HP Or Acer

happy_2008 · 14 Dec 2008 at 19:01

Hi im looking for a laptop for a relative but im just wondering which one is better out of the two options:

Acer Aspire 5920G / Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 2GHz / 4GB / 250GB / 15.4" / Blu-ray / Vista Home Premium £499.99

Or

HP Pavilion DV5-1010 15.4" widescreen Laptop featuring Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 2GHz processor, 4GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, Windows Vista Home Premium, HDMI output and also plays Blu-Ray DVD's. £636

Both specs seem similar but im not sure which one would better?????

happy_2008 · 15 Dec 2008 at 07:34

Anybody provide any suggestions..........?

memyselfandi · 15 Dec 2008 at 08:19

Would really need more information, i.e. what CPU does the HP system use and what resolution are the screens?

Tbh though I've had two Acer laptops and in both cases they have had thermal issues are 12 months of so, (an AMD Turon based one which kept overheating and crashing (semi fixed by a complete disassemble and replacement of the thermal pads) and a Intel C2D whose fan runs all the time), hence I'd probably lean towards the HP box dependent on the exact spec.

happy_2008 · 15 Dec 2008 at 09:25

The HP is a P7350 2GHz if thats anyway better?

AtreuS · 15 Dec 2008 at 10:39

From my limited experiance id lean towards the HP purely for build quality. The acers are ok but the HP lappies ive worked with just feel better built and are usually a bit lighter.

happy_2008 · 15 Dec 2008 at 11:17

I have also read numerous complaints about acer laptops overheating

spellcaster · 15 Dec 2008 at 12:04

Well I have had a 17" acer laptop with crystal bright screen for over a year now and had no problems with it. I love my laptop "if you know what i mean"

FirebarUK · 15 Dec 2008 at 12:13

HP for the build quality. Recently picked up one of those machines for a good friend of mine and it's a very good product.

Liquidfox · 15 Dec 2008 at 12:16

We often buy in Acer laptops, no real complaints other than the amount of junk that comes installed. HP laptops on the other hand are normally just the OS

lukext · 15 Dec 2008 at 13:17

I have bought the HP you speak of (not yet got it) but I know from all the reading I have done that its an amazing laptop and at the price I got it for (same as above) its a steal. The 9600MGT that it comes with is a good mid range card capable of the latest games on medium settings at the DV5s native res. Furthermore, the P7350 is from the latest series in Intle laptop chips (has a TDP of 25W) whereas the acers is an older T series 35W TDP . The P7350 @ 2GHz is rougly equivilant to the T8100 at 2.1GHz due to acrhitectural improvements etc etc. According to things I have read though, the HP does come with a lot of bloatware but it can be gotten rid of. Looks wise, the HP wins hands down.

happy_2008 · 15 Dec 2008 at 14:11

So lukext did you buy yours online from *****.....? It does look like a very nice laptop but i was worried about people having heating issues etc. Do you have the link on the read up for this laptop.....i have googled it but it doesnt seem like a well known model which confuses me a bit

FirebarUK · 15 Dec 2008 at 15:04

i have googled it but it doesnt seem like a well known model which confuses me a bit

It's a relatively new range.

lukext · 15 Dec 2008 at 15:04

yeh i did

, this sunday. Will be getting it on thursday for a small play to check all is fine but then its going away for xmas. As far as i can see its pretty much spot on the same as thier DV5-1011EA model that HP sell themselves for nearly 200 more. I couldnt believe the price that ***** was selling it for so snapped it up. As far as heating issues go, i wouldnt be too bothered, it usually people who live in hot tropical countries for one, and we all know that the uk isnt! Take a look over at notebookreview in their disscussion forums. A guy under the name of Grantman has done a video review for his dv5 as well as their being a number of other reviews. there is even a thread on overclcoking (and underclocking) the 9600M GT in the DV5 for more performace (or battery life) and info on undervolting the CPU etc etc

(on the notebookreview web site in thier seach bar enter "324836" and grantmans thead will appear)

PS: on there, as its american, the dv5 is called the DV5T)

happy_2008 · 16 Dec 2008 at 19:26

lukext said:
yeh i did , this sunday. Will be getting it on thursday for a small play to check all is fine but then its going away for xmas. As far as i can see its pretty much spot on the same as thier DV5-1011EA model that HP sell themselves for nearly 200 more. I couldnt believe the price that ***** was selling it for so snapped it up. As far as heating issues go, i wouldnt be too bothered, it usually people who live in hot tropical countries for one, and we all know that the uk isnt! Take a look over at notebookreview in their disscussion forums. A guy under the name of Grantman has done a video review for his dv5 as well as their being a number of other reviews. there is even a thread on overclcoking (and underclocking) the 9600M GT in the DV5 for more performace (or battery life) and info on undervolting the CPU etc etc

(on the notebookreview web site in thier seach bar enter "324836" and grantmans thead will appear)

PS: on there, as its american, the dv5 is called the DV5T)

How does this laptop compare with a XPS 1530 at 2.5GHz........?

lukext · 16 Dec 2008 at 22:23

well the 2GHz P7350 is roughly equivilant to the T8100 at 2.1GHz so a 2.5GHz XPS will probably outperform it slightly on the CPU, but the 8600M GT (GDDR3) in the XPS is slightly below that of the DV5s 9600M GT (GDDR2). The xps is old tech though, the 8600MGt has been replaced by the 9600 series and the new cpus run on a 1066 FSB not 800 like in the XPS (the ram in the dv5 is 800MHz and not 667 like in the dell). The DV5 is based on this newer tech and at 636, is probably cheaper than a dell with a 2.5 GHz cpu unless u get lucky on the outlet. Also, beware of the 8600Mgt in the M1530, they all have a manufacturing flaw which will cause them to die earlier than expected.

happy_2008 · 17 Dec 2008 at 12:06

Are you going to re-format the laptop.........? Also are you going to stay with vista 32bit or 64?

Judge · 17 Dec 2008 at 12:22

For around the £700 price range, the xps m1530 has the best all around spec in my opinion.

lukext · 17 Dec 2008 at 13:32

IRT happy 2008, im not gonna reformat, Im just gonna uninstall all of the bloatware and its gonna be 32bit. I know ill loose a bit of ram but not too much to make it worth the hasstle.

IRT Judge, I was all up for getting a M1530, but for £636 the DV5 with a P7350, 9600M GT and a blu ray drive is a bargin. Specing up a similar config with dell cost significantly more, out of my price range. Dont get me wrong, I was a stones throw away from getting the M1530, I really liked it, It looks awesome, but the more I read, the more it put me off and the dodgy GPU put the nail in the coffin.

If you want a awesome looking laptop with old tech thats probably gonna fail early beacuse nvidia didnt make it right, go for the XPS M1530

happy_2008 · 17 Dec 2008 at 14:24

Am i right in saying that 32bit will only restrict the ram to 3..........? What happens to the spare 1 gig of ram.............?

lukext · 17 Dec 2008 at 14:27

32 bit will restrict you to about 3.2 Gig of system ram the other 0.8GB cannot be addressed by the operating system and can be used. Its still better than having 3 gig as with 3 gig it would be made up of a 1 gig and a 2 gig stick awhich would prevent dual channel mode whereas with 4 gig, you may loose 0.8 but you will stiull get dual channel mode, which is good.