HP Laptops

[silversid]

Looking for a new laptop and was thinking of getting another HP, my old one has lasted 7 years, but some reviews I see now are saying HP are not a good make any more is this correct?

What other makes should I be looking at or are HP still a good make?

 

[expat_mike]

some reviews I see now are saying HP are not a good make any more is this correct?

What criteria do the HP laptops get the "bad" ratings for?

The laptops of choice for my employer, used to be Fujitsu-Siemens, but are now HP. Maybe HP laptops do well on criteria such as robustness and reliability, but badly on criteria such as weight or sexy looks.

You need to tells us more about what your requirements for a laptop are, before anyone can give you advice.

 

[jjbomber]

Got 3 Hps. They are fantastic value for money and very reliable. They don't have a sexy tablet for showing off, so get knocked for that reason. Do what is best for yourself rather than some numpty writing a review.

 

[silversid]

I dont usually listen to reviews but never bought a laptop for a few years so I want to buy a good one.

It'll be used for surfing, storeing photos/movies but unlike my previous HP I'd like to connect it to my TV, so I can view my photos/movies and watch sky go.

This one caught my eye and in price.

http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=6792912#!tab=specs

 

[expat_mike]

I dont usually listen to reviews but never bought a laptop for a few years so I want to buy a good one.

It'll be used for surfing, storeing photos/movies but unlike my previous HP I'd like to connect it to my TV, so I can view my photos/movies and watch sky go.

This one caught my eye and in price.

http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=6792912#!tab=specs

Well it does have a HDMI port, which I presume you would use to connect it to your TV.

My questions are:

1 - The screen resolution is 39.6 cm (15.6") diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit (1366 x 768), so does it display your photos/movies at the same resolution on the TV (ie not full HD)?

2 - It uses an i3 processor. I know someone who says that it is fine for his surfing, and for streaming content to his TV. Maybe it is just me, but I would prefer an i5 processor.

 

[silversid]

I dont usually listen to reviews but never bought a laptop for a few years so I want to buy a good one.

It'll be used for surfing, storeing photos/movies but unlike my previous HP I'd like to connect it to my TV, so I can view my photos/movies and watch sky go.

This one caught my eye and in price.

http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=6792912#!tab=specs

Well it does have a HDMI port, which I presume you would use to connect it to your TV.

My questions are:

1 - The screen resolution is 39.6 cm (15.6") diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit (1366 x 768), so does it display your photos/movies at the same resolution on the TV (ie not full HD)?

2 - It uses an i3 processor. I know someone who says that it is fine for his surfing, and for streaming content to his TV. Maybe it is just me, but I would prefer an i5 processor.

1- TV is full HD so am not sure about that.

2- i5 might be out of my price range.

 

[silversid]

I've found this for sale its a second hand one though, don't if that will be a problem.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c02267117

 

[expat_mike]

I've found this for sale its a second hand one though, don't if that will be a problem.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c02267117

My only experience would be that I bought my Ipad as a refurbished item from Apple, and have had no issues, so second hand can be a good buy.

Things to check are:

1 - has the battery been replaced? You don't want to buy a laptop that was returned because the battery was duff, and hasn't been replaced.

2 - The display is 39.6 cm (15.6") diagonal High-Definition LED HP BrightView Display (1366 x 768). Will this display as full HD on your TV?

 

[silversid]

Its still on its original battery, the laptop is coming up 4 years old.

The person that is selling it has had it from new.

 

[expat_mike]

Its still on its original battery, the laptop is coming up 4 years old.

The person that is selling it has had it from new.

The battery is your big risk - however are you going to use the laptop as a desktop replacement, or will you use it as a mobile device away from base (ie how much will you need to use the battery power - a little or a lot?)?

 

[silversid]

Its still on its original battery, the laptop is coming up 4 years old.

The person that is selling it has had it from new.

The battery is your big risk - however are you going to use the laptop as a desktop replacement, or will you use it as a mobile device away from base (ie how much will you need to use the battery power - a little or a lot?)?

Well my old HP that I'm replacing hasn't had a battery for the last 2 years, its been a bit of a pain but I have just got used to it.

Other than the battery might be on its way, is it a good spec laptop?

 

[pauln]

Other than the battery might be on its way, is it a good spec laptop?

Apart from the screen it's OK for what you say you're going to use it for. That's quite low res for a 15" display, you'll be doing much scrolling.

 

[expat_mike]

Well my old HP that I'm replacing hasn't had a battery for the last 2 years, its been a bit of a pain but I have just got used to it.

Other than the battery might be on its way, is it a good spec laptop?

In that case, the battery will not be an issue. My laptop is 11 years old, and the battery no longer holds any charge, so the laptop is always connected to the mains. Like you, I don't find that a problem now.

The i5 processor will be powerful enough for most things, and you will have a HDMI port to connect to your TV.

Only you know if that screen resolution is big enough for you - I would be looking for something nearer full HD.

 

[silversid]

Thanks for your help everyone I'll have to think about the screen res a bit longer, would a 17" with 1600x900 be a lot better or has it to be full HD?

Off topic could I ask expat_mike in your sig you have a Panasonic DMP-BDT310, could you tell me what’s it like I'm thinking of buying one.

 

[pauln]

That would give you more pixels (i.e. more of the web page/spreadsheet/photo/document would be visible) on the display but the display would be bigger so no real gain in resolution. 1600 x 900 @15" or 1920 x 1080 @ 17" would be my choice. Depends what you want to do, if you are editing photos for instance, you can't get enough pixels so that your tool palettes don't obscure too much of the image. If you are only going to look at photos/video via a TV screen or external monitor then it doesn't really matter what your laptop display is.

 

[expat_mike]

Off topic could I ask expat_mike in your sig you have a Panasonic DMP-BDT310, could you tell me what’s it like I'm thinking of buying one.

I use the Panasonic DMP-BDT310 for all my DVDs and Blurays, and I think it is in it's "out the box" state, so I haven't modified any of the settings. I only watch 2D films, so I cannot comment on the 3D performance.

Anyway for 2D discs, the DMP-BDT310 does all i need it to, because the picture and sound are both excellent, and I am happy to keep using the box.

The only downside that I have discovered, is that it doesn't play SACD discs. I bought a couple of hybrid SACD discs a few months ago, and discovered that I cannot play the DSD stream using the Panasonic. Consequently if I was buying a bluray player today, I would consider a Sony, but only because they can handle SACDs. If SACDs are of no interest to you, then I think it will be difficult to beat the panasonic picture quality, at the price at which it now sells (approx £120).

I hope this limited feedback is helpful.

 

[silversid]

Off topic could I ask expat_mike in your sig you have a Panasonic DMP-BDT310, could you tell me what’s it like I'm thinking of buying one.

I use the Panasonic DMP-BDT310 for all my DVDs and Blurays, and I think it is in it's "out the box" state, so I haven't modified any of the settings. I only watch 2D films, so I cannot comment on the 3D performance.

Anyway for 2D discs, the DMP-BDT310 does all i need it to, because the picture and sound are both excellent, and I am happy to keep using the box.

The only downside that I have discovered, is that it doesn't play SACD discs. I bought a couple of hybrid SACD discs a few months ago, and discovered that I cannot play the DSD stream using the Panasonic. Consequently if I was buying a bluray player today, I would consider a Sony, but only because they can handle SACDs. If SACDs are of no interest to you, then I think it will be difficult to beat the panasonic picture quality, at the price at which it now sells (approx £120).

I hope this limited feedback is helpful.

Thanks very good feedback, dont have any SACDs, I need it mainly to play my big collection of DVDs.

 

[silversid]

I got that used laptop but sent it back it was in really bad condition even though he said it was in good condition, dont know why people cant be more honest when selling things.

Any way I'm going for a new one so I dont get conned again, what do you think about this, comes with a 3 year guarantee.

http://www.johnlewis.com/hp-pavilion-17-e105sa-laptop-intel-core-i5-4gb-ram-1tb-17-3-black/p1123213

 

[MajorFubar]

I wouldn't get hung-up on a laptop's native resolution. Anything around 1400x900 will be okay unless you're insistent on seeing full HD movies on a 'tiny' screen. 17" laptops with a 1920x1080 display must be great if you've got young eyes with 20-20 vision. The rest of us will need a magnifying glass with many webpages and apps. My 27" iMac goes up to 2560x1440 but anything above 1920x1080 is too small most of the time. This very website being a perfect example: at that resolution, the forum is a vertical strip down the middle of the screen about 1/3rd wide and the 2/3rds each side are filled with nothingness or adverts.

 

[pauln]

I got that used laptop but sent it back it was in really bad condition even though he said it was in good condition, dont know why people cant be more honest when selling things.

Any way I'm going for a new one so I dont get conned again, what do you think about this, comes with a 3 year guarantee.

http://www.johnlewis.com/hp-pavilion-17-e105sa-laptop-intel-core-i5-4gb-ram-1tb-17-3-black/p1123213

That's a good enough spec for a consumer laptop - it won't be built like a tank at that price but if it spends it's life sat on your desk then that's not too much of a drawback, so long as you don't mind plastic. The screen res is given as HD+ which is 1600 x 900 - reasonable compromise on a 17" screen although personally I think that's better on a 15" and would go for full HD on a 17". Like I said before, it depends on what youa are going to use it for. Any photo/video editing or CAD you'll wish you had got more screen real estate.

No discreet graphics card so don't expect to do any serious gaming if that's your bag.

 

[silversid]

Just been to PC World to view a 15" & 17" side by side, and like you say their are a bit flimsy, you can even twist the lid/screen.

The 17" looked the best to me so going to stick to that size.

Which HP models are built like a tank?

 

[silversid]

Quick search, the Probook and Elitebook seem to be the better made HP laptops is that correct?