Customer Reviews

Compaq Presario 906US Laptop (1.33 GHz Athlon XP 1500+, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB Hard Drive)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought an Apple iBook (700 mhz, 12" screen) before buying the Presario 906 and found the Presario to be the better notebook of the two. Processing-wise, the Presario and the Apple ran at the same speed with no difference between the two. The screen on the Presario is larger with a nice crispness and resolution. It's very durable (I dropped mine the 1st day and it continued on without a flaw). My personal experience has been that current notebooks are being built to withstand bumps and bruises and the Presario is no exception. The 256mb of memory is plenty for my main uses of internet browsing, email and games. The drive space of 20gb gives me plenty of room for mp3 downloads and photos. There's a dvd player and a cd burner included. With a wireless card working with my cable router this is a great setup and under a grand. Windows XP works seamlessly with the Presario. This is an easy to use, out-of-the-box, laptop. Highly recommended for home users looking for good performance under a budget.

Bought this lappie a week ago. DVDs play fine and display is decent. What I did not like is that it has only 1 PS/2 Port which means that either you can connect a mouse or a keyboard but not both simultaneously. Futhermore I noticed that when I connect a mouse the system freezes occasionally for a second completely (the sound as well as display).

If you research well you will get this one for *well* below $... with mail in rebates and other discounts.Overall a decent machine for the price.

Pros:
1. RAM upgradable to 1GB
2. DVD/CDRW is really handy on a lappie
3. S-Video Out
4. Affordable; Good value for money
5. Light for its price

Cons:
1. Only 1 PS/2. Can connect an external keybord or Mouse, but not both
2. System freezes occasionally when mouse connected to PS/2
3. Ctrl key at an awkward location (not the leftmost in the bottom row)
4. Gets over heated if not placed on a completely flat surface
5. Could not find the specs but I suspect that the FSB rating is not really good.

I'm pretty happy with this notebook. No more heat than normal and very quiet. Even the rarely active fan is quiet. And the JBL speakers provide the best sound in any notebook on the market at any price. I upgraded the RAM to 512 and I think everybody should plan for that. I was lucky the included RAM was in one 256MB stick. I hate losing RAM in order to increase it. The video performance is adequate, the DVD playback and CDRW works well. Most of all, I've found the AMD Athlon CPU to be a very hardy chip. Intel CPUs between 1 & 2ghz, be they Celeron or Pentium4 are total dogs. So the Athlon CPU here is a real plus. I don't sweat the lack of firewire. Don't need it. And for the complaint of it having only one PS2 port: Its called USB, look into it.

Complaints: I've found it heavier in practice than the specs lead me to believe. I wish it had a "real" video processor. That was the biggest trade off in getting this. But I did save several hundred dollars. And I've found that most games play well enough, at least with the detail on low. The screen is NOT the brightest. It is clear but can seem dim at times. Battery life is only 2.5hrs. The intractable Compaq software that takes up 6GB of space and is really difficult to remove. But it did come off and made the unit a much better leaner machine. It can take the integrated W200 multiport LAN module in the lid which is cool, but unless you need the one PC slot for something else, I would get a regular wireless card for much less.

Overall, a solid notebook and an incredible value with the rebates. Not sure what I would think about this compared to other models at its list price. But for what I paid for it, it's a winner.

The processor (1.33 GHz) is plenty fast enough for this computer. The 256 ram is a good amount to begin with. The video card allows for changing it between 16, 32, and 64 MB or ram, which is a nice feature if you plan on watching movies or just typing up some work. The screen is nice and clear and a nice size (14.1"). I really like the DVD/CD Writer combo allowing for movie viewing and saving work to a universal media (CD's). Really a great deal for the money.

got it from circuit city for the price advertised at bestbuy.
almost four hundred bucks saving from the list price. do your math. I can't say the price here.

originally aim for presario 1520us. it has faster processor, more RAM, bigger hard disk, and firewire port. but realistically, how many applications would be noticeble from it? (I think once computer reachs over giga hertz, work efficiency bottle neck lies along with the person rather computer delaying the task)

unless you are required to do video editing or 3d animation rendering on the road, this laptop is perfect for all other use.

Old presario I used at work, 2 years ago, didn't impressed me a bit. as it was bombard with 'illegal operation errors'

Looks like compaq finally got this one done right. every function is integrated perfectly without errors. Love the fact that they chose ATI graphic engine. also, JBL sounds the best among all laptops. all quick buttons on top of keyboard works like charm. DVD plays flawlessly (thoughfully included industry's best WinDVD software).

bought 906us and compaq PDA 3835 for the price of 1520us.

I think it was a wise decision.

I purchased this laptop just a few weeks ago. I'm not very computer literate. I have an old desktop but after moving to a new house I wanted something simple I could work with without the cords and cords and cords. I love to go online for recipes and travel information, etc. I love sending e-mails.I occasionally may use word processing. My whole point is, I didn't want the most hi-tech thing on the market because I couldn't afford it but I didn't want to ever go to a site and it say I didn't have enough "something". This laptop has been great. I can sit on my bed with it in my lap, unplug my phome, plug in the line and off I go. No heavy mess for the children to get tangled in or touching with dirty little hands. I hope this helps if you are looking for a fun, easy, adequate laptop.

Running winDVD (U2 elevation tour), plus Live internet television feed at 99Kbit/sec on the side. displays flawlessly so I added yahoo messenger web cam and it's still going strong at 93% cpu usage according to task manager.
Yippy! love this thing.

I do want to point out that this unit does not have a IrDA infrared port. It can be easy to miss that from the specs as, until recently, it was a fairly ubiquitous feature. But the 906US does not include it. Others in the 900 series do, but this doesn't.
Now, this is no big deal to most users, which is one reason that some OEMs are dropping the IrDA from their chipsets. But if you're used to synchronizing your Palm or Visor with your notebook via Infrared, then you'd best plan on bringing your USB cable if you buy this notebook.

This doesn't change my positive review of this unit posted below.

I purchased my Compaq Presario 906 for "not alot of money", after all the rebates.
The Tech. Specs. and features are usually for a machine worth over "more than I paid". For "a additional charge", I WIFIed this unit to broadband and use it all over my house and yard. It is so light for the price and features. I recently tried a Toshiba for a month. It is a great laptop and built like a tank. The only problem was that it is as heavy as a tank! I took it back.
If my wife and child don't keep their hands off my Compaq, you are going to read about us on the front cover of the newspaper! Peace!

The compaq 906US is a great notebook computer for the money.
less than a $1000.00 with rebates. The only thing that i dislike
is the fact that it only has a 20 GIG hard drive, but having a
DVD/CD Burner combo makes up the difference.