My Compaq Presario V3751AU Laptop
This would be my first blog post for the month of May. I’ve been pretty much occupied the past several weeks with various types of work. At the same time I’ve been eyeing on a new laptop for the past several weeks to replace my loaned Acer Aspire 3683 laptop (technically it’s my brother’s laptop). After looking at this brochure, I’ve already decided which laptop that I’m going to buy since the spec and the price is within my budget:
Compaq Presario V3751AU on Brochure
At RM2199, it’s quite an affordable price to pay for a decent laptop with the technical spec listed. However, I needed more financial leverage since I wanted a monthly installment over the full amount which I needed to pay. I don’t want to pay in full cash because it will affect my monthly budget and savings.
So I started making some analysis on ways I could do to finance my new laptop. At first I wanted to apply for the RM125 per month under AEON Easy Payment scheme. However, after getting the information and did a rough calculation, the total amount I would have to pay under the Easy Payment plan would be (RM125 X 24 months) is RM3,000! WHAT? That’s RM801 more than the selling price! I’m not going to pay the credit company (in this case AEON Easy Payment scheme) that amount. On top of that, there is another 0.84% of interest per month equivalent to 10.08% a year.
My second option is to reduce the throat-choking Easy Payment scheme interest to a personal loan. The idea was to apply for a RM3,000 personal loan and pay back on a monthly payment. There was 2 option (CIMB Cash Express Micro Finance and AEON-Cash Personal Financing) since a lot of personal loans are not meant for small amount. I had to eliminate CIMB Cash Express because it’s a financial killer. At 24% interest yearly, it is one of the highest interest personal loans ever based on my findings. As for AEON-Cash Personal Financing, I had to apply for an AEON Credit Card in order for my loan to be approved. If I went for this, I would have to wait for another week or so to get my credit card approved and so on so fourth. Not what I had in mind.
My third option is to use my Petronas CIMB Bank credit card I just received a month ago. Utilizing the 0% monthly installment, I can just buy a laptop by just dividing the price of RM2199 with 12 months. That would make RM183.25 per month and best of all, interest free. The only issue is there aren’t many shops that provided this facility. Most of the shop I found have Maybank and Citibank 0% interest free payment plan. I’m not going to get another credit card for my financial sake. From my reading in forums and some blogs, I find that in order for me to get an interest free plan with CIMB Bank, I need to find a shop that uses a CIMB merchant processing machine. So, my quest for searching for the right shop begins.
After searching high and low at Low Yatt Plaza, one shop that I’ve found charge 4.5% on top of the laptop price before dividing it with 12 months. I didn’t go for that one. I finally found a shop that provides me with the monthly installment facility using my credit card. The shop wasn’t as busy as any other shop; in fact I was the only customer inside the shop. After dealing with the sales guy for 15 minutes, my transaction went through and I was on my way back with my brand new Compaq Presario V3751AU.
At home, I joyously unpacked my new laptop:
My New Compaq V3751AU package
Unfortunately the package I bought only got me an original Targus HP laptop bag and a RM35 optical mouse. By the way, the laptop I bought only comes with FreeDos so there was no Windows or any other operating system. I had to add more money if I wanted an operating system installed. This is where the hassle begins.
My Brand New Compaq V3751AU Unpacked loaded with FreeDOS
It took me one night for me to install a fresh copy of Microsoft Windows XP and then another 2 days for me to search for all the drivers since the package doesn’t include a driver CD. Even worse, the system is configured for Windows Vista when I tried searching for the drivers on HP Compaq official website. After searching around, I’ve gathered all the necessary download and bundled all the driver’s link into this single URL link:
I downloaded most of the drivers but only a few of them really work. Here’s a list of it which I did managed to note down that really works on my Compaq Presario V3751AU:
- SP34842A - BlueTooth Driver
- SP35333 - Wireless Assistant
- SP37950 - Network Controller Driver
- SP35414 - Webcam Driver
After all the driver was done installed, it was then time to make the transition to transfer all my working files from my previous laptop to my new laptop. I’m not the kind of person who uses back-up software because I know there will be a point where complication will arise. So I did it manually using a portable hard drive and thumb drives:
The Manual Side by Side Laptop File Transfer Process
It took me my whole Sunday weekend to complete the transition. Performance wise, since the processor is a dual core processor, there is a huge improvement when I’m running heavy multiple applications. The temperature is cooler and the CPU utilization is less likely to reach 100%. My only problem is I can’t play my Simcity 4 most probably because of my display card issue.
My Compaq 3751AU on Windows XP is ready for action
Why I didn’t choose Intel Core 2 Duo over AMD Turion 64 X2? Based on my finding from benchmarking charts, using Intel Core 2 Duo is slightly ahead of AMD Turion 64 X2. Then again, I’m looking for a bargain and not performance so I think I made a good choice.
Did you know you can install Mac Os X on your Compaq notebook? I have the DVD if u want.
I can do that? Wow..I didn’t know that. If I wanted to do so, I’ll install it on my Virtual PC not as my main OS.
i tried to set up this particular notebook for my friend’s girlfriend and another friend,and i was aware that i have to download all the driver from the internet…its kinda idiot to think that HP/Compaq didnt provide users with drivers CD but instead promote user to download it from the net…but best thing of all their website was too lousy i didnt manage to find any driver there.Thankx for the link…and next time, DONT BUY THIS KIND OF LAPTOP ANYMORE…it gives out the headache out of everyone!
There is an option to have everything including the Windows OS (non-original) and all the drivers. You can free your mind from all the hassle but that will cost you an additional RM80.
I choose to deal with the hassle just because I like the challenge and the experience to overcome it apart from saving some money.
Hi i share the same idea with u on saving n challenging task. but could u provide me the link so i can download the same driver?
Cos i bought the same model lik urs
Cheers
I had the same problem last year, when I bought a notebook similar to yours. I initially installed XP and I had to find for the drivers. Thankfully, with some help from the people at HP, they directed me to a slightly older model listed on their website which is more XP-friendly. Needless to say, that solved the problem.
If you need, do go to HP’s site, and do this:
i) Click on “Support & Drivers”
ii) Search for “V3004AU” or “V3005AU”
iii) Look for drivers listed under “Windows XP”
Thanks for your advice Collin. I hope Norman’s problem got solved. Haven’t heard from him since I sent him the last driver file that worked for me.
Hey there… Total coincidence. Bought a v3751AU today, which makes this the 3rd Compaq Presario AMD notebook since April 2007. One for everyone in the family I’d say. Hehe.
halo guyz..i`m act very interested for this lappy.. myb bcoz of nice screen. but then i found that many people said lots of hassle occur just to make this lappy works.fyi.. i`m not expert at all in dl all that stuff..any advice for me?..
1) shuld i buy this lappy or change to other brand?
2) is it change to other brand can solve this prob
It’s a lot of hassle if you buy this laptop without the OS. A lot of computers nowadays are almost the same because the manufacturer doesn’t focus on Windows XP anymore.
You can buy any other brand if you want to but if you want to have a complete all-in-one laptop with a reasonable price, I find that this laptop has everything I need.
Hi sile,
I would recommend buying this laptop with XP if you buy it from an authorised HP reseller. Most authorised HP resellers are nice enough to install XP and the drivers for you for free. To know if that shop is an “authorised HP reseller”, just make sure that the shop is 100% decorated with HP wallpaper etc. Sounds funny but that’s the reality with these shops.
Either way, I will be uploading the complete suite of drivers to my blog later at night for you guys to download. Hopefully with these drivers, it won’t be too much trouble for you guys to buy the V3751AU with Windows XP. It’s currently working fine enough for me, and I don’t see why you guys should have any problems.
Alternatively, you can use Linux. But very unfortunately, HP is one of those brands which don’t use Linux.
All in all, the safest bet:
i) Buy the laptop preloaded with Vista, or install Vista on your own accord.
ii)Buy it with XP and get the drivers from me or any of the sites mentioned on this laptop.
Either way, if you’re buying a laptop at all, get one which supports 802.11n wireless. That’s the future people!
hey, i juz bought a similar model like urs but i seems dat i cant get the wireless to work. i’ve been able to activate the bluetooth but it seems like the internal modem is ‘non-existing’ i tried a lot of the drivers but everytime i try it shownss dat the installation was a failure. i’m no computer whizz so can haelp me with my problem. what are the drivers u used and in which order did u installed them? i’m using amd and xp
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=my&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=3368537&prodNameId=3355651&swEnvOID=1093&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=ob-58949-1
Your wireless driver.
dear Ashrufzz, i hv new compaq V3751AU after installed (run Device Manager)i found Other devices n Unknown device located under NVIDIA Network Bus Enumerator. I install by XP.
can U help me ?
best regard
Sapta Kartika
dear Ashrufzz, where i get quickplay driver for V3751AU with XP
Dear Ashrufzz, from a V3751AU owner myself…
How do you configure the sound drivers?
Which driver are you using?..I’m asking because on my laptop there is sound from both the speakers and plugged in earphones…
Dear Syariz, I’m guessing that when you are referring to sound coming from both the speakers and plugged earphones, both speakers and earphones generate sounds simultaneously right? Now this is odd because you are not supposed to hear anything from the speakers when your earphones are plugged in. This might be a hardware defect.
I can’t remember what sound drivers and how I configured it. I just experiment every driver I could find and see whether it works or not. I do however know that if you are using Win XP, you must install DirectX or else a lot of things would not work properly.
Hi Ashrufzz,
How is it going after 1 month of test-run your new Laptop? A friend recommended to me for the same model which his company bought 3 units @ RM2,199/unit 1 month ago and now offering at RM1,799/unit, something is not right, any advice to find what is and what can be the reason for the sudden drop of price within a month time?
What is your rating on the machine so far?
Appreciate your advices before making final decision.
Best regards
i cannot play fifa with my presario v3751au…is there something problem with my display or grafics..i use vista 32 bit
James: I don’t have any info for the sudden drop of price but comparing it with other electronic gadgets, I must say that popular products such as this laptop experience this a lot.
So far, I won’t really rate this laptop that good but like I said in my blog post, I look for bargain, not performance, as long as it gets the job done, I’m happy with it. You cannot get get both without something to trade off.
Raemy: I can’t play Simcity 4000 on my laptop. It’s ashamed because Simcity Societies runs well on this laptop despite the slow graphics. Anyway, I supposed this laptop is not intended for gamers though.
Hai…
Wondering why my audio (mic) won’t work.. Same series like yours only that I’m using XP.. SOS please…
Hi, what sound driver r u using it? I found that no sound come out after i plug to speaker… thanks :)
what the current price for this laptop now?
It should be about RM 2299. I heard that its around there. Anyways, best to wait until they come out with a laptop that supports “N” wireless. And since support for Windows XP is going to end come June 30, do brace yourselves and start using Vista. Of course, its more demanding than XP and its not all that but it surely beats the trouble of what all of you have gone through. Save yourselves the trouble and get something with Vista in it the next time around. Compaqs with AMD processors are fine with me but I can’t stand it when I’d have to go high and low to look for drivers. I did that umpteen times and I wouldn’t want to do it again.
I’ve checked the latest price for this laptop over at a Low Yatt brochure, it’s RM1799. That RM300 price drop just 2 months after I’ve purchased it. Damn!
Hi Guys!!! wats up! yah manage to download those driver u mention.. is been a great help guys! Thanks! I was away managing suff on my own. Stay in touch k guys.. Superb Thanks to Ashrufzz!