Ever since I got my new Compaq Presario V3000 laptop, a lot of people have been asking me for reviews about it. I thought I’d give it a couple more weeks before I’d post a more substantial feedback but I guess a Top 10 list of what I liked about it would suffice. 
1) It is fast! An Intel Core 2 Duo at 1.66GHz T5500 coupled with 1GB of RAM is the fastest rig I’ve ever had (desktops or laptop). I’ll spare you the details (that’s for AnandTech to work on.)
2) The built-in Altec Lansing speakers are just awesome. I’m an avid fan of Altec, having bought only that brand since I had my first PC back in college. The audio controls are simple and easy to use — mute, high and low. The sound quality and volume just rocks (ever tried playing DVD on a noisy Starbucks cafe?).
3) Built-in SD, MS, Pro, MMC and XD card readers to easily transfer files from my Ixus to the laptop in a jiffy. 
4) Manual toggle to turn on and off the built-in wifi and blue-tooth devices. With Bluetooth 2.0, I can manage my N3230 with the PC Suite even if it’s tucked in my pocket.
5) Toggle to turn off the trackpad. You can lock it so it won’t respond if you accidentally touch it (rogue cursor movement). This allows you to comfortable use the keyboard un-interrupted even if your palm hits the pad while typing. Comes in handy if you’re using an external mouse.
6) 16x Dual-layer DVD Re-Writer. The store even gave me a whole stack of BenQ DVDs for free. 
7) A really bright 14.1″ WXGA LCD screen (1,280×800) — more display space to work on.
Reasonable battery life. This one is just over 3 hours (6-cell) though the store said they could get me a 12-cell battery (6 hours) for under Php8k.
9) Dual built-in microphones situated on the top lid part of the screen. Not really for high-quality podcasting but this is the first time I saw two on a laptop.
10) Elegant blank carbon finish. You’ll have to see and touch it to appreciate.
Of course, it doesn’t come in without any drawbacks. First, the same time that I appreciate the extra horizontal display, the added weight comes with the baggage (5.5lbs). The battery life can still be improved, but you need to shell out some more dough to get it to 6 hours. Storage is only 60GB and though I wish it were 100 or 120GB, the DVD-RW comes in handy if you want some more storage space. While it comes in with a PCI Express Card slot, the old but still trusty PCMCIA slot was booted out . And yes, I would have been more delighted if Compact Flash (CF) card reader for my Rebel XT was also supported.
All in all, IMO the Php73,500 I spent for this baby is well worth it.
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… but its not a mac!!!
My dad has the same laptop. I’m curious, does this one come with the drivers and OS disc? Because my dad recieved the laptop without the CD/DVDs, there’s just a partition with an image of the OS with the drivers.
You’re allowed to burn a copy of the partition to discs though.
Nice. And you have Intel Virtualization Technology there – efficient VMWare support!
But jayvee has a point… aren’t Macs more suited to probloggers?
@jayvee but you can convert it to a mac if one it too, hehe… thats why it is much cheaper to buy a pc based laptop than buying a mac hehe..
btw from cnet.com it is only rated at 6.9 out of ten hehe.. and also they indcated that aside from intel’s core 2 duo processor it can also handle amd dual-core processor..
and also: The bad: Putting pressure on the case above the optical disc drive results in buzzing noise; – cnet
anyways looks good for the price.. if i’m in the market for one kahot yung intel dual core centrinos ok na sakain hehe icoconvert ko naman ito to mac eh hehe with OSX.. ooops bawala pala to,
@ jaypee
You said to wait before the better ones arrive?
@ JP
Yup, do CDs, just that partition which you can also burn.
@ Migs
hahaha… I remember that interview with ABS CBN about Macbooks and blogging. I am not just a blogger though. Is there an SSH client for Mac?
@ Vance
Can we try doing that? hehhe
So they really said something about Macbooks and blogging?
Mac OS X has “the usual” Unix shells tools so you should be able to open a terminal window and ssh to your webhost.
only problem is i don’t how to install one but a “p” version of mac osx for x86 is available on the internet (you know where it is), how to install one is the tricky part since only a few are telling how to…
here are some useful site to learn about osx x86 http://www.insanelymac.com/
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
doing this is obviously illegal…
I saw one installed on an hp laptop on youtube
here are some sites if you want to learn about osx8:
http://www.insanelymac.com/
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
of course it is illegal and only a few sites have an actual guide on how to install one hehe maski ako hindi ko pa alam kung paano, some articles i read was for dual booting osx and xp,
jp: yup, no cds and drivers included in the package. everything is on the partition. if something goes wrong you just need to restore
Abe, I was at Megamall and saw that your laptop (with 512mb) now goes for 64+++.
But that’s one piece of hardware.
I saw a better laptop than this hehe, no offense po:
acer travelmate 532 something .
Ang pagkakaalam ko about the specs which is the same as HP’s:
centrino core 2 duo 1.66 Ghz
Bluetooth
card reader
wifi
1.3 Megapixel web cam
except for this the differences:
1.) 512 MB DDR2
2.) 120 GB HD
3.) A separate VCard (Nvidia 7300 Go with 256 MB of ram or ATI Radeon VGA) this is the best part kasi hindi babagal ang system mo kasi hindi na ka share ang memory.
——————————————-
unknown:
bundled os
dvd rom drive that is included
————————————————
0% interest, 12 months to pay hehe
Price??? hehe the price is cheaper than Compaq presario V3000: P70,000
the acer might be cheaper but it’s not as pretty as the v3000
@ kid
Exactly!
@ vance
Actually, the placed those 2 units side by side before I finally decided to go for the Presario. Yes, the webcam, separate video card and more disk space was obvious for Acer BUT I thought the beauty of the V3000 was enough for me to pick it over the other.
@ Markku
Yup, bumagsak ng 5k after 1 month. Pero lahat naman ng laptops bumabagsak every month lately.
Abe, yes, the sad reality of buying computer hardware.
ah ic… i guess it is like choosing between creative mp3 players and apple’s ipod hehe.. you obviously will choose the ipod over zen because of it’s looks rather than its functionality hehe..
if i had the money i rather invest it on acer kasi masmabilis eh.. (separate vcard). But of them are good laptops.
but between ipod and zen, of course ipod hypocrite ako eh haha..
I keeping missing words ) I meant both laptops are good buy… 1 GB of ram is suitable kasi internal vga will eat i think half of that and will still have 512 Mb left which isnt bad hehe..
i bought one of those a couple of weeks ago
and i hafta say satisfied naman ako
although the one i got had only 512mb
im not a very heavy user din naman kasi
browsing, downloading, online games (utopia, nationstates), movies, dota and the occasional nba live hehehe
i own this laptop but yung me turion 64×2 dual core processors.
it looks cool and works well. i got the one with the AMD processor becasue it had a better video card decent for gaming – nvidia geforce go1050 na 256MB. 
asteg. this laptop looks better than the macbook pa nga.
hahahaha.
…and the good thing is i got mine for 50k.
HUWAW!
sirom, now you’ve got to tell us where to buy it at that price.
You can burn a partition or you can do what any computer user does. Before even using format the whole thing start from scratch it will run much better and u dont have all the needless crap on there tha the factory installs. All the drivers you need you can download from the HP website.
hi, i just bought this brand’s notebook yesterday. but i wonder why the built in speaker still go on when i was connected the external speaker. how can i turn off the built in speaker when i connect to external speaker? who can help me thanks ya.
i got this lappy less than a month ago,. i didnt realize a lot of people already has it, otherwise i wouldntve bought it
as of today, i shelled out 60k for the base package + another 10k to bump up the memory to 2 gigs. mine’s got a centrino/dual-core 1.73
im satisfied with the expense, the thing is gorgeous and all that, but im looking forward to getting a macbook pro when leopard/10.5 comes around bwahahah
Magkano na kaya yan ngayon? Need to know ‘coz I have to get a good laptop ASAP before I start with my FS.
Hi i wanted to ask… Where can I find a user’s manual guide (website) cause my mom bought her PC from her friend, which her friend bought it in China. Naturally the manuals is in Chinese. I’m trying to find where the DVD burner here. Cause I need to burn the videos i have here in the laptop and turn it into a dvd movie. Thanx hope you can help thnx
woah. i got mine for 60k.
its the v3525tu model. 120 gb hard disk and intel core 2 duo with 1 gb ram at 1.66.
how much did u buy that compaq presario v300?
i just bought a Compaq Presario V3000 today and when i had it home..it won’t turn on even if i already charged the external power..any ideas? thanks a lot!
jaye vista
yeah…mine’s 60k too..lol
jaye vista and shhh!! m getting he same loptop next thursday. would it be a good buy? how would you rate its general performance on 1-10 scale(10bein the highest)?
well i got mine just the other day… so sweeeeeet!
but where do i find drivers for windows xp. coz i find vista a bit funky!
Hi! recently bought one… got it for 39,895php… it has intel dual core processor, 512 RAM, 80 GB HDD… thinking of upgrading it to 1gb ram though… my ms office 2007 eats up a lot of memory and lags the whole system…
The lappy is one good-looking unit!
jevilo?
where did you buy yours?
i canvassed for like gazillion times and all i got is only as low as 42,950, that’s in php..512MB RAM/80GB HD, CEntrino Duo, Core Duo..
pls reply..
SORRY!MY v3000 AMD Turion 64*2 (1.66GH)SOUND DRIVER CAN`T WORK…CAN U TELL ME WHICH WEDSITE I NEED TO FIND,PLZ…:( THNZ
ei there! just bought my compaq v3525tu core 2 duo today for P54,950 0% for 12 months electroworld trinoma, with free flash drive and webcam. As a new user do you have any important info that u can share? god bless u all. Btw no installer for the vista home premium and a recovery disk was made instead c”‘)
I just bought my V3000 for only 43,000! V3000, 2.0 GHz Intel dual core. It came with Windows Vista Home Basic though. I upgraded it to 1GB RAM.
Cons:
1) Vista Home Basic
2) Onboard video Intel GMA not built for “heavy” gaming. It just won’t run my favorite games.
is vista home premium really is causing the system to slow down?
I bought a presario v3000 a couple of days back. I have loaded Win XP software but the display is not clear inspite of installing all the drivers. Can any one tell me whether presario v3000 with AMD dual core will support XP
I have the Presario V3431 version, 2.0 GHz but with 512mb only.. I think that’s why Vista’s not really fast here.. I’m thinking of using XP instead, but when we tried installing it, it was looking for more drivers and other sites say that it isn’t compatible with XP. What can be done?
And if there’s no way of using XP instead, is it possible to upgrade it to 1Gb perhaps? Around how much would it cost?
Thanks a lot. =D
It cost me around PhP1400 to upgrade from 512 to 1GB. Google for Vista tweaks to make it run faster
Question, is it possible to install an external video card on this laptop? And has anyone tried “downgrading” to XP?
I think its possible to install a video card to a video card enclosure via express slot. kaso wala pa yata dito sa philippines.. ehehe
Hi! I just got a Compaq Presario V3000 (Vista OS) a few months ago but it seems that most of the USB flash disk or usb receiver i use looks for a driver which cannot be found either in my PC or the web. Have you encountered this? I have always updated vista drivers but to no avail.
Thanks.
i got mine @ 34+++
dude…i got mine for 31k …..and its awesome..
Amd Turion 2.2 ghz
2 gb ram
120 gb hd
but i wish my graphics was better than the given geforece go6150..
now i am gonna upgrde that ……hehehhe….without any serious consequences ofcourse …hehe
hi guys! i also want to buy Compaq V3525.. i saw that some of you bought the v3000 for less than 40K.. Can you advise me where to buy at a cheaper price.. Villman and PCX are selling at 54k++… tnx!!!!
I too wonder where they bought the unit at that price, market price as of today for a v3535tu is php49,950.0 and its the same price wherever you go iba iba lang ng freebies, maybe its not brand new kaya ganun ang price or slightly used
hi all,
am about to buy this beauty for 37.5k. 80gb hd/ 1gb sdram/ vista starter…but i just read from all you guys that something is wrong with it? or the vista starter?…pls let me know…hu hu hu
It’s not like something’s really wrong with it. I think it’s just a matter of how you intend to use the machine. Definitely not for gaming, but for general home and office use, it’s very worth the price.
Vista generally slows your machine down ’cause for one, it has lots of pre-configured settings that you don’t really need (Google “vista tweaks”). The Directx10 installed won’t allow you to play Directx9.0c games. Boo..
hi janmiester,
my bro in dubai just told me to checkout this vista starter…it may not be compatible with ymessenger, office, flash disk, etc etc… but i really love it’s lightness. am not a heavy user though, just internet browsing, blogging, ym, email, pix storage, music, dvd…i just need a simple, light weight, and fast laptop cuz i bring it with me often.
so, would i not regret if i buy it tomorrow? hehehe…i just sold my hp ze2000 for 23k cuz it’s huge and slow. hope this is a good buy.
btw, this compaq v3000 doesn’t come with a bluetooth.
shnaggy, hi, if you buy the v3525tu it has blue tooth for sure, downside slow starting because of the vista home premium, but after vista has been loaded ok na, actually its v3500 na, one of the keys of my unit was plucked out but hp in buendia replaced it for free and the whole keyboard na not just the “g” key. so ok naman ang after sales support
thanks butsoy101.
the unit available here in bacolod octagon is only the V3432TU for 37.5K but OS is vista starter. i rely so much on what i read from reviews and it kind of gave me second thoughts. but i really love the compaq sleek looks. compact and light. i wish it wouldn’t have problem with office though.
thanks hey…c yah…
btw…
“Application incompatibility
Many popular applications do not work on Vista. Applications like ITunes and Nero have issues running on Vista. In fact, nearly every program involved in ripping or recoding media have issues with Vista. If these major applications are having compatibility issues, how many more small applications–those you may use everyday-will have problems, too?”
???
shnaggy
sure there is a big difference between the two unit but if the 3432 model will be enough for your needs then go for it, youll save 12k pa. I havent tried installing itunes yet since my ipod was sequestered by my sister already and installed in our desktop, so far i have installed limewire and the pc suite for my sony k800i cybershot phone and no problem so far. I tried installing our old hp 3745 printer but the installer was rejected by vista, anyway, even without the installer vista can still recognize the printer un nga lang di mo makita ung ink level
gtg
butsoy101
hi there butsoy101,
omg, i’ve finally bought my compaq yesterday. the guy from the store installed my vista starter. i also had him install the nero, nokia pc suite, and a few others…ok it worked well. so off i paid and went home…charged til this morning and BANG! i can’t connect to our globe broadband though it can read my neighbor’s wifi(encrypted). and it can’t play my dvds and vcds through windows media player.
so far, so bad. but still, i love it…
c yah!
Quote:
“hi janmiester,
my bro in dubai just told me to checkout this vista starter…it may not be compatible with ymessenger, office, flash disk, etc etc… but i really love it’s lightness. am not a heavy user though, just internet browsing, blogging, ym, email, pix storage, music, dvd…i just need a simple, light weight, and fast laptop cuz i bring it with me often.
so, would i not regret if i buy it tomorrow? hehehe…i just sold my hp ze2000 for 23k cuz it’s huge and slow. hope this is a good buy.
btw, this compaq v3000 doesn’t come with a bluetooth.”
The applications you mentioned work fine on my machine.
As for your broadband connection, notify your service guy, it’s not an issue with your computer.
Your laptop should’ve arrived with DVD Quickplay. That application can read VCDs and DVDs.
hey there jan,
yeah i know that’s why i didn’t go back to the shop to complain. i also just found out that it doesn’t have a card reader. but all in all am so satisfied. and even with all the negative reviews i read about vista, i find mine wonderful. just perfect! sometimes maybe people doesn’t want change…hehehe
thanks jan.
got my v3432tu for 37,900 plus upgade so i ended up paying 44,775 (with freebies of course..:))
-licensed xp home
-1.5 gig ddr2
128 shared memory (windows xp only)
but i did have firewire…can someone tell me where i can buy an expresscard 54 usb/firewire?
thanks
i got my v3431 2ghz/80GB/intel core duo with free 512 ram and a printer for about 39K
I got my Compaq Presario V3525tu just last Saturday night at TCA Greenhills. Got it for P49,990. They gave away a tiny Genius optical mouse plus an extra HP 6-cell Li-ion battery. It’s got MS Vista Home Premium, 1.0 GB memory, 120 GB hard drive, etc.
So far, I’m loving it!
There’s a newer model that has always the exact same specs. But it costs almost P10,000 more at P59,950.
Just won a Compaq Presarip V3000 on poker and trying to find the price in the store…impossible… what is 60 k in dollar?
Thanks for an answer. Merry Christmas.
I got my compaq presario last year and it’s awesome not until the power adaptor was cut by my dog, nasira yung power adaptor kinagat ng aso kong pitbull. Saan ba tayo pwede makabili ng adaptor for this laptop here in pinas? salamat
Microsoft Vista sucks.
I can’t appreciate my Compaq V3525tu because of it. It’s making my laptop go super slow, eating up my memory and hard drive, too.
My laptop’s specs would’ve been great with XP!
The problem is, I still can’t find a way to replace Vista with XP. Vista won’t allow me to install XP.
Hi Freind,
I have a Compaq Presario V3000 as well.
You said Bluetooth and Wireless are on a toggle.
When I toggle that button all i get is a disabled WiFi.
Did you do anything additional to set up bluetooth?
I dont even see the B symbol ( bluetooth)printed anywhere. Could it be mine is a non-bluetooth model. But it looks just like th epics u’ve psoted here.
Help appreciated, thanks in advance
tc
Hi,
I have a Compaq Presario V3000. I have problem with wireless….my lappie wireless is disabled…
….i install BROADCOM WIRELESS driver on my V3758TU lappie but its not appear on Device Manager…..i download the driver from HP website….i think why my lappie wireless disabled because of it…….even i install BROADCOM wireless driver it not appear in Device Manager….
is that because wrong driver or mobo problem??
i have a v3304…bought it june last year..and am lovin’ it since day one…true..acer and other lappies have greater advantages when it comes to specs..but you cant beat the looks of this thing…even looks better than a macbook in my opinion…(but not as better as a macbook pro..) hehehehe… crappy intel 945 graphics card…but oh well…damn laptop looks good..haahaha love the fact that its scratch proof… hate the optical drive…i seldom use it because i reali hate it..a lot of errors…ended up with piles of useless dvds..duno wats causing that…anyway, seldom do i use the drive..but i love the lightscribe function…hmmmmm…vista is ok,,,just needs around 1.5GB RAM for it to be great..2GB would be better i think..hmmmmm….i used a v3000 (duno wat specific model) that came with a winXP and 512mb RAM, woah, even that was fast…but then again…i love my vista…it does wat i want it to do…so…..=D
JAYVEE..DONT POST ANYTHING STUPID NXTTIME..OF COURSE ITS NOT A MAC..IDIOT,,,
homai bro.. use win vista instead to maximize your presario v3000 series.. xp is not meant for this model. no wonder your wifi and bluetooth are disabled.
V3000’s really gr8. I bought one last month. Its with AMD Turion64 Processor, and Windows vista home. really fast. Worth the money!!
hello…. Nice Compaq Presario… I love it.. actually I just got 1 too… Presario 767.
hope u can drop by too on my
http://allbestofphilippines.blogspot.com
thanks
On point number 4)
Just discovered… that there is no need for the manual toggle. I too have a V3000 and a Nokia 3230. I installed the latest Bluetooth Software from the Compaq site ( called HP Integrated Module with Bluetooth Wireless Technology Software). I can now use BT without turning off Wireless. Also the Handfree feature of the BT works! I can answer ny calls without reaching for my handset…right here on my V3000.
Thats pretty fun!. only that the Software is like 40MB
Link:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-41446-1&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1817059&os=228
Try it!
I also had that compaq presario v3000!! With 1gb of ram, AMD SEMPRON 2gh, 120 hdd, NVIDIA GEFORCE 7500.. I’d just bought it 25k without drivers and os.. all drivers that ive download are working!! This is my first ever laptop!!
I’m using Presario V3000.. the operating system is win xp. However, i would like to chnage it to run on vista. Can anyone guide me on how or where to start with? I have the vista cd with me. Do i need to search for any drivers before or after i change it to vista?
I also have a presario v3000 with 1 gb ram memory. can i upgrade it to 2 gb? thanks
Any idea on the Maximum RAM one can upgrade for a V3000. I had 512 default. Added 1 GB of 2 separate upgrades. Since it had 2 slots. I have 1GB in each.
Wondering if this can take 2+1 = 3GB ram or even better 2+2=4GB. Would it be as simple as go> buy> upgrade or is there something to watch for. Any limitations for upgrade. Anyone knows?
Thanks
@Rajiv – mine’s running on 4GB (2 x 2GB) but only 3GB is seen by Windows XP. Unless I upgrade to 64-bit, I won’t be able to use all that 4GB.
@Yuga oh ok! but does that mean you have effective 4GB RAM ( and just that it doesn’t show up in the system info). Else if its only effectively using 3GB it a better bet to go 2+1
How do you find out if WindowsXP is 64bit or not. As per the properties… of My Computer its Just says XP 2003 Service pack4. So I assume its 32bit
Thanks for you responses:)
My bad…. You already have answered my Q
@Rajiv – yes, a 1+2GB RAM would make sense but to get the benefits of dual-channel from the RAM, both sticks must be identical.
As for 64bit, you will have to install a 64-bit version of Windows XP. I tried installing Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit and it showed all 4GB of RAM now. Problem is the available device drivers for the 64-bit OS.
Don’t buy this laptop, many complain about this one, blank-screen.
hey i have this one too… im planning on upgrading it to 4gig its running on windows vista… can anyone give me tips?? and can I upgrade its videocard??? thanks for helping.^^,
I want to reformat my harddrive, it seems that my 80gb HD is already full, but I’ve got my windows xp installed and some of the microsoft office programs.
Is it possible to load windows xp professional on this V3000 compaq. How to do this ??
i have bought 2 compaqs. and they are dead now within 3 years. compaq sucks. u will see soon. i will never buy compaq again
i’m lovin my presario v3304tu since i bought it last april 2007.. until recently when i had the urge to use it for gaming… and i realized that it doesn’t have good video card..
does anybody know if there’s an available external video card for this one and how much? or maybe if i can upgrade it…?
Does Compaq Presario V3000 have Blutooth?
When i remove the battery, there is written Bluetooth on the Battery place holder but i am not able to enable Bluetooth.
Thanks