Compal HGL-30 Owners Lounge

thats soo much reading though...

 

Part of the fun of looking for the right notebook is doing the work and getting the information so that making the right decision is that much more rewarding. If you depend on the few responses you get from your question--the information gleaned will pale in comparison to seeing what has been posted about the HGL30 over the past few months by numerous owners.

Besides, most of them are very short posts and it doesn't take that long to read 200 posts.

 

yeah i guess not, i have read like 8 pages since you first told me to read it
and dont get me wrong, i have done hours of research for this laptop, and i have narrowed it down to this one so far, just seeing if there are any major problems, which i dont see yet (just the fan maybe)

if it dont get this one i will go for the Asus A8JM

 

Naah, don't get the A8JM. Come join the Dark Side.

So far I love my Compal. So do most of the others here. The few complaints seem to relate to keyboard flex (doesn't bother me), quiet speakers, and being slightly heavy for a 14 inch machine. Nothing else comes to mind really (oh, wait, the mic is useless too, but I never use it anyway), and the long list of positives just outweigh any negatives. I've even got used to working without a handy Trackpoint...thought that would NEVER happen.

 

yes, join us minor gripes include keyboard flex, which i have actually grown to love coming from a solid zd7000's keyboard... camera is useless to me as is the mic but oh well, they look nice. fan is an issue with older core duo but should have been fixed with bios upgrades done when c2d came out so it should be under control. 111A fixes it for me at least. other than that, the speakers are weaksauce, but that's what i expected. the 7600 comes underclocked standard and can't be overclocked too much, but even with clock settings at 440/366 i get around 3.5k in 3dmark05, and i can run all the games i want at max settings with either no AA or 2x AA bottom line is, this is definately an awesome laptop, and i am soooo glad i went with an "off brand" name notebook.

 

Does the laptop scratch easy like the a8js?

 

The back of the lcd does. The lid I mean.

 

I have a solution for this... Don't stack stuff ontop of your notebook!

 

so has anyone actually played command and conquer generals on it yet? because that is the only game so far that i would like to play.

or if a more demanding game works though, that would guarantee that generals would work fine, so what games has anyone played on it?

 

any game that runs on the HEL-80 should work fine on this system, and I've run Guildwars maxed at native res, BF2 and BF2142 nearly maxed @ 1400x1050, FEAR runs fine nearly maxed... I've seen a few people play oblivion fine... Give me a few weeks for Supreme Commander to come out.. then I'll give the video card a test with thousands of units rendered in full 3D as well as fully rendered destructible worlds

 

I have played Command and Conquer Generals on a much weaker desktop at max setting a long time ago. You'll have no problem with that game.

 

sounds like its got awsome graphics capabilities!

 

I just got mine on xmas; lovin every inch of it.

Except the fan switching, and crappy speakers, of course, but those are just minor annoyances.


My 7600 came underclocked to 350/350; but it runs all my games smoothly at high-ish settings, so I figured I'd refrain from overclocking until I need to.

It runs Half-life 2 and Gothic 3 flawlessly. Neverwinter Nights 2 is kinda choppy, but it seems to have problems on a lot of comps, and it's still smooth enough.

 

I got Star Trek: Legacy and cranked all the detail levels all the way up. It ran a little choppy until I used RMClock to switch the CPU to "Max Performance." Then all of a sudden it's as smooth as silk.

So if you see any problems with your games, first make sure dynamic CPU speed switching is turned off, whatever management application you use.

 

Put me down as another soon to be owner of an HGL30. I just got off the phone with Donald from Powernotebooks.com after he took the time to call me on a holiday because he'd gotten my message on their machine. As expected from all the rave reviews I've read, Donald was extremely knowledgeable and helpful.

Here's what I ended up with:

PowerPro L 8:14 SUPRA
14.1" WXGA (1280 x 800) "Glossy" LCD w/PCI-e nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 w/256MB
Intel® Core™2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz Processor w/4M L2 On-die cache - 667MHz FSB
1,024MB (1 SODIMM) DDR2/667 Memory
80GB SATA/150 Hard Drive at 5,400 RPM
Combo 8X DVD/24x10x24 CD-RW w/Softwares
Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
Full Range Auto Switching AC Adapter
3 Year Warranty - Next Business Day Shipping - Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Tech Support

The price was a little bit more than I had originally intended to spend due to upgrading my processor choice from the T5500 to the T7200, but I feel pretty assured that I'm getting a good value. I can't wait to get this machine!

 

you'll love it

 

Congratulations on your purchase. I'm sure you will love it! Welcome to the Compal Forum!

 

I'm sure I'll be posting here quite a bit over the next couple of weeks. This is the first computer I've purchased for myself as all of my previous machines have been hand-me-downs. I'm particularly excited because my current machine is a Pentium III desktop with only 128MB of RAM. Almost anything would have been an upgrade, so to make such a large jump is going be quite an adventure.

 

You will definitely enjoy the performance increases you'll see with a dual-core processor and more RAM. Not to mention the gaming ability you'll have with your new HGL30!

 

well, I failed to find anything really nice this last holidays. However I've kept on searching. I can't believe I missed the hgl-30, its near the top of what I want to spend, but it looks awsome. others I thought looked interesting were dell 6400, t5500, wxga+, 1gig, x1400, 9 cell, for 1289. and toshiba had a A100 JH2, t2300 wxga, 1gig, x1600, 6cell, harmon kardon speakers, for 1200.

Since I'm in canada, I'm looking at milestonepc to buy from. I suppose a few quick questions, is $79 to upgrade to a 5500 worthwhile? I've heard they are about 10% faster than the core duo, also I have a spare copy of xp pro 64 I could throw on it, since I never used the media thing from media edition when I tried it before, (2 weeks with a f10 quasmio). I also haven't really run into what the difference between a 7200 and a 5500 is, though thats a $250 upgrade. Thanks for any help.

I also just noticed the hgl-80 was 15.4 and not 17. the $100 for a slightly larger screen, but more specifically the wsxga+ matte looks very nice. I doubt the 1 pound increase would bother me, plan to use a back pack to carry it.

btw, pretty much looking for a laptop that can handle trips to college, a little more up to date graphics power than my desktop (2700 in 3dmark05). so far the compal seems like an awsome choice.

 

I have a quick question about the screen...

Has anyone thought it is too small? Is it even worthwhile playing a game on it? That is my last concern before i buy it. (stores dont let you play games on theirs, so i cant go to a store and play a game on their computer... )

 

PCclub actually will, but I'm not sure they have the HGL30... just the HEL80..

I've personally played games on a 12" screen without really noticing, alot of it has to do with what resolution you run the game in. Back when I had the 12" screen, 2Fort was the big thing outside of Tribes2, and we all used 1024x768..

 

Upgrade from what processor? I like the T5500 as a basic Core 2 Duo processor. If it's an upgrade from the T2300 or below I would pay for it--especially if you want to run Vista x64. If the T5600 is available for a minimal amount, that might be the way to go.

I've heard of people having problems finding drivers for XP 64 though.

Unless you're going to be doing some very processor-intensive tasks, you don't need the T7200. Of course, if you're OK with spending more money, it will get you a little more speed and the added L2 cache.

Maybe you could try to watch a video or something on it. Do a FRAPS video of a game on your own PC and download it onto a USB drive. Watch it at the shop.

 

The screen is fine IMO; I do plenty of gaming on mine.
Just sit a little closer, lol.

 

yeah i'm perfectly fine gaming on it. i play css at 1200x800 and fear combat and bf2 at 1024x768. i picked the hgl30 over the hel80 for portability so i would just pick the one that suits your needs the most.

 

I play lots of games on mine. It's just about perfect, I think. Not too tall, not too short, WXGA is perfect for the size, perfect size for actually putting it ON your lap and seeing, I could go on and on. But it's right in the zone. And the NVIDIA fixed-aspect-scaling feature helps too

 

the 14" does sound nice for the little extra portability, though I have two friends in college who lug around 17" comps, and only one complains a little. Also my dad does alot of cad work, and has a wuxga+ screen, which he says is well worth it after working with a xga screen on his last notebook. I'll be going in person to milestonepc's store, so I should be able to look at them side by side, and make a final decision on that good ol gut instinct.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't be real happy with a 17" XGA or 17" WXGA screen either.

But WXGA looks fine on a 14.1" in my opinion.

 

Hello all,

First let me say THANK YOU. I have been searching for a replacement notebook to my 3.5+ year old Dell D600 and after reading all the reviews I finally decided to make the jump and purchase a Compal HGL30. Ended up working with Justin from XOTICPC who was extremely great to work with. Had a tough decision between the Asus A8Js and the HGL30, duo to price (which I believe was an excellent price), need for a semi light machine and relatively good battery life, and of course the 3 year warranty, HGL30 was the only choice. Now I am hoping it is the right choice and will find out in about 8-10 days.

Specs were:

Force HGL30 Elite
- 14.1" WXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1280x800)
- Core 2 DUO 2.0GHz (T7200) Processor (Merom / 4 MB L2 Cache / 667 FSB)
- 256MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce GO 7600
- 1,024MB (1 SODIMMS) DDR2 667MHz Dual Channel Memory
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- 80GB SATA 150 5400RPM Hard Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Integrated System Speakers - Included
- 10/100/1000 Network Card & 56K RJ11 Phone Modem
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
- Internal Bluetooth
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- 3 Year Warranty 24/7 Tech Support

I think it's a popular config (however still thinking that a better HD may have been a smarter choice even though system will not really be used for gaming.)

None the less, can't wait and thanks to all who've posted their experiences, it helped a lot

 

Faster HD will only make you load very large files faster (map/zone loading) However, on my HEL80 I still load BF2142 either before the match timer, or well before the timer is done counting down..

 

Personally, I just use an external monitor when I need extra desktop space for my HGL-30. The video card can easily run a higher resolution. You won't get any larger than a 1440x900 resolution in a 14" machine. The next step up is a 15.4" like the HEL80, which you can get a nice high res LCD in, the 15.4" was just larger than I want. It's up to you, though. I wouldn't go larger than 15.4" for college, though. Your friends may not complain now, but a smaller machine is well worth it, I promise.

 

I have heard that the speakers on this laptop are garbage, but how about the sound card? if you were to plug in headphones would the sound be good (or external speakers or somethin...)?

 

Yeah the sound is fine; all integrated cards seem to be pretty decent these days.

 

The audio card is the best in the business, but it is virtually impossible to get quality speakers stuffed into any laptop due to its environment.

However when you plug in either good quality headphones or external speakers you will find the audio card will drive them beautifully.

 

I second this! I'm driving a really nice 5.1 system from my card, sounds as good as my desktops Audigy 2 ZS.

 

I'd have to agree I have sound card pushing my Logitech mm50 ipod speakers through a port replicator and across two different connected speaker cords (aka a lot of connections that usually decrease sound quality in my opinion) and the music is loud, crisp, and full in my opinion. This card sounds better then my 7 year old desktop with a sound blaster card.

 

thanks everyone! now all thats pretty much is left for me to convince my mom to allow me to spend that much cash , cuz this is definatly the laptop that i want to get.

 

I'm posting from my Powerpro 8:14 (HGL30). So far I'm completely in love with this machine. It's especially been great to customize everything the way I want right from the beginning.

I'll probably pick up an external mouse for extended use sessions, but otherwise so far so good.

 

If you get that new logitech VX Revolution mouse, post a review of it

 

Do you guys download your drivers from here?
http://www.compal.com/asp/driver_dnd/e_download.asp?M_Path=/Download/NB/HGL30_31/XP%20Driver

seem like I have to download the drivers file by file O_O

 

Yes, you do have to download each driver individually. There are lots of reasons for this, the most important of which is that usually people only need one driver at a time because it has just been upgraded, or theirs had become corrupt.

 

yeah I know that, what I meant was, when I click a driver to download, it brings me to a page where I have to download every single file individually, is there a way to download em all in one click?

 

Please be specific.

What device for which you are trying to download the driver package takes you to a page where you have to download each file?

When I do it, each device has a .zip file that contains all of the files in the driver setup.

 

lets say I click the vga driver
it brings me to this http://www.compal.com/asp/driver_dn...Driver/02.VGA/NvidiaG73 for HGL30/84.85(WHQL)

I dont see any zip files?

 

http://www.compal.com/Download/NB/HGL30_31/image/YJ5W3584.jpg

Between the usb and ethernet port: Could this be a firewire port? Remnants of an earlier version of that never made it to the final?

Just thought it was interesting...

 

Looks like you're right there.

 

Trouble is you are trying to download from the Compal website instead of http://www.bizcom-us.com/support/TechSupportDriversDownloadPage.htm#GL30

 

Hi guys, i just joined this nice forum. Ordered the HGL 30 from Xotic PC few hours ago. Best price i could find, and good service too, from the reivews i read at least. This is how i configured it:

Force HGL30 Elite
- 14.1" WXGA "Glare Type" (1280x800)
- Core 2 DUO 2.16GHz (T7400)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- 256MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce GO 7600
- 2,048MB (2 SODIMMS) DDR2 667MHz Dual Channel Memory
- Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- 100GB SATA 7200RPM Hard Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Integrated System Speakers - Included
- 10/100/1000 Network Card & 56K RJ11 Phone Modem
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
- Internal Bluetooth
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Windows Vista Ultimate

I chose this notebook over others, first because it received good reviews, nice build quality, not hot, good battery life for a powerful GPU. Also it was the only 14.1 inch, glossy screen, discrete graphics, integrated camera and fingerprint reader i could find. I considered the 13.3 inch Sony SZ series, buy those were overpriced and the RAM was 533 Mhz not 677, i am not sure it is a big difference but, well it is a difference.
From what i read on those forums, i can't wait to put my hands on this jewel.

I just have some questions for you guys.
First has anybody tried to run windows Vista Ultimate on the HGL 30? Have u faced any problems?
Second, will it be possible for me to use WWAN using an Xpress card or something, not that it is important to me, but it is nice to have it.
Third, instead of the A/B/G prowireless i wanted the Draft N card, but Xotic PC said they are not offering it yet, will it be possible to upgrade later?
Fourth, is it possible to upgrade to an optical drive that support the blue ray format?

 

Welcome to the forums zeinoonm! And congratulations on your purchase. I am sure you'll love it--that's a great configuration you have coming to you.

You should be able to upgrade the wireless card without much trouble--but I'd suggest waiting until the actual 802.11n standard is ratified (that might take a long time though).

 

I'd jump in and answer your other questions, but that is really better handled through Justin at Xoticpc...He will be more then happy to handle those questions for you.