Hello, 8 days ago I ordered a new laptop. Its a Compaq 2500 series. 2.66
Pentium 4, 512 ram, 60 gig hd and ATI 7000 64mb video card. A few days ago
I came upon this news group and have since came to think the great laptop I
thought I ordered is going to be crap. From what I've read here since its
not an IBM its not good and the Pentium chip is a big mistake and I should
have gotten the M chip, the video card is just barely going to be able to
display an Excel spread sheet and when it does break down because its not an
IBM I'm screwed because HP/Compaq has the worst customer service in the
world.

I'm sorry for the sarcastic tone to this but I was really looking forward to
this laptop and now if it really is going to be that big a let down I think
I'll just have it refunded before I even open the box when it arrives. So I
guess I'm looking for that answer. Is it really that bad?? Here I thought
it would be as fast (or faster) as my desk top (Amd 1700+, 512 ddr pc2700)
Not even close I assume?? The only game I'm really into is flight simulator
2004. Sorry this got long. Thanks for any input.

David

Do you have buyer's remorse after talking to a usenet group? Forget it.

You want something faster than what you ordered? What is your budget? and
what extras do you want?

Compaq makes good computers, so don't sweat it so much.

"David" <dave@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:101uenfbosvvne3@corp.supernews.com...

Buying a laptop is, like buying something else, always a question of
balancing the different interests you have. You don't want it to be too
expensive, you want it to be fast, you want good battery life, you want a
solid construction, good costumer support, etc. Each of the laptops on the
market targets a different combination of these interests - if they didn't
no-one would buy them. There isn't the one laptop everyone should buy. I'm
very pleased with my second-hand IBM, but many people would probably find
this a slow computer with very poor graphics performance etc. I know a guy
with a Compaq with a P4 in it - he uses it for engineering CAD/CAM programs
and everything. He's had it since a year and is very pleased with it (he did
pay up to take two instead of one years of warranty, I should add). Maybe
build quality or support is not like IBM's, but do you really need a laptop
you can toss around without breaking it, or a guy that comes to repair your
computer in your home the day after the laptop breaks down? Sure, these are
nice things, but they cost a lot of money - money you can't spend on bells
and whistles such as good graphics to play flight simulator or whatever.

I would really take a more philosophical perspective on your purchase .

SZ, aspiring a PhD in Philosophy (really!).

Anything particularly in demand on the used market? Start a new thread if
you wish

"Slashed Zero" <slashedzero@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:RcNTb.263$lJ5.147597@phobos.telenet-ops.be...

I dont know if I want faster, its my first notebook and I thought what I was
ordering was fast. My budget is about 1500.00. The one I ordered with
sales tax came to 1450.00. Thanks for your reply
David

"dirty rat 753" <rubyebbyrdNOSPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bvo637$uf4bp$1@ID-176791.news.uni-berlin.de...

Your laptop will have these advantages:

Very fast, very good graphics, lots of memory - useful.

Disadvantages:

Higher chance your laptop could break down, and if so, the service that
you're going to get isn't going to be particularly good.


So...

Treat your laptop with care, and look after it, and hope it doesn't break
down. Then you can enjoy the benefits of a fast laptop! It won't
necessarily break down either - I know 1 person who's had their compaq for a
few years now, with no problems, whereas a couple others have had lots...
....who knows?

Duncan.

"David" <dave@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:101uenfbosvvne3@corp.supernews.com...

Thanks, I'm glad to hear that. I'll be careful with it and now I have no
doubt about if I should purchase the extended warranty he was telling me
about or not. I'll buy it. Thanks again.
David.

"Duncan James Murray" <dm319@remove.this.bit.cam.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:bvpmbc$ndj$1@pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk...

"David" <dave@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:1020siujde4hc7d@corp.supernews.com...
If you paid with a platinum Visa or MasterCard you may already have doubled
the manufacturer's warranty. These credit card warranties DO work well in my
experience.

"David" <dave@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:101uenfbosvvne3@corp.supernews.com...
The one big area of concern for me reading your post is that last part.
FS2004 is gonna run like crap. Sorry, no way around it - just trying to
prepare you for it. It's the video card. FS2004 runs pretty sluggishly
even on high-end systems - on a mobile Radeon 7000, it's gonna chug even
with all the settings at their lowest. This is not specific to Compaq or
anything, it'd be true of any laptop with that card.

It may be playable, depending on what you consider playable. I wouldn't
enjoy it, personally.

As for the rest of your machine, is that a P4 or a P4-M? If it's a P4-M I
would think it's fine (not Pentium-M - that's a different chip, and is
better still than the P4-M. But a P4-M is at least designed for mobile
use). I might be a little hesitant with a P4 (non-M). I'd just see how hot
it runs; just see how much the fan runs and how hot the air is coming out,
and see if you get any unexpected shutdowns, which has apparently been a
problem on some Compaq/HP models.

You should have a trial period, so just see how it goes - I think it's 30
days with Compaq direct. I am waiting on a Compaq myself, but I confess I
made some slightly different choices than you did - faster graphics chip
(9200), mobile CPU, and one of the newest case designs (R3000T) just to try
to head off any problems (of course, a new case design is a wild card, but I
know they've had some problems with heat in *some* of their older designs so
I thought I'd have a better chance with a new one). Just monitor your heat
situation, see if you can deal with your FS2004 frame rates, and formulate a
decision on your overall happiness before your return period is up.

// Jeff Williams
// basscadet75@yahoo.com

There are trade-off's in life. I've got this 3 gig machine that blows out
hot air like a space heater. How long will any Lithium batter run this?
Great graphics is nice and it is another power waster. I think you'll be
happy with the Compaq

"David" <dave@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:10201uiecbjhva1@corp.supernews.com...

In article <101uenfbosvvne3@corp.supernews.com>, dave@nospam.com says...

That's a Presario, isn't it?

May god have mercy on your soul.


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A joke I assume

www.pcmag.com & www.pcworld.com 2003 User Reliability Survey Reports
both have HP/Compaq (one company now) ranked among the poorest in
reliability (Units needing repair in the past 12 months).

I'd buy a Toshiba (#1 ranked in general) before I'd even touch an
HP/Compaq, IMO.

In article <1022m4jesqf8917@corp.supernews.com>, dave@nospam.com says...

No. There is nothing the least bit funny about a Presario.


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