Compaq Presario 710US Laptop (1-GHz Duron, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive)

by Compaq

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 12.4 x 1.6 inches ; 6.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005UT2V
• Item model number: Presario 710US
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 7, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Targeting the home and work-at-home user and those who like to spend at least some of their computing hours in the pursuit of entertainment, Compaq's Presario 710US notebook strikes a happy balance between performance and affordability. Although it doesn't incorporate the fastest processor on the market, the Presario 710US is certainly ready to handle most light to medium duties and virtually all computer-related leisure activities.

Sporting a sleek design and a futuristic two-tone color scheme, the Presario 710US looks substantially snazzier than many of its notebook peers. It tips the scales at a comfortable 6.4 pounds and measures in with a slightly larger than average 10.6-by-12.4-by-1.64-inch profile. Under the hood, Compaq has fashioned a reasonably powerful engine consisting of a 1 GHz AMD Duron processor and 256 MB of RAM (expandable to 512 MB), a setup that won't elicit blinding speed but motors along nicely and easily runs several concurrent applications. The system's 20 GB hard drive offers plenty of room for all the MP3 files you may want to collect and later broadcast through the unit's impressively proficient JBL Audio bass reflex speaker system.

Powered by a 16 MB Via ProSavage graphics card and capable of 1,024-by-768 resolution, the Presario's 14.1-inch LCD display is ready to handle all the movies you'll play on the unit's integrated 8x DVD-ROM drive. Its keyboard section offers full-size keys, a separate cursor and touch pad, and an array of six one-touch buttons for instant control of such everyday functions as speaker volume, e-mail, and Internet access. A 3.5-inch floppy disk drive ensures support for older programs that have yet to find their way to disc, and a 56K modem permits acceptable Internet access speeds.

The Presario 710US veritably bristles with ports. Compaq has included two USB ports for plug-and-play peripherals such as joysticks, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet network connection, a single parallel port for devices such as printers, an NTSC/PAL port for connection to various video devices, a multipurpose PC Card slot, and a speaker-out and microphone-in port. In addition, the system is equipped with AMD's battery-saving PowerNow technology, which adjusts processor clock speed to determine the best compromise between speed, power, and battery life. This is a valuable tool for users who go long periods of times between charges.

Preloaded software includes useful utilities such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, Microsoft Works 6.0, Microsoft Money 2001, Norton AntiVirus, Roxio's nifty Easy CD Creator 5.01, InterVideo WinDVD 3.0 DVD player, and a one-year subscription to Microsoft's Encarta Online Deluxe Encyclopedia. Users will operate their system with the Home Edition of Windows XP, arguably Microsoft's most stable OS since Windows 98 Second Edition.

Faster, beefier notebooks are not hard to find. Yet for those who don't have vast, untapped financial resources, Compaq's Presario 710US is fine choice.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars my great buy, January 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Compaq Presario 710US Laptop (1-GHz Duron, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

I have used this computer for about a year now. It has been great for traveling. The battery pack last a long time which comes in handy when I'm riding on the train. It suprisingly has really great sound. Other laptops that I've owned only had that basic speaker that didn't last a long time at a really high volume. This however seems to have only gotten better after 1 year of should I say "abuse". I like to play my music loud so if your like me you would enjoy this laptop. You may not agree with but hopefully you will find my information useful.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great machine for the money!, March 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Compaq Presario 710US Laptop (1-GHz Duron, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

Bought this a couple of months ago (not from Amazon)... Did have to take the first one back for a defective LCD, no big deal. Once I got the 2nd one, I immediately wiped the machine clean (took an image of the drive first), loaded Windows XP professional (I work in IT, and XP Home just doesn't have enough oomph for me...), and added another 256 MB of RAM (for ...

WOW, love this machine!!! Added an Orinocco gold wireless LAN card, and I am ready to rock! Windows Update downloaded Wireless LAN and Video drivers (it recognized my S3 video card with no problem), then installed them on the fly with no reboot! Now that's the way an operating system should be!

Like the ability to increase the video RAM up to 32 MB via a BIOS setting (it's shared with system memory). Changed it to 32MB, and it works well. DVD drive & software produce great video. Like the S-Video output, and integrated 10/100 ethernet too (compared this to an HP in the same price range, but it didn't have either of these).

My only reason for not giving it 5 stars is that if the battery gets really low, the machine will experience a keyboard failure during the boot-up POST process (even if it's plugged in). Sometimes you have to unplug it, and remove the battery in order to get it straight again. It's a small nit, and it doesn't happen often.

Would definitely recommend it to anyone that's looking for an entry level laptop.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars solid laptop, March 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Compaq Presario 710US Laptop (1-GHz Duron, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive) (Personal Computers)

This laptop is excellent for the traveller. Battery life is above average, has enough expansion ports to almost replace a desktop. screen is bright and easy to look at, video performs well, and it works great with Windows XP Pro. I originally purchased this to replace my desktop and I think it was a good choice. It has the power, storage, and speed to keep up. The Duron 1 gig is the second generation Duron so it supports SSE and extended MMX and 3d!now extensions.. sweet!