Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 57
 Great deal for a replacement/additional PC on a Budget! April 14, 2009
D. Smith (Honolulu, HI)
49 out of 49 found this review helpful
This will not break PC speed records, but it is no slouch either. It will probably still be faster than your average 5 year old computer that you may be using right now.
More details on what's inside:
The DVD-RW drive is a standard easily replaceable/upgradeable 5 1/4" SATA drive. Also the hard drive is also a standard SATA 3.5" replaceable/upgradeable drive. As far as the memory goes, it is a standard desktop 240pin, 800MHz/667MHz DDR2 module (Single Slot) which can be upgraded to 2GB if you were so inclined to do so. (NOTE: To get to the RAM you have to remove the side panel of the case -2 screws-, the front bezel of the system -2 clips-, to dismount the DVD drive -2 screws-, in order to gain access to the single RAM slot on the motherboard which is populated with the default 1GB module.) The power supply is an external module exactly like a laptop power supply which also helps to reduce the size and heat inside the system. One con I noticed with this system is that the little cooling fan in the back of the system will kick in a very high rate of speed (Loudly) when the internal temps go up which is good for cooling, but can be unnerving if you don't expect it. Also there is no active cooling (Fan) on the processor/chipset itself so I am unsure of its longevity in warmer environments. The model that I received did have a dial-up modem (Green RJ11 Jack) in the single pci-e 1x slot of the computer so I am not sure what the other reviewer was talking about. Also keep in mind that this system does not have an Antivirus pre-installed so be sure to load it with your favorite Antivirus before going crazy w/ online browsing. That is actually one of the good things about the system too, in that it does not come preloaded with tons of Promo-Ware (Limited Usability Promotional/Advertising Software) like other systems. It is pretty much a straight forward XP install with very few Compaq-ware items. The mini keyboard and standard optical mouse was a nice throw-in.
 Small, inexpensive, quiet, fast enough, low power consumption April 15, 2009
Jeffrey Chan (Los Altos, CA USA)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
Works fine as a web terminal, casual-use home computer, etc. A tremendous value with a dual-layer DVD writer, reasonably large SATA drive, etc. Full-sized Western Digital SATA hard drive is a bit noisier than I'd like but not overtly noisy. Case is very small, and case fan noise is not too obtrusive. Measures about 30 Watts of power consumption, a small fraction of full-sized desktops which usually use 100 to 200 Watts. Analog video on VGA connector is appropriate, but adding a HDMI could be useful for connecting to a digital TV. Probably HDMI is not available on the nettop/netbook chipsets typically used with the Atom CPU.
Performance is adequate. Doesn't quite feel as quick as the Atom can after adding AVG antivirus and particularly Zonealarm firewall software. Still fast enough for casual web surfing, etc.
Overall very good for its intended purpose. Computers needn't be big, expensive or power hungry to meet the needs of most home users, and this is a good example.
Nice, low power system for the kids. March 8, 2009
Knowledge Forest (Washington, DC United States)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
This is a nice little system for the kids. It's energy star qualified so you can leave it on all the time without affecting your electricity bill. According to HP's web site, you can't upgrade the ram (click specs):
[...]
This shouldn't be a problem since 1GB for XP is plenty.
It also doesn't come with speakers or a monitor so get those as well. Here what we got:
[...]
Just don't expect to run the latest 3D games on this machine. For web surfing, email, music, and watching movies, it should be fine.
Very nice small, quiet, fast computer April 17, 2009
Jayman (Gainesville, FL)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
My HP from 2004 died. So I needed a computer that was inexpensive. Most of all, that had Windows XP on it, and that's hard to find for a new computer now a days. About half of my software is made for Windows 95/98, so why should I buy a new computer with Vista on it when I have no idea if any of it is compatible or not- I might be wasting a few houndred dollars. I like the fact that the computer is small and has a DVD/CD writer on it- very universal CD-Rom drive. *Not to forget to mention it only uses about 65 watts of power. The ONLY thing I was let down on this computer was the lack of enough USB ports, I had to spend a little more money for a Belkin USB hub, which is available here @ Amazon.
Pleased with this computer so far.
UPDATE: I have had the computer for about 3 months now. Very Happy with it; I purchased an external 3.5" floppy disk drive thru the USB port and now I can use the old programs on floppy disk. I keep my house temp. between 70-75 degrees when operating the computer- the system fan RARELY kicks in (when it kicks in, it's loud). Other than that, the computer is sooo quiet. The computer is a great machine for email, internet browsing, word processing and old classic games(ie: Ms. Pacman, Galaga, DigDug) and works great with emulators too- Commodore 64, Atari 2600 and Macintosh.
Great Little Monster!! February 20, 2009
S. HUNG (Naperville, IL United States)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I would like to thanks to Compaq and HP for providing this excellent and affordable computer. My 6 years old boy loves it so much. we love to watch instant movie from Netflix together. And play game from Disney or Shockwave website. My boy can run educational cd-rom smoothly. For regular daily job, I think this one is perfect in any direction. I just can't believe its so low price and great performance.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 57
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