HP Pavillion dv5000 for £500.Worth it or not?

madkid88

I got an second chance offer for the HP Pavillion dv5000 laptop. I really do need an laptop for university and was wondering is this was worth it..

specs are:

Blending affordability with productivity power, the HP Pavilion dv5000 notebook PC is a great choice for both business road warriors and multimedia enthusiasts on the go. The 15.4-inch BrightView display looks good even in direct sunlight, and movies and games will look clear thanks to the ATI Radeon graphics card Enjoy movies or music in seconds with the external DVD or music buttons to launch HP QuickPlay (which bypasses the boot process). Control playback settings from up to 10 feet away with the included HP remote, then store it conveniently in the PC card slot. And you'll stay productive with the 1.8 GHz AMD Turion 64 ML-32 processor. This notebook also features an 95 GB hard drive, 1 GB of installed RAM (2 GB max), built-in 54g wireless connectivity, and dual layer DVD+/-RW drive (which also burns CDs).



Hard Drive: The 100GB hard drive is becoming average in size for notebook PCs, and it's roomy enough to store business productivity applications, all your important documents and presentations, and a good-sized digital audio and video library.

Processor: Combining strong performance with efficient usage of power, the 1.8 GHz AMD Turion 64 ML-32 is uniquely optimized to power today's thinnest notebooks. It's also built for tomorrow's 64-bit applications, which will require a processor with significant power. It includes such AMD technology features as HyperTransport (which increases the communication between integrated circuits), PowerNow! (which enables longer battery life and reduced heat generation), and Enhanced Virus Protection (which works with Windows XP Service Pack 2 to better withstand attacks from certain classes of viruses). It also features a 512 KB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance.)

Memory: The 1 GB of installed RAM (PC2700, 333 MHz, 2 x 512 MB) is a good start for running office productivity and audio software, but you'll want to take advantage of the ultra-roomy 2 GB of total RAM capacity (2 x 1 GB) for such multimedia needs as video editing and immersive 3D gaming.

CD/DVD Drive: Offering the latest in DVD writing technology, the dv5020's multiformat DVD/CD drive is compatible with both DVD+ and DVD- disc formats as well as dual-layer (DL) DVD+/-R discs, which can store up to 8.5 GB of data. It features 4x DVD-R DL Write Once, 2.4x DVD+R DL Write Once, 16x DVD+R, 4x DVD+RW, 8x DVD-R, 4x DVD-RW, 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CD-R, 24x CD-RW, and 40x CD-ROM speeds. It also comes with a second DVD-ROM optical drive, with 16x read speed. It also comes with an extra DVD-ROM drive for disc playback only.

Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a 101-key keyboard and a touchpad with on/off button and dedicated vertical/horizontal Scroll Up/Down pad. It also includes two quick-launch buttons (HP QuickPlay Music and DVD).

Screen, Graphics and Sound: You'll enjoy razor-sharp graphics and widescreen movies with the 15.4-inch WXGA high-definition screen., which displays an 18 percent larger picture than standard 15-inch screens and offers up to an 18 percent improvement in contrast ratio. Video is powered by the ATI Radeon XPress 200M IGP video/graphics card, which delivers good, though not high-end, 3D graphics. It delivers 32 MB of video RAM shared with the system memory, which is configurable up to 128 MB. ATI's HyperMemory technology allows the chipset to run in either Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) mode or with dedicated frame buffer memory to enhance graphics performance. It also features an integrated audio card with microphone and headphone jacks.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots.The dv5020us has an integrated 54g wireless LAN that's fully compatible with 802.11b/g wireless networks. The 125 HSM/SpeedBooster support will enable it to be ready for tomorrow's 125 Mbps wireless LANs. Other connectivity includes:

• 2 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 S-Video port for connecting to a TV
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II, 32-bit)
• 1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack
• 1 IR receiver

Other Features and pariculars:
• Integrated 56K modem (V.90)
• Notebook measures 14.1 x 10.15 x 1.77 inches and weighs 6.6 pounds
• 6-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of up to 3 hours (depending on usage).
• IR remote control

Software:
• Windows XP Home Edition

frivolous_fay

It probably has more knobs and whistles than you'll need at uni... unless you're planning on using a lot of computer graphics or high-maintenance software.

Are you confident in the seller?

madkid88

yes confident in the seller,what you guys think

Jakejakejake

Good specs for a good price i think. And its HP not some cheapy make so i would recommend going for it!

Jake

LULUBELLE_2

Hmmm, the processor is only a 512 cache - standard now is 1MB; it's DDR 333MHz Ram - pretty poor really, the standard now is DDR 2 533MHz, so wouldn't run at a decent speed. Surprising to find a laptop with the rest of the reasonably decent spec having shoddy RAM - makes me wonder whether the seller has pulled the installed RAM and replaced it.

Some very mixed messages - I'm not sure I'd go for it, myself, I'd be more inclined to look at an Intel processor (Celeron M or Centrino).

LULUBELLE_2

Just had a quick scoot on Ebay - there's loads with a better spec for less money. Have a look at the Dells (1300 and 6400), great specs and value, and I also saw the one I've linked to below.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fujistu-Amilo-L7300-80GB-1GB-DVDRW-15-4-Wide-Laptop_W0QQitemZ200044755599QQihZ010QQcategoryZ177QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

madkid88

ive heard bad things though about the celeron processor.

LULUBELLE_2

Celeron are Intel and there are millions out there - really, the point I was making is that paying £500 for a second hand laptop, with presumably no warranty, running on obsolete RAM etc., seems crazy when can get a new one, with a higher spec, for less money.

Just trying to help

frivolous_fay

I assumed it was new..?

madkid88

its got 8 months warranty on it.he only purchased it 2 months bk but now his company has gave him a laptop,

LULUBELLE_2

frivolous_fay wrote:

I assumed it was new..?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HP-Pavillion-dv5000-AMD-64-EXCELLENT-CONDITION_W0QQitemZ280044772128QQihZ018QQcategoryZ177QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem