So, I launched myself into the world of notebooks by buying a floor model HP zt3000 today. I've been doing a lot of research here and on different companies websites, and I finally got sick of just reading about them!
It was a little disquieting when the clerk put the laptop into a PLASTIC SHOPPING BAG because they didn't have a box apparently (I asked her if she could at least double bag it for god's sake.) I almost walked out on the spot but then I figured I had 15 days to return it, might as well try it out.
I will probably return it, because I'm still sketched out about how this thing was treated before I bought it-- I'd rather get a refurbished one from the company.
the specs were right about what I was looking for, though I had wanted a faster processor, and the fact that my graphics card can't be upgraded makes me nervous. I want to have the option of seamlessly slaughtering hordes of zombies on my laptop, even if I never do.
1.4 Centrino
512 mb ram
15.4"XGA screen
40gb hd
radeon 9200 graphics card (I can't tell whether it's 32 or 64 in the device profile-- how can I find out?)
Cost: $1169. Not much better than a new one right from HP. But I didn't know that at the time, beacuase I hadn't been looking at HPs at all. I was deciding between a:
Dell 8600
Dell 600m
Sager 3760 (light, good quality screen, small company and helpful CS people)
Sony A series
Now I have a dillemma because I really like the 15" wide screen. Also I compared it to some of the fujitsus and sonys with the shiny screens, and liked the matte more. also watched a dvd on both and the color quality was better on the hp.
the weight isn't bad-- I thought 7 lbs would be a bear, but it's fine. and the 3.5-4 hour battery life seems impressive with such a big screen. That was one reason I had to take it home-- I wanted battery life to be in the 4 hr range but I thought the bigger screens were all down around 2 hrs.
It's also incredibly quiet, (especially compared to my desktop, which sounds like a rocket launch when it boots up). The keyboard is sturdy and normal (I've read that the sagers and some other non-standard brands have the control or delete keys in weird places?) and the sony keys look really flimsy to me.
OK, so now to actually using what's under the plastic:
I plan to take this with me when I go back to college and use it for normal college things; writing papers and chatting with people back home and lots and lots of surfing the web. Also watching DVDs. Probably some photoshop and dreamweaver too. I'm installing those next to test em out.
I also plan to edit music on it. Most of my current HD is taken up with mp3s. But I'm buying a neuros mp3 recorder (has a hard drive back pack) to store all of it and record live stuff. So 40GB seems good enough. But then... will a bigger (assumably emptier) HD make the whole system faster because data is easier to access?
Sorry for the rambling post. If anyone has any comments or ideas I'd appreciate it.
It was a little disquieting when the clerk put the laptop into a PLASTIC SHOPPING BAG because they didn't have a box apparently (I asked her if she could at least double bag it for god's sake.) I almost walked out on the spot but then I figured I had 15 days to return it, might as well try it out.
I will probably return it, because I'm still sketched out about how this thing was treated before I bought it-- I'd rather get a refurbished one from the company.
the specs were right about what I was looking for, though I had wanted a faster processor, and the fact that my graphics card can't be upgraded makes me nervous. I want to have the option of seamlessly slaughtering hordes of zombies on my laptop, even if I never do.
1.4 Centrino
512 mb ram
15.4"XGA screen
40gb hd
radeon 9200 graphics card (I can't tell whether it's 32 or 64 in the device profile-- how can I find out?)
Cost: $1169. Not much better than a new one right from HP. But I didn't know that at the time, beacuase I hadn't been looking at HPs at all. I was deciding between a:
Dell 8600
Dell 600m
Sager 3760 (light, good quality screen, small company and helpful CS people)
Sony A series
Now I have a dillemma because I really like the 15" wide screen. Also I compared it to some of the fujitsus and sonys with the shiny screens, and liked the matte more. also watched a dvd on both and the color quality was better on the hp.
the weight isn't bad-- I thought 7 lbs would be a bear, but it's fine. and the 3.5-4 hour battery life seems impressive with such a big screen. That was one reason I had to take it home-- I wanted battery life to be in the 4 hr range but I thought the bigger screens were all down around 2 hrs.
It's also incredibly quiet, (especially compared to my desktop, which sounds like a rocket launch when it boots up). The keyboard is sturdy and normal (I've read that the sagers and some other non-standard brands have the control or delete keys in weird places?) and the sony keys look really flimsy to me.
OK, so now to actually using what's under the plastic:
I plan to take this with me when I go back to college and use it for normal college things; writing papers and chatting with people back home and lots and lots of surfing the web. Also watching DVDs. Probably some photoshop and dreamweaver too. I'm installing those next to test em out.
I also plan to edit music on it. Most of my current HD is taken up with mp3s. But I'm buying a neuros mp3 recorder (has a hard drive back pack) to store all of it and record live stuff. So 40GB seems good enough. But then... will a bigger (assumably emptier) HD make the whole system faster because data is easier to access?
Sorry for the rambling post. If anyone has any comments or ideas I'd appreciate it.
