The HP ProBook 5310m Owners' Club

[PEEGGY]

Hi
I'm trying to choose between these 13" notebooks:
1. Macbook pro 13" for $1350
2. HP Probook for $1150
3. ACER 3935 for $950
which do you think is the best deal? (prices are for the place i live)
or any other alternatives?

[chrissseh]

You're right, it does curve ever so slightly outwards from the center on both sides. Not sure why that is - might be a side effect of using an aluminum backing or it was intentional to make the screen stronger. Either way, I don't think it matters (even though it is an interesting observation ).

how much is ever soo slightly? the edges for my screen are dead flush to the chassis, while the middle there is a 3mm-4mm gap. I am all paranoid that i got a dud laptop or i somehow bent it back, but its brand new and i've barely used it so that would be unlikely.

Mine does a very slight curve as well. Like Charles said, I think it's for rigidity, so that if pressure is applied to the lid, there's some give. My ThinkPad T60 had the same bow in the lid.

How big is the gap in the middle for you? I tried to have a look around the shops in the city, but could only find pavilions and they all seemed to be dead flat.

[chaosrl]

how much is ever soo slightly? the edges for my screen are dead flush to the chassis, while the middle there is a 3mm-4mm gap. I am all paranoid that i got a dud laptop or i somehow bent it back, but its brand new and i've barely used it so that would be unlikely.

How big is the gap in the middle for you? I tried to have a look around the shops in the city, but could only find pavilions and they all seemed to be dead flat.

I don't think mine's 3-4mm, i'd say it's between 1 and 2mm. The edges are virtually touching.

Just to make sure we're talking about the same thing, I closed the lid of my laptop and looked at the front. The "edges" are the left and right side, and the gap appears above the middle vent/speaker grill between the lid and chassis of the laptop, right?

[wii]

Trust me, it's not the hard drive, even when just doing nothing, the fan will stay on and work all the time, this computer is going back, way too noisy for me, but I do think something is wrong with mine.

That's the hard drive, not the fan. The Seagate 7200.4 it comes with is fast but not quiet and has some significant vibration.

[chaosrl]

Trust me, it's not the hard drive, even when just doing nothing, the fan will stay on and work all the time, this computer is going back, way too noisy for me, but I do think something is wrong with mine.

Is this only while you're plugged into external power? I think there's an option in the BIOS that tells the fan to stay on while on external power that is enabled by default, but I can't remember for sure. If that's not the case, I'd send it back...

[Charles P. Jefferies]

Hi
I'm trying to choose between these 13" notebooks:
1. Macbook pro 13" for $1350
2. HP Probook for $1150
3. ACER 3935 for $950
which do you think is the best deal? (prices are for the place i live)
or any other alternatives?

Depends on your needs I suppose . . . each of those laptops has their ups and downs for certain situations. Have you completed our FAQ in the What Should I Buy forum?

how much is ever soo slightly? the edges for my screen are dead flush to the chassis, while the middle there is a 3mm-4mm gap. I am all paranoid that i got a dud laptop or i somehow bent it back, but its brand new and i've barely used it so that would be unlikely.

How big is the gap in the middle for you? I tried to have a look around the shops in the city, but could only find pavilions and they all seemed to be dead flat.

Agreed with chaosrl, the gap in the middle is ~2mm. I don't think there is anything wrong with your laptop.

[PEEGGY]

Depends on your needs I suppose . . . each of those laptops has their ups and downs for certain situations.

I simply want the best 13" notebook available with highest CPU horse power per price ratio.good build quality and specially good screen.I would prefer W7 pro,but I can ignore that for better quality/deal.no need for discrete graphics.
I could come up with those 3 I listed,Do you have something to add?

[Charles P. Jefferies]

Ok. Well the comparison is a bit out of the scope of this thread so if you want to message me we can talk it over in private. I have some advice regarding those three models.

[desimaj]

So some people had suggested ideas for combatting fingerprints on the 5310m....did anyone try them out? invisi-shields, etc...???

feedback?

[Charles P. Jefferies]

So some people had suggested ideas for combatting fingerprints on the 5310m....did anyone try them out? invisi-shields, etc...???

feedback?

No one yet.

I want to though. Here are some ideas for InvisibleShield:

Put on:
-Palm rest and aluminum area below the screen (need cutouts for power button, touchpad, and rubber cushion pieces)

-Glossy plastic around screen (cutouts for rubber cushion pieces and webcam)

-Lid (not necessary IMO - maybe just at the bottom where you grab it to reduce fingerprints)

What I would really like to do is figure out how to remove the glossy plasitc keyboard surround. Then, place that over a piece of invisible shield and carefully cut out the keys. It would take some time but the end result would (should) be completely worth it. That glossy plastic is my #1 annoyance with the 5310m. It's impossible to keep clean and scratches quite easily.