Thoughts on HP nx6325?

Hello!

I'm considering purchasing the HP nx6325, but I don't really see as much about it as I do about some of the other models. What do you think of it? I've copied/pasted my FAQ from the "What Notebook Should I Buy?" forum just so you can get an idea of what I'll be using it for. A couple of the responses pointed me to this particular notebook. I've done some searching, but you know, personal opinions are always good

I appreciate your help! Thanks in advance!

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FAQ:
Thanks in advance for your help. I appreciate you taking the time to help me select something. My husband and I have a Dell Latitude D600 from two years ago and that seems to be working out fine, except I could use more RAM. We don't like to share though . I had a 12" Powerbook G4 which was pretty good, but I need a PC for some of the software I use.

1) What is your budget?
~$1000 Edited to add: Based on some of the responses, I think I need to up this a bit - I could probably go to $1500 or so... If it's a business class machine with an included 3 year warranty, I can go a bit higher (because then I don't have to purchase one)

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
A 14.1 or 15 inch screen would be good.


3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
MS Office Stuff, using Endnote, managing medium-sized datasets, statistical analysis (SPSS), doing some narrated powerpoints for lectures, ripping cds - basic stuff, but I use my computer all the time and am generally multitasking, so it will be on a lot. I also use an external display and an ergonomic keyboard when I am working at home..


4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Yes, I'll be taking it to school, to a coffeeshop for studying, to conferences etc. I'll probably use it at home the most though. So, I don't want it to be super-heavy, but it doesn't have to be four pounds or anything either.

5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
No

6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Well, my concerns are build quality and durability. So, I'd prefer to avoid brands such as Gateway that don't have a good track record in that arena.

7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
I'd like 4

8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No, I don't mind at all!

9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
USA

Screen Specifics

10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
I prefer standard. I read articles online and will be doing my thesis on this machine, so I find that a widescreen is a pain because I can hardly read or write anything without having to page down.

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

Standard

b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA. Edited to add - resoluton isn't as important to me as having a standard screen though.

Widescreen - I prefer not but in case....

e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.


12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Hmmm, I'm not sure, I think I need to go look at some

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Not really - the quality is more important to me than the design.

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Pretty soon. I'd like it to last about 4 years.

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
At least 80

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
Yes, I'd like to be able to burn both CDs and DVDs


Please state any additional features you need.
Before I was a doctoral student, I used to travel a lot for work and had a Thinkpad and then a Dell that work provided. So, I'm used to the business quality machines. I don't know if I can afford it though on my meager doctoral student stipend!

 

Based on your criteria it looks like an excellent choice to me. If you were to consider a consumer-grade notebook I'd look at the new dv6000z.

 

Thanks! Is there a significant difference between the consumer and business grade notebooks? My perception is that there is, but is that true?

 

I haven't played with the business grade notebooks so I can't say from experience. I've had decent luck with the consumer grade notebooks but I tend not to be rough on them. I like widescreens so the business class notebooks don't interest me.

 

Thanks, good to know...

 

As a general rule business class notebooks offer better quality as business buyers tend to pay more for their notebooks. The HP business class notebooks I have seen were very good, but I have not seen a nx6325.

 

i've seen and used hp's business notebook... they are thin and cute. i just don't like the way the touchpad is not leveled to the mouse buttons. they are actually raised and the pad is recessed... and i hate those scrolling areas. i tend to use almost all of the pad's area moving my mouse and when i brush on the sides, the window i am working on also scrolls...

 

Why not disable the scrolling?

 

Thanks! I'm also considering a Thinkpad (the T60) but it's a few hundred more for similar specs so I don't know!

Um, what does this mean?

Am I waiting for the MSI MS-1042? Who knows?!
Gosh, the HP DV9000 looks hawt! Wait a second, does the HP nx9420 have MXM?

 

That's my signature. I can't decide between the MSI MS-1042, the HP DV9000, and the HP nx9420. The 1042 has the X2, along with MXM, DVI, and the options to build it myself or buy. The DV9000 looks nice and shiny, but I don't think there's MXM. The nx9420 is most likely upgradeable to Core 2 Duo, and there's a rumor that it has MXM. However, there's no Express Card 34/54 slot.

 

Oh, I get it now. I am having trouble deciding what to get as well!

 

hehe coz that's my friends laptop... she'll kill me if i did some changes on her machine even the smallest bit... hehehe tough girl

 

Does she like it overall? Well, other than the scrolling thing....

Also, what's the difference between the nx and nc?

 

nx only offers a standard one year warranty while the nc offers a standard three year warranty.

 

Thanks so much. I was looking at the specs and trying to figure out the difference and I couldn't! I must have missed the warranty thing.

 

I just thought I'd bump to see if anyone else has any experiences? I looked at Euclid, and I can find the nx6325 with a 3 year warranty, which is good. But I wonder if the processor is good?

 

Depends on what you mean by good.

I've just orderd a NX6325, I'll post some experiences when I get it. It'll probably take more than a week though.

 

Haha - I know, good is in the eye of the beholder, right? I'd love it if you could post what you think of it when you get it. Thanks so much!

ETA: If you don't mind my asking, what else were you considering? And what made you decide on this one? Thanks again

 

I chose this one because
- it has a matte screen that is easier on the eyes in the long run, YMMV though
- you can buy this one without an XP license considerably cheaper (and I did!). With Vista right around the corner I don't think I need another XP license
- the build quality seems quite robust compared to other low/medium cost laptops

The things I'm a little worried about
- the screen is supposed to have very narrow viewing angles
- I'm not really a big fan of the ATI drivers (CCC is probably the most horrible driver control panel ever made)

There weren't really too many good options. I was also considering the Intel-model NX6310, but it's slightly heavier, doesn't have TV-out, and still costs more. Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pro V3505 was another option, but I couldn't find any information about it other than the official specs in the FS website. It also has a reflective screen and incredibly bulky design, and FS doesn't have a particularly good reputation on customer service here. I looked briefly on the Toshiba Satellite A100 too, but I didn't like the way the keyboard was laid out, and the reflective screen was also a little concerning.

 

Thanks! I look forward to seeing what you think of it when you get it

 

I just got mine today, and here's some first impressions:
- The viewing angles aren't actually that bad, the colors do distort noticeably, but not too much
- There's a bit of light leakage in the bottom. I don't know if I'm going to RMA this because of that, since there are no bad pixels in the screen and the replacement may turn out worse in that respect.
- The build quality is very solid as expected
- The fan isn't too quiet and it kicks in quite often

Otherwise, if there's anything specific you'd like to know, feel free to ask. I'll probably write a more detailed report later when the euphoria has settled a little.

 

Thanks! Overall, you like it? How's the keyboard?

 

The biggest minus is that it doesnt have a widescreen ;/

 

It's too early to say if I really like it, but it seems like really good purchase considering the price. If you're not on a tight budget I suggest the 1400x1050 screen though.

The keyboard feels very firm. Some people have commented it as being noisy. The spacebar makes a distinct sound and it is quite loud compared to the other buttons. Other than that, I can't say if it's any noisier than any other keyboard I've used. The buttons are large and take quite a bit of pressure to push down, which I kind of like because it reduces the number of accidental typos. There is a separate Insert/Del/Home/End/PgUp/PgDown -section and the CTRL is placed in the bottom left corner, FN key being in it's right side.

The fan noise issue can probably be fixed if I manage to enable the processor frequency scaling when on AC. The default setting is to run on full speed all the time when on AC and the bottom does get really hot that way. It's interesting (and nice) that even then the upper side of the laptop stays cool to touch even when the bottom side is almost too hot to touch.

 

It's a matter of preference really. There aren't too many laptops in the low/medium price range with a decent processor (no Celeron that is) and a wide non-reflective screen.

 

3DMark 2001SE: 5055 3D marks

Not suitable even for a casual gamer I'm afraid. I'm missing one stick of ram though, so no dual channel yet.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Hi!

I've also bought the SXGA nx6325 and got the same problem. I'm also wondering whether to RMA or not. Unfortunately I've got some more problems...

What disturbs me even more than the backlight bleeding is an effect which has been referred to as "speckled sparkle", "crystal effect" or "nacre effect". For me it's the first time I'm experiencing this, so I'm quite a bit unsure if it occurs primarily because of the high resolution. In that case I think the chances for me to get a better display when asking for a replacement would be rather slim. This effect is best seen when looking at a white area like when opening up a full-screen notepad window. It looks like a sparkling layer in front of the actual display...it can be very disturbing when trying to concentrate on writing some texts.

Furthermore I'm feeling the WVA-advertisement is a bit misleading. I think the viewing angle really isn't very good. Due to the size of the screen viewing angle effects seem to be noticeable all the time.

On the other hand I think the screen delivers vibrant colors and a high contrast. So if I was designing graphics or editing photos I'd probably keep it. Unfortunately I'm usually sitting in front of text editors, so I'm a bit in doubt...

 

Hmm, good to know. I'm also going to be using it mostly for text (I'm a doctoral student and I want it for my thesis) so I wonder if this is going to be an issue....

 

Hmmm... I'm not able to reproduce that problem. I tried opening a full screen notepad, but I can't really see anything out of the ordinary there even when at full brightness. Have you tried turning down the contrast or the screen brightness? I found the highest brightness setting unbearably bright, so I'm using a default of two notches lower even at AC.

 

The effect is independent of the screen brightness. Furthermore the highest brightness setting is definitely not unbearably bright on my device. In fact I have to use it most of the time, because it would be too dark otherwise. It really seems I got a subpar display, even for nx6325 standards and should probably request an exchange...

Edit: I just called HP and requested an exchange. They're going to pick up my laptop tomorrow. Let's see what I'll get in return...

 

Just in case anyone's still interested...

It took HP 12 days to pick up the laptop, repair it and return it. I think that's quite a long time...nevertheless, they replaced the display, no questions asked. The new display is arguably better than the first one but still not very good:

- Backlight bleeding in the lower part of the screen is slightly reduced, but still there.
- The backlight homogeneity on the rest of the screen is definitely better with the new screen. Before it was quite blotchy, now it's rather even.
- The "crystal effect" is less noticeable, but also still there. I haven't decided yet whether I can get along with it now or not.
- The maximum brightness is unfortunately even lower compared to the first screen. It's still usable in not too bright environments but already a borderline case in well-lit offices.

 

i am a webdesigner and photographer. would you recommand a 1440x1050 matte wva display on a powered by amd x2 64bit HP? nx6325 that is...

i'm interested in good to great viewing angles and colors.
thanks.

later edit: i use the laptop 8-12 hours/day, 6 days/week. between gloassy and matte what do you recommand? i use now a matte display but lacks the contrast and brightness in the mid day, although in the night is ok. are colors of glossy that good?deserves the risk of 'burning' my eyes just for a bit of quality?or they arent that bad?