Compaq Evo D510 > Reviews (4)

In Late July 2003 I got a new job at an IT reseller so understandably a home computer was now essential. As with any big purchase I shopped around and looked at the competition e.g. Dell, Tiny etc. As my parents had brought a Packard Bell seven years previously I gave PC World a wide berth knowing they were overpriced and the machines were sub standard.

Eventually one of my colleagues recommended a company that supplied many offices (www.microwarehouse.co.uk) and as luck would have it they had a sale at the time.

After browsing their stock list I eventually opted for a desktopCompaq EVO D510 with a Pentium 4 Processor, the cost of the base unit was scarcely believable at just £389. I also brought a 17 Inch monitor and an internal modem. The total cost was a bargain at just £608 Inc VAT.

The basic specifications of the machine are outlined below.

Memory- 256MB
Hard Drive Size- 40 GB
Processor- Pentium 4 2.4 Giga hertz
CD Drive- 52X (Super Fast)
Floppy Disc Drive
Desktop (Monitor sits on top)

I was very pleased and eagerly anticipating the arrival of my new purchase. The 2 Week quote they initially quoted seemed reasonable. On the date they had gesticulated for delivery I took the day off work so I was in to receive my new machine personally but guess what no machine.
I phoned Micro Warehouse up and they said sorry and it would come in two days so yet again I took a holiday from my employment to receive it. This time something did come but it was only the monitor. I was livid and rang them straight away. I wasn't keen on taking another day off so tried to arrange for the courier to deliver it to my work place. They refused as I’d paid with my debit card and the bank insisted they deliver to my billing address. At my wits end I phoned the bank and explained the problem. To cut a long story short I finally got my hands on the machine a few days later.

PACKAGING

The computer and monitor both came in two cardboard boxes with some padding to protect the equipment but for something costing this much money not nearly enough. The box was at least secured well.

EASE OF SET UP

The instruction manual was in the bottom of the box and after reading it the machine took about 10 minutes to get running and I thought it was relatively hassle free.

I was at this point happy that I’d chosen the desktop variant rather than the Tower. For those of you that don't know with a Tower Machine the actual box stands beside the monitor but with the desktop the monitor sits on top saving a large amount of space.

Included in the package was Microsoft Windows XP. The disc was in the box and the software was painless to install as you were guided by on screen instructions all the way through set-up.

Unfortunately Microsoft Office wasn't included so I got a friend to install it on the PC for me.

AESTHETICS

The Base unit was black with the Pentium four logo on the front. The keyboard was silver and black and this was complimented by a black Compaq mouse. All in all it looked very swish.

MEMORY

I opted for 256MB RAM.

This was more than sufficient for my needs.

SPEED

The 2.4Gig Pentium processor could only be described as sublime. When accessing the internet connection was almost instantaneous and even when the page incorporated lots of graphics, it was incredibly fast.

STORAGE

I chose the 40GB hard drive with my machine and this should be absolutely ample for most people. Even if you want to download lots of music/MP3's ample space is available.

RELIABILITY

Absolutely excellent, the machine never crashed and always booted up first time.

OVERALL

Highly recommended for anyone who wants a fast machine for accessing the Internet and word processing/compiling spreadsheets etc. This machine isn't really intended for gaming so that obviously isn't its strong point.

I'm sure some readers wonder why I’m writing in the past tense. Sadly shortly after purchase my home was burgled and the PC stolen. I've now got a pretty useless P2.

If you want to buy one of these now secondhand one should be about £300 and new a similar model from PC World would be about £800.