Compaq NX9600

HP Compaq Nx9600

NX9600 Review, by Carla Thornton April 29, 2005

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• Latest User Reviews 2 reviews
• Reviewed by: bowdy

  Duration of ownership: 1 Year

  Strengths: size IS everything, very fast

  Weaknesses: gets a little hot, battery life is kind of short

  Overall: I LOVE IT, er'body love it

• Reviewed by: Underworld1020

  Duration of ownership: 1 Year

  Strengths: -Large Screen -Hard Drive Capacity(100 GB) -DVD Burner -Full Keyboard -All Sorts of Drives -Easy Access to Hard Drive, RAM, Battery -Quality Speakers -Easy Access Buttons

  Weaknesses: -Runs Very Hot(If your gaming you'll need to buy a cooling pad) -Fans Are In Bad Positions(Bottom and back, so you'll need to be on a hard/flat surface) -Battery Last About 1 Hour -Loud/Heavy/Large -Hard Drive Speed(Only 5400 RPM) -NOT as fast as you'd think! Don't expect it to be fast! -Only a 128 MB Graphics Card -Extremly Hard to Disassemble and Access Componets -Certain Markings Ware Off(plus/minus signs, mousepad marking)

  Overall: When I purchased the product a year ago, I thought it was great. But, I soon realized that it wasn't that great at all. The 3.6 GHZ is very misleading, its not really fast at all. I'm not sure exactly what the bottleneck is yet. At first I thought it was the 5400 RPM hard drive, so I put in a 7200 RPM, and seen very little performance increase. Then I thought maybe it was because it was too hot(an average of 59 degrees celceius for the HD), so I bought a cooling pad. It lowered the average HD temp to about 54-55 degrees celceius, but not much performance increase. There's a bottleneck somewhere, but I'm not sure what it is yet. Overall I think this product sounds great, but it doesn't deliver what you'd expect. I'd look elsewhere if I had another chance.

• Reviewed by: breck_lundin

  Strengths: SOLID construction; display size clarity and color; keyboard; ability to add 2nd 12-cell battery; no bloatware; travels extremely well; no flex in display frame; quiet, runs cool.

  Weaknesses: No parallel port, side mounted USB ports, no on screen volume or brightness control. Comes stock with smallish HDD, minimal RAM, no Lightscribe option.

  Overall: I have to say this is the best laptop I have owned in 20-years of using portable and notebook computers. .I value two things the most in a laptop. One is the display. The other is the keyboard has to have the feel of a nice desktop keyboard. The NX9420 meets my wishes and beyond. .First the display on my system (model EV267AA) is one of only a handful of matte finish 17" displays to be had. I cannot use those high gloss trendy displays that the gamer crowd is enraptured by. I like a workable display that functions under pretty much any lighting. No problems with this display. I even can sit outside under a tree or in some shade and still work. Outside is good. :) Just know that different models have different specs. If you want a non-glossy matte finish display then learn what build/model numbers have the specs you want...otherwise you could end up with a display you might not be happy with. . The keyboard is not all that different from an IBM keyboard. I still like the IBM a small bit more but this is really close. There is no flex to the keyboard. Seems HP did their homework on the keyboards and eliminating flex. .Battery life is excellent. I can get near 3-hrs from the main battery using wifi, the display set to about 2-3 levels down from brightest. While running Visual Studio, Gmail, a few IE windows and whatever other desktop programs I need. Adding the 2nd battery to the system gives me a total battery life of between 7-9 hours without needing to recharge. That works fine for me! .The ability to add that 2nd 12-cell battery at the same time the primary battery is in the system is nice. And because it will discharge first. You will see why that is a good thing in a moment. It also has it's own built in charging port and comes with it's own 65w power supply. That means when the battery runs out you can easily remove it from the bottom of the system and plug it in to re-charge while you work away running on the primary battery for the next few hours. If you do this you will get a total of over 11-15 HOURS of battery life. That should be enough for pretty much anyone. .For those who whine about weight...EAT A STEAK...this system weighs in at about 7.5-lbs. My last Dell Inspiron 15.4" system weighed 9-lbs stock. A modern 15" system will be between 5.5-7.0lbs. That means at most it's 2-lbs. heavier and at the least 0.5 OUNCES heavier. Or on average abour 8-12 oz. heavier. My thinking is if you cannot carry around an extra couple pounds to have a full on computer with you maybe should never own a laptop or even leave the house without a walker. Just pointing out it's not that much heavier then smaller systems... the 2nd battery adds just a bit over one pound. .Perhaps the best thing about this system is the solid feel you have holding it. It just feels so well made, and it must feel that way because, well, it is solidly built...no cheap plastics here like on consumer grade systems. .Last and not the least is the noise and running temps at the keyboard and palmrest are pretty much neutral ambient room temps. It is not a hot running system. If it does and makes noise you need to return it or have it repaired. I say this because there are always lemons with problems and you should just return any system that is wrong from the start and get another one. It is also WHISPER quiet. When the display powers off if I don't use it for 10-mins, the only way I am aware it is even running is by looking at the indicator lights. .I depend on my laptop to earn a living and have been really disappointed in other brands the past two systems. Finding this HP has renewed my enjoyment in my work and give me the freedom to work in the way best for me...you will not go wrong. I am completely satisfied with this system.

• Reviewed by: paramita_77

  Strengths: Well the processor speed is high, but that' it.

  Weaknesses: (1) Fan is very very loud.(2) The bigger problem is, it just shuts down automatically without any notice.

  Overall: I bought this piece of junk on March and this is July and I already had to sent it twice to the service center for repair and have to take it to a service center again tomorrow. You can understand the problem if you have a deadline the next day and your computer shuts down without any notice and all your hard work is gone. Earlier I had all HP products including my other laptop and desktop, but I am not buying any HP product in future.

• Reviewed by: MissouriCEO

  Strengths: A superfast computer, this computer can do everything at amazing speed. From work to entertainment this is a great computer for everyone. It has a bright screen, and its great

  Weaknesses: The battery life is a bit short, but everything else is near-perfection and once you see the other features, the battery isn't a problem.

  Overall: This is a great computer and anyone looking for a good laptop for the whole family should try it. I can do work for the office, my wife can shop on-line, and my kids can play games. I was skeptical about the battery life when I heard it was only 1.75 Hours but once the order shipped I realized I'd found a treasure. Great computer for the price a must have.

• Reviewed by: SupReSeller

  Strengths: Has everything, very fast.

  Weaknesses: Couldn't really say, although if you want a system today that has everything expect it to be heavy. It's portable, that doesn't mean you never have to plug it in. Today's computers use lots of power.

  Overall: I just previewed the notebooks in late March 2006, wasn't really completely shopping for one specifically. However I built two 64 bit systems at home recently and I gotta tell you, this system does seem to have it all. I wonder though if it has any heating issues, since it's 3.6ghz pentium...wireless G, big screen, number keypad, 128mb PCI express X16 card graphics board...you can't go wrong right now with this system. It's listed right now at about $1500, which isn't bad at all.

• Reviewed by: zipperpants

  Strengths: Very fast,very Simple to use,terrific true-brite screen,great use for excel spreadsheet(has built-in numeric keypad),awesome media player,dvdplayer& burner

  Weaknesses: A liittle bit on the weighty side, always needing to be plugged in(Limited battery time)

  Overall: I would recommend this product,if one can stand this unit being plugged in majority of the time then by all means make the plunge and buy this unit. what set this hp over the dell which i was considering very strongly as i have 2 desktops from dell is one thing and one thing only the numeric keypad. the very sameone that comes along with your standard everyday desktop keyboard. hp i think has winner with this one....bobby,ontario,canada