Advantages: easy to use, the price
Disadvantages: no monitor

...In my experience this HP compaq bussiness desktop DX2300-pentium D 952 3 GHz was desighed specifically for bussinesses with essential computing needs, the HP compaq dx2300 microtower comes with practial features and award-winning HP support, so you can focus on your business instead of worry about your PC. The reliability of the machine seems superb, I've never seen any problems with it at all, then again if you did HP are well known for there good customer support and excellently detailed manuals. Main Specification - Windows vista premium ready - Processor: 1 x intel pentium D 925 / 3 GHz (dual-core) - Cache memory: 4 MB L2 cache - Cache per processor: 4 MB (2 x 2 MB) - RAM: 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB max - Hard drive: 1 x 160 GB - standard - serial ATA-300 - Graphics controller: Intel GMA 3000 - Audio output: Sound card - stereo - OS... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cool Case (Didn't I See That In Toys R Us The Other Day???), Cool Specs
Disadvantages: Intergrated Graphics = BAD BAD BAD

...First Impresions: Nice Case P4 = Good (but Athlon XP better) Medium Specs Can Play Games Nice Ammount Of Ram Won't fall apart on you The case is almost exactly like that of the other HP macine. It would look good, as HP are behind it. I don't know why they bother really, they only make 0.08% profit on every machine sold. The specs are that of a medium PC. The 512mg ram is a nice touch and will open up many games, and a fast load time in games like Enemy Territory. Now, the nicest bit is S-ATA, so if you care to update your hard drive buy the 2 Raptors (10000rpm, S-ATA) and put them into Raid 0 (for more info on raid see any decent PC site). Onboard grahics bring what could have been a very good machine crashing down to the state of good. However, there is suppost to be a 8x AGP slot, so you can override the rubbish graphics... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great name and good support
Disadvantages: poor build quality, flimsy

...The Compaq line of small form factor PCs have always been sturdy machines very suited to the business environment. Compaq used to take care to design a machine without the frills, which would meet most standard business use. Costs were also kept low, and this made for a generally acceptable business unit. The D5xx range has never been targeted at the home user, and probably never will. Unfortunately, this new machine fails to inspire confidence. Overall, there is nothing wrong with the technologies and speed of the unit. My real issues are around the casing and build quality. Firstly, it is REALLY heavy. I suppose some may say this is an theft deterrent, but there is no real need for the weight. This is especially true when you notice that the case is extremely light and flimsy. In a business environment, machines need to be able... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: small form factor, cheap, fast, reliable, good support
Disadvantages: lack of space to upgrade

...When Compaq was bought out by HP, there was some concern as to the loss of the Compaq brand and a reduction in quality of desktop and server machines. I am pleased to say that this has not happened. The Compaq Evo D510 is a worthy machine and packs a lot of power into a small space. The basic specs of the machine are: 2.4GHz Pentium 4, 256MB, 40GB, CD-ROM, onboard sound, AGP Video, LAN, Modem, black case, TFT monitor Available from £600+vat (even PC World are keeping prices on this quite low) the machine definitely has a lot of features for the price. Although not designed as a gaming machine, the PC will perform (though you may want to change the graphics card for the more demanding games). The machine comes with a return to base warranty and this is a good all round solution for most people. If you want to upgrade the warranty... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Quality keyboard, nice finish
Disadvantages: Unreliable, poor customer service, heavy

...My company presented me with a HP Compaq lap top for work use in May 2005 with the Windows XP operating system loaded on it & this is a tale of those two & half years of daily use. The cost at the time this lap top was on the market was £999.99. My first impression of this lap top was its weight, despite the figure of 3.5kg from HP it actually weighs over 5kg which for carrying around every day is quite heavy especially when you consider the weight of the power lead/adaptor etc to add to that. The general finish is quite good with a decent keyboard & screen; it features three USB sockets, two at the rear & one on the side. On the left hand side of the lap top is a phone connection socket, socket for a 3G card & floppy drive. On the other side you have the CD/DVD drive, headphones & microphone sockets & one USB socket. On the rear... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Bright colours, Good size, Clear, Good design
Disadvantages: Not a huge size, nothing else

...So on top of the HP Compaq Business Desktop dc5100 - P4 640 I'm using is this HP monitor, a very clear, vibrant display showing exactly what it should. But first lets talk about it's design. A simple 17 inch monitor, HP logo in the top centre, "HP 7540" bottom centre and below that are 4 buttons. "MENU" on the right, - (left centre), + (right centre) and "SELECT". Further right is an led indicator and the on/off button. See simple, ordinary standard sort of a layout, nothing too confusing or hard to handle, and even PC newbies should be able to handle it fine. The display is definately a step up from yesterdays monitor, which looked blurry and merged colours together (though it may have been due to someone messing around with the display rather than the monitor outright). The colours are how they are supposed to be, no blurriness... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fast, Fast, FAST!!! (Oh yeah... and easy to set up and use, too.)
Disadvantages: Huh?!!? No stereo speakers?!?!

...model was definitely a much better buy. And the computer with the most "bang" – at least on paper, anyway – was the Compaq Presario 5004US. After discussing different models with the salesman for 30 minutes, and weighing my options for nearly another hour, I paid the man $1,149 and eagerly walked out with my new "screamer." HERE'S WHAT I GOT WITH MY COMPAQ PRESARIO 5004US: Hardware: * AMD Athlon(TM) Processor running at 1.102 GHz. * 200 MHz system bus * Enhanced 3D Now!(TM) video technology * 16 MB Nvidia TNT2 M64 PRO graphics card * SoundMax Digital Audio system * 128 MB RAM, 100 MHz * 60 GB hard disk drive * 8X/4X/24X DVD-ROM drive * 8X/4X/32X CD-RW drive * 56K V.90 modem * 10/100Mb PCI network interface card * 1 parallel port * PS2 mouse port * 4 USB ports (2 in front, 2 in back; 1 required for keyboard... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cost, Speed, screen
Disadvantages: Limited connectivity, Vista!

...'ve left Vista on the HD but partitioned half of the remaining space for linux. All hardware ran 'out-of-the-box' except for the wireless lan, just a quick download from HP and Bobs your uncle or ndiswrapper perhaps. Only problem I had, that the machine comes new with 3 partitions already on it, for backup and stuff for Vista I suppose. PClos wouldn't partition it, but Ubuntu had no such problems. 3D desktop runs wonderful, showing the intel graphics card is up to job. Theres no firewire and only 2 usb ports, but at this price what do you expect. You could also grumble at all the connections being on the leftside of the unit and none at the back which is taken up by the battery location. The screen is very clear and colours are beautifully rendered.Albeit there's only 512MB installed as standard, linux makes good use of it and dosn... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fast, Good customer services, Quiet, Reliable, "Cheapish"
Disadvantages: Not top of the range (but not far off), Small memory, No DVD-RW drive

...So somebody stole my Evo from yesterday, and then I noticed this hp Compaq and thought to myself..."Why not review this one too?" So here it is, a review on the HP Compaq Business Desktop dc5100. The design is similar to the Evo but not quite the same, with the USB slots being more visible, and the fan being slightly different on the external. I haven't opened up either case though, so there maybe some drastic internal design differences (don't think the university would be too happy if I opened it and fidgetted with it in the library). The speed is faster than the Evo (which I was very happy with overall)and it managed to open up I.E in rather quick time considering the unit is networked with around 1500 others at the uni. BTW I.E. Is my "Speed" test as most of the computers here lack the options of Firefox and Opera browsers, so I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Good build quality, easy setup
Disadvantages: Looks a bit dated

...for six disks you can set it up with a mirrored pair for the OS and still have enough room for a RAID5 data set that includes a hot spare. Some of the servers I have built do not allow for this kind of configuration as you can only have one container on the backplane. When it comes to support HP are pretty good although I have found IBM to be slightly better on this score but I have dealt with IBM a lot more so it may be a slightly biased view. On the whole if I had to recommend a server for running a small/medium sized business using somtheiing like Microsofts Small Business server I would definatley go with either one of the 300 ranges or an X2 series IBM. The only shame with it is that they have dropped the Compaq branding from the case. As far as I'm concerned HP do printers and Compaq make servers but if thats the only real criticism I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful