Reviews of AS5742Z-4459;INTEL Pentium Pro P6200(3M Intel Smart Cache

Customer Ratings:

I will probably never buy another Acer. It was great for maybe the first month (and it really is otherwise a wonderful computer), but I'm now having to buy a chill pad so that it stops overheating. It shuts down rather randomly because it gets too hot. Sometimes it happens more than once a day; other times it might go a week between shutdowns. It is really unreliable and is starting to get really sluggish now, too, even with a recent defrag. From what I've read, it is probably slowing down because of the heat issues. This seems to be a common problem with Acers. Buyer beware!

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Discount Dell XPS 15 CI5/2.4 15.6 6GB 750GB DVDR W7HP 64

Customer Ratings:

My specs: Dell XPS l502x (Purchased May 2011)

Processor: i5 2410M

RAM: 6GB

HDD: 640 gb 7200 hard drive

Resolution: 1366 x 768

Video card: GeForce 540M 2GB

First off: the audio on this model is truly incredible for the price range. The JBL speakers with subwoofer make it unnecessary to have to plug your laptop in to external speakers for almost any situation (except of course... parties and what have you). In fact, you'd truly be hard pressed to find better audio quality in a laptop even now. The new Lenovo y410 and y510 models do come with JBL speakers, however they are not of the same quality.

The keyboard is comfortable for my usage, since I have fairly large hands. I have heard that some people complain about the spacing between keys, but honestly... unless you have tiny fingers I don't really understand how it's an issue.

The screen quality is pretty good for the price and resolution.

Now for the bad.. well, horrible.

The battery quality is horribly sub par; the 9cell battery I purchased with the unit barely kept about one hour charge after a year and at current lasts about 35-40 minutes with wireless enabled. Considering that the laptop is plugged in almost 85% of the time, this is fairly terrible.

And most importantly (or annoyingly), the video card. The Nvidia GeForce 540M comes with either 1GB or 2GB of dedicated video memory. I opted for the 2GB over the 1GB merely because it was only about a $20 upgrade at the time of purchase. The card has pretty solid reviews on notebookcheck in terms of performance and can play modern games at decent quality. However (and this is a HUGE however), the thing crashes. It crashes a whole ton. Like a ridiculously ludicrous amount. And by crash, I do mean that the entire computer freezes along with a looping stuttering audio sound (which is incredibly loud and annoying) and must be powered down via the button.

There are several theories as to why the video card crashes (be it overheating, which obviously can occur in laptops, or more commonly, with this video card, that there is an issue with the clock speed). While it is possible to lower the amount of crashes by a great deal by switching to the integrated graphics card, I eventually found that this card would freeze during certain games, such as Starcraft 2. You can also go the "underclock the core speed of your 540M main card" which will also lower the frequency of crashes, but they still do inevitably occur under medium to heavy load. This could be an issue with the motherboard, 540M speed, etc. and that would be fine if Dell acknowledged the issue and voluntarily replaced or provided solutions to fix the crashing errors. But they haven't. In fact, they have gone a highly petty route by forcing users to extend warranties and continually replace the motherboard and video card. Oh, I said petty because on their forums, they also mute people and delete comments on their forums who even whisper anything overly negative about the computer or Dell's possible knowledge that they shipped out faulty components with the laptops and did not voluntarily pull the laptops back to replace said faulty components (if you read dell community forum posts in regards to how frequently and readily dell replaced motherboards for this laptop, it becomes fairly obvious they know of the issue).

Yes, it would cost them money to replace everyone's faulty components. But this is a premium laptop and by my standards, shipping out a laptop with faulty components is essentially shipping out an incomplete product, which Dell should be held liable for.

I am honestly stuck at a crossroads for rating this laptop. On the one hand, everything but the video card and battery runs perfectly and as it should, and the audio quality is superb. But Dell's horrible business practices in regards to informing their customers of faulty hardware (this also happened with the XPS M1530 line, see Nvidia 8 series class action lawsuit) leads me to have to ultimately give this laptop a 2/5.

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I bought mine direct from Dell (preferred customer) to replace my tired

Studio 1550.

i7, 2.2ghz, 1tb drive, 8 gig ram, GT525 & intel HD graphics, JBL sound,

bluetooth etc.

1st thing I do is set it up, and then pull the HDD out, pop in a clean one,

and set it up my way, and leave the "factory" drive on the shelf with the

expiration date of the warranty. If I have a warranty claim, pop in THEIR

drive with no personal data on it and send it back.

I didn't get the back-lit keyboard.

This thing screams on photoshop, which I use daily. Keyboard is responsive,

and easier than several of my older laptops. Keys are solid, not spongy.

The dual video is nice on the battery also. I went with the bigger battery

& charger. The bigger battery has the advantage of tilting the entire laptop

up. The sound on this thing is something to make you wonder how they get that

sort of sound out of a laptop. The JBL logo on the bottom, I guess the entire

cavity of the laptop is a tuned port. When it is sitting on a table, you can

really hear the bass pumping through. The case speakers on the top side are

clear & pretty loud. 3 USB ports. One on the left, one in back, and a combo

e-sata/usb on the right. USB 3 is plenty fast for my needs. I use a BT

mouse, and it works without any issue.

Battery life for my use is excellent. I can have it charged, unplug it after

work at 5pm, put it in sleep mode, and leave it that way til the next day, and

it might use 1-3% of the battery, making startup faster.

Wireless works perfectly, no issues.

Best Deals for Dell XPS 15 CI5/2.4 15.6 6GB 750GB DVDR W7HP 64

Great laptop, super performance.

If you need something to use primarily at home, it will be great.

I needed to buy another laptop, smaller and lighter to carry around, because this one is quite heavy.

Honest reviews on Dell XPS 15 CI5/2.4 15.6 6GB 750GB DVDR W7HP 64

My first XPS 15 worked for about 6 months and then everything started failing: serious connectivity issues, screen randomly turning on and off, scratchy sound, terrible picture, .... Dell customer service was horrid. They went on for about 9 months trying to convince me that there was nothing wrong with it. Eventually, when the laptop could not stay turned on for more than 5 seconds, they replaced it with another XPS. Now, 8 months later, all the problems are back and so is the horrible customer service.

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I bought mine about a year and a half ago, with specs for gaming and the computer has given me nothing but problems. The moment it was out of warranty, the hard drive failed, and when I got that repaired, the battery failed. Now, once I've fixed the battery, the graphics card is giving me issues and I can't even enjoy my games any more. I've dumped over 1500$ into this trap. Never buying another Dell product again, always skimp on quality.

Acer Aspire S3-391-6616 i3 4 GB 320 GB HDD Windows 7 Home Premium Review

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $550.00
Sale Price: $494.88
Today's Bonus: 10% Off

excellent value on this small light weight laptop. it fits into my soft brief case easily. It is perfect as a travelling laptop. screen is vivid, keyboard fits and feels good to the touch. speed is adequate but ok for my use. i purchased a clear plastic cover that fits snugly and protects the surface from scratches. I would recommend as a decent quality laptop in the lower price range.

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Great little computer. Bought it for my mom and follow the tips of buying this version instead of the one with Windows 8. It has been working flawlessly. The color it's also better than what I thought it would be. Very, very happy with this choice. I totally recommend it.

Review of Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430c 33654XU 14' LED Notebook - Intel - Core

Customer Ratings:

Purchased the Lenovo Edge E430c for light duty in sales. Size and weight are well suited to be mobile. Unit is

a bit underpowered and upon start-up, takes an extreme amount of time to load. Recommend getting additional ram to speed up booting.

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Discount Alienware AM11X-2894CSB 11.6-Inch Laptop (Cosmic Black)

Customer Ratings:

I have been looking at this item for quite a while and finally pulled the trigger. My concerns with the speed of the processor on the Core 2 rather than i5 and i7 and the high price were my only reason not to buy. After reading about the battery hit taken on this with the faster processors and the price dropping about $100 so that the price difference with the i7 become quite large, I decided to go with the Core 2 and I am glad I did.

First off, the screen is glossy and only of average brightness but the viewing angles and the ability to turn the contrast all the way up and still see a good picture a plus. Second, there is no bluetooth but there are so many tiny dongles these days it isn't a huge issue for your mouse or headphones just use of one the three usb ports. Third, the reason to buy this is for gaming and I am happy to say I was able to load all my games on the spacious 320gb hard drive with room to spare and they are all playable anywhere from medium to ultra settings. I play almost exclusively real-time strategy titles such as StarCraft II and the Command and Conquer titles. They all run really good.

The build quality is phenomenal on this thing. It is fun to just look at and admire. Being able to change the lighting in five zones and in various ways makes night computing perfect. The small keyboard is a little tougher to type on than a chic-lit style on a netbook but the razor sharp backlighting makes it work out fine after a little practice. Touch typing works great. The wrist area does not show fingerprints, the mouse has a great texture and really soft press buttons but I use an external mouse.

My first unit did not work the second day. It went black screen on me and Amazon shipped me a replacement the very next day that has been perfect. I also went into the bios on the second one and enabled turbo mode and it works no blue screens.

I spent all day loading up my gaming titles and look forward to playing on the go and around the house a lot more now. I was also pleased that 1080p YouTube worked flawlessly and my programs seem snappy. So far, so good, enjoying it. The kids love it too and like to change the keyboard to pink for the girls and incredible hulk green for the boys.

A fun toy, I hope to enjoy for a long time, and recommend.

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Dell's m11x is a wonderful, fast gaming laptop with one FATAL flaw: it has a design defect; the screen hinges separate from the chassis with normal use. This defect has occurred in a LOT of computers. Close to 100 are listed on one fan website alone. So far, Dell has not acknowledged this defect, nor have they affected reasonable solutions like extending the warranty on the hinges and tasking an engineer to design a permanent fix. Let me state this again; this is a design defect on the part of Dell and not the fault of the users. Check out the fan forums on Notebookreview or other websites if you need more feedback. This is a great little computer but Dell needs to own up to their design mistake.

Best Deals for Alienware AM11X-2894CSB 11.6-Inch Laptop (Cosmic Black)

Alienware m11x is most powerful 11.6" laptop in the market comparing with all other 11.6"/12.1" netbooks/laptops.

I would give this laptop 5 stars if I write this review in the begining of 2010 because it comes with Intel C2D SU7300 (Performance closer to Intel C2D T5670) and Nvidia GT335m (Performance closer to ATI5730) provding good enough computing power plus graphic engine to play all current PC games at least mid graphic setting.

Why do I only give 3 stars for it after half year?

Because Alienware m11x has the 2nd generation and current amazon price is higher.

The 2nd generation comes with i5 or i7 processors instead of original C2D SU7300, and Dell normally proivde discount coupon to the customer.

I purchased my i5-520um, Nvidia GT335, 4GB Ram, 160GB HDD, and Bluetooth m11x per "$920 + tax" after 100 off coupon from Dell.

Let's compare with another similar model Lenovo U160, which is also 11.6"/12.1" laptop with i5/i7, but its selling price is $1000+ without any GPU. As you already knew, Alienware gives you i5/i7 with GPU (Nvidia GT335m) and better cost.

Beside powerful specs, m11x is easier 11.6" laptop for you to upgrade memory, hard drive, and wifi card. It's the reason I choose 2.5" 160GB hard drive. You can easy get a 2.5" 500GB hard drive in between $50 to $60 to replace the 160GB one without paying Dell like $100. You can check youtube, and find out how easy that you can change those components inside Alienware m11x and how hard for you to change componetns within other 12.1" laptop/netbook hard drive such as ASUS EEE PC 12" series. Alienware did a great job providing user easier way to upgrade the system.

Well, we know that price is higher than EEE PC and other 12.1"/11.6" netbook, but it's a i5/i7/C2D LAPTOP (NOT A NETBOOK) with Nvidia GT335m and up to 8 hours battery life making a unbeatable conditions for user.

Currently, DELL Price is $949 for i5 alienware m11x (2GB Ram + 160GB Hard drive) before all upgrades and discount coupon. For C2D SU7300 m11x (2GB Ram + 160GB Hard drive) starts from $799. That isn't a final cost because Dell keeps providing discount coupons very offen.

I would say current Amazon posted Alienware SU7300, 4GM Ram, and 320GB hard driver making a good combination, but $999 is too high (You can m11x i5 version as $999). If they can cost down SU7300 m11x in between $849 and $899, it will be very worth to buy it.

If you have budget more than $800 for a thin, light, and powerful gaming laptop. It will be the best choice.

Honest reviews on Alienware AM11X-2894CSB 11.6-Inch Laptop (Cosmic Black)

This thing is perfect for me. Its light, compact, long battery life, and has the GPU needed to play my games on medium settings. I sometimes have to carry alot of other gear so the compactness and light weight is very nice. I have used the ASUS G73 series (they make great desktop replacment systems and are very powerful) but those are WAY to big and heavy for my intended use. I wont get into the lights issue as that has already been covered in other reviews.

I did ALOT of research before this purchase. I really wanted the R2 version with the i7 processor and optimus. However I went to several forums and there are many problems with the i5/i7, optimus, and DX10 when it comes to games like Civ V. The R1 has manually switching (FN+F6) and drivers that work really well with DX10. I really like the manually switching to save battery life when doing mundane tasks that dont need the 335M GPU. I also downloaded the updated BIOS (A05) and all the other drivers from the dell website and they all work fine.

I played the Civ V demo with everything on medium with textures and water on high at max resolution and it was very smooth. Company of Heroes online (the best RTS EVER made, its free and its even better than SC2!) plays perfectly on this machine. It also came with Portal for free on Steam, and it plays flawlessly with everything on high. I dont play very many FPS on PC because I have a 360 and PS3 and thats what all of my friends have. I also have a custom gaming desktop rig that I built my self using MSI parts so if I want to do some heavy PC gaming at home I use that.

After I updated the BIOS I was able to overclock the CPU to 1.6 according to CPUZ (great program). The overclocked Core Duo is comparable to an i3 when it comes to speed, the i5/i7 really isnt that much faster, and the battery life takes a big hit too. Some games run better on the R1 and a few R2 users have even traded in their systems to go back to the R1.

The R2 version from will cost you around $1200 out the door with the same specs (except the processor and bluetooth) as this one on amazon. The R1 comes in cosmic black vs the R2 soft touch stealth black. You cant really go wrong the R1 or R2 but there is a well documented hinge issue on both machines if you look on other forums such as . I guess I got a good one because the screen does NOT touch the keyboard on mine. Also the screen is really glossy. I dont use this outdoors so it is not an issue for me but it could be a deal breaker for others.

So if you need a light, extremely portable laptop, and want to play some Company of Heroes, SC2, or Civ V on the move, get the M11x. If you want a big, super powerful, heavy, low battery life destop replacement then look elsewhere.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Alienware AM11X-2894CSB 11.6-Inch Laptop (Cosmic Black)

Update:

Now after owning for about 15 months, during which its never been dropped or compromised, I've had 4 critical issues. The hinge broke twice (replaced twice, each time requiring 5 hours of my time), the mother board fried once, and more recently the battery is again having a connection problem that causes the laptop to shut off on its own when on battery power. Called and was told to replace the battery (at my expense, even though I had a four warranty a faulty battery is considered a peripheral and it not covered). Not exaggerating, I'm put in 30 hours on the phone or troubleshooting b/c of Dell's poor workmanship/engineering. I'm just going to sell this junk on ebay and get another computer. please pass on the "new" Dell owned alienware. It's cheaper, looks pretty, has great specs, but it's junk.

I'd had this for about 8 months. The honeymoon is over for this computer and Alienware in general:

1) The hinge is broken due to an engineering problem (google "m11x hinge"). I've been waiting for them to fix it/address it for weeks to months now. I've spent many unnecessary hours waiting to talk to CS or getting no useful help from Customer Service. I was hung up on twice by the their service team.

2) the computer shuts off on its own (even after turning off the accelerator). I spent hours trying to fix it with their service team. the technician they sent said he was confused and could not help me and to 'call back' to open another service issue.

3) even when purchasing the thing, it was close to a 3 hour process over the phone.

4) the computer feels 'junky'. The parts (side panels), hinge, stoppers, etc are made of a cheaper plastics, glues, and have already noticeably begun to fall apart. All stoppers on teh bottom computer have come off, and one of the top stoppers that rests between the keyboard and screen has popped off.

As context, I had, cared for, and used a Dell XPS for 5 years straight with no issues due to my mishandling of the product. This is a clearly sub-quality product.

Buy another computer, and I would advise not an Alienware. It is really not worth it.

Review of Sony VAIO SE1 Series VPCSE13FX/S 15.5-Inch Laptop (Platinum Silver)

Customer Ratings:

I've had this laptop for about a week now and I couldn't be happier with it.

Pros:

1. Gorgeous 15.5" LCD screen. It's got great resolution, brilliant colors, and it's very bright. The 15.5" screen may not be huge, but there is so much workspace because the resolution is so impressive. Great viewing angles as well.

2. Light but sturdy chasis. The chasis may be metal (which gives it a very modern look), but it's still so light you can pick up the laptop with one hand with relative ease.

3. Great battery life. As with most manufacturers Sony exaggerated a bit when they said you get 6 hrs on this machine, but it does come close. If you're on 50% screen brightness and you're only doing browsing the web you will get about 5 hours.

4. Great performance. The laptop comes with a 2nd generation i5 2.4GHz processor, which is significantly faster than the i3. Everything about the laptop is quick, including the boot-up, which takes well under a minute.

5. Doesn't pick up fingerprints. The finish on this laptop is matte, which means it resists fingerprints really well. The only truly glossy part of this laptop is the VAIO logo on the front.

6. Speed/stamina option. Sony includes a button that allows you to switch between using the Radeon graphics card (speed) and the less powerful, integrated Intel graphics (stamina). I thought this was pretty pointless at first but if you're not working with graphics intensive stuff and you're trying to conserve battery life, switching to the Intel graphics actually adds up to an 1 hour.

7. Relatively quiet. For people who are concerned about the fan noise, don't be. It's really not that noticeable, even when I'm gaming. Oddly enough, my roommate has the 13.3" version of this laptop and the fan on that is extremely loud at times.

Cons:

1. The touchpad takes a little time to get used to.

2. The speakers are pretty weak and barely have any bass.

3. The headphone jack is towards the back, which is annoying if your headphone cord isn't that long.

4. It's pretty easy for stuff like dust to get under the keys. Unfortunately it's a lot harder to clean...

Bottom line: The price might a setback but if you are looking for a laptop that balances performance, battery life, reliability, and aesthetics, this laptop is definitely worth it.

Keep in mind also, that at the time of me writing this, Amazon is offering a free $50 gift card and free sheet battery (which attaches to the bottom of the laptop, doubles the battery life, and retails for $130). $930 $50 $130 = $750.

For those of you who are searching for a new laptop and don't really know what you want yet: the other laptop I had considered was the Toshiba Portege. It's similar to this laptop in many ways but it is cheaper by $100 or so. There are a few minor drawbacks, like a weaker graphics card (Intel integrated graphics), no backlit keys, and a non-HD screen. Depending on what you want that may be a better option.

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The Sony Vaio VPCSE13FX is a decent laptop with a brilliant display and one really, really bad design defect. Let's just get that part out of the way.

See that shiny "VAIO" logo on the back of the display? Yeah, it's a plastic inlay. Why should you care? Because the aluminum around the back of the display is ABSURDLY thin and completely without structural support, meaning that nice little plastic Vaio logo presses into the LCD guts whenever your laptop experiences pressure of any kind (eg, in a backpack or messenger bag). I noticed pressure marks on the display outlining the exact shape of the plastic logo within a MONTH of purchasing this thing, and try as I might to mitigate the effect, it just kept getting worse. If you plan to use this laptop for travel, you need to be exceptionally careful. I worked in IT for years, so I know laptops can be fragile, but this is absurd. Sony should have just painted the Vaio logo on, because this is one of the worst design decisions on a laptop that I can think of. It's just flat-out moronic it's a laptop you basically can't travel with without ruining.

You'll hate it all that much more because the display is just so gorgeous. Really, the colors are vibrant, it gets nice and bright, and the 1080p resolution makes it ideal for photo editing, movie-watching, and multitasking. It really is awesome.

As far as build quality goes, I'm disappointed with the amount of flex in the chassis, but you have to realize you're getting a 15.5" laptop that is really, really light here without having to get some horrible ULV i3 processor. It's all aluminum, so it dissipates heat pretty well, too (much better than plastic-bodied laptops).

The keyboard is OK. I like the chiclet keys, but the action isn't quite as precise as what I was used to on a Macbook. The spacebar also creaks occasionally, so that's upsetting. Then again, I have used laptops with far worse keyboards than this, so I'd definitely say it's passable. Also, the backlit keys are awesome. For the nerds out there: the positioning of the CTRL key is not at all ideal, but I'm slowly getting used to it (it's tiny!).

The bloatware isn't too bad, but Sony doesn't provide you a restore CD should you decide to put on a fresh copy of Windows, so BYO media if you're planning on doing a clean OS install.

Battery life is... well, it's a Windows laptop that isn't an Ultrabook. In "Stamina" mode, it gets around 4-5 hours of continuous use. If you buy this guy in a retail store, you may be able to get a Sony extended sheet battery for free, and that'll get you to around 8-9 hours of total battery life. Definitely glad I got it, so maybe find this thing in a retail location and price match to Amazon or whoever's cheapest.

The speakers are terrible. Just really, really bad. The headphone jack also puts out really terrible sound but maybe the amp on mine is defective or something. This is not a device you'll want to use for sound editing, let's say that much.

The Wi-Fi is a pain sometimes, it uses an Intel chipset that is notoriously temperamental about which networks it will play nice with, but if you go tweaking around in the settings (especially changing it to a higher transmit power) you should be able to get it working on most setups. I've not found one that it simply doesn't work on.

USB 3.0 is a nice feature, not that I've ever used it. The SD card slot is great, as well reads quick and is placed in a good location.

The power adapter seems unlikely to break in the event you trip over the cord, because it sits in there pretty loosely, but I'm not about to test that theory.

Best Deals for Sony VAIO SE1 Series VPCSE13FX/S 15.5-Inch Laptop (Platinum Silver)

Very happy with this purchase. It's bigger than I originally wanted....was searching for 13.3 inch laptop. However, most 13.3 in screens I've seen in person have a VERY poor viewing angle....move the screen slightly up or down and the screen either fades or the color washes out. This may not bother some, but is very annoying to me when viewing photos or watching videos.

The screen on this model is much better than any laptop I viewed in the stores.

True 1080p. Brilliant colors and excellent viewing angles from either horizontal or vertical.

I like the keyboard layout. It feels more like a desktop keyboard with the dedicated number pad.

There have been many complaints about the loud fan when doing heavy graphics or gaming, but Sony just released a new BIOS that remedies this.

You can still hear the fan spin up, but not as loud as other laptops. Also, it is very thin, and there is not much room in the chassis...you WANT the fan to do its job to prevent overheating. If the sound of the fan is too distracting, you should opt for a larger laptop with a thicker case.

Overall I think it's in the top 5 in the price range.

Battery life could be better, but it is only a 4 cell. With the sheet battery I can get around 7-8 hours while surfing, email, etc with a brighter setting on the screen in Stamina mode.

Honest reviews on Sony VAIO SE1 Series VPCSE13FX/S 15.5-Inch Laptop (Platinum Silver)

I have had this for two weeks now and feel I finally have found a keeper. (I am picky with laptops -have bought and returned two other laptops this year before settling on this one as my fullsize option.)

The overriding pro here is the incredible screen/display -a combination of the high resolution as well as the perfectly tuned contrast, make this supremely comfortable to stare at for hours. It's even qualitatively better than other high-end Sony Vaio laptops (at a BestBuy, I was originally impressed by the 16.4" high-end/high-resolution Vaio F, but later went to another local retailer and saw that this 15.5" blew that other Vaio away). On a scale of 1-10 I'd rate the average laptop screen as a 3 (you know, that "digital" glowing look, sometimes with the cross-lattices), some HP laptops as a 6 or 7, the Vaio F as a 7, most Samsung laptop screens as a 7-8, IPS screens (at least the ones I've seen) as an 8, and this Vaio S as a 10. My eyes hurt easily when doing work (no matter how much I fiddle with Cleartype, contrast and gamma settings), and this has been a revelation.

Other positives: an excellent backlit keyboard, good keys and trackpad; included Bluetooth; very light weight for a 15.5"; a clean, good-looking minimalist look (reminiscent of the black slab in 2001: A Space Odyssey); and acceptable battery life even with just the base battery. As a bonus, Amazon is also throwing in the sheet battery -which I think is a good idea (i.e., you choose the tradeoff between more battery life and more weight/thickness). The Speed/Stamina physical switch also turns out to be useful -much more convenient than fiddling with settings -and it really works, not just a gimmick. The i5 processor and discrete Radeon 6470M graphics work great. I'm not a "gamer" but tried a recent game (Skyrim) just for kicks and this handled the 1080p (highest resolution) setting with aplomb.

The rumored fan noise was also a concern of mine (I returned an MSI notebook this year mainly because of the excessively loud fan). I needn't have worried. The fan is always running (it is never 100% silent) but during everyday tasks, the fan is very quiet and not overbearing at all -you have to listen for it and it sounds like a smooth airstream (and NOT like a "wind tunnel" effect nor a pitchy whine, both of which I despise). When running demanding programs/processes,the fan will increase in intensity but again, I don't find it bothersome.

There are two negatives: one is the utterly middling sound/speaker quality. It gets the job done in a pinch, but most cell phone speakers sound better, to give you a basis of comparison. It is weak and there is no midrange, bass, or even high-end (I'm not sure what's left). I'm okay with this because these days, there are excellent ultra-tiny/portable speaker options (I use the Satechi IPOP which can be charged via USB) that punch way above their grade (not to mention the option of headphones). However, if one is categorically against having to bring an extra speaker along, then this will be a problem. Secondly, the hard drive is slow and especially can't compare to an SSD. That said, it's fine for what it is, it's quiet (no clicking noises!), and can be replaced with an SSD in the future if I ever wanted.

I don't dock off any stars (i.e. each star is "worth" 20% of the rating) for these two issues because 1) in the case of the hard drive, it can be upgraded to an SSD in the future if desired, and 2) they're not deal-breakers for me; the overall experience remains high. Hence 5 stars.

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****THE GOOD****

1) Sleek, stylish and very light. The internal batteries will last you 3+ hours with surfing/browsing and Word Processor. If you use the Sheet battery, you'll get maybe 7+ hours.

2) Not a lot of bloatware. I did a fresh install all the same.

****THE BAD****

Speakers are *very* poor quality. Sounds lack bass and any definition. You might as well listen to music via cups and strings. They are that bad.

Reviews of Panasonic CE TB T2 PM-1.1GHZ 256MB RAM, 40GB HDD, 12.1" TFT

Customer Ratings:

first i will mention the reason for three stars is this unit came with no power adapter,i reread the specs and then realized it did not mention such.I took it for granted I guess assuming this would be with it as a nessesary part of any unit.The notebook did honor all of the specs they mentioned.I needed a smaller lighter microsoft unit to replace my much heavier Dell,The touchscreen is not allways doing what I thought it would and only accasionlly seems to work.Other than that it is a good working unit and I am satisfied for that,I ordered a power unit from Amazon with one day shipping and that saved the day.so in a nutshell its worth the bucks but would of been a five starrer with the power supply.

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for this price there is not a better laptop deal on the planet. first time ever to use XP professional via touchscreen; again, this is an outstanding value and a ultralight toughbook that can withstand a drop of 30 cm without internal or external damage.

Buy NQ088AWABA - HP EliteBook 2730p Tablet PC Centrino 2 vPro - Intel

Customer Ratings:

This is my second HP business tablet. You can find my review of the 2710p somewhere on Amazon. The fact that this is the second HP tablet I bought should tell you something.

My model is like the one listed here, but with an outdoor screen (higher contrast for use outdoors).

The positives:

+ LOW weight. Check the specs, but having schlepped everything from a "desktop replacement" 17 inch laptop to a netbook, I can say that this thing is LIGHT.

+ LONG battery life. I haven't run down the internal battery yet, and it has gone well over 4 hours. This may have something to do with Windows 7, which I have installed. A 4+ hour battery life at this weight is awesome. I'll add the slim battery slice and probably have over 12hrs of battery life.

+ Well-built. This computer, like its predecessor the 2710p, uses lots of metal and feels solid in your hands. I abused the heck out of my 2710p, and never had any problems with any hinges, latches, screen, etc.

+ Fast. My 2710p was a 1.2GHz/4GB RAM, which felt pretty slow. This one feels very fast and responsive in comparison, and much faster than an AMD 1.9GHz dual core that I also have. With an SSD, this thing would really fly.

+ Quiet. This one is even quieter than its predecessor. The fan rarely turns on. I can take notes in meetings without the disturbing whine of the fan.

+ Screen. The screen is awesome. I can work outside in sunlight with snow on the ground. Writing on the screen is very natural feeling, like writing on paper with a good ballpoint pen.

+ The little things. Built-in camera works GREAT with any video phone/conferencing app. There is no feedback, camera quality is good, and frame rate is good at 800x600. Stylus doesn't get lost due to a friction lock (2710p stylus would pop out and wander away). Keyboard has a good feel and is full size.

The negatives:

Speakers. I didn't think the speakers could get WORSE than the 2710p, but the speaker on this thing is barely louder than a headphone removed 30ft from your head. The speakers are simply awful.

Video output. There is no DVI output. Come on HP, this thing is not a 10-year old platform, why can't you put a DVI port on this or the dock?

2 USB ports. TWO USB ports is NOT enough. Period.

Power block. The power block is small, but it could be MUCH smaller. This tablet fits great in a portfolio, but where do you stick the power block? I guess if you have the slim battery slice, you won't need the power block much, but still, it sure would be nice to have a tiny power supply BUILT IN to the laptop so that all you need was a cord. Compaq made laptops with built-in power supplies many years ago. I'd really like to see that come back.

Screen. I know I said the screen is awesome, but I'd like just a bit more real estate and higher resolution. There is about 1/2 inch all the way around the edge that they could stuff some more pixels into.

Summary:

This tablet, like its predecessor, is a winner. No, it's not a Mac, and I'm very happy about that. I don't need to be "cool" with my electronics, I need them to do what I want and how I want without paying extra for "cool" and fighting the manufacturer at every turn to get the thing to work the way _I_ want. Besides, there is no Mac tablet. Once you use a tablet, you will wonder how you got by without one. I only considered this one and a Thinkpad, because I want the touchstick mouse, which is MUCH easier to use than an external mouse or touchpad when you are in a vehicle or moving around. This one gets a nod with its add on battery that is a slim slice on the bottom instead of a bulky extension on the back. I also got burned a couple of times after Lenovo bought Thinkpad.

Get this tablet for half price from HP refurb. For less than this thing costs new, I got it with an external 24" screen, 3 year accidental damage, docking station, external keyboard, extended battery, and received it in 3 days.

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Reviews of Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E430 627155U 14' LED Notebook - Intel - Core

Customer Ratings:

First of all, received this item in about 1/3 of the time it was supposed to take. That's always a plus! Secondly, the graphics are great and so is the speed between windows. It's truly a great PC for me.

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Best HP ENVY Sleekbook 6t-1000 Laptop PC Deals

Customer Ratings:

This product has unbelievable build quality, it feels extremely solid and is well manufactured. The specs are amazing and has everything any reasonable person could want. I got mine yesterday and am very, very satisfied with the product. Highly recommended alternative to an ultrabook better price and who can tell the difference anyway?

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The worst laptop ever. Three times back to service center and they can't fix it. Now they want a technician to come to my house as though that will make a difference. Now we learn that all available technicians are off for the holidays so its now Dec 27 and we wait until Jan 2 to schedule an appointment. Have asked for a refund several times but that is just not in the cards. I will never buy from HP again (and we buy alot around here as we both work through our computers). Bad job HP, very bad job.

12/28/2012...after Peter (see his post below) emailed regarding this issue the representative that we've been dealing with all along called again. His purpose was to confirm (again) that we have an appointment to see a technician in our home to review the issue. So after several weeks of back and forth with the service center now we can wait another 10 days for a technician (they are all off for the holidays I am told). We said to Jamie again that what we want is a refund.

The best companies to deal with would have long ago taken this lemon back...companies such as Amazon and Costco would immediately end our dissatisfaction...but in this case we purchased directly from HP who only seems to care about their own internal metrics. Next step after the technician visits I will be posting the positive outcome or the videos of this Lemon Laptop will be posted on YouTube and every other social media I can find. Yes, we are upset. This was a birthday gift from my wife and she is way more upset then I am.

01/04/13...the technician invested 2 hours of his time and could not get the laptop to act up. He watched a couple of my videos but in the end determined there was nothing wrong with it. Within hours after he left the screen froze up again. i made another video and called customer support. Now we wait for a call back.

January 9, 2013 update...we have filed complaints with the BBB and Attorney Generals Office because HP cannot fix the problem and will not offer a refund or an exchange.

Best Deals for HP ENVY Sleekbook 6t-1000 Laptop PC

This computer has a fatal flaw and this flaw killed my Envy.

The lid on this laptop sticks and weight is poorly distributed (it's designed that way). It's necessary to carefully pry this thing open with both hands. Most new Ultra-books are designed to open smoothly with one hand. NOPE, NOT THIS ONE.

Try to open it with one hand at your own peril, the entire laptop lifts up and flips over.

Mine fell off the counter this way, smashed the corner and broke off a piece of the case.

OK, it's only cosmetic, but here's the other issue. Since it was delivered, I had been getting the blue screen of death (BSOD) from a failing SSD card. I was getting ready to send it into HP before "the fall." Now that it was "dropped", HP refused to fix the SSD under warranty (obviously, dropping it didn't break the SSD).

So, I spent the $60, bought an SSD card and fixed it myself everything was working great.

Then it happened...

My sister asked to borrow my new HP Envy OK Sis, no problem.

I began to demonstrate what NOT TO DO so this thing doesn't break.

The stupid piece of junk slipped off my finger about 4 inches from the counter.

Guess what, it died! From a 3-4 inch slip. Dead at 6 months old. Give me a break!

Call me an idiot for not knowing how to open a laptop, but this is just simply bad design.

In the past I bought a new HP laptop every two years.

NOT ANYMORE! I will NEVER buy another HP.

Honest reviews on HP ENVY Sleekbook 6t-1000 Laptop PC

A large display with a 1366 resolution too bad. This laptop should be offered with 1080p resolution and more people would buy it. Too bad that HP missed the boat again... But the good thing is, sometimes they listen to basic observations like this one and adapt we'll see...

Review of Acer TravelMate P643-M-9476 - 14" - Core i7 3632QM - Windows 7 Pr

Customer Ratings:

I don't really planning on posting updates to my review in the coming months so here's what I have to say about the laptop so far:

Overall, it's been great for me. It's nicely designed and does everything I need it to do. I bought it planning to use CAD software in the later years at college. The display is okay, I wouldn't call it Macbook status, but I wasn't looking to be able to see imperfections on high quality pictures. The keyboard feels good in that key travel is comfortable. Not too short, not overly long either. The touchpad works well however I have found myself accidentally bumping it when I type which leads to me moving the cursor up to a higher line of text, potentially messing up what I have typed. Not really too big an issue, I have learned to work around it.

The few qualms I have with it are on the software side. IIRC, I picked mine up from Best Buy (shame on me) and the description mentioned it comes with Win 7 Pro whereas elsewhere it mentioned the laptop comes loaded with Win 8 Pro. I was looking for 7 as I'm not a massive fan of 8. I got the laptop, opened the box, and saw Win 8 instructions. There is also a Win 8 sticker on the underside of the laptop. Only problem, though not for me, is that it is actually running Win 7 Pro as advertised. Another problem I have had on and off is the fingerprint scanner will choose to not work once in a while. This isn't too bad as I also have a password I can type in to get past having to scan my finger. I use the scanner for ease more so than the security. I think it's safe to say that if someone stole your laptop, they would be able to somehow find a way to access your data. On that note though, there is Acer Business protection, or something close to that, which enables you to remotely delete data on the laptop if you do find the laptop's gone missing (this is if I actually read the manual correctly, don't take my word for that though). The other issue I have had is that sometimes when I wake the laptop from sleep, it's unresponsive. I try to open programs and it seems to lock down. The mouse still moves but nobody's home. This is if I go and immediately start a program though. I have learned to give it a few seconds, quite literally, after it wakes up to run a program.

Thinking about it now, I may try and update the review when I load CAD software onto the laptop. I'll see how it runs with the stock memory (8GB) and let you know if I can lock the computer up truly (I had that issue a few times running AutoDesk on a desktop where I worked previously).

I'm not sure how soon the laptop is going to be phased out, but I figured I should write this review if someone out there is still looking at this laptop wondering if it's a good buy.

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Reviews of ASUS G53SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop

Customer Ratings:

I've had this computer for about 3 days, and my feelings on it went from wanting to defenestrate it, to pure love. For starters, I ordered a separate 256GB corsair solid state drive so I can have fast boot and load times for the OS and apps. Now, installing an additional hard drive in most laptops requires mostly just removing the bottom plate, but not for this laptop. With this laptop, I had to remove the keyboard by prying it out and then carefully unlatching the connectors from the computer. Then, I had to remove the the piece with the touch pad and unscrew a set of screws that are holding the bottom plate in. Then, I'm finally able to remove the hard drive cover underneath the laptop after the last bit. Why did Asus have to make such a trivial thing so complicated?

Anyways, after I finally got to the hard drive bay I found out that the second empty bay has no bracket to hold a hard drive in. I looked online and nobody was selling them. Yes, that's right: this computer IS ADVERTISED as having the capability of storing an additional hard drive, but the company is not including or even selling any bracket to allow me to do it! I couldn't find them anywhere! So luckily, my drive was a solid state, with no moving parts. What I ended up doing is taping some business cards underneath the solid state drive and letting it rest evenly on those, and then folding one of them between the space that the drive and the bay would occupy so that it doesn't wiggle around. No issues so far, I'm pretty furious that I'm being put in this situation, and I'm definitely giving Asus a call and demanding that they ship or sell an extra bracket to me. There is absolutely no reason at all why I have to do this.

Lastly, once I got everything in place I decided to use the recovery cd's that I created in the beginning to reformate/unpartitian the primary drive and install windows 7 on the solid state drive... but guess what? The recovery cd's do not have the capability of reformatting. What I had to do was hunt down an .iso of windows and burn that to a disk, then use it as my windows install... because the recovery cd is not a 'true' windows. I don't understand why Asus doesn't include a generic windows dvd since, you know, I PAID for the licence and it costs them next to nothing. They did include a driver CD, which is generous.

So that's all the bad stuff out of the way. Once I got everything up and running and with the right setup, things got much better. For starters, the performance on this thing is top-notch. With a solid state drive as the main OS, this laptop boots up in 20 seconds. It handles everything I throw at it with ease. I have the laptop outputting to a second 24 inch monitor as an expanded desktop and it runs starcraft at full resolution and mostly high settings at around 40-60 fps. Best of all, it doesn't 'downclock' to cool down like most of the laptops out there do. The reason for this is an extremely efficient cooling system in the back that blows air out one vent and sucks in air at the other. This keeps things relatively stable, and quiet. I'm not waking up my GF while I game on starcraft after she goes to sleep, and in comparison the Envy 17 I had and returned before this (which cost a beefy 2300) sounded like a jet engine.

This is a top-notch gaming rig, and I'm very happy with it so far. Would I recommend to anyone else? Well, it depends. If you're going to be happy with the measly 500GB of storage, then yes. However, if you want to do what I did or install a larger capacity hard drive, then I recommend you tread lightly or have a certified technician do it for you.

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We all know this is an incredible buy for the price, except for the reviews. I looked into this machine long and hard before I purchased it. Many from many vendors haved arrived "doa" and also had issues with the power button. Well believe it or not you can fix it yourself in about 5 seconds, all you have to do is swipe a magnet over the palmrest area (I go from right to left across the bottom) and wham your laptop WILL turn on. I recieved this yesterday as many had, it would not power on, let it charge for a bit, and tried the button some more, still didnt work, then tried the magnet trick and it has been working great ever since. There is a video on youtube of someone doing this as well if you need further assistance. Further what is actually happening is a sensor that is supposed to sense the lid closing is too strong (it is magnetic) it can over time while sitting build up a "magnetic charge" and thinks the lid is closed when it is not, by using a magnet you are resetting the switch. Should you have to do this? No, but at the price I dont find it to be an issue (mine has been working fine since the initial swipe of the magnet, ie the power button has been working, and if it stops in the future I know to keep a magnet handy).

Best Deals for ASUS G53SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop

Excellent laptop, people who want to play games, but don't like to spend 1000$ +

It was problems with magnetic proximity switch it (is remain magnetized, so when you push start button nothing happened). Basicly it think's that Lid is still closed and preventing laptop from starting (this is Asus safety measures).

For people who are not advanced in PC hardware it can be a real chalenge. Cause they can think that laptop is not working and try to return it. Don't do it please... The laptop is ok, there are no any hardware problem.

This is my solution (I am assembling PC's since 1996):

you just simply need to demagnetize the Sensore/switch:

Keep the system off, lid should be open and the battery in. It doesn't matter if the power cord is plugged in or not but its better if it is plugged in;

Ok now take a paper and put it on the palm-rest to the lower right side from the touch pad. To give you an idea, this is a 2 inch x 2 inch spot under the small sticker that says "New Revision Certified Design" and lies between the touch pad and the large sticker that shows system specs and features. Furthermore this is the very spot where the magnet in the LCD lid (located to the right side of the camera) comes in contact/proximity when the lid is closed;

Now take a light magnet with medium intensity, shouldn't be too strong or big and rub it in circles on that 2 x 2 inch square spot where you have placed the paper(The paper is only optional but it is recommended as it would save the palm-rest from scratches if any). Do this for a minute or two.

Press the power button and voilà! You are done.

Happy New Year and Kind Regards

Honest reviews on ASUS G53SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop

For me the laptop came and is working flawless. No power button issues or any problems for that matter. I can play Skyrim on high settings, and I'm blown away by the screen. 1080p on a 15inch looks very very nice. I don't normally write reviews but I had to on this item since it seems to be getting bashed pretty badly. I noticed the negative reviews before my purchase but took my chances based on the fact that all Asus motherboards I've bought were always top notch products. Needless to say at $900 you really can't get a better or a more powerful laptop. You have the assurance of buying from Amazon so if you got a faulty one, you can always return or exchange. Asus also comes with a one year accidental warranty which I thought was a nice touch since my last laptop from hp was ruined when my wife's friend spilled wine all over the keyboard..

For anyone who's on the fence about this laptop, I would say go for it. Chances are there are many who's bought this laptop and has a had no problems like me. The laptop is cool to the touch and the construction is very sturdy. The back cooling system looks great and works even better. I'm at lvl35 with my bow/thief in skyrim, and it's always so amazing to me that such a small little machine can run it so smoothly.

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I received the Asus G53SW-XA1 as a gift for christmas/birthday. This gaming laptop is a beast and runs all of my games perfectly, I would highly recommend buying it if you're an avid gamer!

There is a slight drawback though there are two minor flaws that can be easily fixed/avoided.

1) Power Button won't work: Rub a medium strength magnet on the bottom right area of the touchpad.

2) Power Pin is fragile: Buy an "L" connector for the power supply pin.

An interesting fact: the video card of this older series (G53SW/G73SW) is actually faster/stronger than the newer series (G53SX/G74SX).

G53SX/G74SX Video Card: GTX 560M, 128bit bus

G53SW/G73SW Video Card: GTX 460M, 192bit bus

Buy Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery

Customer Ratings:

I'm a techie and own 9 other computers. 6 of the 9 are Sony's. I also own Toshiba and MSI. I always thought I had to purchase the most expensive to have the best, but after purchasing the Gateway, I see now that I was wrong. This laptop is absolutely phenomenal. The screen is the most crisp, colorful and sharpest display I have ever seen. It literally blows everything else out of the water. I have it sitting next to two other laptops right now that I paid at least double for and there is really no comparison at all. Windows 7 runs smooth as silk, there is very little bloatware pre-installed. I'm simply floored by how good this computer is at this price point. Don't think twice about getting it. After seeing it in action, I really feel that it's a steal at this price. One downside for me is that the memory isn't upgradable beyond 4gb and it doesn't have a pc card/expresscard slot for my wireless modem, but since I'm using it primarily at home for photo editing, those things don't really matter to me. I'm considering purchasing a 2nd one now for my wife.

Update: Windows 7 on this computer continues to amaze me too. Today, I had 8 apps open and they all ran as if I only had one open. I didn't intend to do this, but I had Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Outlook, Word, Navicat, Hypersnap, Explorer and Microsoft Publisher all open at the same time and there was no lag or anything that would have let me know that I needed to close some apps to free up memory. The system ran smoothly as if I was just using one app, so the 4GB limit makes more sense now since there doesn't appear to be a need for more.

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I was looking at a Toshiba with similar but less specs than this machine. 3GB vs 4GB memory, and 320GB HD vs 500GB hard drive. $200 more everywhere I looked for the Tob, some places $300 more. This unit also has an extra slot for another hard drive internally.

I bought this unit 3 weeks ago at a local BB for $599, which was a steal for the features and overall quality of this laptop.

This Gateway is fast, plays DVDs with no problem, the high def is great and very crisp, and the 17.3 screen is plenty of real estate to work from. The keyboard was a little flat for my liking but after using it a while I've adjusted to it.

Also the touch pad is at times not as responsive as I would like, the scrolling function that is. I would like it to be be a little more sensitive when scrolling up and down. Just wish I could adjust the response to the touch pressure some but that's not possible. But there are a lot of software adjustments to the touch pad available and it works great overall. The scrolling is usually when surfing so that could be a site or browser issue rather than the touch pad itself.

The built in wireless network works great and gets a much stronger and reliable signal than my other laptop all over our house. I can even go out on the patio with no problems. The RJ-45 network hard wire connector works fine as well.

Windows 7 is a joy on this thing, especially compared to Vista. Multitasking shows no signs of lag or hesitation when using several programs at once.

I have 5 desktops and another laptop and all have XP except one. That one sits in the corner with very little use because it has Vista on it. I use it for backup audio recording sessions in my business only. Now it will get a face lift to Windows 7 and become my primary desktop.

But it will be fighting with this new Gateway as I can see this laptop becoming my primary work machine for most things I do. I'm a techie and do light programming, audio and some video.

I've yet to try any games on it but do think most games would play alright with some settings adjustments, except for the most intensive resource using games.

Depending on the use, I've been averaging 3 3 1/2 hours on the battery with medium use on the resources, that's also having the screen about two settings dimmer from the highest setting which is still a very bright screen. The weight is around 7 pounds and makes it very comfortable for the lap and almost no heat from the bottom of the unit after a couple of hours use.

If you buy one and need a case for it, look at the Case Logic 17" Slimline Laptop Case here at Amazon. I bought it and it's a good case for the price of 26 bucks, especially for 17 inch laptops.

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I also purchased this laptop at a local Best Buy for $599. Not one of the other brands had 4GB memory, 500 GB HD, wireless, webcam, card reader, etc.. for near the price. As the previous reviewer said, this laptop has a stronger wireless signal as I have no problems anywhere in our home--our HP loses signal sometimes. I also do not like the keyboard quite as much as the Hp, but ok. I did have a problem with the Norton Internet Security locked up and quit working. I had to unistall it and ordered a new copy of Norton Security 2010 for $29.99 and it works great. The 2010 version is listed for Windows 7. It may have been a Norton problem with windows 2007. The screen is larger and brighter than our HP dv6. The battery is advertised at "up to 5 hours" but I have not gotten more than three and half hours--still more than the 2 hours I usually get with our HP. This computer, upon first powerup, starts you off with the wireless setup which was unbeliebably easy. Lastly, the setup with our Lexmark x7576 wireless printer was also very easy. I had the entire system up and running with wireless printer, new programs, wireless network, etc. in less than an hour. If you are looking for a great value laptop, this is it.

Honest reviews on Gateway NV7802u 17.3-Inch Black Laptop - Up to 5 Hours of Battery

Bought this for $599.00 at BB and just love it. This is my first lap top. I found it to be Quick like lightening and great memory with the DDR3, 4g memory, dual processors, and 5g hard drive. 64 bit Windows 7 is great except fire fox doesn't seem to do well on it. The screen is large, brilliant and easy to look at. Battery life is about 3.5 hours a little less than the specs.

A video on the webcam turned out great sent it to my brother in California and he loved it. Put on a couple professional programs that use a great deal of memory and the computer didn't even notice. No problems with many simultaneous programs running. Please note: I am not a gamer!

Only negative: Key pad is difficult to use I will go wireless mouse asap. DDR3 memory with 4g is NOT expandable.

I took the lap top out on the patio, to the garage, and all through the house and the signal was great. All in all, for the money, I don't think you can do better. This seems to have it all.

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I just purchased one of these at BB for $599.0 and I must say I am pleasantly suprised. Many of the reviews I read online (the majority here at Amazon or at the BB site) were spot on. I agonized for several days between this laptop and the Sony VAIO VGN-FW510/F, which you can find here on amazon for ~ 780. This included several trips to the BB brick and mortar to look at both machines. In the end, my budget limitations won out I didn't want to spend the extra 200. I thought for sure I would have some regrets (never buy cheap, someone once told me), but none in this case. I can't stop looking at the damn thing thinking that I got a good deal.

Some initial thoughts:

Screen size and quality the screen is of very good quality, much better than my existing HP DV2748se laptop; it is bright and clear whereas my HP always looks washed out. It's not an IPS panel, so the usual caveats about viewing angles apply. The screen is also of the right resolution 1600 x 900 on 17.3 diagonal inches. Text / fonts are of good size (not tiny as you get with some high resolution laptop screens, e.g., 1920 x 1200 on a 15.6" screen)it looks like my desktop at work just not as much screen real estate.

Build quality acceptable; it's not as nice as a Macbook, but it definitely feels solid. The screen however, does flex a bit but no more so than my other HP laptop. The screen hinge is hefty and solid; on my HP the screen wiggles back and forth a few degrees (i.e., it feels loose) not so with this machine.

Speakers i read some of the reviews that stated the speakers sucked...they aren't that bad: very little bass and such but more than adequate for watching TV or casually listening to music. I don't have a TV, so I'm on either on Hulu or streaming some radio station or .

Keyboard one of the few livable minuses. The keys are flush with very little separation between them, so it is easy to hit the wrong key and feeling around with your fingers for a key is difficult. It takes some getting used to. I don't think the extended keyboard is very useful.

Wireless no issues, works as advertised, I was up and running in minutes and reception very good. No blue tooth however, but that is not a minus for me.

Windows 7 a pleasant surprise! It is slick, smooth, and is what Vista should have been. BTW, I also run Linux; when I went to the store I took in an Ubuntu 9.10 boot CD and loaded it up (much to the consternation of the salesman). It seemed to find all the hardware, to include the wireless card.

Operating Temperature this laptop runs quiet and cool. My HP has this annoying feature of the cooling fan cycling on and off in a rapid fashion, i.e., it will ramp up to max rpms and the quickly turn back off, not to mention it get's very hot in my lap. Not so with this machine...i can hardly hear the fan when it is on, which doesn't seem to be very often. I assume this is partly due to the larger case size which yields a better airflow through the internal components.

Gateway Tech support many reviewers commented on this (or the lack thereof). It appears to be poor I went to the gateway web site and perused the support section of the site. I was unable to locate a number if you want to call a real person; they do offer tech support for exorbitant fees on a per minute basis; so between the reviews I have read and what I found on the site leads me to believe if this puppy breaks I will be in trouble.

Memory Limitation this machine maxes out at 4GB :-( This was one of the selling points for the Sony, which can go up to 8GB. So this might be an issue with future proofing your purchase.

No eSata or firewire port :-( However, it does have HDMI and 4 x USB.

Overall, I am very pleased thus far with my purchase and definitely feel like I got a good deal, especially for $599.00

++++ UPDATE ++++

This is an update as of 2/05/2010. I've had the machine for over a month now and I am still more than satisfied. Just a few more comments based on my experience:

Battery life appears good. I usually average about three hours not bad for a six cell battery and this usually includes playing some video or listening to music.

HDMI works extremely well. In some cases on a laptop, the HDMI port is not true HDMI, i.e., you only get video and are still left to run a separate audio output to your television. I'm happy to report this is not the case; I had the opportunity to hook up the laptop to a friends Samsung 48" HD television and it works as advertised; you only need a single HDMI cable to carry both audio and video. The picture looked excellent and was at the full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080.

Recovery Disks. None are included...you have to burn your own onto 3 x DVDs using the software already installed on your machine.

The touchpad. The single bar along the bottom is a bit hard to press. Like a Mac touchpad, you depress either the left or right extreme of the bar. With my earlier laptop, which had the normal two-button layout, the buttons were relatively easy to press so that is what I used all the time. I had forgotten (and had to relearn) that instead of pressing the left button you can simply double tap the touchpad :-) So this is what I used now and it works quite nicely. You can also set up numerous other touchpad "gestures" ala what is used on the iPhone so you don't wind up using the touchpad bar. For example, I've configure it to mimic the right mouse button if you tap the upper right corner of the touchpad (all four corners are configurable). It doesn't compensate 100% for having the bar a bit hard on the fingers, but it is more than workable.

Best Apple MacBook Pro - Core Duo 2.16 GHz - RAM 1 GB - HDD 100 GB Deals

Customer Ratings:

All aspects of getting this computer went seamlessly. The computer has been great and the seller was great to work with.

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It works like a charm! I upgraded the RAM as soon as I got it and it worked flawlessly. Might upgrade the Hard Drive later.