HP laptop opinions...

[divemaster127]

Hey guys I have owned 2 hp laptops & really like them, its time for a new one, & i down between the bottom two, can you guys look at the links & see which you like better
dv9220us-17 inch screen, better video card, slower cpu

dv6275us-15.4 screen, slower video card faster cpu
they are $30.00 apart in price
dm
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204069822&loc=101&sp=1

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204069820&loc=101&sp=1

[JONTHEBOMB]

I like the dv9220us better because you have a bigger screen and a better video card for only $30 more.  The cpu is about 2 0.2GHz slower then the dv6275us, but I doubt anyone would notice much of a difference between the two speeds.

Currently I'm typing this post on an HP Pavilion laptop (dv5000), purchased last august.  HP deserves a 

Edit: Corrected my mistake for the difference in speed between the two cpus.

Thanks AtomSmasher you get a 

[shardian]

A better question would be if you really want the bigger screen. I wanted the 17" widescreen lappy, but I ended up with a 15.4 . It is much bigger than I thought it would be. Very happy with it for sure.
If you plan on using the lappy in a portable sense, I'd go with the 15.4".

[Kaytrim]

Shardian is right on the weight issue, lighter is better.  One other thing to consider the laptop with the 15.4" screen also has the faster processor.  I'd choose that one hands down for only a few dollars difference it is well worth it.

[AtomSmasher]

I like the dv9220us better because you have a bigger screen and a better video card for only $30 more.  The cpu is about 2GHz slower then the dv6275us, but I doubt anyone would notice much of a difference between the two speeds.

I agree with JONTHEBOMB, except its 0.2 Ghz slower, not 2.  That small of a difference is not enough to get a slower video card and smaller monitor.

[jbox]

Do you want a portable computer or a desktop replacement? This is a very important question, because if you intend to regularly lug this thing around from place to place that larger screen really does make a big difference.

[Strokemouth]

You also have to consider that the larger screen will most likely cause the battery life to suffer. In my experience, it's usually by a good bit, too.

[shardian]

Even a 15.4" lappy doesn't have great battery life. About an hour and a half is tops. I'd say a 17" gets about an hour.

[boykster]

I'll echo what most have said here, and add the following questions:

What will this laptop primarily be used for?  Travel, work on the go?  Where portability and long battery life is most important?  If so, I'd look at some of the 14" widescreen models.  I have an HP DV2000 (couple years old) that gets 3hrs of battery life with wifi on, almost 4 without.  Its smaller than the 15.4" toshiba that I have, and the toshiba only gets about 1.75hrs of life on a single charge.

If you want a portable, but desktop replacement type system, then go big.  If you're going to travel with it a lot, get the lightest / longest lasting battery one that you can

[Strokemouth]

I don't know what you guys are doing to your laptops, but any modern (read: Centrino or equivalent) laptop should net you at LEAST 2-3 hours battery life, even with a 15" screen. Are you keeping your brightness up high or disabling speed stepping or something?

Even my 3 year old 15" Powerbook still gets over 3 hours consistently with standard usage.

[jbox]

Older laptops do tend to live longer because CPU, Video and Software have all gotten bigger at a much greater rate than batteries have.

When I first got my current desktop replacement I thought it was kind of funny to make it a challenge to see what was the biggest Warcraft map I could finish before the battery died. 

[shardian]

New dual core laptops take a pretty big chunk of power. They run alot hotter than laptops even a year old. Consequently, they take more juice. My mother-in-law has a toshiba 14.5" lappy that runs like an ice cube compared to mine.

You have to buy an extended battery for ANY new laptop now to get decent battery life.

[Strokemouth]

It all depends on the actual processor being used. If you buy a laptop that is using a standard P4, then, yes, it will take up a good bit of power. However, more modern processors, such as the mobile Core 2 Duo, are manufactured with battery usage in mind. There IS a difference between the notebook and desktop processors, even though they may have the same generic name (i.e. the Core 2 Duo in your desktop (Yonah) is different from the Core 2 Duo in your notebook (Merom)).

As for battery life being shorter because programs are "bigger," you also have to consider that the hardware has scaled somewhat accordingly. One of the biggest drains on your battery life will be disk usage. Having a notebook with a beefy L2 cache and plenty of RAM to prevent page outs will help you get more time on the battery.

You really have to look at what the notebook manufacturer touts its product as. Those meaning to be desktop replacements will sacrifice battery life for big, beautiful displays while those aimed at being mobile solutions will sacrifice a few points on the benchmarks to get you long lasting work time. Take, for example, the latest T-series from Lenovo. They are fairly powerful, yet can still net you over six hours with the extended battery (around 4 on the standard). The newest 17" Mac Book Pro (which is gorgeous) advertises up to 5.5 hours on battery. Real world usage will be lower, obviously, but nowhere near as low as 1.5 hours. Any laptop that gets you under 2 hours of battery life off the shelf had better be running an impressive display or some serious hardware under the hood these days.

[jbox]

Heh heh, my laptop came with a big warning saying: "DO NOT PLACE THIS PRODUCT ON YOUR LAP" because it runs so hot.