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strepto8's S2xp

post #1 of 11
Thread Starter 
1.8ghz processor 1gig ram winxp pro 13.3 wxga 80gig hdd & BLUETOOTH! not sure why but the us version does not hve a dvd-rw drive well the s2 has it & i am beginning to think that what i have here is the japanese version, it sure says made in japan at the bottom & the specs are a bit different from the us version. So far so good

looks
very solidly built. the back cover is dark & looks very classy. The finish is good & i don;t think it would be easily scratched unless we give it a good effort. the built is solid & everything fits together very well..no gaps or bent lcds like the ibm t series. & no latch! you just flip it open & flip it close cool!

speed
the processor is ok i guess but the harddrive really clows it down. It is a 4200rpm drive & i am thinking i might upgrade it to a 5400rpm drive 100gb but we'll see what happens

ram
upgraded my ram from 512 to 1024...this laptop uses some sort of a mini ram....although it is not mini on prices..... it coted me gbp119 for a 512mb module....damm that ex

screen

quite nice but sadly not the x-black generation 2 screen which is brighter then the first generation

& whoohoo!!!! it comes with a 64mb 9700 radeon chip! yeah!

dvd-rw drive

slow burn speeds & doesn;tdo double layer but better than hanging around with an external burner))

wireless.

this uses the intel 200bg card & it's pickup is quite good actually. much better in fact than the a series which has pretty poor reception. I did try a trick & just changed it to an atheros shipset. The diference is remarkable! the speed of the downloads & uploads has incresed quie dramatically....i'm just happy there is enough space to squeeze in the atheros chip. the a series didn;t & i had the atheros sitting on the shelf for too long a time

Sounds

quite decent speakers i'm surprised since the form of the notebook is quite small.. quite loud as well wihout loss of tones at high volumes. low on the bass though so some speakers might be in good order.....although with the builtin bluetooth i might just get the hp bluetooth headset & sit down to some wireless music

Bluetooth

a significant feature missing on the american counterpart which is quite essential for my work so i am glad to have it. photoes to follow
LL
post #2 of 11
How did you change it to the Atheros chipset (the a/b/g one is it not?) and how much did that cost you?
post #3 of 11
Thread Starter 
you just open the panal below the laptop & the microdimms & the wireless chipset are both visible, just swap it out. the atheros chipset set me back about usd80 with tax & shipping
post #4 of 11
Where did you get it from? My s360 should be here in less than a week and I might do the swap as well if it is that much of an improvement.
post #5 of 11
Thread Starter 
i got it for gbo1400 post vat so about usd2800. the specs are an upgraded version of the us version with bluetooth dvd-rw drive as well as a better soundchip (not the intel soundchip) too bad the high spec version is not in the uk yet
post #6 of 11
I'm sorry, I wasn't clear. Where did you get the Atheros chipset and how much did it cost? If you have a part number that would be great. Thanks.
post #7 of 11

where to buy

I was looking around for Mr. Atheros and he was cheapest HERE

I don't get the hype, isn't 5Ghz a-band a novelty? Intel lists the specs as equal for the 2200 and 2915 in regards to 2.4GHz 54g.
post #8 of 11
Great, thanks. The link says that it is Intel - is it the same product? Also, has this had any effect on battery life?
post #9 of 11
I couldn't find any mini-PCI cards made by Atheros Communications, but the Intel 2915 is based on the same tech as Atheros' a/b/g wireless.

I don't think it will preserve battery life or increase range, but it may help relieve interference problems with household 2.4GHz devices.
post #10 of 11
is this model a non-us model?
post #11 of 11
The S2xp is a non-US model. Thanks for the specs on the Intel card, I appreciate it.
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