buying a new hp

Hello one and all.I am in the market for a new notebook. Hp of course. I need a amd mobile with about 40 gig and wireless networking 512 ram the sound card and video card just have to be decent i am not a gamer. My question is
1. Where is the best place that gives you the best price to purchase such a notebook

2. I need a burner should i get a internal or external and would 8x4x4x be good enough

3. Are hp's durable?

4.should i really opt for the extended warranty, that can push up the price

5. Is blue tooth neccessary

6. What is the best model to buy will the amd last ?

 

Welcome to the forum!!

1. I have found that Hp's own website is the best place to order a Hp..There is good offer from Office Depot on the R3000Z starting at $399.00

2. Get an internal DVD burner since you can carry it around with you and you will never miss it if yopu ever need it.

3. I have had 2 Compaq's(built by Hp) and have been quite reliable..no problems what so ever..Of course there is always the odd lemon out there but in general they are very reliable & durable.

4. I have never used my warranty(not needed to). But I will leave that decision to you...I have never bought any extended warranty.

5. Future mobile devices such as phones, PDa's have wireless blutooth for connectivity with your laptop. So if you use any of these you will like the inbuilt bluetooth to transfer files, contacts with a bluetooth enabled device.

6. From Hp you can buy the Hp ZV500Z series or the Compaq R3000Z series..both are virtually the same other than the case design. You could check out the Notebook reviews section here and look at the new series coming out from Hp. If you want thin & light try out the HP DV1000 or the Compaq V2000.
AMD's are much better than equivalent Pentium 4's and will run cooler and get provide better performance at a lower price than the P4's. If you want the mobile processor right now the P-M are the only option. But AMD will release its mobile processor - Turion this year..

Compaq Presario R3340US
AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512MB, 80GB 5400rpm
15.4" Brightview Widescreen.
------------------------
Compaq Presario V2000
Intel P-M 725, 14" Brightview Widescreen
60gb 5400rpm, 512MB RAM.

 

1. You'll get a cheaper price on the internet. Sometimes it is not the best. At a lot of places, once you open the box, it is yours. You can't return it and can only go to HP if something is wrong. HP has a 30 day return policy.

2. If you are not going to be moving it much, an external drive might not be a bad idea. They are a lot faster than laptop drives and cheaper.

3. The best built HPs are the business class notebooks. You can get them on HPShopping.com. Some have three warranties. They just came out so they are not customizable.

4. If you do decide on an extended warranty, get it from HP and not the retailer. If it lasts the first year without problems, it will usually last a few more.

5. Only if you have or are going to get some bluetooth enabled devices.

6. The r3000z at Office Depot is a hell of a deal. Today is the last day. If you do go that route, opt for the optional 12 cell battery. It ups the battery life to about three and half hours. It is a $25 upgrade.

Good Luck.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

Thank you guys. the next question would be when to buy the notebook. I know dell is running some specials now but hp is not. Do you know when hp normally run there deals please.

 

2. Internal burners are a lot more convenient. I like mine.

3. Yup.

5. Bluetooth can't be added later and it's a cheap upgrade (usually), so get it. I use mine with a Microsoft Bluetooth wireless mouse. High-end cell phones and PDAs use Bluetooth.

6. Configure an Athlon 64 CPU. Ditto the rec for the 12-cell battery, well worth the +$25.

 

If you can get over to Office Depot today, I would highly recommend it. You are not going to find a cheaper price than this. Today is the last day. The r3000z and HP zv5000 are being replaced. It is $400 for the base model, but you buy it at the in-store kiosk, so it is customizable. The last time they had this in October, it was $550 for basically the same thing. Good Luck.

http://officedepot.crossmediaservices.com/officedepot/circular_browse_listing_detail.asp?storeid=2279180&pagenumber=1&rapid=120024&listingid=-2097231308&






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

Nope. It's 32-bit-only (64-bit WinXP comes out next month), it runs ridiculously hot, battery life is pathetic, it has weak shared memory graphics... it has no reason to exist. Avoid them like the plague.

There will be zv6000 series machines coming out soon... for more money. Should be a nice incremental upgrade but HP hasn't released specs yet.

 

thechemist,
Dell needs perpetual deals and coupons to shift its hardware.
No other laptop brand gives deals like Dell because Dell survives on
deals [ ]

 

question. If those processors are so pathetic why does ibm run them in most of there products?

 

Also if my needs are simply surfing wordprocessing and watching dvd's playing music and doing presentations would a celeron processor be good enough. Would i really see some sluggish response?
Do these processors last long as the pentium? Are they worth buying

 

comp usa has a sale on now. They are selling Intel Pentium 4 Processor, 3.06GHz, 256MB RAM, 40GB Hard Drive, 15-inch XGA TFT Display, DVD / CD-RW Combo Drive, Windows XP Home Edition $699 after rebates. Is this a good system one that can hang around for a three years without the technology looking old b/c it looks kinda of old as is. let me know what you think

 

I think brianstretch is refering to the Pentium 4s. They run quite hot. IBM uses Celerons because they are cheaper. For some people their computing power is enough. If all you want to do is surf and burn some CDs, a Celeron will be fine. If you want to boost the performance of you notebook, put in a faster hard drives and more memory. I still think you are better off going with the AMD. Good Luck.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

If you are looking at Celeron's then go for the Celeron M. They are basically older Pentium mobile processors(not the P4's).

Do not go for Pentium 4 based laptops since they run hot and give terrible battery life. The pentium M's are the best option for laptops at the moment.

Go with AMD instead of a P4 based laptop..

If yo want a lighter laptop then get the Pentium M..if you want to spend less get the Celeron M..

Stay away from dektop based celerons..

Compaq Presario R3340US
AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512MB, 80GB 5400rpm
15.4" Brightview Widescreen.
------------------------
Compaq Presario V2000
Intel P-M 725, 14" Brightview Widescreen
60gb 5400rpm, 512MB RAM.

 

The battery life on a Celeron M will be less since it does not have speedstep.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *