Discount HP Elitebook 6930p Notebook, vPro Core 2 Duo P8700, DVD+/-RW

Customer Ratings:

The title of this article depicts 250 GB Hard Drive, but my Merchant clarified in their listing (and the specifications on this very page also clarify) that it is a 160 GB Hard Drive.

That aside, my Merchant provided Windows 7, and I note that the Laptop had a Fingerprint Security Feature. Mine was refurbished, and no software was advertised to come with it, so I had my own plans...but they surprised me and preloaded one piece of software that I intended to load myself, Open Office.

This is a solid, reliable product, the most sturdy Laptop I've ever touched.

If you decide to purchase this Laptop with no software (I am an ex software tester), I would highly recommend that you go to OpenOffice.org and download their free Microsoft-compatible software that will edit and save in various formats, including Microsoft formats. I have experience with the makers of this FREE software from my software days, and I can tell you this is a great offering to the public--they do take donations if you're thrilled about it.

If you desire better drawing software, you can also download Inkscape for free at Inkscape.org--this software will save into an SVG format, which is the clearest and sharpest image format available for the computer, and it can save into various other formats; this program takes a while to learn, but is well worth it--a big advantage is that you can open other formats such as the less clear BMP or JPG formats and trace the images and convert them into smoother/crisper images. I also note that YouTube is invaluable for learning new computer programs!

I also purchased a Xerox Travel Scanner 150 that came with a bundled Nuance PDF Converter program that rivals Adobe Acrobat and will also save in many formats ranging from Image formats (BMP, JPG) to document formats (Microsoft, RTF, TXT)--the list is long and I've only given a few of the formats it covers.

The amount of RAM and Memory on this machine are more than adequate for most computing needs; as far as Hard Drive size, you can buy a 1 TB external Hard Drive to suppliment this Laptop's Memory for around $80 these days, and they are now a little bigger than a smart phone! It's a good idea to have one of these even if all you do is back up your data.

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If you are considering buying this notebook you need to know limitations are the hardware and the software.

Hardware: I bought this notebook because I wanted a mirror image of the one given to me by my employer. What I found out is the one I purchased from Amazon (same model as my employer's laptop) DID NOT come with a built in webcam. Of course, my work around was to use an old webcam that I had resigned to the back on a drawer. If would have be nicer if the one I got off of Amazon had the built in webcam.

Software: The Amazon notebook machine came with VISTA Business 32-bit OS. It is ok but one must work overtime to network it with my other machines running Windows 7. Plus, it is only 32-bit running on an 64-bit architecture. It works but could be better if the machine came with W7. When time permits, I'll ghost it with my own W7 professional disk.

With W7 professional installed, the two machine will be almost twins (no built in webcame for one).

Best Deals for HP Elitebook 6930p Notebook, vPro Core 2 Duo P8700, DVD+/-RW

I purchsed several 5 of these off-lease 6930P notebooks for a small business and have no complaints. They are very solid and are excellent for use in a limited size work envirnment. As these are used or refurbished they vary in condition but are as advertised. For the price these are excellent machines and I would recommend them.

Honest reviews on HP Elitebook 6930p Notebook, vPro Core 2 Duo P8700, DVD+/-RW

For the price I'm delighted. A solid unit.

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Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for HP Elitebook 6930p Notebook, vPro Core 2 Duo P8700, DVD+/-RW

my opinion f.w.i.w.,

first, you need to understand that i'm reviewing the machine...not the software. i see countless reviews that put down the machine because of o.s. problems... i run this machine with linux mint 13 (i'll throw up a screenshot), so i don't know what kind of experience you win users will go through.

i bought my machine elsewhere (less money), but i can still give you a rundown about how i feel about it.

i got mine in the mail the other day and i immediately tore it down for a cleaning and to put fresh cpu paste on and oil the fan. i had this machine pretty much bare framed (i do this with most of my used lappys), and i wasn't super impressed with the build.

-it is mostly metal. that can be either good or bad...plastic can flex a bit where metal stays bent if it gets knocked hard enough. i'm pretty gentle with my machines, but you can factor this in yourself.

-the early builds of this machine had a problem with the lid latch not staying locked. it's fixable but not very easy because you have to pretty much tear the whole machine apart to fix it. even when it's working right i don't care for it because when it's on your lap you have to jab the button in instead of sliding it and this requires tilting the machine kind of awkwardly. small gripe.

-the way the cables connect to the motherboard seem kind of cheap-ish compared to the thinkpad t400 (competitor at the time) that i just built. this one has ribbons where the t-pad has more stout plugs... it may or may not affect performance or longevity, but i don't really like it. this is supposed to be hp's flagship machine.

-i love the display. it's nice and bright and even and crisp. very well done. also, the hinges are nice and tight...almost too tight. i don't get the feeling that they will get sloppy anytime soon. they also look cool.

-the volume control and wifi switch are touch sensitive (above the keyboard) and this has lead to a bit of confusion (more with the wifi switch) with some folks. it's not just a light, it's also a switch (can be disabled in bios).i really prefer hard buttons. another small gripe.

-i love the keyboard, even though some of the keys are hard to get used to (delete, page up, dwn). it's a nice feeling keyboard. very quiet, firm, and springy. as good or better than t-pads, in my opinion. very nice.

-mine does have a night light, but you have to reach up to the top of the display to turn it on-off. no biggie, it works pretty good and gives off just enough light. i have found that back lit key boards can be distracting, so i like this.

the sata speeds are great. i have a ssd drive in this and my read speed averages around 265 Mb/s with a seek time of .02ms. good honest sata2 speeds and i haven't had any hard drive issues with it.

-after i cleaned the fan/heatsink and re-pasted (plain old artic5), this machine runs nice and cool. after running the cpu at 100% for quite a while, the temp stayed at around 50-55c. very nice. btw, mine has the 2.40ghz cpu. also, the fan is very quiet.

-i don't really like the fact that this machine uses ddr2 ram. in my opinion they should have upped to ddr3 for a little better speed and some future-proofing. still a snappy machine, though. mine has 4gb, which is waaaayy more than enough for linux.

-i alway shut off the touchpad (i'm a mouse guy), but from what i've seen so far, this one is nice. it's also tapable. the keyboard pointer works good, too.

-i have to nail the power button on wake from suspendit doesn't automatically wake when opened...which is fine.

-i like the blue l.e.d.'s.

in the end, if i was trying to decide between used machines (there will be a ton of these coming off-lease soon), i would be swayed toward a thinkpad--or a dell e-series latitude, knowing what i now know about them. between the t-pad t400 and this machine, i have had both torn down to almost nothing and i have run the exact same o.s. on both, and while i love the looks of the hp, in the end i am swayed my the thinkpad, but only in small elements of build quality. remember that this is what i'm pretty sure to be hp's big bad top of the line business machine and if the original price was lower, i would have looked at it in a different light.

for the price that i see here today (around 120 bucks or so), it's a steal compared to what you can buy new. just keep the fan and such clean so it runs cool and i can't stress enough how a ssd drive will improve performance in this baby. i have mine pretty tweaked and this machine blows my stock i-5 asus away. it's not so much about cpu speeds these days.

i hope i helped you and remember: even though it's an informed one, this is still just my very humble opinion and if i'm wrong about any of this please comment and feel free to ask me any questions about this machine. even with it's slight faults (i would be more forgiving if it wasn't billed as top of the line), i plan on keeping it.

Dell Inspiron 15 i15RV-6190BLK 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black Matte Reviews

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $431.99
Sale Price: $367.98
Today's Bonus: 15% Off

As a college student on a budget, I really needed a computer that would do many tasks on the road without hurting the wallet. I have a prehistoric 7-8 year old Dell Dimension E510 desktop that is super slow. So, I made the decision to buy a laptop under $400 yet still faster than my desktop.

I set my eyes on this laptop from a local electronics store. I compared specs, from the size and weight, to the nitty features like the number of USBs. And so, here I have it.

Let's start off with the design.

The design of this notebook is, well, plastic. However, it isn't cheap plastic. The materials used are actually pretty good for its price point. The notebook is nice and rounded around the corners and the thickness of this notebook is about one inch. Now, most notebooks for this price point would be much thicker...Around 1.3in-1.4in, but Dell managed to squeeze everything in 1 inch. This is pretty darn good considering the tools this notebook provides. On the left side of the computer you have a headphone/microphone jack, 3 USB (2 USB 3.0) (1 USB 2.0), Ethernet, HDMI cable, and a power outlet. On the left side you have the optical drive and one more USB port (2.0). So the total amount of USBs this notebook has is 4. 4 USB ports, 2 of which are 3.0. USB 3.0 is relatively new for the market, and this allows much quicker transfer speeds compared to the 2.0s. However, most computers at this price point do not have USB 3.0s, or if they do, it would only be one or two. But keep in mind that this notebook has 4 USB ports. And at this price point, most if not all computers only have about 2 or 3. The optical drive is also a neat feature. For a 1 inch laptop that has an optical drive is pretty impressive considering the price. Most notebooks that are 1 inch or less usually skip the optical drive. Now, the bad thing about the thinness of this notebook is that it does not have a VGA port. You might need a HDMI to VGA port adapter for that. However, considering VGA's thickness and the thinness of notebooks that are coming out each year, VGA is bound to be obsolete due to the benefits of HDMI.

On the interior, the notebook has a LARGE track pad. And this is good especially when it is running on windows 8 (I'll get to that later).

Below the track pad, there are two left and right buttons. These buttons feel and sound cheap but that is not to be unexpected. When running, the track pad get quite warm. You really can't fault the computer for this because this is a one inch notebook. Since the ram sticks are essentially below the track pad, prepare yourself to have warm fingers. The keyboard is an island style keyboard that are evenly spaced. The key travel is okay. After writing a 5-6 page essay. It's also got a 10 key number pad. However, I do wish that number lock had a tiny light located on the button like the caps lock does. As I'm typing, I sometimes reach over to the number lock while attempting to backspace. One minor complaint is keyboard flex towards the F8-F10 keys, not a big deal since these keys aren't often used. Also, like other reviewer have mentioned before. This computer has a sharp lip. As you are typing, the sharp lip is somewhat irritating. Doesn't hurt to take out a fine grit sand paper is smooth out that lip.

Lastly, the spacing between the keys have a glossy finish. I notice that this attracts dust and requires occasional cleaning.

As for the hardware,

You get 500gb of storage but only 456gb of that storage is usable (the non-usable storage has to be used for the operating system. It runs on 4gb of ram and although it is sufficient, you may want to upgrade to 6 or 8 gigs of ram as you load more programs. But if you're an average web browser, 4 gigs is good enough. To just give you a idea at idle, it is using about 46% of the computers ram. The computer has one extra slot. Downside is that this computer only supports up to 8 gigs of ram DDR3 PC-12800 (you can't fault Dell for the 8GB of max ram since the processor can only handle 8GB). Upside is that when you throw in that extra ram slot, it will give you extra performance due to the dual channel configuration. After removing all the bloatware and Windows finally settled in after dozens of updates this notebook starts up well under a minute. Considering a startup to be when the computer starts to idle.

-by the way, uninstall the additional trial anti-virus. Windows 8 already has Defender and so that antivirus will just eat up your resources, I think it comes with Kaspersky or McAfee-

The operating system,

Now, I'm coming from Windows XP and 7, to be honest...Windows 8 is actually pretty cool. However, if you're an old geezer who likes the traditional interface, Win 8 probably wouldn't be a great option. Anyway, the big benefit of this laptop that allows you to enjoy Windows 8 without the use of a touch screen is the large track pad. This Dell has a 4 and 1/2 inch track pad and using multi gestures features makes it extremely easy.

Of course, you can always disable the Windows 8 start up and have it behave like Windows 7. (Look up Windows 8 RetroUI) Other than that, the OS would definitely benefit with a touch screen but without it the system is still enjoyable.

Battery life,

On a full charge, I get around three to four hours of regular internet browsing.

Now for the thinness of this laptop, this computer has a 4 cell battery vs the 6 cell that are in most laptops. Under intense radio loading such as streaming, it will drop to 2 hours...Maybe 3. Keep in mind; you do not want to torture your batteries. The lithium ion batteries used in modern laptops do not like to be charged and discharged abruptly as this will diminish battery life. But, I'm willing to sacrifice 2 cells for a thinner and lighter laptop than have a big and heavy 6 cell.

Screen:

15.6 inches, 1366x768 glossy.

Screen resolution isn't an issue here since most laptops--especially at this price point, have this type of resolution. The problem I commonly have is the viewing angles. This Dell uses a TNF panel, which is offers a distortion of colors when it isn't at the right angle.

As for the glossy finish, well, it sucks. It still amazes me why computer corporations still use a glossy finish. The glossy finish and the bad viewing angles makes it somewhat of an unpleasant experience.

The WLED screen is bright but the colors could use more saturation.

Webcam:

It is equipped with a 1 megapixel camera.

After using Skype, the picture quality is pretty good.

If I compared it with my other Lenovo G560 which has a 0.3 megapixel camera, the difference is like light and day.

Processor

Okay, so it doesn't have TurboBoost or 4-way processing.

I have using an Intel Pentium Processor on a Lenovo notebook on Windows 7 and it's pretty good. It gets through most tasks however you must know your limitations.

Considering the computers size, weight, and battery configuration, the processor is clocked at 1.8ghz on dual core. I have previously used a Pentium 4 @ 3GHz (a single core processor) and this laptop is significantly faster considering the dual core. Out of box, it scored a 4.7 on the Windows Experience Index. After everything got settled in with the way I liked it, it dropped to a 4.6. Using my way of testing the processor speed, I calculated Pi (Using SuperPi) to one million digits and it did it in 21 seconds. Not bad considering my Dell Desktop does it in 43 seconds... It handles HD streaming off YouTube without problems however when you stream in 720p you CPU usage hovers around 40-60%. Yet, doesn't give you a lot of room of other tasks.

Gaming? Well, not much. Don't expect to play WoW or Crisis. It should handle basic games.

I was able to play RuneScape on the highest screen settings (other than full screen) with the use of their client rather than the browser. The CPU usage hovers around 80-90%. Game play was still smooth considering it is a 3D game. However, with 80-90% usage, again, does not leave much room for other tasks.

Upgrades:

The only upgrades you can do to this laptop is RAM and hard drive. The stock hard drive runs at 5400rpm and although it is pretty quick, a solid state would be pointless because you'd be most likely dissatisfied with SSD's price and storage (until they get cheaper). If 500gb is too little, a 7200 rpm hard drive won't hurt.

The computer comes with 4gb of ram. Although this is sufficient for basic tasks, it isn't configured as dual channel. Filling that extra DIMM slot will give you better memory storage as well as graphics performance. So why not do it?

The CPU/Processor--unfortunately, cannot be upgraded. This is because it is a Ultra Low Voltage Processor (ULV) that is soldered onto the motherboard. This is a big down side since later down the road, you can't upgrade to a used processor at a significantly low price.

It's portable, offers a large track pad, good keys, and is loaded with 4 USBs and an optical drive @ just one inch. Overall, this is a great laptop but I wouldn't consider this to be a everyday user. (I use it as a primary since I'm coming from a prehistoric computers, in fact this computer is twice as fast than my old desktop) The processor is the caveat. If you have the option, go for their higher end "i Series" of Intel Core Processors.

-UPDATE-

I reran the Windows Experience Index (WEI) and it jumped from a 4.6 to a 5.1. I guess Windows obtained a better score after removing bloatware and installing the latest drivers. Additionally, a dual channel RAM configuration will allow a slight bump in graphics performance.

So here are the subscores that the WEI came up with:

Processor: 5.9

Memory (RAM): 7.7

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Cheap Toshiba Satellite U925T-S2120 12.5-Inch Touchscreen Ultrabook

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,149.99
Sale Price: $809.00
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I use a laptop for business travel, so I was pleased to be able to order this Toshiba Ultrabook. I find it to be a bit bulky when used as a tablet, with nice features, adequate battery life, and good performance overall.

Design:

The device is a handsome brown color, with a very nice "soft touch" back. The big draw of this model is the ability to use it as a tablet or laptop. To convert to and from a tablet, the screen slides out (away from the person holding it), then locks upwards in place. I found it easy to use, although one really needs to use both hands when sliding the screen. On the front of the device are lights to indicate on/off, charge and wireless. The left side has a power button, a volume rocker, a USB port, and a button to lock the screen orientation. The rear has a circular power port, twin fan outlets, an HDMI port, and a USB Port. The right side has a door that covers the memory slot and the headphone jack. On the front of the screen is the microphone, a web camera indicator, the front camera, and a large button under the screen that presses the "Windows" key (which I found useful). The small speakers are on the bottom of the device. When in tablet mode, the screen can be slid an inch or so up to allow one to use the rear camera (otherwise covered). It comes with a mini power brick and 30 day trial versions of Office 2010 and Norton Internet Security, plus a bunch of other software that I may end up uninstalling.

Operation:

This would be an good laptop for daily use. It ran all of my legacy Windows programs nicely, and the Windows 8 programs also ran well. The computer is great as a tablet (if you don't mind the size), or when used as a laptop. Although the manuals are full of warnings about heat, on battery or external power it never got hot while I was using it, and the fans are whisper quiet. The front video camera is actually quite nice for Skype. Programs opened rapidly, with no significant lag. Sound output was good with a headset, and acceptable from the speakers.

Keyboard:

The keyboard is acceptable for typing, and is probably the single weak point of the device. I found that it seemed to bow in a bit over the middle keys, and I would prefer more of a raised portion on the F and J keys to make it better for touch typing. There are small ridges, but they are hard to feel.

Battery:

The battery lasted a little over 4.5 hours after the initial charge. This is on the default "eco" settings, which features high performance settings for the CPU and SSD, and leaves the Bluetooth and NFC turned on. Also, Windows 8 has the screen auto brightness turned off by default. I would expect that if one changed these, and decreased the maximum screen brightness settings, the time could be pushed to 5 hours. Conversely, if one was gaming with the battery set to high power and bright screen, I think it would last no more than three hours. The device has an "eco" mode that dims the screen at 25%; otherwise it is fairly bright until the screen timeout. Eco mode gets very aggressive below 15% remaining charge, trying to save that last bit of battery. Overall I had to take back one star for the limited battery on WiFi.

What I like:

+ Boots up very quickly. The Windows log-in screen shows up in about 10 seconds. It takes an additional 30 seconds or so to finish loading the various programs that run in the background over on the desktop side.

+ This is one great tablet to use with Windows 8. It is snappy and very responsive.

+ One of the two USB ports can function as a charging port for a phone or other device, even when the tablet is powered down. This is a nice feature for those times when you need a bit more phone charge but don't have a plug nearby. This feature has to be turned on via software settings; it is disabled by default. When the tablet is connected to the wall charger, the USB port can be set to high power, which is used for IPad and some Android tablets, or regular power output. On battery alone, the ports are regular power only.

+ Windows based platform. One can run every Windows program desired with complete compatibility. Windows 8 is another story, and it already has people who like it and hate it. But there are add-ons to Windows 8 that allow it to function almost exactly like Windows 7. So I don't see any real problems with Win 8 being installed.

+ Very good specifications; Intel based I5 processor, with appropriate supporting firmware. This device it built for some major computing. The only real detraction is the on-board Intel graphic chip, which did not score very well in business graphics. However it worked well enough with Microsoft Office. I don't think this device is suitable for heavy duty gamers.

+ Support for SDXC high capacity memory. It is therefore possible to double the internal storage, although at present these SD cards are pretty expensive for 128Gb.

+ HDMI output, to connect with a monitor or TV.

+ There is a Near Field Communications area next to the touch pad. NFC is likely to become more important in the near future, so it is nice to see this feature.

+ The keyboard is backlit (this can be turned off to save power). Very useful if the room is dim.

+ Toshiba includes an Eco software utility that really makes it easy to change the power setting. It shows the power drain in real time so one can see the effects of settings as they happen.

+ There is a power setting for people who keep the device connected to the power connecter more frequently. It places the maximum charge at 80%, to lengthen battery life. I tested the battery with this feature off, so that I actually got to 100% of the battery, but it is nice to have the ability to choose to have a longer life on the battery, especially since it is non-removable.

What I'm not so fond of:

The Windows Experience Index is a bit low overall: 4.7 (limited by the business graphics score). Processor is 6.9, RAM is 5.9, gaming graphics 6.2, and hard disk 8.2.

The device does not have built in DVD or CD-ROM capability, but that not surprising in a portable this thin.

There is no standard DVI or Video output. This is due to the thin design, but it reduces the business utility of the device.

It is heavy for a tablet. It weighs in at around 50 ounces (1.4 kg for those outside the US). That makes it a bit heavy to carry around. However, I find in use that it is distributed well due to the large size, and it is acceptable.

There is no built in Internet jack. I'm not sure one could be fit into the thin case, but they could have provided some kind of proprietary solution so that when on the road, the device could plug into the more secure 10-Base T connectors rather than rely on WiFi. One has to buy a USB to RJ-45 device to connect via wires.

Due to the large screen size, it is pretty bulky. I bought a sleeve for it (no one would want to lug around something this size, and this expensive, without some protection), and it it much more trouble to carry than a standard 10.1 inch tablet. I may well decide to use a carrying case with handle instead of the sleeve.

The battery is not removable. I realize this was done to keep the device thin, but it means that one has to keep a sharp eye on the battery level when using the laptop function and recharge is the only option when power is low.

The power strip is customized for this individual device, so standard power mini bricks (even from Toshiba) apparently won't work. This one uses a 4mm barrel size, whereas other Toshiba ultraportables use a 5.5mm (or so) size. So the only place I've seen a replacement is direct from Toshiba, at a high cost. I usually have a brick at home and at work, but I don't with this model; I carry the small brick with me.

To take pictures with the rear camera, one has to partially slide the screen up. It is not a big deal, but a bit inconvenient. I really don't think people will be using something this big to take a lot of pictures!

The GPS is not supported on the desktop side; only on the Windows 8 interface. I've seen some comments that GPS doesn't work, but the Win 8 Maps seems to work fine with it; it shows my location exactly. I think that some of the confusion lies with people not understanding how Microsoft designed Windows 8. The new Windows 8 workspace is completely separate from the desktop, which runs as a single Win 8 process. The GPS is controlled on the Win 8 side, and therefore desktop applications can't communicate with it. That is not really Toshiba's fault, in my opinion; Microsoft designed it that way. I think the design intent of the device is to use tablet while mobile, and the laptop mode otherwise. Having GPS on the Win 8 side is completely understandable from this perspective.

At this price point, I think a 256 Gb SSD would have been better. 128 GB isn't much room these days.

Summary:

An excellent compromise between a tablet and laptop. It has it's drawbacks, but I highly recommend this if you need a device that can switch between tablet and ultrabook and if you can afford it. If you simply need a portable small laptop, there are cheaper devices available that may suit your needs.

-------------------------------------

Additional comments about the concept:

What exactly is it? With the screen slid closed, it can function as a tablet, but the fast processor and relatively small 3-cell battery mean that it won't last 8 10 hours like an RT, Android, or Ipad. Also, it cannot be charged except by the power brick that comes with it, unlike other tablets that can charge from a USB cable. The screen size is 12.5 inches, which doesn't seem too much larger than a 10.1 inch tablet, but I found that it is exactly twice as wide and tall as the 8.9 inch screen HP windows tablet it is replacing. It is portable, but not really mobile.

With the screen slid open, it functions as a netbook, but again, it is heavier and bulkier than the original netbooks (and the battery does not last as long). As a full-time laptop the screen is a bit small. Cost wise, it is more expensive that even the highest end Android, and around 400 more than a comparable ultra portable that doesn't morph into a tablet.

I think this device will appeal to techies, but also be suitable for people who need more computing power and the Windows platform. A real estate agent would find it useful, and it would be good for business presentations when traveling (it could lay flat on a surface) provided the business projector supports HDMI, of course. The higher resolution camera on the rear of the screen would make a nice video conferencing solution, using Skype and the HDMI output.

EDIT: I found a decent screen protector that covers most of the screen), and I'm using this sleeve.

EDIT Jan 28, 2013: I reviewed this ultra portable hybrid under the Amazon Vine program, but somehow that review, and the entire product page, got removed from the site. I am reposting this review so that people can have some information on the product.

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The computer is very light and the new Windows 8 operating system runs fast compared to older versions. Well, I have to admit Windows 7 is great also but this offers much more with the tiles. You have to get this touch screen because trust me, I loaded the trial version of 8 on my other laptop and it's just not the same using a keyboard and mouse.

Granted, it is lacking some apps but more and more are getting added daily. I have tried iPad and this operating system is going to create havoc for the Apples system. They made many improvements with security with Defender and other parts of the system. I love the way it slides back and forth where you can use it as regular laptop or tablet and it feels solid.

The battery life is good and 5 to 6 hours life is good enough for me. It is solid and has a great feel to it where you can take it with you with no worries of dropping it. The 128 GB SS drive plus the Sky drive will hold all my work files and more. Also with Sky drive, you keep all those offline where they are safe in case something happens. If you are in to music it will work for you also.

I am not in to gaming that much but it does most of my games good like words with friends and angry birds. The keyboard is great and lights up only when you using it to conserve battery power. One of the negatives I can find is that the battery is internal and just can't be replaced unless you take apart the computer. Another negative is that I have had to restart the computer 10 times in the 6 months I have owned it. The computer will lock up for some reason and I am not sure if it is a Windows problem or the computer. I am leaning towards Windows and I am sure they will fix that one day

Once you start learning Windows 8 you will get the hang of it quickly because I am learning different things every day. One thing I just recently learned was in the apps you can find all those other items programs that are offered in Windows 7 like word pad and media player and maintenance functions. I also installed Microsoft Office 2007 which has no problems and has been working well. The screen size works for me because I watch movies on it when I am on the road from HBO, Netflix and Hulu and definitely like to see it on a bigger screen than say a 7 inch.

Newest Update: Computer continues to stop working on the touch screen. It stops working but you can go to the laptop mode and then it is fine that way. It looks like the computer is having trouble distinguishing between laptop mode and tablet which is causing me allot of headaches. I sent the computer to Toshiba to try and fix the problem but they found nothing wrong. It is definitely a software issue that has not been fixed yet. At this time I cannot recommend this computer unless you plan on just using it as a laptop. I will keep everyone updated

7/17/2013 The latest update on the computer! The computer seems to working good now and doesn't get locked up anymore. It seems it must of been a windows update or the video update because I downloaded updates recently from Windows and it is working great. I will keep everyone posted if anything comes up

8/28/2013 Continues to work great with no lock ups anymore. The internet locks up sometimes but the problem there is my internet which is DSL and at a slow bandwidth. Love the computer and love Windows 8. So much better than iPad

Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite U925T-S2120 12.5-Inch Touchscreen Ultrabook

Yes, the Touchpad is stiff and the On/Off, Volume and Screen-rotation buttons (on the left side toward the back, as I face the laptop) are tiny, as a reviewer somewhere noted, but these minor inconveniences haven't slowed me down yet. So, I'm unlikely to push any of those buttons inadvertently and the pad works well enough alongside the Touchscreen, which is suitably sensitive.

Yes, the Touchscreen is highly shiny and becomes "fingerprinted"--of course it does--like most tablets I've seen. Wiping it clear (using a lint-free cloth designed to clean eyeglasses) is easy enough.

And yes, as tablets go this is rather big and heavy--but it's less awkward than I expected. I hope to take it traveling often.

Also, this aside: Yesterday, when I fired this up, was my first-ever hands-on whirl with Windows 8 and I was relieved to realize I could catch on, pretty much, within an hour, though I don't consider myself terribly-techy. The hybrid nature of this little critter and/or Windows 8 must/might be partially behind the double-keyboard effect that distracts occasionally (that I read about somewhere), but I know my confused input, hit-and-missing while learning the new OS and getting used to switching between tablet and laptop modes, caused this weirdness also. Anyway, it's no big deal for me--easy to fix and move on.

Right away I found the hinge mechanism sturdy-enough-feeling and pleasantly-surprisingly easy to work during mode-switching.

The device is too new for me to rate at 5 stars and this 4-star rating is provisional (I didn't subtract a star just for the slightly stiff Touchpad and buttons or glare or smudge-proneness or any weirdness I've mentioned because that's all minor, in my view, considering my purposes); I'm still exploring the features and testing; and I will update this review with further details, probably.

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite U925T-S2120 12.5-Inch Touchscreen Ultrabook

I did a fair amount of homework before making this purchase, including several trips to the Microsoft Store near my house to see what the options were for these hybrid laptop/tablets (some people refer to them as laptablets). This product was not available at the Microsoft store but they just happened to have a test unit on site and let me tinker with it (folks at the MS store are extremely helpful btw). I was sold on the slider form factor, its just barely light enough to be a tablet when you need it and its great to slide out the keyboard when you need to crank out some type. I have an iPad but I find it just too limiting in order to really get the best of both worlds which is mobility and productivity. This is marginally bigger, so its not quite as mobile as the iPad but its close. The ability to have a highly mobile, full-blown Windows device that performs as a tablet and as an ultra book intrigued me and I began to research the models available at the time. I looked at the Surface Pro, which I thought was terrific but the battery life was just a tad too short for me, I needed a battery that could last a cross country flight NY to LA. Also the Surface kickstand does not adjust so its tricky to type on your lap to laying in bed, which was a deal-breaker for me.

Other devices I compared:

-Lenovo Yoga 13" just a tad too big and it was weird to have the keyboard exposed in the back when folded into tab mode.

-Dell XPS 12 probably the coolest form factor of all with its flipping screen, nearly all the same feature but more expensive and heavier at 3.35 lbs.

-Samsung ATIV Smart PC PRO very comparable but did not care for the docking station type keyboard. I did not want it separated (Surface Pro suffered from this as well). I've always found with the iPad that the blue tooth keyboard was never around when I needed it.

MSI S20 Another slider form factor, which is really what I was looking for, but not available in the US at the time. No track pad on this device either.

My requirements were:

Battery life in excess of 5 hours

Good screen resolution, HD not a deal breaker though

Backlight keyboard

NFC (this was the only device I looked at that had this, though at this time there is no practical use for it until NFC matures and becomes more common so this was more of a future consideration for me).

Track pad for gestures when using the touch screen is inconvenient

USB 3.0 ports (U925T has two)

HDMI out for connecting to external monitors and TV's while on the road

Must weigh 2.2 lbs or less

Full integrated keyboard

Touchscreen (love Windows 8 on touch, I know it's a learning curve for some folks but once you get it you mostly dig it).

Bluetooth

B/G/N Wifi

Front and rear facing cameras (720P FF)

MicroSD Card reader (only the surface pro, Samsung, and Yoga offered this)

Wireless Display (Widi) send your screen to a TV equipped with a Widi adapter

Decent speakers

Adjustable display must be able to tilt the display in different directions to suit your posture/seating

The U9225T is the only device that had all of the above at the time I purchased it about 6 months ago. I have very little to complain about other than I find the keyboard (Chiclet type) at times seems to not always pick up my hits on the space bar, which could just be my typing style but it does drive me bonkers a bit. The price point was a in the middle of the pack and it had more features than any of the others. The battery life has lived up to expectations but of course depends on much wireless you are using. The wireless adapter could be a bit better from a range perspective but its fine otherwise. I definitely recommend purchasing a sleeve to keep it in when transporting it so as to avoid scratching the screen (hard to do with gorilla glass but given you paid a fair chunk of change for this the 10 dollar investment to protect it is worth it).

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I bought this after trying many different tablets that i was unsatisfied with their versatility. I really needed Word and Excel so it only seemed logical to get a windows computer which got me looking around. I would not say this is the lightest, it is a little heavier than some options but for me the built in hidden keyboard makes that worth it, i dont have to carry one along a detachable one. That being said i am kind or irritated by the space bar on mine. sometimes when i am typing away i will look back and notice several spaces missing between words, im not sure if this is just mine or if this is a common problem.

Other than that minor issue i am really enjoying this convertible, it is fast, start up is almost immediate. All the buttons are conveniently placed, it is well built, touch screen is very responsive, and still has no scratches even without a protector, it also cleans easily which is nice. Battery life is very close to what is said to last, i have gone a week without using it, picked it up and there is still plenty of a charge.

i have recommended this to several of my friends and would say it is definitely a nice computer for what you are paying. It is difficult to go back to a regular computer/laptop.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p 59375625 15" i7-4800MQ 2.7GHz 16GB 250GB SSD Reviews

Customer Ratings:

This thing is a beast! It will play all the latest games and do daily task without breaking a sweat! If you are looking at getting the Y510p make sure you get this model, it has everything you need.

Pros:

Fast!

I7 processor

Sleek metal design

Matte 1080p screen

Decent webcam

Backlit keyboard with 2 different levels.

Stylish

Cons:

Runs a bit hot

Touchpad is a disaster

Fingerprint magnet(impossible to remove them too)

The ultrabay GPU's are still not on the market.

For a full review check out my youtube channel

User= CrematedFated

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Best ASUS K55N-DB81 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $449.00
Sale Price: $439.99
Today's Bonus: 2% Off

I am just so pleased with this ASUS laptop. I have now been playing and messing with the new laptop as well as the new to me Windows 8 which overall is not that bad once you get the hang of it. As for the laptop I did my studying before jumping in and buying a decent priced laptop. I decided to go with this laptop due to the price, specs, and having dealt with ASUS with my Nexus 7 which everyone knows was incredible for the price. I was shopping around for a few days before making my mind up on this laptop. I am very pleased with this purchase. I tried a few games already just to see how well the laptop can run the games right out the box, and I am pleased. Far Cry 3 runs great, as do a few other PC games I tried out. Just please keep in mind this laptop is not made for gaming so do not expect some of the newer games coming out to run on maximum settings. The speed of this little bad boy is incredible. The pc has yet to really heat up or make a noise this is after hours of use at a time. The laptop seems really well built. The keyboard is very responsive. Also I was very surprised at how great the screen looks for being only 720p, plus very please at how loud the speakers are for this very overall well put together laptop. The laptop also looks and feels great. I would not try it but I am sure it can take a fall or two. I paid 450 and I honestly if I had hands on prior I would not have mind paying a few hundred more, yes it is really that good. Anyways if your looking for a great laptop for a great price you have one here. Enjoy!

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So im a big time gamer and my desktop was assembled by myself and cost me a good chunk of cash, but I needed a portable gaming laptop for the weekends and dont have the cash to shell out for one. This thing is a beast, I dont know how it plays the games it does with the specs that are on it but Ive been playing League of Legends, black ops 2, dota2, starcraft, Final Fantasy 14 mmorpg, world of warcraft all on medium settings with 60 fps, this thing stays cool as can be, and the battery life while gaming straight through is three hours which is falsely advertised but highly expected from anyone who knows a thing about computers. If you are looking for something cheap and will play any current game on the market at medium settings this thing is for you, IT IS the cheapest gaming laptop on the market period! It also does all those boring things like surf web and school project junk ^^ without any stuttering, and can run multiple apps at a time with no lag.

Best Deals for ASUS K55N-DB81 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

The raw specs on this laptop are simply the best at the price.

The main PROs:

-The AMD A8 is a stellar processor (or rather, "APU"). You can now officially play most of the games on the market with a laptop under 400 dollars. In a recent test, the only game that really pushed it past the limit and couldn't run was the latest Crysis, which pushes just about anything to its limits. While Intel makes great CPUs, they've focused too much on high-end raw processing power for desktops/servers and most of their affordable laptop hardware is sorely lacking for VIDEO performance. Thanks to Amazon for taking my Intel i3 back so I could order one of these instead.

-More RAM than most computers at this price (6 vs 4 gb). Translation: You can have more stuff open at once.

-More hard drive space than most computers at this price (750 vs 500 gb). More storage.

The main CONs:

-Windows 8. While one can indeed "get used to it", it never stops feeling like a major step backwards from Windows 7 and even from XP. However, this is in no way the fault of ASUS or AMD.

Matters of preference:

-Some glare. I prefer the anti-glare monitors available on the Samsung 3/5/7 Series and HP Probooks/Elitebooks.

-The keyboard is also a matter of preference but I prefer the older style over the cutesy "chicklet" style.

Honest reviews on ASUS K55N-DB81 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

The laptop itself is a truly amazing product. I was fortunate enough to purchase this laptop whilst it was slightly cheaper, but even now the ASUS K55 is an incredible "bang for your buck." There are absolutely no regrets towards purchasing this laptop. Unfortunately I have come across a small issue regarding the screen, and have no clue how it was conceived. This laptop has been under my care for at least two weeks, all the while furiously curb-stomping any task I have thrown at it, but for some reason the screen has started to fail on me. The top, roughly 1/6th, portion of the screen is completely incapable of anything other than emitting a funky grey or yellow color. I don't know if I had placed the laptop in my bag incorrectly as I was packing during the morning, or if some other nuance managed to take advantage of me. Also, even though I would LOVE to have this replaced, apparently it is not an applicable option.

So with that, I will warn all possible customers to be as careful as possible with the screen. Other than that, this laptop is a magnificent product for whatever you may need it for. It is incredibly fast and responsive, and will dominate any task you throw at it. If I were able to get a replacement, and not have to settle for a refund, (or the screen itself didn't give out on me) this laptop would definitely have had received five stars.

TL;DR

Pros:

Fast and Responsive A8 quadcore processor

Very suitable large hard drive

Hard drive is also double partitioned (C: & D:)

Beautiful 720p graphics

Battery life is decent

Cons:

The screen is either very weak, or mine was defective

The mouse pad takes a little getting used to

Other:

Windows 8 is confusing at first, but I don't see any of the 'major' issues others come up with. Personally, I can dwell in the desktop portion of the OS and go back to the home screen whenever I want to look at stock or other feeds.

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This is an amazing machine for the $$. There are others on the market right now for twice the price and more that dont have as much hardware as this thing does, plus its an Asus, an absolute top tier brand. It looks and feels like you could drop it off of a 30 story building and it would just laugh it off. Mind you, it isnt really attractive or lightweight and has a pretty big footprint, but its as solid a machine as you can buy. IF they were charging even $200 more it would be a bargain.

Cheap ASUS VivoBook S550CB-DB71T-CA Touchscreen Ultrabook (15.6-inch

Customer Ratings:

Bought two for my two sons.

Both are gamers and are very impressed with it's abilities.

Just update the drivers on the video card (which you should do anyway on a new laptop) and it will handle anything you can throw at it. My youngest had a powerful dell desktop he was gaming on before this. He says this Ultrabook leaves his desktop in the dust.

It would be hard to imagine anyone being less than impressed with this machine.

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Best HP ENVY Sleekbook 6-1131nr Laptop (AMD A8-4555M Accelerated Deals

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $799.99
Sale Price: $489.00
Today's Bonus: 39% Off

This laptop is way beyond my expectation. Before bought this laptop, I had a Dell Inspiron 17R-6472DBK. Since the Dell 17R is so heavy and slow for my daily use, I have to buy a affordable new laptop. I only spend 580 on this one. And the performance is just great.

This laptop is thin and light. And compare to my wife's HP ultrabook, the screen is bigger and much more clear. The 15" LED screen is bright and clean. I don't know what to say. Thanks to the technology. I can not use my old laptop outdoor in a shine day because I can barely see nothing. However, now I can bring my laptop to the outside of the library.

And I was expecting a heavy fan noise since it is a hp product. However, it runs very quietly under regular use. Maybe the newer CPU helped a lot. I don't feel the warm or the noise. It just perfect.

This A8 cpu runs very fast. With the win8, it starts in seconds. I run Matlap, Ansys and ArcGIS with it. Not a single problem at all. Maybe my old computers are too old? I just feel it so fast and enjoyable to use.

The audio speaker is loud and clear and the camera is clear as well. I don't know what else I would want from a 600 product. It's just perfect.

Thanks HP. You make my money worth.

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Best Toshiba Satellite L655-S5117 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in Deals

Customer Ratings:

Had this computer for a week now, paid $449.99, and have been very happy with it and will list some impressions.

--I3 Processor combined with 4GB of ram results in laptop that is very fast for this price range. Passmark benchmarks show the I3 to be almost half again as fast as the best CPU's from Intel and AMD found in comparably priced laptops.

--Comfortable keyboard w/numeric keypad.

--Numeric keypad makes the computer a little wider than my HP without a keypad. Still fits in my zip up laptop case though.

--Screen is also a little wider, but it does not distort anything displayed.

--Graphics are good. Fine for viewing DVD movies and editing photos. Maybe not so great if you play a lot of demanding games. If so, proceed with caution. Test it or get an opinion from someone who has played the games you are interested in on the computer.

--No HDMI port. I won't miss it. Probably a statement by Toshiba that this is not a game machine.

--Can't comment on the built in camera or the face recognition--haven't tried them yet.

--Card reader only accepts Memory Sticks, MultiMedia Cards or SD cards (standard size only, you need an adapter for the smaller ones). Does not take XD cards which sucks for me because that is what my Olympus camera uses. As long as I don't lose the USB cable that came with it I can still connect through a USB port.

--Onboard speakers are very tinny sounding. Sound can be improved some if your software has an equalizer but only to the point of being just acceptable. Music sounds pretty good through headphones and can be tailored nicely if you have an equalizer. Volume of on board speakers is reasonable but since the speakers point directly at the ceiling, it helps to tilt the screen to about a 45 degree angle so the sound bounces off of it. Can't use the computer for anything else while the screen is tilted.

--Wireless download speed is very good, much better than my desktop, even though it is connecting through a G router.

--Amount of bloatware doesn't seem excessive.

--Getting use to Windows 7 64 bit. Very fast boot speed. Have been able to load most of my software without a problem. Windows 7/64 is ok with the 32 bit software but balks at the older 16 bit. One of my all time favorite programs was Micrografx Picture Publisher but it is one of the 16 bit programs--oh well.

--Top of the computer and most of the inside surfaces are a high gloss finish over a textured surface. Not really wild about it. Shows finger prints and smudges easily. Will show scratches readily if and when they occur. Would have done much better if they had just gone with the textured surface.

--Lid has no latch and I would like it better if it did.

--Battery life seems to be very good. I would estimate 3-4 hours. Haven't used it continuously for that long so it is just an estimate. When it powers down after not being used for a period of time the drain on the battery is very, very low.

--Overall, I don't think you will find a better machine for the price. The processor is very robust and the feature set is good. I wish it had a dedicated video processor, but since my game playing is limited to the likes of solitaire, I don't think it will cause me any problems.

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I bough this Laptop in November of 2010. At that time similar laptops with exact same hardware were selling for 600+. I bought this laptop during a 3-day Best Buy sale for 449 +tax. Excellent value for the money.

Here are some pros and cons.

PROS:

+ Great value for the price! Much less than comparable laptops with same hardware.

+ Comes with one of the fastest budget laptop processors, the Intel Core i3 370M clocked at 2.4 Ghz.

+ 4GB of memory (64 bit Operating Systems are able to take advantage of the 4GB memory, while 32-bit systems can only use up to 3GB).

+ Under normal use, you can expect, on average, about 4 hours of battery life.

+ Great mouse and keyboard, very conveniently placed and the mouse pad has a lock feature.

+ Doesn't come with too much bloat-ware.

+ At 5.48 lbs, it is very light for its size.

+ Nice and sleek design, though feels a bit plasticky. No biggie though.

+ Has the numpad, something that HP laptops of similar size (15.6") tend to lack.

+ 320 GB, 5400 RPM hard drive is spacious and reasonably fast.

+ Compared to similar laptops with AMD processors, this laptop runs significantly cooler (temperature wise)! This was the major reason why I did not choose to consider AMD equipped laptops. Over time AMD equipped laptops tend to run so hot that it becomes unbearable to keep it on your lap. This Intel equipped laptop runs cool and quiet. The fan turns on to high only if you do some heavy work on the computer and keep it on a surface that doesn't dissipate heat as well (i.e. your bed). Normally, very quiet, very cool. Thank you Intel!

As great as this laptop is, it does have several, but minor cons:

CONS:

As mentioned before, feels a bit plasticky compared to other laptops in the price range. The plastic is also of the type that leaves fingerprints. However, much less fingerprints show if compared to my HP Pavillion dv-1400.

The webcam quality is sub-standard, but you can still skype with people without a problem. Just doesn't seem to pick up colors as vividly as other laptop webcams (i.e. HP).

The built in speakers are pretty bad. The sound quality that comes out of them is sub-standard as well, in my opinion. My iphone 3Gs has better speaker sound. When set to max volume, the noise makes the entire computer vibrate slightly so keeping your hands on it while playing a loud song or video becomes a bit irritating. However, the problem can be easily sold with some headphones. =)

The LED screen is nice and large, but I can identify individual pixels sitting a typical distance away. It's not that big of a problem, but I thought Toshiba could have built this laptop with a much better screen.

Does not have an HDMI output but with the build in wireless internet card and Intel MyWiFi technology, you can get an adapter to connect to your TV which allows you to connect your laptop to the TV without any cables.

Has the Intel HN55 chipset, which means that it has an integrated graphics car. It is ok for every day use and, but not if you plan to do any major, graphics-intensive gaming.

So to sum it up, I love the laptop. I got it for my girlfriend and it will be kinda hard to gift it to her on Christmas, because I like the laptop so much. It is fast, and very capable. Despite several minor drawbacks, I think this is a great value for the money. Now, if I had to pay $630 instead of the $449 dollars for it, I would definitely go with something else, possibly even a laptop with Core i5 at $630+ price.

Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite L655-S5117 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in

Great Laptop! Very affordable and look at everything you get...

Nice processor--Intel Core i3

4GB Ram--upgradable to 8GB

A decent integrated graphics card

A numeric key pad

Windows 7 Home Premium

Great battery life (approx. 5 hours personally--just doing some basic stuff, not gaming...)

A great brand name

I use this laptop for work and for light gaming. I play World of Warcraft. If anyone out there is wondering if this integrated card will run WoW, well let me tell you, IT DOES! It will run on low and fair settings. I have not tried it in a raid such as ICC. I have ran a few 5 man dungeons and it worked just fine. It ran through Dal extremely smoothly. This was pre-cata, but just a couple of weeks before with all of the pre-cata updates so I assume it will do fine post-cata as well. I'm including this info because in researching new laptops, I became very frustrated with the LACK of info about the graphics cards for these newer laptops. You can look up info on some integrated cards (AMD cards are easier it seems), but others are hard to dig up info on. If you are wanting to play games on this laptop that are very demanding in the graphics department, then this laptop may not be for you. Research the card and the games you wish to play as much as you can before making your purchase.

Other than gaming, I am running office on this machine and using it for internet browsing. I also hook it up to a projector from time to time. Programs and web sites load quickly and run smoothly. I paid $450 for it a couple of weeks ago and I am very pleased with my purchase. I am not seeing the intel version available at my retail location anymore, but it's available here on amazon now. There is an AMD version available if that's more your style for the same price I paid. Shop around. If you need a bigger hard drive, you can pay a bit more for that model as well.

Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite L655-S5117 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in

Computer experience: Intermediate/Advanced

I bought this laptop about 3 months ago for $449+tax at Best Buy, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. Its design is nothing short of immaculate, the L655-S5117 is an extremely aesthetically pleasing little piece of technology (as long as you don't mind wiping fingerprints off from time to time). As far as performance goes, I use mine mostly for watching videos, word processing, and a little casual gaming. Though many reviews comment on the L655's lack of 3D capability, it is capable of some playing some relatively advanced 3D games without a hitch, older MMORPG's (EQ, WoW) run just fine on it.

The Intel Mobile HD graphics system is excellent for watching streaming videos on your favorite TV (you have to buy a separate receiver), however it is not designed for playing games--there is about a 2 second lag between the laptop and the television. This lag is unnoticeable when watching video.

The display on the L655 is vivid and responsive, though as another reviewer remarked, it is possible to notice individual pixels at a relatively close distance. At 15.6" the display size is pretty big.

And who can go wrong with a full-sized keyboard with a number pad?

This computer may not be for you if you are a serious gamer, but the casual gamer need not be too discouraged. It has a very efficient cooling system, and according to the Toshiba PC Health Monitor that came installed on it, the CPU never goes above about 55% it's maximum safe temperature even with 3D games running.

For the price, I couldn't be happier. It's a beautiful little machine and it does its job well for a budget laptop. Every time I look at it I feel all warm and fuzzy (guess I'm a little materialistic!).

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Great laptop! Excellent screen, keyboard, battery life. Does all I need faster that I thought it could be done.

Cheap Samsung Series 5 NP530U4C-A01US 14-Inch Ultrabook (Light Titan)

Customer Ratings:

I read the reviews from the previous model and compared it with some other laptops and based on the reviews and problems thereof I decided to buy this one.

The Good:

1. Laptop Visually looks nice overall

2. Webcam works well

3. Laptop doesn't heat up too much

4. I haven't heard or am bothered by the fan

5. Ram is good. Videos, and multiple programs play well.

6. Laptop works well.

The Neutral:

1. Touchpad is not in the center of the laptop. I suppose this is a new thing and common in modern ultrabooks but still unappealing; After working with a Giant Touchpad from an Apple MacBook Pro this is somewhat of a letdown. HOwever, it does work fine and the location is chosen off center because the location of the home row keys to aid in using the thumbs to browse with mouse. Overall Aesthetically center would be nice but practically with the layout of the keyboard and length of the laptop it would not be practical. So neutral there.

The Mediocre:

1. Laptop is filled with 3rd party Bloatware. This isn't too bad, though I spent a couple hours removing much of it.

2. Most Samsung programs are junk. A program to transfer files between Samsung PCs? Bah, not necessary. I kept a few of them, Samsung Easy Settings and Fast Boot are worth keeping.

3. NVidea Control Panel is Installed, but this laptop uses Intel Graphics 4000. No Graphics Card = Software has nothing to do = Waste of space.

4. Laptop sleeps often. I have to click several times to get it to wake up. Somewhat annoying but passable.

5. Can't open Laptop with one hand. The laptop is good in that it stays well-closed. Just opening it takes too hands due to the lightweight laptop itself. Not too bad, just somewhat unideal; I suppose it comes with the ultrabook territory.

Anyway, overall the pluses far outweigh the mediocre parts and I advise this laptop. It works, is quiet, doesn't overheat, and can handle the standard programs and applications you would want to use with it.

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I have had the laptop for four days now and my overall impression is that I like it very much. I did have an initial problem with the wireless adapter. It would drop connection randomly, sometimes after working for hours, other times after only a few minutes. My only option was to reboot to reestablish the connection. I got on the Intel web site and looked for support on the Intel adapter. it is an Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235. The Intel web site has an app that will analyze your computer and it found an updated driver. Once I installed the new driver I have not had any problems with the wireless adapter.

Computer performance is very good. It boots up quickly and restart from sleep is very fast. The touch pad works very smoothly, however the buttons are small and if your thumb hangs over onto the touch pad (mine does sometime), the touch pad doesn't work. The keys on the keyboard are sized and spaced correctly. However, they are very shallow which takes a little getting used to.

The computer is compact and very lightweight at just under 4 pounds. Even though the screen is smaller than my old laptop (16 inch Toshiba), it is very readable. I haven't ran the battery down fully, but I estimate the battery charge to last around five hours in performance mode. Power saver mode would obviously improve on that.

At this point I would not hesitate to recommend this computer.

Best Deals for Samsung Series 5 NP530U4C-A01US 14-Inch Ultrabook (Light Titan)

UPDATED: after several days of working well, the connection drops are back. I don't understand how this can happen: it should either work or not, I would have thought. I will probably return it if I can't solve it another way.

UPDATED AGAIN: I returned it, got a replacement. I couldn't be more happy. Works just great. No problems. Terrific package and great performing computer. I did try out a similar featured Toshiba (R935) but the build quality and keyboard were really much worse, so the Samsung is a keeper (for now).

I selected this laptop because it was basically an ultrabook with an optical drive. Moreover it has a VGA port, two USB 3.0 ports and 1 USB 2.0 port, HDMI, huge hard drive (but not 7200 rpm). So incredibly versatile all in one package, and with the SSD as well, it boots up and resumes super fast. Almost like a Macbook :)

The negative reviews about the wireless problem gave me pause, but I bought the laptop anyway, and sure enough it dropped wireless connections like crazy. OK, I thought, I'll go on Samsung's website, then Intel's and get the latest driver for the Intel Centrino Advanced N6235 wireless adaptor. The version installed in my laptop when it arrived was 15.0 and on the Samsung web site was a version 15.0.0.75. On the Intel website, I could find 15.1.1, in the obvious place, and by searching on Google, I was able to find 15.2. This was in the right place on the Intel website, but under Windows 7, not Windows 7 (64 bit). The link for the Windows 7 drivers for this adaptor contains both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions. You can also install the Intel/PROSET program that can analyze your wireless behavior and provide diagnostics. But it did not help me yet.

None worked or solved the problem.

I was nearly on the point of returning it, when a friendly technician suggested that I first uninstall the driver already there, and then install the latest version. In other words, installing a new driver does not first uninstall the old, dysfunctional driver, and bits of that get left behind and mess with the new driver. So I uninstalled the old driver first (go to Device Manager and look at the properties of the wireless adaptor for the button that does the uninstall), installed 15.2, and that did the trick. Now the wireless is stable and works well. (BUT THE PROBLEM RETURNED AND WAS ULTIMATELY SOLVED BY GETTING A REPLACEMENT: I THINK IT WAS A HARDWARE ERROR ON THE INTEL WIFI CHIP, AS THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE CHIP FROM USERS WITH OTHER MAKES OF COMPUTER).

Overall, this laptop is just great. I'm glad that I was able to solve the problem, and find it a perfect lightweight all-in-one laptop.

Honest reviews on Samsung Series 5 NP530U4C-A01US 14-Inch Ultrabook (Light Titan)

This is an initial review after only a few days of use, but I figured I should review now while a lot of the troubleshooting issues are fresh in my mind. Many of the negative reviews on here are justified, because the computer as shipped did not have full functionality. I ordered a usedlike new model from Amazon warehouse deals (Windows 7 version), so this review may not be applicable to all new models shipped. However, if you have similar issues with your new model, the fixes suggested in this review should work.

First, the good:

-sleek

-light-weight

-fairly fast for most common uses like internet browsing, watching streaming movies, microsoft Office Applications, etc.

-quiet key board (but not back-lit as many have pointed out)

-Large track pad (I consider this a plus, but if you tend to type with your wrists resting below the keyboard rather than hovering above it, then you may have issues with you wrists moving the mouse or clicking it which several other reviewers have complained about)

The Mediocre:

-The screen resolution and size make it somewhat inappropriate for graphic design applications. It is a matte screen rather than a glossy screen. While that may sound great, one of the consequences is that the screen must be positioned exactly perpendicular to the viewer or else the colors will fade or darken when the screen is viewed at an angle.

-I don't think any gamers would gravitate to this PC given the specs and the screen size, but just to quell any possible suspicion no, it's not ideal for gamers.

The Bad, or the Trouble shooting fixes:

-The touchpad worked when it arrived, however it did not have multi-touch enabled (two finger scrolling, zoom in/out), nor was there a way in the control setting to enable multi-touch. This took a while to fix, but my pain is your gain. If you google Samsung series 5 trackpad driver, and go to the link from the Samsung official website, then you can download and install a new driver. Then go to Control Panel> Hardware and Sound > Mouse Properties > TouchPad > Options and modify settings for multitouch as desired. Actually, try to go there first if you have that issue, and if you can't get there then update the driver.

-Not all of the function keys worked. This was another software issue, and so fairly easy to fix. If you go to the start menu and go to the Samsung folder, you may find a program called SW Update. If you don't find that program, you can download it from the Samsung Website. That program has a lot of the necessary updates (as well as some bloatware that you may want to avoid). Updating "Easy Settings" software made all the Function keys fully functional. Also, it's not a bad idea to update anything else that looks essential, like "System BIOS", Windows Patches, and other drivers.

-Wonky WiFi I just experienced this once. The WiFi was turned off after starting up the PC, and turning it on wasn't working. Samsung has this "Quick boot" and "Fast Start" software installed, which is supposed to make start up faster. I turned that off, thinking that these processes may be cutting too many corners, and the WiFi worked again upon restart. Using typical Windows "Sleep" mode for quick shut down and start up is fast enough for me anyway. I can't say for certain that "Fast Start" is the problem, but the WiFi has been fine since turning it off.

I'm pretty happy with this purchase now that everything seems to be running smoothly. I'll update if anything changes. I will say that if I had paid the full new price of ~$900 for this laptop, I would probably not be as happy dealing with these issues and may have given it a lower rating, but for $500 on a refurbished unit, I expected it to some extent.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Samsung Series 5 NP530U4C-A01US 14-Inch Ultrabook (Light Titan)

I decided on the Samsung Series 5 after about 3 months of research and watching prices rise and fall on Amazon. Since I travel internationally and needed a new computer for my job, I wanted something light but fast and functional. I started looking at true Ultrabooks but decided I could sacrifice a little thinness and a solid state drive for more storage, a CDROM drive, and VGA connection. As a teacher, I use the VGA connection and CDROM frequently, so I wasn't interested in carrying a dongle around with me everywhere. In summary, this Samsung has everything I was looking for.

I've had this computer for about three weeks and I've had no problems with it. I owned a four year old Dell previously so the new i5 processor was surprisingly fast for me. Boot-up takes almost no time at all and the computer is able to multitask with ease. It runs the new Diablo III without any problems. The fan is quiet and rarely comes on. I can get about 4 hours of battery with constant internet use. The construction feels solid and I like the brushed metal body and matte screen. I haven't had any problems with the touch pad and the keyboard is different from my old Dell so it's taking some time to get used to the much shallower keys. It's also very light compared to my old Dell and I can easily carry it around with me without becoming uncomfortable.

I recommend this Samsung for anyone looking for something fast, functional, and light without wanting to sacrifice storage or a CDROM drive.

Review of Dell Inspiron 14-Inch Ultrabook with 128GB SSD 4GB RAM DVD Mobile

Customer Ratings:

I love this laptop, its fast and easy to maneuver. the only complaint I have is I don't want the t Mobil broadband and haven't been able to uninstall it so it creeps up a few times a day and I loose my info. I took it to the geek squad at best buy and they said it was removed but it isn't, so I will have to take it in again. Other than this I would recommend this to computer to all my friends

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I've always trusted DELL w/ good quality products. This is yet another one of their products that works fabulous with NO PROBLEMS!!!! I've had 7-8 diff laptops over the years due to my business and the Dell laptops ALWAYS last longer and have a lot less problems! I would recommend this laptop to ANYONE!

Best Deals for Dell Inspiron 14-Inch Ultrabook with 128GB SSD 4GB RAM DVD Mobile

It is really fast and cheap. I recomend to my friends

Sometimes, i have problem booting but it is window software problem.

Honest reviews on Dell Inspiron 14-Inch Ultrabook with 128GB SSD 4GB RAM DVD Mobile

it works well, and the speed is good currently. I love it. Also, the battery lasts a long time, the price is not too high.

HP Pavilion M6-1035DX AMD A10-4600M 2.3GHz 6GB 640GB DVD+/-RW 15.6" Review

Customer Ratings:

i purchased this from a third party but it doesn't have many reviews so i figured i would add mine.

i am a gamer and i was looking for a laptop that could do it all but not destroy my bank and i came across this little gem. so far i have played a handful of games and it handles them fantastically, counterstrike source is pulling ~150-250fps all high settings, league of legends is getting a steady 60 with no dips in performance, and sim city just worked flawless.

now onto the features, the usb 3 ports are great to have and aren't colored blue which is kind of nice, the cpu is plenty fast and windows is snappy, the webcam is decent, it isn't great but it works for skype calling, and the keyboard has a really nice feel to it. the best part about its keyboard is the fact that it is backlit, it is a HUGE plus to have that at night or in darker areas. the battery has been GREAT on this thing, i am getting between 3-9 hours of life depending on what i am doing and what the power setting is set to. the screen is nice, there is no upgrade for a full hd screen but it gets the job done and looks nice doing it. the weight is nice, it isn't heavy but when you go to lift the monitor it doesn't pull the whole laptop with it so opening with 1 hand is easy and a great feature that not a lot of laptops have, i know it sounds dumb but when you are on the phone or are doing something with your hand, lifting the screen and getting to work with 1 hand is a life saver. Overall it is a very slim and sexy looking machine, so far i am very impressed with this laptop and i recommend getting it if you like to work and play on the same machine.

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I really enjoy this computer because it is a very functional, fast, and convenient to use laptop that has many beneficial qualities. From the accurate fingerprint sensor to the back-lit keyboard, the features are extremely convenient. Pretty decent gaming computer too! Haven't found a game yet that my computer doesn't handle excellently, including Borderlands 2 and Skyrim.

Best Deals for HP Pavilion M6-1035DX AMD A10-4600M 2.3GHz 6GB 640GB DVD+/-RW 15.6"

Got my refurbished HP m6 1035dx about a week ago and I could not be happier. I am a very heavy computer user / gamer and I have found that AMD's A10 is the perfect balance between processing power and battery life. Also, the Beat's audio is superb, it is crystal clear and very loud especially for a laptop. The audio levels can also easily be adjusted by designated keys on the keyboard, which I love. The backlit keyboard is also activated by a key on the keyboard and is one of my favorite features of this laptop. The graphic's are fantastic as well. So far I have downloaded 5 games from steam including Skyrim, just Cause 2, Dead Island, Modern Warfare 2 and Blur and they all run flawlessly on maximum graphics settings. I am defiantly pleased and even blown away by the quality of this laptop for the price I got it for ($479).

No complaints. I got way more than I paid for.

Honest reviews on HP Pavilion M6-1035DX AMD A10-4600M 2.3GHz 6GB 640GB DVD+/-RW 15.6"

Product arrived timely from vendor. Windows 7 updates from microsoft were installed and computer was turned off. On second day, computer would not come on... dead. Computer was retuned to vendor. Awaiting refund.

Reviews of Acer Aspire NX.M89AA.003;V5-131-2887 11.6-Inch Laptop

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $301.99
Sale Price: $290.07
Today's Bonus: 4% Off

I bought this laptop because it was about the cheapest full-blown laptop I could find, and because its OS was listed as Linux. It's not as cheap as some of the Chromebooks, but you can install any OS you want on it, which was the main draw for me.

It is supposed to come with Linpus Linux preinstalled, which is a distribution based on Fedora, according to their website. However, whatever was on the hard drive was text-only, and root only. As far as I could tell there was no rpm command or yum command installed on the system. I couldn't even add a non-root user. I find it odd that Acer would sell a laptop in this state. It didn't really bother me because I was going to wipe it and install Linux Mint anyway, but this would be a very bad experience for a novice user. Perhaps it was a production hiccup or something. I don't know.

It comes with an installation CD, which I assume can get you a working OS, but since the machine doesn't have a cdrom, unless you have an external USB CDROM or something, it's kind of useless.

Once I got a working OS installed on it (using an installation image written to a USB thumb drive), though, the hardware really started to shine. Its processor is fast enough (dual core 1.5 GHz Intel), its video rendering far exceeded my expectations (it is able to drive its built-in screen as well as an external 1080p monitor at the same time without hiccups), and it's got a lot of memory for such a cheap machine (4GB). The battery life is good. I can get 4-5 hours of use between charges.

The trackpad is also the mouse button (no separate mouse buttons), and it will detect a two finger press so you can right-click, scroll, etc., but that's something to get used to. It also has a webcam, but I have yet to use it, so I won't comment on it. One small annoyance is the spacebar; it's hard to get it to respond to being pressed.

But all in all, it's been a good experience.

PROs: price; unlocked bootloader and BIOS (with option to disable EUFI); acceptable sound; good screen; nice CPU performance; excellent video performance; good battery life

CONS: linux experts only; no hard disk, caps lock, or num lock indicator LEDs (very strange); funky battery form factor (raises the laptop at least a half inch in the back when placed on a table)

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I needed a small portable laptop to take with me during travel. I had originally purchased a Lenovo S400 but that was a nightmare and the original selling vendor took it back after it spent ten weeks in the Lenovo service depot where they broke more than they fixed.

After reading the end user license agreement (EULA) for Windows 8, I decided that it was not acceptable. A Mac airbook is great, but I just cannot afford that. I did much reading and decided to buy this machine from Amazon. It took about a week to get it, I think that it must be a special order item from Acer to Amazon. At that time, the product listing said that it is sold and shipped from Amazon, but it will take an extra 1 to 2 days.

The unit came and I tried it out. The Keyboard is the right size and I can touch type on it just fine. Smaller netbooks will not allow touch typing except for people with very small hands. The screen is also of adequate size to use and is quite functional.

The installed linux is not installed. A loop device has been created and a stripped text mode only linux live disk was copied onto the hard drive. This is the same as putting a live disk in CD drive, except that this machine has no CD drive. This is a very nice small machine and is very portable.

In other words, they wanted to put something of an OS on it to ship it, but they realize that Linux users each have their own favorite distribution. I put Suse 12.3 on it and it took about 20 minutes. Of course, I needed an external CD drive for this. I spent about another 20 minutes putting in the applications and programs that I wanted and adjusting the settings for my preferences.

The included CD that came with the machine is a batch of drivers for Windows, I do not know why they included it with this machine.

The machine has 4 GB of RAM. Some of it is shared with the graphics. The installation did use all of the RAM. But since installed, the system monitor shows that it rarely goes over 2 GB during use. This is a machine for carrying with me. When I want to do some heavy computing, I use a big machine. I did not see an access panel for adding any more RAM, but it is supposed to have two sockets and allow a maximum of 8 GB.

This unit has a large battery in it. On the negative, it adds a little weight. But not much. On the positive side, it adds much usable time between recharges. Another neat thing about it is that it is in the back bottom of the machine and lifts the back up, giving the machine just the right incline for touch typing (I am using it for this review) and it also allows for air flow under the machine.

I have used this machine for about a week now and have found it very stable, very usable, and one of the best little laptops that I have ever seen or used. It has full power, (unlike a netbook), it has a long battery life (will see, One has to charge it all the way up and then run it down to 20% several times to cycle it properly to give it good life), a normal size keyboard, a usable screen, and it works very well with Suse Linux, and in all, I am extremely pleased.

I will have to say that someone who knows what they are doing will have to install the Linux, this is not for an amateur who does not read instructions. Once it is installed, it is a great machine, and I recommend it to anyone. It is Linux, not Windows, so if you are looking for Windows, then buy a machine with that on it.

Best Deals for Acer Aspire NX.M89AA.003;V5-131-2887 11.6-Inch Laptop

The laptop is very light in weight, super quiet, graphic/resolution is good. But the one-piece design of the touchpad (no left and right buttons) is a bit awkward to me; also the keyboard is a bit too "soft" while pressed. But given the price, there is no complain at all.

Discount Lenovo IdeaPad Z585 261724U 15.6-Inch Laptop (Grey Metal)

Customer Ratings:

First, let me point out by saying that I absolutely hate the wifi on this laptop. The signal is so poor and the connectivity to my router is nearly non-existant unless I'm within 10 feet of it! Apparently, the lower end Lenovo laptops made within the last year are suffering from wifi connectivity problems, all of them, not just this one. I had the manager at Fr y s, electronics test out three other laptops and they all had the identical signal problem while the HP laptop we had right next to them connected to the router without issue. This laptop's wifi is unusable and I believe half of the reason is that for some reason, Lenovo decided to offer this laptop with two Wifi Antenna configurations. Most laptops with integrated Wifi have the antennas placed at the top of the screen for best Wifi signal but on this laptop, and many others, they're selling it with the antenna placed in the base. You can test for this by lifting a laptop off the table when using it and see if the signal improves.

But not withstanding the Wifi problems and the trackpad that easily makes itself looked aged about three years within the first 10 minutes of usage, I have to say I really like the laptop. The sound quality is very good, the processor and video performance is excellent, I like that the GPU provides acceleration to firefox to make web pages load faster, the flash video acceleration makes 1080p videos playback with low CPU usage (useful if hooked up to tv) I like the many adjustments available for the fan speed/noise control, I like how the laptop feels sturdy, the keyboard is excellent to type on, the screen is decent though I'd prefer one with a higher resolution like 1920X1200.

I also like that despite what Lenovo says, the laptop actually supports 16GB of memory, just like AMD's chipset specifications imply. (I know because I installed 16GB of ram without a hitch!)

I paid $480 for this laptop making it a very very good deal but because this laptop is for a friend who plans to use the laptop exclusively on WiFi, even at this price point, this is a dealbreaker. Using an External Wifi USB was of no help either as the signal was much worse than what the laptop came with. I have 8 year old laptops that provide much more usable WiFi signal and connectivity than this laptop. I hate to give this laptop back as it was on sale despite just being released but unless lenovo offers a repair for the poor wifi, it looks like its my only choice.

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This is the perfect laptop for my needs! The video card & CPU speed let me use it for gaming, and the full-size keyboard is as comfortable to use as a desktop.

Best Deals for Lenovo IdeaPad Z585 261724U 15.6-Inch Laptop (Grey Metal)

This laptop is amazing. It supports everything that i need it to do and i see no problems with it. It is a sturdy, powerful machine that came at a great price. I love everything about this laptop and wouldn't give it back for any reason.

Review of Acer Aspire V5-573P-6464 15.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Cool Steel)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $799.99
Sale Price: $714.38
Today's Bonus: 11% Off

Terrible for gaming, the i5 and intel hd graphics make for a bad combo. Better for everyday use and stuff like watching videos, or surfing the internet. You can get a much better laptop for less than this.

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