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Rate this low end laptop please

B

Bonesdad

Platinum Member
Below are the vital components...have the option on the processor of going with this as well:

AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Mobile TL-50 (1.60GHz/256KB)


This box will be for my daughter for Xmas...she's no gamer and not much of a power user, but does do a little digital photo editing. Other than that, just surfing and "normal" office apps, downloading tunes etc. Is this enuf or is this overkill a little?

Also considering upgrading video source...and to a DVD burner, but maybe not too.

Also, is 512 MB enough for her purposes? I spec'd the 1GB just for ease of use and speed. Nothing worse than waiting for progs to load...

HP seems to be pretty well thought of by many here...at least on the low end of things. How bout it? This comes in at just under $800, which is my wish for budget.




Operating System Genuine Windows XP Home Edition

Processor AMD Turion(TM) 64 Mobile MK-36 (2.0 GHz/512KB)

Display FREE Upgrade to 14.1" WXGA BrightView Widescreen!!

Graphics Card NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 6150

Memory 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)

Hard Drive FREE Upgrade from 60 GB 5400 RPM to 80 GB 5400 RPM

Primary CD/DVD Drive FREE Upgrade: 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support

Networking 802.11b/g WLAN

Primary Battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery


 
It is, yes...the base unit ships with a 6 cell, and I think there was a 9 cell too. No point going with less than 12 at this price.
 
Couple of my clients picked up HP laptops from Costco. I was impressed with the overall quality and construction. Laptops have really improved and best of all, the prices are now affordable for families.

I remember when $1700 was the average price for a decent version. A really good laptop is now about $1200 and a basic model comes around $800.

One important thing to remember. Get all upgrades done before buying. RAM & Hardrive are the only possible buyer upgrades afterwards.
 
Originally posted by: pkme2


One important thing to remember. Get all upgrades done before buying. RAM & Hardrive are the only possible buyer upgrades afterwards.
Click to expand...

Not true. Upgrading the CPU is not that hard, and many laptops today feature outboard video cards, or even the marvellous MXM video card modules. (Yay, upgradability!)

Also ,you need to shop harder if you think 800$ is a great deal on a laptop. Although I'm soon getting a powerful desktop to go with it, I bought my IBM x40 for only 650$!
 
The only downside to that 12 cell battery is that it protrudes out the bottom. (At least i believe it does I know the Compaq model does and they are very similar) Its not a big deal, but it does reduce portability, and make it considerably thicker in back.
 
Yes the 12-cell protrudes from the bottom a bit, but it really only helps ventilation & improves typing angle IMO. Also provides a nice hand grip.

HP consumer machines are a great value, awesome bang for the buck.
 
The 12 cell sticking out doesn't matter as much to me...I do wish they had a 9 cell, but alas.

How much time would she be able to use the laptop on a 6-cell vs a 12-cell? Seems like the 6 would give her about 2 hours?

Finally, is this a good price for this machine? Seems OK to me, but if I can get a better deal on a similarly equiped HP or other recommended machine, I'm all ears. ANy benefit to her in going to the X2?

Thanks for the replies so far...
 
Battery life depends on the processor, but I think you should be able to manage a little over 2.5 hours with a 6 cell, and around 5.5 hours with a 12 cell. I tend to think that the Core Duos use less power, but don't quote me on that.
 
Originally posted by: Bonesdad
The 12 cell sticking out doesn't matter as much to me...I do wish they had a 9 cell, but alas.

How much time would she be able to use the laptop on a 6-cell vs a 12-cell? Seems like the 6 would give her about 2 hours?

Finally, is this a good price for this machine? Seems OK to me, but if I can get a better deal on a similarly equiped HP or other recommended machine, I'm all ears.

Thanks for the replies so far...
Click to expand...

I've seen some Toshibas for 700 with a Core Duo, but while I can speak for HP's being pretty high quality, many late-model Toshiba laptops are crappy. Also, Toshiba hard drives are very prone to faliure.

If you want a machine that will last to kingdom come, and your daughter is eligible for an educational discount, the MacBook (non-Pro) will get similar battery life to your laptop on 12 cells - up to about five hours, if you're being power-miserly. The base-model 1.8ghz Core Duo will outperform the dual-core AMD CPU by a signifigant margin, although you're going to want to add another 512mb of RAM. They're very nice laptops for school, and the build quality is hard to beat.
 
I think you can get the same model HP with a Core Duo for around 825 with your configuration, with the exception of GeForce 7200 graphics. Also if this is for your daughter in school, you can get a discount from HP, usually about 50 bucks (the price i quoted was after this discount)
 
If this is for college, you can get an APP (Academic Purchasing Program) discount of around $50-$150 depending on the laptop. Every little bit saved helps.

I was looking at the exact same kind of HP laptop but ended up buying a used Inspiron 6000 on FS/FT for $499 - pretty good deal IMO with 1.6GHz P-M, 1.25GB RAM, 60GB hdd, X300 video card (dedicated)... if you don't mind buying used and you shop around you can get some pretty good deals. Of course, for peace of mind it's better to buy a new one with a good warranty. Unless you know your way around a laptop really well it's a PiTA to repair them - and pricey too. Warranties are key since laptops have high component failures (mainly hard drives).
 
i just got the hp dv2000t (intel cpu). i really like it and the portability is nice. my only major complaint is the battery live (i have a 6-cell) which almost gets 2 hours (it could jsut be my battery that's somewhat defective). with a 12-cell your daughter should definitely get at least 4 hours, which is really good imo.

i would definitely go with either the turion x2 or core duo processor. i have a single-core desktop at home which i thought would be faster than my laptop but it wasn't...it was significantly slower.

i didn't know about the student discount when i purchased mine but if you get the laptop off costco.com, it comes out a little cheaper. all the upgrades are 10% cheaper so if your cpu upgrade, for example, costs $100 to add, it'll cost you only $90 at costco.

the dv2000 is really a nice laptop...the only other brands i personally would get are apple and ibm...apple might be a little expensive for you, though, and i only like ibm's thinkpad laptops, which'll probably be a bit more expensive.

sorry for the long post but thought i'd try to help 🙂
 
So the Core Duo will be significantly faster than either the single core AMD or the AMD X2, is that correct?

And i was wondering about academic purchase program...I'll look into that. Thanks!

THanks for all the opinions and good ideas. Keep them coming!!
 
I'd go for the Core Duo (or even Core 2 Duo) as well. It's a question of future-proofing the system - a lot of apps will use dual processors, and it helps if you're running multiple apps at once even now. The Turion 64 X2 isn't that bad, but it's not my first pick either.

Don't get the BrightView option unless you know there's a resolution increase to go with it. The vividness that comes with the screen is an artificial one, and between that as well as the glossiness it's not going to be an ideal photo editing display.
 
Originally posted by: Commodus
I'd go for the Core Duo (or even Core 2 Duo) as well. It's a question of future-proofing the system - a lot of apps will use dual processors, and it helps if you're running multiple apps at once even now. The Turion 64 X2 isn't that bad, but it's not my first pick either.

Don't get the BrightView option unless you know there's a resolution increase to go with it. The vividness that comes with the screen is an artificial one, and between that as well as the glossiness it's not going to be an ideal photo editing display.
Click to expand...

yea the brightview may not be good for photo editing. i got it and i like it but i don't edit photos at the same time
 
Originally posted by: Commodus
I'd go for the Core Duo (or even Core 2 Duo) as well. It's a question of future-proofing the system - a lot of apps will use dual processors, and it helps if you're running multiple apps at once even now. The Turion 64 X2 isn't that bad, but it's not my first pick either.

Don't get the BrightView option unless you know there's a resolution increase to go with it. The vividness that comes with the screen is an artificial one, and between that as well as the glossiness it's not going to be an ideal photo editing display.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the TL-50 (1.6GHz Turion X2) is what, +$60 from the Turion 2.0GHz single core? That makes it worthwhile to upgrade to dual core in my opinion. Quite a bit more power for daily tasks and it will seem much snappier.
 
Originally posted by: Cheesehead
Originally posted by: Bonesdad
The 12 cell sticking out doesn't matter as much to me...I do wish they had a 9 cell, but alas.

How much time would she be able to use the laptop on a 6-cell vs a 12-cell? Seems like the 6 would give her about 2 hours?

Finally, is this a good price for this machine? Seems OK to me, but if I can get a better deal on a similarly equiped HP or other recommended machine, I'm all ears.

Thanks for the replies so far...
Click to expand...

I've seen some Toshibas for 700 with a Core Duo, but while I can speak for HP's being pretty high quality, many late-model Toshiba laptops are crappy. Also, Toshiba hard drives are very prone to faliure.

If you want a machine that will last to kingdom come, and your daughter is eligible for an educational discount, the MacBook (non-Pro) will get similar battery life to your laptop on 12 cells - up to about five hours, if you're being power-miserly. The base-model 1.8ghz Core Duo will outperform the dual-core AMD CPU by a signifigant margin, although you're going to want to add another 512mb of RAM. They're very nice laptops for school, and the build quality is hard to beat.
Click to expand...


so she would best be served by 1.5 GB of memory with the Core Duo? That starts to spiral out of my budget. I don't have an option for 1.5GB of memory, either 512, 1GB or 2GB. If I can go with the AMD X2 and keep the 1GB, that might work OK.
 
So with the advice of all you fine chaps, here is what I plan to order...



Operating System Genuine Windows XP Home Edition

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2050 (1.60 GHz)

Display FREE Upgrade to 14.1" WXGA BrightView Widescreen!!

Graphics Card 128MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7200

Personalization HP IMPRINT Finish + Microphone

Memory 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)

Hard Drive FREE Upgrade from 60 GB 5400 RPM to 80 GB 5400 RPM

Primary CD/DVD Drive FREE Upgrade: 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support
Network FREE Upgrade to Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG!!

TV & Entertainment Experience No TV Tuner w/remote control

Primary Battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works/Money


Total: $863


I'm waiting on a password for the Academic Purchasing Program through HP, which should knock another $50 off the price. Sound good? I'll still consider other opinions...even on other manufacturers...


Thanks again!!

 
From what you've said, your daughter doesn't doesn't need a discrete graphics card and the Go 7200 will only draw excess power while not providing much benefit. If possible, get the GMA950 for better battery life.

That is a great deal, it will have great battery life (I'd guess around 7 hours or more) and perform very nicely.
 
Originally posted by: Bonesdad
So with the advice of all you fine chaps, here is what I plan to order...



Operating System Genuine Windows XP Home Edition

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2050 (1.60 GHz)

Display FREE Upgrade to 14.1" WXGA BrightView Widescreen!!

Graphics Card 128MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7200

Personalization HP IMPRINT Finish + Microphone

Memory 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)

Hard Drive FREE Upgrade from 60 GB 5400 RPM to 80 GB 5400 RPM

Primary CD/DVD Drive FREE Upgrade: 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support
Network FREE Upgrade to Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG!!

TV & Entertainment Experience No TV Tuner w/remote control

Primary Battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works/Money


Total: $863


I'm waiting on a password for the Academic Purchasing Program through HP, which should knock another $50 off the price. Sound good? I'll still consider other opinions...even on other manufacturers...


Thanks again!!
Click to expand...

Looks like a decent machine. If it were me, I would get a faster CPU even if it meant going back to integrated graphics. The 1GB should be plenty for most photo editing tasks as will the 80GB HD. Sounds like you got a really nice low-end lappy. Hope your daughter enjoys it!
 
Well, the APP went through finally, after several call to HP sales...their server wasn't generating emails for some reason.

The savings I got with APP, instant savings and mail in rebate enabled me to bump the CPU up one notch. So now, this is what I'm planning to get:

Operating System Genuine Windows XP Home Edition

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2250 (1.73 GHz)

Display FREE Upgrade to 14.1" WXGA BrightView Widescreen!!

Graphics Card Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 950

Personalization HP IMPRINT Finish + Microphone

Memory 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)

Hard Drive FREE Upgrade from 60 GB 5400 RPM to 80 GB 5400 RPM

Primary CD/DVD Drive FREE Upgrade: 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support
Networking FREE Upgrade to Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG!!

TV & Entertainment Experience No TV Tuner w/remote control

Primary Battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works/Money


With APP this comes in at $790 with free shipping. Pretty nice...might have to get one for myself too. I guess I can buy up to 2 computers through the APP program.

Last question (I think): I can get a free upgrade to WinXP Media Edition...worth it? I know she won't be watching TV with this thing, and it seems counter productive to make it a media based PC if it's for school. Any benefits to it?

Thanks again!!!!
 
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