Compaq Presario V2000

Compaq Presario V2000 Review

After merging with Hewlett-Packard, Compaq has maintained its brand by producing similiar models to its counterpart. The Compaq V2000 is nearly identical to the Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dv1000, with the only notable difference is the aesthetic design and the quickplay feature found only on the

Overview

After merging with Hewlett-Packard, Compaq has maintained its brand by producing similiar models to its counterpart. The Compaq V2000 is nearly identical to the Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dv1000, with the only notable difference is the aesthetic design and the quickplay feature found only on the dv1000 . Students and home users demand a laptop that is inexpensive and lightweight, with enough power to perform basic tasks.

The Compaq V2000 is aimed directly at this niche, providing a mid-range Pentium M 725 in a lightweight 5.25 lb chassis, starting at an affordable $1000. While performance is certainly not the fastest, the V2000 handles perfectly as an on-the-go multimedia machine. Power users who desire the V2000's small footprint and light weight, but would prefer more power can upgrade the machine to suit their needs, such as upgrading to a faster CPU, hard drive, and RAM. Unfortunately, the integrated graphics is not upgradable. The V2000 has a beautiful 14-inch widescreen with BrightView, JBL Pro speakers, and a number of features to appeal to the avid multimedia users.

Design

Portability
The Compaq V2000 is compact and portable, about the size (13.15" x 9.1" x1.53") and weight (5.21 lbs) of an average textbook, making it a great machine for carrying around to work or to class. Although the outer material is constructed out of plastic, it seems very durable and solid, adding to its value as an on-the-go laptop. It can easily slip in most mid-size backpacks and carrying cases.

Case Design
The V2000 laptop casing is made of reinforced plastic. The black and silver outer shell feels durable and strong, but not as that of a metal shell. It has a matte finish, with a slightly rough texture. The hinges are made of the same material but seems durable enough for long term use. A metal shell would have been preferable, aiding in durability. However, you should face no problems with the V2000 case shell.

Although the keyboard is a bit stiff, the keys aren't shallow and are of standard size, making typing an enjoyable experience. When depressed, the keys make a distinct clicking sound, which may become annoying after time. Note the numerous function keys and the pseudo numeric keypad. Interestingly, the volume control does not reside as function keys, unlike other laptops. Instead, it is placed close to the Power button.

The V2000 offers many function keys. Not only does the V2000 have the standard monitor brightness adjustments, but it also has multimedia keys such as stop, play, and pause functions. The power button is located in the middle of the laptop, and glows a pleasing orange-red color. The wireless on/off switch glows a cool blue.

The touchpad is very well constructed. The upper button turns the touchpad on or off, which is a good feature to have if you choose to attach a mouse. It also has the added benefit of providing minimal lighting if you are working in the dark. The up/down and left/right scrolls are well done as well. The left/right click buttons are rubberized. However, they make a loud clicking sound, which may become annoying. Also, the touchpad is a bit small compared to most laptops, but this shouldn't become a major problem.

The V2000 has the minimal user requirements of one headphone and one microphone jack. The LCD screen is unlocked by depressing the "Compaq" button. The status lights fit in perfectly with the overall style, adding to the laptop's sleek asthetics. However, it would have been preferred to place the LEDs on the inside, so that you can see the laptop's status without too much effort.

Design Continued

Ports
The left side of the laptop houses the analog monitor port, proprietary port for the HP Expansion Base, Ethernet port, modem, 1 of 3 USB ports, PCMIA slot, and Kensington security slot. I dislike how the analog monitor port is missing the 2 screws, which aid in keeping the cable from falling off. The peripheral ports are generally well designed and are not protruding out of the chassis.

Left side

The right side of the V2000 houses two more USB ports, the S-Video port, a single Firewire (IEEE 1394) port, a 6-in-1 memory reader, and the usual DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive.

Right side

The 6 memory card formats are: CF Type I, CF Type II,
SmartMedia, SecureDigital, Memory Stick, and Multimedia.

Aside from a small air grill and the power connector, there is nothing of concern on the back. Note how small the air grill is; the Pentium M produces very little heat. Thus, a large and complicated cooling contraption is not needed. The integrated graphics core is even more power frugal. However, such low power usage comes at a cost in performance, as you will see later in the performance section.

Front

Back

Heat and Noise
Since the V2000 utilizes the low-power Pentium M, which only uses 21W, the V2000 is generally very silent. Most of the time, the fan is actually OFF! The activates every few minutes to remove excess heat. Unfortunately the fan only has two settings: on and off. I would prefer that the fan constantly run at the lowest setting. Although the V2000 gets warm, it never gets too hot, even after extensive use.

Upgrading and Expansion
HP offers the xb2000 Notebook Expansion Base to use the V2000 as a desktop computer. The dock provides Harman Kardon speakers, wireless keyboard and optical mouse, 3 USB ports, S-Video, composite-out, S/PDIF, microphone jack, I/R receiver/window, headphone out, RJ-11, RJ-45/Ethernet, and charges your notebook. Note that it's just as easy to charge your notebook without the base, and the V2000 sound system is already above average.

The V2000 allows easy access to the battery, 2 SO-DIMM slots, the internal wireless card, and the hard drive. I was disappointed in its lack of easy CPU access, although most notebooks do not offer this feature. Providing easy CPU upgrade capability will potentially save you lots of money; when you are seeking higher laptop performance, you merely need to upgrade the CPU instead of buying a brand new laptop. I prefer the easy access of the Ibuypower Battalion AMD 101, which uses the Uniwill 258KA0 . The Uniwill 258KA0 is incredibly easy to upgrade, since everything (CPU, RAM, hard drive, wireless, etc) is under one easily unscrewable roomy panel, unlike the cramped compartments of the V2000. However, upgrading the V2000 is easier than most laptop with its straightforward compartments.

Features

CPU
The Compaq V2000 uses the Pentium M 1.6ghz (Dothan) running at 400MHz front side bus with 2MB L2 cache. Following the standard rule of thumb, the 1.6ghz processor is roughly equal to a (1.6x1.6) 2.6ghz Pentium 4, or an AMD 64 2700+ (1.6ghz). Therefore, we can expect performance is about equal to a modern low end desktop machine. However, this is compensated by a longer battery life, due to the low power consumption (21W TDP) inherent in the Dothan.

Since it is a mobile CPU, the Pentium M has a special feature to further save power: SpeedStep. This technology clocks the CPU down to 600mhz when idle, saving considerable battery life when performing mudane tasks such as browsing the web.

RAM
Since the FSB is only 100mhz, the RAM is virtually capped at the same speed. The chipset is also only limited to PC2100. That means that although the RAM is really PC2700 (166mhz), the RAM is limited to PC2100 (133mhz) by the chipset, and is virtually limited to 100mhz by the FSB. The net result is that the RAM is only running at less than 60% efficiency compared to if the same RAM was used with a processor that utilized the full 166mhz, such as the Pentium 4.

Note that the timings default to 2-3-3-6, when the memory is rated at CL2.5. This is because the memory is running lower than its default frequency (166mhz), so the SPD timings are lower.

Chipset/Motherboard
The motherboard is made by the ODM manufacturer Quanta, using the i855GM/E chipset. This chipset is old and outdated, providing only 100mhz FSB support and only AGP 4x. We will see how this impacts performance later.

GPU
The Compaq V2000 uses an integrated Intel Extreme Graphics 2 graphics chip, which lacks in performance compared to discrete graphics cards offered by ATI or Nvidia. Although better than the original Intel Extreme Graphics, it's still can't handle modern graphics-accelerated applications. Not only is Intel's integrated graphics solution slow, it also hogs system RAM, so you only have access to about 3/4 of your total system RAM. Luckily, unlike Mac OS X with its OpenGL-accelerated interface, having a subpar graphics card will not provide a significant bottleneck to computer performance, as long as you stay away from 3D work. However, the next generation of Windows XP, codenamed Longhorn, will utilize the graphics card for rendering of the desktop, and more. Therefore, if you are planning on upgrading to Longhorn in the future, keep in mind that the Compaq V2000 will not be able to support it.

Doom 3 does not even render correctly, much less run smoothly on the V2000.

Display
The Compaq V2000 has a beautiful transreflective screen, like those found on PDAs. The best part about transreflective displays is that it is actually possible to see the display under sunlight. With other non-reflective laptop screens, it is nearly impossible. Compaq calls this feature BrightView. However, some people may be distracted by the inherant reflections caused by this technology. I did not find this to be a problem. Colors are full and sharp. The viewing angle is wide, and the response rate was decent for most tasks. Since the V2000 does not fully support gaming, having a high response rate would not have mattered anyways. The resolution is high enough to display lots of information on the screen, but low enough to ensure words aren't too small. Brightness seems to be above average, and is good enough for all applications, especially watching movies. Since the V2000 uses an integrated Intel graphics chip, it will not take advantage of any image enhancing qualities that some GPUs offer, such as the Radeon X-series. Movie image is still exemplary however.

Since the Compaq V2000 has a 14-inch widescreen at a 5:3 aspect ratio (1280:768), it is great for viewing widescreen movies, and works very nicely for viewing web pages and documents side-by-side.

Speakers
The advanced JBL Pro speakers work beautifully at reproducing sound, much better than that of standard laptop speakers. Placed at both ends of the laptop in the front of the chassis, the speakers offer a full surround sound experience. The sound works great even at loud volumes, perfect for everything ranging from listening to music to watching movies. Although not as good as full desktop speakers, the bass was relatively full.

Features Continued

Wireless
The Compaq V2000 uses the standard integrated Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG (802.11b/g) card, as is required to achieve Centrino certification. As previously mentioned, the Compaq V2000 has a dedicated wireless on/off button, great for saving power when needed. Wireless performance is standard as well. Wireless strength and speed were never an issue, like most laptops with Centrino certification. Compaq offers Bluetooth as an upgrade, and also provides an alternative (Broadcom 802.11 b/g) to the Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG card.

Optical Drive
The V2000 uses the CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, suitable for watching movies and listening to music. Although there are no DVD burning capabilities in the standard model, the Compaq V2000 still offers CD-RW support. The laptop performs adequately with loading DVDs. Compaq allows you to upgrade to a 8X DVD +/- RW/R & CD-RW Combo drive if you are in need of DVD writing and faster DVD reading capabilities.

The disk drive specs are as follows:

• CD Read 24x
• CD Write 24x
• DVD Read 8x

Hard Drive
Utilizing a slow Fujitsu MHT2040AT PL 40GB 4200rpm hard drive with a mere 2MB buffer, the Compaq V2000 performs slowly in loading applications, file transfer, and other hard drive intensive tasks. The only benefit of having a slow drive is that the hard drive is almost completely silent, even when searching. I suggest upgrading to at least a 5400rpm drive. Also, the relatively small 40GB hard drive may be insufficient if this laptop will be your main machine; I suggest having a hard drive with at least 60GB of storage. Compaq does not offer a 7200rpm model upgrade, so the fastest hard drive you can get pre-installed is the 80GB 5400rpm drive.

Battery and Power Brick
The supplied battery is a 4400 mAh standard 6 cell laptop battery. Due to the low power usage of the Pentium M, the battery can last several hours before a recharge is needed, enough for watching any movie. HP did not include any proprietary power management software. Standard power settings found in Windows XP should be sufficient for all your needs.

The included power brick is very compact and lightweight, perfect for travel. The cable length is sufficient for most requirements. However, no cable management devices are included.

Software
There are only a few CDs containing basic software for the Compaq V2000. Included are the Documentation, Windows XP install, Application and Driver Recovery, and Microsoft Works & Money 2004 CDs. The Windows XP install disk also installs all necessary drivers, as well as a few programs for photo, DVD, and CD burning and management:

• Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 Starter Edition
• InterVideo WinDVD
• RecordNow! CD&DVD Recording
• Sonic Express Labeler

Although there are freeware applications that perform the same task better, the preinstalled programs are suitable for their purposes, and relatively easy to use

Setup Method

The Compaq V2000 was set to run at full performance (power scheme set to 'Home/Office Desk'), meaning it would run at maximum performance during the tests. For the battery performance test, the power scheme was set to 'Portable/Laptop'. This activates SpeedStep technology, which lowers CPU speed when not needed, thus increasing battery life. Screen brightness and audio were set to 50%. Wi-Fi was turned on. Each test was repeated 3 times to ensure exactness. Before each test was run, the laptop was rebooted and its hard drive was defragmented.

Business Winstone 2004 runs business related applications through a series of scripted activities and uses the time a PC takes to complete those activities to produce its performance scores. Each application runs 5 tests through a series of demos and activities. Business Winstone 2004 FAQ .

• Microsoft Access 2002
• Microsoft Excel 2002
• Microsoft Frontpage 2002
• Microsoft Outlook 2002
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
• Microsoft Project 2002
• Microsoft Word 2002
• Norton AntiVirus Professional Edition 2003
• Winzip 8.1

Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004 is a single large test that runs following applications through a series of scripted activities and returns a single score.

• Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1
• Adobe Premiere 6.50
• Macromedia Director MX 9.0
• Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 6.1
• Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9 Version 9.00.00.2980
• NewTek's LightWave 3D 7.5b
• Steinberg WaveLab 4.0f

You can read more from: Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004 FAQ .

Business Winstone 2004 Batterymark measures a laptop computer's battery life by simulating real-world use running Windows XP. The program measures the time it takes to drain the battery by running applications such as Microsoft Office XP, Norton AntiVirus, and WinZip through a series of scripted activities to drain the battery in a realistic way.

3DMark 2001 SE PRO build 3.3.0 measures graphics performance by utilizing the CPU, memory, and graphics through a series of 21 test, including game tests, theoretical tests, DX8 feature tests, and image quality tests. Resolution set to 1024x768 with default settings.

3DMark 2003 build 3.6.0 measures DX9 performance through a series of 3D game based sound, graphics, and CPU tests. Testing was performed at 1024x768 with default settings.

PCMark 2004 build 1.3.0 uses real life application tests to test specific tasks, such as application loading, game tests, 3D rendering, multimedia encoding, and more. Testing was performed at 1024x768 with default settings.

Doom 3 (Version 1.1) using the built-in time-demo, initiating with the console command 'timedemo demo1 precache'.

Settings:

• 800x600 resolution
• Quality Setting: Medium
• 0xAA
• VSynch Disabled
• Highy quality special effects enabled
• Enable Shadows enabled
• Enable Specular enabled
• Enable Bump Maps

Configurations
The Compaq V2000 was compared to the VAIO A250 and an AMD64 laptop from the internet computer company Ibuypower. Based off the powerful Uniwill 258KA0 ODM model, the AMD64 laptop almost guarantees extreme performance. The AMD64 laptop is priced at around $1500, similar to that of the VAIO. The Compaq V2000 costs a mere $1000.

An interesting note: the Pentium M 725 is in the same price range as the AMD64 3200+ DTR. Therefore, it is fair to compare the two processors for the non-3D tests. The AMD64 laptop has a Mobility Radeon 9700 128MB, which is equivalent to the last generation mid-range desktop Radeon 9600 XT 128MB.

System	Compaq V2000	VAIO VGN-A250	Battalion S-Turbo
OS	Windows XP Home SP2	Windows XP Home SP2	Windows XP Pro SP2
CPU	Pentium M 725 1.60 GHz	Pentium M 725 1.60 GHz	AMD Athlon 64 3200+ DTR
Bus	400 MHz	400 MHz	400 MHz
RAM	512MB DDR333 CL2.5	512MB DDR333 CL2.5	2x512MB DDR400 CL3
Hard Drive	Fujitsu 40GB 4200RPM	Hitachi 80GB 4200RPM	Hitachi 60GB 7200RPM
Video	Intel Extreme Graphics 2	ATI RADEON 9200 64MB	ATI RADEON 9700 128MB
Battery	4,400 mAh	4,400 mAh	4,400 mAh

Performance

Business Winstone 2004
The Business and Multimedia tests are commonly to test a laptop's performance in business and multimedia-oriented tasks. This series of tests load up commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, and others, and tests the performance each one offers.

These tests are dependant on the CPU, RAM bandwidth, and hard drive. It is strange how low the V2000 scores, considering how it uses the same CPU and RAM as the A250. This deficiency is no doubt caused by Compaq's choice of the cheapest, least powerful Intel chipset, which only supports a low memory bandwidth. However, the V2000 still performs respectably, given its cost.

Multimedia Content Creation 2004

In this test, everything from video editing to rendering is performed. The V2000 surprisingly scores decently compared to the A250. The AMD64 laptop unsurprisingly demolishes its competition, yet again.

3DMark 2001

Even though 3DMark01 tests overall system performance, the integrated graphics present in the V2000 is a severe bottleneck, which is demonstrated by the extremely poor score.

3dmark 2003
3dmark 2003 is a popular DX9 test which focuses on graphics card performance

The V2000's integrated graphics will not allow you to play any modern (DX9) games.

Performance Continued

PCMark04
PCMark runs many tests, such as application loading and video encoding, and comes up with a final score, with many different subscores. By comparing the subscore, it is easy to see the strengths and weaknesses of your laptop.

The Compaq V2000 scores surprisingly well in the CPU test, coming close even to the AMD64. The reason that it has a similar score to that of the A250 is because both use the same CPU, the Pentium M 725.

Even though the V2000 uses the same CPU and RAM as that of the A250, the A250 still scores higher due to the fact that the V2000 utilizes a chipset that can not support higher speed RAM.

Graphics is the V2000's weakness. Integrated graphics have always been considerably sub-par, and the fact that the AMD64, with its mediocre graphics card, scores 463% better is testament to my previous statement regarding how the V2000 is not meant to play games, nor do any other 3D work.

Both the V2000 and the A250 utilize a slow 4200rpm hard drive. Because the A250's hard drive has a higher density (80GB vs 40GB), it reads data slightly faster. Hence, the Compaq V2000 is last again. The AMD64 laptop completely destroys the opposition with its fast 7200rpm hard drive.

The Compaq V2000 is no match for the other laptops however, it costs $500 less.

Doom 3
Doom 3 is the latest game in the famous Doom franchise, released by Id Software. Doom 3 uses the latest in graphics technology, and is famous for its use of shadows. This game uses OpenGL, and stresses out even the toughest graphics card.

The test is ran at 800x600, at Medium quality, to give laptops a fighting chance.

Doom 3, even at the lowest settings, is unplayable on the V2000, and even on the A250. The only laptop capable of decently rendering the game is the AMD64 laptop, with its midrange graphics card.

Batterymark
Batterymark is a test for battery longevity. It consists of two tests: the Conditioning and the Life run. The Conditioning test is basically a looped Business Winstone test. The Life run is different; it consists of the Business Winstone test, with an added twist: before performing each step, the test will idle for a couple minutes, to simulate the user reading the material, etc. Therefore, the Life run is a light use battery test, while the Conditioning run tests the battery at maximum CPU usage.

Unsurprisingly, the Compaq V2000 scores extremely high, due to its Pentium M 725 processor, which only uses 21W. Just as unsurprisingly, the AMD64 laptop scores only 1:40, due to its AMD64 3200+ DTR processor, which uses 81.5W. The A250 scores lower than the V2000 due to its larger screen, which consumes more power.

The V2000 scored higher than the A250 due to its smaller screen.

Conclusion

Pros

• Good BrightView (transreflective) screen
• Great sounding JBL speakers
• Good 2D performance
• Inexpensive price
• Runs quiet and cool

Cons

• Atrocious 3D performance
• Slow hard drive performance
• Low memory bandwidth
• Mediocre battery longevity

Although performance was only slightly lower to that of the much more expensive Sony A250, both hard drive and graphics performed poorly. It's unfortunate Compaq does not offer a high speed hard drive alternative, such as the Hitachi 60GB 7200rpm. This shortcoming should not affect its position as a great laptop for its cost. Battery life is mediocre, given the CPU. The display is terrific, as well as its speaker system. Students should find this a great deal, thanks to its price, portability, and decent performance. People interested in a multimedia laptop should also consider the V2000, due to its terrific transreflective (BrightView) screen, features, and great sounding speakers. The upgrades are many, ranging from Bluetooth to the DVD burner. The Compaq Presario V2000 is a great laptop at a great price, as long as you stay away from 3D graphics.

Availability
The Compaq V2000 is available from Compaq's website, with prices starting at $1099. Note that Compaq frequently has deals, which means that you may be able to get the laptop for lower than the suggested retail price.