Compal - Which one?

Hey Guys,

After reading this topic about the Compal HEL80, I'm verry interested about this laptop. Because I'm a flying Dutchman I want to buy my laptop at Laptopts4u.nl and these are my choices:

HEL80 - choose items by myself (=barebone) (http://www.laptops4u.nl/info/hel80-stel-zelf-samen-984.html)
Intel Duo Core T2400 (1.83Ghz; 667Mhz FSB)
80Gb S-ATA 5400RPM
1024MB DDR2 667Mhz (1x1024)
Geforce GO 7600 - 256 mb dedicated
No Bluetooth
15,4" matte 1680 x 1050

Price: 1351 euro

HEL80-09 (http://www.laptops4u.nl/info/hel80-09-1053.html)
Intel Duo Core T2300 (1.63Ghz; 2MB L2 Cache; 667Mhz FSB)
80GB Harddisk S-ATA 7200RPM
1024MB DDR2 533Mhz (2 x 512)
GeForce Go 7600 256MB VGA/ 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
15.4" WSXGA+ TFT 1680 x 1050
Internal W-Lan 54Mbps/ Bluetooth 2.0

Price: 1250 euro

As you can see I prefer the laptop with the WSXGA+ screen. But I don't know which I have to choose. There is a difference in price and in combination with the specifications I don't know which I want to buy.

My budget is around the 1300 euro's.

Despite I love the big screen, I have search further for other Compal laptops and I found the one below:

HEL80 with glossy screen (http://www.laptops4u.nl/info/hel80-t2500-80-7200-2048-1051.html)
Intel Core Duo T2500 (2.0GHz; 2MB L2 Cache; 667Mhz FSB)
80GB S-ATA harddisk 7200RPM
2048MB DDR2 667Mhz
GeForce Go 7600 256MB/ 512MB with TurboCache/ 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
15.4" ColorShine Enhanced Glare Type LCD (1280 x 800)
Fingerprint Reader

Price: 1385 euro

This one has no 9-cell battery and no WSXGA+ screen, but has more power....

Which one do you prefer when you looked at the price of the laptops and specifications?

Thanks a lot for your reaction.

 

I received my Compal HEL80-09 yesterday (also from Laptops4u) and the WSXGA+ screen is absolutely awesome. Don't worry about fonts being too small or anything like that, the screen is extremely sharp and has a very good brightness, even at lowest setting.

I figured the HEL80-09 was best for me, cause I wouldn't need the extra CPU power anyway. The most intense applications that I run are games, and they are limited by the Go 7600, not the T2300.

The 7200 RPM drive is a big plus, you really notice the difference in HD speed.

I guess an extra 1024 MB of RAM would be nice, but it's not hard to order some from Asia very cheap.

The Non-VBI (aka the HEL80 with WSXGA+ screen) looks way better as well in my opinion.

So yeh, I'd say HEL80-09.

 

But the HEL80-09 has 2 memory strips with a Front Side Bus of 533Mhz and has a slower processor.
The HEL80 (1351 euro) has a faster processor with one memory strip which work at 667Mhz, but a slower hard drive.

I want to run some games (not the importants thing), photoshop, AutoCAD and 3D programs at this laptop.

I exclude the HEL80 with glossy screen, but I'm wondering which laptop is faster, the first one of the second (if you looked to the money too)?

 

For the love of all that is holy, don't sacrifice on resolution!

I think the first would be faster. These're effecient processors, and 200 MHz is bound to make more difference than having your memory dual channel (the consequence of having two same-size sticks of memory vs just one stick). Plus, if you ever want more ram, you can just buy a single stick to reach 2 gigabytes. With teh cheaper one, you'd have to buy two sticks.

Thusly, if you ever plan on having two gigs of ram, the cheaper one already costs as much as the more expensive one (well, almost).

I'll bet the second will feel faster though, as it's got the speedier hdd.

 

The difference between 533 and 667 memory is pretty much negligible due to memory timings. The 667 is technically faster in some very controlled benchmarks, but in real-world usage, you won't notice the difference. I'd think that the first one is the best deal for what you want, and keeps near your budget. Good idea with the RAM, that way you can upgrade to 2GB dual-channel in the future if you feel you need it and you won't have to take out any memory already in there. If you don't need the 80GB, consider sacrificing some of that space temporarily for a faster CPU (if you want). You can always get a new hard drive for it in the future, and get an external enclosure and use the current one as an external drive. It's harder to replace a CPU, and then you're stuck with a useless chip.
I do definitely agree on the resolution. Keep it high. You can always make fonts larger, you can't make pixels smaller.

 

So, shortened, the system below is the best option when you look at the faster processor and the smaller hard disk?

Intel Duo Core T2500 (2,0Ghz)
60 GB hard disk (5400 rpm)
1024 MB 667Mhz (1 x 1024 MB)
GeForce 7600 GO 256mb

But can you notice the difference between a T2400 (1,83Ghz) and a T2500 (2,0Ghz), or is het smarter to have the first system in my topicstart?

 

Depends. The T2500 is basically at the "sweet spot" in terms of price to performance right now. Again, it's another 166MHz than the T2400, but only a few dollars more. It depends on what you want, though. It'll work faster longer into the future with the faster processor. But if you want the extra 20GB of storage with you now, then the T2400 isn't a bad processor by any means. It all depends on what you will do with it, what you want out of it, and whether or not you want to upgrade it in the future

My main point is that hard drives and memory are very easily upgradable for performance/capability down the line. Your screen and processor aren't. Choose what's worth more to you now, and in the future.

 

I would definitely go with the WSXGA+ screen as well. It's a very nice screen.

Regarding CPUs, it's been said that as long as you have Core Duo, it will be fast enough and that you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell between the different models..

I would like to see the 7200 RPM HD available on your first choice along with the faster RAM though.

But if push came to shove, I would take the faster HD over the faster RAM, as the difference in HD speeds is probably going to be more noticable than the difference in RAM speeds which may not even be noticable at all.

Good luck.

 

I third the wsxga+ screen. imho, I generally prfer 14" as they tend to have th same power but lighter/smaller form factor, but would only go for 15.4" solely due to them tendng to have higher res screens (you wont see wsxga+ for 14"). Thus if you had to get a 15.4, get it with something only 15.4" and 17" can get.. and that is, a higher res screen

 

So, below is the best config for me?

Intel Core Duo T2400 (1,83Ghz)
1024MB 667 MHz FSB (1 x 1024MB)
80GB 7200rpm
Geforce 7600 GO 250mb
15.4" WSXGA+ TFT 1680 x 1050

 

It's not a bad config Best config is the one that weighs what you want to do with it against your budget. But you won't be unhappy with those specs no matter what.

 

I know, your config is better than mine . But they say that the T2400 is the best option when you go for performance in combination with a reasonable price. Therefore I have choosen for a faster hard disk because that can make the difference between fast en slow systems when you open and copy a lot of files.
Because I want the price payable, I choose for 1024MB 667Mhz (1 x 1024) ram instead of 2048MB. I can always upgrade my memory by putting a new 1024MB strip near my present.

So, I think I choose the last mentioned system.

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

I think you'll be happy with the configuration you've chosen. Congratulations.