The Budget Desktop Replacement From Dell

When people think of desktop replacement laptops, usually expensive laptops come to mind. Almost all of them have powerful processors that are also paired up with powerful video cards, thus making them also gaming laptops.

How about the people who do not need those features? Well, Dell has an answer for that – the Inspiron 17R SE. For those looking for a big laptop without the need for extreme features, this will serve you well.

Design

The Inspiron 17R is a desktop replacement, but it doesn’t have the imposing frame its peers are known for. Rather, the 17R has a softer appeal, great for mainstream users who aren’t interested in playing games.

Being a 17 – inch laptop, you’re bound to have some weight to carry. Weighing at 7.27 pounds, that’s certainly a lot of weight, but better than most laptops of the same screen size.

Since this is a budget laptop, expect some compromises when it comes to the body. The bottom is made of plastic. Thankfully, the top lid is made of aluminum with a honeycomb pattern that looks nice. The aluminum design is also found in the palm rest.

Display

Featuring a wonderful 17.3 – inch screen, the 17R has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It’s great because it compliments all of your HD videos.

Aside from that, the laptop has more than enough brightness to fill up a dark room. You can watch a movie comfortably in the dark with this laptop. To help with glare, Dell even supplies this laptop with a matte screen.

Due to its purpose of being a multimedia laptop, the display has good viewing angles, allowing you to watch movies with a friend or two.

Hardware

In terms of hardware, the laptop actually impresses. 

The processor is a quad – core i7 Ivy Bridge processor, the 3610QM. It’s actually a great processor because many gaming laptops offer it as a default offering. It’s a very capable processor allowing you to do heavy duty tasks such as rendering videos without any problems.

For graphics, you are provided with the fastest budget NVIDIA graphics card, the GeForce GT 650M. It’s a graphics card that actually turns the laptop into a decent gaming machine. You’ll find it in ultraportable boutique laptops.

How does it perform? You can play some demanding games on it, such as Diablo III. It runs at a smooth 29 fps on ultra at 1080p. Even Starcraft II runs at a playable 41 fps at 1080p. Some other games though can’t be played. The ultra – demanding Dirt Showdown moves along at a slow 19 fps with everything maxed out. However, reducing the image settings to High allows you to play at 47 fps.

Memory is at 6 GB, which is normal for budget laptops. Since this you’ll mostly be using this laptop for simple tasks, it’s more than enough. Storage comes at a measly 1 TB HDD. That’s enough, but it doesn’t compare to an SSD.

For the adventurous though, you can always install an SSD yourself.

Conclusion

Dell has created a great budget laptop for just 1,160 dollars. It manages to impress thanks to its decent gaming abilities and quad – core processor.

Well, this is better than your old laptop, so if you have decided to sell your laptop be sure that you will only transact to legitimate companies like Cash4Laptops.com. 

Protecting Your Laptop Software

So you just bought a new laptop and sold old laptop. Congratulations! However, a computer is one of the most fragile things ever created, especially when it comes to software. Just mess up on little things and then everything goes down the drain. Examples include getting viruses, which are nasty occurrences.

With that in mind, you need to be aware of protecting your software at all times, because you never know when something could go wrong.

Keep in mind these things when you have a new laptop:

Antivirus Software

One of the first things you need to do when you turn on your new laptop is installing antivirus software. It is imperative you protectyour laptop from any viruses, because if you don’t you’ll notice a drop in performance.

If you bought a laptop, normally they come with trial versions of antivirus software. These are great, because they already work. To get the full features though, just pay a small fee.

Other times, free antivirus software works great too, such as Microsoft Security Essentials. Just make sure you scan your computer every week.

Updating the Software

If your laptop comes with preinstalled software, you better make sure they are updated. That’s because updated software allows better protection from viruses and hackers.

Programs like Google Chrome, Adobe Flash and other things like that all require regular updates. If you install them, don’t ignore the updates that come with them afterwards. They’ll definitely help you in the long run.

Create a System Restore

Eventually, you’ll want to branch out and experiment with your operating system. Sometimes, those experiments go haywire. That’s where a System Restore comes in.

A System Restore allows you to return to the last working condition of Windows, where all of the settings and everything else are restored to their normal condition, as if nothing happened.

It’s a great tool to have, especially for those who like to tinker with computers. You can set how often Windows will save restore points such as weekly or daily so you can pick the latest one.

Remove Bloatware

Other times, manufacturers ship laptops with plenty of software to sweeten the deal. Some are useful, while some are not. Useful software includes Adobe programs. You’ll definitely use them in the future.

Examples of useless programs include additional menus that look similar to Mac OS X, Other examples include webcam software, which a lot of people don’t really need, especially when they’re not into webcam sessions.

Create an Admin Account

If other people are going to use your computer, sooner or later someone is bound to mess it up. Prevent this from happening by creating an administrator account.

There, you’ll be able to control everything other people do, such as installing software. You can prevent them from installing anything by asking them to enter a password, which of course, they don’t know.

The benefit of this strategy is significant, especially for those who have internet cafes.

Conclusion

By following these simple tips, you’ll be able to preserve the life of Windows. You won’t have to reinstall the OS every 6 months or sell your laptop to have a new one.You can leave it longer if you like.

The Young Alienware

When the Alienware M11x burst into the scene, it captured the attention of critics who thought that gamers couldn’t game on a portable system. It proved to be a hit, but sadly it was discontinued. Alienware said that customers wanted to focus on bigger systems.

However, the portable gaming crowd isn’t lost because Alienware recently updated their medium – sized laptop, the M14x to accommodate better hardware, but still be portable enough.

Let’s take a look, shall we?

Design

The Alienware M14x is just like every other Alienware made, only smaller. The features are still the same. You get the same crazy colors on the grills, logos and keyboard, which you can change with a special program.

Despite being a medium – sized laptop, it manages to be bulky. It weighs 6.4 pounds, and is 1.5 inches thick. That being said, it actually manages to be the as thick and as heavy as 17 – inch laptops, so consider that if you’re buying this laptop.

Display

The M14x comes with a 14.0 inch display with a screen resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. If you’re feeling cheap, you can lower the resolution to 1366 x 768 pixels.

Overall, the glossy display can be a bit of a hassle to use outdoors thanks to some crazy reflections. To make up for it though, the M14x has great viewing angles.

Hardware

This laptop isn’t afraid to put on some muscle. Featuring the latest hardware available, the M14x easily beats laptops of the same category.

It features an Intel Ivy Bridge 3720QM processor, one of the higher end i7 processors. The clock speed is at 2.6 GHz, but you can turn on Turbo Boost 2.0 for an amazing 3.6 GHz.

For graphics, you’re provided with the GeForce GT 650M, the top mid – level graphics card of NVIDIA.  Though it may not be the GTX series, it’s certainly no slouch.

Thanks to the lower resolution, games play smoothly. You can play Diablo III with 45 fps and the demanding Deus Ex Human Revolution at 30 fps. For racing fans, you’ll be happy to know that Dirt 3 can be played at ultra with 26 fps. By doing a couple of tweaks to the settings, you can get even faster frame rates.

When it comes to storage, you’re provided with a 64 GB solid state drive by Samsung. You’ll find it adequate, but due to the small space, you’ll have to put all of your games and files onto the 500 GB hard drive. The solid state drive is there to help decrease boot times, which it effectively does.

Memory is at 8 GB, which is a standard among enthusiast gamers. It’s also adequate for daily tasks.

Conclusion

You have 1 USB 2.0 port and two 3.0 ports. There’s also VGA, HDMI and DisplayPort for your multi – display needs.

All in all, this laptop features sturdy construction, great design and if you sell computer for cash for this Alienware, you will not regret it.It has  amazing performance for its price (2000 dollars) . At that price though, you might be turned away, because there are other alternatives. But since it’s Alienware, you get consistent performance and great support.

Purchasing an Ultrabook

These days, manufacturers seem to be shoving ultrabooks down everyone’s throats. To make matters worse, they all have their own designs! Why can’t they just keep things simple?

Having plenty of choices is an advantage though. In a way, you can stand out from the crowd because you were able to look for an ultrabook in the farthest reaches of the universe.

So now what? With a huge number of choices, it’s still going to be a hard picking the right one. Are you going to sell old laptop? 

Thankfully, you can just consult this guide to make it easier for you.

Design

The first thing you should look for in an ultrabook is the design. It is Intel’s intention to create a kind of laptop that is portable yet powerful at the same time. In this part, we’ll focus on the design.

Look for an ultrabook that feels really great and is made with quality materials. Most ultrabooks come with plastic bodies, while some are aluminum. Others have a combination of both.

You’ll want to purchase an ultrabook that feels very tough so it can last a long time, preferably one made with metal. A great example is the Zenbook series by Asus, which uses great materials.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Another thing to consider here are the things you’ll be touching the most – the keyboard and touchpad. You’ll want to look for a keyboard that allows you to type comfortably and allows few mistakes. Also, keep in mind the overall response.

The same goes for the touchpad. Look for a laptop with a great touchpad that allows you to do all the things it is supposed to do very smoothly. Scrolling, zooming and other things should be smooth. Try to stay away from touchpads that have separate mouse buttons. Look for more modern designs.

Hardware

Generally, ultrabooks have Ivy Bridge processors as a standard, so stick with that. If you can find a laptop that offers an Ivy Bridge i7 processor, then you should go for it because it offers better performance in terms of speed and processing.

Keep in mind that RAM also affects multitasking and overall speed. You can open more programs with bigger RAM.

In terms of storage, ultrabooks are supposed to come with solid state drives. If you find an ultrabook with a hard disk drive as the only option, stay away, because it indicates a lower – priced ultrabook.

Other ultrabooks come with a hybrid drive. This means that there’s a small portion that acts as a solid state drive where the OS is installed and the other one is for the storage that’s significantly larger. While these options are great, look for a laptop with a real solid state drive, as it offers significantly better speeds than hybrid or hard disk drives.

Display

Lastly, you’ll want to look at the display. Most ultrabooks come in 11, 13, 14 and even 15 inch versions. Since ultrabooks are intended to be portable, it’s best to stick with 11 or 13 inches.

Check for color projection and viewing angles, as this will dictate how much you will enjoy looking at your laptop. After all, you’ll be staring at it for the duration of its life.

Conclusion

Selling your old laptop for cash to have a new ultrabook won’t be so hard now with these things considered. Go out there and have fun shopping!

Vizio’s First Laptop

When you think of Vizio, the first thing that comes to mind is HDTV’s. In fact, Vizio built their entire reputation making great HDTV’s and other home theater products, but you wouldn’t expect them to make laptops.

Well, you’re mistaken, because they’ve recently unveiled the Thin + Light, their first foray into the ultrabook world, and as a whole, the laptop world.

While the name won’t win them any awards, it will win them legions of new fans looking for a very engaging ultrabook that is luxurious and affordable.

For this review, we’ll take a look at their 14 – inch Thin + Light model with an Intel Core i7 processor.Will people actually sell their laptops for cash and buy this thing?

Looks

Just like their sleek looking HDTV’s, their laptop sports a very flat and elegant look. In fact, it’s looking more like a futuristic device than any of the other manufacturers out there. The all – metal build makes the laptop very durable and feel premium too.

The laptop weighs 3.4 pounds, making it very portable. It’s also 0.67 inches thin, making it very easy to hold and bring around. Rounding out the dimensions, this laptop is 13.3 inches wide and 9.2 inches long.

Display

Their knowledge in making HDTV’s serves the Thin + Light very well. It features a 14 – inch display with a wonderful screen resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. This resolution is the same for all variations of the 14 – inch model, which is really great.

The screen resolution offers great balance between screen space and readability. Everything is in HD, but not to the point where you need a magnifying glass to read.

All in all, Vizio makes a great screen worthy of their name.

Hardware

The Thin + Light model adheres to the ultrabook conditions set by Intel, and you’ll find it makes for a great ultrabook experience.

This laptop has a third generation Intel Core i7 processor, making it very fast. Also, you get 4 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. This ensures that loading times, saving files and doing general tasks are all very fast.

Overall, the speed is amazing with this laptop. The only thing missing in this laptop is a dedicated graphics card.

Still, you’ll be able to play casual games without any problems. Just don’t expect to play Call of Duty with this laptop.

Other Features

In terms of ports, you only get a minimal selection.  You get two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port and a headphone jack. That’s all you have to work with. The reason for this is to keep the laptop thin and portable.

To connect to the Internet, you’ll have to rely on Wi-Fi. You can purchase a USB to Ethernet dongle though, to help you with buggy Wi-Fi connections.

Conclusion

Under heavy use, you get 5 hours of battery life, which is respectable for this laptop. You can go through a whole afternoon doing nothing but watching YouTube videos, and you won’t have to worry about the laptop dying on you.

Overall, this laptop is a great first try for Vizio.  It may have excluded some features, such as a backlit keyboard, but this laptop is great than to buy used laptop.

Image Source:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Vizio-s-first-notebooks-are-now-officially-available.76751.0.html

The Best Ultrabook Right Now

Many companies out there tout their ultrabooks as the best. Nice resolutions, fast performance and all that jazz. However, they usually come with a compromise. For example, some manufacturers market their laptops as ultrabooks, even though they have optical drives!

Other companies feature fast processors, but only integrated graphics. This turns off customers who love the ultrabook design, but are looking for more power in the graphics department.

Well, here comes one company that manages to design an elegant ultrabook and compete in the graphics department – Asus.

Well done, Asus. Not only do they have one of the most elegant and functional Android tablets available, they also have one of the best ultrabooks, the Zenbook UX32VD.

Design

Similar to other Zenbooks before, the UX32VD features a wedge design with a two tone color.

It features a unibody design made from an aluminum frame. The great thing about this laptop is that it conforms to the ultrabook rules set by Intel. This laptop is thin, light and fast.

It weighs just 3.3 pounds. In terms of thickness (or thinness, if you will), it’s just 0.2 inches at the front! At the back, it widens to 0.7 inches.

Display

Thanks to the dedicated GPU (more on that later), this laptop packs some incredible visuals. As you’d expect, resolution is higher than the ones offered by other ultrabooks. How high? How about full 1080p HD!

Yes, you’ve read that right. The 13.3 – inch screen on this laptop features 1920 x 1080 pixels packed into a non – reflective display. It’s very bright and crisp. You’ll be able to view HD content without any problems as well as other programs that need a higher resolution.

Hardware

To match a dedicated GPU, Asus installed an Intel Ivy Bridge i5 processor. The i5 processor is definitely one fast processor, adequate for gaming and other tasks.

However, you do get the option to go even faster with an i7 processor. If you can afford the i7 processor, then do so.

So what about the dedicated GPU? Well, it may not be the best in the world, but it’s better than nothing. You get an NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M, the weakest in the GeForce GT family of mobile GPUs.

While it may be the weakest, it certainly puts up nice visuals. You’ll be able to play non – taxing games in high settings. For demanding games though, you’ll still be able to play, but you need to tone down the resolution and settings.

Rounding out the package is 4 GB of RAM and a 320 GB hard drive. This helps keeps the price down.

In terms of ports, you get an HDMI port, mini DisplayPort and three USB 3.0 ports. There’s also an SD card slot and a 2 MP webcam.

Conclusion

With an amazing design, killer keyboard and a five – hour battery life, the UX32VD is definitely one of the most impressive ultrabooks to date. If Asus can continue to improve their designs, they might even be able to install more powerful GPUs, leaving every other ultrabook in the dust.

If you have decided to sell your laptop and ask yourself “where can I sell my laptop", visit Cash4Laptops.com, They offer decent price for your old laptop and you can use the money to buy the Asus Zenbook UX32VD Laptop.

Image Source:
http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX32VD/

A Surprisingly Affordable Gaming Laptop - CyberPower Xplorer x7 – 81000 Review

So, you’ve decided to sell old laptop and you want to use a Gaming laptop instead. That’s great, gaming laptops are everywhere and they all come in different shapes and sizes. 

Even big brands like Samsung have made their own gaming laptop in the hopes of being crowned the king of gaming laptops.

However, there’s one thing they can’t beat – CyberPower. Why? They’ve just made one of the most affordable gaming laptops.

For just $1,399, the CyberPower Xplorer x7 – 81000 gives you 1080p, an NVDIA GTX 670M and a bunch of other amazing stuff. Sounds tempting? It definitely is.

Let’s take a look at this laptop closely and see if it’s worth the money.

Design

To become affordable, there is one thing that has to be compromised – the body. Most big brands charge premium prices for their laptops because they put a lot of work into the design of the laptop.

Other companies though, purchase casings and put their parts into it, eliminating the need for graphic artists and engineers working side by side to create a body unique to the company.

This is the case with CyberPower. They make use of the MSI GT70 0NC body. MSI is a big company that manufactures computer hardware, such as motherboards.

The overall look of the laptop resembles a stealth fighter plane, with square – ish corners that resemble hexagons. That being said, this laptop is quite bulky. It measures 2.1 inches thick! It’s also 16.5 inches long and 11.3 inches wide.

Display

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, you get a nice 17.3 – inch screen with 1080p HD.

To make it affordable, CyberPower doesn’t include matte coating. This makes the screen a standard glossy display, but for $1,399, you really can’t complain.

Hardware

For the price, you’ll be surprised at the stuff this laptop packs.

To begin, this laptop has a 2.3 GHz Ivy Bridge Intel i7 – 3610QM processor. This gives the laptop amazing benchmarks when it comes to speed and loading times.

Also, you get 8 GB of RAM, which is adequate for all of your needs. You won’t experience any slow down when you’re playing games while running other background tasks.

The GPU in this thing is also powerful. It has the NVIDIA GTX 675M, which is basically the second most powerful GPU of NVIDIA, right behind the newly released 680M. This gives the laptop some serious gaming capabilities. You can basically play games in their highest settings without any problems.

For storage, you only get one hard drive with 750 GB of space.

With ports, you get plenty. You get three USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port. There’s also HDMI, VGA and an eSATA/USB combo port, giving you a total of five USB ports. A DVD writer completes the package.

Conclusion

All of the hardware discussed in the previous section is the basic configuration of the laptop. At 1,400 bucks, you can say that this isn’t a bad deal at all.

With a customizable backlit keyboard and powerful performance, the Xplorer is one amazing laptop that manages to defy expectations of traditional gaming laptops.

If you are itching to sell laptop for cash to get a gaming laptop, the CyberPower Xplorer x7 – 81000 is really a good choice.

Tips for Picking a Laptop for College

If you just graduated from high school and now you’re headed to the jungles of college, then you need something by your side that will be with you all the way – a laptop. In college, having a laptop is a godsend, because of all the things you can do with it.

Since you don’t have the time to go to computer shops and they’re pretty much all far away from campus, you need a laptop wherever you go.

In this list, there are several things to consider when picking a laptop.

Size

It’s important to consider the size of your laptop you’ll be purchasing. Will you buy a huge 17 – inch laptop or will you choose more mainstream models? There are several to choose from.

It’s important to consider how you will use the laptop. Will you bring it to the classroom, or just leave it in your dorm room? If you can afford to leave it in your dorm, then you can purchase a bigger one. They’re much better as entertainment machines due to better hardware.

Design

Of course, who would want to buy a laptop that looks like a tank with laser guns pointing out of it? Just like size, the overall design of the laptop is an important thing to consider.

There are many sleek – looking laptops for sale right now. Of course, mainstays such as the MacBook Pro are popular because they are easy to hold, and look really nice. Similar laptops such as the ones made by Samsung are also built from quality alloys making them elegant.

Overall, pick a laptop you want to be seen with. It is college after all.

Specs

When picking a laptop, it’s important to choose one with power, but not powerful enough that you have to rob a bank to pay for it.

Should you get a laptop with only integrated graphics or with a dedicated GPU? Look at your college major and your user habits. If your course is in graphic design, then you need a laptop with some graphical prowess. You don’t need fancy laptops – any laptop with a dedicated GPU will help.

There are other things to take note of when shopping for a laptop. Always be weary of other items like ports and other stuff like that. Also, take note of the processor.

All in all, try to find a laptop that has a balance between performance and price. If you can though, squeeze out some more money for performance so you don’t have to buy a laptop for a very long time.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Obviously, you’ll be using your laptop for every day of your life. It’s important that you feel comfortable, or else you’ll develop problems in your wrists. That’s a bad thing, especially if you’re into playing an instrument, or sports.

When trying out a laptop, type a few paragraphs before doing anything else. You should also check out the touchpad and see how it performs.

Conclusion

When picking a laptop, it’s important to consider these things. Of course, try to sell your computer for cash and look for a laptop that fits your expectations within the budget you have.

A Great HP Envy Laptop Review

The HP Envy series is ever expanding. You’ll find that it is comprised of ultrabooks and mainstream laptops that come in all designs. Some are premium in looks and performance, while some are budget minded.

For those with a thousand dollars to spend, you can buy the HP Envy 4 – 1043cl. It’s a great laptop that performs really well for its price. You also get a simple design and other goodies.

Let’s take a look at the laptop shall we?

Looks

With the HP Envy 4, you can’t get any simpler in terms of looks. You get a flat surface that is really simple and elegant. The black finish is adorned with a simple HP logo on the top right.

 

This laptop is 0.78 inches thick and measures 9.28 x 13.38 inches. It weighs 3.85 pounds, making this laptop fit in the ultrabook category. It’s very comfortable to hold and easy to carry around.

Overall, this is a nice laptop thanks to the nice design.

Display

This is a medium sized ultrabook. The laptop sports a 14 – inch display with a screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It certainly looks nice and really bright.

 

While it may not be full 1080p, you’ll still be able to enjoy 720p movies very nicely.

Audio

To compensate for the other lacking parts, such as 1080p, HP throws in Beats Audio. Found in all models of the Envy series, Beats Audio augments sound quality to really impressive levels.

You get stereo speakers and a subwoofer. Low end is rich and full. Not only do the speakers play hip – hop music nicely, but also rock music. You’ll feel the crunch of the guitars right in your face.

Of course, volume is still limited, so if you really want to fill a room with music, invest in big, external speakers.

Hardware

This laptop carries a third – generation Intel Core i5 processor. It gives great performance without becoming too expensive. This laptop is able to load very fast and perform demanding tasks.

You also get 6 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive.

Sadly, this laptop doesn’t have a graphics card, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play games with it. While graphics is limited, you can still install multiplayer – centric games like Team Fortress 2 and still have a blast.

Other Features

Ports include one HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port. There’s also an Ethernet port in times of clunky Wi-Fi performance. HP also throws in Bluetooth 3.0 and even Wireless Display technology.

 

Wireless Display is a feature by Intel, allowing you to stream video to your HDTV. All you need is the proper adaptor to make it work.

There’s also plenty of preinstalled software, such as HP Games, Evernote, Skype and other stuff. You may find some useful or just bloatware.

Conclusion

Overall, this laptop is great for students and casual users looking for a great performing laptop without any problems at all.

Why not try to sell your laptop and experience this Envy 4.

With HP’s renowned quality products, the Envy 4 is a worthy addition to their lineup.