Greetings from a Compaq V2000

[K. Eng]

Hi all, your moderator, K. Eng here reporting from the land of ThinkPad Exile Island.

I've managed to secure a loaner laptop: a Compaq V2000 series with the following specs:

1.8 GHz AMD Turion
512MB RAM (128MB eaten by Radeon 200M chipset), 384 MB effective
80GB HDD
8x DVD+-R combo drive with LightScribe direct label
14.1" WXGA display
Approx 5.5 lbs
1 year warranty

The keyboard is suprisingly good on this machine. I've typed on the HP version of this machine (DV1000 series) and the HP's keyboard was awful. This one is solid, has good feedback, and decent travel.

Biggest drawback is the pointing devices. The touchpad is a Synaptics model like the ones Lenovo uses, so its responsive and accurate. Sadly, there is no TrackPoint , and my index finger still wanders around looking for one. The position of the touchpad is also kind of odd. It is off-center relative to the space key, so my palm sometimes brushes it. Grr.

Build quality is kind of mediocre. The display hinges are tight now, but they wobble a bit, and a bit of pressure on the back of the display housing will cause the LCD to ripple. The base plastics seem to warp a bit, with the result that the right lower rubber foot doesn't always touch the tabletop

Display is nice - one of those "Brightview" things. The reflection can be annoying though. I much prefer the Matte coating on the ThinkPad or the MacBook Pro.

Overall, I'd say this is an ok computer, so long as its a desk princess for most of its operational life. The exterior plastics aren't horribly weak, but I wouldn't want to drag this machine everywhere with me. The hinges really do not inspire much confidence.

Overall, not bad for $700 bucks. But I'd rather have a T60

[tfflivemb2]

Ok, somebody remove his Mod status for treason ASAP!! jk

Glad to hear that you are atleast back in the mobile world. Hope this Compaq holds you over until your T40 issue is resolved. I have used Compaq's before (specifically the M300 for a while) and they have been pretty much ok to me too.

[underclocker]

I had two similar V2000's with Turion cpu's. Surprisingly quick, good looking, lot's of features and cool LEDs, multi-memory card reader, DVD burner, great screen, and not too heavy, for very little money.

However, it feels soooo cheap. The plastic feels brittle and the silver coating scratches very easily. The keyboard isn't bad, but you wouldn't mistake it for a ThinkPad. My first unit died immediately when I inserted an SD card into the multi-reader.

It needed a new system board (which HP replaced in one business day! - or three business days total including prepaid shipping both ways, very IBM-like service).

Impressive machines, but not for me. I sold both immediately. A used T40 or R51 is still a better buy IMHO.

[K. Eng]

I agree quality of the exterior components is suspect. I really do not think the hinges on the V2000 will hold up well over time.

However, it feels soooo cheap. The plastic feels brittle and the silver coating scratches very easily.
...
A used T40 or R51 is still a better buy IMHO.

[K. Eng]

I'll add a word or two about how hot this laptop gets. I know some people complained about hot T4x and Dell D600 palmrests, but this Compaq V2000 has them both beat. The area around the HDD has little or no ventilation, and it gets boiling hot. The area where the Turion 64 CPU is located also gets extremely hot.

Part of this is due to the fact that the V2000 uses a lot of ABS plastic in its construction. This stuff seems to be a good insulator and traps heat.

Consequently, I have a small personal fan that I have aimed at the V2000's left side in order to keep air circulating around the hotspots.

I envy you folks with cool running T60s and other Centrino machines