A true desktop replacement
Written: Oct 10 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Speed, Size, Screen Size, Options
Cons: Hard drive could be bigger
|
|
|
| david_n_dc's Full Review: Compaq Armada E500 (470027-663) PC Notebook |
The company I work for has provided me with a Compaq Armada E-500 to use when out of the office. The machine I have is loaded with just about every option. Including an Intel Mobile Pentium III 700mhz, 512 MB of ram (the max for this unit) a DVD player, 15” screen, and 12 Gig hard drive.
The Compaq Armada series of laptops is the high end models designed for business use. In fact, they could easly be used as Workstation replacements as they perform just as well as some of the Compaq Deskpro systems. Not only are they very powerful, but they are also built very well to withstand the abuse that traveling can give them.
Weighing in at just 5.7 pounds, and only 1.6” thick, this laptop is great for taking on the road. I was surprised to see learn that the battery is lasting up to 3 hours off a full charge thanks to Intel’s Speedstep technology. It features a built in 56k modem, and a 10/100-network adapter to give you two available PCMIA slots. Also featured is a Video output jack that allows you to plug your laptop in to a standard RCA type jack on a tv/vcr/projection system. This is a great Idea, but the resolutions displayed on a TV leave a lot to be desired.
Installed in my machine is Windows 2000 professional, and some very high end custom apps (which explains the need for 512MB of ram) along with off the shelve software like Visual Studio, Visio, Exceed, and a lot of network remote utility programs. I have not had any compatibility problems with any programs I have tried and this laptop. I am also using a Jaz drive connected to a PCMIA card without problems.
As both a user of this machine, and as someone who makes recommendations here in the office on pc procurement I would highly recommend this PC to both business and personal users. It has been well suited for every task that I have used it with, and so far have not had any major issues.
Now, what don’t I like about this PC? Not much, however there are a few issues. For one, the soundcard seems to have a slight hiss in the background as if its getting interference from the processor, not a major issue, but noticeable. Also, I am not a huge fan of the touch pad, however this is something that I am getting use to, and able to avoid with the help of a USB mouse. Also, I have noticed this laptop can get very hot after using it for a while, when setting on your lap. This is understandable due to the amount of horsepower this machine puts out, but can be uncomfortable when on a flight and watching the latest DVD release on your 15” screen.
As a side note, being in the IT industry and having Compaq as my main vendor for computers of all types, I must say that I have had nothing but great pleasure in working with Compaq to resolve any issues that we have had with our equipment. They are very responsive and quick to take care of any problems that you may have with your product. If customer service and warranty is a concern of yours, you can’t go wrong with Compaq.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
david_n_dc
|
|
Member: David
Location: Washington, DC
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 15 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.