Laptops Arena

Under $300 laptops can now be found on a lot of refurbished laptop websites. For instance, check out www.usanotebooks.com and look at the Dell Latitude D410 for as low as $295. It is powered by a 1.73 GHz Intel Pentium M processor which comes combined with 1 GB of RAM. It may not bee the most optimal combination for running multiple applications but it will do if you consider the low price.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
The hard disk storage capacity is 40 GB. The graphics card is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 which can support up to 128 MB of video memory. It features a 12.1 inch display which uses the TFT technology. Unfortunately, there is no integrated optical drive only an external CD writer and a DVD reader which add some lbs to the total weight of the laptop. It has both a touchpad and a pointing stick. It has 3 USB ports, one VGA port, one Ethernet port, one port replicator used for connecting a docking station, one modem port, one infrared port and the regular headphones and microphone jacks. You can either request this laptop with the Windows XP Pro operating system or you can pay an extra fee of $20 and get the operating system plus some preinstalled software like an antivirus program and the Microsoft Office suite.

As you can see, these under $300 laptops can easily be found everywhere. For the same price of $295 you can buy the IBM ThinkPad T42 with the similar 1.70 GHz Intel Pentium M processor and 1 GB of RAM. It also has 40 GB of free disk space. The difference between the 2 models is made by the ATI Radeon 7500 with 32 MB of video memory. The 14.1 inch display also uses the TFT technology and offers a native resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. The selection of ports and connections is bit different than that of the laptop mentioned above. Is has 1 USB port, one parallel port, one external monitor port, 2 PS/2 ports and one headphone and one microphone jack. It comes with only one choice for the operating system which is the Windows XP Pro. It also has a 6 months warranty (in fact, both laptops have the same warranty period) and it weights 4.9 lbs which is not exactly the ideal weight when you want a portable unit.

If you are on the market for a very portable unit, check out the Acer Aspire One netbook which can be purchased for as low as $295. It is a 2.8 lbs notebook with the dimensions of 10.2” x 7.2” x 1” and this makes it small and light and highly portable. It has a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor and 1 GB of RAM. It comes with a hard disk which has a storage capacity of 160 GB. The graphics card is also the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950. The 10.1 display can support the maximum resolution 1024 x 600 pixels. It has 3 USB ports, one VGA port and one headphone plus microphone jack (even if the unit already comes with an integrated microphone).

When it comes to laptop reviews, we seem to have given more attention to certain manufactures like Dell or HP because their models are selling better than anything else. This is why this laptop review is going to be about something else: the MSI GT627.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
We have found that this particular model actually meets the requirement of a gaming laptop, without being as expensive as a gaming laptop is most of the time. This 15 inch gaming laptop has amazed us not because of the specs, but because of its low price. You would normally expect to pay at least $2500 for a decent gaming laptop but that's not the case here. This unit can be bought for $1150 and you the 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 combined with 4 GB of RAM (if I'm not mistaking, we have come across a lot of gaming units which only has 2 GB of RAM and you the more RAM your laptop has, the better). The graphics card is an nVidia GeForce 9800M GS with 1 GB of DDR3 of video memory (we're talking about some quality video gaming here). The capacity of the hard disk can support a maximum of 320 GB. As for the design, this laptop has the typical gaming combination of black and red.

The brushed metal finish makes it look really elegant and yet somehow solid. Since it weighs 5.6 lbs it has the advantage of being more portable than the other 11 lbs gaming laptop we have reviewed so far. This means that you could also take this laptop to the office or at class without breaking your back. The lid of this laptop is not that easy to scratch and since it does not have a glossy finish, fingerprints won't be a problem either. The sad news is that once you buy this laptop, you have to wait 1 year until you can do any kind of upgrades or else you will void the warranty.



As for the display, the glossiness gives the color excellent sharpness and great contrast. Viewing angles are not excellent but for a gaming laptop, what are the chances of friends wanting to gather around and watch you shoot zombies? The disadvantage is that regular gaming laptops usually have 17 inch screens which mean a better resolution. We were surprised to find a numerical pad in a 15 inch laptop but we are never upset of getting extra keys on the keyboard. There was some flex noticed in the keyboard area. Apparently the keys have a slight wobble and a moderate throw when you're typing and these things are uncomfortable for some people. The touchpad is great on the other hand and it doesn't show any signs of lag. The left and right mouse buttons are aluminum brushed but gaming laptop still require an external mouse unless you want to tie up your arm in a knot when you're using both the keyboard and touchpad during game play.



Regular daily computing activities are no problem for the MSI GT627 because the processor and the RAM work great together and give us both speed and the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously. Ports and connections are important no matter what the size of the laptop is. It's nice to see that this laptop comes with 3 USB ports (one of which is an eSATA + USB combo port), one HDMI port, one VGA port, a TV antenna, an Ethernet port, one Express Card slot, a Kensington lock slot, a SDHC multi card reader and the regular headphone and microphone ports. In general, the speakers of a gaming laptop should be above average. They are usually better than the speakers and regular laptop. Unfortunately, this is not the case of this MSI. They are much weaker than the speakers on regular 15 inch laptops. The lack of bass is highly noticeable so when you're playing games, get yourself some decent headphones or maybe regular laptop speakers which are in any case better than the integrated ones. The nVidia GeForce 9800M GS generates a lot of heat since it's very powerful. It's not recommended you start playing games with this laptop in your lap as the temperature may be a little too much for your legs to support. For laptops which have overheating issues, it is recommended you get a special laptop cooling pad if you want to be able to use this unit for a long time. The noise coming out from this laptop is normal. If you are in a quiet room, you will be able to hear the cooler of the laptop but with some background noise, it's barely noticeable.



When it comes to battery life, this laptop can handle things better than bigger and heavier gaming laptop but the number are nothing to be amazed about. If the display brightness is set to 70% and the power management profile of the operating system is set to "balanced mode" with the wireless card active, you will get about 2 hours and 35 minutes of battery life. Like I said, nothing special to talk about here. If you were planning to take this laptop to class and take notes, it won't make it throughout a whole day. This laptop is not a bad choice if you are on a budget but still looking for a nice gaming laptop. It can live up to the expectation you have from the bigger 17 inch gaming laptops and the price is at least reasonable.



Gaming performance may squeak here and there but there are only a few laptops that show 100% capability of running any game. The truth is you won't be able to find many good gaming laptop for $1150 for unless you are planning to save some money and buy an Alienware laptop, go out and get yourself this MSI. Even if the keyboard may be strange to type on, whenever you switch from one laptop to another, you always need some time to adjust to the new keyboard.

We have spoken of different laptop parts and models but how about an article about laptops in general? As many of you know, in the past there was a huge price gap between laptops and regular desktop computers. Laptops were seen as an accessory for business men as they used to cost very much and were considered a luxury product. Today, laptops have become like cell phones: a portable and useful item for most of us. Since technology has become essential in our everyday lives, most office jobs require the personnel to have a minimum in computer knowledge because everyone, from the manager to the accountant, store important files and get lots of work done with the help of a computer.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
With the help of a computer and a webcam, you can make business Skype video calls with business partners from different corners of the planet. They facilitate our work as well as communication. People today don't write letters any more, they write e-mails. They don't send Christmas cards anymore, they send electronic greeting cards. They don't use regular small computers to calculate balances; they use Excel formulas and spread sheets. Students don't bother turning in hand written essays anymore; they type them on their laptops. Old friends don't get together to drink beers and catch-up anymore, they chat using instant messaging programs. In a way, the evolution of technology helps us to simplify our lives and our work but spending too much time in front of the computer can make you forget about the other leisure activities. Kids with laptops rarely practice sports anymore. All they do is play shooting games and surf the internet. Other people forget mathematic equations because the computers help them calculate most of them. I guess it's true what they say: laptops really are the "necessary evil".

Do you know which are the main components that give power to the laptop we all need so much? First, we have the motherboard. This is a big component to which all the other laptop parts are connected, like the processor. The processor is the brain of the laptop and as we explained in one of our previous articles, it's the components that read different types of data and all the application we run have to be filtered first by the processor. There are numerous types of processors available on the market today and the newer our laptop is, the better processor it will have. Dual core processor have basically two brains that can works simultaneously, therefore application can run twice as fast. It's ideal for people that use their laptop to do several things at once.



The RAM is a special type of memory module. It is called random access memory because it can literally access different parts of the memory. One part does not have to be connected in any way with the previous module. The graphics card can also be known as the video display controller. Every image you see on the display of your laptop is made by millions of colored pixels. In order to display these images, there is a set of data that needs to be taken from the processor and translate it into a picture. This is why we have graphic cards. All the information about images that go to the processor is then sent to the graphics card. Laptop LCDs are not very different from regular monitors. The term LCD some from liquid crystal display. There are a lot of technical details that we could give about how those liquid crystals move around the display how an LCD is made and what it contains but that will probably bore most of you.



The battery is another important part of the laptop but it is not essential to make the laptop run. Laptops can run by simply connecting them with their power adapters to a power outlet. They don't even need to have the battery inside. Batteries for laptops are created for portability reasons, just like we have batteries for cell phones to use them wherever we are, the same way laptops are powered by batteries when we don't have a power outlet in handy to connect the laptop to. It is knows that the power of batteries decreases in time. A tip would be to take out the battery of the laptop whenever you have the power adapter connected to the laptop. When you use your laptop at home, you will most likely keep it plugged in so the presence of the battery inside he laptop is becoming pretty useless. Simply take it out and not only will you save some battery life, you will also be removing a heat source from your laptop (and we all know how heat sources can damage our notebooks).



Another important part of the laptop is the internal storage, also known as a hard disk. New laptops have hard disks which provide more storage room. The more GB your hard drive has the more files and applications you can store on your laptop. We have explained in a previous article how hard disk works and what it has inside. It is basically composed of platters and a needle (this is the simplest way we can explain it). Those platters are like bigger CD and the needle writes the information on the disk every time you give a command to your computer. The files you copy or install on your laptop are stored on these platters and can later be accesses. Compared to RAM, this type of memory is different because its permanent.



This mean a file will stay in the hard disk's memory until you delete it yourself, while RAM is only temporary and every time you restart your laptop, that temporary memory is erased. These are the basic components of the laptop, but there are many more features, like ports and connections that help increase the functionality of your laptop. Some laptops also have integrated webcams, microphones, Bluetooth devices, optical drives but we'll leave that information for another article.

I've always wondered: how can I monitor my laptop temperature. I mean, I read every day about laptop overheating problems and how high temperatures can damage the components inside and eventually shorten the life of my laptop. My Toshiba (Satellite L300) gets really hot on the left side of the keyboard, where the air vent in located and under intense usage the touchpad is so hot that I can't use it anymore so I always have an external mouse in handy. When laptops reach high temperatures, they simply shut down with no warning, as a measure to protect the parts inside from actually melting. You must not turn them back on immediately; just leave it turned off for about 20 minutes so things can "cool off".
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
Since new software is being developed constantly, we now have special applications that run quietly in the background and they monitor the temperature of your laptop. Thank God the question "How can I monitor my laptop temperature" has an answer. These programs keep track of degrees for the processor, the graphics card, the hard disk and other components and it shows a table that refreshes every second with the temperature for each of these parts. You can still do your job in the meantime because such application do not require a lot of RAM and don't eat up significant laptop resources that could stop you from using your laptop. When a certain component reaches an alarming temperature, the program will pop up on the screen and warn you that your computer needs special attention. You can shut it down or out it to sleep for a couple of minutes or maybe just close some of the many programs you are running simultaneously.

For example, one such useful program in Coretemp. It's an application that shows the temperature for every of your laptop's core separately whether you have Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. The thing is, I believe this program only works for the CPU so if the overheating problem comes from the GPU the program could turn out to be pretty useless. The temperature is displays in the tray bar so you don't have to keep opening and closing the main window of the application. Since it does not waste many laptop resources, it will keep running no matter how many simultaneous programs you are using.

Another application that could help is MobileMeter. This software is available for free download at www.softpedia.com. All you have to do is unzip the files (there is one executable and one readme file) and the program will work on its own, with no other installation required. This application will show you the speed of your processor, the temperature of the processor, the charge rate (how fast the battery of your laptop is charging or discharging) and the temperature of the hard drive. Not only does it show the actual temperature of these components, but it will also show a small graph with the evolution of the temperature in the last minutes. A new icon will appear in the system tray whenever the program is running. With a simple right click you can toggle the item plus the graph display. The left click you reveal a list of possible actions which you can take. The "options" tab will allow you to snoop around the useful features, and you can even see some battery information.



Aside from using special software that monitors your laptop temperature, there are some measures you can take to prevent overheating problems. For instance, the main definition of the laptop says it's a portable computer which can be used on your lap. As you know, human body can generate a lot of heat and when this heat is combined with the heat of the laptop, the total temperature rises for both your lap and the unit. When the laptop is not place on a flat surface and you just put it on the sheets in your bed, the air vent can be blocked. This means that hot air is stuck inside the unit instead of it coming out for proper cooling. This can also lead to severe heating problems that shorten the life of your laptop. There are special cans, filled with air, that allow you to clean the air vent by simply blowing out the dust that gets inside the laptop.



When you laptop is getting too hot, to fast, you may need to open it up to properly clean the cooler. There may also be dust clogs inside the heat sink. The problem here is that the heat sink is generally soldered to the motherboard so it may be difficult to gain access to it. If your laptop shuts down without a warning, the first thing that should come to your mind is that there may be a problem with the temperature. Check and see if the laptop is too hot in the key areas, like the palm rests and at the bottom, where all important laptop parts are located. No matter where you put your laptop you have to make sure that the air vent is not blocked. Even if the notebook is on your desk or table, there could be several objects, like cups or books which are located to close to the place where hot air should be coming out from the laptop. I can't tell you how many times I placed my cup of coffee next to the air vent and when I picked it up to have sip the cup was basically burning. Well, it's a way to keep my coffee warm all of the times but I'm sacrificing my laptop for it.



The temperature of the laptop is something that has to be taken seriously as it can cause damage like dropping your laptop on the floor. Too much heat damages the internal parts of the laptop and you may end up with a useless machine just because you didn't pay more attention. Also try to consider buying some laptop cooling pads as they are a great solution for laptop that generally have a problem because of powerful components that generate a lot of heat.

Laptops under $400 are not an endangered species as they used to be in the past. It was pretty hard to find such a cheap unit and in our opinion, even today’s laptops under $400 act accordingly to their price: cheap! You cannot expect any kind of performance from these laptops so you have to understand that cheap notebook can only cover the basic and, sometimes, mainstream computing needs.
<-300x250 Medium Rectangle - center->
On www.newegg.com you can find a couple of laptops under $400. One of them is the Acer Aspire AS5732Z-4510. It has a 2.1 GHz Intel Pentium T4300 processor which is combined with 2 GB of RAM. If the 2 GB are not enough, you will be happy to know that you can easily upgrade to a maximum 4 GB. It comes with the Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bits operating system so now is the time to check this OS out and see what everyone is so amazed about. The graphics card is the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M so no video performance for you here. 160 GB is acceptable when it comes to hard disk space and it’s a sign that you could use this laptop as your primary computer. In case the space isn’t enough for you, you can always buy an external hard drive to cover all your storage needs.  The 15.6 inch display has a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and it features the Acer CineCrystal Technology. Other features of this laptop are the dual layer DVD burner, the 2 built in stereo speakers and the integrated webcam. We could not find too much information about the ports and connections but we do know that this laptop has 2 USB ports, one VGA port and a 5-in-1 media card reader - Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO), Secure Digital (SD) Card, Memory Stick, (MS), MultiMediaCard (MMC) and xD-Picture Card (xD). They say the battery lasts about 2 hours and 30 minutes and the total weight of the laptop is 6 lbs. The laptop is brand new and you get 1 year limited warranty.

Since it’s one of the most important factors that determines in some cases if a person buys a laptop or not, we’ve looked into some user reviews about this specific laptop model. From a total of 15 users, 26 % have rated this laptop as being excellent, 53 % think it’s good, 7 % consider it average, 7 % think it’s poor and another 7 % see it as being very poor. One user said that this laptop runs great with the Windows 7 operating system and that he really loved the display and the keyboard. However, some reviews stated that users had to return this laptop because of various problems (such as the optical drive that would not run). Other users did not appreciate the variety of software that came installed with their unit as they considered it useless and even called it “spam”. In general, people think they got the right specs for the money they paid and in the end you get what you pay for. Users say that this laptop is easy to set up and even a person that doesn’t have previous experience with this laptop can easily learn how to use it. One user complained about the touchpad being too slow and another user didn’t see the point of having an integrated webcam if you don’t get an integrated microphone to go along with it. Overall, the users are happy with the keyboard and the display above all the other aspects and features of this laptop. It seems to be a great laptop for its money and it covers all the basic needs. Users have bought it for their wives that use it mostly to surf the internet or their kids who want to listen to music and watch music and use some casual chatting programs. Some users would have liked longer battery life and better sound quality (they say that the maximum volume output is quite low). Come on, what did you expect from a $400 laptop, 4 speakers and a subwoofer. Sound problems can normally be fixed with a good pair of external speakers or some headphones.



$400 is also the price for the Asus K50IJ RX05. It has the 2.0 Intel Pentium T4200 processor and 3 GB of DDR2 RAM. Notice the improvement compared to the laptop above? You get 320 GB of free disk space instead of 160 GB like you did on the previous laptop so that means you’re probably not going to need any kind of external hard drive. The graphics card is the same Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M with shared video memory. You have a DVD optical drive, 4 USB ports, one VGA port, and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks. It has an integrated 1.3 mega pixel webcam and the dimensions for this laptop are 14.80" x 10.24" x 1.30" - 1.40". It weights 5.7 lbs and if you are wondering what the catch is, well… this laptop is refurbished.  This means you only have a 3 month warranty.



The nice thing here is that you can get some nice combos at special prices. This means that for some extra money that you pay, you can get another item that goes with your laptop. For example, $478 is the price of the Asus K50IJ RX05 and the LINKSYS WRT320N dual band wireless router which is a great item if you want to establish a wireless connection at home and get internet access even in your back yard.



If you pay $509, you can get the Microsoft Office Some and Student 2007 edition licensed for 3 PCs (plus the Asus laptop, of course). Deals are found all over the internet, you just have to know how to look, where to look and who to trust. Maybe laptops under $400 are not such a bad idea if all you ever do on the internet is chat on Yahoo! Messenger or upload pictures to your Facebook account.