I just bought an expensive laptop - was it a $2500 mistake?

[Norsun]

Note that I have not yet booted up this laptop and I am not a gamer. Moving on...

The base price for this laptop is $1300. I paid $2500 for it because I'm a speed freak.

I customized it for speed. I customized it for work and school projects....9 to 5 stuff. I'm a little schizo. Between 9 to 5 I'm a madman. Or maybe, thanks to genetics and coffee, I have a type A personality between 9 to 5. I'm all business between 9-5, The words "lighten up - take it easy" aren't in my vocabulary between 9-5. All I know is that when I use the computer to work on a school or work project and I experience a slowdown or blockage, I go mad. I go nuts. I scream. I act like a racehorse who's stuck in quicksand. I have a little meltdown is what I'm saying.

So that's why when I ordered this computer I told myself to emphasize speed, speed and more speed. So I built it with 8 gigs of RAM and a quad core processor. That is the main reason why it went from being a $1300 laptop to a $2500 laptop. (no desktop, thank you - I bought a laptop so I could get out of the house and work away from home 3 or 4 days a week).

So did I make a mistake in ramping up a $1300 laptop to the tune of $2500?

Before you answer that, you need to know what I'll be using it for: I'm going to build websites with Wordpress and Dreamweaver. I might be using several programs at once. Programs like Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash. I might even have a web based video tutorial open when I'm using Photoshop or Dreamweaver. In a nutshell: I'll be using a lot of Adobe software.

So now that you know all there is to know, don't hold back with your answer. If I made a mistake just say so. Or maybe I bought the perfect laptop, one that has the type of speed that a busy body like me can utilize? A laptop that'll handle anything a worker bee can throw at it 5 years down the road? Either way, tell me what you think, because I want THE TRUTH, and unlike Tom, I can handle the truth!!!

[-FIGJAM-]

depends on how good the processors are that you put in it.

Depends on the manufacture of the laptop

What warranty you have with it

Adobe CS3 or CS4?

8GB RAM=too much power for those programs, 4GB more then enough

how big is the hard drive?

Did you get a workstation grade laptop or business or consumer range?

What graphic card does it have?

What country did you purchase it in?

That type of info will all influence if it was worth the money.

[Norsun]

What warranty you have with it: Lifetime hardware/software tech support/phone consultation - aquired accidental coverage for accidents - renters insurance covers theft anywhere in the U.S/anywhere I go except internationally

Adobe CS3 or CS4: CS4

how big is the hard drive: Not really relevant/ I bought the smallest drive possible because I back up every single file to two different online backup services 104 times a month/if I could've I would have bought a 20 gig hard drive/I think it's 300+ gigs

Did you get a workstation grade laptop or business or consumer range: Dont know/It's HP's top of the line laptop, the HDX18

What country did you purchase it in: Not relevant/origin doesn't matter or pertain to the topic of whether or not this laptop is a $2500 mistake/alot of 'em are made in China anyway

Monitor: 18 inches

8GB RAM is too much power for those programs, 4GB more then enough: That's one school of thought/here's another one: you can never have too much RAM

What graphic card does it have: 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 130M

Speed of hard drive: 7200rpm

Processor: Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9000 (2.00Ghz)

Why buy an expensive laptop and not a less expensive desktop: I work at home on a desktop/need a portable computer for occasional outdoor work sessions away from home

If anyone thinks this machine is overkill for what I intend to use it for, don't hold back, post your candid opinion, especially you hardware experts out there

The HDX18:
HP Official Store — Buy an HP HDX 18t Premium series notebook PC from HP

[-FIGJAM-]

Hey Mate,

Asked the question because i am in the industry and sell software and hardware in Australia. Asked country for currency purposes.

2.5k for that spec in USA isnt to bad. I wouldnt say that you were ripped off, however i would say you were mislead.

as i said 4GB RAM would have been more then enough to run those programs nice and fast, especially with CS4 as it uses more processors then CS3.

Screen size is good.

that warranty is worth a fair bit as well. Lifetime support on hardware and software, i didnt even know HP did that. What is the response time on that? Our standard workstation response is next business day on site software and hardware for 3years.

Only thing i dont like is that it is small business range instead of workstation range. I think it will be able to do what you need it to, however wont be as good as say a 8730w.

My 2cents.

[Norsun]

Hey Mate,

Asked the question because i am in the industry and sell software and hardware in Australia. Asked country for currency purposes.

2.5k for that spec in USA isnt to bad. I wouldnt say that you were ripped off, however i would say you were mislead.

as i said 4GB RAM would have been more then enough to run those programs nice and fast, especially with CS4 as it uses more processors then CS3.

Screen size is good.

that warranty is worth a fair bit as well. Lifetime support on hardware and software, i didnt even know HP did that. What is the response time on that? Our standard workstation response is next business day on site software and hardware for 3years.

Only thing i dont like is that it is small business range instead of workstation range. I think it will be able to do what you need it to, however wont be as good as say a 8730w.

My 2cents.

Hi Figjam, welcome back

So you're in the software and hardware industry? That's great! Cause there are some of us that use the Internet that have a love affair with our machine...and a love affair with the Internet.

I bought the computer in the U.S. from a store called Costco. They sell computers online. They provide a tech support service for all the electronic gear they sell. Best of all, you receive lifetime support for as long as you own the computer. Even better, 50% of their techs are provided with remote access, something I place a high priority on. Thing is, I don't know how proficient their techs are. I asked a Costco tech, "Who signs your paycheck?" And the tech named a company other than Costco.

So it's obvious to me that Costco is contracting a different companies service to help them aid their customer base. I've called their tech team maybe three times. The hold time was never longer than a couple of minutes. They are in the state of Florida. Even so, as someone who places maximum priority on the health of my machine, when my HP warranty is about ready to expire I'll renew it with HP. I'll do that every year up until the day I die.

The Costco tech deal is a good one. But never place your eggs in one basket is a philosophy I live by. When I wake up tomorrow Costco could always end that part of their agreement just like that. It's an ever changing world we live in. The only sure thing in this case, is the support contract anyone can buy every year like clockwork from Dell, HP and all the rest.

Dell and HP both have remote access. Apple, Acer and Toshiba do not provide remote access (a darn shame) which is the equivalent of extending their middle finger out to all their techs and customer base. When you extend your middle finger out to someone in the U.S., which is also known as "flipping the bird", you're using a gesture that is highly degrading to that person. In fact, I don't think they allow any American television station to show someone flipping the bird.

You asked about response time. You mean email response time? LOL man, emails are a joke. Whenever a company tells me to email them for service, be they a computer company or any old merchant, that's code for, "We'll get back to you when we feel like it, and then again maybe we won't."

I rarely deal with a merchant that doesn't have a phone number. And when they do, I call them first to verify if the damn number works 'cause a lot of times they don't work. A lot of merchants at Amazon have a phone number listed. I've called them. And half of them didn't work.

I've "tested" various tech support teams multiple times. Apples hold time was not long. Ditto for Acer. Ditto for Toshiba. Ditto for HP. Ditto for Lenovo. As of 12-2008, Acer's tech team had limited hours and no remote access. Because of that they get a bad grade. Also, the American techs that I talked to at Acer were reluctant to answer basic questions about the service they provide to customers. The two techs that I talked to at Acer sounded like they didn't like their job, or like they wanted to be somewhere else.

I think, though I'm not 100% sure, that Apples tech team has limited hours. I know for certain that Apple doesn not provide remote access. Because of that Apple gets a bad grade.

Dell and HP's tech team is open around the clock all year round. They both offer remote access. Around 2003 and 2004 the wait time to talk to a Dell tech was typically 45 minutes, many times longer. Around 2006 Dell did something dramatic to their system because now the wait time is typically only 5 minutes. I live in San Diego. That's how it is for me. I don't know how long the wait time is for other Dell customers in other parts of the U.S. I'm basing my assesment on over 50 calls. That does not mean I had more than 50 major issues with my Dell computer. Many times I'd call them just to talk about computer technology. Or, when I was just starting out I'd ask them a question like, "Copy and paste: what is copy and paste and how do you do that?"

Austrailia's a great country. Thanks for your honest opinion. If anyone else has any opinions as to whether I made a $2500 mistake by purchasing this machine, no matter what your opinion, tell us what you think.

[GQchris]

$2500!! man that is a lot of money in these recession times, but I read since you were going to be building websites, then it is justified if you're serious about what you do.

If you said all you were going to do was surf Porn and blogs, then I would've said you could've paid way less.

[Tom Yum]

$2500!! man that is a lot of money in these recession times, but I read since you were going to be building websites, then it is justified if you're serious about what you do.

If you said all you were going to do was surf Porn and blogs, then I would've said you could've paid way less.

Bought mine when an electronics store had to close - everything was on sale! Lucky me.