Amazon.com Product Description

HP amps up the multimedia power for the whole family with the Pavilion a830n desktop PC. Featuring a gargantuan 250 GB hard drive, you'll have ample space to store your entire music collection and still have room for editing digital video and photos. It also offers a wide range of connectivity options for all your peripherals, preloaded HP Image Zone photo editing and management software, and a dual-layer, multiformat DVD/CD burner. It also features a fast 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor and 1 GB of installed RAM (upgradeable to 4 GB).

The Basics

• Hard Drive: The massive 250 GB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 RPM) offers a wealth of storage space, perfect for storing a vast multimedia collection or for editing digital video.
• Processor: The hyper-threaded 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 540J processor allows a single CPU system to behave in some aspects like a dual-CPU system, helping to deliver faster transistors and increased performance. It also features a 1 MB L2 cache and a blazingly fast 800 MHz front-side bus speed

  A Hyper-Threading processor helps a PC to run multiple demanding applications at the same time. This technology enables the processor to execute two threads (a part of a program) in parallel, boosting performance during key high-drain procedures. This results in more efficient software performance (such as faster reaction times in gaming applications) and enhanced multitasking.

• Memory: The 1 GB of installed RAM (PC2700) is a very good start for this multimedia-centric desktop PC, but you'll want to take advantage of the ultra-roomy 4 GB of total RAM capacity (2 x 2 GB)for such multimedia needs as video editing and immersive 3D gaming.
• CD/DVD Drive: Offering the latest in DVD writing technology, the a815n multiformat DVD/CD drive is compatible with both DVD+ and DVD- disc formats as well as dual-layer DVD+R discs, which can store up to 8.5 GB of data. It features16x DVD+R, 8x DVD-R, 4x DVD+/-RW, 2.4x DVD+R DL, 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CDR, 24x CDRW, and 40x CD-ROM ROM speeds. It features the LightScribe direct disc labeling feature, which enables CD, DVD images and disk labels to be permanently etched onto discs--eliminating messy marker-scrawled labels. This desktop also has an additional 48x CD-ROM drive.
• Keyboard & Mouse: The a830n comes with an HP Internet keyboard and scroller mouse (both with PS/2 connections).

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
For expansion, the a830n has two 5.25-inch external bays (both occupied), two external 3.5-inch bays (one available), and three PCI slots (two available). It comes with a built-in floppy drive and the following external connectors:

• 7 USB 2.0 ports (3 in front, 4 in rear) for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 parallel port for connecting older printers and scanners
• 2 PS/2 ports for connecting keyboards and mice
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 microphone, 1 headphone
• 1 line-out, and 1 line-in jack
• 9-in-1 media card reader on the front, compatible with CompactFlash (Type I and II), MicroDrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick/Memory Stick Pro, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital, and XD Picture Card

Preloaded System and Software
This system comes with the Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 operating system with Advanced Security Technologies, which helps to reduce unwanted downloads and pop-ups while surfing the Web. It also comes preloaded with Microsoft Works (for working with word processing and spreadsheet documents), Symantec Norton Antivirus 2005 (with 60 days of LiveUpdate), Norton Personal Firewall 2004 (60-day security update subscription), Encarta Encyclopedia 2005, Quicken New User Edition 2005, Microsoft Money 2005, RecordNow, WinDVD Player, WinDVD Creator 2.5, Muvee autoProducer, iTunes, PC Doctor, and SpySubtract.

The included HP Image Zone Plus photo and imaging software makes it easy to organize, edit, share, print, protect, and store your photos and video clips. Organize and find your photos easily by timeline, keywords, and/or location using the unique photo-globe mapping tool. Remove red eye and fix other common problems. Share your photos quickly via e-mails that include thumbnails with links to the full-sized images--without downloading time-consuming attachments.

Dimensions and Weight
This desktop PC measures 15.2 x 7.5 x 16.5 inches (HxWxD) and weighs approximately 34 pounds.

What's in the Box
This package contains the HP Pavilion a830n desktop PC, power cable, keyboard, and mouse. It is backed by a limited warranty for parts and labor for one year from date of purchase as well as technical telephone assistance for one year. ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you're looking for a well-equipped but still affordable multimedia, gaming, or home and family system, you'll like the Presario 5102US. It has a fast AMD Athlon processor running at 1 GHz, 128 MB RAM (expandable to 720 MB), and a 40x read/8x write CD-RW drive. A 40 GB hard disk drive provides ample storage for all but the most demanding multimedia applications, and a 56K modem and 100 Mbps networking are included. The installed operating system is Windows Me, Microsoft's consumer-oriented platform. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Good value!
I've bought 3 Compaq Presarios in the past few years. Their machines, in general, offer great value for the money. However, they are not terribly well-built or well-designed. It can be a frustrating task to add hard drive or CD drive to the system yourself. On some models, I practically had to dismantle all the drive bays before I can fit a new drive in. This can be a blessing though: my house was burglarized once and the computer literate burglar decided to steal all the add-on cards in my Compaq instead of taking the whole machine which was too heavy. He got the cards all right, but couldn't figure out how to remove the hard drives and left my 2 drives with valuable data behind. I should be grateful to the Compaq hardware designers. :-)

A Great Computer
This computer is AWESOME! I just got it and it has never frozen in the month that i've had it. It has alot (512 MB) of RAM which makes windows XP run great. The 1.7 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor is flawless and makes the computer run fast, very fast. The 80 GB hard drive is great for storing big files. It also has a great graphics card (GeForce MX 400) which makes games such as Max Payne run really well, and the graphics card also has a whopping 64 MB of memory and an S-Video TV out port. The EA Games and EA Sports bundles that came with it includes awesome games, such as Need For Speed: Porcshe Unleashed, Simcity 3000 Unlimited, Tiger Wood's Pro PGA Golf 2001, Madden 2001, and Triple Play Baseball. DVD's run on it great, due to the fast DVD drive. And with the fast CD-RW drive and Roxio's Easy CD Creator 5 Software making CD's is very easy. The Smart Credit Card Keyboard is conveinent, if you have a Smart Credit Card and don't know what to do with it. The Ethernet Card is also a nice feature if you want to hook up a network, or if you have or want to get Broadband Communications. Overall this computer deserves 5 stars because it's a steal at ... and it has great features.

Good Computer bad buy
I bought this computer in January of 2002. I have had so many problems with it. Every time I would call up compaq I would wait 2-6 hours just to talk to a support specialist then they would transfer me and again i would wait an additional 1-6 hours. I don't have the patience to wait and if you don't have 10 hours a month to wait on hold with compaq don't buy a compaq.

Not too shabby, but.....
it still suffers from some typical Compaq flaws. This is a handy all around household unit with some gaming features that make it more playable than the 5400. Certainly, the price isn't bad either. However, it does not include a monitor, which you'll need to buy separately. The machine's limitations for gamers lie in its limited, mothboard-bound graphics capabilities (a result of the low power NVidia card) and its mediocre ESS sound. There is an aqequate sized hard drive and a pretty good 12X CD burner, so MP3 collectors will not suffer too much. Anyway, like I said, it's a good, basic machine and if that's your interest, you'll be happy with the unit. I should point out that expanding these Compaqs (a lot like their HP bretheren) is a daunting task; things are tight in the case and adding cards and drives is a challenge, so you better like the machine the way you get it, and not the way you envision it upgraded. Lastly, Compaq's reliability has been acceptable, though its service has been less so.

Compaq the Weapon of Choice
I own a lesser of the line of Compaq (I have a 950 mhz). I have tried Windows XP though. I find that Compaq is a very high quality product. It is up with Dell, above Hewlett Packard. I highly suggest that you do no purchase a Hewlett Packard because of many reasons (see my review on it). I like the audio, keyboard, and all the small things about a Compaq. CD-RW write drives are a must for the future. Windows XP is wonderful for multiple users. It has a sign in screen. You can personalize your sign in with things such as your own wallpaper, sounds, pointing arrow, etc. I also prefer Windows above Apple. Apple is only good if you are looking for the most simplicity. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

As Compaq's most affordable lineup of notebook computers, the Presario700 series delivers more bang for the buck than you might expect. At the highend of the 700 series is the Presario 715US, a capable notebook that lacks someof the perks of costlier models such as the business-class Armada butnonetheless delivers solid performance and desktop-level speed.

Featuring the same sleek design and two-tone color scheme seen throughout the700 series, the Presario 715US looks substantially sportier than many of itsnotebook peers. It tips the scales at a comfortable 6.4 pounds and measures inwith a slightly larger than average 10.6-by-12.4-by-1.64-inch profile. Poweredby a 16 MB Via ProSavage graphics card that supports resolutions up to 1,024 x768, its moderately sized 14.1-inch TFT XGA display is ready to handle all themovies you'll play on the system's integrated 8x DVD-ROM drive. A 20 GB harddrive offers plenty of storage space for all the MP3 files you may want tocollect and broadcast through the unit's proficient JBL Audio bass reflexspeaker system.

Its keyboard section offers 88 full-size keys, a separate cursor and touch pad,and a half dozen one-touch buttons for instant access to everyday functions suchas speaker volume, e-mail, and the Internet. A 3.5-inch floppy disk driveensures support for programs that have yet to find their way to disc, and a 56Kmodem delivers adequate on-the-run Internet access speeds.

Identical in most respects to the bestselling Presario 710US, the 715US isdistinguished only by its slightly higher price and superior processor. Compaqhas fitted the unit with a 1.2 GHz AMD Mobile Athlon 4 CPU as opposed to the 1GHz AMD Duron in the 710US, an upgrade that should move most applications at amarginally faster clip.

Of even more significance to power users and hard-core gamers is the largerLevel 2 cache. With a total of 512K of L2 cache (vs. 64K for the Duron-equipped710US), the unit's Athlon processor offers far more instantly accessibledata-memory storage space and therefore an improved level of performance duringparticularly complex computing situations. Although some may not fully benefitfrom the extra punch, hard-core users will quite likely benefit from dropping alittle extra cash for a lot more cache.

The unit's roster of ports includes two USB jacks for plug-and-play peripheralssuch as joysticks, a single parallel port for printers, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernetnetwork connection, an NTSC/PAL port for various video devices, a multipurposePC Card slot, an S-video TV-out for television output, jacks for an externalkeyboard and desktop monitor, and speaker-out and microphone-in ports.

Users will operate their system with the Home Edition of Windows XP, arguablyMicrosoft's most stable OS since Windows 98. Other pre-installed softwareincludes useful utilities such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, MicrosoftWorks 6.0, Microsoft Money 2001, Norton AntiVirus, Roxio's nifty Easy CD Creator5.01, InterVideo WinDVD 3.0 DVD player, and a one-year subscription toMicrosoft's Encarta Online Deluxe Encyclopedia. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Linux on this computer
I am a computer science major at Georgia Tech, and needed a laptop for my programming courses. I bought the 715us because it was relatively cheap compared to other models, and it was/is one of the most powerful notebooks I found on the market. I have been extremely happy with it so far. Windows XP works flawlessy, as do all the programs. But since I needed linux for my classes, I decided to dual boot it into Mandrake 8.1 IT'S AWESOME! Mandrake was incredibly easy to install, and detected most of the hardware for me. Things to note:

So far, the sound WILL NOT work under linux. I have seen others complaining about this on the internet, and so far no solution.

The hard drive does not support more than three partitions. If you are going to dual boot, keep this in mind.
All in all, it flies. The 200 mHz fsb makes an amazing difference. The only con I think I have with it is a short battery life, but hey, what laptop doesn't.

Good Deal
I have had the 715 for one week. For the money, I think it is a good buy. I had trouble finding any review (any) of this model. However, after a week I would say the following:

Pros: Price, DVD/CDr, keyboards, speed, portability
Cons: Screen, shared memory, chinsy plastic snap cover for ports in back

Bottom line- this is my 6th laptop in my life. I had a Compaq Presario 305 that I thought was [junk]... Battery "broke?" Performance was lousy. I am a systems analyst and work alot with computers. I am impressed with the 715 keeping in mind, I only paid $... My Dell Inspiron 7000 parked next to me, cost $.... This smokes the Dell. Plus, DVD play back has been nice as is the integrated CD writer. Fun! I have a minidisc recorder and wanted something to compliment my audio interest (habit).

I recommend this for anyone who does not need a really hardcore system. For most of us, this seems to be a really nice laptop. Looks cool too.
Regards.

Many problems
Lockups are being reported on every board on the internet. The other problem is with the plastic cases. The plastic cracks around the hinges making the display unstable. Compaq has discontinued the parts.

Always locks up within 15 minutes
We purchased two of these machines. Both freeze within 15 minutes of use. We speculate on a heat related problem. This problem is not OS dependent. Same results on Windows XP Home/Pro, Windows 2000 Pro/Server.

don't buy a Compaq
Compaq Presario 715US Notebook (1.2-GHz Athlon 4, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive)by Compaq is a peice of JUNK and the folks at Compaq are worse than their product. My warranty was for one year - parts & labor. I sent the Presaio 715 US Notebook and was told it would cost $690 and it is not covered under the warranty. It was a problem with the nick card slot and I was told I caused the problem.
Even if I caused the problem, and I didn't, the warranty should fix the problem. I own two other laptops (Dells) and have never had a problem getting support on the phone or repairs. Compaqs are junk and if you buy one, you'll be sorry. Mark my word! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Don't take chances just to save a little $
I bought one of these as a temporary "main" computer to replace my ancient PII 350mhz Gateway (which can still run Windows 2000 quite smoothly, albeit a bit slowly), until I could afford a better PC. I should've just waited a bit longer and skipped the middle step. Windows XP, reliable in the experience of most, failed several times and/or the hard drive failed several times. Tech support is not a toll-free number. Their advice was sketchy at best. I returned this thing within the 14 days I had to do so.

T1600 desktop
Just purchased the T1600 emachine desktop and I, like another reviewer have problems with my modem. I can get on AOL, but will loose it after one or two minutes. If I'm lucky, maybe 5 min. My two old computers have never had this problem. This new emachine is now only 3 days old.
I called their support department, which I think must be a long distance charge(?), and they act as if they are not aware of this apparent problem. I now have to decide if I'm taking it back to Costco's or work to correct the problem. It's a lot of computer for the money but it's not worth anything if it's not dependable. I understand Emachines are trying to improve their reputation, maybe I should have waited for that to happen. This is my third computer in 6 years and it's hard to believe that I have these problems right out of the box. Who has time for that?

Dude, I should have gotten a dell.
My parents bought a emachine from [local store]. I told them that I herd they were bad, even the guy at the cash register told us not to buy it, but my parents didn't listen. Right after we took it out of the box, I knew it was a mistake. The speakers were [bad], and upon coloser inspection I noticed that in comparason to the MHz it had Very little RAM, hard drive space, and it didn't have a good video card. It also had inconvenent speaker plug in locations. Some times the hard drive or the CD drive won't stop spining, and the fan is realy nosey. The modem is terible, I will dial up and before I can even type in a new URL it will disconect me. And now for some reason, when I try to type in login usernames, passwords, or registration things online it takes anywhere from 5-10 seconds for the cursor to move to the new box. When we bought it it had a big sticker on it saying "this computer is NEVER obsolete", [really], EVERY computer is going to be obsolet soner or later, and this one was obsolete before it even left the factory. They also have terible tech suport, each call cost [alot of money]. If you have any problems (which you WILL in about 2 months) you can send it in to Emachines, and the MIGHT send you a referbished one back, in about 2-6 months, and thats assuming that they actualy DO send it back, and if they get the right address. If the refubished computer gets to you, you will probably still have problems. Probablly because the main problem is theat its power sysem is junk, and its modem disconects by its self. If this isn't enough to convince you...

Holy Smoke
E-Machines has done a complete about-face with there new managment. now there are putting quality parts in them and making them upgradable. A Via Motherboard hosts a phoenix bios, 256 Mb of DDR ram, that leaves 2 pci slot open or 3 if you use the intergrated dsl hook up instead of the pci modem. The Samsung CD-RW is plenty fast for most needs and the only down fall is that the Western Digital 40Gb hard drive is 54000 rpm and not a higher performance 72000 rpm hard drive. this is all driven by a medium pwr 250W pwr supply. also one thing to note is that if you have a problem with the Conexnt modem you need to see if the you're using "Generic Softk56" driver, that is the only place i had trouble. I concider myself a power user and the 1600+ AMD chip and the T1600 has far pased my expectations

THIS IS A MUST BUY IF YOU'VE GOT [money] IN YOUR POCKET AND NEED A PERFORMANCE BOOST. I was unlikely to buy a emachine becuase of there past but the past is certainly in the past and the T1600 is well worth it.

All in ALL there are to many things to cover but if you buy this you WILL be pleased

Excellent value!
The computer was easy to set up and get started, and worked well well right out of the box... except (and this is my only major complaint) the modem.

The modem would connect fine, and then would disconnect for no apparent reason. It would only stay connected for up to 5 minutes, but often it was less than 30 seconds. Fortunately, one of the times when it stayed connected for a few minutes, BigFix was able to download a list of 'Fixlets' relevant to my computer, one of which was a BIOS update. The modem was not able to stay connected long enough to download the BIOS update so I had to download it using another computer. After the BIOS update, there were no more modem problems at all. The modem connects beautifully and stays connected.

After resolving that issue, I explored the other features and bundled software and was not disappointed by anything I saw. I am used to slow (2x) CD burners that require external software, so when I tried the CD burner on this machine, I was very impressed. I put in a blank CD and Windows XP popped up an explorer window for it. I dragged some files into it and clicked 'write to CD'. It was done in an amazingly short amount of time.

I also liked BigFix, which I mentioned briefly above. This is a program that goes out to the internet whenever you are connected and checks for updates or other issues relevant to the computer and gives links for more information and to download fixes.

Overall, this was an excellent buy for the money, and, other than the modem problem which has been completely resolved, has given me no problems. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A little bit heavy
I bought the notebook last week.It's a very good notebook.The processor is super fast which I'm very satisfied.And the trident cyber blade xp graphic card with 16MB SGRAM(which Technical Data list shows 8MB,but Windows XP shows me 16MB) is high performanced too.I think you can even play cool 3D games on your notebook such as Delta Force3 or Quake3.The DVD/CDRW combo driver also excited me.You can watch DVDs or creat your own data CDs on the way.The polkaudio speaker of the notebook sounds very good too.There's a LCD screen and 7 function keys in the front of the notebook,you can play music CDs directly with these keys and watch the state of CDs from the LCD.The battery is strong too,It can run more than 2 and a half hours.The only thing I'm not very satisfied is that it's a little heavy.
Hope these are helpful.And sorry for my poor English.

Great value
I paid ...and am getting a ...rebate + a software package that includes Corel Draw and office 2k. I find this to be a bargain.
I am pleased with the AMD processor's performance, and XP seems to be really stable by current standards. And it has the DVD and the writer(not to mention 10 levels of blasterball!).
I was comparing for weeks before the buy, and found that this one gives the most bang for the buck.

I love my new computer!
I bought this computer a few days ago and I can barely tear myself away from it! My telephone/Web connection is just fine, and the processor is super fast. I have a lot of software I installed, and it did so with great efficience. I also was able to download my entire CD music collection, with 14 gigs to spare (amazing!). Windows XP is pretty classy and user friendly. The software bundle it comes with isn't the greatest, but that wasn't terribly important to me anyway. XP hasn't crashed on me once.
I travel a lot so I'm looking forward to bringing this baby on the road with me to listen to CDs and watch DVDs, or just play some of the cool games the computer came with. (Checkers is very addictive!)

Great portable computer!
I bought this computer for use in my graduate school program. Windows XP is very easy to use and all of the accessories are fantastic! The CD-RW is great and the DVD-ROM has made watching movies on the go a great experience. The Polk speakers are just fine too.

The only complaint I would have is that XP only comes with Microsoft Works, rather than the Office Suite, which is annoying when I'm used to using Word and Excel.

The husband's only complaint is that it doesn't make breakfast for him :) ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Powerful, yet priced to appeal to the budget-conscious consumer, the Compaq Presario 6010US desktop is an ideal solution for those who like to customize their personal computing environment.

As the most affordable model in Compaq's extensive 6000 series of desktops, the 6010US is nevertheless well equipped to handle almost any computing task. At the heart of the system lies a 1.4 GHz Athlon XP 1600+ processor with 128 KB of Level 1 pipeline burst cache, 256 KB of Level 2 pipeline burst cache and a 266 MHz system bus speed. Compaq has paired this potent (yet price sensitive) processor with 256 MB of 266 MHz DDR DRAM memory (upgradeable to 1 GB) and an nVidia GeForce2 graphics card. In plain English, the 6010US should efficiently run anything but the absolute latest and most demanding 3-D applications and games.

With the 6010US, your files and programs will be easy to store, easy to access, and easy to move. The system includes a large 40 GB hard drive for permanent storage and a 3.5-inch diskette drive for smaller files and quick backups. A fast 24x (write) CD-RW drive permits high-speed data and audio recording, and a 16x DVD drive allows error-free access to your favorite theatrical releases. If you ever do want to add another drive, the unit's spare expansion bay is ready to accommodate.

The 6010US is packed with a variety of amenities to enhance day-to-day computing, including a built-in 56K modem for low-speed Internet access and a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet card for multiple computer networking and high-speed Web surfing. The system's Compaq Internet keyboard features an assortment of convenient one-touch multimedia and Internet controls, and its integrated SoundMAX III digital audio processor delivers clean stereo or Dolby Digital surround sound.

In order to keep the price reasonable, Compaq did not equip the 6010US with a monitor or speakers. Customers are given the freedom of selecting separate components, a perfect situation for those who favor a certain brand or style, or may already own such equipment from a previous setup. Compaq has, however, incorporated a truly grand total of six USB ports to help ensure future compatibility with the ever-growing army of plug-and-play peripherals.

The 6010US is packaged with an impressive array of installed software, including the Home Edition of the Windows XP operating system, Microsoft Money 2001, Microsoft Works 6.0, Quicken Financial Center/Quicken New User Edition and Intervideo's WinDVD movie player. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

The Best!
I have noticed 100% faster from my older computer Pentium4 1.3Ghz. Internet plays ultra fast! Especially download files. Not too mention the biggest and fastest hard rive I found it from Compaq . Looks like nothing is missing here, DVD and Burners works like a champ, without and small slowdowns. What I like the most is extremely fast CPU with QuantiSpeed Architecture(more operations per cycle, ultra fast!) DDR memory! Athlon XP is highly popular now among PC magazines and Window XP, it won more awards from Pentium 4!!! Softwares are very easy for making music, and Pinacle Studio is really nice too, I can finally make my own video movies from my digital camera on the computer, it is very simple to use. I have been using this powerful machine for a week now, and I did not experienced and thing funny with this system.(This is my 4Th upgraded since 95) I love Compaq with Athlon XP 1600+ highly recommend this system for people who want best performance money can buy! Very nice package from Compaq , for sure you will not be disappointed. Thank you for such a great product!!

Great
At first I was a little skeptical of Compaw, but my fears was soon relieved. My old computer was an HP, and i hated all other manufacturers, but I decided to give Compaq a chance since HP does own them. Also, the price was great, only 599 at Circut City.

The computer was easy to setup, less than 5 minutes. This computer is really fast, even though it has a hard drive of 7200 rpm. The intergrated Geforce 2 graphics card is great for the time being, but I will probably upgrade to a Nvidia Geforce4 Ti 4200. The 256mb DDR SDRAM is a ok amount of memory. The computer only uses about 170 mb. The only exception is that the intergrated graphics take up 32mb, leaving the CPU with 224mb. Speaking of the CPU, which is 1600+ (1.4ghz), it is comparable to a Pentium 4 1.8 ghz because it has more operations per cycle. You are paying up to 500 dollars less than a Pentium 4. The sound card is also another great feature of this computer. Soundmax Integrated Audio is great. I have powerful 4.1 speakers and it sounds better than my old computer which had a Soundblaster Live card.

The CD-RW drive is ultra fast (24x max). I have yet to test its DVD ability. I probably will do that soon. I have so far experienced no problems. Although I did caught a few viruses from transfering stuff from my old computer. Norton's Virus Scan immediatly picked it up and repaired it.

The software installed is great. You get Roxio's Easy CD creator, Windows Media 8.0, and many games. Its enough to keep u busy for a while. Overall this computer is great. I highly recommend it. I got to go and play me some Max Payne right now, so go by this computer!

Display/Network Woes Presario 6010us
Picked it up about a year ago, and it worked ok. However, when upgraded memory with PNY pc2100 512mb x 2 dimms, the computer has random lockups, video degradation and just generally unstable performance. Freezes playing dvd - and before that has a lot of random horizontal lines going all over the screen, spontaneously reboots while downloading from the internet via the network connection.

Memory has been tested and is known good. Motherboard and hard drive were replaced at an authorized facility and still the same results. I think it's the MSI's realization of NForce chipset, and I may be SOL. Definitely annoying and unworkable.

Support is difficult to get and wastes a lot of your time before getting you permission to ship to a repair facility. So, stay away :)

my computer
i love this computer! i bought it in may of 02' and i am absolutely
satisfied with it! this is a computer i would reccomend anyone! i believe it is one of the best in its class (and with upgrades like 512 mb of ram instead of 256 mb;and 2100 processer instead of 1600..i believe it is top of the line) in short-this computer is worth your while!

A Great PC at a Great Price-
This computer is easy to set up and has plenty of speeed. We upgraded from an older 200 MHz AMD K6 also by Compaq and I find this machine super fast. We paired it up with a cable modem and surfing the web is super fast. I can also e-mail large word files and templates, which took forever on my previous computer, with lightening fast speed. We paired ours up with a matching FS7550 flat screen monitor and it looks great. Ours came with the standard 1 year of technical support for hardware etc and 90 days technical support for software, but you can call Compaq and upgrade the technical support on software for another year for a little over $50. I would highly recommend this machine to anyone who's looking to upgrade. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Especially well suited to multimedia mavens, the Sony Vaio PCV-RX740 desktop is a versatile system that's ready to handle virtually all the latest crop of internal and external PC applications and devices. Whether you're watching a Hollywood blockbuster, uploading and editing a home movie, recording a CD, or filling a spreadsheet, the Vaio PCV-RX740 will help keep things humming along smoothly.

The unit offers a pleasant tradeoff between power and affordability. Rather than fitting the Vaio PCV-RX740 with a state-of-the-art processor that, in reality, may deliver more power than most users require, Sony has installed acost-effective yet powerful 1.53 GHz AMD Athlon XP 1800+ with 128 KB of Level 1 cache and 256 KB of Level 2 cache. This capable chip is paired with a generous 256 MB of RAM and an integrated 32 MB SiS740 graphics processor. Although it won't set new speed benchmarks or efficiently handle the most demanding 3-D games, the Vaio PCV-RX740 desktop will easily carve its way through most of today's popular entertainment and professional programs.

More than just an affordable workhorse, the unit is also exceedingly flexible. You'll find plenty of room to store your programs and files on its spacious 60 GB hard disk. You'll record and play audio CDs and back up your data on its integrated 40x/24x/10x CD-RW drive, load and move smaller files on its 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, and play DVD movies on its 16x DVD-ROM drive. And if you're looking for fast video data transfer solutions, the Vaio PCV-RX740 desktop is ready to oblige with two IEEE 1395 ports: one on the rear and another placed conveniently on the front of the case.

The unit features a variety of additional connections, including four USB ports for plug-and-play peripherals, a parallel "printer" port and serial port, two PS/2 ports for keyboards and mice, and line-in and line-out audio jacks. An integrated V.90 data/fax modem delivers low-speed Internet connectivity, and a 10 Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet card affords high-speed e-mail access and surfing. A PS/2 wheel mouse, Vaio Smart keyboard, and a pair of full-range desktop speakers round out the system's hardware amenities. Sony has not included a monitor with the package, allowing you to select your favorite display from the many currently available or perhaps use one already on hand.

The Vaio PCV-RX740 desktop is loaded with a variety of practical and entertainment software, including pre-installed copies of Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system, Corel WordPerfect Office 2002, Intuit Quicken 2002, and an assortment of Sony DVD, home movie, photo, and audio tools and utilities. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Especially well suited to multimedia mavens, the Sony Vaio PCV-RX742 desktop is a versatile system that's ready to handle virtually all the latest crop of internal and external PC applications and devices. Whether you're watching a Hollywood blockbuster, uploading and editing a home movie, recording a CD, or filling a spreadsheet, the Vaio PCV-RX742 will help keep things humming along smoothly.

The unit offers a pleasant tradeoff between power and affordability. Rather than fitting the Vaio PCV-RX742 with a state-of-the-art processor that, in reality, may deliver more power than most users require, Sony has installed acost-effective yet powerful 1.53 GHz AMD Athlon 1600+ with 128 KB of Level 1 cache and 256 KB of Level 2 cache. This capable chip is paired with a generous 256 MB of RAM and an integrated 32 MB SiS740 graphics processor. Although it won't set new speed benchmarks or efficiently handle the most demanding 3-D games, the Vaio PCV-RX742 desktop will easily carve its way through most of today's popular entertainment and professional programs.

More than just an affordable workhorse, the unit is also exceedingly flexible. You'll find plenty of room to store your programs and files on its spacious 60 GB hard disk. You'll record and play audio CDs and back up your data on its integrated 40x/24x/10x CD-RW drive, load and move smaller files on its 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, and play DVD movies on its 16x DVD-ROM drive. And if you're looking for fast video data transfer solutions, the Vaio PCV-RX742 desktop is ready to oblige with two IEEE 1395 ports: one on the rear and another placed conveniently on the front of the case.

The unit features a variety of additional connections, including four USB ports for plug-and-play peripherals, a parallel "printer" port and serial port, two PS/2 ports for keyboards and mice, and line-in and line-out audio jacks. An integrated V.90 data/fax modem delivers low-speed Internet connectivity, and a 10 Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet card affords high-speed e-mail access and surfing. A PS/2 wheel mouse, Vaio Smart keyboard, and a pair of full-range desktop speakers round out the system's hardware amenities. Sony has not included a monitor with the package, allowing you to select your favorite display from the many currently available or perhaps use one already on hand.

The Vaio PCV-RX742 desktop is loaded with a variety of practical and entertainment software, including pre-installed copies of Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition operating system, Corel WordPerfect Office 2002, Intuit Quicken 2002, and an assortment of Sony DVD, home movie, photo, and audio tools and utilities. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Sony Vaio desktops ...
I dont have this model but i have the pcv-rx450 in other ones one of the first ones that came out ... people complain about the vaio all the time because of the sound it makes . You get use to it trust me.My
vaio came to me in a good time i had a packard bell on windows 98 for about 4 years am on Windows Me right now .. the only thing i can say is Vaio is a good investment . not only is it made by sony but
the bundle of software that comes with it is worth the $ and the computer . The vaio has a lot to offer if this computer isnt
what
youre looking for try the sony web site theres a new vaio out its not the normal 512mb now its over a 1,000 mbs if i can rememebr right ...

XP ROCKS!
Very happy with this PC, I am a student at College.
It is a great product for school and games too, Nivida chip biult in.
Made soem benchmarks looks like this cpu is even faster from Penium4 1.6Ghz.
If I had a choice I would buy this PC again!

XP Rocks!
Some people still don't do the math!
Well for those of you that don't know the difference between Intel and XP,.
AMD XP makes more operation per second from P4, it works with QuantiSpeed™ Architecture. That's why XP 1600+ is faster from P4 (1.6 or 1.7Ghz)
They say P4 1.6Ghz but in reality runs @1.2 Ghz comparing to XP.
Another ex. Car1 (p4) with 8 cyl 400 HP with only 150 torque, Car 2 (XP) 400HP 6 cyl 350 torque.
I am not AMD fan but it is true, just what I said.
I really don't see the point to buy Intel. Unless you are Intel Freak. The reason why Intel cost more money couse not many people are still familiar with the new name Athlon CPU. Penium name exist from 1995 unlike Athlon came out in 1999.
Decision is very simple.

Cool case!
This is my first PC from Sony and I am very happy.
Really good price, fast CPU come with DDR memory, good for games too.
this is mid range PC and I think it is worth every penny.
Sony makes really great product latly, I will never buy Pentium 4 anymore AMD is my new boddy much fatster from P4 1.8 Ghz.
No complains 5 stars! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Why settle for a custom-built clone when there's almost certainly a preconfigured, pretested Compaq Presario perfectly suited to your requirements and pocketbook? Developed for power users who already own a monitor and speakers or would prefer to find such components on a separate basis, the Presario 6020US is yet another example of how versatile this series has become.

A computer is only as fast as its processor allows it to be, and in the case of the 6020US that processor is the extremely nimble AMD Athlon XP 1900. With 128 KB Level 1 pipeline burst cache, 256 KB Level 2 pipeline burst cache, 266 MHz system bus speed and 1.6 GHz clock speed, this is one potent yet cost-effective chip. Compaq has paired the Athlon XP 1900 with 256 MB of 266 MHz DDR DRAM memory (upgradeable to 1 GB) and a 32 MB nVidia GeForce2 graphics card to fashion a powerful system nerve center capable of running virtually any program you can throw at it. Hardcore gamers may wish to upgrade to an even faster graphics board in order to maintain a smooth frame rate in the latest and most demanding 3-D games, but everyone else should be quite content with the unit in its stock form.

The 6020US offers lots of options and oodles of space for the movement, storage, and access of programs and files. Compaq has included a massive 80 GB hard drive for permanent storage, a 3.5-inch diskette drive for smaller files and quick backups, a superfast 24x (write) CD-RW drive for data and audio recording and playback, and a 16x DVD drive for error-free movie viewing. And if you ever do want to add another drive, the unit's spare expansion bay is ready to accommodate.

The 6020US is loaded with amenities to enhance day-to-day computing, including a built-in 56K modem for low-speed Internet access, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet card for multiple computer networking and high-speed Web surfing, and an integrated SoundMAX III digital audio processor for clean stereo or Dolby Digital surround sound. The unit is geared for the future with no less than six USB ports for plug-and-play peripherals, a scrolling mouse, and a Compaq Internet keyboard with an assortment of convenient one-touch multimedia and Internet controls.

The 6020US is packaged with an impressive array of installed software, including the Home Edition of the Windows XP operating system, Microsoft Money 2001, Microsoft Works 6.0, Quicken Financial Center/Quicken New User Edition and Intervideo's WinDVD movie player. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great Value
I am a technology educator and I have had this system in my home for over 6 months. Bottom line - it runs great. You get a lot of features for the money. I bought mine at a local retailer on sale for [sale price]and have been pleased with its performance. The quality of this systems hardware has been very good. In fact it seems no worse than the Dells I work with everyday with teachers and students. The CPU case is easy to open and access.

Let's be honest, other than a car you will never spend more money on something that will be more worthless than technology. This system is a good overall value that will provide you with years of solid production and online research capabilities without breaking the bank.

The Reason why is called 1900+ (same as Penium4 1.9GHZ)
This computer runs same speed as Penium 4 1.9Ghz that is why is called 1900+
AMD makes diffrent CPU technology, many people are not aware that AMD makes faster CPU than Intel.
AMD makes more operation per cycle, that's why AMD MHZ does not corespond to Itel MHZ.
The point is AMD(model# 1900) runs same as Intel 1900GHZ.
I am very happy with this computer, in multimedia this CPU runs even faster from P4 1.9GHZ.
Made bechmarks thats why.
Highly recomanded, and some people should do more studies about these two CPUs, beacuse MHZ is not everything.

Be warned not 1.9 GHZ!
One warning: this is a "Model 1900" but it is not 1900 MHZ. No it is 1600 MHZ. How do they get away with this? Beats me. Now for that price 1600 MHZ is a good deal, but I hate deceptive advertising.

Poor quality
My brother bought one directly from Compaq but otherwise its the same model. The hard drive sounds like a airplane flying by it's so loud. The case looks neat but it is cheaply put together. The power buttom came loose after a few days and jammed back and has to be unjammed with a screw driver. This happens constantly. Hopefully it will get fixed because he had to send it back because the cpu died. And I mean died, you could even smell smoke. Aparently the fan came loose in shipping and it fell off after a while. The cpu overheated and that was it!

If I were you I wouldn't buy this machine.

Athlon XP 1900
Super deal! Really great value with windows XP, and 256 MB memory and Athlon XP, could not find better deal. I have been using this computer for the last 10 days, and I am amazed with it. Fast 16x writeable cd! And huge 40 GB store hard drive, I have 4 movies on the hard rive and still lots of room for music and programs. Compaq makes really great products with stylish cases. Very fast computer there is no reason to pay more money for computer, because with this speed is already too fast for most applications, internet, and games. Athlon XP works great with windows XP; you just have to buy it to see. I give 5 out of 5, for this system and I highly recommend to everybody!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Compaq Presario 906US notebook is a surprisingly solid mobile computing solution at an exceptionally affordable price. For cost-conscious users who don’t intend to run the absolute latest 3-D games or animated 3-D drawing packages, the Presario 906US is a capable option.

At 1.5 by 12.8 by 10.6 inches, the unit is not particularly space efficient. It is, however, quite lightweight at just 6.5 pounds. Compaq has fitted the Presario 906US with a Mobile AMD Athlon XP 1500+ processor, 256 MB of DDR SDRAM (upgradable to one full GB), and a 16 MB ATI Radeon integrated graphics processor. This setup should provide more than enough power for standard notebook and multimedia tasks, apart from high-end 3-D animation applications and games.

In fact, the low-cost Presario 906US is a very competent multimedia performer. Compaq has fitted the system with an internal CD-RW/DVD drive to burn and listen to music and play movies, a 14.1-inch XGA TFT display capable of 1,024 x 768 resolution, and a state-of-the-art JBL Pro Performance speaker array with bass reflex enhancement. A 20 GB 4,200 RPM hard disk is ready to handle your important files and programs.

The Presario 906US features a variety of ports to accommodate peripherals and connectivity, including two USB 1.1 jacks, an RJ-45 Ethernet port for high-speed Internet and LAN access, an integrated low-speed modem, headphones/speaker-out and headphones-in, and an S-Video TV-out. The unit does not sport an IEEE 1394 connection for high-speed camcorder downloading. Controls include a full-size 88-key keyboard, a scrolling touch pad for easy Web surfing, and external audio volume and mute controls.

Compaq has preloaded a range of software to help make your computing easier, including Microsoft’s Windows XP Home Edition, Works 6.0, and Money 2001, and Norton AntiVirus 2002. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

unbeatable price.
got it from circuit city for the price advertised at bestbuy.
almost four hundred bucks saving from the list price. do your math. I can't say the price here.

originally aim for presario 1520us. it has faster processor, more RAM, bigger hard disk, and firewire port. but realistically, how many applications would be noticeble from it? (I think once computer reachs over giga hertz, work efficiency bottle neck lies along with the person rather computer delaying the task)

unless you are required to do video editing or 3d animation rendering on the road, this laptop is perfect for all other use.

Old presario I used at work, 2 years ago, didn't impressed me a bit. as it was bombard with 'illegal operation errors'

Looks like compaq finally got this one done right. every function is integrated perfectly without errors. Love the fact that they chose ATI graphic engine. also, JBL sounds the best among all laptops. all quick buttons on top of keyboard works like charm. DVD plays flawlessly (thoughfully included industry's best WinDVD software).

bought 906us and compaq PDA 3835 for the price of 1520us.

I think it was a wise decision.

Great value. Solid Performance
I'm pretty happy with this notebook. No more heat than normal and very quiet. Even the rarely active fan is quiet. And the JBL speakers provide the best sound in any notebook on the market at any price. I upgraded the RAM to 512 and I think everybody should plan for that. I was lucky the included RAM was in one 256MB stick. I hate losing RAM in order to increase it. The video performance is adequate, the DVD playback and CDRW works well. Most of all, I've found the AMD Athlon CPU to be a very hardy chip. Intel CPUs between 1 & 2ghz, be they Celeron or Pentium4 are total dogs. So the Athlon CPU here is a real plus. I don't sweat the lack of firewire. Don't need it. And for the complaint of it having only one PS2 port: Its called USB, look into it.

Complaints: I've found it heavier in practice than the specs lead me to believe. I wish it had a "real" video processor. That was the biggest trade off in getting this. But I did save several hundred dollars. And I've found that most games play well enough, at least with the detail on low. The screen is NOT the brightest. It is clear but can seem dim at times. Battery life is only 2.5hrs. The intractable Compaq software that takes up 6GB of space and is really difficult to remove. But it did come off and made the unit a much better leaner machine. It can take the integrated W200 multiport LAN module in the lid which is cool, but unless you need the one PC slot for something else, I would get a regular wireless card for much less.

Overall, a solid notebook and an incredible value with the rebates. Not sure what I would think about this compared to other models at its list price. But for what I paid for it, it's a winner.

Just wanted a laptop
I purchased this laptop just a few weeks ago. I'm not very computer literate. I have an old desktop but after moving to a new house I wanted something simple I could work with without the cords and cords and cords. I love to go online for recipes and travel information, etc. I love sending e-mails.I occasionally may use word processing. My whole point is, I didn't want the most hi-tech thing on the market because I couldn't afford it but I didn't want to ever go to a site and it say I didn't have enough "something". This laptop has been great. I can sit on my bed with it in my lap, unplug my phome, plug in the line and off I go. No heavy mess for the children to get tangled in or touching with dirty little hands. I hope this helps if you are looking for a fun, easy, adequate laptop.

Really happy purchase.
Running winDVD (U2 elevation tour), plus Live internet television feed at 99Kbit/sec on the side. displays flawlessly so I added yahoo messenger web cam and it's still going strong at 93% cpu usage according to task manager.
Yippy! love this thing.

Low price but it not the best value
The Compaq Presario 906US can't quite compare to the HP xt125 (same price) or the Toshiba Satellite 1415-S105 (cost just about 10% more).

Let's compare these three models to see how they stack up:

Compaq Presario 906US
CPU: 1.33 GHz Athlon XP Model "1500+" (I don't like this model number game AMD is playing).
RAM: 256MB DDR RAM - Good
20GB hard drive - Good enough
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon IGP 16MB Video ram - Out of date
Display Diagonal Size: 14.1 inches - Fine
LCD Resolution: 1024x768 - Good for 14"
Summary: Okay CPU, poor graphics chipset, everything else is okay.

HP Pavilion xt125 (same price as 906US)
CPU: 1.6 GHz Celeron (Built on a P4 core with a smaller cache)
RAM: 256 MB DDR RAM - Good
20GB hard drive - Good enough
Graphics Card: ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500C w/32MB - very good
Display Diagonal Size: 14 inches - Fine
LCD Resolution: 1024x768 - Good for a 14"
Summary: Better CPU, great graphics, everything is the same.

Toshiba Satellite 1415-S105 (cost 10% more)
CPU: 1.6 GHz Celeron
RAM: 256 MB DDR RAM - Good
20GB hard drive - Good enough
Graphics Card: nVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go w/16MB - pretty good
Display Diagonal Size: 15 inches - Good
LCD Resolution: 1024x768 - Not great for a 15"
Summary: Better CPU, okay graphics, bigger display but lower quality, everything else is the same.

My vote on the low end is still for the HP xt125. It will probably phase out soon as HP rolls out some new lines for the year, but right now it's a great value. The HP xt125 easily the best low cost notebook offered on Amazon. ... Read more

Features

• Unpunched
• 500 Sheets per Ream11 x 17

Reviews (1)

Great performance for great price
I've had this system for a week now .... It performs exceptionally well for a system {at this} price. Don't want to make this too wordy so here's the lowdown:
Pros:
Performance up to par with home built systems using similar parts
DVD and CD-RW performance is excellent and very quiet
Hard drive is very very quiet and is Ultra ATA/100
Built in video card is good enough to run Windows programs
Supports hardware monitoring so you can track heat, fan speed,etc
Multiple fans
USB and firewire ports upfornt
Dolby Digital SPDIF output
Keyboard
The case is a new design from HP, much sleeker and sexier than anything they've had before

Cons:
The fan noise might be too loud for some people (I like to hear the powerful fan...reliability over asthetics/acoustics)
Hard drive is only 5400RPM
No remaining expansion bays
Mouse and speakers aren't that great
No recovery CD (recovery runs off separate HD partition)
Flimsy BIOS doesn't seem to work correctly with passwords
A load of shareware and other [things] pre-loaded when you get it

I think that's it but overall, I'd recommend it to anyone who wants performance on a budget. I teamed this up with a 18inch LCD display for less than $2000. See if you can get that anywhere else. I'm loving it...hope you like yours too
:) ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Sometimes you don’t have to pay a lot to get a lot. This adage might come to mind when you see the wealth of performance and features packed into the Hewlett-Packard Pavilion 523n desktop PC and realize price is the only thing about this tower system that isn’t high-end.

Powering the 523n is a 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon XP 2200+ processor. An 80 GB hard drive ensures you’ll have plenty space to download, create, and store data files and digital music and photography content. The tower includes separate DVD (16x) and CD-RW (40x/40x/10x) drives for viewing movies on DVD and listening to and creating music CDs. It also includes integrated AC-97 Polk Audio stereo speakers with Power Port technology, and MPEG2 for full-motion video.

An integrated ProSavage DDR KM266 graphics card--with up to 32 MB of shared video memory--enables crisp performance in nearly any monitor you might connect to this system. The tower includes a V.90 56K data/fax modem, an integrated network- and broadband-ready 10/100Base-T Fast Ethernet interface, three PCI expansion slots (two available), an AGP 4x slot, four available USB 2.0 ports, and an available serial and parallel port. A one-touch HP Internet Command Center keyboard and a two-button PS2 scrolling mouse also are included.

Total memory slots include two DIMM slots (one available). L1 cache includes 128 KB of primary data cache. L2 cache includes 256 KB of advanced-transfer cache.

Installed software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition; Corel WordPerfect Productivity Pack, including WordPerfect 10 and Quattro Pro 10; HP RecordNow; InterVideo WinDVD SE; ArcSoft PhotoImpression, Fun House, and Greeting Card Creator; Intuit Quicken Financial Center/Quicken 2002 New User Edition; Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0; Norton AntiVirus 2002 with six months of free upgrades; and two free Game Channel titles. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Considerable Imrpovement Over Previous 520 Series Models
This is the newest in the 520 HP series. This is a vast improvement as the 522 had an Intel Celeron Processor. The Athlon XP processor is much more geared for performance than the economy Celeron.

The CD-RW and the DVD-ROM are separate in this machine, which is a nice feature. The 512 MB of RAM are a plus too. More geared for economy than the 523, little brothers the HP 503 and 513 have considerably less RAM. The idea of shared video memory bugged me a little bit. But if you have an integrated video card, better share than to only have a megabyte or two on board for video. I guess after all that is a plus about this particular machine too. An 80GB hard drive is defiantly not too shabby when it comes to an economy computer. Plenty of USB ports for all of your printing, scanning, digital film reading needs.

This computer is perfect for a college student. I would recommend the MX-75 HP flat screen monitor or the HP f50 flat panel monitor to go with it. Good durable printers to go with it include the HP 6122 or the economy HP 3820 it folds in on itself to conserve space).

epc

Great appliance.
I have a number of HPs around my home and office, and for the most part they were bought to be functional rather than "cutting edge" performers. They have not only proven themselves to be functional, they have proven themselves to be extremely reliable (one machine in my home has been left on virtually 24-7 for 2 years and still runs like a top). This machine has just about all the features any casual computer user would want: a zippy 1.80 GHz AMD Athlon XP
processor, a generous slice (512 MB) of very fast DDR DRAM, a copious 80 GB hard disk and a very good CD-RW+DVD player. Graphics too are well rendered by its 32 megs of video RAM. Perhaps most impressive, however, is the price. Machines this capable are the equivalent of the sub-[X] color TV: they may not have all the "bells and whistles", but they certainly do their job well.

Perfect for the music!
I'm not a computer wiz, more of a use it when I need it kind of person. I plugged this computer in within minutes I was able to burn CDs and copy songs to my MP3 player. I have never been able to work my MP3 player before, now with this computer all I have to do is plug it in, pick the music and go! and of course, it does all that other stuff computers normally do too!

A Great Value
This desktop is wonderful. It's plenty fast, has a huge hard drive space and more than enough memory. The cd-writer and dvd-rom are great. Match it with a hp printer and monitor, and you've got yourself a more than competent system. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Known throughout the industry for delivering high-end power at an affordable price, AMD's Athlon CPU forms the basis for Compaq's Presario 2140US Notebook PC, a mobile computer that shares the same likeable traits of its processor. This is an affordably priced yet punchy portable that looks good in its graphite case and performs as well as some midrange desktops.

At the heart of the Presario 2140US is a 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon XP Processor 2200+ with PowerNow! Technology. Compaq has complemented this CPU with a generous allotment of 512 MB DDR SDRAM (expandable to 1024 MB) and an ATI Mobility Radeon 4X AGP graphics chipset with 64 MB shared (not dedicated) memory. As such, the unit will efficiently run most common notebook applications but may have problems with complex 3-D games and animation or drawing packages. Sharing the data storage duties is an adequate 40 GB Hard disk and a DVD/CD-RW combo drive through which you can burn and play audio CDs, archive data and watch your favorite movies. In its stock setup, the system will not allow you to record to DVD media.

At 12.96 by 10.72 by 1.57 inches and 7.25 pounds, the Presario 2140US is slightly below average size and therefore is comfortably portable. The unit is equipped with a large 15-inch display screen capable of crystal clear 1024 by 768 resolutions. Other features include two USB 1.1 ports for plug and play peripheral connections, an 88-key keyboard, a Touch Pad with on/off and dedicated up/down scroll surface, and a pair of internal stereo speakers. Communication connectivity options include a 56K modem for low-speed Internet and email access and a high-speed RJ-45 LAN connector. Wireless communication is not offered, nor is a FireWire port for fast data interaction with peripherals such as digital camcorders.

Pre-installed software includes Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Works 6.0, and a variety of multimedia applications. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A great buy
I just picked this notebook up last week and I am pretty impressed so far. It's not the best notebook you can buy (hence the 4 out of 5 stars I gave), but you can't beat it for the price right now.

I did notice the off-balance noise problem with the CD-ROM drive, but it only came up once when I was reading from a CD-R. Perhaps the specific media or speed involved made it rattle, but it doesn't appear to come up very often.

I ran a few benchmarks on the machine and here's a summary of my results along with other comments:

CPU: The CPU is roughly comparable to the desktop version of the Athlon 2200+ and Intel P4 2.4 GHz. However, Intel solidly outperforms AMD at cache operations. For those of you concerned about buying an AMD laptop instead of an Intel, there isn't much to worry about because the CPU will not likely be the cause of bottlenecks anyway(see below).

Memory: The memory performance compares to some of the slower PC2100 controllers in desktop machines. It is only about 20-30% faster than most desktop PC133 controllers. Don't expect extremely fast memory performance.

Video: I didn't run any benchmarks on the video system, but I did load up a 3D game and see how it did. You shouldn't expect to outfrag your friends on this baby, but the performance is pretty good. The video performance will be limited by the speed of the RAM which, as mentioned above, is not very good for DDR.

Hard Drive: Hard drive performance is a bit weak. The hdd and controller compare to an ATA66 controller or a USB 2.0 hdd hooked up to a desktop. I suppose you should expect this kind of performance in a notebook hdd where so much disk space has to be crammed into a tiny volume.

Other: The display is great -- it even looks a little better than the one on my Dell that cost twice as much when I bought it a few years ago. You've got lots of handy buttons and cool looking lights. My favorite feature is the volume control and mute button on the left side of the computer. The keyboard feels great and looks nice and sturdy.

The tough thing about buying a laptop is you have to get one that doesn't only meet your needs now, but also will meet your needs in 3 years because you can't simply upgrade parts that get old. Though this PC is not completely top of the line, it is priced at about $500 less than other laptops that are just a little bit better. Even though this laptop will probably be obsolete a year sooner than a more expensive PC, at least I'll have $500 in the bank ready to buy that new laptop when I need to.

Hard to beat for the price
I was looking at buying a Dell, but every time I'd configure the options I wanted, the price jacked up to 1800+. So, I figured I'd wait till the newer Centrinos settled in a bit and picked up this puppy instead for about a grand.

The display is great, and can be viewed at all angles. I've had no problem playing DVD's using the included DVD player. I noticed no blurring during fast motion sequences while playing DVD movies. I haven't tried many 3d games, but Ragnarok plays as well as it does on my Desktop. As far as the sound goes, it's a laptop, and without headphones it still sounds very clear and loud; without much bass though (like most laptops).

It's as heavy as most power notebooks. With 40 gig hard disk, 512 meg memory, DVD/CD RW, 15" TFT screen, 1.8Mhz Athlon, 64meg ATI Radeon 4xAGP 3d graphics, built in 10/100 Ethernet, 7.5 pounds isn't too bad.

No Firewire port or 802.11b wireless built in. Both of those would be nice features to have. But, for the price, it's a damn nice laptop.

Not Overly Pleased -
I have had the 2140us notebook for about 1 month. This is my first notebook to own and can only compare it to a Dell on loan to my wife. The only postive comment I have at this time is that the 15" screen looks great and in a side by side comparison beats the Dell hands down.

Negatives- first, the DVD CDR/RW would not write at speeds above 4X and the drive would vibrate the entire notebook. Sent the notebook to Compaq for repair and the drive was replaced. I not sure the new drive is working optimal because it will only write/rewrite on newer DVD/CDR blank media. The older CDR/CDRW blank cds I own will not work with the drive. Secondly, the case also appears cheap in quality when comparing it with the Dell. Third, the speakers/audio have no bass sound whatsoever(tinny). Lastly, I have not yet been able to play a movie on the DVD without the computer freezing up. The info provided by Microsoft indicates the ATI video driver is causing the problem so now I am trying find new drivers/solutions. The update provided by Compaq on line has not resolved the situation. ... Read more