Overview:
I had an opportunity to buy a new laptop for my company earlier this week. It needed to be shipped same day, overnight and I had to install some proprietary software on it for a sales call the next week.
We typically purchase Dell laptops but I could not get a guarantee for same day, overnight shipping. The Latitude D610 advertised at CostCo was not in stock. We eliminated consumer oriented laptops from the retail stores, so this left researching the web.
Finally settled on a HP nc6220. 40GB 5400K, 512MB RAM, 1.86 Pentium M 750, 1024x768, 915GM, std 6 cell battery, XP Pro from CDW for $1,299 w/3 year warranty, ready to ship same day.
Design/Build Quality:
I was excited to see the nc6220 firsthand. I had read that HP was gearing the n series of notebooks towards the business community and would have to compete with the Thinkpads, so I wanted to see if they were serious.
I think they are. The nc6220 has the look, feel and dimensions geared towards those that would consider the T series. I'm not one to minutely examine a laptop but I can tell it had an above average build.
Screen/Speakers/Graphics/Keyboard/Track Pad & Pointer:
Sorry, not qualified to say much about these subjects other than the 14 inch, 1024x768 was good enough for me, the speakers made sound, I did not play any games, the keyboard was responsive, not spongy and I really didn't use either the Track Pad or Pointer, I plugged in my mouse.
I will say from what little I know, it did seem the Thinkpad T42 Pointer is more responsive and easier to control.
Performance:
Overall the laptop felt a little sluggish to me. The software I loaded included a DBMS, webserver and executables. On this laptop, it felt noticeably sluggish to me but that's probably not surprising. Unfortunately, I will not have the opportunity to upgrade it to 1G RAM and try a faster HD so I don't think this is a fair assessment. Word/Excel worked great.
PC Mark 2004 = 3196
Super PI 2M = 1m 45s
Super PI 8M = 8m 46s
Noise:
I had read about the nc series having a fan noise issue. I have read the new T43s also having a fan noise issue. Well, let me say the fan is on all the time but its not what I consider loud, it does not pulsate and it is not annoying.
The software install takes hours and some stages are pretty disk intensive. The nc6220 handled it well. You would hear the fan speed increase and decrease but nothing that I would consider annoying. Most of the time it was a low, steady hum.
The harddisk is a Fujitsu MHT2040AH PL. You can hear its read/writes but it not loud or annoying either.
Beats the Dell's I've been around with.
Heat:
The fan is underneath the unit. I thought this would mean it would get hot but it doesn't. In all the processing it did (on a desk) I would say it got a notch above warm but not hot. However, I'm not sure this is a laptop you can put on your lap, wearing wool pant or skirt.
The right palmrest does get warmer than the left.
Battery Life:
I ran different apps while the laptop was unplugged, Super PI, PC Mark 2004, Norton Anti-Virus and burning a DVD to try simulate an intense work load.
It said it had a little over 2 hrs when I began. After an hour of processing, the Power Meter indicated 52% left. At 1 hr 50min Power Meter indicated 13% left (14 min). I'll say 2 hrs of battery w/6 cell under heavy workload conditions.
Conclusion:
I am a little concerned HP/Compaq did not fare well in the latest reader satisfaction survey from www.pcmag.com. However, Dell ranks pretty low in my personal ranking, not sure if there would be any decrease in expectations anyway.
If the nc6220 holds up after 3 months on the road, I won't have any problems recommending it as a business class laptop.
I had an opportunity to buy a new laptop for my company earlier this week. It needed to be shipped same day, overnight and I had to install some proprietary software on it for a sales call the next week.
We typically purchase Dell laptops but I could not get a guarantee for same day, overnight shipping. The Latitude D610 advertised at CostCo was not in stock. We eliminated consumer oriented laptops from the retail stores, so this left researching the web.
Finally settled on a HP nc6220. 40GB 5400K, 512MB RAM, 1.86 Pentium M 750, 1024x768, 915GM, std 6 cell battery, XP Pro from CDW for $1,299 w/3 year warranty, ready to ship same day.
Design/Build Quality:
I was excited to see the nc6220 firsthand. I had read that HP was gearing the n series of notebooks towards the business community and would have to compete with the Thinkpads, so I wanted to see if they were serious.
I think they are. The nc6220 has the look, feel and dimensions geared towards those that would consider the T series. I'm not one to minutely examine a laptop but I can tell it had an above average build.
Screen/Speakers/Graphics/Keyboard/Track Pad & Pointer:
Sorry, not qualified to say much about these subjects other than the 14 inch, 1024x768 was good enough for me, the speakers made sound, I did not play any games, the keyboard was responsive, not spongy and I really didn't use either the Track Pad or Pointer, I plugged in my mouse.
I will say from what little I know, it did seem the Thinkpad T42 Pointer is more responsive and easier to control.
Performance:
Overall the laptop felt a little sluggish to me. The software I loaded included a DBMS, webserver and executables. On this laptop, it felt noticeably sluggish to me but that's probably not surprising. Unfortunately, I will not have the opportunity to upgrade it to 1G RAM and try a faster HD so I don't think this is a fair assessment. Word/Excel worked great.
PC Mark 2004 = 3196
Super PI 2M = 1m 45s
Super PI 8M = 8m 46s
Noise:
I had read about the nc series having a fan noise issue. I have read the new T43s also having a fan noise issue. Well, let me say the fan is on all the time but its not what I consider loud, it does not pulsate and it is not annoying.
The software install takes hours and some stages are pretty disk intensive. The nc6220 handled it well. You would hear the fan speed increase and decrease but nothing that I would consider annoying. Most of the time it was a low, steady hum.
The harddisk is a Fujitsu MHT2040AH PL. You can hear its read/writes but it not loud or annoying either.
Beats the Dell's I've been around with.
Heat:
The fan is underneath the unit. I thought this would mean it would get hot but it doesn't. In all the processing it did (on a desk) I would say it got a notch above warm but not hot. However, I'm not sure this is a laptop you can put on your lap, wearing wool pant or skirt.
The right palmrest does get warmer than the left.
Battery Life:
I ran different apps while the laptop was unplugged, Super PI, PC Mark 2004, Norton Anti-Virus and burning a DVD to try simulate an intense work load.
It said it had a little over 2 hrs when I began. After an hour of processing, the Power Meter indicated 52% left. At 1 hr 50min Power Meter indicated 13% left (14 min). I'll say 2 hrs of battery w/6 cell under heavy workload conditions.
Conclusion:
I am a little concerned HP/Compaq did not fare well in the latest reader satisfaction survey from www.pcmag.com. However, Dell ranks pretty low in my personal ranking, not sure if there would be any decrease in expectations anyway.
If the nc6220 holds up after 3 months on the road, I won't have any problems recommending it as a business class laptop.
