Compaq improves it's low end at last
Written: Jul 23 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Performs well, inexpensive and is a good non-proprietary design
Cons: Weak power supply,
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| Gr8ful's Full Review: Compaq Presario 7594 (189713-003) PC Desktop |
Many people who have never owned a computer before and finally decide to get one are usually looking for a simple computer to get on the internet and play a few games, maybe do their taxes or keep track of their home expenses. This Compaq computer is perfect for a beginner or a student who needs basic functionality at a reasonable price. The Compaq 7594 is a solid computer and (unlike it's predecessors) it is easy to upgrade and is not as proprietary in design.
The computer features a 566MHz Intel Celeron processor with 64MB of PC100 SDRAM. The speed is good and the performance is decent. Even though Compaq gives you 100MHz memory, the system bus is still only 66MHz. Therefor you really don't get the benefit of the faster memory.
One thing I don't like is the shared system memory with the video. You can allocate up to 8MB of system memory for the integrated AGP video. This is not preferable but the computer still performs well with a memory upgrade to 128MB. This would give you 120MB for the system and 8 for the AGP video. Like I said, it's not ideal but it is acceptable for the performance vs. price.
The power supply on this model leaves a little to be desired. They work well with the original equipment, but if you add more than one more drive the computer may have power problems due to the fact that the power supply is only 145W. I would recommend not adding more than one extra drive to this model.
The hard drive that comes in the computer is a healthy 10GB and is ATA66 compatible with a 7200RPM spindle rate. This is a good hard drive with good speed. The access time on this drive is 9ms. This hard drive is acceptable for all purposes. If you download a lot of MP3 files from the web or simply need more space, there is room to add an additional hard drive.
The computer has 3 free PCI slots for expansion and with the four USB ports expansion is virtually unlimited (except by the power supply). This model also has 2 free drive bays, but as I already stated you may want to leave one open because of the power issue.
As a technician for a large retail store I have worked on these models many times and have upgraded several of these systems as well. The computers perform admirably with the equipment they are shipped with and are very easy to upgrade. To remove the case, you only need to take out three screws and pull the computer out from the back. It slides right out of the case very easily. All the upgradeable parts are right there, easy to access and unobstructed by other parts.
Overall, this is a decent computer for a first time buyer or a student looking for a reasonably priced PC with all basic functions. Compaq has finally made a good low end computer for beginners. Compaq has changed over the last year in quality and design, this model is one of the first low end computers to show Compaq's change of heart and is really not a bad computer at all for the price.
Recommended:
Yes
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