Is this laptop worth the money?

[wall0645]

Hi, my current laptop is coming up on being 3 years old. It works pretty well, can't really complain. Although, it doesn't completely work with Ubuntu.

I'm over here in Hong Kong studying abroad, and at my school they have a promotion from HP for laptops and computers and stuff, at an apparent discount.

I'm wondering if this computer is considered "worth the money" nowadays? I haven't been paying attention to laptop prices so I'm not sure what this one is "worth":

Compaq Presario CQ20
Chipset: ATI RS780M
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz)
RAM: 2GB
HDD: 320GB (5400rpm)
Drive: DVD +/- RW DL
LCD: 12.1" BrightView WXGA w/ HP Low-Light VGA webcam
Resolution: 1280x800
Graphic Controller: Mobile Intel Graphic Media Accelerator X4500HD
Video Memory: up to 765MB Shared
Wireless: Intel WiFi Link 5100 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth
Ports/Slots: SD/MMC Card Reader, 3x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA-out, 1x Express Card 34 Slot
OS: MS Vista Business (though I'll probably change to Ubuntu lol)
weight: 1.85 kg
battery: 2x 4-cell = 7 hours
warranty: 3 years

price = HK$6949 = about US$939

so? is that good (for the price)? if not, could you recommend a different brand or specific model? you may take into account the fact that I'll probably install Ubuntu on it. thank you!

[billgoldberg]

Hi, my current laptop is coming up on being 3 years old. It works pretty well, can't really complain. Although, it doesn't completely work with Ubuntu.

I'm over here in Hong Kong studying abroad, and at my school they have a promotion from HP for laptops and computers and stuff, at an apparent discount.

I'm wondering if this computer is considered "worth the money" nowadays? I haven't been paying attention to laptop prices so I'm not sure what this one is "worth":

Compaq Presario CQ20
Chipset: ATI RS780M
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz)
RAM: 2GB
HDD: 320GB (5400rpm)
Drive: DVD +/- RW DL
LCD: 12.1" BrightView WXGA w/ HP Low-Light VGA webcam
Resolution: 1280x800
Graphic Controller: Mobile Intel Graphic Media Accelerator X4500HD
Video Memory: up to 765MB Shared
Wireless: Intel WiFi Link 5100 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth
Ports/Slots: SD/MMC Card Reader, 3x USB 2.0, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA-out, 1x Express Card 34 Slot
OS: MS Vista Business (though I'll probably change to Ubuntu lol)
weight: 1.85 kg
battery: 2x 4-cell = 7 hours
warranty: 3 years

price = HK$6949 = about US$939

so? is that good (for the price)? if not, could you recommend a different brand or specific model? you may take into account the fact that I'll probably install Ubuntu on it. thank you!

Too much.

Around here you can get something like that for €500 ($711) if you know where too look.

[CrazyArcher]

Yeah, I agree that it's an overkill. People I know who work with Compaqs tend to say that the quality they provide isn't worth the price.
IMO, the most balanced laptop producer today is Dell.

[Tindytim]

You'd probably want to stay away from ATI chipsets and Cards also (if you can).

[Sand & Mercury]

I've a laptop with roughly the same specs, paid ~$700AU for it so yeah, it's a bit too steep for what you're getting.

[wall0645]

cool. thanks guys!

[fusionisthefuture]

i agree, stay away from ati anything if you want to run linux on it. the more things you can get that say intel on them, the better off you are, pretty much anything they make will work out of the box in ubuntu, from what i hear. i find it very odd that that laptop you mentioned has an ATI chipset and the intel GMAx4500HD video card, which is supposed to be paired with the intel G45 chipset...

[god0fgod]

I'd only buy it if someone payed me. Why? It has vista!!!!!!

Never worth it.

[timcredible]

you can get those specs for about half what you mentioned.

[Plexor]

I recently purchased this laptop in HK.
upgraded to 4gb ram.

This system has an Intel ICH9 chipset, not ATI.

Complete specs:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/hk/en/ho/WF06b/321957-321957-3329742-89318-89318-3756170-3805596.html

I have been working on getting Ubuntu running on this system... 8.04 Hardy does not work due to the older kernel... need to run Intrepid. So far alpha 6 works quite well (also, Compiz works), but i am still having difficulties adjusting screen brightness.

[Plexor]

you can get those specs for about half what you mentioned.

Really? in the same size package?