HP offering Dothans for nc6000, nc8000, and nw8000

How long do you think it will be before these are also available in Europe? I just checked on the Dutch HP site - http://h41100.www4.hp.com/nl/dut/com...00_series.html - and the NC6000 model is still only available with a 1.6GHz Banias.

Their US configurator website is dead. I wonder what the prices will be...

Kind of overwhelms me that the Banias is not less expensive than the Dothan CPU...

oops

HP nc8000 or ASUS M6N....decisions, decisions, etc.

After spending FAR TOO LONG, I am down to the HP nc8000 and the ASUS M6N. (just can't make a final decision.) As far as an "apples to apples" money comparison, it is about $2,500 for the nc8000 and about $1,900 for the ASUS, each with a standard 3 year warranty. Both were configured identically, as far as I could see: same CPU, memory, identical hard drive size and speed, same spec. CD burner/DVD reader.
Is there anyone that I have NOT spoken with that can give me additional opinions on the nc8000 ???
Such as...is the nc8000 as "thick and ugly" as some have said?? I saw one comment on a newsgroup calling it "butt-ugly". Has anyone seen more than one of the screens available on the HP that can comment. Are they equally good quality???
Has anyone directly compared the HP nc8000 to the ASUS M6N and/or seen both of them??? I have chatted with a couple of nc8000 and nc6000 owners on this forum already. If there is anyone else that can help me get to a decision this week, I will be most grateful!!
Andrew
Austin, TX

nc8000 is NOT butt fugly!

Andrew:
I purchased an nc8000 around the first of the year and it has been a solid steady performer. For gaming, it is outstanding and for business it is as good as any other laptop I've ever had. (For the record, I have an R50p, T41p, and a Dell M60). The nc8000 is being used as a server in a point of sale operation in a clothing store that I own. Before that, I used it as my primary laptop and gaming machince. It has a better screen than either of the IBM's mentioned above and I would say equal to the Dell M60. Of course, it's not wide screen, but at the time, I really didn't want a wide screen laptop. The keyboard is excellent and although it has both a track point and touchpad, I would rate them equal to the Dell's. The IBM's are unmatched in quality and ergonomics. Performance was excellent.

The only complaint I had and the reason I stopped using it as my business laptop is because their port replicator didn't support 1600 X 1200 DVI pass through like they claimed it did. I really didn't try making it work very hard because I switched to the Dell and it worked seemlessly.

I would say it's about as thick at the R50p from IBM and might weigh a little less. Nevertheless, it was easy to travel with and seems like an excellent choice. If I didn't need the 1600 X 1200 DVI pass thru support, I'd still be using it.

Best, John

Well, funny you should mention IBM, because I have added the new 15" T42 (just announced) into consideration. I am confused (sorry):
Would you still be using the IBM or the HP if it had 1600 X 1200 DVI pass through???
So, my questions would be:
1.) You said the HP has a better screen than "either IBM's mentioned above" but I can't see which IBM's you are referring to??? Which screen did you get on the HP nc8000, was it the SXGA+ ???
2.) So overall, are you saying that IBM is better quality than the HP, or am I misreading that???
3.) What are you now using as your primary laptop and gaming machine???
I would be interested in the smaller nc6000, and am really far more than torn between wanting a small, portable notebook and one with the larger 15.1" screen. If the nc6000 had firewire, I probably would have settled on it. It seems rediculous that IBM still does not include firewire. So, it sound like you put ASUS behind HP "business" models and IBM's. Just trying to get this straight. The T42 series would be the only IBM series I would consider, with 128MB Fire2 GL. A buncha money.
Screen quality is still the most important issue to me, and you said you liked the HP's screen better than IBM's. The IBM I am looking at has the FlexView. Any difference??
Again, which screen did you get on your HP nc8000???Thanks,
Andrew
Austin, TX

Hey Andrew,
I'm in the process of buying an NC8000 now. Config: SXGA+, 1.6B or 1.7D(haven't really decided yet), 512 RAM, etc. Should get it next week. I'm in Austin, too, so I'll PM you when I get it so you can check it out.
Leonard

wow the nc6000 is actually relatively affordable, and decently light


about 2150 for the 1.8 60 gig drive, sxga 14" , 64 meg

add your own ram to a gig for 200 and you're doing a o k

If it had firewire like the nc8000 I would have already ordered one. Also, I am just not really sure about having SXGA+ (1450 X 1024) on a 14.1" screen.
Don't you think that regular old XGA would be more appropriate for a 14.1" screen??? Or is that just me and my weakening eyes???
Andrew
Austin, TX

Responses to your questions

Ok, Andrew.. I didn't see your post earlier so here are the answers to your questions.

Q. Would you still be using the IBM or the HP if it had 1600 X 1200 DVI pass through???

A. I'd say probably, only because I wouldn't have gone looking for a laptop that supported this. I did and the Dell does so I switched to it and have been very pleased. I won't even consider IBM until this is fixed. I've never had a Dell and am quite pleased with it, so I may end up sticking with Dell from here on out. Not sure at this point.

Q1.) You said the HP has a better screen than "either IBM's mentioned above" but I can't see which IBM's you are referring to??? Which screen did you get on the HP nc8000, was it the SXGA+ ???

A1.) The IBM's I was referring to was the R50p (1600 X 1200 15" screen) and the T41p (1400 X 1050 14" screen). The HP was brighter and more crisp. The IBM's both used the FireGL T2 graphics chip because this is the ONLY one that supports DVI pass through.

The HP had a 1600 X 1200 15" screen with an ATI 9600 64MB chip.

Q2.) So overall, are you saying that IBM is better quality than the HP, or am I misreading that???

A2.) I am saying that I thought the HP quality was as good as the IBM's or very close to it. One thing for sure, of the 4 or 5 calls I made to IBM, I got hungup on once, unable to find the answer to my question on another, and didn't understand what I was talking about (DVI pass thru) on another. All of these were outsourced support personnel. HP was good ole Americans who knew exactly what I was saying. I also discovered from one tech that IBM has NO support knowledgebase (which he has been pushing for) so everytime you call them, you start from scratch. And no support message board.

Q3.) What are you now using as your primary laptop and gaming machine???

A3.) I am sticking with the Dell M60 because right now it supports all my needs, has worked flawlessly, and I haven't had to call support once. It also has the best screen of the bunch (WUXGA+) and the keyboard is not bad at all (no flex, good keyboard layout, good feel).

Hope this helps you make the right decision for YOU!

Best, John

1. You are saying that the "best screen" is the one with the highest resolution, which is (WUXGA+). For my eyes, at my age, WUXGA+ has no value to me. I would not be able to use a screen that produced such tiny text fonts. For me, 14" XGA or 15" SGGA+ is the resolution I would not want to exceed. I don't think that you and I would be in agreement on "best screens".
2. I appreciate what you are saying about your current Dell, but, like the problems you had with IBM, I had 6 weeks of Dell "hell" with 2 replacement machines, 4 service calls, and NO problem resolution. When Dell finally replaced my Latitude with a brand new Latitude (which had the same problem) I put it on EBAY and sold it.

Thanks for all your advice!!
Andrew
Austin, TX

Dell WUXGA is not that bad

Andrew:
I was very concerned about the 1920 X 1200 resolution on the Dell before I got it because, like you, I had a little difficulty with the 1600 X 1200 WSXGA+ screen on the IBM R50p. Heck, I didn't even care for the 1400 X 1050 screen on the 14" T41p. But the Dell's screen must use a different font or something. I switch to "large" fonts and I think it's perfect. I had the R50p set to "extra large" and I still felt it was too small.

The HP was no problem with the fonts set to large. It seemed to be a much brighter screen than the IBM's and no, it wasn't an extra-brite like some of the Toshiba's and Asius have.

Sorry to hear about your Dell problems and I agree totally. Stay away from the problems and go with the ones that give you the best support and reliability. That's one reason I went with the M60 over the D800 Lattitude. I heard that the M60 is more conventional and reliable than the D800 and 8600, even though they are literally the same computer. It also came with a 3 year warranty standard and I paid a little extra for the Gold service... just in case.

All in all, you pay a HUGE premium for the premium laptops like IBM and the business models that HP sells. There is no question that these are generally better than any you buy in the retail stores. Exactly what "better" means is a moving target. But after owning just about every brand there is and buying over 100 laptops for my company, I would have to say that sticking with the higher tiered vendors is the safest way to go. My Dell M60 is the ONLY computer that I use for business and pleasure. I use a port replicator at work, so I no longer have to sync between a desktop and a laptop. I'm a computer programmer and spend 8 or more hours a day on my laptop. I need something that will NOT fail me and will meet my demands.

If I didn't absolutely HAVE to use a port replicator, I might go for pure portablilty and power, maybe a T42 or the HP nc6000, but I really need a very versitile laptop and the M60 is the best I have found so far.

Good luck with your decision.

One last thing, with the Dell you can return it within 30 days if you're not completely satisfied. With the IBM and HP, most online sellers won't let you return them without going through IBM or HP. In other words, you better know what you're getting up front and be happy with your choice because you won't be able to return it if you find you don't like the keyboard or the screen.

John

Thanks, if I get an IBM or HP (IBM very unlikely since it is EVEN more money) then I will be buying directly from them not an online seller, so I would also have a 30 day return priviledge. I think that HP even pays the return freight if you are not happy.
Thanks!
Andrew
Austin, TX

jjfcpa,
Thanks for all of the first-hand impressions! Very valuable info. for all here.

aamsel,
Thanks for asking many of the same ?'s I had been wondering about. And being thorough and persistent with them in this and other threads. Helped me, and I'm sure others,who have been considering these same units.

That said, I will be receiving my HP NW8000 Model#DH920U#ABA next week.
Config: 1.6Banias, SXGA+, 128 FireGL T2, 512mb, B/G wifi, etc.

No criticism what, but isn't it peculiar to get a top-of-the-line computer with only 512Mb of RAM?

Ooh, good use of the word "peculiar"! Well said. And I would agree, except for the fact that I can buy RAM, and install it myself, for much less than HP charges. I'll let you know how it goes.

Well i don't think it would be much worse then 1024 on a 12" i have no problems on my r40 at work which is a 15" I guess it depends how far back you are..

one thing i noticed, like with my 12", is that I have rapidly adjusted to it. to me 1024 on a screen that size would look massive.