Here follows a very quick review of the Packard Bell MH36-V-750NCD. I only had a few hours to reinstall Windows on it.

Appearance

Standard 15.4″ laptop. The case is shiny (when new).

I didn’t have time to remove the plastic from around the monitor. The round trackpack feels weird.

I found the keyboard hard to use. My hands were always unaligned and the keypad confused my fingers.

The round trackpack with its weird sensation and hard-to-press buttons. The decals I removed pretty quickly.

All the plastic on the thing is extremely prone to fingerprints. Scaringly so.

Components

Audio

Works.

wlan

Works.

CPU fan

Only time I hear it is when the laptop is rebooting. After that it becomes quiet. Probably goes on vacation somewhere, since I doubt it’s actually needed here.

Webcam

Works.

System information

Tested with Ubuntu 9.04.

Linux ubuntu 2.6.28-11-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 17 01:57:59 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux

/proc/cpuinfo

processor	: 0
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 23
model name	: Celeron(R) Dual-Core CPU       T3000  @ 1.80GHz
stepping	: 10
cpu MHz		: 1795.774
cache size	: 1024 KB
physical id	: 0
siblings	: 2
core id		: 0
cpu cores	: 2
apicid		: 0
initial apicid	: 0
fdiv_bug	: no
hlt_bug		: no
f00f_bug	: no
coma_bug	: no
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 13
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm xsave lahf_lm
bogomips	: 3591.54
clflush size	: 64
power management:

processor	: 1
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 23
model name	: Celeron(R) Dual-Core CPU       T3000  @ 1.80GHz
stepping	: 10
cpu MHz		: 1795.774
cache size	: 1024 KB
physical id	: 0
siblings	: 2
core id		: 1
cpu cores	: 2
apicid		: 1
initial apicid	: 1
fdiv_bug	: no
hlt_bug		: no
f00f_bug	: no
coma_bug	: no
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 13
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm xsave lahf_lm
bogomips	: 3590.96
clflush size	: 64
power management

lspci

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Memory Controller Hub (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 03)
00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03)
00:1a.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 (rev 03)
00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 93)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation ICH9M LPC Interface Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation ICH9M/M-E 2 port SATA IDE Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03)
00:1f.5 IDE interface: Intel Corporation ICH9M/M-E 2 port SATA IDE Controller (rev 03)
02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller (rev 02)
04:00.0 Network controller: RaLink RT2860

lspci -v

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Memory Controller Hub (rev 09)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel
	Kernel modules: intel-agp

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 5
	Memory at f4000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4M]
	Memory at d0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
	I/O ports at 1800 [size=8]
	Capabilities: <access denied>

00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Memory at f4400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1M]
	Capabilities: <access denied>

00:1a.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
	I/O ports at 1820 [size=32]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 21
	I/O ports at 1840 [size=32]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
	I/O ports at 1860 [size=32]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1a.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 03) (prog-if 20)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
	Memory at f4704000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 22
	Memory at f4700000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: HDA Intel
	Kernel modules: snd-hda-intel

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 03)
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=03, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: 00002000-00002fff
	Memory behind bridge: f0000000-f1ffffff
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000f6000000-00000000f9ffffff
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver
	Kernel modules: shpchp

00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 03)
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=04, subordinate=05, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: 00003000-00003fff
	Memory behind bridge: f2000000-f3ffffff
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000fa000000-00000000fbffffff
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport-driver
	Kernel modules: shpchp

00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 23
	I/O ports at 1880 [size=32]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
	I/O ports at 18a0 [size=32]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
	I/O ports at 18c0 [size=32]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 03) (prog-if 20)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 23
	Memory at f4704400 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev 93) (prog-if 01)
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=0a, subordinate=0a, sec-latency=0
	Capabilities: <access denied>

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation ICH9M LPC Interface Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel modules: iTCO_wdt

00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation ICH9M/M-E 2 port SATA IDE Controller (rev 03) (prog-if 8f [Master SecP SecO PriP PriO])
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
	I/O ports at 18f8 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 180c [size=4]
	I/O ports at 18f0 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 1808 [size=4]
	I/O ports at 18e0 [size=16]
	I/O ports at 1810 [size=16]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix

00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 10
	Memory at c0000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
	I/O ports at 1c00 [size=32]
	Kernel modules: i2c-i801

00:1f.5 IDE interface: Intel Corporation ICH9M/M-E 2 port SATA IDE Controller (rev 03) (prog-if 85 [Master SecO PriO])
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
	I/O ports at 1c50 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 1c44 [size=4]
	I/O ports at 1c48 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 1c40 [size=4]
	I/O ports at 1c30 [size=16]
	I/O ports at 1c20 [size=16]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8101E/RTL8102E PCI Express Fast Ethernet controller (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Packard Bell B.V. Device 018b
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 2301
	I/O ports at 2000 [size=256]
	Memory at f8000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Memory at f6000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=64K]
	[virtual] Expansion ROM at f6020000 [disabled] [size=128K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: r8169
	Kernel modules: r8169

04:00.0 Network controller: RaLink RT2860
	Subsystem: Device 1a32:0302
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17
	Memory at f2000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: rt2860
	Kernel modules: rt2860sta

Summary

It cost about $625 and it came with a dualcore, 4gb of ram and 250gb of harddrive space. That’s great. My first PC was an 8086 @ 12mhz …

It seems Linux-friendly enough, not that I can imagine why one would want a webcam and shit like that. The weird keyboard and weird trackpad would keep me from buying this laptop myself, though. Can’t really say it’d make a good work machine.