Which Laptop is better ???

[foldman]

HP Pavilion dv7-2180us Entertainment Notebook PC, espresso black NEW

• • Quad-core power plus entertainment with full-screen playback
• • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
• • Intel Centrino 2 Technology with Core 2 Quad Processor Q9000 (2GHz)
• • 6144MB of memory plus 500GB hard drive with built-in protection
• • 17.3" (diagonal) HD+ LED BrightView display (1600 x 900) with 16:9 ratio
• • Integrated webcam
• • HP MediaSmart software for entertainment management
• • ATI discrete graphics with 1GB memory
• • Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• • ENERGY STAR® qualified

~ OR ~

HP Pavilion dv7-2170us Entertainment Notebook PC, espresso black NEW

• • Power plus entertainment with full-screen HD playback
• • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
• • Intel Centrino 2 Technology with Core 2 Duo Processor P7550 (2.26GHz)
• • 4096MB of memory plus 500GB hard drive with built-in protection
• • 17.3" (diagonal) HD+ LED BrightView display (1600 x 900) with 16:9 ratio
• • Integrated webcam
• • HP MediaSmart software for entertainment management
• • ATI discrete graphics with 1GB memory
• • Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• • ENERGY STAR® qualified

[EXreaction]

The first one has a quad core and 6GB of ram, the second has a dual core and 4GB of ram.

Not sure what you'd need that kind of cpu power in a laptop for...

[DoubleK]

Best bang for the buck I have found:

HP® Official Store — Buy an HP Pavilion dv6-1230us Entertainment Notebook PC, espresso black (VH681UA#ABA) from HP

Staples has it much cheaper on sale now:

HP Pavilion dv6-1230us Entertainment Laptop | Staples®

I picked one up Monday

Not many laptops leave you with an upgrade path. If you simply have to have it for the latest and greatest games you had better plunk down some serious (1g+) money.

Both of those HP laptops you list fit that bill and there are far better laptops to be considered in that range.

Area-51 m15x 15.4-inch Gaming Laptop Computer – Alienware

I would undoubtedly still be disappointed if this was all I had to game on.

[zen]

The quad core with 6GBram.

[Nude_Lewd_Man]

The first has a slower speed CPU, but it has twice as many. It also has 50% more RAM (which the OS can use - as both LTs have 64-bit installed) to make it quicker too.

Other than the second one having the faster speed CPU, the only other benefit would be that it can play movies in HD quality... Apart from that, they're exactly the same - from the specs you've listed...

[EXreaction]

^ WTF? What about either playing HD movies?

[Networker4321]

HP Pavilion dv7-2180us Entertainment Notebook PC, espresso black NEW

• • Quad-core power plus entertainment with full-screen playback
• • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
• • Intel Centrino 2 Technology with Core 2 Quad Processor Q9000 (2GHz)
• • 6144MB of memory plus 500GB hard drive with built-in protection
• • 17.3" (diagonal) HD+ LED BrightView display (1600 x 900) with 16:9 ratio
• • Integrated webcam
• • HP MediaSmart software for entertainment management
• • ATI discrete graphics with 1GB memory
• • Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• • ENERGY STAR® qualified

~ OR ~

HP Pavilion dv7-2170us Entertainment Notebook PC, espresso black NEW

• • Power plus entertainment with full-screen HD playback
• • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
• • Intel Centrino 2 Technology with Core 2 Duo Processor P7550 (2.26GHz)
• • 4096MB of memory plus 500GB hard drive with built-in protection
• • 17.3" (diagonal) HD+ LED BrightView display (1600 x 900) with 16:9 ratio
• • Integrated webcam
• • HP MediaSmart software for entertainment management
• • ATI discrete graphics with 1GB memory
• • Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• • ENERGY STAR® qualified

Other than branching out into other notebook brands, the first one is incrementally better for the reasons stated above. But the HP webiste has become so sophisticated for troubleshooting and downloads ( drivers ) it is a Super brand. I have 4 of the dv9208nr and never had a problem.

Buy it now, get started folding! We need the help!

Good Luck

[DoubleK]

Holy Nike's Networker I almost forgot that I recently added a Nvidia EVGA 275 gtx to my rig over the old 7950gx2 that didn't fold so well. With that said time to get crunching again. Good job, pays to remind remind remind!

[demha]

In general All HP has heating problem and when it comes to DELL it has no issue with heating

Other than branching out into other notebook brands, the first one is incrementally better for the reasons stated above. But the HP webiste has become so sophisticated for troubleshooting and downloads ( drivers ) it is a Super brand. I have 4 of the dv9208nr and never had a problem.

Buy it now, get started folding! We need the help!

Good Luck

[Networker4321]

In general All HP has heating problem and when it comes to DELL it has no issue with heating

Dehma,

That is a pretty broad statement to make about HP. Since Compaq, now HP has been engineering, manufacturing and selling everything from Enterprise Servers down to the new mini PC's, the experience they gain in their Enterprise space goes into the engineering of all computing products, even their storage. I won't bore you with the list of awards HP has received for their end user products but I can tell you that unlike Dell, who does spot buys on the market for everthing from mobo's to L E D's, you can crack open any box in a series of HP products and the specs are the same, down to the bios.

Thank You for the input but personally, I respectfully disagree. The reason I know that's how DELL grabbed so much market share so quickly by being less expensive is that they were buying cheaper parts AND using very smart techniques around JIT ( Just in time ) delivery. No expensive excess inventory.
Mike Dell told me that himself.

I have never had a heat problem and neither have my employees. HP is our corporate standard for over 10,000 stores and 500+ servers in the main datacenter.

Thank You,

[RamonGTP]

Dehma,

That is a pretty broad statement to make about HP. Since Compaq, now HP has been engineering, manufacturing and selling everything from Enterprise Servers down to the new mini PC's,

Thank You,

There's a BIG difference between HP's enterprise solutions and the consumer market, other than both having the HP name there is virtually nothing else that's the same. IMO, HP's consumer line of computers is junk. They make great laser printers and great servers but consumer laptops and desktops are trash. I'd go with a Dell, Lenovo or Toshiba before even considering HP personally.

[Aaron_8015]

It depends what you want to use the laptop for... If its for games then I would pick the 2nd over the first.

[Nude_Lewd_Man]

There's a BIG difference between HP's enterprise solutions and the consumer market, other than both having the HP name there is virtually nothing else that's the same. IMO, HP's consumer line of computers is junk. They make great laser printers and great servers but consumer laptops and desktops are trash. I'd go with a Dell, Lenovo or Toshiba before even considering HP personally.

And there I was thinking that Lenovo was a subsidiary of IBM...

[Networker4321]

And there I was thinking that Lenovo was a subsidiary of IBM...

To each his own. I'll go out on a limb here and say that I am deeper into the R&D department of DELL and HP than anyone in this forum. I am an IT veteran of 30 years. From an engineer in telecomm to managing the channel partners for a two year period and now as a global account manager for only Fortune 100 companies I am in a position to fairly evaluate the myriad of input that crosses my desk ( and that of my staff ) I have data, not information.

You don't think that HP's experience in Enterprise servers translates to their manufacturing techniques in the desktop/laptop space? Would you allow that data to lie fallow if YOU had it, or would you use it?

Everyone has their favorites, no denying that. And DELL is not junk, they made their way into the Enterprise server space look too easy. How? Experience they had gained in the notebook / desktop space.They also made channel ready products for resale though the CDW's of the world before HP got there. They relied on regional resellers which worked well enough, just not as quickly. HP is available through CDW now as well, at at startling low margin point of 2-3% for CDW. It's all about volume.

This would be a lot more fun in a tavern with a good Sam Adams,,,

Thanks,

[RamonGTP]

You don't think that HP's experience in Enterprise servers translates to their manufacturing techniques in the desktop/laptop space? Would you allow that data to lie fallow if YOU had it, or would you use it?

No, I don't. I've worked on their higher end systems and I've worked on their consumer systems, like I said, other then both having the HP name, I saw nothing that was similar. I can't even begin to count how many HP laptops i've seen with power plugs that have come desoldered from the board, or the cheap thermal compound that has completely dried up causing the system to thermal and shut down.

[DoubleK]

Wonderful. Just Wonderful. I gave HP a 2nd chance after the last piece of garbage I purchased from them in 2001 after the whole y2k scare was up.

My experience with them was HORRIBLE to say the least but I credit them with empowering me to avoid their junk in the 1st place and build my own, something I had never done until 10 months into my "new" HP desktop with an unending cycle of defective hardware, mail computer for repair and receive 3 weeks later still broke, between two desktops. The first computer simply blue screened constantly and I reflect back fondly on how they tried to get me to reinstall Windows ME on it repeatedly. Kinda of hard when you barely get past post. The second piece of garbage HP called a desktop wasn't much better although this one would only BSOD intermittently every hour or two.

So excuse me when based upon my horrific experiences with them if I do not exude confidence in the same sentence with Hewlett Packard. The only worse computers I had experienced before them was my poor brothers Packard Bell. Those damn Packards must have been related.

I guess I had better take the HP laptop back to Staples before the 14 day Window closes. The last thing I need in school is hardware headaches! Would someone please point me to an alternative close in price and hardware to this one:

HP Pavilion dv6-1230us Entertainment Laptop | Staples®

Processor Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6500
Memory (RAM) 4GB
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Expandable to 8GB
Hard Drive Size 320GB
Hard Drive Type SATA
Optical Drive LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVDñR/RW with Double Layer Support
Display Size 15.6"
Display Type High Definition HP BrightView
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
Battery Type 12-Cell Lithium-Ion
Network Card Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN
Video Graphics Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

[DoubleK]

It is my observation that not only do the core2 duos stay cooler (huge in laptops?) but they also use less power (longer battery) then their AMD brethren. The only laptop I can find close in performance versus price to the HP DV-6 is of the AMD X2 variety. I was under the assumption that AMD had the upper hand with mobile chips. Guess that was a few months ago, lol.

[pullmyfoot]

In general All HP has heating problem and when it comes to DELL it has no issue with heating

thats BS. you dont know what you are talking about. I have a HP laptop and its perfectly fine.

[DoubleK]

thats BS. you dont know what you are talking about. I have a HP laptop and its perfectly fine.

Try to remain objective pullmyfoot. You have one laptop. Do you work on computers for a living or a hobby?

Much like I trust doctors at major teaching universities more due to the sheer amount of patients and variety that they see year round, so do I place my trust with the professional repair person.

[Nude_Lewd_Man]

Try to remain objective pullmyfoot. You have one laptop. Do you work on computers for a living or a hobby?

Much like I trust doctors at major teaching universities more due to the sheer amount of patients and variety that they see year round, so do I place my trust with the professional repair person.

Err, I think you'll find that he runs a computer business - or something along those lines, from what I've seen elsewhere on here.......

Also, while I might not be an "HP fanboy" I do happen to have two HP machines in my home domain. Admittedly, one is a server, but the other is a LT - and it seems to have been working fine and error-free...

Having said that, the first thing I did (other than take an image of it, as it was running Fista Home) was to format it and shove XP Pro onto it, but that doesn't change the hardware aspect....