HP Store Online

Is the following a good college laptop(configuration included)?

I'm getting the HP Pavilion dv5t With the following configuration: * – Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) * – Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz) * – 15.4" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800) * – 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) * – 50% OFF 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS * – 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection * – Webcam + Fingerprint Reader * – HP Color Matching Keyboard * – Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card * – Integrated 56K Modem * – LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support * – No TV Tuner w/remote control * – High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery * – Microsoft(R) Office Home and Student 2007 * – Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008 - 3 Year Subscription * – Mobile Stereo Earbud Headphones (2 pair) * – HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope What's the difference between a 64 bit operating system and a 32-bit? Is this a good configuartion?(it totaled $1,369 for the laptop) thanks. The microphone with a webcam wasn't an option!

Public Comments

1. of course yes all these confug. are high tech yes u can play any game on it and for college it is awesome
2. It is not bad. however, i still prefer Acer...
3. that is a really good computer for college. Buy it!!
4. Why do people think that computers come in three categories... Home Use Business Use College Use. There is no College Use category. None. Nope. No one specific classification of laptop that makes it a "college" laptop. You don't go to the computer store and say to the salesman, "I'd like to buy a college laptop please." If you do, the salesperson is either gonna sell you the laptop that earns him the most for the sale, or he is going to ask you "What are you going to college for?" Because that is the question. Let me come at this from another analogy. Would you use a Ferrari to truck lumber from the material yard to the construction site every day? Of course not. So if you were an English Major, for example... you don't need a high end machine like you described. The $450 to $500 Acer aspire that is being sold at Walmart (their cheapest laptop) is more than enough for any English Major. It will run MS Office suite (or Open Office), it will surf the net, check email, play music, play movies and a few games. An English Major doesn't need more than that. Now, if you are going to College for Graphic Arts, you'd be better off buying an iBook, or even the 19" Pre-Dell Alienware Aurora mALX. Why? Apple sets the standard in dependable hardware when dealing with Graphic Design. The Alienware is just a monster 19" screen with dual video cards that will also be fantastic for dealing with Graphic Design. Of course, you'll drop more than $2000 on buying a good one of either. The main difference between a 64bit operating system and a 32 bit operating system (for now) is the amount of RAM the system will use. 32 bit operating systems are capped at 4 gigs of RAM, and they won't even use it all... allowing you to use about 3.5gigs of that 4. 64 bit OSes will allow more RAM to be detected, if the motherboard will actually support more than 4 gigs. As far as software goes, there really isn't much 64 bit software out there... so that's not a concern. So, is that a good configuration? Depends on what you want to do with it. It might be overkill. It might be just enough. It might be inferior. You didn't say what you were needing a laptop for, and I mean EXACTLY. Again, there is no "College Laptop".
5. Specs look good... But personally i would need a bigger hard drive. But that is me. The diference between 32bit and 64bit is how wide the processors are. Not very important but 32bit = 4 octects and 64bit =8 octects. Hope this helps!