Computer Illiterate - HP DM4 1050: to buy or not to buy?

Happycat

Any help gratefully received.

I need a new laptop. Battery life and portability essential as i work on the road a lot.

Like the look and feel of the HP DM4 1050 - good processor, RAM and GB or so i've been told.

But is it a good computer, i'll be using it for basic processing, internet and skype etc. Gaming not an issue for me.

What's everyone's thoughts - ideally i'd be paying less than £600 but think i can get it for £630....to buy or not to buy???

Thanks.

Happycat.

Knarf44

It seems a great value laptop, has got decent reviews and will be more than capable of doing everything you need. However, in case you are not aware HPs don't have the best record of reliability. In one survey last year they finished last of all the leading brands.

I would suggest that before you commit to buying it you Google "HP DM4 1050+problems" and have a good read about what previous purchasers are discovering. In fact I'd recommend you do that for any laptop you are considering. OK, I know you get the standard warranty with any laptop which will cover most hardware related problems but it's still worth checking Google out in case there are common problems that keep occurring.

I'd also recommend you visit your local PC store and actually give the various models a try. By doing this you'll get a feel for the keyboard; the track mouse; the display; the weight etc

Happycat

Thanks so much great idea!

I didn't realise that about HP's.

There are so many laptops out there it's confusing - bearing in mind I won't actually be using it for gaming / graphics etc - I wonder if the HP i'm looking at is too high spec.

Any further thoughts on the HP DM4 1050 welcome.

Can someone also explain why you can't find the same model in the states - I'm going there in a few weeks and thought it might save some cash if i bought it there but it appears that the whole range is different there?

Happycat

Knarf44

Me again, as no one else has offered you any comments.

Buy it. You'll only regret it if you buy an alternative that you start to feel isn't as nice as the one you've set your heart on.

However, if I was you I'd also purchase a 2 year extended warranty as I mentioned before that HP laptops do not have the best record for reliability. You can purchase the extra 2 year warranty as a separate item from this site; £53.24 incl VAT is a small price to pay for an extra 2 years peace of mind.

The warranty covers pick up and return and parts and labour for hardware repairs eg if the hard disk or screen fail. If it can not be repaired it'll cover replacement. Note though, this doesn't cover software problems - for those you can always post here and I'm sure one of our resident experts can sort you out.

There are other more expensive HP warranty products available if you wish to opt for one of those instead.

Happycat

And thanks again - really good idea and worth it.....

I'm still not sure if i am spending too much money for my needs - will i really know the difference between using the relatively good processor on the DM4 or another one?

I've looked on ebay and it seems that I could buy what looks like a DM4 from the states:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-dm4t-dm4-i5-14-320GB-3GB-FP-BT-Laptop-NEW-/170502300434?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item27b2baa312

But not sure how warranty etc works - although it would save £200 on the UK price.....

Thanks again.

Happycat

Esqui

There are plenty of more portable laptops with good battery life that will be able to do everything you want for around half that price.

As an example: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-12-inch-Netbook-battery-Bluetooth/dp/tech-data/B00336EN7Y/ref=de_a_smtd <- Maybe a little less powerful but would still do it all.

HO87

If you are worried about battery life (I work "on the road" too) you could try one of these power inverters from Maplins. I've used this one for some time now without issue and I can leave the laptop charging whilst I'm driving. What the Maplins page doesn't show is that in the end of the "black block" is a normal 3-pin socket where you can plug your laptop's standard power lead.

On the subject of laptops, I've never bought one brand new because of the knock and bumps they inevitably suffer and using a refurbished model means I get a factory grade product with a warranty at a far better price. Much like you I really only need to be able to do word-processing and receiving and sending mail - in essence - although we use a fairly chunky piece of specialist mapping software so I have the maximum amount of RAM and a fairly fast CPU. Other than that I have a laptop that is now 2 years old (I've had it for a year) that behaves as if it was new and it only cost the business a third of its original price.

As suggested by others even when new I'd be reluctant to buy HP unless you see price as the only determinant. If you want reliability I'd go for an IBM (Lenovo) Thinkpad (my son has one - he also has a MacBook Pro which contrary to reports has also been extremely reliable) or a Dell Latitude (which is what I have).

Knarf44

Happycat wrote: »

And thanks again - really good idea and worth it.....

I'm still not sure if i am spending too much money for my needs - will i really know the difference between using the relatively good processor on the DM4 or another one?

I've looked on ebay and it seems that I could buy what looks like a DM4 from the states:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HP-Pavilion-dm4t-dm4-i5-14-320GB-3GB-FP-BT-Laptop-NEW-/170502300434?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item27b2baa312

But not sure how warranty etc works - although it would save £200 on the UK price.....

Thanks again.

Happycat

Looks a bargain doesn't it BUT .... the final price might change depending on the day you order it due to the exchange rate. The Seller will add another $100 (£65) for postage and when it arrives here you may be liable to pay the VAT (17.5% or around £85 currently). Therefore the price goes up to more or less what you'd pay here ie £630.