vrs99's stats
- Review count188
- Helpfulness votes1,275
- First reviewAugust 21, 2013
- Last reviewApril 23, 2024
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.6
- Review comment count8
- Helpfulness votes6
- First review commentDecember 29, 2013
- Last review commentJuly 18, 2017
- Featured review comments0
Questions
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- Answer count45
- Helpfulness votes46
- First answerDecember 31, 2013
- Last answerJanuary 17, 2022
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- Best answers1
Easily boost Wi-Fi strength and coverage with this Linksys RE6700 wireless range extender, which features Spot Finder technology and 2.4/5.0GHz dual-band operation and works with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac networks.
Posted by: vrs99
from TN
Amazed at the performance of the RE6700. This is my first go at a Range Extender and had heard from friends that they did not have much luck in the past with the extenders.
My RE6700 is installed in my detached garage and is 88’ (tape measured) from the router at the far end of my home. The signal must pass through two exterior walls as well as an interior, not to mention the gaggle of boxes and such in the garage.
Before when using my phone and Bluetooth speaker to listen to music in the garage I had the best luck opening the garage doors and setting my phone on boxes close to the open door. Even that was flaky at best.
Installed the RE6700, which was quite simple and straight forward and was up and running in minutes.
Results: Even though the setup software suggested I move the RE6700 closer to the router, which was not happening unless I wire in a new electrical outlet, the RE6700 was cranking out both 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz at a solid Five Bars.
Installed the RE6700, which was quite simple and straight forward and was up and running in minutes.
Results: Even though the setup software suggested I move the RE6700 closer to the router, which was not happening unless I wire in a new electrical outlet, the RE6700 was cranking out both 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz at a solid Five Bars.
Doors closed, in all sorts of weather I am getting a steady solid 5Ghz and loving my music in the shop.
I was truly amazed that picking up a one to two bar status from the router it would pump it up to Five Bars.
I am part of a review group for Linksys and provided the equipment for an honest review of the product.
I can honestly tell you I love this small gadget; I am no longer listening to the local junk radio stations but streaming good music. An excellent solution in the real world.
Do like the electric socket pass-through as the RE6700 covers my outlet.
My Best Buy number: 2002595546
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Your household is busy streaming media, working online, and playing games every day. This Linksys Wi-Fi Router will expand your network coverage, send signals directly to your devices, and deliver a lag-free connection, even when you’re all online at the same time.
Customer Rating
5
A Beast - Excellent
on May 15, 2016
Posted by: vrs99
Our home network handles upwards of twenty devices. A mixture of 5GHz, 2.4GHz, and wired gigabit devices ranging from phones, tablets, PC’s, streaming, game consoles, printers, NAS and so on. To say the least, it is an extremely active environment, with heavy loading of movies streaming from the Internet and streaming services in the evening.
Have continued to look for technical solutions to provide more smooth bandwidth to our home and garage devices in the Wi-Fi jungle, that continues to grow. When I speak of the Wi-Fi Jungle I am not so much speaking of our home but all the neighboring usage, it is truly a jungle out there and it throttles back the bandwidth. There is only so much pie to go around.
Over the last two years have used two WRT 1900ac(s) routers that perform extremely well, but was not a complete solution for our needs.
When I first read about the EA9500 advancements I knew I had found what I was looking for, dual 5GHz bands along with a strong 2.4GHz band. Tri-Band Quad Stream Wi-Fi with speeds up to 5.3 Gbps, Beamforming technology providing focused directed Wi-Fi to your mobile devices. This Beast Packs a Tremendous amount of Punch.
The EA9500 provides for further Wi-Fi performance with the MU-MIMO technology, I cannot take advantage of this yet (my devices do not have the tech) as this will be rolling out in newer device products coming to market. I will of course have my eye on adding the MU-MIMO tech to my network mix, always room for improvement, plus my kid loves seeing the Wi-Fi Scanner showing the strength of our Wi-Fi in the neighborhood/Jungle.
Setup: If you are familiar with Linksys’s Smart Wi-Fi interface you will feel very much at home and the setup should be a breeze. Personally I manually setup my routers but they do have the Smart Setup Wizard which will walk you quickly through the setup.
My plan for switching from my network WRT 1900ACS router to the EA9500 was simply Snipping screen shots of all the setup screens and creating a short document to use in setup. Simple and fast.
My thoughts on the EA9500 can be summed up in one word, Wow! Never has our network worked so smoothly (especially at night when we have dueling movie streaming).
The signals are very strong and covers my entire home, and the router placement is in a corner room office. The banding of the two 5GHz streams is fantastic, though you can separate them and manage two separate streams if you need.
Important point for me was the expanding of the Ethernet Ports to Eight, I now (at the moment) no longer need an additional switch for wired connections at the router, though there are two Linksys switches at the entertainment center and at the kid’s desk. There is a separate Internet connection port making the Ethernet port total nine all running at gigabit.
Looks great and professional on the office desk, on the corner of course as this is no small router, it has a significant footprint.
Additionally, we have a detached garage that sits 88’ (actually measured with tape) from the router in the house to the workbench in the garage. The signal must travel through two house walls, deck structure, garage walls and obstacles in the garage, benches, stacked storage boxes, etc.
There is a decent signal in the garage from the EA9500 which I have picked up with a Linksys Range Extender (I am presently testing a RE6700 and RE700 extenders in the garage and both are slamming out five bars)! Great for streaming music to my Bluetooth speaker, keeping the phone connected to Wi-Fi or laptop connection.
Have not gone into all the technical info, it is there to read and it is exciting stuff. Can tell you I spent decades in IT managing systems supporting up to six thousand users, given all the equipment I have worked with this box has me excited. It is good stuff and fills my home with Five Bars of Wi-Fi.
User Manual: is rather simple, where I would enjoy more detailed documentation. The Help System within the router does provide more detail than you will find in the User’s Manual.
Have been running the router several days and it is rock solid managing our network. Plus, it looks cool.
Highly recommended if you have the need to run a large network environment, or just enjoy being the fastest kid on the block.
My Best Buy number: 2002595546
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+4points
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Expand your network and add network devices with this Linksys five-port gigabit switch, letting you transfer 10 times faster than Fast Ethernet. Five ports offer 5X Ethernet so you can plug and play without missing a beat. Power is reduced to unused ports on this Linksys five-port gigabit switch, saving you money by reducing energy costs.
Customer Rating
5
Excellent Small Footprint Switch
on April 13, 2016
Posted by: vrs99
from TN
An excellent 5 port switch with strong feature set. First off I like the retro Blue on Black look that matches up with our main WRT 1900acs router and Linksys SE4008 WRT 8-Port. Like that the switch uses IEEE 802.3az technology that allows for less power consumption during periods of low data activity.
The switch has a good hefty feel to it due to metal construction, this I am sure will help manage heat. And what I find Great about the Solid Feel is it does not move around on the desktop like lighter switches.
Easy to setup? Yes it is a switch, plug in your Network connection and wired deices and you are good to go.
Nice touches are the included mounting hardware if you want to mount to a wall or mount behind a desk. Also comes with peel and stick rubber feet pads for use on the desk. The foot pads could use some attention as two of ours lost their adhesive when we peeled them off. Easy fix with a touch of superglue.
We replaced an older E4200 router on my son's desk with the switch, much easier to use, no setup, far more efficient networking (fast), uses far less space and looks cooler. Have an older small footprint 5 port Linksys switch which we use with the home entertainment system, have been using it for years with no issues, but I far prefer the new edition.
Highly Recommended.
Note: I received a free sample of the SE3005 Switch from Linksys in exchange for my honest feedback.
My Best Buy number: 2002595546
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Utilizing 4 high-performance antennas and power amplifiers, this Linksys Smart Wi-Fi WRT1900AC dual-band Wireless-AC router offers optimal wireless strength and signal coverage, so you can easily connect devices throughout your home or office.
Posted by: vrs99
from TN
Replaced my Linksys EA 6700 router with the WRT1900ac on my home network. The EA 6700 is a good router but it is not in the same class as the WRT1900ac.
The signal is outstanding, solid and fast throughout the whole house and outside too boot.
Setup is smooth and easy, especially if you are familiar with latest versions of the Linksys software. The router has plenty of features and added a few more since the last router versions.
Has the best Network Map I have seen, informative and quickly shows where your bandwidth is being used.
If you need/want a powerful router that is flexible and expandable (according to Linksys) in the future take a hard look at the WRT1900ac.
My Best Buy number: 2002595546
What's great about it: Solid - Fast Signal - Easy Setup
What's not so great: Less coin would have been cool
I would recommend this to a friend!
Ease of Use
5
Performance
5
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Quickly burn your favorite movies and music to disc with this LG SP60NB50 double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW drive, which features an overall maximum DVD write speed of 8x for rapid data replication. The slim design makes the drive easy to transport.
Posted by: vrs99
from TN
Bought to use with hybrid computer. Worked fine, though seemed a bit flimsy from the thin design. Returned after deciding to just map a drive to my desktop DVD.
What's great about it: Thin
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
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p>HP Split 13-g110dx Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: With the power of a laptop as well as the portability of a tablet, this split convertible HD touch-screen laptop provides the best of both worlds to work or play wherever you go.Learn more about the New Windows ›
Customer Rating
4
Brillant Machine
on December 4, 2013
Posted by: vrs99
from TN
I have been looking for months for a 4th Gen i5 Windows 8.1 tablet at a good price point that was a bit larger than my 10" android tablet. This unit more than fit the bill. I looked hard and long at the Surface Pro 2 tablet, among many others, but opted for the larger screen and much easier price.
Took Delivery a couple days ago and I am delighted with the unit. It fits nicely into our network of Windows 8.1 computers and Windows Phone 8; very keen on the flow and synchronization of data and resources in the Windows Ecosystem.
Having a larger screen is much easier to read than the 10" tablet and it still fits nicely on the coffee table while watching the tube.
The unit is light years faster than my high end android tablet. One of my main uses of the android was to browse the Internet, which is Painfully Slow. The Slate X2 actually is more responsive than my two i7 desktops, which certainly comes from the SSD hard drive.
Was a bit concerned about the screen resolution stats, but on the screen it is brilliant.
Batteries seem to go on forever and the recharge is unbelievably fast.
Plenty of ports and give HP high points for installing USB 3.0 ports as well as a full size HDMI.
The 128 GB SSD is lighting quick and more than enough space for loading Windows 8.1, MS Office, games, documents and tons of pictures. I am leaving the videos off though as it is not large enough. If you need more storage you can install a 500 GB drive in the keyboard.
The keyboard is adequate and much better than smaller keyboards on 10” tablets but not made for touch typing, though it is suitable for business application. The Touch Pad works well, but it is sensitive. There may be an adjustment for that but I have not looked for it as of yet as I am using a USB wireless mouse.
Start up takes about 7-8 second to completely load Windows.
As for games, I found that Civilization V drags a bit in video. The graphics are great and fast in typical use but the Intel Graphics in the CPU is not made for intensive gaming.
Not sure about the use of plastic for the case, but I am hoping HP did their homework and case proves to be durable over the years.
I read a few complaints in reviews, which are typical, such as not being to upgrade the Windows 8 to 8.1, not being able to connect to the router/internet and about slow internet speeds, etc. I have had no such issues. Windows upgrade to 8.1 went smoothly, hooks to the router immediately and the Wi-Fi speed is fast.
If you do buy I suggest downloading the latest BIOS and there is also a download for the latest Wi-Fi card driver at Intel’s site.
Bottom line, I cannot give this unit enough kudos, and this comes with decades of IT department experience. It is a best buy.
My Best Buy number: 2002595546
What's great about it: 4th Gen i5 CPU - SPEED
What's not so great: Not sure about the plastic case?
I would recommend this to a friend!
Display
4
Performance
4
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You can't lead your team into battle, sink every putt on the green or win every race in the circuit when you're trying to play your games with a sub-par controller. Set down the faulty equipment and get in the game. Grab hold of this wireless controller and enjoy your games like they're meant to be played — with you in total control.Get in the zone and take full control of your favorite games with the DualShock 3 Wireless Controller for PlayStation 3, the only Bluetooth controller for the PlayStation 3 system. The controller features DualShock response technology, enabling you to feel the intensity of the battle, race and game with vibration feedback that coincides with the action on-screen. Don't let hand fatigue keep you from completing the mission — the controller's ergonomically designed grips let you game comfortably until the job's accomplished and your team is home safe. Bring the action off the screen and blend into your game's environment with the cool Urban Camouflage design. Don't let your team, your game or yourself down — grab this controller and take charge of the action.
Customer Rating
4
Nice Controller
on October 30, 2013
Posted by: vrs99
from TN
Verified Purchase:Yes
Added a second controller to the PS3 after purchasing Infinity game. Kid loves it and like the camouflage color pattern.
My Best Buy number: 2002595546
My Best Buy number: 2002595546
What's great about it: Makes the Kid Happy
I would recommend this to a friend!
Design
4
Durability
4
Comfort
4
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This Asus RT-AC66R wireless-AC router uses 3 detachable antennas and dual 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz transmitters to deliver blazing-fast data transfer speeds up to 1300 Mbps, making it easy to surf the Web and rapidly stream, sync and share files.
Customer Rating
2
Do not Purcahse if you need a Bridge
on August 21, 2013
Posted by: vrs99
I use it in...:Large home
After researching for a few weeks for a new router for the home network selected this one at Best Buy. Price was good as was the sales support at the store.
When I went to install the router was surprised that it did not support wired Bridge mode behind my WAN router, not to be confused with Media Bridge. To use this router in Media Bridge mode you can only accomplish that in a wireless state with a WAN router, which if you use wireless Media Bridge it cuts the data stream in half, if I read the manual correctly. Have used a different company's routers for years that all support Bridge mode was surprised that such an advanced router does not.
That sad side of the story is the one and half hours I spent chatting with two different tech reps attempting to setup bridge mode. Finally they told me it would not support it and without a goodbye or thank you they ended the chat session.
Bottom line, seems like a fine router if it fits your needs, do not know the capabilities as I was never able to join it to my network, though all the reviews I read shows that it is fast and it does have plenty of useful options, like Radius. But if you need a Bridge look elsewhere, it will not work.
Mine is going back to the store where I will order another from them, which comes from a company with a long heritage of networking.
My Best Buy number: 2002595546
What's great about it: The Specs
What's not so great: Does not Support Bridge Mode - Terrible Tech Support
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Ease of Use
2
Performance
4
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vrs99's Review Comments
p>HP Split 13-g110dx Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: With the power of a laptop as well as the portability of a tablet, this split convertible HD touch-screen laptop provides the best of both worlds to work or play wherever you go.Learn more about the New Windows ›
Overall4 out of 5
4 out of 5Good value with limitation
By CSatTX
from Houston, TX
I am writing this review using the Split X2. Bought it on Black Friday. This is a tablet and a laptop combined. With a i5 CPU, 13 inch screen, and the price, this is a very good value. For a laptop, the weight (4.4 lbs) is OK, not great.
The only con on this item is it is non-expandable. First, the memory is only 4GB and soldered. It cannot go to 8GB. Second, there is supposed to be a HD space in the keyboard unit like the other X2 models. For some reason this particular model does not have that feature.
So if you can live with 4GB memory and 128GB SSD, this is an excellent machine. I am running Lightroom and MS Office on this machine and performance could have been better.
vrs99
Drive expansion
December 29, 2013
The X2 does accept a 500GB drive in the keyboard.
0points
0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
p>HP Split 13-g110dx Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: With the power of a laptop as well as the portability of a tablet, this split convertible HD touch-screen laptop provides the best of both worlds to work or play wherever you go.Learn more about the New Windows ›
Overall4 out of 5
4 out of 54 convience of tablet and power of a real computer
By nearlynormal
from springfield, IL
4 out of 5. Works as advertised. The screen works as a nice sized tablet. It could certainly use aUSB port onthe screen. If you aren't carrying the keyboard and want to show some photos from a flash drive you're out of luck.
vrs99
TN
Adding flash storage
December 31, 2013
It is true the tablet does not have a USB port to throw some pictures into. But you can insert a micro SDHC card into the top/tablet. You can currently get 64 GB Micro SDHC card class 10 which will fit nicely and increase the tablets storage by 50%.
Personally I store almost 11,000 high resolution picture files which requires 29 GB of storage. So I am guessing that 64 GB would suit the average user.
0points
0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
Utilizing 4 high-performance antennas and power amplifiers, this Linksys Smart Wi-Fi WRT1900AC dual-band Wireless-AC router offers optimal wireless strength and signal coverage, so you can easily connect devices throughout your home or office.
Overall5 out of 5
5 out of 5Rock Solid
By vrs99
from TN
Replaced my Linksys EA 6700 router with the WRT1900ac on my home network. The EA 6700 is a good router but it is not in the same class as the WRT1900ac.
The signal is outstanding, solid and fast throughout the whole house and outside too boot.
Setup is smooth and easy, especially if you are familiar with latest versions of the Linksys software. The router has plenty of features and added a few more since the last router versions.
Has the best Network Map I have seen, informative and quickly shows where your bandwidth is being used.
If you need/want a powerful router that is flexible and expandable (according to Linksys) in the future take a hard look at the WRT1900ac.
vrs99
TN
Plan on using eSATA? MUST READ - be Forewarned
September 3, 2014
One of my main decisions in purchasing the WRT1900ac was to attach my NetGear NAS on the eSATA port for easier access across my network.
No such luck.
Spent time with Linksys tech and neither my eSATA NAS from NetGear nor my external eSATA drive will work with the WRT1900ac.
Linksys does have a compatibility chart - somewhere - but not in their spec listings of what works with their router.
If you want to use eSATA do your homework and see if your device is compatible.
Tough Luck if your device is not on the list.
0points
0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
Upgrade your laptop's storage with this Samsung 850 PRO MZ-7KE512BW internal SATA III solid state drive, which offers a generous 512GB capacity for digital data. SED (Self-Encrypting Drive) technology controls access to private information.
Overall
1 out of 5
1 out of 5Crashed and Burned after 44 Days - Good Luck
By vrs99
Fast SSD - and Extra Fast to Crash in just 44 days. Of course it was on a Friday evening and cannot speak to Samsung until Monday. Cannot Chat with them as they do not offer Chat for SSD's.
Luckily it crashed two weeks after the 30 day return period to Best Buy. Guess it is a good thing they offer 10 year warranty? But have heard they will return a refurbished unit, which will not be good on 44 day old product. Must be living on the bleeding edge, should have stuck with the Toshiba, which I can't see a real life difference in speed.
vrs99
TN
After a Day of Wrestling with the SSD
July 11, 2015
After pulling every rabbit out of my hat I finally got the SSD going again. Have to completely reload OS, etc. starting at Windows 8. Not fun.
But I am "somewhat" happy that I was able to get the drive working. Not sure what happen to the drive, but have some suspicion of a setting in Magician (software system for the 850 Pro) which boosts speed?
+2points
2of 2voted this comment as helpful.
Only at Best BuyUpdate your portable technology kit with this HP Omen 17-inch laptop. Ideal for gaming, this machine combines a 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor with 12GB of DDR4 RAM for ultra-fast performance on the go. An island-style backlit keyboard equipped with dedicated macro keys makes this HP Omen 17-inch laptop easy to use in the dark.
Overall5 out of 5
5 out of 5Hp omen gaming laptop
By Martinezjorge7
I recently bought the 16 omen laptop and I was able to return mine and be able to upgrade the the newest one it has a better graphic card and an new design with a better cooling vent with a 1 tb hard drive
vrs99
TN
NO DVD
July 12, 2017
There is no DVD built, you would have to use external.
0points
0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
HP OMEN by HP Laptop: Power through the virtual landscape with this versatile HP Omen 15-inch laptop. Ideal for gaming, this machine packs a 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX video card for superior graphics performance. The 1TB hard drive inside this HP Omen 15-inch laptop provides plenty for space for gaming profiles and other multimedia files.
Overall4 out of 5
4 out of 5Excellent laptop, but not the best value
By Xephyroth
from Colorado Springs, CO
This HP Omen is the 3rd gaming laptop I've ever owned, and it's undoubtedly the best one I've had the pleasure of using. However, this product isn't perfect out of the box.
FIRST IMPRESSION / UNBOXING:
Out of the box, the first thing that I noticed is that this laptop has impressive build quality. The sand-blasted brushing brings a pleasant aesthetic while also bringing solid weight and durability. It's not incredibly flashy, so it doesn't scream "gamer" like a lot of other laptops, but it definitely brings a touch of the "gamer" aesthetic without being overzealous. The notebook is also much thinner than I expected, as I've been used to much thicker gaming laptops, but I suppose the lack of an optical drive attributes to that. The power brick is fairly small and compact for a machine that's capable of entry/mid-level gaming.
Out of the box, the first thing that I noticed is that this laptop has impressive build quality. The sand-blasted brushing brings a pleasant aesthetic while also bringing solid weight and durability. It's not incredibly flashy, so it doesn't scream "gamer" like a lot of other laptops, but it definitely brings a touch of the "gamer" aesthetic without being overzealous. The notebook is also much thinner than I expected, as I've been used to much thicker gaming laptops, but I suppose the lack of an optical drive attributes to that. The power brick is fairly small and compact for a machine that's capable of entry/mid-level gaming.
DISPLAY:
Turning the display on, the 1080p IPS matte display is nice and bright, and viewing angles are decent without too much color shifting. Bezels aren't too large, and it's not something I noticed until just now while writing this review. While I'm used to Quad-HD and 4K resolutions, I was not displeased with this display in any fashion. The webcam is above the display and can record at 720p/30fps. Not the best, but not the worst webcam I've seen.
Turning the display on, the 1080p IPS matte display is nice and bright, and viewing angles are decent without too much color shifting. Bezels aren't too large, and it's not something I noticed until just now while writing this review. While I'm used to Quad-HD and 4K resolutions, I was not displeased with this display in any fashion. The webcam is above the display and can record at 720p/30fps. Not the best, but not the worst webcam I've seen.
KEYBOARD:
Typing on the keyboard is pleasant with the chiclet-style keys. It didn't take me too long to get used to the keyboard, having come from mechanical keyboards and MacBook Pro keyboards. The addition of the num-pad is certainly nice, as well. The keyboard is backlit red (as you'd expect with the Omen), but settings are very simplistic compared to other gaming laptops. The backlighting has 3 states: fully on, WASD on, or fully off. No, there are no fancy effects, and I wouldn't expect any at this price. I do find it a little bit surprising that you can't dim the backlighting, but I rarely dim the backlight on my keyboards, anyway, so it'd be a useless feature for me.
Typing on the keyboard is pleasant with the chiclet-style keys. It didn't take me too long to get used to the keyboard, having come from mechanical keyboards and MacBook Pro keyboards. The addition of the num-pad is certainly nice, as well. The keyboard is backlit red (as you'd expect with the Omen), but settings are very simplistic compared to other gaming laptops. The backlighting has 3 states: fully on, WASD on, or fully off. No, there are no fancy effects, and I wouldn't expect any at this price. I do find it a little bit surprising that you can't dim the backlighting, but I rarely dim the backlight on my keyboards, anyway, so it'd be a useless feature for me.
TRACKPAD:
Out of the box, the trackpad sensitivity was incredibly low for my personal taste. After making some adjustments to the Touchpad Settings in Windows 10, I found a sensitivity that worked well for me. The touchpad does not physically click, but there are left/right trackpad buttons. Initially, I did find the buttons to be awkwardly placed, but I actually got used to them fairly quickly. While the touchpad isn't the best I've ever used, it is pretty good, in my opinion. 2 and 3 finger gestures work, as well.
Out of the box, the trackpad sensitivity was incredibly low for my personal taste. After making some adjustments to the Touchpad Settings in Windows 10, I found a sensitivity that worked well for me. The touchpad does not physically click, but there are left/right trackpad buttons. Initially, I did find the buttons to be awkwardly placed, but I actually got used to them fairly quickly. While the touchpad isn't the best I've ever used, it is pretty good, in my opinion. 2 and 3 finger gestures work, as well.
SOUND:
The Bang & Olufsen speakers surprised me. They have good volume and a pleasant sound signature. However, they're bottom-firing, so when you put the laptop on your lap, the frequencies dampen and you lose a bit of treble/mid-range impact. Keep in mind, this is with the "B & O Play Experience" toggled on from the "Omen Audio" application. You'll definitely want to leave that on if you're using the speakers, or else the bass will disappear and will sound really anemic. I did notice some clipping at max volume when bass-heavy music was involved. Headphone jack works well as you'd expect, but doesn't promise anything fancy, so don't bother trying to drive headphones with high impedance. The built-in microphone array is good for video/voice chat session, but don't expect it to compete with a USB desktop microphone in terms of sound quality. For all casual purposes, it does just fine.
The Bang & Olufsen speakers surprised me. They have good volume and a pleasant sound signature. However, they're bottom-firing, so when you put the laptop on your lap, the frequencies dampen and you lose a bit of treble/mid-range impact. Keep in mind, this is with the "B & O Play Experience" toggled on from the "Omen Audio" application. You'll definitely want to leave that on if you're using the speakers, or else the bass will disappear and will sound really anemic. I did notice some clipping at max volume when bass-heavy music was involved. Headphone jack works well as you'd expect, but doesn't promise anything fancy, so don't bother trying to drive headphones with high impedance. The built-in microphone array is good for video/voice chat session, but don't expect it to compete with a USB desktop microphone in terms of sound quality. For all casual purposes, it does just fine.
PERFORMANCE:
This laptop comes with a 4-core / 8-thread Intel Core i7 processor. For most basic tasks, this is actually overkill. But for gamers, this is great, as more games are utilizing more threads. The GTX 1050 can play any older game at very high settings, and can still play many modern titles at medium / high settings at 1080p. 8GB of RAM is enough for most people, but individuals who multi-task with a lot of resource-intensive chrome tabs and extensions may find themselves wanting more. While the 1TB hard drive is rated for 7200RPM, I still find it unacceptable to not have the operating system installed on a Solid State Drive (SSD) for a machine at this price point. You will not be unlocking the full potential of this machine while your OS runs on a slow drive like this. Thankfully, the upgrade process is fairly simple. After consulting the service manual found on HP's support website, I unscrewed the 10 screws from the bottom of the laptop and removed the bottom panel by starting with the side closest to the display hinge. From there, you'll have access to the SATA drive bay, the M.2 SSD slot (unoccupied, but does support NVMe drives), and 2 RAM slots (with only 1 occupied). I suspect that each RAM slot supports up to 8GB, but I could not find any confirmation in any of the documents available on HP's support website.
This laptop comes with a 4-core / 8-thread Intel Core i7 processor. For most basic tasks, this is actually overkill. But for gamers, this is great, as more games are utilizing more threads. The GTX 1050 can play any older game at very high settings, and can still play many modern titles at medium / high settings at 1080p. 8GB of RAM is enough for most people, but individuals who multi-task with a lot of resource-intensive chrome tabs and extensions may find themselves wanting more. While the 1TB hard drive is rated for 7200RPM, I still find it unacceptable to not have the operating system installed on a Solid State Drive (SSD) for a machine at this price point. You will not be unlocking the full potential of this machine while your OS runs on a slow drive like this. Thankfully, the upgrade process is fairly simple. After consulting the service manual found on HP's support website, I unscrewed the 10 screws from the bottom of the laptop and removed the bottom panel by starting with the side closest to the display hinge. From there, you'll have access to the SATA drive bay, the M.2 SSD slot (unoccupied, but does support NVMe drives), and 2 RAM slots (with only 1 occupied). I suspect that each RAM slot supports up to 8GB, but I could not find any confirmation in any of the documents available on HP's support website.
I happened to have an unused SATA-based SSD, so I swapped that with the 1TB HDD and used the software that came with my SSD to transfer the OS from the HDD to the SSD. After this process, my HP Omen was substantially faster with booting the OS and running applications—a night & day difference.
BATTERY:
I haven't tested the battery life to an enormous extent, but enabling a battery estimation feature in the BIOS allows Windows 10 to report the estimated time (not just %) on battery. Depending on your brightness, power profile and workload, HP estimates 9 hours of mixed usage, and almost 7 hours of video playback. So far, I think that claim is accurate.
I haven't tested the battery life to an enormous extent, but enabling a battery estimation feature in the BIOS allows Windows 10 to report the estimated time (not just %) on battery. Depending on your brightness, power profile and workload, HP estimates 9 hours of mixed usage, and almost 7 hours of video playback. So far, I think that claim is accurate.
I/O:
The HP Omen doesn't support Thunderbolt 3, but all the USB ports support USB 3.1 (1 Type-C, 3 Type-A. There's also a gigabit ethernet jack, HDMI (HDCP 2.2, 4k@60Hz), and Mini DisplayPort. It also supports a full-size SD card which can be fully inserted into the laptop without sticking out. As mentioned before, it also sports a headphone and microphone jack.
The HP Omen doesn't support Thunderbolt 3, but all the USB ports support USB 3.1 (1 Type-C, 3 Type-A. There's also a gigabit ethernet jack, HDMI (HDCP 2.2, 4k@60Hz), and Mini DisplayPort. It also supports a full-size SD card which can be fully inserted into the laptop without sticking out. As mentioned before, it also sports a headphone and microphone jack.
CONCLUSION:
The HP Omen is a great laptop. It provides great features while also having room for a few upgrade. However, I do feel that an SSD should be included at this price—even a cheaper SATA-based M.2 or 2.5" drive would be fine. For a performance-oriented machine like this, skimping on the SSD is a poor decision on HP's part—especially at this price-point. I have seen competitor's laptops with the i7-7700HQ, GTX 1060, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD go on sale for cheaper. So in that regard, I do feel the HP Omen isn't providing as good a value, but it is objectively a good laptop—perhaps, just not as good a value when compared to other options around the same price.
The HP Omen is a great laptop. It provides great features while also having room for a few upgrade. However, I do feel that an SSD should be included at this price—even a cheaper SATA-based M.2 or 2.5" drive would be fine. For a performance-oriented machine like this, skimping on the SSD is a poor decision on HP's part—especially at this price-point. I have seen competitor's laptops with the i7-7700HQ, GTX 1060, 16GB RAM, and 256GB SSD go on sale for cheaper. So in that regard, I do feel the HP Omen isn't providing as good a value, but it is objectively a good laptop—perhaps, just not as good a value when compared to other options around the same price.
vrs99
TN
Support Manual web site?
July 14, 2017
Do you have the link to the HP Support Site that has the Support Manual?
Have been looking and must be in the wrong place - Thanks
0points
0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
HP OMEN by HP Laptop: Power through the virtual landscape with this versatile HP Omen 15-inch laptop. Ideal for gaming, this machine packs a 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX video card for superior graphics performance. The 1TB hard drive inside this HP Omen 15-inch laptop provides plenty for space for gaming profiles and other multimedia files.
Overall5 out of 5
5 out of 5Zoom Zoom Zoom – Game On
By vrs99
from TN
This machine looks like it is going fast sitting on the desktop. The exhaust system vents on the back edges of the laptop brings to mind the tailpipes a supercar might be sporting. When it is cranking through benchmarking the cooling system and exhaust ports are doing a job, pushing volumes of hot air away from the machine.
The HP Omen is the most bang for the buck that I have ever seen in a laptop, this box is loaded with edgy technology. Not going through a list of specs, those are easy enough to find, what is impressive is that all techs are up to date, not last year’s stuff. Too many times have seen corners cut to save a dollar. Not here. Not one USB 2.0 in sight, which is surprising seeing that we just built beast of a desktop a month ago with the latest Z270 Kaby Lake i7 7700K, USB 2.0 ports still in use on an advanced motherboard. Kudos to HP.
Take a close look at the specs, you will find 802.11ac with a solid 866.7 Mbps connection. “Dual Force functionality splits traffic across two data streams, sending gaming traffic over the fastest connection available (typically wired), and all other traffic over WiFi.”
Other ports of interest (not a complete listing check the spec sheet):
1 USB 3.1 Type C
3 USB 3.1
Mini DisplayPort
3 USB 3.1
Mini DisplayPort
What I love is the fact you can purchase a HDD Omen model and then add your M.2 NVMe drive of choice, that is cool. If you are not yet familiar with M.2 NVMe you should take a look. In a word (or more) they are fast, about seven times that of a standard SSD.
What is interesting is that with the HDD the system boots up in 9 seconds, that is fully populated with my programs/anti-virus and all my files. Impressive. Being spoiled by SSD’s I must tip my hat to HP; this machine runs tremendously smooth with the 7200 RPM Hitachi HDD.
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (4 GB GDDR5 dedicated memory) discrete GPU ran through the Unigine Heaven Benchmark smoothly turning good numbers while the cooling system kept the GPU at a respectable 68 degrees. Notable, that with all the heavy iron under the hood the system manages the temp easily.
Ran my favorite game, Civilization VI through its paces today set on the highest graphic settings and it ran like a champ.
Looks, it has the looks, brushed aluminum case with an excellent finish. Nice touches all-around.
Know it is a way cool machine as my kid, the gamer in the house is explaining all the great and subtle reasons why it would be better for him to hang onto the machine. Yeah right!
What I am getting use to is the keyboard offset, a bit to the left to make room for the full size numeric pad, which is a nice touch. Keyboard is fine and well suited for heavy accurate work, or gaming for that matter.
Want a blistering rig in your hands at an excellent price point, one that can kick it at games and can be easily expanded, check out The Omen.
vrs99
TN
Maintenance and Service - Upgrade Manual
July 15, 2017
If you purchase the Omen and wish to upgrade memory or add M.2 SSD you can find the manual here:
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05533785
+3points
3of 3voted this comment as helpful.
HP OMEN by HP Laptop: Power through the virtual landscape with this versatile HP Omen 15-inch laptop. Ideal for gaming, this machine packs a 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX video card for superior graphics performance. The 1TB hard drive inside this HP Omen 15-inch laptop provides plenty for space for gaming profiles and other multimedia files.
Overall5 out of 5
5 out of 5Zoom Zoom Zoom – Game On
By vrs99
from TN
This machine looks like it is going fast sitting on the desktop. The exhaust system vents on the back edges of the laptop brings to mind the tailpipes a supercar might be sporting. When it is cranking through benchmarking the cooling system and exhaust ports are doing a job, pushing volumes of hot air away from the machine.
The HP Omen is the most bang for the buck that I have ever seen in a laptop, this box is loaded with edgy technology. Not going through a list of specs, those are easy enough to find, what is impressive is that all techs are up to date, not last year’s stuff. Too many times have seen corners cut to save a dollar. Not here. Not one USB 2.0 in sight, which is surprising seeing that we just built beast of a desktop a month ago with the latest Z270 Kaby Lake i7 7700K, USB 2.0 ports still in use on an advanced motherboard. Kudos to HP.
Take a close look at the specs, you will find 802.11ac with a solid 866.7 Mbps connection. “Dual Force functionality splits traffic across two data streams, sending gaming traffic over the fastest connection available (typically wired), and all other traffic over WiFi.”
Other ports of interest (not a complete listing check the spec sheet):
1 USB 3.1 Type C
3 USB 3.1
Mini DisplayPort
3 USB 3.1
Mini DisplayPort
What I love is the fact you can purchase a HDD Omen model and then add your M.2 NVMe drive of choice, that is cool. If you are not yet familiar with M.2 NVMe you should take a look. In a word (or more) they are fast, about seven times that of a standard SSD.
What is interesting is that with the HDD the system boots up in 9 seconds, that is fully populated with my programs/anti-virus and all my files. Impressive. Being spoiled by SSD’s I must tip my hat to HP; this machine runs tremendously smooth with the 7200 RPM Hitachi HDD.
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (4 GB GDDR5 dedicated memory) discrete GPU ran through the Unigine Heaven Benchmark smoothly turning good numbers while the cooling system kept the GPU at a respectable 68 degrees. Notable, that with all the heavy iron under the hood the system manages the temp easily.
Ran my favorite game, Civilization VI through its paces today set on the highest graphic settings and it ran like a champ.
Looks, it has the looks, brushed aluminum case with an excellent finish. Nice touches all-around.
Know it is a way cool machine as my kid, the gamer in the house is explaining all the great and subtle reasons why it would be better for him to hang onto the machine. Yeah right!
What I am getting use to is the keyboard offset, a bit to the left to make room for the full size numeric pad, which is a nice touch. Keyboard is fine and well suited for heavy accurate work, or gaming for that matter.
Want a blistering rig in your hands at an excellent price point, one that can kick it at games and can be easily expanded, check out The Omen.
vrs99
TN
Adding M.2 SSD
July 18, 2017
Added a M.2 SSD to the Omen and nuked all the partitions on the HDD and added it back to the system. Day and Night performance. That is one aspect I like about this model is that it does not come with an installed M.2 drive, you can pick your own SSD ads capacity.
Screams with the new M.2 and have an additionally terabyte of storage on the HDD, whcih I use to sync my files to frequently before syncing with the NAS.
Great machine.
+1point
1of 1voted this comment as helpful.
vrs99's Questions
vrs99 has not submitted any questions.
Unleash the power of the Samsung 980 PRO with Heatsink for next-level computing. With a PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ interface, get up to 2x the data transfer rate of PCIe® 3.0¹ while remaining compatible with PCIe® 3.0. ¹Results are based on a comparison with Samsung PCIe® 3.0 NVMe SSDs and SATA SSDs.
When is the release date for these on bestbuy.com?
Unleash the power of the Samsung 980 PRO with Heatsink for next-level computing. With a PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ interface, get up to 2x the data transfer rate of PCIe® 3.0¹ while remaining compatible with PCIe® 3.0. ¹Results are based on a comparison with Samsung PCIe® 3.0 NVMe SSDs and SATA SSDs.
Anyone know if the heatsink is easily removable in case I want to use it in a gaming laptop? I am not sure this will fit my laptop 2nd bay, Asus ROG m16 SSD slot. Thanks!
Look for product Samsung - 980 PRO 1TB PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe Gaming Internal Solid State Drive
Model:MZ-V8P1T0B/AM
SKU:6431939
Has no heatsink
Model:MZ-V8P1T0B/AM
SKU:6431939
Has no heatsink
2 years, 3 months ago
by
vrs99
Unleash the power of the Samsung 980 PRO with Heatsink for next-level computing. With a PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ interface, get up to 2x the data transfer rate of PCIe® 3.0¹ while remaining compatible with PCIe® 3.0. ¹Results are based on a comparison with Samsung PCIe® 3.0 NVMe SSDs and SATA SSDs.
When is the release date for these on bestbuy.com?
It’s easy to transform your home into a safe haven with SimpliSafe’s award-winning security system. Everything is simple to set up, effortless to use, and designed to do one thing only: keep your home and family safe. Outdoor security cameras let you see everything happening in full HD. So you can spot trouble before it comes knocking and capture the evidence if it does. And if someone tries to break in, the burglary sensors will sound the alarm right away. But that’s not all. Whenever your alarm goes off, we’ll call you and send police, firefighters, or ambulances to your door in a snap — and stay on the line with you until they arrive. So no matter where you are or what you’re doing, your home is protected 24/7.
Are the outside cameras motion sensor and shine a light in dark areas?
It’s easy to transform your home into a safe haven with SimpliSafe’s award-winning security system. Everything is simple to set up, effortless to use, and designed to do one thing only: keep your home and family safe. Outdoor security cameras let you see everything happening in full HD. So you can spot trouble before it comes knocking and capture the evidence if it does. And if someone tries to break in, the burglary sensors will sound the alarm right away. But that’s not all. Whenever your alarm goes off, we’ll call you and send police, firefighters, or ambulances to your door in a snap — and stay on the line with you until they arrive. So no matter where you are or what you’re doing, your home is protected 24/7.
How do the cameras attach to the house?
It comes with mounting plate that uses two screws to mount and a magnet which the camera attaches to. Believe they may have another mount that will screw into back of camera housing, that would be more secure.
2 years, 5 months ago
by
vrs99
It’s easy to transform your home into a safe haven with SimpliSafe’s award-winning security system. Everything is simple to set up, effortless to use, and designed to do one thing only: keep your home and family safe. Outdoor security cameras let you see everything happening in full HD. So you can spot trouble before it comes knocking and capture the evidence if it does. And if someone tries to break in, the burglary sensors will sound the alarm right away. But that’s not all. Whenever your alarm goes off, we’ll call you and send police, firefighters, or ambulances to your door in a snap — and stay on the line with you until they arrive. So no matter where you are or what you’re doing, your home is protected 24/7.
Do you have tonoay for monthly monitoring
No, you can monitor your own system.
They have two monitoring plans which I believe are $15 or $25 depending on what works for you.
They have two monitoring plans which I believe are $15 or $25 depending on what works for you.
2 years, 5 months ago
by
vrs99
Connecting virtually with friends and co-workers gets a major upgrade with the monitor’s built-in camera, noise-cancelling microphones and dual 5W speakers. You’ll enjoy amazing video clarity and crystal-clear sound. Versatile USB-C connectivity delivers video, audio and data, and charges your laptop. Plus, with just one cord, you'll have a clutter-free desk space. A super clear 5MP IR pop-up camera features facial recognition through Windows Hello for convenient, instant sign-on to Windows. The best part? The camera stays hidden until you're ready for video chatting or selfies. A height-adjustable stand and a monitor that tilts, swivels and pivots so you look your best and feel your best for all-day conferencing.
Does this computer have a webcam and a USB - C port?
Smart security that is designed for every home. Set up in minutes, and receive notifications from the app whenever a visitor presses your Video Doorbell or motion is detected. You can also choose to wire it to sound your existing home chime. Blink Video Doorbell lets you answer your door no matter where you are. Receive customizable alerts right from the Blink Home Monitor app, and experience helpful features like HD day and night video and two-way audio. Best part – Blink’s long-battery life technology provides peace of mind for up to two years.
Does it come with mounting bracket
Smart security that is designed for every home. Set up in minutes, and receive notifications from the app whenever a visitor presses your Video Doorbell or motion is detected. You can also choose to wire it to sound your existing home chime. Blink Video Doorbell lets you answer your door no matter where you are. Receive customizable alerts right from the Blink Home Monitor app, and experience helpful features like HD day and night video and two-way audio. Best part – Blink’s long-battery life technology provides peace of mind for up to two years.
Can you record live videos with the module also ?
Harness your PC's potential with the 980. Whether you need a boost for gaming or a seamless workflow for heavy graphics, the 980 is a smart choice for outstanding SSD performance — and it's all backed by an NVMe* interface and PCIe 3.0 technology.