MSI A6000-029US Laptop Notebook - 16" widescreen / Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 / 4GB Memory / 320GB HD / DVD±RW Drive / 802.11b/g/Draft-N / Built-in webcam / Windows 7 Home Premium Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this laptop shortly after Windows 7 came out. I found a deal on it for $450 or so at Office Depot. I am not an avid Office Depot shopper (and actually used to work there), but I decided to check this out. I got the laptop, had everything setup relatively quickly, and realized that it came with Windows 7 32-bit installed (my lack of homework, but didn't turn out to be a problem). This is the one of only reasons (see next paragraph for other) I give this laptop a 4 star rating. Someone who is even moderately tech savvy can install Windows 7 64-bit with the exact same key, which is on the bottom of the laptop completely free and 100 percent Legal (Windows 7 keys allow for EITHER 32-bit or 64-bit installation). Some of the software for the computer that is on the disc is a bit more challenging to find the 64-bit drivers for, you will have to look for the 64-bit folder. This is worth the extra effort in my opinion. Google it and you will find plenty of forums if you need any help (especially on [...]).
Pros: This laptop for [...] bucks with 4GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, 16 inch wide screen, HDMI output, and 64-bit Processor and 64-bit Windows 7 (with a bit of work as said above), is clearly a steal! A brand that is lesser known in the mainstream market, because of less advertising, means you don't pay for the Dell, Apple, or Sony advertising. This is a well known brand in the motherboard industry.
Cons: The one problem I have noticed is that occasionally when it tries to hibernate it will not be able to come out of it. I just restart and everything is fine. I have avoided most of this problem by forcing my hard drive to stay on in the power settings. I know it has crashed when the power button LED does not flash anymore (which it normally does when its sleeping). This may be a Windows 7 thing, might be specific to Windows 7 64-bit, or may be the laptop. I am not 100 percent sure where this problem is coming from.
In repsonse to the reviewer talking about tech support and such. Obviously MSI support can only do so much when you haven't done all your research. In your review it even sounded like they answered all your questions and waived some of the cost for you. There were things you did not understand from the get go that you should have. This is not a case of poor MSI support, rather lack of customer due diligence. I am tired of customers rating the product poorly because they haven't done their homework. It sounded like this reviewer looked at a few laptops, chatted with a sales person at Office Depot for an hour, and thought he knew everything he needed to purchase a laptop. The Office Depot guy's job is to sell you a freaking laptop, NOT to do all your homework and make the best decision for you. He is going to have basic knowledge of the products for sale, not enough for you to make a great decision.

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Gateway NV7915u Notebook PC (Black) - Intel Core i3-330M 2.13GHz / 17.3" LCD / 4GB DDR3 / 500GB HD / 8x DVD-Super Multi Drive / Built-in webcam / 802.11b/g/draft-n / HDMI Port / Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I just purchased this product at BB yesterday, and I couldn't be happier! This was one case where BB had a better price than Amazon, $599.99. This is an exceptionally good laptop for that kind of dough, it does everything I need it to and then some. I have to give kudos to Intel for this amazing processor, it is way faster than my core 2 duo, with a lot of the same specs. The screen, however, is my favorite part, really crisp and clear for every purpose. I am not a gamer though, so that may not be it's best purpose. For a general household computer, it is more than sufficient with internet needs, email, music storage and streaming, and for movies as well, although a blu-ray disc player would be a nice addition. Not that I can complain for the price!! This gets 2 very big thumbs up!

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HP Pavilion dv4-2170us Intel Core i5, 2.26Ghz, 4GB, 320GB, DVDRW with Lightscribe, White Notebook, 14.1", Webcam, HDMI, Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Had this HP DV4-2170US for just over a week and love it. The keyboard has a nice silky feel to it and responds nicely. Love the "touch" volume and WiFi controls; you basically just slide your finger over the volume level to adjust and just "tap" the WiFi icon to turn it on/off, cool! The screen is nice and has that glossy look that most new laptops have.
I got a pretty good deal on this laptop through Staples. The offer included a $46 instant savings, plus a $50 savings from HP and it was priced pretty low to begin with. I ended up paying ~$670 shipped, tax, etc., not bad for an Intel i5 processor, 14.1" machine with 4GB/320GB HD.
My only issue was that initially, it did recognize my WiFi setup but would not authenticate? I tried resetting my wireless router, rebooted it, reset all the settings, etc., nothing worked! I then finally just reloaded the driver/software for the adaptor (off of HP's site), and that fixed it, go figure!
Battery life could be a bit better, I get just over 3 hours on a full charge which I believe is less than HP indicates (4 hours?), but that's not really a deal breaker. Others have mentioned that the Intel i5 processor is a bit of a power monger, not a bad sacrifice for more speed/power!
Overall, if you don't mind the white cover and keyboard I definitely recommend this laptop.
On a side note, the HP DV4-2160US is the exact laptop (same specs) but with a brownish/plaid cover and black keyboard instead of the white setup on the HP DV4-2170US.

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Gateway NV7923u 17.3-Inch Laptop (NightSky Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I looked around for about two months for a new computer. When my search landed me on this one I was a little hesitant. But the features that come with it are great. When doing research the " new " intel i5 processor was the way to go. It runs fasted than expected. Better than the core 2 duo. Which I use on a daily basis. The 64bit system is great. The hard drive at 500gb is more than expected. Windows 7 very nice and I was a windows XP person. Hated vista. The screen size big at 17.3 inches and very clear. Hooks up easily to any TV with the HDMI port. Had no problems playing CD's and DVD's. I would suggest getting a wireless mouse and keyboard though. The laptop itself is light weight. A few minor problems when opening I had to let the computer run all programs before I could use it. If you are looking for a new computer I would highly recommend this one for the features and price. Shopped around for months and could not find one.

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Gateway NV7923u: Mobile Entertainment Center with 17-Inch Display Packed with premium performance features that deliver a stellar entertainment experience, the Gateway NV7923u laptop PC delivers multitasking performance to take on your everyday tasks thanks to the smart performing Intel Core i5. Offering a fast and responsive PC experience, it features four-way multi-tasking processor power that allows each of its two cores to work on tasks simultaneously. The 17.3-inch high-definition LED-backlit display with a 16:9 aspect ratio provides a true cinematic view.
The affordable Gateway NV laptop sports a widescreen 17.3-inch LED-backlit display and an 8x SuperMulti DVD drive.

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Sony VAIO VGN-NW150J/S 15.5-Inch Laptop - Silver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have owned this computer for 7 months now. At first, the space bar just stopped working. After a whole lot of time on the phone with support, they finally sent someone to come and fix the issue. Now it has issues with the touchpad, where it becomes unresponsive. Once again, I have spent hours on the phone with support (and I have SUCH a hard time with their asian accent!) re-installing drivers and now they refuse to send someone to fix the hardware issue until I completely reformat the machine. If the problem persists they will do something about it.
So, long story short, if I could do this all over again I would have purchased this computer from a store with the breakage protection, so I would not have to rely on their phone costumer service.
Also, be aware this also does not have built-in bluetooth :(

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Lenovo Y550P 324156U 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)After using Macs exclusively for 3 years, I switched back to Windows because of one reason: I wanted a quad core laptop (i7 specifically) and Apple has yet to make one. Furthermore, I know that when they do it will only be offered at first on the highest end of the 15" and 17" MacBook Pro models and will likely cost between $1800-$2200. When this laptop went on sale for $999.99, I knew I could no longer justify staying with Apple because $999.99 just happens to be the price of their lowest end laptop. For $999.99 (PC vs Mac) you can get processor quad core vs. dual core, HD 500GB vs 250GB, Ram 4GB vs 2GB, max ram 8GB vs 4GB, LCD 13.3" vs 15.6", and internal graphics of 256MB shared vs 1GB discrete. To me this is no contest. I was able to switch my Adobe programs over to PC by calling Adobe customer service and performing a cross platform swap. I needed to update my MS Office suite anyway so I didn't mind spending $170 to get MS Office Home/Student 2007 plus Outlook 2007. I will describe my experience with the Lenovo through a Pro/Con list, and I will compare the Apple and PC experience where necessary.
Pros:
*i7 quad-core laptop for $999.99
*i7 quad-core = very, very fast
*1GB discrete graphics will satisfy every need except only the highest of professional/gaming graphics processing needs.
*looks very nice and seems well-built
*4GB of ram is enough for now and the option to expand to 8GB later is great
*ExpressCard 34, eSATA and SD card slots are most welcome
Cons:
*fan is audible a good bit of the time, and most of the time during even moderate application usage. I was aware of this issue with quad-core laptops prior to purchase so it did not come as a surprise, but at the same time I do think it belongs on the con list
*terrible sound output quality and volume from the built-in speakers
*terrible sound output quality and volume as well as crackling/popping while using external speakers, so terrible that I had to buy a Creative XFI Expresscard Sound Card (which did, incidentally, fix all of the audio issues)
*audio out jack located on the front of the laptop (I know this is all too common on today's laptops but it is annoying nonetheless; the Creative XFI card also solved this issue)
*occasional high pitch whine (the source of which is still under investigation) which can be quite annoying
*location of the cooling fan inlet vent means that you will not be able to use this on your lap or on top of a bedspread unless you first put a hard flat object under the laptop first; the laptop essentially is designed to only be placed on hard flat surfaces
*no DVI, mini-DVI or mini-DisplayPort ports; HDMI and VGA (VGA?!?!?!?!) are the only video ports
*the built-in trackpad experience is truly atrocious: the trackpad has a raised grid surface (instead of a flat smooth surface like 99% of the laptops made) which makes navigation uncomfortable and imprecise. In addition, the scrolling bar is laughably unusable. It is made for hands with fingers the size of baby's fingers and using it requires tapping down once first to turn it on; one can not simply move their fingers over it to scroll
*battery life is terrible, but I knew this going in because all quad-core laptops have terrible battery life as a result of their power-hungry processors. You will not get the 4.5 hours of battery life as advertised, trust me. I don't know how they were able to achieve that number but virtually everything must have been disabled and/or turned all the way down.\
*a moderate amount of bloatware which I am still deleting/tinkering with after a week of ownership
*built-in LCD not particularly stunning but I find nothing objectionable about it either
*would have liked to get Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate considering this is a high-end laptop but I did know prior to purchase of course that I was only getting Windows 7 Home
*hard drive came partitioned into 4 parts which is very, very annoying. In addition a few of them took up massive amounts of hard drive space for no apparent reason. It took me a few days of messing around with various freeware utilities to get all (but the essential) of them deleted. (hint: check out the free "Ultimate Boot CD" it is what finally got rid of the pesky partitions that Windows disk utility wouldn't let me touch)
In my opinion, this is your basic garden-variety "desktop replacement" laptop. With an external keyboard, mouse and monitor this makes a great desktop that can sometimes be carried out of the home when need be. I find the "laptop only" experience to be sub-par. This is perfectly suitable for someone like me since my laptops have always spent over 95% of their time at home plugged into external I/O devices. If you are someone who is just the opposite, however, I can not recommended this unit because of the issues described above. Overall, I am satisfied with the unit primarily due to the performance specs and the price. There is just no arguing with the value of an i7 laptop with 1GB discrete graphics for $999.99. The length of the con list, however, was sufficient to cause me to drop the rating to 4/5.

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ASUS N82JQ-X1 14-Inch Laptop (Dark Brown) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Had the laptop for two weeks and it started to blue screen, shutdown, and pixelate on a clean factory system. The wife called and ASUS tech support asked her to run a virus scan. She told them a full scan ran the previous night and nothing was detected. They told her to call back when the crashes occur again. What?
When it crashed for a four time I ran some diagnostics (memtest, SMART, SpeedFan, and windbg for the dump log) and found the issue was related to video (but more likely an overall heating issue). Found that the 720QM is a hot little puppy and hard to cool in a laptop. Sent the laptop to ASUS and they had it for 2 weeks. No customer contact or update on their RMA status check for the entire duration. After we got the laptop back (now with a new motherboard) it still runs very hot (cannot have this on your lap and the left side of the palm rest gets to 115F after 15 minutes of watching a show on Hulu). Oh, I forgot to mention that the first boot after since RMA return we had to call ASUS back. Since the motherboard was replaced our Windows 7 product code was no longer valid. I called ASUS and they wanted us to ship the laptop back. I instead called MS following the activation suggestions and MS got me back on track without a hassle. I also decided to burn the five recovery DVDs to make sure I have a recovery option. Well, the second DVD write fails on several types of DVD brands. Don't rely on ASUS for recovery media. Use Ghost, Windows Backup, and/or Clonezilla for your recovery options.
Overall: the laptop is fast, the graphics are good (not great) for newer games, the heat is a serious issue, and tech support is not very helpful. I would recommend an Core i5 that comes with optimus technology instead of a model with Core i7.

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Expect an Encore Turn up the performance on the 14-inch N82Jq notebook and prepare to be impressed. Featuring powerful NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics with 1GB of DDR3 VRAM, the N82Jq delivers turbo-charged graphics that brings pristine HD quality for your videos, movies, and games. And with ASUS VideoMagic software, you get a premium software package to instantly take your standard definition media to an up-scaled HD experience with smoother frame rates and sharper images, so you can enjoy your favorite DVDs – new and old – in the quality they deserve. The N82Jq also comes with the Intel Core i7-720QM processor that delivers the multitasking muscle to take on several tasks at once. Plus, with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, this multimedia powerhouse automatically senses what you're doing and boosts processor performance to optimize your task at hand. Switch on the ASUS Super Hybrid Engine and seamlessly optimize the system for increased battery savings. The N82Jq also gives you the latest in connectivity with Super Speed USB 3.0 that charges USB 3.0-enabled devices quickly, and transfer files from USB storage devices to your notebook up to 10 times faster than previous generation USB 2.0 speeds.1

Key Features
14-inch Slim-Type LED-backlit HD display with ASUS Splendid Technology for crisp HD visual quality (Learn more)
Intel Core i7-720QM processor with Intel Turbo Boost Technology for smart multitaskingthat automatically boosts performance for the task at hand(Learn more)
Super Speed USB 3.0 for quicker device charging and up to 10x faster transfers than USB 2.01 (Learn more)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics with 1GB DDR3 VRAM delivers fast performance for Full HD playback and gaming (Learn more)
ASUS VideoMagic Software for clearer images and smoother visuals (Learn more)
ASUS Super Hybrid Engine boosts system performance and saves battery life with selectable power profiles (Learn more)
High-speed wireless N and Bluetooth v3.0 for fast Internet speed and enhanced Bluetooth connectivity(Learn more)

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Mesmerizing Visuals
Ingenious Multitasking
Enhanced Connectivity
Striking Style and Intelligent Control
ASUS Makes Your Windows 7 Experience Better
ASUS 360 – 1 Year Global Warranty
ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty
What's in the Box The entire ASUS N82Jq-X1 package contains a warranty information card, AC Adapter, ASUS N82Jq-X1 notebook, and 6-cell battery pack.
ASUS N82Jq-X1 notebook
AC Adapter
6-cell Battery Pack
Warranty Information Card
Specifications
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Display: 14-inch Slim-Type LED-backlit HD display (1366 x 768)
CPU: Intel Core i7-720QM processor (1.6 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics with 1GB DDR3 VRAM
Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n (@ 2.4GHz) , Bluetooth v3.0
LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Memory: 4GB DDR3-1066 DRAM, 2 x SODIMM socket (up to 8GB)
Storage: 320GB 7,200RPM hard drive
Optical Drive: Super Multi DVD
Camera: 2.0 Megapixel
Audio: Altec Lansing speakers with SRS Premium Sound, ALC269 High Definition Codec with Embedded Class D Speaker Amplifier
Microphone: Digital Array Microphone
Card Reader: 1x 8-in- card reader (MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS-Pro-Duo)
Input/ Output: 1x Headphone-out jack, 1x Microphone-in jack, 1x VGA port, 1x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x E-SATA, 1x HDMI port
Battery Pack: 6 cell
Dimensions: 13.8 x 9.7 x 1.3 ~ 1.4 (W x D x H)
Weight: 5.06 lbs
Color: Brown
© 2010 ASUS Computer International. All Rights Reserved. ASUS is a registered trademark of ASUSTeK Computer. All specifications are subject to change without notice and features are only in select models. Products may not be available in all markets. Brand and product names mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies. ASUS shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. 1 Actual speed depends on device and system status. 2 Actual speed depends on device and system status. 3 Rated number 1 Windows-based PC maker in PCMag.com's Service & Reliability Report 2009. Rate number 1 PC brand according to SquareTrade, the leading direct-to-consumer warranty company (for more information visit http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/laptop-reliability-1109/ ). Rated number 1 reliable PC maker in Spring 2009's RESCUECOM report http://www.rescuecom.com/RESCUECOM269.html 4 For notebooks purchased on or after Sept. 10, 2007. The ASUS 360 Notebook Service Program and Accidental Damage Warranty covers "ASUS" brand notebooks only, and does NOT extend to: "Built on ASUS", "ASMobile", "Powered by ASUS", the Eee PC, or some other models. These retailers are currently among the companies that do NOT participate in the ASUS 360 Notebook Service Program and Accidental Damage Warranty: Best Buy, MicroCenter, and The Source by Circuit City in Canada. Limit of one claim per notebook for Accidental Damage Warranty. ASUS reserves the right to discontinue this program and to modify the terms and conditions thereof at any time. ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty Program starts from the date of your ASUS notebook purchase, when all the requirements are met. Check your retailer for specific warranty information. One incident covered per notebook.

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