compaq v6305nr

Hello,

I have searched review for this model , can't seem to find it...can someone pls. give me feedback if this is a good buy for 599.00 spec are:

Product Details

Warranty Terms - Parts 1 year limited
Warranty Terms - Labor 1 year limited
Product Height 1
Product Width 14.1"
Product Weight 6.6 lbs.
Product Depth 10.1
Processor Brand AMD Athlon(TM) 64
Processor Speed 1.6GHz
Display Type WXGA high-definition widescreen with BrightView technology (1280 x 800)
Screen Size 15.4"
System Bus Up to 1600MHz
Cache Memory 256KB + 256KB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM) 1GB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To Nonexpandable
Type of Memory (RAM) DDR2 SDRAM
Hard Drive Type SATA (5400 rpm)
Hard Drive Size 100GB
Optical Drive Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
Optical Drive Speeds Drive speeds not available
Direct-Disc Labeling No
Digital Media Reader or Slots Yes, digital media card reader
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 (UMA)
Video Memory Up to 288MB (shared)
Personal Video Recorder (PVR) No
TV Tuner No
MPEG Yes
Modem 56 Kbps*
*Capable of receiving 56 Kbps downloads. However, current regulations limit download speed to 53 Kbps.
Networking Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Networking Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
S-Video Outputs 1
Audio Altec Lansing
PCMCIA Slots 1 ExpressCard/54
USB 2.0 Ports 3
IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports 1
Parallel Ports None
Serial Ports None
Game Ports None
Notebook Weight Standard (more than 6 lbs.)
Battery Type Lithium-ion
Pointing Device Touchpad with on/off and dedicated vertical scroll up/down pad
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium

ncluded Software Microsoft Works; Adobe Acrobat Reader; Hewlett-Packard QuickPlay, Photosmart Essentials; muvee autoProducer Basic Edition, Roxio Creator 9 Basic and more

 

Compaq V6305nr. It's a reasonable deal. I bought the 17" HP version of that notebook. You'll want to upgrade to 2GB RAM (probably) but that can wait. Look for Compaq v6000z and HP dv6000z reviews.

 

I've been looking at budget laptops until my head hurts. My "must have" list includes:

Under $700
Decent performance
15.4" display (or larger)
1 GB memory (minimum)
DVD±RW/CD-RW

All notebooks that I've looked at have Wi-Fi and a 60GB or larger hard drive, so that's not a concern for me. A built-in card reader is nice, but not a big issue at all.

One thing I do NOT want is Windows Vista. I would prefer XP, but Dell is the only brand name mfg out there with an XP option. And I would have to pay a $100 premium (or more) to get what I want in a Dell notebook. So it looks like I get Vista. Unless Vista is a pleasant surprise, I'll be using Ubuntu (Linux) much of the time.

The Compaq V6305NR appears to have all I need, at a reasonable price. The only thing causing me to hesitate from buying this model is the "nonexpandable" next to "RAM Expandable To" in the specifications.

I had planned to cram at least 1 GB more of memory into whatever laptop I buy. According to Crucial, this model IS expandable to 2 GB total:

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Presario+V6305NR

So I'll probably go with this model.

Any comments (pro or con)?

Thanks, BigJohn.

 

It should be upgradable to 2GB. The V6305nr is just the retail version of the V6000z which HP offers standard with upto 2GB of memory. Never rely on retailers to post correct info on such upgrades let alone the specifications. Heres the specifications for the model from HP's website...
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...6854&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

Also, this laptop ships with a Broadcom wireless card and they arent really known for their linux friendlyness. So, the wifi might not work out of the box.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Any comments on potential performance? As I said, I don't need a super-fast machine, but I don't want a dog, either. I'm not into gaming or anything requiring that level of performance. I do some audio file editing from time to time, spreadsheets, etc.

One of the things that frustrated me was trying to get a general idea of relative performance of various mobile cpu's. For example, the Everex Stepnote NC1502 has the features I need (at $499), but the only info I could find on the VIA C7-M processor used in the NC1502 gave me the impression that it maybe performs at around half the level of other mobile cpu's. So that machine dropped off the list....

 

The TL-50 shouldnt have any issues with running day to day applications. It is not as fast as the Core 2 Duo's but is pretty on par with the performance of a similarly clocked Core Duo/pentium dual core(T2060).

 

I got one and windows experience index

Processor 4.6
Memory 4.5
Graphics 3.1
Gaming graphics 3.0
Primary hard disk 4.6

Have not tried any games. But it is good one.

 

I went on the Best Buy website last night to buy the v6305nr. The website said they were sold out. So I called a store in Fort Wayne, IN. They said both local stores were sold out of that model, but they "hoped to have some more in by Saturday". So I called a store in Findlay, OH. They had two left, so I drove over and bought one.

Seems like a nice unit. I spent this evening doing the basic setup. Not much with it; no manual (a small booklet about the size of the warranty pamphlet) and not a single CD. It does have instructions on how to burn your own system backups from the hard drive. I haven't bought a new computer for a few years; maybe that's pretty much standard.... Still looks to me like the best "bang for the buck" in a budget laptop.

I hope to install some progs on it tomorrow and see how it goes. Maybe try out Ubuntu.

I did some surfing on the Broadcom card. I googled it, and the first page was all about Broadcom/Linux issues. In fact, the first two hits gave hints on making Broadcom work with Ubuntu.

I appreciate all the input. Looks like this is gonna be fun....