TPG Notebooks: Yes or No?

ktun · 30th June 2005, 9:34 PM

TPG seems to have a sweet deal going on.

Processor Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology with Intel® Pentium® M Processor 725 (1.60GHz, 2MB cache, 400MHz FSB)
Chipset Mobile Intel® 855PM Express Chipset
Network Intel® PRO 2200BG 802.11b/g Wireless LAN
Graphic 64MB ATi® Mobility™ Radeon® 9700
Display LCD Display, 15.4" Widescreen VGATFT Display (1280x800res)
Memory 512MB DDR memory for optimal performance
Buy now - Free upgrade Memory to 1GB
Hard Drive ATAPI interface 60GB
Optical Drive DVD RW+/- drive 8x4x2 CDRW 24x16x10
PCMCIA Support one type II
Modem 56Kbps V.92 internal Modem
Audio ADIAS1981B
Pointing device Synaptics touch-pad with 2 way interent scroll
I/O Ports CRT part - Analog RGB Mini D-SUB 15 pin
Audio Jack - MIC in, Headphone out Jack with SPDIF output
Fax/Modem port - One RJ-11 Telephone Jack
USB ports - Three 4-pin USB Ports (USB2.0)
Power port - One DC-in Jack
LAN Port - One RJ-45 for Ethernet
IEEE 1394 - One 4-pin port
Battery Li-ion (18650) 6 cells (3S2P), 48 watts, SM BUS
Dimension 355mm x 263mm x 27.1 ~ 31.6mm
Weight from 2.48kg - May vary depending on configurations and components
Kensington Lock One Kensington lock (slot only)
Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
FDD No Floppy Drive
Carry bag Notebook carry bag not included
Warranty 1 Year Return to Base Warranty (excludes software)

$1598

http://www.tpg.com.au/online/intel_n...d06cccf05ada25

Does this seem like a good deal to you guys? For my first laptop the specs definately look impressive for the price. Alternatively, I was thinking of buying a LG notebook with similar specs (not widescreen and 9600 mobility instead) from my girlfriend for about 1300. What should I do?

MAXKNOTT · 30th June 2005, 9:49 PM

can't you pay your GF with sex or something????that would be your best(cheapest)option

but seriously, the tpg lappies seem pretty good, there is a HUGE thread about them on whirlpool

KRAGGAH · 30th June 2005, 11:00 PM

yeah SEEM good, but they dont have a dead pixel policy, and their build quality is nothing compared to a compaq or toshiba....

check out whirlpool too

ktun · 30th June 2005, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAXKNOTT

can't you pay your GF with sex or something????that would be your best(cheapest)option

Woah, now why didn't I think of that? I shall apply your theory tomorrow.

[/NOT]

Refl3ct · 30th June 2005, 11:52 PM

I am sitting in my lounge room, wireless connected posting on one right now! (I have the Centrino).

I only got it two days ago. At first I was worried about the dead pixels, however that was one of the first things I checked up on. Luckily mine has none. The performance is what you would expect from the specs for bucks, excellent. The first thing I did when I got it was put XP pro on it, everything works completely fine. I have only installed one game BF2 demo, ran pretty nicely. I also ran 3d mark 2001, it scored 11,000. Can't complain there. If you also think it would look cheap you wrong. They actually look pretty good in my opinion. And as for battery life, well I just plugged the charger in 5 minutes ago, before that I was online wireless, 2 nudges below full screen brightness and it lasted 3 hours 30 minutes!

As I move over to post reply now on my TPG laptop, I can do nothing but reccomend. Great for the money.

Scratchy · 1st July 2005, 11:26 AM

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...10&p=-1#bottom

Approx. 60 odd pages in posts about TPG's lappies. Read them and you'll see that every question you could think of could be answered.

To summaries.
1 You get what you pay for. Performance is good. Build quality is cheap. OK if you use it around the house but if your thinking of a lappie that spends a lot of time being moved, bumped, chucked in cars, you'd need your head read if you didn't consider Toshibas, ASUS, IBM etc. etc.

Fan noise, paying for handling to deal with warranties etc. means that it's a good cheap computer but.

Perfect laptop it ain't, take the time to read those posts and you'll be more enlightened.

Pyros · 1st July 2005, 11:26 AM

a while ago some dude's brand new tpg laptop power supply (or battery, one of the 2 i think) caught fire after a few days use, there was a post on wp about it. if it was sitting on his lap i'd hate to think of the burns he'd have. they may have fixed this by now though.

digamma · 1st July 2005, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyros

a while ago some dude's brand new tpg laptop power supply (or battery, one of the 2 i think) caught fire after a few days use, there was a post on wp about it. if it was sitting on his lap i'd hate to think of the burns he'd have. they may have fixed this by now though.

That was months and moneths ago and there was a recall and it has all been fixed up now. And it only affected certain models anyway. Not a concern anymore.

MCWB · 1st July 2005, 1:01 PM

It's a compromise really! Specs and performance-wise it's great, I'm enjoying mine. As already mentioned though, it's a bit 'plastic fantastic' in terms of build quality, but in terms of bang for buck, it gets the

from me. Make sure you consider all the options and do your research though!

PogiPinoy · 1st July 2005, 1:38 PM

i say yay for this notebook

according to the specs it doesnt seem that bad..i would get one but i already have a centrino laptop with better specs..my next venture would be a tablet pc

wtneo · 1st July 2005, 3:00 PM

used a TPG lappie for over a year now.

agreed that the build quality isnt the best, definitely not for a road warrior. IMO, toshiba and fujitsu are amoung the tops. dells and acers build quality are not that great either although slightly better than TPG.

but for someone like me who mainly use it a desktop replacement... gee its light portable and battery is pretty good (given for a AMD lappy) with ~2.5 to 3hrs of battery life at 1 year of age at 1.06Ghz and 0.0925v and brightness setting 2 notch from the lowest. at this speed and voltage, fans will only kick in once in a blue moon. laptop is nice cool and quiet.

at full speed 1.80Ghz and 1.425v, fan is on at full speed and quite loud.

got a fixed bright pix here, used to feel pretty shit, but got over it and it isnt there until i notice it, which is like once in a blue moon.

best is the screen, trust me, once u tasted widescreen, you'll think WTF are they doing with 4:3???!!?? ...

had some heat issues due to "normal wear and tear" resulting in accumulation of dust with the heat duct system. a easy vacuum and brush solved it all. apart from that, not much drama at all. love the laptop and will not hesitate to buy from tpg again. but looking at current prices, you can get a dell inspiron 6000 for not much more. might want to consider that as well.

BUT if my life have to depend on my laptop, i'll definitely get a toshiba/fujitsu and upgrade every year.

nice

30th June 2005, 9:34 PM	#1
ktun Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Seven Hills, Sydney Posts: 120	TPG Notebooks: Yes or No? TPG seems to have a sweet deal going on. Processor Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology with Intel® Pentium® M Processor 725 (1.60GHz, 2MB cache, 400MHz FSB) Chipset Mobile Intel® 855PM Express Chipset Network Intel® PRO 2200BG 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Graphic 64MB ATi® Mobility™ Radeon® 9700 Display LCD Display, 15.4" Widescreen VGATFT Display (1280x800res) Memory 512MB DDR memory for optimal performance Buy now - Free upgrade Memory to 1GB Hard Drive ATAPI interface 60GB Optical Drive DVD RW+/- drive 8x4x2 CDRW 24x16x10 PCMCIA Support one type II Modem 56Kbps V.92 internal Modem Audio ADIAS1981B Pointing device Synaptics touch-pad with 2 way interent scroll I/O Ports CRT part - Analog RGB Mini D-SUB 15 pin Audio Jack - MIC in, Headphone out Jack with SPDIF output Fax/Modem port - One RJ-11 Telephone Jack USB ports - Three 4-pin USB Ports (USB2.0) Power port - One DC-in Jack LAN Port - One RJ-45 for Ethernet IEEE 1394 - One 4-pin port Battery Li-ion (18650) 6 cells (3S2P), 48 watts, SM BUS Dimension 355mm x 263mm x 27.1 ~ 31.6mm Weight from 2.48kg - May vary depending on configurations and components Kensington Lock One Kensington lock (slot only) Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition FDD No Floppy Drive Carry bag Notebook carry bag not included Warranty 1 Year Return to Base Warranty (excludes software) $1598 http://www.tpg.com.au/online/intel_n...d06cccf05ada25 Does this seem like a good deal to you guys? For my first laptop the specs definately look impressive for the price. Alternatively, I was thinking of buying a LG notebook with similar specs (not widescreen and 9600 mobility instead) from my girlfriend for about 1300. What should I do?

30th June 2005, 9:49 PM	#2
MAXKNOTT Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: west melbourne Posts: 1,702	can't you pay your GF with sex or something????that would be your best(cheapest)option but seriously, the tpg lappies seem pretty good, there is a HUGE thread about them on whirlpool __________________ 100+GOODTRADES my boxen Folding@Home 100000 Points Milestone RAMPAGE FAN

30th June 2005, 11:00 PM	#3
KRAGGAH Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: kangaroo point, qld Posts: 725	yeah SEEM good, but they dont have a dead pixel policy, and their build quality is nothing compared to a compaq or toshiba.... check out whirlpool too __________________ 0517EPMW 3000+ "venice" 2808mhz @1.56v \| DFI NF4 ultra D \| 2x512MB OCZ UTT BH-5 RAM \|AC Freezer 64 \| Topower EPS 600w 24pin PSU \| albatron 6600 pcie (515 / 735) \| 5x250gb + 80gb \|49 Successful trades \| PCDB

1st July 2005, 1:01 PM	#9
MCWB Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Sydney Posts: 4,764	It's a compromise really! Specs and performance-wise it's great, I'm enjoying mine. As already mentioned though, it's a bit 'plastic fantastic' in terms of build quality, but in terms of bang for buck, it gets the from me. Make sure you consider all the options and do your research though! __________________ P4 2.8C @ something GHz, EPoX 4PCA3+, 2 X 512 MB Kingston HyperX 3500, 9800 Pro OCAU Extreme Cooling Club Phase Change Member

1st July 2005, 1:38 PM	#10
PogiPinoy Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Sydney (No Cable) :( Posts: 1,300	i say yay for this notebook according to the specs it doesnt seem that bad..i would get one but i already have a centrino laptop with better specs..my next venture would be a tablet pc __________________ BLAQUE - Believing in Life and Achieving a Quest of Unity in Everything OCAU Club PDA Member #6 Nintendo Club Member #4 OCAU iPod Owner #65 ASUS Owners Club \|\|Dr. Pepper Club Member #21\|\| Motorola V-Club Member - V3i DELL Laptop Owners Club

30th June 2005, 11:52 PM	#5
Refl3ct Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Victoria. Posts: 392	I am sitting in my lounge room, wireless connected posting on one right now! (I have the Centrino). I only got it two days ago. At first I was worried about the dead pixels, however that was one of the first things I checked up on. Luckily mine has none. The performance is what you would expect from the specs for bucks, excellent. The first thing I did when I got it was put XP pro on it, everything works completely fine. I have only installed one game BF2 demo, ran pretty nicely. I also ran 3d mark 2001, it scored 11,000. Can't complain there. If you also think it would look cheap you wrong. They actually look pretty good in my opinion. And as for battery life, well I just plugged the charger in 5 minutes ago, before that I was online wireless, 2 nudges below full screen brightness and it lasted 3 hours 30 minutes! As I move over to post reply now on my TPG laptop, I can do nothing but reccomend. Great for the money.

1st July 2005, 11:26 AM	#6
Scratchy Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 511	http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...10&p=-1#bottom Approx. 60 odd pages in posts about TPG's lappies. Read them and you'll see that every question you could think of could be answered. To summaries. 1 You get what you pay for. Performance is good. Build quality is cheap. OK if you use it around the house but if your thinking of a lappie that spends a lot of time being moved, bumped, chucked in cars, you'd need your head read if you didn't consider Toshibas, ASUS, IBM etc. etc. Fan noise, paying for handling to deal with warranties etc. means that it's a good cheap computer but. Perfect laptop it ain't, take the time to read those posts and you'll be more enlightened.

1st July 2005, 11:26 AM	#7
Pyros Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 938	a while ago some dude's brand new tpg laptop power supply (or battery, one of the 2 i think) caught fire after a few days use, there was a post on wp about it. if it was sitting on his lap i'd hate to think of the burns he'd have. they may have fixed this by now though.

1st July 2005, 3:00 PM	#11
wtneo Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: melbourne Posts: 250	used a TPG lappie for over a year now. agreed that the build quality isnt the best, definitely not for a road warrior. IMO, toshiba and fujitsu are amoung the tops. dells and acers build quality are not that great either although slightly better than TPG. but for someone like me who mainly use it a desktop replacement... gee its light portable and battery is pretty good (given for a AMD lappy) with ~2.5 to 3hrs of battery life at 1 year of age at 1.06Ghz and 0.0925v and brightness setting 2 notch from the lowest. at this speed and voltage, fans will only kick in once in a blue moon. laptop is nice cool and quiet. at full speed 1.80Ghz and 1.425v, fan is on at full speed and quite loud. got a fixed bright pix here, used to feel pretty shit, but got over it and it isnt there until i notice it, which is like once in a blue moon. best is the screen, trust me, once u tasted widescreen, you'll think WTF are they doing with 4:3???!!?? ... had some heat issues due to "normal wear and tear" resulting in accumulation of dust with the heat duct system. a easy vacuum and brush solved it all. apart from that, not much drama at all. love the laptop and will not hesitate to buy from tpg again. but looking at current prices, you can get a dell inspiron 6000 for not much more. might want to consider that as well. BUT if my life have to depend on my laptop, i'll definitely get a toshiba/fujitsu and upgrade every year. nice