Compaq delivers solid mid-price laptop
Written: Jan 22 '01 (Updated Jan 22 '01)
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Pros: Fast, easy-to-use, stable
Cons: Poor battery life
The Bottom Line: This machine delivers solid, crash-free performance for a good price.
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| bgardner's Full Review: Compaq Presario 1200XL111 (164027-003) PC Notebook |
When I went shopping for a laptop, I looked at every brand available. Compaq was on the bottom of my list based on the mediocre functionality of previous incarnations. After considerable research at epinions, PC sites and magazines, I bought the brand I didn't want. Why?
Speed — At 550 MHz, this machine runs rings around similarly priced competitors.
Screen — The image quality on the Active Matrix screen is spectacular.
Ease of use —– It's truly plug and play, ready to roll from the moment you set it up. The required hoop jumps are minimal and the wizards take you through everything in a blink.
Adaptability — The USB port means you can hook up an external storage device, from a ZIP to a CD-RW (both of which I bought as accessories) and be running in minutes.
Utility — The touchpad is as easy to use as everything else on it. In no time you can create simple graphics and animate PowerPoint shows with your fingers. The machine also offers great utility as a projection station, easily hooking into an InFocus or Proxima projector for display. As this is the main purpose I purchased it, I could not be happier with the machine.
Video/DVD — The 64MB RAM means that movie play is not always smooth — a few frames drop out into the ether every now and then — but is generally good.
Stability — I have had no crashes that are not the result of unstable software.
You can find a better laptop, but you will pay far more than the $1700 list of the 1200-XL. This machine delivers everything you want in the price range. Yes, I have a few minor quibbles, but to be quibble-free, I would be looking at a lot more dinero. The quibbles:
RAM — 64MB is not enough to smoothly run multiple applications or to run advanced games at all. But, I never envisioned this laptop as a games platform, and my multiple applications at the same time need is mainly driven by graphics creation that I also would never do on a laptop, so this is a minor quibble.
Battery life — It conks after 2-2.5 hours, which makes it a liability on plane flights. Spare batteries, or upgrading the battery would help, and that's not an earthshaking cost.
Weight — This is not a light laptop, especially with peripherals added into the case. It takes a large case, and a strong shoulder to move it.
Ergonomics — It produces a fair amount of heat, so keep open air handy. It also makes a fair amount of noise when the fans are cranking, so your seatmate on late-night flights may prefer you had a different machine.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1700
Operating System: Windows
Processor: AMD K-2
Processor speed: 501-600
Screen Size: 13
RAM: 64
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Under 4
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Epinions.com ID:
bgardner
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Member: Bruce Gardner
Location: Paducah, KY
Reviews written: 84
Trusted by: 21 members
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