Pros: Its top loading which is what I was looking for. It started up fast and the play speed is fast too. Its short cable is good since it is right next to my laptop. And the price was very reasonable.

Cons: I have no idea how long it will operate in the long run and haven't really run it for burning dvds yet but for the price it was worth a shot in the dark.

Overall Review: This is replacing the dvd burner I had in my dell that decided to break down after very little use. It does everything I ask of it and only needs one usb port to operate.

Pros: Its a powerful laptop for the money. Good RAM and the i5 has a good speed. the hard drive is alright and the dvd drive is a pop out one which is what I needed. I didn't mind the bloatware took a hour to get rid of it all and this baby hums. the graphics card is pretty strong and for all the games I play on it... its awesome. Everything at 60 fps or better. I'm a big guy and I want a laptop that accomodates me and this does well and then some. The keyboard is really nice as well. Its chicklet style and all the keys aren't lumped together to gather garbage in between the keys. That was a pleasant surprise. oh and runs super cool. Even under a heavy load the heat pushes right out of the computer and is still comfortable.

Cons: Everyone has already stated it already. The laptop is a magnet for fingerprints and the track pad is a little off. Also for me the G key is super sensitive and it only takes almost no pressure before it registers a stroke. And the 2 mouse keys under the track pad are sticking up a bit at the edges, above the edge of where it should lie. Windows 8 is its own list of problems but there are ways around it. I have been messing around with things like Start8 and Classic Start 8. Even Start W8. All options to get around Windows 8 biggest flaw, the metro UI. If you use this and with a little practice and patience you wouldn't even know that you had that pesky Metro problem.

Overall Review: As I said before try out the programs to get around Metro and you will have a computer that is packed with power and at a great price. I hope they restock it soon because others should get a chance to own this great computer. Its done everything I asked of it and handled all tasks I tossed at it without issues.