Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

I purchased this product because it offered more processing power & memory than others in similar price range.

First one I received had to be returned because of defective LCD.
Second one I received had different brand DVD-ROM which caused some problems (not recognizing CD's after I put them in) at first but now it seems to be working.

The real problem with this machine is that it is made to work only with the software package that Compaq provides (WinXp Home Edition package).
My work requires that I use Windows 2000 as well as XP Pro, so I installed them both. This computer does NOT work well with Windows 2000. The system simply freezes, or hangs with little or no warning, and the only way to get out of it is to turn the power off and on again. I tried the same kind of work on my old Dell Inspiron - it does crash sometimes but can be recovered by pressing CTL-ALT-DEL (never freezes like Compaq does), thus you rarely loose your unsaved work. Maybe it has to do with the Duron processor because the machine tends to get very hot sometimes (a lot hotter than my other Pentium-based laptops).

Compaq lists only a couple of drivers & updates on their website (mouse and modem drivers). Beware: Windows 2000 (and even XPPro, if you're installing your own copy) won't recognize this machine's video & audio cards. Even Windows Update site doesn't have the drivers listed for these devices, so you're on your own once you get out of default-factory-installed software environment.
I wish Compaq had better support - Dell lists virtually every drivers and updates you need for almost any operating systems including Linux.

Bottom line: This is an OK product if you are a casual user and intend to use it the way Compaq wants you to use. If you like using it the way you want to, don't buy this one (especially if you're concerned with reliability & compatibility issues).
The only thing I liked about this computer is the JBL speaker system, but I wish they had spent more money on other components such as mainboard and video card instead.
Oh and one more thing, this doesn't have on board microphone and infrared.. just letting you know.

I'm so pleased with this purchase. It's light, efficient, attractive, and easy to use. And as a side note, despite some criticisms, I find Windows XP intuitive and an easy fit, once I turned off the features I don't use, and that keep popping up on the screen! But all my old programs, with the exception of my printer driver, made the shift without a hitch.

I recently purchased this laptop to use for presentations in classes I teach. THe s-video connector provides for better picture quality than the RCA connector on many of the comparable machines. As an OS junkie, I had to set it up to dual boot with Linux. Had a few problems at first with getting X server to work from Mandrake Linux 8.1, but as of yesterday, with the release of Mandrake 8.2, I now have Linux running with the XP Home. Great laptop.

I purchased this product because it offered more processing power & memory than others in similar price range.

First one I received had to be returned because of defective LCD.
Second one I received had different brand DVD-ROM which caused some problems (not recognizing CD's after I put them in) at first but now it seems to be working.

The real problem with this machine is that it is made to work only with the software package that Compaq provides (WinXp Home Edition package).
My work requires that I use Windows 2000 as well as XP Pro, so I installed them both. This computer does NOT work well with Windows 2000. The system simply freezes, or hangs with little or no warning, and the only way to get out of it is to turn the power off and on again. I tried the same kind of work on my old Dell Inspiron - it does crash sometimes but can be recovered by pressing CTL-ALT-DEL (never freezes like Compaq does), thus you rarely loose your unsaved work. Maybe it has to do with the Duron processor because the machine tends to get very hot sometimes (a lot hotter than my other Pentium-based laptops).

Compaq lists only a couple of drivers & updates on their website (mouse and modem drivers). Beware: Windows 2000 (and even XPPro, if you're installing your own copy) won't recognize this machine's video & audio cards. Even Windows Update site doesn't have the drivers listed for these devices, so you're on your own once you get out of default-factory-installed software environment.
I wish Compaq had better support - Dell lists virtually every drivers and updates you need for almost any operating systems including Linux.

Bottom line: This is an OK product if you are a casual user and intend to use it the way Compaq wants you to use. If you like using it the way you want to, don't buy this one (especially if you're concerned with reliability & compatibility issues).
The only thing I liked about this computer is the JBL speaker system, but I wish they had spent more money on other components such as mainboard and video card instead.
Oh and one more thing, this doesn't have on board microphone and infrared.. just letting you know.

This is a great notebook for the price. Good package for everyday use. Not to mention it features an AMD processor! If you have a bit more money, the Athlon processor model might be even better.

This laptop is a piece of junk. Very little in the way of memory expansion and the hinges are pitiful--I have to prop the screen up against something so it doesn't flop over.

I bought this computer(710ca which 710us's canada version) a few days ago in canada. the strange thing is before i buy this laptop, i check from website: compaq.ca that it says that graphic memory is 32mb, but in fact it isn't; it's only 16 mb.
make you sure before you buy compaq's laptop in canada.