Best Apple iBook 12.1" G4 (1.33 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Combo Deals

Customer Ratings:

I've had a 12" iBook G4 since 2005 and it's still my favorite notebook for browsing the internet, writing letters, and even reading pdf's. It's very lightweight and I consider the screen the perfect size. It's held up very well. One of the keys has a hairline crack and one of the rubber feet on the bottom fell off but I clean it every month or so and it still looks almost new.

My only criticism is that it gets a little warm so I keep it on top of a clipboard when holding it in my lap. No viruses, no crashes, no worries.

When netbooks started becoming popular a couple of years ago, I had to laugh because I already have a lightweight, handy netbook. In fact, I'm using it right now to write this review. Given a choice between a new Asus or Dell netbook or a used iBook G4 for the same price, I would take the G4 without thinking about it for a second.

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This iBook G4 GREAT for typical web-surfing, email, word/spreadsheet/office work, and for doing 95% of what most computer users want in a portable. It is compact and powerful. I've used one for several years for trips and weekendsI can keep up on email, play music, even watch a movie on it (DVD player built in)..

The 1.33ghz has built-in WIFI and bluetooth, so my external keyboard works perfectly with it, and I use it in any coffee shops or WIFI zones while travelling.

The weakest point (in my perspective) is that it's not a powerhouse processor. If you're thinking of making movies on it, you're going to find yourself spending a good bit of time. But for 95% of what people do on laptops, this thing ROCKS! The battery life ranges I've seen 45 minutes, and with a brand new battery 3.5hrs. i'm also a super power-user, so I generally "run the wheels off" anything I use.. so comparatively you might see it last a wee bit better..

The comparison to a netbook is very true. And this thing actually has a hard drive! and, what's best: if you lose it or it gets stolen, you're not out $1300 --the purchase price is very reasonable by comparison. I know a handful of folks with these 12" 1.33's, and they all love them.

Best Deals for Apple iBook 12.1" G4 (1.33 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Combo

The Apple iBook I purchased from Amazon was the best purchase that I made.I was considering buuying a new one from Wal Mart, but came accross the used i Books from Amazon and decided to purchase 2 of them. One is still working good, the other one had a problem.

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When I got the computer it was a bit scratched up, but it still runs decently fast and I have had no problems with it.

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I was very dissappointed with this purchase. It is so slow you could take a nap between clicks. I also have never used a Mac before and it is very difficult in my opinion to use.

Buy Apple MacBook Pro A1286 15.4" Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz

Customer Ratings:

A short while ago I purchased an Apple MacBook Pro A1286 from rbuska. I received the item expeditiously, however due to the description lacking some information, the this particular computer did not suit my needs as I do a great deal of research and needed something more powerful and with many more technical tools built in to the computer, hence I had to return it.

I am writing not about the item, as it arrived in pristine condition as well in perfect working order. I am however writing with regards to "rubshka" and the service he provided. I have never written a review before, let alone a "five star" for service. I am compelled to do so now.

This gentleman was highly concern regarding that my purchase met my needs and was quite supportive when told it had not due to my research. He took it upon himself to go the extra mile to assure that my needs were taken care of even through I had to return the computer. He searched out for me other venues as to assure that I may find what I needed. (even though it was not through his company). He e-mailed me several times regarding his findings and I eventually purchased one as a result of his recommendation from another vendor. This does not happen in the real world very often. His unique and concerned "customer care"manner, professionalism, understanding and compassion went well beyond the usual from my perspective. I would be most happy to do business with this gentleman again. I can assure you, he would be treating all his customers in the same manner. I am quite impressed in the quality of care. "five stars" plus for him!

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THe product came ok with more dents then the person explained over the email. The guy told me that in pictures that it had a dent and it was not the case. It had more dents. But besides that the Laptop works great.

Best Deals for Apple MacBook Pro A1286 15.4" Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz

Battery is not during too much but the Product is in perfect condition, shipped in time and like described. I'm very satisfied with this purchase in specific.

Buy Sony VAIO T Series SVT14112CXS 14-Inch Ultrabook (Silver)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $699.99
Sale Price: $620.00
Today's Bonus: 11% Off

Very nice laptop. Thin and light. I've heard the mouse pad can be a challenge but have had no problems with it whatsoever. Windows 8 is very different and takes some getting used to!

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Great ultrabook for the money... sleek and beautiful. Not a fan of Windows 8, and VERY little instruction on how to use the ultrabook itself and the programs. Security is on a trial basis, so you have to download security very soon after purchase. Also Windows Office is on a trial, so another purchase if you want that. All in all, for the money, it's a good one to consider.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO T Series SVT14112CXS 14-Inch Ultrabook (Silver)

I received this this product in a record 5 days bearing in mind that I am in and APO Location in Afghanistan. This laptop functions as per specifications. The only drawback is the screen resolution which is low but its minor. Heads are turning when they see me with it. I have a Dell for my wife and they don't compare at all because The Vaio is just on top. I give it a thumbs up!

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Great product! Very clean. Windows eight is weird at first but becomes easy. Handles like a macbook. Be sure to be gentle with your keys because they will stick.

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I bought a Sony Vaio SVT14117cxs and absolutely hate it. I bought a Sony because I was tired of all the others dying after 1.5 to 2.5 years.I thought I would try a Sony. This thing sucks. The pointy corners bite into your for arms when really using it as a laptop. The battery is screw in so if your computer freezes you need to get a flat head screw driver and unsrcrew the battery. This has happened several times in less than 6 months. The network interface card is frequently becoming not connected to the lan. I have to disconnect and re-connect through the network window. None of my other computers at home have this issue. The new windows 8 operating system sucks. I have used computers since the mid 80's and this is by far the worst user interface yet released from windows,

Reviews of Dell Latitude E6410 Intel i5 2600 MHz 320Gig Serial ATA HDD 4096mb

Customer Ratings:

needed replacement memory and this fit the bill it arrived quickly and was in perfect condition. I was able to get it installed and the laptop all set in a matter of minutes

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I used this exact laptop with my old employer. When I was laid-off I decided to get the exact duplicate of what I had previously. The item was shipped in a great container and quickly.

Best Deals for Dell Latitude E6410 Intel i5 2600 MHz 320Gig Serial ATA HDD 4096mb

Unfortunately, with the CD and code number provided, I was unable to get it completely booted up. Attempts to rectify the problem by e-mail suggestions proved fruitless, and I ended up shipping it back, and am awaiting posting of the refund to my credit card account.

Toshiba Satellite T215D-S1140RD 11.6-Inch Notebook PC - Gemini Red Review

Customer Ratings:

Personally, I love this product. The company had done a great job at getting my order to me in a timely fashion. In fact, it came sooner than I thought. The unit itself, works great, as it booted right up. I do like the fact that the computer is light, and that you can use a USB key to create a system restore disk. Moreover, I did end up buying more ram for it, while 2gb did not seem to be enough for now. I now have total of 4gb installed which in due time, I am planning on upgrading again. However, I did not want to max out the machine at this time, so maybe in a few months I will purchase additional ram, thus taking it up to 8gb. Nonetheless, the company is fast in term of shipping. I did not have any problems and would recommend buying this product from this company, as well as this model. In fact, my friend had been looking for one of these and could not find one in the stores. He did purchase his from the store, but his is black whereas mine is Red. I liked the red color since it was something new. Again I recommend this product, and getting it from this company. It arrived just days after I ordered it, which again was a good thing.

Excellent service, delivery time, and great product!! The only problem is that it does not come with blue-tooth built in. But, I have one that plugs into the USB, so it is not that big of deal. Moreover, I do have an external DVD drive, so the unit is lighter. More or less, I really do not use DVD drives that much, while I commonly use USB or external hard drives for most of my work. So if you are looking for a light weight unit that has a solid design I recommend this product. And again, delivery time was quick and painless from this company.

Highly recommend if you looking to replace your netbook, or want a small laptop with the capability to dock it when at home!

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I actually have the S1150 model.

A decent computer that is everything that I expected. I deducted one star for a sticky F8 key and the fact that Toshiba couldn't be bothered to set up the display colors properly. As delivered the display is badly washed out. Adjusting brightness, contrast and gamma makes a huge improvement. Adjustments are obscurely hidden in Catalyst Control Center/Advanced.

After about two weeks the hot keys stopped working. Pressing the FN key produces a drop down menu that allows settings to be changed. No hot keys means that I can't turn on the WiFi or the touchpad. Toshiba's tech support suggested doing a full recovery. The recovery discs that I made and which showed as being verified after burning did not work. Several files could not be read and the recovery program terminated. This left no operable operating system. It also apparently overwrote the system image stored on the hard disk.

Toshiba suggested factory recovery discs. The discs are free! Shipping and handling are $25!! I needed them what could I do? Toshiba would not sell them to me. My credit card is billed in the US Virgin Islands and could not be accepted. You have to live in one of the 50 "real" states and not a territory. The Toshiba web site list their coverage area as Canada, US, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central and South America and parts of the Caribbean. The drop down menu when you try to order only accepts Canada, the 50 States and Argentina.

I eventually got my operating system working again from a Windows backup on a USB hard drive. The hot keys still don't work and I guess never will.

So 4 stars for the computer but if you need support from Toshiba you will wish you had bought something else. I do.

Toshiba C855-S5190 Notebook PC PSCBLU-06L003 Review

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List Price: $549.99
Sale Price: $409.45
Today's Bonus: 26% Off

Great laptop for word processing and some gaming. Does it all fast and a treat for those who love windows 8.

Great laptop for such an affordable price.

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After waiting nearly a month to receive the product I had to contact the company. I was advised that my package must have been "Lost" by FedEx. I find this hard to believe, but they shipped another and I got it in two days.

I was not able to use the computer because upon turning it on I found the screen was cracked straight down the center. I contacted the company and was treated horribly by representative "Jeff." Jeff informed me that I had no common sense because I had thrown away the box that the package came in. NOT the box for the computer, but the huge shipping box. I had to inform Jeff that in addition to successfully operating businesses, I am also in the legal profession. I beg to differ with his comments, which he said in each communication he sent me. I don't know how much room he has to store every empty box; I don't have room anywhere to do this.

After contacting Amazon, which was very prompt and courteous, I was asked to return the item to the company for a full refund. Amazon contacted them.

In researching what I want to replace this with I went to Laptop PC Magazine online and found that Toshiba is very last for 2012 and 2013 reviews. I have always loved Toshiba, which kept me from researching much, but now I definitely agree with the reviews and will be trying something different.

I don't believe ANY company should allow their representatives to be so offensive to clients. It is not a good way to keep business, ESPECIALLY when your main product is going downhill.

Cheap Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q880 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Gaming Laptop

Customer Ratings:

Cosmetically, the Qosmio looks like a technological piece of art; under the hood, it gets even better. Every time I lay my hands on it, I'm thrilled I made this purchase.

I originally got the X505-Q850 and am posting that review here as well since the 880 is essentially the same laptop and I thought this review would be helpful to people....

I'd been hoping to put off buying a new laptop but the screen on my old HP was failing and I just can't justify sinking money into obsolete tech. I convinced myself I was willing to live with the funky lines running through my screen in favor of being frugal, but with each malfunctioning pixel, it was clear I had to buy a replacement soon.

If you're like me, a new laptop isn't something to be taken lightly. It's a decision I'll have to live with a good many years, so selecting the right model is important since I'll be using it on a daily basis. Well, I'd like to say I did exhaustive research comparison shopping every new laptop, but that simply wasn't the case. I had two basic criteria that eliminated 99% of the laptops on the market: I wanted the largest screen possible and a lighted keyboard.

Enter Qosmio...

(Insert angelic harps here)

Thankfully, Amazon makes it easy to search laptops by attribute like screen size, and the first laptop that came up on my search was the Qosmio x505-Q850 -the pictures were more reminiscent of an elegant sports car than laptop -it was love at first sight. The screen was a whopping 18.4 inches, which is huge for a laptop, and much to my surprise, it even had a lighted keyboard!!!

(Angelic choir join the harps and crescendo for dramatic effect...)

Could finding my perfect laptop be this easy? "Calm down," I tell myself, "looks aren't everything." The price isn't cheap, yet it's nearly half the cost of Alienware, it's nearest rival in specs and looks. Excitedly reading the product info, I was thrilled to see the Qosmio's feature set is just as brilliant on the inside as it is on the outside. With the latest quad core processor, a blazing fast solid state drive for the OS, a 2nd SATA drive, 6gb of memory, the latest NVIDIA graphics card, Bluetooth, HDMI output and Blu-Ray drive, this Qosmio is a powerhouse indeed.

Delving deeper, I learned this new Qosmio had just been released and was in limited supply. Even buying direct from Toshiba was a 2 month wait. Amazon had a few in stock but quickly sold out. With more pixels disappearing on my old HP, I kept a keen lookout hoping someone would get the Qosmio in stock soon. I was hoping to buy at Amazon and get triple points on their credit card (every 2500 points gets me a $25 gift card and triple points on a laptop would be near 6000!!) but alas, a different retailer got in a small quantity, and much as I hated to do it, I cheated on Amazon and made my purchase elsewhere.

When my Qosmio arrived, it was a euphoric experience. The box is red and black with a huge red Q on it and the same detailed design that's on the laptop itself. As I peeled back the box tab to open it, the inside flap had little red letters that said "Enjoy your laptop." My heart fluttered, "I will," I thought to myself, "Don't you worry."

Angelic harps reach their apex as I open the Qosmio box. And there it was -emerging through light beams -with its high gloss black finish glistening, and points of light sparkling off red metallic accents. I challenge anyone to find a more stunning looking laptop.

Okay, so literary embellishments aside, this really is a great laptop. And Windows 7 is pretty awesome too. Boot up time is lightening fast; 45 seconds tops from the moment I hit the power button and I can click on anything and get going instantly. And this new processor is a total beast too. Photoshop CS4 opens near instantly. A 100gb backup took barely over an hour. And rendering video editing is blazing fast too. I'm not a gamer, so I have nothing to report there, but judging by everything else, it ought to be equally fast in that department.

"Gaming Laptop" is just a euphemism for Fast!

If you see a computer that's touted for "gamers" don't assume that's all it's good for. "Gaming computer" just means fast, and who doesn't want a fast computer?? I've seen several reviews that did speed tests pitting this new Qosmio against its rivals and it outperformed them with ease. Granted, it was the only one with this new processor and as others follow suit, the speed comparisons will level off.

Blu-Ray Rom vs Burner

ROM basically means this drive plays Blu-Ray disks but doesn't burn them. (It does, of course, burn DVD+-RW and CDs.) At first, I was disappointed Qosmio didn't have a Blu-Ray burner. But then I realized I'd rather archive all my video to MPEG4 or WMV and watch it directly off Media Share. I already use Media Share to listen to all my music, so why not do the same with video too? It's way more convenient to access MP3 files digitally than it is to load a CD into a player, just like it's easier to do backups with external hard drives as opposed to disks. Digital files are just faster and more convenient, so a Blu-Ray burner may already be meaningless for my purposes.

HDMI Output

One of my favorite features of the Qosmio is the ease with which it can be connected to my 50" plasma! Just run an HDMI cable from your computer to your plasma and it's good to go! Audio is automatically cut from the laptop and plays out the TV instead. And the picture is full 1080p HD! Play any video clip, surf the web or watch a Blu-Ray movie all on your plasma!! Very cool!! Oh, and in case you're wondering, the Qosmio uses a standard HDMI cable, not the mini size seen on camcorders. And Qosmio automatically detects the HDMI signal and turns on an off the external display automatically. You can have both screens active at the same time, or choose between the two. Combined with my Philips Wireless HDMI transmitter and it all couldn't be easier to use.

Lighted Keyboard

I've read some forums where people were upset the keyboard doesn't stay lit all the time and turns off after so many seconds. NOT TRUE -the keyboard CAN be set to stay on all the time. On your Qosmio, just go to: >Start >Toshiba >Utilities >HWSetup >Illumination >then under "Keyboard Backlight," click the radio button "FN" then check the box "On." After you reboot, you'll be able to turn the keyboard on and off by using the "FN" + "Z" keys. Personally, I have my keyboard set to stay on all the time, and naturally, it turns off automatically when the computer is shut down. It's also worth mentioning that the keyboard itself is very smooth and QUIET! I don't know about you, but clackety-clack keyboards drive me nuts! No reason why they can't all be virtually silent like this Qosmio's. I have to strain just to hear a sound -perfect!

No Crapware

I hate it when I buy a new computer and it's loaded with garbage programs that basically amount to advertisers littering all over my new hard drive. Thankfully, Qosmio comes with very little corporate garbage under the hood -a Microsoft Office trial, Quickbooks, Toshiba Online Backup -oh, and that crappy Norton I got rid of on my first bootup. Aside from that, it's pretty much a clean install with only the necessities, and I'm thankful for that. I'll install my own programs, thank you very much! Incidentally, Toshiba did a good job of including some helpful utilities and a decent DVD/CD burning program, so kudos there.

Harman / Kardon Speakers

No, these aren't going to fill a room or blow anyone's hair back, but compared to other laptops I've encountered, these speakers are great! If I'm out on the go, they're just fine and plenty powerful. But when I'm home, I do plug in a set of Altec Lansings for a fuller, dynamic sound. But truth be told, I don't listen to music off my laptop. But I do have it connected to my DirecTV receiver and listen to music on my home theater system via Media Share. There's nothing like it!

Eco-Mode

I applaud Toshiba for including this feature but it's nothing I'll ever use. Basically, you can setup this feature so that at a push of a button, your the Qosmio will conserve energy and you can feel good about reducing your carbon footprint. That's all well and good but I didn't spend 2 grand for a sluggish computer. I paid for speed and I want speed, I'll deal with my carbon footprint elsewhere. I take the bus most places, so I have most people beat right there. I'll burn my laptop as fast as I please; thanks much.

Face Recognition Login

Yes, you heard me -this Qosmio has a built in web cam that's good for video calls via Skype, but it also does one better -the built in web cam also enables the use of face recognition software in lieu of a password for login! Cool!

Fingerprints

The high gloss finish of this Qosmio is stunning but it also picks up fingerprints with ease. Personally, I don't mind. I wouldn't want to sacrifice the Qosmio's lux look and don't mind wiping it down to keep it shiny and clean. Besides, we've all seen the reports that say people's keyboards have more germs on them than a public toilet, so it's a good thing to wipe your laptop down frequently no matter what.

Solid State Drive

I credit Qosmio for wanting to be on the cutting edge but the solid state drive on this thing is way too small -only 64gb. It does have a 2nd 320gb SATA which beats most competitors since it spins at 7200rpm. But the SSD is still small for my taste. To make matters worse, the partitions only give 47gb of usable space. The rest is allocated to a Recovery partition and a hidden partition that contains a backup image that can restore your computer to its out of box state. This could be helpful if you're on the go and something happens but I did make my DVD backup disks as well just for good measure. I don't mind how the partitions are laid out, I just need a bigger SSD and plan to upgrade as soon as the price drops from the stratosphere to something reasonable. But having said that, the speed of this drive is amazing so I'll gladly make do in the meantime. I installed my most taxing programs on the SSD and moved all my documents to the secondary SATA. Thankfully, Toshiba included an easy utility that helps migrate the user files to the secondary drive so as to help conserve space on the SSD.

Windows 7 64bit NOT 32bit

The description says 32bit but this is actually 64bit Windows 7 Home Premium. I upgraded with ease to Ultimate and it did take less than 10 min just as advertised.

Helpful Hint #1:

check my other reviews for the perfect laptop cooler: NZXT ACC-NT-CRYO LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler 120MM Adjustable Fans (Black) It's the perfect fit for this Qosmio!

Helpful Hint #2:

check my other reviews for a great 25' HDMI cable: GTMax Premium High Speed Gold Plated HDMI Cable

Helpful Hint #3:

check my reviews for a great remote control for your new Qosmio watch blu-ray movies and surf the web on your plasma TV: Gyration GYR4101CKUS Air Music Remote with Compact Keyboard

Bottom Line:

There are far too many features to go through them all, but suffice to say, this Qosmio x505-Q850 is truly on the cutting edge. I give it my highest recommendation and am totally satisfied with it in every way. If you want a fast laptop that's on the cutting edge and looks great too, this Qosmio is your WINNER!!!

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Bluntly, this laptop puts most gaming desktops to shame. The I7 processor is a true upgrade from the Core 2, 1066MHz RAM and SSD give you enough bandwidth and read speed to reduce load times incredibly, and the huge HD screen is like sitting in the front row at a theater. Add to that Blu-Ray, the undisputed best speakers I have ever heard on a portable, and a full-sized illuminated keyboard and you will realize why this is the most impressive gaming laptop on the market.

The price is extremely reasonable given the feature set. Previous generation gaming portables could lighten your wallet by almost $3,000 for stock options, while this one is under $2,000 with just about every bell or whistle you could want. Building a desktop with similar specs would set you back nearly $1,400, thus a $500 price premium for portability is more than acceptable.

In multimedia, simply put, the Qosmio Q880 will handle anything you throw at it. Blu-Ray is flawless, as is 1080P downloaded content. The speakers are very powerful for their size but do lack bass response like all small speakers, though I was impressed with what it had. It seems to use the chassis as a wave guide for low frequencies. The screen is bright with good color reproduction, easily the match of a desktop display, and even when viewed very closely (in your lap for instance) retains sharpness.

As to gaming, again there is no current title that this laptop cannot handle. In extremely demanding games you may have to turn off a few bells and whistles to play at 1920x1080, the same as you would with a single card in a desktop. 6GB of RAM as opposed to the usual 3 or 4 in gaming laptops is refreshing, giving overhead rather than trying to match the current batch of high end games. World of Warcraft, The Sims 3, Borderlands, and Mass Effect 2 all run without a hitch.

Finally the laptop-y things; Battery life is good for a gaming laptop but this is by no means a netbook. You'll get about 2.5-3 hours in constant use provided you're not running 3D games or anything more demanding than Internet and Office apps. Thanks to a CPU that can not just ramp down its frequency but shut off parts of itself on demand, you can have battery life and power in the same box. The appearance of the unit is very cool, but I tend to think a lot of people would like options other than black and red.

A few things I was disappointed to find: There is no install media included with the Q880. I know it is easy to create restore disks, but when plopping down nearly two grand for a laptop you'd think the least they could do would be to print a few DVDs. The first thing I do with a prebuilt system is reinstall everything without the bloatware, and having to use several of my own blank DVDs is asinine. As of my receipt of this unit there are no valid drivers for the GeForce 360M, and the ones available from Toshiba's site do not support it either. (The ones that come preloaded into the OS are edited to support the 360M and are a bit out of date. I had to hack my own to bring them to current, and there are minor bugs as the official drivers do not yet exist. After nVidia officially releases the 300 series a driver will be available.)

Best Deals for Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q880 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Gaming Laptop

Does everything Toshiba advertises! I also had many,many specialized utilities and all have run under 64-bit Win 7. Buying a pre-packaged/integrated system sure was much easier than getting the desktop I built afterwards online ... Not cheap but great/fast shipping, great system stability and operaiton. Can't comment on the value of the warranty as I have not used it ... and I am a VERY heavy usenet user frequently downloading 24x7 several days per week! Even the sound system is adequate in this laptop which is big and heavy but very easy to read (large screen) and the fastest laptop I have ever seen! If you can afford it highly recommended. As a 56 year old electronics engineer computing over 30 years I am very impressed with this Toshiba product.

Jim

Honest reviews on Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q880 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Gaming Laptop

Unboxing a new laptop is usually a good indicator of how your overall experience is going to be with it: I couldn't ask for more. Not only was the laptop packaged securely, it wasn't over-packaged. The box is just big enough to ensure safe shipment while small enough to save for the length of the warranty should something bad happen to it.

Once it was setup and turned on, I was blow away by the speed of the Solid-State Drive. Windows 7 started quickly and the registration process was as painless as I've ever remembered. There's even a wizard that assists you in migrating the user folders from the SSD (C:\) to the ample 500GB SATA (E:\) hard drive.

The controls on the left hand side of the massive keyboard (with full 10 key) are easy enough to find, sometimes by accident, but that's more due to my massive hands. The buttons (or just the way they beep when pressed) are easily turned off, if you like, in a Toshiba provided configuration utility.

The sound is awesome: The speakers are clear and non-tinny with lots of mixer/effect options. Headphone support is as good as you could ask for with 1/8" jacks for input and output.

Video, of course, is as luxurious as you'd expect from 18.4 inches of LCD glory at 1900x1080 full-HD resolution. I have an HD LCD TV I intended to use with the HDMI port, but honestly I'd rather have the upconverting DVD/Bluray experience all to my self on this screen.

Speaking of ports, this computer is LOADED with them. 3 regular USB ports give you room for all sorts of devices while a shared eSATA/USB port will charge external devices (iPods, cell phones, etc) even when turned off. The IEEE-1394 port is great for the firewire devices I still have and the media card reader makes moving digital images from my CD cards a breeze. The Bluetooth sensor found my external mouse immediately, freeing up a USB slot for that adapter!

The touchpad has a distinct texture from the palm rest, and it's very finger friendly. If you use an external mouse like I do, the touchpad can be disabled with a button right above it, again perfect for my hands. The keyboard is backlit and lacks the loud "clicky" sound when used.

6GB of DDR3 ram makes this thing fly through applications. Then with 1GB of DDR5 (yes FIVE) ram on the newest nVidia 360M video card, you have system/graphic performance better than most full sized PC's.

The things this laptop has against it are small, but worth noting to help people make up their minds.

The palm rest and top of the LCD lid are shiny: If you have greasy hands, you'll smudge the case quickly. Even if your hands are clean, after a few days you'll want to give it a quick wipe down.

The weight is heavier than other laptops, but lighter than most of the gaming/video editing/graphic design desktops I've used that this computer outpaces. Still, if you're looking for a computer you can port around like nothing, this machine may be too heavy for you.

The 64GB SSD gets filled quickly if you don't save files to the SATA hard drive. The SSD is a standard form-factor, and can be upgraded with relative ease, but provided you use the massive 500GB drive for your files and programs, it's not too small in the least.

The availability is bad. Toshiba simply cannot keep up with the demand for this computer. As a result, prices are $300 to almost $400 higher than Toshiba's factory direct price. Unfortunately if you want one in stock now as opposed to the now 6 week wait for one to be built, this is your only choice.

My personal gripe is that while the i7-720QM processor is fast, the i7-820QM processor is available on the market, and the i7-920QM is appearing on the scene. The plus side is that you can upgrade the processor (and SSD) as the form-factor for the processors does not change with the model. If a Bluray burner is ever released, I'll be upgrading that too.

As there are no 4.9 star ratings, I'll just have to give this computer 5.

I am blow away, and very happy indeed.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q880 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Gaming Laptop

I have been thrilled with my Qosmio 880 purchase. It has handled everything I have thrown at it performance-wise without even breathing hard. The monitor displays beautiful graphics and the video card has no problem keeping up. It also boots up very quickly. On the con side, it is very heavy, but I knew that when I bought it. It is a desktop replacement so I wasn't too concerned about weight. The biggest complaint I have is the keyboard. The layout feels awkward. The keys are set very far back and the extra room around the wrist makes it so you have to roll your hand forward to reach the keys. Also, the media buttons on the left side are very sensitive and close to the keys, so I find myself turning the sound on and off accidentally if my pinky strays too far. However, this is not such a huge issue that it detracts from the overall package, just the one thing I could find wrong with an otherwise excellent machine.

Reviews of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook - Core i5 3317U - Windows 7 Pro

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,399.00
Sale Price: $1,379.99
Today's Bonus: 1% Off

A great product! Bought it as a Macbook Air killer and that's just what it is! Trackpoint and Touchpad work perfectly under Ubuntu 13.04. Sound and mute buttons work as well and a small hack makes the mute microphone button work as well. No drivers necessary for Bluetooth and wifi.

Laptop is very light and battery lasts 3 hours easily under intensive use.

The keyboard is a typist's dream! The surface of the computer is very nice to touch and it looks stunning.

SSD is a great bonus, Ubuntu boots in under 15 s.

Display width is perfect. Can fit two frames of 80 character text on each side. However, height could be more, 900 px is not enough. On the other hand, resolution is ideal for movies. The picture on the display is also really good and sharp.

The "always on" USB port is very handy for charging a phone and the laptop together from the same outlet.

Drawbacks:

Fn key is in where Ctrl should be, but as an Emacs user, my Ctrl is Caps Lock anyway :-).

Bottom panel gets quite warm.

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booting is quick,

CPU is fast enough,

Screen is very bright,

battery life could be better,

super light for thinkpad brand

extremely recommended

Alienware M14X 14" Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM Processor Review

Customer Ratings:

Alienware seems to have gotten all the "little things" right with this laptop. The form factor is large enough to game or do "real work," yet it is small enough to be portable. The strange-looking beveled keyboard is actually very pleasant to type on fewer errant keystrokes and better speed. The trackpad has discrete buttons with nice tactile feedback. There is no annoying bloatware (trial AV, toolbars, etc) like you might find on an HP. I was worried that the styling would be garish and distracting/embarassing, but it really isn't that bad.

The components, are, of course, top notch. You could probably get them in other computers as well, though.

Overall, no complaints.

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I really wanted to love this laptop, I really did. The AlienFX thing is pretty cool with the whole keyboard lights and the rest, the screen was great (1600x900). It was nice and fast, although, booting it up took about 4 minutes before you could actually do anything on it, and that's WAY too long for a brand new top of the line computer. The video card (GT555m) was great and games looked great and the frame rate even at high detail never really took a nosedive. The klipsch speaker set up in this thing was awesome too, had a tiny little woofer in it that brought some great sound with it.

All these things kept me wanting to like or, or even to use it, but the ONLY thing stopping me, was the fan. Any other review that you read, if someone says the fan isn't that bad, is lying or borderline deaf. I'm sorry. I've been building and repairing computers for at least 15 years now, and never have I heard any fan that gets THIS loud. I understand that things need to be kept cool, but things also need to be designed better to keep the airflow going. The fan noise was unbearable playing a game to the point you had to use headphones just to hear what you were doing, even just browsing webpages in chrome fired the fan up and got it spinning, albeit not as loud as when gaming.

I tried everything I could to get the fan down to a comfortable level. Updating the BIOS to the latest one (which dell wrote specifically for the fan complaints), flashing an unlocked BIOS from the guys over at bios-mods, changing fan heat thresholds, propping it up on a book, using a laptop cooler. I even went as far as ripping the ENTIRE laptop apart and re-applying the best thermal grease I could find. The old stuff that I cleaned off looked like colgate. That was actually the only thing that showed any significant improvement, it actually dropped the temperature down by about 5-7 degrees celsius at idle and 10-15 degrees celsius at load.

Bottom line, this laptop needs two fans, or a shorter heat pipe to the CPU/GPU. the heatpipe had to be at least 6 or 7 inches, and for this dinky little fan to keep up it has to spin like a 737 taking off.

So after my issues with the fan I decided to return it using my "30 day money back guarantee" which turns out to cost about $250... those idiots at dell sell you a laptop with an obvious design flaw, and then tell you "oh, yeah, just box it up, pay for shipping, then we'll just go ahead and charge you an additional 15% restocking fee"

I will NEVER recommend this laptop to anyone, and probably tell people to just stay away from dell completely. That re-stocking fee is just plain robbery.

Just sold this laptop on craigslist about an hour ago, so technically, Dell still has my money, how depressing.

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I purchased this laptop through Dell's website. I have a 6gb ram, 1.5gb graphics card configuration.

All in all, the laptop performs well. I did have an issue with Windows no longer being able to install drivers, which led to my graphics card no longer having a driver, which led to me having to respawn the system to factory settings to fix the problem after Dell's tech support was unable to correct the problem. However, all that is really due to problems with Windows rather than the laptop itself.

Pros:

Excellent performance, and the price isn't too steep for what you get.

The m14x is a nice looking laptop, and garners quite a few envious glares from people who see it.

The keyboard feels great, but bears a certain issue I will touch upon in the cons.

The touch pad is good, and has a lot of customization built into the Alienware control center software, from touch

sensitivity, to settings that help mitigate accidental palm grazes.

The keyboard back-light customization is a nice touch, though it can be so distracting I usually have most of the lights

off.

The screen is crisp and performs well.

Cons:

The screen has a very high gloss. I've gotten used to it a bit, but I can literally use it as a mirror in even low-

light conditions.

The keyboard, while it feels nice and responsive, squeaks a lot while typing. Yes, squeaks, like a bunch of little

rusty hinges. It isn't a deal breaker, but it is an oddity one doesn't usually see in keyboards.

It's a laptop, so it doesn't perform like a desktop gaming rig will. You'll find plenty of games that run at their

highest settings, but most newer games won't.

Since Alienware specialized in gaming PCs, I feel their laptops should come with a mouse. Mousepads aren't even

adequate for flash games.

All that being said, it is still an excellent laptop for those who want to be able to game, but need a laptop. The larger versions have some nice options on them, and prices to match, but the m14x nails the combination of balance and portability nicely.

Honest reviews on Alienware M14X 14" Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM Processor

Like with anything you buy, you should do plenty of research about it BEFORE you buy so there are no surprises. People who leave poor reviews about this product obviously did not look into it very much. Yes the fan is noisy during gaming... many laptop fans are. But it really is not that bad. Also 90% of people who are gaming either have on their speakers or headphones. And let me tell you the speakers on this machine are absolutely amazing... crisp and very loud. The audio jacks are very good as well, both of which can very easily cover the fan noise while you are gaming. Other than that the fan is almost silent during normal day use. And I have yet to find the machine getting very hot while playing BF3, F.E.A.R 3, or other games for an extended period of time.

The build may seem bulky but it is very portable and if you adjust your power settings correctly, you can squeeze about 6 hours of battery life out of this machine in power saver mode. I use this when I go to class all day and my machine still performs very well despite being on reduced performance settings.

Gaming and entertainment wise this machine is amazing. F.E.A.R 3 runs perfectly on max settings, and when using auto-settings for Battlefield 3 the game sets all settings on medium quality with texture quality on Ultra and the game runs perfect. The machine is fast, portable, and even without the HD screen games are still very clear and very easy to play.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Alienware M14X 14" Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM Processor

I ordered a new Dell laptop. I received it and the hard drive could not be found. Called Dell and after several attempts it booted up.

Then the fans became very loud and provided a high whistling sound.

The hard drive is very slow, taking the software minutes to respond to commands.

I, at this time, have had the system for 2 months. I contacted Dell within 21 days and they will NOT provide a refund or take the system back.

The LCD screen has imprints from the keys on the keyboard. I was told it was a design flaw. The touch pad quit working.

I am now, finally after two months of trying, getting them to repair it, but they will not exchange or refund, and I bought a NEW system, now I will have a refurbished lemon.

They are replacing the LCD screen, the keyboard, the frame around the keyboard, the touchpad and buttons, the fans, the hard drive, the battery and charger. I think with all of this additional cost to replace these things, and frustrate a customer, that they should just refund and let me wipe my hands of this.

THIS IS NO WAY TO TREAT CUSTOMERS!

Buy Sony VAIO VGN-FW520F/B 16.4-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home

Customer Ratings:

I am a PC guy, but I am also familiar with Macs. I love the Sony VAIO...this is my third one since 2001 and they are all still working great. This new one though is the best. My favorite aspects are the beautiful screen, Windows 7, and the Blu-ray player. I have used it for a couple weeks now, and it really is a laptop I just love to work on. The new graphical items in Windows 7 are awesome, which makes the user experience much more fun. The VAIO also comes with pre-installed software, but it's all stuff you want to keep on it--like the Sony audio/video applications. And again, I just can't stress enough how wonderful the screen is. My wife is a photographer, and she has taken some photos that just have that "so real" look to them on the screen...kind of like viewing a Blu-ray moview on a great TV. I am very pleased with this purchase.

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Pros:

Wide & bright screen, good enough to watch movies.

Fancy body design, looks beautiful.

Spaced keys, makes typing very comfortable.

good quality webcam/mic that works in low light and can track face movements.

Cons:

Short Battery life.

Does not have the modem jack as it shows in the product description and the picture.

No backup OS DVD. Recovery partition on HDD.

Overall a good desktop replacement.

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I read all the reviews and did not find a single one here that matches my experience so far. I've owned this for >1 year now so below are the pros & cons:

Pros:

Looks beautiful

Excellent keyboard (can type very fast)

HDMI & Blu-Ray means I've not needed a blu-ray player so far.

Good screen

Cons:

Terrible battery life. If you don't play video/audio or stream from the internet you may get 2 hours from this otherwise 1.5 hours is max. The battery life indicator is totally off. It may start off showing that there is 4 hours of battery life available, but it will reduce that to 2 within a few minutes and then even less as you keep using it. YOU ALMOST ALWAYS WILL NEED A POWER SUPPLY NEARBY. I guarantee it.

Heavy. This thing is not light weight.

Lots of junk software loaded including some Sony software. Why can't they just provide the rest on a disc and let us choose to install it if we want. All VAIO software is junk. It cannot manage anything and hangs up and slows your machine down. Also uses up resources and reduces battery life. I suggest uninstalling all.

Placement of the 3 USB ports close to each others on the same side.

In summary, I loved it when I ordered it and got it first, but now I'm ready to get rid of it for something that is lighter in weight and will have longer battery life. I am willing to compromise on looks!

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO VGN-FW520F/B 16.4-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home

Im completely impressed, it is the best laptop i have ever had, the screen is excellent, great for gaming, it makes no sounds at all, great keyboard,decent audio, bluray is great, hdmi conection is really smooth, i just love it, and this comes from a mac user.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sony VAIO VGN-FW520F/B 16.4-Inch Black Laptop (Windows 7 Home

I bought this notebook to replace my older Vaio.

The screen is beautiful, it plays blu ray movies, I love the keyboard and Windows 7 is excellent!

The only thing I dislike is the placement of the USB ports. Other than that, I'm very happy with my purchase.

Reviews of Alienware M17x R4 AM17xR4-11053BK 17.3-Inch Laptop (Stealth Black

Customer Ratings:

**This review was originally written for the M17xr4 with 7970m graphics, 1600x900 screen, i7 3610m processor, and 6gb RAM, 750gb 7200rpm HD which, i own. That being said, the rest is the same and the processor difference is very, very minimal since the 3630 is simply the "refresh" of the 3610, and NOT a new generation of processor. Anything marked** may not apply to the model you have purchased.

Now, on to the review. I will try to give an unbiased opinion as I have done months and months of research, comparing and contrasting every modern gaming laptop. This review will be fairly in depth (Should be for a $1800+ laptop), and I will try to be detailed, but also universal in describing details, so that you don't have to know any extreme technical jargon to understand the review as well as giving an up-to-date one. Enough said.

The Build:

First things first the build quality is excellent, and this will be the first thing you notice as you un-box and remove it from its protective casing. I researched for months on purchasing a high-end/Gaming computer, and i have learned very much about numerous modern gaming computers and components. Most of the reviews on amazon and on review websites have stated its build quality is of the highest grade and that it is one of the biggest selling points for this laptop, and for good reason. The laptop feels solid, secured, and a bit heavy (weighs in at about 9.5lbs). In my opinion, not overweight considering the amount of components stuffed into this thing. The rubbery matte texture compliments it's sturdiness well, and to me was a great material choice for this laptop as it resists fingerprints rather well and will not show scratches as aluminum or plastic will. Not to mention keeping the laptop light, and relatively cool. I dare you to find a better looking laptop (my opinion) that is more sleek and with better build quality (not opinion) than this one. The reason i put up with the weight over say a Sager NP9170 is that this M17xr4 is the thinnest 17inch gaming laptop with these components i could find. I'll take thinner to lighter any day considering, i will be hauling this in a excellent backpack (Everki Beacon or swiss gear) Where the 1 to 2 pound gain over the NP9170 will not be noticeable. Your port selection is numerous and above average, even for gaming laptops. 4 USB 3.0 ports (2 on the left, 2 on your other left), 1 USB 2.0/Esata combo (right) which is also a sleep and charge port which does just that (allows you to charge your phone, iPod or usb charging device while the laptop is asleep or even completely off). VGA, HDMI and Display port video outs (all left), 2 headphone jacks, 1 mic input, as well as an SPDIF optical out (All left). One cool feature is that the Soundcard software included can be used to configure the audio ports to do anything, For example configure all 4 ports to be headphone jacks, or 2 line -in ports. An HDMI-in (right) (not existent in any other laptop I could find. Trust me, I looked. More on this in "other features" below). Last but not least a 9 in 1 card reader above the optical drive (right) and a Kensington lock (left). The cooling system is well engineered with 3 intakes on the bottom, and 2 exhausts on the back, the left one being for the processor, and the right being for the graphics card. I can't tell you how nice it is having the exhaust shoot out the back instead of the bottom into your lap. You might think you lap will block the intakes but they are almost designed with a peak and valley structure, to allow lap use without block to the intakes. Don't get me wrong this laptop can get warm on the bottom especially during gaming, but it is rare I game on my lap. And when using a laptop pad or cooling pad, you won't notice it at all . The individual laptop exhausts are nice, first they limit noise to 1 fan most of the time, secondly they are effective and accurate at temp detection (i.e. Gaming, the GPU fan ramps up, Heavy app use or multitasking the CPU fan ramps up) not to mention the entire system is silent during basic and medium use.

Components:

I will go into greater detail of the components i have added separately or replaced later in the review. For now, the components it comes with. First off the processor, The Intel i7 3630m is the baseline mobile model for i7 cores in laptops. It is snappy, and has no problem devouring numerous tasks at a time. For gaming an i7 core IS MORE than enough considering most games don't utilize 4 cores to begin with (exception: Farcry 3). In fact you would do just fine for gaming if this laptop had an i5 core and you would not notice a frame rate difference.

**On to the Graphics, this laptop uses a combination of AMD Radeon 7970m ( Nvidia 675m on this model) discrete or dedicated card, in concurrence with an Intel HD 4000 integrated chip. First the 7970m, this is a nasty card that destroys most any game, modern or old. You can comment on this review, and I can test a game you might want me to play and let you know how it preforms. To name a few recent ones it preforms extremely well with that I have played. Black ops 2 (not very difficult for any machine), Battlefield 3 run great maxed out, Arkham city runs great, Farcry 3 runs insane on this laptop due to its great scaling on all 4 processor cores (all though I have had some crashes with this game). I've even played as recent as the Crysis 3 beta which runs great since the new drivers update. I cannot stress this enough, the ability to play such high-end games with such good results, all on-the-go, is a crazy feat to me. I run this laptop to a 27 inch monitor most of the time and it's hard to believe the graphics are coming from my laptop and not a desktop. Comparing it to the GTX 680m recently released by Nvidia, the 7970m in my opinion is on par with it, and even runs certain games better according to benchmarks. That being said in power consumption and cooling is better with the 680m. The biggest difference is the price. When I looked to configure my laptop on Dell or Xotic PC, the price difference is over $350 which is simply not justifiable, even for a Nvidia fan boy. I knew and researched both the 680m, 7970m before I even wanted to purchase here, so seeing that amazon had the 7970, it only pushed me further to buy here. Intel HD 4000 is simply an integrated graphics chip which is used for anything but high-end games and uses MUCH less power. Heck, it will even run older games or less resource hogging ones great. AMD uses "Enduro" technology to switch between the 2 graphics solutions based upon your power source (battery or plugged in) and application (Video game vs. Google chrome) this all can be configured manually, but by default your computer switches to the Intel HD 4000 when on battery power EVEN if you are trying to run a high-end game. But like I said, this can be changed manually with a combination of power and graphics setting changes. All that being said, the drivers are a bit faulty, especially with windows 8. I could not decide whether to install AMD's drivers for the 7970m from their website or Dell's which seemed outdated. I spoke to a few Alienware techs on this issue. All said that it is preferable to use Dell's drivers, but AMD's should be compatible. I noticed some performance loss using Dell's driver version, so I cleared the drivers completely and installed AMD's 13.2 version which had updates for the Crysis 3 beta.

* For your hardrive and standard 7200rpm Seagate 750gb drive. Nothing special here. See my upgrade.

* For RAM you got 6gb** (8gb on this model) of 1600mhz DDR3 ram in one 4gb stick and one 2 gb stick** (2x4 probably on this model). Fine amount of Ram,I was going to upgrade anyways so I didn't care.

* Wi-Fi card is an Intel Centrino 2230, great reception, great speeds wireless N as well as 2.4ghz/5.8ghz bands. Not much else to say

* Standard DVD/CDRW that is a slot-load drive. I happen to prefer slot-load over tray load because: one, sleeker looking, and 2 no worrying about having a clumsy tray slide out and hit something, getting stuck, breaking, etc.

* For your sound card you get a SoundBlaster Recon3Di instead of a basic sound card, paired with a pair of Klipsch speakers, it sounds great. Where it really shines is when you hook this laptop up via optical or analog (stereo out) and tweak settings in the SoundBlaster control panel. I found the Rock preset to improve the sound even more. This excellent sound card is a rare and welcome addition to a gaming laptop. The speakers definitely aren't booming loud, but they are crisp, clean and have decent bass and are plenty loud for nearly any use. I think they could have used a slight volume boost in playing music, but with laptop speakers, it's tough considering power provided and space to put them in. The speakers are definitely above average and much better sounding than Sager or MSI laptops alike.

**(This laptop does have the 1920x1080 Full HD Screen)

The screen as stated before is 1600x900**, decent colors, so-so viewing angle. Before you write this laptop off for the screen resolution, consider these two things. First, at only 17 inches (yes only) you won't see a ginormous difference between 1920x1080, and 1600x900. You will probably see it. But is it worth 200 dollars extra upgrade? Your call. Secondly, I personally route to a 27 inch monitor for gaming which I display 1920x1080 on. If your majority, or even part of your use is to an external monitor: just another reason you don't need 1080p on the actual laptop screen.

Personal Experience/Other selling points/Tips

**The 3 largest selling points that had me choose this laptop over the Samsung series 7 gamer, MSI GT70, and the Sager NP9170 (in my opinion its top competitors) was first, the powerful graphics card which beats the 675m and lower cards (670m, 660m, etc.) by a large amount. I was aware of the driver issues with the 7970m but I decided to take the risk, trusting they will be updated (and they have and will continue to be).

Secondly, the slim profile of this laptop. It beats all 3 mentioned AND has more powerful components. Now this laptop is nowhere near thin at about 1.98 inches but its as thin as its going to get for these components. You want super thin? Razer blade is $2599, and you get less powerful components than this laptop, but the razer blade is super portable (6lb,.88 inches thick).

Thirdly, the icing on the cake for me (it might seem strange) the HDMI-input port. Why? The simple fact that being able to hook a console, Blu-ray player, or nearly any device to use this laptop, solely for use of its screen, is genius. Now I understand that some people do not have use for this feature because they do not own consoles or any form of device to utilize this feature and those that could have use for it might say, "Why would you want to hook a console-a less-powerful system--up to the screen of a more powerful system" well I personally have many friends on console and we often have "system link parties" the idea that my laptop could serve as a screen instead of having to haul a TV or monitor to play on is awesome. Not to mention you feel as if you have full control over your laptop to do as you choose and knowing that by the time the computer gets outdated (not for many, many years), you could still always use it as a screen! I have used it with my Xbox 360 and it is excellent, just the right size, and the Xbox's sound even routes right through the HDMI and out the laptops speakers (HDMI carries audio and video). It was a huge selling point for me and NO OTHER laptop has one of these that I have found.

Another minor cool feature I like is the speaker placement. Since I do use this on an external monitor I prefer to shut the laptop screen when doing that. This might not matter to most, but for me, when I do shut it and just prefer to use the excellent speakers on the laptop it will not block the sound. Why? The speakers on are the front of the laptop (the colored, grill looking things). With most laptops you have a sound bar near the media controls and if you were to shut the screen the speakers would get blocked. Being able to use the speakers with the screen closed is a cool feature for me.

Another selling point for me personally, is it came with components that are hard to upgrade in a laptop that I wanted (7970m graphics**, i7 processor) and nothing I didn't want (6gb ram**, basic HDD). The laptop's accessibility is great. Pop the battery out, unscrew 2 screws, and you're in to most of the system. 2 of the 4 ram bays, HDD bay --which it has 2 of by the way--, fans, even your graphics and your processor can be seen. Again Alienware is giving you nearly full control of the system. Even the Wi-Fi card, other ram bays and optical drive are accessed through a little further, but not too difficult dis-assembly.

Here are the upgrades I have chosen and installed myself easily:

-Samsung 840 250gb SSD (purchased from Newegg for $150 with Farcry 3 Samsung MZ-7TD250BW 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 GB Sata 2.5-Inch) an SSD is said to be the single best system upgrade you can make that will grant you the most noticeable performance boost to your system. And after installing one myself, I am a firm believer in just that. Honestly with processors so fast these days your limiting factor comes down to your HDD and good ol' disc drives can only spin to access data so fast. I would even go as far as to say if you don't get an SSD you're missing out on a chunk of your system's performance especially with a processor such as the i7 3610m. Not to mention SSD's silent, cooler, more reliable, and less power consuming operation than traditional HDD's as well as SSD prices dropping like crazy and 1 open bay in this laptop, what have you got to lose? Unleash your processor!

-16gb Corsair vengeance laptop RAM (purchased from amazon for $84.99 Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10)) I wanted more than 6gb of ram and if you go higher than 16gb its near impossible to stress it. This RAM had great reviews, fast speeds and seems reliable.

-Killer Wireless N 1202, Faster 2.4/5.8 ghz speeds.

-Windows 7 professional OEM (purchased on amazon for $102) I had a feeling I would not care for windows 8 (and I did not that much, not to mention the drivers for the 7970m are nearly unusable on win 8). Bought this fresh OEM copy at a steal price, popped in my new SSD did a fresh install, Used "Sean's Windows 7 installation guide for SSD's" Which you MUST checkout if you do similar configuration as I, with the hard drives. I then formatted my original 750 GB HDD to use for storage space, and boom. My system flies with cold boot times under 18 seconds, and massive amount of storage space. In the future I will definitely move to windows 8 once graphics drivers are updated and the OS becomes more stable. But for now, it's windows 7 professional for me. Your system didn't include Windows 8 recovery disks for when you want to upgrade? No problem. Call up Alienware, and they will 2-day ship you your recovery media on a handy, dandy flash drive.

-One of the many accessories I suggest for this laptop is the U3 Coolmaster cooling pad Cooler Master NotePal U3 Laptop Cooling Pad with Three Configurable 80mm Fans (R9-NBC-8PCK-GP). The reason I liked this for my desk set-up is it seems of good material mostly aluminum which is naturally cool without fans! It uses USB power, fits the M17xr4 perfectly, and the fans are even movable, and Removable. I lined all 3 fans up directly with my m17x's, 3 intake vents which really keeps this thing cool. You do not need a cooling pad, just a personal choice for me! A cool system, is a happy system. The compatibility with my system made this one a winner for me, but I do use it as a stationary "dock" at desk, it's really too big to lug around. For more accessory suggestions, Comment!

-Personally I use this laptop for school, web browsing/multitasking, high-end gaming, and a screen for my Xbox . Even though it is heavy, and many will say it is only a desktop replacement. It is still portable and I have no problem using this computer around the house, on my lap, or "docked" at my desk.

For purchasing locations I would suggest either here or Xoticpc.com. I chose here mostly because of the standard price and the partial refund I receive for the screen mess-up issue.

I do highly suggest this laptop, and encourage you to research more sites for yourself to see if it will fit your uses. I only wish it took me less than 3 months to figure that out. But at such a high price I wanted to be 110% sure this was the one I wanted.

Please feel absolutely free to comment with any at all questions, regarding why I chose the upgrades I did, or anything on the system I didn't touch on well enough, Specific Game performance, purchasing options, how to configure anything, component or accessory suggestions, or other laptop comparisons. I will do my absolute best to get back to you. Also let me know anywhere to improve on the review besides grammar (after a few pages I gave up ;). I will update this review with new info, and corrections.

You have reached the end, congrats and thank you for your time if you have stuck with me, and if you did not stick with it, Hey, I don't blame your skimming.

Thanks again.

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Pros:

Very fast and no bugs so far

Cool design, backlight of keyboard and some other elements, and rubberized "palm rest" area near keyboard (looks and feels really cool, but it is also fingerprint magnet)

Looks very sturdy

Cons:

Only keyboard backlight can be dimmed whereas other elements are very bright for me, still hope to find a workaround; backlight control software works not very reliably (and UI is not quite user friendly) but good enough.

Best Deals for Alienware M17x R4 AM17xR4-11053BK 17.3-Inch Laptop (Stealth Black

Pro: Really fast and beautiful laptop. It is just little bit heavy.

Long battery life when switch to GPU inside the i7 CPU, so it can support mobile office work.

Original SSD is not a nice one, but it is acceptable for this price.

Con: WIndows 8 is not well done OS, after 2 month usage, the apps of start screen cannot launch. OS did not support any problem information, so it cannot be fixed.

Honest reviews on Alienware M17x R4 AM17xR4-11053BK 17.3-Inch Laptop (Stealth Black

I bought this laptop in May before the new Alienware 14, 17, and 18 came out. I love this laptop. So far it's been able to run every game I can throw at it with no problems. The build quality is great, as well as the cosmetics of it. I personally like this design a lot more than the Alienware 17, mainly because this laptop is thinner and the AlienFX aren't as generic looking as the newer models. Loved this laptop so far. However, as most horror stories about Dell's support goes, they are true. I opened up the computer one day and all my Windows start tiles were gone. I couldn't pull up the right click menu at the bottom. There were no restore points, AlienRespawn would not work, and the recovery partition of the hard drive was locked. I called up Alienware's support and had to fight with the first 3 support reps telling me it was a virus and that I needed to pay $150 to have them fix it. I told them I scanned with malwarebytes and had AVG installed from day 1 running regular scans, so there's no way it could've been a virus. Eventually they ended up sending me a Windows 8 recovery USB key and disc, which still didn't work. I talked to a supervisor and he was able to just replace my SSD which was the source of the issue. So be aware that if you do get anything by Alienware and something goes wrong, be prepared to battle it out because they won't just give you an easy fix without trying to get some money out of you first. Other than that, highly recommended laptop.

MSI C Series CX61 0NF-257US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Brown) Reviews

Customer Ratings:

I have had this laptop for over a week now and so far I'm pretty impressed with it. I wasn't too impressed with Windows 8 at the start, but now that I've used it for a while I'm starting to like it. Not as much as I liked Windows 7 though. There is very little bloatware pre-installed which is definitely a plus. Norton Internet Security 60 Trial is pre-installed on this system, however I urge you to uninstall it. Norton started causing issues with Windows update and the Microsoft Techs I was speaking to didn't recommend Norton whatsoever. MSi included a couple different utilities one of which is for burning recovery disks, since they aren't included in the box. You do however get a drivers and utilities disk should you need to reinstall the drivers or the included utilities.

The specs in this laptop at this price point are pretty good. The Intel i5 3210m 2.5Ghz is far better than the old Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2Ghz I was working with before. For $100 more though you can upgrade to an i7 3630QM 2.4Ghz. I kind of wish I had upgraded to an i7 but I plan on building a desktop PC later on this year so I'll save my money and put it towards that instead. It has 6GB of DDR3 RAM installed. The laptop has two graphics cards one is the Intel HD 4000 and the other is an Nvidia GT645M 2GB DDR3 Geforce card. It supports switchable graphics and you can choose individual programs to use a specific graphics card. I'm able to play a bunch of different games and also I'm able to live stream my Xbox 360 on Twitch.tv in 720p using my HD PVR. The only thing I guess that could be better is a faster hard drive. I've had 5400rpm drives in the past and the one in this laptop is the slowest I've ever used. To be fair though the hard drive in this is a Western Digital Blue and it retails for around $65 whereas the hard drive in my previous laptop was over $100 so I guess you get what you pay for. Still the hard drive holds a lot of data (750GB) so that should be plenty enough for most users. If you really wanted to make this thing super fast you could install an SSD but I don't have the money to do that so that wasn't an option. The screen resolution is kind of low but I expected that at this price point plus I have an Asus monitor I can hook the HDMI up to if I need more screen real estate. The touchpad feels nice and is very responsive. There is even a dedicated button to disable the touchpad if you want to use a mouse instead. I've never used a chiclet style keyboard before, but I don't think I would ever go back to a non-chiclet keyboard after using this. Not to mention it has a full number pad on the right for those who use those. I've usually only seen number pads on 17.3" laptops so that is a nice addition. Also a neat feature I didn't know about is the two USB 3.0 ports are super charged, that is they can charge mobile devices such as an iPhone faster than other USB chargers out there.

As far as looks go this thing looks quite nice. I like the color a lot and the lid of the laptop looks as if it were made of metal, its not though. The laptop has a decent weight to it so it doesn't feel all that cheap.

Overall I like it a lot. The only thing that is kind of bugging me is the headphone jack is making a bunch of weird sounds (not hissing like I would expect) but rather it kind of sounds like screeching or something like that. It only seems to be really noticeable when no audio is being played and the laptop is plugged into AC. Once you start playing something and turn the volume up it pretty much disappears. I'm going to have MSi look at it after this school semester is over (I need the laptop primarily for college classes).

I will keep this review updated should anything happen.

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The laptop has a nice design and doesn't come with too much useless pre-installed garbage. I like Windows 7 a lot more than Windows 8, but it's growing on me and it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. I'm honestly glad I bought this product.

Best Deals for MSI C Series CX61 0NF-257US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Brown)

pros: 645m gpu good value for the price

cons: no windows 7 option, dvd rom seems more flimsy then im use to