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I need some advise. Can anyone tell me how good Compaq Presario's are?
I am looking at a 6019 bundled Compaq with Intel Pentium 4 processor (1.6 ghz). It has 256 for memory a 40gb hard drive, 48x max cd-rom drive, a 32mb nVidia ge force 2 mx graphics card, 4 usb ports, v56 modem with 10/100 ethernet card, fs7550 flat screen monitor with jbl speakers. It also comes with xp home and microsoft works 6.0
I can get this entire system for 950.00
Can anyone tell me if this is a good deal and how reliable Compaq computers are?
Thanks for all replies, Jim
Will HP products work with Compaq? I have a HP printer, scanner, and external burner that works well with Windows98.
I don't want to have to purchase any more items to work with system if I don't have to.
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Think long and hard, my friend. I wouldn't do it. You know how over priced the flat screens are, so what's that say about the rest of it? The only real info you have, (and I realize that it's the info that's been given to you), is the video card. The GeForce 4s, with 128 megs of ddr ram are out now, so the one you would get in that system is pretty cheap now. There are other questions you need to ask, also. Which P4?? Northwood?? 512k of cache?? I wouldn't accept anything less. Memory, RD, DDR?? What kind of motherboard? Theirs, no doubt. What chipset is on it?? I really don't want to rain on your parade, it's just that companies like that (Compac, HP, Packard Bell, etc.) just piss me off. If you can't, for whatever reason, build your own, there are better options. Gateway, or Dell are far better ways to go. If I had to buy one, I'd probably go down to my local Mom & Pop, family business, and talk to them. With any of these options, you at least know exactly what's going into your machine. BTW, do you get an actual XP cd with that machine, or is it just their version copied to the hard drive in some obscure folder that you can't get to?? No, I wouldn't do it, but then again, that's just me.
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well, honestly, if you're up for it, i think you can do better building your own system. at the very least you should have a cd burner rather than a plain old cd-rom drive. have you compared prices on machines with similar features? see what the average going price is. i could probably build the machine you described for at least a couple hundred less. even less if you go with an amd processor and standard monitor.
if tech support is important to you, you should also consider the service record of the company you'll be dealing with. i hear compaq, dell, and gateway have very good to excellent customer service, but i couldn't tell you from experience. good luck.
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I'd go with the local mom+pop "whitebox" also,numerous magazine articles spell this out.Better deals,better service(local call,bring it right in,home service some places,better documentation),no shipping charges,low volume keep the customer happy atitude,etc.The big guys might give you a 40Gb. hd instead of a 20Gb.But if you have to ship it back for a week or three ,or worse yet wait three weeks to bring it in you'll be able to stare at a $950.00 doorstop. my advice ,shop around making sure you try the little guy,show him your best deal,he'll match it or beat the price.Post back let us know how you made out.
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I definitely would not buy a Compaq, or really anything else you can find in the stores. You're better off building your own system, or if you can't do that, go to a local computer shop and have them do it for you.
Building your own system isn't really too difficult. Just stick a bunch of stuff in the case and install the OS. It's only a few hours work at the most, and you'll save a lot of money!
It'll also be easier and cheaper for you to upgrade your system later on, or fix it when something goes wrong.
I haven't bought a system since 1993!! You're always better off building your own...
Anyways... The P4 is overpriced!! You're a lot better off getting an Athlon. It's a better processor and it's cheaper too! Probably like half the price.
Did you know that the 1.2 Ghz AMD Duron kicks the 1.4 Ghz P4's butt?? I wouldn't even waste the money on a P4. Get an Athlon! Or even a Duron...
Just check out http://www.pricewatch.com and see how cheaply you can build your own system for.. Or even how cheaply you can buy a system for. It's just not worth it buying the namebrands. They're not any better than generic PCs.
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well well. p4 is only good as far as heat management, which is not a big deal if you know what to do. Just buy a big ass heat sink and a good fan for AMD. AMD rules!
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I bought my first computer from Gateway in 1999. A VERY high end all SCSI LVD unit for $3000.00. Since then I've duplicated this machine for seven people with much later devices for under a grand. If you don't want to built your own, go the "mom & pop" shop. They give you a better price on "oem" parts, reduce the package price of the parts, and generally only charge $150.00 to built and install operating system. Your first mistake building your own can cost this much. Plus you have a "human" to talk to if problems come up and generally have much more experience fixing problems than the damn "tier 1" support you get from the major suppliers. Now I will step down from my soap box!
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I can tell you that I had a Compaq laptop on a fishing boat and after a year the flat ribbon wire leading from under the key board up through the hinges to the screen was practically cut in half to the point where we lost the picture on the screen during a fishing trip.I had to take it apart and solder them together.When I called Compaq up and asked about a replacement ( it was approx.10 inches long with a plug in at both ends,,which I was able to unplug myself so it wasnt any great mistery by the way )They couldnt sell me a replacement without buying the whole screen for 1500.00 dollars.A ten inch ribbon wire with plug ins at both ends and they thought I was retarded enough to buy a 1500 dollar screen.I replaced it with a Dell.My point is that in my opinion Compaq's customer service sucks and it cost them my bussiness.
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I just got a Dell with similar specs, ordered it over the internet for a $50 discount, for abou the same price. From what I've read, people have a lot of problems with Compaqs. You might want to check out Dell or Gateway for similar packages but with more reliabiltiy.
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I have three Compaqs which work excellent... I hear many horror stories with every type of system and that includes ones home built. Can anyone say that on this board that the majority of posted problems are from induviduals who own Compaq's, HP, Gateway, etc? Due to the vast variety of software/hardware your bound to have glitches with any machine.
The big questions "what are you intending to us the PC for?" and "are you going to upgrade often or are you going to make do with the machine you get for a few years?"... I've found that with my Compaq's that there has been no problem upgrading the hardware in the areas that I chose and needed (HD,Mem,CD,Video,etc), EVERY machine once aged, reaches it's limit of upgradability in regards to cost and using the latest software/hardware. Read some of the posts where someone has an older PC (500 or less)and usually they are told to trash it as any upgrades amount to more than what you can purchase a new PC for?? Most PC's these days out-perform any software that you throw at it except for games... if gaming is your main reason for purchasing a PC then maybe one of those new game consoles would better suit?
Your HP printer, scanner and burner should work with just about any brand of PC... if your new PC comes with XP you may have trouble, check their site for updates.
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Ever read the story of the tortise and the hair.. Well the pentiums are the turtles. and the Amd will in the end win the race.. AMD beats pentium hands down in speed when loading programs and overall performance.Unfortunatly AMD does not have the resorces to plug the advertizement field like Pent does. If so i think you would see AMD the peoples choice.. And really i feel sorry the the folk who have no idea how well and fast the AMD is. Your AMD junky...) RAZZ
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If you are not a gamer and don't upgrade your system then it will be fine. If you ARE in to ugrading, tweaking, and gaming then obviously, stay away from ANY proprietary system. It is pretty simple, get one that suits your needs. Most people just hear others say "compaq sucks" and rahter than actually have a basis to form their OWN opinion, they adopt someone else's. The OEM machines are fine for what they are, non gaming, non upgradable, proprietary systems. They will be fine for word processing, school work, and surfing the net, that is about it.
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I would definitely stay away from Compaq. I have had a lot of experience with them. If you only want it to have a decent computer to play with then it is fine. If your serious about a computer build your own or talk to someone who knows how to and get them to build it for you, it is cheaper and you will enjoy using it far better
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Hey Mike, it's one thing to tell the truth and another to mislead... to say proprietary systems are only good for word precessing, school work and surfing the net is totaly false! I've had many a systems proprietary and not and they were each able to perform audio, video and graphics editing (along with what you mentioned and more), equally well. If your comparing a 286 to a 1MHz then that's apples and oranges, no comparison.
It gets me when "one" basis a PC's worth on gaming and gaming alone... a PC can do much, much more, it can be a productive and edicational tool. I agree totaly that not all PC's preform gaming tasks equally but if that's your basis for an opinion you should re-think before giving advise, no?
Most system now produced surpass the need for what one will do with it. As with most systems, software and hardware it's the human hunger for the latest and greatest rather than the "NEED".
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Sorry, should have read: "If your comparing a 286 to a 1GHz then that's apples and oranges, no comparison"
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Hi my last post I should have said that the Compaq laptop with Windows 98 se worked great.We mostly used it to run navigation software but I did other things with it.I dont think the ribbon wire should have cut thru after only a year and again I stress that in my opinion Compaq's customer service was poor and as a result I wasn't a repeat customer as I am with my Gateway's at home.I enjoyed this thread,,lots of different opinions!
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