Recent content by goonbar79

The only issue with going SSD on laptop is lack of storage space, and hybrid drives are great alternative because it offers some benefit of ssd, while getting you storage space. You may want to consider this 1TB Seagate drive...

It won't be easy finding a gaming laptop for the price range of $600. This is because i7 laptops with good gpu usually costs $700+, and laptops below $600 with good gpu are i5's which is a dual core on mobile platform. So i3's and i5's are pretty much the same on mobile platform, minus the...

have you tried to full erase (low level format) hdd? http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 try here and find the tool you need to diagnose hdd. any logical issue could potentially be fixed by an erase tool. Otherwise, you may need a new hdd.

Keep in mind that notebook i7's that are a "U" model is NOT a quad core (dual core w/ HT making it 4 thread count) For your engineering works, I highly recommend a quad core cpu, so look for i7 cpus that are quad core (total of 8 thread count w/ HT). The performance difference is exactly 200%...

Price has to be a huge factor in any laptop purchasing decisions, but I highly recommend that you do not buy this no matter the price (unless it is nearly free). E2-2000 is AMD's zecate core, which is extremely slow. Even against the slowest Intel i3 cpus, i3's are typically 2~3 times faster...

a couple of things you can try. 1. remove battery, remove hdd (usually can be removed from the bottom) remove 1 of 2 memory (bottom may show only 1, which means the other is on the other side, so take that one out). 2. try getting the dust out by blowing compressed air into side vents out the...

If you can't return/refund it, depending on where you live, you may be able to plead your case to the warranty service department, since I assume that this unit is fairly new. It may be a long shot, but you could try to get the mobo changed out to the other one w/ msata port. I have seen it...

It looks like a hdd or corrupt windows causing os boot problem. Your hardware is not lost, as long as it posts. wipe the hdd (will also test for error doing so), and reinstall windows & drivers, and you should be set. Dell's windows reinstall disc can be found easily online for little cost...

Are you sure this unit has msata port? Usually if the laptop support one, at least one variation of the same model has msata ssd as an option. And although mini pci-e has same form factor, these are not electrically compatible, meanning simply removing wlan card from mini pci-e and inserting...

If you had the laptop for 1yr 4 mo, and the temps were already hitting 90C back then, but you didn't have issues back then, my guess is that the temps aren't the reason the graphics card is having issues. However, I do always recommend cleaning out laptops for any heat related issues first...

i7 3630QM is definitly better in performance, ranging around 10%~100% faster than i5 3230M depending on workload and threads used. I am not sure if the $200 difference is worth it, but I personally would go for a i7 instead of i5 in mobile platforms any day because it is quad vs dual cores...

A shutdown problem is most likely due to overheating, usually caused by dust buildup inside the case, and around the heatsink fan. I recommend that you try to remove dust somehow. The best way is to remove the top or bottom housing and blowing air (buy compressed air can) around the mobo and...