Hp Dv8173

T-Square

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/Computing/Laptops/Entertainment+Laptops/HP/DV8173/504716



AMD Turion64 ML-37 Processor 2.0GHz
1600 MT/s HyperTransport (What's this?)
1 MB Cache
1024 MB RAM (don't know if it's DDR2, etc)
160 GB Dual Hard Drive (2x 80GB)
DVD ReWriter MultiDrive
17" Widescreen BrightView Display
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
128MB ATi Radeon 200M dedicated graphics
1 year FREE warranty

The screen appears to be nice and bright, good for the latest and greatest games and I was wondering...

1) Is this machine is worth buying at €1300 new?
2) Can the graphics card be used to play high resolution games at a good frame rate?
3) If you think it's not a great machine, what would you recommend for 1300?
4) Not sure, but I think it has built in WiFi

Thanks for any replies,
TS

jimmycrackcorm

I have this and am very happy with it. Has both bluetooth and wifi and quickplay for watching dvds / mp3s without starting windows. Even comes with a little remote control that sits in the pcmcia slot. Well specced machine. I bought it in PC World for 1549 so if you can get it for 1300 then thats better. It sold out very quickly there asI haven't seen it since.

T-Square

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

I have this and am very happy with it. Has both bluetooth and wifi and quickplay for watching dvds / mp3s without starting windows. Even comes with a little remote control that sits in the pcmcia slot. Well specced machine. I bought it in PC World for 1549 so if you can get it for 1300 then thats better. It sold out very quickly there asI haven't seen it since.

Thanks for replying. Does it play games well?
Is the machine quick to startup?

The full size keyboard is a very nice touch, not many laptops have that.

Mawg

I have had the dv5094ea for about a month now, it's pretty much the same deal as this one. Got it for 1400eur. It's an absolute charm. My only complaint would be that the battery life is a bit weak, but that's not uncommon with laptops.
In my opinion it's a great buy.

TerrorFirmer

To answer your question regarding the xpress200, its rubbish. Its an integrated controller not a dedicated gfx card, but to be fair, it far outstrips the intel, sis or other common integrated offerings.

Unlike most integrated solutions, it CAN run some new games like Battlefield 2 (I know this one definately works on it), but it will only run it at 800x600 or 1024x768 with most or all options on low..

It is not ideal for gaming, forget about playing Oblivion or the like on it....officially its not supported in ANY new games but in practice, it does work on and off with some newish titles....but again, very low settings.

If you're looking for a laptop that will play new games on high resolution with options on, you're going to have to spend more then 1,300. for 1300 though that is a decent laptop, gaming on laptops just doesn't exactly come in bargin packages like it does in desktops

T-Square

Do you work for Havoc? sounds like you know your stuff.

Are there any laptops out there that are great for games, but dont' cost more than €1500?

TerrorFirmer

I know because I'm on the market myself for a laptop that CAN play some new games, but not at the top level - but its a hard task, given that recently the market seems to have locked into two groups - crap for gaming, or good for gaming - no longer seems to be a decent middle ground! Dell used to offer Laptops for about a grand with decent ram and a low end gpu that would still play new games on lowish levels, which is all I want as I use my desktop mostly for gaming.

And so far, although its not great for games, the Xpress200 is the best I've seen in the lower end laptops from pcworld, komplett, etc.....Dells laptops have the gma950 integrated controller which has access to 256mb of ram, and is definately alot better then all other integrated intel options normally found in cheap lappys but apparently its still an absolute dog still for games and more or less the same as the xpress200...

As I said, dell used to offer decent mid range gfx options but they seemed to have mainly stopped that in their new laptop offerings. I did however look at the dell outlet store today and they do have some machines that might suit your needs....pretty cheap, but moderately powerful and they have gfx cards that would run newer games alright.

PS - Dunnes at the moment have a laptop very similar to the one you first mentioned. Its not as good, but its only 899 euro - considerably cheaper then what you've linked to. Its essentially the same, with a turion64 Processor, 512mb ram, 80gb Hd and xpress200 gfx - its that bit less powerful (especially the ram) but at a much more affordable price! I don't know if thats a nationwide thing, but they have them in Dunnes in Galway...

However if your budget is 1500, Dell can probably cook you up something nice, and probably alot better then what you'd get in a bricks and mortar store for the price.....give them a call!

j@utis

I have HP laptop from ZD7000 series (previuos ZD8000 model). bought it for ~1200eur about 15 months ago. and here we go: 2 lines of dead pixels appeared on the screen recently. not 2 dead pixels, but 2 vertical dead lines. although 17" screen is really w i d e. I like it, but afraid I'll have to replace it soon.

phoenix_nights

@Havoc - Is the dell xps m2010 a perfect laptop for gaming ?

TerrorFirmer

It depends. The higher end xps laptops always come with high end gpus but at the same time, the cheaper XPS systems (which start at about 1300) sometimes come with the gma950 integrated graphics option, which is pretty pants for games....again, you get what you pay for

Even if you get the cheapest XPS system from dell with the gma950 though, you can ask them over the phone to upgrade the gfx to something for playing games for a few hundred euro extra (depending on card can cost between 130-300 euro extra).

phoenix_nights

HavoK wrote:

It depends. The higher end xps laptops always come with high end gpus but at the same time, the cheaper XPS systems (which start at about 1300) sometimes come with the gma950 integrated graphics option, which is pretty pants for games....again, you get what you pay for

Even if you get the cheapest XPS system from dell with the gma950 though, you can ask them over the phone to upgrade the gfx to something for playing games for a few hundred euro extra (depending on card can cost between 130-300 euro extra).

Thanks Havok. I will do that and just hope the sales guy doesnt think i know what i am on about. Should have cash next week so might take the plunge.