It’s about time to replace my 5-year-old paving slab. It’s a Compaq Presario x6000, which I didn’t buy. I had an HP, but it died on me and they replaced it with this. :smack:
My budget is $500-$1000. I’m definitely looking for a desktop replacement; doesn’t have to be particularly portable as it will mainly live on the couch, but I do want a laptop form factor (not a desktop). I’d describe myself as a “power user” – I do some programming and like to tinker. It’ll also be used for the usual surfing, YouTube, email etc. with occasional gaming, which pushes the specs up. It’d be nice to have the Blu Ray player since I don’t yet have one in the house, and HDMI out would allow me to pipe it to the big TV. OS isn’t important; in fact, I’ve been an Ubuntu guy for the last few years so my first step on any computer is usually to wipe it and install Linux; in this case I’d probably want to set up dual boot since Blu Ray appears to be a PITA in Linux.
Not really into any of the Apple models – nothing against them, but I’m not willing to pay the premium; also I’d rather use Linux as my main OS than OS X. (My wife has a Mac and it’s a great machine…but not for me.)
I’d like a 17" screen, large HD (500GB), few GB of memory. After my experiences with my current Compaq, something lighter and quieter would be a welcome relief.
I’m doing a ton of research; sites often mentioned here on the Dope are Anandtech and Tom’s Hardware, but thus far I haven’t found an easily understandable list of “current best laptops” on either of those sites.
So far, the leading contender is this one. Gets an outstanding review, and has most of what I want, but I couldn’t find much about it on the 'net except for mirrors of that one review. Appears to be a Costco-only special, and in-store at that. I couldn’t find it on Costco online, or even on HP’s own site. Anyone know anything about this model or the series in general?!
Thanks for any info…