HP 6510b, 6910b quality?

Hi, I am from Canada, and it seems that HP's website for Canada is fairly lame due to the lack of customization on any laptop. However, HP also recommends a reseller, Cendirect.

When I checked out Cendirect, I found many HP laptops with the new santa rosa platform, namely 6510b 6710b and 6910b. They are business notebooks, but much cheaper than the NC6400, and the NC8430 which are not santa rosa based.

for $1500 (CAD I am assuming, since cendirect is based in Canada) You can get something like this:

HP Compaq Business Notebook 6510b - Core 2 Duo T7300 / 2 GHz - RAM : 2 GB - HD : 120 GB - DVD±RW (+R DL) / DVD-RAM - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11a/b/g - TPM - fingerprint - Microsoft Windows Vista Business - 14.1" Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - Smart Buy

Since the price is so much cheaper than the previous version of HP business notebooks, I am not sure if the newer models have equal build quality. I also can't seem to find a review of it anywhere on the site.

Has anyone had any experience with the new HP thin and light business models?

Thanks

 

The 6510b, 6710b and 6910b offer solid build quality, superior to HP's Pavilion line, or most consumer notebooks for that matter.

 

They are still so much cheaper than their predecssors NC6400 and NC8430 seem to be much more expensive. Why is that?

 

the 6510b is the "lower end" version, it's thicker than the 6910p, which is the santa rosa version of nc6400. for similarly configured models, the 6910p is slightly more expensive than the nc6400.

hp business notebooks are one of the best in the industry. im waiting until the 6910p is configurable.

 

Well, it's simple....

HP nc6400 ----> HP 6910p,
*The 6510b and 6515b (AMD version) are cheaper versions, which lack of some features, WXGA+ screen option and most probably (I don't feel like checking out this now) lack of magnesium alloy chassis, and that's way they are bit thicker and heavier.

HP nx7400 ----> HP 6710b and 6715b (AMD version)
*These are available with only integrated video card.

HP nc8430 ----> HP 8510p.

Hope that helps.

 

Ah! That makes a lot of sense

Thanks!

EDIT: Would anyone happen to know the estimated battery life on either the 6510b or 6910b?

The 6910b features an ATI x2300 (dx10 version of x1300.. pretty crappy), so it should have less battery time compared to 6510b which uses the gma x3100 right?

 

Depends, if the card is a:

ATi Radeon Mobility x2300 = dx9 support

ATi Radeon Mobility 2300 HD = dx10 support

Usually discrete video cards / Turbocache/ Hypermemory ect. . . tend to have a slightly worse battery life, if you want battery life as a top priority, then go with the integrated x3100.

 

fyi, during an online chat on HP's website today, I was told that I would be able to order a custom-configured 6910p if I called their small business sales line. I haven't tried calling yet, just passing it along.

 

Just letting people know that the 6710b has a very noisey fan. If it doesn't bother you to sit next to a noisey machine all day then by all means buy it because otherwise its a good computer. Unfortunately this is a show stopper for me.

 

Echoing business_user and from related 6510b and 6710b thread, I do not recommend 6x10b series due to extreme noise. I am not just talking about mild whisper but loud desktop PC-like fan noise that runs almost constantly. HP has designed a major lemon here and should issue either a product recall or firmware update (if possible) ASAP.

 

The clarify, it's the 6910 p. Would this still have the same loud fan as the b's?

 

Yeah, I'm curious too if the 6910p has the same loud fan noise.

 

I'm picking up my new 6910p in a couple of hours. I'll report back as soon as I get it! So give me 3 or 4 hours and you'll find out (excited!)

 

Hi everyone, just to report on the fan on the 6910p, it does not spin up every time you move the mouse - it is quite and barely audible.
I've only had this thing running post-setup for a couple of minutes. First thing I'm doing is uninstalling Norton
I'll post a review in the next couple of days.

 

looking forward to the review!