Compaq Presario V3197TU

I bought compaq C702TU in January 08. My main purpose was to buy it for office use which mainly includes working on MS office . internet and softwares. Before buying this I did a bit of research online, and went through different dealers and companies such as acer , dell , LG and ofcourse HP.

What I learned by this research was that its important to know what you want , because there are a lot of choices in the market and the more options you get more confusing it will be.

The configuration is like this :

Intel Celeron M530 1.7ghz

512 MB RAM (upgraded to 1 GB)

80 GB HDD

15'4 DISPLAY 1280X800 resolution

3 USB ports

1 Ethernet

1 VGA Port

DVD Writer

WIFI 802.11b/g

Now some of you might wonder why I went for a celeron processor. Well, because of 2 reasons.

1. Its a very stable processor has a proven track record and is also an X86 based platform.

2. Its fast , performes better than a dual core system.

Since my purpose was official use I didnt need any graphics card.  Windows XP  runs  great  on it  and fast . 80 GB HDD is more than enough for my use.  Screen resolution is good too. The amazing thing is that it runs really silent, you would hardly notice any noise.

Speakers are Altec Lansing and sound surprisingly good for a budget laptop. The  build quality is good. you dont have to worry too much about maintaining it . just need to keep the screen clean from time to time rest the notebook takes care of itself. Its a rough and tough laptop.

The machine stays cool most of the time because the exhaust design and locations is excellent.

Fan is on the left side and also on the bottom. this is a well thought heat release mechanism.

Battery lasts for about 90 minutes if you are watching a movie or some soap. Longer minutes upto 130 may be achieved working on documents or surfing the net.

DVD reads and writes fast without a fuss. memory card reader works cool and fast. VGA port is handy while making presentations.

In the end I would say if you are planning to buy a laptop soon just set your priorities. All the latest technology and processor is good only if you are buying it for personal use. Otherwise this plain dude is simply superb.

For any questions or feedback leave me a message.

Thanks.

Compaq Presario V3197TU

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Beautiful dark-gray glossy finish

Excellent Altec-Lansing speakers

Full-sized Keys for easy typing

Inexpensive

Vibrant Display Panel

SPECIFICATION

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Processor : Intel Celeron-M 420 (1.73 GHz, 1 MB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB) chipset Intel 945

Express Memory : 512MB DDR2 (667 MHz), 2 DIMM slots (Expandable to 2GB)

Optical Drive : Super Multi Drive 8x DVD Writer 8x Double Layer (8.5 GB) DVD+/- RW, +/-R Writer DVD: 8x +/- write, 4x +/- re-write, 8x read DVD+R DL: 4x read, 2.4x write CD: 24x write, 16x re-write, 24x read max speed DVD-RAM: 5x read and write

Video Graphics : Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GMA 950

Monitor : 14.1 inch wide-screen color TFT, Native Resolution: 1280 x 800

In-Built Speakers : Altec Lansing Stereo Speakers (Superb Speakers)

Connectivity : 10/100 Network Card, 56k Modem, 802.11 b/g Wireless LAN

Battery : 6 cell Lithium Ion

Interface : ExpressCard/54 slot

One Headphone/Line-Out

One Microphone In

Three USB 2.0 ports

One IEEE 1394 port (4 pins)

One S-Video TV-Out

One RJ-11 Modem

One RJ45 NIC

One DC Power In

One VGA out

Kensington Lock Slot

Two Omni-directional Microphones

*OS : Windows XP Home SP2 (OEM)

*Additional Features : 5-in-1 card reader with support for for xD, Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro.

Dimensions (W x H X D): 1.02/1.53 x 13.5 x 9.33 inches

Weight : 2.44 Kgs

Warranty : 1 year

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I purchased this Laptop before 3 months.

When I saw that in Showroom I was in Love with this Machine.

Its sheer Beauty from Compaq.

Dark Grey and Blue is great Combination.

Best part is Genuine Windows XP Home. Plus Lot more freebies from Microsoft and HP.

All Drivers are available with HP site.

A Disk Based Restore SystemWhich will reload the OS in Case of Crash.

In Built Microphone, Superb Speakers, Excellent Display, 5 in 1 Card Reader, DVD Dual Layer Writer, WiFi, In built DVD Play software makes it an Total Entertainment Machine.

All these at just Rs. 37500 with VAT.

Tip on Buying a Laptop:Buy with Pre Loaded Windows Only. It Makes life Smoother.