really want 8510w...

but im open for suggestions...well anyway im a UCLA college student next year and im lookin for a laptop. i know there is a laptop recommendation thread but i was lookin for some people that know a lot about hps. well i get an academic purchase discount through hp and right now i am looking at the 8510w that is supposed to come out on July 2. (i really hope it does because i need my laptop by august 6) well i looked at the specs and i have decided that if i choose the 8510w i want the following

intel 2.2 ghz
3gb ram
100 gb 7200 rpm harddrive
lightscribe (maybe blu-ray but most likely not)
NVIDIA Quadro fx570m graphics card
i am not sure if i should go with vista business or xp
(if i go wit vista should i go with 32 or 64 bit?)

i was wondering if anyone had any idea of the cost on this machine because my budget is around 2500...if i need to i can always go down to the 80 gb harddrive inorder to save some money. i will be studying civil engineering and i was wondering if this will be a good choice or if there was anything else that you would recommend. other noteboks i have been lokoing at include the dv6500tse and the dv9500t...any help would greatly be appreciated because this will be my first laptop purchase

 

2,500 should be more than enough. From what I remember, the workstation model will be about 2100.

 

even with all of those extras it should still not be over 2500?

and for a civil engineering student should i run vista business? 32 or 64? or xp professional?

 

I'd get Vista 32 and XP Pro. There's guides all over this forum that will lead you step by step on how to configure two OSes.

 

I think I answered in your other thread... anyway.

So, if you want you a workstation video card, the HP 8510w is an excellent notebook. The ThinkPad T61p is another notebook to check out, when it's released (?)

And, given your budget, I woudn't even consider the dv6500t and the dv9500t because they are budget-class notebooks, while the HP 8510 is business-class or in other words - light years better in terms of build quality and keyboard.

 

Vista Business and Ultimate include the right to downgrade to XP if you can get a disc. There's no need to buy both.