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Buying laptop, considering HP nw8000 (DU425EA)

post #1 of 19
7/29/04 at 6:23am
Thread Starter 
Hi folks!

My brother is going to buy a laptop for work and fun and I'm recommending the following computer to him. Do you think it is a good investment?

HP compaq notebook nw8000 (DU425EA)
(US Quickspecs)

Operating System Installed: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Processor: Intel® Pentium® M 1.80 GHz (Dothan 745)
Chipset: Intel® 855PM Chipset with 400MHz processor side bus and enhanced SpeedStep™ Technology
Standard Memory: 512 MB (1x512 MB) (333 MHz PC-2700)
Internal Hard Disk Drive: 60 GB (I think it's 7200 rpm, can anyone confirm this?)
Fixed Optical Drive: DVD/CD-RW drive
External I/O Ports: 1 Secure digital (SD) slot, 2 USB 2.0, 1 1394, serial, parallel, 1 S-video out, 1 VGA, 1 RJ-45/RJ-11, 1 Infra Red, 1 Audio in/out, 1 Docking connector
Video adapter: ATI® Mobility™ Fire GL T2 (= Mobility Radeon 9600 /w 128 MB VRAM)
Display: 15-in diagonal (1400x1050) SXGA+ TFT with 16 million colors
Mouse/Pointing Device: Dual pointing devices: touch pad and pointing stick
Modem: 56 K
Network interface: Integrated 10/100/1000 NIC
Wireless Technologies: Wireless LAN 802.11b/g Mini PCI card, Bluetooth
Power supply type: External 65 Watt power adapter
Battery: 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Dimensions (w x d x h): 326 x 275 x 41 mm
Weight: 2.9 kg
Warranty: 3-Year world-wide standard

Price: 2430 euros (incl. VAT) = $2920

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post #2 of 19
7/29/04 at 8:45am
I hesitated between the nc8000 and the nw8000 and decided that FireGL-approved drivers weren't enough to justify the price difference. Depends if your brother needs such drivers or not.

The 60Gb hard disk is a 5400rpm by default, the 7200rpm is an option.

My nc8000 was a good buy for a business laptop. Drawbacks: it isn't as silent as it should be, only 2 USB ports, and dramatic DVD playback quality. Otherwise, it is a solid rig for business (and even gaming) use.
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post #3 of 19
7/29/04 at 9:36am
Thread Starter 
Thanks MagicRobin! Does the playback quality issue emerge when watching AVI movies (e.g. DivX)?
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post #4 of 19
7/30/04 at 6:35am
Thread Starter 
Placed the order on the system. It was hard to find the hd rpm, but based on the czech hp site (googled it), it should be 7200 rpm, as it stated that all nw models have 7200 rpm drives. (We can't customize hp machines here in Europe, only order reseller models.)

Gonna post a review with pics once the system arrives. Hope HP manages to send a good system. It would be good for both parties.

I think I'm going to order a top notch nc6000 for my workplace, too, so a second review may follow in a month or so. This, of course, assuming that nw8000 satisfies me and my brother.
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post #5 of 19
7/30/04 at 8:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tommi
Thanks MagicRobin! Does the playback quality issue emerge when watching AVI movies (e.g. DivX)?
Actually, it's hard to say. I think that playing full-screen a DivX video on a SXGA+ screen obviously doesn't look too good.

Actually, the one mistake I made with the nc8000 is that I took the SXGA+. I should have purchased the XGA instead. Because not only SXGA+ is smaller, but it also comes with a myriad of other problems (pathetic resolution downgrade, worse video playback quality since there are more pixels on fullscreen, need to enlarge dpi, etc.) Personal preference or not, when you have a DivX movie, it will look better on XGA than SXGA+, since there is less to "zoom".

Example: you have a 320x240 video. You'll have to enlarge it less to display on a 1024x768 (3 times) than on a 1400x1050 (4 times). So obviously, it will look worse on the SXGA+.
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post #6 of 19
7/30/04 at 8:50am
Thread Starter 
Well, I don't think grass is greener on the other side. SXGA+ is excellent for office work (for its space), and I wouldn't go back to XGA. I use a combination of SXGA+ and an external XGA screen at work (dual monitor settings). XGA screen is great for web surfing and writing emails, but that's it. For anything else, SXGA+ is better.

Since nw8000 is made for graphics work (including DVD production, which I do occasionally), I'll see if I can resolve the screen issue with local HP, were it to arise. I've read that loading some drivers might fix it.
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post #7 of 19
7/30/04 at 4:27pm
Thread Starter 
Got the computer now. Fast delivery, don't you think? About 1 business day. So far we couldn't be happier.

The hard drive is Hitachi Travelstar 7K60, which is a 60 GB 7200 rpm drive.

Gonna post a full review after we have used it for a while.
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post #8 of 19
7/30/04 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
I run 3dmark 03 with the default drivers and settings. The lappy got 2646 points. Just what we expected.
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post #9 of 19
7/30/04 at 6:00pm
Thread Starter 
Just to let you know that DVD playback works perfectly. Viewing angles are great and there are no dead pixels. Speakers are very good too. A great machine for watching DVDs, overall.
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post #10 of 19
7/30/04 at 9:50pm
What? Only 2646 3Dmarks? That's lame. My M60 got 2728, a whooping improvement of almost 3%! And this was also with the default driver (older than one available on Dell's site).

These 3DMark results show how dumb we are; we should have bought CL56-s, and asked the local geniuses (or genii) to give us a short course on overclocking.

Seriously though, congratulations on your brother's machine!

The price looks OK for European standards.

Doesn't HP offer a 90W power adapter? For I8600/D800/M60, Dell's 65W adapter can't really charge the battery while the notebook is running.

Does the "standard" warranty mean NBD on-site? I suppose it should for a notebook of this class.

Finally, there may be more differences between nc8000 and nw8000 than just their video cards, since they are oriented toward different customers. Just like with I8600 vs M60, I would expect better quality control in general, and flawless screens for nw8000 in particular.
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post #11 of 19
7/31/04 at 3:13am
Thread Starter 


Fortunately, I had used/bought/managed laptops long at work, and I knew what I was looking for. I wasn't fooled by 3dmarks or people who want to play games at the highest settings.

The warranty is 3 year world-wide carry-in. Not onsite. This model doesn't have NBD OS, since it was very competitively priced (IMHO). Euro models are always more expensive than US models due to customs and shipping, I think.

Everything seems to be ok with this lappy: screen, keyboard, speakers, processor, hd, quietness, heating, etc. I really fell in love with it once I saw its specs, and the actual machine exceeded my expectations. The model is only one and a half months old.
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post #12 of 19
7/31/04 at 4:00am
I guess you have not used the 65W adapter to charge the battery so far.

As for European vs US prices, customs and shipping are secondary (e.g., M60 is produced in Ireland for world-wide distribution, but costs more in the EU). I think The Inquirer had an article several months ago, reporting that some European consumer bodies intended to sue Dell with the EU Commission because of huge differences between US and EU prices. In other words, US companies keep their European prices high simply because they can get away with it.

And what do you mean by saying that "the model is only one and a half months old"? Surely nw8000 has been around for much longer; see

http://www.specbench.org/gpc/opc.dat...ight-perf.html
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post #13 of 19
7/31/04 at 4:09am
Thread Starter 
I haven't yet made any far-reaching conclusions about the adapter's performance, but it seemed to recharge the empty battery very well when the initial Windows installation was running. The adapter is also very small and light, which is good for mobility!

Yes, the nw8000 model line is somewhat old, but the DU425EA model has been around only 1.5 months here. It's the first nw8000 with a SXGA+ screen (others have UXGA) and it's got a Dothan processor (previous ones had Banias). It is also much more competitively priced than other nw8000 models. (We can't customize our laptops here in Europe but have to order reseller models.)
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post #14 of 19
7/31/04 at 4:42am
Thread Starter 
Rechecked the warranty by using HP's warranty tool. It's the following (better than I expected):

Service Level
Standard Office Hours, Standard Office Days
Next Available Technical Resource, Offsite
Committed Repair Time 2 Days Restoral
Pickup By HP, Delivery By HP

Deliverables
Hardware Problem Diagnosis
Material
Repair

Thus, it's retrieve, repair, return. Better than carry-in.
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post #15 of 19
7/31/04 at 5:24am
I see no reason why a 65W adapter should behave differently on Dell or HP systems, since their batteries should be similar.

Are you saying that your system came with an uncharged battery, and you had to install Windows as well? I find it hard to believe.

FYI, you don't have to stress the European angle, since I also live in Europe. Further, I also took a close look at nw8000 a couple of months ago, but HP's configuration options and prices were not really competitive with Dell's. Still, if HP acts as in your case, who knows, maybe my next notebook will come from HP.

And indeed, your warranty terms look better than they sounded initially. Still, if your brother travels extensively, it might be worthwhile to check what HP means by "world-wide". Even IBM won't provide quick service in some Pacific Islands, but users get suprises while staying in Israel, for instance.
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post #16 of 19
7/31/04 at 6:10am
Thread Starter 
Yes, the battery was uncharged and detached from the computer. I think it is to prevent damages during shipping. Similarly as with mobile phones.

Windows was preinstalled, which means that we had to just turn the computer on, select an appropriate language (English), and answer some questions (such as to create the administrator account). The computer was ready for use in 30 minutes or so. There was also a handy install shield program that installed all drivers and programs, such as WinDVD.

Btw, we ordered the lappy from a small reseller, which uses a wholesaler called GNT. That's why we got it so cheap and fast. Here in Finland, no one sane orders directly from HP or IBM, since their products are on GNT's list.
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post #17 of 19
7/31/04 at 10:37pm
It is quite unusual to get an uncharged battery, and packing the battery separately from a notebook seems to be nonstandard as well; anyway, it is not a big deal.

The first part of your setup (supplying the user's info for Windows) is pretty normal as well; I guess you didn't have to activate your OEM version of Windows with Microsoft.

In contrast, I'm a bit suprised that you still had to install drivers and applications, since apparently notebooks bought from most major vendors are ready for use after completing the Windows setup, i.e., in a couple of minutes. Maybe this was due to your getting the notebook from a reseller instead of from HP directly.

Can you register with HP to get email notification about driver updates?
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post #18 of 19
8/1/04 at 1:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KCK
It is quite unusual to get an uncharged battery, and packing the battery separately from a notebook seems to be nonstandard as well; anyway, it is not a big deal.

The first part of your setup (supplying the user's info for Windows) is pretty normal as well; I guess you didn't have to activate your OEM version of Windows with Microsoft.

In contrast, I'm a bit suprised that you still had to install drivers and applications, since apparently notebooks bought from most major vendors are ready for use after completing the Windows setup, i.e., in a couple of minutes. Maybe this was due to your getting the notebook from a reseller instead of from HP directly.

Can you register with HP to get email notification about driver updates?
I have purchased many laptops from many companies (Dell, Compaq, HP/Compaq, Sony, and Gateway), and never received a fully charged battery. The packing of the battery seperate from the laptop has only been done by HP/Compaq. I actually did have to activate Win XP Pro. My employer has a site license for the corporate edition of Win XP, and the next format and reinstall will be done with the corporate version. I did not have to install drivers on mine. My NW8000 was CTO not preconfigured, so that could make a difference. Yes, you can register with HP and get email notification of driver updates.
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post #19 of 19
8/1/04 at 3:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by KCK
In contrast, I'm a bit suprised that you still had to install drivers and applications, since apparently notebooks bought from most major vendors are ready for use after completing the Windows setup, i.e., in a couple of minutes. Maybe this was due to your getting the notebook from a reseller instead of from HP directly.

Can you register with HP to get email notification about driver updates?
Yes, I think it's because GNT delivered the lappy. But I liked it that it was possible to define by yourself what you installed on the computer. It may also be due to the fact that you may configure the laptop for 3 different languages here in Finland (Finnish, Swedish, and English). I and my brother use always English, but some people may want to use their native language (Finnish or Swedish).

It was also peculiar that the warranty was started the day GNT picked the lappy from Switzerland (June 21), and was set to last 3 years and 1 month. 1 month is apparently an estimated time to sell the computer, or something. However, I don't complain about 1 week we lost from the warranty this way.
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