Need an opinion

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Need an opinion

Renkin

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#28116 19-Nov-2008 01:42

Hey guys,

I'm looking to buy a laptop in the very near future, and have been looking around to find the best one for me.

I initially started out with a budget of $1600 - $2000, but I've found this one http://c1com.co.nz/shop/step1.php?number=14959
(HP DV5-1009TX) which is a little bit more expensive but seems pretty good for the price and theres a $200 cash back going on.

The laptop will probably end up replacing the desktop (P4 3.0 1GB RAM etc) so i was wondering if this would be a good investment.

I'm looking for a laptop that will last me a fairly long time, I've had my desktop for nearly 5 years now and thought it would be better to get a laptop so I could take it to university as well as just using it at home.

Open to other suggestions too :)

Cheers

Renkin

zocster

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#178724 19-Nov-2008 05:57

Awesome specs, don't think you can go wrong, may want to check harvey norman as well. Not sure with warranty and customer service with online malls like that.

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rattewisday

203 posts

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#178743 19-Nov-2008 08:49

I've also been looking at this series of notebooks. It seems the DVt-10xxtx series have just been discontinued though and replaced with the DV5-11xxtx series (1131tx, 1132tx, 1133tx and 1140tx). The new ones seem to be a bit more expensive for similar features but I'm hoping the prices will drop once they become in stock (a number of retailers still have the old models).

EDIT:

Also the other thing with the DV5 series I havn't been able to find out about is the TV Tuner. Noone seems to know if it works with NZ Freeview, or even interfaces with MCE etc. This may or may not be an issue for you. The model you are looking at comes with a fingerprint reader and a "HP Integrated DVB-T/Analog TV Tuner", which don't seem to be listed on c1shoppingmall.

Renkin

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#178841 19-Nov-2008 15:16

Hey,

Thanks for the input guys.

Yea I notieced that when I first started looking, but the dv5-11 series seems to be a step backwards from the dv5-10, well with the dv5-1009tx anyways.

dv5-1140tx is pretty much the same as the dv5-1009tx but cost like $400 more.

So should I wait on the price drop of the dv5-11 series or should the dv5-10 last? I'm going on holiday right before Christmas and really want to grab a laptop before I go. Going to Malaysia, and probably Singapore too, I was thinking about possibly purchasing a laptop from Singapore but with the current currency conversion rate, it looks like it will be more expensive. Or would it be wiser to wait till I get back and check it out then?

@zocster: Yea I'll look into that warranty issue.

Cheers

Renkin

rattewisday

203 posts

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#178842 19-Nov-2008 15:25

Agreed about the step backwards. Hopfully the prices should drop before your christmas as I also plan to buy one around christmas time (Probably the dv5-1132tx). But with the financial situation atm I wouldn't want to bet on it . The dv5-10xxtx series have all been discontinued as far as I can tell (they have all been taken off the HP nz website), though the 1009tx is still being sold by 22 retailers according to pricespy, so that one may still be being produced. Not even the 1140tx has blueray which the much cheaper 1009tx has, which is very strange.

The other big issue with this laptop seems to be heat. Apparently the graphics card can run quite hot, but lifting the back of the laptop an inch or so can reduce the quite a bit. So if you're planning to use the laptop on your lap then that could be an issue.

Renkin

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#178848 19-Nov-2008 16:07

Hey,

Yea I've read about the heat issues with the DV5 but I dont' see myself using the laptop on my lap very much, well not for extended periods anyways.

The DV5-1009tx looks pretty good, even though its a bit over my budget. BluRay drive is a bonus even though I don't own any BluRay movies.

DSE have seemed to cleared off all their DV5-10xxtx stock, so online retailers are the only places which seem to still stock them, althought I haven't actually checked yet, it could be that they don't bother removing products from their site. Hopefully I can score a good deal on a "discountinued model" :).

Cheers

Renkin

tony0709

31 posts

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#178959 20-Nov-2008 00:05

Renkin: Hey guys,

I'm looking to buy a laptop in the very near future, and have been looking around to find the best one for me.

I initially started out with a budget of $1600 - $2000, but I've found this one http://c1com.co.nz/shop/step1.php?number=14959
(HP DV5-1009TX) which is a little bit more expensive but seems pretty good for the price and theres a $200 cash back going on.

The laptop will probably end up replacing the desktop (P4 3.0 1GB RAM etc) so i was wondering if this would be a good investment.

I'm looking for a laptop that will last me a fairly long time, I've had my desktop for nearly 5 years now and thought it would be better to get a laptop so I could take it to university as well as just using it at home.

Open to other suggestions too :)

Cheers

Renkin

Go for the new macbook 2.0ghz...it's around $2000
and it will last you a long time if you dont chuck it here and there.

It is definately what I would go for with that budget :)

All the best!

Ragnor

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#178969 20-Nov-2008 02:23

Right now you can get a 17" Dell Vostro 1710 for under 2k, you can also customize the various parts up or down as needed. Much better value and performance than the other options in this thread imo.

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Renkin

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#179135 20-Nov-2008 20:14

@tony0709: Yea I've looked into MacBooks but for the price I've found that it doesn't beat the HP price:performance. But they do look really nice :(.

@Ragnor: Thanks for that I just compared it and the HP dv5-1009tx is still better in all aspects other than the screen size.

Cheers for replies guys much appreciated

Renkin

Renkin

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#180067 24-Nov-2008 21:30

Hey guys,

Well it seems that the DV5-1009TX is pretty much impossible to get a hold of now, I've tried countless shops and they all don't stock them and they all seem to have the same supplier.

Anyways I started hunting again, and came across the Asus M50VN-AS013G, cost $2563 which is again a bit over my budget again :S. So what do you guys think?

Cheers

Renkin

Ragnor

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#180112 24-Nov-2008 23:37

You will barely notice the difference between 2.4ghz and 2.5ghz you will most certainly notice the difference between 15" and 17".

2.5k+ is too much for a 15" imo.

rattewisday

203 posts

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#180132 25-Nov-2008 08:12

IMO you should go with a DV5-1132tx or 1131tx

Renkin

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#180195 25-Nov-2008 13:20

@Ragnor: With the Vostro, the graphics card in it is a real let down, it is cheap and has pretty good specs overall, but I'm in need of a desktop replacement, that means it should be able to run modern games (probably not Crysis though) at a resonable setting or at least playable.

@dannyres: Those aren't as good as the Asus though for the price, damn I wish I had ordered the DV5-1009TX a bit earlier then I wouldn't still be looking :(.

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated. Still open to other suggestions :)

Cheers

Renkin

Ragnor

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#180576 27-Nov-2008 02:01

Hmm yes you won't be able to run Crysis acceptably on a laptop without spending a lot, ~4k probably.