Scorbing Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 (edited) Specs: Processor Type: Intel Celeron 900 at 2.2 GHz Single Core Screen Size: 15.6 inch High Definition LCD Video: Intel 4500 Extreme Graphics Operating System: Windows 7 64 bit Memory: 2 GB DDR2 PC2-6400 ( 4GB Max) Primary Drive: DVD+/-RW Hard Drive Capacity: 250 GB at 7200 RPM $329.00 at BestBuy I am very picky when it comes to buying computers, especially laptops and even more special, laptops with Celeron CPUs. This is my very first Celeron laptop and I have to tell you that I am surprised and amazed at the performance of this particular Celeron. Todays Celeron CPUs are NOT the Celeron CPUs of 10 years ago. These new Celeron 900 are based on Core 2 Duo CPUs. They are exactly the same except for 2 things: They have 25% less Cache than their Core 2 Duo counterpart and they are single core, but that doesn't mean it's slow by any means. This laptop came with 2GB of RAM (I upgraded it to the full 4GB), a 15.6" HD LCD Screen, a 250GB Hard Drive running at 7200 RPM - yes you are reading right - 7200 RPM! - Most laptops out there have a 5400 RPM HD, including the more expensive models, so this is a real bonus. It comes with B, G, and N Wireless, Intel 4500 Graphics, 2 USB Ports and a DVD Writer. The performance of this laptop is quite good. Very fast booting up. Windows open smoothly. Tasks are handled quite well, even with 2GB of RAM. The 4GB of RAM makes things even better. The Celeron 900 2.2 GHz CPU inside packs quite a punch. Take a look at this benchmark It is by no means a weak processor. Overall this is a great laptop for $329.00 (BestBuy). Much better than a Netbook for sure (since that is what I was going to buy in the first place). Netbooks have no CD or DVD units, only 1GB of RAM, Slow Atom CPUs and 8 to 10 inch screens and cost over $350.00 (a good one that is). This laptop simply beats the netbooks in price, power and features. You will not be able to do serious video editing or play online games like Unreal Tournament 3, Crysis or things like that because of the limited video card, but hey let's get real, who uses a laptop to play games anyways? That's what desktops are for. If you are going to be mobile (traveling), going to school or simply work at the office then this is the perfect machine for you. If you are into web surfing, email and Microsoft Office and on a budget then look no further. For the price, you are getting a quality built machine with everything you need to do. All that and a little more. The components inside (motherboard and chipset) are made by Intel. I highly recommend it. Edited January 13, 2010 by Scorbing Dance. 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsupersonic Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Yeah, but a netbook is more portable (fits in some of my pants pockets), gets much more battery life. You're paying for portability in a netbook... Some people do play games with laptops, there are some pretty nice laptops out there with nice GPU's (some even with SLI). Of course, at that point, it's not really great with battery life, but once you plug it in, you can play games. Yes, it's pricey, but they do what they are meant to do. Just because you don't play games on laptops doesn't mean other people don't. I think I was the one that told you that Celerons today are based on their bigger brothers Pentium Dual Core and Core 2's. They really are not that bad, for budget computing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackdoom Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 (edited) Nice review! Thanks for the information! EDIT: I would much rather buy a laptop than a netbook, for that price. So yeah, I believe that that laptop, for that price, is a smart choice. Edited January 14, 2010 by CrownedClown03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 Yeah, but a netbook is more portable (fits in some of my pants pockets), gets much more battery life. You're paying for portability in a netbook... Some people do play games with laptops, there are some pretty nice laptops out there with nice GPU's (some even with SLI). Of course, at that point, it's not really great with battery life, but once you plug it in, you can play games. Yes, it's pricey, but they do what they are meant to do. Just because you don't play games on laptops doesn't mean other people don't.I think I was the one that told you that Celerons today are based on their bigger brothers Pentium Dual Core and Core 2's. They really are not that bad, for budget computing... LOL I think you did. You are right though, some people do play games on laptops since a laptop is all they have as a desktop replacement. In that case, usually someone who plays games on a laptop gets one of the more expensive models with a dedicated graphics chip, but this Compaq is not bad at all for the price. It is perfect for students or people like me who only do email, web surfing and a little photo editing here and there. All the heavy stuff like gaming, etc I do on the PC and the heavy video and photo editing on the iMac since it seems better at it (maybe its me, but I think so) Anyways, the Celeron it comes with does put out quite a punch. I upgraded the memory to 4GB and it is running smoothly. The graphics on the screen look amazing. Nice review! Thanks for the information! NP ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tigran Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Hi, when you upgaded the memory did you add 2 GB or you had to install all 4GB new? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jamesyfx Subscriber² Posted January 23, 2010 Subscriber² Share Posted January 23, 2010 I sold a lot of the CQ60 series when I worked at a PC store, and there are lots of design advantages to these over equivalent Dell laptops, so I steered people toward the Compaq range rather than the Dells. USB port placement (side by side instead of on top of one another), and the one solid hinge which goes all the way across the base. Just a more practical design really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Hi, when you upgaded the memory did you add 2 GB or you had to install all 4GB new? Thanks I had to add two 2GB sticks since it came with two 1 GB sticks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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