How/why I configured my dv9500t

First - Thanks to everyone in the forum for their excellent commentary over the past year.

I went with HP over some others notably Toshibia, Fujitsu and Sony. (Prior problem with Dell) At this time HP seemed the best overall value for a 17 inch notebook. I know there are other decent vendors but it is hard enough understanding what HP manufacture offers. As near as I can tell HP is competively priced. I would expect some lesser known brands to undercut HP by 5-10%.

I desired a solid computer that can perform decent video editing and should be functional in three or four years (to turn over to my then 8/9 year old kid). Based on what on learned from the forum and looking at the machine in person I went for the following:

Upgrade to Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz/4MB L2Cache) Was the extra $100 worth it for .2GHZ? Can’t really add it later and I figure the cost over the expected life of the machine is marginal.
- 17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050) Went for the higher Res.
- $50 off upgrade from 1GB (2 Dimm) to 2GB (2 Dimm)! Can go to 4GB in the future at a much better price. No reason to think I need the capacity now.
- 511MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS Well might help with the video editing and I am sure software of future will make me glad I installed the extra MB.- HP Imprint (Radiance) + Fingerprint Reader +Webcam Seemed a decent value for a built in option- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network w/Bluetooth Marginal cost increase seemed worth it.- 200GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (100GB x 2) Went for the speed – good for editing process. Can always add external hard drives for storage. Don’t know why I would need to carry any more GB on board.- FREE Upgrade - LightScribe DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer Can always add an external HD DVD when I can afford my 1080 60 inch flat screen.- No TV Tuner w/remote control Do not need it now and very good third party devices on the market.- High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- System Recovery DVD w/Windows Vista Ultimate
- Microsoft(R) Works 8.0 I’ll purchase Office from a third party vendor- Mobile Stereo Earbud Headphones (1 pair)
Will go with AVG for security.

The damage, not including the #$%* tax, came to $1972.50.
I also purchased the three year damage protection $332.49
(Seemed the smart thing to do with two curious kids under age six in the house)

Ordered June 15, 2006 Due to ship June 29, 2007 but was told they are shipping a few days ahead of schedule.

 

Yes it is marginal so if you didnt mind spending the $100 for a small increase then its not a big deal.

higher res is a nice thing but it does make the text look smaller, some people cant bare that. also might be an issue with games as the lower resolutions for better frames may not be possible.

2GB is fine for now but maybe u shudve gotten a single stick and upgraded it yourself. that is dependant on whether you care about price that much.

the graphics card has nothing to do with video editing so the extra memory wont do anything for that. it might help for games, dunno if the 256 and 512 versions perform different. in the old go7600 it couldnt use the full 512MB so it was really a waste of money.

all in all the choices were quite decent

 

Thanks. HP offered $50 off upgrade from 1GB (2 Dimm) to 2GB (2 Dimm) so I took it. Also, getting the bracket to install a 2nd memory stick from HP seems to be a challenge.

If text is too small, couldn't I always increase the text size under view options in Explorer or the font size in Word?

I guess we won't know for a year whether I made the right call in going with the 512 MB. But since you can't really add it later...

 

well no, time doesnt make a difference whether a video card that just cant use the full 512MB will. it's all up to the specs and whether such an increase makes a difference in performance right now especially.

as for the bracket, yeah and its also a waste of money to get it later and many sometimes end up receiving the wrong bracket too

if text is small i think u can change the size but it doesnt always look nice.

 

Are you guys talking about the 2nd hard drive bracket? I figured I'd just order one from HP Parts later in time.

 

well in a few years it isnt' going to be 1080p any more its gonna more like 1440p soo maybe you'll be able to afford that 1080p before you know it... lol

 

The text won't be too small. Unless you're 60 years old, it will be just fine.

 

Folks in the forum have had challenges ordering a 2nd bracket. I talked with an HP rep about this issue and did not get a positive response. - I did not pursue the issue. You apparently can get a 2nd bracket from HP, it just is not easy. I just figured my time was better spent earning $ to pay for the hard drive now then wasting a bunch of my time obtaining all the necessary parts.