HP pavilion dv9093 vs. HP Compaq nx9420

Hi to all,

I am thinking of bying a new laptop (my first one) and I am about to choose between these 2 models, and need some help on making the best choise.

HP pavilion dv9093eu
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T200 2GHz
RAM: 2G (max 2G)
Monitor: 17" WXGA (1440x900) BrightView
Graphics: NVIDIA GeFORCE Go 7600 (256MB)
HD: 2x100G (5400 rpm)
Networking: Wirelles: Intel PRO wirelles 802.11a/b/g
LAN: 10/100
Bluetooth
Other: SmartCard 5in1, Camera 1.3M, Remote control
Battery: 8 cell

----------------------------------------------
HP compaq nx9040 rh457ea
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T400 2.16GHz
RAM: 1G (max 4G)
Monitor: 17" WSXGA (1680x1050) BrightView
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256MB)
HD: 120G (5400 rpm)

Networking: Wirelles: Intel PRO wirelles 802.11a/b/g
LAN: 10/100/1000
Bluetooth
Other: SmartCard 7in1
Battery: 8 cell

-----------------------------------------------
The most significant pros of each model over the other are the following:

nx9040:
Better monitor, Faster processor, gigabit ethernet, less installed RAM but larger maximum RAM

dv9093
More elegant, larger HD size and RAM, camera and remote control, little bit cheaper

This machine will serve as a multi purpose laptop and as a desktop replacement to some extend. Also in the near future I plan on installing Linux on it.

I am not much of a game player and can someone tell if there is any problem in running vmware on any
of these two? I have read smt about HP and Virtual Machine incopatibility.

What I am looking for is a robust and fast laptop and I would like to know if there is any difference in that field between HP and HP-Compaq laptops in general.

Thanks in advance.

 

Go for the dv9093. If offers more features at a slightly cheaper price.

 

the dv9000 has almost twice the capacity of the nx9420 and it also sports a webcam and a mic its comes with imprint finis and is already preinstalled with te 2gb ram maybe 2 *1gb bit the nx series on the other hand is more solidly built and is a tad bit etter for durability as it is a business line model as you will be using it for a extent as a destop replacement the more hdd the better i say and also the preinstalled ram is better but ull haf to comprimise a wee little bit on construction not that its such a big issue but still ull notice sum flex here and there but if u want to be able to upgrade in the future lie increase it to 3gb or 4 the nx is better as it provides more potential in that aspect other than these strong points the dv9033 wins hands down and i dont think te 160mhz would make such a noticeble difference either the graphic cards are almost identical as both are in te same category and as a plus te dv9033 is pretty too.....with the imprint finish
hope i was of help,
cheers.

 

Thanks for your feedback guys, I must say I am also more in favour of the dv9093 model. What makes me concidering nx9420 is the better display and the feature of being able to install more than 2G of RAM in the future.

Does anyone know anything about the virtual machine problem and HP laptops. (If there is any). I think I read smw that HP locks the hardware via the bios and you can't run any virtual machines from vmware. To tell you the truth this sounds a liitle strange to me, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Is there someone that can confirm this info?

 

Yes...ALL VM features of the CPUs are locked out. There are many detailed threads in the HP support forums on this, but HP is slowly starting to unlock them given the demand.

However, VM software WILL still work...just not as fast as before (though you do have to make sure your VM software doesn't need the VM CPU stuff).

The only thing to add into the mix is that the nx9420 is a business laptop...you aren't going to need to clean the bloatware (because there is none), you get the business level support (which is worth it if/when problems occur), and the build quality is so much better. RAMs is cheap, and external HDDs are always out there (120GB is enough IMHO).

 

The HP nx9420 is a business-class notebook and is so much better in terms of build quality and support than the budget-class notebook like the HP dv9000.

I would choose the HP nx9420 over the HP dv9000 any day.

 

There's a new BIOS version (F19) for nx9420 available now with the option to enable VT.

 

Wow...they got it then. Last I checked HP had only rolled out VT-Enabled for about 2 models. Looks like updates are speeding up. Good.

 

All DV models come with gigabit ethernet now. My DV6000t does and I got it last October. The new bios(I have it) allows the toggling of Intel VT on/off in the bios. This enables 64-bit virtual machines to be run on a 32-bit host operating system.

 

Ive got a dv9081ea and it has the f08 bios which last i checked isnt even available for download on the official HP site (i made a thread about it a few days back btw), it has an option to enable VT in the bios if thats what ppl are talkin about? so far vmware works fine for me, and seems reasonably responsive but then again I havent used vmware for years so i dunno how good it shud be but XP runs fine on it and even vista was ok but of course no Aero cuz Vmware use a SVGA 16MB driver.

 

Maybe this is true only for your model. The dv9093 model has only a 10/100 ethernet interface (unless this is an error is hp's site).

One other issue is the ExpressCard, which is only available (along with a Pcmcia) in the dv9093 model and not in the nx9420 which only has a pcmcia card. Does anyone know if ExpressCard devices are available now or will be in the near future? Is this a feature that I am going to regret about if I buy the nx9420 model.

 

Yup...that is what they are talking about.

FYI, on the pavilion notebooks I think you have to opt in on the 'Productivity Ports' to get GigE.