Compaq Presario B2800

The model being reviewed is the Compaq Presario B2800. This model is the first of its kind and is the result of a manufacturing agreement between Hewlett-Packard Compaq and Asus, where the latter will produce some of the notebooks under the Compaq brand for the Asia-Pacific market. This deal was revealed in the Taiwanese newspaper Taipei Times (Saturday, Dec 03, 2005, Page 10).

The Compaq B2800 is a 14''screen laptop with an overall weight, including the 6 cell battery, of around 2.2 kg (just over 4.8 lb, for those readers not use to the Metric System). This, together with its slim profile, clearly puts in the Thin and Light' category.

My exact configuration is as follows:

• Pentium M 740 at 1.73 GHz.
• Intel 915PM Express chipset.
• 14" screen with a resolution of 1024 x 728 with Brightview (that is a glossy coating, according to HP-Compaq branding name)
• 512 DDR2 SDRAM 533 MHz. This module is welded to the Motherboard
• HD Hitachi Travelstar 80 Giga 100 ATA at 5400 rpm.
• ATI X600 SE with 128 discrete memory and 128 mega of Hypermemory (shared with the RAM). This brings it up to a theoretical total of 256 megs
• SoundMAX HD Audio.
• Integrated Intel WiFi b/g, Intel Pro/Wireless 2200BG
• Integrated Bluetooth
• Matsushita DVD-RAM UJ841 S. Super-Multi Dual Layer DVD RW/ R.

I know that there are some other configurations available, for example in Malaysia they offer the exact same model but with a Pentium M 760 running at 2 GHz. Apart from CPU speed and price I have seen no real variations in this model that doesn't seem to be that widely available and is not configurable.

Reasons for purchase

I had been searching for a laptop to replace my aging HP nx9010 for around 2 months prior Christmas 2005/6 but hadn't decided on anything. After coming back from holidays at the beggining of February I had made my mind up and purchased the Compaq B2800.

The old nx9010 was too uncomfortable to carry around due to its bulkiness and weight. Its performance was also lacking and didn't allow me to play the newer 3D Real Time Strategy Games (RTS) or RPG.

I had a budget of A$2000 to A$3000 (that is Australian dollars). Preferably I wanted it to be closer to 2000 than to 3000.

There were 4 main criteria, apart from price, that influenced my buying decision:

• Build: First and formost was the build quality. My previous notebook was definitely not stellar in this aspect.
• Design: The design of my old notebook was simply quite poor.
• Performance: By no means is it the fastest notebook, but it is quite well balanced and no single component lags behind the rest.
• Weight: If I wanted to use the notebook at work I needed it to be lighter than 3 kg otherwise it was too much of a hassle to carry it from home to work and back home.

My newly purchased B2800 notebook does all of that perfectly and even proves very good in some of the other areas, especially in build quality and design.

The alternatives I had been considering before Christmas were many as I had looked at innumerable models by many manufacturers and brands. I nearly bought a NEC P1800 but it didn't seem very nicely designed and it was a bit heavy closer to the 3 kg mark than to the 2 kg. I nearly bought a Sony S series but it was a little to small for every day use and slightly outside my budget.

Where and from whom it was purchased

The Compaq B2800 was purchased at Harvey Norman (an Australian electronics retailer), in Central Melbourne. I chose to purchase at Harvey Norman because I didn't consider that saving A$100, if purchased online on the HP Shop, was worthwhile. Especially when you're already spending over A$2000, you want to make sure your investment turns out fine so buying it at Harvey Norman provided me with that confidence. In total, with GST (value added tax), it was just under A$2500.

The box was well packed and protected and the contents were few, but all useful. Apart from the computer it came with the recovery CD, Windows XP Home, Microsoft Works, a short manual and some various warning papers. It also came with a travel power A/C power adaptor.

It also came with its own custom white optical mouse. This mouse works OK but is slightly small, even for my liking, but is fine for everything except gaming. It has two LEDs, one red one at the back and a central LED that constantly changes colour. As any mouse nowadays it has two buttons and a central wheel.