Offer from Insurance co for replacement laptop - is this a fair replacement?

charltonfan1 · 3 Mar 2010 at 14:21

Broke the screen on my laptop HP dv2535ea:

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5450 1.67 GHz, Level 2 cache 2 MB
2048 MB (2 x 1024 MB) Supports up to 2 GB DDR2 memory
160 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 5400 rpm
Lightscribe Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support
5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
HP QuickPlay media player software and its dedicated menu controls, music and DVD buttons
Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11a/g/n Integrated Wireless LAN Bluetooth® wireless networking
14.1” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen Display
NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M Up to 831 MB total graphics memory with 64 MB dedicated PCI Express®

and they have offered Lenovo IdeaPad U450 as a replacement:

Lenovo IdeaPad U450 2693 - Core 2 Duo SU7300 / 1.3 GHz ULV - RAM 2 GB - HDD 320 GB - GMA 4500MHD - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11b/g, Bluetooth - fingerprint reader - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - 14" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) - camera.

The new one looks pretty similar but the processor is slower. Intel's comparison looks like the new CPU has more transistors, therefore is faster maybe?

Do you think its an fair replacement?

Tiamat21 · 3 Mar 2010 at 14:26

.3ghz is a fair bit of loss although the FSB mhz is also very important..
BUT are you serious, JUST looking at the CPU?
:O

MeatLoaf · 3 Mar 2010 at 14:41

Id say the new one is worse. I dont think the GMA4500 is as good as the 8400M either.

Redmint · 3 Mar 2010 at 14:43

If you look up the CPUs here http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php the 1.3GHz one actually scores slightly higher. I'd say it's a fair replacement, more HDD space and Win 7 too?

edit: okay maybe the graphics aren't quite as good, depends what you're using the laptop for though.

mofo's · 3 Mar 2010 at 14:50

Its of a similar specification, guess that's what they are going on, you could say your not happy with the replacement offered & see what else is offered, more often than not they will try to find the cheapest option in the hope you just accept it, say your not happy & put your case forward why, am sure they will offer an alternative.

Both links maybe considered as competitors better remove them before you get a holiday from the mods

charltonfan1 · 3 Mar 2010 at 18:02

Have removed the links now and re-added the specs to compare.

The Lenovo is lighter and has a better battery life, so if the CPU's are comparable the only thing letting it down is the graphics card. The laptop is used to watch DVD's and output via HDMI to my TV and only play the odd basic game so GPU not really a factor.

I might argue that the Lenovo doesnt have N Wireless, Lightscribe and a worse GPU and see what they say

charltonfan1 · 4 Mar 2010 at 13:50

After negotiations we agreed on the following:

Lenovo IdeaPad U450p 3389 - Core 2 Duo SU7300 / 1.3 GHz ULV - Centrino 2 - RAM 4 GB - HDD 500 GB - DVD-Writer - Mobility Radeon HD 4330 - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft), Bluetooth 2.1 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - 14" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) VibrantView - camera - black - TopSeller - Microsoft Office Ready

Which i'm happy with

Redmint · 4 Mar 2010 at 14:22

Glad to hear you got a good deal and managed to get a better Laptop out of them.