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It'll be fine for that.
Anyone have one? I like everything about it except maybe the graphics accelerator which is a GMA 950 by Intel. Don't know much about this accelerator but it doesn't inspire confidence. Anyone know if its any good? Not looking to play new generation games or anything like that, just want it to be able to play movies and media without any problems
EDIT: Here are the specs http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...563&pfp=rebate
It'll be fine for that.
That system will be fine for movies and such. But do you really want a 14 inch screen? Also, 1GB of ram wouldn't be enough for my liking.
for $150 more (after rebates) You can get a Toshiba Satellite P105-S6157 @ Circuit City. http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/...oductDetail.do
It's 17" vs your 14
has 2GB vs your 1GB
Bus Speed of 667MHz vs 533MHz
200GB drive vs 160GB drive (it's a slower drive though (4200rpm vs 5400rpm))
I personally would go for the Toshiba. I do hate the 4200rpm drive on it though. The limit of 1G of ram on the HP also worries me. Isn't vista supposed to be a hog? I also see no need for the lightscribe drive on the HP. It's a nice idea, but the media for it is very costly
i got my wife a refurb dell with 1GB ram and 1.5GHZ dual core A.M.D. turion, and it runs vista without a hitch with all the fx on. i think the HP there comes with 1GB but you can go up to 2GB.
The biggest concern with buying any notebook or desktop computer right now is Vista Home or Vista Premium is forced on you. If you have software you want to run from past use, good luck with that. It may not run...or at least run well.
Is it possible to eliminate Vista from the computer and add XP?
Yes, but be prepared to re-format/re-par ion your hard drive. I haven't had to do it myself, but this is what I have been told. There is a rising number of requests for this among the PC tech services community.
I like the 14" screen for portability, but for that price you shoudl be able to get better graphics than the Intel 950, even from other models HP sells.
I've heard H.264 at HDTV resolutions (for example, the HDTV Apple trailers) might require a dedicated graphics card.
That's a of a CPU in that system though. Core2 Duo is great for video editing. I'd go with 2GB on Vista to save my hard drive a bit, but I've used Vista on a much weaker processor with 1GB RAM, and it's responsiveness was fine.
There's no way I'd buy a system with a 4200 RPM hard drive. The hard drive is usually the biggest bottleneck in a system, and it'll be very noticeable to you if you skimp here.
Why would you want to buy a machine with a 14" screen and Vista Business? How about this HP refurb for $930, 2GB, and XP Media Center instead of Vista:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/o...274UAR%2523ABA
HP Pavilion dv6140us Entertainment Notebook PC, refurbished
Price: $929.99* (As low as $28/mo†)
• AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual Core Mobile Technology TL-56 processor (1.8GHz)
• Genuine Windows XP Media Center
• 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM
• 120GB hard drive, 5400 RPM
• Double-layer DVD±R/RW SuperMulti drive with LightScribe
• 15.4" WXGA high-definition widescreen display (BrightView)
• NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 graphics
• 802.11b/g wireless LAN
• 5-in-1 digital media card reader
• Remote, headphones
• ExpressCard/54 slot
• QuickPlay buttons
• Webcam with integrated microphone
• Windows Vista Capable
• HP Imprint finish
• 90-day limited warranty
To the guy who said the lightscribe media is expensive, you can write normal CD/DVDs too.
Actually if you're only looking at CompUSA for some reason, there's another 14" machine that could suit your needs for less.
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...210us_Notebook
i don't like HPs.
that's nearly identical to my wife's laptop i got refurb from dell for $650.
Dump that one in your post.
If you are going to be using it for media, the number one this is going to be screen size, and if you are spending $1000 (which would land you a 26 inch LCD for a PC), you might as well make sure you're getting 17 inches or better.
Dual-core, memory, and all that crap is not important, any PC or notebook made in the last 5 years can play movies and music fine. If it comes with Vista you can install XP or leave it. If you work on media in the sense of creating, then specs are a bit more important, but again, aside from 3d art and editing large movies, anything in the last 5 years can do that, you don't need quad cores to record your voice.
Larger screens are hard to find below $1200, but if you're spending that money for a media notebook, might as well make sure it looks good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834147370
Dual core is important, as you don't want your computer being a complete dinosaur in 3 years. Multiprocessor systems are the rule now, not the exception, and software written for Intel-compatible systems will be optimized for multi-core from here on out. Intel has hit a wall in their processor architectures, and multiprocessing is the only way to go for them. Also, don't buy anything other than Core2 Duo or AMD64X2 if you're planning on having this laptop for more than a couple of years, as 64-bit computers will become the norm (Core Duo isn't 64-bit, I believe... Core2 Duo is). The processor is by far the most important part in a laptop.
I'm looking to get an HP laptop. Can anybody recommend something for under 800.00? I don't need it for anything special, just want a new computer. Just by reading this thread I'm afraid that I'll spend my money on a piece of .
lemme think about it...i think i might be letting mine go....dunno yet tho...
Thanks for all the advice gents! I managed to find the same model (HP Pavilion dv2315us) with a nVidia Go 7200 instead of the GMA 950 integrated chip. Only $50 more. Going to go with that one in the end. Thanks again
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