Hewlett Packard Compaq nx5000 Laptop Computer [22]

The HP Compaq nx5000 is now what passes for a workaday road warrior computer. This unit, as tested, came with the Intel Pentium M Processor 725* - 1.6 GHz, 2-MB L2 cache, 400-MHz Front Side Bus.

The hard drive is the IBM/Hitachi DK23FA-40
Capacity: 40 GB
Speed: 4200 RPM
Seek Time: 12 ms avg.
Transfer Rate: 100 MB/sec Ultra-DMA mode-5
Average Latency (msec): 7.1 ms


It also came equipped with an 8x DVD player drive.

This particular unit was procured through a Fortune 500 company Information Technology group. So it has a few things that corporate users have accustomed themselves to, like: Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition, SMS, and VPN software. The operating system is Windows 2000, which is the current corporate standard. HP recommends the use of Windows XP or XP professional with this computer. It has worked acceptably with Windows 2000. However, I have been using Windows XP for two years now and I am disappointed that the corporate folks have been so afraid of supporting two platforms. As an editorial comment, I feel that this company has spent at least as much time supporting Windows 2000 on newer systems due to their fears of implementing service packs as they might have by just loading Windows XP on their compatible machines. This computer’s two-year-old predecessor was also shipped with Windows XP pro, but was downgraded to Windows 2000 to support the corporate standard.

I have been happy with the response time to run corporate applications like Microsoft Office 2000. Lotus notes 6.5.1 is kind of a dog, but I am not so sure if that is the computer’s fault. The reason I say that is this system is able to run SQL server, Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visio, PowerPoint and IIS quite fast. I use the system for software development and support.

One feature I have never liked is the touch pad mouse. When the touch pads first came out, I liked the concept, but in practice I find them highly inaccurate. I carry a Logitech wireless mouse to use with the laptop. I would take a trackball first, and then the IBM ThinkPad joystick mouse second. The 15” screen is great is nice to look at. It renders corporate applications quite nicely. I have not tried any games, but the DVD player plays the “Lord Of The Rings, Return Of The King DVD” in living color with no noticeable blips. The sound is acceptable for personal airplane or hotel work and DVD viewing, but it is nothing to write home about. If more sound is needed for a demo, I highly recommend a separate sound system. That makes a lot to carry for the traveling salesman. However, many projectors have built in speaker systems to cover this need.

There are two USB ports. I use one for a D-Link Air USB WiFi adapter. It does a great job on my WiFi network. The Port Replicator is a waste of money in my opinion. I could just as easily plug in the power, network, mouse, keyboard and monitor each time I come into the office. But hey, if your company foots the bill, it is convenient. The connection is a little shaky. I have left the computer on overnight many times and came back one time to find it slightly jiggled off the Replicator and locked up. I also have a cable laptop lock for the computer, which I click on immediately. Unbelievably enough, laptop theft is a common occurrence even in a secured building.

The power features work OK with Windows 2000, but I feel that the true potential of this system will be realized with the changeover to Windows XP.

I will report in part II of this article the results of the Windows XP professional/Office 2003 upgrade. {BB}

Added: January 28th 2005
Reviewer: BB
Score:    [22]

Related Link: Hewlett Packard
Hits: 3759
Language: english