• 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.

yaHMD (help me decide): compaq vs dell laptop

R

rainypickles

Senior member
the dell inspiron 5100 ($1054, more if tax to california):
intel 2.4ghz, 512mb(2dimms, 266), 16 atimobility, 30gb, cdrw/dvd combo drive, 14.1 lcd

compaq/hp ze4300 (1) ($966 after $100 rebate):
xp-m 2200+, 512mb, 30gb, cdrw/dvd, shared video memory, 14.1 lcd

compaq/hp ze4300 (2) ($809 after rebate and 256mb crucial upgrade):
xp-m 2200+, 128mb, 20gb, cdrw/dvd, shared video, 14.1 lcd

this is for my sis who needs it for school. so word processing email and standard stuff. i was originally thinking the cheap route, but the dell looks like such a good deal. maybe somewhere along the line i would take this notebook, so i'd like it to have as much lasting power as it can.

bottom line: is the dell factor (dell vs compaq) and the 16mb ATI card worth 200 dollars?

thank you for your input, suggestions and comments.
 
I have a Compaq 21xx series laptop, w/ the xp2400, 512, 40gb, cdrw/dvd, 64mb shared radeon (i assume thats what these have?).

anyway, so far so good, havent had any issues, and the battery life has been pretty impressive, i'd recommend them.

not sure about the 'dell factor'...and i dont think the video in the dell will be any better than the compaq/hp.
 
You can get a IBM T23 for $999 in the hotdeals forum. IBM quality with 3 year warranty for the small price of $999. If I could, I'd get one ASAP.
 
Originally posted by: JZilla
You can get a IBM T23 for $999 in the hotdeals forum. IBM quality with 3 year warranty for the small price of $999. If I could, I'd get one ASAP.
Click to expand...

meh, yes its a hot deal for an IBM, but the proc isnt all that fast, pc133 memory, no cdrw, etc....

but yes, its a hot deal for an IBM.
 
You are correct, only P3 and pc133. But it's plenty for Office, surfing and email. I only suggested it since the sister were going to use it for school. So it might be carried around alot (built-in wifi btw) and the T series is a very sturdy laptop. And with a 3 year warranty it's an amazing value.

Of those 3 listed I would take the first Compaq, the $966 one. But, honestly, I would rather have the IBM T23, even with it's "slower" spec.
 
I have a Compaq laptop I bought used on the forums. It is a Presario 1700, 17x360 is the model number I believe. It gets pretty darn toasty (hard drive gets up to 160F when it's defragmenting); the fan doesn't come on often, so the entire left side of the laptop gets rather hot. Both the hard drive, CPU, and RAM are on the same side - the other side has the battery and DVD drive (the latter is swappable for a floppy drive). I did improve on the cooling "solution" that Compaq used, with ASIII and a copper plate, to make up for the thick slabs of thermal tape they used. But anyway, maybe their more recent models use a sane cooling solution, I don't know.
Also, if you want online support, I can't recommend Compaq. Their search engine is really bad. It works as good as search engines of about 7 years ago.

I had a Dell maybe 2 years ago - Pentium II 400, and it was actually pretty good. It was just a bit slow - I prefer Athlon XP's, not P2's. 🙂 Otherwise it was quite good. I don't really remember ever even needing support for it. It just plain worked. Check my sig below for the problems this Comqrap is giving me.
 
Plus that's not really a fair comparison. You can get Dell's with similar specs for the same price (or maybe cheaper) than those Compaqs.
 
Originally posted by: JackHawksmoor
Plus that's not really a fair comparison. You can get Dell's with similar specs for the same price (or maybe cheaper) than those Compaqs.
Click to expand...

i dont think that is right. dells are more expensive than compaqs/hps. the cheapest ones they have are not that great and def seem overpriced for what you get. but thats my opinion
 
I have a Presario 2100z (XP-M 2000+, 512 MB DDR, 40 GB travelstar 40gnx) and I love it. Heat is not bad, battery life is impressive, performance is awesome. OK for light gaming, runs neck to neck with my desktop and murders the "power workstations" at work..... Not a single problem so far! This is the best compaq I have owned so far 🙂

By the way, take the smallest hard drive/memory. If you swap the hard drive included with a travelstar 40gnx, the difference in boot time, load times and overall "snappiness" is like day and night.

However, if you can afford to shell $1280 for a laptop, I would get this toy:

MicroPro MicroNote Pro 530 - AMD based

Yes, Athlon XP-M 2400+ paired with a mobility radeon 9000 (64 MB) and a KT333 chipset..... Nobody has reviewed the baby, but with a travelstar 7K60 (or at least a 5K80-60GB or a 40gnx) this is a bloody combo..... If I were buying a laptop right now this is my choice (yes, it includes USB 2.0 AND firewire)

It even has an MP3 player that doesn't need the CPU to be running!!!

If you get this, you can share the benchmarks 🙂 By the way, MicroPro is among the most reputable 2nd tiers.

Happy hunting

Alex
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top