Which is the better machine here?

The Tyre Dude

About to buy one of these, just can't figure out which one, any tips?

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Compaq_Presario_CQ57-366SA_1119464.html

http://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_C660-21C_1102627.html

Allyall

There's not much between them,
The Compaq has 3xUSB and Bluetooth. A Card reader can be bought on ebay for €3.
Toshiba has better battery life.
Toshiba has better Wireless Card.
I think the Compaq has a slightly better HD screen
They both have their own history of problems, as companies, so neither of them come out better there.

The Tyre Dude

Cheers Allyall, I see that HP has more problems over three years than Compaq, are there any other machines around this price bracket that would be a better bet?

Alanstrainor

Go with the toshiba. Wouldnt touch compaq.

The Tyre Dude

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Go with the toshiba. Wouldnt touch compaq.

Mind me asking why, are they that bad?

i electron repairs

hp and compaq models used have quite a few overheating issues and GPU problems, where the solder joints between the GPU and the motheboard crack or shortcuircuit.
not all of them are like this anymore but people generally distrust them these days because of the issues before

Overheal

i electron repairs wrote: »

hp and compaq models used have quite a few overheating issues and GPU problems, where the solder joints between the GPU and the motheboard crack or shortcuircuit.
not all of them are like this anymore but people generally distrust them these days because of the issues before

Ancient history by current standards. I don't think I've seen a single HP in the last 2 years that has shipped with any graphics solution that wasn't Intel or AMD Radeon. The problem originated from defective Nvidia components that had nothing to do with HP. It affected mainly Dell, HP, and Apple laptops.

The only people who resent HP for this issue don't understand what the issue really was. I encounter this situation often enough with customers.

Ultimately HP still makes good computers, but no on the low end. Neither does ASUS. Asus makes great high-end parts, but I wouldn't fancy one of their low end laptops. In general, I don't like low end laptops. Which leads us to Compaq, which is a sub company of HP that deals in building cheap PCs using cheap parts and by cutting corners, so long as the computer functions and costs less than three hundred dollars, Compaq is all over it like a virgin on a slut.

Personally I neither like nor hate Toshiba. I sell so many of them but don't really have an opinion on them other than I think their laptops look boring as hell, and some of them have cheap looking keyboards. Aside from that all I know is most of my customers ask for them and thats what we give them.

Also between those two I think I see a NUM pad on the toshiba

i electron repairs

Overheal wrote: »

Ancient history by current standards. I don't think I've seen a single HP in the last 2 years that has shipped with any graphics solution that wasn't Intel or AMD Radeon. The problem originated from defective Nvidia components that had nothing to do with HP. It affected mainly Dell, HP, and Apple laptops.

The only people who resent HP for this issue don't understand what the issue really was. I encounter this situation often enough with customers.

Ultimately HP still makes good computers, but no on the low end. Neither does ASUS. Asus makes great high-end parts, but I wouldn't fancy one of their low end laptops. In general, I don't like low end laptops. Which leads us to Compaq, which is a sub company of HP that deals in building cheap PCs using cheap parts and by cutting corners, so long as the computer functions and costs less than three hundred dollars, Compaq is all over it like a virgin on a slut.

Personally I neither like nor hate Toshiba. I sell so many of them but don't really have an opinion on them other than I think their laptops look boring as hell, and some of them have cheap looking keyboards. Aside from that all I know is most of my customers ask for them and thats what we give them.

Also between those two I think I see a NUM pad on the toshiba

From my experience working in a repair shop, we deal with this issue quite a lot, just this week there was at least 4-5 customers with Hp GPU issues and the models were 2010 - 2011 year production. i would go for a high end hp if there was no better alternative. in this particular situation, id stick with toshiba ( and you are right, they are boring but the NumPad is a bonus [SIZE=-0] )
P.S. Have an HP with an AMD chipset on my desk right now with these issues, you are right some of them were caused by the NVidia chipset but these days most of them are caused by the low quality soldering.[/SIZE]

The Tyre Dude

If one does run into the soldering problems with the Compaq is it a big job to resolver or repair?

i electron repairs

The Tyre Dude wrote: »

If one does run into the soldering problems with the Compaq is it a big job to resolver or repair?

It is if you want permanent results, there are some rookie tricks that don't really last. you would require expensive equipment and a lot of rework experience, to get a fair idea youtube "motherboard rework/reballing". Saying that do not be turned off by HP/Compaq entirely if you get one it would simply mean that you would have to take extra care to prevent overheating, do not block ventilation, do not use it in bed, check once a year if the heatsinks are clogged with dust (might require a bit of technological know-how) all of the above are standard guidelines for any laptop, but in this case it would be advised to follow them.

Here's a very educational video about reflow/rework by intel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLZkEpFNmE8