We've had decent experiences with HP laptops and the price seems about right.

Of note: keyboards tend to get a wonky letter or two after a few years and if running the processor at full capacity the base gets VERY HOT. Use a cooling pad (fan types work best) and you'll keep the system healthy longer and your table or lap from scorch marks.

DaveInSoCal wrote:I've been looking for a new laptop with blu ray. This seems like a great deal. Someone tell me what's wrong with it?

Only thing I see is that it's AMD dual-core, not the newer i3, i5, or i7. Few months too late for me. :/

Will this laptop do for my solitaire games, or should I just wait for a more powerful system?

http://www.staples.com/Toshiba-Satellite-L775D-S7340-173-Laptop/product_375473?fromUrl=home&langId=-1&PID=1909457&cm_mmc=CJ-_-1909457-_-1909457-_-10422268&catalogId=10051&cmArea=SEARCH&cmSearchKeyword=375473&AID=10422268&storeId=10001&CID=AFF%25253A1909457%25253A1909457%25253A10422268&ddkey=http:StaplesSearch

Toshiba Satellite L775D-S7340 17.3" Lapto 499.00 brand new. Compare the two laptops and see if HP is a good deal.

Gorram, I HATE HP laptops.

My last laptop was a dv8000t. It was TERRIBLE.

Poor design coupled with NO support for real problems = not a fun experience.

Please, do yourself a favor - go with Lenovo.

They're well built. I'm not sure if they're well-supported, because mine hasn't broken yet, but it seems like they are. They're *brilliantly* designed. I say this coming from a Toshiba, a Dell, and then an HP.

Don't waste your time. If you want a computer that'll last, go with Lenovo.

If the audio was better, I'd be all over this. I can't seem to find a laptop with decent enough audio. All I want to do it be able to play training videos at a reasonable enough volume that 4 or 5 people can hear it from around a small table.
Anyway- I've had just about any brand laptop you can name over the years and the one that pissed me off the worst was Toshiba. They even lost a class action lawsuit about the junk they put out and all I got for my $1600 Toshiba brick was a $14 "settlement."
I looked at this particular HP at Staples and the guy there said the audio didn't go very loud because they had a slow internet connection... yeah, and he even told me how he is an "expert" at "computers" and "stuff."

I have been looking for a new laptop recently (my current one likes to just turn itself off randomly) and had been looking at this Gateway.

http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1936161&CatId=4938

But now I see this so now I'm wondering which is the better laptop and which is the better deal?

I've owned an HP desktop and have an HP laptop that is now 5 years old. I've never had any problems except for one time my power cord went out. When I called to inquire about a new one, HP send out a new one overnight shipping at no charge.

Last year I purchased a refurb HP from Woot. I was leery of a refurb, but was pleasantly surprised that it was in excellent condition and has performed great so far. For the reasonable price I paid, it's like I've won a prize when I see all the, "bell and whistles", I have with this unit.

Based on my personal experience with HP; I'll continue to purchase HP products.

This is the one I have been waiting for. Good for my graduating Senior to use at college, not quite good enough for serious gaming. In for 1.

With a LaCie external drive, short USB 3.0 cable, and wireless OFF, my VAIO will do a complete WIN 7 back up in about 15 minutes. Not bad.

After looking at the specs, this seems like a great deal for anyone looking for a non-gaming laptop, which is probably most of everyone.

Go to a computer store like Office depot and check the laptops out. I found that Toshiba volume was much better than HP. I think HP is made alittle bit better, but you have to choose the features your looking for. I wouldn't buy one unless I had first physcially inspected same. HP volume is pretty weak compared to others.

evelyn5317--

Same here, I have only owned HP products and love them. I just about have one in every room. Not too impressed with beats audio, but that's not a problem with me. HP computers, in my opinion, last for years. Would never buy any other!!

rvjeiii wrote:Will this laptop do for my solitaire games, or should I just wait for a more powerful system?

Depends on your solitaire skill level and how much you tax the solitaire algorithms and the CPU.

For what it's worth, I agree with most here on the assessment. If you are looking for an all around step above base specs, this is a good deal.

I also have had many HP units, typing this comment now on a HP Media Center I bought a CompUSA... that should tell how old this puppy is and not a lick of trouble. I can almost always find drivers at HP support sight and if I can't I prefer chatting with their support versus calling on the phone.. seems that I always get a tech that seems to "know what they doing". Lastly I work in IT for a world wide bank that uses all HPs for their desktops. Currently on the HP Compaq 8200 Elite Small Form Factor PCs. My experience is less them 1% failure rate out of the box... and even less failures over time. Our units are on 25/7 and don't have any issues except when someone happens to download a virus or smoothing that doesn't play well with it.

If you are a basic to moderate user I would recommend this unit.

is the weight for this laptop excessive or is this the standard wt for a 17" .

Wasn't the Toshiba a 15" screen. This one is 17".

Ezpcconcepts wrote:For what it's worth, I agree with most here on the assessment. If you are looking for an all around step above base specs, this is a good deal.

I also have had many HP units, typing this comment now on a HP Media Center I bought a CompUSA... that should tell how old this puppy is and not a lick of trouble. I can almost always find drivers at HP support sight and if I can't I prefer chatting with their support versus calling on the phone.. seems that I always get a tech that seems to "know what they doing". Lastly I work in IT for a world wide bank that uses all HPs for their desktops. Currently on the HP Compaq 8200 Elite Small Form Factor PCs. My experience is less them 1% failure rate out of the box... and even less failures over time. Our units are on 25/7 and don't have any issues except when someone happens to download a virus or smoothing that doesn't play well with it.

If you are a basic to moderate user I would recommend this unit.

But a couple of the guys on We're doomed! said HP sucks without giving any examples why. One guy even "knew what he was doing with computers." They must be right.

dowler wrote:is the weight for this laptop excessive or is this the standard wt for a 17" .

This is fairly light for a 17"

some one i know got laptop few months back and i did some tests for them using core temp and it shows that the CPU clock does change on the fly from 1.5 gig per core to 3.999 gig at an average of 3.2 gig but the core clock is set at 1.99 that may be why it gets such a low wie score of 5.3 the lowest of all on this unit.
It comes with Cyber link power DVD and it plays blue rays and will output hdmi or analog to an external monitor with hdmi at 1080p.
The laptop does not get that hot even under a full load and in the bios you can set the cpu fan to run all the time or run when the system needs it.
I ran a DVD and a high definition video at the same time and did not have any issues with play back of either.
The units shell itself is made of plastic that i find to be lighter.
AMDs vision control lets you turn down the CPU to run at a lower value in the CPU core clock.
I have played some games on this with out any problems, half life2, killing floor,soul survivor to name a few.
Hope this helps in your decision.

worldwidewebfeet wrote:$479 w/free shipping at Staples, 4.6/5 stars w/5 reviews.

http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-g7-1261nr-173-Laptop/product_645768

Staples also has a 14 day no questions asked return policy on laptops that I've used in the past (and rapidly learned that toshiba laptops have a 35 minute battery life).

Is there ever going to be a laptop here with a discrete video card?

Does anyone know if this laptop does a decent job of streaming video (e.g. netflix, cbs.com, etc). I'm trying to follow the steps from cablecutterguys.com and dump my cable company, and it seems like this laptop plus a USB tuner stick could be the ticket. Thanks.

Does woot ever refurb 14" notebooks???

Hope it's not like the HP laptop I bought from Woot where it has that "small" glitch that it can't hook up wirelessly unless it's within a few feet of the wireless router.

freeze55 wrote:I have been looking for a new laptop recently (my current one likes to just turn itself off randomly) and had been looking at this Gateway.

http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1936161&CatId=4938

But now I see this so now I'm wondering which is the better laptop and which is the better deal?

Hmm well depends on what your ultimate plans are.

The laptop you linked

• has a smaller resolution
  
• has less memory
  
• has a slightly faster processor
  
• has a greater variety of memory card slots
  
• has a smaller screen size

Re: Solitaire
Very funny! Thanks for the laugh!

skrutinizr wrote:If the audio was better, I'd be all over this. I can't seem to find a laptop with decent enough audio. All I want to do it be able to play training videos at a reasonable enough volume that 4 or 5 people can hear it from around a small table.

Why not just plug in a $10 set of small powered speakers? Likely you can find a usb powered set.

Laptops just don't have room for decent speakers and it's assumed you will use headset/earbuds.

I bought the 64G thumb drive last week, lasted 2 hours, will this last 4 hours?

What the heck... Have been in the market for a "generic", general-purpose, non-game, house laptop for several months now. In for one....

Great deal! My wife just told me I am in for one, WOOT! ;-)

skrutinizr wrote:If the audio was better, I'd be all over this. I can't seem to find a laptop with decent enough audio. All I want to do it be able to play training videos at a reasonable enough volume that 4 or 5 people can hear it from around a small table.
Anyway- I've had just about any brand laptop you can name over the years and the one that pissed me off the worst was Toshiba. They even lost a class action lawsuit about the junk they put out and all I got for my $1600 Toshiba brick was a $14 "settlement."
I looked at this particular HP at Staples and the guy there said the audio didn't go very loud because they had a slow internet connection... yeah, and he even told me how he is an "expert" at "computers" and "stuff."

There are plenty of aftermarket speakers, some with batteries so you don't have to plug them in.

I have a brick-like black Altec Lansing thing that is for use with iPods, but also accepts line-in. I use it for audio books, music playing and even with my desktop when I want more "cinematic" sound.

It folds down for travel and the battery runs for quite some time. I've even used it in a car on the seat next to me with an mp3 player for audiobooks when the car has no input.

This will then free you up to get the laptop with the specs you most want. Other wise, it's like buying a car only based on how good the stereo system is.

k1oik wrote:I bought the 64G thumb drive last week, lasted 2 hours, will this last 4 hours?

Depends on your Karma.

DaveInSoCal wrote:Staples also has a 14 day no questions asked return policy on laptops that I've used in the past (and rapidly learned that toshiba laptops have a 35 minute battery life).

No questions asked? I wonder if they still get video cameras back on Monday with traces of wedding cake on them. What do they do with all the returns? Do they sell Dysons??

grimskull89 wrote:Hmm well depends on what your ultimate plans are.

The laptop you linked

• has a smaller resolution
  
• has less memory
  
• has a slightly faster processor
  
• has a greater variety of memory card slots
  
• has a smaller screen size

So there are some trade-offs.

Thanks, I don't need too much but I would like a blu-ray player and I usually just play older games on pc where I don't have to worry about having a powerful enough system.

My current Hp has AMD Turion 64 x 2 Dual core TL 60 2GB Ram 160GB hard drive Vista Home Premium. Purchase 02-08 Looks like same screen and keyboard. No blu-ray but dont care about that.

Will I notice a marked improvement in speed or anything else by upgrading? Thanks.

radi0j0hn wrote:There are plenty of aftermarket speakers, some with batteries so you don't have to plug them in.
...snip snip... Other wise, it's like buying a car only based on how good the stereo system is.

I've purchased cars based solely on how fast they are, or how capable offroad they are. Different people have different criteria.
My criteria for a laptop starts with multimedia presentations, where other people think the memory size is the most important thing or if it has blinky lights.
I was spoiled by my old XPS that had great sound without adding extra speakers to my list of crap I have to lug around.

xyphox wrote:But a couple of the guys on We're doomed! said HP sucks without giving any examples why. One guy even "knew what he was doing with computers." They must be right.

I suppose if I were a member of We're doomed! I would believe them... no wait.. no I probably still would not believe them.. to each their own. I have been wooting a long time, purchased a bunch of Refurbished stuff... never had a problem nor ever had a return. Still say its a good deal

xyphox wrote:But a couple of the guys on We're doomed! said HP sucks without giving any examples why. One guy even "knew what he was doing with computers." They must be right.

I suppose if I were a member of We're doomed! I would believe them... no wait.. no I probably still would not believe them.. to each their own. I have been wooting a long time, purchased a bunch of Refurbished stuff... never had a problem nor ever had a return. Still say its a good deal.

nothing's wrong with it really.

It's too big screened to be super portable, but not powerful enough to run some of the newer games (like it'll probably have issues with Star Wars: The Old Republic, but run slightly older games like the sims just fine).

So .. if you're looking for portable you go down, and if you're looking for lots of power, you go up. most people don't go for middle ground anymore. But if middle is okay, then it'll be a great PC for a nice price.