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Miscellaneous laptop discussions : HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300
Savings
by togus - 3/9/05 5:43 AM In reply to: laptop choice, look at 15.4 by ehellgrenI checked wtih Dell, the coupon was good for $600 off the price for 9300 configured at over $1,600. The free upgrades were still good, but any other offers could not be layered on. The purchase must be made through the net, and there were only 3000 coupons to be honored. Still looks like a good deal to me.
It's a good deal, but ...
by straca - 3/9/05 6:03 AM In reply to: Savings by togusI checked the fine print, too. But when trying to actually check out (same config), the price was changed from $2,032 to $2,599, so beware! Try it.
The devil is in the detail, I guess. Like raising the price $30 backs so you can have a $35 off sale next week. Ok, why bother.
Why they change the config option
by straca - 3/9/05 5:32 AM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 by stracaI just check Costco.com website, and they no longer offer the 1GB memory (hp.com does!). On the other hand, I could only select the 7200 RPM HD from costco website, not hp. Go figure.
That is one thing that drives me crazy. You configure the PC, wait for few days to decide and when ready to buy, you can’t get the system you want.
Nuts!!!!!!!!!!!
HP or DELL
by ghinnant2005 - 3/13/05 3:13 PM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 by stracaI have owned a DELL for the past two years and would be getting another if they had a bigger screen and faster processer. I just got an HP zd8000 and I can tell you this, the support with DELL is MUCH better than HP. If you call HP supprt you will get some voice over IP line to somewhere in India, your support will come from someone who can hardly speak english and I had to explain my problem from beginning to end to 5 different service people before I finally got fed up and returned one of the componants to HP(Port Replicator Hard Drive kit that didnt work)
Good Luck to you
HP
by culture_of_one - 3/19/05 8:03 PM In reply to: HP or DELL by ghinnant2005I've heard that HP's customer service is practically non-existent, but that they were compensating by making stuff with fewer issues. Does anyone have an opinion on this?
My wife and I own an HP printer...and I'm frequently amazed at how many things HP has thought of to make self-diagnostics and self-service better. I've never had to contact HP customer service. Even when there were issues like software conflicts, paper jams, and the like (all "My Bad", by the way), it was just click-click and things were fixed. I'm thinking, if their laptops are the same, maybe I'll try out an HP. (Currently have an IBM...no complaints except the price.)
HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 - #2
by pcfitness - 3/13/05 7:44 PM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 by straca1. Which processor is better: Pentium 4 or the Centrino "Sonoma"?
entrino is better for mobile use. The p4 is for of what I would consider a workhorse processor. As far as processors go they both are great! Get the best that your bank account can afford.
2. I really like the HP keyboard (this keyboard should be on every 17" laptop), but am not too crazy about the weight, heat issues and P4.
Even though the compaq x6000 is pretty much the same laptop as the zd8000 for some strange reason the x6000 was supposed to run cooler than the zd8000. I read that in a forum somewhere online.
3. Video memory: Dell offers ATI x300 with 128 MB, NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800. HP ATI x600. I may not need 256 MB, so how x300 compares to x600? The x600 is faster than the x300, better for gaming etc. The Go 6800 is better than both. Not by much but it is better.
4. Is it really worth to spend extra $200 for Windows Media Center (HP)? No! Unless you will use it as a Tivo then sure. But most people I know use their computers for business and games. There are other products on the market to do the same things that windows media center does. Like Tivo, Comcast's DVR box etc. Just remember, there is a fee for everything, even to take advantages of certain features in WME. By y Tivo for $49 on eBay and order Win XP Home on your laptop and save $200...lol
Which one would you recommend and why? It depends on what your going to use it for. In fact, that is such a huge question that it should be a separate area...;) j/k.
pcfitness
www.expertcomputerhelp.com
Thank you for your opinions ...
by straca - 3/15/05 5:47 AM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 - #2 by pcfitnessFrom all the posts I am think I will go with Dell. Strangely enough, when I checked their website the last time, the WME was less expensive (by about $40) than Windows Pro. Go figure.
I am though curious about the Compaq x6000. Have not seen it in person, but I think Fry's may have it.
Dell Coupon
by bill_reinwald - 3/16/05 11:04 PM In reply to: Thank you for your opinions ... by stracaAre you sure you're copying the coupon code correctly, its "W$N7BQKNQBFM42", don't include the quotes - I just checked it, it still shows as being good as of 3/16 at 11PM PST, although maybe only for $500 now.
Go check www.techbargains.com to be sure you're getting the entire coupon code, its at the very bottom of the page now.
Compaq X6000 vs zd8000
by ehellgren - 3/17/05 3:25 PM In reply to: Thank you for your opinions ... by stracacheck frys and compUSA, they both had them when I was in the local stores.
Input on the HP zd8000
by zaran1 - 4/7/05 1:07 PM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 - #2 by pcfitnessMy wife and I just ordered and received the zd8000. I will say that I am pleased with the style and layout of the laptop, it has all the features you need and the keyboard is excellent. Now everyone complains about heat and I completely agree that I wouldn't want to have this laptop directly on my lap for long periods of time. That said if your fine using a table or desk heat shouldn't be a problem. I havn't seen any sort of performance problems with the laptop related to heat in any way. The X600 with 256 ddr2 ram is awesome. We play EQ2, Counterstrike and it seems to be able to run all the high end games at medium-medium high quality levels with no impact on performance. That said you can't crank doom 3 all the way up to full settings. I can't get Doom 3 to run well on my Desktop AMD 64 3400+ with an X800XT PE when I have it cranked all the way up to full settings either.
The laptop does exactly what it is supposed to do. It runs games very well at decent settings and is a perfect replacement for a desktop. If you want something a little more mobile the Pentium M's chips do consume less power. If you upgrade a 9300 to the Pentium M 2 Ghz with 1 Gig ram and the 256 6800 then your looking a $2700 which is quite a step up from the $2000 that our HP cost. You might as well get a XPS Gen 2 if your spending 2500+. XPS Gen 2 is like 8.6 pounds and the HP Zd8000 is 9.3 I believe so not much of a weight difference if that is a concern for you. For what you want the computer for I would go for a cheaper zd8000. As an avid gamer I'm considering getting the XPS Gen 2 and letting my wife use the zd8000 since she is more into Sims and less into high end 3d games. Once more I'll say the Zd8000 runs all these high end games rather well but if you want to tweak out 10-20 FPS more the Gen 2 is probably the way to go.
Anyway I know it's not a zd8000 vs XPS Gen 2 article but given the small price difference I'm not sure why you would buy the 9300 when you can spend 200 dollars more and come out with a 2.13 ghz Pentium M and a Nvidia 6800 ULTRA.
Good luck
BTW stats on our HP Zd800 which cost approx $2000 are standard with the following exceptions.
Processor: 3.4 ghz Pentium 4
Video Card: X600 256 MB
Ram: 1 Gig
Monitor: WSXGA 17 inch
Hard Drive: 100 GB
Optical Drive: Dual Layer DVD Burner
Reply for Laptop ???
by HP_Fan - 3/19/05 6:47 PM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 by stracaI would take the HP. Dell is having a little power issues.The adapters are not made veryt good. If you ever want to use the internet in a hotspot, the Centrino would be the best choice. The Windows
Media Center is for entertainment. I hope you pick the HP computer.
My HP cooks my lap
by no-exit - 4/4/05 11:17 PM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 by stracaI got the ZD8060 2 months ago and all was well at first. It was so pretty that I didnt notice the weight and heat. Its 2 months later and the honeymoon is over. My lap is well done and I've had quite the workout luggin this thing just around the house. I dont travel much but I would NEVER take this thing anywhere. It would die in an hour without an outlet. You cant work on a plane or in an airport nor can you watch a full movie. Its almost senseless. I had a power outage for 2 hrs last month and it was ridiculous... my laptop died.
It's still pretty and I'm not getting rid of it... but I ordered an IBM thinkpad tonight so I actually have a mobile laptop instead of 10lb stove.
Not trying to deter you, just my experience so far. By the way, its not like I didnt know what I was getting, we have 5 laptops in the house and the 6th one is on its way now.
Fujitsu N6000
by ruper109 - 4/5/05 4:30 PM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 by stracaHave you looked at the Fujitsu Lifebook N6000 series?? It's basically the same package as with the ZD8000, 17"widescreen, full keyboard/keypad, 3.2g processor, 1gbRam, etc. But the screen quality is much better, and looks like an overall more quality product than the HP counterpart. Not taking anything from the ZD, as I'm between the HP and Fujitsu as well, but the N6000 seems like a more finished product.
BEWARE of Dell Coupons .. not all they crank up to be …
by straca - 4/6/05 10:03 AM In reply to: HP Pavilion zd8000 vs. Dell Inspiron 9300 by stracaI decided to get the 9300 today. I found a coupon last Friday for 35% off selected Inspiron Notebooks $1499+. My PC comes to $2679 and when I was ready to check out I found the coupon is no good (yes, they have 30% off, but the 5% comes to almost $134 and would pay for good chunk of the sales tax). Upset does not come close. When I called Dell, they told me they are usually conditions attached, such as number of PC’s sold, but I could find no such info. Also, if the coupon expires on e.g. 4.1.05, good luck using it on that day, because the coupon actually expires 3.31.05. 
I think it’s a bad business practice and it seems the company is playing games. Perhaps I am crying over hill of beans, but this makes me wonder how Dell will treat me should I have a real problem.
Maybe the time is right to wait if HP will come out with Centrino version of zd8000 and say good riddance to Dell. 
Umm...
by Fredrick_NP - 4/6/05 2:35 PM In reply to: BEWARE of Dell Coupons .. not all they crank up to be … by stracaOk I agree the whole expires the day before is garbage but, after you enter a coupon there is a option that comes up where you can click to view details about that coupon (This is all done in the shopping cart.)
You shoud read more carefully.
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