Laptops Arena

When you are looking to buy a cheap notebook but are not sure just how you can save some money, always think about what kind of laptop features you need. The mistake that most people make is that they buy laptops with features that they are most likely never going to use and they end up paying a lot of money for those units. For instance, why buy a notebook with a fancy graphics card if you are not a game player and have no need for a powerful video card.

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www.pccounter.net is one online store which has some very good deals on cheap notebooks, even if they are refurbished. You can choose between different manufacturers like Apple, Dell, HP, Sony or Toshiba. Once you have chosen a manufacturer and a particular laptop model, this website will show you the offers available on that unit (like coupons available or different discounts) and then it will redirect to the website where you can actually order the notebook you want. Let us take the example of the Toshiba Satellite T130-W1302 which is available for a price of $806.55. Since the website will redirect you to the Toshiba direct web page, you can customize the unit with the options available. This notebook is based on an Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 processor and 3 GB of DDR3 RAM.

The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 320 GB and the graphics card is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD. You can choose between the 32 bit and the 64 bit version of the new Windows 7 Professional operating system. Other features of this notebook are the 13.3 inch display which has a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The unit comes with an integrated Bluetooth device and a webcam plus a microphone. Other cool features are the included HDMI port and one USB port which has the sleep and charge function (this means that if your cell phone is connected to the laptop via an USB cable, the phone can charge even if the laptop is turned on).



For a starting price of $549, you can now start configuring your Dell Studio 15 laptop, a unit which has made a lot of fans due to the fact that it is both cheap and practical. For this price, you get a notebook which is based on a 2.2 GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core T4400 processor and 3 GB of RAM. The total storage capacity of the hard drive is 250 GB and the graphics card is the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD.  The laptop has a 15.6 inch display and it comes with a dual layer DVD burner. The unit comes in a standard “Midnight Blue” color but you can customize the unit and choose another color for $40. The notebook comes with the preinstalled version of the 64 bit version of the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. Along with the operating system you get a couple of trial programs, like a 30 day trial for the McAfee Security Center.

In our days, a laptop has become a very practical accessory. If you are a business man or you simply want to have access to technology every time, you certainly have to be the proud owner of a notebook. For those people who want to buy a very powerful and high-quality laptop, we have gathered the top 10 notebook computers which are currently available on the market at the present time. These models belong to the most popular manufacturers, like Apple, Alienware, Dell, Sony, HP, Toshiba and Lenovo.

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The first laptop that we have to mention in this top 10 notebook computers is the HP Pavilion dv5t. This notebook is designated for those multimedia fans which have a low or medium budget. The Dv5t model comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB of DDR2 RAM memory, nVidia GeForce Go and Windows Vista Home Premium.

It has a 15.4 inch WSXGA+ display with a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels and HD (720p) support. Also, it comes with a 320 GB (SATA 5400 RPM) hard drive, a Blu-Ray and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0.

Another fantastic notebook which is worth mentioning in this top is the Alienware Area-51 m15x. This notebook is designated for gamers and was launched, at a price of $3600. It has a 15.4 inch WUXGA display with HD support and a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels.

Being a gaming notebook, it comes with an Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8 GHz processor and 2 GB of DDR2 RAM memory. To keep up with the most demanding games, it has an nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX 512 MB graphics card, Windows Vista Home Premium and a 200 GB (Serial ATA 7200 RPM) hard drive.  Besides all these, the Alienware Area-51 m15x comes with a DVD-Burner, card reader, HDMI port and Bluetooth 2.0.

The Sony Vaio FZ is also one of the best notebooks on the market. It is quite a very powerful device at an affordable price. It has a 15.4 inch WXGA display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and HD (720p) support.

For running multi-tasks without any lag, it comes equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 2.1 GHz and 4 GB of DDR2 RAM memory. In standard configuration it comes with an nVidia GeForce 8400M GT graphics card, preinstalled  Windows  Vista Ultimate, a 300 GB (Serial ATA 4200 RPM) hard drive, Blu-Ray and 2-in-1 card reader. For connectivity it has 3 USB ports, a FireWire port, an Ethernet port, a HDMI port, a VGA port, an S-video port and headphones and microphones jacks.

From the Dell manufacturer, we have chosen the Dell XPS M1530. Because the notebook’s prices are in a continuous decrease, the Dell XPS M1530 comes with a price of only $1900. For this price you will get a powerful device with a 15.4 inch WUXGA display with a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5 GHz processor and 3 GB of DDR2 RAM memory.

Equipped with an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card and a 320 GB (SATA 5400 RPM) hard drive, you will be capable to play a lot of games without malfunctions. Other included features are DVD Writer, Card Reader, Bluetooth 2.0, Mobile BroadBand, a HDMI port, a VGA out port and USB 2.0.

We are at the middle of our top 10 notebook computers with a star in this ranking, the Apple MacBook Pro, available at a price of $2100 – $2500, depending on what configuration you choose. In standard configuration, this notebook comes equipped with a 15.4 inch WXGA display with a native resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels and HD support.

The processor is  Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4 GHz, 2 GB of DDR2 RAM memory, an nVidia GeForce 8600 GT graphics card, a 200 GB hard drive and preinstalled Mac OS x.  Other features are the DVD Writer, an Express Card slot, two USB ports, a FireWire port and a DVI-out port.

The Toshiba Qosmio F55, even if it is considered a low-end laptop, it is definitely worth mentioning in our top. The most attractive feature at this laptop is that it has a 15.4 inch display and a GPS sensor. It comes equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an integrated nVidia GeForce 9700M GTS graphics card, and 2 GB of RAM memory. On the specification list, it has a preinstalled Windows Vista Home Premium operating system, eSATA ports and HDMI-CEC ports.

Another “fresh” notebook is the Dell Studio 15, available at a price of $1600. This device is equipped with a 15.4 inch WUXGA display with a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T930 2.6 GHz processor and 3 GB of RAM memory.

The integrated graphics card is an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 and the hard drive has a capacity of 320 GB of free space. In addition, the Studio 15 has a Blu-Ray optical drive, a card reader, HDMI support, a VGA port, a FireWire port, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

With a price of only $1000, the Toshiba Satellite A305 promises to be another phenomenal notebook made by Toshiba. It comes with a classic 15.4 inch WXGA display with HD support and a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 2.0 GHz processor, 4 GB of RAM memory, a 320 GB hard drive and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 graphics card.  For connectivity, it comes with a card reader, USB, FireWire, S-Video, VGA, Wi-Fi and HDMI-CEC.

In January 2008, the Lenovo Company has launched the IdeaPad Y510 model, a laptop which impresses people by being one of the most powerful Lenovo notebooks. Available at a price of $1000, it comes equipped with a 15.4 inch WXGA display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 1.83 GHz processor and 4 GB of RAM memory. It also comes with an integrated nVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card and a 250 GB hard drive.

For the end of our top 10 notebook computers, we choose an older notebook model, the Sony Vaio NR. Even if this notebook was launched in November 2007, it has proven to be the perfect unit at that time.

Anyway, available at a price of $1050, it is equipped with a 15.4 inch WXGA display with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 1.83 processor, 2 GB of RAM memory, a 250 GB hard drive and an integrated Intel GMA X3100 graphics card. Whether you choose an ideal laptop for gamers or the most powerful "multimedia monster" any laptop from this top would be a road companion. With prices between $1000 and $2000+, these models are affordable for most customers.

Toshiba notebooks will always be known as being good quality machines because Toshiba is one manufacturer with experience in the production of electronic apparel. In order to see just what Toshiba notebooks are really made of, let us check out the review for the Toshiba Tecra R10. This laptop is mainly dedicated to the business segment but the $1540 indicates that a lot more people could afford to get one for their homes.

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The notebook is based on a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P9300 processor and 3 GB of RAM. The graphics card is the nVidia Quadro NVS 150M with 128 MB of video memory. The total storage capacity of the included hard disk is 160 GB. The unit comes with the 64 bit version of the Windows Vista Business operating system preinstalled.

This attractive notebook is one big combination between black and silver which looks very appealing to the eye. The 14.1 inch display has a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and it may not be the greatest display ever seen on a 14.1 inch laptop but the truth is that you can read the display just fine even when you are outdoors and this is not a quality for many notebooks, as you know. The horizontal viewing angles are clearly way better than the vertical ones.

The keyboard of the Tecra R10 is excellent. The matte silver keys reminded us of the Dell Inspiron 1525 keyboard. The keys offer positive feedback and they feel very pleasant to the touch. There is a little bit of flex registered but only when you apply heavy pressure during typing. The touchpad is silver, just like the keyboard and the entire area surrounding the keyboard.

The touchpad has a nice surface and it is very responsive, with no signs of disturbing lag. The downside of the touchpad is that the left and right touchpad buttons are somewhat hard to press especially using your thumb. Between the 2 buttons you will notice a fingerprint reader which means that you will most likely trigger the fingerprint reader by accident a couple of times before actually pressing the left and right touchpad buttons.

Let us see how the Toshiba Tecra R10 can handle the ports and connections chapter. The unit comes with 3 USB ports (one of which is an USB and eSATA combo), a VGA out, an Ethernet port, an Express Card slot, a security lock slot and the headphones out and microphone in jacks. The unit also comes with an integrated Bluetooth but I am surprised that there is no FireWire or HDMI port. As for the battery life, you could manage almost 3 hours with the wireless card enabled, the display brightness set to 70%, the Windows Vista power management profile set to “balanced mode” and while listening to some music. The Toshiba Tecra R10 is a good choice by the end of the day as it has a good configuration for a price which is not that unaffordable. Too bad that the Express Card slot is blocking the optical drive and I don’t understand how Toshiba could make such a mistake.

A modern gaming notebook is the best selling desktop replacement because everyone wants to be capable to play any game without having any problems. If you want a lot of performance and you’re not willing to pay Alienware prices, you can choose the Toshiba Qosmio x305-Q706. This model has the same balance between design and performance like an Alienware laptop but at a lower price.

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The price starts from $1,200 but it can get somewhat expensive, depending on what configuration you choose.The Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q706 gaming notebook has a synthetic material case with a magnesium chassis which offers a great protection against scratches or if you accidentally drop it. The combination between metallic red and carbon fiber texture gives a beautiful and quality aspect.

With 16.2 x 12.0 x 2.5 inches dimensions and a total weight of 10 lbs, this gaming notebook is certainly a desktop replacement. The display is a 17 inch WSXGA LCD one, ideal for games or watching movies, with a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels.

Because the Toshiba Qosmio X305-706 is a gaming notebook, it is very powerful. In standard configuration it comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26 GHz processor and 3 GB of DDR3 RAM memory.  But the most important aspect of this laptop is the graphics card configuration. It comes with two nVidia GeForce 9800 GTS graphics cards that allow you to run the latest games at optimal speed without having any problems. The 320 GB 7200rpm hard drive is enough for you to store your photos, movies, music and games.



Because this gaming notebook has large dimensions, it comes with a 104-key keyboard. The flat surface and the flexible plastic material of the keys can provide you with an extraordinarily gaming experience. Even if you want to write something your hands will be relaxed because the keys are large with a generous space between them. The touchpad, like the other gaming notebooks, is quite small. But for a maximum efficiency we recommend you buy a mouse. The surface of the touchpad is made of a plastic material with a great finish and it’s very responsive to every light touch.

But let’s talk a bit about connectivity. The Toshiba Qosmio X305-706 has anything you need. It comes with 4 USB ports, a Ethernet port, a 56k modem port, a FireWire port, a HDMI port, a Display port, a S-Video port, a VGA-out port, an Express Card slot, a 5-in-1 Multimedia Card Reader, a 802.11b/g/n Wireless adaptor, a Bluetooth adaptor and the usual headphones, line-in, line-out, and microphone jacks. For burning or watching your favorite discs, this gaming notebook has a SuperMulti DVD-RW optical drive with Blu-Ray feature.



For sound, there are four integrated Harman/Kardon speakers plus a subwoofer, which produce a clear and loud sound. With these speakers you will never want to attach an external set of speakers, only if you want to throw a party. The big disadvantage of this unit is the weight. Even if the 12-cell battery keeps this laptop up for only 2 hours in stressful conditions and 3 hours and 15 minutes on standby mode, this gaming notebook is a desktop replacement.  With a low price and the great performance we recommend this notebook because it is worth all the money.

I think the main reason why people buy notebooks as desktop replacements is the lack of space inside their home. Other than that, I still believe and old fashioned computer can offer good performance for less money, and the components are also cheaper in case you want to upgrade. Anyway, we have tried to look into some if the best desktop replacement notebooks.
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For $1164 dollars you can buy the Dell Studio 17. This notebook is files under “multimedia laptops” but it has some pretty good specs for its price and the 17.3 inch display is the ideal size for a desktop replacement. A minus would have to be the fact that you have to pay extra if you want the full HD screen. The design of the notebook does not have anything which can be considered too appealing. It has pretty much the same design as the other Dell Studio notebooks. If you like the satin lid, we’ll let you know it’s available in 5 different colors and which is not a fingerprint magnet like other Dell notebook’s lids are. When you open the lid you will come across the matte black keyboard and the silver area of the palm rest. As expected, the Studio 17 has a set of multimedia touch sensitive controls that blink when you touch them and they respond to your every command.

If you are heavy user of the keyboard and type really fast, you may notice that they keyboard has some flex which may disturb you. If you slow down and type at a more “calmer” pace, then this problem will disappear. The touchpad is large so there is nothing to complain about. Since you will be using this notebook as a desktop replacement, we think it’s best you get yourself an external mouse which may prove faster and more efficient.  Even if the display has a glossy finish, the side angles are quite ok so you can enjoy a movie with a couple of friends or family when you gather around this notebook. The JBL speakers are ok and the sound quality is decent. You can enjoy a movie or some tunes without having to attach any external speakers or put your headphones ok.  To really live up to the title of “best desktop replacement notebook”, any machine has to have a sufficient number of ports and connection as not to limit the possibilities of the users. The Dell Studio 17 has 3 USB ports, one HDMI out, a Display port, a VGA port, a FireWire port, an Express Card Slot, an Ethernet jack, a super 8-in-1 media card reader, plus two headphones and one microphone jack.



Above the display there is a 2.0 mega pixel webcam which has become quite a necessary feature since social networks allow us to make friends all around the globe and video chat programs such as Skype allow us to have some real time fruitful conversations. The 1.6-GHz Intel Core i7-720QM processor combined with 4 GB of RAM (with the possibility to upgrade to a maximum 8 GB), 320 GB of solid state drive and the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 graphics card with 1 GB of video memory will surely provide some power, just enough to keep you satisfied and determine you to keep using this notebook. I think it’s fair to say that this $1164 notebook offers the performance of a more expensive one so it may prove to be a wise investment for your home.



In our opinion, one of the best desktop replacement notebooks is the Toshiba Qosmio X505. The unit reviewed is worth about $1900. First of all, it’s not at all expensive if we compare it to other Toshiba Qosmio models. It’s a multimedia notebook that offers the best specs for all the money you pay. The design of this notebook is definitely something you’ll remember long after you first see it. The black chassis with red touches got us thinking that it’s funny how this laptop can be serious, mysterious and furious at the same time. 4 USB ports, a HDMI port, a Kensington lock slot, an Ethernet port, a FireWire port, an Express Card slot, a 5-in-1 memory card reader plus the headphones and microphone jacks should be enough to go wild with this notebook as you please.



In our opinion, this keyboard is somewhere close to perfection. It resembles a regular computer keyboard, with fully sized keys and a numerical pad. On left side of the keyboard there is a set of multimedia control buttons for different commands like adjusting the sound volume of launching Windows Media Player. The touchpad is accurate and pleasant to use but we still recommend an external mouse if you plan to play any games. I must admit, I expected to find a 2.0 mega pixel webcam on this unit instead of a 1.3 one but this doesn’t mean you can’t get some good video images especially if you are using Skype which is, in our opinion, the best program for video chatting. 1.6-GHz Intel Core i7-720QM processor, 6 GB of RAM (and you can upgrade to a maximum 8 GB), 320 GB of disk space and a nVidia GeForce GTS 250M graphics card with 1 GB of video memory is a combination that will show you what it means to have a truly powerful notebook.



And since it’s so powerful, don’t get your hopes up to high as far battery life is concerned. When you browse the internet continuously with wireless turned on, the notebook will stay on for about 3 hours. What else did you expect from this 18.4 inch monster? Since it’s pretty heavy, we’re sure you didn’t plan on carrying around much, so it will probably stay on your desk and connected to a power outlet most of the time. You can even play some games but don’t expect the performance of an Alienware.

The two notebooks we have presented are just a few examples of what a good desktop replacement should look like. There are still many more models you can choose from, it’s just a matter of finding some spare time to do the research.