Ordering Hp 2000t

Some questions for you guys. I am deciding on processors between the C2D 5500 and C2D 5600 (1.66 ghz vs 1.83 ghz) $50 more. The rest is brightview display, geforce 7200go, 60gb, 1gb ram, dvd-cdrw, and bluetooth.

My first question is are they still using two different screens for this laptop, and how can I make sure I don't get it when I'm ordering it? Also customers who purchased after Oct 26 get a free upgrade to Vista? Lastly which processor would you recommend?

 

Sorry its Hp dv2000t.

 

Okay, for starters, HP is using a number of different screen manufacturers at the moment, and there is no way to request/demand a specific screen. The machines are all assembled in China, and even if you manage to get a sales rep to notate a screen request on your order, the assemblers in China won't read it. Generally speaking, people dislike the SEC screens and love the QDS screens. The screen I received on my notebook is a SCO screen (a manufacturer that HP recently started using) that I love. That said, from what I gather, either some SEC screens are significantly better than others, or there is more than one SEC screen being used, as some people have commented that their SEC screens are much brighter than others.

As for the Vista upgrade, yes you will receive a free upgrade (must pay S&H) if you get the system with XP MCE 2005 (to Vista Home Premium) or XP Pro (to Vista Business). If you only get XP Home then you get a discounted upgrade to either Vista Home Basic or Vista Home Premium. You'll need to sign up starting in the next few weeks to receive the free upgrade.

As for the processor, both are part of the 5x00 series, so there is no difference between them except the speed. Bumping up to the 7x00 series gets you twice the cache and a fairly significant jump in speed, but I think HP charges quite a bit for that upgrade. At any rate, for only $50 more I would likely go with the 5600. A 10% speed increase for $50 seems like a good deal to me, but it all depends on your budget I suppose.

 

I like to get the best "non-user upgradable" parts and not worry too much about the other stuff unless there's a freebie or it's obvious that I can't upgrade for less on my own. For instance, I went with the best CPU they offered, the 7200. If the 5x00 series processors is more in your price range go for the best one you can afford because it is difficult if not impossible to upgrade this part. On the other hand, you can upgrade RAM and HD later on with ease.

What jadedraverla said about the screen choice is dead-on. The best you can do is order a Brightview screen and hope for the best. I wound up with an AUO. They make crappy larger screens for the DV6000/9000 but for some reason their 14.1" screens like the one on my DV2000 look very nice.

 

With your two setups what kind of battery life are you getting with the standard battery? I'm assuming the T7200 and the geforce both take out a lot of juice.

 

Battery life kinda sucks. I've been running Vista pretty much exclusively since I got the notebook (which nocks off another 15-20% or so battery time) and I know I don't get three full hours off a six cell charge, but with the screen brightness turned way down, bluetooth off, and wifi off when I'm not surfing, i get close to three hours I think. Others have posted lower times, so I may be overestimating a bit as I tend to put my machine in standby mode if I'm eating or talking to someone.

 

Sorry for taking so long to respond. I am getting about 2 hours of continuous use surfing the web and watching a few pre-recorded videos (no DVD or gaming) on a 6 cell battery. The wifi/bluetooth is turned on and the screen brightness is default (dimmer than on AC power). It takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to recharge a nearly exhaused battery.

I hope this helps.

 

Gentlemen - Pardon my ignorance - but how do you tell which LCD you have? Received mine 10 days ago and the LCD looks great - but I am curious to see which one it is. Nothing in device mgr except Default Monitor. Ashkonj - I'm not trying to hijack your thread - TIA

 

there should also be plug and play monitor, then go to details

 

Between the T5500 and the T5600, definately the T5600 since it supports Intel Virtualization (if you want to run multiple OSes at the same time... I dunno if thats possible aside from Parallels in Mac). =X

 

JellyGeo: This question is asked quite often, it really should be in an FAQ if it isn't already. Anyway, read this thread. This should tell you everything you need to know.