Very Powerful
Written: Oct 28 '03 (Updated Aug 01 '05)
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Pros: Very fast; quiet; very few glitches of any kind; wonderful connectivity.
Cons: Does not come with Windows XP disk; slightly troublesome mouse
The Bottom Line: This is a powerful and convenient computer at a reasonable price.
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| pvreditor's Full Review: Compaq s4300NX Presario Desktop (DF216A) PC Deskto... |
Computer hardware changes at the blink of an eye and that is a mixed blessing. On one hand, stuff is always getting cheaper, faster and more stable, and yesterday's expensive options are today's standard features. But perfectly good hardware often gets left in the dust, as manufacturers scramble for ways to pack the latest buzzword technologies into their computers, while simultaneously lowering the price.
So it is for the Compaq S4300NX that I bought in early July 2003. Although this is a powerful computer that sold for a reasonable $800 (without monitor and speakers), it is no longer listed on the manufacturer's Web site (www.hpshopping.com).
When I purchased my Compaq S4300NX, I thoroughly customized it on the HPShopping Web site. (HP is the parent of Compaq, so although the old www.compaq.com Web site is still out there, all purchasing is done through HPShopping.com.) My S4300NX has an AMD Athlon XP 2800+ processor, 512 MB of PC2700 RAM, 80 GB 7200 RPM hard drive, 48x CD-RW drive, 16x DVD play-only drive, ATI 9800 display card with 128 MB RAM, and built-in FireWire, sound, modem and Ethernet ports. I received a decent Compaq-labeled keyboard and a Compaq mouse with which I have a complaint. But more about that later. The S4300NX also has a 3.5-inch floppy drive that I seldom use. This computer has a mid-tower form factor.
The computer arrived about a week after I ordered it and the HPShopping Web site let me track the progress of my order, including a link to UPS to track the shipping -- very convenient.
I wanted a powerful computer for a variety of reasons, including the need for lots of speed and hard drive space for digital photography, audio recording and video editing. But the big reason why I wanted this exact Compaq model was that it has lots of front-panel jacks, eliminating the need to crawl on the floor behind the computer to plug in all the devices I need to connect. The front panel of the S4300NX has two USB2 ports, a FireWire port, and analog audio connectors for microphone input and headphone output. All these connectors are recessed behind a little sliding door.
Having just finished a large multimedia project that had a lot of audio on another computer, I was really looking forward to the front-panel jacks on the Compaq S4300NX. They haven't disappointed -- I love the easy access I now have to plug a microphone into the computer.
The computer took quite a while -- more than an hour is my recollection -- to properly set itself up once I unpacked it and connected everything. The process was easy, just time consuming. I turned the S4300NX on, was prompted through a series of installation steps and the computer eventually took over and finished the job. The operating system is Windows XP Home and -- of course -- I did not get a Win XP Home disk. Therefore, one of the first things that I did was make a series of "restore" CDs that are supposed to restore my computer in the event of a major crash. I'm not looking forward to it, particularly since the restore process created six (!) CDs.
This computer is blazingly fast for both video editing and for processing of digital images with Photoshop. It is far faster than my previous 700 MHz Athlon computer, which is itself pretty fast. I run my display at 1280 x 1024 and the computer has no trouble dealing with that resolution. Running filters in Photoshop takes about 1/3 the time as it did on my previous computer, doing things in five seconds that used to take 15. There were absolutely no glitches doing the limited video editing that I've done so far. And I've also done some audio recording and editing work with Sound Forge, which was also fast and glitch-free.
The system is powerful enough that I can easily have 10 four-megapixel digital images open at once with no drop in speed or processing ability. This makes processing my digital camera images much faster.
The keyboard that came with the computer is lightweight but it has good tactile feel and it is fairly quiet. There are several extra buttons for navigating the Internet that I do not use on the keyboard. The mouse occasionally takes two clicks for my request to register on the computer. I do not know if this is a fault with the mouse or with the computer -- I have yet to try a mouse that I know to be good. Otherwise, the supplied Compaq mouse works smoothly and feels good in my hand. The occasional second click is a slight annoyance but not a major problem for me.
This is my first computer with Win XP and it took me a little while to get it set up so that it was roughly similar to the Win 98 SE computer that I used previously. Now that I have it set up the way I like it, I strongly prefer XP to Win 98. It seems much more stable and I really like its ability to deal with any USB device that I plug in, without requiring drivers. This has been a joy, particularly since the S4300NX has two front panel USB2 jacks. (There are another four USB2 jacks on the back panel.) I frequently plug in a little thumb drive and my digital camera, and it is soooo nice to have these convenient jacks. The rear jacks work perfectly for my scanner and printer.
There are two FireWire ports: one on the front and one on the back. I use the rear FireWire port for my outboard 120 GB and 40 GB hard drives, which give me a cavernous space for video files. (The 40 GB drive is daisy-chained through the 120 GB drive.) Just as with the USB ports on this computer, the Compaq S4300NX identified the outboard FireWire devices as they were plugged in and didn't require any drivers. It was totally glitch-free and transparent.
The computer has a built-in modem and Ethernet port. I have not used the Ethernet port yet, but the modem (which uses a Lucent chip) works perfectly in my poorly wired neighborhood. I always get connected at 28.8 kbps, which is pretty good for this location. I did once have a modem here that connected very occasionally at 32 kbps but that was rare. All things considered, connecting everytime at 28.8 kbps is good performance for my neighborhood.
I've burned about 40 CDs on this computer and had only one failed disk. In my experience, that's excellent. (The computer came with RecordNow software for burning CDs, which is easy to use.) DVDs play smoothly, without glitches.
Finally, the Compaq S4300NX is very quiet. Every now and then there is a soft whirring sound from a fan for a couple of seconds and then it shuts off. This is, by far, the quietest PC-type computer that I've ever had.
I bought my first computer in 1980 and understand the pain that comes with every purchase: It is obsolete the moment you buy it. So it is with the Compaq S4300NX and just four months after my purchase, I would do things a bit differently. I'd get a little faster processor, a computer that handles PC3200 memory and a few other things. But I will not compromise on the front-panel jacks, which are an important feature for me with this computer. In fact, as I was looking for a new computer, the Compaq S4300NX was the only one with front-panel USB, FireWire and audio jacks. Keep this in mind if you, like me, hate crawling on the floor with a flashlight behind your computer to plug in peripherals and audio equipment.
There are some computers similar to the S4300NX sold by HP today, but I couldn't confirm the front-panel connections. And various versions of the S4300NX may be sold on E-Bay or though sites that blowout old models. Either way, the Compaq S4300NX has been a very good computer for me. It is fast, virtually glitch-free (except for my minor mouse problem), and it has features that make using this computer convenient.
Stir a reasonable $800 price tag into it -- and it's probably cheaper now -- and this is a great deal. I recommend the Compaq S4300NX.
Aug 1, 2005 Update:
I still use this computer as my primary system and it still works great. I have not had a moment's problem with the hardware, although I do have some sort of bug that causes Windows Explorer to crash from time to time. It's a minor annoyance and I'm sure it's caused by some worm or spyware that's gotten into my computer.
In any event, I'd get this computer all over again. It is fast, reliable and easy to live with.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 800
Operating System: Windows
Processor: AMD Athlon (K7)
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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