another dilemma - DV1000 or DV4000

hi folks,
after doing much much research (especially here in this forum), I am now torn between buying DV1000 or DV4000. I want to go for lighter DV1000, which will make my life easier to carry it around in school. IMO, the screen size difference between two is negligible (1200x768 vs 1200x800). I looked at hpshopping.com and I can configure DV1000 with pretty much same specs as DV4000 apart from 54g bluetooth and Express Card Slot which is only available in DV4000. These does not bother me. DV1000 is still my choice. Are there any features that I will miss by not buying DV4000? I read that DV4000 has bus speed of 400, is it same for DV1000 or does it make any difference at all? I don't game, will be only using it for regular office softwares and sometimes autocad.

thanks.

 

Bluetooth is also available in the DV1000. All DV4000's have a 533 FSB. The older DV1000's had a 400 FSB and the newer models now have 533 FSB, you can tell between the newer and older models of the DV1000 as in the newer model's numbers are like DV13XX. So, the DV1340us for example is the newer model.

 

thanks. I want to do the configuration myself and buy it from hpshopping with academic pricing. I guess the one they are shipping now must be newer models ?? . For bluetooth, I am allow to configure 'Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG & Bluetooth' for DV1000, but not '54g Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth' as is available in DV4000 . I don't understand the benefits of the later, but i think both are bluetooth. I haven't got opportunity to see these machines myself - I hope 14" and 15.4" does not make much difference for normal works. It is difficult to compare from pics.

 

I've used both 15.4" (gateway 460) and 14" wxga (L2000).
Personally, 14" is great if mobility is a concern to you.
It doesn't feel cramped like a regular 14" xga.

From what I've seen, regular display on dv1000 is not
that good. I'd go for brightview. Overall, it's a good system.

Imran

 

thanks imran. I also think what matters is pixels in the screen and in terms of pixels it is not that different. I am only concerned that if i will miss any newer updates that HP has done in the DVseries notebook. I don't want to regret later by buying underperforming dv1000 when i could have bought dv4000 at same price.

I configured my system as:
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
Intel(R) Pentium(R) M Processor 770 (2.13 GHz)
14.0" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x768)
512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)....I will add more memory later
80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 900 - Pentium
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG & Bluetooth(TM)
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

price was $1,391.59 after all discounts and rebates

 

Hi Longhorn (did you go to UT-Austin?)

Can I suggest couple of things?

1) Go with 1.6GHz processor. Most of the time,
it runs at half of the speed anyway. By going from
2ghz to 1.6, you will save $200.

2) Go with default 256MB memory. Order another
512MB ($65) or 1GB ($125) stick from crucial.com.
In this case, upgrade to 512 isn't too bad.

As for missing out on newly introuced features...
welcome to the world of buyers regretful world
of PC buying


Just my 2 cents.

Imran

 

1.6 Ghz processor will infact save me $300. But as I can't upgrade the processor later, will it be sound decision to forgo the speed and performance of 2.3 Ghz? If I buy 512MB (1DDR) from HP it costs 75$. I will buy 1GB ram later and add to it.

thanks and i'm not the longhorn from Austin

 

i have come up with more questions:
- what is the maximum RAM limit for DV1000?
- which chipset it uses? 855 or 915 or 915 Express?

the more i read, the more i get confused

 

The DV1000 can take up to 2 gigs of ram, the DV4000 only 1, I don't know why. The DV1000's you can buy at HP or customize are the new models. The current DV1000's use either 915 or 915 express, I think its 915. The older DV1000's used the 855. Another way you can tell the difference between a newer and older model DV1000 is that the older models used Harmon Kardon speakers, the newer models use Altec Lansing.

 

'Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG & Bluetooth'
'54g Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth'

Both options have bluetooth but the wireless cards are different. Both are very good choices, I've heard some say the Broadcom option is better and some say the Intel one is better, its your choice, both are good.

 

great! I am pleased to hear about the chipset and RAM upgradeablity of newer DV1000. But I am still unsure of whether purchasing a processor with lower clock speed is a good idea. thankx

 

You said with your notebook, you'd be using regular office software and autocad correct? Well, a 1.6 ghz Pentium M will be more than enough for office productivity software. For autocad, its important to get more memory and a faster hard drive than a fast CPU. Don't get the 2.13 ghz Pentium M, instead get the 1.73 or 1.86 ghz, and with the money saved, get 1 gig of memory. I think even a 1.6 ghz Pentium M will suffice.


Oh yeah, if you buy this notebook, you can check out its own forums over at www.dv1000forums.com.

 

The dv4000 can handle 2 GB of RAM. My dv4115cl from Costco came standard w/ 2-512 modules, and I've already switched one out with a 1GB module (now running 1.49 GB per 'my computer").

 

HI,
Finally I ordered dv4000 from HPshopping today!! I went to Bestbuy last week and had a look at dv1000 but found the screen kind of small. So I went for dv4000 even if it is a pound heavier.

I was even considering Asus Z71v (with Nvidia GeForce Go 6600 graphics), but I won't be playing games anyway and couldn't convince myself of reliablity of Asus brand, despite reading so much good thing about it. After reading about its performance in the decathlon competion of laptopmag, Acer Travelmate 8104 was also in my list even if it was slightly higher priced. I went to a local shop to see it, but it is just ugly! and the keyboard is not ergnomic at all for me. I could have gone for HP nc8230, but without academic discount or other rebates it is way too expensive for me.

I customized my dv4000 as:
- Intel(R) Pentium(R) M Processor 750 (1.86 GHz)
- 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen
- Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 900
- 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)
- 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG & Bluetooth(TM)
- 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Estimated shipping date is August 26. I hope it will arrive soon, as my classes are going to start from next week. Total price was $1277 after academic discounts and rebates. But right after submitting the order, I realised I could have ordered Compaq V4000 with same specifications in about 50$ cheaper.

I am planning to buy 1GB RAM very soon (1 DIMM) and add to the existing 512MB. Can you suggest me any good place to order one?

I can't wait to see my dv4000!

Thanks a lot for suggestions/reviews I got in this forum.

 

MAK, did you take advantage of the $150 coupon that just expired about 1 1/2 weeks ago? I waited to the last minute before going to my local Costco and had to get a raincheck. Unfortunately, I'm like 20th on the list at just that Costco. The guy told me that they had something like 850 backordered for all of Costco.

I hope it doesn't take too much longer, I hate waiting!

BTW, not sure if you saw my thread, but compusa had the 12 cell battery for this laptop on sale for $99. I think the sale is still on, but you have to pick it up in-store. I was lucky, no stores around me had it in stock, however, you were able to mail order it at the beginning of the promotion.

Anyways, how do you like it?!

 

Is email verification of the order important? I ordered my dv4000 yesterday but didn't received email confirmation until today. I called HP support and the guy said I can check my order status online at HPShopping.com with my order number and email confirmation is not necessary. I think the email problem has to do with "eds_" that HP put in front of my email when I registered for Academic Purchase Program.

 

can you tell me where did you buy your 1GB stick from? I tried to select from crucial.com but it says dv4000 can handle only 1GB of memory in total, and does not shows any 1GB DIMM.
http://www.crucial.com/store/listpa...bid=CR&model=Pavilion+dv4000+Series&submit=Go

I also looked at kingston.com and there also it is shown in schema max memory dv4000 can handle is 1GB. I have ordered dv4000 with 512MB and want to add 1GB stick to it.
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/con...otebook+dv4170US&distributor=0&submit1=Search

 

My dv4000 left KUNSHAN, China today at 10:39 AM - two days earlier than the estimated shipping date. You guys know how many days it will take to reach here? i am checking fedex tracking every hour

 

finally i received my notebook today.

ordered date: August 17
shipped: August 24
receive: August 29

it is real beauty. and not that heavy. i will write more about its performance later. i m just trying to install my softwares and remove junk softwares that are pre-installed ...There is one dead pixel near the middle of the screen that appears when the background is white. But i think i can live with it... I can't afford to lose time by returning it...