techETA » Laptops

ASUS G73JH takes no guff from nobody

Rafael Hernandez — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:00:54 +0000

It’s disingenuous to say that your next gaming notebook purchase will be used for anything but destroying stuff in a virtual world but going for something a little understated means you can pretend you’re at least doing something a little more productive with your time.

ASUS’ G73JH gaming laptop isn’t a fan of brash colors and lights but it’ll pump out framerates like a pro. The stealthily designed chassis holds together your choice of Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 mobile processors (we’re hoping you choose the i7 for performance sake), dual hard drive bays, up to 8GB of memory, and ATI’s Radeon HD 5870 Mobility graphics card. Yes it’s fast.

ASUS G73JH gaming notebook review @ HEXUS.net

MSI GT660 notebook takes no prisoners

Rafael Hernandez — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:30:27 +0000

Gaming notebooks tend to claim that they’re extreme but lack anything to separate themselves from the glut at the high end. MSI seeks to change that with their new GT660 gaming notebook which goes beyond the normal designs with an interesting array of features.

Sure you’ll find the usual choice of Intel Core i7 processors and NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 285M pulling graphics duty but its Dynaudio audio system, USB 3.0 connectivity, three DDR3 memory slots, built-in overclocking features, and dual hard drive bays will be sure to make this a difficult gaming laptop to match up against.

MSI GT660 @ MSI

Smaller footprint laptops rounded up, something for everyone

Rafael Hernandez — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:15:36 +0000

The bulk of the notebook market is made up of models with displays starting at 15″ and going on up to some obscene sizes not suitable to use anywhere but a desk leaving those with a hunger for mobility in a bit of a bind.

Interestingly there are still companies pumping out 14″ designs, and smaller, such as the HP ENVY 14 which offers an Intel Core i7 quad core processor and ATI Radeon HD 5650 mobility graphics and an all aluminum chassis which rivals many 17″ desktop replacements spec wise despite is miniature form factor. The mobile warrior now has many more weapons than one would imagine.

Laptop Buyer’s Guide: 14-inch and Smaller @ AnandTech

Apple MacBook Air slimming down some more

Rafael Hernandez — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:15:02 +0000

As thorough as the Apple computer lineup is there isn’t much in the way for the ultra portable fans out there to be happy with since nothing in their lineup has a screen smaller than 13.3″ and no the iPad doesn’t since it can’t run most of the heavy duty apps laptop users require. So there.

Rumor has it that Apple is rectifying this oversight and will be re-purposing the MacBook Air brand as an ultra portable user’s dream machine. The lack of an optical drive does lend the platform to such duty but the new model is purported to ship with an 11.6″ screen and ultra low voltage versions of the Intel Core i* processors which should make them extra peppy.

Apple readies 11.6-inch MacBook Air and new iPod touch @ DigiTimes

ASUS U30Jc notebook offers power and mobility

Rafael Hernandez — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:30:00 +0000

The market for small and powerful laptops is almost non-existent. You’re usually stuck with a mix of ultra low voltage chips that don’t quite cut it and some frustratingly slow integrated graphics you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Ok you might since they probably wouldn’t be able to get their game on with it.

ASUS’s U30Jc notebook packs in a beefy, well for a portable computer, Intel Core i3 330 or 350M processor, up to 8GB of memory, 13.3″ LED backlit display, and NVIDIA GeForce GT 310M graphics card as well as Intel’s GMA HD integrated GPU that allows the system to have a little graphics processing power when it needs to and automatically switches to the GMA when you’re doing some normal web surfing in order to save on that always precious battery life.

ASUS U30Jc Intel Core i3 350M Laptop Review @ Legit Reviews

AVADirect Clevo W880CU prefers you tethered to an outlet

Rafael Hernandez — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:00:54 +0000

If you’re looking for the sort of high end desktop computing experience while on the road you’re stuck with a wide range of desktop replacement notebooks to deal with which isn’t so bad considering that stack of games you want to play through.

The AVADirect Clevo W880CU notebook apologizes for nothing as it squeezes in an Intel Core i7-820QM processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M GPU, and a very inviting 17.3″ 1080P LED back lit screen. You’ll want to keep that power brick handy of course.

Fermi Goes Mobile: AVADirect’s Clevo W880CU with GTX 480M @ AnandTech

Acer Aspire AS5745 and AS7745 opts for the graphics prowess

Rafael Hernandez — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:30:54 +0000

If you’re tired of all of the notebook options sporting nothing but integrated graphics you’ll be disappointed to find out that manufacturers are still using those dreadful components especially in this day and age where you need that graphics power for the simplest of tasks…like accelerating 1080p content.

Acer has you covered with their new Aspire AS5745 and AS7745 laptops. The new models both sport LED backlit displays, 802.11n Wireless, and Dolby Home Theater v3 support but that’s where the similarities end. The AS5745 does its work with your choice of Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processors combined with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics and a 15.6″ multitouch display starting at $899. Gaming fiends may be interested in the Aspire AS7745 with its dual hard drive support, Intel Core i7 CPU, and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 GPU to power its 17.3″ screen coming in at $1399. You should expect to see these models popping up soon.

Toshiba Portégé R700 manages thin, light, and optical

Rafael Hernandez — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:00:49 +0000

Going ultraportable means ditching any sort of performance or usability along the way. Well that’s not entirely true but you’d better make sure to pack your external optical drive and hope your fingers are nice and limber because you’re going to be slaving away on that cramped keyboard for a while.

The Toshiba Portégé R700 manages to cram in up to an Intel Core i7-620M processor, 13.3″ LED backlit display, and a DVD drive in a one inch thick chassis. If the starting price of $999 is too much for you to handle the company is also releasing a consumer friendly (Best Buy oriented) Portégé R705 with a Magnesium Blue lid, Core i3 processor, and Intel Wireless Display technology to ease your video watching needs.

Toshiba Portégé R700 @ Toshiba

ZaReason Verix Notebook believes you need serious hardware

Rafael Hernandez — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:30:10 +0000

The notebook computer segment is awash in a sea of plastic clad designs with color schemes that are more at home in a child’s playroom than in your svelte and sleek laptop bag…picky aren’t we?

The ZaReason Verix notebook is prepared with your choice of hardware but the particularly interesting Intel Core i7 Q-720 processor, 80GB Intel SSDSA2MH08 SATA SSD, and NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M 1GB graphics card all wrapped in a snazzy aluminum clad case is sure to help you power your way through all manner of tasks both business and gaming related under a Linux environment. Yeah I have no clue about the lion either.

ZaReason Verix 1656 Notebook @ Phoronix

MSI GX640 Laptop has budget mobile gamers in mind

Rafael Hernandez — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:00:59 +0000

It used to be that you would have to shell out quite a bit of cash if you wanted any sort of decent gaming experience on a laptop computer since the drop off in performance between the high end and mid-range models was so severe.

The MSI GX640 notebook opts for an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 and a speedy Intel Core i5-430M processor for an inexpensive and very powerful gaming platform. AnandTech has the review:

MSI doesn’t skip out on any of the major features or connections with the GX640. Besides the usual USB 2.0, HDMI, and VGA ports, they provide FireWire, eSATA, Bluetooth, and an ExpressCard/54 expansion slot. The only things you might miss are DVI (you can use an HDMI-to-DVI adapter/cable) and DisplayPort outputs and USB 3.0—and it would have been nice if the eSATA port was a combo port, as we’re left with just two USB ports. Even with those minor complaints, there’s plenty on tap here. MSI also has a 3-year limited warranty on the GX640, something we really like to see with laptops.