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

Thanks alot - that's actually pretty good. Do you think an extra $100 for a 9 cell would be worth it?

 

Dell owes you some cash

 

3 quick notes to add:

1. I put the DV9700T on Ebay and the bidders battled it out until the very last second. I ended up getting more for it than I paid, ironically enough!

2. I tripped over the Vostro 1700 cord last night like a dope and the two pieces didn't break away at all. Now, the plug doesn't sit as tightly in the jack as it did but it's still not as loose as the DV9700T was when it came back from repair.

3. On the subject of repairs, I thought those considering HP might want to know how the repair process went. Hopefully, you won't ever have to use the repair center but, in case you do, here's how my experience was:

- Called HP, told them the problem, they gave me a service order number so I could track the status of the repair.

- They overnighted a box to me that had a repair sheet in it for me to describe the problem, packing instructions and then I could either have FedEx come pick up the box or take it to the local FedEx store, which is what I did. (No cost under warranty for any of this, btw.)

- Computer arrived in California a couple of days later, got an Email saying they'd received it. I also tracked the status of my repair online and that page on HP's Web site was updated faster than I got Emails.

- The expected return date to me was one week after it arrived to them. The day before it was to arrive, I got an Email saying my repair may be delayed and they would let me know for sure when they had more info. It was odd to me because the laptop then shipped 2 hours later to come back to me! It arrived the next day safe and sound.

- Do read the horror stories people have had with their laptop coming back all scratched up from the repair center. I had this happen to me as well with a previous HP laptop but I've also read on here that Dell's mail in service uses the same company HP does so it might not just be an HP thing. This is a big reason why I jumped at the chance to get in-home service.

- What I did this time when I sent my computer in was take lots of pictures before it left to show it was fine before it went to repairs. I wrapped the outside of the lid with bubble wrap (not covering the LCD, though) and then put clear plastic film over the inside of the laptop (not covering the LCD there either). I also included a note asking politely to be careful with my brand new laptop. Now the bubble wrap didn't make it back to me and I didn't expect it to but they did leave the clear plastic film I had put on the inside of the laptop. I may have just gotten lucky but it didn't arrive back with a single scratch on it. It did have some fingerprints on the LCD but it wasn't anything that couldn't be rubbed off easily in routine cleaning.


srr, I hope someone with a 9 cell can answer that better for you. For me, I went with the 6 cell because I hardly ever use a battery. Like I said, I hope some 9 cell owners can help you out!

 

Sorry to bring this back to the dead, but these two laptops were the ones I was trying to compare a few months ago when looking to purchase a new PC. It was a tough decision but I went with the dell for the stronger graphics and higher resolution for multitasking. I have had my vostro 1700 since late feb early march and not a single issue yet (knocks on wood). I take it to work everyday and do 8+ hours with it as my main rig, and then use it at home for personal use. Even with pulling double duty it chugs along and has yet to dissapoint me in any way shape or form. As for travel its a huge difference from my last 15.4 in and more then twice the size of my 12.1, but I have no trouble putting it in my messenger bag and biking to work.

All in all great review, would have been nice to see this when I was buying but you wrote it too late .

 

Hi rtrdogs,

First of all EXCELLENT REVIEW and Very Useful to ME.

I have been reading whole lot of Reviews and struggling with exactly the stuff that you mentioned in your review ...

I plan to use my laptop extensively for Video work ... Encoding and re-encoding, making home video, ... and using XviD, DivX, VDub, ... applications that are CPU intensive ... so when YOUR Review actually dealt with a "Hands on" real life comparison ... I immediately knew I will be getting the answer that I have been looking for ... I myself am not a techie so reading all "Tom's Hardware" benchmarks and so forth is like Greek to me ...

I actually could not believe my eyes when you said that the T8100 and T9300 rendered the same Video only "8 seconds" slower. And even more interesting to me was that T9300 was coupled with a 7200RPM HD vs T8100 with a 5400RPM ... and they were both 120GB. Boy, this part of your Review must be "Gold Plated" or made into a "Sticky" ... because it is the MOST Useful for folks that are not that Tech Savvy and want to make a decision in buying a laptop ... that way they are not WASTING their hard earned $$$.

Anyway ... THANKS A BUNCH for your WONDERFUL Review.

G!

 

very informative review, thanks! +rep for you