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-1.8 GHz AMD64X2 dual core processor
-2 GB memory (upgraded to 4 GB, using two memory modules, to maintain dual channel mode for the CPU)
-comes preinstalled with Windows Vista Premium Home Edition (I trimmed this down a lot to make room for Vector Linux 5.8 SOHO)
-160 GB Serial ATA hard drive
-Hitachi DVD-RW drive
-NVIDIA Geforce Go 7150 M graphics
-Broadcom 4311 rev. 02 wireless PCI card adapter
-Synaptics touchpad mouse (PS/2 mode)
-Quick Play buttons above the keyboard
-Quick Play remote for playing DVD's, and other music and video stored in the PC
This is one of HP's "Entertainment" laptop PC's. It's not too heavy to tote around. The plastic casing's not exactly the toughest, but I think it can still take on some wear.
The 15.4 inch widescreen's great for watching DVD's, playing games and of course getting your work done.
For some reason, I can't get the Broadcom 4311 adapter to fully work for me. I guess it must be the microcode that came with Vector. At the moment, in Linux, I'm using an older Linksys WUSB11 adapter. It limits the download speed to 11 Mbps, but works well. (If I straighten out some issues with the dhcp client software, I might be able to get the 4311 to work properly.)
Vector Linux 5.8 SOHO is working well, with only a few tweaks to accommodate the latest drivers from Nvidia. It's not too great if one plans to do a lot of gaming on it, but still, it should run some 3d CAD-type programs, and still be a great machine for hacking code, and desktop publishing.
Speaking of gaming, I have tried several recent free software titles, like the Cube engine games, and Super Tux Kart. Even the DOOM III demo runs well enough, though I had to use 640x480 and low quality settings to make it run relatively fast. It certainly looks a lot better than some games, even at low res.
For home use, I bought a Logitech Classic USB keyboard, and a midsize Micro Innovations USB mouse. I also use an older Interact Axis gamepad for games like Descent3.
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