HP 2133 Mini-Note Performance Reviews
So I’ve been working with the Mini-Note for about hour now and made some videos. Overall I really like it and am looking forward to putting XP on it so it’s not so doggy. My main concern is how hot it runs - the fan was running the whole time. Also I’m not really happy with how slushy the mouse buttons are. They’re missing that distinct click and feedback that most other laptops have.
Below is a video showing the mutli-tasking and video performance of the 1.6Ghz Mini-Note running Vista Business. As expected the performance is really sub-par. YouTube videos drop frames in both small and full screen modes. Hulu runs terribly, and Word takes a bit to open up - but I think Word might be a bit faster if it weren’t for the registration box.
I plan on imaging the drive tonight and installing XP so if there’s anything else you want to see with Vista let me know quick!
I’ll have a few more videos up soon.
April 29th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
My Newegg order should arrive any day now (no sales tax benefit here, though).
Does the machine come with a restore CD to get it back to factory state (with Vista), or do you have to create one yourself?
I, too, am planning to replace Vista with XP more or less right away.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Nope, no CD with the one I got unfortunately. We’ll have to image it until we can get discs from HP for sure.
Yeah, Vista runs like a dog on here. I can’t wait to see how XP does.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Josh,
Were you running a teletype machine in the background or was that the hard drive making all that clicking noise?
Brad Linder at Liliputing and Bsumpter at Mininoteuser have info and shots of XP on the MiniNote.
Why HP even bothered putting Vista on it is a mystery, but the word is they will be offering XP installed arounf mid May.
April 29th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
lol, Sorry that was my camera making that noise. You can’t hear it while it’s recording so it’s getting some sort of interference somewhere. I would get a new one if I hadn’t just bought the Mini-Note.
I think they probably have a contract with MS and have to offer it on their products…and that’s really unfortunate. It makes everyone (MS and the Hardware vendor) look bad.
April 29th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I just used my new SD card on a new video and there is no noise on it… I guess it was my card? weird.
*edit*
I take it back, it’s the camera focusing that’s doing it. The beginning part of the video there is nothing moving around, but once I move my hand into the frame it starts making the clicking noise and I can see it focusing.
April 29th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Sanyo C6 by chance? Mine makes the same clicking during focusing.
April 29th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Nope, mine is a Minolta Dimage Z1. Maybe they have the same guts?
April 29th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
All laptops even ultra portables should have a recovery cd.
What is this noise I hear? Sounds like the motor of something…
April 29th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
The mini-notes don’t come with any sort of cd, but there is a recovery partition. Anymore I don’t think HP’s come with recovery cds and instead rely on the partition. (bad idea)
April 29th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
So with that partition I should be able to restore the machine back to factory state even if I install XP? Or is the XP install going to wipe that partition out?
My Thinkpad X60t didn’t come with disks, but had software on it (and the image) to create one.
I guess Acronis True Image will be the first thing that I’ll install…
April 30th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Josh, do you have your own copy of windows xp to do the os change?
I unfortunately do not have a disk of xp, and I guess I have to buy it to downgrade from vista. I was hoping hp would supply it. I wonder if it would be possible to save the restore partition on an external, and then reformate the entire hd when installing xp.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:12 am
@Narziss
If you have Vista business you can downgrade for free. Get an XP SP2 disc and install like usual - you can use a key that’s already in use - and when you activate choose activate by phone. Call MS with the number listed and tell them your downgrading from Vista Business to XP. They’ll ask for your Vista key, and then give you the activation key for XP (so you’re not technically using the xp key twice)
April 30th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Josh, thanks for the tip on downgrading to XP legally. I had read before that it was possible without extra cost, but your post saved me the hassle of searching for the details.
Mini Note arrived today. Too bad I am really, really busy and likely won’t even unpack it until Friday (if you can believe that).
August 27th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
hey,
Thanks for the vista/Xp downgrade key tip. can yo tell how to “image” the hard disk? is it basically the same procedure as backup? i know how CDs have ISO images but how does this work with HDs?