The HP Compaq nc8000 is quite a bulky unit -- in fact it is the thickest notebook tested. After some further inspection we can easily see why -- it integrates a DVD and floppy disk drive where most other notebooks have an interchangeable drive.
The NC8000 is quite a rugged notebook and it looks like it could take a good beating.
Inside sits an Intel Pentium 1.7GHz M processor with only 256MB of RAM but we understand that the retail model will have a significantly higher 512MB of RAM.
Because of time restraints we didn't get to test this unit with 512MB, we just tested it they way it was shipped it to us. But going from the performance scores the extra 512MB would come in handy. The HP didn't come with a DVD burner but only a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive.
On the back it has a variety of connectors including FireWire, S-Video, as well as parallel and serial ports. To the right of the notebook there are two Type II or one Type III PC Card slots, and a SD slot. Communications are completely covered with the addition of a modem, Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth -- all the options you could want.
In terms of performance this notebook does not perform too well, mainly because it is short on RAM. But if you bump up the RAM you should easily be able to make this notebook just as fast as any of the other notebooks we tested for this review.
In our battery life test, the NC8000 manages to perform exceptionally, just falling short of seven hours which is great result for this rugged notebook.
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Sorry guys, but the reviewed x86 machines seem rather lame to me.
On 10th September 2004 I bought a Clevo M375E notebook that beats nearly every specification of the reviewed units.
This unit has a Fujitsu 100GB HDD, Intel Dothan 2GHz, 2GB of PC2700 SDRAM, Pioneer single layer 2x DVD-RW burner, 54MB WiFi, build-in camera, 3 format card reader, 15.6" wide-screen LCD @ 1680 x 1050, S-Video out, dual display support, FireWire, Gigabit LAN, v.92 modem, IR, 3 x USB2, 1 x Type 1 PCMCIA and serial port.
It is the fastest PC I have ever worked on, easily beating most P4 desktops in everything that is not hard drive or CDROM intensive.
The only thing it lacks is BlueTooth, which was available as an option.
The 2GB of RAM dent the battery life a little, as do the 2GHz Dothan and huge screen resolution, but I still get over three hours of practical work on a single charge with the WiFi turned off.
When I bought it, the RAM was very expensive, but this has come down considerably since.
This unit retail now for less than $4500.
For taxation reasons, I normally replace my notebook once every financial year. If this reviewed collection is exciting the "envy crowd" now, I may hold on to this unit for another year. I can't see that updating only to get dual-layer or BlueTooth is worth my while...