Quick Compaq question

This is my first post on this forum so I hope not to offend or create unwelcomed posts, but I couldn't help but notice that there are virtually no posts about Compaq in this HP & Compaq forum.

I realize that Compaq is just the budget stepchild of HP, but are their notebooks "that" bad? My wife purchased a Compaq v6000z notebook with Turion 64 X2 processor and 1GB of DDR2 late last year and it has been a wonderful trouble-free notebook (knock on wood).

Is there a reason to avoid Compaq and stick with HP only?

 

For all practical purpose the Compaq brand exists only in name. The actual hardware between a Compaq and HP are the same. Of course in order to differentiate between the 2 brands HP does not offer higher end options(like the dedicated graphics card, webcam, fingerprint reader, remote) with the Compaq's. Thats why most people go for HP and the price difference between them is not that great. They sometimes do offer discounts but generally the Compaq's are going to be a few $$ off the price range of HP. There is no difference in build quality between the 2 brands, they are all manufactured by the same OEM.

 

I have a year old Compaq and it appears as though they are phasing out the brand name slowly. There are bargains to be had. Fine trouble free unit. But I was searching for a budget laptop.