Back in 6/00, I needed an NT/2000 portable to replace my 3 year old NEC Versa. None of the stores carried any machine with NT/2000 pre-installed. Compusa offered to special order a machine from Sony, but it was a hassle to work with them to configure the machine exactly as I wanted. Then came the configurable Compaq 1800 that you can order online. I was able to specify the exact configuration that I wanted after previewing various options. And the price was very reasonable as well.

Overall, I've been very pleased with it. The display is bright and the touchpad is sensitive and smooth. I also like the fact that both floppy and CDROM/DVD are built in. A floppy drive is actually very useful in a portable, and it's nice not to have to swap drives. And the built-in 10/100 NIC and modem means that you don't have to mess around with a dongle or flimsy connectors. The last positive that I will mention now is that while the computer gets warm, I found that I could actually have it sit on my lap for hours as opposed to the NEC where it would burn my legs.

As other members pointed out, the 1800 is slightly large, but it's really comparable to other manufacturer's machine of the same class. Even though you can still buy the 1800, I think that the newly released 1700 series may be a better choice.

I would advise anybody purchasing this machine to go with 14" display to save on weight. Both 14" and 15" screens have the same pixel resolution so it makes little sense get the larger display -- you get the same display real estate either way. I would go with the largest hard drive and as much RAM as I could afford; especially the hard drive because upgrading these things on a portable is both expensive and a real bother. Also, get the DVD instead of the CDROM so you could watch movies while stuck in the airport or on a plane.

Normally, I advise people not to bother with rip-off extended warranties, but in the case of portable, I think that it's well worth it. Also, check that there's an authorized service center nearby. At the very least make sure that they will pick up the shipping charges, like Compaq does, while the machine is under warranty.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 2600
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 601-700
Screen Size: 14
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20