As the first business laptop to feature AMD’s 64-bit Turion 64 X2 mobile CPU, the HP Compaq nx6325 offers road warriors performance at a lower price than its Intel-armed competitors.
Hewlett-Packard’s HP Compaq nx6325, which was released in June, has a starting weight of 6 pounds—about the same weight as the similarly sized Gateway M465-E notebook and HP Compaq nc6320, and slightly lighter than Lenovo’s ThinkPad T60.
The nx6325 sports a 15.1-inch XGA display with a 1,024-by-768-pixel native resolution.
With a six-cell battery, eWEEK Labs’ test unit ran 3 hours and 49 minutes.
While the unit doesn’t have the battery performance of its Intel Core Duo-based sibling, the HP Compaq nc6320, the nx6325 costs considerably less. Users will need to decide whether they value price or battery life more.
For a starting price of $1,049, the nc6325’s configuration includes a 1.6GHz Turion 64 X2 processor, a 15-inch display, 512MB of RAM, a 60GB hard drive and a Wi-Fi module capable of accessing 802.11a, b and g networks.
A similarly configured nc6320 would cost $1,229.
Our test unit included a 1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 Processor TL-52, 1GB of DDR2 (double data rate 2) SDRAM and an 80GB hard drive (5,400 RPM). This configuration costs $1,249.
The AMD Turion 64 X2 is a dual-core processor that has 64-bit capabilities—something the Intel Core Duo processor does not.
Users must have 64-bit software installed to take advantage of the nx6325’s 64-bit capabilities (for example, the Windows XP Professional x64 edition).
The nx6325 also can be configured with the TL-60, TL-56, TL-52 and TL-50 AMD Turion 64 X2 processors, as well as the Mobile AMD Sempron Processor 3500+, 3400+ or 3200+.
The nx6325 uses ATI’s Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics card, with up to 128 MB of shared system memory.
The nx6325 measures 12.9 inches wide, 10.5 inches deep and 1.2 inches thick at the front, making it slightly bulkier than similar laptops we’ve tested recently.
In addition to the nc6325’s 802.11a/b/g connectivity, the laptop has a Gigabit Ethernet port and Bluetooth 2.0.
Unlike other notebooks in its class—including the HP Compaq nc6320—the nc6325 does not come with an option for a wireless WAN module.
The nx6325 does have a good number of ports, including three USB 2.0 ports.
The laptop also has a seven-in-one media reader, a feature we’d like to see on more laptops.
The reader supports Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, Smart NMedia and xD memory cards.
The nx6325 features a full-size keyboard and a touchpad with scroll zone mouse, but no pointing stick mouse.
When it comes to security, the nx6325 has an integrated biometric fingerprint reader as well as a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) component that encrypts security keys and passwords.
The laptop also is equipped with HP ProtectTools, a portfolio of security features and tools.
Click here to read more about the HP Compaq nc2400 Ultraportable.
Our nx6325 sported a DVD+/-RW SuperMulti with Double Layer drive. The laptop can also be configured with a drive with HP’s LightScribe technology, which allows users to engrave DVDs and CDs via the DVD burner.
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: AMD Turion 64 X2 Drives Down HP Compaq nx6325 Price
