Compaq Evo n600c Laptop

[snowairg]

I'm getting this or an n610c. Just wondering what the people who have/use one of these think of the laptop.

LMK, thanks!

 

[milehigh]

Our company uses these.

I absolutely love the display. It is very bright and sharp, especially compared to my last laptop.

They do seem to run warm, every once in a while if I'm doing a lot of multitasking I'll get a hard lock up (others around the office have noticed this too). If I'm sitting on the couch it almost gets unbearable to set it on my lap while I'm working since the fan exhaust is on the bottom of it.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

If I was buying a laptop today this is what I would buy. I liked the specs vs. weight.

 

[snowairg]

Originally posted by: milehigh

Our company uses these.

I absolutely love the display. It is very bright and sharp, especially compared to my last laptop.

They do seem to run warm, every once in a while if I'm doing a lot of multitasking I'll get a hard lock up (others around the office have noticed this too). If I'm sitting on the couch it almost gets unbearable to set it on my lap while I'm working since the fan exhaust is on the bottom of it.

The n600c or n610c? I can understand the P4 being hotter than the P3... Also, are the screens SXGA or just XGA? I'm looking into the SXGA, but if you think the XGA is bright and sharp, I'll save some money then.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[snowairg]

Originally posted by: GoodRevrnd

If I was buying a laptop today this is what I would buy. I liked the specs vs. weight.

Yup. I wanted the smallest laptop I could get with an optical drive bay for $1500 or less. The only other laptop (with an Intel or AMD chip) that is smaller than this offering a drive is the Sharp mv10w, but it lacks power like the Compaq and costs two grand.

 

[milehigh]

I have the Evo n600c.

The display is SXGA. It is a P3 at 1066 mhz.

I know you probably have looked at it but here is the link to their site...

evo n600c

Overall I've been happy with it. I've had to use the TV out feature a couple times for presentations and it is very thin and light.

Good luck!!

 

[snowairg]

Thanks again milehigh!

 

[dolph]

if you want a small laptop with a built in optical drive, check this fujitsu out. there's an even smaller one with an internal optical drive, but it's widescreen and has a crusoe chip.

 

[snowairg]

Originally posted by: dolph
if you want a small laptop with a built in optical drive, check this fujitsu out. there's an even smaller one with an internal optical drive, but it's widescreen and has a crusoe chip.

Actually, the Fujitsu is 0.14" thicker than the Compaq Evo's. Plus it's not as quality of a laptop and has a shorter warranty. The laptop I'd really like is the Sharp PC-mv10w. It's only 1" thick with a built in drive, but it costs two grand.

Trust me, I've done my research. I know everthing possible specs-wise. Now I'm just trying to gather data based on personal opinions and experiences.

 

[dolph]

Originally posted by: snowairg

Originally posted by: dolph
if you want a small laptop with a built in optical drive, check this fujitsu out. there's an even smaller one with an internal optical drive, but it's widescreen and has a crusoe chip.

Actually, the Fujitsu is 0.14" thicker than the Compaq Evo's. Plus it's not as quality of a laptop and has a shorter warranty. The laptop I'd really like is the Sharp PC-mv10w. It's only 1" thick with a built in drive, but it costs two grand.

Trust me, I've done my research. I know everthing possible specs-wise. Now I'm just trying to gather data based on personal opinions and experiences.

i believe you that you did your homework, but on paper the fujitsu clearly looks like the winner: the fujitsu has a larger hard drive, is lighter, comes with integrated wi-fi, usb 2.0, is actually commended on its 3 year parts and labor warranty & lifetime 24 hour phone support, and it's significantly cheaper. i've actually only heard good things from people i know that owned fujitsus, why do you believe they're less quality?

 

[snowairg]

Warranty -- I take it Fujitsu's one year/three year means parts/labor. If that's the case, Compaq has them beat there: three year/three year.

Hard drive -- The Evo n600c has a 30GB and the n610c has a 40GB. That's the same as the Fujitsu, so hard drive size here has no affect on my decision.

Wi-Fi -- holds no bearing on my decision. I don't need it right now, but if I do, I can get a PC card for under $50.

USB -- The Evo n610c also has USB 2.0. The n600c, on the other hand, does not.

Weight -- Fujitsu 3.8 versus Compaq 4.8 both with weight savers. Yes that one pound less would be nice, but I'll have to put up with it because of... [read below]


It's nice to hear your side in favor of the Fujitsu, but you also have to think about what I'm looking for here. Two things I really want out of this laptop: as thin as possible (for my price range) and awesome video/display. The Compaq's beat the Fujitsu by over 0.1" (yes even that little amount matters to me) in thinness and they come with SXGA+ 14" displays. Reviews point them out as being one of the most crisp and bright displays on a laptop they've ever seen.

Finally, the price factor. I don't have time to look up the cheapest Fujitsu prices for whatever configurations, but for the Evo n600c, it'll be under $1200. If I go with the n610c, it'll be under $1600. Just from looking at Fujitsupc.com's prices, $1499 is more than $1200 last I checked. And that $299 less gets you a bigger, better display. If you upgrade the Fujitsu to the $1750 version, now I can get an Evo with Mobile P4 2.0GHz, still for less money and with a better display.

I like the Fujitsu, but as you can see, I simply cannot justify it as being a better choice. Simply put, it's not.

Oh, about the quality. I shouldn't have assumed Fujitsu's are lesser quality. I simply thought that, for example, Compaq Consumer-level notebooks (Presarios) are crap, but their Business line (Evo) are built solid like IBM's. I assumed the Fujitsu's are more comparable to a consumer line of notebooks. I could, however, be wrong.

 

[dolph]

Originally posted by: snowairg
Warranty -- I take it Fujitsu's one year/three year means parts/labor. If that's the case, Compaq has them beat there: three year/three year.

Hard drive -- The Evo n600c has a 30GB and the n610c has a 40GB. That's the same as the Fujitsu, so hard drive size here has no affect on my decision.

Wi-Fi -- holds no bearing on my decision. I don't need it right now, but if I do, I can get a PC card for under $50.

USB -- The Evo n610c also has USB 2.0. The n600c, on the other hand, does not.

Weight -- Fujitsu 3.8 versus Compaq 4.8 both with weight savers. Yes that one pound less would be nice, but I'll have to put up with it because of... [read below]


It's nice to hear your side in favor of the Fujitsu, but you also have to think about what I'm looking for here. Two things I really want out of this laptop: as thin as possible (for my price range) and awesome video/display. The Compaq's beat the Fujitsu by over 0.1" (yes even that little amount matters to me) in thinness and they come with SXGA+ 14" displays. Reviews point them out as being one of the most crisp and bright displays on a laptop they've ever seen.

Finally, the price factor. I don't have time to look up the cheapest Fujitsu prices for whatever configurations, but for the Evo n600c, it'll be under $1200. If I go with the n610c, it'll be under $1600. Just from looking at Fujitsupc.com's prices, $1499 is more than $1200 last I checked. And that $299 less gets you a bigger, better display. If you upgrade the Fujitsu to the $1750 version, now I can get an Evo with Mobile P4 2.0GHz, still for less money and with a better display.

I like the Fujitsu, but as you can see, I simply cannot justify it as being a better choice. Simply put, it's not.

Oh, about the quality. I shouldn't have assumed Fujitsu's are lesser quality. I simply thought that, for example, Compaq Consumer-level notebooks (Presarios) are crap, but their Business line (Evo) are built solid like IBM's. I assumed the Fujitsu's are more comparable to a consumer line of notebooks. I could, however, be wrong.

i'm sorry, i was basing the price from the link for the 600c that milehigh provided (the 600c is heavier, bigger, slower, more expensive... ) so we were obviously talking about different products. it's too late right now for me to look up all the stuff on the compaq, i'll save that for tomorrow but i do see where you're coming from now.

 

[snowairg]

Yeah, there are different part numbers for each model, and I'm looking at the top-tier n600c and n610c. Compaq's (or should I say HP's) website WAY overcharges on these things.

 

[Sunner]

I can throw in my .02 on the n600.
Its a great lappy, we have a few at work, the displays are indeed very nice, they're quiet, and overall do exactly what they're meant to do, much like the Evo stations.

Oh and the design is nice, looks serious, not too toyish, unlike Sonys for example, but still prett sleek, unlike IBM's fugly(though good) Thinkpads.

 

[Maverick]

the audio port used to break all the time on the P3s...a guy I worked with would unplug and replug his headphones in all the time and the thing broke every few months. Other than that they're great

 

[snowairg]

Thanks for your comments guys!

 

[ai42]

Dare I say Banais is on the horizon.

I am all about the superslims (no optical drive), and even what you want is getting more popular. And considering you are going to spend a quite a bit of money. Why not wait for Banais (which should only be a month or two), would certainly be faster than a P3

 

[snowairg]

Banais?

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: snowairg
Banais?

bania's is a new version of the p3 architecture, with longer pipeline, .13 micron, and mobile only and a bunch of other additions. much better power savings, and like rumored 1mb cache. it also has wifi 802.11a/b built in and all laptops based onit will have one or both with supporting chips.


it will debut at 1.6ghz and should greatly outperform the p4 at equivalent clock speeds.

 

[ai42]

Banias (just realized I mispelled it). It is the new version of the Penitum 4. Basically has more speed than current mobile chips at the same clock, and an INSANE 7w of power usage at full load. Check out Anandtech there is a good article on it around IDF.

 

[snowairg]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into it.

EDIT: Sounds interesting, but I think I'll hold off. I really need the laptop now for school and work, anyways. Even if Banias comes out on time, how soon until laptops hit the market with them. On top of that, how many choices will I have, and how much will this cost <--- that's a big one. Technology will always be advancing and you can't always have the newest, coolest stuff. I think I'm going to live today for today and stick with my Evo plan. If Banias is outstanding and affordable, then maybe I'll upgrade when the time comes.