Hands-on Review: HP's Core 2 Duo nc6400

Recently I managed to score the just-announced upgraded HP Compaq nc6400 for review, one of the first business-class notebooks with an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU.

Much has been made of this chip's performance already, but this is the first time I've seen what it can do in a laptop. So far, very impressive!

Let's look first at raw performance: With my usual Sysmark 2004SE benchmark, I saw numbers higher than on any other system I've ever tested. 20 percent higher than the average Core Duo notebook, in fact. Compared to the Acer Aspire 9800, the 17.3-pound monster I tested in June, performance was nearly identical: 243 points for the HP and 242 for the Acer. But keep in mind one important fact: The HP nc6400 is a machine that barely weighs five pounds.

Performance aside, the nc6400 is familiar and well-designed. The chassis hasn't changed from recent versions of the laptop, and you'll find a responsive keyboard, dual pointing devices (pointing stick and touchpad), fingerprint and SmartCard reader, and handy volume controls above the keyboard. Wi-Fi is included along with an SD card reader. 2GB of RAM back up the Core 2 Duo CPU ably. This machine also features integrated WAN, allowing you instant access to Verizon's EV-DO network (additional monthly fees apply).

All that performance should mean a loud, hot, and have next to no battery life. Not so: While the nc6400 gets a bit warm underneath (not hot to the touch, just a little warm), it's reasonably quiet and has an impressive battery life of almost exactly three hours.

Another new feature: The laptop features an ambient light sensor that automatically dims the screen in low light conditions in order to conserve power. I found it to be a little aggressive at the dimming, but your eyes may not mind as much.

My complaints are relatively minor and speak to the nc6400's shortcomings outside of the business world (where it is admittedly intended). In lieu of a DVD burner the configuration I tested included only a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive. There's also no graphics card, and the integrated graphics system (while good enough) won't let you use the nc6400 for any 3-D game produced in the last three years. But any way you slice it, a 60GB hard drive is just too small, no matter what kind of user you are.

I'd love to give you pricing for this machine, but I can't: It's a custom model HP built just for this review and is not available in this configuration, sadly. Here's what HP does have in the nc6400 chassis with Core 2 Duo: For $1,199 you can get a 1.6GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM and no wireless WAN, or for $1.799 you can get one with a 1.83GHz CPU, 80GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, a DVD burner, and with wireless WAN. That would peg my configuration at around $2,000, if it was available, which it isn't. All told, not a bad price for the fastest computer I've ever touched.