cyberpower FangBook Evo HX7-200

A gaming laptop that's a great bang for your buck, the CyberPower FangBook Evo HX7-200 packs everything you probably want and more into a sturdy boutique body for a reasonable price. You get the latest Haswell processor, powerful Nvidia graphics, Blu-ray Disc drive and more, but size suffers. Prepare to haul around more than 10 pounds of notebook to get your gaming fix.

Performance

Outpaces older gaming notebooks. The FangBook Evo HX7-200 was already one of experts' favorite gaming laptops before it got a Core i7-4700MQ Intel Haswell processor. "Our Worldbench 8.1 benchmark suite is still relatively new, so we haven't amassed a large collection of scores that we can compare to the FangBook Evo, but a Notebook Worldbench 8.1 score of 417 indicates the FangBook is clearly in a different league," PC World writes. The only way to get a better gaming laptop? Drop $3,000 to $4,000 or so on one with even more powerful graphics. That'll get you higher frame rates at max settings, but rest assured, the FangBook can handle any title you throw at it. Of course, you can always configure your Evo HX7-200 for more power when you buy it. Battery life isn't great with the last-gen processor -- just over two hours, about average for a gaming laptop -- but the energy-efficient Haswell chip should improve that (however, while the Evo has now been out a while, no expert review we could spot directly addresses that).

Ergonomics

"As elegant as a water buffalo." This is one of those old-school, 2-inch-thick gaming cinderblocks. It tips the scales at 8.5 pounds, plus the 2.2-pound power brick you'll haul wherever you go, and looks "about as elegant as a water buffalo," PC World says. That's not unusual for a serious gaming laptop, but the 4-pound Razer Blade (Est. $1,800 and up) , our Best Reviewed choice, is sleek by comparison. There's no touch screen and the trackpad isn't multi-touch, but gamers will probably use the keyboard and an external mouse, anyway. A full array of ports includes wired Ethernet, as well as a memory card reader and Blu-ray Disc drive, all of which the Razer jettisons in the name of skinniness.

Design

Big screen, nice speakers. Unlike the Razer Blade, which could almost pass for a MacBook, there's nothing subtle about the FangBook's design. "CyberPowerPC wants the FangBook to stop traffic," HotHardware.com says, so it's wrapped in "what looks like space-age armor." Reminiscent of RoboCop, angular black and silver panels surround a glowing red CyberPowerPC logo on the lid. Inside, the Evo HX7-200's 17.3-inch, full 1080p HD screen is perfect for gaming and watching Blu-ray movies. Even the audio sounds really good for a laptop, thanks to stereo speakers with an integrated subwoofer.

Support and reliability

Most improved (for desktops). In 2011 and 2012, PCMag.com surveyed its readers to find the most reliable computers. The first year, CyberPower desktops had "by far the worst repair rate of any company," but by 2012 it had soared to second place among all brands. At the time there weren't enough CyberPower laptop owners to make the ratings, and the brand doesn't appear at all in the 2013 survey. The FangBook comes with a standard one-year warranty, plus lifetime tech support.

Value

Do you mind buying in bulk? If you're a gamer, the FangBook Evo HX7-200 has all the features you probably want. If you're looking for the most powerful gaming laptop under $2,000, look no further. But it's gargantuan. If you can do without the Blu-ray Disc drive and a few ports, you can get competitive power from the Best Reviewed Razer Blade in a 4-pound, Ultrabook-thin package that you can actually carry around.

strength :

• Powerful gaming performance
• Big 1,080p display
• Nice speakers

weakness :

• Not very portable at 10 pounds plus
• Battery life questionable
• No touch screen

Buy now...!!!

Acer Aspire S7

Breathtakingly slim and gorgeous, the aluminum and glass Acer Aspire S7 wows testers with swift performance to match. Only a lower-resolution though still very nice display keeps it from the top of the Windows Ultrabook pack. Performance Super-fast, and the battery lasts. The newest configurations of the Acer Aspire S7 (the Acer Aspire S7-392) come with the latest Intel Core processors code-named Haswell -- choose between Core i5 and Core i7 -- 8 GB RAM instead of 4 GB and faster RAID 0 solid-state drives. The integrated graphics chip with 128 MB of dedicated system memory is fine for light gaming. Battery life is good at 8.5 hours in tests, but is bested by other Haswell-based machines and trounced by some, such as the 13-inch MacBook Air (Est. $1,050 and up) . Ergonomics One of the thinnest you can buy. The Acer S7's stellar touch screen makes navigating Windows 8 a breeze: You can pinch, tap and swipe to your heart's content. However, the display is lower resolution than some competitors. For example, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus (Est. $1,400) boasts a QuadHD+ 3,200-by-1,800-pixel screen. At just a half-inch thick and well under 3 pounds, the Acer is even thinner and lighter than the 13-inch Air, but its svelte profile is matched by other Windows Ultraportables, including Samsung's offering, which also weighs nearly a half-pound less. If the absolute lightest laptop is a must, the 1.9-pound Sony Vaio Pro 11 (Est. $1,150 and up) blows both away, though at the expense of lower performance. Keyboard ergonomics are upgraded from earlier-generation S7's, but Laptop Magazine holds that there's still some room for improvement. Port selection is still slim, as usual for an Ultrabook; you get two USB 3.0 jacks, an HDMI port, headphone jack and memory card slot. Design Gorgeous design, with a few practical bobbles. Critics wholeheartedly agree that few laptops look as stunning as the S7. Its tapered aluminum unibody looks minimalist and clean, with a scratch-resistant white Gorilla Glass lid. CNET complains that the glass-covered lid does feel a little top-heavy, however. Laptop Magazine notes that the lid is a hair shorter than the deck, resulting in "a configuration that is interesting to look at, but makes opening the notebook a bit of a hassle." The sturdy hinge takes a little more effort to move past 100 degrees or so, but PCMag.com notes that it gives the S7 "a rock solid screen during touch operations, without the bounce you'll see in some other touch ultrabooks." Support and reliability Facebook and Twitter are best for tech support. Acer's one-year warranty is nothing special and doesn't win it a Readers' Choice award at PCMag.com, whose editors consider reliability. It does score highest among all brands for ease of setup, however, with everything almost always working perfectly right out of the box. Acer's tech support continues to improve according to this year's Laptop Magazine tech support "showdown" but scores relatively poorly in the site's rankings of best and worst laptop brands. Value The best doesn't come cheap. You can get Haswell-powered Ultrabooks for less cash, but they won't have the Acer Aspire S7's super-svelte body or gorgeous design. However, some competitors have closed the distance -- if not caught up -- by delivering systems with similar performance, similar build quality, similar profiles, but added features such as higher-resolution screens.
strength :

• Exquisite design
• 1,080p HD (or more) touch screen
• Incredibly thin, light
• Fast performance
• Improved keyboard, battery life

weakness:
Screen resolution falls short of some competitors

Buy now...!!!

Asus Zenbook UX51VZ

Inside the slim, sleek aluminum shell of the Asus Zenbook UX51VZ lays a great Windows-based multimedia laptop, experts say. But the more expensive 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Est. $2,000 and up) is a more powerful performer. Performance "A power users' ultraportable." The Zenbook UX51VZ comes absolutely stuffed with goodies, Engadget.com says. There's a quad-core Core i7 processor, but not the latest Haswell processors as of this update; 8 GB of RAM; powerful Nvidia graphics; and blisteringly fast dual 128 GB solid-state drives. Step-up drives and processors are available. The Zenbook can play most games but runs alarmingly hot on graphics-heavy titles even with the settings turned down. It manages to web-surf or play video for four to six hours in tests, leading PCMag.com to dub it "a power users' ultraportable," though Haswell-based Ultraportables now have longer battery life. Ergonomics Comfortable, even without a touch screen. You'll navigate Windows 8 via the multi-touch clickpad, which testers say works well, and the UX51VZ's comfy keyboard helps. The Asus is just under 0.8 inch wide and light enough to commute with at 4.6 pounds, and it squeezes in more ports than most Ultrabooks. You get three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, mini VGA, a combo headphone/microphone jack, Ethernet and SD/MMC card reader. However, there's no DVD or Blu-ray Disc drive. The Zenbook UX51VZ normally runs cool but gets very hot trying to play demanding games like "Batman: Arkham City" in more than one test. Again, it's not designed for heavy gaming. Design Splendid screen, speakers, even a subwoofer. "Beautiful," Laptop Magazine calls the brushed-aluminum Zenbook case, crafted with subtle concentric circles on the lid. Inside is the 15.6-inch, 1080p HD matte display that multimedia lovers crave. It's relatively glare-free, with nice, wide viewing angles and bright, vivid colors, adjustable through Asus' Splendid Utility. It's not as high-res as the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display but is very nice nonetheless, experts say. Audio sounds equally rich thanks to the Bang & Olufsen ICEpower speakers and a tiny 3.5-inch, tube-shaped, plug-in subwoofer that makes the sound "immediately fuller," CNET says. You can fine-tune the audio through the Zenbook's built-in Waves MaxxAudio and MaxxLeveler software. Support and reliability Great warranty, but mixed reviews for tech support. Owners say Asus laptops rarely break down, and that dependability helps the brand win a Readers' Choice award at PCMag.com. The UX51VZ is backed by a one-year warranty that includes free two-way standard shipping and 24/7 tech support; one year of accidental damage coverage against drops, spills, power surges and fire damage; and a 30-day display guarantee. However, PCMag.com readers rate Asus low for tech support. Value "Worth the money." If you want a fantastically portable Windows multimedia laptop and you're willing to pay for it, the Asus Zenbook UX51VZ won't disappoint. You'll enjoy tremendous power, a big beautiful screen, rich-sounding speakers, rock-solid build and a high-end warranty. "Yes, it's pricey," CNET says. "But as a multimedia machine that can do business and casual gaming, the UX51VZ is a four-star Windows 8 laptop and worth the money."
strength :

• Powerful performance
• Full-HD screen, speakers
• Thin, light aluminum design

weakness:

• No touch screen
• No optical drive
• Mediocre battery life

Buy now...!!!

Sony Vaio Pro 11

The lightest Ultrabook on Earth, the Sony Vaio Pro 11 catches critics' eyes with its stylish carbon-fiber shell and beautiful full-HD touch screen. Performance is on par with other Ultrabooks equipped with Intel's latest Core processor. The responsive touch screen is well liked, but the keyboard isn't. Performance Standard Ultrabook stuff. Performance compared to the current crop of Haswell-powered Ultrabooks isn't earth-shattering, but experts say you'll get peppy performance for day-to-day tasks whether you pick the Core i5 or i7 version. You can configure either one with a 128 GB or 256 GB solid-state drive. Integrated graphics mean no intense gaming, but that's standard for an Ultrabook. Battery life, however, isn't consistent in tests. In ComputerShopper.com's "grueling" video-playback test, the Sony lasts for just four hours and 20 minutes. PCMag.com gets the same numbers, but other testers get six to seven hours, even while playing video. An optional sheet battery (Est. $150) doubles the juice, but it adds about 10 ounces. Ergonomics "Impossibly light." The Sony's featherweight feel is the first thing you'll notice. "Impossibly light," says Engadget.com. "You can imagine what a convenience that is on a day-to-day basis," especially if you're a business traveler. A fantastic touch screen and mostly smooth touchpad make it easy to navigate Windows 8. The Vaio Pro 11's small keyboard feels somewhat flexy and cramped, however; some testers get used to it, but others never do. Ports are standard Ultrabook fare: two USB 3.0 jacks, an HDMI port, headphone/microphone combo jack and memory card slot. Design Rich-looking, inside and out. Sony's carbon-fiber body looks "delicious," Engadget.com says. Plus, it just feels great: "Its construction exemplifies quality," reports ComputerShopper.com. Yet both the black and silver models scratch easily in tests. The Vaio Pro 11's 11.6-inch, full 1080p HD display looks sharp and brilliant, but there's no option to upgrade to an even sharper 2,560-by-1,440-pixel screen like you can with the Acer Aspire S7 (Est. $1,330 and up) . The speakers are OK, but nothing special, reviewers say. Support and reliability Rock solid. Sony outclasses all other laptop brands, even Apple, in Laptop Magazine's tech-support test. Staffers throw anonymous questions at Sony's live chat, Twitter, Facebook and phone techs, and all prove friendly, prompt and helpful. Searching Sony's website turns up useful answers, too. PCMag.com's reader survey, which also considers reliability, ranks Sony laptops near the top for overall satisfaction. Value Lightness costs extra. Small but mighty, the Sony Vaio Pro 11 is an excellent choice if a lightweight laptop is paramount. If you can deal with an extra pound, however, you'll find bigger screens and more comfortable keyboards on the Acer Aspire S7 and 13-inch MacBook Air (Est. $1,050 and up) .
strength :

• Lightest Ultrabook you can buy
• 1,080p HD touch screen
• Award-winning Sony tech support

weakness:

• Battery life gets mixed reviews
• Cramped keyboard

Buy now...!!!

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch laptop review

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch is an excellent business laptop, experts say. By adding a touch screen and Windows 8 to the longtime favorite ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Lenovo delivers an even more effortless user experience than before. However, the newer Dell Latitude 6430u (Est. $900) now outperforms it in tests. = Performance Solid, but can't match newer rivals. The Dell Latitude 6430u blows past the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch in professional tests; startup, spreadsheets and file transfers all get done faster with the Dell. Still, the Carbon Touch can handle any task most business users will throw at it, with a third-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB solid-state drive. Battery life is just 4.5 to 5.5 hours per charge in tests while the Dell gets more than seven hours. The Carbon Touch runs hot under load, too. Keep it off your lap, advises TheVerge.com, "unless you have some leg hair you're not fond of." Ergonomics Nearly flawless, but missing some ports. A touch screen makes Windows 8 much easier and faster to navigate, experts say. The Carbon Touch's works beautifully, and it adds just a few tenths of an inch and tenths of a pound to the non-touch screen Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Est. $1,230 and up) . As usual for Lenovo laptops, most experts rave over the wonderful typing experience and big trackpad. Lenovo's signature pointing stick is present and accounted for, but ports are scarce. There's no optical drive, HDMI port or Ethernet jack, although Lenovo throws in a USB Ethernet dongle. Design "One of the best-looking laptops." All-black carbon fiber gives the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch a premium feel and slick look, "like something you'd see Jason Bourne open up in his getaway car," says David Pierce at TheVerge.com. "It's one of the best-looking laptops I've ever seen." Adding touch capability dims the matte screen a bit and makes for a slightly narrower viewing angle than with the original X1 Carbon, but it's still bright and vivid. The screen folds back flat, which can help in cramped spaces. The Carbon Touch's 1,600-by-900-pixel resolution is "the sweet spot" for 14-inch laptops, says CNET, rendering everything sharp but not too small as a full-HD screen can sometimes do. The speakers sound typically laptop-thin, but are fine for teleconferencing or playing a few tunes in your hotel room. Support and reliability A tradition of reliability. Lenovo has "been known for laptop reliability for so many years," PCMag.com says, and readers now rate it even higher. Its one-year warranty is standard among laptops, but business laptops including the Dell 6430u often get a three-year warranty. Phone support is disappointing, however, says Laptop Magazine testers after posing anonymous questions to three different Lenovo techs. Value Best business laptop with a touch screen. Experts agree that the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch is the best business laptop you can buy, if you want a touch screen. Otherwise, the newer non-touch Dell Latitude 6430u delivers faster performance and better connectivity for less. strength : Fantastic keyboard Quality build, premium finish Light weight weakness : Performance now surpassed by newer rivals Runs hot under load No optical drive or HDMI port Buy now...!!!

Dell XPS 12

Reviewers say the Dell XPS 12 is a very good Windows 8 convertible laptop, packed with blisteringly fast hardware and a bright, crisp 1080p display that proves very responsive to multi-touch controls. Rotating the screen and closing the lid transform the Ultrabook into a 12.5-inch slate, but experts say some other convertible laptops surpass its performance and value. Performance Are you sure this is a tablet? The third generation Core i5 processor, 128 GB solid-state drive and 4 GB of RAM are last generation compared with better Ultrabook models, but it's relatively potent for a tablet. Reviewers say the system blazes through tasks while the 1080p display looks crisp and clear, with exceptionally wide viewing angles. Battery life lasts between 5.5 and eight hours, which is great for a laptop but just OK for a tablet. The sound gets loud but is a bit muddled, critics report. Features Split personality. The Dell XPS 12's calling card is its swiveling screen, which allows it to switch between a large-screen tablet and a full-fledged Windows 8 Ultrabook. As a Windows 8 device, the XPS 12 can run both traditional desktop Windows programs as well as the tablet-friendly apps found in the Windows Store. The Windows App Store's selection remains fairly skimpy, however, limiting the number of touch-optimized programs available. A front-facing webcam helps with video chatting but doesn't take especially good pictures, reviewers say, and others wish the laptop had an SD card slot. Ergonomics Great input tools, iffy interface. Testers say the Dell XPS 12's keyboard, touchpad and touch screen all feel comfortable and responsive, while the powerful internals eliminate lag entirely. The display sports wide viewing angles and a light sensor that automatically adjusts the screen brightness to match the environment. The biggest stumbling block will likely be Windows 8 itself, but Dell includes several video tutorials to help new users get around the touch-oriented operating system. Design A laptop first, a tablet second. As a laptop the 3.35-pound Ultrabook weighs remarkably little, but that heft and the 12.5-inch screen make the XPS 12 bulky as a tablet. Experts say it works better if you consider it a top-notch laptop with the ability to transform into a tablet when needed, rather than the other way around. Support and reliability Improved overall. Dell's customer service and technical support has come in for some knocks in recent years. The brand took the worst knocks in last year's tech support survey by Laptop Magazine but has rebounded nicely by dropping some questionable phone practices. Dell scores below average compared to other top laptop makers in annual satisfaction surveys at PCMag.com, although that, too, represents a step forward from rankings in previous years. The XPS 12 is backed by a one-year warranty that includes one year of on-site service following remote diagnosis and one year of phone support, so that's a plus. Value All in how you look at it. If you want a single device that serves as both a functional and powerful laptop as well as a functional and powerful tablet, experts call the Dell XPS 12 a good option among Windows 8 hybrids. However, we've seen more positive feedback for the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 (Est. $850 and up) . A bigger screen and niftier folding mechanism make that convertible laptop a better value overall

strength :

• Great performance
• Bright 1,080p display
• Responsive multi-touch screen, touchpad
• Excellent build quality

weakness:

• Better laptop than tablet
• Heavy, expensive

Buy now....!!!

Dell Latitude 6430u

The Dell Latitude 6430u's snappy performance and business-centric extras earn it the title of Best Reviewed business laptop, but it's a slim victory. Dell's tech support is improved, but the lack of a touch screen is a major flaw in some critics' eyes. Performance Class-leading speed. Simply put, the Dell 6430u will help you burn through your to-do list faster than other business-class laptops. Experts test an upgraded version (Est. $1,300) with a third-gen Intel Core i5 processor -- the new Haswell processors still haven't hit the 6430u as of this update -- 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB solid-state drive. It boots, transfers files and races through spreadsheets faster than other business laptops, and even edits photos and videos with respectable speed. Battery life is impressive at more than seven hours of web surfing or video playback. Rare for Ultrabooks, the Latitude's battery is removable so you can swap in a fresh one if needed. Ergonomics Great keyboard, but no touch screen. Business users demand excellent keyboards, and the Dell's spill-proof, backlit version doesn't disappoint. It's generously sized, with springy, contoured keys, and testers say it feels great to type on. There's also a responsive touchpad and eraser-head pointing stick. Yet even without a touch screen or optical drive -- although you can add an external DVD burner for $75 -- critics say the Dell's 3.7 pounds and 0.82-inch thickness is on the large side for a 14-inch Ultrabook. You do get Ethernet and VGA ports that rivals have ditched, and they're lifesavers "when faced with older projectors or an office with spotty Wi-Fi," Laptop Magazine points out. Design Flawless finish, but screen could be better. Testers can't stop caressing the Dell's soft-touch black finish. "It virtually eliminates fingerprints and makes gripping the notebook a cinch," says Laptop Magazine. PC World calls it "a tactile joy to use." However, the 14-inch matte display that's double-sealed against spills gets mixed reviews. There's little distracting glare and some testers like it just fine, but others say it's much less bright than other Ultrabooks and colors look washed out. There's no full-HD option; you get just 1,366 by 768 pixels, or 1,600 by 900 for an extra $50. The speakers sound decent but not spectacular and are surprisingly loud. Support and reliability Strong warranty, improved phone support. Dell backs the Latitude 6430u with a three-year warranty. All but the base model get on-site service after remote diagnosis of a warranty-covered problem; the base model must be mailed in for repair unless you purchase the beefier warranty. Dell's tech support had fared very poorly in past tests by Laptop Magazine, but the most recent go-around found things have taken a marked turn for the better. Value Best all-around business package. The Dell Latitude 6430u is flat-out faster than similar business laptops in tests, and experts appreciate its business-friendly features. But there is that missing touch screen. You can get that in other business laptops, such as Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch (Est. $1,300 and up) , but be prepared to either pay more or to accept slower performance...Buy now..!!!