[vox] RE: Laptop Purchase recommendation

[BRANDON TEARSE]

> >
> > HP Pavilion dv9000t customizable Notebook Pc
> > EZ379AV
> > 	• 	– Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7200 (2.0 GHz)
> > 	• 	– 17.0" WXGA+ Ultra BrightView Widescreen (1440x900)
> > 	• 	– 512MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7600
> > 	• 	 – HP IMPRINT Finish + Microphone + Webcam
> > 	• 	 – FREE Upgrade to 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)!!
> > 	• 	– 240 GB 5400 RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120 GB x 2)
> > 	• 	– FREE Upgrade - LightScribe DVD+/-RW w/Double Layer
> > 	• 	 – Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth
> > 	• 	– HP ExpressCard Analog TV Tuner w/remote control
> > 	• 	– Two High Capacity 8 Cell Lithium Ion Batteries
> > 	• 	– HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

I'd like to chip in and say that out of the 2 HP laptops I've installed 
linux on (Debian on both), everything has worked out nicely.  Took a week of 
tweaking with the kernel of one to get the graphics to work with xwindows 
but otherwise I've had no issues.  I've also managed to get a pair of 
toshibas working without much stress (although the wireless was hard with 
those).

To kibbitz a bit, I do have one thought about  your specs:
1) Although I can understand throwing 2 HDs of epic proportions in your 
laptop for raidability and massive storage, you're eating a lot of power (or 
if you aren't raiding, do you *really* need 240 GB on your laptop?).  If you 
stuck in a single smaller HD in your laptop and bought some old P3 to act as 
a networked HD (+webserver or whatever else you might want,) you'd have the 
space and a laptop with more battery life (not to mention lighter and 
generating less heat).  Even using a 60G shared partition and 20G OS 
partitions you're still talking about generously fitting 3 OSs onto a single 
120G drive.  Personally I'd go smaller and do 10G per OS (*4) + 40G shared 
partition for an 80G drive and use the saved money on disk for my server.

Also, if you're building a crazy gaming rig (which it seems you are), have 
you ever considered just getting a micro-tower (one of those 
shuttles/competitors)?  They cost a lot less, are almost as portable (just a 
different type of bag really), and don't give you the issues with heat 
induced crashing or warping the HD.

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