Hel 80 Owners Lounge

Curiousity Paladin, are you a Have Gun Will Travel fan. If not, Please disregard this ohh this shows my age

 

Does anyone know of any HEL80 reviews?
If so, link me please!

 

Look at #154 Paladin said that the NBR review laptop was shipped Friday. and check out the first page of the lounge. Hope this helps.

 

Well, at the risk of revealing my age as well, let me tell you that orignally a Paladin was one of the twelve legendary chivalrous retainers or Knights of King Charlemagne's court, the most famous of which was Roland. (To the medieval mind, only King Arthur vied with Charlemagne as the finest example of what a Christian king could be and Charlemagne died in 814...not 1814...814 ) King Charlemagne and the Paladins were champions of the weak and oppressed.

From there Paladin has taken on many roles, inlcuding that of Richard Boone as Paladin in "Have Gun - Will Travel." As a fan of Have Gun - Will Travel you will remember that he too was a champion of the weak and oppressed in every single episode (although for a handsome price!). In the theme song the "Knight without armor" of course refers back to the days of Charlemagne and his 12 Paladins.

So, you might say I was a fan of Have Gun - Will Travel, but I actually got that nickname from work I did years ago that was also in defense of the weak and oppressed...but that is a story from long, long ago

 

I forgot about the Knights of King Charlemagne's court I guess I need to brush up on medevil times again. Thanks
ok now back to the lounge topic

 

Hi first post but long time reader, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a Hel80 for my wife. I decided to go with Powernotebooks.com because of their high ratings at resellerratings.com and feedback from their customers.

Donald, the sale rep I talked to, is awesome. Polite, not pushy, and very helpful. The phone call lasted about 7 min and I feel confident that I made the right decision in purchasing from this company. You can't beat a 3 year warranty backing up their products (major reason I bought from them).

Thank you Donald for your help and I'm terribly sorry when the phone got cut off, phone calls have time limits here

Also thank you Charlotte (?) for getting me a sales rep on the phone, I appreciate it. Most call rep will tell me to call back when all the sales rep are taken but you stuck with me, thank you.

Finally, CALL THEM FOR SPECIALS. Its worth calling them before making an online purchase trust me. Its great.

15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) "Glossy" LCD w/PCI-e nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 w/256MB
Intel® Core™ Duo T2500 2.0GHz Processor w/2,048k L2 On-die cache - 667MHz
FSB
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
2,048MB (2 SODIMMS) CORSAIR DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory
80GB SATA/150 Hitachi Hard Drive at 7,200 RPM
Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDR Drive w/Softwares
Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
Windows XP Home
Full Range Auto Switching AC Adapter
NO Video Adapters for External Monitors

John

 

Congrats ^
I ordered mine a few days ago and I'm dying for it to get here, and it probably isn't even built yet. DYING.

Anyway, does anyone have the bigger non glossy screen? Can you tell me how it is as far as picture quality and everything?

 

On your specs pages for the PowerPro L 8:15 and Crown P 15:2 it says "6.5 lb.". Which is the typo? It's only a half pound, but for some reason 7# *seems* heavier than 6.5#!

 

No one seems to have answered this question (or I missed it), so I did some looking. It appears to be where you attach the external antenna if you have the TV tuner option.

 

Actually both Spec sheets said 6.5 pounds up top, and 6.95 pounds under the Weight section on the bottom.

Thank you for catching that

They have both now been corrected to 6.95 pounds...and that is bone accurate!

 

I answered that question in one of these threads. That picture is in our Picture Gallery as well, however that picture is somewhat deceiving.

Look at the picture of the left side at the rear. When you have the TV Tuner that keyhole shaped cover is off, and the S-Video in and Cable in ports are exposed. That is where you actually plug your coaxial cable in.

 

Just ordered mine... ooo its a juicy one...

PowerPro L 8:15 FORCE
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) "Glossy" LCD w/PCI-e nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 w/256MB
Intel® Core™ Duo T2600 2.16GHz Processor w/2,048k L2 On-die cache - 667MHz FSB
2,048MB (2 SODIMMS) CORSAIR DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory
100GB SATA/150 Hard Drive at 7,200 RPM
Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDR Drive w/Softwares
Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
Windows XP Professional
Full Range Auto Switching AC Adapter
3 Year Warranty - Next Business Day Shipping - Lifetime 24/7 Tech Support

It will be shiny...

 

^ Thats a great config, congrats!

 

Thanks. Having *real* numbers is refreshing.

 

Or not. I've heard possibly not ship until friday of next week? bummer. sad face. I expected a wait this long going with dell. I think it was just ordering a computer at a bad time.

jonFREY

 

Have not heard anything but Donald had said I believe that the HEL80 was in stock and shipping out daily. Maybe I am getting mixed up somehow. Hope mine does ship tomorrow but patience will win out no matter what.

Gary

 

One day Gary...they got pushed back to Monday, but yours is being built, burned in and tested now (remember we burn in for not less than 48 hours, and prefer 72 hours)...so, don't plan anything for next Wednesday...you will have a new toy...er, I mean tool

 

Gary, you and I will be celebrating on the same day! Woohoo!

 

No problem, Donald and thanks. I continue to appreciate your service there and look forward to getting the machine next week. Congrats to all present and future owners.

Gary

 

Yes, Summer time is always a zoo attempting to keep up with demand for laptops, particularly the newly released models.

However not to worry, like Gary's yours has only been pushed back by one day and will ship Monday the 10th. Clear your calendar for Wednesday and enjoy

 

Hey Donald, any idea on when mine will ship too? I ordered a couple weeks ago, I think either under the name Seung Lee or Jason Lee

 

Your Crown P 15:2 shipped today. You will get your tracking number tomorrow, and it should arrive on Tuesday

 

Holy crap Donald thanks for being here for us and the quick responces. I just read xotics review and this so called "vbi" version that may possibly be out, would it be an improvement or a downgrade from what is out now or up in the air?

jonFREY

 

The VBI version would be a downgrade.

See my post at the top of this page http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=63572&page=2

 

thanks so much for the quick reply donald.

 

Thanks to XOTICPC review and what I read on this forum, I think I have just found the right laptop. I will be ordering mine at the end of the year then money of course
What I'm looking at:
ProwerPro L 8:15/ Compal HEL-80
15.4 WXGA Glossy /Nvida geforce 7600
core duo T2500 2.0GHZ or T2400 1.83GHz
512MB memory upgrade later via newegg.com
60GB 7200 HD
intel wirless
bluetooth
9-cell battery
win xp home
artic silver 5 thermal compound

I heard that the faster the processer the faster boot up time or is that memory that to do with it. I'm a so-so computer savy
Can't wait to order from powernotebooks.com. I have heard good things about Donald and his customer service
Lynn

 

lapid63, we will be here to serve you when ever you are ready, and thank you for your kind comments

The processor speed and amount of memory will have little to do with your boot up time if you are comparing the then available processors and memory. In addition, would 1-4 seconds really make any difference?

From what you have described your uses to be, as long as you get 1GB of memory, and any of the 3 slowest speed processors available at the time, you will be just fine.

 

Thanks Donald Oh do you have special "sales" or do I need to call you, or is that what the standard config discounted is.
Thanks

 

I can't tell you what might be happening by the end of the year, but right now we do have Special Promotions for those who call us to place their order, or calls us prior to placing their order Online so that we can give them the promotion code.

 

Thank you Paladin
I'll give you guys call when i'm ready to order, got one printed out and waiting I'll keep reading this forum for information and to learn more about computers.
Lynn

 

With the price cuts on core duo processors will the price cuts be immediate or will we have to wait for company's like Powernotebooks.com to get in a new shipment? I have every spec picked out but want the best price I can get because I've got college to pay for! Thanks!

 

You can count on the fact the we are OUT of all processors just before any Intel price drop.

Our pricing will reflect new Intel pricing immediately.

 

Does anyone know how the HEL80 compares with the Z96j in terms of build quality and cooling. I was dead set on the Z96j since may but the HEL80 is starting to grow on me, I like the looks on it better.

I guess I'll probably end up with the Z96j anyways, since I can't find anyone selling the HEL80 with the wsxga+ screen here in Canada. -sigh-

 

Everyone here seems to say that the HEL80 has better build quality than the 96j. Actually, most of those comments are in relation to the S96j, but I assume they apply to both, since they share a basic chassis.

MilestonePC (nee CanadaSys Computer) sells the HEL80 barebone
. Their site is also very "barebone", so I couldn't tell you if that's the WXGA or WSXGA display -- I'd guess former, which isn't a very good comparason if you're in the market for the Z96j.

Wish I could be of more help, but I live here to the south, where I can order from PowerNotebooks (if I finally quit my waffling and just buy the **** thing, already ...)

 

Im definately in the same boat with the HEL80

 

Thanks for your help, I had already looked on MilestonePC's site and it states that it's a 15.4 WXGA screen. Also, it's listed in the VBI section so, correct me if I'm wrong, it should be a lower screen right? That means the WSXGA+ screen HEL80 model is not under VBI but should be under Compal?

I wish PowerNotebooks shipped to Canada...
Anyways, good luck with your decision!

 

I believe that is all correct. However, you could probably find a VBI spec WSXGA+ screen from another vendor and do the swap. Sort of the long way 'round, though.

Perhaps XOTICPC does. I'm really not sure. I know that Justin from XOTICPC is active here (user name XOTICPC, of all things!). You could PM him and find out, or post over in his review thread here.

Thanks! I'm busy today at work, so perhaps a day with my mind off it will help!

 

There is one issue with going from wxga to wsxga+ that i was unaware of recently. Its feasible but not easy as it sounds. I posted something about this on asus forum and Eddie from Geared2Play answered back telling me that you need a higher bandwidth LCD cable that is required for the WSXGA. so VBI is nice for switching different brands of LCD, but changing resolution isnt so simple... though still doable i suppose. check out my post on asusforum by googling "sick of waiting for Z96j questions about s96j"

 

Anyone know if the HEL80's cooling/vent system is as good as the 96J (as I read it was very efficient)?

Arg!!Now I really want the HEL80 the more I look at it and comparing it to the Z96J pictures...I don't know if I should order it from the US, although it seems like XoticPC delivers to Canada, I haven't heard much of this reseller.

So in my last desperate attempt, does anyone know if I can get it in Canda with the WSXGA+ screen? God! The agony in choosing a laptop!

Thanks

 

It is every bit as good and maybe even better than the 96J. Chaz is doing a review on the HEL80 that will be out shortly, but this is one of his priliminary comments.

Check with www.discountlaptops.com. They have been around a long time, have great ResellerRatings.com ratings, and they do ship to Canada.

 

milestonepc sells compals in canada, try give them a call

 

I just got mine last week. I have to say that the pictures you will see of this laptop do not do it justice. The brushed aluminum and copper trim really make the design work. Build quality is great, and it has a a number of great features. I have to say that I love the LED colors, icy blue and fire orange, as opposed to the normal Green/Red.

 

Very cool! (no pun intended, of course ) I look forward to his review finally pushing me off the fence!

 

I took the plunge! Ordered my HEL80 today from Powernotebooks. Here is my new rig:

15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) "Matte" LCD w/PCI-e nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 w/256MB
Intel® Core™ Duo T2500 2.0GHz Processor w/2,048k L2 On-die cache - 667MHz FSB
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
2,048MB (2 SODIMM) CORSAIR DDR2/667 Memory
100GB SATA/150 Hard Drive at 7200 RPM
Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDR Drive w/Softwares
Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
Built-in Bluetooth Wireless

Booya.

 

I envy you..that's exactly what i wanted!

 

Is the optional bluetooth 2.0 edr?

 

I'm very excited for mine to arrive on wednesday/thursday!!!!

15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) "Glossy" LCD w/PCI-e nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600
Intel® Core™ Duo T2500 2.0GHz Processor w/2,048k L2 On-die cache - 667MHz FSB
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
2,048MB (2 SODIMM) CORSAIR DDR2/667 Memory
100GB SATA/150 Hard Drive at 7200 RPM
Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDR Drive w/Softwares
Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
A nice brown box

jonFREY

p.s OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH-BOY <---Excitement

 

has any one had dead pixels on there comp?
i really hope i don't have one

 

I just received mine today and I have to say it arrived in very good shape, the guys at powernotebooks box it well. There was 0 dead pixels on my screen and honeslty it is rarer when I do see a dead pixel on a new laptop I work for a local computer store and we sell 15-20 laptops a month, mostly Acers and don't think we have one with a dead pixel so I wouldn't be to concerned the Compal deffiantly has a nicer build quality over the Acers.

 

Can anybody tell me which notebook has a better build - S96J or HEL80 (or for that matter A8JM).
Paladin44, could you help?

Thanks