Buying a dv9500t... a few questions

I am all but certain that I will be soon getting a dv9500t as a desktop replacement. I've looked at the SantaRosa-based laptops from various vendors, and I'm most impressed with what I can get for the money from HP with its dv9500t model. I do programming, some light graphic work, plenty of email/browsing, and I hope to get back to doing a *little* (not a lot) of gaming.... hence my need for a true desktop replacement machine. Here are the specs I am likely going to get:

Windows Vista Home Premium
Intel Core 2 Duo 7300 (2. GHz/4MB L2Cache)
17" WSXGA+ BrightView WideScreen (1680x1050)
2 GB DDR2 RAM
511 MB nVidia GeForce 8600M GS
Imprint Finish/WebCam/Microphone
Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network w/Bluetooth
200GB 7200 RPM SATA Dual Hard Drives (100GBx2)
LightScribe SuperMulti 8x DVD+/-RW with double layer
No TV Tuner
High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery


Questions:
1. Give my described needs/usage plans, do you recommend any changes to the above specs? In particular, how useful do you think the Fingerprint reader is? I don't currently have that in the plan, thinking I'd prefer the Webcam and microphone. Thoughts?

2. Warranty? 1-year HP Accidental Damage Protection with Express Repair. Or +40 for 2-year HP Express Repair extended service plan? Or +$150 for 2-year HP Accidental Damage Protection with Express Repair. Thoughts?

3. Where to buy? Any reason not to get it via the HP website itself? I usually order online, so would prefer to do that unless there are *significant* savings to be had elsewhere (and still able to customize, so unlikely I think).

4. My biggest question(s) revolve around what makes this a true replacement for my old desktop tower machine. I have a scanner (USB), and a printer (USB), currently hooked up to this desktop. Plus my digital camera and iPod get hooked to it by USB too. So if this dv9500t is to replace this desktop, then I'll need a docking station or port replicator solution for it. What are your suggestions here? (I will be getting a Windows Home Server machine later this year, when these are released, and I believe that supports a networked printer... but even so, for all the other devices that will need to be hooked up to this laptop when docked...)

And... even more than the above, I like to sometimes work with *multiple monitors*. I currently have a 17in and 15in (both LCD) hooked to my old desktop. I'd want my dv9500t to at least support being able to work with one of these monitors, perhaps both of them, in addition to its own laptop screen. So again, a good docking station/port replicator is needed, right? But what would be best here?

I'd really like your thoughts on these questions, and I hope that others out there have the same questions so they might benefit from my asking them and experts here answering them as well! Thanks!

-- Tom S.

 

You can get the Fingerprint Reader, Microphone, and Webcam for $25 more.

 

To answer some of your questions, you can configure HP laptops at Costco.com and it usually works out to be a little cheaper and they also offer a 90 day warranty rather than HP's usual 21 day warranty. As for the docking station, HP does offer an expansion base for the 9500t which should suit your needs. However, you might consider getting just a basic USB Hub which might meet your needs and be a little less expensive. Anyway, hope this helps. Good luck and happy computing!

 

Thanks. I think a USB Hub would cover many of my peripherals, but that wouldn't help with my desire to have one or two additional monitors when "docked", right? The two monitors I have are not USB -- they are old style connectors (VGA).

 

Hey,
I just ordered a dv9500t with almost identical specs as yours and it didn't come in yet so I can't help you too much because I haven't experienced the notebook yet but I'll try as much as I can.

Well your specs look great especially with the 7200RPM drive because it will help the whole system out and since you will be at your desktop you can always use an external drive for more space. I think you should get the docking station so it can fill all your needs instead of just the usb hub because the station will cure all your needs for multiple monitors and will give you extra inputs and outputs if you ever need it for the future.

As for the warranty I think you should get the two year because the chances of it dropping or having something spilled on it should be slimmer at home since its more of a controlled environment. Remember you can always upgrade your warranty within the time frame of your current warranty. Also with the HP store you get a 21 day no question asked return policy with no restocking fee plus the standard one year warranty which means you with the two year warranty you have a total of 3 years which is around the time where you might be looking for a new notebook.

Also with the HP store you have a 30 day price check in which if the price for the dv9500t drops in a 30 day time frame you can be credited the difference and I don't think Cosco.com will offfer that. Well I hope I helped you out in some way...lol.

~Eric

 

yeah... i just got a dv6500 from costco and from the time i ordered my computer to the time it was delivered to my house the price had dropped about 200 dollars.... but they would NOT refund the difference... a representative said that i could return this and order a new one... thats about all they could do!

 

I would up the processor if you have the funds. If you don't you're obviously in the sweet spot now. I would get the webcam, fingerprint reader, and mic. It's $25 and the fingerprint reader is worth that alone in convenience.

Laptops are fragile pieces. I would get a warranty that covers the time you think you will have this model. If you plan on keeping it for 3yrs, then a 3 year warranty.

Of note, you can add the warranty you want at a latter date up to the end of the standard 1yr warranty. Costco doubles this warranty to 2yrs. This doesn't mean anything if you are interested in the accidental coverage, which will be determined by your level of care.

Costco or HP. You would need a costco membership, the the price difference would cover that (and probably the proc upgrade). Costco doubles the warranty to 2yrs. Costco also lets you customize. Price it out yourself - Costco HP configure tool

There is a device that replicates USB between two computers simultaneously. Ultra USB Device Both computer can use any USB device. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but it may be worth looking into for your USB accessories.

You don't need a port replicator to use 2 monitors simultaneously, and I don't have a solution for 3 monitors.

Tom the 9500 is a great computer. You'll be surprised by what you can accomplish with a laptop these days. Photoshop, Web Dev, Video, Audio. Not just the word processing duties of a few years ago

 

hey thats what i just bought..same specs too and i beat costco's price woot
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=124463&page=33

 

hey guys
whats ur idea about pitch noise in this lappy ??
did u forget it ? or u do not attend it ?

because i wanted to buy this lappy which had same specs to urs , but this problem makes me give it up

 

Hi Tom, your specs are similar to my 9500 which arrived June 15th (see below). I love it!

I use Photoshop. Watching the program open the first time in only 4 seconds was a joy! 2.0 GHz processor is very good but I'd agree with the member that if you can afford to bump up the processor to 2.2 I'd opt for that. My (selfish) reason being that I ordered a Hauppauge HVR-950 USB TV tuner yesterday. I see reviews that a 2.2 processor would be better. But really the 2.0 will be fine. Never thought I would be interested in a TV tuner but once I read more about it, for $76 on buy.com (with the google checkout $10 savings) seeing HD channels on the HP's gorgeous widescreen intrigued me.

Which reminds me, I went with the 1680 x 1050 screen also. Before I ordered the 9500 I asked about it here. The member was correct when they said that the font is very small. At first I was a bit taken back by how tiny but I'm used to it now and love all the extra real estate on my screen!

You asked, I ordered online with HP. They gave been absolutely great with any questions I called in to ask about or to refund the difference when the price dropped.

Good luck with your purchase. It truly is the best bang for the budget.

Malinda

Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/4MB L2Cache)
17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050)
2GB (2 Dimm)!
383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Microphone
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection
160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
LightScribe DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
No TV Tuner w/remote control
8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

Wow you do know how to spec out a good notebook! Well done, you won't be sorry with that one! It does look vaguely familiar tho.

 

Something I forgot.

If you get the lowest RAM you can get you can buy 2GB or 3GB at newegg (or other places) and still be money ahead.

Same with the HD. Get the cheapest one (160GB?) and buy a new 7200 as your primary from newegg (or others). You can find a caddy for the second drive bay at quite a few places. You can then use the second drive for backups, etc.

 

Hi sanazhot, if you mean about the pitch of the speakers -- I just tried a couple audio CDs. Not the greatest quality. Tin-ie sounding. Not a lot of base and I see no way to adjust for that.

Malinda

 

tstone . . .

Definitely buy the machine with only 1GB of RAM . . . I bought the 9500t with 1 GB . . . 2GB from HP costs $125. For $160, I got 4GB aftermarket! Now that's a deal!

 

my dv6500 has none of the high pitched sounds that i have been hearing others talk about.... i was worried about that before i bought mine, but i have had no problems so far

 

What is this problem you are talking about? "pitch noise"?

 

Oops... never mind. I forgot to see page 2 of the responses! Thanks everyone... sounds like the "noise" issue is not a consistent problem. I am likely going to get this laptop and take my chances... nobody wants bad sound, but I'm not as particular/discerning in this area as some people would be.

 

Two more followup questions:
1 - Exactly what "docking station" from HP should I get for the dv9500t? Is there just one? I don't remember seeing it listed in the configuration/order process. I am now leaning towards getting that over something that would only give me USB expansion, since I think that won't be enough. I think I need a full docking solution.

2 - Benefits of the TV Tuner? I'm not seeing it for me. I have Tivo, watch TV shows on TVs, and recorded shows via Tivo on my TVs. I do not yet have HD sets or service. So what, if any, would getting the TV Tuner support for this dv9500t laptop be at this point? Could I get that as a card later I assume?

 

but i have heard many dv9500t's owners had this problem ( pitch noise ) and a few people like u had not this problem .
i'm really confused ! plz help me out of this shi*

 

Question 1:

Did a lot of research . . . and ordered the HP xb3000 expansion base for my dv9500. It is the only one to work with your HP machine. You could go cheaper, buy your own usb hub and wireless mouse and keboard, especially since you have the second hard disk bay still open in your lappy.

I have utilized and had great service with my old xb2000 expoansion base on my dv4000. I like the stand and ease of integration with the xb3000 expansion base with my dv9500.

Question 2

I recommend you consider getting the TV tuner aftermarket. Just like buying extra RAM, you will find the tv tuner aftermarket prices better and may find your price significatly lower than ordering from HP in a CTO.

 

It is worth noting that you can get a 4 year warranty (with accidental damage protection) if you order it from the HP store instead of when you configure your machine. I purchased mine at the same time by dropping it into my shopping cart right before I configured the machine.

The accidental damage protection is great. I used it twice on my current machine (a ZD7000 series). Once, I spilled a big honkin glass of sugery tea down the keyboard. Another time, I left it outside "for a minute", fell asleap, and the next thing I know, it was raining a gullywasher, and I went outside to find my laptop soaked (and on fire)!

Anyway, the warranty is transferable (meaning you can get big bucks when you sell it). Personally, if my current laptop(s) where not going to drop out of warranty, I would keep them around for there fourth year. Unfortuanatly, three of them are now out of warranty (got hit by lightning Sunday before last and one out of 5 Belkin surge protectors did not work, and it smoked one of them). The HP "desktop replacements" are very strong... Originally only $1100 or so, after 4 years, the ZD7000's commonly get more than $700 on ebay.

I can't wait to get my DV9500(s). My only complaint is that apparantly, if you do not order the duel hard drives, you may never get a bracket adapter without having to buy a whole drive from HP (Starting at $280). I had to cancel my order and start over.

Joe

 

Didn't the zd7000 use a desktop Prescott P4 chip in them? Running at full tilt, my dv9500 with a 35 W c2d gets a little warm on the underside - I can't imagine the heat on your lap (and other, ahem, more sensitive parts) from a 100 W Prescott chip. Ouch! No wonder it caught on fire!

Edit: Just read that the zd7000 used a Northwood P4. Still a desktop chip though, and putting out 82 W in the 3.2 Ghz model (76 W if it was the 'mobile' model). Waaaay too much heat for a notebook IMO.

 

Yup, we run um full tilt, and yup, they are hot, especially when running a bunch of Vm's. We buy plastic kitchen cutting boards to keep them on, with door stops stuffed in the back to elevate for more air circulation. The cutting boards are kinda nice. You never have to worry that the fans are covered, they protect the unit when you stuff it in it's bag, and they have little drainage channels that can hold stuff like pens, tabs of vicodin, and black eyed peas (believed to bring money in the southern United States... I also put them in my mailbox). It seems to work pretty well (both the cutting boards and the black eyed peas).

Joe

 

I'm seriously looking at a dv9500t, as well... can't find a better buy on an equivalent laptop configured anything like on want by any of the other manufacturers, but I DO also have a few questions...

1. As a preveious purchaser of two HP desktop Media Center systems, three years apart, I was dismayed both times that neither came with ANY software installation disks, the ONLY option for re-installing ANY of the software if I have a problem being to run the SETUP RESTORE CREATION TOOL and make the one-time-only RESTORE disks, and when you run those, it sets the computer back up EXACTLY like it came. IF it turns out you don't like some of the software that comes pre-installed (or IF it conflicts with some software that you've purchased AFTER getting the system, the ONLY CHOICE is to try UNINSTALLING IT, rather than NEVER INSTALLING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, which is a much MESSIER way of doing things). By the way, the second home Media Center system I bought was a display model at Sam's Club they'd discounted on closeout, and the quality was so much lower than my prior HP Media Center (BOTH DVD drives were defective), that I ended up taking it back -- and ordered a Dell XPS, which DID come with ALL DVDs and CDs of ALL of the software that came with the system... I've looked at HP laptops at Best Buy, and they told me the laptops ALSO come with NO DISKS. My question is do the ones you get direct from HP come with them, and if it's not standard, can you get them to supply them? It's almost enough of an issue to keep me from making the purchase if they WON'T include a Vista install disk, and so forth.

2. The laptop has a choice of 3 screens: the basic 1440 x 900 Brightview screen; the 1680 x 1050 screen, and the Ultra Brightview screen that's also 1440 x 900 but claims a 72% better color gamut with two backlights, rather than the standard one (that's the most expensive option, and the one they're pushing)... and I'm wondering if anyone has had a chance to compare between the standard 1440 x 900 and the Ultra and can say if it's really worth the extra $125?

Otherwise, this machine looks like a winner -- I can get it with 2 GB of RAM, 2.2 Ghz processor, the 511 MB 8600 video card, the TV tuner, Vista Premium, the Fingerprint reader option and that standard screen, not counting any extra warranties, for the mid-$1,800s.

By the way, while I was at Best Buy, I looked at every 17" model they had in stock... The ONLY thing I was interested in, to start with (other than them being 17" (as much for the numeric keypad as for the bigger screen), was their PERFORMANCE, so the first thing I did when I got to every one was acces its control panel and click on SYSTEM to see what the "Windows Experience Index" was... In the case of MOST of the laptops (most of which were using AMD processors to keep the price down), the WEI was either 3.0 or 3.1. Best Buy has one particular model, however, a model I don't think you can get from HP any more but that's widely available from BB at a regular price of $1,399 (it's on their website and their website said it was available at EVERY store within my zip-code area)... It's a 9200-series, with a VERY-SLOW core-2 duo 5250 (1.5 Ghz), 2GB of RAM (but it's PC 4200 -- not sure what speed comes with the 9500, by the way, those of you who have one, can you tell me?), and a front-side bus of 667 Mhz (the 9500 has an 800 Mhz front-side bus). It also has 240 GB of hard drive and a 256 MB GO 7600 video card, and MUCH to my surprise, a WEI of 4.5... IF it had also had bluetooth, I think I'd have walked out with it!

Their computer guy was quite surprised by that WEI, as well (He said his home system gets a WEI of 5.7, with dual-SLI X1950 cards in it), then he took me over to show me this little 14.1"-screen Sony VAIO with a 2.0 Ghz core 2 duo in it that was on sale he said he was thinking about buying... I promptly went to the Control Panel/System on IT, and IT, also, got a WEI of only 3.1, which SHOCKED THE SH*T out of him... he said it HAD to be the fact that the VAIO didn't have a video card and was using computer circuitry for video.

Anybody know what the WEI is on a 9500 configured like one I'm considering buying above, or for that matter, what is it on the system configured the way YOURS is?

I get a 5.3 on my Dell XPS with 4 GB of 667 Mhz RAM (same as with the 2 GB it came with) 6600 processor (2.4 Ghz), Geforce 7600 GT KO video card and 250 GB SATA II internal plus a second 500 GB I added... Would be kindofa kick if I got a laptop that actually BEAT that, huh?
Jeff Hayes

 

HP, in my experience, does usually send CD's or DVD's of the software that comes on your system (say you order Office for example, it will come with the software even though it is preinstalled). Secondly, not sure about the screen but if it were me I would get the 1680 x 1050 screen if only for the better resolution. However, if you want a really bright screen and don't care about battery life then go for the Ultra brightview. Lastly, the Windows Experience Score is usually dragged down by the GPU because the final score is actually the lowest score of your system. If you look at individual scores for each component you will see what the different aspects such as CPU scores and see that the overall score is in fact your lowest score.

 

Follow the guide in my sig. The anytime upgrade disk will probably come with your system. If not, you can buy one for $5 from amazon or other places.

 

Jeff,

I don't know what a 'WEI' is. I don't think I have one.

I've owned many laptops, and I really like my dv9500t - for the price, it's a lot of notebook. A few comments:

- I would get the 1680x1050. It's only $50 upgrade. Screen real estate is like CPU Ghz or RAM - more is always better. The difference with the laptop screen, is that once you've chosen one, you cannot ever upgrade! So go for the hi-res option, you'll be glad you did.

- Skip the 2.2 CPU and get the 2.0 instead. $150 price difference is waaaay too much for a 10% clock difference.

- The ExpressCard slot is poorly positioned. If you have an ExpressCard that 'sticks out', or one that you plug cables into, (like a Firewire 800 card) it impedes access to the DVD drive and you're constantly bumping into it.

- The right SHIFT key on the keyboard is TINY. Bad design, IMO. You always end up hitting the ENTER key instead.

- The audio ports are on the front edge of the notebook. Like the ExpressCard slot, it is very poorly placed IMO. They should be on the side.

- The touchpad is also poorly placed. Most people are right handed, yet the touchpad is on the left side of the notebook. WTF were they thinking? Awkward and uncomfortable to use.

- This is my first 17" notebook. 17" notebook is BIG. I bought mine with the intention of keeping it on my desk, always. If you're under the impression that you'll carry this thing around on a daily basis, consider a smaller lighter notebook.

My sits on my desk, lid closed, 24/7. I'm using an external kbd/monitor/mouse. I would really hate this machine if I had to use the built in keyboard and mouse on a daily basis, due to the aforementioned shortcomings.

Thats all I can think of right now. But overall, it's a lot of value in this notebook, comparably equipped models from other brands all cost a lot more.

 

you will want the better resolution. It will make a difference.

In regards to WEI grade, i just got the 9500 with the stats in my signature. After updating windows and getting rid of some of the preinstalled junk I have a 4.6 score. Which is only brought down by the graphics card drivers not being mature enough.

I wouldn't buy a preconfigured model at the store. Custom ordering is much better.

 

Thanks for all the quick replies, folks!

Lupin, after SPELLING OUT "Windows Experience Index" ONCE, I figured abbreviating it as "WEI" after that would be intuitive for most folks... sorry about that. So can you check for me now and let me know what yours is, if you don't mind -- it will be interesting to compare, since you have the 2 Ghz processor and yukstin has the 2.2 Ghz model configured almost EXACTLY like I'm considering getting mine (the main reason I hadn't considered the 1680 x 1050 res monitor is that's what I have on the desktop monitor I'm using, which is 21", and I really don't think I'd be able to read the text at that resolution on a 17" widescreen monitor). I was looking to see if anyone had even SEEN that Ultra Brightview monitor to see if it's that much better than their standard, since that's what HP is REALLY pushing...

I also find it really interesting, Yukstin, that EVEN with yours having the 2.2 Ghz processor, the 7200 RPM internal hard drives, the 2 GB of RAM and the 511 MB 8600 video card, you got a WEI of only 4.6, when that 1.5 Ghz model in Best Buy with a smaller, presumably slower video card and slower hard drive and presumably slower RAM, plus a slower frontside Bus got a 4.5... That just "DOESN'T COMPUTE" to me... not at all! If more of you report similar results, frankly, I'll just buy the $1399 model at Best Buy and save the extra dollars (oh, the price I quoted DID also include the extra-life battery, plus a spare, but heck, I can get plenty of those if I save $500 on the computer!).

As for the WEI, I had forgotten that it's NOT an average, but represents the LOWEST score of any of several components tested. I looked at the COMPLETE score on my XPS 410 and did a screen shot of it, and here's how THAT stacked up...



It would be interesting to know how your particular components score, yukstin, as I'm pretty sure most of your system HAD TO score well above 4.6, but if just one component scored 4.6, then the whole system is a 4.6.

I think this may be the only true apples-to-apples way to compare Vista systems, performance-wise (by using the Windows Experience Index). Then again, R2 has been known to be wrong, from time to time... Oh dear oh dear
Jeff

 

Windows Experience Index. It available in the control panel in every copy of Vista.

Agreed

I wouldn't say that exactly. It's what you are willing to spend knowing that it's $150 for a 2% difference. I wanted it - I got it.

This is a moot point really. Most people don't need anything in the express card slot. Today's laptops contain most peripherals built in.

Again, I disagree. It is a small key, but easily gotten used to if you actually use the keyboard. The reason the key is smaller is to allow the arrow keys to move up into the keyboard area. They protruded on earlier models such as the ZD7000 series. This makes for a more compact keyboard and allows a more compact case design.

Again, disagree. Most people sit in front of their laptop. This is a great place to put them. It also allows an easy disconnect if you mistakenly yank on the cord or walk away without removing your headphones.

Again, disagree. Most (if not all) laptops have the pad centered on the case, which is also centered on the keyboard. You may notice the DV9500 has a full num pad to the right of the keyboard. As such the touch pad is centered on the keyboard, as it should be.

Again, disagree. The DV9500 is smaller and much lighter than the ZD7020 and I've carried my ZD7020 every day to work, on airlines, etc. The DV9500 is much lighter and slimmer than that. It's not that big of deal. If I had to fly several times a week I might get a 15" or 14", but if you've got a 17"(and you won't regret getting one) you might as well use it.

 

heres the full WEI for a pretty much spec'd out 9500 if anyone wondered. specs in signature.

how do you get the picture in the actual post? ***noob***

 

This will be my second notebook purchase, the first being a budget 15" Acer three summers ago, which I networked with my m376n HP Media Center and set up RIGHT BEHIND my folks' chairs to TRY to get THEM to start using a computer -- even set them up email addresses and found a few websites I thought both would enjoy and set them up as favorite places for them on AOL... Didn't work (and I had NO USE for a laptop, as I really don't like those little keyboards and had little use for mobile computing and KNEW that if I got one FOR ME, I'd want it DECKED OUT)...

Well this spring my dad died, and my Mom and I have decided to FINALLY take the Alaskan cruise she's talked about for AGES with some of the life insurance... but rather than fly to Seattle (we live in South Carolina), I talked her into driving there in the 2004 Honda Odyssey she also got with some of the insurance money. My plan is to take our time, and drive through the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and spend a few days there on the way (somewhere ELSE I've always wanted to see, and I'm pushing 50, with bad knees and asthma, so not sure how much longer I'd be up to doing much of that, either)... I have a decent 8 megapixel camera with a 12x optical zoom, and 2 2 GB SD cards, but I STILL might fill those up, and THEN where would I be... and THEN I was thinking about getting something like a Garmin Nuvi, but realized if I had a laptop I could add a GPS chip for very little (Microsoft Streets & Trips WITH the chip is only $104 at Sam's Club)... Mom likes to ride in back, so I'd have the whole passenger seat or floorboard for the laptop... Can offload pictures... Can also watch and record my TV shows on the road... keep up with email... You name it. So this is one time I actually WOULD be using a laptop as a TRUE mobile computer... If only during a few weeks we're on vacation, although after doing all that, I MIGHT just get into the habit of carrying it around and using it for other things, too... and with a TV tuner, it'll probably be one more recorder for me.

By the way, unless my math is somehow screwed up, a 2.2 Ghz processor SHOULD be 10% faster than a 2 Ghz processor, shouldn't it???
Jeff

 

Spmulk, I agree that except for your hard drive, your 9500 is pretty well "spec'd out," but the hard drive wasn't the factor that brought it down to 4.6, it was the graphics performance, even with that 8600 card... I wonder if the graphics score goes up with the lower-resolution screen... Hoping someone who has both the lower-resolution screen AND the 8600 card will post his or her WEI, now... Also, with the RAM scoring only 4.8, I'm now rather concerned that HP is really skimping on that, as well, even in this otherwise high-end laptop... Can someone check and see what speed RAM you have installed?

As for how this "noob" got that picture in the forum, TRUST ME, it wasn't as easy as I'd have liked, lol (I was REALLY hoping it would let me upload directly from my hard drive, but NO DICE, THERE).

When I clicked on the ran my mouse over the options above until I found the one that said "Insert Image," I clicked on that, and it asked for a web address... but I'm getting ahead of myself -- FIRST, I had to use a little free utility I have called "Screenjot" to take an image of my WEI window... Then, I opened it up in Photoshop Elements and cropped out all but the actual information part needed for this thread, and THEN came the hard part, as I hadn't been to my Photobucket account in well more than a year, and while I KNEW it was in my Favorite Places SOMEWHERE, so are maybe 1,000 or so OTHER links, and doing a search for "Photobucket" didn't return any results (I used to have it as part of my top menu, but that went away when I switched computers and had to reinstall AOL, which I use primarily because I'm just too lazy to do everything for myself AOL does for me, lol)... FINALLY found it, but THEN I couldn't remember my password, so I had to get them to email me THAT again, and THEN I uploaded the image THERE and imported it HERE and previewed it to make sure it worked before I submitted the post... Photobucket has 4 different options on its website, so if you use them, as well, it's possible you just used the wrong one to get it on the forum... I have a bit of experience with importing photobucket images in different forums and have found that it IS a bit different with some different forums, and in this case I tried the one I THOUGHT would import the full image first, and it worked.

Hey, I may be a "noob" here, but this is like my dozenth forum, lol, and most of them work pretty much the same.

That said, Y'all can still pick on me for being a "noob," if ya want... call me names, whatever ya want -- so long as ya talk back at me with USEFUL INFORMATION I mean, that IS what it's all about, ain't it? And maybe when I'm NOT a "noob" any more (at this rate, that will be tomorrow, lol), I'll be able to return the favor.
Jeff

 

Jeff, This is OT, but sorry to hear about your dad and way to go for taking the time to do that with your mom!

 

Thanks, Deputy.

I was a fan of Alaska for years before I knew she had always wanted to see it, as well (she really wanted to do the main part of the state, too, but that's a REAL TREK, and at 75, and unable to walk more than short distances, using walkers, wheelchairs or electric scooters for the rest, I just don't see it, and think that coastal cruise will be plenty for her)... She'd been talking about it for YEARS while my dad was still alive, and saying she didn't think she'd ever be able to afford it... He had just enough life insurance for her to buy a late-model car to replace her aging Chrysler and take a decent vacation, which I actually brought up, saying I thought it was time she finally took that Alaskan cruise... But we got all tied up in that new passport red tape for going to Canada, and I just flat don't want to do anything in SUMMER, anyway, with all the crowds and heat, so I decided if we wait until just after Labor Day, we'll save money, miss the crowds, and it'll be cooler, and I THINK they still do the coastal cruises until about October, as that lower part of Alaska is fairly warm (gotta check and make sure -- might be next spring, lol).

Sorry for this long, off-topic post.
Jeff

 

lol, i was calling myself a noob, not you. sorry for the confusiong Thanks for the uploading tips though.

 

yes as i said Jeff the graphics card and the lack of mature drivers bring my score down to 4.6. My processor scores 5.1, memory at 4.8 and hard drive at 4.9. WEI in my opinion isn't always the best indicator of system performance. There are programs out there such as 3D mark, super pi etc. that could give you a better idea of actual real world performance while using your laptop.

 

Interesting to note, yukstin, that the 2 100 GB 7200 rpm drives improved the WEI score for the hard drive by only 0.1 points over the single 160 GB 5400 rpm drive (I would have expected more of an increase).

Seeing that, do you think it was worth the extra money?

As for the "lack of mature drivers" for the 8600 card, do you have any idea when they WILL have more mature drivers for that card, based on your interactions with HP and/or the card manufacturer?

Just curious, and thanks for bearing with me, here,
Jeff

 

Mmm just because there was only a 0.1 increase doesn't mean the drive isn't affective. The higher speed affects the whole computer and makes it run quicker. On the flip side though because it spins quicker that also produces more heat and takes up more battery power then lower RPM drives. Basically you have to decide whether you want a slightly better overall computer performance or less battery power. I chose for a better performance. Hope this helps.

-Eric

 

Well I wouldn't even THINK of getting a 5400-rpm drive for the home computer, and when I first saw that 7200 was an option for a laptop, I thought it was a great option... I'm just rather surprised it doesn't make more difference than that on the Windows Experience Index, but then since I really have NO IDEA how Microsoft calculates that, as yukstin said, the real-world difference may be greater... would be nice to see reviews and comparisons somewhere, but I haven't been able to find any yet.
Jeff

 

I'm unsure about when "better" drivers will be out for the 8600. Also reading the graphics forums of this website apparently HP underclocked the 8600 in the 9500. The clock speeds are lower than what nvidia lists on their website. there are programs that can overclock the speed to normal, however i'm not sure if that will cause other problems.

In regards to hard drive speed, I had a 4200 drive in my old zd8000 after having nothing but 7200 drives in my previous desktop computers. I will never buy another laptop without a 7200 drive. The speed increase in accessing data is very noticable in every application I run and just accessing files thru my computer. Heat wise the primary drive is directly below my left palm while typing. The area can get a little warm but it never gets hot. I'm not sure if there will be a significant decrease in battery life. If there was i'm sure it would be really small, probably 5 min less or something.

 

Comparing a 4200rpm drive to a 7200rpm one will certainly make a noticeable difference. 5400 and 7200, the increase isn't AS noticeable. I think 5400 is just fine for many people.

The main speed hit people notice is when starting a program, which only happens once in a while. SuperFetch in Vista has the potential to make program startup much faster. If people are hitting the pagefile and expect to see faster performance from a faster drive on that, they should just buy more RAM. Other specialized reasons could include photoshop, or loading large game levels from disk. Video/audio encoding will gain MUCH more by using a completely separate disk for source and destination.

Will a 7200rpm drive make a difference? Sure. Is it big enough that "NOBODY should EVER buy a 5400rpm drive"? Not IMO.

 

Computer issues can get SO DARNED COMPLICATED -- particularly when all the different parts can work together so differently in one configuration or another, one machine vs. another, with just minor changes in chipset, BIOS versions, or whatever...

One NEW thing I just discovered (not sure how NEW it really is, but it's NEW to ME) is the 1 GB Robson turbocache you can get that works directly with the processor in addition to whatever RAM is installed (I just discovered such a thing exists while checking out a Sager laptop recommended to me on another thread I started over in the "What Laptop Should I Buy" area). Don't think I'll be buying a Sager, as they're no bargain, overall, but I haven't even SEEN or HEARD of this feature offered with any of the other brands -- it supposedly boosts boot speeds and the load speeds of commonly used big programs, like Photoshop, CONSIDERABLY, because it acts like a FLASH DRIVE for the CPU (and it's only about a $40 add-on, so that's a reasonable thing to pay for), but like I said, I don't even see the OPTION with most of the computer makers.

Buying a new computer is NEVER an easy decision for me... I REALLY like to weigh all the options and make sure I'm making the best compromise between price and performance, and also getting something that's still going to be a useable machine for at least 3 years, so I don't have buyer's regret six months from now, lol...

Still looking for "thoughts" on that dv9535nr, too.

Sure doesn't make it easy, huh?
Jeff

 

The flash drive you have seen is commonly called "Robson", and is also supported in Vista with any USB flash drive that is fast enough, called "ReadyBoost". HP does not ship with this because it gives no real performance boost, unless your system is severely limited in RAM (like 512MB). At that point, you're better off buying more RAM instead.

You haven't seen it much because the idea may sound interesting, but the way it actually works in a nonstarter. It's just not worth it.

 

Oh yeah, I've seen that "Readyboost" technology touted at Office Depot, where they were promoting 512 MB Vista systems that could run like they had more RAM with a Flash drive... I guess if that's all I could get, I'd go that route... Where I saw those Robson caches promoted (two different sites selling Sager notebooks), they were chip installed INSIDE the notebook, right by the CPU, that supposedly acted as a cache for startup and commonly launched program startup files -- made sense to me, particularly if it was as fast as normal RAM and really DID cache the last GB of code run by the machine -- particularly for an extra $40... BUT if you can get the same thing by using a 1 GB flash drive, they're a lot cheaper than $40, in general, lol. They had a PICTURE of this chip, and it was NO FLASH DRIVE that plugs into external ports -- it was DEFINITELY an internal chip that looks like you plug it in or solder it to the motherboard.

Now to OTHER matters... Do ANY OF YOU know what SPEED RAM you have on your dv9500t? I'm NOT asking this because I think ANY of you are computer newbies or ignorant, or ANYTHING like that, but because I'm finding it ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to find that information ANYWHERE FROM HP!!!

When I shop at the Dell website, they SAY what speed the RAM is in their specs, but HP just says how much, and what KIND, aka, 2 GB DDR2, for instance... NOWHERE can I find a reference to whether it's 400 Mhz, 533 Mhz, 667 Mhz or whatever (the corresponding codes for those are PC 3200, PC 4200 and PC 5300 of 5400 -- there are faster and slower speeds, too, but we're not likely to see either of those in notebook/laptops any of US are considering, I don't think).

I ask this because although I can't find that information, what I HAVE found, from my OWN investigations in Best Buy of THREE DIFFERENT HP laptops ranging from $899 to $1799 on sale (originally $2299), ALL THREE scored exactly the same on RAM -- 4.5 -- (that tied with the hard drive for the lowest score on the two Core 2 Duo systems -- surprisingly, to me, the PROCESSOR on the $899 AMD system scored 4.7 and the hard drive 4.9, but graphics was at 3.0/3.1, which brought the overall score down to 3.0).

Since all three of those systems scored a 4.5 on RAM and the dv9500t is scoring a 4.8, I can only assume that HP is putting faster RAM in the 9500 than the other computers...

Thus far, the ONLY way I've found (there may be other ways, aside from running utility programs, but I haven't found any yet) is to run the Setup routine during boot... I tried doing that with the 9535 while at Best Buy, but the "F-keys" to do that are different with different computer makers, and after I rebooted the computer I was looking for the message for which F-key to hit on the upper-right, like my Dell has, but it was on the bottom of the screen... By the time I realized that, it clicked off the screen and reboot started, and Best Buy has some kind of CONTROL PROGRAM called "Archie," which takes A LONG TIME to configure the computer after every reboot, apparently, and I was already running short on time, so I just LEFT at that point.

If anyone knows where I can find info on the RAM SPEED of various HP computers, I'd appreciate it... Another thread on this board has links to the COMPLETE SPEC pages to two of the laptops I'm talking about (the 9535 and the 9260), but as I said, those pages give lots of info, but NOTHING on RAM SPEED... FYI, the comparable, albeit slightly more expensive systems, I've been looking at over on the Dell website have 667 Mhz RAM.
Jeff

 

Well you can forget doing that research I asked for, folks, unless you just want to double-check what's already IN your laptop... I figured out a way to see what the three laptops at Best Buy AND the 9500 have in them; I went to the HP site and played like I was trying to order RAM for all four of them, and it said they ALL FOUR take PC 5300 DRAM DIMMS of one variation or another one takes a SODIMM, but most looked pretty similar.

So THAT begs the question: "If they all use the same speed RAM, then WHY does the 9500 score 0.3 HIGHER on the WEI than the other three machines -- one of which is running a T7200 (2.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo) processor, so THAT shouldn't really factor into the difference, assuming processor speed has ANY impact on WEI RAM scores, anyway, should it???"

So WHY DOES the same speed RAM score 0.3 higher on different machines? Any thoughts?
Jeff

 

Jeff, flash is NOT as fast as RAM. No way, no how, not now.

It doesn't cache the last GB of code, it caches the boot files and most used programs, dlls, etc. Vista does this in general, that's why it appears Vista is using so much RAM. It's called SuperFetch. This is also why it is a good idea to run Vista with 2GB or more of RAM. The difference between RAM and flash, besides the speed, is that flash can "remember" what's stored without having any electrical power.

This is where Robson and ReadyBoost come in, but you have my word that neither of these will be worth crap when you can have 2GB or more of RAM.

Where we will see a great use of flash will be with hybrid drives, but it will be a little while before they have enough flash to matter and become affordable.

The HP DV9500 uses DDR2 667Mhz and have two sockets.

Jeff, you really need to give up on the WEI test. It's practically worthless.

This is probably similar to Deep Freeze, which makes an image of files on the computer and stores it locally in a hidden file. Upon reboot if checks the filesystem, against itself and returns the computer to the same state every time. It prevents customers from making permenant changes, installing programs, etc.

 

Even if both are using the exact same memory you have to look further. The 9500 uses the new Santa Rosa chipset. The 9000 uses the old chipset. The chipset on a computer running an intel processor controls the flow of data between RAM and processor. That's why there would be a difference between a 9000 and 9500 running the same RAM.

AMD processors control the memory right on the processor, (have you noticed no 9500 with AMD?) which would give another different score with the same RAM.

Seriously, Jeff, give up on WEI. I promise you won't make a wrong decision with the DV9500. Just get your RAM at Newegg or someplace, and if you want a bigger or faster drive also.

 

The readyboost/robson stuff really doesn't differ at all, except in marketing. They are both identical, except that robson is inside the computer, and uses the PCI bus instead of the USB bus. PCI is faster, but flash RAM is the slowest thing in both of those situations, so you get no difference.

The ONLY advantage to robson is you don't have a USB drive sticking out of your notebook. Other than that, it is the same.

The hybrid hard drives, which aren't really out yet, are the ones that will be doing the caching of boot files, dlls, etc... That's called ReadyDRIVE in Vista, and you can't really use that yet.

 

Will this support multiple monitors though? I need to be able to work with two monitors, as I currently do with my desktop machine. With the laptop, I guess the goal would be to use the laptop monitor and an additional second monitor, or even two additional monitors. Is this possible with the xb3000 expansion base?

Thanks for your help!