Compaq Presario CQ60-210US, $350 AER

[johnnycasaba]

Seems like a nice deal on a dual core lappy, no HDMI out though. Sale starts July 12th, deal may be regional.

Full specs from HP can be seen here:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfr...&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

 

[Harvey]

I and others have posted when Staples ran specials on variants of this machine a few times, before at $399.98. It's a healthy cut above the Duron/Celeron entry level machines, and it has the added advantage of HP's tech support, which I've always found to be excellent.

Here's info updated from one of my previous posts:

Compaq Presario CQ60-210US
$399.98 After $30 Easy Rebate
SKU: 773768

AMD Athlon X2 QL-62 2.0G
2GB RAM
250GB hard drive
15.6" screen
DVD super Multi
media reader
Vista Home Premium

More recently, they offered essentially the same machine with 4GB of RAM and a burner not spec'd with LightScribe as model CQ60-212US for the same price. This is the version with 2GB of RAM. It's still a great machine for the price, and if you need it, you can bump it to 4GB whenever you find the next deal 2 x 2 GB sticks of RAM.

Specs from HP/Compaq:.

Product Name: CQ60-210US
Product Number: NB275UA#ABA

For those who prefer XP, XP driver info from HP forums. AFIK, the only incorrect listing or bad link on the page is for the Realtek USB 2.0 Card Reader Driver because the driver from forum list, version 3.0.1.4, has been replaced by ver. V6.0.6000.92 from realtek.com. I found the same driver version on HP/Compaq's site, but their version only lists Vista while Realtek's is spec'd for XP, as well.

HP/Compaq no longer includes a restore disk set with their machines. Instead, the system allows you to burn ONE set of restore DVD's or CD's. It requires three blank DVD's or 11 - 12 CD's. If you intend to do this, as always, the FIRST thing you should do is burn the restore disk set so you can return the machine to its original setup if you need it or if you later want to give/sell it to someone else.

See my previous HD thread about this machine and Allisolm's thread about the CQ60-212US (same machine with more RAM and bigger HD) for more discussion and comments from those who bought these machines.

The lingering side question I've had is whether this machine could be converted to a Hackintosh. Post on up if you have that info.

 

[kaborka]

I've had good luck with these -- we've had three so far, sold to friends and relatives with no problems. My current one, a F500, is dual-boot with the original Vista and Server 03, which I use as my main development workstation for my consulting work.

 

[htne]

I have one of these for my personal notebook. It is a good computer for the money, no gotchas that I have experienced in the 4 months that I have owned it. It does work much better with XP than with Vista, but isn't that true of all notebooks? I am thinking of installing Windows 7, but haven't yet. Has anyone tried Win7 on one of these?

 

[AMD K9]

I had Installed Win 7 on the one I bought when they first were one sale a while ago and then brought the laptop back as I wanted the 4GB deal but I ended up returning the 2GB and the 4gb deal evaporated. I was pissed!

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: AMD K9

I had Installed Win 7 on the one I bought when they first were one sale a while ago and then brought the laptop back as I wanted the 4GB deal but I ended up returning the 2GB and the 4gb deal evaporated. I was pissed!

So now, it's $50 less. Get it again, and wait for a great deal on a 2 x 2GB sticks of RAM to max it out.

 

[FreakyGuy]

I bought the CQ60-228US back in May for $400 after rebates. For the price the CQ60 series are nice.

I triple boot XP Pro, Windows 7 x64 RC1, and the Vista x64 mine came with. I like it.

If you get one of these first thing you should do is create the backup DVD's for it. They will restore the system to brand new, like it came from the store.

 

[cliff123]

I went to my local Staples to pick one up and they substituted a Q60-420US. The man said this was a better unit because it had a bigger hard drive and more memory. When I got home I noticed it said INTEL on the box. (T4200 pentium processor). Is this a better deal? I may take it back and check with the Staples 10 miles away to see if they have the CQ60-210US with the AMD dual-core. What do you guys think???

Thanks, Cliff

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: cliff123
I went to my local Staples to pick one up and they substituted a Q60-420US. The man said this was a better unit because it had a bigger hard drive and more memory. When I got home I noticed it said INTEL on the box. (T4200 pentium processor). Is this a better deal? I may take it back and check with the Staples 10 miles away to see if they have the CQ60-210US with the AMD dual-core. What do you guys think???

Thanks, Cliff

This looks like a slightly better deal. Newegg sells the CQ60-420US for $500, and the CQ60-210US for $550 AR so either way, you're way ahead on the price.

The Intel T4200 is a dual core 64 bit CPU, but it isn't a Core 2 Duo. This site benches is slightly faster than the Athlon X2 QL-62 so you're at least even if not better with the CPU.

HP's specs for the CQ60-210US.

HP's specs for the CQ60-420US.

Check your machine. The specs say it has more ram (3 GB), but the hard drive is spec'd the same for both machines at 250 GB.

The Intel graphics adapter may use a little more memory than the nVidia adapter in the 210 (up to 1309 MB vs. 895 MB). You can balance that when you find a deal on a 2 GB stick of RAM. The 32 bit OS can only see around 3.2 GB, but at least part of the onboard video subsystem works independent of the OS so having 4 GB of RAM will leave more memory for your apps. If the memory for your machine is PC5300, frys.com has it for $17.99 AR.

All things considered, I think you came out ahead on the deal, and you'll get a free upgrade to Win 7.

 

[wanderer27]

My wife checked several stores in the area and they were all out already.

She ended up going to Best Buy for a price match.
When she got there they didn't have the same model on hand, so they agreed to substitute a Dell Inspiron 15.
Don't know if she ended with a decent machine or not . . .


My biggest gripe is this whole deal demonstrates a point:

You're a store and you advertise a good deal, but you only supply limited quantities (no rainchecks either).
They're all gone in a couple hours so your competitor is now selling machines at a price match, so in effect, you just moved all your business to your competitor.

Brilliant Marketing strategy . . . . .

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: wanderer27

My wife checked several stores in the area and they were all out already.

She ended up going to Best Buy for a price match.
When she got there they didn't have the same model on hand, so they agreed to substitute a Dell Inspiron 15.
Don't know if she ended with a decent machine or not . . .

It depends on the CPU, how much RAM and how big a hard drive is in the machine she got. The specs for this machine are posted in the thread. If the machine she got is comparable, and you're as comfortable with Dell's support as I am with HP/Compaq, you're OK.

 

[CasTroLTraN]

I was able to snatch one of these machine from a store 7 miles away. thanks OP for the good deal. just fyi, the manager at one of the store told me that this machine is on clearance and most of the stores don't have any except for the display units.

 

[j0j081]

Originally posted by: wanderer27



My biggest gripe is this whole deal demonstrates a point:

You're a store and you advertise a good deal, but you only supply limited quantities (no rainchecks either).
They're all gone in a couple hours so your competitor is now selling machines at a price match, so in effect, you just moved all your business to your competitor.

Brilliant Marketing strategy . . . . .

I work part time at Staples in the tech department. This laptop is on clearance. If you look at the bottem left corner of the price tag you should see a small "c" which is how we know at the store. The Q60-420US is replacing it so at this point they are just trying to get rid of them. Our particular store is in the top tier for computers so we have quite a lot of laptops and desktops on display. We just put out all the new models over the past week. They do it around the same time every summer for back to school. I don't know if all Staples are like it but at ours we have a lot of laptops in the back on Clearance but usually there is no indication we have them in the store. They are usually sold in bundles or as substitutes and managers will randomly decide when to put tags out for them. A lot of the time they are the best bang for buck because even the $800-$1000 prices ones eventually drop down to $400 or $500. If you are in the market for a new laptop it could be worth asking an associate if they have any old models in stock this time of year.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: AMD K9

I had Installed Win 7 on the one I bought when they first were one sale a while ago and then brought the laptop back as I wanted the 4GB deal but I ended up returning the 2GB and the 4gb deal evaporated. I was pissed!

So now, it's $50 less. Get it again, and wait for a great deal on a 2 x 2GB sticks of RAM to max it out.

it is a very decent Notebook that i bought for my personal notebook
- 2 GB system RAM is not really sufficient for Vista; i added a 4GB Ready Boost Flash drive which helps - a bit

since it is AMD based - is there any problem adding *one* 2GB stick to replace the 1 GB stick?
- Vista 32 only uses 3.5GB [anyway] - there is no problem with 2GB + 1GB RAM is there?

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: apoppin

- 2 GB system RAM is not really sufficient for Vista; i added a 4GB Ready Boost Flash drive which helps - a bit

since it is AMD based - is there any problem adding *one* 2GB stick to replace the 1 GB stick?
- Vista 32 only uses 3.5GB [anyway] - there is no problem with 2GB + 1GB RAM is there?

My Athlon 64 x2 based Compaq V6719NR is spec'd to take a max of of 2 GB of RAM, but it didn't take long for people to post that it recognized up to 4 GB. I borrowed a couple of 2 GB sticks from my neighbor's lap to test them in my machine, and they show up in the CMOS.

I've discussed this with a number of hardware guys to confirm my observations. I had already upgraded my machine from Vista to XP Pro, which shows only 3 GB in Device Manager, but that's the limit of the 32 bit OS. However, we can see the CMOS setup so we know the onboard video subsystem is already working before the machine knows anything about the OS, or even that there's a hard drive.

The bottom line is, 2 x 2 GB sticks work. The OS still won't use more than 3.2 GB of RAM, but anything that can access the raw RAM pool independent of the OS can draw from the extra RAM, instead of reducing the amount of memory available to the OS.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: apoppin

- 2 GB system RAM is not really sufficient for Vista; i added a 4GB Ready Boost Flash drive which helps - a bit

since it is AMD based - is there any problem adding *one* 2GB stick to replace the 1 GB stick?
- Vista 32 only uses 3.5GB [anyway] - there is no problem with 2GB + 1GB RAM is there?

The bottom line is, 2 x 2 GB sticks work. The OS still won't use more than 3.2 GB of RAM, but anything that can access the raw RAM pool independent of the OS can draw from the extra RAM, instead of reducing the amount of memory available to the OS.

Thanks, but now you bring up more questions:

What can access the raw RAM pool independent of the OS - while it is running?

- BUT i guess my real question is -

Since Dual channel is not so important for Athlon as it is for Intel CPUs, can i get by with 2 (RAM "size mismatched') DIMMS:
1 x 1GB plus 2 x 2 GB, without much of a performance penalty?

--- has anyone tried 3GB ? it is a cheaper upgrade to just replace 1 stick of RAM with one double its capacity
[ready boost doesn't quite cut it with Photoshop]

[maybe i will be first ]

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Thanks, but now you bring up more questions:

What can access the raw RAM pool independent of the OS - while it is running?

See my post, above, and the link to Compaq's specs for the machine. The basic onboard video subsystem works indepenedent of the OS, although it also requires some OS memory, as well. I'll leave it to others who know more than I to list other functions that use memory outside of the OS.

I got my 2 x 2 GB sticks of Crucial for $20 AR. I've seen single sticks as cheap as $15 AR. The point is, as long as it works without imparing performance, if you can get it cheap enough, it's an inexpensive science project to see if it improves the performance of the overall system.

- BUT i guess my real question is -

Since Dual channel is not so important for Athlon as it is for Intel CPUs, can i get by with 2 (RAM "size mismatched') DIMMS:
1 x 1GB plus 2 x 2 GB, without much of a performance penalty?

--- has anyone tried 3GB ? it is a cheaper upgrade to just replace 1 stick of RAM with one double its capacity
[ready boost doesn't quite cut it with Photoshop]

[maybe i will be first ]

Some versions of HP/Compaq and other machines are configured that way from the factory. I doubt they'd sell many of them if they didn't work OOB.

And yes, 3 GB will help because the video subsystem will still take up to 895 MB (depending on resolution, etc.) from the available RAM pool. Giving it 4 GB guarantees the max possible amount of RAM that can be made available for the OS and apps, and it won't hurt if/when you try a 64 bit version of Win 7.

 

[AMD K9]

Whatever became of the CQ60-212US the one with the 4GB memory? You'd figure now 6-7 months later this would be the laptop selling like hotcackes and the CQ60-210US with 2GB would be discontinued... I want thaT DEAL for the 4gb one. When will that one be selling for under $399?

 

[Eureka]

Newegg is having a Gateway 14" laptop with the same specs and price with free shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834101180

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: AMD K9

Whatever became of the CQ60-212US the one with the 4GB memory? You'd figure now 6-7 months later this would be the laptop selling like hotcackes and the CQ60-210US with 2GB would be discontinued... I want thaT DEAL for the 4gb one. When will that one be selling for under $399?

They're different configurations of the same machine. Staples has previously offered both versions for the same price on different weeks. I wouldn't be suprised to see another special for the CQ60-212US within the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, if you need a machine like this, now, get it, and wait for a special on 2 x 2 GB of RAM. If you want it to run faster with 2 GB, follow the link in my earlier post to the XP driver info, and upgrade it to XP. With any luck, Win 7 will also run better on it.

 

[AMD K9]

Win 7 DOES run much better on it, better than XP even. If you go to your first link about the first deal on the CQ60-212US, you'll see I posted I had Win 7 dual boot with Vista on it at that time. Worked great!

 

[13Gigatons]

A lot of those hot memory deals disappeared but notebooks should start including 4GB because 2GB just seems weak.

 

[Dsorgnzd1]

Originally posted by: Eureka
Newegg is having a Gateway 14" laptop with the same specs and price with free shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834101180

Yeah, I just ordered one last night after I couldn't get the deal at Staples. (I don't know how many my local store had, but they all got gone before I got there.) I wasn't in the market for a laptop when the Staples sale started, but my old laptop started acting squirrely just a couple of days ago. A few days earlier and I might have got the Staples deal.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: Eureka

Newegg is having a Gateway 14" laptop with the same specs and price with free shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834101180

It's a smaller screen, and you'll be at the mercy of Gateway's support, which I've always found to be attrocious, at best. The first thing they always want to do is sell you some added "service."

My experiences helping friends with Gateway products are the antithesis of my experiences with HP tech support. I give any gateway product a definite :thumbsdown: on general principles.

 

[ctcsoft]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: Eureka

Newegg is having a Gateway 14" laptop with the same specs and price with free shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834101180

It's a smaller screen, and you'll be at the mercy of Gateway's support, which I've always found to be attrocious, at best. The first thing they always want to do is sell you some added "service."

My experiences helping friends with Gateway products are the antithesis of my experiences with HP tech support. I give any gateway product a definite :thumbsdown: on general principles.

Its been years - decades- since I've called tech support for anything except repair work under warranty.