Showing posts with label amd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amd. Show all posts

Saturday, February 9, 2013

LG Electronics WH12LS30 12X Blu-ray SATA Writer Drive - WH12LS30K Review

LG Electronics WH12LS30 12X Blu-ray SATA Writer Drive - WH12LS30K
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Installed without any problems in a Windows 7 machine. Seems to burn DVDs and LightScribe labels just fine. I haven't tried Blu-rays yet.

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Monday, November 12, 2012

HP Pavilion dv7-4060us 17.3-Inch Laptop Review

HP Pavilion dv7-4060us 17.3-Inch Laptop
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I just purchased the HP dv7-4060us on Tuesday. There are so few reviews right now on this because it is such a new system. Right out of the box, this is ready to go. East step-by-step setup will guide you through personal settings, and setting up your wireless network.
The dv7 starts up very quickly. With the Quick Web feature, which I haven't tried to use yet, allows the user to access the Internet without having to start up Windows! This can be set up as the default setting when the unit is initially turned on. Since it doesn't have to boot up Windows, you can literally get online in 1/3 the time. Nice time saver.
Windows 7 took a little bit getting used to. I am switching from an XP Pentium M laptop, so it will take a little time to get acclimated. Should be no trouble, however, for most people. I like the feel of the chicklet style keys, with the full number pad too. 1GB of dedicated graphics, which supports DirectX 11, makes this machine good to great for most mid-to-high levels of graphic intense programs. I should be able to run AutoCAD with shading on this machine flawlessly. The high-performance ATI 5650 GPU can be switched off when operating on battery power, or when there isn't the need for the dedicated graphics. This saves battery usage and overall power consumption. HDD speed is 7200. Often, this is an upgraded charge in many laptops. 4GB DDR3 memory, expandable up to 8GB, should fulfill most needs. The display is brilliant, although not up to 1080P, but for a 17.3", you probably won't notice any issues. The screen does attract fingerprints. It has a large touchpad, however, I use a USB mouse. Use the fingerprint reader if you need the extra security. The webcam is easily viewable, and is very fluid in motion. Wireless card can be enabled/disabled by pressing a button on the keyboard. There are 4 USB ports (2 on either side) and an HDMI port too. The power cord plug is on the right side. This may get in the way slightly if you use a mouse. I didn't have any issue with that in the short time I have owned it. Also has a 9-cell battery, which for some systems, is an up-charge as well.
The specifications and rankings of this dv7-4060us Triple Core processor with 1GB of dedicated graphics, for the low price of $699 really can't be beat. Yes, you can spend another $200-300/minimum and get a little bit beefier machine if you are into heavy duty gaming and whatnot, but for the average to advanced user, this will certainly suit your purposes. For me, I couldn't justify paying the extra amount for more power that I wouldn't even use, for the most part, and I think you will find that to be the same.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Pavilion dv7-4060us 17.3-Inch Laptop

Get the notebook that's made for the way you play and work. Access the music and movies you love using the HP Pavilion dv7-4060us Entertainment Notebook PC. Play your favorite tunes in superior sound, plus edit slideshows and watch DVDs on the large 17.3-inch diagonal High-Definition LED display. Count on fast data entry using the backlit keyboard with numeric keypad and manage your passwords easily using the integrated fingerprint reader and exclusive HP SimplePass software. Discover the HP laptop that delivers style and substance. The sleek, sophisticated HP Pavilion dv7-4060us Entertainment Notebook PC has a brushed aluminum finish with the stream design in argento. Video chat with family and friends across the globe using the integrated HP webcam designed for low-light environments. Burn custom labels onto CDs and DVDs using LightScribe Technology and transfer photos from a digital camera to your HP laptop using the digital media reader. Browse the Web from any room using built-in Wi-Fi, plus enjoy up to 5.5 hours of battery life when you're on the go. IDEAL FOR

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6075 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion X2 Finish in Charcoal) Review

Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6075 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion X2 Finish in Charcoal)
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Overall, I was very satisfied with this purchase. It was an extremely competitive computer for the pricepoint, especially with the Christmas deals. The graphics card wasn't everything I hoped for, but it still beats my old desktop, and will be perfect for medium level gaming for years. The triple core processor is rather fast, as is the 4gb of ram. However, the backlit keyboard is basically a lie. They have useful media control buttons on the top that are lit, but the keys themselves are not illuminated. Not too big of an issue though. Don't expect too much reverse compatibility though. Windows 7 64bit plays most games and 64 bit applications fine, but some of my favorites remain nonfunctional. And attempting to install XP for dual booting is not at all easy. But this is just the nature of the operating system, and no fault of the laptop. The power cord could have better placement, as it comes out of the computer on the top right, right next to the DVD tray and alway gets the tray stuck. The power cord is very loose and falls out of the wall and converter easily. Despite all that, it delivers in most of the ways I wanted it to, namely: graphics and processing POWER. Despite quirks, I am satisfied with my purchase.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6075 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion X2 Finish in Charcoal)


Toshiba Satellite A665D: 15.6-Inch Screen for Mobile HD Entertainment
Replace your desktop PC with the Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6075, which features a 15.6-inch diagonal HD TruBrite widescreen LED-backlit display, touchpad with multi-touch control, and a dual-layer DVD±RW drive that burns CDs and offers Labelflash print functionality. The bright 15.6-inch LCD (1366 x 768) offers a true 16:9 aspect ratio and 720p native high-definition resolution, and the A665D is great for using as a media center with the touch-sensitive media keys placed above the keyboard.
Enjoy both style and comfortable ergonomics with the A665's textured palm rest (see larger image).

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Friday, August 17, 2012

Toshiba Satellite L655D-S5102 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in Helios Grey) Review

Toshiba Satellite L655D-S5102 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in Helios Grey)
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The L640-L655 Toshibas have a serious software and BIOS issue with the cooling fan. The issue is well-documented on the official Toshiba forum. The cooling fan runs fast and loud (you will not be able to use this computer in airplanes, libraries, classrooms, group work sessions, etc. due to fan speed). The loud fan will prematurely wear out the fan spindle, and uses excessive battery. I am encouraging anyone even considering the purchase of these lines of TOshiba computers to do online research and search these words: Toshiba forum cooling fan constantly. You will see many threads, but the main one has now thousands of views and elucidates the problem well. If you don't wish to look at it now, you will be looking at it intently once you purchase this model of TOshiba. Thus far, there is no fix for this cooling fan software issue. I am posting here as an owner of a Toshiba in this product line and simply as a method to help my fellow Amazon shoppers with a known issue. You certainly can buy or pass based on your own experience and research. Thank you and happy computing.
6/8/2011: Still issues! Some Toshiba laptops have a fan and cooling issue that is software related.
Google "Toshiba forum cooling fan constantly on", or highlight and right click what I have type here to see the 13 page thread on this subject. The most recent 5 pages are 3-4 non-Toshiba computer programmers trying to solve the problem as Toshiba has been uncaring and useless. The key is to read the thread from the beginning to review all the people who first define the problem. I encourage anyone seeking a Toshiba computer to review the thread to see if their model is affected before purchase--most models are with AMD processors, but some are Intel latest chipsets (e.g. i5). It is not "a few bad computers", it is computers in each of the series specified. The post on the Toshiba Forum from FunkeA dated May 30, 2011 at 4:11pm has a list of Toshibas affected by this issue.
This post is totally informational for you, a potential buyer, so that you can make your own informed decision about which computer to buy before making the purchase. Whether you buy Toshiba, one of these models, a different model, or a different brand, is completely up to you. Thanks and have fun time computer hunting.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Toshiba Satellite L655D-S5102 15.6-Inch LED Laptop (Fusion Finish in Helios Grey)


Toshiba Satellite L655D: Fashionable, Affordable and Portable with 15.6-Inch Screen
Offering plenty of mobile computing power plus room to multitask, study, and play, the Toshiba Satellite L655D (model L655D-S5102) offers a generous 15.6-inch display that's great for doing more things at once--handling business at home or in the field, watching movies or playing online RPG games. With its a fast dual-core Intel Pentium P6100 processor, this L655D is perfect for handling computing essentials at home, school or work--from surfing the Web and downloading video to managing household finances or studying for finals. And its high-gloss Fusion Finish in Helios Gray will be sure to raise a few eyebrows.
Enjoy added screen real estate with the L655D's 15.6-inch screen (see larger image).

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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Diamond AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card 2 DVI / HDMI / 2 Mini Display Port Eyefinity Review

Diamond AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card 2 DVI / HDMI / 2 Mini Display Port Eyefinity
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After reviewing most of the HD6870 models from different companies, I bought the Diamond one from Fry's, mainly because they were the only place where I could get it immediately.
Diamond's version comes with a crossfire link and nothing else. I have everything else I needed to hook it up anyway.
This thing takes everything I throw at it with ease. Far Cry 2, everything on max at 1920 resolution. Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 2, everything at max. Even Call of Duty: Black Ops, everything at max.
If you're needing all the cables and converters, look at the Sapphire model. But if you already have everything you need, I don't think it matters much on which brand you get.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Diamond AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card 2 DVI / HDMI / 2 Mini Display Port Eyefinity



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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

HIS Radeon HD 6850 IceQ X Turbo 1 GB (256bit) GDDR5 Eyefinity DisplayPort HDMI 2x DVI (HDCP) PCI Express X16 2.1 Video Card Retail (RoHS) H685QNT1GD Review

HIS Radeon HD 6850 IceQ X Turbo 1 GB (256bit) GDDR5 Eyefinity DisplayPort HDMI 2x DVI (HDCP) PCI Express X16 2.1 Video Card Retail (RoHS) H685QNT1GD
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I'm not sure if the other gentleman who rated this card got a lemon but mine is quite nice, very quiet and rates better than the HIS 6850 plain version. For the money it's is a good card but not being a gamer I'll probably burn it in then pass it on to someone that needs a card with this much ability.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HIS Radeon HD 6850 IceQ X Turbo 1 GB (256bit) GDDR5 Eyefinity DisplayPort HDMI 2x DVI (HDCP) PCI Express X16 2.1 Video Card Retail (RoHS) H685QNT1GD



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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

ASRock Socket AM3/AMD 880G/ATI Hybrid CrossFireX/USB 3.0/A&V&GbE/MATX Motherboard 880GMH/USB3 Review

ASRock Socket AM3/AMD 880G/ATI Hybrid CrossFireX/USB 3.0/AandVandGbE/MATX Motherboard 880GMH/USB3
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I bought this MB and a Phenom II X2 550, hoping to get the benefit of UCC. But right out of the box. The Bios does not even have the UCC features. I have to upgraded the Bios to get the UCC hotkey. Try the UCC, reboot itself endlessly. Talked to the tech, his final comment is they tested the the same CPU works, mine doesn't, soory, not all CPU works....case close. Tech support was OK tough, thru email.
With the new Bios now, it is taking longer to boot up the computer. The instant boot is also a joke. It is literally their version hibernation....and it has to shutdown twice. Now my computer won't sleep properly...it will wake itself up for some reason. Haven't had too much time to play with it. Would I buy it again ? Just don't count on the UCC to work.

Click Here to see more reviews about: ASRock Socket AM3/AMD 880G/ATI Hybrid CrossFireX/USB 3.0/A&V&GbE/MATX Motherboard 880GMH/USB3



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Saturday, March 10, 2012

HIS Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2GB (256bit) GDDR5 2x Mini-DisplayPort HDMI 2x DVI (HDCP) PCIe X16 2.1 Video Card H695QNT2G2M Review

HIS Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2GB (256bit) GDDR5 2x Mini-DisplayPort HDMI 2x DVI (HDCP) PCIe X16 2.1 Video Card H695QNT2G2M
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First off the box includes driver disc, crossfire bridge, vga adapter and case sticker and two molex to pci-express power adapters. It is a pci-e 2.1 but it will fit in a 2.0 slot which is were I am currently using it in. Installation was a breeze, card is a good size and I have included a picture of the card sitting on a standard sheet of copy paper. I used the HIS website for the most current drivers and was off and running without any problems on windows vista 64bit. The first thing I noticed was how much smoother my gameplay was on bad co. 2 and aliens vs predators on all high settings both being dx11 games I was pleasantly suprised running a resolution of 1920x1080 on 24" dell HD monitor with AA set at 4x and AF on 8 on bad co 2 I was getting frames as high as 108 and during heavy fight scenes 45 but averaging steady frames of 60 and above. Coming from a his 6850 I saw alot of improvement all around, this is the third HIS card I've owned and have yet to be dissapointed by them and would consider them my first choice in graphics cards especially there iceq models. The card puts out slightly less heat then my old 6850 but cools much better. My specs are as follow:
cpu amd phenom x4 965 stock settings of 3.4ghz
memory G.skill 8gb of ddr3 10666 timing 8-8-8-24
motherboard msi 880gm-e43
ultra x4 600w power supply
2 vertex 60gb ssd drives in raid 0
I ran a heaven benchmark an obtained a score of 817 with direct x11, shaders on high, tesselation normal, AF 4x, AA 4x, res 1920x1080 on full screen and my average fps 32.4 minimum 19.7 max 60.7 so all in all pretty impressed. This with my cpu at stock settings my goal is to overclock to 3.8ghz. I still plan on running a vantage mark 3d benchmark and will post update soon, I was just really eager to use this bad boy. I don't plan on overclocking this card as it come already factory overclocked at 840mhz vs the standard 800mhz core clock. It also boasts an impressive 2gb of ddr5 memory which should help in rendering very high resolution if you like gaming on large tv's.
As far as looks goes this thing is very sexy, I didn't think I would like the light blue or that it wouldn't match well with my case but it looks great! I have a side panel window and those massive heat pipes look awesome (NZXT M59 case if your wondering). I purchased this card in preperation of battlefield 3 :) there really was nothing wrong with my 6850 rather I was dissapointed in amd's card rebranding for the 6000 series cards so I just decided to go for the 6950 instead very happy with my choice. I will post an updated review if I encounter any issues with this card as it is still early on in my time of ownership.


Click Here to see more reviews about: HIS Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2GB (256bit) GDDR5 2x Mini-DisplayPort HDMI 2x DVI (HDCP) PCIe X16 2.1 Video Card H695QNT2G2M

ATI Radeon HD 6950 Key Features, GDDR5 memory interface, PCI Express 2.1 x16 bus interface, "Eye-Definition" graphics, AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology, AMD EyeSpeed visual acceleration, AMD HD3D technology, AMD CrossFireX multi-GPU technology, Cutting-edge integrated display support, Integrated HD audio controller, AMD PowerPlay power management technology, AMD Catalyst graphics and HD video configuration software

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Friday, March 2, 2012

Gateway DX4200-09 - Tower - 1 x Phenom X4 9100e / 1.8 GHz - RAM 4 GB - HDD 1 x 640 GB - DVD?RW / DVD-RAM - Radeon HD 3200 - Mdm - Gigabit Ethernet - Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Monitor : none Review

Gateway DX4200-09 - Tower - 1 x Phenom X4 9100e / 1.8 GHz - RAM 4 GB - HDD 1 x 640 GB - DVDRW / DVD-RAM - Radeon HD 3200 - Mdm - Gigabit Ethernet - Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Monitor : none
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This is my second Gateway desktop. Not much over a year ago a model like this was selling for about $200 more. Yet, now, you get a 64 bit system (crunches data much faster), a quad core that hardly anything can slow down, big hard drive, and a good quality of design and construction.
Also important is the quality of Gateway support: the one question with my previous model was handled via a chat session with a tech who knew what he was talking about and was very professional.
The Vista SP1 which it ships with has been a pleasant experience. It's best to discount all the dissing it gets and just see how well it works in practice. There is a learning curve if you are coming from XP, but it is worth getting to know. I like it. I probably would like Apple's Leopard operating system, too, but I don't care to pay anywhere from two to six times as much for their machines.
I just surf the web, do light photo and video processing, and watch a movie on it sometimes. For these tasks this machine is overqualified - a dual core machine would do about as well. But, how about a few years from now? A quad core machine may well be necessary for these or similar tasks then.
A little confession: I took my previous Gateway desktop apart to replace the motherboard with a newer type. I was impressed with the quality of design and construction. The Apple desktop which starts at around $2500 would impress me much more, but I don't need its particular qualities for what I do with a computer.
You ought to know that the setup of this machine was the sweetest, most trouble free computer installation I have ever done. It just goes out and does practically everything for you. That is thanks to Vista and Gateway's well thought out systems.
The hard drive is a Western Digital, which has a good reputation. But start backing up as soon as possible after you finish the OS installation. By the way, there are no disks to load into the machine. It's all on the hard drive already.
My first backup after I had finished most of the setup to the point where I am happy with what is on the machine took up just 18.1GB on an old Maxtor 80GB external drive I had from a few years ago using an excellent backup software called ShadowProtect which has gotten excellent reviews and I would call it the easiest and best software of that type I have ever used.
You get 586GB free on the hard drive as it comes from the factory with the Vista and a small partition which I believe holds a recovery version. So, forget 640GB. The actual space you get is noticeably less that what is stated - it's always that way.
The ATI Radeon HD3200 onboard video chipset is fine for any ordinary use. Heavy gamers will have to pay another $100 or more for a video card such as the Sapphire ATI HD4830 which joins its power with the onboard unit to give much better gaming performance. I have that card which I will install shortly and leave some thoughts on how much better it is. You will also need a good power supply to go along with the HD4830 card. Corsair makes some good ones supplying 520 watts and up. Just around $100 as well. So, when you want to, this machine is upgradable.
I ran a cleanup of the unneeded files and also did a defragmentation for better disk performance at startup. The defrag took much less time than my previous Gateway. Vista SP1? 64 bit? Anyway, that's an improvement.
Also, gigabit ethernet may not be anything you need now, but in a few years with streaming video heading this way, you might be glad you have it. There were no problems whatsover with making the ethernet cable connection with my motorola modem/router. I didn't have to do a thing. Plug in the cable and forget it.
This has an onboard video out in the form of HDMI and VGA, which is what I'm using. The image quality to my HP 2207 monitor is excellent.
If you have this shipped to you, try to restrain the urge to rip open the package until a couple of hours have passed for it to warm up to room temperature so that there will not be condensation on the cold computer during winter shipping from moisture in the inside air.
It ships with a large, easy setup sheet. Just follow the color coding. You can't go wrong. In an hour and a half or so you will be through with the basic setup, but it may take five to ten hours of downloading and installing your favorite software to complete the installation.
Also important is the merchant: J&R Music And Computer World in New York. I have bought a few items from them during the past few years and they ship fast (I get it the next day near Boston with standard shipping) and seem to be straight shooters. Let you know how the graphics card install goes.
UPDATE AFTER 6 MONTHS:
No problema! Hardware is solid, dependable, certainly fast enough for me. It's still a great buy. I haven't even used half the hard drive space yet, so I would say for most people it has plenty. Card readers and CD/DVD units are still fine. Sound quality from the built in chip is excellent for playing my 20GB of music on my Klipsch powered speaker system. Just no complaints about this. It does what it should. I may upgrade to Windows 7 after the initial bugs are worked out in six months or so. Frankly, I haven't found Windows Vista to be bad - it is just something new to learn. I understand Windows 7 may use slightly less system resources and offer more eye candy for the trendy computer addicted amongst us. It has gotten good reviews in the NYT and major computer magazines. Maybe I'll put off buying a Mac.
UPDATE AFTER 8 MONTHS OF USE:
The machine went down about a month ago. No posting beep. So I upgraded my Core Two Duo HP laptop to Windows 7, installed a 320GB hard drive, increased core memory to 4GB and got a machine powerful enough to do what I had been doing on this Gateway desktop.
Not the end of the story though. Searching online forums on this model of Gateway and on the "no posting beep" symptom, I found that the problem was most likely that the core memory on the Gateway had failed. I remembered a cryptic message before it failed saying it was dropping to a slower memory speed.
So I ordered 8GB of 800Mhz DDR2 desktop memory, removed the old, installed the new core memory (relatively easy - just open the left side of the Gateway by removing two screws and pulling back and you'll find the core memory on the center right side of the motherboard and all you need to do is flip back the holding cams and pull) and, guess what! Success!!
So, my next project on this repaired desktop is to install a bigger power supply (as I said I would), a new AMD powered 4830 graphics card, and also upgrade to Windows 7, which I have found to be a much improved operating system. It gets your drivers, doesn't take long to install, and is easy, quick, in my view the best Windows operating system ever.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Gateway DX4200-09 - Tower - 1 x Phenom X4 9100e / 1.8 GHz - RAM 4 GB - HDD 1 x 640 GB - DVDRW / DVD-RAM - Radeon HD 3200 - Mdm - Gigabit Ethernet - Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Monitor : none



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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6096 TruBrite LED 16-Inch Laptop (Black) Review

Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6096 TruBrite LED 16-Inch Laptop (Black)
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I just got my new A665D this morning and boy I love it! The screen is bright and beautiful, and the machine is just fast. I deleted some of the pre-installed stuff I know I'll never need, installed the free and top-rated Microsoft Security Essentials to guard against both viruses and spyware, installed the free Startup Monitor utility to prevent programs (like iTunes) from putting a lot of unwanted startup programs on the new machine, and then installed a bunch of programs like iTunes, Real Player, my old Office 2003 suite, Roboform, National Geographic, and some Windows 7 games.
The machine feels well built and boots up fast -- better yet, it sleeps and wakes up from sleep super-fast. It hasn't felt hot yet, and I have not tested the battery life. I'm typing this review on the new A665D and I like the keyboard so far. What I really look forward to is takign advantage of the HDMI output, which means I can watch streamed Netflix and Amazon HD movies on my big Panasonic HDTV! (HDMI carries both high-def video and audio signals so you only need one HDMI cable.) The price is great for a screaming-fast and beautiful laptop like this, though I wish they had thrown in a Blu-ray drive which is getting really cheap nowadays. My hands are trembling from excitement.
This is my 4th laptop with AMD; first two (from 2-3 years ago) were not good, but my last one exceeded all my expectations and I still use it for home office work. So far I love this new AMD-powerd laptop! Its four cores make everything so fast, and Windows 7 really takes advantage of the new architecture well. Now I just need to figure out whether, and how, I can replace the hard drive with an Intel X25M 120 GB Solid State Drive with Internal SATA and Power Cables MLC Flash Technology, 2.5-Inch Form Factor SSDSA2MH120G2K5.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6096 TruBrite LED 16-Inch Laptop (Black)


Toshiba Satellite A665D: 16-Inch Screen for Mobile HD Entertainment
Replace your desktop PC with the Toshiba Satellite A665D-S6096, which features a 16-inch diagonal HD TruBrite widescreen LED-backlit display, touchpad with multi-touch control, and a dual-layer DVD±RW drive that burns CDs and offers Labelflash print functionality. The bright 16-inch LCD (1366 x 768) offers a true 16:9 aspect ratio and 720p native high-definition resolution, and the A665D is great for using as a media center with the touch-sensitive media keys placed above the keyboard.
Enjoy both style and comfortable ergonomics with the A665's textured palm rest (see larger image).

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Monday, February 6, 2012

MSI Radeon R6970 2 GB DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card (R6970-2PM2D2GD5) Review

MSI Radeon R6970 2 GB DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card (R6970-2PM2D2GD5)
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Pro's: FAST! crushes anything I throw at it with all settings maxed out both on the card and in the game.
Cons:Coil Whine! if you read a lot of forums around the net you will see several complaints about something called coil whine, it only does it when your in a game and some may mistake it for fan noise but you will hear a mild static whine or a loud buzzing. This is perfectly normal for higher voltage cards and I was lucky enough for it to go away on it's own. I was ready to take this back the same day but decided to play around with it and see what I could do. Once I maxed out everything on it and ran it in Crysis 2 for about an hour it went away.
Use AfterBurner and change the fan to about 40-45% this will cool things down and cover some of the noise, Run something graphic heavy for a bit and see if it goes away. I have read that one of the only ways to make it go away is to take it apart and use silicon on the coil.
Enough on that,
I upgraded from a 6870 and because it is only one generation up I did not expect a huge difference, what a surprise! This machine was a beast before but now it's just down right insane!
System Specs,
AMD Phenom II BE x4 3.4 GHZ OC'd to 3.8
16gb DDR3 1333
Asus EVO
Cooler Master Silent Pro 800w 80 plus gold
Cooler Master V6 GT
I was only going to give it 4 stars but because that annoying noise went away I gave it 5.

Click Here to see more reviews about: MSI Radeon R6970 2 GB DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card (R6970-2PM2D2GD5)



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Monday, December 19, 2011

Intel Pentium G6950 Processor 2.8GHz 3 MB Cache Socket LGA1156 Review

Intel Pentium G6950 Processor 2.8GHz 3 MB Cache Socket LGA1156
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According to intel's website, this model does have HD Graphics built in. Here's the link [...].
I am not spamming or trying to put the first review down but bring back up what I think is sort of an unfair review.
If you aren't getting any video with this processor and have a P55 chipset motherboard, (you only get a blue screen that says Intel, nothing else) than you might have to go to intel.com on another computer and download the newest bios and video software.
I don't have this product but I just want to help anyone who wants the cheapest LGA1156 (so you can upgrade later) slot processor available.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Intel Pentium G6950 Processor 2.8GHz 3 MB Cache Socket LGA1156

The Intel Pentium G6950 Desktop Processor is an affordable choice for reliable and basic computing. With two cores running at 2.80 GHz, the G6950 won't have any problems handling your everyday applications. And thanks to the processor's built-in Intel HD graphics, you won't have to buy an extra video card in order to get a stunning visual experience.
Multiple Cores for Speedy, Multi-Threaded Performance The Intel Pentium G6950 contains two processors, or execution cores, on one integrated circuit. Combined with two threads, the Intel Pentium G6950 can simultaneously work on multiple tasks. Running at a speedy 2.80 GHz, the processor will keep up with you even when you have many applications open.
Large L2 Cache for Fewer Bottlenecks and Faster Performance Intel Smart Cache provides performance-maximized storage for frequently accessed data. The Intel Pentium G6950 has a generous 3 MB of L2 cache kept close to the processor, so there's always data feeding in. The result is fewer lags and bottlenecks for better functionality.
Intel HD Graphics Built-in With the Intel Pentium G6950, Intel HD Graphics is built right into the CPU, so you won't have to spend money on an external graphics card in order to get stunning results. Intel HD Graphics provides sharp images, rich color, and lifelike audio and video. Intel HD Graphics support multiple monitors, premium video such as Blu-ray Disc playback and mainstream gaming as well as a full Windows 7 experience.The Pentium G6950 has a graphics core that runs at 533 MHz to maximize viewing power.
The Intel Pentium G6950 is made on a 32nm manufacturing process for better energy efficiency. It uses the LGA1156 socket and is backed by a three-year limited warranty.
END

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

HP Pavilion dv7-4170us 17.3-Inch Laptop PC - Up to 7.5 Hours of Battery Life (Argento) Review

HP Pavilion dv7-4170us 17.3-Inch Laptop PC - Up to 7.5 Hours of Battery Life (Argento)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I was almost sad to see it go as I dropped it off at UPS today for a refund. After about a week of troubleshooting with HP about why it would lock-up after two hours or so, they reported that it must have had defective hardware.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS (FINISH, HEAT, QUIETNESS)
When I first took it out of the box and powered it on, I loved it! The aluminum finish was the biggest plus for me. After an hour or so setting it up and installing (and uninstalling) software, the entire unit (save for the plastic heat outlet) was still cool to the touch. And it was incredibly quiet, too. I don't think I ever heard the fans wind up in the week that I had it. The low setting that they were on was hardly audible.
SCREEN
The screen was brilliant, though vertical viewing angles were unimpressive. Colors were great out of the box. I chose not to play with the ATI display settings. The 1600x900 resolution is a good choice for this screen size. I wouldn't go any lower, and while I would still go higher, that is only to satisfy my greed.
KEYBOARD
The keyboard had a generally positive feel to it. I didn't have time to get accustomed to the keyboard layout. I'm used to my HP dv4 which does not have a numberpad. And the fact that I used my dv4 for trouble-shooting purposes for the better part of the week didn't help. One of my favorite features, though, was the integrated action keys like you find on Macs. The function keys up top are, out of the box, primarily used for functions such as play/pause, volume up/down, brightness up/down etc. You don't need to press the fn key to access the functions. If this is undesirable, there is a toggle in the bios setup.
TOUCHPAD
The touchpad is a serious design problem for me, though I knew what I was getting into when I ordered it. I am pretty readily adaptable to keyboards and touchpads, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem. Truth be told, I wouldn't have a problem if I kept it. It was just an annoyance. Let me clarify: When I'm using the touchpad, I like to keep my index finger on the mouse button while my middle finger does the tracking. Since the touchpad is an entire unit, with the buttons integrated beneath the sensitive track pad, any movement of my index finger would send the cursor in a frenzy across the screen. It wouldn't take terribly long to get used to, though. And tapping the top-left corner twice disables or enables the touchpad, so accidentally moving the cursor when typing isn't a worry.
AUDIO
Sound quality was a big factor in choosing this laptop. It had a brand-name moniker (apparently well respected, so I'm told), so I figured it must have been something special.
Let me be clear up front: If you are looking for sound quality, YOU WILL NOT FIND IT HERE. The laptop speakers themselves sound good, with the built-in subwoofer carrying some of the lower frequencies you don't typically find in a notebook. But this does not mean the unit sounds good. There is some filter applied, which I could not find for the life of me, that was heavily COMPRESSING the sound (boosting the quiet sounds while ruthlessly drawing-back the loud sounds). It made listening to music with the on-board speakers literally painful at times (play a song by Atreyu with lots of cymbals and it will sound like you're underneath a helicopter from the dramatic volume cuts with each hit of a cymbal). I searched all over, and even reinstalled Windows and updated drivers, and nothing would fix the problem. On the other hand, sound through the minijack was great. The output was strong, though it seems the low-mids were boosted a little as compared to my dv4 with IDT HD audio.
This whole Beats thing though is a complete gimick. Out of the box, the bass and treble controls in Windows are set to full boost, which sounds like crap. By toggling the "Beats" feature (fn+b), it simply turns the bass all the way up (on), or all the way down (off). Not intuitive at all! Also, the control panel is the exact same as my dv4's IDT control panel, but with the Beats logo stamped in some places. I am much more pleased with the Altec Lansing setup on my HP dv4.
PERFORMANCE
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to test the performance of the laptop. I did have pretty high expectations, though, as I'm coming from (actually, currently typing on) an older AMD laptop with integrated graphics. I used to be pretty interested in computers and could tell you how certain components would perform, but over the years I lost touch with that side of me. Now days, I don't know how the AMD phenom stacks up. My understanding (confirmed by a few searches) is that AMD has gotten increasingly closer to Intel's competing processors, but is still a little behind in most regards. I'm guessing that ATI graphics processor is in the midrange as far as GPUs go. With its stay on my desk, it never felt underpowered, though I admittedly did nothing to truly exercise it. When purchasing, I felt that this laptop had an outstanding price-spec ratio, which helped me pull the trigger.
BATTERY LIFE
Another thing I never got to try. If it can live up to its claim of 7.5 hours, then that is very impressive for a laptop of this size (in my opinion). More time than I would ever need in one sitting. Truthfully, I don't doubt that number can be seen if settings are kept low and activity is kept reasonable.PROS
stunning aluminum finish, nice screen, runs very cool and quiet, good featureset for the price
CONS
touchpad can be finicky, pathetic Beats audio, disc drive eject button can be challenging to pressI'll miss most the sleek and stylish aluminum finish. I'll forget the somewhat quirky touchpad. I'm glad to be away from the terrible Beats audio.
...
I know I didn't delve into as much as some would like, but due to my unit being defective, I spent most of my time focusing on getting it working rather than putting it through its paces. I hope my review can be of at least some value to most.
*Note: My dv7 being defective has no effect on my rating. All manufacturers have duds, and I'm still in a positive relationship with HP.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Pavilion dv7-4170us 17.3-Inch Laptop PC - Up to 7.5 Hours of Battery Life (Argento)

Now there's a notebook PC made for the way you play. In fact, the HP Pavilion dv7 comes with software that lets you start playing right out of the box. With amazing graphics, audio, and video, plus a wide array of options, the HP Pavilion dv7 Entertainment series notebook delivers power and performance to match your fast-paced lifestyle.

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Saturday, November 19, 2011

VisionTek AMD Radeon HD 6950 2 GB GDDR5 PCI Graphics Card 900352 Review

VisionTek AMD Radeon HD 6950 2 GB GDDR5 PCI Graphics Card 900352
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Bios switch has been removed. Do Not Flash.
Also....again...they changed the look again. BOTH pictures in the item preview are different from what I have.
This is not what I paid for, not happy!

Click Here to see more reviews about: VisionTek AMD Radeon HD 6950 2 GB GDDR5 PCI Graphics Card 900352



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Sunday, October 23, 2011

VisionTek ATI Radeon HD 4670x2 2 GB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card 900307 Review

VisionTek ATI Radeon HD 4670x2 2 GB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card 900307
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Card is helpful to those looking for graphic ability and 4 monitors. Even better - it works in 32bit Windows XP (new cards that support 4 monitors seem to require x64 Vista of Windows 7). If you are stuck on XP (for whatever reason.....), and NEED 4 monitors on one [physical] card, you have few options. This seems to be a great fit. Power requirements are also ideal - it doesnt suck power and only requires one six pin power connector (even though it seems to be engineered to be 2 cards in one). All this and it has a total of 2gb memory (looks like 1gb per GPU inside the card; so its probably not going to use all 2gb on one display - but that is just a guess/assumption). All in all a great card for specific requirements.
Side note - I wonder if anyone has 2 of these and is using crossfire for 8 monitors.

Click Here to see more reviews about: VisionTek ATI Radeon HD 4670x2 2 GB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card 900307



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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7022 LED TruBrite 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black) Review

Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7022 LED TruBrite 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I did a lot of comparison between this laptop and a comparable Acer that I found on Amazon and a few other retailers. Over all the specs for both were the same. 17.3 screen, 500 gig hard drive, 4 gigs of ram. But the Toshiba had a better video card with more memory and the AMD processor was a true triple core where the Acer had a Intel i3 duel core. And even though the i3 clocked higher I was interested in the AMD chip since it actually has three dedicated chips that clock at 1.8 ghz and the i3 does not. When I received the laptop the first thing I noticed was the keyboard had a "smooshy" feel to it. My last laptop had a satisfying "click" when I pressed a key but after a few days of typing I am pretty happy with it. The keys are not as sloppy as I thought and typing is easy and accurate. I love the screen! My last laptop was a 15.6" screen and I wanted to trade up to a larger screen (I work from home as a graphic and video editing freelancer) The colors are crisp and the is nice and bright. Overall this laptop is very fast for a 17.3" that is under $800 I do plan on upgrading the memory to 8 gigs (which runs about $200 at this time) but for the everyday user the 4 gigs it comes with are more than enough. The 500 gig hard drive was also a must for me since all the programs I use for my work take up almost a 100 gigs just by themselves. So I am all installed and still have almost 400 gigs for storage. I have had this machine on for almost four hours now and it is not hot at all. Overall I am very pleased with my purchase.
Some smaller things -
Web cam - Not the best, it looks like the contrast it turned up way to high. Honestly its not a big deal to me since I'm not a big fan of web cams.
Speakers - Like most laptops the sound is a bit tinny. I have given up on a Windows laptop sounding as good as a Mac.
USB ports - Only three. my last machine had four and a firewire and this came in handy more than once.
Windows 7 - I don't get what all the hoopla is about. Windows 7 feels just like Vista. Maybe I am missing something, but from all the hype I expected it to burp rainbows and cure cancer and so far I am just not seeing it.
Update October 25th, 2010
I am still happy with this laptop. I have upgraded the memory to 8 gigs (Almost $300 at the time of purchases.) this has made things a little more zippy but now think I could have gone with 6 gigs (and half the price) and still been happy. Cooling on this laptop is the best I have ever had. I work on this all day and have never thought to myself "Better give this machine a rest to cool down".

Click Here to see more reviews about: Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7022 LED TruBrite 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black)


Toshiba Satellite L675D: Fashionable, Affordable and Portable with 17.3-Inch Screen
Offering a redesigned chassis with a sleeker body, the nicely affordable Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7022 notebook PC makes it easy to handle computing essentials at home, school or work--from surfing the web and downloading video to managing household finances or studying for finals. And its high-gloss Fusion Finish in Helios Gray will be sure to raise a few eyebrows while you're on the go.

You'll enjoy maximum screen real estate and excellent movie playback from the stunning 17.3-inch LED-backlit display with 720p native high-definition resolution. You'll also be able to burn through the hottest new digital media, content creation and advanced 3D gaming thanks to the triple-core AMD Phenom II Mobile Processor P820.

Thanks to the built-in webcam and Toshiba Face Recognition software on this machine, you'll enjoy a more convenient way to communicate, log on or share your laptop among the family. Other high-tech features include a power-saving Eco Utility to help reduce power consumption based on your needs and one USB/eSATA combo port.

This Satellite comes pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system (64-bit version).



Key Features
17.3-inch widescreen HD+ TruBrite LED-Backlit display not only renders stunning visuals, but it's more environmentally friendly as it uses less power (1600 x 900 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio).


1.8 GHz AMD Phenom II P820 triple-core processor (with AMD M880G Chipset and 1.5 MB L2 cache) lets you enjoy movies, music and games like you never have before, with amazing detail, clarity and color. Plus, you can experience Microsoft Windows 7 the way it was intended. All this with the freedom to do more on the go with long battery life rating.


500 GB SATA hard drive (5400 RPM)


4 GB of installed DDR3 RAM (expandable to 8 GB)


ATI Radeon HD 4250 graphics card provides exceptional features, performance and power-efficiencies that enrich what you see and do (256 MB - 1405 MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory).


8x SuperMulti DVD drive with double layer support and Labelflash printing, which enables you to personalize your discs and keep them looking attractive and organized with direct-to-disc laser printing.


Wireless Connectivity
With its integrated Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking capabilities, this laptop provides up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range using 802.11n-compatible routers as you would with 802.11g networks. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found at Wi-Fi hotspots and in older home routers.



Built-in stereo speakers with Dolby Advanced Audio blends a suite of technologies to deliver a stunning audio experience from headphones or your laptop speakers. It analyzes audio signals and restores tones often lost in encoding, mimicking the same optimization techniques that go into tuning movie theaters and mixing rooms, resulting in brighter highs and deep, thumping bass tones. It also expands stereo signals to 6.1- or 7.1-channel playback for a listening experience that will have you talking long after the performance.


Included Toshiba Software:
Toshiba Media Controller offers simplified media sharing. Using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, it lets you share videos, music and pictures from the media library on your laptop with compatible devices in your home entertainment network, or with other compatible laptops and devices, like an Xbox 360 game console. And you can do it all without moving equipment, burning discs or fumbling with cables.
Toshiba Bulletin Board is an easy-to-use organizational and productivity app that lets you build your own personalized space on your desktop. With Toshiba Bulletin Board, you can quickly and easily manage your to-do lists and calendars, plus create your own custom work area by pinning your favorite photos, documents, links and more.
Toshiba ReelTime helps you cut down the time it takes to search for files. The easy-to-use app takes traditional text-based file structures one step further to help you find what you're looking for more quickly. Accessible from your taskbar, it shows you a visual timeline of your recently accessed files--using graphical thumbnails--so you can easily identify and get to your files faster.



Included Toshiba Utilities:
Toshiba eco Utility makes it easy to go green as you go mobile. Hit the Eco Button and you'll launch the Toshiba Eco Utility, which puts all sorts of easy-to-read information on your screen, and gives you the ability to adjust the power settings on your laptop. It also activates a light showing you're in the Eco Mode. The Toshiba Eco Utility lets you pick the optimal power plan for your situation. Choose High-Performance when you need every watt you can get, Power Saver for the least energy consumption, or Balanced as a perfect blend of the two.



Up to 3.8 hours of battery life (6-cell battery; 48 Wh)


Dimensions & Weight: 16.3 x 10.6 x 1.49 inches (WxDxH); 6.6 pounds



Pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system (64-bit version), you'll be able to easily create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version of Windows yet. Better ways to find and manage files, like Jump Lists and improved taskbar previews, help you speed through everyday tasks. Windows 7 is designed for faster and more reliable performance, so your PC just works the way you want it to.

And with Windows Anytime Upgrade, you'll be able to add new features to your PC in as little as 10 minutes. Windows will walk you through the simple upgrade process, it requires no software or downloads, and you'll keep your existing programs, files, and settings



Environmental Specifications
Energy Star 5.0 certified
Gold EPEAT designation for meeting standards to help reduce its environmental impact.
RoHS compliant effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances

Learn more about Toshiba's environmental commitment.

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25th Anniversary of Toshiba Laptops
This year, Toshiba celebrates its 25th anniversary of innovations and quality in the notebook PC business. Beginning with the launch of the Toshiba T1100, the world's first clamshell-type, fully functional laptop PC, Toshiba has led the with such innovations as the first laptop with a color monitor in 1991 and a laptop with integrated CD-ROM drive in 1995 (followed by the addition of a DVD drive in 1998). And in 2009, Toshiba unveiled the world's first ultraportable laptop with 512GB solid state drive.

Today, Toshiba continues to be a leader in eco-friendly manufacturing, with virtually all of its consumer laptops earning EPEAT Gold status for meeting standards that help reduce overall environmental impact.


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