Compaq Presario v2000z Review (pics, specs)

If you mean condition the battery, you should do a few full discharge/recharge cycles. You don't need to run it down to zero percent - I just run it down until I get the low battery warning.

 

Anyone know of any Black Friday deals on this thing...

 

Well, can't be sure, but I know OfficeDepot has good deals on HP computers. Might check there.

 

No, I have not done any recycling. I let it charge completely, unplug and start using it. Some times, I may use it 2-3 times with single charge and note timings. Sometimes at a stretch I use 3 hours. Timings I gave are practical useful time before laptop goes into hibernation( set 3% before hibernation).

If you want to recycle( refresh) your battery, HP suggests to start laptop in safe mode and leave it one until it shuts off. In safe mode laptop does not go into Hibernation because of battery level, so battery will discharge completely.

 

OD has the same deal as Circuit City - v2410us for $849 - I think my 5% teacher discount may work too.

 

Just wondering, has anyone looked at the ASUS A6U? It seems customizable with the 2.2 GHz ML/MT-40 versions of the Turion , which should be close to the Centrino 2.13 GHz. However, ASUS does not seem like a dominant PC manufacturer to me (maybe I speak from ignorance!!). Plus they run to around $1100 with similar features and they don't have any discounts.

I would love to buy a Compaq Presario V2000Z ( I have a Presario notebook which has run well for the last 4 years) with a fast hard drive and 1GB RAM, I wish they had the ML-40 available for the V2000Z.

Any thoughts?

 

Why not get the ML-37 with the V2000Z? You wouldn't notice a difference between that and the ML-40, I can tell you that much. What applications will you be running?

 

Actually, I am strongly leaning towards that. I can get the best processor that compaq has as well as a 2 year warranty, which I am questioning now, as I am planning to change the RAM and the hard disk.

I am going to be running mainly Visual Basic .NET as well as Matlab and some hardware (FPGA) simulation programs, possibly all together. I feel it is adequate, after looking at all the benchmarks posted here. Just want to get the best Turion out there!! Also, from early next year, it appears that dual-core Turions and Centrinos are set to arrive, so what we have now will start getting dated.

 

Okay, props to myself . i just ordered the v2000z.

ML-37
14 wide+bright
54g + bluetooth
6 cell
256 mb
40 gb
productivity ports
DVD/CDRW
a free HP printer

whole thing costs me $874 (after rebate) with shipping included.

i went with default ram and harddisk because i want to upgrade those myself. However, HP customer service kept on telling me that PC2700 (DDR333) is the fastest ram this laptop can support, so I should order more on the spot from HP. I think he was just trying to sell me more rams .
I know Chinna had a post on purchasing PC3200 ram for this laptop, ChazMan may have done it as well (i don't remember, apologies if I mixed it up). So I just want to confirm.
ALso I did a bunch of research on the CAS values of the PC3200 ram, it seemed like most of them are at 3. I'm leaning towards Corsair and Hynix, All reviews on Hynix reports its CAS = 3. Some site reports Corsair DDR400 ram is at CAS 2.5, and some say it's at 3. any ideas ? (or any good SODIMM brand to suggest for my v2000z?)

 

Time for my props. My customized V2000Z just arrived this morning. Love it:

Compaq Presario V2000Z customizable Notebook PC

* – Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
* – AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-30 (1.6GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
* – 14.0 WXGA Widescreen (1280x768)
* – ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M
* – 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)
* – 60 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
* – DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
* – 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
* – 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

TOTAL Price:

$855.22
-$ 50.00 MIR
=$805.22

Not bad for $800, huh? The war is on!!! :AMDINTEL:

 

Yes, PC3200 works perfectly. I'm running 1GB + 512MB of Corsair ValueSelect at full speed. Although as you mentioned, the Corsair does run at CAS 3 and not 2.5 like it should.

 

Actually, Corsair is only CAS 3 memory, not CAS 2.5 as it is advertised in Newegg and other websites.

It is CAS 2.0 @133, CAS 2.5 @166, CAS 3 @200 as per the SPD timings. This laptop(V2000z as well L2000) is just taking SPD timings as it supposed to.

Please see the CPUz snapshot which show Corsair Model, and SPD timings table also.

 

Correct-a-mundo Chinna, higher speed memory = higher latencies.

 

Which would be better tho, running cl2.5 at PC2700 speeds or cl3 at PC3200 speeds?

 

Despite increase in latency at DDR400 speed, the gains because of increased speed is much more in this case. All the scores accross the board improved with DDR400 from DDR333.

This thread has both scores with DDR333 at CAS 2.5 and DDR400 with CAS 3. The improvment with DDR400 is average about 10-15% based on application. Video performance is also increased by about 12% because memory is shared.

In a nut shell V2000z and L2000 benifit from DDR400 memory without any doubt(atleast 10%). The price difference between DDR333 and DDR400 is not that much, so I would suggest to go with DDR400.

 

thank you very much! you guys help me know more about the compaq v2000. thanks, Chinna_n! But, I have some problems. Could you help me?

I want to upgrade the RAM of my compaq v2000. When I open the rear cover, I saw a ram card inside. I think there should have another slot for the second RAM card. Where could I find it?

By the way, could you share your experience of upgrade the RAM for compaq v2000?

Thanks a lot,again.

 

If you bought the minimum that HP offers, then only the first slot should be filled. The second slot is right above it... basically, the first thing you see when you remove the cover.

 

Memory slots are stacked one on another in this laptop. You need to remove only two screws( check the images in the first review post, it has been marked for memory cover screws).

If you want to install memory in the bottom slot, you need to remove the top one first.

BTW if you are seeing a card with two wires, that is Wireless Card in the seconds compartment.( You need to open one more screw for that).

 

Chinna_n, I haven't taken mine apart yet but are there solder points on the basic mobo for fully-featured components?

 

Hmm, I did not get what you mean. What do you meant by fully-featured components?

 

Fully-featured = M2000/V2000z/ect mobo with 3xusb, 1xfirewire, card reader, and option for bluetooth
Defeatured = M2000/V2000z/ect mobo without those.

 

Ok, I got what you mean. The MB itself all things requires, and these are all add-ons. But it is worth getting Firewire/Card reader and one more USB for $25 IMHO.

 

Ya, if I did order it off HP I would have.....I picked mine up on Black Friday for $380AR.....

 

Will the v2000z accept PC2700 200 pin RAM?

 

Yes, that's what it is designed to use.

 

It can use 200 Pin SO-DIMM DDR333 as well DDR400 type rams. (PC2700 and PC3200)

 

New bios is released. Check this thread.(Thanks to rudebwoylovin).
I am surprised to see they released new bios so soon, and that too fix some Linux issues!!!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=33281

They also changed fan kick-in/off temps, to reduce frequent starts and stops. It may make many people happy about fan on V2000z.

Nice going HP.. Keep it up..

 

Just wanted to add that my Compaq V2000Z shipped with a Toshiba hard drive, not a Fujistu. Maybe they heard your gripes chinna!

 

I guess Toshiba is better, but wish they used Seagate..

 

i bought this laptop last weekend and returned it a few days after. my battery barely even got me 2 hours.

whats everyone else getting in terms of battery life under casual usage and 100% brightness?

 

chinna, looks like someone's plagiarizing your review for ebay sell . --WORD FOR WORD-- PIC FOR PIC. I believe that's your finger in the picture too, hahaha..

 

Haaa :-<

It is down right scary to me? I better not to show any body parts in the reviews!! And even specs are copied...

I think it is a Hijacked eBay account.....

Oh ,man....

 

100% brightness is not common. For me that is too much. I generally use step 2 or step 3. If the room is very bright I may go to step 6 or 7, not more than that.

Yes, backlit takes lot of juice, it is the case with any other laptop. You will significant battery life difference. Not only that some people has AMD driver issue where Processor is running at full speed always. May be you have that problem too.

But anyways 100% brightness 2 hours sound reasonable to me.

 

Ok Circuit City lowered the price to another $50 on the 2410us. Is this still a good deal or is HP offereing better deals onlone/phone with APP? If I do buy it should I get extended warranty?
http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=133631&cm_keycode=85

 

I think that is pretty good deal after rebates. How much tax you may have to pay differ from state to state.

 

Hi!
I'm a new v2410ca owner! An x-mast gift... from me

I will add some memory in it and I have some questions...
now: factory 2x256mb 333mhz pc2700

#1 What is the best options:
A: buy a 1GB 400mhz DDR, install with 1x256mb 333mhz
total 1280mb (no dual channel, speed 333mhz or 400mhz?
place for another 1GB in the future)
B: buy 2x512mb 400mhz DDR
total 1024mb (dual channel, speed 400mhz, no future upgrade)

#1.1 if a go with option A, is the +1x256mb is good or should I let the 1GB stick alone?

#2 CAS is it realy important?( is mobo locked at CAS 3?)

On another topic, has anybody succesfully overclocked the GPU (ATI 200M)?
I've manage to overclock the CPU to 1760mhz(from 1600)20% and it run great (with clockgen ).

thanks all!
Math.

 

Any configuration DDR400 is the way to go.

A: buy a 1GB 400mhz DDR, install with 1x256mb 333mhz
total 1280mb (no dual channel, speed 333mhz or 400mhz?
place for another 1GB in the future)

ANS: If you keep your current DDR333 256MB, then memory will run at DDR333 speed instead of DDR400. You are better off with Single 1GB at DDR400 than 1.2GB DDR333 for most apps including Video performance.

B: buy 2x512mb 400mhz DDR
total 1024mb (dual channel, speed 400mhz, no future upgrade)

ANS: There is no Dual Channel for this laptop. So there is no advantage of going with two sticks other than it may be little cheaper with 2x512s than single 1GB stick.

#1.1 if a go with option A, is the +1x256mb is good or should I let the 1GB stick alone?

ANS: See above, 1GB@DDR400 is better

#2 CAS is it realy important?( is mobo locked at CAS 3?)

CAS is important but speed is more important. If you see the bench marks you will understand. To my knowledge MB is not locked at CAS 3. This is people guess because of wrong Memory specifications.

I bought 2 Corsair 2x512MB DDR400 stick which rated as CAS 2.5 as per newegg website, but when I checked it after I got it, it is actually CAS 3.0@DDR400 as per SPD timings table. I verified with CORSAIR and it is CAS 3.0 at DDR400 speed. Looks like MB is taking timings off SPD table.

My suggestion would be go with 1GB DDR400 stick, so you have option to upgrade if you need in future( But I doubt if we need more than 1GB for any application in this laptop, other than bragging rights).

Best of luck, hope you will like your lappie.

 

Hi, Ive recently become a proud v2000z owner. I was disappointed by many negative reviews of the v2000z (by cnet, pcworld, etc). This was mostly due to the fact that these reviews were on lower notebook specs. I just wanted to thank chinna_n for your honest review, which was among the few reviews and opinions I trusted.
Also thanks to everyone else who is keepin this thread alive.

As for the RAM question from the_optimizer, Im considering the ValueSelect 2x512 mb of ddr400 from corsair from newegg.com myself.
The ValueSelect costs $47.97 for each so-dimm Model #: VS512SDS400
The non ValueSelect costs $77 Model #: CMSS512MB-400SOD

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Notebook Memory - Retail Model #: VS1GSDS400 costs $126

CORSAIR 1GB 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Notebook Memory - Retail
Model #: CMSS1GB-400SOD costs $228

Hope this helps you even a little bit...

 

I do have one little annoyance. My hdd is 60 Gigs (supposedly). My c: had about 55 gigs total hdd size (as was displayed by right clicking->properties).

I shouldnt have clicked the "Recommended" driver installs. But still I ended up with only 49 gigs of free space after using the "Application and Driver Recovery DVD".
My c: contains these directories : hp, I386, SWSetup
totaling to consuming about 2.5 gigs.

Am I the only one losing this much hdd space?
Does anyone know what files and folders I could delete to get more space?
Ive uninstalled a few things from the Add/Remove Software Programs from control panel, but I would like more space.

I somehow lost 10 gigs to just windows OS and drivers...kinda iffy
Any help would be appreciated, thanks

 

Run Partition Magic or some similar tool to find out whether you have some unpartitioned space. I have some 2-3 gb I think but I still postpone the day to fix this. I've heard some companies always make a hidden partition on any new notebook for repair purposes. I don't know if this is correct, though.

 

60gigs in decimal (how manufacturers count) is about 55.9 gigs in binary (like software counts), so I see no problem.

 

Yes, dr_st is right. Manufacturer counts it differently( it is wrong though) as 1000bytes as one KB, where as it should be 1024. Like that its actual size is going to be around 55GB rather than 60GB.

 

For $100 more Best Buy has the V2424NR which includes a 100gb (still 4200 rpm) and the 1.8 ML-34. Not sure if anything else is different. So which do you think is a better deal, the V2410US at Circuit City for $799 or the V2424NR at Best Buy for $899???

 

Well, thanks to Chinna's review I decided to take the plunge.
I am moving from a Toshiba Satellite A-75 S226. Purchased at $1500 odd dollars, it had, in brief:
- Pentium 4HT 3.06GHz
- 512MB RAM
- DVD+/-RW
- 60GB 4200 RPM hard drive
- 15.4" screen
- ATI RADEON 9000 IGP
- Atheros 802.11g

Problems included:
- One month after purchase, motherboard failure. Sent for replacement.
- Seven months after purchase, overheating issues. Sent for repairs.
- Thirteen months after purchase -- one month outside warranty -- the connection point where you plug the AC Adapter into the laptop broke, preventing the machine from recharging. Toshiba wanted too much money for repair.

I bought the V2000Z for $1228.35 with a $50 main in rebate, a free 1410 HP Multifunction printer, free bag, and free optical travel mouse. Here's what I got:

- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
- AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-30 (1.6GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
- 14.0 WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x768)
- ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/productivity ports
- 1.0GB DDR SDRAM (2x512MB)
- 60 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
- 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
- 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

My regrets: Not getting the full 2.0GHz CPU, and not getting the 12-cell battery. I simply could not afford them -- in fact, getting 1GB of RAM stretched me just over the edge.

I am a serious gamer and I knew going into it that this machine would not handle the latest and greatest games very well, if at all, but I needed a machine ASAP and this fit the bill. Shipped in just three days, too. Fantastic.

 

Jimmy,
You could have gotten aftermarket ram for much less, about $50 per quality 512 stick. I highly recommend, if possible, change your order to the minimum amount of RAM.

Also, the v2000z processors on the customize have just been updated, faster and cheaper. Freeing up this money could allow you to get the ML-37 and 12-cell.

If you are a hardcore gamer, you will be very dissapointed with the graphics. If you are looking for dedicated graphics in a compaq, go with the v4000t.

 

You will be fine with the ML-30 - the only place you would notice a difference between that and the 2.0GHz would be in games (maybe), mathematical calculation programs, rendering, or encoding. The 1.6GHz is quite capable of those though.

The 5400RPM hard drive is nice, it is eons faster than the 4200's. 1GB of RAM helps as well, although I agree that you could have gotten it cheaper aftermarket.

 

I knew I should have gotten the 5400 RPM. Is it really that much better? If it is better, what does it do the best vs 4200 rpm? If it is worth it, what are your recommendations for a quality aftermarket 5400 rpm drive that'll work with the v2000z?

 

Nathanhuth, 5400RPM is light years better than 4200 RPM. For me, it marks the difference between waiting one minute to open a PDF and waiting thirty seconds. Still, I would recommend getting the fastest laptop HD your money can buy -- I would have gone for a 7200RPM drive if my money allowed it.

All, thanks for the comments, but I truly hit my budget right on the nose. I spent an hour tweaking the options and going over all the different manufacturer's offerings. The bottom line for me was that no other computer at this price point had a good graphics accelerator for gaming -- they all had Intel XTreme or SiS chipsets, which are garbage for gaming. I know I won't be playing Battlefield 2 or anything, but so long as the thing plays Half-Life 2 and Homeworld 2 I'm a happy camper

 

Who makes the best quality notebook hard drives? The v2000z is just ata right?

 

In my opinion, Western digital makes the best hard drives - both notebook and desktop. Extremely quiet - no clicking either - and they run very cool. Highly recommended.

Next to that, I like Seagates.

Yes - your V2000z is ATA-6 (ATA/100)