[Comp] HP 11.6" AMD E450, 4gb ram, 500HD, USB, HDMI $399 @ Costco - 90 day return 2 yr warr

[Jet2643]

I was walking through Costco today and spotted this unit - HP Pavilion 11.6" DM1-4123CA:

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product....e=BCCA&topnav=

which is $419 online, and $399 in the store. Just 2 weeks ago, the lowest pricing I was seeing was $449 to $479 for the same units. I will detail more about the unit below, but notably, Costco provides a 90 day no questions asked return policy and 2 yr warranty on all units, which in themselves are huge bonuses.

I have bought and tested a number of ultralights recently, and I think this is one of the best bets, and this the lowest price I have seen to date.

Tigerdirect has the sister model, the HP Pavilion dm1-4160ca which has a slightly larger 640 GB HD,

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...483&CatId=4938 EARN CASH BACK

but the return policy and warranty are both so inferior to Costco that it is not even worth considering.

In the USA, you can get the HP Pavilion dm1-4170us which has an i3-2367M for about $499 on sale direct from HP:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...&lang=en&cc=us

but this I3 is not comparable to the regular i3 series, it operates at only 1.4ghz, and its video performance is significantly inferior to the AMD E450 in this config, and I don't believe is worth the extra $100.

This HP unit has had many good reviews on the net, from 3rd parties:

Pros:

• excellent audio - the Beats Audio makes a diff on this machine
• excellent video performance - WEI gaming graphics score is 5.9
• long battery life with 8 hrs + reasonably achievable
• good port selection - 3 x USB 2.0 (2 on one side, 1 on the other which is optimal config), HDMI, multi format card reader, etc
• better screen resolution @ 1366 x 768 vs a 10" netbook
• can drive a TV @ 1080P
• bluetooth 3.0 , 2.4 ghz wireless b,g,n
• very good webcam performance
• Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit and Microsoft Office Starter which has permanent licenses for Word and Excel without any additional cost.
• I really liked the keyboard, and it has a very large easily found right side enter button, backspace & delete keys. I type a lot so this is very impt to me.

The Negatives are:

• gloss screen so sometimes I suspect viewing angles can be finicky in outdoor light conditions
• AMD E450 is not a powerhouse chip although all the external reviews found as I did that the HP config seemed to produce very good real life performance
• no USB 3.0 ports
• lots of HP bloatware which you will have to remove or turn off to maximize startup performance
• touch typist will find the keypad keys are fairly firm

Based on my testing, the unit multitasks fine, until you get 7-10 plus apps open, in which case you will start to suffer a noticeable lag. But, I have wampserver installed on it, and it runs that fine. It does a great job of playing 720p vids from youtube, playing movies from streaming sites, and the wifi card seems to have reasonably good range. I could easily dual boot this machine with linux, were I interested to do such. I hooked it up to a 42 inch 1080p tv and it drove it just fine for movies. I also found the screen brightness to be good - on par or perhaps slightly better then my Acer 13.3 (see my signature) but not as bright as my big Acer 18.4" (not a surprise I suspect!).


Side by side with the Asus Eee PC 1225B @ $439 which you can now get at Amazon.ca, and which has the same chip, differences to the HP being the Asus has one USB 3.0 port, but a smaller 320GB HD:

http://www.amazon.ca/ASUS-1225B-SU17...6600185&sr=8-1

the observations through actual use of both, and with them side by side for comparison purposes are:

- the Asus looks nicer with its all silver finish and slightly smaller profile and very slightly smaller weight
- the HP has better WEI numbers for all scores other then the HD (which are identical) so somehow HP has tweaked the build better then Asus, and it is noticeable in the performance.
- the HP sound is hugely better then the Asus sound, quite simply the HP unit provides quality stereo sound, and the Asus does not.
- the HP webcam performance is again significantly better then the Asus webcam (which is jittery and lags)
- the HP battery performance is better
- the Asus machine has more flex and bend both on the screen and with the keyboard, I would term it slightly less "sturdy" then the HP.
- the HP unit is $40 less.

Here are some external reviews for this or similar configs - all give it 4 stars or better ratings:

http://www.reghardware.com/2012/02/1...d_cpu_netbook/

http://www.notebookreview.com/defaul...p+pavilion+dm1 (a very comprehensive review although their unit is with the lower E350 chip and also a diff trackpad mouse button combo that is not as good as the Costco model)

http://www.notebookreview.com/defaul...+gaming+4010us (another comprehensive review, this with the same trackpad and chip, but a diff hd. I disagree with their Beats audio observations, mainly as I was comparing speaker sound with 3 diff competing units side by side, not sound via headphones).

Here is a youtube commentary from latptopmag - the unit is identical in appearance from what I could see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bHa0...eature=related

The youtube thread has lots of comments from users, and most reflect mine - they are very positive.

If you are looking for a compact computer for usage on the go, then I think the HP unit, particularly with the Costco return and warranty benefits, is a pretty good buy. I know I like mine, and for something to run around with during the day it beats the pants off the netbooks it replaces. I am able to do real work on it when I need to, and it is a fine multimedia machine when on the go.

If you swap out the hd for an SSD in either unit, you have an ultrabook, at a fraction of the price. As some other uses have noted, putting in a super fast ssd drive positively impacts the entire usage experience.

So that's my post. I would term this pricing, given the Costco benefits, very warm to potentially hot. A very capable little machine at a very competitive price.

[a1qwyx20]

I would thank u for the nice review but im using the mobile app and cant see where it is, thanks though!

[Taft]

Now that's a comprehensive post!!! Great unit for the price too! Thanks coming your way my good man

[Whirlwind]

Thanks OP. I don't really need another laptop right now but like to keep up qith the deals. Got to say this is definitely one of the most detailed posts I've seen around here for a while.

[anelectricmind]

Thanks OP.

I am currently looking to upgrade my Asus 1000HE with the Asus 1225B, but I noticed a few weeks ago that HP with the same configuration.

Thanks for a very informative post.

[petern87]

Thanks jet. I like your posts, they're always informative. I just bought the lenovo refurbs but its hard to get used to the size. My old laptop was 13" so adjusting to the 15.6" may take time. I may consider something smaller like this.

[Samwfive]

OP,

HP should pay you for this post.

Have you come across Lenovo's new x130e? I think it's around $450 with the same E450 amd cpu....rugged-ized for students.

[ttiger]

I purchased a laptop with a bilingual keyboard from Costco in the past. Found the way they jam the extra characters absolutely annoying - SPACE, SHIFT, and ENTER keys were shortened. Typing was an abosolute pain.

[Jet2643]

First, to all. Your welcome. Any of you who are familiar with me know that as I am a developer, I tend to post thoroughly on any recommendations, so that everyone has enough information to determine whether they are wasting their time or not. I am the defacto resource in my own family/friend circle, and I know how many questions they bombard me with, so when I post I tend to keep that in mind. Hence, comparative data, third party data, visual media, and my own observations, along with some conclusions. My roots as a scientist show I guess.

Thanks jet. I like your posts, they're always informative. I just bought the lenovo refurbs but its hard to get used to the size. My old laptop was 13" so adjusting to the 15.6" may take time. I may consider something smaller like this.

Your welcome. And welcome to the Lenovo refurb club. I bought 4! The jump from 13.3 to 15.6 is more significant then many would guess, even though the Lenovo's are actually on the lighter side of the 15.6" club (I own a pad, 10", 11.6" 13.3", 15.6" and 18.4" so I know pretty well!). If you were not aware, you need to go to the Lenovo site and check out the date of your warranty expiry. The units have one yr warranty, but Lenovo needs to be advised of your purchase date in order to adjust the warranty period. Any questions on what to do, pm me.

OP,

HP should pay you for this post.

Have you come across Lenovo's new x130e? I think it's around $450 with the same E450 amd cpu....rugged-ized for students.

I agree, they should, although it is obviously not intended as a sales pitch for them but rather just a deal posting with enough info so that my fellow RFDr's have an info grounding on the unit.

On the Lenovo, the cheapest price I have found is $550, and that for the AMD E-300 build. If you want to boost up to the AMD e-450, you march past $600 to the best of my knowledge. I believe it has decent reviews, but at this time it is still seems pretty expensive for what you get. The Lenovo U260 is seeing some price reductions now (it was at costco for $569) but it suffers from poor battery life, although it is beautiful to look at and has a nice screen.

I purchased a laptop with a bilingual keyboard from Costco in the past. Found the way they jam the extra characters absolutely annoying - SPACE, SHIFT, and ENTER keys were shortened. Typing was an abosolute pain.

Which is one of the things I like about this machine. The right side keys are not jammed at all. The Enter, backspace and shift keys are huge. I think there are some video and images that show the config pretty well. I will find one and post the link, later.

[aeobikes]

As far as I know, Cheapest lenovo to date was $400 for the x120e with e350, 2gb ram and 250gb hdd.

It is one of the better x86-64 netbooks one can buy for the price. They all kind of suck as a media player due to their shabby screens.

[Jet2643]

As far as I know, Cheapest lenovo to date was $400 for the x120e with e350, 2gb ram and 250gb hdd.

It is one of the better x86-64 netbooks one can buy for the price. They all kind of suck as a media player due to their shabby screens.

HI

If you can point out where that might be found, i might even buy one and test it out.

[Loomy]

First, to all. Your welcome. Any of you who are familiar with me know that as I am a developer, I tend to post thoroughly on any recommendations, so that everyone has enough information to determine whether they are wasting their time or not. I am the defacto resource in my own family/friend circle, and I know how many questions they bombard me with, so when I post I tend to keep that in mind. Hence, comparative data, third party data, visual media, and my own observations, along with some conclusions. My roots as a scientist show I guess.

your age is the only thing showing when you make a post like this

[galantgtz99]

I admire people who does the homework and make a post like this. It makes all of our lives easier, saving us time to do our own research. Although I would not buy this laptop but i still would thank him.

[visionqueen]

Thanks op! Always enjoy reading your comprehensive posts, you definitely offer a wealth of knowledge to us all! My laptop started crash dumping a few times... So I'm in a market for a new <14" . This one looks so tempting after your review! Thanks again!

[impailer17]

Thanks for the post. Picked up the display model at the Barrie Costco today for $299.97 and I am very happy with the unit so far. Also, getting another $100 off was nice :-)