Help With Customization

I am currently customizing an HP DV5000t and would like to know if I'm spending more money than I need to based on my needs. I don't play any games. I will be using the internet, word processor, playing and burning music to DVDs, email, and web design. I also often run a software program called Libronix, but it just consists of several hundred books.

Here are my customizations:

Upgraded Intel Celeron to Intel Core Duo $130
Upgraded to a core duo Graphics $25
Upgraded from 256 Ram to 1.0gb $50
Upgraded from 40GB to 80 GB $25
Upgraded to DVD/CD RW $25
Upgraded from 802.11 b/g WLAN to Intel Pro/Wireless w/ bluetooth $25
Got an extra 6 cell battery $99
Ordered the Window XP Home backup disk $10

Upgrades added an extra $364 to my order.

I will receive a free Deskjet F380 printer

The price I would have to pay would be $1138.96. This does not include whatever academic discount I would qualify for. Also, I will receive a $129 rebate.

I upgraded some things that I probably don’t really need, like the RAM and the hard drive, but the upgrade seemed reasonable considering the price. Other things had to be upgraded because I had chosen the core duo. I don’t mind having extra things that I might not use right now, because I’d like a laptop that I can grow into if necessary. I plan to keep it until it dies on me.

I’m still considering whether to actually get that extra 6 cell battery. I do anticipate working away from home for long periods of time, especially with school starting.

Thanks

 

When you say Web Design - what programs are you talking about ?

Because if you use Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, etc - then that extra RAM and the larger HDD will come in handy (esp. since the price to upgrade is relatively low)

Care you clarify "core duo graphics" ?? I'm not sure what you mean by that ?

 

Re extra battery - unless you're getting a discount by ordering it together with your laptop, why not get it later, when you know whether or not you need it for sure?

Malia

 

When doing web design, I just use Notepad and html code. Although it's possible I might use a program in the future.

Originally the laptop came with a Celeron Graphics card, but I had to upgrade to the Core Duo Graphics card since I chose that processor.

 

Malia, that makes a lot of sense. I'm going to drop the extra battery for now. I think I'm just paranoid because my current laptop's battery lasts 30 minutes! And I really miss being able to use my laptop in public for a decent amount of time.

Thanks for the advice!

 

HTML takes too much time for me, dreamweaver is the way to go.

 

Might try Dreamweaver at some point.

Oh, and the other thing I will be doing with my laptop is creating Ebooks, which would mean I'd load the full version of Adobe at some point.

 

A higher resolution screen may come in handy if you like to have multiple screens open at once. Perhaps the Lenovo n100 with WSXGA screen would fit.

 

Upgrade to the GeForce Go 7400 GPU. Well worth the $25. Consider the 12 cell battery option if you don't mind a little extra weight/size.

 

You do get a discount by buying it now -- $99 vs. something like $130 if bought separately.

Chris

 

I would say to get the cheapest ram possible, and then buy a 1GB off of newegg.com. Get the 12-cell battery BTW, as not only does it give more battery life, it raises the notebook so that there is better airflow and typing is easier aswell.

 

I'm trying to get everything I need already installed so I don't have to do it myself. I'm not good at stuff like that. Since the Ram upgrade is only $25 it's worth it to me.

I thought about the 12 cell battery, but I use my laptop on my lap a lot and thought that might be uncomfortable. Plus, I'm not sure I'd like the look of it sticking out all the time.