Built For You = don't expect it to work
Written: Jun 02 '00
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Pros: Got my money back eventually
Cons: system failed completely as did tech support
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| mperetz's Full Review: Compaq Presario 5600 |
For the purposes of clarification let me state at the outset that the 5600s is(or for me was) a 'built for you' model. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this it is allegedly the opportunity for the consumer to configure the computer the way he/she wants it. I did this through a local Staples store which has a dedicated connection to Compaq for browsing, ordering and finally configuring their systems.
I thought this was a wonderful idea - especially in light of the fact that I am a fan of AMD chips - and Compaq was one of the only big names to use them at the time. So I went for a system based around the AMD K6-3 chip - which at the time was very fast and very sophisticated with its tri-level cache and so on. I don't remember the exact MHz but it was fast.
Problems began with the incredibly poor Rockwell HCF modem that was standard issue in the unit. This modem is/was garbage and had pathetic error correction resulting in more time offline than on. Compaq did send someone out to replace it after my initial round of a couple of hours on the line with 'tech support.'
This was just the start of the problems though. For whatever reason, the operating system(Win98)became more and more unstable and diagnostics also revealed other hardware related issues such as the fact that the third level cache was simply inoperative. That began the next round of 'tech support' which ultimately consumed at least a dozen hours of my time in the evening.
Then Compaq sent a sub-contractor out to 'replace' my system board since they decided that the chip must be bad and it was the easiest thing to do. The person put the new board in - and then they told me that oh - by the way - you have to basically wipe the drive and re-install everything from their proprietary discs.
More hours on the phone. And I mean HOURS.
Finally a person in one conversation say 'oh, those discs you are using are bad!'(after consulting with someone he 'learned' this') and 'we have to send you new ones.'
This would have gone on indefinitely had I not learned about ecomplaints.com and posted a long complaint there. I am not advertising for that site but it was the answer in the end. Within 24 hours I got a call from Compaq corporate headquarters - and within a week I had a check for the FULL amount of my system in my hand(after they sent and paid for FedEx to pick up the unit.
Not bad you might say? Well. You really need to consider what happened. The underlying issue was that their tech support department could NOT diagnose or fix my computer after countless hours on the telephone. Some techs were actually rude.
I don't think that I would EVER buy a Compaq product again under any circumstance. I think they are yet another mega-corporation that is pumping out systems with less regard for real quality than they should. At least they lost me - -and my brother as customers(he has had problems with his Compaq notebook).
I bought an IBM Aptiva and have never, ever looked back.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 1309
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: 501-600
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
Hard Drive (GB): 9-12
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Epinions.com ID:
mperetz
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Member: Matthew Peretz
Location: Croton-on-Hudson, NY, USA
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 2 members
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