Hp laptops with lightscribe availability

loztiggy

Hi.

Quick one. I am possibly going to have to have my laptop replaced, so have been looking for the replacement.

The specs of my current unit are
Processor AMD Turion II Ultra Dual-Core Processor M660
- 2.7 GHz
- 2000 MHz HT
- 2 MB L2 cache Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium RAM - 4 GB Graphics card Shared graphics processor Screen type LCD TFT screen Screen resolution 1366 x 768 pixels Screen size 15.6" Hard drive 500 GB Optical disk drive Lightscribe Super Multi (+/-R +/-RW) dual-layer DVD writer Memory card reader 5-in-1 memory card reader USB 4 USB 2.0 ports FireWire 1 FireWire port Modem/Ethernet Ethernet port Wi-Fi WiFi 802.11b/g/n Bluetooth Yes Video interface 1 x HDMI
1 x VGA Audio interface 2 x headphones
1 x microphone TV output HDMi socket Extension card slot ExpressCard slot Sound Built-in loudspeakers Webcam Yes Battery - 6-cell lithium-ion battery Accessories included Battery, power adaptor Size 378 x 258 x 34 mm (W x D x H) Weight 2.94 kg


Now the laptop I am thinking may be replaced is overheating. If it gets replaced I dont want one with a AMD processor, I want an intel one, and it MUST have lightscribe. I also need a HDMI slot and card reader, and the unit must have the 500gb HDD.

Thing is, I can find similar but the only other lightscribe laptop i can see on the pc world site is £899, and the laptop I have was only £600 (its 3 months old) and they dont sell it anymore. I really dont have £300 to put to a new one just because the one I had was dangerous!

So im looking for advice really. Are there any other options, or other makes of laptop with Intel processor, HMDI slot, sd card reader and 500gb drive between 500-£600? that are reliable???? I REALLY need lightscribe to be honest, I use it every day as I create disks for business use daily and would cost too much to operate with a printer and ink, plus I love the professional result I get with lightscribe, but only HP do that dont they?

Any honest help appreciated.

santer_2

HP developed it but the drives are made by other people if that is an option, would PC World fit the drive if you got one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AK869AA-Internal-Writer-24x24x16x-LightScribe/dp/B001CXSVY6

loztiggy

I have lightscribe in the faulty unit, they would have to remove it from that. not sure id be happy though as wouldnt you need specific software to run the drives labelling facility? I know I had seperate software on my last unit.

santer_2

Hope this is helpful

http://www.lightscribe.com/discussionboards/index.aspx

loztiggy

thanks will have a look tomorrow.

Still, are there any units that have this drive standard that are available around my benchmark that you know of? as i doubt pc world will upgrade me to a unit £300 more for nothing, and If i take the cash I might not be able to get another elsewhere?

santer_2

Light Scribe drives are around £40 +

Toshiba make them amongst others

loztiggy

I understand that, but what im saying is im faced with a situation where my unit which was produced with a lightscribe drive has become dangerous, and will most likely be replaced. They dont sell that particular unit, and I wont be paying out any extra when they have to provide a unit of the same spec. Im just asking if there are any HP laptops with lightscribe drives available that arent £900!

santer_2

Was wondering if you purchased a drive and fitted or had it fitted

bikerchris

Just an indirect response, but have you considered having an external lightscribe drive to make it easier to get a spec that you want? lightscribe in laptops is rare.

out of interest, are you quite happy with how long lightscribe takes? I used one 6 months ago and couldn't believe it took as long as the actual data burning!?! There are some great cd label printing printers these days that may be cost effective - I appreciate you may have been lightscribing for sometime though and may be quite used to how you've been doing it.

loztiggy

No it was standard in the unit santer, as i said it was new 3 months ago. I bought the laptop for it specifically. And they have to replace like for like... dont they?

chris, I love lightscribe, I know it takes a little longer than a printer would but I like the result. It looks lots more professional than a paper label. I dont think it takes that long, I have used elaborate templates that took about 20 mins. I would rather not have to use anything external, and as I travel for work id be stuffed if i left it at home.

bikerchris

loztiggy wrote: »

chris, I love lightscribe, I know it takes a little longer than a printer would but I like the result. It looks lots more professional than a paper label. I dont think it takes that long, I have used elaborate templates that took about 20 mins. I would rather not have to use anything external, and as I travel for work id be stuffed if i left it at home.

It does look professional compared to labels, you're right. I was really enthusiastic until I found how long it takes. I decided to stick with glossy labels printed with a £2,000 printer (not mine of course!) because the quality is impressive and many commented on it. Lightscribe oddly reminded me of Tron (the film)!!!

I had a suspicion that portability might be a high priority, hence the laptop. Ho hum!

Good luck with your quest.