for nc8430 owners

i'm about to buy this notebook and want to know if there are any complaints (whether big or small) with it before i pull the trigger?

 

Note very much from this 2 week user. It does get warm around the touchpad but not very uncomfortbly hot. The USB ports are placed too far forward on the sides but these can be alleviated by getting angled USB cables. I would have also liked to see the built-in microphone in front of the user (on the top of the LCD or keyboard) rather than on the side.

It really is a very well built machine. Your're going to love it.

 

how warm exactly? i've tried out acers and the touchpad was a bit too warm for my liking

 

Exactly as I stated and it's nothing that really bothers me. During gaming I use an external mouse as its hard to use a touchpad. At least the palm rests are cool.

 

Hey, I've owned mine for about two weeks, and have looked throught= the forum as well. From what I gather the only complaints are regarding heat/fan noise - although neither is really an issue for me.

Also, I think the fact it doesn't come with any cd/dvd for reinstallation (instead requiring the user to make recovery disks on first boot) seem to annoy some users, but I didn't find this a problem either.

All in all a really nice computer.

 

The nc8430 is excellent no complaints here

 

Keyboards have extra matte on them than say a Sony Vaio or MacBook Pro which is smooth, or a Toshiba which is slightly smooth.

Thus, after a month or two, your fingers will REALLY wear the matte away and you'll be left with uneven shiny smooth.
It's ugly.

 

don't have any complaints about my nc 8430 which i bough in mid October, i work as financial analyst, thus there is plenty report writing and financial forecasting to do - use keyboard intensely 8h per day. No problems with keyboard so far, as good as new.

Only drawbacks i have are:
1) The initial firmware was pain in the ass (fingerprint worked like **** etc.), after upgrading to newer version from site no problems so far
2) Annoying right side of notebook (where the fingerprint is located is empty space with plastic around, thus loose the feeling of solidness)
3) LCD cover compared to t43 quite ****ty

 

Computer: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=81908
HP Support: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1753632#post1753632

I can only hope I'm the victim of bad luck on both the initial hardware they sent as well as their tech support.

I really liked the laptop when it worked. It was a nice form-factor and was very powerful and I loved the keyboard (rivaled the famed thinkpad keyboards, imo).

 

Put me in the same camp as Beltonius. I understand that customer service is probably just as bad with HP's competition, and I know that every now and then that a notebook computer will have a hardware issue -- however, my experience with my nc8430 and HP customer service has left a bad taste in my mouth. In the two to three weeks during which my laptop worked fine, I enjoyed using it. However, working with HP to resolve its issues has been nothing short of nightmarish.

 

in one word it is not laptop for unexperienced users who cannot deal with the software problems by themselves

 

While I agree with this statement, the user you quoted experienced hardware issues, not software issues. I think that any user should avoid HP customer service at all costs, be it a software or hardware related problem; however, hardware problems are a lot more difficult to resolve on your own.

To address the original post, the HP NC8430 is a well designed business notebook. I have enjoyed using it, as well as the NX8220 I had before it. That said, I believe that HP has some quality control issues with these notebooks, and the warranty/customer support for this product is practically non-existent.

 

I for one always keep my contact with vendors tech-support to a minimum...I'm not going to call them unless I can't fix the issue myself.

But for all our sakes, I really hope HP shapes up really really soon if these stories end up describing the typical business support call from HP.

 

After having my NC 8430 for a couple of months now my only complaint as mentioned is the area around the fingerprint, it creaks ever so slightly. If you were in a noisy area you would never hear it. Didn't have any hanging up problems with the ATI which handles the greedy digital tv tuner very well.

 

1: That's not one word -- but imbecile is! (I'm sorry, I don't know what about the above statement made me think of the word 'imbecile' ... after all it means 'A person whose mental acumen is well below par.', but for some reason it just popped into my head when I read your statement)
2: In one sentence: "If you can't post something constructive, don't waste your time." (yes, I know I'm responding to a troll and disregarding this guideline -- but today I just can't help myself). Here's a note to nikotins -- a sentence is made up of more than one word.
3: I didn't have a software issue, I had a hardware issue -- not that you'd know.
4: The fact that I had any issue at all has no bearing on the incompetency of the folks at HP customer support. Or apparently your rudeness.
5: When somebody makes a disparaging comment about an item that you own, more often than not they are not making a disparaging comment about you. It's a hard concept to grasp, I know, but if you repeat the preceding sentence (again, nikotins, that's one or more words strung together) multiple times you may eventually get the hang of it.

 

Just curious how are you calling into HP. I do warranty work for them and usaully have no problem getting stuff from them
One thing I do tell them is I need to make a warranty claim against whatever I am working on

 

Just an addendum ...

I actually received my replacement unit today. After I tried to create my recovery disks, it became obvious that the DVD drive is not working ... go figure

However, despite the fact that someone assumes I'm one of these ...

I remembered that the original failed unit for which I hadn't yet received the return labels had a working DVD drive. After switching the two components, everything else appears to be working as expected on the replacement. The screen does seem to have a lot more leakage than I'd expect from the lower part of the screen, but at this point I can live with it.

I guess to keep it a little on topic, I should state that at this point I don't think I could recommend HP as vendor to anyone ...

 

dear britney, i am proud of your speech, however ... what kind of hardware issue you had? the fingerprint didn't work (because of ol drivers), or video card didnt work correctly (because of old drivers too), or DVD was working like utter **** (because of ****ed DMA mode) or just you are as pretty as your mother

 

Chill out guys...I really don't want to have to delete/edit posts.

 

Anyone know if you can swap out the CD drive with a hard drive? I'm thinking about picking one up in an auction... moving the default drive to where the CD is (if possible) and dumping in a 16GB SSD for the primary drive. Any info would help.

Thanks...

 

For what it's worth, I just ordered mine (Smart Buy model w/ 2 GHz C2D, 1 GB RAM, etc.) from Newegg.com for $1599. Good price.

 

Mel, the answer, as far as I can tell is "yes" with the following caveat: I have not found an "empty' HDD caddy for the optical drive, meaning that you'd have to buy the overpriced 80GB drive-in-optical-bay item from HP. I haven't had the laptop (in a working condition) long enough to seriously look into that, but I have done a bit of research.

For what it's worth, I /think/ the optical drive is a PATA (Old interface) device whereas the hard-drive is SATA (new interface) and so the caddy would need more than a simple pass-through to allow the current system drive to fit in there.

Just my $0.02

 

Um...if you bothered to read any of the multi-page thread I posted regarding my troubleshooting of the issue, you'd realize i had basically eliminated software as being the only culprit. I reinstalled Windows along with basically every piece of software I had installed. I pulled the bluetooth module and that seemed to halt the problems I had. HP claims to have swapped main-boards and for all I know that has resolved the hanging problem I've been plagued with since I got the thing back in October.

Hopefully I'll get the laptop back, in working order, not much more than a month after I initially sent it in.

Furthermore, even if, let's say, I was able to troubleshoot the issue completely by myself, I bought a business-grade laptop with a "good" warranty so that I don't have to fix problems with the laptop. I just want a laptop that works without much work on my end. I don't have the time to deal with things going wrong due to bad design or QA.

 

Ditto this, except I ordered mine last night.

One question I do have though is how to connect dual external monitors to this. Looking at the ati x1600 graphics card specs it supports dual monitors. However, HP's site says that only laptops that provide both a VGA and DVI output support dual monitors. I'm thinking this means by themselves though...

Looking at the HP accessories page for the nc8430, the adjustable notebook stand (PA508A) specifically says it can be used for this purpose (two external monitors), but the description implies that it just uses the DVI/VGA ports made available on the docking station. However, the docking stations don't list dual monitor capability as a key benefit. So my question is, can I use just a docking station (without the notebook stand) such as the basic station (EN488AA) to use dual external monitors? I tried talking to a salesrep, but his responses didn't leave me with the impression that he had any idea what he was talking about.

If all else fails I know there are devices that specifically allow this - like the DualHead2Go, but the cost of that is the same as the docking station so I'd prefer the station.

Has anyone else connected dual external monitors to their nc8430?

Thanks,
Bob

 

I have read most of the notes. I love my nc8430. I have had it since August 2006 with no problems. I have carried it to many destinations without problems. The bluetooth works great with my pda. The wifi works great wherever I go. I changed the hard drive, ram etc and I obtained the advanced docking system. I use the express card on the docking system without a problem. There simply has not been any problem. I can't speak for others. I only know that I have put this notebook through all the trials and tribulations and works like a charm. If you buy it I hope you have the same experience I have had... I love it... the best notebook I have ever owned and I have had plenty to include zeos, ibm, compaq etc

 

Couple of comments:

The NC8430 is a business class notebook and service is done by a different group than the consumer models. It is much faster, located in country, and email/phone support is within 24 hours. For example, I could not burn recovery disks so HP sent a set to me (no charge). They also provide 3 years of warranty rather than 1.

The business class notebooks are more rugged and usually easier to upgrade. The NC8430 is no exception. However, since it is a 'new' model, replacement parts (covers, caddies, etc) are harder to find outside of HP.

Oh, for those who bought theirs after October 26, you get a free (well, not quite - you pay shipping) upgrade to Vista (Business assuming you have XP Pro).

Wayne

PS Dell also has business class support for their business class notebooks, such as the Precision series.

 

this laptop is really great, itll run anything you throw at it, watch the bloatware it got its claws in me when i first got it and it makes it start up slower, only thing that happened to me was the ac adapter malfunctioned and wont charge the laptop which is quite a big deal but its a one off and hp are kindly sending me a new one. great lappy for defs, thumbs up but dnt get it from www.laptopsdirect.co.uk their a joke.

 

Ah the NX8420 is considered a business class notebook right? That means their customer service SHOULD be much better than what i've been read so far (which is mostly negative). I placed an order and a request for them to call me. Lets see if i get that call at the time I schedule. I can't get through to anyone when I try to call. I gots questions to asks.

Anybody lug this thing around daily? how does it feel? i have no notebook experience what so ever.

is the warranty local for you guys?

 

I've used the warranty on my nx8420 in both Australia and Malaysia with no problems. Repairs are performed very fast, in 2 business days as promised (if they have the parts). Get the HP CarePack warranty upgrade because it's worth it.
The only problem I have with my laptop is the slight screen problem which I have stated in a separate thread.

 

Thanks chrixx, that's exactly what i wanted to hear. Malaysia is where i'm at, Australia is where i'm going to be next month. They don't state info about their warranty on their site, or its hidden really well. Oh man dilemma. 13.3" sony or 15" HP.

 

15.4" HP would probably be a higher value for you...in my experience the smaller the notebook gets the less you'll get for the same amount of $$$.

 

13.3" and 15.4" are significant size differences, so you're comparing different classes of notebooks. You should try out both before you buy. I'm not sure if you can purchase the CarePacks in a different country from where you purchased the notebook, but I'm pretty sure the Carepacks are only valid in the country of purchase because my CarePack isn't honoured in MY. There is a global carepack you can buy, but it doesn't cover on-site. This is mainly because of cost and exchange issues, so you need to consider where you'll be primarily. I like HP's support because I find them flexible and really taking the effort to satisfy the needs of their customers. To me, you're buying into the brand and support, not so much as the product itself as there are numerous "clones" out there, from Dell's Latitude range to Lenovo's Thinkpad (the original, in fact).

 

hi night_2004, first I just like to say, that without your review i would not have considered the HP business line at all. The nx8420 has slightly lower specs than the nc8430, but its more in line with my budget. And your right, that's the way i think as well, trying to maximise what i can get for what i have to pay.

I'll be carrying the notebook around quite abit. What i've read is that the vaio C is a little over 5lbs, and according to ur review the HP is about 6lbs. That's very little difference, and something I need to consider. But those sony's sure are pretty, although I do like the understated design of the HP as well. And it's thinner! It's too bad I cannot play with a business HP notebook. Sony has their style centers.

 

I'd have to say that Sony's really do look attractive. Another thing though: sometimes you pay more for small because you want smaller. It's a tradeoff, and you have to consider what you value more highly.

FYI, I measured my notebook to weigh in at about 6.08lbs a few weeks ago for another forum member. In my original review that was my best guess when compared to other known weights.

That being said, another inch and a half of screen for a little more weight is definitely good if you're willing to go 15.4"

Maybe here's an idea: Could you post specs of the two notebooks you are considering (CPU, RAM, HDD, etc) and their prices? Where are you going to take the notebook, and how often (13" is much better on planes, while 15.4" is better at college in my experience)?