Question:
HP-Compaq Presario V3000
General Questions
1) What is your budget? $500-$650
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Word Documenting, a lot of Music, movies,
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk? more or less on my desk
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
none
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really Set on an HP
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
2-3 hours (Will Mostly Be Plugged in A/C
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person? No
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
widescreen
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
NO
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? Yes
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last? Sometime this week
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB? 60 or 80 Gb
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
probally a CD/RW-DVD
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I have been looking for a computer for the last few weeks and have narrowed my search down to basically a V3000t. Since i have gotten to this point, i have debated for days over which processor i will get. My price range goes up to around $650. I have decided on almost all other factors of the V3000 except the processor. My question is whether the Core Solo T1350 is really worth the extra sixty dollars versus going with the Celeron M 430. How much better is the performance and also, I have read in some sites that the Celeron M 430 does not have speedstep while in other sites it claims to have it. Could someone please Clarify this? Thanks
Answer:
Re: HP-Compaq Presario V3000
If you're not playing games the Celeron won't be a big deal, but it does not have speed step. Honestly, if you want to get price down the v3000z option with the AMD Sempron is probably cheaper and just as good (maybe better). Check out a review of the larger v6000z that has some detailed discussion on why that author went from Sempron over Celeron:
Answer:
Re: HP-Compaq Presario V3000
I agree. If you are looking to save some money, go with the AMD version v3000z.
Answer:
Re: HP-Compaq Presario V3000
If the sempron is cheaper I would take it, the Celeron has only a very slight performance advantage over the sempron and lacks various other features which but the sempron in front.
Answer:
Re: HP-Compaq Presario V3000
I'll second the Compaq v3000z recommendations above. Its really well-built for its price range.
Answer:
Thank you all for your help. Also another question, does the memory card and/or processor i choose really affect my ability to watch movies comfortably? (When i say memory card i mean the Nvidia versus the Intel GMA 950) and processor details are below
Secondly i was wondering, and this had been bugging me for a while, is upgrading my processor from the entry level processor to the second tier (such as a Sempron 3500 instead of 3400 or a celeron m430 vs 420) really worth the price. Do the capabilites actually go up enough to be noticeable or is it just worth staying with the entry level processor?
Also the price for the v3000 amd version is the same however it lacks the upgrade deals that the the intel version which leads the intel to being cheaper which is why i lean toward it
Answer:
Re: HP-Compaq Presario V3000
Thank you all for your help. Also another question, does the memory card and/or processor i choose really affect my ability to watch movies comfortably? (When i say memory card i mean the Nvidia versus the Intel GMA 950) and processor details are below
The GPU or the cpu wont make any difference in playing movies. Almost all current systems are more than capable of handling movies. In terms of technology though the Nvidia offers better features and is slightly faster for gaming but since you dont game it wont make much difference which card you choose.
Secondly i was wondering, and this had been bugging me for a while, is upgrading my processor from the entry level processor to the second tier (such as a Sempron 3500 instead of 3400 or a celeron m430 vs 420) really worth the price. Do the capabilites actually go up enough to be noticeable or is it just worth staying with the entry level processor?
Not really worth it. As you can see the price difference is $10/$20 which gives you a clue on the performance benefits. Between the 1.6 & 1.73GHz Celeron, there will be a few percent increase in performance. But if you are on a low budget then the 1.6GHz would be fine and there wont be any noticable difference for general use. The same goes for the Sempron as well.
P.S: If you need a 5 in 1 media card reader plus firewire & an extra USB port be sure to select the graphics card with productivity ports & the imprint finish.