Asus K55A-BBL4 Laptop: Intel Core i5-3210M (2.5GHz), 15.6" (1366 x 768) LED, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, HDMI, USB 3.0, WiFi-N, DVDRW, 6-Cell, Win 7 Prem $480 + Free Store Pickup

Quote from puterfreaksteve : I assume this does not have a backlit keyboard? I don't sees it in the specs anywheres.

No, it does not have a backlit keyboard.

Quote from Yell0w : Hey atoneapone, is there ever a good deal for a 17inch laptop?

I found an ok deal on a 17.3" Toshiba satellite AMD A6 3420m laptop @ $430 at Office Depot. But for older tech it's probably worth $400 maximum. So an A6 laptop is much inferior to this great Intel 3rd gen i5. But it's one of the few 17.3" laptops in the $400 range. So keep searching if you need better specs.....

In general, here are all the current best deals near the $400 price point>>http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...ostcount=2

Quote from feelgood_7 : What's a good RAM to purchase to upgrade to 8 GB?

Anyone?...

Quote from atoneapone : I found an ok deal on a 17.3" Toshiba satellite AMD A6 3420m laptop @ $430 at Office Depot. But for older tech it's probably worth $400 maximum. So an A6 laptop is much inferior to this great Intel 3rd gen i5. But it's one of the few 17.3" laptops in the $400 range. So keep searching if you need better specs..... In general, here are all the current best deals near the $400 price point>>http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...ostcount=2

thanks, what about those in the 500-600 range? would those be much better than the toshiba?

acer [newegg.com]
lenovo [newegg.com]

or should I wait for a deal to come by?

Quote from feelgood_7 : Anyone?...

I believe any one of these should be fine, DDR3 8GB [newegg.com]

Quote from Yell0w : thanks, what about those in the 500-600 range? would those be much better than the toshiba? acer [newegg.com] lenovo [newegg.com] or should I wait for a deal to come by?

Yes both are better.
--The Acer has same CPU speed as Toshiba but graphics for gaming will be much superior & that same Acer can be had at TigerDirect for $387ish...(which might be the best deal for low priced laptops)...but many people despise the Acer name brand & their components and buildtype.
I don't think it is overly too bad, but not as good as the best out there
--The Lenovo is definitely the most advanced thing available at the moment in the $600 price range. (it has i5 Iveybridge cpu and good gt630 dedicated graphics for gaming!)

**The best performance/budget priced: (cpu performance & gaming performance) deals available IMO are:
1. ACER 7750 i5 2430M Radeon 6850M 17.3" 640gb HD [bhphotovideo.com]for $579
2. Acer AMD A6 3420m + radeon 7670m <$400 AR or Available for slightly more @ CC [circuitcity.com]
3. Lenovo i5 3210m gt630m @ $630 [newegg.com]
4. Lenovo Intel 3rd gen i5 BACK AGAIN FOR $450 After student rebate (one of the lowest price point ever for Ivyebridge)
5. Then this Asus i5 3210m @$480
6. HP AMD A10 $579 backlit keyboard, thin design

Quote from Yell0w : I believe any one of these should be fine, DDR3 8GB [newegg.com]

Thanks Yell0w. Also, just want to be sure - this laptop has 2 slots currently occupying 2 GB sticks in each slot, correct?

Quote from feelgood_7 : Thanks Yell0w. Also, just want to be sure - this laptop has 2 slots currently occupying 2 GB sticks in each slot, correct?

I'm not really sure, I tried to use google to search it up but no results. It most likely is 2x2GB in the slots.

Quote from atoneapone : Yes both are better. --The Acer has same CPU speed as Toshiba but graphics for gaming will be much superior & that same Acer can be had at TigerDirect for $387ish...(which might be the best deal for low priced laptops)...but many people despise the Acer name brand & their components and buildtype. I don't think it is overly too bad, but not as good as the best out there --The Lenovo is definitely the most advanced thing available at the moment in the $600 price range. (it has i5 Iveybridge cpu and good gt630 dedicated graphics for gaming!) **The best performance/budget priced: (cpu performance & gaming performance) deals available IMO are: 1. ACER 7750 i5 2430M Radeon 6850M 17.3" 640gb HD [bhphotovideo.com]for $579 2. Acer AMD A6 3420m + radeon 7670m <$400 AR 3. Lenovo i5 3210m gt630m @ $630 [newegg.com] 4. Lenovo Intel 3rd gen i5 BACK AGAIN FOR $450 After student rebate (one of the lowest price point ever for Ivyebridge) 5. Then this Asus i5 3210m @$480 6. HP AMD A10 $579 backlit keyboard, thin design

Thank you!! Is this list in order being 1 as the best?
1. ACER 7750 i5 2430M Radeon 6850M 17.3" 640gb HD [bhphotovideo.com] for $579
3. Lenovo i5 3210m gt630m @ $630 [newegg.com]

After tax, the Acer is $630.39 for me. Which is almost the same as the Lenovo, which should I choose?

Quote from Yell0w : Thank you!! Is this list in order being 1 as the best? 1. ACER 7750 i5 2430M Radeon 6850M 17.3" 640gb HD [bhphotovideo.com] for $579 3. Lenovo i5 3210m gt630m @ $630 [newegg.com] After tax, the Acer is $630.39 for me. Which is almost the same as the Lenovo, which should I choose?

IMO, $600+ is a premium amount of money for a laptop, so think long and hard and find more choices to select from.
I thought Acer would be slightly better if it wasn't for the tax. And without touching them and seeing them first hand it's hard to recommend one over the other. If they are priced the same, maybe the Lenovo is the better value choice since CPU is newer 3rd gen, stronger or more power efficient for battery usage, and the keyboard may feel better, speakers may sound better. Try to see one in person at BB or any other store and base it on feel and build type quality. Even though radeon 6850 may be better than gt630 games may still play nearly as well on the gt630.

The funny thing is the cheaper Acer (7670m) for $390AR will be able to play games nearly as well as these too. (Saving you $240 in comparison!) But other specs on it may be inferior like AMD A6 cpu, smaller HD, lack of usb 3.0...so a few tradeoffs in the top 3 deals I cited. I only listed the Lenovo 3rd since it may be out of many people's budget @$630. The HP AMD A10 may also be a possible choice at similar pricing.

Here are some youtube vids of the Lenovo i5 3210 gt630m gaming performance--Gaming was only as good or worse than an AMD A6 with 6650m or 7670m. But for processing tasks (eg. photoshop etc) it will be much faster.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR...re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvGUS8fOYY4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq...ure=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz...ure=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haeqMwdJg20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT...re=related

If gaming matters a little more to you than other laptop tasks then just get the Acer for $390($save 240) and upgrade again in 3 years. But if you need all around computer then spend more than $400.

thanks for the advice atoneapone!!

I was helping my cousin search for an all around laptop, it's between these two.

Sony [bestbuy.com]vs HP [bestbuy.com]

what do you think?

so i guess this Asus K55A-BBL4 is Best Buy’s exclusive configuration of the K55A line. cant be found and bought in any other stores..it is still a good buy for the brand and configuration though.

Quote from Yell0w : thanks for the advice atoneapone!! I was helping my cousin search for an all around laptop, it's between these two. Sony [bestbuy.com]vs HP [bestbuy.com] what do you think?

Sorry I didn't get back to you. The HP is better since it has better cpu and far better graphics for potential gaming. But it's a little larger with 15.6" vs 14" so portability is a little different. The Sony only has weaker Intel hd 3000 graphics, so gaming will be subpar in comparison. HP has a new sleekier M6 design so a very attractive laptop compared to typical budget 15.6" laptops. The Sony has a nice design too, but I prefer HP in this comparison.

Based on CPU high end chart>>http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
The HP has an AMD A10 rated higher than Sony's Intel 2nd gen i5 2450m. The AMD A10 is also rated better (but may not feel as zippy) than the Intel 3rd gen i5 3210m of the Asus in this thread. HP might be an all around better machine. However it went back up in price this week to $650. So just wait and it might come back down for $579 or even $550. But this Asus isn't too bad for the price, since it's nearly $100 cheaper.

Totally would jump on this deal if it was $430-450 range