Ken-L

I am a long time loyal Dell user. Now, after all these years, I am about to buy an HP Laptop.

My current laptop sits on top of my receiver as a dedicated "Jukebox" (using J. River Media Center 15) or to play Pandora Radio. When I travel, I take it along to primarily download CF cards, and for email, trip planning, etc., and of course to keep in contact with PhotoCamel.

My 6-year old laptop is a Dell Inspiron 5160, with Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor 532 (3.06GHz), 512MB RAM, 60GB HD; Microsoft Windows XP Professional, WiFi, and a 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive.

It wasn't a big deal when it was new, and now it is struggling with only 5GB free on the HD. I have over 30GB of music. When either Media Center or Pandora are running, and there is any other process that wants to run, like updates or scan by Microsoft Security Essentials, or my Copernic desktop search doing a scan, or even browsing on the web, it's become a nightmare. I have checked and rechecked and run every optimizer I can and it just comes down to it being too slow and a too little HD.

My plan this year was to replace all three of my systems, 2 desktops and the laptop. Naturally, I looked at Dells....and looked and looked.
The problem is how they are bundling their systems and no matter how I tried to find a system with what I want in the size I wanted, I could not customize to my requirements. I'm having the same issues trying to find a Dell desktop.

I want Core i5 CPU, 6Gb RAM, Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit, 500GB HD, Blu-ray ROM (DVD RW), WiFi/Bluetooth, and a Back-lit keyboard. I also want the smallest screen for that configuration, something no more than in the 15" or so size.

This morning I again looked and looked, and even looked at the MSI site, and was dissappointed that they do not offer any product with Windows 7 Professional, which is what I want in any system I buy.

I've also been looking at HP through the Costco site (I'm a member). And, here is what I came up with:

HP Pavillion dv6t Select Entertainment PC, $1,177.99. (Free shipping)

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-450M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)with Turbo Boost up to 2.66 GHz
FREE Upgrade to 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
FREE Upgrade to 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5470 switchable graphics
Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
Full-size island-style backlit keyboard with HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Includes HP TrueVision Webcam)
Audio: Dolby(TM) audio + Altec Lansing speakers
Thinness: 1.21"
Weight: 5.50 lbs
Memory card reader: 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader
Ports: 4 USB (4th shared with eSATA port), HDMI
Additional Ports: VGA, RJ-45

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jcjacob

I had the exact same issue last October when I bought my new desktop. I had pretty much decided that I was going to get the Dell Studio XPS with a Core I7 processor. Then when it came time to customize, I couldn't get anything even close to what I wanted. With HP, I got the exact configuration I wanted. The closest I could come to it with Dell would have cost me $450 more because of options I would have had to take that I had no use for.

I've had several HP desktop and laptop PCs and they've all been great. Not that I haven't had any problems, but when I did, their support has been really good at quickly resolving any issues I've had.

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Ken-L

I think Dell has itself so tightly locked into it's own model of manufacturing/marketing that it is alienating a large part of the market. Not to mention the debacle over bad motherboards for the optiplex market replaced by yet more bad motherboards, and the coverup that followed. I heard they recently lost the class-action suit over it.

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JDtech

I've given HP laptops a good, hard look, but I ended up going with Dell again recently. This time, though, I moved to the Latitude line to have compatibility with work.

Key to me this time around was dockability--something only the business-class units give you. Plus the consumer-level Inspiron and similar machines simply are not built to withstand moderate use/abuse.

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STBear

Ken

Take a look at the Dell Latitude E6410 or E6510 in the Small& Medium Business Store. This is pretty much the specs that I am looking for and was directed to the business machines by the guys in my other thread. You can get Windows 7 Pro 64 bit. Take a look. More than my budget right now but I may wait. The price will probablly fall close to the HP machine you have listed.

Ken-L

A similarly equipped E6410, but with NO backlit keyboard is $3,201, vs $1,178.
I don't need dockability, and my laptop won't be subjected to even moderate abuse.

So, for a price nearly three times the HP, I don't think so!

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Sidebyte

I just bought my wife a HP DV7, 17" with all the bells and whistles even a remote control for media. I did upgrade it to Windows 7 Ultimate though as I didn't like the Home Premium it came with. It has an adequate Nvidia video card, 320 HD, 4 gig ram and above all for HER a built in cam and mic. I bought it on sale from Tiger for about $600. seems to be a pretty good deal and NO machine is better than the warrantee it comes with.

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JDtech

I priced out a 6410 just yesterday and was not able to come anywhere close to $3201. In fact, with the i7 and 4 gigs, plus most options, it topped out at around $1200.

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Ken-L

I went back and repriced a 6410....not sure no which one I priced before

But, similarly equipped, the E6410 I priced just now, after a $492 "Instant Savings" discount, is $2098.00. That's a lot better than the $3201, but still almost twice as much. That savings wasn't there when I priced it before, and that would put the regular price at $2590.

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STBear

I am still looking for a new laptop and the advice from everyone has been if you get Dell get the Latitude. The machine I have been looking at 6410 I5-520 Windows 7 Pro 64bit with 4G hard drive and 250G hard drive priced out at around $1,350. delay has paid off as I just got a coupon in the mail from Dell, good for 30% off a 6410. That's a little better than the discounts currently offered on the web. Puts the machine with tax just under $1,000. I looked at the HP and it does seem that you can get more for less money. Not sure how the different HP models compare to the Dell models.