The Compaq Presario creates the perfect balance of exceptional performance and lightweight convenience in a multimedia notebook. Its innovative design packs everything you need for... more
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A review by Neil2k on Compaq Presario 1246 December 22nd, 2000
Author's product rating:
Speed
Average
Look & Feel
Satisfactory
Comfort & Portability
Very poor
Robustness & Durability
Good
Value For Money
Poor
Advantages:
Good Sound, Reliability, Speed when Upgraded
Disadvantages:
Poor Battery Life, Slow Modem, Low Memory
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
The Presario 1246 is/was a good reliable laptop/desktop computer but was it worth its money?
The reason I include Desktop is the reliability of the batteries over a short period of time, approximately 6-12 months in my experience which makes the laptop useful only when connected to the mains.
It runs on a stable Windows 98 Second Edition Operating system with plenty of additional software. However with the machine being shipped with only 32mb memory, the additional pre installed software slow's the machine almost to a halt after only a few weeks of use. Removing the software or increasing the memory makes the machine run at a workable speed.
The onboard VIA sound board and JBL pro speakers give the machine a very clean sound which is easily controlable from the front panel.
On the graphical side, game playing can be a worthwile experience, some of the games played on my machine with an additional 64Mb of memory installed include, Need for Speed - Porsche Challenge, Hitman, Tony Hawks 2. The list could go on forever. In brief, the Trident Cyberblade i7 Video board seems to run any game I throw at it, all being at a maximum resolution of 800x600.
Windows 2000 refuses to install on this laptop with the standard 32mb of memory however Windows Millenium and Linux have been sucessfully tested. Effectively
The Modem lets also lets the machine down as its usual maximum connection speed is equivalent to a 33.6k modem even though it is sold as a 56k.
Only the Battery life, Modem and lack of memory have annoyed me with this purchase, These are minor problems but problems which could be better avoided by spending your money elsewhere.
Allthough the Compaq is a good machine, its competitors models such as Sony's Vaio with a Celeron 533mhz in replacement to the 400mhz processor, is where my money would have been spent. In comparison to the Sony, the compaq is more a childs toy, thicker in size, slower, more restricted in use, smaller display, smaller harddrive, less memory, etc etc.
Advantages: Sturdily built Disadvantages: Inadequate memory
A generally reliable and fast laptop, once the memory has been upgraded from the measaly 32MB that come as standard.
The keyboard is quite sturdy for a laptop, and desktop users should have no trouble using it (except for the numeric keypad, which is missing), though i wouldn't recommend long periods of typing simpy because laptops do not encourage a good typing posture - they are too cramped.
The touchpad is exceptionally good, with lots of customisable ... ...can be turned off (useful if small children are using the laptop), or you can hotplug a PS/2 mouse, essential for playing games (Half-life, C&C etc.)
The main problems with this laptop is the limited memory, upgrading to 64 or 96MB is recommended, and the soud drivers/speakers can be inadequate for games/MP3. Also, depending on what you will be using the laptop for you may find that the 4GB hard drive rather small, a few large games and some MP3s ...
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Advantages: Affordabe and reliable Disadvantages: Lack of memory, lack of speed
I purchased a Compaq Presario 1246 in Novemeber 1999. After countless problems with the computers in the labs at University constantly crashing and being plagued with viruses, I decided that enougth was enougth and set about looking for a computer of my own.
As a student however, I only had a set amount of money to buy a PC and choose to buy a laptop mainly because of its flexibility. After looking around for a number of weeks, testing various laptops ... ...The Compaq 1246 costed me under £900 and came with the various goodies such as built in modem, AMD - 3D sound, CD drive etc.
I feel that for the price, I got a good deal, I have a reliable computer that allows me to access the web, and provides me with all the tools needed to undertake and prepare my University coursework.
The dissadvantages about the 1246 is the fact that it only has 32 mega bytes of ram and a 4 gb hard drive, compared to many ...
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Advantages: Plenty of features, plenty of power - cheap Disadvantages: Slow at advanced processing until upgraded
An excellent budget laptop, capable of almost anything you could demand of it. True laptops are still behind desktop computers in terms of processing power and memory, but for most users the super high specifications of desktops are wasted. The processor contained within these laptops is superbly powerful, and will happily do almost anything you ask of it and a reasonably high speed. The limiting factor on these budget laptops tend to be the memory. ... ...fine until it came to handling graphics. My advice is to buy one of these laptops, and upgrade the memory to 96MB – it makes a massive difference.
The screen, not being TFT can be a pain at times, but under most circumstances is fine.
Buy one and upgrade it! ...
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...access is good but I did find it quite slow and reverted back to the PC to use it. Overall the Compaq Presario 1246 Notebook is an excellent buy, my brother has had no problems with it and it’s very easy to get used to how it works. ...
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Advantages: Good internet capability. Compact. Disadvantages: Filled with preloaded software.
I wanted a laptop that I could use on the internet and for word processing. In general, I was not disappointed. The keyboard is comfortable. The mouse pad takes a bit of getting used to if you have always used a "traditional" mouse, but I had no problem after a day or two. I found the internal modem to be an asset, and I liked the Easy Access keys on the front, which you can program to start your favourite programs. One thing I didn't like was that ... ...want, and there was no way to install Windows 98 without all the other stuff. In the end, I installed from another CD, but then I had problems installing the drivers. It's a pity that you aren't given the choice of what you want to install and what you don't. But once I got over that problem, I thought it was quite a good buy. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Software: Microsoft Works 4.5, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, Drivers & Utilities, Microsoft Word 97, McAfee VirusScan, Quicken
Manufacturer's product description
The Compaq Presario creates the perfect balance of exceptional performance and lightweight convenience in a multimedia notebook. Its innovative design packs everything you need for the ultimate multimedia excitement. Breeze through your most demanding programs with an amazingly fast processor, generous cache and high-performance graphics. Watch your multimedia applications spring to life with the large display that features brilliant, lifelike colors and striking contrast. The Presario is the perfect all-in-one complement for the go-anywhere enthusiast who insists on the ultimate quality and performance that only comes from Compaq.
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