Looking at Compaq R3050US? P-4 M 2.8Ghz ??

I am looking at buying my first laptop and I am overwhelmed with the number of computers and choices available. I have gone from wanting a T[^]oshiba, to a dell, to an HP, and I am now looking at this Compaq. I am a student without a lot of funds, but who wants a good system for a good deal. What's new? If you have any opinions on this system please teach me. I am familiar with Centrino and with Pentium 4 and with Pentium M, but what is a Pentium 4 processor-M 2.8 Ghz. Is it a benefit? Thanks for your help.

Matthew D Hill

 

It is in between a P4 and a PM its more of the power of a P4 with lower power requirements while on battery. I have a 2.4P4M in my machine. as for anything else relating to the machine could you tell us what the specs are, I don't know all the specific configuration numbers on the series. Also the HP and compaq are pretty much the same machine, just different speakers and casing.

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

 

Here are the specs on the Compaq R 3050us:

Pentium-4 M 2.8 GHz

Data bus speed 533 MHz
Memory RAM installed 512 MB DDR SDRAM
Max Supported Size 1.25 GB

Cache size - Cache type 512 KB L2 cache

Hard drive size - 60 GB IDE Portable

CD / DVD type DVD+RW

Input Devices
Input device type - form factor Keyboard, Touchpad

Physical Characteristics
Weight 7.7 lbs

15.4 in TFT active matrix
Max resolution 1280 x 800

Video RAM installed 64 MB
Graphics processor ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9200 (dedicated)[^]

Data Link Protocol Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Fast Ethernet

Modem 56 Kbps Fax / modem


Analog Modulation Protocol ITU V.90, ITU V.92
Expansion / Connectivity
Expansion slot(s) total (free) 1 (1 free) CardBus Type I/II, 1 (0 free) Memory, 1 (1 free) SD Memory Card, 1 (1 free) Memory Stick Pro, 1 (1 free) Memory Stick, 1 (1 free) SmartMedia Card


Port(s) total (free) / Connector type 3 Hi-Speed USB, 1 Parallel IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP), 1 Headphones Output, 1 Microphone Input, 1 Display / video VGA, 1 Display / video S-video output, 1 Modem Phone line, 1 Network Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX, 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 1 Docking / port replicator

I owned a Compaq CPU 5 years ago and had problems with it. I know that HP owns them now, would you shy away from them for any reason in particular? I would appreciate any advice that you could give me.


Matthew D Hill

 

Its a pretty nice system, basically the same as mine. The graphics card is pretty descent as well. The performance should be good for everything except the really intense games such as farcry.

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

 

Quikster seems to be a real fan of farcry. He usually measures the performance of video cards in farcries [ ], like 2.5 farcries video card will be able to run 2 games at the same time in high resolution and high detail mode and the third one in a low resolution mode. [ ]

 

lol, farcry is a great game, but it is also the most graphically intense game currently out and even pushes my desktop when I play at max settings and 1280x1024, I don't even think I could get it to play at 1600x1200 with max settings at an acceptable frame rate.

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

 

Be careful and double check the specs on the 3050us. I've read conflicting specification reports. Most say it is a standard (ie desktop) P4 and several say it is a Mobile P4.

Since HP allows you to custom configure an R3000T with either a standard 2.8 P4 or a Mobile 2.8 P4, it's possible that the R3050 could be either one. Just be sure you know which one you're getting.

It *is* listed as a Mobile P4 on hpshopping.com - but they have been known to make some glaring mistakes on theier site as well.

Note however that you can currently custom configure an R3000T with better specs than the R3050 on hpshopping.com for less money.

-n