Searching for every laptop that you see on the internet for laptop computer reviews will literally take forever. Try to select a few of your picks based on the specifications you need and after you found 4 or 5 choices, look for laptop computer reviews in tech sites, forums, and other review sites. Also, consider sticking with well known brands like the Toshiba laptop computer and the HP laptop computer.

I was very disappointed by this article and also by the responses. The article shows the misunderstandings between people and cultures that can lead to misperceptions. It was written with bias (perhaps unintentional)and little forethought.

I was also disappointed in the Chinese response, using the word "laowai" in a negative manner indicative of racism, predjudice, and arrogance.

If Chinese want to correct other's perceptions of them or their country, they could start by showing themselves to be understanding of his position and pointing the way (which some attempted to do).

It is not easy to live in a foreign country. I am American and have traveled both to Europe and China. My wife is Chinese. It is easy to misunderstand other's motivations and to think they are treating you different because you are foreign.

Best wishes to you all and I hope you will find respect for one another.

专业电脑在中国市场很小，这是市场因素，不是政治因素。你在非洲能买到这样的电脑吗？不要你一时觉得烦躁，就开始扣什么自由民主的大帽子了。还有，其实你可以通过其他办法买到的啊，北京、上海，或者网购。

It's an interesting story. But as a Chinese, I believe there is some misunderstanding.

It will not suprise me if the big stores don't have the computers higher than 10,000. Because most chinese who want them will not go to big stores. There are better shops for those computers, which I will talk about later.

Chinese government does restrict certain media access.But I never heard that certain computer is kept from common people.

The computer costing 10,000 RMB is seldom sold. So probably those companies don't have that in hand. They will probably not get a single computer of this kind. The transportation will kill much of the interest. The reason that a University or government agency can get this kind of computer from those big stores is simply because they buy a lot of them once.

And I have to say, the author didn't go to the right place to get his computer. When Chinese want a computer, we normally don't go to the big companies' store, like Lenovo, HP or Sony. They are more expensive, rigid and normally don't have the computer configuration we want most. There are "computer supermackets" in China under the name like "Computer city" or "electronics city". You just walk into there, find a small shop and talk about what you want. They sell computer with 100% custim design. You can get whatever hardware you want and they will put them together and get softwares installed within an hour. These computers will not have a brand name and warranty is normally short or even doesnot exist. That is how we chinese buy a computer.

A Ford dealer keeps sending ads about his very cheap yet "fully loaded" F150. But when I finally paid a visit he told me it's "not available" and asked me to by a different one...I guess the evil US government won't allow its citizen to own powerful trucks...lol

I like the story, really; it's a good joke that I can show my US classmates how ** they are when talking about my country. God, I used 17" LCD screen in 1997, when I was 6. And my father was so frustrated last weekend about the virus on his PC that he dialed and ordered 2 20000 kuai i7+4GB RAM+1TB+GTX 200 computers--one is for my mom, she use it for MSN.

I am in US, and I am delighted to find I am morally allowed to criticize US gov't for not providing efficient sales channel(and freedom) for PCs, that my desktop is still not delivered.

Reading this story is truly entertaining. Guanxi, danwei, ... for a 10,000 RMB supercomputer!! jeez, I bought a Sun T2000 workstation with 140,000RMB in Guangzhou in 2003 and was delivered in the same week.

This should be posted on April 1st! such a waste...

Mr. Tim Johnson, if you happen to hit your wife on the street in China, the police will come and tell you to solve your family issue at home. If you do that in America, you will get arrested, and possibly sentenced to a restriction by court to be forbidden to be within certain distance of your wife. I am not implying anything about your marriage, just trying to demonstrate the restrictions on freedom in different parts of the world.

Even though I also live in China, I always buy computer stuff in Hong Kong. Good prices, newest stuff is always available, and bilingual systems are always available. I'd highly recommend it next time...the Golden Computer Center in Shum Shui Po is a good one. Just make sure you check that they don't bait-and-switch on you.

DO u think I use paper or abaci to post my post?

Total codswallop and truly laughable!

Mr Johnson I thought you were better than that in terms of knowing China...

I live in the central part of China and this is what I did since I kind of do the same you are doing, but more then likely on a much smaller scale.

I bought the best mother board I could find, a decent video card, slapped in the best AMD processor, loaded it up with as much ram as possible, added 5 TB's of hard drives (5). The mother board was off the shelf, the rest I had to order but always had it within 24 hours all at 2/3rds the cost of the Lenovo one.

Now I don't know about the Lenovo, maybe its got some features that mine does not have, but I tend to think not.

I consider some of the things the government does pretty silly. Like the Great Cyber Wall, which is very easy to get around by using an anonymous proxy server to what I did to get a great computer.

.

Oh and by the way, since you visited a computer center, the assembler companies for your power computer are usually in the upper levels. The brand companies are on the lower lobby area to ripoff the tech-dummies.

For what it's worth, I also agree the dots of this story may not have been connected right. As others have noted, there are a couple points:

1) Location. Although Zhengzhou is not a small city, if this is true it is definitely not country-wide; powerful computers can easily be bought in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.

(Senseless plug for my fav brand) Apple just opened a store in Beijing's Sanlitun District--those machines start around 10,000 kuai, and high-end macs come with full Chinese language support, ridiculously easy to use video editing software, and DVD burners.

2) Other explanations. As other have noticed, that you can't buy the computer on the website in the store does not demonstrate that it's government preventing citizens from buying powerful machines to stop them from editing videos. Quite likely bait and switch by the retailer, but could be any number of things.

Anyway, yeah, of all the stories of things the Chinese government does, many are true, but this story really doesn't do well on the smell test.

Li, do you have a lot of frinders?

Tim, You are famous now, just you want.

OK, I can tell this humor story to all my frinders.

10,000
power computer?
are you kidding us?

I bought one cost about 100,000 yuan,in hangzhou city
still,not a power one.

And go easy on the Laowai friend. We can all agree that getting things done in China is indeed often difficult. Our friend's mistake in this case is that he reaches a conclusion too quickly about the real causes of his problem. But everyone makes mistakes, and we should be glad that he posts his question here so we can address the issue, rather than keeping everything to himself. So let's all get over this. And I suggest someone here help him get the computer he wants, and hopefully he can make good movies with it. Peace.

The price of my laptop is more than 10000RMB.No person stop me to chose another cheap one.
the salers wont tell you they dont have the one you wanted,but tell you what they have are better.

This American retard has been living in China for 5 years with a Chinese wife, and he doesn't know how retailing in China works.

I am posting this comment with a computer more expensive than 20000RMB now. Yes, it was bought in Shanghai, China. Why didn't the 'CCP' stop me from that? Come guys! Open your eyes! Use your brain first. Individual customer could buy far more powerful computers like Aleinware desktop computers even servers. It's not that hard to spend just 10000RMB in China today.
If this is not a joke. It should be some kind of 'Lost in translation' again. Such kind of computer may be too expansive for a small business. Useually they would like you to make your order first, with some desposite if they are not familar with you. In my experiense, it will take about one week to deliver. I have purchased two XFX GTX280 display cards, one LG blue-ray burner in that way. Those babys have cost me nearly 10000RMB at that time.
Tim! It time to get out of your office with AC now. You are a Bureau chief for a Newspaper here. You don't even really know how people live in China. Maybe you need to spent more time 'walking around' this country!

"I've told my friends and family of the freedom the Chinese people actually have...or what I have PERCEIVED to be freedom. But yesterday was just a small example of one of the many, many little things, little freedoms that the people here are denied. Little things that as an American I just take for granted. All those little freedoms...it's not the big stuff...it's all the little things."

This brings up a much more interesting debate on just how much the perceived restrictions foreigners feel in China are actual restrictions rather than frustration/ignorance that is perceived to be restrictions because of an authoritarian government.

Beijing ren here. I have a Lenovo laptop I bought last year that cost 12,000 kuai.

It's impossible that you can buy a "powerful" computer with just 10,000.

It's not China's fault in this case. It's the laowai's crippling paranoia. I feel kinda sorry for his Chinese wife who's not able to call him out on this one.

And Mr. Tim Johnson? This blog is why you're not working for the New York Times.

Interesting story. I feel that it's all a bit silly on the part of whoever puts such policies on large computer retails in place. If indeed such polices are in place.

What's to stop someone who wants a powerful computer from just buying a few smaller computers and clustering them? that's what most super computers are anyway.