At NotebookReview.com we are dedicated to bringing as many notebook reviews to the web as we can. With so many laptops available to buy, we can only do this with your help. If you have a notebook and are interested in reviewing and sending in pictures of it, please send an email to info@notebookreview.com, or use our email web form and provide the following information:
Reviewers are compensated at least $40 for their work and up to $60 if benchmarks and pictures are included, so contact us to find out more information regarding procedures. Before contacting us, please read the general guideline below of what a notebook review should include:
1. Overview and Introduction: Overview of what model the notebook is, who makes it, what kind of notebook it is (desktop replacement, ultraportable, budget laptop, thin and light etc.) and what the exact configuration you got is (the processor, RAM, hard drive size, screen size, wireless, operating system etc.)
2. Reasons for Buying: Why you bought this laptop, and what other laptops you looked at before deciding to buy this.
3. Where and How Purchased: Where did you buy it from and for how much, do you think this was a good deal?
4. Build & Design: What is the design like, does it look good, does it feel sturdy, what is the case made of, what color is it, is it too heavy, is it easy to carry or use in your lap? Try pushing in on the lid to see if you get ripples on the LCD screen, this is a good indicator as to how much protection your screen has. Also, try "wobbling" (push on the screen) the screen when it is in the up position, if it wobbles a lot then your hinges are probably not very good and this is poor build. Maybe try "twisting" the screen frame a little, if your frame twists easily and a lot then this is also poor build. A good thing to keep in mind is the thickness and rigidity of the case is often more important than what it's made of in terms of protection. For instance, a thick plastic case construction is better protection than a thin magnesium-alloy case.
5. Screen: What is the screen like, is it bright enough, does it have any dead pixels, what size is it, what resolution did you get with it, does it have any enhanced features such as extra bright view? Also check to see if there are certain areas with light leaks or uneven backlighting (uneven backlighting usually means a screen is extra bright around the edges where the screen backlights are).
6. Speakers: How are the speakers, is the sound loud enough, is the sound crisp enough, would you recommend headphones or buying external speakers?
7. Processor and Performance: How fast is the performance of the notebook and what processor do you have? Does it take long to boot up to the windows logon screen (maybe time this), what speed is your hard drive? Mention how much memory you have as this will effect laptop performance. Tell people if the laptop ever hangs or takes too much time to complete a task, or if it always seems snappy for what you use it for? Do you play games on this laptop and if so do they play okay and can you run them in the highest graphics mode?
8. Benchmarks: Download one or more of the following free benchmark programs to show others how your notebook performs against others.
> Super Pi – Run this program to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, make sure there are minimal processes running in the background. Download: ftp://pi.super-computing.org/windows/super_pi.zip
> PCMark05 (free version) – The video test might fail if your notebook has Windows Media 10.0. Download: http://www.futuremark.com/download/?pcmark05.shtml (there's no need to purchase the System Suite, just report the numbers it produces in the free version such as multithreading rates, file decryption and web page rendering times shown under the system test suite online results)
> 3DMark05 / 3DMark06 (free versions) – This is a large download but worth it if you have a dedicated graphics card notebook. Download 3DMark05: http://www.futuremark.com/download/?3dmark05.shtml (283MB), or try 3DMark06: http://www.futuremark.com/download/?3dmark06.shtml (580MB) if you don't mind the larger download size of 3DMark06
> HD Tune – Run the test pattern for temp and high and low throughput speeds. Download: http://www.hdtune.com/
> Everest – An application used to provide low level memory and motherboard information and benchmarking: download from either here http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html or here http://www.notebookreview.com/everest.exe
> We will take any benchmarks you provide and compare them to similar notebooks, you do not have to do this, just provide your results to us.
9. Heat and Noise: Heat and Noise are both seemingly small things and are expected to some degree from a computer, but can get rather annoying if they're excessive on a laptop. Does the laptop tend to get especially warm on the bottom or on the palm rests? If it's so hot on the bottom that it's uncomfortable to have in the lap, mention this. And if your wrists and hands get sweaty because the keyboard and palm rests are toasty warm, talk about that. If the laptop makes a lot of noise due to the fans blowing constantly and loudly or the optical drive (meaning the CD/DVD drive when it spins) is loud then mention that.
10. Keyboard and Touchpad: How easy is the keyboard and touchpad to use, how do you like the placement of buttons on the notebook or do you wish there were more buttons for things such as volume control? Does the keyboard "flex" at all (this means the keyboard sags a little bit and other keys around a key you are pressing go down as you push the intended key)?
11. Input and Output Ports: What input ports does the laptop have, does it have USB 2.0 ports and if so how many, does it have FireWire, is there a memory card reader, can you output to a TV with a video connector? Does it use ExpressCard or PCMCIA slots?
12. Wireless: What kind of wireless card did the computer come with, does it work well? Does it have Bluetooth built-in, is there an infrared port?
13. Battery: How long does the battery last, do you wish it were longer or are you happy with it?
14. Operating System and Software: What operating system does it come with, what disks are provided by the manufacturer? Is there a system restore/recovery disk included, or can you call and request one from the manufacturer? What software is included with the computer...is the free software included good or bad?
15. Customer Support: Have you had to use the customer service support, how was it? What form of initial contact tech support do they have phone/email/live chat? Is there a warranty and if so what does it cover and for how long...did it cost you extra to upgrade the warranty?
16. Conclusion: What is your conclusion about this laptop and would you recommend it to someone else, and if so, what type of person should buy it? List a few summary "Pros" about the laptop for the things you really like and list a few "Cons" about the laptop for things you think could be improved.
Feel free to add extra sections to the review if you wish. Contact Andrew at info@notebookreview.com for any questions!