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General discussion

help on zd8000& dell inspiron

Apr 8, 2005 1:36PM PDT

hi,
this is my first post here.im goin to buy a new laptop.its goin to be a desktop replacement. i had quite a few choices but i narrowed them down to hp zd 8000 & dell inspiron 9300.
i customised both the laptops and thier cost came upto $2100 & $ 2300 respectively.
the hps configs are 3.2 ghz pentium 4 , 1 gb ram, dvd rw, 256 mb x 600 ( radeon) with tv tuner & media center.
the dell has a 2 ghz pentium 4 m with almost the same config as hp but without the tv tuner.
More than that i heard that hte screen on the hp is much brighter.but ther are complaints that it is too heavy, noisy,hot & has low battery life.
i dont care about the weight and the batt life as i wont be travelling much with my laptop.
but is hp really very hot & noisy..help me out on this.
i can go wit the dell but it does not have brite view & has a 2ghz processor which is slower than hp & it is costlier also.
my require ments will be for a powerful gamin pc.
Vishnu

Discussion is locked

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"gamin pc."
Apr 8, 2005 1:38PM PDT

That's the killer statement. I find gamers to be very unhappy with laptops in general.

Why do this?

Bob

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gamin pc
Apr 8, 2005 2:06PM PDT

i opted for a laptop cause my desktop with its 19"moniters ocuupy way too much place
Vishnu

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ZD8000
Apr 8, 2005 1:45PM PDT

will be faster because it has hyperthreading and EM64T with 2MB L2 Cache just like pentium M, but it also has a higher fsb. The Pentium M will be more expensive, and can be just as fast and has less heat and power issues. The P4 will be hot, 1 hr battery life, and fast and cheaper. If you don't mind lugging the ZD8000's heavyweight and its loud fan and going to endure the burns on your lap, go for it.
ROger

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sonoma vs pentium 4
Apr 8, 2005 2:08PM PDT

r u sayin that the sonoma and the pentium 4 will have somewat same power....if so i will opt for the dell as it is lighter..but does the dell's screen hav brite view
Vishnu.

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Yes
Apr 8, 2005 2:45PM PDT

pretty much. According to cnet users, the sonoma Pentium M 2.0 is similar to 3.6GHz P4 i think. However, keep in mind, that the intel pentium M does not have 64-bit support, nor does it have hyperthreading. Also dell has the 17 inch UltraSharp? Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife, i believe trulife is simaiar to brite view. ALso i don't think bright view is worht the extra 25 dollers. So who knows, its all a matter of your vision whether you like it or not. Me personally, i don't like looking at bright screens for moret than 6 hrs. Depending on your usuage, you can pick whether you want Pentium 4 or Pentium M. A lot of computer manufacturers are turning to Pentium M because it simialr to AMD 64, where it may have a lower clock speed, but its still fast.
Roger

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64 bit?
Apr 8, 2005 3:30PM PDT

will i need ht for gamin??
and also i taut that 64 bit processing was available only on amd processors
and also does the 256 mb geforse 6800 go on the dell, run on pci express.
if not does the dell has pci express???
Vishnu

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RE:
Apr 8, 2005 3:43PM PDT

HT for gaming, i don't think so, but it'll help if you're multi-tasking. Nope, new Intel processor supports 64bit the 6xx series. Yest the 6800 is PCI-Express.
ROger

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hot??
Apr 8, 2005 4:44PM PDT

i really want to go with the hp but i heard it is hott and noisy
what kind of heat and noise r we talkin about here.
is it as noisy as a desktop and as hot as a stove?
Vishnu.

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RE:
Apr 8, 2005 4:56PM PDT

With 3 fans, probably as loud as a desktop and as for heat, i wouldn't want it on my lap for 1 hour.
ROger

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finnaly decided
Apr 8, 2005 10:58PM PDT

thanx for all ur help,i decided to buy a dell inspiron 9300 as it has a better battery life and is much cooler.
i was also temted by the ge force6800 go on the dell.
im goin to config it to
pentium M 2.0 Ghz
1 GB ddr2 ram
Geforce go withe 256mb Vram
dvd burner
80 gb hard disk
17" screen with truelife

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Good choice...
Apr 9, 2005 12:27AM PDT

All though I have heard many bad things about the Dell's screen and really good things about the HP's screen, I still think the Dell is much better for gameing.

The Nvidia 6800 is 2x as powerful as the X600 (and the x600 is good). Even if you dont mind heat and noise, its still nice not to have it. Also the Dell gets 3 to 6 hours more then the HP (depending on what battery you got).

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(NT) (NT) Though Not 64-bit, Pentium M 2.0 ghz is "Dothan"
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DELL is the better machine
Apr 10, 2005 7:27AM PDT

I have a hp pavilion 7000 with a TV tuner and 17 bright view. I don't like the unit. Have had issues with it, and HP is very slow to respond IF THEY RESPOND At all. I have owned 3 dell laptops and at the time Dell did not have a 17" screen. IF they had, I would have paid a premium for a DELL.

DELL comes to your home for onsite service (If you pay for the 3 or 4 yr warranty on site upfront) but I paid for 3 yrs EXPRESS service with HP but you still have to mail your unit and your without it for 3 - 7 days. HP says 3 days, but GOOD LUCK WITH THAT NUMBER.

Now my screen keeps shutting off and HP says I have to send in my UNIT AGAIN! give me a break. I have spent more time fixing this unit (and I don't move it off the desk more than 1X every 3 - 4 months, so I am NOT abusing it) than using it is seems.

GO WITH DELL.
GOOD LUCK