• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Compaq Presario Notebooks/Laptops

K

KaosFaction

Senior member
Now Im wondering about Compaq Presarios. Any really bad experiences or really good ones with them??

**Not this thread was changed from Dell....started looking the other way when prices became unreachable lol**

Im looking specifically at the V2000z line with a Turion process.

Lemme know what you all think....thanks!!
 
If reliability is your primary concern, then IBM Thinkpad (T series) is probably your best choice. Dell Inspiron notebooks suck major arse in terms of reliability (except for the higher end XPS and 9300 to a certain degree). However, since the Latitudes are meant for business/institutional customers (which is Dell's bread and butter client base), they're designed more with reliability and quality in mind. I've used both Latitudes and Inspirons, and Latitudes are by far superior in terms of build quality, reliability, and support (again because Dell regards business/institutional customers as a higher priority). At least this has been my experience. Bottom line, I'd just bypass Dell and go Thinkpad.
 
Latitudes come standard with a 3-year warranty (next day on-site too i believe). Dell would be shooting themselves in the foot if too many of them couldn't last at least that long. The newest generation are suppose to be much more solid too.

Personal experience here only, my girlfriend's inspiron 600m is two years old now and running without a hitch. Only problem was the first battery died for no reason in only a few months, but was replaced quickly by Dell. I don't hold that against Dell, pretty sure same thing could happen with any battery from any manufacturer. It does however have a weak chassis made of cheap plastic, but it survived being lugged around for two years of university unprotected in a backpack with textbooks.

If I had to choose between a Thinkpad T42/T43 and a Latitude D610, I'd still go with the Thinkpad though if I could afford it.
 
Our sales staff has used Dell notebooks for 6 years and they have proven to be tough reliable computers. I noticed about four years ago their QC had really taken a dive, but they've improved a lot since then and the new 600 series Lats have a nice solid feel to them, with much more consistent displays.

The Thinkpads are higher quality units across the board, and if I(we) were made of money I'd(we'd) run a totally IBM shop, but the Dells get the job done and they cost a lot less.
 
I had a buddy with a D600 (hall mate in the dorm 3 years ago). In fact he was telling me how much he liked it the first couple months he had it. At that time I was debating between the D600 and the I5150(amoung other laptops), decided to go for the 5150 because it seemed like a better value. I regret it. Latitude's are supposed to be more rigid for business usage, I couldn't tell you long term though(lost contact with the guy). As for my Inspiron 5150, I loved it the first couple months as well, until the motherboard went out twice!(bad case design, a piece of plastic on the bottom mashes the soildering and connections, and the case flexes).

I'm willing to forgive dell, mainly because they have such good customer support, I have a 4 year complete warranty so they do fix it... but I had to ask for an extension on one of my papers because of it, and I also got screwed on a roadtrip when it went out on me. So what am I trying to get to? I can't conclude personally whether or not the D600 is reliable and tough(I can conclude it for the 5150however), but if you do bite on Dell's attractive deal, CERTAINLY GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY, along with the complete care, it gives more than a piece of mind if anything does go wrong.
 
The current model is the D610. It is a very good notebook for a Dell. Dell's high end business support is very good, not as good as IBM's 😉, but much better than if you bought a basic home warranty with an Inspiron. The Latitude keyboards are okay, MUCH better than the Inspirons, but I still don't care much for Dell keyboards in general. IBM/Apple keyboards > *

A Latitude is not a bad machine, esp if you get a sale on it, but I'd imagine if you hunt around enough (esp with EPP discount) you can get a Thinkpad for a good price and have guaranteed happiness 😉
 
Don't worry about Compaq build quality. HP has owned Compaq for several years and you're essentially buying an HP with Compaq logos on it. I'm a big fan of HP/Compaq laptops, FOR THE MONEY; they have a lot of features and very respectable build quality at an awesome price.

The only downside to a Turion 64 V2000 is going to be heat. My gf has an i855-based Centrino dv1000 (i.e. the 400MHz FSB Dothan, not 533MHz FSB which does run hotter) and her dv1000 (built last December) runs 50 C idle easily; spiking well over 60C under load. That is a toasty laptop! I hope HP improved the cooling on the newer dv1000/V2000 models but from all reports I hear they still get quite warm. And as much as I love Turion 64, overall it will run warmer than Pentium M. Keep that in mind, but honestly that isn't a deal breaker to me.

:thumbsup: for HP dv1000/L2000 & Compaq V2000 :thumbsup:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top