Compaq R3000T Notebook Review

After learning so much from this forum, it’s my turn to make a contribution. For what it’s worth, here’s my review on my notebook I bought recently.

Presario R3000T w/shared graphics
15.4 WXGA (1280x800)
Built in 56K modem +10/100 LAN
256MB DDR SDRAM (1x256)
Celeron 2.8 GHz
30 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
8X DVD Drive
MS Windows XP Home edition.
8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Ms Works/Money
ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP

Bought it at Staples online ($899.00 less $100 online rebate) plus State tax but Free Shipping and another $100.00 spring rebate from Compaq.

Now I know a lot of you out there would never touch this notebook. Yes, it is the “Cheap Charlie” Version of a notebook. I save a few hundred by not going for the P4 CPU, bypassing the 512 RAM and no CD-Writer. Saved on the Wi-fi also since I had a Wi-fi PCMCIA card. The notebook I was using was a HP N5310 with a Celeron 700 MHz, 128 RAM, 10 GB HD, 13.1 inch screen and 8 MB delicate graphics. Can’t play games like Unreal Tournament but it works fine going to the internet and basic word processing and spreadsheets. Plus I don’t burn music on a CD anyways.

I love the bigger screen. Much sharper than my old notebook. Speakers sound better too. On the outside it says JBL Pro. Hard Drive is quiet. I hear only a light ticking noise when it is reading the drive. Fan comes on once in a while but not loud. I think noise level tolerance is very subjective though.

Battery last at least 2 hours before recharging but it is brand new and may hold its charge longer after more breaking in. But the recharging unit is as big as a brick. My wife’s old laptop battery recharger is one third the size.

No serial port for a mouse. But all the new mouses has USB plugs anyway and this notebook has three 2.0 USB.

This notebook is great for internet surfing and basic computing and a few games like Age of Kings. For $699.00 plus sales tax and after rebates, it’s a great deal. If there are others who are thinking about buying this model, leave your question here and I’ll answer the best I can.

Thanks again for all who took the time to contribute to the forums.

 

hey prisonmate (i feel odd typing that) thanks for your contribution and making sure to give back to a community in which you've been able to take some advice from -- we really appreciate this.

Glad you are content with the R3000T, I totally agree that if all you want are some basic features from a computer such as surfing the net and playing simple games, why not just save some cash and get only what you need. The R3000T will certainly do everything for you that you want, and you just can't beat the price of $699. Amazing. If you are able to keep this laptop for 3 years you can look at it as an investment in an important tool you'll use daily and paid only $233 for a years use. Can't argue with that.

 

Well, it's been a month since I bought this computer. So far so good.
UPDATE ON REVIEW:

I love the wide screen. The only downside is the battery. I always use my wifi when I have it on and I notice I barely get 2 hours before I have to recharge the battery. It's only 8 cells so maybe that's why. Would a 12 Cell battery really last much longer?

I download Rise of Nations Demo to test the video and I get about 10 frames per seconds but it is playable. However, I loaded AOK 2 and I can't play it because it said my video card is not set for Directdraw. I ran dxdiag and directdraw works fine. I downloaded the latest drivers for the ATI 9000 IGP but that didn't help. It's no big deal as I did not plan to play games on this machine anyway. But it was interesting RON works but AOK did not. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

 

prisonmate--

I have a HP zx5000 with the 12 cell battery. When I am using my computer, my wi-fi is always on. My experience is that my battery lasts between 3.5-4.0 hours. I've never had an 8-cell battery, but have read that people with the same model computer as me usually see right around 2 hours with it.

Hope this helps!
dordale [ ]

 

Fix the AOK 2 problem.

Went to Google.com and typed in "Age of Kings Directdraw Error" and it give me Microsoft Website on AOK error messages and how to solve them. Just did a clean bootup and now the game works. Just FYI for anyone out there that may have the same problems with older games.

 

prisonmate
I too am interested in this computer, I don't want to boil your water but for 3 days it is even cheaper at office depot (6/13-6/16).
Before I spend any money I am trying to figure out a few things:
What can you upgrade?
I don't want a gaming laptop that can run Far Cry at 30 fps, but it would be nice to try out new games on the lower settings from time to time. Can you add a video card?

Can you get a better battery and more memory?


thexbox.blogspot.com

 

You are in luck...I work at office depot so I can help you out with this. You can pretty much upgrade anything you like...go to the Pent. 4 processor (2.8, 3.0, and 3.2 gHz), upgrade RAM (up to 1024), upgrade HD (up to 80gb), etc. All of this and you still get your $300 in mail in rebates. I sold 4 of them today. They are pretty nice for the cost.

 

Yeah there is a three day sale this week at Office Depot, that has that system starting at 599.00 after rebate. Check it out if thats what your looking for

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

I know you said noise level tolerance is subjective (and I agree) but could you give any reference??

And, more specifically, how is the heat??

Reason I ask is I've just about given up hope looking for a portable DVD player. Panasonic is the only thing worth buying in those (No, not even my beloved SONY is quality in these units) and since Panasonic's units are rather expensive I figure an entry-level laptop with DVDrom is probably a more practical solution providing it doesn't heat up the whole vehicle or wind up like a 747??

TIA [ ]

 

ONe of the nice things about this series is that there are models available across the whole spectrum (with regard to configurations).

I went the other route than many of you here, and got a model R3190us that has the AMD-64, 15.4", 1GB ram, dvd+rw, but only has the nVidia 4 400, so it's a mix. So far it has been a very capable machine (I also have used an x1000 and zd7000). It is quite quiet and cool. My only complaint thus far is the mediocre 2 hour battery life.

Is there a 12-cell battery available that fits in the R3000?

There's a new forum dedicated to the r3000 and nx9100 for anyone who wants to participate at www.r3000forums.com

-n

 

Well that is good to know.
So if I want a 512 or a gig I have buy it that way at Office Max?

And what are my video card options?
Also shared with the motherboard? Does office max offer one with 64mb of video memory?
I know this is probably the worst notebook to think about gaming on, and I am not going to get it for gaming , but it would be nice to get buy with it in a jam if I had to.

thexbox.blogspot.com

 

No memory is a user upgradeable option you can buy from anywhere.
The other options if you can get the R3000T dedicated are ATI9200 and ATI9600, the 9600 is the best one offereed in this model with the 9200 being in the middle. The onboard graphics should work for simple and slightly older games (i.e one of my favorites Age of Empires II, and even Warcraft III) but I wouldn't play any FPS games on it, unless they were several years old.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

you probably just answered it, but it seem to sound like you have to buy it that way if you want to upgrade it.

Can I do this with the r300t:

walk out of the Office Max with the advertised special ($599), and then when i get some more money, add a 3rd party top of the line video card, and more memory so the computer will be able to play Everquest or other modern games at decent settings?

thexbox.blogspot.com

 

no, the R3000 at office depot with the 599.00 has shared memory and can't be upgraded.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

I believe you might have just confused him with these 2 statements.......

"no, the R3000 at office depot with the 599.00 has shared memory and can't be upgraded."

"No memory is a user upgradeable option you can buy from anywhere"

Maybe you were referring to the video card in the first reply?? I believe the memory is upgradeable regardless of model?? (Or so told on another forum).

I'm still chompin' at the bit but can't seem ta' pull the trigger!

 

correct

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

Redgtxidi - MY R3000T ig very quiet when I play DVD. My wife's HP N5310 (years old) DVD spins and sounds like a lawn mover. The Hard Drive makes a light ticking noise when it is being accessed. Anymore quiet and I would think it is off.

I have shared graphics and as I mentioned above it can play Rise of Nations but less than 10 FPS. THIS IS NOT A GAMING MACHINE. I upgraded the RAM Memory this weekend for another 256MB. (Best Buy had a sale of PNY brand 256MB PC2700 Notebook Memory for 25.00 after 20.00 mail-in rebate). I noticed the load time to Windows XP screen is a bit faster.

If you want a faster video and bigger hard drive, I recommend doing it
when you place the order and not doing it on your own.

Healimonster - Thanks for the notice on the sale at Office Depot. I got mine at Staples.com for (899.00 less 100.00 on-line instant rebate and less 100.00 HP/Compaq mail-in rebate and free shipping). Looks like I could of save more but I would have to wait for Office Depot mail-in rebate of $200.00.

Just one more reminder: 8 cells battery is good for only good 2 hours at max. The recharger is like the size of a brick and seem to weight the same.

 

I too am interested in this for a friend who is leaving the country soon.

A couple questions...

Is the charger universal? (110-60/220-50?)

Is the 2.8 Celeron strong enough to render a DVD with minimal artifacts
with the included DVD software?

 

prisonmate:

Thanks for the feedback!! That's about exactly what I was looking for in answers! I know the charger's a brick, but since it isn't attached to the laptop, I don't find it to be a big deal. About the only upgrade I'd make is to the 12 cell battery. Other than that, I have to keep in mind that I really only want this as a portable DVD player so I figure I'm getting a MUCH better portable DVD player in this unit than I am spending even $400 on the only portable DVD players worth a crap which are Panasonic's units. The LS50 is a nice 7" portable DVD for $350 but throwing that much money at a portable DVD player why not get a 15.4" WXGA screen instead???

I could also use it for web surfing from the couch & such. That'd keep my closer to my family. The Portable DVD market just seems to not be advancing/maturing and the Chinese units out there are just worthless. I picture this mountain of portable DVD players that'll just be trash in a year or so. (Grrrr.....hard to part with money......grrr.......pain in wallet.......ugggh.....fighting the temptation.......grrrr.......ummmmphhh......must fight!!) LOL!!!!

 

Quikster
Did you buy yours from officemax, do they have they upgraded ones with the better video and processors in the store. Or is that just a purchase from compaq thing.

thexbox.blogspot.com

 

I bought mine direct from HP for a great price. They had a 10% off coupon that a few of us were able to jump on, stacked with the 6% student discount and 100.00 off mine came to 1061.xx .
Most of the office stores have a computer they let you use to custom configure your laptop and order it through them, thus getting their sale prices. However, usually you then have to pay tax, whereas from HP.com I did not.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

Redgtxdi - My simple R3000T Plays DVD excellent and is great for just internet surfing.

Quikster - That is a great price you got for your notebook.

 

prisonmate,

Thanks for your replies. Great answers w/ good comparisons so I pretty much know exactly what you're talkin' about.

Another question (for yourself or whoever else might know)..... Since I'll kinda' be using this as a portable DVD player, is there a DC power adapter for using in the car??? I searched HPshopping.com but didn't see one (at least not specifically for this series). TIA!!!

 

There is one I saw at circuit city for 70.00, but for 30.00 or so you can get a power converter for your car and just use your standard ac conector.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

yeah, the convertor is the best way to go if you aren't going to use it on an airline. if it's just in your car, you'll be far better off with the converter (and it will be useful for more then just the laptop).

----
JJ

 

Ya, converter sounds like the way to go (and as you said for more than just the lappy).

Now, the question.............

A year or two down the road, how hard (if possible) would it be to swap the CPU in a laptop like this????????

 

possible, i've heard both, frequently it can be done it will just be more of a hassel than its worth, and your bios may not recognize the chip. Thus you may not gain any benefit.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

I went to buy one, at office max, but I couldn't because the video card could not be upgraded. The only option was a ati 9000 something.

Thats just not going to cut it in this video age.

thexbox.blogspot.com

 

actually as long as you don't do big games, or 3d studio max it would work just fine. Many RTS games would work just fine since I was able to play them on a 1.1ghz celeron with a via 630 chip and on a celeron 700mhz with a 1mb integrated video.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856

 

I watch full screen movies, edit video, and hope to play EQ2 when it comes out.

thexbox.blogspot.com

 

FYI

3D Mark 2001 score for an R3190:

6179

Machine specs:

R3190us
AMD64 3400+
64MB nVidia 4 440
1GB ram
80GB 4200 rpm drive

Actually, this score turned out better than I anticipated. My x1000 with a 64MB Radeon 9200, which I considered very good, only scored in the mid 7000 range.

-n

Current toys:
R3190us, zd7120us, x1000CTO, Apple G5

www.hpnotebookforums.com

 

I would be _very_ careful about the results of different benchmarks because both companies are cheating with their drivers and "optimization" of graphics. Suggested reading:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/news/news_6028894.html
http://tech-report.com/etc/2003q2/3dmurk03/index.x?pg=1
http://tech-report.com/etc/2002q4/geforce-fx/index.x?pg=1
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,,884239,00.asp
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040603/index.html

I saw a great link to some graphics web site, unfortunately, I can not find it now. I guess it is Quikster who posted it. Earlier, when nVidia was a market leader, it was mostly ATI who cheated. Now, the situation seems to have turns the other way around.

 

Thats why hardocp has switched to only using games and actual real performance for evalutating video cards.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 22,856