Great Choice for the Value-Minded
Written: Dec 17 '00 (Updated Jan 07 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: low price, good performance, excellent software bundle
Cons: none glaring
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| dwileyprice's Full Review: Compaq Presario 7594 (189713-003) PC Desktop |
I am a college professor who teaches web-based courses, and recently found myself in desperate need of dependable pc, right-away, for my use at home for web-page construction, heavy internet and email usage, and word-processing.... and, I didn’t want to pay high-end computing costs.
After thoroughly researching the online refurbished, overstocked, and auction markets, as well as local retail outlets, I found the Presario 7594, refurbished, from Compaq's Factory Outlet Superstore (Compaq's web site) at $399 to be the greatest value now available. It shipped within two days and I was up and running! I am using an older Dell monitor and Labtec speakers that I already owned.
The Presario 7594 has ample drive space for my needs (10gb), an adequate processing speed at 566mhz, and sufficient memory at 64mbs. The convenient two front and two back usb ports made attaching my usb hp printer, 250mb zip drive, and Intel pc-cam easy, and leave room for a scanner or other usb device later. These peripherals function well with this machine. Having always been a Pentium person, I was a bit leery of the lower-end Celeron processor, but thus far I have found it to perform as well for my particular purposes as the much more pricey Pentiums that I have used.
The 7594 ships with Windows 98se and a solid suite of preloaded 2000 software. MS Word 2000 and Encarta 2000 come on cd's along with Compaq quick-restore cd’s. There is a preloaded "Built-In Technician" program that is useful and very friendly. A good warranty and online or telephone technical support, if needed, come with the factory-refurbished model, just as they do with new Compaqs. And, as one colleague of mine put it, "whatever was wrong with it has been fixed--you can't know that when buying new". The case is very easily accessible (computer just slides out the back) with ample room for upgrades if desired; step-by-step upgrading instructions are helpfully provided. Although the 64mbs memory has proven adequate, I will probably upgrade to 128mbs eventually just to be on the safe side when running multiple applications.
The 7594 at this price does not have a cd burner or zip drive, and there is no network card. These can be easily installed, of course, but the added cost, along with the cost of a new monitor and speakers (if one does not already have these) may push the overall expense up to where other "bundled" systems are competitive. But if one just needs a good computer to couple with pre-owned monitor/speakers and other peripherals, this is a genuine bargain.
I recommend the Presario 7594, factory-refurbished, to anyone needing a good, dependable pc for work, school, and home use. Right now, this is a lot of machine for the money.
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1/05/01 Amendment: Since writing this review less than a month ago, the Compaq 7594, refurbished, from the Compaq Factory Outlet Superstore, has dropped $70 for an even greater bargain price at $329! A matching MV520 15" color monitor can be had for $99 (also refurbished).
This leads me to question just how far these good-performing "lower-end" computers will drop before they bottom-out. Although the Pentium IV is now on the market, with clock speeds in excess 1ghz (following AMD's Athlon), Pentium is still heavily promoting its "Power of III" in television ad's. I'm guessing, then, that it may still be a few months before we see significant industry-wide price drops in the lower end as a result of the new generation of post 1ghz processors. Already one can put together a good system, including monitor and printer, for around $500 total; will consumers see such bundles as low as $300 before year's end? This MAY be overly optimistic. However, with this kind of market in which many can meet their current computing needs at 1/4 the cost of "high-end", the popular wisdom of "buy the most you can afford" is dispelled in favor of "economize and just buy what you need".
-dwp
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dwileyprice
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Member: David Price
Location: Niagara Falls, New York
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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