AFewQuestions: dv6500t Screen? XP?

welp - i made a big mistake - i ordered a dell vostro 1500

it was during the 30% off coupon craze - i got a great deal on a pretty fantastic machine - but the screen is just atrocious - i honestly dont think ive EVER seen a screen this bad on any laptop (this coming from someone who worked in retail electronics for almost 10 years)

needless to say - im not keeping it - and now im kicking myself for not jumping on hp's 30% coupon but - whaddya gonna do?

to my questions:

- ive seen plenty of hp screens (in-store) - and they all looked pretty fantastic - can i expect the same from a configured dv6500? i guess what im asking is - have there been any reported problems with screen issues (apparently, there are TONS with the vostro that i didnt find out about until after i placed the order)? anything i should look out for?

- im gonna want xp on my system - is there anyway hp will pre-load xp? or am i going to have to buy a copy and load it on myself? if i DO have to do it myself, are there any issues i should look out for (any particular drivers that may be difficult to find or need tweaking)?

- where is the ram located on the computer? im going to want 3 gigs of ram - so i figure ill just order the computer with 2 gigs, remove one 1 gig sim and replace it with a 2 gig sim from newegg - can i expect your plain-jane install? is it just a couple of screws on the bottom of the unit to get to the sim?

i appreciate any help (or any other advice you think might do me good)

and yes - im a moron for getting a dell in the first place (i bought an axim from them a few years back and after that nightmare of an experience, swore them off - unfortunately, im a sucker for a good deal - thats what i *thought* i was getting with the vostro)...

 

sorry for the double post - but i have one more question - about the hdmi port

does that come automatically included with the nvidia 8400m card? or do i have to select the hd-dvd player in order to have the hdmi out? that doesnt seem to be very clear on the website...

 

I'm pretty sure as long you as you choose a dedicated graphics card you will get the HDMI port.

I chatted with two CSR's on HP's website. The first one told me it wasn't even possible to get an HDMI port on the 9500z The second was correct and mine has the HDMI port since I selected the 8400 card.

 

I did exactly that and now have 3 gigs. Its very easy to do, 2 screws I think, I had to run to WalMart to buy a precision screwdriver set though, they are tiny. Installation was straightforward, there's a pdf available from HP.com, slight different than a desktop.

Althought I'd recommend you save your money and configure the laptop with the lowest amount of ram and just go ahead and purchase a 2 x 2GB ram set and install that instead. I'm going to end up buying another 2GB stick now and wish I had save money and not taken the OEM upgrade to 2GB. I did a clean install of 64bit Home Premium.

Edit: Nevermind, just saw you wanted XP, so I guess you'll probably be happy with just 3GB (I don't think XP 64bit has much driver support).

 

^ awesome - exactly what i wanted to hear - thanks for the info

now - i just cant wait til i get home to talk to dell customer support - tell them to take back this piece of poop computer they sold me...