Hp pavillion vs. Dell

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by Shortfuse, Feb 1, 2008.

  1. Shortfuse

    Shortfuse King of Hearts

    Its been a quite a while since ive made a post let alone a thread but hey easy go, easy come right?

    Its about time for me to purchase a laptop for college, i plan on going away for my studies and i need a durable notebook that would last long enough to get me through at least my undergrad years (because my family isnt exactly made of money and i definately dont have any).

    As far as price and general interest goes ive narrowed it down to three notebooks that seem to suit my needs:

    The HP Pavillion dv6700t
    -Intel Core 2 Duo Pprocessor T7250 (2.00 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
    -2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
    -120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
    -15.4 inch display
    -$900

    Dell XPX 1530
    -Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2MB cache/2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB)
    -2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
    -120GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
    -15.4 inch display
    -$1250

    Dell Inspiron
    -Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2MB cache/2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB)
    -3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
    -120GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
    -15.4 inch display
    -$1049

    I understand that the systems are very similar when it comes to the specs and i have only a fair understanding of what goes on inside a computer. the XPS is actually almost out as it seems overpriced for the same goods (only sold on the looks and weight really). i chose the inspiron and the hp because my family has had a good run with them both and im torn because i dont have the experiance or company knowledge to discern from the two. My family and i have been holding off between the two and cant decide between miniscule details. The kind of notebook i want is nothing too fancy but one that runs extremely quickly and smoothly (as i tend to run several large programs at once, watch and edit ALOT of videos). How much RAM would be good for me? 2 GB or 3? Is the RPM that integral of a factor? Should i be more concerned about the screeen resolution? Are these companies reliable? decisions like that are whats perplexing me.

    Sorry for the large post, im pretty interested in the subject :p . Any advice from anyone willing to put their two cents would be appreciated.
    Just want to make the right choice on this one.
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2008
  2. Phil Elmore

    Phil Elmore Valued Member

    Go with the Dell. It's been my experience that HP computers suck.
     
  3. Moi

    Moi Warriors live forever x

    I've got two of them, never had any problems. The laptop is used on building sites, down tunnels, dropped, rained upon and it's still going strong.
     
  4. narcsarge

    narcsarge Masticated Whey

    I have both a Dell (mine from when the wife upgraded to her HP) and an HP. My wife loves her HP and she is studying for her Degree in computers. I have forwarded your question to her as I too don't like HP products but what the heck. She is the one getting the degree. I just work on all different types. :D

    I'll give you her opinion ASAP!

    For my wife: "If they are sure they want a Dell I would probably go with the 2nd choice because for the price there is not much difference between the 2nd and the 3rd. but honestly I would go with the HP."

    The queen has spoken! :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2008
  5. Phil Elmore

    Phil Elmore Valued Member

    I currently own an HP desktop, an HP laptop, and a Dell laptop. I've had nothing but problems with the HP desktop and the HP laptop. The Dell is newer than the other two, so perhaps I'm being unfair, but based on how soon after purchase the Desktop started experiencing crash problems, I'm biased against HP in all things.
     
  6. Moi

    Moi Warriors live forever x


    Dont blame you. Is it definatly hardware?
     
  7. Phil Elmore

    Phil Elmore Valued Member

    It's definitely the machines and not anything I did with or to them, yes.
     
  8. Moi

    Moi Warriors live forever x


    I'd be on to HP every day. Send it back.
     
  9. Shortfuse

    Shortfuse King of Hearts

    thank you for the input, but shouldnt the HP be a better option considering the stronger system for a better price? i havent tried out different systems with varying specs so im not sure how a weaker system vaires from a stronger one (for all i know i may be happy with 1.66GHz and 512MB :p).
     
  10. psyphon

    psyphon Valued Member

    i'm a computer technician by trade, and to b honeset with you all 3 of those computers are horrible. not because of the specs (some of them are actually fairly good), but i fix more computers from BOTH of those companies more often than any other type .... i'd say if i have 20 computers on my bench at least 14 of them are from 1 of those 2 brands.

    just my 2 cents
     
  11. Strafio

    Strafio Trying again...

    Not really. When I bought my laptop, I bought the highest specs I could find for the cheapest price. However, I paid the price in that it was horrifically put together.
    I had problems with the battery from day 1 - the system would crash if I plugged it into the mains while the power was on. If I wanted to put in the mains supply to charge it, I had to close it down first.
    What's more, the set up they gave me (the drivers for all the parts etc) was incompatible with XP's service pack 2. I used to have a choice - suffer my computer being raped by malware or try and install service pack 2, except choosing the latter would usually end up in my laptop completely crashing so I'd lose everything on my hard drive and would have to wipe the system completely from scratch. 2 years later, the Nottingham computing department finally found a way to sort this - if the sound was uninstalled before SP2 was installed, and then re-installed afterwards then everything was fine. Still, two years of choosing between viruses/spyware and having a working computer wasn't a good deal!!

    Although my laptop was particularly bad and the chances are that another won't be, I don't recommend laptops in general. You are paying a HUGE price for the portability. The thing is more expensive, it's less powerful and much less reliable. If you do genuinely need portability then I still recommend that you get a desktop for your general PC use and then also buy a laptop from here.
    You get a cheap price because the spec is out of date - i.e. it's the laptops they were selling brand new 3 years ago.
    It will still do everything you need a laptop to do and leave you $800 or so of your budget to buy a good quality desktop.
     
  12. Shortfuse

    Shortfuse King of Hearts

    thats a good point, i never considered the precision and care that might be taken in putting the notebook together. i suppose that would explain alot about the price gaps between companies. that actually makes me lean towards the Dell XPS, despite it being the most expensive.
     
  13. Strafio

    Strafio Trying again...

    What did you think of the idea of buying a cheap laptop off ebay for portability and buying a Desktop for your main use?
    People only tend to need portability when they're doing something that a 3 year old laptop could handle quite easily. The more power-sucking applications are probably ones you'd rather do on a desktop anyway.
    The link I gave you on ebay offered such laptops for $200, leaving you a $800 budget for the desktop.
     
  14. xen

    xen insanity by design

    I bought a Pavillion dv2530ea in august last year;

    1.8g dual processor
    2g ram
    160g hd

    I've not had any real problems with it, beyond the odd program having to close now and then, but I'd put that down to Vista compatibity problems more than anything else.

    Generally, its been a solid machine. The wifi card is sound, the screen is excellent, really clear. It seems happy with loads of programs open. It runs Reason (a music production/virtual studo sw suite) with loads of cpu and ram to spare.

    One happy customer :)
     
  15. february

    february Valued Member

    Laptops are the way forward. Even alot of good desktops manufactured nowadays are basically using laptop form-factors just without the screen. Plus the added benefits of portability (especially with Wifi) make them hard to pass up. I'd have to agree with psyphon and say both Dell and HP Compaq have had a pretty crappy rep in the past, especially with techs. In 5 years of contracting in PC tech support, the majority of dud PC's I used to see on my workbench were Dell or HP. I think the reason that most techs steer clear of them is that they have to service them so often, although I think that this is mainly due to the proliferation of these brands in the workplace and they've both improved significantaly over the last year or 2.

    By all accounts, and judging by your needs, I'd go with the HP. The lower price point is the clincher here, and I think (don't quote me) it has a dedicated graphics chipset, which of course would make video's a breeze. 2gig of ram should be ample, even for Vista (which uses a 1gig of ram just for the aero interface, but this won't be a problem if you have dedicated graphics).

    And if you have problems, just take it back. Straightforward.
     
  16. Shortfuse

    Shortfuse King of Hearts

    portability is actually a big thing for me to be honest, even know i hate hopping from one room to the other to get anything typed. i was actually debating desktops vs. notebooks and reading an interesting article on the matter; but overall, id rather not have two CPUs to deal with (even though i think the inside of a desktop computer makes more sense to me). I dont even prefer anything above 15.4 inches due to the weight and size despite how much i love the large screen. Besides, i doubt my parents are going to purchase two computers :p
     
  17. Strafio

    Strafio Trying again...

    I still stand by it.
    The cheap laptop will anything you need portable and the desktop will handle everything else. I've yet to come across a laptop user who doesn't envy the stability of their friend's desktops. As to your folks, just ask them what budget they'll allow and work from there! ;)
     
  18. Topher

    Topher allo!

    MacBook's & MacBook Pro's are good reliable laptops.

    I'd recommend either:

    - a desktop plus a cheap or second hand laptop for when you need to be portable.
    - or a laptop with an external display.

    In my view, people greatly over estimate just how portable they'll be.

    Well you say that, but the iMac, for example, is essentially just a MacBook Pro.
     
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2008
  19. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    Personally I've just ordered a Dell XPS M1330n. It comes with Ubuntu pre-installed. :D
     
  20. BlueDragon1981

    BlueDragon1981 In the House of Draven

    I would say HP but now that Michael Dell is back at the helm Dell is getting back on the road to reliability. I say buy something from http://www.ibuypower.com.
     

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