Compaq 9110 or 9010

I'm looking into getting a laptop and my friend has offered to help me get a deal through his work on the Compaq business 9110 or the 9010. What are your opinons on either of these options. He says the 9110 isn't really upgradeable but what does that mean to me? Am i really going to upgrade it. I'm a graphic designer and want to replace my old desktop with a convenient laptop. I use mostly adobe and macromedia products. I will be hooking up my scanner and printer to it sometimes as well. I will also be doing a fair amount of internet/basic stuff. I was looking into getting specs like this

Mobile Pentium 4 3.06 (still can't decide between this and the centrino laptops)
15.4 WXGA (15in is it that much difference or worth it?)
80gb hard drive
512 ram (probably might upgrade later)
DVD burner
integrated wireless
probably the 3 yr warranty and accidental damage protection

I never see myself using the floppy that the 9010 offers. Anyway, Im really not sure what to do. I've also briefly looked into the HP 3000, HP5000, Dell 8600. Just trying to get the most for my money. PRobably about $2000 and will plan on keeping it as long as i can. Any suggestions good and bad will be happily accepted

Thanks so much

 

Well, first off just about no laptop is really upgradeable. So i'm not sure what your friend means by saying that one isn't. Also, with this laptop are you trying to go with the mobile or are you trying to go for portable power?
http://reviews.cnet.com/4504-3121_7-0.html?tag=pageNav&orderby=&qt=&500016id=&500035id=&500053id=&500076id=&100021id=&1000036id=11399&500140id=&500357id=&500040id=&id=30793180&id=30474669&x=46&y=9
The nx9110 has the slightly higher rating with a little bit larger screen 15.4" vs 15, while at the same time its about half of a pound heavier.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862

 

I'd like it to be mobile but a little heavier isn't that big of a deal to me. I see that you have the hp 5000 which i saw yesterday and seems pretty similar to the 9110. how do you handle the plugs on the sides as opposed to the back? The review you showed me said the 9010 was slow? What about the video is only 9000 i think. what is the big difference between what you have the 9600 and the 9000? Thanks for you help. Geez why am i so indecisive?

 

Autumn,

The specs your looking for are the same as what I'm looking for in a desktop replacement unit, but you mentioned that you would also like the unit to be mobile, that's where things get a bit tricky. First, regarding the video card, the NX9110 has an ATI Mobility 9000IPG chipset, meaning the video memory is shared with your system memory. You can adjust the video memory size upto 128MB (I believe), but is then deducted from system memory (512MB system memory - 128MB Video memory = 384MB Usable system memory). If you're gonna be doing graphics design, I don't think you'd want that.

The ATI 9000IPG vs. the ATI 9600...well, the 9600 has increased processing power compared to the 9000IPG, also it has its' own video memory which is separate from the system memory. The 9600 is what a lot of gamers look for because of the better graphics support, higher processing power and I believe DirectX 9.0 support as well.

Since you're a graphics designer, and you mentioned that you'll be using Adobe programs (I'm assuming Photoshop and such), you're gonna need the increased graphics power & memory. Also, the display will probably be an important factor. The max resolution you can get on the NX9110 WXGA is 1280x800, which may not be enough for Photoshop, you'd probably want either a WSXGA+ (1680x1050) or WUXGA (1920x1200 I think). The higher the resolution, the smaller your desktop icons & fonts will be, making it difficult to see.

You also mentioned that you would like it to be mobile, well, the NX9110 is almost 9-10lbs with the AC adapter, so it may not be too mobile. The NX9010 is approx. 8-9lbs with AC. Also for mobility, you may want to consider getting a Centrino/Pentium-M unit because the utilize less power and provide fairly decent processing power. I've read that the equation to compare a Pentium-M/Centrino CPU vs a Pentium 4-M CPU, is to multiply the Pentium-M by 1.4, therefore a Pentium-M/Centrino 1.6GHz CPU is = to a Pentium 4-M 2.2Ghz CPU.

My recommendation:

Fast CPU & Graphics Chip
Dedicated Video Memory
512MB+ System memory
(W)SXGA+ or (W)UXGA ** (W) is for Wide Screen LCD Models
DVD Burner (HP DVD burners are only + supported, you should get one that has +/- support or just -)
If you're looking for raw power get a Pentium 4-M, if you want mobility with long lasting battery get a Centrino/Pentium-M (in order to have the Centrino name, it must have all 3 of these, an Intel Pentium-M CPU, Intel 855PM Chipset & an Intel 802.11b Wireless card, otherwise it's just a Pentium-M system)

My best suggestion would probably go to a shop that has a return policy and try the the systems you're interested in and see if it suits your needs. If HP is your brand of choice, you may want to look at the Pavillion ZX5000 series or the Compaq R3000 series (make sure they have dedicated video). These two units are generally the same internally as the NX9110 but have minor differences with CPU/memory/video chipset & external cosmetic differences

I hope this helps with your decision.

-Vb-

 

what about the HP nx7010? isn't it just what you need?
PM1.5, 512 Ram, 64MB ATI 9200, 40GB 4200 rpm, 1680x1050, great.

------------------------------------------------
You are learning all your life and you die stupid.

 

The other one to look into with a ATI 9200 and a Centrino processor for extra battery like is the HP zt3000. The 9200 will be able to handle Photoshop just fine its also a bit lighter and has longer battery life than some of the other HP models. If you want to play some big time games down the road like Far Cry, or splinter cell, or UT2004 than you need the 9600 other than that the 9200 should work great for your needs.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862