new compal ifl90

let me start off by saying thank you. for al of the info you guys regularly pass along...tricks, things to look out for, and of course the reviews. i have been reading as much as i could for the last month to collect all the info i needed to feel like i purchased the right "lappy" for me. and here it is.


CUSTOM NOTEBOOK Compal FL90 , 15.4" TFT WSXGA NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT 512MB Graphics COMPAL, IFL90120014
INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo T7700 2.4GHz Processor, 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 cache, 35.0W, 65nm
KINGSTON, 4GB (2 x 2GB) ValueRAM PC2-5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM SODIMM, CL5, Non-ECC
HITACHI, 200GB Travelstar 7K200, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache, 9.5mm, SATA 3.0 Gbit/s,
COMPAL, 8x Super-Multi Dual-Layer DVD±RW Optical Drive for Compal FL90/FL91 Series Notebooks
ACCESSORY, Built-in 4-in-1 MMC/SD/MS/MS Pro Media Card Reader
INTEL, Wireless-N WiFi Link 4965AGN, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/Draft N, 11/54/300 Mbps, Internal PCIe Mini Card
BROADCOM, Internal Bluetooth Module v2.0 for Compal FT00/FT01/EL80/EL81/FL90/FL91 Notebook Series
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit, OEM
WARRANTY, Assembled and Tested (1 Year Limited Parts, Lifetime Labor

i also had them install a usb tv tuner for like $75 and the whole thing delivered came in at $1607. i ordered from a not so usual suspect on here (AVAdirect) the price was right and so far communication awsome...though i will know more in a week and a half when i get it. for all of the info i recieved i feel is just as important to take the time to write a review about both the computer and the buying experience from AVAdirect. so once again thanks and look for my review in a few weeks.

 

Its good that you tried a new place because then more people now they could buy it from them. Although I would not have the will to do this, I would probably buy from a trusted reseller.

 

pipeboy98,

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your order. I hope the FL-90 serves you well.

BTW, I moved your thread from WNSIB since you already ordered it.

 

I order most of my parts from avadirect. Check their CS ratings, very high. They have also been around for a long time. They are as you say, a trusted reseller.

 

that's very good and all but has anyone gotten a whole laptop built from them? so far there has been great communication and i have been impressed. so did i get a good deal or what??

 

Very nice specs , I've been shopping around and found avadiect the best with prices and specs myself , I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on the same notebook but with a little less in it.

 

well i am rather new to this, but i wanted something that would run all of the games i have now and some in the near future too. $1600 sounds so much better if it will be divided by 3 or 4 years rather than 1 or 2. My accountant (wife) likes it better that way hehehe! how much less in it were you looking for??

 

well these are my specs that I picked for it, I have a 100 gig 7200 rpm drive for it and 4 gigs of daul channel ram and I have vista ultima and goin g to run 64bit of it for games

CUSTOM NOTEBOOK, Compal FL90 Core 2 Duo Performance Notebook, 15.4" TFT WSXGA/WXGA, NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT 256/512MB Graphics 1
COMPAL, IFL90120014 Core™2 Duo CBB Notebook Barebone, Socket P, Intel® PM965, 15.4" WSXGA TFT Glossy, FPR, NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT 512MB Graphics

INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz Processor, 800MHz FSB, 4MB L2 cache, 35.0W, 65nm, Retail

ARCTIC COOLING, MX-2 High-Performance Thermal Compound, Non-Electrical Conductive

CRUCIAL, 512MB PC2-5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM SODIMM, CL5, Non-ECC

WESTERN DIGITAL, 80GB Scorpio WD800BEVS, 5400-RPM, 8MB Cache, 9.5mm, SATA, OEM

COMPAL, 8x Super-Multi Dual-Layer DVD±RW Optical Drive for Compal FL90/FL91 Series Notebooks

ACCESSORY, Built-in 4-in-1 MMC/SD/MS/MS Pro Media Card Reader (Included)

INTEL, Wireless-N WiFi Link 4965AGN, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/Draft N, 11/54/300 Mbps, Internal PCIe Mini Card


BROADCOM, Internal Bluetooth Module v2.0 for Compal FT00/FT01/EL80/EL81/FL90/FL91 Notebook Series

INTEL, 1GB Intel® Turbo Memory, Internal PCIe Mini Card (Compatible with Windows Vista Only)

NONE, No Operating System (Choose or subject to Limited Support)

WARRANTY, Assembled and Tested (1 Year Limited Parts, Lifetime Labor Warranty)


Shipping ZIP-code: 10128 SUBTOTAL: Shipping method: Ground SHIPPING: $23.94
TAX: $0.00
GRAND TOTAL:

 

i see one major flaw that i didn't even realize until i ordered! the Fl90 ony has 2 pci express slots!!! major bummer i know...but the good news is that with 4 gigs of ram you probably won't need the robson. are you confident enough to replace parts on it or are you making a first attempt? i thought about buying all the parts and doing it myself, but i'm no good with bios, drivers, etc etc etc. give me tools in my hand and parts to put in and i'm golden...telling the parts to work and play well with others isn't my forte!!

 

well if you do a compal search on youtube there's a couple of movies on how it assembled, i've built desktops but never worked on a notebook but if you see the movies it's so simple and I think the guy only uses a screw driver, there's also more clips here in this forum that shows how easy everything comes apart and gets reasembled,

are you saying with that much ram I won't need the turbo memory?

 

yup...that's exactly what i'm saying....no robson needed. like i said not an expert, but from research on here and the guy on the phone from AVAdirect that called me, with 4 gig of ram it's not needed. i actually ordered online and tried to put in the wireless, bluetooth, robson, and the compal tv tuner cards (thought it might be kind of a cool toy!). When they started processing the order i got a phone call at 9 am the next morning asking me to prioritize my wants.

yeah i saw the video...the marines train to dissassemble and reassemble their rifles in minutes too, but that doesnt' mean that i could do and have it fire when i was done!! AKA "what are all of these leftover parts for??"

 

i also heard that with windows 64bit you gain access to all 4 gigs of ram. Not sure about the magic behind the curtain, but it seems that 32 bit can only use up to 3...but 64 bit "sees" the full four!

 

I didn't know that about the memory and vista I'll cancel that turbo, I thought on running something NEW with the vista and the 64 bits,

I don't even play games it's for my son , hope he likes it!

thanks for the info maybe i'll throw in something else , not sure what!

 

good luck any more ??? be sure to ask. i'm not on here all the time but drop in when i can! i'm told that the usb tv tuner isn't bad. that way with high speed internet to download the schedules and a cable hookup a guy could use his laptop like a tivo! toys toys toys...

 

I have tivo but getting rid of it since I don't record and burn anymore with it done with that,

but thanks for all the info and if I think of anything I'll reply here ,good luck to you with your notebook,

??? how long does it take them to build and send altogther , Thanks Again!

 

the guy on the phone said from order to door 2 weeks

 

I pulled the trigger on this tonight! I'll post back when I get it

 

I hear Robson is pretty worthless.

Just my 2 cents.

 

so I hear too. overpriced and underpowered, feature wise. also I'm not sure if the bluetooth in the FL90 is on minipci-e, since there seems to be another slot under the keyboard in top left corner. so that would give us three minipci-e slots instead of the mentioned two. I've assembled an FL90 just recently but didn't bother looking under the plastic covering the top left corner slot. I'll do so next time I get a FL90 on sale

cheers!

 

just so you fellas know, there is actually three mini pci slot on the fl90. Look up the dissasembly guide, there is an extra one under the keyboard which is specifically for the robson module i believe. How I installed mine. Plus that allows for wireless card and tv tuner.

 

uhm, that's sort of what I just said

no biggies tho

cheers ;]

 

well that's not giving me much confidence in the sales guy knowledge!! all i needed was 3 slots...wireless, bluetooth, and tv tuner!! oh well the external tuner should still work fine i just wanted everything internal as much as possible (less to lug around)

 

maybe it was his first day minus point and a lesson for you - do your own research

it's better to ask twice - should've asked here

 

i did!!! almost 2 months worth!!! checking brands, resellers, reliability ratings, reseller scores, ebay scores, any bit of info i could take from anyone i processed and filtered through my needs/wants formula and this is what i came up with.

 

yeah, should've read the laptop specs instead but enough of that! now that you know enjoy what you got - you can always plug your usb tv tuner into any other pc plus you can sell it off on ebay and always get the internal tuner for the IFL90, eh?

cheers! ;]

btw, could it be that the FL90 (the vbi version) does indeed have only 2 slots? I doubt it but like I said I have not looked under the plastic cover, and the next one I might be getting could be IFL so the non-vbi. someone confirming this?

 

i don't know for sure, but i'll confirm in another week and a half when i get mine!!

 

must have been typing at the same time, didn't see it

 

Hi Pipeboy98, did you get a no-glare display? and Microsoft Office?

By the way, check http://www.localpcbuilder.com/ you may get up to $395 free stuff because you bought Vista, or MS Office 2007. The rebates take long time but I did it and it works. I got a WiFi portable base station/mic and a WiFi printer HUB, all for $0.

 

I was looking at this deal and for some reason alot of these builders don't put this on there site when selling

http://www.localpcbuilder.com/buylocal_pcbinfo.aspx

 

Very insightful remark.

My vendor is not on the list, I must therefore assume that the part number is as I got my $$$ back.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/66R-00802-Microsoft-Windows-Vista-Ultimate-32-bit_W0QQitemZ250205104999QQihZ015QQcategoryZ3666QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQtrksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

 

thanks for the heads up wirelessman, i checked the web site and found
AVAdirect was not on the list so my last resort is the part no. route and i won't know that until i get it in the mail. Got another email today telling me it's in processing so hopefully next week sometime!! i orded mine with the 64 bit vista premium so hopefully i can get in on some free goodies. oh and by the way i ended up with the glossy screen...not exactly what i was looking for but couldn't find a matte one in stock until sun.

 

what is $600+ expensive for that or what??

 

No much more expensive, it is more a question of preference, sharper colors (glossy screen) vs no-reflections (matte screen), not a big deal. Gamers like it glossy I believe but I don't use it for gaming so I like matte.

 

well guys here i go...just got the email now that they shipped it today and should be here by thurs. i'm so pumped...it seems like forever ago that i ordered it and now it's en route. now i just have to figure out the proper method for reviewing it...any suggestions??

 

as much photos as possible

im considering this laptop... in UK i can only see this with the WXGA screen, i want to see what its like with the WSXGA, by the way does this come in as glossy or matte, or does it come in both?

Would also like to see the temps you get whilst gaming if possible...

 

Both, glossy and matte.

 

mine is on time and will be here tomorrow WED.

 

The WXGA (1280x800) and WXGA+ (1440x900) both come in glossy and the WSXGA+ (1680x1050) comes in matte.

 

well it finally came got it all hooked up to wifi and took loads of pics....as soon as i have time i'll write my review and upload all of the pics so you can get a look at her. at first glance though (not that it means much,but) it has a vista score of 4.5 straight out of the box. reasonable somewhere to start anyway. ttfn pipe

 

don't forget your feedback on http://www.resellerratings.com/ for AVA

 

you should check out rizeon arenji, been in contact with them about the ifl90 and they responded incredilbly quickly. also the have the WSXGA+ screen and will be stocking the newer ifl92 come early to mid febuary which supports the penryn c2d i think
i'll hopefully be ordering one as soon as they're available

 

couldn't sleep, not with a new toy in the house. so i downloaded 3dmark05 and figured i'd give it a run. first time through i got a lowly 1370!!! i was feeling a little peeved, but then decided to update every driver i could find and ended up with 169.12 off of laptopvideo2go.com and received a 6443. some improvement eh??? still tinkering, puttering if you will. any more hints/tips won't be turned away!!!

 

I am already awaiting on this as well... i believe they havent updated their website because they have a lot of backorders on the IFL90... but the JFL92 is the one im awaiting for, and with the 4GB on offer it should be good as well, hope that continues. Looking to get it with the T9300.

@pipeboy98: 6443 is quite high isn't it? are there any other comparative results for this notebook? awaiting your photos....

 

yeah the t9300 seems to be the best option for me also. gonna be a hell of a jump from my early centrino laptop i have now

 

sorry everyone didn't mean to leave you hangin with the pics but i'm going to need a little time to find a new dig camera...seems my old one took a spill...but by this weekend i should have everything taken care of and finished. by the way...this thing is awesome, my computer guru freind was absolutely amazed when i took it to his house and maxed out the settings on unreal tourney 3 and played with him. the look on his face was priceless since he said he didn't know for sure "if it would even work on one of those little things".

 

i be interested in the games you can run on this... can you let me know of the sort of FPS you get with these games... cheers!