My travel companion
Written: Jun 05 '05
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Pros: Portable, easy to use
Cons: One USB Port, No Firewire or Ethernet ports, Keyboard gets hot, fan is annoying
The Bottom Line: Even with the limitations this Notebook has, I’d still have to recommend it for the person on the go that needs a portable computer for office type work.
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| Kalani67's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Pavilion N3250 (F1916A) PC Noteboo... |
I usually see reviews on here about how great or bad something is shortly after it’s purchased. My review is after it’s been in use for the past five years.
Approximately five years ago, my now ex-wife and I went out looking for a Lap-top computer. After talking to the salesperson at a local computer store we settled on the Hewlett Packard Pavilion N3250 PC Notebook.
The software that comes loaded on the computer:
*MS Works 2000, this has your spreadsheet, and word processor.
*Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000
*Quicken 2000 and MS Money 98. This is your money management software for budgets, and checkbook.
*McAfee Virus Scan
*Standard games: FreeCell, Solitaire, Hearts and Mine Sweeper
This little Notebook has gotten a lot of use since its purchase. While one of us was using the desk-top computer, the other could use the Notebook computer. When we would take vacations we would take the Notebook computer with us so we could still keep in touch with friends and family. While on active duty in the military, I would take the computer with me when I had to go somewhere. This would allow me to still keep in touch easily and inexpensively with my family back home.
One of the major disadvantages with most Notebook computer is for the person that likes to eat while on the computer. I was replacing the keyboards on my old desktop computer every few months because of this; you just have to be more careful when dealing with this type of computer.
The internal hard drive states 6.0 GB; you actually get 5.3GB usable storage area which, at the time, was a decent size for a portable computer.
This Notebook comes equipped with a CD/DVD-ROM drive which shows decent movies or plays any CD you want to hear while working. The DVD-ROM has a 6x optical drive read speed. The DVD will cause the computer to overheat quicker, sometimes to the point of shutting down to prevent damage. It also has a 3-1/2 inch 1.44 MB disk drive which was great since that’s the same storage media my digital camera used.
Over the years this Notebook has been used more and more. Starting with just the occupational use when the main computer was otherwise, already being used. However, about two years ago my desk-top computer crashed, and this became my primary computer. One of the limitations I found with this Notebook is that it tends to run hot. This was eventually overcome by purchasing a cooling pad that the Notebook sits on, it plugs into the USB port for power to pull the heat away from the bottom of the computer. I’ll be writing more about the cooling mat later in another review.
The computer came standard with 64MB RAM, of which 8MB is dedicated for the video card, leaving 56MB RAM left. Over the years, as programs progressed, the limited memory has been causing problems, so I researched what I could upgrade the memory to and found that the most I could do was add a 128MB RAM chip, which I did. It did improve the performance some, but I was still limited by not being able to upgrade it anymore. It used Windows 98SE and it handles it just fine, but if I was advised not to attempt to upgrade to Windows XP because it would take too much of the computer resources to keep it running properly. Also, Microsoft Office 97 was the best I could run on it, for the same reason.
This computer has a Touchpad to use in place of a mouse. It’s convenient because you can use it by just placing your finger tip in the pad and moving it around. You can also set the touch pad up to double tap it like you would double click a mouse button.
Internet connection: It is equipped with an internal fax/modem for internet surfing or, if set up properly, can be used to send and receive Fax messages. I’ve used AOL, Bluelight.com, Mypoints.com, and Optimum On-Line high speed connections. For the dial-up connections, I’ve not seen too many problems, except that I have very old phone lines at home, which does cause some disconnects. One thing the sales person did warn us about with this modem was about the digital switchboards at some hotels. He said that if they had digital switchboards and we hooked up, it could fry the modem. There is an adapter you can buy to take care of this problem. If not, you just need to make sure and ask the person at the hotel/motel what kind of switchboard they have. In my travels over the past five years I haven’t run into any problems with this, and I’ve been in more hotels then I can remember for both military and personal travel.
External Ports: This computer has one USB port; you’ll need to add a USB hub in order to be able to use more then one external device that requires a USB connection. It has one PS/2 port for an external mouse or keyboard, one serial port for an external mouse or keyboard, and one parallel port for a printer, scanner, external zip or other drives. There's the VGA port for which we could hook up an external monitor. Also, it’s equipped with a slot for a PCI card, which can also be used for connecting to the internet, or to a router if you chose.
The Lithium ion rechargeable battery was initially supposed to be good for up to three hours of use. This would be simple word processing or spread sheet use. If you wanted to watch a DVD, you’d get about 90 minutes out of it. After five years, the battery is still the same one it came with, I can get about 90 minutes out of if for word processing or spread sheet use now, and maybe 30-45 minutes if I wanted to watch a DVD movie. When I was traveling with it, I’d just find myself a quiet corner in the air port to plug it in and then I’d be all set to keep busy during those long, annoying airport layovers.
The processor is an AMD K6-2 475 MHz which was one of the fastest in a Notebook computer at the time.
The Notebook came with a one year warranty; we opted for 3-year extended warranty, one that would cover the computer screen if it were to become damaged. The extended warranty would cover the replacement of the screen twice over the next several years, which would cost almost $1000.00 to replace on our own. It also covers the standard things: such as if the computer was dropped, if the drives stopped working, of if one of our, at the time, young boys got a hold of it, it would be covered for repairs. They claim Tech Support 24/7, but after all these years, I’ve never had to use them.
Dimensions:
Width: 12.25 in.
Depth: 9.81 in.
Height: 1.58 in.
Weight: 7.06 lb.
Constructive feedback is always welcome with pointers to help me improve my reviews to give you better, more complete, information.
Thanks for reading,
Sal
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1,700.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: 401-500
Screen Size: 12 inches
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Under 4
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Epinions.com ID:
Kalani67
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Member: Sal M.
Location: Poughkeepse, NY, USA
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 11 members
About Me:
Father of 3 boys, 15, 18 and 20.
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