I currently have a hp Pavilion ze4300 , and want to upgrade to a machine with a dx9 capable chip. Here is what I'm looking for in a new machine and haven't been able to find.
1. Wide screen 16:9(pref) or 16:10 anything > 15 inches
2. Centrino chipset > 1.4 ghz
2. DX9 card (ati 9600 or nvidia 5650 or 5700 go)
4. Metal case
I guess the new widesceen hp (?nx7000) would be great if they offered it with a ati9600.
I have been very leary about using ATI stuff in the past but seeing as how the newer chips are just trouncing the compitition I'm willing to give them another try. Has anyone used the 9600 with Lightwave , Animation Master and/or Messiah Animate ??


Thanks

Except it does not have a metal chassis. And if you are willing to look at the nx7000 (if only it had a better graphics array), then what is wrong with an Inspiron 8600 / Latitude D800? They fit all your requirements fully, except the last one (the LCD top magnesium, and the internal chassis is a tri-metal polymer composed of Steel, Magnesium and Aluminium which is then covered in plastic (obviously to save weight and costs)), and you get Dell's 'standard' upgradability (graphics, memory, CPU, HDD) as well as an above average tech support.

If you are serious into Rendering/Animation as you've mentioned, perhaps you should look into the Quadro FX graphics card...

RaPTuRe

Who's General Failure and why's he reading my disk?

I wasn't sure what the chasis was on the HP (can't seem to find it on the web page) When I looked at it at compusa it 'felt' more solid/sturdy than my current machine so I had assumed it to be metal .
As for dell I have been tempted by those machines but after having delt with a few of their desktop machines I'm a little wary of what I get. ( if it is not explicitly stated then it can not be assumed) I'm also shying away from the dell wide screens because they just don't 'look' that wide in pictures. It would be nice If I could veiw them first hand.
I plan on picking up a 9600 for a desktop machine today and will test a few things for myself (performance gains in some games and compatability with the apps I might use on the laptop. I know the moble version wont' give me the exact same performance but I figure the deltas should be about even.
thanks for the reply esp since I cant' seem to find the dell 8600 chasis specs where are they btw ?

I'm not sure. I found a link to that info on the Dell forums... Search for it there, It has no doubt been mentioned numerous times. The Widescreen of the I8600/D800 is the same as is used by the nx7000. Compal designed both the chassis for the nx7000 and the chassis for the I8600/D800, and they both use Sharp (and sometimes Samsung on the Dell) LCDs. They are 16:10 widescreens, which is evident when viewing 16:9 AR DVDs as there is about a 1cm black bar on the top and bottom of the display.

People typically either love or hate Dell. Sometimes their service is incredible, sometimes it is abominable - but as long as you are firm with them, and at the FIRST sign of trouble, send your notebook back for replacement, you should be fine.

RaPTuRe

Who's General Failure and why's he reading my disk?

Ive looked into it alot too,
and as far as I can see the Dell Inspiron 8600
is the only way to go.

Ive heard bad things about their support etc etc, I must
say I experienced average support from them, could have been worse. But they have a dubble memory deal, and if you get the 512MB RAM upgrade to 1024MB RAM upgrade, thats quite a saving.

I hope to get my 8600 next week.

hope you make the right decision.

In holland that deal only counts for 2x256 instead of 1x256 it might just be in holland but I'd check if I were you
R.

Depends what base model you take
the 1.6 and 1.7 base models have 512MB ram
and the 1.4 and less specked 1.6 has 256MB

so I chose the 512MB base model and received 512MB free.

the funny thing is if I configure the cheapest model ie, the 1.4 model, and include 1024MB ram, it works out to be about 250 USD more expensive and its a slower machine than mine???

weird,
if they made a mistake, thats there problem, I will consider
it payback for the amount of time it took for me
to get through to their sales team :-)

The HP laptop your are refering to is called the ZD7000 online, and the variations are ZD7010 etc..

The 17" LCD on it is manufactured by LG/Philips and is also used in the other 17" widescreen laptops that is on the Apple and Toshiba.

The manufacturer of the ZD7000 is Quanta of Taiwan, although the laptop itself is made in China, and mailed to you directly from there (through HP China).

You can configure it to use the 3.2 P4 HT enabled and with a G or B rated integrated wireless card. Basically, you get a very powerful laptop, but it is heavy and the battery life is poor; it is a desktop replacement. More info can be had at zd7000forums.com.

For a widescreen Centrino laptop with ATI 9600 graphics, see the Gateway M505. The case may not be metal on the outside, but it is extremely solid, even more so than the Dell 8600. See the following site for reviews and benchmarks: <A HREF="http://talknotebooks.com/showthread.php?t=10274" target="_new">http://talknotebooks.com/showthread.php?t=10274</A>