Howcome HP doesn't make 15.4" gaming laptops anymore?

Yeah, the question you've all been wondering. Why has HP stopped making 15.4" gaming laptops? The last one they've ever made was the HP DV4000, ever since the DV5000 took it's place, a performance class graphics card has never been seen in a 15.4" HP notebook ever again, only mainstream, the 7400go. The only size you can find a performance class graphic card in HP notebooks are 17". So why has HP stopped making 15.4" gaming laptops?

 

because they felt gamers would be better off with a 17 inch screen. or maybe they didnt sell well enough and to save money and reach a wider audience they downgraded graphics.

the hp nc8430 has a gaming card in it (x1600 + 15.4"), and in my opinion better looks than any pavilion...

 

Yeah, probably didn't make much profit and lost more than earned. Putting a crappier GPU in a 15.4", how low. But a lot of buisinessman buys the NC series, that's why they still have performance class GPU in those right?

 

well that would make sense. the x1600 is the same core as the v5200 right? the v5200 is in the nw8400 series... so i'm really not sure why they have those two. i think the nc8400 is more for gamers. but what gamer can afford a business-class laptop without hitting up their parents for money? lol

 

Maybe it's because the DV4000/V4000t had major heat issues...

 

I consider the HP nc8430 a 15.4" gaming laptop. Many users on NBR buy it specifically for that purpose and are quite happy.

 

You hit the nail on the head with that one. The x700 was simply too much for the dv4000's cooling system to handle - the ones with the x700 ran very hot, and frequently overheated, with damage to the GPU, CPU, motherboard, or some combination of the three. That's why the 15.4" notebooks have been scaled back to lower-end GPUs and the new 7600 (which ironically runs significantly cooler than the primarily-DTR intended x700) is only in the 17" dv9000 series.

 

Does it? I play BF2 for 5 hours each day and my game doesn't suddenly start to lag all of a sudden. But I do always hear the fan go on when the game is running. Also, the computer doesn't fell "hot" at all. It just feels warm. It's much better than the IBM Z60t which I use to use. The integrated graphics on it just can't handle CSS and would freeze due to overheat issues every 1/2 an hour.

 

I have no heat problems with my v4000t. In fact I put it on my bed and the vents sometimes get blocked. However it still does not overheat.
Tim

 

Right on the money; I too had a gaming laptop from HP once (zx5000 w/ ATI 9600), and within 8 months the thing had started to melt the motherboard around it (solder stuff especially)! The replacement motherboard + GPU overheated within 3 days of installation too! Replaced it all again, and the comptuer just decided to stop working in 1 hour (didn't melt this time!).

Needless to say, they traded me for a zd7000 w/ X600...which ran sooooo hot I decided to sell it (before it melted!) and buy a laptop from Dell....too bad I got a M140 though...

Bottom Line: HP Consumer Line notebook engineers need to go back to school and take some basic thermodynamics classes!

 

What about this one Hewlett Packard nc8430, not sure how new it is but its 15.4 widescreen with a 256 mobility x1600. 1 gb ram, 1.8 core duo. That all sounds like a gaming laptop to me.

Of course thats in England so I don't know the availability in other regions apart form Europe.

 

Well, I don't about you guys. Some people have trouble with their laptops and others don't. I havn't had any trouble with my DV400 yet. Hope I won't in the future. If you guys really think about it, think of the Dells for examples, they overheat so regularly and blow up so easily, I fell sorry for the ones KIA by one of the exploding Dells. Coming to think of it, Al-qualda might use it for a bomb on the next strike against freedom...

 

Well hopefully they get it figured out when I start shopping for new notebooks in a few years. My plan then is to have a 15.4" that's gaming quality and hook it up to a much larger monitor when gaming, etc. while at the desk. I'd like the gaming power, but also the easier mobility. 17" don't exactly get prestine battery life (yet) along with nice portability. (Referring to HP b/c I'm kinda an HP guy).

 

the laptops arent literally exploding... just bursting into flames. i doubt anyone is gonna be KIA while using a laptop, maybe a 1st degree burn.

dell's don't even have a bad rep for overheating Juz... that's definitely Acer's trademark

 

I sure as hell do. Actually I consider it an enthusiast laptop as it was never designed to play games but just does.