Is the HP6500t that durable?

I am thinking of buying one, and I want to take it everywhere I go... School, library, classroom, cafeteria, bed,.. School again in the morning,.. same routine. What do you think? Will it last? I'm scared it might break down right away.

 

That depends. Do you drink any liquids near computers or allow others to hang over your computer while noisily slurping a soda? Are you prone to dropping expensive pieces of equipment? Are you going to be dribbling it like a basketball between locations? Do you like to tap-dance on a priceless platform?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have every right to be scared, because not even the toughest toughbook would endure that punishment.

If, however, you are like the vast majority of people who tend to consider that the piece of equipment they just spent $1000+ on is worth caring for, you really shouldn't be scared. Just carrying the notebook around from location to location is not going to harm it. Spilling a soda on it in the cafeteria? That will harm it. Burying your laptop carrier under a mountain of heavy things? That will harm it. Dropping the laptop off of your desk and onto the classroom's uncarpeted floor (or the library's/house's carpeted floors)? You guessed it, that's gonna hurt it.

General, responsible use, however, will not hurt the notebook, and just moving a notebook from location to location will not cause it to break down (unless location 1 is the North Pole and Location 2 is the Sahara...then it might break down).

 

I agree. Some people say that a dell is more durable since it is heavier and has some magniesium alloy in it. But when it comes to dropping a dell or HP, or spilling liquid on either, both will probably fail. My suggestion is buy a neoprene laptop sleeve to protect the nice glossy finish and then put that sleeve into a backpack/case for transport. the Neoprene sleeves weigh very little and won't scratch the surface. Thats about the only think I would worry about is the glossy finish on the dv6500t.

I bought a mobile edge sleeve like the one found here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834997138

 

It's not up to the same standards as a "business grade" notebook, but I have been pretty impressed with the current Pavilion line. Some people do have build issues to be sure, but overall I think they are pretty solid for consumer notebooks. You could always add accidental damage protection if you are really concerned (which I think is a good idea anyway if you are planning on moving your machine around all the time).

 

keep in mind that the laptop is built primarily using plastic. its durable, yes, but it will not withstand atomic bombs.... nor drops.

as for taking your laptop everywhere, yes it will survive if you take decent care of it.

 

I've only played around with them a little bit at stores, and the build quality seems decent, save for the AWFUL keyboard. Very light to the touch and flex galore. It's easy to accidentally hit the wrong key, since the "scooping" on each keycap is almost nonexistent, making the keys fell closer together than they really are. My Mom's Inspiron e1505 has a much better keyboard IMO, though still not as good as what's on my HP Compaq nw8440 (part of HP's business line).

Still, it should be perfectly fine, unless you're picky about keyboards (like I am)

 

in my experience, i just had to get used to it.

 

well, i used a dv 6000 series before the 2500, and the 6000 had alot for keyboard flex. Another weakspot, anybody have an insane amount of flex near the hard drive heat vents (the screw on plastic cover seems kind of thin)

 

Thanks guys very helpful!