- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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4.0 stars
"It has served me well"
Pros: Big Screen, multiple monitor support, 3 USB Ports, built-in Wifi, buit-in SD Card reader, parallel port
Cons: Heavy weight, poor finish, runs very hot, no floppy drive, no bluetooth
Summary: I too have read the reviews here and some of the complaints are valid. Computers from 2003 (when I bought this) all had problems with their hinges and portable computers with mechanical hard drives are prone to hard drive issues. However, I have used this as a desktop replacement and business computer, giving presentations to and meeting with clients for 6 years and believe it is was a well thought-out and well-built machine. It was also a great value for the price I originally paid for it. I purchased this computer with an extended warranty in 2003 and used that warranty to replace a bad hard drive in 2006 and the hinges in 2009. They also replaced the screen under their "7 pixel" rule somewhere in that time and the battery. I generally replace laptop hard drives every 3 to 4 years as a rule, so the original hard drive failed early, a knock against it. The hinges became "floppy" after about 5 years for me, but that seems like a reasonable timeframe to me since I use the machine with the internal monitor quite frequently. Now it is 2009 and I have proactively replaced the hard drive again (keeping the old drive for backups of the internal drive) and upgraded the memory to 1 gb. The finish (paint???) is worn in a few spots and the keyboard now shows which characters I use most frequently, but it has had no premature failures other than the hard drive.
I am now at a point where this machine is too old to keep under warranty and is slow compared to modern machines. However, there are no laptops (except some of the Panasonics) with screens with dimensions like this one. To get a current laptop with a screen this high, I would need to buy an 18" widescreen portable.
Battery life could have been better, heat has always a concern, and the original hard drive did not last as long as it should have, but the rest of this machine has been solid. I am quite content with the value this machine has provided. I hope it lasts a few more years. It has been a workhorse and valued companion for a long time, a tribute to the its construction.
