Samsung have a ‘desktop replacement’ laptop out there with a 15 inch display and Blu-Ray drive. The R540-11 laptop sports a 500GB HDD along with 1080p output in case you need to hook it up to a HDTV. Here are the full details on Samsung’s R540-11 notebook

* Rich, glossy, brushed espresso finish
* 5.6 inch widescreen 1366 x 768 LED-backlit display
* Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
* Intel Core i5-450M 2.4 GHz processor
* 4 GB memory
* 5.2 lb
* ATI Mobility Radeon 545v graphics card
* 500 GB HDD
* 802.11n connectivity
* DVD+/-RW DL with Blu-Ray
* 3 USB ports
* 1.42 x 14.9 x 10.1 inches

The R540-11 is not what you’d call compact nor portable and the description ‘desktop replacement’ fits it well. However with a price tag of $900 at Amazon, you can’t ignore its appeal.

Samsung R540 laptop reviews

PC Mag – four out of five stars – pros, top of its class in speed, Blu-ray drive included, powered by a Core i5 processor – cons, poor battery life, small battery
Samsung customer review – five stars out of five
CNET user review – four stars out of five – pros, fast i5, Blu-Ray player – cons, no Express card slot, no USB / eSATA port, only 0.3 mp cam, no blue-tooth, and poor battery life
Associated Content – four out of five

Featured Tags laptop, samsung


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Toshiba have a 11.6 inch netbook out there, perhaps the most surprising thing about the T215D-S1140 is the 1.7GHz AMD Athlon II Neo processor. That’s right, it’s not an Atom processor. Here are the rest of the numbers on the Toshiba Satellite T215D-S1140

* 1.7GHz AMD Athlon II Neo
* 2GB RAM
* 250GB hard drive
* No Optical Drive
* 11.6 inch 1,366×768 res display
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225 graphics
* 3.3 pounds
* 0.7 x 11.2 x 8.2 inches
* Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Here’s some marketing speak from Toshiba on the unit

Take off where netbooks leave off with the affordable Toshiba T215D laptop with 11.6-inch screen (model T215D-S1140), Toshiba’s thinnest and lightest Satellite model yet. Offering the performance, flexibility and functionality you expect in a standard-sized laptop but in a highly portable and efficient package, this T215D features a power-efficient AMD mobile processor and a number of energy saving enhancements that deliver up to 5.15 hours of battery life.

Computer Shopper have done a full review of the T215D laptop and gave it an 8.7 rating claiming the processor speed, HDMI port, full-size keyboard as pluses whilst perhaps much more importantly battery life or lack of as a negative.

There’s also a customer review over at Amazon which generally cites similar pros and cons as Computer Shopper.

The T215D-S1140 is available at Amazon for $468.

Featured Tags laptop, toshiba


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MSI have a CULV in their current notebook lineup, namely the X420. We haven’t seen much action on the CULV front these days, but the manufacturers still churn out the odd one. The X420 lacks an internal optical drive but of course this reduces the unit’s weight and size with it scoring a 0.95 inches on the width front. Here are the rest of the details on the MSI X420 notebook

* Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor SU7300 1.3GHz 800 MHz 3MB Cache
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
* 14″ WXGA / Glossy Type 1366×768 display
* ATI Radeon HD5430 1GB DDR3
* Internal Speaker ×2
* 4GB (2GB x 2) DDR2
* 500GB SATA HDD
* Gigabit Ethernet
* Built-in 802.11b/g/n
* Bluetooth
* 2 in 1 (SD/ MMC) Card Reader
* 1.3 MP Webcam
* USB 2.0 X 2
* Graphics Card Output (15-pin, D-Sub) X 1
* Mic-in X 1, Headphone X 1
* Battery Pack 8 cells
* 13.79″ (L) x 9.22″ (W) x 0.95″ (H)
* 4.5 lbs with (8-cell battery)

Some good specs on the MSI X420, but with an Amazon price tag of $695 we think it just misses the mark. PCMag agrees with us giving the X420 a three out of five stating old tech CPU and memory mis-management as negatives yet battery life, size and weight were all in favour of the X420. The unit gains a 7.5 editor’s rating at Computer Shopper where concerns were expressed over performance again yet the switchable graphics option and weight were considered positives.

If you happen to have an X420 from MSI then let us know what you think.

Featured Tags laptop, msi


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Lenovo have got in on the 3D act with the latest addition to their IdeaPad range, the Y560d laptop. The unit boasts ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD 5730 and a 15.6 inch display as well as of course, the TriDef 3D system. Here’s a breakdown of the specs and features on the Y560d 3D laptop from Lenovo.

* Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor ( 1.60GHz 1333MHz 6MB )
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 1GB
* 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz
* 15.6″ HD Wide LED – 3D 1366×768
* 500GB HDD 5400rpm
* DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
* 6 Cell Lithium-Ion battery
* Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 network card
* Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR

So if you’re after a 3D laptop the IdeaPad Y560d from Lenovo may be just what you are looking for. The unit currently will set you back $1500 from Dealzon.

We did look around for a few reviews but none were to be found, which surprised us with the 3D technology being relatively new. Of course if you have managed to get your mits on an IdeaPad Y560d, drop us a comment and let us all know what you think!

Featured Tags laptop, lenovo


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Today we’re checking out the i5 powered Acer Aspire AS5741-6073 laptop. This unit sports a 15.6 inch display with a $700 price tag, here are the rest of the details on the Aspire AS5741-6073

* Intel® CoreTM i5-430M Processor (3MB L2 cache, 2.26GHz)
* 4GB DDR3 1066 SDRAM
* 500GB hard drive
* Acer® CineCrystal 15.6″ (1366 x 768) TFT display
* Intel® HD Graphics
* 802.11b/g/n WLAN, gigabit LAN
* Webcam
* Integrated Super-Multi drive; 5-in-1 card reader
* Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium ; 64-bit version
* 5.3 lb
* 15.6 inch widescreen display
* Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW optical drive

As mentioned the unit sports a $700 price tag and in fact is only $687 at Amazon. And at amazon it’s already received a five star customer review which doesn’t mentioned any downsides to the Aspire AS5741. PCMag have also reviewed the unit and gave it 3.5 stars out of five, stating ‘Design looks dated. Keyboard design makes it a magnet for dirt and dust.’ as cons, whilst liking processor, battery life, and weight.

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Asus have unleashed the EeePC 1201PN notebook on the unsuspecting world. The 12.1 inch notebook squeezes itself into a market niche somewhere between netbook and mid-range notebook with a MSRP of $499. Judging by comments around the web, despite using Nvidia’s Ion platform for its discrete graphics chip, this EeePc lacks the Optimus technology from Nvidia which consequently means a shorter battery life. If you are still keen read on for a full list of specs on the Asus Eee PC 1201PN notebook

* Intel Atom N450 (1.66 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache)
* Nvidia ION 2 graphics platform
* 12-inch WXGA (1366×768) LED screen
* 2 GB DDR2 RAM, 2 x SODIMM Slot, 4 GB Max
* 250 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
* Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System (32 Bit)
* HDMI and VGA out
* Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n connectivity
* 0.3 MP Webcam
* 3.1 lb
* 11.65 inches, 8.19 inches, 1.31 inches

Shame about the lack of Nvidia Optimus as an enhanced battery life would have helped the EeePC 1201PN raise its head above the current throng of notebooks around the $500 price tag. We did manage to track down a review for you over at LaptopMag, where it receives 3.5 stars out of 5, not exactly a stellar result.

So it seems the Asus EeePC 1201PN falls a bit short of the mark, but if you really, really want one then you can pop on over to Amazon where you can your hands on one for a slight discount on MSRP at $484.

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It wasn’t that long ago that we were enthusing about the MSI GX640 gaming notebook and here we are two weeks later and MSI have unleashed yet another one on the alien-bashing world. The latest unit, the GX740, sports a 17 inch display, powered by a quad 1.6 GHz Core i7 processor with a Mobility Radeon HD 5870 grahocs card with a go-faster red trim. The price tag will be around $1400, so if you’re still interested feel free to check out the rest of the details

* 17 inch TFT-LCD Widescreen Display
* Quad 1.6 GHz Core i7 processor
* 4GB memory
* Mobility Radeon HD 5870 graphics card (with GDDR5 1GB VRAM)
* 7.1-channel audio output
* Built-in subwoofer
* 5 SRS Premium Sound™-certified high-fidelity speakers
* 500GB, 7,200RPM HDD
* Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
* HDMI output
* 2.0 Mega Pixel Webcam

The MSI GX740 certainly seems to sport the necessary specifications for a gaming laptop with a nice price tag of $1400 at Amazon. As for reviews, PC Advisor give it the thumbs up with a slight reservation about the lack of a full HD display and Notebook Check give the MSI GX740 a thorough test review with a glowing final verdict.

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