HP or Mac?

I have a three month old 13" screen MacBook and am considering replacing it with a 14" screen HP Pavilion dv2000t. Why HP? Because I went to a local electronics store and really liked the feel of the keyboard compared to anything else on the shelves.

There are two things I don't like about the Mac: the sharp edges and the fact that the one I have does not have a DVD burner, only a player. No card reader either, but I can live with that.

I know nothing about HP and would like some user opinions. Are they reliable? Do they have noisey fans? Do they run hot? Do they have good battery life? How is customer support?

Thanks so much.

btw, I did not directly buy the Mac; I "inherited" it and am now determining if I should keep or sell it.

 

Are they reliable?

No. I've had my HP DV5030us for just over a year. I got it on sale at Fry's like a couple of other people here. It has honestly been nothing but trouble for me. Everything from stability issues in Windows to hardware issues. I've had to reinstall Windows more times on this machine than all of my other Windows PCs in the past combined. HP also uses the cheapest chipsets they can get their hands on. Which means, in my system in particular, they used the dreaded ATI SB400 south bridge chip. That means completely slow and unstable USB transfers with "USB 2.0" acting more like "1.1" when it comes to "speed". I've also had my DVD drive go out on me, and recently I noticed that I'm having the world famous "sticky key" problem that the dv5000 and 8000 series had.

And just last night, my system went completely berserk and decided to fry itself. It fried my $180 HP ExpressCard Analog TV Tuner and now none of the USB 2.0 ports work properly. Windows detects everything connected to them as a "malfunctioning device" even though they work flawlessly on other PCs. This is with a fresh installation of Windows + all updates and drivers.

That brings me to customer support. It's absolutely terrible. I've tried calling twice so far to get my TV tuner replaced. What have I dealt with? People with incredibly thick accents that I cannot understand at all trying to sell me extended warranties on my PC and completely ignoring the fact that my system and tuner are still under warranty! This is beside the fact that I, like another poster here, have been trying for MONTHS to get HP to deal with the unstable SB400 chip and get some new drivers for the Xpress 200, seeing as how the ones they have posted on their site are more than a year old now. HP easily has the worst customer support. Worse than Microsoft, worse than Sony.

The fan isn't too noisy. And mine doesn't run too hot. But that could be different with chips that run hotter, like the Core 2 Duos.

Theres no other word to describe the battery life other than "pathetic". Real world use will get you a little more than 2 hours browsing the web, even with the screen set to lowest and Windows set to "max battery".

You're honestly better off staying with your MacBook. You can get an external enclosure and DVD burner for about $50 or so. If you need Windows just get BootCamp and an OEM copy of XP Pro. The MacBook is built better, has better software, you don't have to deal with Windows ME 2.0 (Vista), and you certainly won't have to worry about your system freaking out and frying your USB/external devices and then having to deal with Indian tech support that only cares about selling you a warranty and not dealing with your real problem.

 

I am on my 5th HP and all have been pretty much problem free and relatively quiet. The build quality has varied, but then my units were cheaper than most others around when I bought them. The newest dv2000/6000 series notebooks seem to be even better in that area than their predecessors, which makes them an even sweeter deal.

As far as customer service goes, I try to avoid it no matter the company. You can have mixed experiences with any of them, as you can see from scouring the forums here.

As the above poster stated, there has been some scattered issues with certain ATI chipsets and USB but that is no longer relevant to the current consumer series (as they do not use ATI). Myself, I have had no problems with the SB400 in mine.

I think your biggest hurdle is not HP over MAC, but Windows over MAC. They are two very different beasts, which I'm sure some of our more knowledgeable members can explain much better than I can.

 

Thankflully, I've had completely opposite experience from SauronMOS.

I currently have 1 Compaq laptop, 3 HP laptops, 1 hp desktop and an HP AIO printer. Oh, and 1 iMac. Latest dv9000 I just bought in january and desktop I bought a week ago.

The few times that I had to deal with customer support, I had no problem with. Customer service, like most other companies, are based in India or Philippines or where ever, so if I feel their English is bad enough that I'll have harder time communicating, I simply hang up and call back to talk to another. One thing about these foreign based customer service, they try a lot harder to please you and are more courteous.

I don't know much about dv2000t's battery life, but if it's similar to my dv1000 with 14" screen, battery lasted 3 to 4 hours with their high capacity battery lasting 7 to 8 hours.

My next computer will like be from HP again, unless I experience anywhere near the experience of SauronMOS.

 

hi my mom bought me a hp pavilion ze5300 when i was in 8th grade, im a freshmen in college and im still using the notebook infact im on it right now. The build quality and components are top notch better than this dell notebook that fried in 1 week.. 4years is a long time for a notebook so hp is perfect in my book.

specs are 2.4ghz p4, 256 ram, xp, 60 hd..
i just orderd the same dv2000t your trying to get a week ago i was also stuck between (you guessed it) the macbook and dv2000t i went with the dv2000t because i was getting a way better value and it looks almost as good if not better design wise.. nvidia card, etc.. whole shebang.. 1k

 

I just replaced an HP Pavilion ze4200 that I used almost every day for several hours a day for four years. Never any problems.

I bought a dv6000t after considering going with MacBook Pro. Macs have issues, too. All of my apps, also, are Windows-based, so I would have to run a Mac with a Windows OS. Basically, I would have simply ended up with a high-priced Windows machine with the Mac name.

I've had my new HP for almost two weeks and have been quite pleased. I don't find the fan too loud. Some have said that Macs are quieter because they diffuse more of their heat through the keyboard. I don't know, but my HP with an Intel Core 2 duo (T5300) stays very comfortable.

Bill

 

Let me know how you like it. My sister has a HP and it she loves it.

Compared to my husband's Averatec, the MacBook is whisper quiet. And certainly not as hot!!

As someone pointed out, maybe my issue is between the OS: Mac vs Vista. I can get an external DVD burner (or use my PC or Husbands Notebook). I think I can get about $800 - 850 for the Mac (it has a Apple Care Warranty until 09), but I think an equivalent PC will cost about $1200...but it will have a much larger hard drive, memory card reader and built-in DVD burner.

When I was at Best Buy today, I do recall myself sighing at all the extraneous window with unrelentness messages popping up.

I'm kinda confused so will use the Mac a few more days before making a decision.

thanks everyone for your helpful input!

 

I sold my MacBook and bought a DV2225NR instead, and used the leftover cash to buy a nice compact DSLR! BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK!

HP Pavilion DV2225NR - $799 (It doesnt mention it but it gots Gigabit Ethernet)
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8216423&st=dv2225nr&type=product&id=1166236071888

Now compare the specs with:

MacBook *Highest spec* - $1499
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...cbook&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1162592946997

Dont think too hard.

 

That's similar to what I discovered when I was thinking about going with MacBook Pro. I found that a similarly configured HP dv6000t was about $600 less than the MacBook Pro. I know that some would probably say a better comparison would be the more expensive business-oriented HP's with the MBP, but MacBook didn't offer me that option, and the 13.3 in. MacBook is simply too small for me.

BTW, do you find the 1GB RAM sufficient to run Vista Aero well?

Bill

 

Usually Vista eats up 500mb-600mb+, so its better have 1.5GB of RAM. Plus my video card memory is shared so it takes out a little bit. Im hoping Microsoft will fix this issues and other improvements with Service Pack 1 update. Im going to wait for SP1 to see if I need more than 1GB!

 

Do yourself a favor and keep the mac. get bootcamp running, and throw xp on it, or wait until they make bootcamp vista compatible *shudder*.

i know you said you dont like the sharp edges, but honestly, its a quality piece of equipment.

keep it.

 

Well, I already updated my situation in another thread. But I thought it'd be good to post here again.

My bi-polar dv5030us is on its way to get its motherboard replaced. However, my loaner dv6215us is ALSO defective! Two defective laptops from HP.

However, my new MacBook (white with SuperDrive) is humming along perfect. I have never seen a computer run this good. It's simply amazing. No Windows PC I have ever seen has run this good or stable or quiet.

I'll never buy a Windows PC again after this. Hardware failures, software issues, and the fact that Vista is Windows ME 2.0 will keep me a loyal Mac user from now on.

 

Even though I sold my MB and bought an HP notebook instead, i will still buy a MAC again in the future. Once you experienced it then its hard to go back, Vista is nothing compared to soon to be released Leopard. I decided to sell my MB because it was the old Core Duo model and the nice prices of the HP notebooks hooked me. So in the end i sold my MB and used to $$$ to buy the DV2225NR and a nice compact DSLR. 2 for one deal, i couldnt resist!

 

Windows Mistake Edition 2.0 lol

 

I'm running OSX on my HP NC8430, and boot it from an external drive.
Quiet frankly, after I isntalled OSX, I rarely use it at all. It's a nice novelty, but none of the stuff I do is Mac specific.

I use Mac's at work, and there's nothign special about using them, IMO.
My HP NC8430 is awesome, and I saved quite a bit of money than rather buying a macBook Pro.
And if you want to talk abotu build quality issues, do a search, and you'll find that there have been a ton of customer complaints with Apple laptops as well.

 

Thank you. Based on two things, I am fairly certain I will sell the MacBook.

I'd like a 14-15" screen, and I can not justify the price of a Mac with those screen sizes. Too expensive.

I don't believe I should have to be in pain when I type. This is the main reason. IMHO, Apple really blew it here.

THANK YOU everyone for your input.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I think once the novelty of MB ownership wears off in a bit, I think you'll be in for a big disappointment. I'm sure mac users will bash me for saying it, but I have an iMac and am disappointed, especially with lack of software and games. A trip to any computer store aisles will confirm this. I think with Bootcamp and programs like Parallels making it possible to run windows programs, developers will have less reason to come out with new native programs or games. If Apple runs windows better than Windows, just like OS/2 did back in early 90s, why should they? OS/2 was a great operating system, but...

 

"I'll never buy a Windows PC again after this. Hardware failures, software issues, and the fact that Vista is Windows ME 2.0 will keep me a loyal Mac user from now on."

i've never had trouble with windows i guess it depends on the user and what progs you install but then again there aren't that much progs out there for mac to begin with lol. it's fun to play around with the mac but i'll be using it mostly for web-surfing --something that apple has compatibility issues with.

 

Henchman how did you get OSX to run on your nc8430?

 

google osx86.

Sort of tricky to get to work. But it actually works very nicely once you figure it out.

 

I've only had my DV9000 a few weeks but it's very good, 2 hours battery life gaming and the like, and 3 hours just browsing web.

 

Its funny that people say "there isn't as much software for Macs as Windows". While that may be true, 99% of the software that is missing from OS X is that stupid junk you see at Best Buy that says "1000 card games on one CD!". Honestly, who needs that? I certainly don't.

I have yet to come across a site that didn't work on OS X exactly the same as it did in Windows. Infact, browsing on this system is MUCH faster than it was on my dv5030us. Whats better is I don't have to worry about where I go.

 

Novelty? Not quite. I absolutely love this system. It is the first compute I have ever owned that I have been fully satisfied with out of the box. I didn't have to start it up and immediately wipe the drive to clear off all the junkware that was preinstalled. I didn't have to spend 3 hours downloading updates because the disc and OS it came with already included all of the updates.

Not to mention OS X just works so much better than Windows.

Lack of games? Most major games have OS X ports. Plus Macs run Windows. However, PC gaming has pretty much died. You're better off with an Xbox360, PS2, or PS3 for gaming.

Software isn't an issue either. There is an equivalent or better piece of software for everything on OS X. I have yet to come across something I couldn't do just as good or better than Windows. Sure you can't buy some random card game CD at Best Buy, but why would I want to?

 

"99% of the software that is missing from OS X is that stupid junk you see at Best Buy"

i didn't know Best Buy carried 99% of softwares out there.

"I have yet to come across a site that didn't work on OS X exactly the same as it did in Windows."

because we all know that you and i both have same pref when it comes to web browsing.

"I didn't have to start it up and immediately wipe the drive to clear off all the junkware that was preinstalled. I didn't have to spend 3 hours downloading updates because the disc and OS it came with already included all of the updates."

how could i have forgotten about that make it or break it deal.

"Lack of games? Most major games have OS X ports."

it's not about major games, it's about games you actually want to play and not having to wait and hope that they port it six months later.

"Plus Macs run Windows."

why would you ever want to do that!?!

"However, PC gaming has pretty much died. You're better off with an Xbox360, PS2, or PS3 for gaming."

again, mr. genius, it's about the games _you_ want to play. what's the fastest selling game out right now? what's the most popular game out right now? yeah.

"Not to mention OS X just works so much better than Windows."

because we all know we use the computer for same purpose as mr. genius.

"Software isn't an issue either. There is an equivalent or better piece of software for everything on OS X. I have yet to come across something I couldn't do just as good or better than Windows. Sure you can't buy some random card game CD at Best Buy, but why would I want to?"

you must be an employee of Best Buy which carries 99% of softwares out there. i'm sorry if Best Buy doesn't give out employee discounts on any quality games other than "random card game CD" which you speak of.

 

Whats this? Can't even bother with a real reply? Its one thing to make false assumptions about OS X, but its another to just simply be foolish about the entire matter.

So tell me what sites don't work and I'll go there. I'll take screenshots to prove they DO work.

No reason to be foolish. A $1000+ system should not come loaded with spyware, adware, and trailware. It should come READY TO USE with the LATEST software updates. Not trailware versions of software that are outdated by 3 generations. Like my dv5030us for example. It came with WinDVD 5 (WinDVD8 has been out for months now). It didn't come with any capable DVD burning software or anything. So not only did I spend more than $1000 on the system, I had to spend several hundred more on software to actually use it. My MacBook came with everything I needed out of the box.

Because we all know that having another FPS clone is a must! Or another boring point and click RTS.

When was the last time a truly good PC game was released? The last half decent one I can think of is Unreal Tournament 2004. Before that was Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Guess what? Both are on Macs.

If a game isn't on OS X then it simply isn't worth playing. That goes for Half-Life 2 as well. I played the first Half-Life and loved it. But Half-Life 2 is just another snooze fest FPS with pretty graphics.

If you want to play some crappy games, then you can. As I said, theres no reason to be foolish about this. You're doing nothing but making yourself look foolish by being sarcastic and making up nonsense.

Most popular? I would assume you're talking about World of Warcraft. Guess what? It's on OS X. I could play it right now if I had bad taste in games. Fastest selling? Well, since there hasn't been a truly fast selling game since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the next closest thing is Gears of War on the Xbox360. Before that was Oblivion, on the Xbox360.

Is there a "good" PC game that is NOT being ported to the Xbox360 or PS3?

And what are you doing on Windows that can't be done on OS X exactly the same or even better?

How mature. Now I understand why Mac users see themselves as more intelligent and mature than Windows users.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the world "quality" hasn't been able to describe PC games for more than half a decade now Good gaming is all console based.

 

"but its another to just simply be foolish about the entire matter."

yes we're all foolish for not accepting the fact that mac is simply better than pc.

"Like my dv5030us for example. It came with WinDVD 5 (WinDVD8 has been out for months now). It didn't come with any capable DVD burning software or anything. So not only did I spend more than $1000 on the system, I had to spend several hundred more on software to actually use it. My MacBook came with everything I needed out of the box."

my w3j came with nero burning software and it also came with everything i needed out of the box. again this is a subjective matter. i'm glad you found everything in a mac useful but to me they're worthless.

"Because we all know that having another FPS clone is a must! Or another boring point and click RTS."

Because we all know that having another racing clone is a must! Or another boring point and click Madden.

i have to ask, do you even play games?

"If a game isn't on OS X then it simply isn't worth playing."

i'm confused, so is pc gaming dead or alive? oh yeah you've just contradicted yourself to defend your own stupidity.

please refrain from running your mouth with your asinine assumptions.

"If you want to play some crappy games, then you can. As I said, theres no reason to be foolish about this."

because any game worth playing is already on the mac?

"Guess what? It's on OS X. I could play it right now if I had bad taste in games. Fastest selling? Well, since there hasn't been a truly fast selling game since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the next closest thing is Gears of War on the Xbox360. Before that was Oblivion, on the Xbox360."

i'll be you and say "i could play Oblivion and San Andreas on the pc right now if i had bad taste in gaming"

"Is there a "good" PC game that is NOT being ported to the Xbox360 or PS3?"

are you admitting that there's actually good games that are being ported over to the X360 and the PS3?

"And what are you doing on Windows that can't be done on OS X exactly the same or even better?"

i'm guessing 90+% pc users would have a better answer.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but the world "quality" hasn't been able to describe PC games for more than half a decade now Good gaming is all console based."

boy there's no stopping to your baseless assumptions freshly brewed out of your ass is there?

look i'm glad you've found something which suits your needs better and i hope you stay there with your fellow mac lovers. just pray that the remaining 95% of us will stop being so foolish and convert OK? lmfao

 

My dv5000t has run flawlessly for seven months and the build quality seems great to me. Haven't had to use customer service, so I can't comment on that end.

OSX is okay. I can use it, but I prefer XP (Vista isn't that great). More highly customizable, upgradable, I can play with them. Macs are a little too stagnant for me, although that's changed a bit with the shift to Intel CPUs.

 

I think this thread is heading south really quick. But here it is, http://www.nickjr.com/playtime/index.jhtml. It's one of the sites that my 3 year old crashes the Safari often. Don't know why it wants to send crash data to apple, since they don't seem to be working on the bug.

 

I think this thread needs to shape up REEEAAALLL soon.

 

Glad you like it. I'm not questioning your decision. Most important thing is whatever makes you happy.

You just got the system, so you may not know, but apple does update your system, sometimes by 100s of meg at a time. Even their firmware too.

I don't know who started this thing about this card game cd thing, but now that sounds foolish. Visit a store, any computer store, heck go visit a Walmart, and look at software aisles. You don't even have to open your eyes too wide to see the difference.

I know that macs run windows through beta parallels program. I'm hoping that they have that 3d graphics thing worked out so my 3 year old can finally play those win/mac cd games my imac currently cannot play.

 

I decided, with great regret, to sell the MacBook. For two reasons: the sharp edges which interfer with my typing style and, more importantly, because I think I want to buy a laptop with a 14 or 15" screen.

I am not sure at this time whether it will be a Mac or PC but let me say this:

Notwithstanding the corners, the MacBook is an incredible machine and the OS a pure delight; the graphics are outstanding. It was very difficult to let it go.

 

No, it's foolish that you're being a troll about the entire situation. It's one thing if you want to debate the differences between the two. But you're just being a troll and you don't even have anything resembling a real argument or facts, or even opinions.

Which version of Nero was it? I'll gather it was an outdated or severely crippled OEM version of the software.

Oh and looking at the review of the W3J here shows that the system came with a very limited software lineup, including a piece of trialware.

So explain to me again why Macs are worthless. Stop being a troll and come up with something real.

Again, come up with a real argument and stop being a troll. Since when is Madden point and click? It requires more strategy than most of those god awful RTS games that plague the PC gaming market. What racing game clones? That may be true on the PC, but on consoles you have unique games like Gran Turismo and Forza.

No, you're just taking things out of context and being a troll. PC gaming is dead. It has been for years.

Take your own advice and stop being a troll.

Basically, however, there aren't any PC games worth playing that aren't already on consoles. Infact, there aren't any good PC games worth playing. So it's a dead argument.

Except that more people own San Andreas than WoW and Oblivion combined

Notice how I said "good" and not good.

So you can't come up with a real answer on your own? Again, stop being a troll and come up with a real debate or you're going to be reported for trolling.

So show me a PC game that isn't yet another FPS. I mean, an ORIGINAL FPS would be fine. But you'll have a hard time finding that considering they all clone eachother and just try to outdo eachother in graphics.

Again, stop being a troll and try to act like an adult. If you want to debate the differences between the platforms, then come up with some real facts. Otherwise be quiet and act like a mature adult.

Apple laptops are every bit as upgradeable as HP laptops.

OS X is even more customizable and has more options to tinker with than XP does.

Works absolutely flawlessly for me in Safari and Firefox. No crashing. Everything loads and plays fine.

Blame boradori for acting like a 10 year old.

Which is different how from XP updates? The last time I did a fresh install of XP MCE, right before I took my dv5030us in, I had to download more than 300MB worth of software updates. My HP printer drivers are also in the hundreds of MB, a GB if you look at my All-in-One.

Okay, let's look at Wal-Mart as an example. I was just there a few days ago when I bought my second iPod. On the store shelves there I saw about 1/3 of the software section dedicated to security software I would have no need for under Windows because there were freeware alternatives. Then I remember seeing useless DVD copying software, budget games (like those card games), and then the regular game section.

Same with Best Buy. The local Best Buy here has several rows dedicated to security software. All of which is pointless because if you have Windows, then all you need is AVG and AdAware, both of which are free. Then they have the games section, which still has many games from the earlier half of this decade. Then the general software section also has many pieces of useless software (like those card games) and other pieces of software that try to mimmic those that came preloaded on my Mac, like calendar software... which you could also find just as good freeware alternatives on the PC.

Ever been to an Apple Store or browsed the software shop at Apple.com? Theres tens of thousands of pieces of software available for OS X. And unlike the Windows world, they're all pieces of software you could actually get some use out of. Half of the software section isn't taken up by useless security software or spyware removal software.

Which I find incredibly funny. Best Buy has one third of a row dedicated to XP... and the two thirds on either side of the XP display are filled with security software

Boot Camp runs XP natively. When you want to run Windows you simply reboot the system (or at startup) hold down the option key and choose to boot Windows instead of OS X.

Sounds to me, however, like you messed up your system by expecting to run like Windows.

 

lol YOU WIN!!

i've never met a man who was more subjective and biased towards a particular product except those 10 yo fanboys on gaming website who swear by one product cuz they can't afford to own them all.

i think you've said enough to justify your purchase sir. have a nice day.


actually i'm a troll with a fro