Mid-sized Dothan Notebook Roundup: Dell, Gateway, and HP/Compaq
by Andrew Ku on September 30, 2004 1:09 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
HP/Compaq NC6000: Construction - Build, Appearance, Size
From HP/Compaq's Business Notebook line, we have their flagship notebook: the NC6000. This model is similar to the Dell D600 in the sense that it has been on the market for some time, but with the introduction of the Dothan processor, it has undergone a refresh.As most people undoubtedly know, HP and Compaq are really HP/Compaq, due to the merger. As a result of the merger, the one big company has been integrating the two different engineering teams over time. This means that the HP side may have former Compaq people working on their products, and vice versa. Either way, it is still pretty easy to tell which side designed what. HP designs and those from Compaq each have a certain flare that distinguishes them in the marketplace. And as far as this notebook goes, it has a design feel more reminiscent of the Compaq team.
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This notebook is bulkier than either the D600 or the 320XL, but it is definitely a sturdier design in feel compared to the other two notebooks in this roundup. The casing specifically feels stronger.
The front of the system is fairly straight, with a slight tilt toward the surface on which it sits, by a few degrees. To release the notebook, hold the silver release clip down, which releases two security hooks in the base of the notebook.
Front side (left to right):
- IR port
- Mute button
- Volume down/Volume up
Click to enlarge.
Left side:
- headphone port
- microphone port
- hard drive door
- Multibay
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Back side:
- Exhaust vent
- Power port
- Serial port
- Parallel port
- S-video port
- VGA-out port
- Ethernet jack
- 2 x USB 2.0 ports
Click to enlarge.
Right side:
- 2 x PCMCIA slots
- SD CardReader
- Modem jack
- Kensington lock port
Click to enlarge.
Peculiarly, the NC6000 has a business card holder, which we found to be kind of handy for business users. Measuring in at 12.5" x 10.3" x 1.4" and weighing close to 6 lbs. (ours came in at about 5.8 lbs.), this marks it as the biggest and heaviest notebook of the three.
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Gholam - Saturday, October 2, 2004 - link
IBM not performance machines? X-series, yes, but find me a performance laptop that weighs just over a kilo :) T42 on the other hand, can be configured with Pentium M 745 and Mobility Radeon 9600, which should give you pretty decent gaming capability. Of course it isn't as powerful as those Mobility Radeon 9800 based models, and the price ($3000-3500, depending on other components) is somewhat uncomfortable, but it's by no means weak.Souka - Saturday, October 2, 2004 - link
Oh yes... I forgot to mention that I oversee the people who do the purchasing, repair, and I get feedback on reliablity of over 2000 units in the field and office....:)
Souka - Saturday, October 2, 2004 - link
Actually, I find these laptops between the IBM X40 and the T42.My company uses only IBM laptops both at the corporate level, the branches, and our sales force. Office workers use the T series...from the T20 on up to the T42p. (I'm typing on a T41 right now and will be using a T42 soon). The X series....from the X21 on up to the X40...are used by most of the sales-team....with some T series tossed in there.
Let me say HANDS DOWN, that IBM has proven their value to us....Period. Occasionally we evaluate Toshiba, Gateway, Dell.....they don't last the mininum 3 year life cycle....
For public use, I don't always recommend IBM...they're definetly not performance machines....Games? forget it...
Nuf Said.
Gholam - Saturday, October 2, 2004 - link
#17, I'm a technician, and I can say this: HP assembly quality _SUCKS_. Really it does. It looks like they use 10lb hammers and chisels to make the parts fit somehow, and don't give a damn what happens afterwards. Some parts rattle; others are wedged in so tight there is no way to remove them without breaking something, and it's been the case with pretty much every HP laptop that I came across in the last couple years. I'm not a big fan of Dell either, but at least they are better than HP.andyman7 - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
why not try testing some laptops besides the big name brands?im typing this on a compal cl56
it is 6lbs, has a 1.7ghz dothan, 512mb ram, 60gb 5400rpm hd, 128mb mobility radeon 9700, 15in sxga+ screen, dvd/cd-rw, and over 4 hours of battery life when using light applications
and i got it for $1600
also what about the sager line of laptops?
most of those are definately DTRs but should definately be looked at
notebookforums.com has a lot of info on many other oem laptops too
anyway, the cl56 im using has become REALLY popular so it might be a good idea to try testing one (if you can get a review sample)
stateofbeasley - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
Gholam - HP/Compaq is actually superior to Dell IMO when it comes to business notebooks.People sometimes say "brand X sucks," but don't realize that quality and service can vary significantly among a company's many product lines.
As for Powerbooks - they don't compete with business machines like the nc6000 and D600. It would be more appropriate to compare them with Dell's 8600/D800 line and Compaq's X1000 type (widescreen 15" multimedia platform).
Gholam - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
#15, if there was a Thinkpad in the review, it would've been unfair, as no onther notebook vendor is even remotely close to standing up to IBM in terms of quality and engineering. I rank the top four notebook vendors in the following order: IBM, Toshiba, then Dell, and lastly HP/Compaq.Boardmonger - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
Can we say IBM Thinkpad T42p? I would love to see it thrown in the review ;)trikster2 - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
One thing that struck me is how much dell just seems to ignore how important battery life is. My D800 gets about two and a half hours, miserble. My C400 is not much better.
I'm in the market for a laptop, considering everything including the macs and this review was very helpful.
just want to say, since my above post could be taken negatively:
Great review!
trikster2 - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
Another vote for the macs. For most business laptop use, as these are designed for they are fine subs for their pc brethern.
I find it amazing that the 17" power book is only 6.9lbs close in weight to these ugly (comparitively) PC bricks.