All laptop related queries here!!!

Maverick340

Maverick340

Ambassador of Buzz
The V370AU is a great laptop except for its screen size (14.1")
Its got a 7150 GPU which is really good. I am consued between a Acer 4520, Compaq F733AU and possible V370AU. Between Acer 4520 and Compaq V370AU , compaq is better because it has 7150 and Acer has 7000M
However Compaq F733AU has a 15.4" screen (good for movies )
Oh btw my requitement : MUltimedia ( FlightSim 2004 + Web,Music, Movies)
and budget is under 35 k
 
sachin_kothari

sachin_kothari

Ambassador of Buzz
what is your preference from programming point of view, normal screen or widescreen and large display size (17") or smaller display size (15")?
 
Pathik

Pathik

Google Bot
If it's a laptop it should be small and portable. For programming IMO 12.1" / 13.3" is the best.
But they can be costly. So 14.1".
 
J

juggler

In the zone
^^^ waiting for the review if possible please include what all games can be played on ur laptop at what resolution :)
 
Akshay

Akshay

Cyborg Agent
My Config:

HP Pavilion 6703TX: Intel Core2Duo 1.66 Ghz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 256MB GeForce 8400M , 15.4", Card Reader, BT, Wifi, DVD-Writer with Lightscribe, Webcam, Two headphone jacks, Vista Home Premium, remote control...Getting a TV Tuner card as a part of promotion offer.

I have played FEAR for sometime on this config. FPS at 1024*768 hovered over 40fps with custom settings (more of medium of everything).

Vista is working fine though a little sluggish at times. Vista experience is 3.5.

Got it for 49k in Pune.

Will write a detailed review soon..
 
Akshay

Akshay

Cyborg Agent
@sachin

I had considered Dell 1520 and Dell 1525. Dell 1520 was my 1st choice coz it had 9 cell battery + Vista Business with media alongwith 256MB graphics card. Rest config was same except for HP has fingerprint reader in it and a TV Tuner card comes free (u need to redeem it). I got it thru a friend in Pune who knw some1 at cybernet.it at FC road.
 
Maverick340

Maverick340

Ambassador of Buzz
Attention !!
As mentioned above i bought a Compaq F733AU a few days back. It came with freedos and so no drivers CD shipped along. THe guy (dealer) gave me a drivers CD (dled from various sources off the net). Howerver a lot of the hardware is simply incompatible with Windows XP. I asked the person and he said its the same with all new generation lappys. The nforce630a chipset and the Intel 965M. For eg , when i plug in my headphones, audio comes from both the laptop speakers and headphones ( unresolved issue according to him and two more people who had the same prob at the shop )
This sucks bad .. These laptop manufacturers are supporting Vista whole hartedly and XP lovers like us are doomed !

Oh i also had tons of BSODs while installing the drivers (due to incompatible hardware/ faulty drivers )
 
J

juggler

In the zone
So there are only proper drivers for vista.
Damn microsoft is forcing people to use vista by any means possible

Check if this helps
*www.zyxware.com/articles/2008/01/23/compaq-presario-f733au-laptop-drivers-for-windows-xp

How much did u buy ur laptop for (512mb ram or 1 gb ram)
 
Maverick340

Maverick340

Ambassador of Buzz
Tried that page .. drivers are installed okay now, the audio problem (headphones) still remains :(
Yea, MS is playing dirty !!
I bought it for 28000 ( additional 2 GB ) i.e total 2.5 GB ram

Edit : Yea !! got the sound to work properly. Now when i plug the headphones, the laptop speakers dont output sound ! yahoo !
Here is the updated drivers for all you guys :
Download file » sp32898.exe 1/1 (6.12M)
Make sure you have the Microsoft Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) Bus Driver for High Definition Audio ( Look for SP31994 (or later) on the Software and Driver Downloads section of the www.hp.com website) before installing
 
Last edited:
Choto Cheeta

Choto Cheeta

Rebooting
Source >> Choto Cheeta Online

I have already went through the cheapest Main Stream notebooks or laptops here, at one of my quest to find which one to buy, whether the new 7" notebook / laptops or the cheapest main stream notebooks / laptops.
Over these months I find my self with so many people asking one simple question, as a student or for basic yet performance need which is the notebook / laptop one should buy or rather what would be a value for money notebook which should not compromise on the performance factor too.
Before I can start my quest to find a budget yet performance notebook / laptop for a student or a small business professional or just for personal mobile usage, I need to shade some light on the subject of Budget.
What exactly can be called budget ?
I have taken a real good look in the present market and after reading all these emails and comments and views which I have received via my blog and forums / ug where I am active in, suggests a range of Rs. 30,000/- to 33,000/- can be considered as our targeted budget.
Value for money ??
What do I mean by value for money ?? Its really simple, as just to ask your self, do you get the performance against the money you are spending ?? As some time people think one must need a Core 2 Duo, where as in fact under a certain budget, one may find a AMD based solution offering far better over all performance than Core 2 Duo based notebook.
*www.chotocheeta.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/themes/advanced/images/spacer.gifDo you need a notebook / laptop ??
If you, your self own a desktop and now want another portable solution then as a student, think twice, as spending a good Rs. 30k doesn't make much sense, but still if you have to have a portable solution, then the cheapest main stream notebook range, which offers, Compaq C773TU may offer you the best value for money.
Let's have a look at the models which you may consider of buying !!
The Compaq V3702AU
*www.chotocheeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/compaq-presario-v3600-notebook-pc_190x170.jpg
Specifications
AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58 (1.9 GHz / 512+512KB L2)
Nvidia Geforce 7150 with Up to 287MB Total Available Graphics Memory
1 GB DDR-II 667 (supported upto 4 GB with 2GB each slot)
14.1" WideScreen Display with 1280x800
160 GB SATA 5400 RPM
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Card Reader / 56.6 kbps Modem / LAN / 3 USB 2.0 / IEEE 1394 / Wifi 802.11b/g WLAN / Blue-tooth
Windows Vista Home Basic
1 Year International Warranty
Carry Case
Read more
Price :- Rs. 32500/- including VAT

The Lenovo 3000 N200 A29 (0769)

*www.chotocheeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/lenovo-3000-n200-notebook.jpg
Specifications
Intel Pentium Dual Core @ 1.46 GHz T2310 (1 MB L2 / 533 FSB)
Intel GL960/GM965 with GMA x3100
512 MB DDR-II 667 MHz Supporting upto 4 GB with 2 slot
15.4" WideScreen Display with 1280x800 / VGA Web Cam
120 GB SATA 5400 RPM
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Card Reader / 56.6 kbps Modem / LAN / 3 USB 2.0 / IEEE 1394 / Wifi 802.11b/g/n WLAN / Bluetooth 2.0
Free DOS (No OS)
1 Year International Warranty
Read full details
Price :- Rs. 30700/- including VAT with 1 GB RAM upgrade

The Acer Aspire 4720Z
*www.chotocheeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/12.jpg
Specifications
Intel Pentium Dual Core @ 1.46 GHz T2310 (1 MB L2 / 533 FSB)
Intel GL960/GM965 with GMA x3100
1 GB DDR-II 667 MHz Supporting upto 2 GB with 2 slot
160 GB SATA 5400 RPM
SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
Card Reader / 56.6 kbps Modem / LAN / 3 USB 2.0 / IEEE 1394 / Wifi 802.11b/g/n WLAN / Bluetooh 2.0
Linux OS (No Windows)
1 Year International Warranty
Read full details.
Price :- Rs. 30500/- including TAX
There is also, Compaq C738TU which is Rs. 1000 cheaper than Lenevo N200 A29 including the ram upgrade to 1 GB.
Not only this, if you roam in your nearest computer market you would get many more options, how ever, these 4 above mentioned models have real good track and performance record and they are better value for money than any other model under this price range.
What you can do with these Notebooks ??
They are good enough for even basic video editing also. You can run heavy duty softwares like Pinnacle, Adobe Premiere, ofcourse a lot of image editing like PhotoShop. You can easliy convert all your 700 MB / 1400 MB DVD RIPs (xvid / avi / divx) to Video DVD or VCD, you can rip DVDs to convert them to 700 MB RIPs, all comes with Wifi and LAN so fully Internet and network compatible. Blue-tooth is also there with all, meaning connecting with mobile wireless would be really easy. All are WideScreen so all are pretty good with movies too..
So, What to buy and why to buy ??
All these above mention models have their own benefits. Let us list those points which we should consider on our quest to buy one.
  • The Compaq one has the best looks, where as the Lenovo is the ugliest of them all.
  • Acer comes with Best display (TFT Screen) where as the Compaq seems to lag behind on this factor.
  • The Lenovo comes with best support as well as real tough build quality where as Acer seems to be the worst in built quality !!!
  • The Acer is the cheapest of them all, where as Compaq is the costliest as more than Rs. 2.5 extra than Acer of the Lenovo.
  • Compaq packs the most power with AMD Turion X2 1.9 GHz and onboard Geforce 7150, where as both lenovo and acer lags behind with Pentium Dual Core 1.4 GHz and onboard Intel GMA x3100. 7150 is far better than x3100.
  • Its compaq which is the only one comes with an Windows (Windows Vista Home Basic) preinstalled, as rest is just free DOS meaning either linux or you have to load your own Windows.
  • The Lenovo A29 has the largest screen (15.4") compare to the 14.1" of both Compaq and Acer.
Feeling confuse ?
Let me make the subject more understandable.
No matter which ever of these 4 you buy, you will not loose out. All are fully vista compatible, all comes with enough processing power to satisfy your needs. Now final decision may depend on few factors like bellow.
  • Local price based on availability, I mean though all these are widely available, but you may find your dealer has a stock of a certain product so price would be lower in that case !!
  • Personal choice, this is the most important, as it is you who would be using, so buy the one which you feel looks best.
What would I vote for ??
Personally as for configuration wise I would go for Compaq V3702AU which is Rs. 32500/- including all tax and bundled OS (Windows Vista Home Basic), how ever I didn't like the screen performance of it. Where as an over all package, though the Lenovo looks pretty ugly comparing with Compaq or Acer, but still my Vote goes for Lenovo A29 !!
So few you are making you choice based up on this article, then I would suggest, do take a look at the screen of the Notebook (V3702AU), if you like the performance and it comes bellow Rs. 33,000 including all, then go with Compaq !!
Click to expand...


This sucks bad .. These laptop manufacturers are supporting Vista whole hartedly and XP lovers like us are doomed !
Click to expand...

Software & Driver downloadsfor Compaq Presario F733AU Notebook PC (OS - Windows XP)
 
Last edited:
J

juggler

In the zone
Maverick340 said:
Tried that page .. drivers are installed okay now, the audio problem (headphones) still remains :(
Yea, MS is playing dirty !!
I bought it for 28000 ( additional 2 GB ) i.e total 2.5 GB ram

Edit : Yea !! got the sound to work properly. Now when i plug the headphones, the laptop speakers dont output sound ! yahoo !
Here is the updated drivers for all you guys :
Download file » sp32898.exe 1/1 (6.12M)
Make sure you have the Microsoft Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) Bus Driver for High Definition Audio ( Look for SP31994 (or later) on the Software and Driver Downloads section of the www.hp.com website) before installing
Click to expand...

Good deal
Please post ur review and experience of installing windows on ur laptop
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom