This post has been long overdue, despite being mobile from two weeks ago, much of my time has been consumed by my non-blogging activities and tasks. Anyways, here it is. Here’s the reason why I changed my mind about getting myself the highly-anticipated Asus Eee PC 900, I blogged about it before, but now I am blogging on this machine:
Compaq Presario C765TU NOTEBOOK
It’s technical specs:
Processor Intel® Celeron 550 (2.0GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB)
Chipset Mobile Intel 965
Operating System Free DOS
Graphics Intel® X3100 Graphics
Video Memory up to 358MB Shared
Display Panel 15.4-inch WXGA High-Definition** Widescreen Display
Standard Memory 1GB
Memory Slots 2 slots, 1 in use, 1 available
Hard Drive 120GB
Optical Drive Super Multi 8X DVD±RW with Double Layer Support
Networking/Wireless High speed 56K modem, integrated 10/100 LAN, 802.11 a/b/g WLAN
External Card Expansion ExpressCard slot/54 slot (supports both 34 and 54 form factors)
Media card Integrated 5-in-1 digital memory reader slot (xD, SD, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick PRO)
I/O Ports Built-in 350K webcam, RJ-45, headphone, microphone jack, Omni-directional microphones (2), AC adapter, S-video out, Kensington lock, VGA, USB 2.0 (3), Rj-11
Battery 6-cell Li-ion
Power 65W AC adapter
Approximate Weight 2.45kg (5.39lbs)
I bought this from Asianic store in SM City Dasmarinas. The price of Php27,000 means that Windows Vista Basic Edition is pre-installed, but I did not want Windows Vista yet so the technicians gave me a unit that came with the Free DOS pre-installed instead. That brought the price down to nearly Php25k and I was sold on it. That’s right, for the suggested retail price of an Asus Eee PC 900, you could take home this well-spec’d notebook and get more bang for your buck.
From Vista to XP
Since I did not waste my money choose Vista to be the OS of my new laptop I decided to install Windows XP Professional instead. Microsoft may have closed the curtains on Windows XP but compared to what Vista is today, I’d go for XP any time of the day if the choice was limited to the two. Sure Vista has some nice eye candy and a few new features, but I’m after reliability and good enough platform to run the applications I use to get things done. I’ve heard enough compatibility complaints from a good friend of mine whose Acer laptop runs on Vista Premium but constantly wishes to go back to XP.
Sticking with Windows XP led to a small drawback. The technicians told me that the Compaq c765tu was built for Vista, and so the hardware drivers were optimized to work on Vista. Of course the laptop could also run Windows XP but the drivers available provide limited features. For example, the hotkeys that control the volume of the built-in speakers do not function with the drivers for Windows XP. The I/O jacks for the headset and microphone also do not work under Windows XP. A little annoying but these are little inconveniences I could live with as long as I do not suffer the problems that come with using Vista. You could visit One Small Voice who has written a very good post on how to install Windows XP drivers for the Compaq Presario c765TU notebook.
I almost settled on installing Ubuntu 8.04 on my Compaq c756tu because unlike in XP, every component and feature of the laptop functioned and was supported by Ubuntu out-of-the-box. (A testimony on how Ubuntu is becoming better and better with each new version.) Except for one thing, the Atheros AR5006X Wireless Network Adapter which I badly needed because what good is a laptop nowadays if it had no wireless connectivity right? So here, this laptop which I bought with 3 months of my TLA earnings now runs on Windows XP Professional. To date, I am one happy mobile blogger.
How does it perform?
Even though it’s run by a Celeron 550 processor, it’s 2.0Ghz gives it decent processing power. It’s 1GB of RAM adds to this notebook’s good performance. I finally get to enjoy DVD-quality videos thanks to its 15.4-inch WXGA High-Definition Widescreen Display which gives out bright and vibrant colors. If watching movies on this notebook is a wonderful viewing experience, I can’t wait to install Call of Duty 3 or 4 to relive my glorious gaming days.
Blogging or writing is an enjoyable experience on the c765TU thanks to its smooth and responsive keyboard. The touchpad is at the center of the hand rest slightly to the right below the spacebar. The scroll areas are clearly marked and a neat feature is the ability to turn on/off the touchpad which prevents accidental cursor movements when using the keyboard or in my case, using regular optical mice to save me from painful hand-strains.
Connectivity-wise, the c756TU has the basic points of getting connected. 3 USB 2.0 ports, Integrated 5-in-1 digital memory reader slot (xD, SD, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick PRO), RJ-45 Ethernet port, headphone, microphone jack, Omni-directional microphones (2), AC adapter, S-video out, Kensington lock, VGA, Rj-11 telephone jack for the built-in dial-up modem and of course its 802.11 a/b/g WLAN.
Battery life is quite good, on a full charge it lasts 2 hours of heavy usage with the full wireless internet browsing, image processing on Photoshop and listening to my mp3 collection via WinAmp. Sound quality is good thanks to its Altec Lansing speakers situated on top of the keyboard. Light usage like word processing and creating presentations would extend the operation time to 3 hours.
It’s a bit heavy at 2.45kg (5.39lbs) but compact enough to fit in my backpack. It may not be utlra-portable but it sure does provide a stable and quite powerful mobile computing platform. At an affordable price tag and built by HP-Compaq, no wonder the Asianic technicians told me that it’s one their best-selling models to date.
I foresee a good, long and happy relationship between me and my new Compaq Presario c765TU Notebook. Now it’s time to save up on my very first dSLR. 
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Julius aka "Jhay" Rocas has been blogging since 2006. He is a certified geek. New Media publisher/Professional blogger and Internet ninja. Youth activist. He blogs about tech news, gadgets and social commentary. 
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
well tama ka dun kuya, i'd still go for XP.
@Panda – It's Atheros AR2425
Hi… i bought this one for my wife, but i still confuse with the WLAN driver for this notebook, is it use Atheros AR5006 or Intel driver ??
@Panda – If you're using Windows Vista, simply visit the product support page about the c765TU on HP website, there you could download all the drivers you need to get everything working.
It's a bit tricky with Windows XP because the drivers were not optimized for this OS.
Maybe this will help you guys.
http://www.asianic.com.ph/product/compaq-presario…
I havent tried them yet
I would need to know how to stop emitting voice output through speaker after connecting headset. I am unable to find any possible option to do this on C700T. Can anybody suggest pls.
Hi Jrocas, Can you give me the exact where I can download the webcam-101 driver… thank you…
Hi JRocas, Im planning to buy a laptop like yours… Can you share me your experienced with your buddy laptop?
can you send the Audio drivers for compaq c765 TU loptop?
Can you send the touchpad's driver of this laptop? The scroll areas on my laptop not actived, I can't find driver on Internet. help me, please. I want to use the scroll areas so much.
Congratulations! on your new toy.
suspects last blog post..Win a Flip Video Camera
jhay,
gumana pa ang i/o ports? according to kris..
balak ko rin bilhin to..
tnx
Thanks for the very useful post and sharing that link to One Small Voice’s tutorial on installing XP on the C765TU. I bought mine roughly a week ago, got it to run WinXPP SP2 and the only snag I hit is the non-functioning s-video port. The initial problem with the audio hotkeys and the i/o jacks for the headset and mike were resolved by installing the driver from Realtek and updating the driver right afterwards. Anyway, good luck on saving up for that first dSLR!
Wow, you got the audio hotkeys ang I/O jacks working? Thanks for the heads up, I'll give it a try ASAP.
gumana na ba ang i/o ports mo pre?
bibili rin ako nito..
Please be kind enough to tell me how to activate i/o jacks & volume control working , with head phone conection external sound does not stop as well volume control in the task bar does not work
If you’re running Windows XP, the I/O jacks and the hotkeys to control volume does not work perfectly. This is because XP drivers are not that fully supported by the c765TU.
I used the same drivers I’ve mentioned in the post and my I/O jacks work but the speakers still emit sounds even if you’ve connected a headset or an external speaker.
There is pretty much nothing else we could do about this because HP-Compaq is pushing the use of Vista that’s why the XP drivers are not that fully functional.
So u cannot connect an external speaker?? u said "The I/O jacks for the headset and microphone also do not work under windows XP"
or is it due to a faulty hardware.. i doubt
ok..i was just checking if the lspci output can be trusted. anyways, i got wifi working on C765TU with Ubuntu 8.04, thanks to ubuntu forums.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766529. cheers!
Good review. I too have the 765 TU. Pretty keen on getting it working on Ubuntu 8.04. And wifi is the hurdle.
One doubt, lspci shows the Atheros card, and Onesmallvoice has mentioned the driver for IPW. Which driver did you install for getting wifi working on XP?
Onesmallvoice's directions are a bit perplexing to non-techie users so I could understand your concerns.
All the drivers I used with XP were downloaded from dlp108.com, it's the link that came before the link to A small voice. All the drivers are there for download.
Hope this helps you.
@ ade: Suweeeet indeed!
@ Dexter: Me want a MacBook too! But seriously, I’m now saving up on my first dSLR.
@ jaypee: Actually, I plan to try out Vista on this laptop this coming June. Something is driving me to get all the features of this machine working, like the audio jacks and mic so that I could do some video blogging. But I’ll upgrade the memory to 2GB first, RAMS are cheaper nowadays here at home.
@ Jong: Oh, so we’re all Compaq fanboys I guess? LOL
@ Carlo: Thanks dude, it’s no MacBook but it sure is awesome on its own.
Congrats on the new laptop
hehe we have the same laptop but with different spec.. like jaypee.. nice!!!
hehe… still thinking of switching to xp or upgrading my ram to 2gig.. hay…
congrats! astig, buti ka pa may naipon sa blog hehe…
Finally! Hehe..I've been waiting for this and excellent job on the review. You covered all points well.
Congratulations on your new toy man! That's a good deal plus choosing not to get Vista was a very wise choice. I wish I had the same option. I'm thinking of buying an external hard drive so I can backup all my files then I'd install XP on my machine.
Btw, my laptop looks exactly the same but with different specs. If you decide to upgrade the RAM to 2 GB, just buy it and install it yourself. That's what I did and it was very easy.
Anyways, have fun with your new toy and happy blogging!
Jaypees last blog post..WebHostingGeeks.com
Nice.
On a mildly related note, I was forced to abandon Ubuntu for my Presario M2000 because it was having trouble printing documents in a predominantly Windows network. Which is a shame really because other than that, I was really enjoying Ubuntu.
Never knew there was such a thing as Free Dos. I might look into that.
Paus last blog post..Scarred (An Open Letter to my PsorPhil Brothers & Sisters)
Great that blogging has bought you a new toy.. Blogging has bought me a EOS400d Camera.. And I think soon blogging will buy me a macbook pro..
Dexters last blog post..Microsoft Will not Stop Courting Yahoo
*low whistle*
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
Ades last blog post..Metro Manila: A Survival Guide
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