8510p and nc8430

I have the nc8430 and I am looking to get another one similar for my wife. I believe the 8510p is the next generation to this model. So...

RM303UT Build
http://www.costcentral.com/proddetail/HP_Compaq_Business_Notebook_8510p/RM303UTABA/N28030/extended/
Good buy (I bought my nc8430 from CC)? XP is a must. Looking for a second/third/etc. opinion.


grazzt

 

Looks fine to me. The only thing I'd suggest is maybe adding some ram.

 

Thanks and a great suggestion.

That's next at Newegg. I will go with 2x2 like I just did with my nc8430

 

If you read my review on the 8510w, and my review on the nc8430, you'll find that I wasn't exactly satisfied with the newer model in some regards. Actually, in the end I was not satisfied with the nc8430 either. IMHO, it isn't built as well as the nc8430 was...and the nc8430 has a lot of problems near the end. I do not recommend any 15.4" business notebook from HP.

The 8710p/w is a stronger option, and that notebook did do well in my review of it and Chaz's review of it. 17" HP business notebooks are fine in my book.

However, if she does not play games...you might even want to look into the smaller HP notebooks, or the lower-GPU-equipped Dell D830 or D630.

 

Thanks Gregg!

I do need the GPU as we do play some games like GW and Oblivian. I will re-read your review of the 8510p. I was looking to keep it all in the family here with an HP because I would like to add the doc station at some point.

 

Having reviewed a preproduction unit, you should not be throwing such comments about as the 8510w I had was perfectly fine and just as good as the nc8430 I have.

There are no build quality problems in these units as in the review, which I'd like to stress is a preproduction review unit.

 

Very true...but HP did send the notebook to us. And the design did not change between that unit, and the real unit which was shipping out at the same time the review was posted. Everyone's experience is different...don't forget that. Yours was good, mine led me to the decision never to purchase another 15.4" HP machine again.

 

You're absolutely correct; everyone's experience will be different. I've personally have had no issues with my nw8440 (the workstation version of the nc8430) so far after over a year and a half, except the power adapter has died 5 times on me. (The HP Compaq business power adapters are known to be unreliable). That and the case has warped slightly in some areas, causing the touchpad to be a bit "loose" on one side, but that's more cosmetic than anything.

Also, I've talked to some my classmates who have the same laptop as I do (which is everyone in my graduating class), and as far as I know, even the most trouble-prone machines weren't as bad as your nc8430, Greg. I think your machine was a rare case of not just any ordinary lemon, but an uber-sour, fry-your-taste-buds lemon. I'm not saying we shouldn't take your case seriously, because there's always a risk of getting a sour lemon, and that applies to all notebooks, not just the 15.4" HP Compaqs. However, one has to bite the bullet and take that risk of getting a lemon when purchasing a new notebook. And I think that the risk of getting a lemon is pretty low with most notebooks, including 15.4" HP Compaqs.

But then again, that from my experience. The OP should do a bit more research and get more input from nc8430/nw8440/8510p/8510w owners to see what how well their machines have held up.

 

Well, Greg's helped me out a few times so much respect to him (I actually decided to get the 8510p BASED on his review of the 8510w, despite all the downsides). Thankfully my 8510p has been essentially flawless since day one. I used to get a once-a-month hard crash on load caused by the LAN or wireless + Windows, but that hasn't happened since January. I even managed to completely avoid the GPU errors and fan weirdness which plagued early 8510p models...

In short, for once I got lucky, and I've been very pleased so far /knock on wood