a wonderful laptop. it is my first and the instructions were easy to set it up. i love it.Honest reviews on HP 2000-2b10NR 15.6-Inch Laptop
I recommend this laptop.Used exclusively for work to demonstrate videos and photos to customers... play internet radio. It's fast enough with adequate memory and speed for what I use it for. Arrived on time (Prime is worth getting if you use Amazon a lot pay over $80 in shipping a year).
This is my 2nd HP and the other (HP G6) is still doing fine (8GB RAM)... I upgraded to 8GB RAM through Crucial [dot ]com and it runs over 12 hours a day and has been doing so since Fall of 2011. This model (4GB RAM) is capable of 8GB RAM for even better performance. Note that this comes with Windows 8 and I think runs better than my G6 where I upgraded from Win 7.
Get these 2 modules:
Crucial CT3695417
or Kingston or Corsair... all available from Amazon.com
Open the access area... battery compartment or entire bottom of the laptop, locate where the RAM slot is, remove the existing module by pressing down on the retaining clips, remove the module, get the new module and line up the notch in the row of metal pins at the bottom of your module with the key in the SODIMM slot on your motherboard. (If the notch doesn't line up right away, flip your module around and try it the other way. It doesn't matter which side of your module has the black chips or the stickers on it. The important thing is to line up the notch.)
Hold the module at a 45-degree angle to the slot and slide it into place. No more than 1/16" of the gold contacts should be showing when the module is properly seated in the slot.
MODULE:
FEATURE: DDR3 PC3-10600, DDR3 PC3-12800
SPECS FOR RAM: NON-ECC * DDR3-1333 * 1.35V * 512Meg x 64
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP 2000-2b10NR 15.6-Inch Laptop
I have been working with hp is the maximum, i like very mucho, because your case and componentes are the qualityMonday, November 11, 2013
HP Pavilion DV7-2040US 17.3-Inch Laptop Reviews
This laptop is way beyond my expectations! i have had it for over a week and it's a beast!
PROs: the quad core is amazing. not only is it fast, it adds up to 2Gb to video when gaming. the price is top notch! 2 HDD bays(the 500Gb is actually 2x250Gb), eSATA port, great screen! this is the lightest 17" laptop i've held in a while. while i am an nVIDIA gamer, the ATI does a good job withstanding COD4/5, Assassins Creed, and Crysis at almost the highest settings. not bad for a prebuild that is less than $1500!
CONs: beside the fact that HP doesn't include restore discs, there really aren't any... (you will have to create your own restore discs but HP does provide directions on how to do it. it does take a while!)
Other thoughts: i am currently in the process of bumping the RAM from 4Gb to 8Gb and the HDD from 2x250Gb to 2x500Gb. there is nothing wrong with the speed of the laptop but you can never have enough RAM with 64 bit Vista! the hard drives are just for more storage. i love this laptop. compared this one to the latest Gateway FX and the Dell XPS and for the price of this HP, the other 2 couldn't touch this.
Do yourself a favor and buy this from a site other than HP. the same laptop built thru HP was running higher than $2200 for the exact same setup...
Tip if you plan to upgrade to 8GB of memory, seach ebay...I bought mine for 225. (8GB 2x4gb) Windows experience under Vista was 5.5 (disks being weakest link), Win 7 was 5.6 (again, disks being weakest link Proc/Ram scored 7.0)
Now for a couple of bad points. The battery life is awful. I unplugged it and in 10 minutes, the battery went down to 94%, with power-saver ON. It doesn't click closed, it's kind-of like folding a piece of cardboard in half and calling it closed. Right now I find no more negitives.
I love the quad-core. Love the 4gb of mem and the room to add 4 more. Powerful videocard. I love it. I will review more in 2 months and share how it's going.
The laptop comes with Windows Vista Home. I re-partitioned the hard drives and installed Windows 7 RC1 from the Microsoft website and the 64bit Vista drivers from the HP website. Most drivers work except the for Synaptics -that I had to get from the Synaptics website. The laptop runs flawlessly. Beware that HP doesn't supply the Windows XP drivers for this laptop in case you're thinking of using XP.
PROs: the quad core is amazing. not only is it fast, it adds up to 2Gb to video when gaming. the price is top notch! 2 HDD bays(the 500Gb is actually 2x250Gb), eSATA port, great screen! this is the lightest 17" laptop i've held in a while. while i am an nVIDIA gamer, the ATI does a good job withstanding COD4/5, Assassins Creed, and Crysis at almost the highest settings. not bad for a prebuild that is less than $1500!
CONs: beside the fact that HP doesn't include restore discs, there really aren't any... (you will have to create your own restore discs but HP does provide directions on how to do it. it does take a while!)
Other thoughts: i am currently in the process of bumping the RAM from 4Gb to 8Gb and the HDD from 2x250Gb to 2x500Gb. there is nothing wrong with the speed of the laptop but you can never have enough RAM with 64 bit Vista! the hard drives are just for more storage. i love this laptop. compared this one to the latest Gateway FX and the Dell XPS and for the price of this HP, the other 2 couldn't touch this.
Do yourself a favor and buy this from a site other than HP. the same laptop built thru HP was running higher than $2200 for the exact same setup...
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The HP DV7-2040US is a great value. I always multi-task and use some really resource intensive programs. This machine is able to handle it. I had been considering a Quad-Core notebook for some time, but did not want to drop $3,000 $5,000 for bleeding edge technology. HP has a winner here as a platform, however, I have a few caveats. The specs state that it has full screen HD. DO NOT MISTAKE THAT FOR FULL HI-DEF RESOLUTION. You may have to hunt to find the resolution buried in the technical specs, it is only 1600 x 900. This machine does NOT have A single 500GB hard drive, rather, it has two 5400 rpm hard drives. The machine is fast enough that the supplied drives have to labor to keep up. This machine uses DDR2 memory, so you will not get bleeding edge speed, but then again if you want to upgrade to 8GB's of RAM, you should be able to do it for the DDR2 price of less than $300 as of this writing rather than the DDR3 price of $600 $800. As I said, for the money, this is a great value. Lots of processing power, handles graphics and any chore like the workhorse computers from which it is descended.Best Deals for HP Pavilion DV7-2040US 17.3-Inch Laptop
I work with computers for a living so i've always built and maintained my own systems but have held off on getting myself a laptop. They've always been too small or slow or both until now. For what I am going to be using it for, it fits me perfectly. I like having dual hard drives (2x250) so I could upgrade to SSD (which I plan to do for even more speed) at a later date. I've upgraded my system from 4GB to 8GB and Vista lasted long enough to get a entire system backup. I then formatted the system and installed Windows 7. No matter how big or fast a laptop you buy, Vista will always seem like a dog when compared to 7 or XP. Installing 7, it loaded most of the important drivers (wireless, lan and video) that is needed to get up and running you will still need to download the rest of the vista drivers for the other odds/ends, but was for the most part painless. I've got OpenOffice and AVG antivirus (both free) installed. Be sure to adjust your power profiles within 7 (or Vista for that matter) to get the performance you want during on or off battery use. Mine out of the box was 'vanilla' and needed ramped up a bit to get full use. Just keep in mind this will change how long your battery will last, if you use it much on battery (which I do not). All in all, the only thing I would change about this laptop is it is a bit too glossy for me. Sure it looks nice and stuff right out of the box, but shows a lot of prints. Also, it can get warm if you lay it on your lap for long periods of time. Not sure if this is the right laptop to take with you on long flights across the country it would probably stick out along the edges of your food tray, not to mention the heft as a carry on. A 15" with a quad core would be nicer if you travel often. I've owned it about a week now and would purchase it again without hesitation.Tip if you plan to upgrade to 8GB of memory, seach ebay...I bought mine for 225. (8GB 2x4gb) Windows experience under Vista was 5.5 (disks being weakest link), Win 7 was 5.6 (again, disks being weakest link Proc/Ram scored 7.0)
Honest reviews on HP Pavilion DV7-2040US 17.3-Inch Laptop
I got this laptop about 6 hours ago and I have to say, after inspecting and playing with it, I really like this laptop. Sure the frame could be more solid and the because of the 16:9 widescreen, it looks smaller then I imagined a 17.3 inch to look like, but I still really like it.Now for a couple of bad points. The battery life is awful. I unplugged it and in 10 minutes, the battery went down to 94%, with power-saver ON. It doesn't click closed, it's kind-of like folding a piece of cardboard in half and calling it closed. Right now I find no more negitives.
I love the quad-core. Love the 4gb of mem and the room to add 4 more. Powerful videocard. I love it. I will review more in 2 months and share how it's going.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Pavilion DV7-2040US 17.3-Inch Laptop
I bought this computer because it's the cheapest name-brand quad-core laptop I could find. I'm re-encoding some video into H.264 and need lots of computer power. This HP encodes in 2.5 hours what my 2GHz Pentium M mono-core Dell would do in 23 hours. The laptop puts out a good bit of heat with all four cores cranking away, so it might be too hot to rest on one's lap -best to keep it on a table or desk for the CPU chomping.The laptop comes with Windows Vista Home. I re-partitioned the hard drives and installed Windows 7 RC1 from the Microsoft website and the 64bit Vista drivers from the HP website. Most drivers work except the for Synaptics -that I had to get from the Synaptics website. The laptop runs flawlessly. Beware that HP doesn't supply the Windows XP drivers for this laptop in case you're thinking of using XP.
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