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General discussion

Outstanding opportunities for HPDV1000 (Costco) 12/31-2/6/05

Jan 9, 2005 5:23AM PST

For those of you who want a notebook under 5.5 pounds and don't need dedicated video RAM the HPDV1000 (with remote control and instant on DVD/CD functions) and the similar Gateway Pentium M are great options (but no remote or instant on for Gateway I think)..

Here is the deal ---Costco just mailed out a coupon to Costco members good for the week of January 31-Feb 6 (Monday-Saturday). The HPDV1000 series model there was sold for a very competitive $1299 over Christmas. Now, if you buy during the period above you get a $150 instant discount (not a mail in rebate) so the final price is $1149 out the door (and this is at retail so you don't have to wait for a custom order).

Costco has a 6 month return policy (for any reason) on top of the HP 1 year limited warranty.

Specs include the Dothan Pentium M 735 1.7 mhz cpu (which is a bit faster than the 1.6 725 and worth about $50 more), a DVD+ burner and CD-RW, the 14" Briteview LCD, a 60gb 4200rpm hard drive, 512mb PC2700 notebook RAM (could be 2 sticks or one)and the HP quickplay and remote as mentioned above.

The reason for this outstanding pricing at retail is that new Centrino Notebook models with the upgraded bus speed, memory speed, etc will be coming out soon after in February-March.

But for those who like this notebook it has everything and you won't beat that $1149 price at retail with a Costco 6 month return to boot (Best buy, Circuit City, etc is 14 days return with a restocking fee unless defective).

The only drawbacks are that the DVD burner is DVD+ only but that is only a drawback if trying to play a burned DVD in a player that only plays DVD- (multiformat is preferable). But for this price a DVD+ burner is better than no DVD burner at all.

And, this does not have dedicated video memory but you won't find that on many notebooks under 5.5 pounds.

Again, this coupon is in the Costco Wholesale wallet mailed out this week and good from Jan 31-Feb 6th only--if you join costco or are a member and don't get a wallet mailed to you (with many other discounts also) than request one from the customer service desk

Discussion is locked

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HPDV1000 (Costco) Question
Jan 10, 2005 2:18AM PST

Ken,

your post is timely as I did receive my Costco coupon and am in the process of buying a new notebook.

You stated >>don't need dedicated video RAM<<....and thus my question.

I want to use my notebook to do video editing of movies from my camcorder. will this create a problem?

Gail Jorgensen

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Dedicated video card preferable butthat requires over 5.5 lb
Jan 10, 2005 4:36AM PST

Gail:

Dedicated video memory (a built in video card) is essential for games and preferable for other higher end video uses (like video editing) as the integrated/shared video RAM not only uses part of your RAM (if you have 512mb RAM you actually have 64mb less accessible) and also it can slow down or half the cpu at times. With a dedicated video card the video memory and video processing is done by the ATI or Nvidia video card.

As I stated, most notebooks under 5.5 pounds (the IBM T42 right at 5.5 pounds does have a video card) don't have a video card as notebooks under this weight don't have enough space or weight for a video card.

If you are willing to go to the 6.2-6.9 range and also are willing to have a 15.4" widescreen (like the Compaq X1000/HPZT3000 I have -- see X1000forums.com) or the Dell 8600 , etc then you would have the dedicated video card.

However, for those who want portability the HPDV1000 is great for instant on DVD/CD, internet surfing via wi-fi and many models even have a DVD burner.

You can see posts recently on these boards stating that the viewing angle (looking at the LCD from the side) is less for the 14" LCD on the DV1000 than it is on the HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 and other 15.4" widescreen models (or 15" square screens).

So keep that factor in mind as well.

Compusa had a decent price on a HPZT3000 model in this Sundays newspaper and Circuit City also has a HPZT3000 model.

Keep in mind, however, that the best way to order these is at Costco.com to hpshopping.com to order custom ..........

***** Finally , Intel claims that its Centrino revision (called Sonoma which is coming out very soon)will have improved integrated video and audio. So, if you want to wait for that also you may be able to get a lighter notebook with integrated video with much better performance than now.

However, these will cost more and that is why you are getting good prices on the models that are being cleared out in preparation for the Pentium M (Centrino upgrade -- faster RAM speed, new chipset, faster bus speed, etc

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MY CHOICES BASED ON YOUR POSTING
Jan 10, 2005 8:21AM PST

Ken,

i went to work reviewing your suggestions and recommendations and here is what I came up with.....

Can you give an opinion of the 2, pros and cons?

Gail

HP Pavilion zt3000 + has a $50 Mail-In-Rebate

Costco Member Price $1,590.99 - $50 mail in?? = $1540.99
HP List Price $1,649.00
Shipping & Handling $0.00

Configuration Summary

Selected Features:
Intel(R) Pentium(R) M Processor 725 (1.6 GHz)
512MB DDR SDRAM (2x256MB)
80 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
64MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) 9200
Intel(R) Pro Wireless 2200 802.11b/g WLAN
15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800) i really like this!!
Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
Microsoft(R) Works/Money
8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Included Features:
HP Image Zone photo and imaging software
1 Type I/II PC card slot
CardBus-enabled
3 USB 2.0 ports
IEEE 1394
FIR (Fast Infrared)
S-video TV-out port
Integrated SD/MMC digital media slot
Built-in Harman/Kardon stereo speakers
Touch pad with 'on/off' and HP-exclusive 'scroll' keys
Universal A/C Slimline Adapter
1-year limited H/W warranty
90-day S/W warranty


Dell 8600 P-M 1.6GHz
512MB, 60GB
DVD+/-RW
15.4" WSXGA+
XP Home/Works Suite
$200 Off
64MB DDR NVIDIA

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A lot of stuff but here is the Costco advantage .....
Jan 10, 2005 9:02AM PST

Here are my answers:

You are not choosing the ATI 9600/9700 on the Dell 8600 with the 64mb dedicated video or the 128mb dedicated video (the gamer's dream). Also, you are not selecting the 7200rpm 60gb Hitachi hard drive option from what I can see. These are the two reasons to get the Dell 8600 as very few other manufacturers offer both of those together (you can add the Hitachi 7200rpm later to the HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 but you would have to do so yourself)

*** The Compaq X1000/HPZT3000 are the same notebook except for the appearance inside (both have silver lids outside over the LCD -- HPZT3000 is all black inside with a silver touchpad which is a sticker glued over the black touchpad itself. The Compaq X1000 is half black (keys) and half silver (lower deck around the blacktouchpad). The Compaq touchpad has a useful ridge between the scroll//mouse functions on the touchpad as there is not a sticker glued over it.

The main reason to go with the Compaq X1000 right now if you don't have a heavy preference for one versus the other is that it has a $100 instant rebate -- the HPZT3000 has a $50 mail in rebate. An instant rebate is better than a mail in rebate every day of the week --you pay less sales tax, you get double the discount, and you don't have to do anything to get it.

I have posted the order screen here that shows the $100 rebate -- just go through Costco.com and select Compaq custom notebooks instead of HP custom notebooks (both are at hpshopping.com). Note that X1000forums.com is named after the Compaq as it came out first but this forum is for both sisters as well as the HPnx7000 business notebook.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/compare_category.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks/compaq_presario&catLevel=1

Yes, you will like the HPBriteview (and the 15.4" widescreen on the HP/Compaq or the Dell has a much wider viewing angle than the HPDV1000.

You lose the remote control and instant on feature for the CD/DVD but you gain the dedicated video (and make sure you get 64mb dedicated either way).

The drawback to the HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 right now is that they don't offer anything but the 4200rpm hard drive right now (they usually have a 5400rpm 80gb hard drive for only $25 more than the 4200rpm --and note that they are offering this on the HPDV1000 order screen.

But this is not a big issue and you can always add a faster hard drive later if you absolutely needed it.

Hopefully you have the American Express Platinum Card (or the newer American Express Costco card (1.5% cash back on purchases over $5,000 and 1% cash back under that) which gives you 3% for restaurants, 2% for travel and 1% for everything else) -- as using that card to purchase the notebook (whether through Costco or not) will double your manufacturers warranty from 1 year limited to 2 years limited for free.

Also, if you are not a Costco Premium Member (100 a year instead of $45 a year) you should consider it before this purchase. You get 2% cash back on all purchases you make by spending $55 more a year (and you get 1% or 1.5% back on the Amex in addition above) -- thus with this $1500 purchase as a guide you would get back $30 being a Costco premium member -- you have to get $55 back to break even on the extra cost but you are more than half way there with just this purchase (you can get the AMEX cash back no matter what which is $15 (based on 1500) if you get 1% back or 22.50 if you are on the 1.5% card tier.

And, as I stated before, the #1 reason to buy through Costco is you get a 6 month return policy for any reason whether it is a custom order through Costco.com or a retail store purchase (in store return for both) which is on top of the manufacturer warranty I discussed above.

All this would apply to ordering the HP/Compaq or Dell custom or the in-store HPDV1000 .........

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COSTCO advantage
Jan 10, 2005 9:26AM PST

Ken,
I did not mention that the 2 computers that I mentioned I found by going through the Costco web site.

And yes, I am an executive member and boy do I benefit from the rebates....in fact I am anticipating my rebate check later this month or early next month to help pay off the AMEX bill when I purchase this!!

I also do like the Costco advantage with their return policy...can't beat it.

I will go back and look at the Compaq....I really appreciate your input....I am self educated with regards to computers and this is the first time I have needed to purchase a computer for more than just basic word processing needs.....It will now be video editing in addition Happy

Gail

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Ask others if you definitely need dedicated video-preferable
Jan 10, 2005 11:34AM PST

Gail:

You may want to get an expert opinion if based on your needs you require dedicated video memory or not.

But I can tell you that your notebook will run overall better with dedicated video memory (as it does not use system RAM or slow down the processor) and also if you don't need a portable notebook under 5.5 pounds you will like the 15.4" widescreen better for video editing (both for the larger size and improved viewing angle).

Since you have the Costco executive membership that 2% cash back is a nice bonus (and of course use the AMEX card whether you buy through Costco or not to get the warranty doubling for free and to get the rebate on that).

Also, a 15.4" notebook like the Dell 8600 or the HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 will fit in a Targus notebook backpack that will fit a 15" LCD --you can do this with other brands as well but see Targus.com for comparison.

Also, hopefully you have DSL or cable internet and can take advantage of wi-fi unplugged (54G -- order Intel 2200b/g or equivalent) as that is the most fun you can get out of these new notebooks (and that is the primary reason I bought mine).