Placed my HEL 80 order today!

Well, this is one of the most useless topics around, but I guess I'm happy cause I just placed my order for a Compal HEL 80.

15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) Matte LCD
PCI-e nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 w/256MB
Intel Duo Core T2300 (1.63Ghz; 2MB L2 Cache; 667Mhz FSB)
1,024MB (2 SODIMMS) DDR2/533 Dual Channel Memory
80GB SATA/150 Hitachi Hard Drive at 7,200 RPM
Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti DVDR Drive w/Software
Built-in Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
Built-in Bluetooth Wireless
2-Year Carry-In warranty

Can't wait!

 

Congratulations on your purchase. It's a great system and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

 

DDR2/533 Dual Channel Memory? Not DDR2/667?

Where did you buy it?

 

www.laptops4u.nl

Pretty much the only shop that delivers the Compal HEL 80 in Europe for a good price. I plan on buying 2x1024 DDR2 667 soon anyway, so I can live with the 2x512 for now

 

Got mine there too!
Ordered it 2 days ago! Still isn't here! Aaargh

 

Which one did you get? A VBI or a Non-VBI?

 

VBI

2500, 80 gig 2048 667mhz with bluetooth and wireless

 

http://www.laptops4u.nl/info/hel80-t2500-80-7200-2048-1051.html

This one right? I chose the non-VBI cause of the screen.

 

Yup thats the one!
Was going for the nVBI but it was a matter of money and didnt need a TV-tuner anyways, screen didnt really matter to me.
Biggest matter was the battery, but I'll buy a 9cell afterwards

 

Yeh the battery was a big plus as well. I figured I didn't need more CPU than the T2300, cause in games the biggest bottleneck would be the 7600 Go anyway. The 2 Gigs of memory is nice though, but it's not a big deal to go order some cheap from some Asian country

 

God, I just wish they would be at the door right now :')

 

It's a good thing I've got a busy weekend

 

I'm thinking of buying my Compal there as well. And just like condor, I problably will buy the VBI-version...

But still doubting if I would buy it now, or wait on Merom, so that prices drop and I perhaps can buy the non-vbi for the same price as the non-vbi right now ...

 

You mean buy the nVBI at the price of an VBI

 

Merom is scheduled to be priced exactly the same as Yonah. Yonah is not scheduled for any price drops when Merom comes out. Resellers will likely simply sell out of them and then restock Merom only as Yonah phases out.

Of course, individual resellers may make individual choices about their remaining Yonah stock...

 

Yeah, my mistake

And indeed I heard those rumours as well that the Merom will be priced the same as the Yonah is right NOW. But therefor I think the price of Yonah will drop a bit ...

 

Unfortunately it's not merely a rumor...but anything's possible if resellers get stuck with a lot of Yonah's that nobody wants once Merom is more available.

 

Hmm order should take 5 working days.. Tomorrow is day 5 and still didn't hear a thing

 

Order took more than 2 weeks for me (laptops4u). The processor shipment was delayed. O well, it's worth the waiting.

 

OMG the horror!
What was the expected delivery time?

 

No, it was set at 5 working days.

 

Weird, now I got a mail that it's about to ship out Thought it was already shipped last Thursday pfff...

 

Mine should come in today @ L4U and ship to me today, so I have good hopes for tomorrow!

 

Condor if you have him, will you let me know what you think about the VBI version (especially about the glossy screen, etc), as I am still doubting which one to buy...

 

Will do

 

And I'll comment on the HEL80-09 then, you should be able to make a good decision then...

 

I've bought the non-VBI version with the WSGA matte screen. If you can spend some more money, i would recommend it. Absolutly beautifull !
And also great performance,
good batterytime,
good graphics.

It's a great machine

 

I already have the VBI-version (didn't buy it @ L4U though). I assume you have some troubles with the glossy screen? I wouldn't ditch the VBI-version for it. I love the glossy part of the screen, the colors look way more natural. It does reflect a lot more than normal screens when there's direct sunlight at the screen, but the colors remain vivid (as long as the reflecting doesn't bother you).

I wouldn't recommend the non-VBI version over the VBI-version unless you want the WXSGA+ screen (which I understand) and the extra media buttons. One tiny problem is that the WXGA glossy screen suffers from backlight leakage though, take that in account.

Btw, I see that the non-VBI version costs a lot more @ L4U. In that case I would go for the VBI-version. Bought mine with a T2400, 2x 512MB dual channel and 100GB 7200rpm for €1280. I don't think you'll be able to achieve the same price with the non-VBI version.

 

Mine is coming in today, the only thing is that I dont hav ethe memory I ordered but they will send the other 1024mb later on.
So expect some report this afternoon.

 

I bought the Non-VBI T2300, 2x512, 80GB 7200rpm, Bluetooth, Wifi for €1249. CPU will never be my bottleneck anyhow and I'm not bothered about 20 Gb, I have plenty of storage at home. I just like the looks a whole lot better with the Non-VBI (aluminum finish etc.) and the screen is obviously a big plus for me.

 

Well okay then, I like the looks of the VBI-version a lot better. Plus I was worried about the high-res screen that it would make the letters look too small.

 

Yes, that's something I'm a bit worried about as well, but I will find out soon enough

 

Ok a little later then the afternoon cause off work but here I am

First off the glossy screen, I never had one before and now I fell in love with it the colors are much better and I havent been bothered by any reflections whatsoever, the only time you notice it is when its completly dark.

Windows Vista Pre-RC1 works as a charm no problems, and even gets more drivers right after the install then XP.

It's nice and quiet, every once in a while the fan ticks off but it isnt annoying at all, one time while installing something the CD-ROMplayer made some noise but I think it was caused by the CD and not the player as it was gone with the next CD.

Only thing that was a little strange is the keyboard layout, it has some weird places for the strange characters (!@#$%^ etc) the settings in Windows allow me to get them at the normal places but then when you are looking for one it's really annoying that it isnt in the right place.

Not really much else to tell, if anybody wants to know anything just ask!

 

c0nd0r, if you want to get Aero working in Vista, you'll need these drivers. Install the drivers by updating the VGA drivers in the device manager. Select nv_cp.inf.

Btw, ben je toevallig ook een Fok!ker die in het 24-USA topic rondzwerft? Daar zit ook een c0nd0r namelijk.

 

It isn't an issue at all.

 

I would second that as well. The WSXGA+ matte screen is beautiful. You can always adjust font sizes if you feel they're too small.

 

Thx guys

@Condor: how bout the flex of the keyboard? Is it really as bad as some people suggest?

 

Ah thnx! I thought they dropped it in the Pre RC1
En ja dat ben ik

Well I'm not that hard to please so I think its not that big an issue I only notice a little around the arrow keys, but its no problem with typing or anything