dv 6422 - did i made a mistake?

i just got this one today and im starting to doubt if i did the right thing

details:
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium
Processor: AMD Turion™ 64 X2 TL-56 with movil technology (1.8-GHz, 512KB + 512KB L2 cache)
ram: 1024 MB DDR II 667 MHz; expansible to 2048 MB
screen: TFT/WXGA 15.4 inches with Brightview technology and 1280x800 resolution
graphic card: NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 up to 287MB
hard drive: 160 GB Serial ATA (5400 rpm)

im an industrial designer and use programs like Alias, Solid Edge, photoshop, illustrator and stuff like that. I know that the graphic card isnt the best but thats what i could pay now. I heard about the wireless issues the dv6000s have and after reading the card thing and the wireless im starting to doubt if i did the right decision by buying this computer. Any comment?

Before buying it, i researched and researched and couldnt find any real opinion about this computer so i dont know

 

What's the problem? The computer seems able to run those applications just fine.

 

are u having problems with it

 

If you want some mental satisfaction on what you bought, YES you did buy a good machine, dont worry about the wifi and other troubles you have heard elsewere, it does not mean the same will happen to yours. HP gives the best value in my opinion.

 

you made a perfectly good choice

 

Many people feel the card issue is due to exposure to extreme heat. Make sure you run the HP Total Care program that came on your PC and that it updates your BIOS to f.3D. That should get it running nice and cool in order to hopefully prevent many of the issues you read about with the cards and motherboards on this series.

Check your temps after the BIOS update. At idle, with the processors basically doing nothing, core temps should be in the mid 30's. When working under moderate load, it shouldn't go over mid 40's. Under heavy loads, it shouldn't go much over 50.

One thing I would recommend is to upgrade your RAM to 4 GB. NewEgg.com has been running deals on this with 2 x 2gb sticks for around $80. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., will run much better.

 

but if you get the 4gb, windows will only be able to see about 3.2gb because it is 32bit. If you get windows vista 64 bit, then it should see all that RAM

 

>>windows will only be able to see about 3.2gb because it is 32bit.<<

True but 3.2 gb is better than 2 gb or 1 gb and right now you can get 4 gb for so cheap that it doesn't make sense to upgrad to 2gb. The computer probably has two 512 sticks in it now, so you are starting at ground zero for any upgrade you do. On the off-chance it just has a single gb stick, you probably won't be able to match it exactly so dual channel memory is most likely not going to work well. If you aren't using two matching sticks of RAM, dual channel memory almost always isn't going to work and you will probably experience other problems too.

64 bit isn't a realistic choice for most people, especially given the applications he listed. Many drivers aren't available and the software coding isn't mature. Given the apps he is running, 64 bit is just going to be a headache. I would rather see him invest his limited money in getting 32 bit Vista running well as opposed to using his money to just buy more headaches with 64 bit.

 

thank you guys

im not having any problem with it since im gonna be opening it until christmas but after reading a lot of stuff on the internet i just started to have doubts since its my first laptop.

actually i can run these programs with a compaq desktop with an AMD Sempron (P) 3200+ 1.8 GHz, with an ATI Radeon Xpress 200 card and with 40gb and upgraded it to 512mb of ram. I cant run them in the highest speed but i can open them and work on it.. so i guess the laptop is better no?

 

It should be an improvement from your previous PC but there is more improvement waiting with more RAM. Vista is a resource hog and you will notice an improvement after an upgrade. There are quite a few threads that discuss the improvements you can expect with more RAM.

 

dv6422 is close to v6420 I have right now I am happy with it I am glad I did the right thing when I bought it. I am a artist I am not ready to install Adobe CS3 on this notebook because I am more comfortable working on my desktop PC