Compaq Presario: a tough little beauty
Written: Oct 18 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Quality of Tech Support: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Sleek, unique useful features
Cons: HD filled with stuff you don't need, a bit heavy
|
|
|
| gene_s's Full Review: Compaq Custom 1800 |
After my Winbook fell to pieces after 3 years, I determined my next notebook should be able to better withstand a beating. But with the specs I needed, I couldn't budget for a Panasonic Toughbook. Fortunately, some of the hardened features of those tank-like computers are being incorporated into regular systems. So I kept an eye out for reviews of notebooks winning torture tests. Compaq notebooks scored high in some of these tests, especially the infamous "drop test", where a computer is dropped from a 3-4 foot height. (This particular trait pays off. See below).
I wish computer magazines would consider a broader audience when writing their reviews. Does their readership consist of nothing but network drones who work for large companies? I'm not shopping for a portable small office! What if the Internet is part of your lifestyle, not just something you work for? I am a writer, so my notebook is my constant companion. I commute with it to work and get most of my writing done on the train. My notebook is not an appliance; it's more an extension of my nervous system. Sometimes I sleep with the damn thing! I must be happy with its performance, how the keyboard feels, and the overall design. I also travel, so I appreciate anything my computer can do to alleviate the drudgery of a long flight.
The customizable Compaq Presario 1800 was starting to get many pluses in its column. However, before I shelled out the quatloos, I canvassed opinions from friends who share my Darwinian "survival of the fittest" view of technology.
One friend performs media FX for raves and nightclubs. Like me, his notebook is graphed onto his cyber-psycho existence. One night, he was having such a good time after work, he blacked-out! (I wish I had such fun at work.). The computer hit the floor, and so did he. But the computer booted-up fine (and he did too). Then he traveled across country by train with the computer tossed (without any sort of case) into a duffle bag. He also attended the "Convergence 5" in NOLA. It survived numerous drops, bangs, and other geek-defying indignities in the sweltering nightclubs of New Orleans. Near catastrophe struck when he dropped it on the concrete sidewalk. This killed it! But after getting it home, opening it up, then gluing the motherboard to broken screw mountings and reseating some connection---IT LIVED AGAIN!
I ordered my computer. Specs: Besides the standards, the machine I ordered was a PIII 500 Mhz, had 192 MB RAM, a DVD player, and a 6 GB HD. I went for the 14.1" screen to save some weight.
The machine sports some unique and useful features. A row of buttons sits above the function keys. Compaq calls this the Internet Zone (Hehe, sounds like William Burroughs's "Inter Zone"). With these programmable buttons, you can instantly launch favorite applications. The F1 and F2 keys are also programmable. Below the touch pad, a little area juts out that protrudes when the notebook is closed, giving the machine a slight under bite. This is home to the Disqplay2 console. Compaq deserves a Nobel Prize for this! It allows you to power up the disc player without booting the machine. There are buttons for volume control, track selection, pausing and stopping. So now I don't have to stick a CD player in the carry-on!
The unit's entertainment functions just saved my sanity! I was stranded in a jet for 3 hours, on the tarmac, during a horrendous thunderstorm. To break-up the monotony, the thoughtful captain decided to run the in-flight movie. It stared Meg Ryan and Walter Matthau. Ryan played the estranged daughter of the bed-ridden and dying Matthau. There were numerous heart-tugging bedside scenes. Even without the earphones, every time Meg visited her dying old man in the ICU, I could hear the "beep, beep, beep" sound FX of a life support system. This atrocity has to be one of the most depressing movies ever made, and I had only endured 5 minutes of it. I was thinking of requesting two red-hot pokers from the stewardess so I could gouge my eyes out. But just then, my trusty Compaq with its DVD player came to the rescue! The choice was "Matrix" or Dario Argento's "Deep Red". I chose "Deep Red" and relaxed to the joys of an Italian slasher flick!
Minor cons:
Compaq is infamous for loading their computers with bloatware. Not only does this junk eat a huge portion of your HD, it gobbles up memory. Get rid of this stuff! You don't need it.
The DVD software that came with the unit was the pits! Although it reads "Compaq" on the skin, it's really DVD Express. This is about the worst DVD software ever written. It hogs resources and locks up your system. It's lame in every respect. For a review go to:
http://www.inmatrix.com/review/dvdexpress_review.html
By the way, http://www.inmatirx.com is a great site. It has the latest info on DVD players (hardware and software), and links to all the players. I replaced my DVD Express software with WinDVD, a much better program.
Lastly, the fact that this notebook can survive a drop already paid off. I thought it was well zipped up in my backpack. As I slung my backpack over my shoulder, I felt something shift. My new notebook tumbled to the floor!
Obviously my computer survived the fall, or you would not be reading this review.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): about $2500
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 401-500
Screen Size: 14"
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 4-6
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
gene_s
|
|
Location: Denver, New York City, and SF
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 4 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.