The 8710w is a fantastic system. Omit the BlueRay drive and the cost isn't particularly bad. And if you take care of it and can get four years of service out of it (typically what I get out of my notebook systems), the extra cost per day compared to el'cheapo configurations is really minimum. Oh, BTW, I would not recommend XP on the 8710w given its fairly "new" peripherals that are not particularly well supported under Vista. (Also, multiple core / multiple core processors are better utilized by Vista than Windows XP!)
- Dov > -----Original Message----- > From: Dennis Brunnenmeyer > Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 11:08 PM > > As of tonight (June 19th), the HP Compaq web site still lists their > top-end notebooks with "Vista downgrade to Windows XP" as an optional OS. > > My HP/Compaq nw8000 has given excellent service. The HP Compaq 8710w > available now is a relatively costly computer but inexpensive when > you consider its value with respect to salaries and time. > > Dennis Brunnenmeyer > ***************************************