Blu-ray notebook requirements

[xhibition2008]

I am currently looking to buy a new notebook and I plan on watching bluray movies on it. Below is the specs of an HP notebook I am considering to buy. My main concern with this is that it does not have DDR3. I know DDR3 runs faster, but do I really need DDR3 for bluray?

IntelCore 2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz/)

4GB DDR2 RAM

18.4" High Definition Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)

512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT

Please share your opinion with me.

[CyberVisions]

Originally Posted by xhibition2008

I am currently looking to buy a new notebook and I plan on watching bluray movies on it. Below is the specs of an HP notebook I am considering to buy. My main concern with this is that it does not have DDR3. I know DDR3 runs faster, but do I really need DDR3 for bluray?

IntelCore 2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz/)

4GB DDR2 RAM

18.4" High Definition Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)

512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT

Please share your opinion with me.

That's one of the new HP Pavilion HDX 18's.

The answer to the RAM question is no, you don't need DDR3 for BD's - the HDX Dragons have DDR2 and it looks just fine on our 1080p screens.

Too bad you missed out on the 20.1" Dragons - nothing quite like them and people have been snapping them up since HP went to the 16 and 18's, which unfortunately aren't as powerful in some areas, but by all accounts aren't bad. The only thing I'd recommend if you're going to get one is to get a true 64-bit system with Vista Ultimate. We know that our HDX's will take and use 8gb of DDR2 - 64-bit systems are currently accounting for 25% of system sales, and it's only going to go up next year as they've been selling in increasing numbers since the beginning of this year. One of the biggest drawbacks was that most software programs weren't 64-bit certified, but Adobe's latest releases (starting with Acrobat 9) are all 64-bit certified, and most vendors are releasing new updates that are also 64-bit compatible. Not only will you see the difference in overall speed, you get a lot more use out of your system and GPU RAM.

Also - if you get one, DO NOT remove any of the installed programs until you find out which ones are bloatware and which ones you need, since some that look like bloatware are ones that you need. I've seen more than one person here who has posted with problems that was the result of shooting themselves in the foot by removing stuff they shouldn't have.

There is an HDX Owners thread on NotebookReview.com, which is where I usually hang out, but there's also a new thread for HDX 18 and 16 owners also if you're interested.

[xhibition2008]

Hey thanks for your opinion on that. I had heard of the larger HDX you were talking about, but I did not know it had a 21" screen. Sounds heavy but great. It makes me wonder if the 18.4" HDX will be big enough to do well with bluray.

So with the HDX 18" you can actually upgrade the ram from 4GB to 8GB with a 64-bit OS? Sounds tempting. I checked it out on HP's website today and they didnt offer to upgrade to 8GB. Perhaps I am going to have to do this aftermarket. I know they just released the HDX 18" in September/October. Maybe they will have more options later on.

I was not to concerned about the DDR3. Before I was (and still) thinking of going with an Alienware notebook simply because they offer DDR3 and some better processors, but they can get up there in price. If had $5,000-$10,000 I probably would just go with a maxed option. I am a sucker for over-kill. The only con about them is that I did not see any designs boasting anything bigger than a 17" screen.