Just "built" my dv5t what do you think?

I'll be going off to college in September but I want a laptop now so I can get aclimated to it.
I just "built" this on HP's site. What do you think about the specs for a college student? A little over kill?
Also I take lots of photos.... explains the 400GB hard drive.

Color Onyx edit
Operating system Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit) edit
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz) edit
Display 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1680 x 1050) edit
Memory 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) edit
Graphics card 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT edit
Hard drive 400GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection edit
Personalization [For BrightView Infinity Display] Webcam + Fingerprint Reader edit
Keyboard HP Color Matching Keyboard edit
Networking Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card edit
Modem Port No Modem edit
Primary DVD/CD drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support edit
TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner w/remote control edit
Primary battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery edit
Productivity software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0 edit
Photography software $20 OFF Adobe(R) PhotoShop(R) Elements 6.0

Would you guys have picked/done anything differently; why or why not?
This all came out to a total of $1,377.
Do you think there will be better coupons in the future or just buy it now with the $150 coupon from this site?

 

there will be better coupons, there have been two 30% off coupons in the last month, and prices are astronomical right now. I would suggest getting 4 GB of ram and the 64 bit operating system. The 4 GB of memory will allow you to do the multitasking that you are sure to do, and the 64-bit operating system is to make you more future-safe for programs that will come out soon and require a 64-bit platform.

EDIT: also, many people tend not to like the infinity screen, you may be better off getting the non-infinity version. That being said, I like the infinity screen on my laptop (which was bought for the same purpose), but I didn't have a choice so I didn't look too much into the different options.

 

Personally I would have upped to 4GB of RAM and gone Vista x64 and perhaps dropped the fingerprint reader as its a bit of a novelty really but all in all it looks like a great laptop. It's hard to tell but did you get Photoshop Elements with it?

 

I would agree with the first two things that danny said (and, as I said before), but I believe the $25 for the fingerprint reader is very worthwhile. I started using it when I got my laptop and am loving the convenience. All I do is store my password once and swipe my finger to log on anywhere! Not only that, it feels much safer than other stored password software.

 

if you want to upgrade RAM, don't do it on the HP site, just go on newegg and buy from there. Much better price.

 

Yeah, order from Newegg for the additional ram. Just wondering, with those specs have you configured a HDX16t to see how close the price is?

 

I would say wait and hold off on buying yet. A lot is going to change between now and September, and with the downturn of the economy in dire straits as it is in right now, I would expect much better deals down the road. Dell just rolled out its XPS Studio 13 and 16, which are both worth a look. I'm sure other laptop manufacturers are going to give a brushup to their notebook lines to try to attract customers. Who knows? If you order now, you could definitely regret it, maybe because of a better deal or a newer model that is going to be rolling out...

Just my two cents.

However, even if you are dead set on getting this laptop, I would probably hold off. There are definitely better coupons out there in the future, so holding off would probably be to your benefit in the long run. You most definitely DON'T need nine months to acquaint yourself with your new laptop; I was acquainted with mine in less than one day.

 

Also, I suggest you get Windows Xp Professional because Vista is a huge memory hog and you can get up to 50fps more in Xp than in Vista when gaming.
My laptop has integrated graphics and on Vista I can't play any decent games cuz it's all choppy and laggy , but on Xp my integrated graphics run smooth and seem like a 512mb card

 

But aren't most programs only compatible with the 32bit? Such as games ?

 

I was thinking about getting Photoshop but if I wanted to do a clean install wouldn't I lose the program? I don't think it comes with a specific CD just for that, but I might be wrong.

 

If there is an option to upgrade to a Bluray drive, i think you should do it as this is after all an Multimedia entertainment notebook

 

You shouldn't buy software with laptops from HP. You can get better deals elsewhere and also Elements 6 isn't the latest version. If you're a student you can usually get student discounts.

 

Really? Perhaps you shouldnt be trying to game on an integrated card, I suggest you read through this, http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2303830,00.asp

 

Yes, but 64 Bit windows has a very good 32 bit emulator. I've been able to play games such as Bioshock and Crysis since buying this laptop on a 64 bit platform.

 

There are no issues with any major games on x64 these days. They all work perfectly with no slow down at all. The only programs with issues are ones that install device drivers such as CD mounting software. But most now have x64 versions.

 

but just for regular normal cumputer sutff; email, web browzing etc. Should I get 32? It would be a bit cheaper.

 

HP has got a 30% off coupon (NB8818) for a HDX16t (expires after 1000 uses) which might be cheaper than this config.

 

Upgrading to x64 doesn't cost anything extra as far as I know. For max compatibility go for 32 bit I suppose..

 

If don't want a lump sticking from the bottom of your laptop or extra weight, don't get the 12 cell. But that lump will help with cooling if you don't want to buy a cooler. Check out that 30% HDX16 coupon someone mentioned, that could make for an even better deal. More resolution for your photography as well.

64 bit is just fine really. If you get 32 bit you can't expand beyond 3GB RAM. most users won't need more than 3GB, but I've seen crysis take 1.5, and the OS takes about a gig itself. That's close enough to the limit to warrant an upgrade, imo.

Oh, and the 500GB 7200 rpm drives are just around the corner, if you're serious about performance I would pick the base drive and upgrade later. They shouldn't be more than $150 and available around February.

 

it doesn't directly cost anything; but I'd have to upgrade to 4 of ram instead of 3 with the 32bit.

 

You can still use x64 without 4GB of RAM.

 

Forgive my ignorance lol but what are some of the other benefits of the 64 bit?

 

Well this is just after 5 minutes of crysis with a 2 tab IE and task manager open. The 64 bit version does seem to take up more memory than 32 bit (about 1GB to 700MB) before opening any programs, but this just shows how easy it is to cap the memory of 32 bit.

 

Do you think you'll be upgrading to 64bit for the extra memory capabilities? I think 32bit is limited to 3gb of ram?
Btw let me just say thats really cute avitar image ya got there. : ]

 

Anyone else care to share their opinions?

 

They had a free 4 gb ram upgrade running at x-mas(just less than a month ago), as others have said better deals will come down the pipe soon. I would wait. yes x32 tops out at 3gb you need x64 to take advantage of 4gb.

 

When do you think better deals will come around?