6000 series Compaq.. Review on HP Compaq nx6110

My company had provided me a laptop around four months back. This is a review of it’s features. If you have read my earlier topic on OEM/assembled systems, then you will understand why OEM systems are costlier as I explain the support and additional options presented. Since I do not have a say in the components, or options, you may want to take a look at the manufacturer site for configurable options. Below is my review based on the options..

The laptop is a Compaq 6000 series one. The model number of my laptop is Compaq nc6230 with Windows XP pro. The specs for the model and configurable options are listed at the below site.

https://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF25a/321957-64295-89315-321838-f33-4
47349.html

The driver and upgrades location in case anyone owns the same laptop are listed below.

https://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqnk/us/locate/64_6130.html?jumpid
=reg_R1002_USEN

The processor is a Celeron M 1.87 Ghz with a 60 GB hard disk and a DVD writer. The screen is 14.1 inch (Basic). I guess I found it slightly inconvenient being used to bigger screens. It comes fitted with 512 MB of RAM, but I made a special request to my company guys to update it to 1 Gb. Some of the applications run way too slowly, hence my request.

Display: It features an X300 Radeon integrated on PCI Express architecture. I am yet to try a game on this laptop, but I feel it should be able to play most games. Though I wish they gave a better video card. Since in laptops you can only preinstall the hardware such as video cards. But to my surprise, I checked the display settings and there is support for dual monitors.. However there is no way of upgrading or replacing it later. I guess it’s lifetime is limited by any technological advancements.

Battery: I did try utlizing the battery to it’s maximum. The best time so far has been four hours on a fully charged battery. I think of that as the benchmark as it frequently gives me that much. However there is provision to add an additional battery. Just in case..

Features: There is a small blue joystick kind of button in between the G, H and B keys of the laptop. Besides the normal mouse of a laptop, you can use this additional blue button as a mouse for variations. All you need to do is angle it to the direction you want it to move. However it is slightly slow and you might want to use it for narrow marginal movement.

But the Bluetooth? Ah! That’s a joy to me, at least. I use it to transfer the images from the mobile to the laptop and email it (of course without any connecting cables or additional software) The list of activities I can perform through Bluetooth are active sync, audio gateway (provided I have a Bluetooth headset) transfer data or images, Dial up networking through a mobile and fax. Pretty cool, Huh? Do not get carried away. These are “supposed” to be basic features nowadays. However it’s wiser to check if they are available on a laptop before you purchase it. Bluetooth was a development by Microsoft who just transferred it to other related fields without any licensing. When Bluetooth was originally developed there were very few takers for Bluetooth. Now imagine a phone without Bluetooth!

Coming to softwares, the Roxio Easy CD Creator 6 is the only one installed. I had to install the WinDVD player software later. All the others are company specific softwares including the Office suite.

Recovery process – A special mention

HP has made use of a special recovery process previously used by Compaq. It has improved the way it works. If you have recently purchased a desktop, the first thing you would be reminded to do is to create the recovery CDs. This is a backup on the D: drive (a locked partition) of all the softwares that were bundled with your system at the time of purchase. (With laptops you get the CDs)

These recovery CDs are used to reinstall any corrupt programs or completely format the system and reinstall it to as when originally purchased. There are two methods of recovery. One is a destructive recovery which just formats and reinstalls all the applications, drivers after placing an image of Windows. The other is a non destructive recovery which allows you to reinstall, but the My documents folder contents are still retained.

F10 is the shortcut key for beginning the recovery process at startup.

One special point - You can make umpteen copies of the recovery CDs but can only create the recovery CDs once using the recovery CD creator wizard. It’s wiser to make copies since you would need to pay an additional fee in case you loose the CDs.

Unfortunately the DVD writer provided is just that - A very basic DVD writer. It does not have the Light scribe features. Light scribe is a feature which enables you to etch images or text in grayscale on the top side. Of course you need to have the special Light scribe CD/DVDs. But being a company laptop, that feature has been trimmed down (cost saving). As an end user, you should be able to obtain that at the HP showrooms. Without that specific feature there is no distinguishing feature with other laptop makes.

To contact HP support on the trot, contact them at the below link (Chat based interface)

Call 3030 4499 (Prefix city code when calling from mobile phone) or Toll Free 1800 42 54 999

It’s open 24/7 and is an excellent service. Remember that it is has recently won GD Powers certification for it’s support services. But the best thing about it in a world where we are charged even for drinking water is that it is free. Even after the warranty period has expired! The support remains free though the hardware is covered for a 3 year warranty. Support means help to resolve issues as long as the laptop can be made workable. But of course the phone support is chargeable unless you have specifically purchased an extended warranty. (Phone support is chargeable after the first three months)

My take: All in all a decent one.. Except, I miss Light scribe. With that, I think the bundle would be complete! But the Koshkin bag accompanying the laptop is really awesome...

Take care..