argus wrote:I'm a newbie to computer telephony. Simply put, can you make/receive phone calls on a notebook like this? Best way?

How computer literate are you? My Dad loves his magic jack. They have a new version that can be plugged directly into an Ethernet port so you don't even have to use the computer.

theguruguys wrote:How computer literate are you? My Dad loves his magic jack. They have a new version that can be plugged directly into an Ethernet port so you don't even have to use the computer.

I have a great computer that I make telephone calls on. It's called a Galaxy S2!

theguruguys wrote:How computer literate are you? My Dad loves his magic jack. They have a new version that can be plugged directly into an Ethernet port so you don't even have to use the computer.

I can talk it, not sure i can walk it. I guess I mean wireless - like from Starbucks, or even my car...

richardhod wrote:I have a great computer that I make telephone calls on. It's called a Galaxy S2!

My Droid X is still slugging along. Im thinking about putting ICS on it as soon as they get the camera bugs worked out.

argus wrote:I'm a newbie to computer telephony. Simply put, can you make/receive phone calls on a notebook like this? Best way?

Once you have an internet connection, there are several options available. You could install Skype and make calls and/or video chat to anyone else in the world with a Skype account for nothing. We use Skype to chat with our son in the military. Works great. There is also an option to call land lines/cell phones for a very reasonable price.

There are also other options available that don't require a computer at all (Magic Jack, various IP phone solutions, etc.)

** EDIT ** scratch that last comment, I see you later posted via wireless network.

HP laptop is bad, and with amd processor is terrorist atk bad. Beside for that kinda price you can get an i3 or i5 already.

ionman wrote:Once you have an internet connection, there are several options available. You could install Skype and make calls and/or video chat to anyone else in the world with a Skype account for nothing. We use Skype to chat with our son in the military. Works great. There is also an option to call land lines/cell phones for a very reasonable price.

There are also other options available that don't require a computer at all (Magic Jack, various IP phone solutions, etc.)

that's what I'm looking for - thx ionman

jayzhou99 wrote:HP laptop is bad, and with amd processor is terrorist atk bad. Beside for that kinda price you can get an i3 or i5 already.

I've been trying to find comparably priced laptops with a blu-ray drive. There are some with the I3-330M which scores almost identically to this system as far as speed, but not many out there. Without the blu-ray drive there are many with faster processors in this price range.

Feel free to post some links to alternatives with an i3, I seriously doubt you will find a $450 laptop with and i5 and bluray drive, but feel free to surprise me!

Well not to be a downer but you can buy a 15.6 laptop with an Intel I3 processor for 449.00. Not such a great deal unless You really need 17 inch screen, I'll take a better processor over a larger screen any day.

If I didn't buy a new laptop a couple months ago I'd be all over this. If you need a new laptop, people, grab this.

HPs are workhorses and all of mine have lasted 3+ years and I am on them ALL day for work. Only things I've ever had to replace are the batteries maybe once a year and maybe the power chord once a year from where I'm so hard on them.

Basic, cheap computers cost this price. Plus, you get the blu-ray which you can hook up to your TV via HDMI cable so it's like you get a blu-ray player for free.

Kid in college or just starting out? Get them this it will last all through college.

A true super deal.

For the 50th time I am not interested in a 17.3" bulky laptop, however the airplane story was the funniest woot description I have read in a while!

I'm pretty much computer illiterate as far as specifics go. Basically I have a couple really simple questions. Can this thing play a DVD too? And overall is it worth it for normal web browsing, Internet video watching, and Microsoft word processing? It seems like a good deal but after reading some of the comments here I'm not sure. Thanks!

The A4-3300M is a FM1 socket cpu right. If I were to want a little more kick out of this machine could I put a faster cpu in without having to worry about it frying the notebook?

I really need a new desktop, but maybe a cairo would do. Can anyone comment on whether this or the one at moofi! http://deals.woot.com/deals/details/a386ac86-a4df-4bad-a242-3e2cc1b18b45/hp-pavilion-dual-core-desktop would be better. I don't really game or do anything high level.

does it even come with Microsoft Word/Office?

thesidefxs wrote:does it even come with Microsoft Word/Office?

It would come with a starter version which excludes powerpoint. I put OpenOffice.org on most of my customer's machines and just rename them 'word, excel, powerpoint' and set it to save as office 97 formats by default. Most of them don't even notice.

I have two similar model laptops (also bought from Woot! for much more $$$) that are in service as video players into my in-house SMATV system (playing HD video 24/7), and have never had so much as a blue screen on either of them. One's been online for over two years. One thing is, though, I do keep a small fan pointed at them to keep the CPU cooled down.

thesidefxs wrote:does it even come with Microsoft Word/Office?

who wants that when you have open office?

Hold off on getting a PC. There are two things coming up that are worth waiting for. 1st is the new Ivy bridge intels coming very soon, and then there is Windows 8. Both will cause large price fluctuations in the market. In 6 months time, who knows what kind of machine you can get at this price.

zelgadis123 wrote:Hold off on getting a PC. There are two things coming up that are worth waiting for. 1st is the new Ivy bridge intels coming very soon, and then there is Windows 8. Both will cause large price fluctuations in the market. In 6 months time, who knows what kind of machine you can get at this price.

I've been holding off for 5 years with a SONY VAIO Vista laptop that runs very slow. Today's Woot is tempting.

Would love to know how loud the speakers are.

zelgadis123 wrote:Hold off on getting a PC. There are two things coming up that are worth waiting for. 1st is the new Ivy bridge intels coming very soon, and then there is Windows 8. Both will cause large price fluctuations in the market. In 6 months time, who knows what kind of machine you can get at this price.

Thank you!!! I didn.t realize 8was on the horizon. If my puter holds out and my netbook stays alive, maybe I can hold out. Big ”ifs”, because both are old. My new tablet doesn't run windows, so I need to have a puter that does.

zelgadis123 wrote:Hold off on getting a PC. There are two things coming up that are worth waiting for. 1st is the new Ivy bridge intels coming very soon, and then there is Windows 8. Both will cause large price fluctuations in the market. In 6 months time, who knows what kind of machine you can get at this price.

If I was building a high end gaming machine I would highly encourage holding off a bit for the next series of graphics cards (GTX580) etc, but for what is close to a budget machine holding off isn't going to get you a huge increase. I have my doubts as to how much Windows 8 will affect the desktop/laptop market as its main features benefit use by tablets and phones. I think a lot of people will be perfectly happy with their windows 7 for some time to come.

frericjk wrote:I'm pretty much computer illiterate as far as specifics go. Basically I have a couple really simple questions. Can this thing play a DVD too? And overall is it worth it for normal web browsing, Internet video watching, and Microsoft word processing? It seems like a good deal but after reading some of the comments here I'm not sure. Thanks!

From the front page:
Optical Drive: Blu-ray SuperMulti DVD±RW
so yes, it should be able to play and burn DVD's.

I'm typing from a much older computer, and it can handle everything you're asking for, albeit slower. I think it's worth it, it's more a matter of whether you trust HP quality (and as you can tell, the opinions vary, including at PCMag's 2012 Readers Choice survey, where HP is in the lower rungs as usual, but not last, in satisfaction):
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400793,00.asp

theguruguys wrote:If I was building a high end gaming machine I would highly encourage holding off a bit for the next series of graphics cards (GTX580) etc, but for what is close to a budget machine holding off isn't going to get you a huge increase. I have my doubts as to how much Windows 8 will affect the desktop/laptop market as its main features benefit use by tablets and phones. I think a lot of people will be perfectly happy with their windows 7 for some time to come.

Considering how old Windows XP is, I agree that Windows 7 may turn out to be the new XP, where it hangs around for a long time (XP is over 10 years old, and I mainly work in XP still) and not as many adopt Windows 8 as Microsoft wants.
e.g.,
http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/windows-xp-finally-giving-way-windows-7-118108

The AMD Radeon HD 6480G is an integrated processor graphics card for entry level laptops. It is integrated in the lower mid-range Llano APUs (A4 Series, e.g. A4-3300M) and offers 240 of the 400 shader cores clocked at 400MHz. It offers no dedicated graphics memory (shared memory graphics card) and is therefore slower than similar Radeon HD 6000M cards.

So, it's a Barrels of Crud without the bag.
from http://www.notebookcheck.net/AMD-Radeon-HD-6480G.55685.0.html

richardhod wrote:who wants that when you have open office?

because openoffice is garbage

jcasaurus wrote:because openoffice is garbage

Openoffice hasn't been updated in forever, but for most people it functions perfectly fine. I find many like it over the new office 2007, 2010 interfaces, especially those coming from Office 2003.

Agreed, please filter out "just sayin'" A horrid bit of low-life non-talk, as in "That (racial reference) is not even a citizen and he is also a (religious comment) who strangles puppies for fun! Just Sayin'"

jcasaurus wrote:because openoffice is garbage

It forked and is now Libre Office, and is not garbage for people who need to write and not merge with a Microsoft based office. Only comments like yours, with no details as to "why" are garbage.

If you don't mind your brand new laptop being dead in 18 months, by all means, buy an HP.

If you don't want to have to replace it that soon, buy a different brand.

Seriously, any quick search on failure rates of lap tops will make you think twice..

jayzhou99 wrote:HP laptop is bad, and with amd processor is terrorist atk bad. Beside for that kinda price you can get an i3 or i5 already.

This is a budget processor with better graphics vs the Intel HD graphics that comes with the I3 cheap I5's and there are no good I5 with a 17.3 inch screen usually in this price range. Now I will totally agree that this is about $50 over what it should be priced for Woot- this is more like a Sunday Staples deal. But be serious you and I might be able to distinguish the difference between an I3 and this laptop, but 90% of the people out there usually can get by on the power of a netbook. Actually I think the A series AMD processors are ideal for most laptop users (especially budget laptops)

I must say Woot, i am clearly aware that HP gives you and all of us much better deals for thier computers, but a 100.00 better deal on crap is still crap! -Have a crappy day

tyrmagistrate wrote:Actually.. I found that tremendously helpful. it saved me quite a bit of time poking around google to get the same information. I'm fluent, but not informed on current benchmarks for processors or graphics cards, and this is an awesome review.

Or, look here

theguruguys wrote:Passmark, while by no means perfect at all, is one of the better starting points for judging a processors speed. I train all my customers on how to look up processors when buying a computer because it is really the only way to compare them, the statistics you see in the stores don't do much good (ie. a processor at 4ghz may be slower than one at 3ghz, etc.).

Currently 1900 is about the lowest I would recommend if a customer of mine was going to by a new laptop. If it rated much below that at all I would say find another one. Anything below 1000 is on the lines of the Intel Atom processor used in most netbooks. Most desktops in the price range of this laptop have processors rating 3000-5000.

The last link has a few game scores so those who always ask 'can I play games on this' can go see what fps they would expect to get. I would image if they are asking if they can play games on it, they know what fps is.

So in a nutshell with passmark scores, IMO:

Below 1700 passmark score - only if you are on a VERY limited budget.

Below 1000 passmark, we are talking netbook speed here, stay away. A lot of the entry level sub $300 desktops and laptops are using the new AMD V series chips that are this slow.

2000-4000 perfect for most users, bang for buck area.

4000-5000 good for most users and even for some video editing (where compressing video will take less time etc).

5000-6000 great, even bang for the buck gamers will do good with this.

6000+ dedicated game machines will want something this high.

Thanks for the info here.

theguruguys wrote:The AMD A4-3300M processor isn't the fastest that has been on here for this price point, it rates just over 1900 at passmark. That being said it will still get the job done for most business/home tasks, and is MUCH better than most budget level processors which score as low as 700.

The graphics chip is on the same line as a $40 entry level desktop graphics card rated just under 400 on passmark. Here are a few estimated FPS benchmarks for the AMD HD 6480G.

EDIT: Fixed link.

The CPU benchmark is somehow misleading. All the rest are CPU for desktop computer I believe.

The Good news is that this laptop looks almost exactly like a Dell XPS 15, a laptop that costs almost twice as much. Odds are that they're both made in China by the same factory.

The Bad news is that the Dell XPS 15's are made of cheap plastic, and fall apart easily. Mine has already had a fan and battery replaced, and both the case and screen got scratched up just from normal use.

hehthuryo wrote:

Kid in college or just starting out? Get them this it will last all through college.

A true super deal.

I agree, for sitting on a desk and not moving around much (maybe the occasional trip to the living room) This machine should be ok and is a decent buy.

I disagree on buying one of these for a college kid. HP laptops are made with shoddy soldering. Combine that with a life of backpacking to/from class and you have a ton of trouble as my own son found out.

IF you do buy an HP laptop for this sort of use, I recommend buying an extended no-fault warranty on it at minimum. (Go direct through HP) This saved us hundreds.

richardhod wrote:who wants that when you have open office?

Not for experienced Excel users - the keyboard commands are too different.

Of course, Excel 2010 makes Excel '03 users crazy.

How does any of this relate to today's Woot?

Gnome sane?

I purchased this unit in August...It has crashed twice! Not happy at all...