HP Compaq Business Notebook Nc6120

...reason I usually go for HP as opposed tom everything else. I recently needed to upgrade some RAM in one of my laptops, and everyone knows how difficult they are to get apart. It was no problem with HP though - I just logged onto their website, entered my laptop's make and model, and voila(!), there was a manual telling me exactly how to open up my laptop, step by step, telling me what to move first etc.. So then when I decided that my old laptop ...
...my primary laptop to a hp nc6120. So far I think it is fantastic.I have had no problems whatsoever so far which is good in computer years as I have already owned it for almost 5 months! That includes no stupid error messages or go slows due to greedy programs eating into memory even though I have the dreaded Micro$oft windows XP running on it, no core meltdowns of the cpu due to insufficient heat sinks as I have had with so many other makes and models ... more

This is the second laptop review I have written now, so I am still only a newbie so be nice lol ;p

Whenever I think of HP, I always think of great value for money, an excellent range of choices, and fantastic customer service as far as my company is concerned. I think this is the reason I usually go for HP as opposed tom everything else. I recently needed to upgrade some RAM in one of my laptops, and everyone knows how difficult they are to get apart. It was no problem with HP though - I just logged onto their website, entered my laptop's make and model, and voila(!), there was a manual telling me exactly how to open up my laptop, step by step, telling me what to move first etc.. So then when I decided that my old laptop was old enough to beg work for a new one, I turned once again to trusty old Hewlet Packard...

Basically I have recently upgraded my primary laptop to a hp nc6120. So far I think it is fantastic.I have had no problems whatsoever so far which is good in computer years as I have already owned it for almost 5 months! That includes no stupid error messages or go slows due to greedy programs eating into memory even though I have the dreaded Micro$oft windows XP running on it, no core meltdowns of the cpu due to insufficient heat sinks as I have had with so many other makes and models of laptop, and no problems running any hardware or software on it yet as far as I know.

The Laptop is only thin as it is built to be streamlined and lightweight for cutting edge business technology, I'd say about an inch or so thickness, which makes my slighlty older ones look quite a lot like bricks! It is only light, and I have no problems carrying it 2.5 miles to work and back each day (6 days a week), so that should give some indication as to how light it actually is, and how easy it is to transport!

It runs on a Mobile Intel Pentium M 750, 1.8 Ghz central processing unit. Which isnt too bad, although I'd think it could be slightly better, but I dont see there being too much difference if it was upgraded. Its got 512Mb RAM with a spare expansion slot if you wish to upgrade, and the expansion will take PC2700 (166Mhz) DDR SDRAM 64-bit modules just so you know if you get the Laptop and decide to upgrade or already have it and are looking for details on upgrading it (in which case I hope I am helping you out).

My nc6120 came fully installed with XP professional and drivers which I would expect is standard but you could always transfer to linux if you do so wish (or just leave it as it is because as far as I can tell it runs XP fine for a change). Also included is a copy of "WinDVD", and "record now!" and I think it came with "Norton" too, but I'd get rid of that as soon as possible if I were you, as it's fine until it reaches its 30 day expiry date, then it causes no end of trouble and causes everything to crash left right and centre from my previous experience of leaving it on systems. "Record now!" is actually very good for burning DVDs by the way. I have recorded several home videos and burned them to disk using my nc6120 laptop and this software and I have had no DVD wastage at all ao far! I think I am pretty sure that all of these CDs come as standard, and the Operating System disk now comes with SP2 as standard, and Micro$oft do seem to have half fixed the problems it used to have with it.

It has a 15" screen which I have found to be more than sufficient for watching films, and playing games, even when on the move (see the battery paragraph below) and the keyboard is a full sized standard laptop qwertyuiop keyboard. Unfortunately, it doesnt have the button above the touch pad to allow users to enable/disable use of the mouse which I found useful on my last laptop especially when using wordprocessing packages, but it isnt standard though, and it isnt missed all that much.

Mine has an 80Gb fujitsu hard drive (I'm not sure that they all come with that, but I would presume so), and a samsung DVD-RW in-built with good burning software (record now), but no floppy disk, and I dont know about you, but I have not used a floppy disk in about three years now and instead I rely on USB memory sticks or smart cards (I'll get to the smart card reader in a little while).

The computer has in-built 802.11b wireless for networking, with infrared, GPRS and bluetooth capabilities, and has a one-touch button for fast activation/de-activation of the bluetooth/wireless function.

There is a USB 2.0 controller onboard, and there are 4 USB ports (2 on each side) and one 4-pin Firewire Port. There are also 2 PCMCIA slots, and INTEL WLAN radio modem for networking. There is an in-built microphone, and also ports for headphone and microphone jacks.

There is one-touch mute, and volume controls, and a one touch multiple display button.

The computer has a front-feed smart card reader, suitable for SD, MS/PRO, MMC, SM and XD type smart cards (most of the ones on the market as far as I am aware). I always use the reader for my camera. It is an absolute life-saver as I am always losing my USB leads or lending them to people, and the smart card reader means I can still use my camera with a spare smartcard in, whilst transferring the photos from a different smart card. The computer also has a VGA port (for an additional monitor or a projector for presentation purposes), PS2 port (for mouse and Keyboard) and a parallel port for a printer.

I can also tell you that this is the best laptop battery by far that I know of. I was watching the young ones on DVD (sorry!) via the laptop the other day on the train with no power supply and managed to watch 4 episodes with sound (which is 3 hours length) whilst running GPRS internet in the background and the battery still had some charge left when I shut down the computer to get off the train (and in case you're unsure, that is very good for a laptop battery because when new they only usually last just that long when being used as a word processor and nothing else!

As far as I know there is a price range of £644.83 - £1,136.30 for this laptop, but I'm sure you will be able to shop around or find some suggestions from CIAO.

Anyway, I think that pretty much covers it, but feel free to let me know if there's anything I have missed out as I always appreciate constructive criticism

Happy Reading!

Alison x

By the way, another plus side, whenever using these products, the manufacturer always has excellent user manuals if you get stuck without mentioning any websites it shouldn't be too easy to find. 

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