Semi-random PC price/performance reality check -- from Best Buy
The multiformat double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW drive in this laptop supports LightScribe and lets you create your own discs full of movies, music and more. Its built-in wireless LAN capabilities give you access to your local network or area hotspots.
15.4" display, 2 gigs of RAM, dual-core AMD, 160 gig hard drive, Windows Vista Home Premium (which by itself lists for $239.99 at Best Buy), CD/DVD RW, and more. $549.99 after rebate.
Something tells me, with CES starting tonight, that it's inventory-clearing time.
8 comments:
I just picked one up. With 2G of Ram built in, expandble to 4G (with 2 2G slots) and Vista Premium, it's fast. The smooth outercase (comes in different colors/styles picks up fingerprints pretty easily. The external speakers are so-so. It comes with some throw away freebies, i.e., ear buds, cleaning cloths, etc. which they didn't need. It booted fine, found my network easily, and running Firefox has been a breeze. As usual with HP/Compaq's, it's loaded with crapware, but again, not as much as I've seen on, for instance, Acer. The screen is bright, even running on battery. The battery, new, runs about 3 hours, not bad for a starter. It does have a nice set of media programs. A nice touch is the glowing 'on' bar that shows all your DVD controls, volume, etc. in a bright blue, just like a remote. Ah, that reminds me, it also included a remote. Nice if you like that sort of thing (I don't). Overall, a good bargain, though there are cheaper laps right now (Acer, Compaq and Toshiba have $499, but less Ram (1G) and a smaller HD. It has a low profile too. I'll see how it holds up over time, as that's the critical part. My experience with Compaq's and Acers has been less then stellar in the rough and tumble department. Dell's seem to last forever, but you need to avoid using all their add-on's.
This is a good laptop for the price. It serves all my needs quite nicely for the price. I do agree about the "crapware", but that's easily removed. I don't mind Vista (once I disable all the 'eye candy'!).
There are some minor nuisances with Vista, but this does not reflect at all on the laptop.
This thing has run nicely "out of the box" with absolutely no issues. I look forward to using it for some time.
I purchased the HP dv6704nr brand new out of the box from Best Buy a week ago. And returned it for a full refund 9 days later, as it had a defective CD/DVD drive. So the bad news first. It could NOT burn a DVD with the junk Cyberlink software that comes pre-installed. Error code 0xeb020b9c - which is not found at the Cyberlink or HP support site, nor via a search on Google. Not a good sign. So I installed Nero 8. It managed to burn 1 or 2 standard DVD's, but some could not be played on ANY of my 3 stand-alone DVD players! It failed 50% of the time with Dual-Layer discs, noting "Power Calibration Errors". Further research indicates such an error is usually caused by a faulty, failing or dirty drive - none of which should apply to a brand new Laptop! WASTED TIME AND WASTED DISCS. HP support via email was good, and after only 2 emails, they offered to send me a new drive, provided I followed all their guidelines, including providing a Credit Card number! I opted instead to return the failed laptop, and have already purchased a Gateway MT6707, refurbished. We'll see how that performs.
PRO's: The unit powered up, updated itself, and I was on the Internet in no time. After I turned off all the junk that starts when you start Windows, it started 50% faster. Everything else standard fare.
Other CON's: Other then a bad optical drive, the touchpad is a pain, even after adjusting the settings. Norton trial a joke! Even it didn't know that it was allowed to access the Net after I said YES, it could, it still asked again, as did Windows. Hysterical. Pre-installed software is a waste (i.e. Cyberlink). Attempted to use Windows Vista System Restore point before returning the unit - and after 20 minutes of processing and restarting, it FAILED, and I was right where I was 20 minutes before!
Wow, sounds like you had a bad one Chris. As I said, the software on this machine is a waster of HD, but that's true of other brands as well. CD/DVD etc. drives have a bad habit of doing things like this. I had an Acer that did the exact same thing. I did what you did and found that the drive installed had a 52% fail rate. Would have been nice to know that up front. The touchpad comment is accurate. I have a Dell too, and I can adjust the touchpad to be ultra sensitive, on the HP there are times I think I need a hammer on the pad to get the mouse to click. I had an HP desktop and HP Support actually ended up replacing the whole unit, so of all the support folks, they and Acer shine (Acer once fixed a laptop for me within a week, no questions asked).
Mine is still humming along, fingerprints and all. I will say this one last thing, you made a good choice with a Dell. They are the only computer I've had, desktop or laptop, where I have not had a hardware problem. I feel as passionate about them as I do Netgear routers over Linksys!
Does anyone know of any useful links that include directions for removing the pre-installed software that bloats the system? I stumbled across directions for removing Vongo which seems to be a bit more complicated than uninstalling from control panel. It is an older post so it may not be applicable to this machine. I know my last HP ran much better after I installed an off the shelf version of XP versus the version that came with the computer. Thanks.
Noticed the comment on the sensitivity or lack there of with the touch pad on this computer. One reason I was interested in this brand was the ability to turn off the touchpad while typing, thus avoiding the jumping cursor." My cursor jumps all over the place on my PowerBookG4 so that was, I thought, a remedy. What are your thoughts on this?
my unit is now 1 yr and 3 months old. two major problems with it. 1st the hard drive went, not good. then a system failure with some series and now it wont boot up! HP said to bad so sad no wareenty no help. make sure to blow out the dust from the fan area, it forces the system to run hot. i now wish i had never bought it.
Overall, a good bargain, though there are cheaper laps right now and a smaller HD.
Post a Comment