is the HP zv5410 well worth 849.00??

My local Staples has the zv5410 on sale for 949.00 after a $50 staples rebate. However, with Circuit City's 110% price match guarantee, it would be 849.00 after a $50 circuit city rebate. Is this deal too good to pass up?? I would also appreciate some input on if an AMD processor is worth it. I've always owned Pentiums and am a little hesitant. I'm also a little worried because of HP's lackluster reliability and reputation in the past.

The specs....
AMD athlon64 3000+
15.4" WXGA Bright View display
512mb RAM (2x256)
64mb dedicated video - Nvidia® GeForce4 440 Go
CD-RW/DVD rom
5 in 1 card reader
harmon kardon sound

 

I think HP has gotten better in their reputation and reliability since their merger with Compaq. The ZV5000 series is a solid, well-built machine. I really liked it when I tried it out in several electronic stores, especially the keyboard. I also always used Pentiums in the past and I say that AMD makes some pretty nice processors.

The Athlon 64 is a very good processor, much better than Pentium 4. It runs cooler, has better performance, and gives you better battery life and is future proof with 64 bit technology. Pentium 4 doesn't hold a candle to this baby.

I would say that is a very good deal to me and you should take it. I don't think you'll be disappoined with this laptop.

Also, what will be your uses for this laptop? This isn't the most mobile laptop in the world, it is pretty heavy and big but overall a very good machine.

 

I'll be using it for internet, presentations, word processing, some gaming....nothing too out of the ordinary.

BTW....why did you go with the dv1000 over a zv5000?

 

I actually haven't bought one yet, I will early March when I finally get the money. I will get that laptop because it is smaller, lighter, gets battery life, and does everything I want it to do.

It is very good for internet surfing, watching DVD movies, word processing, presentations, and light gaming. This laptop has an integrated graphics card, so it won't run games today like Doom 3 or Half Life 2 but instead older games like the first Half Life and 2d games, and I'm just fine with that.

It also has HP's QuickPlay feature, where you can play DVD's or MP3's without actually booting to Windows. You can also get it with a remote control that can even power on and off the laptop!

I'll be going to college this fall and I'll be carrying this laptop around a lot, so the size and weight and battery life is important to me. This laptop is perfect for me, it suits all of my needs. If you won't do any heavy gaming, then you should also consider checking out the DV1000, although the ZV5000 is also an excellent machine, just too heavy for me.