Asus K55N Laptop: AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M (1.9GHz),15.6" (1366 x 768) LED, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Radeon 7640G, HDMI, USB 3.0, 6-Cell, Win 7 Prem (Refurbished) $284.99 + Free Shipping

Can't get the asus (and given my .sig I'd probably ignore them) but I can get the HP. What's the max ram on the HP? Can the DVD drive be easily replaced with an HDD caddy (so I can use HDD and SSD at same time)?

Quote from FalconX : does anyone know how to turn on the turbo core to 2.8GHZ on these machines? just got mine but still stuck at 1.9GHZ

It's only a 1.9ghz proc. Turbo is automatic if you have certain single-core only apps running.

Like I said before, not saure why BB is saying this is 2.2Ghz proc speed - it's not.

Quote from axemexa : oh so broken laptops are going for $200?

Depending on the damage and specs, $150 - 250:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Laptops-N...Complete=1

Quote from NE0tekk : Any way to add a squaretrade warranty on it?

yes squaretrade allows you to buy warranty with refurb products

Quote from alchemista : It's only a 1.9ghz proc. Turbo is automatic if you have certain single-core only apps running. Like I said before, not saure why BB is saying this is 2.2Ghz proc speed - it's not.

You can overclock these pretty easily though and gain large margins, e.g. I have the 4300 i think, I don't know, but its base was 1.4ghz quad core and it is overclocked to range from 1800 - 2.8ghz. These chips since they are designed for mobile can take higher temperatures so mild - moderate overclocking is fine without having to reseat the CPU with better thermal compound or add better cooling.

Quote from menace33 : Which Sandy Bridge i5s are running with HD 4000 graphics? Last of my knowledge, HD 4000 graphics were introduced with the Ivy Bridge processors.

Yeah, that's correct. Any iX-2XXX is Sandy Bridge and only has HD 3000 graphics. iX-3XXX is Ivy Bridge and has HD 4000 graphics, which is closer, but still inferior to Trinity.

Quote from jacobsta811 : These come with 1x4gb DDR-1600. (or least my model of K55N, which had windows 8 but otherwise identical hardware specs, did). Make sure you add another stick if you plan to game with this. Like all AMD APU systems memory bandwidth determines framerates, so you need two sticks of RAM to get into two channel mode if you want the max framerates this is capable of.

I just want to second this. If you care about gaming at all, it's a waste to use Trinity with only a single channel of RAM, and a second 4 GB stick is cheap, anyway. If it comes with DDR3-1600 like jacobsta811's did, make sure you buy that and not DDR3-1333 or 1066. You don't want to lose a few FPS just to save $2-3.

The biggest advantage of Trinity is graphics performance, so it annoys me that so many manufacturers cripple their laptops with 1 x 4GB instead of 2 x 2GB. It does let you upgrade to 8 GB at half the cost, but it makes the upgrade mandatory to avoid bottlenecking the APU, so it should just come with 2 x 4GB to begin with.

Pulled the trigger on the HP, can't go wrong for the price.

Will my girlfriend be able to play minecraft with the HP?

Quote from SirRocko17 : Will my girlfriend be able to play minecraft with the HP?

She could play BioShock, DOTA 2, Civ5, Borderlands, and pretty much any other game with the HP.

So you should be good with Minecraft. These are actually great gaming laptops for the casual gamer not trying to get 60fps.

All gone in my area, bummer, would have been in for an Asus. Good deal!

went for the g7-2235dx [bestbuy.com]for $15 more, which for the 17" inch screen and the 1600x graphics is well worth it ... plus II have a g72 which I use for a hdtv (busted monitor) which will provide a spare (donator) battery

Quote from parce33063 : Any idea on the warranty? Didn't see it on the site.

90 days

You can get a 2 year warranty from Squaretrade for $42, or a 3 year for $49. If they won't cover the laptop from where you buy it from, then do what I did. Post a private auction on Ebay and buy it from yourself. ALL laptop purchases from Ebay qualify for Squaretrade warranties. I googled Squaretrade coupon codes and grabbed one of the very common 30% off codes.

Quote from carlfxy : went for the g7-2235dx [bestbuy.com]for $15 more, which for the 17" inch screen and the 1600x graphics is well worth it ... plus II have a g72 which I use for a hdtv (busted monitor) which will provide a spare (donator) battery

There is also the g7-2275dx [bestbuy.com] for 299.99 - But I can't really see any difference between the 2235dx and 2275dx from some quick searches. Same proc, RAM, HD, screen... I ended up going with the 2275dx

My local store seems to have it. Decisions...sigh...this or a tablet..