Packard Bell iPower 5000

Battery is useless !Electrical connections are suspect when running off mains after about two years. If the battery is dead then it does not want to run on mains sometimes!

I like the machine and it has given me a lot of exceptional service over the period I have had it.

I need to get a new laptop, the Packard Bell iPower 5000 is not worth the money anymore as its competitors have a much better battery life.

Infact the only good point for me is that is has good graphics.

I am very happy with this laptop, performance when I got it was far higher than anything else for the same price, and even now it still gives a good fight whenever it needs to. The laptop isn't the lightest and since the battery failed after 3 years of use it has turned into a portable desktop rather than a laptop. However, portability wasn't the first thing in Packard Bell's mind when they designed this laptop, it's performance was. Even though it only has 32mb of graphics memory it handles games very well. I play Virtual Skipper 4 and Empire Earth without any trouble what so ever. The keyboard is very good, to the extent that I prefer typing on it than on a normal one. The only real problems that I have had with this machine were its screen mountings coming loose which caused a wobble leading to the case cracking. This was repaired and hasn't been a bother since, also a bad connection on the motherboard has led to the keyboard and touch pad not working, this will be fixed soon. I feel I should also add, these two problems were helped along by me being a student, this notebook has a very tough life, and has been dropped on many an occasion. In fact the screen problem started after it hit a pillar when it was in a bag so its not much of a stretch to say that it was me who caused them. All in all I am very pleased with this notebook and would recommend it as a alternative to a new notebook in the budget market.

I bought one of these secondhand, and I found it to be a very good processing machine. but I am worried about its battery. I think it's gone. Any way, the Packard Bell iPower 5000 laptop is a good speed machine, and I would like to keep it because it didn't cost me very much - only 330 pounds in November 2006.

The Packard Bell iPower 5000 laptop is a poor product. Poor me! I am now 1200 pounds out of pocket.

All users of the Packard Bell iPower 5000 series notebook laptop computers should be aware of what appears to be an inherent fault on the motherboard. After a few years, or maybe sooner, the bottom of the laptop will overheat causing possible battery failure, and graphics card failure. The only recourse for this is a very expensive replacement of the motherboard. Costing £350 this will come with only a 3 month warranty, and may fail again as mine did.

I use my Packard Bell iPower 5000 Laptop for work and at home, good graphics card allows good game play on most new games, this is a fast machine and is up there with the best desktops. I used mine everyday at work and home so it has been subjected to heavy use so please bear this in mind when reading the bad points. Generally I have been extremely happy with this PC and would recommend to anyone who wants a strong all rounder.

I bought my Packard Bell iPower 5000 laptop in June 2003 and I paid 1199 for it. Since then (it is now Mar 2004) it is still available, but for around 800, depending on where you shop. I thought it was a good deal then because the likes of Tosh and Sony were selling machines without CDRWs, no memory card readers and smaller displays for about 400-500 more - just paying for the brand name! And they were only reaching 2000 MHz. Fine, if you are a train tart who must get your machine out on your journey home and make people see the brand name while you figure out if you have met your sales target for the day - you need an 18mm thick portable with no noise - but you must learn to take your tie and trenchcoat off on the train! But the main reason I bought my machine was because I am a music producer. I dont need a machine that I can use on the move, but I need a machine that I can move between studios and then plug into the mains when I get there - a desktop is too big for that and a Tosh is simply not powerful enough and overpriced. This machine is more than enough for what I need, although on batteries it only lasts for about 2.25 hours. I have the iPower 2.66GHz/512MB/60GB version which has a 32MB GeForce Go graphics adapter, 4xUSB and 1xIEEE1394 for great connectivity. When we are done producing music for the day, we plug the ceiling projector into the VGA port and play games on a 8'x5' diaplay on the wall - at resolutions of 1024x768 in 32-bit colour, the machine has no problem with that at all. This, all from a portable. I know this machine is not built for using on the move, maybe there should be categories for 'laptop,' 'portable' and desktop machines in the world of PCs and this would definately fall into the portable section. It is not the toughest machine in the world compared to some of the IBM thinkpads, but if you are prepared to look after it properly and treat it right then there is an abundance of power waiting for you. Quite importantly, they have managed as far as possible to retain the original 102 layout of the PC keyboard, minus the numpad. I have used 40-50 different portables of many different brands and the keyboard on this is by *far* the best, both alt keys, both ctrl keys, both shift keys, both start button keys, everything is in place. A fine portable! Also, they have brought out the 3.06GHz version, with 512MB or 1024 MB (I cant remember!) and a 64MB Geforce Go GFX adapter, although they have removed the 5-memory card reader for some reason. All for the same price (1199) that I paid for my 2.66 in June 2003. I must go get me one of those!

Paid 1299 in April for my Packard Bell iPower 5424 laptop,

thought i was doing the right thing. already suffered a hard disk failure, since it was replaced no longer works with the provided recovery disk. still waiting for new ones(well older ones as they have put old software on it)

very noisy, battery useless as runs out too quick, gets very hot so don't put it on your lap.

just bought a new desktop to replace it. never buy a P/Bell again.

For what I paid, I got a deal. As many of the other laptop brands were offering lower spec machines at a much higher price. I pretty much bought it as a desktop replacement, which was a good thing because It really is not a very portable laptop. It very stylish silver, which I think is the new black for laptops. Don't be put off by my bad comments if your looking for a desktop replacement, buy this, it is worth every penny. If you want portable laptop don't buy this, you will waste your money. The overall performance of this machine is average, but then again you get what you pay for. This review many seem a little harsh but I work in IT therefore I know what to expect from any equipment I buy.