Help me chose, nc6400, nc8430, nw8440 - or something else?

It seems like my old and trusted nc4000 is getting ready to be pensioned off. Not least because my needs have changed a bit since I got it ~3 years ago.
It's looking like it will be hp for the 3d time for me - not because I'm a HP fan, but mostly because when it comes to specs, price & availability it again turns out it is HP models that are the frontrunners - and better the devil you know, eh?

So, to my question: which of these models should I get? The prices (in Finland) are pretty similar (the nc6400 about 100euros cheaper) for all when containing a T7200, 1GB RAM (will upgrade), DVD-RW and 80GB HD (the one on the nw8440 is 7200rpm, the others 5400rpm).

So it is down to graphics, screen and general usability. I have virtually no chance of getting to actually handle any of these, unfortunately.

Screen&Graphics:
nc6400: 14.1" WXGA+ (1440x900) Matte(?)
Ati MR X1300 (128MB VRAM+384MB "shared")

nc8430: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) Matte
ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 & 256MB VRAM

*nw8440: 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) Matte
ATI Mobility FireGL V5200 & 256MB VRAM
*For around 250 € more I could get it with 1920x1200 WUXGA and a T7400. I doubt that it would be worth it, but if you think so, please tell me why.

I am not a gamer. But I do intend to do lots and lots of heavy photoshop/gimp/indesign etc on this machine. Perhaps get into some video-encoding as well.
OTOH I use my notebook literally as a laptop. So heat and weight are very real considerations.
(I'm not fond of lots of flashy animations in the OS (turn anything such off at once), and will not be thinking about Vista at least until the first few servicepacks are out.)

The nc6400 is quite a bit lighter (but if I thoroughly clean my nc4000 that actually fits in a big handbag I could probably use that as a traveling surf-board for a few years yet), and more modular. But I'm sceptical of even partly shared graphic memory.

The main difference between the nc8430 and the nw8440 seems to be the GPU. Both are probably totally overkill for my needs. But which gets warmer in *light* use?

What other differences are there between the nc and nw models?

And have I calculated correctly that at 14" anything less than 1440x900 would make me actually "lose" screen space compared to my 12" 1024x768?
How about the 15.4" screens? Should I be seriously tempted by that 1920x1200 wuxga option?
Any other notes on the screens of these machines?

How about sound? Any of these models have particular problems with the speakers not being loud enough? (one thing that really annoy me with my nc4000).

 

As always with notebooks, a good pair of headphones is a good idea. You probably don't need much of a graphics card. Plus the better the card, the more heat. A 14" is obviously more mobile if you need that. The ThinkPad Z61t or Dell D620 might be worth a look.

 

Thanks. I agree about the headphones. It's just a drag with my current nc4000 to have to drag them out just for being able to hear a clip from a newscast on Youtube and the like (yes, it is THAT bad - remember I have the notebook in my lap, it's not like it's far away on a chair...).

Dell is probably not an option for me, very scarce here in Finland, and expensive too.
I've been eyeing the Thinkpads, but not the z-series for some reason, the t-series.

I'm sure both GPUs would be overkill - but OTOH I don't want to have the situation I have now with not paying any attention to it "as long as I can play civ" (II at the time), and then a few years later discovering that later iterations of the same game (civIV) is quite impossible and the screen lags so I want to scream even with things like googlemaps etc. Not to mention the exercise in frustration it is to even open a RAW-image in photoshop...

No ideas about heat (stepping/underclocking etc) of the AMRadeon X1600 vs the AMFireGL V5200?

I'm thinking they would both be equal when it comes to playing media and doing photoshop etc, with the Radeon being better for games and the FireGl probably having an edge in quickly rendering very large images. (I should probably post this question in the gaming&graphics forum here.)

I must admit that I'm slightly drawn to the T7400 wuxga model since the 250 euros (incl. VAT) extra for that one would just squeak in within my budget...

 

Your concern has been raised here quite a few times before and I have previously provided an overview of both the nc6400 and nc8430 that might be of interest ot you.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1910933#5
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=115127#4
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86219

Summary of points:
The WXGA+ screen on my nc6400 isn't as good as the WSXGA screen on the nc8430/nx8420. I have not tried the WUXGA screen.
Sound is OK, but not superb. The nc6400's speakers are not symmetrically placed, but is stereo compared to the D620's mono speakers.
The nc6400 is much more portable than the nc8430/nw8440/nx8420. Probably your best choice. The nc8430 weighs about the same as a Macbook Pro, so that will give you an indication of whether you can live with it.
The graphics card on the nc6400 is fine for Photoshop, but definitely not ok for gaming. The FireGL card is pretty much the same, except that it is optimised for 3D rendering, etc.

 

Thanks, I'll take a look (if I haven't already - at first it looks like everything here is about pavilions and other glossy toys, but after awhile you start finding the threads about the "real notebooks" ;-)).

The portable thing is something of a dilemma for me. I have an affinity for small and cute and ultraportable (and expensive...), but the fact is that I actually move around very little. So I'm trying to talk myself out of paying too much attention to modular bays (expensive, and I know from experience that I don't use that feature much) and weight.

Hmm, about as much as a Macbook Pro (I'm assuming the 15.4" version, not the 17" version)? That doesn't sound that bad. Actually pretty good.

As the nw8440 and the nc8430 are exactly the same in price for me this is difficult. The nw8440 has a 7200rpm HD vs 5400rpm for the nc8430. More noise and heat vs better performance - difficult!