notebook computer reviews

HP Pavilion DV6-1354US 15.6-Inch Black Laptop Review

Monday, December 14th, 2009 | Laptop and Notebook Computer Reviews | View Comments

HP Pavilion DV6-1354US 15.6-Inch Black Laptop Computer

Need a higher specced laptop at a decent price. The HP Pavilion DV6-1354US offers a 15.6 inch screen, a dual-core processor and 4GB of memory, a great desktop replacement laptop for home use and light travelling.

Here’s a quick rundown of the main features:

  • 2.2GHz Intel Core2 Duo T6600 processor
  • 15.6″ LED backlight screen
  • 4GB memory
  • 500GB hard drive
  • DVD burner
  • Wifi draft n 300Mb/s

This processor is a bit of an unknown featuring the Penryn core. Jumping to a new core in the T series, it offers slightly lower power consumption which is somewhat negated by the higher speed it is run at. The processor will provide enough oomph for daily activities. With more power than the ultra-low voltage processors on offer in this price range, this computer will only last up to four hours on battery, but give more speed.

The 4GB of memory is more than enough and is being seen on more and more notebook computers around the $700 price mark. That’s great because upgrades will not be necessary that often. That’s enough memory for browsing the web, instant messaging, using tweetdeck, writing documents, listening to mp3s and creating spreadsheets all at the same time.

I sometimes wonder why hard drives on personal computers continue to increase in size as so much information is going online. Currently my local hard drive usage is limited to storing the photos and movies that I will later upload to my Picasa account where they are safely stored. Online storage can be safer than local storage because the computers your information is stored on are purposefully designed for storing information and have backup systems in place, unlike the hard drive in your computer. This computer offers enough to store around 100 DVD movies on it.

More useful for those who spend a lot of time online are the fast network connections. The standard Ethernet is offered, giving a very standard wired option for connecting to a network or to the Internet. This is always the failsafe as Ethernet is widely used in both the home and office. The slightly more exciting bonus is 802.11n Wifi connectivity which offers up to 300Mb/s transfer speed, perfect for a home network and a nice fast connection for Internet connectivity.

The wide screen monitor is always appreciated in these smaller form factors. Adding a large monitor to the notebook computer while at home is not problem as the extra monitor will just connect to the video outputs for a larger viewing area. This system boasts an LED backlit monitor which is a newer technology for lighting up the screen.

Software-wise, the addition of Windows 7 is welcome and it’s the 64-bit version to boot. Adoption of 64-bit technology has been slow in the consumer marketplace, but it should pick up with the support of Windows 7.

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Gateway M-6750 Notebook PC with Core2 Duo and 3GB RAM

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 | Laptop and Notebook Computer Reviews | View Comments

After plenty of laptop computer reviews and notebook computer reviews I have come to a point where I really do think that most desktop computers can be scrapped for laptop or notebook computers. Seeing as my home computer is a Pentium 4 and I’ve been using that for six years, with a few repairs along the way. The Gateway M-6750 provides enough processing power for all applications besides games and a 15″ monitor that gives enough desktop space.

Let’s continue our notebook computer review.

For under $600 the Gateway M-6750 notebook computer comes with a nice shiny finish combined with polished aluminum looking edge around the keyboard. The looks are good, and that’s not bad for a nicely priced laptop.

The Core2 Duo processor, although a mobile version, will give enough power for office type applications, web browsing, listening to music or playing videos. The processor is combined with 3GB of RAM and the Windows Vista operating system.

Some of the main features are

  • 1.66GHz Intel Core2 Duo CPU
  • 3GB of RAM
  • Windows Vista Home
  • DVD writer
  • Memory card port
  • Speakers
  • Webcam
  • Network port
  • 802.11n wireless

These features together will do well for a home office or personal use.

The 3GB of memory is good for Windows Vista as it needs more memory than previous operating systems, which is usually true anyway I guess. The dual core processor helps too.

Networking features are good, and having 802.11n wireless, which supports up to 300MB/s transfer speeds allows the fastest possible speeds over wireless networks.

The graphics uses up to 384MB of main memory. This is good for increasing the graphics quality, but not so good as it uses up more of the memory that could be used by other programs on the computer. With that said however, there is plenty of memory to go around and programs won’t be left wanting with still 2GB of memory after the graphics and Windows’ needs.

There are three USB slots and an Express Card slot for system expansion.

Finally, the 15 inch monitor supports up to 1280 x 800 screen resolution. This is spot on for a monitor of this size and gives enough extra room to squeeze two web browsers side-by-side, but keeps them at a readable size.

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Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 Laptop Computer with Intel Core2 Duo

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 | Laptop and Notebook Computer Reviews, Reviews | View Comments

This laptop computer review item goes for just under $1000, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 offers a well-rounded package with fairly high performance processor, decent sized screen and enough extras to keep most users happy. Ahead with the notebook computer review.

The screen is a around 14 inches and offers 1280 x 800 screen resolution. I always find this a little disappointing. The screen resolution doesn’t allow much more than a standard amount of desktop space, that is to say it will fit a document or a webpage, but struggle to fit both. I suppose that’s reasonable for the size, but even if the text is small, I like to be able to fit two windows comfortable beside each other. On the other hand, I do use a 1280 width monitor for work and it’s usually enough.

The dual-core processor gives a bit of punch, and allows multiple programs to be run simultaneously, whilst the load is spread over the two cores.

Here are some of the main specs for the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510:

  • Intel Centrino Core2 Duo
  • 3GB of memory
  • 250GB hard drive
  • DVD writer
  • Windows Vista Home
  • 3 USB ports
  • Wireless 802.11b/g/n
  • Fast Ethernet
  • Up to 4 hours battery life

A major plus is the amount of memory and hard drive space. 250GB of hard drive space is enough to store plenty of photos, songs and videos. 3GB of memory gives a lot of memory for Windows Vista to play around with. Windows Vista needs at least 1GB and this gives it more than it needs.

Wireless connectivity supports up to 300Mb/s, faster than most internet connections. The Ethernet port only supports up to 100Mb/s, which is a little strange, because the wired networks usually support much faster speeds than the wireless. However, there are probably more fast wireless networks around than Gigabit wired networks.

At a tad under 3kg, this is not a light notebook, but makes up for the extra weight with a full house of features. Add to these Lenovo’s VeriFace security software, which verifies users by their facial features and you get a very capable machine quite worthy to be a desktop replacement laptop.

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Acer Aspire Refurbished Notebook PC with AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 | Laptop and Notebook Computer Reviews, Reviews | View Comments

This notebook computer review is for an Acer computer for just under $600 and offers a lot of features for a fully-featured laptop. AMD Turion 64 X2 processor offers a lot of processing power without sucking too much power. A 15.4″ screen gives ample viewing area. 2.0 GB of memory allows Windows Vista to operate well, and 160 GB hard drive and DVD burner give plenty of options for storing lots of data.

Personally, I love litte, ultraportable computers. That’s probably because I do the vast majority of my work at a desktop and have little need for a regular laptop. However, modern laptops have improved so much that they provide more than enough power for what most users require. My five year old desktop computer still does everything I want it to do, and laptops now do better, for even less than what I originally paid.

This Acer Aspire does give what’s necessary to be a desktop replacement notebook. Here are some of the main features:

  • 1.9GHz AMD Turion 64 X3 Dual-Core processor
  • 15.4″ wide screen (1280 x 800)
  • 2.0 GB of DDR2 memory (supports up to 4.0 GB)
  • 160 GB hard drive
  • DVD writer
  • Media reader
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • Wi-Fi (b/g)

This is a refurbished notebook though, so you get a computer that has been used before, but fixed up. With all the features I would still say that this is a good bet and offers everything necessary to be a desktop replacement computer.

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Asus Eee PC 4G Surf with Wireless, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB SSD

Saturday, May 31st, 2008 | Laptop and Notebook Computer Reviews, Reviews | View Comments

Little computers are becoming very popular, or so it would seem with the amount of hype around mini-sized laptops recently. There are plenty of notebook computer reviews and laptop computer reviews on these little guys, so I’ll add my opinion to the mix.

The Eee PC from Asus is heading up this movement to smaller, more portable computers, that tend to fit somewhere between a laptop, which is meant to cover as a full-time computer, and a PDA with a traditional operating system.

The Surf model has a few more features than the standard Eee PC.

Here are some of the features:

  • 7″ screen
  • 2 pounds
  • 3 USB ports
  • 1 VGA port
  • Audio out / Mic in
  • Intel Mobile CPU
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 4 GB solid state drive
  • 10/100 Mb/s LAN
  • Wireless connectivity (up to 54 Mb/s)

Personally I have quite an affinity for these little PCs. They offer everything that most people would want from a computer nowadays. Network connections are taken care of thanks to wireless and wired networking support.

The advantages of this computer lie mostly in it’s size and portability. It’s extremely light, and extremely small, not small enough for a pocket, but small enough to fit in a briefcase. The built-in operating system offers a web browser, document editors, messaging, media player and other standard software.

The downsides also have to do with reduced sizes. You’ll need an extra monitor and keyboard for prolonged use. The screen is too small for extended work, and the keyboard is not full-sized like a regular keyboard, it’s around 83% the size, which will make big hands feel cramped. The hard drive is only 4 GB, so no storage of DVDs. Linux OS is harder to upgrade. Although a new OS can be installed if you like, either Windows or another flavor of Linux.

Basically, I really like it. The best part is the price, it is cheap. It is functional and performs specific tasks very well. It lacks in power and storage space, but you can pay more for an 8 GB model or wait till more powerful ones are released in the future.

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