Compal Satisfaction Poll

A little follow-up regarding this situation...this has been bugging me for a good while, so I decided to take the keyboard apart to have a closer look. There was a little tab (or a bump, however you call that small bit of plastic sticking out) on the panel that the keyboard sits on, that ended up lifting the F12-key area above everywhere else. And since the top ends of the keyboard is bolted down, the height difference only became more apparent. I simply sliced off the tab and now the keyboard sits perfectly straight.

I reckon this is the fault in initial parts design, but I am surprised to not having seen anyone mentioning it. I mean, I could not have been the only one who got the extra plastic bump, right? :/

In any case, problem solved, and I just became a bit more happier with my baby.

 

I don't suppose that might have been a manufacturing tab from the molding process that should have been removed eh?

 

Perhaps.

At least when others discover the same problem of having the F12 key area lifted up, they would know how to deal with it.

 

Either way, glad to hear you got it sorted out

 

i dont have any complaints except that I should of bought it sooner (couldnt get the wsxga+)
After reading all the reviews and comments, (yes i read all of the compal hel80 disccussion thread T_T ) I was pretty sure the cons of the laptop did not bother me and they don't. I'm not even bothered by the reflection on the gloss screen which i thought i would be ^_^. I guess i am too easy to please :3

 

Following up to my previous post in the pg 5, I want to report that the squeeking chasis problem is completely gone, now that the plastic joints have seemingly loosened up a bit.

After 5 months of heavy usage, both sides of the palmrest are showing hints of discolouration. The spots where I put my hands are getting darker and darker, probably because the painted finish is wearing off.

Other than those problems, everything has been going well so far, and the speed is as fast as when I first got it. A solid purchase, I must say.

 

I like my HEL80 very much, but DVI and 5.1 analog audio out would be very nice, not so much to ask from a laptop, but very useful and needed thing for using it as a desktop replacement as well.

 

Speakers on IFL90 arent that great. Also, the chasis plastic feels a little cheap compared to other brands I've used in the past.

I think thats about it..lol.

 

Speakers are fine for me, good speakers on a laptop are a waste of money to me, since if I wanted true quality I'd be hookin up externals anyways... the MIC is the big problem for me since everyone I talk to on skype or TS says it's super fuzzy. Also I regret getting Vista lol

 

I reviewed a nice logitech headset that removed all my recording problems for VOIP software / games. Maybe give something external a shot?

 

The headphone port is capable of optical out. You need a TOS link adapter to get it to work, but the laptop is actually capable of 5.1

 

I have owned my HEL80 since January 2007. I purchased it from ibuypower.com and it performs very well for its age. It was cutting edge when I bought it. I am very satisfied with how well it runs with Vista Business x64 and 4 GB of system ram. It runs all of the FPS games that I love with no problem.

Two things I wish were different:

1. Wish it had Santa Rosa chipset, as only 3 GB of the 4 GB are visible to the bios. Vista does recognize the 4th GB and appears to use it. Santa Rosa is a better chipset.
   
2. Wish I had purchased the bluetooth module and I wish that it had 5.1 audio.

There are two things that I despise about it:

1. The Elantech touchpad sucks. I have to turn off tapping because it is way too sensitive and the lightest touch behaves like a mouse click. The driver contains no adjustment to sensitivity. It's just on or off.
   
2. The base is extremely flimsy. I have replaced the bottom case and now have pieces super-glued together. The area above the PCMCIA slot is very weak, and the area above the CD drive door is only slightly better. You have to be careful to pick up the laptop with the lid open, only by grasping it near the LCD hinges. Grasping the laptop with your left thumb above the PCMCIA slot or the CD drive will break the case simply by suspension under its own weight.

I do travel extensively for work and my laptop receives a real workout. Other that these two issues, it has served me very well.

My next laptop will be a Dell XPS M1730 or an Alienware equivalent, with SLi and a magnesium alloy case capable of standing up to less gentle handling.

 

I do hate the keyboard though, is the cheapest KB I have ever worked with and seen, I have already changed it once. But besides that I have no hardware or software issues, so I'm satisfied

 

It does do 5.1... read my post above yours. HEL 80 and the HGL30 both have the ability.

 

Well, I've had my IFL90 (Sager NP2090) for ~11 months, and so far, it's excellent. First I'll get my problems/complaints out of the way.

-No DVI or HDMI
-Lack of dedicated media controls
-Mediocre microphones
-Lid is prone to scratches
-eSATA is something I now wish it had
-Keyboard can be a little better
-Powered USB ports won't charge my Blackberry (does charge when laptop is on)

Now that the complaints are out of the way...the good stuff

-The best screen I have seen in any laptop
-Amazingly powerful
-Strong graphics with the ability to play even the most demanding games
-Good build quality
-Decent cooling system
-Lengthy battery life
-IMHO, looks better than most other laptops I see

I took this laptop with me every single day and it has never let me down. It turns heads when people see it playing Crysis, and wows people when it zips through applications. What can I say, I feel that I made the ultimate decision. I needed a powerful 15.4" laptop with performance graphics, a WSXGA+ screen, and 3+ hour battery life from a place I could trust. It came down to the Asus G1S, and the IFL90. I eliminated the G1S because of battery life, price, and the abnormal size. Seeing that the abnormal size and the hot GPU would have been problems for me, I stand by my decision.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with this laptop. Even though I have some complaints, the strengths easily outweigh the weaknesses. Although, I admit that if I were buying a laptop this summer, it would not be a Compal (JHL90)...but rather a Clevo (m860tu).

 

So, the headphone jack actually has an optical LED? If not, how do you achieve 5 channel plus subwoofer output from stereo connector that has only 2 channels? I am not understanding how that would work. I have a very nice Logitec 5.1 speaker system that I have not used for since I got rid of my desktop gaming PC (when I bought the Compal HEL80). It would be great to use that system speaker system again.

Does anyone know if Radio Shack or Best Buy carries an adapter that mates the mini-stereo plug to the TOSLINK fiber connection effectively?

Please share more about this.

 

The headphone jack is also an optical jack. the light inside just doesn't turn on unless the proper connection is put in. Last year when the HGL30 and HEL80 came out a user posted pictures on this forum.. dunno if its still here.

All i know is that you need a TOSlink adapter to get it working. Best buy (or at least, the one I work at) doesn't sell such a connection, but as usual, It's widely available online. Dunno about Radio shack (I mean "The Source"). It's not sold up here in the radio shacks in Canada.

Also, if you look into the Realtek audio program on your computer, it does reference to optical input (though doesn't give you any useful options). It IS there.

*UPDATE*
Found the thread I was thinking of. A ways down Mechmyday spells it out with pictures and everything.

 

HEL80

Keyboard = cheap
Sound = horrible unless you use USB
Screen = a little dark
Heat = 75-80C with less than 20% load / without cooling device, duh
Touchpad = whatever
No DVI

Not satisfied.

 

Thanks for the info! Very informative.

 

I really like my IFL90.

 

I really miss my IFL90. It's been a good 120 minutes since the video card died, and I'm already going through withdrawal.