What do you think about this laptop

[Ryuki_NdranC]

I have narrowed down a long list of laptops to this one, im preatty exited to get my hands on it and install hardy:twisted:

I alrdy look it up for linux compatibility and it seems ok. But i was wondering what you guys think? It just your humble opinion. Is there something better or maybe something i will rather get (i picked nvidia because of drivers bugs with ATI, but i hear somewhere that ATI was planning on realizing their drivers under GPL license.

If you could give a broad opinion (a little of everything) it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks once again for your answers.

EDIT: OMG hahahahaha LAPTOP (http://www.amazon.com/Pavilion-DV2840SE-Special-Processor-Premium/dp/B0015HSNWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1210985280&sr=1-1) i feel so stupid :)

[Ripfox]

Which one?

[mevets]

The installation of nvidia drivers has always been easist for me. you might want base your decision on that.

[nicedude]

LOL you said all that and didn't list the model. But I prefer Nvidia over ATI as over the years with linux or windows Nvidia has never caused me serious grief ATI has.

[jus71n742]

Nvidia is what my girlfriends computer has and hers actually works with linux better than mine does and her graphics far surpass mine. I am considering changing to Nvidia when I get the chance.
I have also heard nothing but good things from Nvidia

[Ryuki_NdranC]

Ok i put the link to the amazon website. can believe i forgot :)

About the nvidia cards... how come ati works worst? it kinda weird since they seem to have the same excase suport for linux.

[Xiong Chiamiov]

ATI has traditionally been very bad about Linux support. Since they got bought by AMD, they are improving quite a bit, but they still don't have the kind of support NVIDIA does. Be aware, there are a few interesting things with the new kernel in Hardy and the NVIDIA drivers, but it is fixable - you just have to manually download the beta drivers from NVIDIA for now.

[oldcity]

I would be cautious of anything that is "Special". I would also
want to know what the wireless card and chip set is for it.
Some have almost overwhelming steps to overcome.
hth

[shifty_powers]

ATI has traditionally been very bad about Linux support. Since they got bought by AMD, they are improving quite a bit, but they still don't have the kind of support NVIDIA does. Be aware, there are a few interesting things with the new kernel in Hardy and the NVIDIA drivers, but it is fixable - you just have to manually download the beta drivers from NVIDIA for now.

sounds inetersting... what would those things be with the new kernle and nvidia drivers?

[ardvark71]

The installation of nvidia drivers has always been easist for me. you might want base your decision on that.

I agree wholeheartedly, this has been my experience as well.

Best Regards...

[Ryuki_NdranC]

I would be cautious of anything that is "Special". I would also
want to know what the wireless card and chip set is for it.
Some have almost overwhelming steps to overcome.
hth

Here are the detailed aspects for that laptop... I'm interest about the part of bening "special" that you think i should worry about

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Features

* Entertainment-centric special edition notebook PC with widescreen 14.1-inch LCD, integrated webcam, and multi-colored high-gloss finish with organic Verve imprint
* 2.1 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 dual-core processor, 250 GB hard drive, 4 GB installed RAM (max capacity), LightScribe dual-layer DVD drive
* Quad-mode Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n); 10/100 Ethernet; Nvidia GeForce Go 7150M graphics (up to 1071 MB of available memory)
* Connectivity: 3 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 VGA, 1 S-Video, expansion port 3 connector, ExpressCard 54/34, 5-in-1 memory card reader
* Pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium (Service Pack 1); includes remote control

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

* Hardware Platform: PC
* Processor: 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64
* Number of Processors: 2
* RAM: 4000 MB
* RAM Type: DDR2 SDRAM

Special Features

* Condition: New
* Operating Systems: Windows® Vista? Home Premium
* Platform: Notebook PC
* Expansion Ports: 1 - Express Card Slot/54 or 34
* PS/2 Keyboard Connectors: N/A
* PS/2 Mouse Connectors: N/A
* Serial Communication Ports: N/A
* Parallel Ports: N/A
* USB Ports: 3
* FireWire Ports: 1
* Fast Infrared Ports (FIR): 1 - Consumer IR
* LAN Ports: 1
* Modem Ports: 1
* Audio Out Jacks: 2
* Line In Jacks: N/A
* Microphone Jacks: 1
* VGA Ports: 1
* S-Video Connectors: 1 - TV Out
* DVI Video: N/A
* Port Replicator/Connector: 1

Hard Drive

* Size: 250 GB
* Type: Serial ATA

Cases and Expandability

* Size (LWH): 9.33 inches, 4.7 inches, 1.54 inches
* Weight: 6.1 pounds
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[lswest]

they don't say what wireless card they have in the laptop, but in my experience HP has been very fond of broadcom cards...so i'd consider checking that out thoroughly first.

Also, i can account for the fact that the graphics card works pretty well (after you install the nvidia drivers) since i have the same one (just strangely the mem only goes up to 128MB for me, so you might want to check that out).

[Ryuki_NdranC]

they don't say what wireless card they have in the laptop, but in my experience HP has been very fond of broadcom cards...so i'd consider checking that out thoroughly first.

Also, i can account for the fact that the graphics card works pretty well (after you install the nvidia drivers) since i have the same one (just strangely the mem only goes up to 128MB for me, so you might want to check that out).

I can't seem to find anywhere a more detailed aspects of the wireless card. It just says quad-mode wi-fi chip. <_< (i have right now an HP with broadcom 43xx airforce 1 and with b43-fwcutter works pretty well)

As for the video card it allows that much memory because the high memory ram included. But i still can't find if it has 128mb or 256mb of internal memory.

The only thing holds me down a little bit is the processor, i would like a core 2 due, since i heard is a LOT better (2 real processors, not just 2 cores?) But i like a lot the way that special edition is decorated :D and it has more ram than any other i found.

Keep the feedback ^^ and once again thanks :P

[cardinals_fan]

I'm allergic to HP. NVIDIA is the way to go, but maybe you should think about a Toshiba or Lenovo.

[Ryuki_NdranC]

I'm allergic to HP. NVIDIA is the way to go, but maybe you should think about a Toshiba or Lenovo.

Lot better linux support?

Any reasons for your allergy? :P

[cardinals_fan]

Lot better linux support?

Any reasons for your allergy? :P
I hate HP keyboards. And something about the laptops just makes me cringe, as if they're going to fall apart as soon as I start typing.

Thinkpads should work well with Linux. I think that most Toshibas are OK too.

[nick09]

I found a better deal on that laptop:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147662&Tpk=HP%2bPavilion%2bDV2840SE

Gotta say always shop at newegg!:lolflag:

[34.50]

^^ that's a 14" screen, OP's is 17"... totally different

[nick09]

^^ that's a 14" screen, OP's is 17"... totally different

No both of the deals have 14.1 inch screens.

[Ripfox]

I love HP Laptops...Owned a dv6000 that worked perfectly with Ubuntu (broadcom card and all...haven't had broadcom problems since Edgy)

Thanks for doing my shopping for me, I'm gonna buy one of these.

:guitar:

Rip

[Ryuki_NdranC]

Awesome, thanks for the tip, so far what do you think of the laptop? I'm not much of a gaming person (well actually i am, but i just emulate psx and some mmorpgs, i think the graphic card can stand that challenge, right???)

I looked toshibas and lenovos and i have to say they are really over priced (at least in amazon) compared with what i get with this hp. But im the kind of person that thinks things that are too good to be true have a cacth it beats me yet, so anything you can see why this would be a bad deal? Besides the obvious broadcom wireless problem that i always face (i wan't to know if this supports 128 mbps wireless but i can't seem to find anything >_< grrrrrr!)

[34.50]

No both of the deals have 14.1 inch screens.
lmao that's what I get for trying to help 2 people on 2 different forums with a similar question. My bad, sorry :)

[Ryuki_NdranC]

Awesome, thanks for the tip, so far what do you think of the laptop? I'm not much of a gaming person (well actually i am, but i just emulate psx and some mmorpgs, i think the graphic card can stand that challenge, right???)

I looked toshibas and lenovos and i have to say they are really over priced (at least in amazon) compared with what i get with this hp. But im the kind of person that thinks things that are too good to be true have a cacth it beats me yet, so anything you can see why this would be a bad deal? Besides the obvious broadcom wireless problem that i always face (i wan't to know if this supports 128 mbps wireless but i can't seem to find anything >_< grrrrrr!)

/bumb o.o

nothing more to say?

[HunterThomson]

how about this one:) better specs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146444

hp uses broadcom wifi cards.

[wolfen69]

i would get a laptop with linux pre-installed. that way you pretty much guarantee it will be compatible with any linux you throw at it, and you can always add windows after and dual boot. i think it makes much more sense than buying a computer with windows pre-installed and hoping that linux will play nice with it.

[HunterThomson]

i would get a laptop with linux pre-installed. that way you pretty much guarantee it will be compatible with any linux you throw at it, and you can always add windows after and dual boot. i think it makes much more sense than buying a computer with windows pre-installed and hoping that linux will play nice with it.

Well, the thing with that is that you can't get a good deal. My Ideapad plays vary nice but HP and BroadCom don't seem to friendly. I would really suggest getting my laptop but with the nividea GPU:) But of coarse I am going to say that:) However it is a really nice laptop and good customer service record and Newegg.com is the best they will ship it out the next day! And my laptop feels high quality real solid and looks really cool.... You know the best laptop is always a ThinkPad though....

[ru7hl3ss]

My HP lappy (dv9500t) does not use a Broadcom card, it uses an Intel… which works fine out of the box (but will not inject out of the box, if you are into cracking wep/wpa). It works great with Ubuntu, and personally, I love the laptop—far better deal with coupon codes from the HP site than any other manufacture. As some on this forum, I was allergic to the HP computers, but the deal was just too good to pass up and I am glad I didn’t.

To get a better deal, if I were you, I’d pop a squat on a site like slickdeals.net and wait for a couple coupon codes to show up. I got my laptop with a 30% off code…

[Ripfox]

All hp stuff I have used with Linux (personal exp) has worked fine. Excellent actually...down to printers ect.

lol...imho that lenovo is ugggleeee compared to the hp lappy :) :) :)

[ardvark71]

i would get a laptop with linux pre-installed. that way you pretty much guarantee it will be compatible with any linux you throw at it, and you can always add windows after and dual boot. i think it makes much more sense than buying a computer with windows pre-installed and hoping that linux will play nice with it.

Speaking of that, how about one of these by System76.....

http://system76.com/index.php?cPath=28

Best Regards...

[sharks]

I like the laptop but only one con. Its Vista premium. Try to change it to XP or any linux distro especially ubuntu.

[J.T.]

Everyone's dis'n ATI. I have never had a problem with ATI, but I have had problems with nVidia. I think it depends on your system.

[uraldinho]

Everyone's dis'n ATI. I have never had a problem with ATI, but I have had problems with nVidia. I think it depends on your system.

Well, from my experience, fglrx drivers require a bit of tinkering in linux. My ubuntu installation is 2 years old (i do upgrade to the latest versions), fglrx installation might be easier in the new installations but it did take me a while to get it working on my machine.

I'm not a gamer, i couldnt comment on its performance, but once working, it's all good.

[Ryuki_NdranC]

I don't like linux, i'm about to enter college and study computation and windows in my opinion make people lazy. I tottaly deleted my XP from my laptop and change to linux. If i need something to work... i make it work >_< if i can't, i dont use it XD, so far all works.

I have to be honest with you guys, I love HP just because they look SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful, i mean, come on look and that dv2840se and look any toshiba or IBM. I know i know, i shouldn't live because i said that xD, but it giving me a hard time how that laptops looks. I'm not that much of a gaming person put i do earn fast graphics, and fast cpus, and so far it's kind of a pain in the *** the b43-fwcutter. I also would like to try some time wep/wpa hacking sometime in the future, so far i don't need it but i'm curious to know.

So far i don't like about that laptop, the wireless, the cpu (core 2 duo :() and i think that nvidia card sucks, i don't know that much about laptops graphic cards, but i can't find detailed information about that laptop anywhere >_<

Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot for the feedback

[Ryuki_NdranC]

/bump :)

I'm changing my mind, i think I'm gonna go full linux copatibility, hopping a gaming laptop.