Computer Times
Editor's Choice Hardware
Compaq Presario 7000
The Compaq Presario 7000 is our Editors' Choice for buyers in search of a midrange to high-end home PC. In addition to making high-quality hardware at a good price with lots of extras, Compaq offers excellent support.
When we were searching for our home PC Editor's Choice we followed the same steps that any of our readers might take. We researched the various systems available, checked out the Web sites of the top manufacturers, and talked with owners of various home PC's. Finally, we called the local CompUSA store and asked them to recommend their very best, top of the line system. Everything pointed to the Compaq Presario 7000. At the CompUSA store, we were assisted by Klayton Cone and Byron Sleepe, both very knowledgeable and very helpful. We appreciated their honesty when we asked about the return rate and frequency of repair for various manufacturers' systems. With their assistance, we also found the best available flat screen monitor for the Compaq Presario. It was a Samsung SyncMaster 570S TFT, which offered great resolution and very sharp text for an excellent price. You will find details of this monitor in our Editor's Choice review of the Samsung SyncMaster 570S TFT.
Our test system was a high-end Presario 7000 Series PC that is available in most national computer stores and at Compaq's Web site. It featured
To put it mildly, this Compaq Presario 7000 is an awesome system. If you have not experienced the speed of an Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 1.4 or greater GHz, you will not believe your eyes. Computer tasks that take several seconds with slower systems are done before you can visibly see anything happening. When you add this speed to Compaq's reliability and excellent engineering, you have a system that has few, if any, real competitors.
The Pentium 4 chip is able to execute software instructions in a 20-stage pipeline, which is double that of the 10-stage pipeline of the Pentium III chip. Hence, Intel says Pentium 4 has better performance in Internet audio and video streaming, high-performance three-dimensional (3D) graphics, digital photography and digital video, speech recognition, multimedia, and MP3 encoding. Pentium 4 is great for digital content creation, playing interactive games, encoding video and MP3 files, and other needs of today's most demanding computer users.
The Presario user manuals and on-disk documentation are comprehensive and well written. If that isn't sufficient, Compaq's Internet-based support features the Compaq Knowledge Center, which lets you run self-diagnostics and then contact a technician who can pick up where you left off. Compaq can do remote diagnostics, and you can have its Web resources notify you of new drivers and software. The Web site also has complete component info, user forums, and Compaq Presario Online University with a free beginner course in learning about your PC and using the Internet.
The Presarios have colorful facade accents and coordinating speaker grills (available in your choice of five hues) that snap on and off easily -- a nice touch in a market bored by so many shades of beige. We also like the flip-out CD holder on the front bezel, which is convenient for storing all of your favorite business, game and music titles.
As a Compaq owner you are provided a feature called My Presario, which is your direct link to Compaq for fun and creative ways to get the most out of your PC. There you can discover hot new Web sites and learn about cool activities, including photography, Web cams and Internet music. Depending upon the Presario model you buy, you may also have the e-Sound System to create your personal digital music library with your favorite CDs and downloads from the Web, and MyMovieSTUDIO to capture memories with your complete home movie making PC- an easy and powerful home movie making solution that allows you and your family to create and share family events, vacations, and other fun moments.
There are many optional components you can get on your Compaq Presario. A few of them are described below.
800 MHz PC800 RDRAM
The Presario 7000T uses high-performing RDRAM memory to complement the Pentium 4 processor and 400MHz system bus. Its PC800 memory enables processor communication at high speeds up to 800Mhz, as opposed to 133MHz with SDRAM. RDRAM is high-performance memory suitable for use in a broad range of applications including graphics, video, and any other application where high bandwidth and low latency is required. It also features dual channel architecture which provides higher overall system performance and enables memory speeds scalable with increases in processor frequency.
Ultra DMA (UDMA) Hard Drives
Faster processors, memory and graphics cards can now feed from the hard drive more effectively with the Compaq Ultra DMA Hard Drive. These drives let you send and retrieve data faster by removing irritating bottlenecks associated with information transfers, plus they help ensure the integrity of transferred data. Ultra DMA features an ATA 66 controller and enhances the performance of the Presario PC by opening up the path to the hard drive and increasing its speed. This allows the hard disk to perform at the level of the rest of the PC. Ultimately, it means faster processors, memory and graphics with no weak links.
7200 RPM UDMA
High-end graphics and razor-sharp video recording are simple and fast with the Compaq 7200 RPM HDD. Featuring an ATA 100 controller and with performance 30% better than traditional UDMA drives, the 7200 RPM HDD gives you superior benchmark speed at a significant value. Maximum throughput, superior video capture and pro-quality video editing quality make this drive ideal for working with large files, game playing, multimedia presentations and Internet tasking. And its fast spindle speed and seek times allow for ultra-quick access rates compared to standard 5400 RPM drives. It's a power spike you can see.
8X CD-RW (8X/4x/32X)
Create personal audio CDs, store digital and video files or photos, create multimedia presentations or transport and share large files with the Compaq 8X CD-RW Drive. A two-time faster burn time than 4X drives allows you to record a 74 minute audio CD in less than 10 minutes compared to just under 20 minutes with a 4X drive. Downloading digital music off the Web and creating audio CDs is easy. And information storage becomes simple as well. The Compaq 8X CD-RW Drive gives you high-capacity, high-performance reliable storage at a low cost per MB.
16X DVD-ROM Drive
The large size of digital video, multimedia and computer applications requires large-capacity storage media. Digitized versions of common movies cannot fit on to a standard size CD-ROM format, even with very high-quality compression techniques. A new format with enough capacity and playing time for most entertainment purposes, as well as high quality sound and image support, had to be devised. A new type of read-only compact disc that can hold a minimum of 4.7GB (gigabytes), enough for a full-length movie. Many experts believe that DVD-ROMs will eventually replace CD-ROMs, as well as VHS video cassettes and laser discs. Currently, however, DVD-ROMs are more promise than reality. There are only a few DVD-ROM devices currently on the market and even fewer DVD-ROM titles. The DVD-ROM specification supports disks with capacities of from 4.7GB to 17GB and access rates of 600 KBps to 1.3 MBps. One of the best features of DVD-ROM drives is that they are backward-compatible with CD-ROMs. This means that DVD-ROM players can play old CD-ROMs, CD-I disks, and video CDs, as well as new DVD-ROMs. Newer DVD players can also read CD-R disks.
12X CD-RW (12X/4x/32X)
Create personal audio CDs, store digital and video files or photos, create multimedia presentations or transport and share large files with the Compaq 12X CD-RW Drive. A 50% faster burn time than 8X drives allows you to record a 74 minute audio CD in less than 10 minutes compared to just under 10 minutes with a 8X drive. Downloading digital music off the Web and creating audio CDs is easy. And information storage becomes simple as well. The Compaq 12XCD-RW Drive gives you high-capacity, high-performance reliable storage at a low cost per MB. The 12X CD-RW drive transfer rate 1800 KBP/s Max (write); 600 Max (Re-write), 4800 (Read)
48X CD ROM Drive
Well-suited for high-tech applications and games that require large storage capacity, the high-speed, low-cost 48X Max Variable CD-ROM Drive is a necessity in today's motion video and multimedia PC's market. Now easily access large applications or files that include complex color video, complicated graphics and quality sound. With typical Data Transfer Rates of 150K to 1.2 Megabytes per second, the 48x CD-ROM Drive retrieves information nearly five times faster than most drives, giving you data at almost 4.8 MB per second.
DVD-R/CD-RW W/One Media
Unleash the producer inside of you with the DVD-R/CD-RW drive. Publish home movies to a DVD-R disk and play them on your home DVD player. The latest in digital recording technology, a DVD-R Optical Drive expands on the capabilities of a CD-RW drive, which allows you to write to a CD-RW disk, by adding the capability to write once to DVD-R media. The DVD-R media can then be played on most home DVD Video Players, as well as DVD-ROM drives found on PCs today. Studio DV editing software, DVDit! Publishing software and Adaptec Easy CD Creator software are included with each DVD-R/CD-RW drive. It has a storage capacity of 4.75GB on a single-sided DVD-R disk and maximum speeds of 24X for CD-ROM, 4X for DVD-ROM, 2X for DVD-R, 8X for CD-R, 4X for CD-RW. The DVD-R/CD-RW drive has transfer rates of 3600 Max (CD-ROM Read); 5930 Max (DVD-ROM Read); 1200 Max (CD-R Write); and 600 Max (CD-RW Write).
Note: CD-RW drive data transfer rates may vary as follows: for recording to CD-R media, the data transfer rate may vary from 150 to 600 Kbps; for writing to CD-RW media, the data transfer rate may vary from 150 to 300 Kbps; for reading CD media, the data transfer rate may vary from 1500 to 3600 Kbps
56K ITU v.90 Modem
The 56K ITU V.90-compliant modem supports both V.90 and K56flex standards with speeds up to 56Kbps. This modem solution lets you use your Presario Internet PC to access all the Internet has to offer with the low cost and ease of use that comes with an analog connection.
U.S Robotics Internal PCI 56K v.90 Controller Data/Fax Modem
Outstanding value and exceptional reliability make the U.S. Robotics® 56K1 Internal PCI v.90 Controller/Faxmodem the perfect choice for casual users. With reliability worthy of the world's best-selling brand of modems, the 56K Internal Faxmodem for Windows utilizes U.S. Robotics' advanced line probing technology that finds the most efficient path for each connection resulting in faster downloads and fewer dropped calls. So you can experience the full functionality of the Web - rich graphics, live audio broadcasts, even streaming video. This data/fax modem is capable of receiving downloads at up to 56 Kbps and sending at up to 31.2 Kbps. Actual download speeds you experience may be lower due to varying line conditions. Maximum download speeds in the U.S. and Canada are limited to 53K, due to regulatory limits on power output. Requires compatible analog phone line and server equipment.
Note: ITU V.90 modems are designed only to allow faster downloads from K56flex or V.90 compliant digital sources. Maximum achievable download transmission rates are currently unknown, may not reach 56 Kbps, and will vary with line conditions.
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