Opinions on Compaq v5000???

hi guys,
i am looking to buy the compaq v5000

i would like some opinions from the users of this laptop
i would like to know how good the battery life is
the screen quality
any problems youv had

please reply asap

Thanks in advance

 

Well, I actually just got this laptop about 3 weeks ago. The v5000z to be exact. This is my first laptop so some people may have other opinions, but I love mine.

I have the standard 6-cell battery and it lasts a little over two hours surfing the web, downloading torrents, chatting, and playing games. And that is with screen brightness at the lowest.

I just have the regular old screen, nothing special, and I am pleased with it. I have never had a Brightview screen or anything so maybe I'm not the one to ask about that.

About the only complaint I have is the right mouse button isn't quite as firm as the left, and how the CD drive sits. It set even with the bottom of the computer so if you pick it up by that side then you're pressing up on it.

Those are my only complaints, and in my opinion they are very minor. I am very, very pleased with mine.

I would definately recommend this computer.

 

It is a good budget notebook. The screen is OK, if DVD viewing is one of you main tasks I would suggest the glossy screen.

 

has anyone had any heating issues???

 

The one I wrote the review for had the Sempron CPU which is a good budget CPU. It offers good performance and runs at very low power. It only got mildly warm. You can read the review for the dv5000z here. It is basically the same notebook as the v5000.

 

Mine gets a little warm sometimes, but nothing unbareable.

 

Heat issues can be managed by undervolting the CPU. Helps a lot.

 

the one im looking to buy comes with a 4200rpm 80gb hard drive.

Is this too slow? Will there be a significant change if i upgraded to 5400rpm??

thanx for all the help

 

Depens on your needs of course but generally, a faster HDD will make a difference in the way the laptop feels. I was willing to downgrade the CPU one step (ML37 to ML34) for the sake of a faster hard drive. I don't regret it for a moment as I've never experienced a situation in which I wished I had taken a faster CPU.

 

Hi Msdude,
I have the HP v5030z which is basically the same laptop under the Pavilion name instead of Presario. Here is what I would suggest:
Get the upgraded ATI 200 chipset with the 128 meg of memory, it really makes a big difference in the machine's graphics ability. It also adds a firewire port, and a third usb port.
Second I whole heartedly recommend the brightview screen. It is an awesome didsplay.
The hard drive speed wil only be an issue if your using programs that do alot of accessing, photoshop for instance.

Overall I have found nothing to complain about with this laptop. I would suggest that if you plan to use it on hte road alot that you consider the 12 cell battery. It gives the 5000 series about 5 hours of run time per charge. With the 6 cell battery I get about 2 hours of run time on a charge. That is without changing my settings. Another good tip would be to set your battery profile for "more battery life".
Hope this helps.

 

Upgrading to a 5400RPM drive will be soe of the best money you spend.