Laptops Arena

If you want to <strong>buy cheap laptops</strong>, things are really simpler than they seem. It is true that back when they first appeared, laptop were considered more of a luxury item than a necessity and the targeted market of this product was generally composed from business people. If you are looking to <strong>buy cheap laptops</strong> today, we have 2 good suggestions of very affordable portable computers that may prove to be interesting.

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The first example that we had in mind is the Toshiba Satellite T135D-S1324, a laptop which has a $599 price. This unit is based on a 1.6 GHz AMD Turion Neo X2 Dual Core L625 processor and 4 GB of RAM. The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 320 GB while the graphics card is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200. The unit measures 12.7 x 8.8 x 1.4 inches in dimensions while the total weight of the system is 4.5 pounds if we include the power adapter. This laptop comes with the preinstalled version of the Windows 7 home Premium operating system.

The 13.3 inch display of this laptop comes with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels which has become pretty common on 13 inch ultra portables. As for the selection of ports and connections, you should know that the Toshiba Satellite T153D-S1324 is host to 2 USB ports, 1 USB sleep and charge port, an SD care reader, an Ethernet port, a VGA out, a HDMI port and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks. We simply loved the USB sleep and charge mode. In case you don’t know what this port can do, let me tell you that it is able to charge your cell phone, iPod or other similar devices even when the laptop is turned off.

For $649, you can get the Asus U50F-RBBAG05 just for yourself. This unit takes its power from a 2.1 GHz Intel Core i3 M330 processor and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. The total amount of storage space of the hard drive is 500 GB while the graphics card that can be found on this system is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD HM55. 15.2 x 10.5 x 1.3 inches are the dimensions of this Asus and since it has a total weight of 6.2 pounds if we include the power adapter, it is not exactly the most portable unit around. The unit is shipped with the 64 bit version of the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system preinstalled.



While the display measures 15.6 inches in diagonal, it comes with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels which, like I said before, is more common on 13 inch laptops. Even so, this display provides a great image quality. The unit of the Asus U50F-RBBAG05 is host to 3 USB ports, one eSATA port, a VGA out, one HDMI port, a multi format digital media card reader, an Express Card slot, an Ethernet port and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks.

<p>When you plan to <strong>rate Toshiba and HP laptops </strong>and any other laptop model for that matter, it is important that you take into consideration a lot of aspect regarding the unit at interest. There is no point of having a laptop with the best processor and graphics card on the market if the battery life is too low or if the price is too high. This is why people that <strong>rate Toshiba and HP laptops</strong> take interest in a lot of different aspects of the laptop: from the design elements and way up to the selection of ports and features.

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Another thing that one must take into consideration when visiting laptop review websites is that there are 2 different kinds of rating, the first one is the editor rating, after reviews made by experts and the user rating which is a bit more personal and subjective. Let us see which the top rated Toshiba and HP laptops are at the moment, according to the editor’s rating.

The top rated Toshiba laptop is the Satellite E205-S1904 which comes with a 8.0 rating out of a maximum 10. The price of the unit reviewed is $899 and the unit comes with a 2.26 GHz Intel Core i5 M430 processor and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 500 GB while the graphics card is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD. The unit comes with the 64 bit version of the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system preinstalled. 

The dimensions of this notebook are 13.7 x 9.6 x 1.2 inches and the total weight of the system is 5.8 pounds. The beautiful 14 inch display comes at a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels which average for ultra portables. As for the selection of ports and connections, this unit is host to 2 USB ports plus one eSATA and USB combo port, a VGA out, a HDMI port, an SD card reader, the Ethernet port and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks.

The top rated HP laptop that we came across has pretty much the same score as the Toshiba Satellite described above. The HP Mini 5102 reviewed costs only $424 and it comes with a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and 1 GB of RAM. This unit has an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 graphics card while the total storage capacity of the unit is 160 GB.



As you have probably guessed by know, this laptop is actually a netbook which measures 10.3 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches in dimensions and reaches a total weight of 3.3 pounds if we include the power adapter. The 10.1 inch display comes with a native resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels which is ok for a notebook the size of the HP Mini 5102. As for ports, this unit is host to 3 USB ports, one VGA out, one Ethernet port, an SD card reader and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks.

\A <strong>laptop notebook HDMI Blu-ray</strong> is an excellent combination for people who are multimedia enthusiasts and movie passionate and want to enjoy a good movie right from the comfort of their own home and using their personal laptop. Finding a <strong>laptop notebook HDMI Blu-ray</strong> used to be a difficult task some years ago as Blu-ray optical drives were not exactly the most common thing on a laptop. The Sony VAIO series was a trend launcher when it came to multimedia notebooks to which you could attach external HDTVs and watch HD movies from your laptop’s optical drive.
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One great example of a <strong>laptop notebook HDMI Blu-ray</strong> is the HP HDX 18, also known as the HP Dragon. Maybe because it is an elegant and huge 18 inch laptop that comes with a superb display and a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. This amazing laptop comes with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 processor and 4 GB of RAM. Aside from that, you get the nVidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics card with 512 MB of GDDR3 video memory. The total storage capacity of this laptop is composed by 2 x 160 GB leasing to a total of 320 GB of free disk space.

The unit measures 17.16 x 11.26 x 1.72 inches in dimensions and 8.94 lbs in weight and it comes with the 32 bit version of the Windows vista Home Premium operating system preinstalled. As for the selection of ports and connections, you can benefit from the 4 included USB ports, one 5-in-1 media card reader, an Express Card slot, a VGA out, a HDMI port, a docking station connector and two headphones out plus one microphone in jack. The unit also comes with an included TV tuner so you can enjoy your favorite TV shows right on your laptop. The price of the unit reviewed is somewhere around $2000.

Another super hot laptop that comes with this Blu-ray and HDMI combo is the powerful Toshiba Qosmio X505 which is a great gaming laptop, having a price of around $1900. The unit reviewed here came with the latest 1.6 GHz Intel Core i7 720 QM processor and no less than 6 GB of DDR3 RAM. the total storage capacity of the hard drive is 500 GB while the graphics card is the nVidia GTS 360M that comes with 1 GB of video memory. The dimensions of this unit are 17.4 x 11.6 x 1.63 inches while the total weight of the system is 10.5 without having included the power adapter.



The unit comes with the 64 bit version of the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system preinstalled. This unit comes with an included Blu-ray optical drive which can read HD movies from DVDs. The unit of the Toshiba Qosmio X505 is host to 4 USB ports, one FireWire port, a HDMI out, an Express Card slot, a VGA out, a security lock slot, an SD card slot and the regular headphones out and microphone in jacks.

Toshiba satellite p205 s7802 is one of the large laptops released by Toshiba in the Satellite family. It’s one of the simple, but efficient pieces of machinery manufactured by the Japanese brand. The basic component list is rather simple and holds nothing special, but the combination makes good promises that it holds on to. The component list is:
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- 1.9 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 Processor;
- 2 GB Memory;
- 160 GB Hard Drive;
- Double Layer DVD Burner;
- 17-inch WXGA Display;
- Wireless LAN.

It’s a good configuration that features a powerful processor, good speed, enough storage space for personal files and some multimedia files and a screen that allows you to use the Toshiba satellite p205d s7802 laptop for entertainment purposes. It’s a perfect laptop for students and for the office because it performs wonderfully when given day to day tasks and even applications that require some resources (such as CAD apps, Photoshop or Corel Draw). It’s not great for gaming purposes, but at this price, you can’t have it all.

The main disadvantage is that it comes with Windows Vista already installed. Vista has proven at first as a very unstable operating system, and although Microsoft made some changes, not all was repaired. Vista uses some of the resources that can be redirected towards other applications, and many find this annoying if not even stupid. It’s a 64 bit operated OS and many don’t need 64 bit apps, at least not now. That is why many have chosen Windows XP as their OS, being a more stable and requiring fewer resources. The thing is that the Satellite p205 s7802 package contained drivers for 64 bit Vista and they found out that the drivers for XP were not that easy to find. There are two ways you can find the right drivers: a Google search and picking the drivers yourself and using the Toshiba support web site.

You will find many sites that hold free software which you can download. Just a simple typing of the words “Toshiba satellite p205d s7802 laptop win XP driver” will return many such web pages. The thing is you have to know what you want and which ones are the right drivers. Some help will come when you search on forums. Many discussions take place because some have the same problems as you do and you might find the solutions written there very helpful for you as well.

The most reliable source is the Toshiba support web site. Here, under the section Downloads you will find a search engine where you will find the latest drivers for any operating system and model. You will find the filter very useful because it allows you to choose only your model of Toshiba and the operating system you desire to install and it will provide you only the drivers recommended by Toshiba. The thing is that the filter applies not only for laptops, but all Toshiba products that require installation drivers.



There is another solution for you, but it requires purchase. There are software apps that read the drivers your computer needs and finds download links for you. They also detect outdated drivers and damaged ones. It can be a useful tool, but you won’t get it for free.

One of the main requirements of any laptop is the compact design; this allows the laptop to be as easy to carry as possible. For this reason, good laptops have small displays, from 13 to 17 inches. When you want to give a presentation from your laptop you will usually need a larger screen or a projector. The same applies when you want to watch a movie with a bunch of people; the small display on your laptop is just not enough.
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For large rooms and amphitheaters it’s recommended to use projectors because you can adjust the size of the image. For school rooms and for at home, it’s more convenient to connect your laptop to a TV; this way is cheaper and it can even give you a better quality of the image.

For connecting a Toshiba laptop to the TV, you will have to find the best way for you. ATI, SAVAGE or nVIDIA video cards which have a TV output of four or seven pin via S-video receptacle. You have to find out what type of S-video cable you need according to your laptop and the TV, because there is no standard one accepted by all. We say S-video because it’s the most common used way for connecting a TV and a laptop, not only Toshiba; one of the reasons may be the cost because a S-video cord is very cheap and most TVs come equipped with it. Make sure your Toshiba laptop has an S-video port, but most satellites have one. If you can’t find it, you should know that there are other ways: VGA, DVI, HDMI and Scan Converter Box.

First, we will talk about the VGA method. It’s unlikely to find a VGA port on a regular TV, so this applies only to HDTV s. Although the S-video is the most common used way (maybe because it works on most TVs), the VGA way will give you better image quality.

The DVI option is another way you can connect your Toshiba Satellite to the TV. DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface. “Digital” is the key word here because the digital signal provides better picture detail than the first two ways written above. Not all laptops have this port, but most Toshiba satellite laptops have one. The difference is the price- this cord is the most expensive one.

HDMI provides the best quality image by far. Newer models of Toshiba satellite have HDMI ports, but most don’t. The fact is that DVI is compatible with HDMI; this means that you can get a DVI to HDMI cable to connect it. This is one of the best ways of connecting your Toshiba Satellite to the TV because you will get the best results.



The scan converter box applies to those who haven’t got an S-video port and a TV that requires such a connection. It’s useless for laptops; it applies mostly to desktops. The scan converter box takes a VGA signal and converts it into S-Video or component video, thus providing compatible signal to the TV.

We should say another thing about using an HDTV for those who don’t know: you should take some distance from the screen when using it because the quality image is very poor from small distances. You may have to adjust the resolution when using a different screen than your own. Choose the best option for you and your laptop, because connecting your Toshiba Satellite to the TV is not hard, but it does require some knowledge about both your laptop and your TV.