dv9700t vs 8710p - differences/suggestions?

I typically buy my PC's at Best Buy when they have 12-18 months no interest . Well, that worked for a few years, but now I have my own business and don't necessarily want to take what BB has to offer. I really want/need a 17" monitor. I need a good keyboard (have a Vaio FS550 now that I have literally worn the kb out on) and good power. I don't do media on my laptop (or rarely do) - just a lot of web and business apps - Office, Adobe, RDP to external servers, etc. And a laptop will typically last me 2-3 years.

I was looking at the 9700 series because I liked it better than the consumer Dell's, Gateways and Sony's. I could configure it as I wanted for a decent price (~$1700) and I liked the dual-drive capability. Then I looked at the 8710p today and, while I had less configuration choices and it was more expensive, it just looks more solid.

Any guidance or suggestions when looking/comparing these two would be welcomed.

 

The 9700 series is a consumer series while the HP 8710p is a business model, so the business model will be more durable and sturdier (hence the price). While the 9700 is faster, the 8710p is much slower, and the difference in speeds will probably be hardly noticed.

 

How is the 8710p slower than the dv9700? It comes with a graphics card that is equal to the 8700M GT where as the dv9700 comes with a 8600M GS.

 

No I mean price-wise. If you want to configure a $1700 dollar 9700 it will be a little faster than a $1700 HP 8710p. The computer itself with a 300 dollar bump would match it spec for spec. And I know that the FX1600 is the same as the 8700 GT and is more powerful than the 8600 GS.

 

For your business I would get the 8710. A solid laptop and you could get a 12 cell battery for it as well.

 

Can anyone compare the Dell TureLife screen with HP's? I am looking at Dell's 17"ers too now.

 

I have had both laptops. The 8710 is way better built than the DV9000. Has hi-end graphics card and the card itself can be replaced with the even more advanced card FX3600 which will become available very soon. It's a real pleasure to use 8710. The only thing it lacks is the webcam and stereo-mic (mono only installed). So, if you can afford 8710 then go for it.

 

The Truelife and Hp's glossy are practically the same. They just make it sound really great to sell you on it.

 

Thanks all - I am just really leaning towards the 8710 now for quality of build. However, there are limited options on the 8710p. Will I REALLY see a big difference between the T7500 and T7100 processors? OK, the T7500 also has 2gb RAM and Blu-Ray....and Wifi-n and bluetooth... Guess I answered my own question - gonna have to go $2249 instead of $1399. Man that's a big jump. Would prefer not to have to pay for Blu-Ray - seems like a waste if you don't care for movies.

 

There's always this one for $2000.

 

Have to say that with the $500 off coupon on the dv9700t that was posted here on the News page, it is too good of a deal deal to pass on. I can get a really nice custom box for about $1200 now. That'll last me a year or two! Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback.