HP/Compaq nw8000, nc8000 Laptops

I'm considering getting one of these two and would appreciate any
feedback as to it their reliability and performance. In particular, what
kind of runtime do you get when on battery?

Thanks,
Harvey

 

On the seventh day, Harvey Gratt wrote...

while they are manufactured to last they are too bulky, heavy and weigh
far too much. Have you considered the new line of the nw8240, for example?

--
mit freundlichen Grüßen/with kind regards
Christian Dürrhauer, Institute of Geography, FU Berlin

You treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home. -
McCoy, "Star Trek: The Next Generation, (Encounter at Farpoint,
Part I)"

 

I wanted to have a parallel port so as to be able to use an older HP
Laser Printer. It appears that only the nc8000 and nw8000 models have
this feature.

Is there an advantage to the nw models over the nc models? Do you have
any experience with battery runtime operation?

Thanks,
Harvey

 

You can get yourself a cable that plugs into the USB port on your new notebook
and into the printer's parallel port. If the "older HP laser" is in the LJ4 or
LJ5 class, this oughta work just fine. USB-parallel cables are available to
work in both directions. There are also external USB hubs which include
parallel and/or serial ports. Same idea, more features, more desktop clutter.

.... Ben Myers

 

Thanks. It is a LaserJet 4MP. How much does a typical parallel to USB
cable cost?

Thanks,
Harvey

 

No more than $20 in a store, unless they are trying to rip you off. There are
also lots of cables sold on eBay, which is an excellent source for various and
sundry parts. Beats driving from store to store... Ben Myers

 

We have several nw8000s at work. They are a bit bulky, but otherwise great
systems. Even under heavy load they run very reliable (wasn't true for my
IBM T41p). Battery runtime is depending on the applications up to ~4.5hrs...

I'm thinking of getting one for myself. Of course there are the new nw8240
models out now, but they are much wider, and almost as bulky as the nw8000.
And it looks like the X600 GPU is running much slower than the comparable
FireGL T2 in the nc8000...

Benjamin

 

This is good information! Do you have any idea as to the the differences
between the nw8000 and nc8000 machines? It looked to me as though it was
mostly in the available options - graphics card, 7200rpm HDD, maximum
processor speeds. Specifically, are the nc8000 and nw8000 "fit and
finish" and construction the same? It's not clear which machine is
"better" and which to choose.

Also, would you happen to know if the FireGL T2 graphis card uses more
or less power than the ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro graphics controller
in the nc8000 - battery life is a concern for me.

Thanks for you input,
Harvey

 

One thing I forgot to ask:

Is the Cardbus Controller (pc card) for the nw8000 the Texas Instrument
controller? This seems to be the one that is compatible (power draw
wise) with the Belkin Pre-N pc card. Other controllers have freezing
issues, i.e., the 02Micro 0Z711EC1 smartcardbus controller.

Thanks,
Harvey

 

Yes, exactly. The difference besides CPU and HD is the gfx (Radeon 9600 in
the nc8000 vs FireGL T2 in the nw8000) and the display.

Yes, they are. The casing parts are the same on both models.

The FireGL T2 and the Radeon 9600 are identical. The FireGL has more memory
(128MB vs. 32 or 64MB) and offers additional functions like antialiased
lines which are used by professional applications like for CAD. Otherwise
they are the same, and draw the same amount of power.

However, if You don't need much video RAM (i.e. for textures) You probably
can save energy by going for the nc8000 with only 32MB memory. But then, I
doubt it makes any noticeable difference, especially when the FireGL/Radeon
offers very good power saving functions.

Benjamin

 

Sorry, I can't help You here. I only use the PC-Card slot for a CF card
reader. Can't remember which controller is inside the nc/nw8000....

Benjamin

 

Thanks for all help. My other choice was a Dell Latitude D800, but
either the nc8000 or nw8000 appear to be a better choice. If you get a
chance later on to look in the device manager for a nw8000, let me know
if you can tell which cardbus controller it has. In the meantine I will
also be calling HP tomorrow to inquire, but the sales people may or may
not have the correct information.

Thanks,
Harvey