Going to be a new HP laptop owner I just a few a few questions

Ok i'm getting this from HP

HP dv6700t

Here are the specs

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T5750 (2.0 GHz)

Display 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)

3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)

Graphics Card 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - For Core 2 Duo Processors

Personalization HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Microphone

Networking Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

Hard Drive 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive

Primary CD/DVD Drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support

TV & Entertainment Experience No TV Tuner w/remote control

Primary Battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0

Ok I get no anti-virous software with this computer What is some good free ati-virous sofyware or do I need to buy anti-virous software?

I will be new to vista what problems should I expect with it?

I will be playing pc games that were ment for XP will vista give me a problem?

Will my video card have the direct x needed for gaming?

Will I be able to play really old pc gaes with out a problem. Gmaes like Alien Vs Predator 2 and MechWarrier 3?

 

Antivir is a free good anti virus so is AVG.Vista has annoying confirmation buttons for everything.Alien vs Predator and mechwarrior will run fine.

 

is free anti virus just as good as buying anti virus ?

 

does MS Works 9.0 have a program like MS word?

 

i don't know about the ms word but there is a thread out thre that is about the best free software for vista.

 

here is alist of free stuff for windows for everything.

 

MS works is an intermediate word processing program.

You can download Open Office for the free version of Microsoft office.

 

I have owned IBM, Gateway and Dell laptops (none ever had a problem) and made the mistake of buying one from HP a few months ago. The heat sink fan failed after several hours of use and HP support has been absolutely horrendous. You'll find many HP support horror stories in this forum.

The specs sound great but you're going to need excellent cooling. Unfortunately, that seems to be the weakspot of HP notebooks. So I would recommend buying another brand.

 

The fan was clearly defective. Why didnt you return it or get it replaced?

Youll find many horror stories for every brand in this forum.

 

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cu-press-room/pressroom/archive/2008/06/0806-eng0806com.htm "Other companies that stood out in CR's survey were Lenovo, which was outstanding at problem-solving for laptops, and Dell, which was above average in this area for both desktops and laptops. Consumer Reports also found HP and Compaq offered inferior support."

And i did get heat sink fan replaced, AFTER HP repair a. denied there was a problem, then b. tried to blame Vista and 3rd party drivers and c. forced me to run it HOT for several hours of troubleshooting. To top it off, they damaged the computer while repairing it (scratches, abrasions, and chip on cover, solvent on screen & cover) and tried to blame it on Fedex and then me.