A great computer...when they work.
Written: Jul 14 '00 (Updated Jul 14 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: AMD K6-2+ processor, 128K on die L2 cache, DVDROM
Cons: Consistent problems, read for details
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| Gr8ful's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Pavilion N3350 (F1928A) PC Noteboo... |
Hewlett Packard has been a household name in computers for years and in the last few years they have also made a name for themselves in the very competitive top laptop manufacturers field. The Hewlett Packard N3350 is a decent and relatively inexpensive solution for mobile computing. This notebook sports an AMD K6-2+ processor which is a step up from the K6-2 and is faster in performance than the K6-III.
First, let me get you familiar with the laptop and the technology behind it. The K6-2+ processor has half the L1 cache (only 32K) that the K6-2 processor did but AMD has added 128K of L2 cache on the processor die. This makes for a faster processor in the long run. Even though it only has 32K of L1 cache, this is the same amount of L1 cache the Pentium III processors use. Since the cache is on the processor die, all 160K runs at the full speed of the processor which is 550MHz. This is an excellent processor for a laptop computer.
Some other attractive features of this notebook are 64MB of 100MHz SDRAM, a 6X DVD ROM drive, a 5GB hard drive, a 12.1" TFT active matrix screen, a built in 56k modem, and a touchpad. You can use the DVD drive for playing movies on long trips or as a regular CDROM to run or install software. When using the DVD as a CDROM, it performs as a 24X CDROM.
The 5GB hard drive is large enough to install all of your office programs and still have room for games, pictures and other things you may want to carry around in your computer. Although other laptops offer larger hard drives, they also cost much more.
This computer also has 8MB of shared video memory. This means 8MB of the 64MB system memory is used for video leaving 56MB for the system. This is not ideal but is common in laptops. It uses a Trident AGP accelerator and this isn't the best for gaming but it does a fine job for most laptop purposes and will provide hardware acceleration if you do play a few games.
All together it is a great bundle of features for the price (retail $1699.99) and would make and excellent buy. So, let me explain my title and some reasons for thinking twice about this notebook. As a technician for one of the largest retail stores, I see what comes back and why. Not only that but I get hands on experience with these and other computers on a daily basis. The Hewlett Packard N3350 has been returned by several people for the same reason.
After filling out the registration and booting into Windows, the computers consistently spit out error message after error message and each time the error messages are different. I have personally done a complete restore on several of these notebooks and the problems still persisted. I have not had the opportunity to actually open one up to find what was causing the problem, but I do know that most people who return them wind up buying a different model or brand of laptop.
I have used several of these laptops that worked fine and had no problems, but there have been many that have never booted correctly. If you get one that works, it's a fine computer. So far, I'd have to say chances of this happening are about 50/50.
Recommended:
Yes
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