Just Bought Compal HEL80

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
2,048MB (2 SODIMMS) CORSAIR DDR2/667 Dual Channel Memory
100GB 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
Built-in Bluetooth Wireless
Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
with all the other smart goodies that it comes with
EXCITED!
yay!

 

doing a review? This would make a good conparison with the S96j

 

great! keep us updated! i can't wait till you receive yours!

 

Congratulations! The Compal HEL80 is a wonderful notebook in my opinion - it has better build quality than the comparable Asus S96J, plus I think the design is better.
The HEL80 really does have a nice feature set too - internal bluetooth + TV tuner options, built-in fingerprint reader, webcam.

Did you order from PowerNotebooks.com?

 

hmm i find both kinda boring looking. but I do like the brushed aluminum on the lid of the compal, as well as around the keyboard.

 

Hey guys, will keep you posted with everything from shipping to frame rates in games, yeah i got it from powernotebooks have been bothering Ronald and Don for weeks, I got it without the tv tuner as i really dont need it as i have all the things i need plus a slingbox
any questions? ask away

 

I finally decided also and order I believe the same configuration as you , no TV tuner opiton, can be ordered at another time if desired. I ordered mine from Powernotebooks also. I just had a hard time passing up all those features in the 15.4 notebook. Also, there is a card reader although I believe just a 3-in-1 but it will read our Sony camera Memory Pro cards. I don't game but I will try to post impressions and other points as time goes on. Thanks for all the help.

Gary

 

yeah i think it might be and i have a psp so the pro card reader will be useful, also most cameras use sd cards now? so really 3 maybe 4 in 1 with xd card reader hm oh well should be good when did you order yours? did they give you a rough ship date?

 

May be here by next Friday or thereabouts. Looking forward to it. Glad I finally made the decision and glad that the EL80 had come out. But, the other laptops I was considering also looked like they would have met my needs also. Another thing, I don't think it will be overloaded with a bunch of bloatware like so many other laptops. Will communicate more as time passes.

Gary

 

Yeah, I was also looking at the s96j but i reallly wanted the bluetooth without the + screen and i ordered without o/s as i can get xp pro from a friend of mine for free via his company which is good so will have literally no bloatware if any... I hope i receieve mine around next friday that would mean the whole weekend of playing

 

One of the things I was most concerned about was the build quality of this laptop. From all reports, it seems very good and I hope I won't be buying anything more for a while now, unless it is a Meron processor but I am not really assuming this will happen until we see it in black and white. Anyway, witht the feature set, build qualtiy and WXGA screen in a semiportable package, I am glad for now I have settled on this one. And, although I have never dealt with Powernotebooks before, I believe there is going to be an unmeasured value regarding the personal service and support we will receive which is sorely lacking with many large companies.

Gary

 

have you spoken to either Ron or Donald? they're really helpful and i must have asked the stupidest questions to them and they answered quickly and a perfect answer I ordered on the phone this morning with Ron and he went through it all very slowly with me was very very good service people are prompt and happy to deal with you there

 

Spoken to both of them and confirm what you say as well as what all the others have been saying about them.

Gary

 

hey guys, i hope you don't mind my request.. but when you guys get it.. I would love to see how the battery life and heat is.. I think thats the one thing many are interested in (well after the 3dmark05 scores) as the 9 cell should give it an edge over the S96

 

The weekend after I get this(If we can sort out my phone authorisation details) I will run all the tests I can think of including battery running with windows and with the instant on media player

 

As I have time, I will try to report back on what I can. And, if I am not familiar with how to run some of these tests, I will ask. I have never run 3DMark05 or any other on any of my notebooks. If you can tell me where to download and how to run it, I will try to do so when I get my laptop. Thanks.

Gary

 

Congratulations, PowerNotebooks.com is spectacular. Ordered mine from there, and couldn't have been happier with the service.
Yeah, the features set is really nice on the HEL80. I think the Asus S/Z96J, while still a great notebook I'm sure, doesn't look as nice as the HEL80 does and of course doesn't have the feature set.

 

Yeah! and from looking around they're the only ones to offer the bluetooth module (that i've seen) and nowhere else has really emphasised the Instant on media player! which personally I think is a great thing to have!

 

According to paladin44, the next shipment of hel80s are going to have wsxga. That's so cool. Brings it right even with the z96j.

 

If people reading this would like a seperate compal forum please post in here : http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=59780 we have 2 people so far we need 10.... thanks

 

Congrats on your purchase! I purchased from PN too.

The EL80 and the 96J are neck and neck in my opinion. The EL80 has more features available for a price, but they are both equal to me. It would be beneficial to have a Compal forum, their products don't get enough exposure.

 

yeah took me a long time to decide between the 96j and the hel80 literally i picked it eyes closed lol and hey if you want to post in the suggestions forum in the compal forum request topic i would be very grateful
Thanks
33percent

 

Its done

 

lol I hope we can get the Compal Forum I think it will help alot and especially with the VBI between asus and compal maybe you'll see something which would work well on the 96j from the hel80... never know

 

w00t, i just bought an EL80 as well from powernotebooks.com!

2.16ghz core duo
1gig ram (2x512)
WSXGA+ (1680x1050) with geforce go7600
intel built-in wireless a/b/g
80gb SATA150 5400rpm
8xdvd/24x10x24x cdrw
winxp home

should be pretty sweet. ill make a post about it soon after it arrives

 

Congratulations technophile - you're the first person I know who got the WSXGA+ screen. Should look great on a 15.4", and with the Go7600, playing games at that resolution will be nothing short of amazing.

 

I know what you mean, I sat there trying to decide if I wanted to buy the HEL80 or wait and get the E1705. In the time I sat there the glossy screen HEL80s were being sold out! Ron said there was 1 crown P left with that screen when I ordered it lol.

I think I made a good choice

 

Is the WSXGA+ a glossy screen?

 

The WSXGA+ screen on the HEL80 is matte.

 

I just got mine today, so in a few days i might just have a review to post. Impressions so far: awesome.

(I got the WSXGA too. it IS amazing.)

 

I'm excited to hear your review, seriously!

 

Give us some pictures/screenshots of that screen!