Discount Sony VAIO VGN-NS290J/L 15.4-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Customer Ratings:

Specifications list a high-end "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3430 graphics (2040 MB total shared)". NOT. The product only has the low-end "Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family". BURNED.

Indeed, a search on Sony's website confirms this.

As such, it is certainly not powerful enough for gaming, and probably not powerful enough for the Blue-Ray player included. In any event, the advertisement is false advertisement. Buyer beware.

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I ordered this laptop as a replacement/upgrade to my old one. I haven't found anything either wrong with it or not as described. I actually shortly after, bought a similar laptop (VGN-NS150J) for my mom as a present. Amazon had the best price I could find and free shipping was decently fast. No complaints. I am very satisfied with my purchase.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO VGN-NS290J/L 15.4-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

For the price this laptop offers, it's a pretty good deal. Be Sure that when you do get it you know what it's for.

The video card is by far the systems downfall, it's (as an early reviewer said) an intel 4 family video card so those looking to any high end or recent gaming might be looking elsewhere, a gaming laptop with this display size at this price doesn't exist. That being said, it still plays games like WoW on lower (not lowest, but lower) settings and it can be enjoyed comfortably. Any game circa 2004 will run fine, but you shouldn't be expecting much from an on-board video card (also I stress that laptop video card upgrades typically are impossible)

The Machine does have a Blu Ray drive and I'm sure Sony is more than interested in you watching their new format on it, and to be honest despite the max resolution of 1280x800 the Blu Rays really shine, they look gorgeous and clean ... the problem is there is no DVI ouput just VGA which means you will be watching them on the laptop and nothing else if you want to enjoy your Blu Ray. I have a PS3 though, for home use. Still, it's nice when you go on a trip and need to take your favorite high def movie along. Despite the weaker card the computer still makes Blu Ray look good, an earlier review speculated it wouldn't be possible but it is. It looks fine.

The design of the computer is really nice, the body of the computer is textured almost like cloth giving it a comfortable feel. I have one friend who bizarrely enough will rub my computer when he sees it I have to admit it is rather nice feeling. Sony has always had a nice design aesthetic and it shows here, with a nice looking, well laid out keyboard, and solid feeling construction. The shape and feel of the laptop really has that sleek minimalist feel that many companies today seem to be going for. Which is simply because it makes the machine look good, I dunno what else to say there.

The computer isn't without its flaws, however. For starters Sony includes an incredibly large amount of software with the computer. Some programs are useful, but largely they waste your space with some very insulting programs, like a wireless setup wizard that takes you to the default windows one, no one needs to waste space on such asinine programs. Vaio update, alternately, seems useless until you discover their drivers are edited for the laptop so you have to go through them. Another bizarre decision on Sony's part.

In conclusion if you're a person who wants a computer that isn't embarassingly ugly with a sleek classy minimalist design, and wants good performance in a mid-priced laptop, this very well could be for you. If you're looking to do heavy high-end gaming or need your first Blu Ray player there are better ways to spend your money for both of those.

Hope this helps and answers any questions anyone has.

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO VGN-NS290J/L 15.4-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

The worst PC I have ever owned, always loved Sony electronics so this seemed perfect. Poor quality, nothing but problems, worst customer service. No HDMI out on a laptop with Blu-Ray?!?!?...WTF!

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The Blu-ray drive on this laptop broke immediately after it came out of warranty. The gfx aren't very impressive but over all it was a decent laptop until the drive broke. Very disappointing.

Discount Samsung ATIV Book 9 NP900X3E-K01US 13.3-Inch Full HD Premium

Customer Ratings:

I'm always on the go, and I needed a machine that was light, fast, and had a good screen resolution.

I've been using the Samsung NP900X3E-K01US for a month now and it's ridiculously LIGHT, SNAPPY FAST, and a BEAUTY.

A few reviews have already mentioned the core of this ultrabook's pros and cons, so I won't bore you with a repeat information. Instead, I'd like to share with you a few thoughts of the machine and use cases:

My biggest concern for not jumping on to this deal right away was due to the 4GB RAM restriction. I still feel a little upset that Samsung didn't put a 8GB RAM on this machine, but surprisingly it's adequate enough for me. I use Photoshop heavily for all my freelance work. I have CS6 and Photoshop runs perfectly fine for web work. However, the 4GB restriction starts to kick in when you're working with HUGE documents (300ppi) magazines, because the scrub zoom feature becomes disabled. Fortunately, I only do webdesign and do not need to work on huge pictures and publications. However, if you are in the business of such, I would look for another machine.

I code a lot. I'm usually seen having multiple programs open: sublime, photoshop, visual studio 2012, eclipse, Chrome with 20+ tabs open, and Firefox streaming music. Yet, there is no sign of lag. I hit roughly ~60% memory usage.

Sometimes, I like to sit on my bead and watch streams like Twitch.tv and Youtube. The ultrabook does get a little toasty hot and at times can be too hot for it to lay on your bare legs.

As some users have mentioned, the wifi has some issues, but it's not bad. It can be a simple fix as reconnecting or just sitting closer to the wifi spot.

I'm coming from a Macbook Air and I'll admit the Samsung's trackpad is very good. Although, I will say the Air has a slightly better response. Nevertheless, the trackpad does a mighty fine job and feels really good.

Overall, I love this machine. It has allowed me to program/design on the fly due to its lightness and great battery life. The machine does its job and the 1080p MATTE screen is gorgeous. Photoshop editing is a joy due to the vibrant colors and programming is so much easier as you can have two windows side by side and not suffer from lack of screen real estate. For those holding off due to the 4GB RAM, I completely understand the concern, but it has not been an issue for me yet.

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This computer is awesome. i have always used 15" screen laptops in the past, then I decided I wanted to check out a MacBook. I loved the size at 13" and screen was perfectly clear, but I ahve learned that I have no patience for thnigs that just don't work when I need them to, for example I couldn't wirelessly print to any of the printers I owed. So along comes this jem. The same screen size, perfectly clear, the lightest laptop I have ever used and a Solid State HDD to boot. I have never used a machine that was so fast. It boots in about 3 seconds, it comes out of hiberantion in about 2 seconds. I am not a fan of Windows 8 by any strech, but I can tolerate it on this. The lighted keyboard is great, the keys are very responsive, movies look good on this and I use it for almost everything.

So want don't I liek about it, the wireless sucks. I have about 6 laptops of varying makes in my house and all of them work flawlessly from anywhere in my house, but this mahcine drops signals faster than it boots. I mean the wireless is really bad, very frustrating and generally gets me mad enought to want to throw it across the room.

But, I love enerything else about it, so I can suffer a little and just better position myself. It really has so many good points and travels light that I enjoy using it, just have to be careful when i'm trying to get an internet connection.

Update 9/3/13:

So in my review I mention the ohorrible WiFi. I finally called Samsung over the Holiday weekend and they were actually there to ehlp me out. I explained my issues and they had me change a few settings and so far...the Wireless is rocking! If this fixes the WiFi issues, then this is the best laptop I have ever owned.

Best Deals for Samsung ATIV Book 9 NP900X3E-K01US 13.3-Inch Full HD Premium

Completely satisfied with the purchase of the ATIV book 9. I have been using a 13 inch laptop and this is my first ultrabook.

Pros

well designed. feels and works like a premium product.

Extremely lightweight if you have to travel with your laptop.

Gorgeous full HD display. Images are crisp and clear with good contrast.

Very good trackpad which registers all the movements accurately. The absence of touchscreen is not felt here. It maybe a personal preference but having a touchscreen on a laptop may not be that helpful (only if it converts to a tablet would it be useful .. like the Lenovo Ideapad).

Good back lit keyboard.

Quiet.

very good battery life. easily went beyond 6 hrs with normal usage (word processing, web browsing etc)

Cons

Not really a con ... but has bunch of applications pre-installed. You might want to get rid of intellimemory. Its not needed if you have SSD and infact slows down the computer. Dont know why samsung opted for it.

The battery power adapter pin does not go all the way in the slot of the ultrabook. It sticks out a bit and feels a bit loose. Not really a deal breaker .. it charges fine .. but if you are paying a premium you would assume samsung to take care of these details.

Because of the thin form factor, VGA port is different and you would need to buy an adapter to connect to external display which uses normal VGA pins. Ideally Samsung should have bundled it in by default.

if you need lots of ports or you are an avid gamer (casual gaming is fine) .. this may not be the laptop for you.

Honest reviews on Samsung ATIV Book 9 NP900X3E-K01US 13.3-Inch Full HD Premium

There have been some issues with the series 9 with wifi, and the trackpad. But not here. Samsung seems to have perfected this little jewel. Touch Pad works flawlessly. There is no touch screen and for good reason. This machine's 1080P matte screen is gorgeous. When I saw it at Best Buy it made everything else look terrible in the store.. including the mac pro retina's. Its that good. Ended up buying here because I wanted the fastest 2.0 i7 and 256GB SSD. Paid 1500 and worth every penny believe me. I got close to 6 hours battery life already doing web and a little you tube. Back lit KB is very nice.. very luxurious looking and I love the feel of the KB as well and can type fast with few mistakes. I think luxurious is the best word for this machine. Everything just works as it should. The precision of the build quality is like nothing I have every seen. The lid closes perfectly and the hinge feels solid yet smooth to operate. The SSD on mine is a liteon and its is very fast. The one thing I worried about was the speakers and they are amazing sounding for how small this ultrabook is. Sure not much bass but very pleasing and not shrill sounding or harsh in any way. Samsung is getting ready to release a ultra hi resolution touch screen version of this and I did not want it because of the glossy screen and its a half pound heavier. Its just crazy that all this packed into a 2.5 lb package. Even the MB air is bulky next to this and it looks dated and cheap next to the top of the line ativ book 9. This is the one to get believe me. It has plenty of storage with the 256GB SSD and has the fastest i7 2.0 that turbos over 3. I've owned 5 other laptops which were mid to high grade consumer class. I always had some issues with all of them. Some I had second doubts after receiving them. Not with the book 9. I have zero second doubts about this purchase. And believe me, at 1500 dollars if anything is out of place I will know it and not be happy.

The only con can say at this time is with W8. But I am customizing that to my liking and actually like what W8 is under the hood. I would not go back to W7. The track pad does fine navigating it and I also bought a MS BT Sculpt comfort Mouse which is a great BT mouse since you don't need to use a USB port. This only has two USB but I really don't fault Samsung for that. There is absolutely no room for more ports. Remember, all this at the impossible weight of 2.5 lbs.

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Pros: Battery life, design, extremely light, amazing matte display, good keyboard, multi-touch gestures, blazing fast ssd.

Cons: Minor issues with touch pad, some settings are hard to find (note: this problem would occur with any windows 8 device so they really aren't cons), no touch screen,cannot upgrade ram(4 gigs is enough for me though)

I would say this laptop fits anyone who wants an extremely portable laptop and can easily slip it into an backpack or carry it around. For someone who wants a top-of-the line ultrabook that is fast, slim, and whose design they can show off because it is flawless. I cannot say enough about the looks of the laptop, especially the display and the back-lit keyboard. Not to mention this thing is fast...

It was expensive but after owning this product for a few weeks I'd say it's worth it because I love it. Check out my full video review here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdYWVXOrYG4

Reviews of Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 13.3-Inch Convertible Touchscreen Ultrabook

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,499.99
Sale Price: $1,488.88
Today's Bonus: 1% Off

I thought I give me first impressions of this new Windows 8 Convertible.

First off the device is very slick, its light weight, looks great. It not the easiest thing to open but once its opened it works well.

As excited as I was to get this, there were several blaring quirks that I wouldn't expect from a $1500 device.

1. The wifi intermittently cuts out. This seems to be a known issue you can read about everyone complaining here. To save you some time reading the thread there are three things I did

a.Update the driver

b.Change the power settings -Set the Wireless Adapter Settings to Maximum Performance (both battery and wired

c.Update the driver properties

1. Bring up the device manager by searching "device manager" from the charms menu under settings.

2. Click on network adapters in the device manager.

3. Right click on "Realtek RTL8723A wireless ..." under network adapters. Click on properties.

4. In the properties box click on the advanced pane.

5. Inside the advanced pane set the following values to these parameters:

selective suspend: disabled (I think this is the only change necessary but I did the other 2 parameter changes as well, you can experiment with different choices)

selective suspend timeout: 60

WiFi config: WiFi

Click OK to save settings

2. There is no keyboard light, which have been on all my Lenovo work computer, so it's hard to see the keyboard in the dark.

3. When you flip the Yoga and try watching a movie, you'll notice the speakers are now pointed away from you! Even still the speakers are louder than the iPad.

Ok about Windows 8

The biggest problem with Windows 8 is that it comes preloaded with Junk! The start bar is full on things I will never use and there is a ton of Trial Wear already installed. I was particularly disappointed that MacAfee (part of the company that gave me this Ultrabook) was continuously popping up messages that were very hard to close with tiny buttons and dropdowns asking me to buy a subscription or register when as far as I can tell it comes with a subscription.

Once you remove all this and get things set up its actually pretty nice, however moving tiles around is hard work (not nearly as easy as a ipad).

There is no Official Facebook App, after some research you can integrate facebook with the People App but when I did this the news feed is different and nearly all the businesses I liked are featured and it is missing a ton of features such as unliking the businesses I don't want to see as full page adds.

Also the App are more expensive. Why is Star Wars Angry Birds $5?

User profiles are very nice and this is something iPads don't have. I am pretty happy with this feature and you can add picture passwords that work okish.

Overall once you get it set up I think it is pretty nice, I don't think the average user wants to spend the time I did to set this up though and I really think it could have been done better.

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I got the Yoga 13 in support of my photography it allows me to have a fairly high-end computer in a very lightweight package, fully capable of running Lightroom and Photoshop and being able to process 18-21 megapixel images efficiently. I also like the touch screen and tablet mode for watching movies, viewing slideshows or just surfing. I have two issues though, that have made me sometimes wonder if I should have waited until there were competing models out there. (This was without a doubt, the most capable touchscreen laptop available at the time.)

First, the fan runs continuously, even when the computer is just idling. It can get quite loud when the system is working even modestly hard. This is apparently a well-known issue and there is no fix at the present time.

Second, the trackpad is absolutely awful. I'm in IT myself and have seen many many laptops over the years, and this compares with the worst, trackpad-wise. It alternates rapidly between being hyper-sensitive and not responding at all, it skips, it causes random effects... I've sent emails prematurely, deleted blocks of text, moved things around, etc. After a fair bit of fiddling with the mouse and synaptics settings it's gotten slightly better, but it's still much more effective to use a real mouse with this computer.

One other, relatively small item: the right shift and Enter keys are unusually small, leading to some mistyping.

On the flip side the screen and video are magnificent, the tablet mode works very well, sound is great, and all in a remarkably compact package.

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I've had this laptop for about 2 weeks. (Mine has all the same specs save for 8GB RAM I have 4.) I love it! Getting my programs and files transferred from my old laptop was a breeze and took very little time. I had an issue upgrading Windows 8 to the PRO edition with Media Center. Microsoft Tech support was outstanding (I know?) at getting me up and running in 20 minutes.

I have to imagine you've read all the professional reviews, and now you want to know if it lives up to it on the consumer end. I haven't used it much as a tablet yet because I plan to do that more in the summer. Also one of the first things I did was install Start8 to replace the start menu on the desktop. Very good software that is well worth 5 dollars. I move this thing around frequently. Battery life with heavy use is about 4-5 hours. If I am going back and forth to the machine, then it will last much longer. Every works really well out of the box, and it's speedy.

So here is the one thing I think everyone buying this machine needs to know. For me, it's not a deal breaker, but it was disappointing, and annoying. In my opinion, Lenovo needs to redesign the keyboard. I tried and tried to get used to the cramped shift key, backspace, and enter. I'm telling you, I missed them every time. So now, at my workstation, I use a high quality external keyboard and mouse and keep the laptop in tent mode. I LOVE this setup. The keyboard on the machine is above average for on the go stuff. It's outstanding in fact. It's just not something I want to use for long periods of work. So really, I have the best of both worlds. And for the record, I have read reviews that directly contradict mine. However, I think anyone buying this machine needs to know they might have an issue here. The keyboard issue seems to improve if you approach the keyboard off center moving your hands slightly to the left. This is hard to get used to doing. The other thing is, it would be nice for the keyboard to be illuminated.

Compared to my old laptop, this is a revolution. I am extremely happy with my purchase and would not hesitate, despite the keyboard annoyance, to repeat the purchase.

One more item. I tried using a bluetooth mouse with this machine. It performed very poorly. In my research, this seems to be an issue with Yoga and Microsoft Mice. I switched to a mouse with a receiver. perfect.

You will not regret this purchase unless you are planning on writing a novel in a coffee shop on this thing. And even then, maybe you will adapt easier than I did.

My guess is, Lenovo nailed the future of the laptop.

Honest reviews on Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 13.3-Inch Convertible Touchscreen Ultrabook

I've been looking for a windows 8 tablet/touchscreen laptop for development work, i needed a i7 or i5 processer with a SSD as the primary boot drive. I purchased the Acer W700 first but returned it, it was very fast and well made but the high screen resolution made it unusable in desktop mode.

I had originally overlooked the Yoga 13 because of the exposed keyboard in tablet mode, but later after reading a review talking about about a second unused hard drive slot in the Yoga 13 (yes a tablet / ultrabook with 2 drive slots !!!) i decided to give it a try.

Lets get the bad out of way first so we can talk about the good in more detail:

My Yoga is going back it has a stuck/bad pixel, But i am going to get another Yoga 13 to replace it.

Windows 8 enough said.

Screen can bounce back at ya if you jab it to hard.

Single band WIFI in 2013?

Single channel RAM holds down performance a bit.

Difficult to to a do a clean install no OS disks or option to buy them.

To many partitions from the factory WTFO?

touch-pad tries to be jack of all trades but ends up being master of none.

The good:

The hardware is superb build quality is a 10. This alone makes up for all of the negatives.

The screen size/resolution is a good trade off for desktop mode.

Display quality and brightness are both excellent (even with a bad pixel).

Actually usable in all of its 'advertised positions' and you will find it will adapt and be usable in almost any environment.

If feels so good in your hands you will find it hard to keep from touching it whenever you walk by.

Very slim and light (for a laptop).

No issues with WIFI as other posters have said.

Room for a SECOND HARD DRIVE (very well kept secret).

Tips:

Make your icons on the desktop 'small' gives the desktop a roomy feel.

Turn off edge swiping on the touch-pad otherwise it will drive you crazy.

Learn and use the keyboard shortcuts in place of some touch functions (like F4 to close an app/window).

In tablet mode hold it 'hinge up' this places your hands on the palm rest area on the keyboard (feels good) not in the keyboard (feels bad).

In laptop mode angle the screen slightly back towards you this prevents some 'bounce back'. This also helps illuminate the keyboard.

While lack of a lighted keyboard is a negative the keys have a very bold white lettering that makes it easy to see by the screen light.

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For those of you that are having wireless connection issues... go to the Lenovo com website, click the Support tab, and then click "Drivers and Software", then next to "Quick Path" type "Yoga 13" (without the quotes) and press Enter.

Click the section that says "Networking: Wireless LAN" and notice that there is a newly released driver (June 6, 2013) that you need to download and install to correct your Wireless issues.

Hope this helps.

Cheap Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 3444F9U 14-Inch LED Ultrabook (2GHz Intel

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,849.00
Sale Price: $1,554.00
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

This is my new work laptop. I'm a software engineer, so I'm typing all day. I'm coming from a MacBook Pro. The keyboard and trackpad on the X1 Carbon are simply the best; even better than my old ThinkPads. The laptop is thin and light, yet feels very sturdy. The screen is beautiful. I'm using Ubuntu 13.04 on it, and it works quite well. I can get 5 hours of JavaScript development out of the battery pretty easily.

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Discount ASUS G73SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:

First things first. This is the REVISED version of the Sandy Bridge chip-set. For all of you who are worried about the recall you don't have to worry when buying this laptop.

I purchased this laptop as a replacement for my old HP G60. I have been wanting to buy a new computer for some time now but had never looked too deeply into it. I originally wanted to build a custom pc and never thought that a laptop could keep up with a desktop. That is until I saw this computer. This computer is an amazing piece of hardware which manages to stay cool to the touch after hours of operation. Never would I have thought that I could find a laptop this powerful, let alone for under $1800.

PROS:

It has the new i7 Sandy Bridge which can tear through any task you throw at it.

The nvidia GTX 460M with 1.5 GB of DDR5. Windows tells me this card has 4GB total memory

Great speakers for a laptop. Never have I heard such sound come from a laptop.

The screen which as far as I can tell has about the same contrast as my 40 inch LED TV.

Can output 3D onto a 3DTV through HDMI

The keyboard has a great feel and the back light looks great every time I see it

The finish feels great to touch and does not show fingerprints.

This computer has BY FAR the best cooling I have seen on a laptop. It stays cooler than my old G60 which would power off if left sitting on a flat surface and would burn my hands.

CONS:

Honestly I dont have any cons that I can find. Just some problems that I am sure most people wont experience. After I installed virpe antivirus i got a BSOD and had to do a system restore to fix. However after the system restore I had to uninstall the drivers for the back lit keyboard and re-install them so they would work again. That and this computer came with Google chrome pre-installed. It would not open or uninstall. I had to install a new copy of chrome for it to work and now on my add/remove programs i have 2 copies of Google chrome.

Overall this laptop far exceeds my expectations for what a laptop can do. Most desktops will have a hard time keeping up with it. If you are in the market for a desktop replacement I honestly cant think of a much better way to spend $1800.

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I bought this computer because I am a budding photographer and casual gamer. I couldn't believe how much computer I got for the price. I purchased the computer 2/1/2011 and it arrived 2 days later. The first thing I tried to do was create the recovery discs only to find out the computer would not burn dvd's. I had called Asus before making the purchase to make sure the blu ray combo drive would burn dvds and i was assured that it would. Asus created a RMA and I send them the machine and received it back 10 days later only to find the same issue. I called and got another RMA and sent it to a different location and received a machine 10 days later that would burn dvd's.

Then I found out about the sandy bridge recall. I opted for the advanced replacement so I could keep my machine while they sent me a new one but the new machine I received would not burn dvd's. So now I have another RMA and hopefully they get the issue fixed on their first try this time.

While I had a fully functional machine I absolutely loved it. It is blazing fast and whisper quiet. My brother has the previous years version of the Asus ROG and it sounds like it is going to exploded while playing W.O.W. Everytime I have spoken with Asus customer support it has been a pleasant experience and the turn around on the repairs has been quick. Its an awesome machine but a frustrating experience.

Best Deals for ASUS G73SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

First off, I ordered this from Amazon on April 6 and received the redesigned version. From the recent reviews, I can see that others ordering it around the same time were still getting bad models. This one came from Arizona. Once the nervousness of getting a bad model was gone, I could go to work.

First thing I did was a clean re-install of Windows 7. I used the guide at notebookreview.com (Google search "clean windows 7 asus", it will be the first result). Since the G73SW-A1 does not come with a Recovery disc, I had to acquire a (legal) Windows 7 Home Premium install disc. (Note: when activating a retail copy of Windows 7 with the OEM product key, Windows will make you activate it by phone, which is automated and takes 5 minutes) As long as it's the same machine and Windows 7 Home Premium, you can activate it with the OEM key infinite times.

The -A1 comes with 2 500GB hard drives. The first HDD is split into 3 partitions (hidden restore, Windows drive, spare) and the second HDD is split into 2 empty partitions. When I did the clean install, I wiped all drives and erased all partitions, leaving C and D drives. With Windows 7 and Drivers/Software discs in hand, a restore partition is unnecessary. Someday I will clone the C drive and replace it with an SSD.

Overall early impressions:

Pros:

-Very fast: 100% loaded in about 30 seconds from power-on

-Nice build quality: good screen hinge, rubbery wrist-rests feel good. Fingerprints not really an issue. I still get a kick out of the stealth fighter styling.

-Very bright LED backlight and clear screen (though it's a glare-type).

-It remains quite cool at the bottom (my old Inspiron 9300 was a scorcher)

-Nice keyboard backlight

-Good quality backpack and mouse

Cons:

-Keyboard design: space bar does not work if tapped at the very bottom. It works OK if I hit it harder or centered. The arrow keys are too small and crammed between the number pad and Ctrl and Shift keys, so it's hard to find them just by touch.

-FN keys my old Inspiron 9300 had buttons for Mute, Volume Up/Down, Play/Pause, Previous, Next and Stop all on the front of the laptop. On this one, they're all integrated onto the keyboard, using the FN button. (just a minor nuisance, really) Also, the Play/Pause/Stop/Previous/Next buttons are pretty much useless as they only work with Windows Media Center. (If you disable WMC, the buttons default to Windows Media Player) Again, the Inspiron 9300 buttons worked with whatever media player was on at the time.

There's also this weird glitch with the desktop icons. I like to have a clean desktop (no icons). If you disable them in Display Properties, the icons reappear after a reboot. It turns out Power4Gear (ASUS's power management software) is the culprit. Go into its advanced settings and tell it to hide desktop icons for all power settings.

Overall, I'm very happy with this machine. No BSODs or system errors of any kind so far. The NVIDIA video card seems to be doing a very good job. All of the drivers on the machine and on the DVD are current, so I only had to update Windows 7. The keyboard will take some getting used to, that's all.

Honest reviews on ASUS G73SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

I owned the previous model and the good thing is this came out during exchange period. i got this from a regular store and not amazon.

Clarification on specs: the hard drive is a hybrid drive meaning it has large cache and 4 gigabyte ssd built in. This should make it faster like an ssd. I haven't tested this yet so I cant say if it makes a difference.

First impressions:

pros: the build quality is superb!!! its is so solid with no give. the screen doesn't rock back and forth like many other 17 inch computers. It is cool and runs so smooth with minimal noise. The drive is still a bit noisy when it spins.

the built in video chip( within the processor) should improve battery life) not that this is an issue with a desktop replacement)

cons

-volume cant be raised or lowered by pressing 1 key. You have to press fn+ another key. annoying but not major.

Vidoe camera not impressive at all. may 1 year old macbook pro isight is much much better.

the finish feels great in your hands and doesn't attract fingerprints however i feel like it will collect stubborn dust over time unlike a metal finish.

overall this a great laptop very fast and responsive with minor issues but hey nothing is perfect!

Important update:

someone kindly posted in the discussion this link which i find concerning. there seems to be a flaw in the design of sandybridge chipset. I have not experienced any issues yet but i am considering sending it back. again actual laptop design is flawless but this seems like a serious issue with the intel chipset.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS G73SW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

I've used computers for work and pleasure since 1989. I've owned four desktops. This Asus is my second notebook/laptop. My first is a Dell XPS M1710 which I still have and have been extremely happy with it. I don't game but use these laptops for photos, video editing and daily internet time.

The Asus arrived two business days with free shipping after Amazon confirmed it was shipped. The packing box was a little flimsy but the Asus factory packaging is superbly constructed to protect the product. Included in the box also was an Asus Drivers and Utility disk, warranty card, Asus Express Gate and Inspiring Innovation Persistent Perfection manuals. Backpack, mouse and a tiny cleaning cloth were included also. I think the size of this laptop is great as it will replace my desktop. Many reviews mentioned the enormous size and weight. Didn't you read all the specifications before you committed? This machine is only slightly wider than my Dell XPS but more streamlined in design. It's about the same width or possibly less than a desktop keyboard. I wanted the HD resolution and big screen for the videos. My Dell XPS ran hot. This Asus is cool and you can have it on your lap.

Many consumers were concerned about the sandy bridge problem. On the outside of the box was attached a sticker saying "new revision, certified design" as well as a small label on the laptop in the lower right corner with the same wording. I also logged on Asus' website to check the serial number to confirm the processor is the newest version.

The G73sw is also extremely well built on the exterior around all its seams of quality materials, not cheap plastic you'll find on other brands. The surface around the touchpad where your fingers and palms may touch does not leave smudges or stains but can get a surface scratch with sharp nails.

The upper cover of the screen is tight and securely attached to the lower portion. The screen's resolution, clarity and brightness is the best I've seen anywhere on a computer. Letters are not wooly in appearance. Some screens seem yellowish or bluish in use. Not this one. It's white where white should be f.ex. on a word processing page or webpage.

The keyboard is soft touch with a slight sound, almost silent when you type. It doesn't have that awful clicking sound found on desktop keyboards or cheaply assembled budget notebooks. The keyboard has a numerical section arranged differently from desktop keyboards. The directional arrows are placed differently so you need an extra fraction or two of a second to look before you press your selection. A few days and you're ok with that. The keyboard as you know is illuminated in fluorescent white with Fn+F3/F4 to adjust brightness as well as other Fn functions. I thought I could choose a color f.ex. red or blue besides white. Maybe it's possible and I haven't found out how as yet.

The two Seagate 500GB harddrives are fast. Just not as fast as the Western Digital 500GB in my Dell XPS. The Seagate hds are almost completely silent. If you listen to music or other background sound you don't know they're spinning. Almost like a hybrid car stopped at a red light.

I ran a clean installation of Windows 7 Professional from startup wiping the bloatware as many users have recommended here and on other forums. It has been extremely helpful reading reviews and suggestions from owners earlier this year. Thanks for your feedback. Be sure to use the driver and utility disk enclosed to return your machine to proper functionality if you do a clean windows installation. You will install approximately 14-16 drivers from that disk and avoid the junkware. Notebookreview dot com has excellent instructive pages to guide you through the process.

Other reviewers have written about other technical aspects of this machine so I won't at this time. With the past 3 days usage of mine I think I as well as other consumers will be happy with their purchase. Windows Experience Index was 5.9. I highly recommend buying from Amazon. If time allows I will write an update in 3-4 weeks when all my applications have been installed and used as I require.

BTW, I must have used over one hour writing this review and I fully enjoyed using the keyboard. Furthermore, I am not associated with Amazon or Asus nor have I an economic interest in this writing should someone think that. I am an end user, no more.

UPDATE 15 August 2011

Its been about six weeks since I've owned this notebook. My experience has been very favorable as I described above. I have one disappointment and some suggestions to Asus should they read my updated comments.

POSITIVES: Many. Fast, quiet machine with superb 5 star graphics as I mentioned in my review above.

A hugh pleasure using this machine.

OBSERVATIONS: These are minor points of my personal preferences or desires. What other owners experience can be different. Hopefully some will agree.

1. The keyboard is illuminated. The touch pad area left and right buttons should be illuminated also.

2. It would have been nice to choose one or two other illuminating colors for the keyboard.

3. The Asus embossed ROG on the cover would have been nice with illumination.

4. The keys on the upper row Esc, F1-12, Delete, Home, Pgup, Pgdn and End I would have liked 1/4 larger in size. For masculine fingers the buttons are small.

5. From mid-June until now the price has fallen as well as Asus has increased the rebate $50 to $150 this month.

DISAPPOINTMENT: The notebook is supposed to have blu-ray combo drive but the blu-ray discs I own or loaned from Netflix will not play on my machine. I haven't installed a 3rd party dvd software since many reviews have claimed these applications are problematic. I would have liked an Asus driver so the blu-ray discs were readable out of the box. Maybe someone here has a solution.

Buy HP Pavilion DV4-2164US Core i3-330M 14.1-Inch Laptop (Black

Customer Ratings:

very portable, is very light, get the job done! it's great for a student, it has a very long battery life, which is nice to take to class and not have to worry about finding a plug. overall, it's a great laptop, and definitely deserves a 5-star rating!

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I bought this computer as an upgrade from my old HP Pavilion DV6000. This laptop is basically awesome. Good resolution, and relatively light weight. It is very fast with 4 GB RAM and i3 processor. I've had it for about 3 months and never experienced any issues so far! It never overheats like old HP's. I recommend it for business, school, light gaming, and everyday use.

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Better to deal with other seller, the seller respond was late and useless.

The keyboard arrived damage and when I take it to agent, they keeped it on the rack more than one month.

Cheap Dell Studio XPS 16 Notebook Merlot Red with Leather Accent

Customer Ratings:

I have to say that this laptop is one hell of a deal.

The 4GB of ram seem to be a bit of a downer at first, but it actually comes to use.

If you're watching videos, or playing 3D Games, the ATI Mobility RADEON 3670's memory is used to process them, not your RAM.

Meaning if you aren't watching videos or playing a 3D/Flash game, you are going to averagely use 712MB 1GB of ram.

While play on highest settings, including ambient occlusion, shadows, and high quality textures, the computer was only using 1.3 GB of RAM, and the game didn't lag at all.

It gets just a (little) sketchy when playing extremely demanding games like Skyrim, or Battlefield on High settings, but it still gets about 25-35 FPS, which is better then 10 FPS

All-In-All, this computer is great, i ordered this computer on another account, and it asked me to use another account to review due to some error, so i know what i'm talking about.

It fetch's 1080p Video at like 80 MB per. second with fair internet connection.

When turning on the laptop, it's boot speed if extremely lightning fast, used or new, the laptop is bound to have the same performance as others, i bought mine used for 300 bucks, and i'm pleased to say the paranoia i went through was worth it!

Just like all new buyers, it's scary thinking your used item is going to be broke or in poor condition, but mine actually arrived within 2 days, with the charger, laptop (of course), and Proof of Documentation!

Buy this, and you won't forget, just search "Dell xps 16" and buy the used one for $400 bucks, it'll be worth it.

So to the conclusion:

> Perfect for intermediate gamers

> Perfect for 3D Artist, or programmer's

> Extremely fast

> Light up Keyboard

> 0.5 GB (512 MB) of dedicated video memory

> Fast & Durable RAM Chipset

> Bright & Color efficient LCD

> Like 8 pounds

Thank's for reading!

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Acer Aspire NX.M2HAA.011;M5-581T-6024 15.6-Inch Laptop Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $790.01
Sale Price: $648.94
Today's Bonus: 18% Off

It is such a great machine. Can't say enough about it!

My fourth and best contemporary Laptop experience ever. Honest!

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I use this computer for law school. No problems at all. Perfect for grad students. I also stream netflix on it just fine.

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i'm a very low end user and this is only my second computer. it is augmenting my toshiba nb205. i have had this unit for three weeks and i am developing some concerns.

it is a laptop so i expected it to be resistant to minor bumps. however, sometimes it turns itself off. it has done so at least three times. it also has an annoying "clunk" when powering up or down that comes from the dvd burner.

in the design area, the power button is placed in a blind spot that can be hard to identify and most of the plug ins are inconveniently located on the back. there is LOT of bloatware. (the 500 GB hard drive has only 394 GB available)

if not for the disconcerting episodes of turning itself off and the clunk in the dvd burner, i'd be quite happy. i have been advised by one person who helps me to return it because of these issues. i'm undecided.

Cheap Dell Inspiron 15 i15-N5040 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:

My Dell Inspiron 15 N5040 included 3gb of RAM and i3-2.53ghz cpu. I do intend to upgrade the RAM to 8GB but will be adding that separately. Dell's pricing on memory upgrades is absurd. so I just ordered 2x4GB (8GB) of Crucial memory on Amazon for $40. Installing them just involves lifting the keyboard out.

For what most people do with their computers in the average day, this laptop is perfect. A lot of people think they need the fastest, newest, most expensive computer out there and nowadays, that doesn't have to be the case. Most of us aren't graphic designers or movie editors, so why spend hundreds more? For web browsing, email, skype calling, watching netflix, photo editing, and even movie editing (better with 8GB memory), I have had no issues at all.

It's a bit plain looking aesthetically, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Compared to the DELL XPS 15z, which I also own, it's only slightly thicker, which I found surprising since Dell has been touting how thin the XPS 15z is. It does have an off center mousepad which I found annoying since I'm used to them being centered. I found myself inadvertently hitting the right button when reaching for the left button. That is just a minor issue though. Another down side is the battery life. The standard battery doesn't last too long so keep the charger handy and stay near power outlets. I've been getting about 3 hours of battery life while web browsing.

I would recommend this to product to anyone looking for an affordable everyday laptop.

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This Is A Good Computer, And Overall A Good Bargain.

But see their are things you have to adjust to.

Here are the Pros:

Big 15.6 Inch Screen.

I don't know if it is safe to say this laptop's keys sort of resemble and feel like a mac's keyboard.

anyways...

The keys are a plus.

Nice screen colors due to the default intel hd graphics.

it is a lightweight machine sort of feels like it to me.

for $400-$470 it is a hell of a bargain,it does its job.

Cons: I haven't seen any at all.

Highly Recommend.

Enjoy. Dell For The Win.

Best Deals for Dell Inspiron 15 i15-N5040 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I've been a Dell fan for quite some time, and as expected, this little gem confirms why. Repeatable performance and Dell dependability in a sleek, easy to manage package. The price point for comparable units makes this purchase a true bargain, coupled with Amazon ease of ordering and confidence in the Amazon market place partners makes it that much more enjoyable. The seller, J-Tech Digital, was spot on perfect, caught a shipping error on my part and notified me by email soon after the order was placed. The J-Tech Digital Customer Service Team corrected my oversight, shipped it ULTRA FAST and took the time to follow up after the sale. Other retailers could learn a thing or two here. Very impressive indeed.

Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron 15 i15-N5040 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

This is a good basic laptop. It has a lot of potential if you upgrade the ram memory.

PROS:

+ Got it brand new for under 500 US$.

+ Intel core i3 is a really good microprocesor.

+ DDR3 memory support up to 8GB of ram.

+ Works well in high temperatures and it does not overheat like HP laptop's.

CONS:

Touchpad sucks.

Only comes with 3GB of ram out of the box.

Neutral:

~ The keyboard is very basic.

~ Screen is ok (it's advertised as a LED screen but i can't see the difference between this and a normal 2008 LCD screen).

I'm happy with this product, but i'll definitely buy a memory upgrade to enhance the performance..

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dell Inspiron 15 i15-N5040 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I have no complaints, although making the recovery discs didnt go well. Went thru 4 dvd's and then got a "failure" on the 4th disc. Called Dell support and the tech said this is a known problem and he said to use a 8GB flash drive. Sorry all mine are 4 or 6GB and i'm not going to go and spend money on a 8GB fd just to make up a backup Recovery.

Battery life could be better, only get about 4 hours out of it on the basic mode...

Over all this laptop is worth the money, it is fast and so far works great.

Cheap Lenovo ThinkPad T530 239461U 15.6' LED Notebook - Intel - Core i5

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $2,089.00
Sale Price: $1,799.99
Today's Bonus: 14% Off

Buyer beware! I ordered a T530 and received a T61 instead! I was so pissed, but I decided to review it and give it a chance anyway. After close examination I discovered a few things:

1. It wasn't a 2.66 dual core, but a 2.33 dual core instead.

2. It said 4GB when i bought it, but received a 2GB system instead. Was it faulty advertizing? Did they really mean expandable to 4GB?

3. It did not have an NVIDIA NVS 5400M, Intel HD 4000 Graphics Card

4. It did not have a 500GB HDD

Yet, I will keep it, because for the price, it is still a reasonable deal. However, its the principal of the matter. I do not like to be deceived.

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Buy HP tm2t Tablet PC - Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel Core i3-380UM

Customer Ratings:

I had been thinking about getting a tablet, but when I saw this product a laptop that converts into a tablet I was very excited! I read the reviews, consumer reports, compared this product to the Dell convertible (normally I buy Dell laptops) and this seemed to have better reviews and fewer problems overall. The only complaint I read about was the lack of an "end" button on the keyboard. I can live with that.

The keyboard is a very reasonable size, amazing for a laptop this size. Even my dad, who has large hands, thought the keyboard looked useable. The screen is easy to rotate and lay flat to use it as a tablet with touch features. I used the Blio program that came on the computer to download a few books before a trip and used the computer as a tablet to read my books.

This laptop/tablet is the perfect size to use on my lap sitting on my couch (which I'm doing now as I type this), or at the kitchen table, or in the airport, or on the plane. A great compact size but not too small that you lose the display or keyboard function. A two hour battery life, which is about all I've needed so far. I keep this laptop on my coffee table so I can easily go online instead of going upstairs to my office and booting up my desktop computer. So convenient!

My only complaint might be that the mousepad can be a bit sensitive sometimes. Takes some getting used to I guess. Every computer is different. And when reading a book in Blio, I had to push the screen harder than I thought to turn the page, but that may be influenced by the screen protector I put on the screen as soon as I bought it.

Overall, I am very happy with this laptop/tablet! I got it from a seller on Amazon who refurbished it and it works great! I would buy it again and have recommended it to friends.

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I bought this when they first came out and fell in love with it but had to return it because money was too tight. Now, years later, I was able to purchase it again and they no longer have them in stores. I was so thankful Amazon had them for purchase. I absolutely love the touch screen feature. Its very responsive. I love playing games and browsing the web after switching the screen to tablet mode. Its small and is so easy to use. It doesn't come with a disc drive but I purchased a portable one for it that works wonderfully. I was torn between a laptop and tablet. I wanted something that could do flash drive and disc drive but I love how sleek the tablet is. I am so thankful they made something in between. Love this and would highly recommend to anyone!

Cheap Lenovo G500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $539.99
Sale Price: $499.99
Today's Bonus: 7% Off

After shopping around what seemed like the entire internet, I came upon this laptop. I only had 500 dollars to spend, so I wanted to make the best possible decision. After inter comparing every feature and taking into account the reputation of the makers, I narrowed my choices down to one or two laptops, and eventually chose this one due to the price. I'm quite satisfied with it. The only thing I didn't like was windows 8, but with some modification and programs, I customized even that to my liking. Overall, this is a no frills laptop with excellent performance for the price.

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Why is it cheaper than other laptops? It is because of all the bloatware it has; however, they can be uninstalled. It is a great at home office laptop with sold performance with 5 hour battery on battery saving mode. The accurate keyboard is great and smooth. I've had this laptop for a month now and I'm still a happy consumer!

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Good Low Cost Laptop for General Email, Office Products, Web Browsing, Watching Movies, FaceBook, eBay, Simple Games, and Watching Movies...

Honest reviews on Lenovo G500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Bought this for my high school grads going off to college. Great quality. Not crazy about Win8 but Lenovo doesn't put a ton of bloat ware

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Lenovo G500 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Its fast, works great..its rugged and looks nice..what more could you want for the price. its being use for school work and personal as well.

Discount Toshiba Satellite L655-S5158 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Customer Ratings:

After my overpriced, underperforming, Vista disabled HP laptop died on me, I shopped around for a good deal on a budget priced, reliable laptop. Asus is the only laptop brand that has better reliability than Toshiba (see ). When I checked the Toshibas, this is the model they were pushing (and apparently, still are). It's got an even bigger screen than I expected. It has a full size keyboard with a number pad on the right. It's a little large for carting around, but it is incredibly high performing with a great display. When I put a tumb drive in to copy some folders and files, I wondered why it wasn't working. I was used to watching the little folder transfer icons on my HP. Well, I was wrong it did work. It just worked so quickly I didn't even see it. It transferred a ton of data in the blink of an eye. I've only had it a month, so I can't speak to longevity. But the battery life is reasonably good, and it's a great computer especially at the price!

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This is a pretty good laptop for what your going to pay but there are some things that could use some work. The touchpad is a pain. While trying to move around a page, it constantly zooms in or out or slides the entire page down. That can be very annoying if you are working on a paper or something like that. I suggest if you buy this laptop to invest in an external mouse and just turn the touchpad off. Also, the speakers are terrible. If you plan on using this laptop to listen to music or stream movies, invest in some headphones or an external speaker.

Other than that, it does what I need it to do and, again, for the price, I don't think you will find a better laptop. It runs nice and cool and is silent as a mouse.

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I'm typing this just thinking about what I wanted to know before I bought so this will be very back and forth as I'm thinking. For the price this is a great laptop. This one is replacing and older desktop that is close to death so I'm not picky. I like the number keypad but if you don't like having that like some people then don't buy a laptop with the number pad so you can't complain. I can actually type without having to turn off the touch pad unlike other laptops I've used. The lock for the touch pad is below the space bar so it would be easy to turn off if you end up with problems typing. It's also great to have the multi touch touch pad to zoom in and out. I can find the delete, number lock and insert keys easily so that's good. The backup took about an hour and used 3 DVD disk to complete plus one disk for the system repair disk. It has a great screen for watching Hulu unless you are use to extremely large screens. The speakers are good for a laptop. Really do you expect much from laptop speakers? I turned up the volume on both the player and main volume control and could back up where multiple people could watch and hear. They are better than other laptop speakers I have used where you have to hover inches from the screen to hear or use headphones. I'm happy with it. The web cam did well with Skype. It has a microphone which low end laptops don't always have. The blue light to tell you the web cam is on is a little bright but maybe that will help when in low light. Plus you'll know when you're on camera when it activates and blinds you for a couple of seconds. I'm having to get use to the windows 7 but already like the ease of sharing files with my wife's laptop. I haven't tested the battery life yet but everything I read said it has really long life if you use the correct settings with dimmer display and short time before sleep kicks in. I set mine to that when not plugged in but always awake when plugged in for when I use it to play videos. I'll see how the battery life does this weekend while out of town. I don't notice it getting hot. I don't hear much mechanical noise unless the fan to the left kicks on but that's not often. If you are use to a more expensive laptop you may say this is a loud laptop. There is extra software added but I think that's fairly usual and I don't see much extra crap to be removed. With a 20% discount this was the same price as some other's I was looking at (also at a discount) but it had a larger hard drive by 150GB and a GB more memory. The one thing I didn't read that I don't like is that the memory card slot only takes the SD style cards/adapters. My wife's much cheaper Acer has a multi card reader that will accept SD style and XD. We have Olympus cameras that use the XD cards. I can use an adapter or just upload to her laptop and transfer to mine so I'm not too upset over this. It probably is written somewhere in the specs but I just didn't see it. I hope this answers any questions you have. I used the laptop last night without the cord and the battery life is great. It ran for about 4 hours before I got the 10% warning. I also hadn't turned on the eco utility until the last 30 minutes which dims the screen by 1 level, turns off unimportant programs and resets the standby to about 2 minutes of unuse. I'm sure with that it would easily reach the 5 hour battery life that is in the specs. It does have a cool chart when using the eco utility that shows the amount of power being used at that moment. Normal use when I checked was around 20-25 watts and the eco utility on setting dropped it to 8-10 watts.

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite L655-S5158 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I can't say enough good things about this laptop. Fires right up, nicely responsive, easy to use. I thought I was really going to struggle with the concept of using a finger pad instead of a mouse, but this computer makes it so easy, it's a pain-free way to learn the different cursor-moving technique. I LOVE the numeric key-pad that is included in the alpha section of the keyboard, because that makes it more like a desk top keyboard for me.

When the power consumption is set to 'Eco', it can run for five hours on a single charge, depending on what you are doing. The screen is beautiful and crisp. I view a lot of my photos on it and they present very nicely on this Toshiba. It weighs just under five pounds, considerably lighter than many full-size laptops I have seen, so I don't mind taking it with me when I go somewhere.

The only problem I have encountered (and the reason for the 4 stars instead of 5) is that I cannot get it to stream video without stopping and starting. I haven't read any other reviews that mention this issue, so it might just be my IP connection, or it is exclusive to mine, like a glitch, but it is severe enough to reduce the star count in my opinion. I don't use this computer for that purpose often, so it won't present much of a problem for me in the long run, but it needed to be mentioned.

The outer shell is attractively shiny, but it is a HUGE finger-print magnet. I promptly got a protective skin for it. I would highly recommend that to anyone considering this... or you will constantly be cleaning it, or walking around with a nasty-looking, grubbed-up device.

I don't understand the complaints about the fan running; it seldom does, and when it does, it's not for long and I often use this laptop sitting on a pillow on my lap.

I also don't understand the complaints about the speakers. I didn't buy it to listen to music... and the speakers work just fine for the things you need to hear. If you want 'nice speakers', buy a nice stereo or some surround-sound for your television. This laptop easily gets the job done, but it's not going to make your bed or fold the laundry for you. Unless you're the kind of person that buys a sofa hoping you will be able to drive it to the store, or a coffee maker hoping it will make breakfast for you, this laptop is a GREAT portable computer.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba Satellite L655-S5158 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

This laptop was purchased to assist me in day-to-day tasks associated with my job.

I currently work in the IT field and need a stable, working, quick laptop to assist me with repairs.

Toshiba has always built, what I consider, a high quality product.

This laptop is no different.

For the price, the Intel Core i3 processor really delivers.

After removing most of what I consider "bloatware", there wasn't a whole lot, the computer ran just as fast as it would have with a fresh install of Windows 7.

The screen is bright an vivid.

The keyboard is excellent.

The mouse pad feels good, you can always tell you're on it thanks to the grainy matte finish.

The laptop is surprisingly light for a 15" screen.

The fan noise, as some have reported, has not been an issue for me at all.

If you're considering a new laptop for everything but gaming, this is a very good product.

I recommend Toshiba against any other laptop brand.

Lenovo U310 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Grey) Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $749.99
Sale Price: $572.94
Today's Bonus: 24% Off

Purchase Details

Lenovo U310 Graphite Silver

Intel Core i5 3317U 1.7 GHz

Intel HD 4000 Graphics

I had this laptop as well as a couple others in my WishList for a good while but had problems deciding about which to choose. I got this from amazon on Black Friday for $599.99 and went with the Lenovo due to the Good Company Name and their Well Built Products.

The Main Things i needed in a laptop

Good Battery Life (>5 Hours with moderate usage)

Light and Small (Portability is needed as I am on the Go most of the time)

Ability to play 1080p content and run semi-intensive applications and VMs for testing purposes.

Initial Thoughts

The laptop is pretty light and has a nice finish on the outside lid. It feels sturdy and fits perfectly in my Bag.

Keyboard and Touchpad

While typing on the keyboard, you can feel the laptop flexing which can get annoying

when typing large documents.The Touchpad on the other hand is nice and large and the left click as well as right click buttons are easy to press. The gestures in the Touchpad software also allow you to scroll with using two fingers so you no longer need to use your fingers at the end of the touchpad to scroll.

Re-installation of Windows

I got irritated of the User interface in Windows 8 and reinstalled Windows 7 on the Laptop almost immediately. I didnt care for the interface in WIndows 8 as i mostly use applications external to Windows for school. . I noticed that the SSD built in was used for caching and the OS was actually installed on the Magnetic Hard Disk. I realised that UEFI was also enabled and had some issues getting Windows 7 to install. I wanted to remove UEFI and install Windows 7 directly on the SSD.

I Went into the system BIOS, disabled UEFI and then booted a Windows 7 Installation of a USB device. I then deleted ALL the partitions until there was none left. I then installed Windows 7 DIRECTLY onto the 24GB SSD. After the windows installation i had about 5GB remaining on the SSD.

Usage and Performance

Having Windows 7 installed on the SSD makes the boot time as well as opening of apps extremely fast. Windows 7 performs a cold boot in about 12 seconds and then takes a further 3 seconds to login. Applications installed on the SSD opens up instantly.

The i5 as well as Intel HD 4000 Graphics performs better than expected. I am able to stream 1080p content while browsing the web and using skype. This is more than enough for the average student. I mostly have the laptop downclocked in powersave mode and the device still performs like butter while playing music on iTunes and web browsing.

Battery Life

While iTunes runs in the background with Chrome and MS Word 2010 opened, i get about 5 hrs 30 mins battery life. With just Word Opened i can squeeze about 7-8 hours battery life once the screen is dimmed to the lowest with wifi on. This is more than adequate as i no longer have to walk with my charger to every class.

Wireless

The Wireless card equipped with this laptop is an Intel Centrino 2200 Wireless MiniPCIE adapter.

At home I have two Access Points (A Dlink DGL_4500 and a Dlink DIR-625) One network is 150N and the other 300N. The Wireless card in the u310 connects to these both networks at 54MBPs for some reason. My older laptop with an AR9285 Atheros Chipset connects at 150MBps and is able to attain transfer rates of 11MBP/s. THe 2200 in the U310 only is able to transfer at 2MBps and only connects to both networks at 54MBPs. WHen i connect to my Neighbour's 300N Network (TP-LINK TEW-633GR) i am able to connect at 270MBPs. I do not know why this is as it is. The range is also much less than my AR9285 but i assume this is due to the material of the U310's Lid. I although bought an external USB Adapter for this issue. I was going to replace the internal card, but there was a sticker on the bottom of the laptop that would voided my warranty if I was to open the device.

This card was also VERY difficult to get to work in UBuntu 10.10 and some other older linux distros. I have not tried to see if it works out of the box on any of the newer distros. I had to use drivers from the ipw2200 sourceforge page in order to get this semi-working.

Heat and Temperature

Using Speedfan to attain the Core and HDD temperatures while streaming 1080p content, the maximum the COre reaches is 55 Degrees Celcius. On idle, the core temperature goes down to around 41 Degrees. (This is in an non AC Environment) The fan also is very quiet and can only be heard while you have the laptop next to your ear. THe surface and bottom of the laptop do not get hot and for the most they get warm under INTENSE use. My old HP would get soo hot that i wouldn't be able to even keep it on my lap.

Speakers

The speakers in the laptop are horrible. The audio sounds too mid-ranged and there are no hights. Using the Dobly Software makes the audio sound even more horrible and i am unable to find a decent setting that gives me the true sound of the music. I mostly use my headphones if i have to play any audio on the device. The speakers are located by the hinge which allows the laptop lid to open and close.

Screen

The screen is bright and vibrant and looks good on even the lowest brightness setting. Images and VIdeos on the U310 look clean and 10 times better than my old HP with a 14 Inch Screen (G42-475DX) Comparing images on the U310 and Mac Book Pro 13" was although a failure as the Screen in the U310 is no match for that of the MBP. THe images on the MBP look 100 times more crisp and the colours look more realistic when compared to the U310.

Closing Thoughts

The U310 is a good device for portability as well as moderate performance. It is perfect for students (With the exception of the Speakers) and I have no regrets buying this device. I although wished there was another wireless card on this laptop (Preferably Atheros Based) and that the SSD was slightly larger.

I will keep you guys updated as I continue to use the laptop for school purposes.

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I ignored all of the postings on here about the wi-fi being defective because according to Lenovo there was a hardware change after sometime in July which was supposed to fix the wifi issue.

THIS IS NOT TRUE. My unit manufactured 10/27/12 STILL HAS THE WIFI ISSUE which Lenovo has failed to fix or acknowledge. (symptoms : It will not work sitting more than 20 feet away from your router, , Wifi speed is much slower than other devices on the same network.

How they can still be selling these defective models is beyond me. There are hundreds of pages on forums about the problem yet it is still not fixed.

While Lenovo's are usually rock solid machines (at least Thinkpad) I suggest people stay away from this model line. These were shoddily built, not tested and Lenovo is not supporting them.

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Priorities of a University student: 1st) Lightweight. 2nd) Battery life. 3rd) Quick on its feet

PROS:

+Quick Core i5 processor

+3 USB ports (considered a luxury in the ultrabook universe)

+A lot of other ports (HDMI, ethernet, SD card)

+Responsive keys and touchpad (and I like the feel of the keyboard)

+Light enough for me (although it falls a little heavier than the average)

+Simple, clean design

+Doesn't get hot after an hour of use

+Haven't had issues with its apparently infamous WiFi card

+Fan isn't annoying

CONS:

-Battery life not as long as I expected (I'm lucky if I get 5.5 hours as the day goes on)

-Screen brightness could be bit brighter

-My cousin who has the same computer complains that while typing it's too easy to tap the palms on the touchpad

I bought my u310 from Lenovo September of 2012, after extensively reading reviews. I don't regret my purchase [that much]. Obviously, there are going to be trade-offs for all the features floating around the ultrabook universe, so I kept realistic expectations. But anyways, I love my machine. It boots relatively quick, the keyboard is comfortable, the keypad is responsive, and to date, I've had NO problems with my WiFi. I liked its look better than its Sony cost-rival, plus there were some minutia tech reviews said were superior on the Lenovo. Bloatware is minimal (but still annoying). I can't speak much for the audio as I have a main entertainment desktop. The grey is a little dull, I suppose, but it doesn't matter to me, as mine is covered with Pink Floyd and The Oatmeal decals. :)

Sidenote: I kept Windows 7 on mine so I cannot speak on how it runs for Windows 8 (which seems pointless without a touchscreen. Plus, it looks childish.)

BUT, since I bought mine, they've come out with the u410. You should check that out.

Honest reviews on Lenovo U310 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Graphite Grey)

I bought this laptop a few months ago despite the wifi warnings. When i recieved it the wifi did not work; HOWEVER there is a very easy and cheap solution a usb wifi adapter. They are cheap, around 12 dollars, and work well. They make this laptop great and worth the money!

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I purchased a u310 with manufacture date 10/30/2012. The wireless displayed the same problems that many others have seen. I returned it. I would recommend staying away from Lenovo products.