HP 550 Notebook PC KS158UT
If you’re a businessman on-the-go or a college student, it’s more convenient to have a laptop with you rather than a desktop PC. For an easy-to-use and efficient notebook, cast your eyes on the HP 550 Notebook PC KS158UT. The HP 550 Notebook PC KS158UT comes with an Intel Celeron 550 2.0GHz processor, 160GB hard drive and can support up to 4GB of DDR2 667MHz memory.
The HP 550 Notebook PC KS158UT features a 15.4-inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution providing a widescreen view to explore the Web or watch a selection of your favorite DVDs. Burn your DVDs on the DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL LightScribe Drive and get your multimedia files running in an instant! Other features include 3 USB 2.0 ports, Broadcom 802.11b/g wireless connectivity, high definition audio, and the Windows Vista Home Basic operating system.
Related Video
Specifications
Display Type:
WXGA with BrightView technology
Screen Size:
15.4"
Maximum Resolution:
1280 x 800
Memory Type:
DDR2
Memory Size:
1GB
Memory Speed:
PC2-5300
Memory Slots (Total):
2
Memory Slots (Filled):
1
Memory Slots (Available):
1
Maximum Memory Supported:
4GB (Requires 64-bit Operating System)
Capacity:
160GB
HDD/SSD Drives Included:
1x 160GB
Drive Types:
Hard Drive
Hard Drive Speed:
5400 RPM
Lifestyle:
Home & Student
Condition:
New
Operating Systems:
Windows Vista Home Basic
Startup Operating System:
Windows® Vista Home Basic
Optional Operating Systems:
Microsoft® Windows® Vista Family (available separately)
Platform:
Notebook PC
Expansion Ports:
1 - Express Card Slot/54
Processor Brand:
Intel
Processor Class:
Celeron
Processor Type:
Single-Core
Processor Speed:
2.0GHz
Processor Number:
550
Processor FSB:
533MHz
Processor Cache:
1MB L2 Cache
Graphics Description:
Integrated Graphics
GPU/VPU:
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Video Memory:
up to 384MB Shared
Video Interface:
VGA
Optical Drive Type:
Dual Layer DVD±RW with LightScribe
Supplemental Drive Type:
Media Reader
Media Types:
Secure Digital
Multi Media Card
Audio Description:
Integrated Audio
Audio Chipset:
Hi-Definition (HD) Audio Support
Audio Channels:
Integrated Mono Speaker
Audio Input:
1- Microphone input port
Audio Output:
1 - Headphone output port
PS/2 Mouse Connectors:
N/A
PS/2 Keyboard Connectors:
N/A
Serial Communication Ports:
N/A
Parallel Ports:
N/A
USB Ports:
3
FireWire Ports:
N/A
Fast Infrared Ports (FIR):
N/A
LAN Ports:
1
Modem Ports:
1
Audio Out Jacks:
1
Line In Jacks:
N/A
Microphone Jacks:
1
VGA Ports:
1
S-Video Connectors:
N/A
DVI Video:
N/A
HDMI Ports:
N/A
Port Replicator/Connector:
N/A
eSATA Ports:
N/A
Communications Description:
Integrated LAN
Integrated Modem
Integrated Wireless LAN
Interface Type:
RJ-11 Phone Connector
RJ-45 Ethernet Connector
Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN
Data Transfer Rate:
10/100Mbps NIC
56Kbps Modem
54 Mbps
Protocols:
V.92
802.11b
802.11g
Width:
14.1"
358 mm
Height:
1.3"
32 mm
Depth:
10.5"
267 mm
Weight:
5.5 lbs
2.5 kg
Mouse Type:
Touch Pad
Buttons:
2
Scrolling Capability:
Scroll Zone
Keyboard Type:
Fullsize
Battery Type:
6-Cell Lithium-ion
Battery Life:
Up to 4.5 hours
Color:
Gray
Integrated Webcam:
N/A
Specification Notes:
[3] To provide the most accurate specifications, the specifications listed are based upon the manufacturer's exact model specification as published on the manufacturer's website.
Detailed Features
A Closer Look
Customer Reviews and Rating
Customer Rating:
4.3
Customer Reviews:
91
Have an opinion on this product that you would like to share? If so, please take a few moments to write your rating and review.
Value
4.6
Features
4.1
Quality
4.4
Performance
4.1
Sort By:
Quality Machine
Reviewer:
Page on
Oct 01, 2009 Customer Rating:
4.0
Value
4.0
Features
4.0
Quality
4.0
Performance
4.0
This system runs well for every day computing.
Added a 1g Ram stick and the system boots up fast. Built sturdy so you can go without having to baby it in transit. Had no problems out of the box though the battery sometimes rattle it is a little loose in it's connection. Cause no problem in operation though.
No complaints at all... Good machine but at this price i probably might have found a better one... but thats about decision so really happy with this product... 5 stars all the way !!!
Good value
Reviewer:
Jon on
Sep 26, 2009 Customer Rating:
4.3
Value
5.0
Features
4.0
Quality
4.0
Performance
4.0
Can't complain about this unit. Great function for the price. The 1 meg of RAM is plenty for what I use the machine for -- word processing and surfing the web mostly. Nice display. The card reader is a nice touch. The lack of an indicator light for the hard drive is disappointing.
Great for student
Reviewer:
Dad on
Sep 25, 2009 Customer Rating:
4.3
Value
5.0
Features
4.0
Quality
4.0
Performance
4.0
My daughter needed a basic laptop for her nursing courses. This was an excellent choice. It had the features she needed and the price was hard to beat.
Great Buy!
Reviewer:
Mike on
Sep 25, 2009 Customer Rating:
3.8
Value
4.0
Features
3.0
Quality
4.0
Performance
4.0
For the money this laptop is hard to beat! Bought one for a low tech sales person and they were happy. Turned right around bought the same thing plus an extra gig of ram for $14.00 and sent my college bound one off to school. Then bought the same thing for another person in our office who needed a basic on the road unit. All in all they have worked well so far.
Are you looking for products that reflect your
personal style and favorite color? We have a huge selection of electronics in
every color of the spectrum. From Pink to Cobalt Blue to Sea Green to
Russian Red to Silver & Gold, and everything in between! Click a color or
select the link for all colors:
Versions
Of Windows That Do Not Qualify
For A Free Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade
Please note that any system purchased that
contains one of the following Windows operating systems does NOT qualify for the
Windows 7 free upgrade - you must purchase an Upgrade separately.
Windows XP (and prior versions)
Windows Vista Basic
Windows Home Server (all versions)
Windows Server (all versions)
No OS & Special
Systems
Please note that Barebones, No OS, and some special systems also do not have
Free Upgrade programs. Carefully check the product for the type of
Operating System included. Windows XP or No OS systems do not qualify for
this program. However, Microsoft offers excellent options for these
systems, as well as existing systems.
* Essential details: When you buy Windows Vista
Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate either as a packaged product or on a qualifying
PC you can get a comparable upgrade version of Windows 7 after it’s generally
available on October 22, 2009. Qualifying PCs, offer details, and product
delivery methods will vary by manufacturer, so check the websites below for
specifics.
Keep It
Private! 3M Privacy
Filters Help You Comply with Federal Confidentiality Laws
3M Privacy Computer Filters help companies comply with federal legislation
requiring confidential personal information be kept confidential. 3M Privacy
Computer filters can help medical facilities (i.e. hospitals, clinics,
health insurance companies, etc.) comply with the Health Insurance Portability
& Accessibility Act (HIPAA). The privacy filters are a simple accessory
to desktop monitors, both LCD and CRT, as well as laptop computers. They
darken the viewable area of the monitor screen when viewed from the side,
which helps prevent the release of confidential personal information that
must be protected. Similar legislation exists for those in the financial
industry. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) places the same restrictions on banks,
finance companies, mortgage companies and credit card companies, to name
a few. They even help with PCI & SOX! Click
Here to See all our 3M Privacy Filters »
Buy A PC / Laptop /
Netbook
Save Taxes in 2009 & 2010!
Here’s some great
news for our customers who want to cut the costs of sending their kids to
college!
Under the new American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, taxpayers who buy PCs for their children in
2009 and 2010 can claim those Desktops, Notebooks, and Netbooks as
qualified higher education expenses.
The Act defines computer-related
qualified expenses as any expense incurred for buying any computer
technology and equipment, as well as Internet access and related services
as long as the equipment and technology is used by the student and the
student’s family during any of the years the student is enrolled at an
eligible educational institution.
All of you who have college-aged kids
know that tuition costs have skyrocketed – so this additional perk is a
welcome benefit. This tax break is only in effect through 2010, so those
who have children in college or kids ready to start school in September
need to start shopping for new PCs now!
Not to be construed as tax advice,
see your tax professional.
Applicable to U.S. Tax Filers only.
LightScribe Technology
Bringing Your CDs
and DVDs to Life!
No doubt you’ve labeled your CD and DVD collections with magic markers or
sticky adhesive labels that tend to fray and peel. No matter how neat you
are, this labeling technique lacks the professional feel you get from
pre-produced disks. And it’s certainly not a system that adequately reflects
the great quality video and music you’ve painstakingly collected over the
years. Thanks to LightScribe Technology those ragtag days of sloppy looking
labels are over. Now you can create customized, professional-looking labels
using the same laser that burns your data-right inside your CD/DVD drive!
And it’s all incredibly simple to do with LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling
technology.
It's easy to burn a label with LightScribe. Follow
these short steps to start burning right away. Remember, making labels
and burning your data are two separate steps. You may burn your data either
before or after you burn your label. Click Here
For More Info »
Make sure you have a LightScribe-enabled disc drive. Just look for the
LightScribe logo on the outside of your drive or somewhere on your computer.
Click Here for Lightscribe Burners »
Get your LightScribe media. Look for the LightScribe logo on the CD and
DVD packages at your favorite retailers. Regular CDs and DVDs can not be
Lightscribe labeled.
Click For our
CD-R Lightscribe Discs or
DVD Lightscribe Discs
Install your label-making software (it may
already be pre-installed on new PCs). Use the install CD that came bundled
with your hardware or purchase label-burning
software here »
In addition to label-making software, you'll need LightScribe System
Software. Each hardware manufacturer will provide the optimal version for
their systems, but universal versions are also available in our Downloads
section for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. In some cases, the
LightScribe System Software is included in the labeling application.
Otherwise, it needs to be installed separately.
Create your label design. If you have an application
that creates disc labels, click the their step-by-step instructions.
What is ExpressCard™ technology? ExpressCard technology is the name
of a new standard introduced by PCMCIA in spring 2003. The ExpressCard
standard delivers thinner, faster and lighter modular expansion to desktop
and notebook computer users. Consumers can add hardware capabilities such as
memory, wired and wireless communications cards and security devices by
simply inserting these modules into their systems. All ExpressCard slots
accommodate modules designed to use either Universal Serial Bus (USB*) 2.0,
or the emerging PCI*Express standards.
Even The Best Hard Drives Die.
Do You Back Up?
Businesses of all sizes
are witnessing an explosion in the volume of data they hold. Whether it is
the result of the Internet, email, or increasingly heavy and media-rich
application software, there is a massive growth in the volume of data all
around. Conservative estimates place data growth at approximately 80% per
year. Data is increasingly being recognized as one of the real assets of a
company, and losing this data would cause severe damage to any organization.
Data loss can be very costly, particularly for
organizations in the small and medium business (SMB) market where the
difference between survival and closure can rest on the ability to recover
from a disaster. At the very least, critical data loss will have a financial
impact on companies of all sizes:
Data type
Time to re-create 20 MB
Cost
Sales and marketing
19 days
$17,000
Accounting
21 days
$19,000
Engineering
42 days
$98,000
The financial impact on a company is a combination
of loss of business, low productivity, legal action, and the cost of
re-creating data. A study showed that the cost of re-creating just 20 MB of
data can be extensive!
Your best solution, is an external drive as a
backup. You can have multiple drives, and it is much easier restore
from a portable external drive, as opposed to CDs or DVDs.
Today's Backup Options
With ever increasing hard drive sizes, how do you protect your valuable
data? CDs are only 720+ MBs, and even DVDs are limited to a few
Gigabytes. So what do you do to back up hundreds of Gigabytes? Here
are some great and inexpensive options:
High Capacity USB Thumb Drives: USB Thumb Drives are now
available in sizes as large as 64GB (soon to be even more). While
the USB interface is somewhat slow, these make an ideal solution for their
small compact size. Thumb drives are perfect for storing in files,
or other compact spaces. While their cost per GB is somewhat high,
their convenience, USB interface, size, and extremely light weight, make
them a very attractive option.
External Hard Drives Now you have a wide variety of
options for external hard drives. 1TB (Terabyte) External Drives are
now available for less than $200.00. External drives come in a wide
range of sizes, speeds, and interfaces. They are available with USB
(the slowest), Firewire (medium speed), and SATA/eSATA (the fastest).
When selecting an external drive, it is important to consider how you will
use the drive, and the interface limitations of your computer. If
you have a laptop that only has USB ports, this would be your best
(possibly only) option. If you have USB & Firewire, get a drive that
has Firewire for the performance boost. If your system has a SATA or
eSata port, get a drive with this option - it will give you true hard
drive to hard drive performance.
However, also consider where you might need to restore the data. USB
is the most universal, in that almost all systems have USB ports. If
your system dies, and you need to restore your data, this may be your most
important consideration.
One last consideration is to keep your backup drive continuously
connected, or only connect it during backups. The general idea of
backups is to have a copy of your data in case your system fails - which
they do. But you may also want secure protected backups in a safe or
safe deposit box. Regardless, external hard drives offer an
outstanding solution for backing up your data, and the cost per GB is
quite low.
Hard Drive Docks (Toasters) An incredibly simple, yet
functional new product category emerged in 2008: Hard Drive Toasters (Hard Drive
Docks). This device lets you plug in regular internal hard drives as
though they were pop-in flash drives. You drop in your hard drive,
and the dock instantly gives your system access to that drive, without
wiring, or power connections - it's all done by the hard drive toaster.
This way you can use any compatible hard drive as an external removable
hard drive for backup purposes!
Online Backup Still another option is to use an
online backup service. These come in two forms:
• Backup to another computer over the Internet
• Backup to a central server using the Internet
The first of these can work very well, and automatically backups when you
are online. The Microsoft OneCare service is one example. It
can backup your data from your system to another in your OneCare account
across the Internet automatically, regardless of where you are.
The second involves trusting your critical data to someone else's servers,
and usually no real guarantee that your data will always be there.
If they loose your data, they just refund your fee. This service may
be fine for a couple of letters, but business critical data needs to be
accessible forever. For this reason, you are better advised to look
to a hardware solution that you control.
Backup Software Many products come with backup
software included, such as External Hard Drives, and Antivirus products
like
CA Security Suite. Most offer excellent features for automated
backups. But remember, backup software and devices, are only as good
as your willingness to use them! So backup regularly, and backup often.
Why Do I Have
Less Drive Space?
Your hard drive may show less space than the published specifications due to
a number of reasons.
The way size is calculated and
displayed.
Any "Partitions" on the disk will
change the total in a specific partition.
Hidden files and folders decrease
available space.
Compression increases the apparent
size, but not the physical size.
Drives larger than the OS or Drivers
natively supports.
First, the definition of a megabytes
(or gigabytes) is a unit of data storage capacity measured in 1,048,576
bytes (or 1024KB). The larger the numbers, the more apparent the size
difference will be when listing the size as megabytes (or gigabytes) versus
bytes. Actually, both numbers are correct. The noticeable difference is due
to the 1024KB definition of a megabyte. This is why a 95.3GB hard drive can
also be listed as having 102 billion bytes of total space. Just think
of it as "round off" In the screen shot at right: The first number is the total number of bytes,
the second number is based on the number of megabytes or gigabytes.
Second, some computers have a
non-DOS hard drive partition that is used for features such as Save to Disk,
Hibernation, or Recovery. This partition is not normally reported by the
operating system, although it can be viewed using a disk partition utility.
This is very common on desktops and laptops. NOTE: Partition information will be created or
formatted automatically during initial system setup and a system recovery.
Third, by default, all system files
are hidden and cannot be seen. This may adversely affect the reporting of
available hard drive space. You can set your Folder Options so you view
system and hidden files and folders, but do be careful as changes to system
files can adversely affect your system.
Fourth, if you turn on Compression
for a drive, it will increase reported free space and used space, but since
compression is based upon the actual contents, this number is not fixed, but
will change as files are added or changed.
Fifth, older operating systems did
not support some of today's larger drives, so the total space reported may
be much smaller than the drive specifications.
It is also worth noting that bad sectors
are corrected by your operating system and can change the total drive space,
free space, or used space as well.
So as long as a drive is reporting a value
approximately close to the specification value, you can be comfortable that
you received the right drive and that you are getting to correct data
storage. Of course, tuning of your drive's partitions and options can
yield optimal values, but this is not something for the average user to
explore.
What Is A Cell? It's a
battery
Though technically a battery has multiple cells, we are accustomed to calling a
single energy cell a battery as well.
In
electronics, a battery or voltaic cell is a combination of many electrochemical
Galvanic cells of identical type to store chemical energy and to deliver it in
the form of electricity. The battery cells combine to produce more energy
(voltage or amps) than a cell by itself. When joined in this way, it is a
battery of cells. Almost all portable electronics use one or more cells -
rechargeable or disposable. The more cells, the more energy available -
meaning more hours of use usually.
In Notebook computers, the battery case usually
holds three or more cells. 3 Cell batteries tend to provide about 1-3
hours of use, depending on the energy needs of the Laptop. 6 cell (or
more) batteries provide much more energy, and many more hours of use. This
can be good or bad! More cells mean longer use, but more weight too!
So remember to always check for the number of
cells if specified, and choose the right configuration for your use.
Battery Trivia:
The invention of the first battery (known as a Voltaic pile) was in 1800 by
Alessandro Volta! The first known usage of the battery (as we know it
today) was in 1863 by the physician named Flora Bills.
Got Enough
Memory? Bet You'll Need More!
Windows Vista and today's software
applications make much greater demands on your system's memory. Adding
peripherals, like webcams, USB hard drives, and complex Internet pages, all
take memory. Watching DVD movies, or watching videos on the web, or
playing PC based games demand increased memory. So take full
advantage of your system's potential, your operating system's enhancement
and entertainment capabilities, and your software's productivity by expanding
your system memory!
The best time to
add more memory is when you buy your system! Get the memory that's
right for your computer, whether laptop, desktop, or All-In-One.
Click Here for our Memory Upgrade Options. »
Shared
Memory? Or Where Did My Memory Go?
Your computer uses memory to run your
Operating System, applications, peripherals, and to generate and display
graphics on your computer monitor. Video memory is a form of RAM, and is
either built into your motherboard; or on a graphics card (video card).
Depending on the motherboard's configuration, and that of the video card (if
separate or built-in to the motherboard), your computer may have to draw on
its own RAM memory to meet its video memory needs. This creates shared
memory, where your computer’s RAM will be shared between its own Processor
(CPU) and its graphics chip.
The result is that some systems will have
shared memory, some will not. If you have 2GB (for example) of system
memory installed, you may notice that your system reports significantly less
memory. This is because your system is using shared memory for your
video.
What can you do about this?
You can actually configure this shared memory through your computer’s BIOS
settings. However, this is a setting best left alone, since it is
typically optimized for display performance, and making changes may impact
display resolutions, and other video capabilities.
The simplest solution is usually to either:
increase your system memory; or to upgrade the video hardware. By
upgrading to a new video card with built-in video memory, then turning off
shared memory, you will free your system to use it's maximum potential
memory, and provide your system with much more robust video features.
How Much
Memory Do You Really Have?
When you look at the specifications for a computer, it will display the
installed memory, and typically the maximum memory that can be installed.
However, while these are real values, they represent a potential useable
memory depending upon the installed operating system, and other factors. The actual useable memory may be different
(lower) from these values.
The reason is simply that a computer may have a limitation in the operating
system (such as Windows 32 bit versions), or configured to use shared memory,
which reduces the amount of RAM that is available to the CPU by using
some of it for other purposes, such as for video memory. In some
cases, you can control the maximum useable memory through system settings,
by upgrading from a 32 bit to a 64 bit version of Windows XP or Vista, or by upgrading to a video card that has internal onboard video memory.
But always
remember, that the amount of memory that your system reports, is not always
the amount of actual installed memory. For example, if you have 4GB
installed, 32 bit versions of Windows will typically report 3.2GB due to a
limitation of Windows itself. Also note that different Windows
programs report available and maximum memory differently, which can be
confusing. If you find that you need more
memory, we suggest expanding your system memory, since this is the most
effective performance increase, and the one that is easiest to perform .
What Is USB 2.0?
USB 1.1 was great when it was introduced almost a decade ago. But
the newer USB 2.0 transfers data dramatically faster - up to 40 times
quicker. Plus, USB 2.0 provides additional bandwidth for multimedia and
storage applications, which are growing larger every year. Also to your
advantage is the fact that USB 2.0 is forward and backward compatible with
USB 1.1, which means that cables and connectors made for the original USB
configuration will also work perfectly in a USB 2.0 port, though some newer
devices are specifically designed for USB 2.0. It is always a good
idea to verify the version of USB supported by each device you want to use.
Contents of package may vary from those pictured and stated here,
due to changes in manufacturer's specifications or merchandising.
Please check the product information carefully, items not included
may no longer be required.
Manufactured by:
HP Warranty provided by:
HP Limited Warranty:
12 months parts;
12 months labor
Mfg Part No:
KS158UT#ABA UPC No:
884420899815 Box Size:
( Length:
20, Width:
14, Depth:
5 )
Shipping Weight:
8.0000 pound(s)
Click here for full warranty and support information
Limited Warranty: A full text version of the limited warranty
may be obtained by mailing a self addressed, stamped envelope to the
address below and requesting the warranty for item number:
H24-15055
TigerDirect.com
Warranty Information
7795 W. Flagler St. Suite 35
Miami, FL. 33144
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Item Total
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91 reviews)
Display Type:
4.0
5.0
LightScribe Technology
Install your label-making software (it may
already be pre-installed on new PCs). Use the install CD that came bundled
with your hardware or purchase 
Why Do I Have
Less Drive Space?
