Dell Vostro 1700 Vs. HP DV9700T - Informal Review + Lots of Pics

I see a lot of posts from people asking if they should get a HP DV9700T or a Vostro / Inspiron. (The Inspiron and the Vostro are basically the same except the Vostro is the business line notebook and all black in case you're not familiar).

The more posts I read, the more I wanted to write a comparison since I have experience with both the DV9700T and the Vostro 1700. So here are some side-by-side pics and my own thoughts. I'm not including any benchmarks or other technical stuff like that because this is simply an informal review from a user's perspective.

Also, while there are some design changes with the Vostro 1710, I hope this info gives you a decent idea of what to expect when comparing the systems.

First, the specs I started out with on each system:

HP DV9700T

• Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 Processor (2.50 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)

• 17.0" WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)

• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS

• 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)

• 240GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120GB x 2)

• HDMI Port

• 3 USB Ports

• HP Imprint Finish (Radiance)

• Fingerprint Reader

• Webcam

• Microphone

• Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection with Bluetooth

• LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support

• Remote Control

• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

• 32-bit Windows Vista Home Premium

• Standard One Year Mail-In Warranty

Total (-) $500 off coupon (x) 10% sales tax:

$1165.99



Vostro 1700

• Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 Processor (2.1 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)

• 17.0" WUXGA LCD (1920x1200)

• 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

• 1GB, DDR2 System Memory (2 DIMM)

• 120G 5400RPM SATA hard drive

• 5 USB Ports

• Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Internal Card

• 8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+R

• WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

• 32-bit Windows Vista Home Premium

• 2 Year On-Site Next Business Day Warranty

Total (-) $500 off coupon (x) 10% sales tax:

$1018.63


You can see right away I had trade-offs with each of these systems. With the Vostro, I gave up the T9300 and gadgets like a fingerprint reader, webcam and built-in microphone, remote control, lightscribe drive and HDMI port. I gained a better graphics card in the 8600M GT wiht the Vostro, a higher resolution screen, more ports and a longer, better warranty.

I could've ordered some of the upgrades to make it more comparable with the DV9700T but I couldn't justify the costs. Here are the additional costs it would have run me on the Vostro:

For the T9300:
$300

2GB RAM (2 1GB sticks):
$49

250GB hard drive:
$150

(Fingerprint readers is an option on the Vostro 1710 but not the Vostro 1700)


Processor Comparison
Although I really struggled with the decision to give up the T9300 and even asked people's opinions here, I ended up opting for the T8100. The T8300 is not available on the Vostro at the time I'm writing this but it is available on the Inspiron. If a T8300 would have been an option, I probably would have bought that instead.

I do a lot of video editing so I compared these two laptops side by side by rendering the same video project on both systems and then timed them both. The T9300 (DV9700T) rendered the file, saving it to a 120GB 7200RPM drive in 9 minutes, 15 seconds. The T8100 (Vostro 1700) rendered the same file, saving it to a 120GB 5400 RPM drive in 9 minutes and 23 seconds. To save $300 + an additional $30 in tax, I can wait 8 seconds longer when I need to render. I do need to re-run this test now that I've installed a faster hard drive on the Vostro (more on that below)...


Upgrades
For the record, I'm not very tech savvy! Thanks to the people here at NBR, I was able to do upgrades I never even dreamed I could.

The only thing I upgraded on the DV9700T was the memory. I installed a 2GB stick to take it to 3GB, which was really easy because both memory modules are located on the underside of the laptop.

I wanted more out of the Vostro than it came with and knew I could upgrade it myself and save a lot of money. I installed a 2GB stick and a 1GB stick of RAM to take it to 3GB (replacing the 2 512MB sticks that it came with). RAM replacement was harder on the Vostro because one memory module is on the underside of the laptop like in the DV9700T and one is underneath the keyboard.

The bigger challenge came when installing a second hard drive. If you don't order a second hard drive when you order your Vostro, you're not going to get a caddy, interposer or screws so you're on your own there. The caddy for the second hard drive is different from the primary hard drive caddy.

The HDD caddy for the second bay is part #C7586. The interposer is part # XK231. By searching the NBR forums, I was able to find this info out and I ordered these parts directly from Dell's Web site without having to call. I then went on the hunt for screws. You can find these on Ebay if you're willing to pay a little more but you can also go to a local computer repair shop, which is what I did. You need 4 M3 x 3-mm (holds HDD to caddy) and 3 M2.5 x 5-mm screws (holds caddy to laptop). It's best to take one of each type of screw from your primary drive with you to the computer repair shop because the fellas I was dealing with just had to eyeball what I had because they didn't have anything sorted by measurement.

I switched the drive that came with the Vostro (5400RPM 120GB Western Digital Scorpio) for a 5400 RPM Hitachi Travelstar 5K320 320GB drive and made the WD drive my secondary drive for personal files.

Cost for upgrades on the Vostro:
$30 for 3GB RAM
$136 for Hitachi Travelstar 5K320 320GB drive
$10.99 for HDD bay caddy #2
$10.99 for interposer
$5 for HDD screws
-------
$192.98

This made my total cost for the Vostro $1211, less than $50 more than what I paid for the DV9700T but I ended up with a larger, faster primary drive that I really need for video editing.

I would have paid $165 (after tax) for a 250 GB drive when customizing through Dell. And that would be a single drive. So I got 2 drives for about $12 more and ended up with 440GB of storage.


Shipping
Since both systems were custom built, of course, I expected to wait.

With the DV9700T, it took 12 days to ship and then another 3 days for it to arrive.

Total wait time: 15 days.


With the Vostro it took 2 days to ship and then 4 days to arrive.

Total wait time: 6 days.


Problems with Each
I've always owned HPs and I've been a customer of theirs for over 15 years. I don't have any experience with other brands. This is my first Dell. Both had their problems and we'll start with HP...

• DV9700T
I bought my first DV9700T in December. The DVD drive failed within 48 hours so I sent it back and a replacement was sent. With the second one, the backlight in the LCD started flickering and dead pixels began showing up within 2 weeks of it arriving. It went back and I didn't have it replaced. But another $500 off coupon came out and I decided to give it one more shot because the Vostro was just too expensive for me without any coupons. The third DV9700T worked for a month before the LCD cable went out and the monitor wouldn't come on at all. It's not fun sending your brand new laptop in for repairs when it's only a month old and just 9 days out of its return period. Before the laptop even arrived back from repair, Dell had offered $500 off on the Vostro and I jumped on it. Just remember, there are plenty of DV9700T owners who have never had any trouble with their laptops but this was just my own experience with this particular model.


• Vostro 1700
When the Vostro arrived, the CSI crews couldn't have investigated it more thoroughly for imperfections, damage, etc. I was on the lookout for something to be wrong given my run of bad luck. Looked fantastic. I went to close the lid and, uh oh. The lid latch doesn't work properly. I was bummed but realized that I could manually slide the latch over myself to lock it in place. Sometimes the spring works fine and it locks automatically like it's supposed to. I'll close the lid and Snap! it will lock into place on its own. But I haven't even contacted Dell about this because it's so minor and I don't want it cracked open for that. Besides, it takes two hands to open this laptop from a closed position. If I were to carry this around, there's no way it would swing open even if the latch wasn't locked.


Now for the fun part... Pictures! For reference, the Dell is on the left in all of these pictures.



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As you can see, the finish is quite different between the two laptops. The top of the Dell is a black matte and you can see it picks up fingerprints easier than you might expect. The HP has a beautiful, shiny radiance finish. I think the Dell looks really good but the HP is the beauty queen between the two.


Left Side



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The left side of the Vostro has the wireless switch (there on the right) and occasionally you'll feel warm air pushing out of the vents. Even though it has 5 ports, none of them are on the left side. As a rightie, I want my ports on the left for my USB mouse but there are 2 USB ports on the right and 3 in the back.

The left side of the DV9700T is packed with connections, incuding the HDMI port that's lacking on the Vostro 1700.


Right Side



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The mic and headphones jacks are on the right side of the Vostro but they're on the front of the DV9700T. Since I use a USB mouse, the mic and headphone jacks are located right where my mouse sits. So I'm dodging a USB stick on the right side, headphones and a mic on the right side of the Vostro. I think a leftie designed the Vostro! No offense to lefties...I married one!

The DV9700T has one USB port on the right (two if you don't get a fingerprint reader) and the power jack. So with the power cord plugged in, you have this cord sticking out of the side of the computer and since where I mainly use the laptop the electrical outlet is on the left, I have this cord strung around the back of the laptop and it's just kind of in the way.


Front



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This picture is the first of many that shows how beefy the Vostro is compared to the DV9700T. I'd be more likely to carry the DV9700T with me on a car trip for weight reasons. However, the Vostro would be my choice for travel on an airplane because it just has a more sturdy feel to it.

As you can see, the media buttons are on the front of the Vostro. I do like having them handy because sometimes my laptop is a glorified jukebox so I'll just close the lid and play music. I don't have to open up the laptop to turn the volume up or down or skip a song.

But the downside to the buttons' placement is that I often click one of the buttons with my wrist when I'm using the touchpad. The placement of the buttons is just perfect enough for me to hit the "stop" button if I'm not careful.

The speakers are on the front of the Vostro also but sort of on the bottom of the laptop. If you put it on a desk, you can't see the speakers but I really like the quality of these speakers, even though the strips for the speakers are so small you wouldn't think they would be that good.

The DV9700T has the mic jack and two headphones jacks right on the front. Your power light, battery light and wi-fi light are all on the front too. For me, the lights catch my eye when I'm looking at the LCD screen so I'm always wondering what my hard drive is doing when it starts blinking and all I'm doing is reading a Web site. You tune it out more over time but it can distract you if you're like me and wonder what your HDD is doing behind your back!


Bottom



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The Vostro has a magnesium-alloy chassis and if it's cold in your house, the Vostro is going to be cold on your legs at boot. I mean cold! But I've been able to use this laptop on my legs in both cold and hot weather doing CPU intensive tasks. I have no problems with heat on this laptop.

On the Vostro's bottom right side is the hard drive bay that holds 2 HDD. The middle panel is one of the memory modules.

The DV9700T is basically plastic. I've had to hold this laptop up off my legs because of the heat at times even when undervolted. It's not scorching but it can get uncomfortable.

The right side is the primary drive bay, the middle is both of the memory modules and the left is the second drive bay.


Side by Side



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The Vostro is a little higher than the DV9700T when closed and it's also taller than the DV9700T. Ignore all the reflections on both monitors. They don't really look that terrible in person! Both have beautiful screens but the 1920x1200 resolution on the Vostro gives it a slight edge over the 1680x1050 on the HP.


The Inside



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The Vostro has a nice finish on the inside. It's not a black matte finish like the lid. It's black speckled but it's not too flashy.

The DV9700T is all shine. If you were going to buy a laptop based on looks alone, the DV9700T should be a top contender.

You can also see here that the DV9700T's media buttons are on the inside like I mentioned before. They are the thin black strip located above the keyboard. I must be out of control when I type because I somehow manage to hit the volume button sometimes when I'm typing. So I manage to hit buttons on both the Vostro and the DV9700T despite their difference in placement.

You'll also notice the speakers are on the inside of the DV9700T. I'm not very pleased with their quality but with some tweaks in the settings you can make them sound better than they do straight out of the box. I have noticed that I have to tweak between music styles. Jazz sounds great under certain settings but turn on classic rock and it sounds terrible so keep that in mind if you like to listen to various styles of music on your laptop.


Keyboard



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I have a lot of typing to do on my laptops so a keyboard is one of my major decision points when purchasing a laptop. I want a solid keypad that feels durable but isn't too loud, too hard to type on and just feels good on the fingers. You know the type, no pun intended.

There is a big difference in the keypads between the Vostro and the DV9700T. The Vostro has sloped edges around the keys. At first, my fingers would hit the edges of the keys first. It takes some getting used to. It's a solid keypad, that's for sure. I feel like I bang the keys harder on the Vostro because they need a little punch behind them to make the keystrokes work.

** This is also a good shot of where the lights are on the Vostro 1700. Look to the left of the number pad and you'll see a small strip. I don't notice them at all there unlike on the DV9700T.



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The keypad on the DV9700T feels completely different than the keypad on the Vostro. It has more of a clicky noise to it and I've had friends and family hear me typing on both and they say the DV9700T is louder. I like clicky and find the keys easier to push but once I started using the Vostro more regularly, the DV9700T's keypad didn't feel as solid. I don't mean that the DV9700T is flimsy. They just have two completely different feels to them. I still like the feel of the DV9700T's keys, though.


I'd also like to add that the Vostro is more rounded in the front. The DV9700T is more squared off. It's much easier to rest your wrists on the Vostro because it feels like one of those wrist pads. I can feel the edges of the DV9700T on my wrists when I'm typing and if I'm typing for a long time, the edge of the DV9700T does make me uncomfortable. If I could do a mix and match, I'd take the front of the Vostro and the keypad on the DV9700T.


Touchpad



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** This is a pretty good picture of the Vostro's finish but it is not as shiny as the flash picked up. It's very subtle and you'll probably only notice it in the light.

I use the touchpad a lot even though I usually prefer a USB mouse. The Vostro touchpad takes some getting used to after you've used the DV9700T. The touch area is so small compared to the other laptops I've ever owned and even the DV9700T. There is plenty of room on the Vostro to make the touchpad bigger so I'm not sure why Dell did this. I also miss the Vostro's touchpad not having an on/off button. You have a systray icon where you can adjust these settings but I'm the type of person that toggles the touchpad on and off frequently because I type a lot on my keyboard and just want it off for a few minutes while I'm typing something real quick.

I really thought I was going to miss that on/off button more than I do. But the touchpad is recessed into the laptop's body just enough that my wrist doesn't accidentally drag it and have me clicking random things (or shutting down programs) like other touchpads do, including the DV9700T.

The touchpad on the DV9700T is glossy. It takes some getting used to but once you do, it's no big deal to use the glossy touchpad. At first, I felt like my finger was driving on ice but it only took a couple of hours of use for me to get the feel of it down. The on/off button for the touchpad is located at the top of the black area surrounding the touchpad.


Power Jack



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The jack on the Vostro is on the back. This is where I like it to be. Out of the way!

I have been really surprised how strong the connection feels. There's no wiggle when it's plugged in. It is a really solid feel and it doesn't make you feel like it's going to break. I was surprised when I looked inside the plug and saw this tiny little pin that looks so fragile.



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My previous HP laptops have the power jack in the back so I was really surprised when I saw that I had to stick the cord in the right side of the laptop. Like I said earlier, I use the laptop in two different places plugged in and for both of them, the electrical outlet is located on the left side of me so I have this cord sticking out on the right that I have to string all the way to the left. The space where I sit is tight so I have to do some finagling to make it reach. It's just annoying and I prefer to look at my laptop and not have some cord sticking out the side but that's just me.

The jack never felt as solid as the Vostro does but since the DV9700T came back from repairs, I found the jack to feel really loose. You can just feel the wiggle, which makes me nervous that it's going to break. I've had this happen before on previous HP laptops so I'm especially paranoid about this.


Power Supply



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The Vostro power supply has a nice strap that goes around it. I need this because I am a neat freak and like my cord to look tidy. It's nice to be able to bundle it all up without using something like a twist tie. It holds it to the brick nice and tight.

The DV9700T brick is lighter, which makes it easier to carry around if you're going to take your laptop with you.


One more comment on the Vostro power supply. I don't understand why it connects the way it does:



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Sure, it looks okay but then you have wasted cord up under the brick.




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I tried putting the connection in the other way but it doesn't work that way. This seems like a minor annoyance but I need all the cord I can get and for some of it to be lost because of the way the connector is just doesn't make sense to me.


Batteries



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6 cell Vostro battery vs. the 8 cell DV9700T battery.

Even after clean installs on both of them, I've consistently found that the Vostro is getting better battery life. Both are running on power saver when on battery and have the same programs installed, including the Vista Battery Saver program. I have not been able to squeak out as much battery time on the DV9700T running a T9300 than the Vostro 1700 running a T8100. I get about 35 minutes more on the Vostro for some reason.

Packaging
The DV9700T has a thin, clear plastic bag around it and two styrofoam-type ends on each side to hold it in place in the box. There's really not much protecting your computer if something were to puncture the box on its way to you. Your manual, power cord and battery are packed inside a smaller box.

The Vostro comes in a much bigger box than the DV9700T does and the laptop is packed inside another box within the big box. Manuals, power cord and battery are packed inside another box.

I wish I had a picture of how each of these computers looked in the box because the Dell is packaged so much better. An elephant holding scissors with its trunk would have to sit on the Dell box to damage the Vostro.


Boxes Side by Side



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The Vostro shipped from Malaysia and the DV9700T shipped from Shanghai.

I mentioned earlier that the Vostro is packed in a box within the box that arrives on your doorstep. It is much more protected than the DV9700T but both laptops arrived without any problems in shipping.

A look at the 2 boxes that arrive within the big Dell box. The box the laptop arrives in is on the left:



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In the Box

Vostro Manuals, Paperwork, Power Supply and Battery:



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DV9700T Manuals, Paperwork, Power Supply and Battery:



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After considering all of these pros and cons between the two systems, I've decided to sell the DV9700T and keep the Vostro 1700. The Vostro wouldn't have even entered the picture had the DV9700T not had the LCD failure so quickly.

As I said earlier, there are plenty of people that haven't had any problems with their DV9700T. If both had been offering a $500 off coupon at the same time, I probably would have chosen the DV9700T simply because that's the brand I had experience with at the time. I loved my DV9700T until it ran into a problem just a month into owning it and my previous history with the other 2 since December.

After owning a Vostro, though, I am very happy with how things worked out. The only thing I feel like I've "lost" is the T9300 but with the comparison I ran in video editing only costing me 8 seconds on a slower hard drive with the T8100, I didn't really lose much at all and gained so much more, in my opinion.

I hope these pictures help answer any questions you may have had and good luck with whatever brand you decide to purchase!

 

Very nice comparison. Too bad the HP didn't work out for you. That said I don't like HP laptops very much

 

Wow, very thorough, major props for the effort you put into this comparison review!

 

Fantastic review. Being very neutral as well I must admit. Unbiased review to help people decide what they want. Good job.

 

well,great job!man,you ROCK!rep for you!

 

m8,can you add GPU performance comparison?AKA Game performance?

 

This is really fantastic review! I was thinking of this laptop... But now i have no doubts at all... Great man - Thanks!

 

Great job on the comparative review.

Believe it or not, I have the same two computers right now.

I originally bought the HP and ran into a problem with the QuickPlay volume buttons causing long delays...so I sent it back for an exchange, to extend my return window for another 21 days.

I also had some ergonomic issues with the HP...so I then decided to order a Dell. I got the Vostro 1700 because it had a much better price than the other Dell 17 inchers and because it offered the super hi-res WUXGA display. It also had a 7200 RPM HD (that other moderately priced Dells didn't have) which I thought would help my user experience. Unfortunately the drive is only 160GB vs the 2x120 GB I have on the HP.

Short of a detailed comparison, I feel more comfortable with the Vostro. The high resolution of the screen makes it more useful for side-by-side windows, which is the reason to have a 17-inch screen for me. The HP screen didn't fit as much info into multiple windows displayed simultaneously. The HP screen I got was the highest res that they offer. Comparing the HP to my old Dell Inspiron 600m with a very high-res screen that had been replaced a year ago, the old Inspiron just looked a lot better screenwise. It has 1400 x 1050 in 14 inches.

The the other key advantage of the Vostro for me is the touchpad. I have not gotten used to the slippery HP touchpad that just doesn't ever seem to pick up or drop items when I want it to. I've played with all the settings and it just seems to be stubborn. The Vostro has a much more dumbed-down driver "Dell Touchpad" software....but it feels intuitive and it feels like I'm in control. When I scroll or drag and drop, it "lets go" when I want it to. The HP would hang onto everything and just distract me from what I was doing. I also prefer the smaller touchpad of the Vostro. The giant HP touchpad makes for long trips from one side to the other. My wrist is usually resting on the computer, so to move the finger from one side to the other of the touchpad is beyond the comfortable range. One issue with the Vostro touchpad is that the horizontal scroll region doesn't work in Firefox. This is a known issue in Firefox with other users on both Alps (this one) and Synaptics touchpads. There is no fix that I've found. Horizontal scrolling does work in IE, Word, etc., though.

The HP does have a cool look (though the shininess gives it a bit of a flashy and perhaps delicate look...like it's going to get ruined easily)...and I really liked the fingerprint reader. Like you, I hate the power cord sticking out of the right side of the HP. I don't like the media buttons being in my lap on the Dell. The QuickPlay buttons on the HP look really cool and, if they didn't cause that delay, I would prefer them.

I think I got enhanced sound on the Vostro, but it sounds rather bad ...while the HP sounds good out of the box, to me. I haven't really tweaked the sound on either, but the Vostro audio is quite cheap sounding.

The Vostro feels a little bit hollow and the battery rattles and some of the panels on the bottom have some give in them so it's not as solid as I'd like.

I am really leaning toward the Vostro at this point. I will have to give the HP some more attention to see if i can get used to it...but I think that the awesome screen resolution of the Dell is gonna be hard to give up.

 

Great review! The only thing I feel was missing that I personally wanted to see, was shots of the machines on and their screens.

 

Xirurg - I'm a total benchmark n00b so I'll have to leave that to the experts here but I do notice a big difference in gaming between the 512 MB 8600M GS and the better 256MB 8600M GT card. However, my "hardest" core games are only Oblivion and The Sims 2 so I don't have any really good FPS-intensive games to do a better comparison. I have experienced lag with the 512MB 8600M GS just playing The Sims 2 and its expansions. It's not unbearable but after you play on the 8600M GT, you can tell the difference. I also dump to desktop and then will go back to the game full screen and the 8600M GT re-draws the games quicker, if that makes sense.

Fire Snake - I actually took pics of both and they turned out terrible. Bounces of flash all over the place so all you see are shiny spots. Both have gorgeous screens but it's just a matter of which resolution you want. Either LCD is a fine choice, imo.