As I mentioned in one of the earlier posts, I was comparing two notebooks and I decided to go for Compaq Presario V3749AU. It’s been a couple of days since I am using this new notebook of mine and here’s a little review of its performance so far.

Standard specifications:

• Processor: AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-60 2.0 GHz, 512 KB + 512 KB L2 Cache, Up to 1600 MHz system bus
• OS: Windows Vista Home Basic
• memory: 2048(2 x 1024 MB) MB DDR2 667 MHz
• Maximum memory: Up to 4GB DDR2 memory
• Hard disk: 160 GB SATA 5400 rpm
• Optical drive: SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
• System features: 5-in-1 Card reader, 56K modem, Integrated Ethernet LAN,
• Wireless capability: 802.11b/g WLAN, Bluetooth
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0, VGA, RJ-11, RJ-45, TV-Out (S-video), Expansion Port 3, Headphone out, Microphone in, Firewire, Consumer IR, AC adapter
• Expansion slots: One ExpressCard/54 slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
• Screen: 14.1″ WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display
• Max Display resolution: 1280 x 800
• Video adapter: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7150M
• Video RAM: Up to 799MB Total Available Graphics Memory
• Speakers and microphone: Altec Lansing speakers
• Keyboard: 101 key compatible keyboard with 1 Quick Launch Button
• Pointing device: Touch Pad with On/Off button and dedicated vertical and horizontal Scroll Up/Down pad
• Power supply type: 65 W AC Power Adapter
• Weight: 2.45 kg
• Dimensions (W x D x H): 33.4 cm (L) x 23.7 cm (W) x 2.6 cm (min H) / 3.9 cm (max H)
• Warranty: 1 year, parts and labour
• Price: Rs. 35,499/=
• Purchased from: HyperCity – Malad, Mumbai.

The system comes with just a single partition, Windows Vista Home Basic and a host of HP software pre installed. Since there is no Driver and application recovery disk, you have to make system recovery disks yourself which takes up two DVDs. There was a folder on C: with all the installers for the all the pre installed software, that was handy because that way I can reinstall specific software in future. You should backup that folder on a DVD as well. I did.

I wanted to install Windows Vista Business because I wanted to run IIS and all other Vista goodies like Windows Aero. The initial Windows experience index was 2.5, lower than what Microsoft recommends – 3.0. I noticed it was because the shared Video memory was only 64 MB, I went to BIOS and changed that to 128 MB – the maximum allowed and the score went up to 3.0. I installed Vista Business and was happy to find that Aero worked flawlessly. I am enjoying the Aero experience. Speed is good. Applications like Visual Studio and SQL Server Management Studio open quickly. It’s not blazing fast though. It’s on par or slightly better than my old Compaq Presario V4118AP which had a Pentium M 1.73 GHz processor. Graphics are certainly good, but I can feel a bit of jitteriness when I use Flip 3D to switch windows. I haven’t tried to install any games on it, but notebooks are not made for gaming for sure. The only game I have tried is Hearts and it runs slow on full screen mode with all the NVidia’s maximum quality settings.

The notebook is lightweight because of its 14.1″ screen. The keys are smooth and the touchpad is good. Integrated webcam is of good quality although its a VGA cam. The Cyberlink YouCam software that is included adds some nice lighting (or may be its in the cam itself) so images at night are also bright. The special thing about this notebook is the touch sensitive buttons for volume control. Mic and headphones jacks are in front instead of sides which is also a good idea. This notebook also doesn’t heat up much. May be because it has vents on the back and not underneath. This is a great improvement because my old notebook had vents on the belly and it used to heat up a lot when used on an uneven surface like a bed or lap because the vents would get blocked. That is not a problem with this one. Vents are behind where I can feel warm air being pushed out.

The collection of bundled software is very good. CyberLink OEM suit is included for all CD-DVD burning purposes. It has fairly good features and is comparable to Nero. CyberLink YouCam is the software for webcam which can also capture movies and snapshots. Adobe reader 8 and SQL Server 2005 express edition are also there. I don’t understand why SQL Server is included. That is something only developers will use! Anyway I liked it. A trial version of Office 2007 is also pre installed. It keeps asking you for registration key every time you run any application, and it won’t accept any keys I would enter! I am not sure which version was that but ultimately I had to install a fresh copy of Office 2007. A nice DVD player is also bundled called DVDPlay which also has a quick launch touch sensitive button. It starts automatically when you insert a movie DVD. Altec Lancing speakers have a good quality output as well.

Overall its a good notebook computer with a nice balance of performance and style. 2 Ghz, Dual Core, 64 bit processor and 2 GB of memory gives it a lot of power. NVidia’s graphics and included applications promise a good multimedia experience. It is small, lightweight and stylish. At Rs. 35500, it is one of the best budget notebook computers out there.