Hp 510

This laptop seems great for my needs and I have found a good offer, it's just that I really can't find much info on this notebook on this site/forum or anywhere else on the internet for that matter (even on the hp.com you can only find the specs-it's a new model right?). So basically, anyone who knows more about this model or even better has one, please chime in ! To make it easier for you, I'll ask a few questions:

1) I know this will sound stupid, and it all varies from model to model, but how does Hewlett Packard rank in the terms of notebook quality to say Dell or Lenovo? Dell Inspiron 1300 is the only other laptop I am interested in but HP 510 is cheaper, looks better and has better specs so I am very interested on this one.

2) The HP 510 I've found doesn't come with a OS, but with FreeDOS. This may be a good thing since that way it's cheaper, besides, I already have a copy of WinXP Pro. However, I don't really know much about laptops so how difficult would it be to install WinXP on a new laptop with FreeDOS, is it any different than installing it on a desktop. So should I pay some 70 € more to get WinXP installed or should I do it myself?

3) Here is the offer I've found:

Model Name: HP 510 RU963AA
Processor: Intel® Pentium® M processor 770 2.13 GHz 2 MB L2
Memory: 512 MB (533 MHz) DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive: 60 GB (5400 rpm)
Monitor: 15.4'' WXGA Brightview
Graphic Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG 802.11 b/g WLAN
DVD+/-RW SuperMulti Double Layer
31.9 x 357.9 x 257.0 mm
2.7 kg

Price: 625€

From what I've learned about laptops so far, this looks perfect to me! The processor has 2.13GHz and 2 MB of cache, it runs on 533Mhz just like RAM memory which is DDR2, the hard drive is great, the graphic card is a perfect fit for my needs, the only bad thing would be battery life but I don't care about that, and the best of all-it's screen (and the whole laptop) looks fantastic !
I just don't want to buy a model that will soon be replaced because there's something wrong with it so is there?



For more info about my needs, look at my other thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=108380

 

The Pentium M is old school. The newer Core Duo offers better performance. Given your budget I would think you could find one. Perhaps you should consider the FAQ and post back.

 

Yeah but I've decided not to spend that much money after all (for something that surpluses my needs), especially after looking at the recommended system requirements for BG2. Now I am after the not-so-high cost business type notebooks, and this one is the cheapest, best quality offer I've found so far, and I think it's quite good for what I'll be using it for (I was seriously thinking of buying Dell Inspiron 1300 which has a Celeron M - HP 510 offers much more for the lower price and it looks way better). I know Pentium M is old school and Core Duo are much better, but I think that for internet, working in PowerPoint, Word and Excel, and playing old Black Isle games, it'll do just fine.
And trust me I've looked at many laptops-in the end I would be paying a lot more money for Core Duo which I don't in fact need.

Unless someone has an objection to quality of this particular model or HP as a company, or any reason not to buy this laptop, in the next 2-3 days I'll go and buy it .

 

hey, d'you end up buyin that laptop bobby?

i just wanted a second opinion since i'm looking into buyin this aas well..

thanks,

roc

 

Picked one up last week for work. It is an odd machine.
It is basically a 2 year old design based on the parts used.
It follows non of the HP /Compaq naming conventions ie. NCxxx or NXxxx, NWxxx etc.
It not really a corparate machine lacking docking port, easily removable optical / Hard drive.
It only has one memory slot and no nipple/ trackpoint mouse.
But support is by HP /Compaq corporate. It has very little crap software installed.
The only thing I blew away was the trial version of Norton AV.
It weighs 5.6lbs not 6.0 lbs as advertised. Screen could be better, it's glossy ( ugh) and could be sharper.
I played with ClearType and it now seems better. Wireless coverage is very good. Keyboard is decent.
Touchpad is odd as its just a certain section of the keyboard bezel that has small holes.
Unit runs cool and quiet. Battery life so far it pathetic with 1:20 given by the power meter.
But battery has not gone through a full disharge - charge cycle yet. Lio-ion need at least 5 or so to hit their peak . HP does sell a 6 cell version of this 4 cell battery. AC adapter is Compaq standard at 18.5 volts so any corp. Compaq from > 5 years ago till now can share AC power.
Newegg has a couple of short reviews. Also check out the sister machine HP510 with a Celeron.

Next week I'll install some version of Linux as we want it as a X-windows terminal.
Price is $750 in Canada, $700 USA with Win XP Pro.
$100 rebate from HP is also available