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    Can't decide...........................

    Discussion in 'HP' started by yellowhouse, Aug 21, 2004.

  1. yellowhouse

    yellowhouse Notebook Enthusiast

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    Looking for a widescreen laptop for my small business. I run Office apps and do some web design but am not a gamer. I've narrowed it down to the HP zt3000, the Dell 8600 and the Acer Aspire 2012WLMi. Any recommendations you guys could make would be appreciated.

    Also, what kind of video card is needed for what I'm doing?

    Thanks in advance for your help.
     
    yellowhouse, Aug 21, 2004
    #1
  2. brianstretch

    brianstretch Notebook Virtuoso

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    Any dedicated (vs. shared) video card will work for what you're doing. If you don't mind the weight, the zv5000z would be your best bet. AMD Athlon 64 CPU (has hardware-assisted virus protection when used with the recently released WinXP Service Pack 2, Intel chips don't), widescreen, no Intel marketing tax. Figure 3-4 hours battery life with the 12 cell battery. Choose between the 1680x1050 and 1920x1200 res screens. The one major flaw from your perspective is that HP is only offering slow 4200RPM HDs on the zv5000z. Many of us here have replaced those with Hitachi 7200RPM HDs.
     
    brianstretch, Aug 22, 2004
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  3. Venombite

    Venombite Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yellowhouse,

    For your requirements, you don't need much. Office apps and web design will not require a lot of power. From the 3 units you listed, I would rate them as follows, Acer, HP and then Dell. Although you don't need the graphics card power of the Acer, it'll be nice to have. Since they're all Pentium M CPU's, you'll get 3+hrs of battery runtime, a smaller/lighter and cooler running unit. The ZV5000 will also do what you need, but the weight difference will be a big difference.

    Since you're business is to design websites, you may want to present the site design to a customer while on the road. A smaller, lighter unit will be the best option. Also, when on the road, battery life will also play a huge factor and a Pentium M will give you that advantage.

    -Vb-
     
    Venombite, Aug 22, 2004
    #3
  4. wen718

    wen718 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I would choose Acer 2012WLMi because of the graphic card, weight and price around $1,300 from cdw, buy.com and newegg.
     
    wen718, Aug 22, 2004
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  5. Brian

    Brian Working at 486 Speed NBR Reviewer

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    Please do not cross post. This topic is being covered here already:

    http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5159

    Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com
     
    Brian, Aug 22, 2004
    #5