Most notebooks under $400 have specs so low-end that even the most basic users won’t be satisfied, but thanks to the latest cost effective AMD processors, consumers can pick up a new notebook from Best Buy or Staples that will deliver on all the standard needs of home users for just $350.

Instead of the sub-par single core processors and lackluster specs, these new AMD Fusion E-350 powered notebooks are packing a dual core processor, capable graphics card, 3-4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, built in webcam and Windows 7. These notebooks are available today from Best Buy and Staples for $350.

We recently reviewed the Gateway NV51B05u Fusion powered notebook which has the same specs and were impressed with the value it brought to the table under $500. The Samsung NP-RV515-A01 and Acer Aspire AS5253-BZ692 have the same specs and should provide the same performance for just $350. For just $30 more there is also a similarly spec’d HP 2000-219DX available at Best Buy.

If we were picking out a new notebook for the average home user today, these two notebooks would be at the top of the list thanks to the affordable price that doesn’t cut corners. In short, if we were picking out a new notebook for a PC using family member, we would be taking a close look at these two notebooks and at the collection of other AMD Fusion E-350 notebooks coming to the market soon.

Performance

What type of performance can you expect from a $300 notebook? If there’s an AMD Fusion E-350 APU in there with AMD Radeon HD 6130 GPU, then you can expect quite a bit of power for the price. When we went hands on with a similar AMD Fusion E-350 notebook from Gateway we had the following to say about the performance.

The first test, was to open up an array of apps that home users will find open at the same time. To do this we tried out Word Starter, Chrome with numerous tabs and a few other random apps open in the background. We played Pandora in one of the Chrome tabs. During this standard use scenario, we had no lag or issues with the performance of the Fusion processor.

We also tried doing some light movie editing with Windows Live Movie maker and edited some photos in Windows Live gallery and were pleased with the results. We wouldn’t want to use this machine to edit video professionally, or to edit video every day, but for a few random projects or for splicing and uploading a family reunion clip to YouTube, the NV51 will suffice.

We also tested HD video playback and if you can believe it gaming on a budget notebook,

Thanks to the AMD Radeon HD6130 graphics card, you can actually use this notebook to game and watch HD video content without giving up on too much quality. We tested out the NV51 with HD video and streaming Netflix and had no trouble at all. Normally, when you try to play HD content on a sub $500 system with integrated graphics the video will stutter or drop some frames, but we didn’t notice the issue on this system.

When we started gaming on this notebook we were also surprised. In loading up a demo of FIFA 2011 from late 2010, we were pleased to see that the system performed great with the medium setting which was still a great experience on the go. We could play on High, but there was a bit of lag that detracted from the fast pace of the game.

Value

When you compare these $350 notebooks to the Intel Celeron notebooks you typically find in $300 to $350 price range you’re looking at a noticeable jump in performance that is well worth the $50 price difference for home users.  Whether you’re looking for new notebook for your home office, to take to school this fall or just need a new affordable notebook that won’t leave you hanging, you should definitely check out these AMD Fusion notebooks.

For the average home user, these AMD Fusion E-350 powered notebooks offer much more value than many other sub $500 notebooks and will be a better fit than a netbook for the numerous buyers who look at netbooks for the lower cost, rather than portability. We’d also suggest that budget notebook buyers look at these notebooks over the new Google Chromebooks, which may look sexier, but are getting mixed reviews.

Black Friday Comes Early: $350 Dual Core Notebooks at Best Buy & Staples is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Black Friday will kick off in just a few days and you don’t have to wait for the newspaper to check out the Best Black Friday Laptop deals for 2010. We’ve been on the case since October and have poured over the leaked Black Friday ads from Walmart, Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples and others to tell you what the best deal is on a Black Friday Laptop under $400 for Black Friday 2010

To help you out we are looking at Notebooks in each price range to help you find the best Black Friday laptop that fits your budget. This guide will show you all the notebooks available on Black Friday for $300 to $399 and let you know which one we think is the best.

Remember to look at our Black Friday Buying Guide – 10 Things to Look for When Buying your Black Friday Laptop or NetBook, before you head out for Black Friday 2010.

Black Friday Laptops under $400: (Click any model for specs and what you can expect the laptop to do.)

• HP G62-340US 15.6″ Dual Core @ Office Depot – $329 after $50MIR ($220 off)
• HP G62-347NR 15.6″ Dual Core @ RadioShack – $349 ($175 off)
• Toshiba L655D-S5093 15.6″ Dual Core @ Best Buy – $349 (unknown discount)
• HP G56-123N 15.6″ Dual Core @ Office Max – $369 (unknown discount)
• HP G72-227WM 17.3″ Dual Core @ Walmart – $399 (unknown discount)
• Lenovo G560 model (0679-99U) 15.6″ Dual Core @ Office Depot – $399 ($150 off)
• HP G72-B62US 17.3″ Dual Core @ Office Depot – $399 ($150 off)
• Sony VAIO EB VPCEB3AFM/WI 15.5″ Dual Core @ Best Buy – $399 (unknown discount)
• HP Pavilion DV5-2134 14.5” Dual Core @ Staples – $399 (~100 off)

Best Black Friday Laptop Under $400:

For the Best Black Friday Laptop Under $400 we recommend the HP G62-340US 15.6″ Dual Core laptop from Office Depot which is $329 after a $50 Mail in Rebate. This notebook is a much better value than the numerous Black Friday Laptops under $300, thanks to a dual core processor, 3GB or RAM and a dedicated GPU.

Best Black Friday Laptop Under $400 Runner Up:

If you can afford to spend $400 on a Black Friday laptop we suggest the HP Pavilion DV5-2134 14.5” Dual Core Laptop from Staples because it has an aluminum shell which you won’t find in almost any other laptop in this price range on Black Friday.

Worst Black Friday Laptop for Under $400:

The Sony VAIO EB VPCEB3AFM/WI 15.5″ Dual Core laptop from Best Buy and the Lenovo G560 model (0679-99U) 15.6″ Dual Core Laptop from Office Depot are the worst buys in this category because they doesn’t offer enough to differentiate themselves from the lower priced laptops in this range.

Check out our Best Black Friday Laptops by Price:

• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $250
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $300
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $400
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $500
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $600
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $700
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $800
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $900
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $1,000

Best Black Friday Laptop Under $400 (Black Friday 2010) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

With Black Friday a mere four days away it’s time to get your Black Friday Game Plan in order. In some areas the crowds are already lining up to score Black Friday Laptop deals from Best Buy, Target, Walmart and online at sites like Dell and HP for Black Friday 2010.

To help you out we are looking at Notebooks in each price range to help you find the best Black Friday laptop deal that fits your budget. This guide will show you all the notebooks available on Black Friday for $400 to $500 and let you know which one we think is the best.

Remember to look at our Black Friday Buying Guide – 10 Things to Look for When Buying your Black Friday Laptop or NetBook, before you head out for Black Friday 2010.

Black Friday Laptops under $500: (Click any model for specs and what you can expect the laptop to do.)

• Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5088 Dual Core 15.6″ @ Office Max – $429 ($170 off)
• HP G72-B63NR Intel Pentium 17.3″ @ RadioShack – $449 ($150 off)
• Toshiba L655D-S5109 w/ Wireless Deskjet Printer 15.6″ Dual Core @ Best Buy – $449
• Dell Inspiron 15 15.6″ Dual Core @ Dell.com – $449 ($184 off)
• Acer Aspire AS7551 17.3″ Dual Core @ Walmart – $498 ($100 off)
• HP DV6-3124nr 15.6″ Dual Core @ BJ’s – $499 ($100 off)
• HP G72 w Blu-Ray 17.3″ Dual Core @ Sam’s Club – $499 ($100 off)
• Toshiba’s Satellite L655-S5101 15.6″ Dual Core @ Staples – $499 ($100 off)
• Dell Inspiron M5030 15.6” Dual Core @Staples – $499 ($130 off)
• HP DV6-3122us 15.6″ Dual Core @ Staples – $499 ($50 off)
• Acer ASPIRE AS5742-7653 15.6″ Intel Core i5 @ Office Max – $499 ($200 off)
• HP G72-B66US 17.3″ Intel Core i3 @ Staples – $499 ($250 off)
• Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7016 15.6″ Dual Core @ Office Depot – $499 ($30 off)
• Sony VAIO EB w/ Blu-Ray 15.5″ Dual Core @ Best Buy – $499 (~$94 or more off)
• HP Pavilion DV6-3127dx 15.6″ Intel Core i3 @ Best Buy – $499 (unknown off)

After looking over all of these Black Friday deals on laptops and netbooks for 2010 we’ve picked the Acer ASPIRE AS5742-7653 from Office Max as the best Black Friday Laptop under $500.

The Best:

We chose the Acer ASPIRE AS5742-7653 because it comes with an incredibly fast Intel Core i5 processor with TurboBoost, 4GB RAM, a large 500GB hard drive and a full complement of ports and items like a webcam and HDMI port this is an incredible deal. This notebook will keep up with the needs of most home users for several years and thanks to the specs, you won’t spend all that time waiting for programs to launch.

Runner Up:

A close runner up for those looking for a larger screen is the HP G72-B66US from Staples which brings a 17.3″ screen an Intel Core i3 processor to the mix for $499. If you can’t snag the Acer from Office Max, Best Buy also has a 15.6″ Black Friday laptop deal on the HP Pavilion DV6-3127dx which comes with an Intel Core i3 processor and is just $499.

In every category there’s a best and a worst. In the case of laptops under $500 the Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5088 is the worst deal for Black Friday 2010 because it doesn’t offer much more than similar models available under $400.

If you’re looking for a deal on a dual core notebook during Black Friday you can find a better deal on one under $400. Check out our Best Black Friday Laptop Under $400 for the best deals of Black Friday 2010.

For more deals, check out our Best Black Friday Laptop Deals by Price:

• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $250
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $300
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $400
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $500
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $600
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $700
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $800
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $900
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $1,000

Best Black Friday Laptop Under $500 (Black Friday 2010) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Black Friday is almost here and soon families will pour over the frontpage doorbuster deals from Walmart, Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples and others looking for the best Black Friday Laptop deal under $300 for 2010.

To help you out we are looking at Notebooks in each price range to help you find the best Black Friday Laptop that fits your budget. This guide will show you all the notebooks available on Black Friday for $250 to $300 and let you know which one we think is the best.

Remember to look at our Black Friday Buying Guide – 10 Things to Look for When Buying your Black Friday Laptop or NetBook, before you head out for Black Friday 2010.

Black Friday Laptops under $300: (Click any model for specs and what you can expect the laptop to do.)

• Lenovo G550 15.6″ @ Office Depot – $279
• eMachines eME442-V133 15.6″ @ Best Buy – $279
• HP G62 15.6″ @ Walmart – $298
• HP G56-141us 15.6” @ Staples – $299

After looking over all of these Black Friday deals on laptops and netbooks for 2010 we’ve picked the Lenovo G550 from Office Depot as the best Black Friday Laptop under $300.

The Lenovo G550 wins out because even the low end Lenovo laptops are known for a decent build quality and for $20 less than the competition you’re getting the  same thing. Essentially, in this price range, you could drop down to the Best Black Friday Laptop under $250 to get a similar Black Friday computer.

If you you can manage to spend the extra $50 jump up to the Black Friday Laptops under $400 category which contains the HP G62-340US dual core notebook for $329 from Office Depot.

In this category there isn’t much to separate the winners from the losers, but the value for the HP G56-141us isn’t enough to make it a good buy. Again, you’re better off bumping up to $329 for a dual core machine.

Check out the rest of our Black Friday Laptop Picks for 2010

• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $250
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $300
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $400
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $500
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $600
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $700
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $800
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $900
• Best Black Friday Laptop Under $1,000

Best Black Friday Laptop Under $300 (Black Friday 2010) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

We have already shared the great and not-so-great Staples laptop deals for the 2010 Black Friday shopping season, which you can find listed below, but we wanted to make it easy to find the rest of what Staples has to offer for Black Friday 2010 in terms of technology.

Besides laptops, Staples will have a quite a few other deals on Black Friday. Below our list of Black Friday laptop deals at Staples we present the other computer and technology deals they have planned for the 2010 Black Friday.

Laptops

Toshiba Satellite L655-S5101 for $499.98

Dell Inspiron M5030 for $499.99

HP DV5-2134 for $399

HP G56-141us for $299.99

HP DV7-4171us for $749.99

HP DV6-3122us for $499.99

Desktops

HP Pavilion Desktop & 20” Monitor with AMD Phenom II 820 Quad-core and 3GB of RAM plus 640GB HD for $599.98 ($150 savings)

HP Pavilion Slimline s5610f Desktop for $299.98 ($100 savings)

Computer Monitors

HP 2031 20″ Widescreen LCD Monitor for $99.98

Acer 23″ Wide-Screen LCD Monitor for $149.98

Dell IN2020 20″ Widescreen LED Monitor for $119.98

Hannspree 25″ Wide-Screen LCD Monitor for $179.98

Samsung 23″ Wide-Screen LED HDTV/Monitor Combo for $229.98

Printers

Brother HL-2240 for $49.98

Brother HL-3070CW Color Laser Printer for $229.98

Brother MFC-7340 Laser All-In-One for $129.98

Brother MFC-7840W Laser All-In-One for $229.98

Canon ImageCLass D340 Digital Copier/Printer for $119.98

Canon SELPHY CP800 Compact Photo Printer with purchase of Digital camera

Epson Workforce 610 All-In-One for $59.98

Espon NX625 Wireless All-In-One for $99.98

HP Color LaserJet CP1215 Printer for $149.98

HP LaserJet Pro P1102W Printer for $99.98

HP Officejet 4500 All-In-One for $49.98

HP Officejet 6000 Wireless Inkjet Printer for $59.98

HP Officejet 6500 Wireless All-In-One Printer for $79.98

HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless All-In-One for $199.98

HP PhotoSmart Premium All-In-One for $89.98

HP Photosmart Premium E-All-In-One for $119.98

Kodak ESP 5250 All-in-one printer for $79.98

Kodak ESP 7250 All-in-one printer for $99.98

LexMark Pro901 Wireless All-in-one Printer for $199.99

LexMark S605 Wireless All-in-one Printer for $129.99

Computer Software

Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 for $49.99

Adobe Premiere Elements 9 for $49.99

Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 for 1 PC for FREE

McAfee AntiVirus Plus 2011 for 1 PC for FREE

Microsoft Office Home and Student 1PC for $69.99

Microsoft Office Home and Student 3PC for $99.99

Norton AntiVirus 2011 for 1 PC for FREE

Norton Internet Security For 1 PC for $14.99

Trend Titanium Internet Security for 3PC for FREE

Computer Accessories

40% off all laptop cases, sleeves and backpacks

Altec 3-Piece Speaker System for $19.99

APC BE350G Battery Backup for $19.99

HP Wireless Mouse (Black, Red or Silver) for $7.99

Logitech M510 Wireless Laser Mouse for $14.98

Logitech MK520 Wireless Keyboard/Mouse Combo for $24.99

Logitech V220 Wireless Optical Notebook Mouse for $7.99

Microsoft 4000 Wireless Laser Mouse (assorted colors) for $14.99

Microsoft LifeCam HD-6000 Webcam for $19.99

Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000 Keyboard/Mouse Combo for $29.99

Targus Basic Chill Mat for $9.99

Targus Keypad/Mouse Bundle for $9.99

Discovery Expedition Entertainment Projector for $69.99

HP SimpleSave 500GB Portable Hard Drive for $49.99

Seagate Expansion 1TB External Hard Drive for $49.99

Seagate FreeAgent Go 1TB Portable Hard Drive for $89.99

Western Digital My Book Essential 2TB External Hard Drive for $99.99

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 750GB Portable Hard Drive for $69.99

Belkin Surf N300 Wireless N Router for $29.99

Cisco Valet for $59.99

Cisco Valet Plus $89.99

Linksys E1000 Wireless-N Router for $49.99

Netgear N600 Wireless Dual-Band Router for $59.99

Cameras

Kodak EasyShare M530 red digital camera for $69.99 ($20 savings)

Canon PowerShot SD1300IS blue digital camera for $129.99 ($26 savings)

Canon PowerShot SX130IS Digital Camera for $179.99 ($70 savings)

Kodak EasyShare Z981 Digital Camera for $199.99 ($100 savings)

Kodak ZxD Pocket Video camera for $49.99 ($50 savings)

Nikon Coolpix S4000 Digital Camera for 129.99 ($20 savings)

Olympus E-PL1 DSLR Kit for $499.99

Olympus FE 4020 digital camera for $89.99 ($30 savings)

Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 12 MP with 3.6X Optical Zoom Kit for $149.99 ($50 savings)

Sony Cybershot W310 digital camera for $99.99 ($20 savings)

Vivitar VX018 digital camera for $49.99 ($20 savings)

Flip Video Ultra digital camcorder for $149.99 ($50 savings)

MP3 Players & Other Audio Accessories

Mac Speed Eclipse 180  4GB MP4 Player for $19.99 ($20 savings)

Memorex TouchMP 4GB MP3 Player for $39.99 ($40 savings)

Beats by Dr. Dre Solo with ControlTalk Headphones from Monster for $143.99 ($37 savings)

Beats by Dr.Dre iBeats Headphones with ControlTalk from Monster for $99.99 (no savings)

Memorex EB50 Ear Buds for Free with $15 iTunes gift card purchase ($15 savings)

iHome IP41B iPod/iPhone Dock for $49.99 ($30 savings)

Memorex Rise & Shine iPod Dock with Clock Radio for $19.99 ($10 savings)

Omnitech Nois Cancelling Headphones for $20 ($30 savings)

Sony DCR-SR68 80GB digital camcorder for $289.99 ($40 savings)

Flash Cards and Drives

PNY 8GB SDHC Memory Card for $17.99

SanDisk 4GB microSD Memory Card for $7.99

SanDisk 4GB SDHC Memory Card for $7.99

SanDisk 4GB Ultra SDHC Memory Card for $12.99

SanDisk 8GB microSD Memory Card for $14.99

SanDisk 8GB SDHC Memory Card for $14.99

SanDisk 8GB Ultra CompactFlash Memory Card for $24.99

SanDisk 8GB Ultra SDHC Memory Card for $19.99

HP 16GB USB Flash Drive for $29.99

HP 4GB USB Flash Drive for $7.99

HP 8GB USB Flash Drive for $11.00

PNY Attache 8GB USB Flash Drive (Silver, Green and Red) for $14.99

Black Friday: Staples Technology Deals is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Toshiba’s Satellite L655-S5101 15.6” laptop will be on sale at Staples on Black Friday for $499.98, which is a $100 savings over their current  price.

This model sports and Intel Pentium P6100 processor. It is a 2GHz dual-core processor usually found in budget systems. The system adds 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive.

The display in this model is an average 1366×768 resolution 15.6” with Intel’s mobile HD graphics chip powering it. That says budget as well. You can watch 720p video, but don’t expect to run the latest and greatest PC games. This is an office computer through and through.

It has a DVD burner, a webcam with the mic built into the front bezel. The sound is Dolby Advanced Audio. There is a flash memory card reader too for bringing your digital photos and videos into the system.

Wi-fi is of the 802.11 b/g/n variety. The Ethernet port is just a 10/100, which will be adequate for web surfing.

The battery is only a 6-cell 48Wh which should run a few hours on a single charge. Toshiba promises up to 5 hours, but we all know that under normal conditions you can expect at least an hour less than that.

The computer does have a full keyboard with a dedicated Number pad. The touchpad has multi-touch for gestures like pinch to zoom and swipe to surf back and forth in your browser history. It seems to almost disappear into the wrist rest in front of the keyboard (see below).

This is a large computer at 5.48 pounds and 14.96” wide x 9.84” deep and 1.10”-1.49” thick. That’s not the biggest 15-incher but it is also not small either.

Ports on this system include a VGA, mic and headphone jacks, and 3 USB 2.0 with one of those also being a combo eSATA port.

For more information look at Toshiba’s site. Below is a video overview of a very similar Toshiba Satellite L65 series notebook.

Black Friday Laptop: Toshiba Satellite L655-S5101 15.6” for $499.98 is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The Dell Inspiron M5030 15.6” laptop with a pretty average 1366×768 resolution and average specs to match is going to be on sale at Staples on Black Friday for $499.99.

This sleek, black computer with an attractive pattern on the lid has nice looks. At $499.99 it is about $130 less than Staples’ current price.

The Dell Inspiron M5030 comes with an AMD Athlon II Dual-core Mobile Processor P340 running at 2.2GHz. It also has 4GB of memory and a big 500GB hard drive. These specs don’t blow you away, but they are decent enough for everyday tasks and some light entertainment uses. The laptop has ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 graphics which is shared video memory. That means this is not a gaming system, but can handle light duty.

Included in the system are an 8X DVD burner, a built-in 1.3MP webcam, and a 3-in-1 card reader.

This is a heavy system, so it is primarily a desktop replacement system. The PC Magazine review listed at Staples said the computer did not handle their application tests well and had very poor battery life with sub 4 hour performance.

Below is a video which will give you a look at the system. Forgive the poor quality. At least it gives you a look at the system and gives you an idea of how hulking this laptop really is.

Black Friday Laptop: Dell Inspiron M5030 15.6” Laptop for $499.99 at Staples is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Staples will be selling the HP Pavilion DV5-2134 14.5” laptop on Black Friday for $399.98 after a $50 rebate. This is a configuration of the popular HP Pavilion DV5 notebook, which is sold in countless configurations. We have covered the DV5 Pavilion extensively and you can read more about its introduction by clicking here.

http://notebooks.com/2010/05/04/hp-pavilion-dv5-updated-with-aluminum-finish-and-amd-processor-choices/

This particular model comes with an AMD II Dual-core P340 Processor, 4GB of RAM and a spacious 500GB hard drive. Its battery is rated to last just under 5 hours, but that may be difficult to actually achieve in the real world.

These specs, however, would say this is an average daily-use system with enough power for simple tasks and light multimedia. At $400 it is a fair price for a middling computer. If you go to HP’s own web site, you can find comparable systems some cheaper and some more expensive. But if you go to AMD’s site you will notice that most of the computers with the same processor cost about $100 more than this one.

The HP Pavilion DV5 laptop has a metallic shell, giving it a premium appearance and a solid feel compared to most laptops in this price range. Most budget laptops have a plastic shell. It does come with Dolby Advanced Audio and a few other nicities that set it apart from the pack of Black Friday laptops being offered for under $400 this holiday season.

Visit Notebooks.com’s Black Friday page for a full isting of laptops being discounted for the holidays. You can also learn more about what you need to know before spending your hard-earned cash on a Black Friday special.

Black Friday Laptop: HP DV5-2134 14.5″ Laptop for $399 at Staples is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The Staples Black Friday 2010 add just leaked and it is filled with a lot of Black Friday laptop deals including the HP G56-141us 15.6”, which will cost $299 on Black Friday. While the price may be right, the specs are bare bones.

There is not a lot of information about this one, but it does have only an Intel Celeron 900 2.2GHz processor. This is not a very fast processor by today’s standards. And with only 2GB of memory, this will be on the slow side. It is an adequate machine for someone who has very simple needs – typing, email and Internet surfing. It is not a good laptop for managing multimedia or creating a lot of content.

The hard drive is a decent 320GB and there is an 8x DVD burner. The Wi-Fi is b/g/n compatible. But the battery life is only about 4 hours at best on the 6-cell 47WHr Lithium-ion battery. Real-world battery life will be much shorter.

We would say this is Staples “get-you-in-the-door” computer. But once you take a look, you will likely realize that even at only $300, this is a limited laptop with limited appeal.

Visit Notebooks.com’s Black Friday laptops page for more Black Friday deals and a list of all of the laptops available from Staples and other retailers.

Black Friday Laptop: HP G56-141us 15.6″ Laptop for $299.99 at Staples is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The Staples Black Friday 2010 add just leaked and it is filled with a lot of Black Friday Laptop deals including the 17.3-inch HP DV7-4171us desktop replacement laptop which is selling for $749.99 on Black Friday.

Desktop replacements are large and often heavy laptops that have some power but at the cost of portability and battery life. This model fits that category. It is a system with a Triple-core processor, something unique among notebook computers. Multiple cores means the computer can handle multiple tasks without a lot of difficulty.

The AMD Phenom II Triple-core Mobile Processor N850 paired with 4GB of RAM and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 switchable graphics means this laptop has some power for hard core computing tasks. It can be used for some gaming and almost anything else you throw at it. Switchable graphics means the graphics card will power down when it is not being taxed that much to save battery life. Staples specs list say the 9-cell 93WHr Lithium-ion battery should last around four hours, but take that with a grain of salt. This powerhouse will not be one to take on a plane for movie watching if it is a long flight, rather it will sit on a desk nicely and be great for occasionally taking with you. At over 8 pounds, remember to work out first. This thing will start feeling heavy quick.

The hard drive gives you plenty or room at 500GB. It also comes with a Blu-ray drive, a nice addition for watching High Def discs. We are not sure if there is an HDMI port or not. The Staples specs list says no, but the linked HP document about the system says it does have one. We’re inclined to go with HP’s document on this one. If it does have an HDMI out port, then it might make a good addition to an entertainment center. Hook up the system with just one cord to a high def set and you have a Blu-ray player and an Internet video and gaming system. If that is of primary interest be sure to ask, but we’re pretty sure it does have one.

The Beats Audio with HP Triple Bass Reflex Subwoofer is going to offer some really nice sound. If your college student wants a laptop, this might be a good choice, as a recent study we reported this summer shows that students want better audio in their computers. And if you want to just watch the movies on the large screen it has a 1600×900 resolution, which is not quite 1080p, but is higher than minimum HD standards.

Wherever you put this monster, leave plenty of room for the computer. It is not small at 16.35″ wide x 10.8″ deep x 1.25″ thick at the front and 1.46″ thick at the back.

For connectivity there is both wireless networking (802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi) and a fast Gigabit Ethernet card. Your student will love that, if the dorms have a fast network. And your home network, if it is also fast enough, will make file transfers between this and a desktop or another system seem quick.

Below is a video review of a similar video from this series. It has a different processor and no Blu-ray, but will let you see the overall size and build of the DV7 line from HP:

Other ports include a 5-in-1 integrated card reader and four USB 2.o ports and a combo eSATA/USB 2.o port.

Finally, the large keyboard with a number pad will be useful for typing long papers or working on large spreadsheets. And the chassis, made of an aluminum alloy with a nice texture won’t collect finger prints.

This seems like a nice system that will last a college student for a good portion of his or her career, so long as they don’t plan on lugging it all over campus. Other options would be a student’s bedroom or a great do-it-all system for your home office. If there is a TV close by, then you will enjoy having the computer as part of the entertainment center too.

The $749.99 price out the door is not exactly a great bargain. In fact it is the same price as Staples has the laptop priced today, but that is after a $50 rebate. So you get the system without the headache of the rebate for the same price as those buying now and sending in the paperwork. If you don’t like rebates then wait till Black Friday. If you don’t mind them, then there is no reason to wait on this one.

Black Friday Laptop: HP DV7-4171us for $749.99 at Staples is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.