5 comments about HP Pavilion DV9620US 17-inch Entertainment Laptop (AMD Turion 64 Processor TL-58, 2 GB RAM, 240 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium).

1. I bought this refurbished laptop at a really good price, $700 USD. It had a lot of features at this price, including two 120gb hard drives, 17" widescreen, bluetooth, media center remote, a decent dual core processor and 2gb of ram.
   
   I had never previously bought a refurbished product before, but it was in pretty much brand new condition and functioned like new. For the price, you would be hard pressed to find something with these sort of specs.
   
   The laptop itself runs smoothly for office applications, and web browsing. Although the graphics card has no dedicated memory, Solidworks runs fine with larger 3D models. There was also no problems running Adobe Creative suite.
   
   Although I would imagine the laptop would not be perfect for high end gaming due to the graphics card being fairly standard, but then again I would just buy a console or a desktop for the price difference anyway.
   
   So in summary:
   
   pro's:
   -Excellent laptop for the price
   -Excellent for everyday office use and good enough for 3D applications and ram intensive programs such as photoshop.
   -Widescreen has heaps of screen real estate
   -Media center capabilities and remote
   -Decent battery life
   -Looks damn good
   
   con's:
   -Have not tested with high end games, but most probably not suitable with no dedicated graphics memory
   -Vista is a little slow on start up, but once you delete a few programs and clean it up, the laptop is a dream
   
   Overall I would highly recommend this laptop for everyone, except maybe the hardcore gamer. But then again the hardcore gamer would not be looking at a laptop at this price, rather one that is a lot more expensive. I am a transport designer so have used a range of programs at home and at the office and the laptop has been reliable and a real pleasure to have.



2. I recently purchased a similar (but slightly different model) HP Pavilion laptop which performs great for games, and I wanted another one for multiplayer gaming. Unfortunately I couldn't get that model, so I purchased this one instead.
   
   It turns out that the video card in this particular model sucks. Windows Vista reports gaming performance 2.5, as compared to more than 4 in the other machine. Consequentially, gaming graphics aren't nearly as nice on this machine as the one I purchased earlier.
   
   The laptop works fine otherwise, but the graphics really suck for playing games. To avoid such unpleasant surprises, it would be very nice if Amazon included Windows Vista performance metrics in laptop descriptions in the future.



3. The HP PC's are TRASH in my opinion. I bought the DV6226US in March 2007, and my System Board fried just 7-1/2 months later. They replaced it, and 8 months later if fried again - and HP wouldn't cover it. With the excessive heat no wonder! A system board crashing is rare but 2 boards in 16 months is nothing but defective product - pure and simple. DONT BUY THIS PRODUCT



4. I can't begin to say how disappointed I am with this product having had it for about a year. I bought it to replace an 8 year-old Compaq Presario that had finally gone to the great junk yard in the sky. I spent a long time researching options on this and other makes before finally going for this one.
   
   The big problem is of course Vista. My 8-year old notebook took less than 10 seconds to boot up when new and was still getting there in under 30 8 years later. This one? Well over a minute just to get going, and if you need to restart you had go put a pot of coffee to brew because you'll be enjoying a cup before the computer has finished. This extends to every operation you do, what used to take a blink of an eye takes a long yawn. And that makes it impossible to enjoy.
   
   The screen is excellent, the speakers are good, the keyboard is a keyboard. I optimistically tried to return it after a month but 'its not very good' was not sufficient grounds for a refund.
   
   Honestly if your old XP computer is still working - hang on to it or buy a mac, just don't bother with one of these. The problem is not with the HP product which seems robust - its the operating system. Would you trade in your 2000 BMW because its old and be happy to have a brand new 1985 Buick LeSabre given to you? Thats what this feels like



5. I bought this laptop almost a year ago...I have hated it every minute. It does not work with anything I try to put on it...Photoshop, itunes, etc. Everytime I tried to put my itunes onto it, it removed the CD drive completely. It took only 9 calls to the help people before they told me that this laptop is not compatible with itunes...or anything! It turns off in the middle of working on something and even makes a horrible noise. Not worth a penny! If I could have given it zero stars I would have.

No comments about Dell Inspiron 1525 Pink Laptop (15.4" Wide Screen with true life, Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 at 1.66GHz, 4GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive, 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability, Windows Vista Premium).

No comments about Toshiba Portege R500-S5007V - Core 2 Duo U7700 / 1.33 GHz ULV - Centrino - RAM 2 GB - HDD 128 GB SSD - DVD?RW / DVD-RAM - GMA 950 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0 - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) - TPM - fingerprint reader - Vista Business / XP Pro downgrade - 12.1" Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ).

2 comments about Lenovo IdeaPad 59-014903 Y510 Series 15.4" Laptop (Intel Core 2 Dual T5750 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium).

1. I have a multi-os environment. I have the system dual boot Visa and Ubuntu, and within Ubuntu, I'm running Sun's Virtualbox with XP Pro in it. The Virtualbox runs Adobe CS3 apps so some pretty heavy lifting for both environments (ubuntu running graphical and web development apps). It's great copying and pasting data between Ubuntu and XP and sharing files using VirtualBox's shared drive. This has been one of the best if not THE best laptop I have ever owned. Mine was a great value too. No complaints...



2. I have always owned a Sony laptop in the past and did not think I would ever switch. Then last year I bought a Lenovo Thinkpad. I always wanted an IBM thinkpad, and could not believe how cheap it was. It was true to form and a lovely little laptop, but it still lacked the bright Sony Screen.
   
   When I saw the specs on this new Thinkpad I was excited at the possibilities - a huge RAM and Harddrive, but I must admit I was a bit worried about the screen.
   
   Needless to say when my machine arrived I was excited to find that Lenovo had far exceeded my expectations. This machine is FAST, the screen so bright I turned the brightness down, and the face recognition a handy feature that stops you having to type in your password all the time. The whole style and design is awesome, with lots of controls to change settings or control volume and playback. Even the case and lid design make it look a really fancy machine.
   
   The Vista version is the latest, and I found some software working on this machine that I could not get to work on my Desktop machine. I had no problem with programs like CS3 which are normally resource intensive, and no crashes in Vista. I might even get to like Vista after getting this computer.
   
   And the price? Unbelievable for the quality I received. It even has little things that other brands lack - like printed documentation and backup disks. All round I believe this is the best laptop I have ever owned.

No comments about HP Pavilion dv6628us notebook PC. Intel Dual-Core T2310 1.46GHz, 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, 120GB HDD, double-layer DVD+/-R/RW burner, DVD-RAM, Vista Home Premium.

5 comments about HP Pavilion DV9830US 17-inch Laptop (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, Blu Ray Drive, Vista Premium).

1. I've had no problem with the laptop to speak of, the screen is quite readable and bright, it plays the various games I've tried at high levels of graphics (Age of Empires III, Battle for Middle-earth I and II, and similar games).



2. This laptop was a very large disappointment after the heightened expectations that developed after reading the product description and the reviews...I think the shills might have been busy on this product.
   
   First, it is SLOW. This may be more a Vista problem than a HP problem, but it is slow. The Dell 1505e (1gb mem, 1.6mz Intel Dual Core) that I replaced with this ran XP much faster than this runs Vista. Booting and restarting from sleep takes forever and every screen change is an opportunity to do something else while it loads.
   
   Second, the NVIDIA card is a complete oversell. The gaming graphics card is the "weak link" responsible for the 2.5 Vista Experience according to the Vista analysis. I bought a few current game titles just to take a look, GRID and Battlefield 2 and they simply overwhelm the machine. GRID, a Vista game, simply won't load, even after all the processes are stripped and the graphics are dialed back. It is like playing under a strobe. Battlefield2 is a few years older and still plays in stop-action.
   Finally, and most surprisingly, the 3 media players included (maybe more, I stripped out alot of the crapware)barely play without stuttering. PowerDVD, my preferred media player for years, barely functions, and only after, again, all the non-critical processes are stopped. After a little investigation I learned that these titles require a Vista Experience rating of from 4.0 to 5.0. Again this machine has a 2.5 rating based on the NVIDIA card. This was very surprising and very disappointing piece of information.
   
   In sum, if you are looking for a machine to surf and spider solitare on, then this would do just fine, but it seems that you could find another alot cheaper to fill that bill. If you want the high performance that this machine promises, I'd keep shopping.



3. After the initial excitement left and I started loading various products and upgrades, I'm still impressed with the HP's capacity, performance and capabilities. Video streaming has been working well, easy link up to my home router and cable broadband. Been studying the TV links - what was included and the product called Slingbox. Played a few regular DVDs and all has been working as advertised. Minor criticism on the right shift key size but I can see it was a design choice that had little other options.



4. I purchased this system in January of '07. It had always given off a lot of heat so I purchased a laptop cooler. However, it still ran very hot.
   
   One day, I realized that it would not close all the way. When I opened it up, I realized that the plastic bezel around the screen had expanded from the heat and actually split apart. I call HP technical support and even though it was still under warranty by one day, they said I must have damaged it because "it was impossible" for the bezel to come apart like that. They said I could send it in to be fixed but it would cost 700.00 to fix the display (the entire system had only cost 1000.00).
   
   I called back another couple of days later and they said they couldn't help me since the laptop was no longer under warranty.
   
   HP had always had a reputation for solidly built PCs. However after the problems I had with this system and the lack of sufficient support and the actual rudeness associated with tech support basically accusing me of lying, I will never by another HP computer system again.
   
   The brand and the construction has just gone way down hill and there are many better alternatives out there -- including Lenovo (stick to the thinkpad series) and the Acer line (which I have a new respect for -- they seem to be built as well as the older HPs and are a lot cheaper)



5. Es una maquina poderosisima y muy completa con un procesador de doble nucleo igual de poderoso que un Intel, con memoria Ram suficiente y un disco duro con bastante capacidad para las tareas tradicionales de trabajos en el hogar, el colegio, la universidad o en la oficina, contiene todas las funciones de audio y video que se necesitan para realizar actividades relacionadas con imagenes, audio, video, cantidad de accesorios que se complementan con los programas primarios para trabajar con rapidez y complementar las tareas a realizar, su teclado numerico adjunto simplfica el trabajo que otra laptops no hacen, el HP Media Center nos entrega un manejo de todos los recursos multimedia integrados y de facil forma con excelente calidad de imagen y presentacion. Su precio es una oportunidad en comparacion con otras marcas con la misma configuracion.

5 comments about Sony VAIO VGN-FZ440E/B 15.4-inch Laptop (2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Silver.

1. I love everything about this laptop except for the battery longevity. It barely lasted 1.5 hours and the additional large capacity battery, which they shamelessly reminded you to buy by placing a sticker on your pristine laptop, is only 1.5 times longer (that's less than 3 hours) than the original. Could be due to Vista (which has lots of issues).



2. I am not going to lie I purchased this computer because of its price. After spending 3 months building and then returning 4 HP computers I have decided on buying a pre-built version with a $1,100 cap max.
   This laptop fit, specs are nice and a great video card, I have no problem playing GOW on it. It works extremely fast, it took about full 7 min for past HP laptop to turn on, while it taking this comp less than 2.
   One of the lapses in this comp I do not get is why would they have 3Gb RAM if they equip this model with 32bit system that can only recognize up to 2Gb RAM. So 1Gb of RAM is pretty much useless.
   The other thing is that apparently majority of people at Sony do not think that you would need a back up CD, so you are not getting ANYTHING. It would be nice even if they at offered one for purchase, but no. So if you crash your system you would have pretty much go and buy yourself a new Windows CD.
   And I do not know whats up with this laptop but it crashes at least 2 each week giving me a "blue screen of death". While it is not really dead, it restarts and works fine, it is really annoying. Moreover, it usually happens when I do something important. For 2 years I had HP I have never ever had anything like that.
   So my love for large amount of space (250Gb), fast processor, great video card, and overall looks of the laptop is negated by the lack of support from Sony and constant, incurable so far, crushings. So I neither love nor hate my laptop. But next time I will think twice before buying Vaio again.



3. "I purchased this computer almost a month ago when my $1200 Toshiba (of less than 2 years) crapped out on me and CompUSA's takeover company lost my records for the replaceable warranty that I paid nearly $600 for. All this happened during my final week of college.
   
   After 2 Toshibas, I was ready to try something else. When I saw this Vaio go on sale for $850, I knew it was a steal for the specs that it offered. Not convinced that Vista was better than XP, I took the chance anyway because of the roomy 3gigs of ram and 250gb HDD. Glad I did, because this machine runs Vista and all my regular apps really, really fast. Bootup time is less than a minute. I'm a heavy music/video user, so the external controls are a must (too bad not all Vaio's have external controls like other lower end brands). The media iPod-like "wheel" controls are solid. The speakers are a downgrade compared to my Toshiba's Harmon-Kardon speakers...the sound isn't that bad, but the volume is way too low. So I use external speakers or headphones.
   
   The screen is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen on any laptop. It truly is amazing, and there's no flex at all to it. Coming from a 14.1", the 15.4" feels a little big but the relative thinness of the case makes up for that. The keyboard is nicely spaced out, however the 'backspace' and 'enter' keys seem a tad loose. Wish it had 4 USB ports instead of 3, it would've been nice to have one located on the back. The powerjack is too close to the DVD-drive. Can't say too much about the battery life since it's been plugged in most of the time.
   
   The only thing annoyingly wrong with this laptop, and Sony Vaios in general is the bloatware and AOL software that comes bundled in. You can't even change the default homepage on IE7 because it'll revert back to Sony-AOL's homepage when you reboot. I don't want to do a clean install so I made the permanent switch to Firefox. Overall, this is a solid machine...well built, fast, silent, and aesthetically pleasing in a minimalist way. Highly recommended!"



4. This is by far my best buy on Amazon. Sony was capable of create a notebook with great performance, design and flexibility. It fullfils all of my needs and expectations.
   I recommend it for sure! Go Vaio Go!



5. Don't be fooled by its pretty looks. You will spend more time waiting for it to be returned from being repaired than you do using it. During the warranty period the touch pad failed twice, the display once, the motherboard once and the hard drive once. Want to restore Windows OS after a crash? No recovery disks come with the laptop. You must purchase them separately from Sony. How many ways can they rip you off? Buy one and see.

1 comments about Gateway M 6866 Pacific Blue - Core 2 Duo T5750 / 2 GHz - Centrino - RAM 4 GB - HDD 320 GB - DVDRW (R DL) / DVD-RAM - GMA X3100 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 4.0 - WLAN : Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) - Vista Home Premium 64-bit - 15.4" Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) Ultrabright - camera.

1. Purchased this pc about a month ago from circuit city. The entire time I had issues with vista locking up and blue-screening on me. At first I had the default vista 64 bit and it would just blue screen on me. After trying some driver downloads I reinstalled with vista 32 bit instead of 64 but it kept randomly freezing. A month after searching for a solution, I found it and now my laptop is running perfectly and I have had no problems since.
   
   Now that I have fixed the freezing issue I can really appreciate this laptop which for the money, is an incredible value. 320 gb hdd, 4gb ram, wireless N card, fast processor and a beautiful screen. I have a quad-core gateway pc (it was originally a pentium 4 and I added the quad-core later) but I use this laptop almost exclusively now. I highly recommend this computer.

5 comments about HP Pavilion TX1420US 12.1" Laptop (AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor TL-66, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium) Black Wave.

1. Windows Vista requires 2GB RAM MINIMUM to run. To run other applications you will need at least 3GB RAM. I had mistakenly gotten a 2GB model and at times it takes 45 seconds just to send soemthing to the recycle bin or else a reboot is required. Painfully SLOW!!!
   
   Also, the tablet doesn't work properly. There is a distinct discrepancy between the location you place the pen and the location the computer recognizes. I gave up on the tablet aspect of my laptop. This laptop also runs really hot. The longer you use, the higher the temperature. The higher the temperature, the slower the laptop. Running it for over three hours without a fan blowing on it is out of the question. The only nice things nice about it are the included games (which you can't uninstall) and the 12.1" size (so light!).
   
   Think I'll upgrade to a Sony. My Sony desktop has been quite reliable for the last 5 years and still running strong. Haha, in fact, it's faster at running graphics applications than the HP, especially after the HP heats up.



2. The holder for the light pen broke on the first day. It only let the pen be inserted part of the way so it would stick out over 1 inch. Calling the HP service number was of little help because they wanted me to send the computer back to them for service which would take at least 2 weeks. So I decided just to live with the pen sticking half way out of the holder. Other than that the computer is ok but the monitor is small and windows vista slows it down.



3. The HP PC's are TRASH in my opinion. I bought the DV6226US in March 2007, and my System Board fried just 7-1/2 months later. They replaced it, and 8 months later if fried again - and HP wouldn't cover it. With the excessive heat no wonder! A system board crashing is rare but 2 boards in 16 months is nothing but defective product - pure and simple. DONT BUY THIS PRODUCT



4. Pros:
   for a tablet it's cheap
   lots of memory
   fast
   makes school work easier
   
   Cons:
   a little thick
   can get hot if your on high performance power setting
   heat vent is aimed at you in tablet mode
   
   I'm a college student and I've been using this to take notes in class and i love it. it has actually helped my grades and makes studying easier and faster. This not for gamers and if you like walking around holding your notebook as you use it then it's not for you. But if your smart and you realize that you remember things better when you write them down and want the added ability to back up all of your school work instantly then this is for you. It does have some faults but if your not very nitpicky about your computers like most of the people who wrote reviews on this then get it!



5. I bot mine 3 moth ago from Amazon.
   
   Negatives
   
   You can cook on it - to much heat comming from upper coner
   Screen not showing clear - because of touchscreen possibly
   I did not liked the way touchscreen works - may be need more time for practice
   Swiveling screen looks bit fragile for me.
   Very heavy weight despite the fact that it is 12.1 ich laptop
   Not good desighn in particular the way how battery is placed.
   No IEEE-1394 port for connecting the DV-Camera
   
   Positives
   
   Nice Performance - 4
   Fingerprint reader works on 5
   Remote Control is nice feature if plugin laptop to TV

No comments about X200 12.1" Wxga P8600 160GB.