Help on choosing HP DV9420 or 9429, or 9428?

I'm looking to get a laptop but I can't decide between the above. I''m not sure if they're old models since they're not listed on HP's site, or if it's because they're special models that are made specifically for Best Buy/Circuit City.

Any one have any ideas or feedback on these?


I'm also not totally decided on whether I should go with a 6500 instead. Will I notice a difference between an AMD processor as compared to the Intel Core 2 Duo? I'm using the computer for internet, Office, budget stuff mostly.

 

It would help if you post the specifications for each model(they are all part of the HP Dv9000 series but have different configurations).

Yes its an "old model", the new models are X5XX(95xx,65xx,25xx) but should still be good for your tasks.

THe 6500 is a 15.4 model which would be more mobile/portable(less weight/size) then a 17in model.

For internet,office,budget apps a AMD processor will be sufficient.


Also fill out the FAQ and post it in "What Notebook Should i buy" section of the forum so that we can help you better.

 

Ok, here's the specs.

9420 ($1029):
* Processor AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-64; 2.2GHz
* Operating system Windows Vista Premium
* Memory 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM; max supported 2048MB
* Graphics card Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 (UMA) with up to 559MB total available graphics memory
* Hard drive 240GB (5400rpm) SATA Dual Hard Drive - 120GB x 2 [gigabyte is defined as 1,000,000,000 bytes, accessible capacity may vary]
* Primary CD/DVD drive LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* Display 17" WXGA+ High-Definition BrightView Widescreen Display (1440x900)
* Wireless connectivity 802.11a/b/g wireless LAN and Bluetooth
* Digital media 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
* External ports 4 Universal Serial (USB) 2.0, expansion port 3, IEEE 1394 Firewire (4-pin), consumer IR, headphone out w/SPDIF Digital Audio, microphone-in, TV-out, VGA
* Communications Integrated 10/100 Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector); High speed 56k modem
* Dimensions 15.16 x 11.65 x 1.57 in
* Weight 7.8 lb.
* Sound Internal Altec Lansing Speakers
* HP Finish and Features HP Imprint Finish & HP Pavilion WebCam with Integrated Microphone


9428 ($999):
Processor Brand AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2
* Processor Speed 2.2GHz
* Display Type WXGA+ high-definition widescreen with BrightView technology (1440 x 900)
* Screen Size 17"
* System Bus up to 1600MHz
* Cache Memory 512KB + 512KB on die Level 2
* System Memory (RAM) 2GB
* Type of Memory (RAM) DDR2
* Hard Drive Type Serial ATA 240GB (5400 rpm)
* Optical Drive Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
* Graphics NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 (UMA) Video Memory Up to 559MB total available graphics memory
* Networking Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
* Wireless Networking Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
* S-Video Outputs 1
* Additional Audio/Video Connectors SPDIF digital audio out
* Audio Altec Lansing
* Speakers Built-in
* PCMCIA Slots 1 ExpressCard 34/54
* USB 2.0 Ports 4
* IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports 1
* Parallel Ports None
* Serial Ports None
* Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium
* Included Software Microsoft Works; Adobe Acrobat Reader; Hewlett-Packard QuickPlay, Photosmart Essentials; muvee autoProducer Basic Edition; Roxio Creator 9 Basic and more


9429 ($949):
* Processor AMD Turion 64 X2 2.20GHz
* Bus speed 1600MHz Level 2 cache 2 x 512KB
* Memory 2GB RAM
* Hard drive size 200GB 5400RPM
* Screen size 17" Maximum screen resolution 1440 x 900
* Graphics NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 (UMA) Video Memory Up to 559MB total available graphics memory
* 4 USB 2.0 ports
* 4 Firewire
* 1 Infrared port
* PC card slot
* S-video out
* Media card slot
* VGA
* Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n
* no webcam
* Operating system Windows® Vista Home Premium



They're all really close in specs.

 

If you need bluetooth go with the first one if not go with last one the $949 one since it Comes Wireles N. and every thing else is almost the same.

 

Yeah I don't care that much about the Bluetooth preinstalled as I can always buy a Bluetooth USB add-on.

Now I'm just not sure if I should get one of the new dv6500t 15.4's instead. Cuz then I could get:
* Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7300 (2.00 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
* 2GB DDR2 (2 Dimm)
* 383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
* HP Imprint (Radiance) + Fingerprint Reader + Microphone
* Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth
* 160GB 5400RPM HD
* LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
* 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

...and all this for like $75 more. Not sure yet which way to go though....

Is there a big difference between the 383MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS and the Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 (UMA) (with up to 559MB total available graphics memory)? I assume the 8400 is the better of the 2 cards right?

 

For $75 more the dv6500t would be the better deal. The 8400M is going to be much faster than the 6150Go but unless you are either gaming or running any graphically intensive applications it doesnt matter much since both are capable of doing the basics pretty well.

P.S BTW, the dv9420, 9428 etc are still the current model for the dv9000z series.

 

So the 9429 is the older model then?

And you say the 6500 is the better deal for an extra $75. Is that just because of the video card, or is it just the whole laptop overall?

And the last noobie question, will the video card have any affect on me watching/burning DVD movies on the laptop?

 

The dv9429 is also the same. No difference between the three since they belong to the same series(dv9000z). Sorry I just forgot to include that one with the other two.

The 6500t has the better CPU, battery and the graphics. So yes, as a package it offers more than the dv9xxx's. But on the other hand the dv9xxx offers the bigger screen, lots of HDD space(dual hard drives) and is cheaper. So, it depends on what you are looking for. Honestly for the uses you mention either of these 4 notebooks will do fine. Of all 4, the dv9429 offers the best value.

No. Its only when you run 3D applications that you will notice a big difference.

 

For my needs I would choose these specs

 

Is the Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 video card a piece of crap or is it decent? I'm not much of a gamer but I do like to play Rollercoaster Tycoon.

I priced out a dv9500t with a 511MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS video card in it. But I think for the RCT game and internet/budget stuff/Office that I'm using the laptop for, I'm way overkill (not to mention the 9500 was up around $1500!)



Edit: And I rechecked the cost on the 6500 and it's more like $175 more. I think the 9429 for $1029 might be the way to go huh?


Here's the RCT1 requirements:
* Pentium 90 MHz (Pentium 200 MHz recommended)
* Windows 95 or 98
* 16 MB RAM (32 MB recommended)
* 50 MB hard drive space (180 MB recommended)
* 4x CD-ROM (8x recommended)
* 1 MB SVGA video card (4 MB recommended)
* Windows 95-compatible soundcard
* DirectX 5.0 (included)

RCT2:
* Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
* Pentium II 300 MHz or equivalent
* 64 MB RAM
* 120 MB free hard disk space
* 4X or faster CD-ROM drive

RCT3:
* Operating System: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP (Windows XP recommended)
* Processor: Pentium III 733 MHz or compatible (Pentium 4 1.2 GHz or compatible recommended)
* Memory: 128 MB RAM; 256 MB for XP (256 MB; 384 MB for XP recommended)
* Hard Disk Space: 600 MB free
* CD-ROM Drive: 4X CD-ROM or faster (8X or faster recommended)
* Video: 32mb ATI Radeon or Nvidia GeForce2 card with full 3D and hardware transform and lighting capability
* T&L (ATI Radeon 64 MB SDR or GeForce 2 Pro or other video card with 64 MB or more memory and hardware T&L recommended)
* Sound: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP-compatible 16-bit sound card
* DirectX: DirectX version 9 (included) or higher

I assume I can play all 3 of these with the 9429 specs right? Other than any Vista related issues.


Thanks for all the help. I'm a noob when it comes to laptops/PC's.

 

Playing that game shouldnt be an issue. It only requires a Geforce 2 part and the 6150 is definately more than capable for that game. You might want to read this article (link) to know more of the real world capabilitites of the Go 6150.

 

It is not the best stuff, but it is very decent, I will say it is very good for casual gamers. With the right amount of memory its capable of running most games at Highest resolution(It also depends the game).