Compaq Athlon laptop $699.99 AR Circuit City or Best Buy

[allisolm]

Best Buy 5/23 ad has Compaq 2199US notebook 6418664 with
Mobile AMD Athlon XP_M 2800+
DVD/CD-RW combo
512MB DDR-DRAM memory40GB hard drive
64MB DDR integrated video memory
comes with or without Lexmark X2250 printer 6354937
online link

For the rebate inclined!
Price w/printer: $1149.99 + $99.99 printer = $1249.98 - $100 IR - $150 BB MIR - $150 2199US MIR - $100 Compaq MIR - $50 printer bundle MIR = $699.98.

Price without printer: $1149.99 - $100 IR -$150 BB MIR - $150 2199US MIR - $100 Compaq MIR = $649.99
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Circuit City has the same notebook with no printer for $699.99 AR
$1149.99 - $100 IR - $100 Compaq MIR - $250 CC MIR = $699.99
online link

 

[Vette73]

Good deal, I can see these going out of stock very fast.


So if you are thinking about it you might want to move on it and buy one FAST!!

 

[Ionizer86]

Good laptop. I've played with a XP-M 2400+ barton Compaq 2100 (same series). 3.5 to 4 hour battery life, Radeon 7000 graphics, very quiet (the fan even shuts off) when CPU load is low, Athlon XP chip is fast, etc.

 

[ectx]

Tempting.

Did some quick search, apparently the same model was on sale for about 850 ar a few weeks ago. So this is a better deal.

Issues - no wireless? usb 1.0 only. Don't know if these are true... Anyone else knows more?

 

[pilgrim2u]

USB 1.1 is a killer for me :-(

 

[Ionizer86]

Originally posted by: ectx
Tempting.

Did some quick search, apparently the same model was on sale for about 850 ar a few weeks ago. So this is a better deal.

Issues - no wireless? usb 1.0 only. Don't know if these are true... Anyone else knows more?

USB 1.1 is true. But the 2100 series I played with before had 4 pin firewire. No wireless is true, but 802.11b PCMCIA cards can be had for under $10 very often.

 

[Murph74]

IF USB 2.0 and wireless are an issue, you can check out the Office Max deal on teh HP ze5730 for $749 this week. It's a Celeron 2.8-- not sure how that compares to the AMD 2800 series. Looks like it might be worth checking out though!

 

[ectx]

Thanks guys. I think I'll pass this time. Been in the market for laptops for 2+ years. Have not bought one yet. The deals have been good enough I think I should bite the bullet sometime soon (the truth is that I can live w/o a laptop and I can use my wifes' in a pinch).

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Murph74
IF USB 2.0 and wireless are an issue, you can check out the Office Max deal on teh HP ze5730 for $749 this week. It's a Celeron 2.8-- not sure how that compares to the AMD 2800 series. Looks like it might be worth checking out though!

Sorry but a Celeron with intel graphic chip is a REAL dog, even compared to this laptop with a Barton Athlon XP-M

The Athlon XP-M is closer to the P4 while the Athlon64 runs over the P-M. The celeron is just a overall dog of a CPU and laptop.

 

[usernamemax20charact]

Thanks, but man, $400 in MIRs. That's a lot of money to be waiting for.

 

[MournSanity]

Picked this up today. Looks pretty good for the money. A lot of rebates to send in though!

 

[Yo2]

Originally posted by: ectx
Thanks guys. I think I'll pass this time. Been in the market for laptops for 2+ years. Have not bought one yet. The deals have been good enough I think I should bite the bullet sometime soon (the truth is that I can live w/o a laptop and I can use my wifes' in a pinch).

If you waited two years but kept on coming here and checking deals ( and yes there were some good ones around), you are wasting your time here - do something useful (e.g. bathe) .

 

[Shaka]

I got one of these. I really like it. Although, it is my first laptop so I dont' really have anything to compare it to. I wish it had built in wireless. But as someone said before, you can get a wireless-b card for pretty cheap.

 

[jrichrds]

This looks to have only one PC card slot. If you have a USB 2.0 card and wireless card, you could only use one at a time and would have to continually swap them. Of course, if you don't have any USB 2.0 devices or don't use a wireless network, this isn't much of a factor.

 

[Tokar]

2 of the 3 rebates are Best Buy.

The Compaq rebate is probably that same $100 cash/$300 for Marriott hotels job. That comes in really fast...more or less guaranteed, assuming you provide all the info.


Best Buy has become really good with rebates. Its all the same anyway with these laptops.

I got a laptop for my grandfather...a Compaq...$100 rebate from compaq, $300 from Microcenter.
My friend got an HP thru Office Depot...$100 rebate from compaq, $300 from office depot.

Its all the same...it will come in no worries.

 

[allisolm]

I have purchased laptops from BB twice when they had the $499.99 Christmas specials. Each of these involved many rebates and I had no problems getting any of them.

 

[Dnana]

Does anybody know how much this laptop weighs and whether it gets too hot for the lap?

 

[gtd2000]

Originally posted by: Dnana
Does anybody know how much this laptop weighs and whether it gets too hot for the lap?

I was running the machine for a good straight 12 hours last night and it not get noticeable hot compared to my old Dell Lattitude (P3 700Mhz).

The only niggle I have is that the screen resolution is not great but it is acceptable. Plays Q2 smooth as silk which means I should be able to play HL based games without trouble too

The machine weighs something like 7.3lbs

Some people are reporting 5400rpm drives fitted - not mine though

 

[Shaka]

Originally posted by: gtd 2000

Originally posted by: Dnana
Does anybody know how much this laptop weighs and whether it gets too hot for the lap?

I was running the machine for a good straight 12 hours last night and it not get noticeable hot compared to my old Dell Lattitude (P3 700Mhz).

The only niggle I have is that the screen resolution is not great but it is acceptable. Plays Q2 smooth as silk which means I should be able to play HL based games without trouble too

The machine weighs something like 7.3lbs

Some people are reporting 5400rpm drives fitted - not mine though

The plate which covers the ram gets pretty hot. But other than that, the thing is just warm. So I suppose don't put the ram plate directly on your lap. Careful not to block the air intake in the back left on the bottom.

 

[RossMAN]

How is the noise for this laptop?

99.99% of the time this will be plugged into the wall sitting on a desk.

 

[Ogg]

wow what a deal...................
I was actually tempted then found out that Marlin was right


------------------->SOLD OUT :|

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Ogg
wow what a deal...................
I was actually tempted then found out that Marlin was right


------------------->SOLD OUT :|

You can do a pricematch at CircuitCity, save the $50, or try and order online?

 

[RossMAN]

Here's some good info from x1000forums.com

First post by broekage at May 24 2004, 09:12 AM

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?j=...t&ref=10&loc=01

Special deal now for $650 after $400 in mail in rebates (which expire 5/29)

Compared to the X1000:

The good:
It's not as wide, so it's easier to fit in a backpack
It's about $400 less than the X1000 I was going to get (which includes a 10% off coupon that's not even out yet AND 6% off for EPP), plus I have about $70 in BB gift cards, so that would knock the price down to about $580 (plus tax).


The bad:
usb 1.1 ports>
no firewire ports> I want to use an external enclosure for a second HD and a DVD-RW)
integrated graphics
no pentium-m (Athlon XP-M 2800+), so battery life won't be as good
no built-in wireless


The I-don't-really-care-about-this:
no widescreen
a tad bit heavier (7.3 lbs vs. 6.5)


My thoughts and opinion:
I took a look at this thing in store today. I used it for a little bit, typing and just checking out if I would like it. The keyboard feels pretty solid, kind of like the X1000, plus it's got the touchpad disable button and the scrolling thingie too. It doesn't have a widescreen, but I don't really need that anyways.
I could always buy a usb 2.0 notebook card for the external enclosure.
The couple of things that make me wonder whether to get this:
1. The non-integrated wireless. I would have to buy a separate wireless card (probably less than $40), which I would have to carry around with me all the time.
2. The heat. When I was using it, the chassis (right around where my left hand was lying on the laptop) got pretty warm after a couple of minutes. Is this a big problem or just something to ignore?
3. The integrated graphics. I would like to play games like battlefield (desert combat), call of duty, c&c generals, and I'm afraid that this graphics processor just won't cut it for these games. Is it good enough to play on low resolutions? maybe like 800x600 (I usually play 1024x768)?

Please let me know your opinions!
Thanks

Second post by kf_man at May 24 2004, 09:57 AM

Ok, here it goes. My friend has this laptop and I have personally used it before. Here are the pros and cons as I see it:

Pros:
*Price
*CD-RW/DVD Drive
*Decent screen quality
*Comfortable keyboard/touchpad
*Decent sound as far as laptops go
*Fairly fast processor
*Good amount of RAM

Cons:
*4200 RPM hd (that's a preference thing)
*RADEON integrated graphics with SHARED memory.
*No widescreen (having a zt3000 I could never go back)
*Only an XGA screen
*Only 1 year warrenty
*Runs fairly warm
*Battery life is not great (not sure how much, like 2-2.5 hours I think)
*AC Adapter does not stay plugged into the computer (it constantly falls out and you notice the screen dim)
*Only 2 USB ports (x/zt have 3)

I think that covers it. Personally I would not be happy with it and it definately won't play games very well at all. I also value a higher resolution (I use 1680x1050) and XGA does not suit me. It's definately not slow for normal use, but for graphics tasks, it seems like it will be a dog. If you are a power user, I would say no. Otherwise, go for it!

 

[gtd2000]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
How is the noise for this laptop?

99.99% of the time this will be plugged into the wall sitting on a desk.

Mine is silent until I play Q2 or HL then the turbo kicks in!

 

[uwannawhat]

Hmmm..

Could the 10% off this weekend only coupon @ BB be applied to get this notebook for $545 + tax after the rebates?

I've looked @ the 10% off any single item :TV's $299 & Up, DVD players & DVD recorders.

Is this coupon only valid on TV's & DVD players or is it on any single item including TV's $299 & Up, DVD players & recorders?

The (2) $150 rebates are valid through 5/29 with the $100 rebate expiring on 9/1/04