I think there are better value deals. That's a very average deal as far as im concerned. Not a rip off but there are definitely better deals around.

Are you looking for an ultra portable? That HP is a 14.1" screen. I think I would go with a 15.4" or a 12/13" area. IMHO, the 14.1 is too big to be overly portable. Too small to be friendly. I used to think it was an ideal size but I have sense changed my opinion on that.

The dedicated video is going to free a small amount of resources for the computer to use. Unless you're going to be gaming, i'm not sure you absolutely need it. Honestly, it's more/less another part to fail and cause problems.

My wife has basically instructed me to go out and buy that computer before dinner time... when she's happy, I'm happy.
Now I go to the store.

Have fun. It's a pretty good buy!

Got it. Now to install the software and her files. Nothing a couple of hours won't fix!

Hopefully it went well! Plenty fast?

seems to be fast. i had the hardest time getting it to connect to the wireless router! After hours spent, I have gotten it to work by removing the 'security enabled' wireless to 'unsecured'.
I'm hoping to reconfigure back to security now that it is connected. what is going on?

Probably the security "type" is messing up. WEP: Shared or Open or WPA (several varieties) Send me a PM if you would like some pointers.

hey mike, I think 1 of your 4 GB is not usable unless you have a 64 bit machine. It's my understanding 32 bit can't see more then 3. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. BTW, I have a new 64 bit quad core machine at work and it screams

I think 32 bit systems can use more than 3gb. However, it's dependent upon the architecture of the chipset. I think it control how much ram can be used.

Really, with XP, i'm not sure there is much gain after 2gb.

I run a Core 2 @ 2.15 Ghz. I have 2gb of ram. Apple Leopard. I have not restarted my computer in about 7 days. I shut the lid which puts the computer in sleep mode. At any rate, running Entourage, MSN Messenger, iChat, 6 or more tabs in Safari, lots of "widgets on my dashboard", Southwest's Ding, iTunes with 6gb of music, quicktime running an online radio station, Word, Excel, etc throughout the period. I still have 650mb of "inactive" ram. I'm limited by the architecture of the system, supposedly, to add more ram. I have hear folks have put more ram in the system, it recognized and worked well. I have no interest in trying. I only run into problems when im running XP and OS X at the same time. I allocate 650mb for XP. The Mac side slows down some. The XP side is relatively fast although I dont have many processes running since it's temporary use. Read: no antivirus, antispyware crap. The new MacBooks are built off a better/faster architecture, about 10% faster using the same processor. They also hold 4gb of ram if optioned.

Unless a program is ram intensive, i'm not sure there is much gains with XP the higher you climb. But Mike might have another experience. The OS has a lot to do with how efficiently ram is used, and I don't think XP is considered efficient at that. I don't know for sure though.

230 MIKE?

When I've tried to connect new computers to my network for their first time, sometimes I have to re-enable SSID broadcast, so the new computer 'sees' the network. Once it 'sees' it for the first time, you can turn SSID broadcast back off an it will find it thereafter.

Sometimes with WEP (the older encryption standard) issues, then biggest problems I've seen is case-sensitivy of the keys. I think the spec says all uppercase, but I've seen some keyword generators generate upper and/or lowercase keys. I usually just manually type them in now...(all 30some characters for 128bit WEP) With a case sensitive issue the computer will connect, look green in the comms status, but no data will pass...

It doesn't use all 4GB; it actually "sees" 3.5GB. For me, this machine is a true desktop replacement, and RAM is CHEAP. Might as well max it out. I didn't want to run into constraints in my ability to do video rendering, manage large databases, etc. I also went with discreet video.

Processor's a T7500.

Now I can't figure out how to re-secure the wireless. It's been too long since I last did it!
Any tips?

No tips Hermione but I'll be in your boat soon, only using XP, so will be reading this thread closely. My laptop just arrived. Pretty impressive, I ordered it in the late evening of the 18th and received in the morning of the 24th with regular free shipping. The case I ordered with it got here even faster.

I even tried the CD that came with the router, but nothing in there lets me make the network secured.
Do I need to call the manufacturer?
Is that url 168.168.1.1 or whatever? I have vague memories of doing something like that while connected via ethernet cable.
Help please.

Yes, you'll need to login to the router...

typically 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, depending on brand.

It'll ask you for username and password

What Brand?