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Should I buy the DV8000T now?

post #1 of 41
8/24/06 at 7:26pm
Thread Starter 
I've been waiting for prices to go down for several months now. Although the price hasn't gone down by much, I think I should buy it before my school starts! (Move-in is on 9-15) So anyways, here's my setup:

HP Pavilion dv8000t customizable Notebook PC

* -- FREE Upgrade to Genuine Windows XP Media Center
* -- Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2500 (2.0 GHz)
* -- 17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050)
* -- 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600
* -- 512MB DDR2 SDRAM (2x256MB) (Will be buying 2x1gb OCZ rams)
* -- 100 GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
* -- FREE Upgrade - LightScribe DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
* -- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth
* -- No TV Tuner w/remote control
* -- 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* -- Microsoft(R) Works/Money
* -- Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition Backup CD
* -- HP Mobile Remote Control

+ 3-Year HP Express Repair Extended Service...

If there's something I missed, please point it out since this will be my first laptop and a huge upgrade from my current computer. (800mgz, 256mb ram, 30gb hd, 4x cd-rw )

Now here's my research on pricing:
1) HP.com - $1644.98 (Laptop) + $184.99 (3-Year ERES) - $50 (Notebook rebate) - $250 (Coupon code: NB5252 Expires 9/2/06) = $1529.97

2) HP.com - This time with APP account, the total is about $10-20 more expensive since the Coupon does not combine with APP discount. Hence, better deal here would be the former.

3) Costco.com - $1,583.99 (Latop + 3-Year ERES) - $50 (Manufacture's Rebate) = $1533.99

I live in CA, LA County so tax is going to be HUGE. 8.25%

Here's the thing to note though, Costco gives you 180 days return period while HP only offers 21 days. HP is offering a free Deskjet F380 All-in-One AR ($79.99-$80)

Keyboard problem still exists. I'm assuming the computers are shipped from the same place whether you buy it from HP.com or Costco.com

That is my research.

I'm not sure if I should buy the computer now though. Labor Day is coming soon and I'm sure HP will drop the prices of their dv8000t AGAIN. I don't know... What do you guys think? Should I pull the trigger now? Or pull a sniper and wait for the perfect bait.

Thanks in advance.
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post #2 of 41
8/24/06 at 8:30pm
I'd go with Costco... 180 day return window.. NO brainer there.

On the tax, When I ordered my unit thru www.COSTCO.com (Local tax rate 9%)... the tax was only like $58, which is far less than (% on $1,500+/-) I think HP and DELL charge the full rate...

On the printer, don't let that be the deciding factor... Most of the printers they give away suck ink cartridges (Cost allot to keep running)

One more thing, You may want to consider XP PRO, instead of Media Center...

I've heard /read certain drivers, apps don't like Media Center.
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post #3 of 41
8/24/06 at 10:27pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the advice. Do you think I should wait till Labor Day? How long do they take to CTO dv8000t anyways? Move-in is on the 16th of Sept. I gotta get my comp at least 2 days earlier so that I can remove all the bloatware. Thanks for clearifying the Costco tax. HP seems to charge the entire tax % but I'll see how much costco charges me once my dad gets home.
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post #4 of 41
8/24/06 at 10:53pm
I ordered my dv8000t thru www.costco.com on the 2nd, LATE PM... (Like 15 minutes before the deadline for a $150 Costco fat-Wallet rebate expired).. the order posting the 3rd...(Monday)... the unit shipped from the HP factory in CHINA the 7th (Friday), it bewing picked up AFTER the FED-EX cut off time @ 3:54pm.... Tracked it over the weekend and it arrived Monday the 10th, by 8:30am. Orginal estimated ship date the 12th, so it arrived two days before it was supposed to ship.


PS: If you visit a local COSTCO store, the have dv8000t's in stock... I think for like $1,399, but they have the base 1440x900 panel , 1.83? cpu, and I think 240gig hard drive space. (2, 120 gig's)... Pretty sure that was the spec's.

Only problem with that is it may not be spec'd as you want it, plus paying the FULL local tax.

I'd order it with the 1680x1050 panel.

You asked about an ETA... go to Costco, confiqure and you will see the date.

Just confiqured one, it showing a shipping date of 9/2/2006


One last thing, like I think we talked about before... order the extra battery at the time of order ($83) if you think you'll need two batteries... HP charges like $180

I'd also get an external hard drive on the way. EZ-BUZ-DTC-KIT

http://www.costco.com/CTO/HPLanding....topnav=&browse=
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post #5 of 41
8/25/06 at 12:13am
I live in Westwood and ordered a dv8000t from Costco and had to pay the full tax on it, I am pretty sure it was around $140 on $1550.
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post #6 of 41
8/25/06 at 1:05am
Thread Starter 
Costco is charging me $130. =[
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post #7 of 41
8/25/06 at 11:45pm
Thanks for the Costco link, I've never heard of them before. I need 2 more paychecks first but this will be my new system.

Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2500 (2.0 GHz)
2.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024MB)
100 GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
FREE Upgrade - LightScribe DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth
17.0" WXGA+ Ultra BrightView Widescreen (1440x900)
FREE Upgrade to Genuine Windows XP Media Center
Microsoft(R) Works/Money
8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
No TV Tuner w/remote control
1-yr Accidental Damage Protection & Express Repair

Total $1819 Not bad at all in my opinion. I'm a long time HP fan.

EDIT: Wearenotalone, Hows the system doing from a heat perspective? Any major heating problems?
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post #8 of 41
8/26/06 at 2:27am
Adv,
No overheating problems, had the unit since April., 2006
On the unit you spec'd out

I'd go with the base ram, and order 2 gig thru www.newegg.com for about $160 -$180, it's cheaper and you get to KEEP the 512? installed base ram as spares... very useful if you think you have a bad ram module later.

Also consider that if you upgrade thru HP (order unit with 2 gig) you are paying like $240? for really 1.5 gig of ram.

I'd also go with the 1680x1050 screen. Single lamped.
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post #9 of 41
8/26/06 at 3:26am
Thanks Wearenotalone, heres the new specs. I've downgraded some things and was able to get the price down to $1270. This has got to be one of the best deals out there atm. For kicks I compared similar systems with dell and AW. HP's much cheaper.

Genuine Windows XP Home Edition
– Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2400 (1.83 GHz)
– 17.0" WSXGA+ BrightView Widescreen (1680x1050)
– 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600
– 512MB DDR2 SDRAM (2x256MB)
– 80 GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
– FREE Upgrade - LightScribe DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
– Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth
– No TV Tuner w/remote control
– 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
– Microsoft(R) Works/Money
– HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
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post #10 of 41
8/26/06 at 11:49am
Thread Starter 
There you go! A great set up. Make sure you get warantee though, 3-year is highly recommended. I remember WeAreNotAlone telling me about the cost of the screen... It was something around $900-$1000. If you read through some of the topics of this forum, you'll find out many people regretting not getting the extended warantee. It will save you time and money in the longrun. Laptops are very delicate things and also a huge investment. I'm getting my HP on or a little after Labor Day. I predict something good is gonna happen.
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post #11 of 41
8/26/06 at 8:09pm
Your probably right, I was flirting with the idea of saving the extra few hunderd $$. Its like a gun, you may never need it but when you need it, you REALLY REALLY need it.

P.S. Good luck with your new system. As always just when I think I have it nailed down I waver. My latest indecision it between yours and the 5000t.
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post #12 of 41
8/26/06 at 10:23pm
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post #13 of 41
8/26/06 at 10:29pm
On the Extended warranty.. you guys are lucky, when I bought mine it was not showing as an option. Called the Executive offices of Costco, and had a long face to face talk with a local Costco district manager... Glad to see they got it added, that my time was not wasted.

On the warranty you can buy the warranty thru Hp after you receive it, that's what a HP rep told me. Hp I think lists more EW options on their site so you may want to do some research on what option is best for you, comfirm for yourself that it can indeed be purchased after receipt.
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post #14 of 41
8/26/06 at 10:34pm
Another thing you might want to consider is upgrading to XP PRO. ($55)

If you're networking it's better, plus it has more security features... and some programs "may" prefer it. (you may be taking a class that requires some programing software for example)
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post #15 of 41
8/26/06 at 11:29pm
WeAreNotAlone - "Make SURE to tick off the $13 remote, and the $10 OS restore disc (It's a FULL copy of the OS, NO bloatware, but DOES it seems to have the SATA drivers slipstreamed in, so to re-install the OS you just stick it in and reboot."

Did you mean to say the OS restore disk does not have the sata drivers? The reason I ask is only because I read another thread in this forum about a user trying to remove bloatware from a 5000t and ran into trouble because of the "missing drivers".

But it seems your saying the drivers are present in the disk so it will function as a factory restore?

BTW : SORRY Chiaroscurist !! Really don't mean to hijack your thread my friend. I'll be quite now.
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post #16 of 41
8/27/06 at 12:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adv
WeAreNotAlone - "Make SURE to tick off the $13 remote, and the $10 OS restore disc (It's a FULL copy of the OS, NO bloatware, but DOES it seems to have the SATA drivers slipstreamed in, so to re-install the OS you just stick it in and reboot." Did you mean to say the OS restore disk does not have the sata drivers? The reason I ask is only because I read another thread in this forum about a user trying to remove bloatware from a 5000t and ran into trouble because of the "missing drivers". But it seems your saying the drivers are present in the disk so it will function as a factory restore? BTW : SORRY Chiaroscurist !! Really don't mean to hijack your thread my friend. I'll be quite now.
Spend the $10 for the Os restore disc, well worth the $$. as it appears it has the SATA drivers already slipstreamed (intergrated) into the install disc. Stick the disc in, re-boot and upon a reboot you will be able with a couple of clicks be able to re-install the OS. The OS is a "clean" copy of the OS. You will still need to backup your C:\\SwSetup folder for drivers to devices. Once the OS is "up"... Install the drivers for the video card, etc. All the drivers "should" be in the C:\\SwSetup folder. Newer version drivers "may" be up on the HP site for your machine (depending how long it's been in production) New models not having all the needed drivers listed... Since after all the drivers are in the C:\\SwSetup folder... The OS disc will enable you to install the OS.... the "drivers" for this or that device will be in the C:\\SwSetup folder. What I do is download the "drivers" (SP's) from HP, extract /read the notes to see what "version" the downloaded driver may be, installing the downloaded driver since it's probably newer than the files in the C:\\SwSetup folder.
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post #17 of 41
8/27/06 at 10:05am
Just to let you know I ordered a DV8000t a few days ago.

I am from Hong Kong, by the way. I got it from one of those local university notebook promotions for freshman. I got mine for $11980HKD which is around $1540US. However, mine comes with a T2400, 1400 x 900 screen, and WinXP Home edition only. The others are the same. However, mine does guarantee a perfect screen with no dead/bright pixels, or they will exchange for another one. I had to exchange 3 DV8000s before I got a perfect screen.

I think you got a great offer, in fact better than mine, considering the 1680 x 1050 screen and the T2500 CPU. Although the RAM configuration is kind of lousy....

An interesting thing to note though, the quickplay feature does not play every DVDs, it does not play DVDs of every region. I end up using VLC/PowerDVD to watch DVDs in Windows instead, so I never use my remote, it is still stacked in the packaging. Besides, I don't think I will place my DV8000 5 feet away to watch a DVD on a 17 inch screen....but if the remote costs only $13 then it really isn't much of an issue.

And yes, I am experiencing keyboard issues, I knew some mentioned it in forums but I didn't really understood what they meant. Until I got mine and started typing documents, some keys aren't registered even I have pressed them firmly (especially the spacebar) This is VERY IRRITATING when I am typing documents. Pisses me off big time.

As for whether you should purchase the DV8000 or any other notebooks, there is no best time. The price always drop, period. Merom (Core 2 Duo) is out soon so expect prices to drop on Core Duo soon, wait for a little while for Thanksgiving and Christmas and prices are slashed further. There is no best time, I think, if you got to a point where you HAVE TO get a notebook, just get it. Don't regret if you see the prices drop a week after you got the notebook.

Hope it helps
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post #18 of 41
8/28/06 at 2:06am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for that wealth of information you guys. And don't worry Adv, you are also helping me out too because I was also interested in what you were asking and we both want the dv8000t! I was trying to avoid tax by not buying the 3 year extended repair and buying it later through HP. But turns out HP charges you $175 w/ the APP discount and about $188 without APP. It's much cheaper buying the exdended repair service through costco which is about $122. I'm going to wait till Labor Day though.
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post #19 of 41
8/28/06 at 9:47am
Chiaroscurist, I was on another notebook site last night and found a thread reguarding bloatware and hp computers. Apparently according to the moderator on that forum HP is now shipping disks that do contain the SATA drivers. If this is true it would make the bloatware removal a little easier. I'll try to find the link again.

Can anyone confirm this?
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post #20 of 41
8/28/06 at 12:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adv
Chiaroscurist, I was on another notebook site last night and found a thread reguarding bloatware and hp computers. Apparently according to the moderator on that forum HP is now shipping disks that do contain the SATA drivers. If this is true it would make the bloatware removal a little easier. I'll try to find the link again.

Can anyone confirm this?

Re: Sata drivers on the $10 optional HP supllied OS re-install disc..

Well I tried for more time than I care to admit to use some custom XP installs I have (OS+ APPS slipstreamed in) which would install FINE to a system with an IDE hard drive.... and they would NOT install to the dv8000t (Nor to my desktop machine using a SATA hard drive as well)..

The stupid XP installer would let me point it to the SATA Drivers (F6), read them, go thru the entire format process... and only after "nuking" whatever was on the drive, after it had formated the drive and was in the process of installing the OS, probally 2/3's the way thru die. The stupid installer "asking" again for the SATA drivers... 2nd time around not being able to point the installer to the A:\\ drive.... The install failing at that point.


Had the same problem with a desktop machine with a SATA hard drive... wouldn't install.

Tricked my desktop into letting me install it, by installing to an IDE drive, then imaging it over to the SATA hard drive.

Getting back to the dv..


Slipped in the HP provided OS restore /install disc and it installed smooth as silk.... rebooted with the HP OS install disc in, ran thru the install process... and the OS was up and running, the install completed sucessfully.... So I would assume the SATA drivers are indeed on the disc... If they weren't it wouldn't have installed.

PS: Just about all the mfg's install "bloatware"... me thinks they get paid a little fee by each company wanting to get their bloatware programs installed... So it's not just a HP issue.



Bottom line is pay the $10 for the OS install disc.
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