Why You Can Trust CNET HP Compaq nx9010 series review: HP Compaq nx9010 series
HP Compaq nx9010 series
HP Compaq's nx9010 may not be the slimmest or the fastest laptop on the block, but it's relatively inexpensive, comfortable to use, and attractive and comes in a rainbow of configurations. Sadly, the shared-memory graphics architecture makes it useless as a gaming platform and hurts the notebook's overall test scores. Still, the nx9010 is more than adequate for everyday business tasks and an affordable option for IT departments to fill out those portions of their notebook fleet for which performance isn't critical.
No shy wallflower of a notebook, the silver-and-gray nx9010 is a cumbersome travel companion, with the sizable dimensions of 8.5 pounds, 1.93 inches thick, 10.72 inches deep, and 12.96 inches wide. But we're talking about a budget notebook that trades size for cost, and if you're doing most of your work at a desk, who cares if it's not a svelte travel machine? (Note: CNET includes the optical drive and the AC adapter in its travel weight calculations; HP Compaq quotes the weight without them.)
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
| "="" --="">/sc/30474669-2-200-DT1.gif" width="200" height="150" border="0" /> Exterior buttons on the front of the nx9010 let you control the notebook's volume. | "="" --="">/sc/30474669-2-200-DT2.gif" width="200" height="150" border="0" /> We like the silky feel of the nx9010's touchpad. |
We like the nx9010's ergonomics. The keyboard has a nice feel, and the layout suffers none of those undersize keys that drive touch typists crazy. We also like the silky feel of the nx9010's touchpad (with scroll area) and the stiffness of the selection buttons better than their equivalents on HP Compaq's more expensive nc6000 and nc8000 notebooks. However, the nx9010 lacks the eraser-head control those units offer.
The nx9010 runs very cool, blowing heat out a thermal port on the left side of the unit to keep your lap sweat-free. Alas, the notebook's sound is mediocre--despite a JBL logo on the deck of the unit. Of course, weak sound is the norm on notebooks, but we'd have had more fun during our listening tests with better bass response.
You'll find the usual assortment of connectors onboard the nx9010: on the front, an infrared port and wireless on/off switch; on the right, an audio mute button and volume controls; on the left, a mini-FireWire and dual Type II PC Card slots, and a v.92 modem port; and on the back, an AC power jack, dual USB 2.0 ports, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a parallel port, and VGA and S-Video outputs.
The nx9010 comes in more flavors than you'll find at Baskin-Robbins. Preconfigured models start at a mere $949, or you can configure your own. Processors range from a 2GHz Celeron to a 3.06GHz Mobile Pentium, but Pentium Ms are not available. You can order your machine with up to 1GB of memory and a 5,400rpm hard drive ranging in capacity from 20GB to 80GB. Displays span from a modest 14.1-inch, 1,024x768-resolution unit to a 15-inch screen with a resolution of 1,600x1,200 and a wide viewing angle. Unfortunately, your only graphics option is an ATI IGP 345M, which uses a shared memory architecture (up to 128MB of main memory is borrowed from your system, draining its resources).
Unlike HP's pricier nc8000 series, the nx9010 has no modular bay; however, it does offer old-schoolers both an integrated floppy drive and a choice between a DVD+RW, CD-RW/DVD combo, DVD-ROM, or CD-ROM drive. Wireless options include 802.11b or g, and a $149, half-size port replicator is available.
The nx9010 comes with your choice of Microsoft Windows XP Professional or XP Home as an operating system. It also ships with a number of useful software titles, which vary according to model and optical drive choice, such as Intervideo WinDVD for DVD movie playback, Acrobat Reader, Sonic MyDVD 4.0 for authoring DVD movies, Symantec Norton AntiVirus, Roxio Easy CD Creator for CD-mastering and packet-writing chores, and Microsoft Office.
Mobile application performance
The HP Compaq nx9010 came in second place in mobile performance in our latest roundup. Although the system has a much faster hard drive and faster memory than its peers, it was held back by its shared-memory architecture--some systems share memory between their video adapter and main memory, which can result in degraded performance. The Sony VAIO PCG-GRV680 comes in first, thanks to its lack of a shared-memory architecture. The Compaq Presario 2500 is the slowest of the bunch and also houses a shared-memory architecture, which obviously didn't do it any favors either. The HP Compaq nx9010's mobile performance may also suffer from its CPU throttling--mobile CPU's will throttle their speed to conserve battery life--to too low a speed sometimes. Even with its shared-memory architecture, the HP Compaq nx9010 would most likely be a fast performer in a plugged-in state, thanks to its hard drive and memory, but in the case of mobile performance, it leaves much to be desired.
Mobile application performance (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Performance analysis written by CNET Labs assistant lab manager Eric Franklin.
The HP Compaq nx9010 has the best battery life of the three comparison systems in this roundup. That said, its performance is still disappointing. Its 14.8V, 4,400mAh (65WHr) battery has enough power to get it close to three hours, but not over. Still, the Compaq Presario 2500, with its 14.8V, 4,400 mAh (65WHr), gives up a few minutes sooner. Also, the Sony VAIO PCG-GRV680, even with its 14.8V, 6,450mAh (95WHr) battery, can't manage two hours of life. The HP Compaq nx9010 could definitely use a larger battery, and some users may be disappointed with its weak performance.
Battery life (Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Performance analysis written by CNET Labs assistant lab manager Eric Franklin.
To measure mobile application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark 2002. MobileMark measures both application performance and battery life concurrently using a number of popular applications (Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Netscape Communicator 6.0, WinZip Computing WinZip 8.0, McAfee VirusScan 5.13, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, and Macromedia Flash 5.0).
Find out more about how we test notebooks.
System configurations:Compaq Presario 2500
Windows XP Professional; 2.66GHz Intel Pentium 4; 448MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Radeon IGP245M; Fujitsu MHT2030 at 30GB 4,200rpm
HP Compaq nx9010
Windows XP Home; 2.66GHz Intel Pentium 4; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; ATI Radeon IGP 345M 64MB (32 shared); Seagate ST94011A 40GB 7,200rpm
Sony VAIO PCG-GRV680
Windows XP Home; 2.6GHz Intel Pentium 4; 512MB SDRAM 266MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 64MB; Hitachi DK23EA-60 60GB 4,200rpm
As befits its budget role, the nx9010 carries only a one-year limited warranty instead of the three-year plans that come with pricier HP Compaq business machines. However, for the proper amount of cash, you can upgrade to three years or indulge yourself with any of a wide array of options, such as onsite service, next-day exchange, four-hour same-day service, and two-hour help with software issues. Toll-free telephone support is free during the warranty period (90 days on software) and available 24/7.
HP Compaq provides both paper docs and extensive help documentation on CD. The company's Web site offers a plethora of downloadable PDF manuals, firmware updates, FAQs, and e-mail tech-support.
To find out more about how this product's warranty really stacks up and what you should look for in terms of service and support, take a look at CNET's hardware warranty explainer.