HP L2000 Special Edition Review (pics, specs) -- GO LANCE!

by Jason Ashmore,Maryland USA

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HP L2000 Special Edition Lance Armstrong notebook (view larger image)

Over the past several years I've had a variety of different notebook computers in my possession. Among them have been an IBMThinkPad, Compaq Armada, and a couple of Dell machines. They were all decent units, however all were work issued and as a result none of them quite suited either my personality or user style all that well. Since I've come to rely so heavily on having a notebook computer on hand for my personal use, I decided it was about time to choose and purchase my own. For the past several months I've been browsing specs, reading reviews and trying to find the overall best bang for my buck. As soon as I saw the first press releases regarding the HP Special Edition Live Strong L2000 I knew my search had ended.

Here's how I chose to spec my new machine (*= an item I upgraded fromstandard configuration):

• * AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
• * 14.0 WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x768)
• ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/productivity ports
• * 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)
• 60 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
• DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
• 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
• 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

There really aren't that many customization options for this machine available. I chose to bump the CPU up to the ML-37 rather than keep the stock ML-28. In addition I opted for the BrightView upgrade and I also chose to configure my memory with one 512MB stick rather than two 256MB sticks. My reasoning for this was that I wanted to order an additional 1GB stick from an online retailer at a later date and save a substantial amount of money over upgrading it via HP. The only two upgrades I passed up were for the DVD burner and Bluetooth. I have an external USB 2.0 DVDR and already own a USB Bluetooth dongle so I couldn't justify paying extra for either of those options.

I have been using a notebook pc as my primary computer both at home and work for a couple of years now. It's safe to say my notebooks are honest to goodness desktop replacements. I was an early adopter of 802.11 wireless networking at home and as a result have become very accustomed to the level of portability and overall convenience that a wireless enabled notebook pc offers. As a result I use my notebooks for everything various things such as simple word processing, spreadsheet number crunching, basic photo processing, light gaming and more. In a nutshell, I need a jack of all trades notebook pc. I have a pretty beefy desktop machine I use for video editing and so on, but my overall goal is to have to venture upstairs to use it as little as possible.

Reasons for Buying:

Author of this review is pictured above, proofpositive thathe is indeed a cycling fanatic

I am a cycling fanatic and all around Lance Armstrong fan. There is no doubt that this being a Special Edition Live Strong machine was a significant factor for me personally when choosing this model. When I say serious cyclist, I do mean it, I'm on my bike 5 or 6 days a week minimum all year round. It's safe to say I'm pretty much glued to OLN channel for the entire month of July when they broadcast the Tour de France. As a matter of fact, I'm watching tour coverage now as I write this review! That having been said, I honestly didn't make this purchase based solely on it's affiliation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. For one, I had been reading great things about the AMD Turion series of processors and was excited with the prospect of getting my hands on one. I've always liked AMD as a company, but had never really had an excuse or need to purchase an AMD based machine until now. Of all the major computer manufacturers, HP seems to be one of the few fully embracing AMD solutions, which was another a factor in my choice. Additionally, I've always had great luck with other HP products such as their iPaq Pocket PCs, so I was very confident with their quality. I have had machines from HP's major competitors and wasn't really 100% happy with any of them, so I was ready to give HP a shot. In addition to offering an AMD solution, the L2000 also offers an ATI RADEON XPRESS video solution. I have had nothing but great luck with ATI products to date and was very pleased to have an ATI video solution option, even if it was integrated. During the course of my online research I found most people reporting the ATI solution was superior to the integrated Intel graphics solution counterpart. The final factor that pushed me over the edge was simply the pricing. In shopping around I was having difficulty finding a comparatively priced and configured machine elsewhere. Since the machine already had my attention based on the Live Strong Theme and it also seemed to be quite respectable under the hood, I was sold. I ordered the L2000 the very day it went on sale!

Where and How Purchased:

The L2000 is not yet available in retail stores so I ordered it directly from HP via hpshopping.com. The entire process of ordering was quick and simple. I was able to configure it to my liking and place my order in less than 15 minutes. My total price came in at $1,124.00 before my company EPP (Employee Purchase Program) discount. I'm pretty confident that for the price I got a great value and a pretty damn cool machine. It's also worth noting that HP was pretty quick in shipping me my machine. I actually had the L2000 in my hands prior to the estimated build date.

Build &amp; Design:

HP L2000 lid (view larger image)

Of course the Live Strong logo, yellow trim and Lance Armstrong signature are all special design elements unique to this machine. The L2000 also comes packed with the now famous Live Strong Yellow Band, A set of very cool yellow ear buds and a cool zipper bag for cables or anything else you may want to carry along with the pc. I personally absolutely love the prominent Live Strong logo on the back and I think the yellow trim on the keyboard just adds to the overall aesthetics of the unit. The overall design quality seems simply top notch. I find the L2000 to be much more solid feeling than my company issued Dell Latitude. First off, the flat black finish of the L2000 just simply looks classier than the silver of my dell. Everything from the hinges on the screen to the latch itself seems to be both well thought out and built. Despite feeling very sturdy overall, my L2000 is surprisingly light weight and it fits easily into my backpack notebook case. There are also several extra touches in the design such as the on off button for both the wireless card and the touchpad. I have already found myself using both of these on a regular basis. When at work I like to turn off wireless completely as we're not allowed to run our own wireless networks and I prefer to not even have my card picked up during their audit scans. I also like to turn off the touchpad when doing a great deal of typing. Again, these features seem very well thought out and implemented and are just plain very nice extra touches. One other thing I found somewhat different with the L2000 over my past notebooks is the fact that all the ports are on the sides rather than having any on the back. I wasn't sure what I would think of this at first, but as it turns out I think I prefer this configuration. Having the USB and FireWire ports on the sides make them much more convenient and accessible. This particular layout seems to work very well for me personally.

Signed by Lance Armstrong himself, kind of (view larger image)

The above pic shows my new L2000 is just slightly wider than my Dell Latitude (view larger image)

Screen:

HP L2000 screen with BrightView option (view larger image)

Having not seen the BrightView feature firsthand, I took a chance and opted for the upgrade anyway. Since it was only a $25 upgrade and I had read a lot of good things about it, I figured I couldn't go wrong. As it turns out it was money very well spent. The screen is amazingly bright and glossy. Viewing my digital photos and watching DVDs are a real treat on this screen. When I set this screen side by side with my Latitude the Dell's screen seems flat and kind of dull in comparison. It's also worth mentioning that this is also the first widescreen notebook that I've owned. I knew it would be great for DVD viewing, but I was surprised how nice the widescreen is for such normal tasks as editing spreadsheets and so on. Another great thing is, despite the widescreen, the machine itself isn't much wider than the other notebooks I've had.

Speakers:

L2000 Altec Lansing built-in speaker (view larger image)

When I unpacked my new machine I was very pleasantly surprised to find it sported Altec Lansing speakers. I had somehow overlooked this feature when combing over the specs. The sound is remarkably rich and the volume is great for a notebook. I've been getting by with just the built-in speakers quite happily so far. If you're really picky about sound quality you may want to consider external speakers, but I'd suggest waiting to give these a listen rather than buying them right away.

Processor and Performance:

Thus far the L2000 has been performing great for me during my day to day tasks. It seems pretty snappy when running Office, Internet Explorer, iTunes, my Polar training software and even Adobe Photoshop. I didn't purchase this machine for gaming, so I haven't had any first hand experience gaming on it. What games I do play aren't typically heavy on the 3D side, so I'm guessing it'll do just fine there too.

Since my anecdotal information is hardly enough to make an informed purchasing decision, here's how the L2000 stacked up in the routine benchmark tests.

We use the program Super Pi to get a benchmark of processor speed. The Super Pi program simply forces the processor to calculate Pi to a selected number of digits of accuracy. Calculating to 2 million digits is our benchmark. Below is a comparison chart of how theHP L2000with it'sTurion ML-37 2.0GHz processor stacked up to other notebooks when running this calculation:

Notebook	Time to Calculate Pi to 2 Million Digits
HP L2000 AMD Turion 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz)	1m 54s
Dell Latitude X1 (1.1 GHz ULV Pentium M)	2m 40s
IBM ThinkPad T43(1.86 GHzAlviso Pentium M)	1m 45s
Fujitsu LifeBook N3510 (1.73 GHz Alviso Pentium M)	1m 48s
IBM ThinkPad T41 (1.6GHz Banias Pentium M)	2m 23s
Compaq R3000T (Celeron 2.8GHz)	3m 3s
Dell Inspiron 600m(1.6 GHz Dothan Pentium M)	2m 10s
Dell Inspiron 8600 (1.7GHz Banias Pentium M)	2m 28s

[/TD]

Futuremark PCMark04 Scores
	IBM T43 (1.86GHz)	HP L2000 (2.0GHz)
Multithreaded Test 1 / File Compression	3.33 MB/s	3.08 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 1 / File Encryption	27.19 MB/s	30.54 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 2 / File Decompression	23.4 MB/s	24.13 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 2 / Image Processing	10.88 MPixels/s	12.09MPixels/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / Virus Scanning	1914.17 MB/s	1465.35MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / Grammar Check	2.82 KB/s	3.0KB/s
File Decryption	54.11 MB/s	60.31MB/s
Audio Conversion	2496.87 KB/s	2621.42 KB/s
Web Page Rendering	5.27 Pages/s	4.76Pages/s
DivX Video Compression	51.71 FPS	47.09 FPS
Physics Calculation and 3D	159.19 FPS	74.18FPS
Graphics Memory - 64 Lines	868.44 FPS	499.71FPS
Futuremark 3DMark05 Scores
3DMark Score	-	4673DMarks
CPU Score	-	2768CPUMarks
Gaming Tests
GT1 - Return To Proxycon	-	2.1FPS
GT2 - Firefly Forest	-	1.4FPS
GT3 - Canyon Flight	-	2.2FPS
CPU Tests
CPU Test 1	-	1.5 FPS
CPU Test 2	-	2.3 FPS

HD Tune Benchmarks
Minimum Transfer Rate	14.4 MB/sec
Maximum Transfer Rate	30.7 MB/sec
Average Transfer Rate	24.9 MB/sec
Acess Time	17.7 ms
Burst Rate	64.2 MB/sec
CPU Usage	5.6%

Keyboard and Touchpad

L2000 keyboard and touchpad (view larger image)

The keyboard layout and overall feel is great. There are no unintended flex or similar issues that I've noticed. In fact, this keyboard feels better than some full sized desktop keyboards that I've used. I must admit missing the nub/joystick style pointing device (pointing stick). The touchpad on the L2000 isn't bad by any means, it's just that I'm used to the other style pointer that you find on an IBM ThinkPad or Dell Latitude, so it's taking me some time to adjust to it. I'm hoping that in a few weeks time I won't even notice the difference. The touchpad is plenty responsive, dealing with the different hand positioning involved is the only thing throwing me.

Input and Output Ports:

HP L2000 left side view (view larger image)

HP L2000 right side view (view larger image)

HP L2000 front side view (view larger image)

The L2000 offers 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 FireWire, 1 S-video, 1 VGA, 1 Cardbus (PCMCIA slot), standard sound in/out, HP Docking port and a memory card reader that supports MMC/Memory Stick/SD/SM&amp;MMC. Note the memory card reader does not support Compact Flash. Also here's a friendly word of warning, don't shove a memory stick duo card in that slot. It won't stick out enough to easily remove it. I made that mistake and had to use a pair of Tweezers to get it out. You can however use the adaptor that comes with a lot of MS Duo cards no problem in the slot. It's worth noting there is no Infrared port built in. All the ports included are on the sides of the case rather than on the back. I find the port locations are working great for me, but it is a bit different than I'm used to and could take some getting used to if you're used to everything being located on the back of the machine.

L2000 under side view (view larger image)

Media card reader slot, USB, FireWire and DVD closeup on front right side

Wireless:

Being a wireless internet junkie makes an internal wireless card an absolute requirement for me. I've found the included internal 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM) to work very well so far. Range has been great and the speed seems to be right where it should be for 802.11g. I can't really say whether or not the "Speedbooster" feature is doing much, if anything, but the 802.11g speeds I'm seeing are right in line with my other 802.11g devices and is performing as expected. Since I already owned a Bluetooth USB dongle I passed on the Bluetooth upgrade. I have pretty much never used the Bluetooth feature built into my Dell, so I'm guessing the need will seldom, if at all, arise. Unfortunately, there is no Infrared port built in. I've had to add an IRDA dongle to my bag of tricks since purchasing this machine. I use a Polar Heart Rate monitor which uploads data to a PC via an IRDA port. My Heart Rate device and training data are such integral parts of my cycling that I simply must have an infrared port on my PC. The good thing about the Dongle is I know can use that on my desktop machine if the need were ever to arise.

Battery:

So far, so good regarding the battery. I'm getting a solid couple of hours usage during the rare times when I'm not plugged in. I know stepping up to the fastest AMD Turion processor has cost me some run time, but it was a sacrifice I was prepared to make since 9 times out of 10 I am running off of AC power.

Operating System and Software:

I'm used to and prefer running MS XP Pro that I paid the additional charge to upgrade. As far as the rest of the included software goes, it's nothing very special. MS Works was included as was MS Money. I immediately uninstalled Works and installed MS Office. I use Office in my day to day work and personal life so I have no real time to play around with trying out the watered down Works suite. I am however using MS Money and finding it very useful. In addition to the MS tools there was a copy of Norton with 60 days of updates included. I uninstalled this too in order to install my own Anti Virus software. It isn't a bad software bundle, but it's surely nothing to write home about.

Customer Support:

I have had no need to call technical support but did receive great service from hpshopping early on. When I first placed the order for my machine I was unaware that my current employer offered an EPP discount as a company perk. This basically meant a $60.00 savings for me. When I found out about that discount I was able to call HPShopping and after explaining the situation and providing my discount code, they credited the amount back to the credit card. That was quick and painless and just overall great service.

Complaints:

Not having a built-in Infrared port is kind of a bummer for me since I need to use one on an almost daily basis. I also miss the nub/joystick style pointing device. I also wish the memory card reader supported Compact Flash.

Praises:

Overall build quality seems excellent. It's a great performing machine at an excellent price point. The positives more than make up for any minor gripes. The Live Strong design and special edition features really set this machine apart cosmetically. HP is also donating $50 to LAF for each unit sold.

Conclusion:

Were I to do it over again, I would buy this machine again in a heartbeat. As I mentioned I am a HUGE cycling fan and Lance Armstrong supporter. Being able to show my support for the LAF through my choice of Notebook computers is simply awesome. The machine performs very well for my day to day tasks. It seems very sturdy, and the screen is gorgeous. At this point I'm convinced I simply could not have picked a better notebook PC for myself. I'd highly recommend giving the L2000 a serious look, even if you're not a Lance or Cycling fan, based on the performance and price point. These should be in retail stores within the next month so keep your eye out for them and check them out in person when you get a chance.

Complete Image Gallery

To see all the pictures take of this notebook and some not included in this review, go here:

HP L2000 Review mage gallery

Pricing and Availability

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Author's Blog

http://www.mtb-blog.com/

 

awesome! Thanks Jason. I've been looking forward to a proper user review of this notebook and it's a bonus a cycling enthusiast came through for us! Cool pics, nice take and yeah --

GO LANCE!

 

I bought one of these for my wife, it should be here this week. I think it's the best value in notebook computing right now. Great review.

 

thanks for the review!!
Thats laptop looks a little dirty, you left crumbs on it!
I cant wait until mines comes!

 

REALLY appreciate the time you took to review the L2000. I have been researching (probably over doing it) for a replacement laptop. I was seriously going to go with an IBM R51 until I saw the bright view screens while in a shop in Bangkok (Thailand).

Now I have switched gears and thank you for your review.

 

Great review!

CompUSA does carry a prebuilt L2000 model now:
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=329226&pfp=hpf1
But I advise buying a Configure-To-Order model to get all the good options. I also recommend getting the Bluetooth option since it's very handy for wireless Bluetooth mice, keyboards, Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, etc., it's fairly inexpensive, and it's extremely difficult to add it later. Dongles work but it means tying up a USB port. I recently hooked up an external monitor to my zv5000z and have been using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, so switching from desktop to on-the-go use means just unplugging the monitor and power brick. The lightweight L2000 would work even better in this setup.

 

Nice review! The L2000 seems to be very similar in size and shape to the DV1000. With all the talk about how hot the bottom of the DV1000 gets, can you tell us how toasty the bottom of the L2000 gets after an hour of surfing the web?

Thanks

 

To be honest I haven't really noticed it as an issue at all. It gets warm but no where near approaching hot.

 

Thank you for the review. Also nice to finally see AMD also on the mobile market and then on par with Intel according to your benchmark results. For that reason I've also looked at the nx6125 but it is using non-mobile X300 and I'm wondering if that might effect battery life. What's the level of fan noise - is the L2000 noisy? When playing a DVD?

 

Did you get the 6 or 12 cell battery? I just purchased the L2005cu at CompUSA and it is advertised with the 6 cell battery but it came with the battery that sticks out. That is fine with me cause I got the better deal but I wanted to see if you got the upgrade as well. Your pictures don't appear to have the larger battery so I am guessing not.

Just to follow up on your review, this notebook is stellar. I sold my new PowerBook 12" because I couldn't stand the way Safari handles some web pages (I know, stupid web designers create for IE on XP) and I couldn't stand the small, dim screen. The L2000 series flies. I got the 100gb 4500rpm hard drive and 1GB ram with mine and I don't notice any slow downs, even if NIS is running.

The best thing about this notebook; HP doesn't load anything but the drivers and 2-3 apps. AOL isn't even preinstalled! It also doesn't have the Office trial preinstalled! You can install them from an included program but they aren't preinstalled to ruin your stability!

 

Awesome, awesome review and great pictures!! I'd say this is one of the best reviews I have ever read of a notebook!

I just wish you could've given us more info about the battery life you're getting out of it.

According to CompUSA's website, the L2000 being sold there has a 12 cell battery.

 

Ours jsut showed up yesterday, it's a very nice unit, the screen is fantastic. My only complaint is that the screen wobbles a little too much ofr my liking during typing. It doesn't seem to bother my wife though, and it's her machine, so I'm not going to worry about it. We got the 12 cell battery, I actually like how it props up the back. As for heat, I used it for about 90 minutes last night configuring it and didn't notice any excessive heat.

 

Mine came with the 6 cell, which has been fine for me. I generally don't stroll to far away from a power outlet with my notebook except when I'm camping/racing. In those rare instances I've usually pretty close to my car and power inverter. On the few ocassions I've had mine off AC I'm getting a solid couple of hours out of it.

 

Great review!

The "one who must be obeyed" gave it a thumbs up so I ordered the L2000 also. It will be my 1st laptop The build date is July 20th. I have to admit that I've been second guessing myself since ordering it, probably due to my lack of knowledge about laptops. It seemed like a good deal for the price and my wife and I are fans of Lance. Of couse I found out about this forum after I ordered the L2000.

This is what I ordered:

HP Special Edition L2000 Notebook PC

* – Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional with SP2
* – AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
* – 14.0 WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x768)
* – ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/productivity ports
* – 1.0GB DDR SDRAM (1x1024MB)
* – 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
* – DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
* – 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
* – 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery


A few questions...
Is it worth spending the money on the added warranty that covers damage?
Should I get a case, and if so, what kind?

-Greg

 

I received mine yesterday with the following specs:
# – Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
# – AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-34 (1.8GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
# – 14.0 WXGA Widescreen (1280x768)
# – ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/productivity ports
# – 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)
# – 60 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
# – DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
# – 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
# – 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

The total was $1027 with EPP.

The notebook looks & works great with one exception. At least in my case, the area left of the mouse pad gets very hot. This makes typing (with my left hand resting below the key pad) very difficult. In fact, I typed for 30 minutes or so last night and I can still feel a slight burning sensation in my left hand.

I'm just wondering if I have a bad unit or if anyone else has noticed this. I tried to measure the temperature (using a clinical thermometer - the only one I could find at home) and it showed between 105 - 106 degrees F.

 

I don't think accidental damage is worth it, try contacting your insurance company if you're concerned about it, they're probably cheaper. As for the heat, that's really bad, I'm not seeing anything like this with mine. for case suggestions, please search and post in the accessories forum.

 

Thanks Brian!

-Greg

 

I'm not sure what the deal is but mine has not gotten hot as you've described...

 

Thanks Crashmore for the reply!

I called HP support this evening. The guy was really sympathetic to my concern. He indicated that the area left to the mouse pad is the hot spot on the computer. However, he wasn't sure how hot it could get (temperature range).

Since I'm used to typing with my palms resting on the keyboard surface, I'm not sure if I should keep it. I'll probably try it out for a few more days. May be I'll get used to it. If not, then I may have to return it. I love the notebook otherwise.

chunno....

 

Can anyone give us a more specific battery life timeframe for the 6-cell? That section in the review is a little thin. I've got one with the exact same specs as Chunno on the way.

Thanks! :hp:

 

Hi all!
I picked my L2005US up last night from CompUSA and have been configuring it all night/day since (Install, configure, reboot, repeat…).

No more than an hour after purchasing it, I replaced the 4200 RPM drive with a 5400 RPM model. HP provides the Windows XP Pro disc as well as a DVD with all the drivers and other software the notebook came with. (Note - I had to enter the BIOS setup in order for the notebook to see the new drive). The upgrade was otherwise straight forward.

It's very nice and responsive compared to the HP DV1000 series notebook I replaced. I will post benchmark comparisons between the two later this week.

I'm testing the battery life of the factory 12 cell with Batery Eater Pro 2.60 right now. I'm expecting around ~5.0 hours. I'll post more details later.

P.S. – The wrist rest gets very warm, but not hot. I thought it was the result of replacing the hard drive with a faster model that created the extra heat, but stock users have noticed it as well.

 

I'll test my 6 cell with battery eater this eve and post results tomorow.

 

Unfortunately, there is a conflict between Battery Eater Pro & ATI's drivers. Here is a link describing the problem (Link).



I was able to get it to run Full screen in the Classic mode, but the results of the test were lost.

 

Cool thanks crash, great review...didnt mean to slight ya

 

Im not sure if i can agree with everyone saying this is a "great review"? It felt more like witnessing a makeout session with Lance Armstrong than a notebook review. Where's the details that everyone actually cares about? Battery life. Heat. Gaming. Feel. Its great the author loves bikes but this review seems to score the notebook higher based on a silly name rather than what it actually does.

Thanks for the review but i hope we get another review soon that judges the computer for being a computer. Im very interested in this but considering its a new chip then im very skeptical as to its real world performance and use.

 

Does anyone know any alternatives to battery eater that I can download and test with?

 

I don't know of one...took me a long time just to find Battery Eater. You could just run your own test, like watching a DVD on reapeat or something of the like. Not perfect, but a starting point.

 

After reading through again, it would seem that the primary reason the reviewer purchased this computer was the association with Armstrong and LiveStrong - much the same way someone buys a particular baseball glove because of the player's signature inside or a truck with 'Harley Davidson' logos adorning it...however, this does not mean we can be unappreciative of the effort and time put into the review. I honestly didn't gain much more than I already knew about the notebook because indeed everything was rubber stamp praise. A makeout session though? Nah. I am still grateful for the review and the hi-res pics

 

nice to read all the reviews....

but i have a problem here..i've almost decided on buying L2000

i'm not from the US , ie from india, i'm gettin the lappy when my folks come over to the US this month. wat i would like to know is whether it'll accept a 240V power supply as that is the standard supply here in india, and if it doesn't wat are the feasible options that i have.....

thanks a lot..

cheers

Sam

 

nice to read all the reviews....

but i have a problem here..i've almost decided on buying L2000

i'm not from the US , ie from india, i'm gettin the lappy when my folks come over to the US this month. wat i would like to know is whether it'll accept a 240V power supply as that is the standard supply here in india, and if it doesn't wat are the feasible options that i have.....

thanks a lot..

cheers :hp:

Sam

 

I think it should work.. if in the specs it says 120 W AC Power adapter under the power section

 

No problem. All you'll need is an adapter to change the plug, otherwise you're ready to go.

 

I emailed the guy i bought the pavillion from and he said the power adapter "detects" the input voltage and automatically adapts to the power so it should work.. after all they are notebooks, originally designed for their portability and the traveller. I think all modern presarios and pavillions are this way

 

anyone try putting pc3200 ram into their L2000 yet?

 

I was interested in this model, but I'm not sure if I should get the 12 cell over the 6 cell. The cost and weight aren't an issue, it's just that people keep talking about the tilt that the 12 cells causes, and I'd like to know how big a tilt we're talking. I plan to carry this in my backpack (with a protective sleeve, of course) but if the bulge is too large and might cause problems with both sleeve and packing with textbooks I might have to settle for the 6 cell. Any opinions?

 

If cost and weight aren't an issue get both and use them as needed. I ordered the 6 cell, but wish I had ordered both - or just the 12 cell. The price of adding a 12 cell later is about $179, so it is better to get the 12 cell with the computer (or both) and add a 6 cell later if needed. Hope this helps.

 

I have one and like the tilt it gives me. Its a little on the heavy side with the 12 cell. Must be over 10 pounds.

2 important notes:
you won't like this....

For all users:
1. Screen display is not very good (in Windows). It looks washed-out from many angles. The screen just looks dull and I have tried different settings. My Toshiba M45 is a lot better. I am looking at the Toshiba M45 true-bright side by side with this L2000 and the L2000 screen looks like old LCD to me.

2. Pushing the cd/dvd eject button causes the outside holding panel to fly off. I have to then snap this back on. Seems cheap to me.

3. Ive had some screen lockups on trying a couple of games in Windows.


For Linux users: AMD 64 Turion is very fast both in Windows and Linux.
There are no video drivers in Linux and the Broadcom wireless dos not work.
The wireless wrapper also does not work.

I'm not recommending this notebook.

 

well thonuz this looks like the first unfavourable reply to the L2000, and thats giving me serious doubts ....wat say the rest ???

 

LOL, 10 pounds? I think you need to work out. I think the LCD is above average, but not great. What do you want for $899 though? As for the cover flying off, no one else has experienced that, sounds like a defect.

 

Weak little girly arms may make the computer feel like its 10lbs. But anyone who eats at least 2 meals a day and has ever used an average laptop knows for sure that this thing is nowhere near 10lbs.

Screen display is very nice. Maybe he's in need of medical attention. Inability to carry 5lbs, everything seems fuzzy... it could be serious.

IF thats happening then its an easy call to claim it as a defect. Its not happening to anyone else.

Obviously. But maybe thonuz should tell us which notebook he does recommend. Because either he's never ever once in his life used a notebook before, or he's going to come back with a snobby answer promoting his choice of notebook and some elite version of linux. Because while everyones entitled to an opinion, his is obviously coming from a place nobody else has been.

 

Now as for my opinion. I just got this thing from Sams Club. Its only $999 for a 1.8/512/DVDRW/BlueTooth l2000. Anyway, my peaves on notebook are size, heat, noise and battery. So here we go.

Size - Pretty light.And not much wasted space. No halfsized keys and no gigantic border around the screen.

Heat - This is a potential problem. The wristrest gets a tad warm. The bottom does too. I havent given it enough time but its not like my compaq x1000 which never gets hot.

Noise - That fan turns on much more than id like. Its not super quiet but its not too loud either. But i believe in time it will get loud and im just not used to it. On cheapie computers you have to live with stuff like this. But on $1000+ computers ive never had to deal with it so im spoiled.

Battery - 6cell only lasts about 2+ hours. Thats rough again because my x1000 lasts about 4. Im going to fiddle around with settings to optimize usage because so far its too little and i dont want to dish out for a new battery.

 

I can feel this becoming "a flame thonuz post", so i must add that thonuz, your review sucked
Maybe your reviewing a different laptop or sumthin. I played with my at compusa and 10 pound its not. I think you should return what ever laptop you have and buy a weightbench.

anyway my L2000 is on the way!! cant wait to get it.

HP Special Edition L2000 Notebook PC

– Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
– AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
– 14.0 WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x768)
– ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/productivity ports
– 512MB DDR SDRAM (2x256MB)
– 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
– LightScribe 8x DVD+/-RW&CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer
– 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
– 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

Can anyone tell me about this laptop gaming perfromance? (is it able to play the latest games?) I know it's not meant for the gaming performance. If it can't run the games smoothly, can you do anything to make it run the games smoothly (like adjusting resolution, pixel, or the game's detail)?

Lance Armstrong LIVESTRONG Special Edition (Sam's Club 999$)
AMD Turion™64 ML-34
512MB 333MHz DDR
80GB (5400 RPM) hard drive
DVD±R/RW and CD-RW Combo Drive with Double Layer Support
54g™ 802.11b/g WLAN with 125HSM/SpeedBooster™ and BroadRange™ support and Bluetooth™
Integrated 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN(RJ-45 connector)
ATI Radeon® Xpress 200M IGP with 128MB DDR (shared)
14" WXGA Hi-Definition BrightView Widescreen

 

I weighed my L2000 with the 12 cell battery today. 5.99lbs.

CompUSA's website lists it at 5.4lbs.

Whoes right?!?

 

I'm sure CompUSA's weight DOESN'T include the battery.

 

Software developers rarely consider making their games work well with notebooks (Integrated GPU or otherwise). With that said, here are my (limited) observations:

Doom3 - No way.
Cross Racing Championship 2005 – Yes, with most settings low @ 640x480.
Call of Duty – Yes, surprisingly well at lower resolutions.
LEGO Star Wars – Yes, at 800x600.
Ford Racing 3 – Yes, at 640x480.

3DMark03 score – 767.

Don't get this laptop if gaming is a priority.

 

5.4 is with a 6 cell battery.

5.99 is with the 12 cell battery.

 

I thought they test Doom 3 with this labtop before. Gaming is not that much important but i want a light one that can play some games on it.

 

How you change the resolution(at the game or at the desktop by right click on the desktop.

 

You change it in the game. There are several video settings for most games.