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aviationwiz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2005
185
6
OK, now I know I'm going to be getting biased responses, but please look at it not from a point of view of trying to sell Mac's, but a point of view of what is best for me.

I ordered an HP L2000 laptop, shipped today. I've heard the gaming performance isn't so hot, so I've been kind of looking at a PowerBook too.

PC Pros:
Cheaper
More original (Livestrong) design
1GB RAM
2 batteries, each providing about 5 hours life each
PC Card Slot
WiFi Switch on the computer
Larger Screen

PC Cons:
Windows
Length of use (how long it will last)

To be specific, it's:
-XP Home (why bother paying for Pro when it's basically the same thing)
-Turion 64 ML-30 (1.6GHZ, 1MB L2 Cache) I upgraded from the ML-28 for the L2 cache, I didn't get the 1.8GHZ one because the speed difference would be negligible for me, and it would suck up more batery power and produce more heat
-BrightView
-1GB DDR RAM (512x2) I can't risk loosing my warrenty, if the past tells of the future, I'll need it
-80GB HDD
-DVD+R DL Burner w/ Lightscribe (for $25, why not)
-(2) 12 cell Lithium Ion batteries - I need the most battery life I can get

That was $1,243.62. The nice thing though, is that since HP actually has a decent return policy unlike Apple, if I don't like it, I can just send it back easily.

For around $1350, I can get the 12" PowerBook G4.

Mac Pros:
Great design
Great color
Mac OS
Increased Portability (though this is also a con)

Mac Cons:
Small Screen
Expensive

Right now I'm leaning towards the PC for sure (hence why I bought it already.) Any other reasons to get a PowerBook for the HP L2000?
 

Hattig

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2003
1,457
92
London, UK
If you can deal with using Windows, then the laptop sounds very nice. What resolution is the screen? 15" 1024x768 merely means a larger heavier laptop than a 12" 1024x768 display. Edit: I see it is a 14" 1280x768 display, which sounds nice.

If Windows (or not having Mac OS X) is a major downer for you then I'd rethink. Otherwise stick with it and if it breaks in a couple of years you can get a Intel Merom based PowerBook.

Also, have you considered a 12" iBook? It maybe 1.2GHz instead of 1.5GHz, but it is cheaper. Get a 1GB SODIMM from Crucial, and away you go. General opinion is that the iBook is more rugged and has longer battery life (6 hours IIRC) than the 12" PowerBook anyway, and they both use the same display.
 

sw1tcher

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
5,288
17,880
The L2000 is a sweet machine. A friend has one and after playing around with it, i was impressed. The Turion proc is very nice.

I think you'll be happy with the L2000. I know I would be if I had it. It should last you for years and years.
 

sw1tcher

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
5,288
17,880
Hattig said:
If you can deal with using Windows, then the laptop sounds very nice. What resolution is the screen? 15" 1024x768 merely means a larger heavier laptop than a 12" 1024x768 display.

The L2000 has a 14.0 WXGA display. That is, it's a widescreen @ 1280x768.
 

Hattig

macrumors 65816
Jan 3, 2003
1,457
92
London, UK
sw1tcher said:
The L2000 has a 14.0 WXGA display. That is, it's a widescreen @ 1280x768.
Yeah, I just looked online to see the specs. Hopefully this is the type of display an updated iBook will get one day.
 

rosalindavenue

macrumors 6502a
Dec 13, 2003
855
282
Virginia, USA
The HP L200 a very nice looking notebook. The widescreen, the RAM, and the hard drive are all powerbook quality or better, for an ibook price. The only thing I dont know much about is the AMD Duron processor. According to this review it only gets 2 hours of battery life; although I see that you are expecting 5 with each battery. I would order one right now if I knew that I would not be crushingly disappointed with something running windows XP.

Edit: Go to the HP site and configure one-- the options are amazing-- brightscreen for $25, DVD writer with label writing capability for $75; get the 512 RAM in one stick for $25 (facilitating future upgrades), XP pro for $50. If you are used to checking out apple specs, and used to figuring in an additional $200 for a DVD writer, it'll be a shocker.
 

aviationwiz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2005
185
6
rosalindavenue said:
According to this review it only gets 2 hours of battery life; although I see that you are expecting 5 with each battery.

I ordered (2) 12 cell batteries, instead of the standard 6 cell batery, and I've heard battery life is around the 5 hour mark with the 12 cell.

Thanks though all, looks like the L2000 was the way to go.

Hattig said:
Also, have you considered a 12" iBook? It maybe 1.2GHz instead of 1.5GHz, but it is cheaper. Get a 1GB SODIMM from Crucial, and away you go. General opinion is that the iBook is more rugged and has longer battery life (6 hours IIRC) than the 12" PowerBook anyway, and they both use the same display.

Yeah, I was looking at the iBook, though the 14" one. Call me nuts, but I just like the keyboard on the PowerBook and the overall look and feel of the PowerBook better than the iBook.
 

MUCKYFINGERS

macrumors 6502a
Jun 7, 2005
769
15
CA
If you want the PC hardware and enjoy windows, get the PC laptop.

I have a PC desktop already (well my house has 4 PC desktops/laptops), and I want a Mac, soo....
 

cardiac dave

macrumors regular
Jun 23, 2005
196
0
iToronto
I'm the office 'geek' who everyone seems to ask for an opinion... I get questions every week from someone about to buy a new system and want to run the specs and price by me to see if I 'approve' or if I think it's a good deal...

I switched around 4 months ago, with a 12" iBook. Still have a pretty strong PC desktop at home... but since then I've placed an order for a 20" iMac G5 to replace the desktop and honestly believe that there's little chance that I'll ever buy a windows PC ever again.

Now when someone asks "What do you think of this little <insert manufacturers laptop here>? I just kind of sigh and point them to http://www.apple.ca (after pulling out the cute 12" iBook and dazzling them with both the Hardware and the OS)
 

javiercr

macrumors 6502
Apr 12, 2005
419
0
London
these days if you want power for money in a laptop you go PC , if you want MacOSX and a beautiful design of both the computer and the OS you should go for a mac. If you want a car that goes fast you can buy a Subaru or Mishubishi, they'll have all the gadgets and go really fast, but you can also buy a mercedes, it will cost more and don't go any faster...but it's not all about speed unless you're doing computational fluid dynamics or heavy video editing.
 

sw1tcher

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
5,288
17,880
rosalindavenue said:
The HP L200 a very nice looking notebook. The widescreen, the RAM, and the hard drive are all powerbook quality or better, for an ibook price. The only thing I dont know much about is the AMD Duron processor. According to this review it only gets 2 hours of battery life; although I see that you are expecting 5 with each battery. I would order one right now if I knew that I would not be crushingly disappointed with something running windows XP.

Edit: Go to the HP site and configure one-- the options are amazing-- brightscreen for $25, DVD writer with label writing capability for $75; get the 512 RAM in one stick for $25 (facilitating future upgrades), XP pro for $50. If you are used to checking out apple specs, and used to figuring in an additional $200 for a DVD writer, it'll be a shocker.

Not Duron. That's an old desktop processor. It's a Turion, AMD's new 64-bit mobile chip.

The reviewer opted for the 6 cell battery. I'm sure the 12 cell the OP got will last him closer to 5 hours, though it'll probably be more like 4 to 4.5 hours.
 

Chrispy

macrumors 68020
Dec 27, 2004
2,269
517
Indiana
If you are comfortable using windows then by all means stick with the L2000. It looks like a great machine from what I read about it in a short time here. I have a very split view of Apple so I tend to see both sides in situations like this. From my experience (and this is just my personal experience and does not mean everyone will share this) Apple's customer support has been horrible. I have waited for a good amount of time on hold many times only to be told to take my computer to a "local" apple store. Local for me is about an hour away but I will still told to take it to the store. I have heard many people say they have had great experiences with HP when they needed something done in the past. I know for me Dell has always be very sharp and quick to solve any issues I may have.

I LOVE the look and feel of Apple hardware but I don't have the best track record for getting Apple hardware that actually works. I don't mind windows as much as many people on these forums but I do prefer mac OS X over windows any day of the week. I have a Dell Desktop at home and an iBook that I use on the road. When the updated iBooks eventually hit I will be buying one of those. I guess I eventually settled into using what fits my needs for what I am doing. For me a windows desktop and apple portable makes the most sense, but for others it may be totally different. I think as long as your are compotent with keeping windows updated and you have good anti-virus and spyware software you will be just fine with you L2000. Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

-Chris
 

rosalindavenue

macrumors 6502a
Dec 13, 2003
855
282
Virginia, USA
sw1tcher said:
Not Duron. That's an old desktop processor. It's a Turion, AMD's new 64-bit mobile chip.

The reviewer opted for the 6 cell battery. I'm sure the 12 cell the OP got will last him closer to 5 hours, though it'll probably be more like 4 to 4.5 hours.

My bad-- you are correct.

Since I posted earlier, I googled the L2000 and found a couple of chat threads (example ) in which heat and fan noise were cited as big complaints. Those are particular peeves of mine (as the owner of a p4 "laptop"). It looks like the Turion runs hotter than the pentium mobile.
 
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