HP ProBook 430-G1 13.3" Dual-Core Laptop Price: $299.99 Shipping Options:: $5 Standard Shipping Estimates: Ships in 3-5 business days. (Thursday, Jan 22 to Tuesday, Jan 27) + transit Condition: New
Just off the bat, I’m not a dell fan. Oh, if you buy the extended warranty coverage from them, it’s makes it less painful. However, I just retired my daughters dell that was 3 years old. In the 3 years of using it, it had the screen replaced and the wireless card. I work at a campus that pushed Dells to it’s faculity. We just deployed 55 dells the first round, got about 60 left. The last units all came to us with no wireless drivers so we had to take care of that oversite LOL… As far as machine you listed and this one. The two processors are fine. Neither have a dvd drive but for 15-20bucks, you can get an external. I just dropped 1200.00 for my wife’s laptop (HP) and it didn’t have one either. This unit can expand to 16gb of ram. For me, that’s a deal winner, plus it has 2 USB3.0 ports vs 1 on the dell. I still use my HP from 2010 and the only issue I’ve had has be the 750gb hybrid drive (segate) I installed a 2 years ago. It’s corrupted some of my files so I just ordered a 1tb Samsung pro ssd drive for it. I do have a E6400 XFR notebook (it’s a monster military grade unit) that I use camping and outdoors (got the battery slice so it has around 12 hrs of use). For what you want the unit for, this one would be fine and it has room to grow (more ram and you can always put a SSD drive in it that will make it much faster too). Failed to point out, this unit has faster hard drive over the Dell. Funny thing too, the dell laptops we just got have hybrid drives but they don’t seem any faster then the ones they replaced which were WD 5400rpm drives.
[QUOTE=tc1uscg, post:13, topic:440278]
Just off the bat, I’m not a dell fan. Oh, if you buy the extended warranty coverage from them, it’s makes it less painful. However, I just retired my daughters dell that was 3 years old. In the 3 years of using it, it had the screen replaced and the wireless card. I work at a campus that pushed Dells to it’s faculity. We just deployed 55 dells the first round, got about 60 left. The last units all came to us with no wireless drivers so we had to take care of that oversite LOL… As far as machine you listed and this one. The two processors are fine. Neither have a dvd drive but for 15-20bucks, you can get an external. I just dropped 1200.00 for my wife’s laptop (HP) and it didn’t have one either. This unit can expand to 16gb of ram. For me, that’s a deal winner, plus it has 2 USB3.0 ports vs 1 on the dell. I still use my HP from 2010 and the only issue I’ve had has be the 750gb hybrid drive (segate) I installed a 2 years ago. It’s corrupted some of my files so I just ordered a 1tb Samsung pro ssd drive for it. I do have a E6400 XFR notebook (it’s a monster military grade unit) that I use camping and outdoors (got the battery slice so it has around 12 hrs of use). For what you want the unit for, this one would be fine and it has room to grow (more ram and you can always put a SSD drive in it that will make it much faster too). Failed to point out, this unit has faster hard drive over the Dell. Funny thing too, the dell laptops we just got have hybrid drives but they don’t seem any faster then the ones they replaced which were WD 5400rpm drives.
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Thank You! Thing is - I would have no clue how to put in an SSD drive - so, based on what comes in the box without modification - will this be fast for browsing and office? I currently have a macbook air and it drops wifi constantly which makes browsing really slow and painful. Looking for a PC alternative that will be quick and not lose the wifi connection. Amazon reviews note that some people have wifi issues with this HP as well - do you have any thoughts on that?
1.4GHz CPU? Dual core or not this laptop WILL NEVER BE FAST. Add the 16GB ram and it will be SLOW still. Add and SSD and it will be a little faster. But now you have spent another. $300.00 DO NOT BUY THIS SLOW PILE OF $hit!!! You will be sorry every day you own it
MMattess: Unless you want a 13" screen, there’s a better deal (IMO) at Fryes for $298 shipped (plus sales tax if there’s a Fryes in your state). They have a Lenovo 15" that has a faster processor (Passmark results: The dual core HP on woot score is 1528; the quad core Lenovo is 1961); the Lenovo has a DVDRW drive while the HP does not; memory and hard drive are the same. Both have bluetooth. Both have 3 USB ports, but the HP has 2 x 3.0 speed and the Lenovo 1 X 3.0 speed, so that’s a plus for the HP. But if it’s speed you’re concerned about, the Lenovo is much faster based on the processor. http://www.frys.com/product/8338717
PS…everyone has different experiences with different manufacturers. I’ve owned half a dozen dell laptops/desktops with only one problem (a balky dvd drive door)and I’m typing on a 17" HP that I picked up at that Radio Shack sale a year ago, and it’s been a trooper after many days of hard use. I think it’s all the luck of the draw.
Using GHz as a measure of performance across different CPUs is just about as helpful as judging a car by the number of cup holders.
For example, the 3.4 GHz dual-core Petnium-D 950 has an average passmark score of 751, while the 1.4GHz 2957U in this laptop scores 1528. More than double the performance, and yet it’s only 1.4 GHz vs 3.4. Not only that, this CPU uses less than one eighth as much electricity.
While a 2957U isn’t a high-end speed demon CPU, it’s more than sufficient for all the tasks that the vast majority of people use a laptop for. Of course, if you want to render UltraHD video in After Effects or play the latest high-end 3D games you’ll obviously be disappointed, but if you really want to do that on a laptop, basically multiply the price of this Woot by 4x and start looking in that range and up).
That’s why I used the Passmark scores in my comparison. I’d rather have a quad core than a dual core processor at this price level. I think that a 28% higher score is significant, but maybe not so much for a light user. The addition of a DVDRW and the 15" or 13" may or may not be benefits to the user. If it were me, I’d go with the lenovo.
Often dropping WiFi is NOT a problem with the hardware. In rare cases it might be, but in the more typical case it’s simply the result of interference from other people’s WiFi networks overlapping signals with yours, or other devices (like certain cordless home phones or baby monitors, or microwave ovens) interfering with communication. Depending on what wireless router you use it might need a firmware update, or to have its channel setting changed, or it might need to be replaced (after removing any obvious sources of interference, and if possible relocating the router closer to the area where you typically use the laptop with minimal obstructions between).
If it happens everywhere, and not just at home, then occasionally there is a driver or firmware issue with the WiFi card in a laptop, but if you’re up to date there you could possibly be looking at something more like a flaky WiFi card or a less than optimal, or possibly damaged internal antenna/connection.
Anyway, business class notebooks like this one are usually a good option for improved build quality versus the more low-end consumer models overall, and the processor is fine for browsing and office, etc, but you might notice somewhat reduced overall responsiveness and battery life versus a MacBook Air due to this Woot having a hard drive rather than an SSD, as well as somewhat more weight and bulk. Do take the price difference into account though. Given that, it’s not really fair to directly compare the two.
The more critical question is not how, but why you would bother upgrading this laptop to 16 gb of RAM. It’s like putting racing slicks on a 1985 Chevy Celebrity. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
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