The computer your fairy god-mother gave you!
Written: Apr 06 '01
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Pros: POWERFUL!, Lots of expansion room, reliable, REID system
Cons: NONE!
The Bottom Line: An excellent buy for users demanding anything and everything of a computer as well as dependability, versatility, and ease of use.
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| donovanl's Full Review: HP Kayak XU800 |
I bought this INCREDIBLE computer after owning a Gateway for about two years. I started my own business and needed a computer that could handle anything I would give it and THIS IS IT!
The Kayak XU800 is TRULY amazing!! It is without a doubt THE most dependable, powerful, fast, easy to use, versatile desktop computer I have ever used!
My previous computers and every other computer I had ever used before had been standard IDE types and although I had heard of the SCSI types I had never thought the difference would be great. I was very wrong. The SCSI makes an INCREDIBLE difference in speed and access to data. Where I would have to wait up to ten seconds before on a specific task, now it is instantaneous! The SCSI makes a significant difference and if you can afford it I highly advise it.
Plugging up peripherals was no problem - everything was recognized very easily.
The Kayak XU800 is set up to be networked and when I plugged in my DSL it was easier to do than on my Gateway before. Also, my internet seems much faster as well. I don't know if it's because of the computer's SCSI or the way it is set up to be networked or possibly it's front side bus, but something about this computer makes the internet experience far more reliable and faster than before.
Also, I had Windows 2000 Professional on my gateway and it came with this Kayak XU800 as well, but it performs better on the Kayak and I have never had to reboot once in the two months I've had my computer.
The Kayak XU800 features an LCD display panel on the front of the CPU tower that will explain any problems and how to rectify them. However, I have yet to need to use this feature and probably never will!
UPGRADING this computer is a piece of cake! I installed an additional hard drive, DVD-ROM player and an HP CD-Writer (RW/R), and it was EXTREMELY simple. Because of the REID system, I believe it is called, installing new hardware is as easy as putting a VHS tape in the VCR! It comes with little "rails" which attach to the places on the new hardware where one typically screws in the screws. Once you easily snap the rails on you merely slide the new hardware into the bay until it clicks and voila! This is a feature I LOVE because I remember how difficult it can be to install new hardware in any CPU that doesn't espouse this feature because one must typically unplug many things and struggle and cramp in order to get the screwdrive at the right angle to screw then now hardware into place. This is worth the cost of the computer itself, trust me!
The keyboard is great too because it has a lot of feature buttons in order to mute, turn the volume, instant web access, etc. It features four programmable buttons so you can merely press one of the buttons and one of your favorite applications/games/etc. will instantly load. Also, whenever I have new e-mail, a little amber light blinks on the keyboard telling me I do.
The configuration on mine is as follows:
Intel® Pentium® III 1 GHz processor with 133 MHz front side bus (FSB) and system architecture based on Intel's 840 chipset, dual-processing ready
512MB (can accomodate up to 2 GB) PC800 error checking and correcting (ECC) Rambus® direct memory (RDRAM®)
Superfast 10 krpm Ultra 160/m SCSI hard disk drive with Ultra 160/m SCSI controller on-board; Ultra2 SCSI controller AND a second 18 meg SCSI hard drive.
graphics • Choice of advanced graphics solutions:
- Best 2D—Matrox Millennium G400 Dual AGP 2X/4X with 16 MB memory and dual-monitor support
Windows® 2000 Professional
LAN • HP PCI 10/100Base-T Ethernet adapter with LAN remote power on/off
keyboard • New multimedia keyboard with web browser hot key puts the Internet at your fingertips
This computer is IDEAL for small to corporate business owners/employees who need a ton of power and memory (especially for graphics-intensive and memory-intensie applications), who need dependability, and demand a high quality of customer service and product that will last well beyond the next several computer "upgrades".
Buy it and you will not be sorry!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 3825.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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Epinions.com ID:
donovanl
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Location: Dallas Texas
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 2 members
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