Customer Reviews

Compaq Presario CQ5320F Desktop PC (Black)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For 300 bucks it is an awesome little workstation. I grabbed one of these for a client that I network for. They use most of the computers for web access and Terminal services. So basicly they don't need a fast cpu or high end graphics card. They just need a workstation to be able to connect to the server via terminal services. I even upgraded to win7 pro to get the Virtual Win XP Mode. So they can use some of their older programs that don't run on the new win7. Works great so far and is 10000 times faster than the celeron and P4 it replaced. I doubt this is anything more than a web surfing and microsoft office using machine. Maybe some online games too. Still nice little computer for the money. Hard for me to even build one that cheap.

Thanks
Brent
[...]

I bought two of these. For the money this is a very good computer. I built my last eight systems and I couldn't touch this system at this price! The main issues I had were with the software. I upgraded to Professional w/xp mode only because MOST of my software will NOT run on Win 7 64-Bit, Everything that comes on this PC is TRIAL only and in many cases the pre-installed software most be deleted and reinstalled just to activate! Even 64-Bit Drivers are a pain. (Manufactures websites to download).

Pros-
* Very stable system
* Adequate Speed for most applications
* Reasonably Priced ($300-$400) I paid the higher end.
* Key board and mouse
Cons-
* No choice of Operating system (Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit)
* Weak power 275W makes video upgrade costly
* HP gives NO basic software. Everything is extra
* shared graphics memory

Coming from a Dell Precision 320 Workstation to this was definitely something to get used to. As most of the programs that I run will work on Win 7, I didn't need to worry about getting virtual XP. The only drawback that I have for this computer is the graphics capability, which for me isn't a huge issue, not enough to dock it a star, as I had a feeling that this would be something that I needed to upgrade anyway.

One caveat if you are a gamer and want to add a new video card in, you will more than likely need to upgrade your power supply also, as it's only rated for 275 Watts.

This is a nice desktop that will meet most people's computing needs. These do not have a dedicated graphics card but it does have the ports to insert one if you choose to buy them separately. The builtin-graphics card by Nvidia, however, are more than adequate for most needs outside of playing video games. For example, I have no issues playing Youtube or other flash based videos.

The AMD chip is 64bit compatible and this comes with Windows 7 Home 64 bit edition. It also comes with 3GB at ~1Ghz of memory.

I own the latest MacBook Pro laptop (2.8Ghz Core Duo, 4GB of 1Ghz memory, 7200 rpm hard drive) and I have found these desktops to be faster (desktops in general are faster than laptops) at around 1/6 the price. So if you want the best performance computing for the buck, clearly the desktop is the way to go.

It also comes with a usable keyboard and a laser mouse. They are not great, but they are better than most OEM keyboard and mouse I have used.

The fan on this machine is also quieter than normal. I have found them not distracting at all.

These do NOT come with Windows Home 7 CD or DVD. Rather, the single disk is partitioned into two parts (485 GB and 15 GB) so one can recover the Windows 7 from disk if necessary. The configuration can be problematic if the disk is completely toast and one needs to replace it. The odds of it happening, however, is not high but still a possibility nonetheless.

These are also made of higher construction quality than most desktops. The casing is made of metal and has many tiny holes in them to let the heat of the AMD microprocessor out of the box as easily as possible. That's probably the reason why the fans are so quiet (it doesn't need to rotate at full speed to cool the processor).

If you are looking for a general computer (not for video games) that can handle all everyday computing needs (internet, MS Office, email etc), then these will be more than adequate. If you do decide to insert a nice graphics card, however, then these should be more than adequate for most video game experience as well.

The last couple of months, I have heard my wife complain about how slow her computer is. I asked my son to look up the computers that would make me a hit with Mom. I decided on this computer because of my son's input and other reviews that I have read. This computer really out does itself in performance and more than meets the needs of my wife who plays some games but loves Facebook and emails. My daughter set the computer up in order to surprise my wife for when she got home from work. So this was easily setup and runs great. Good Price and the shipment arrived on time.Compaq Presario CQ5320F Desktop PC (Black)

This is by far the best pc I've bought in the past ten years. Recently, I got rid of my Dell--it's getting slow and somewhat problematic. After some diligent search, I bought the Acer AX1301-U1312 with triple core, 4GB Ram, Nvidia Geforce 9200 with 256MB, 750 GB sata hardrive, ...seemingly a great bargain plus the excellent reviews. However, the first one I got had a defective Optical drive, the second one occasionally had nonresponding problem and made pretty loud noise when AND after burning dvds--the second one has no hardware problem but there maybe some configuration or program conflicts (no idea) that caused the not non-frequent freezing. Finaly, decided to buy this Compaq for both its price and good reviews. It turned out to be a complete satisfaction!! :) Couldn't be happier. It runs even faster than the triple core Acer. I have stayed away from Compaq for almost a decade because of my first bad experience with it. Now they have definitely improved their product quality.

It plays HD video flawlessly. Very light for its size. Quiet when running regular programs. A lot of space inside the unit which makes hardware upgrade easy.

Things I do NOT like: many useless programs, 6 USB pors--4 back and 2 front, dvd drive Eject button is awkward--when the tray is open, it blocks access to the button. You have to slip your finger under the tray to press close.

Overall, it is a great value!

I bought mine for 350.00, added a basic 1 gig radeon video card, and went for another 1 gig of ram. I had to take out the 1 gig slot and inserted a 2 gig stick of ram (about 50 bucks for the ram and 52.00 for the video card. The computer seems fast enough out of the box, but I wanted full power so that I could edit videos. The only better configuration for the price I could find were refurbished computers, but you don't know what chance you are taking with those, broken plastic parts, etc....There was no need to change the power supply because I did not go for a high end video card that needed more juice to run.

I first opened the lid, this is what I found:

MB: ASUS M2N68-LA (NArra, Ivy ???).
Generally ASUS produce reliable long lasting machines.

Two memory slots, and two more slots were designed, but were not connected.
Max memory is 4 GB, and the PC comes with 3 GB installed. PC3-10600U.
Memory is good quality: Micron and Elpida
(Good reliable brands! Stay away from Infinity!!!)

Extension slots:
1 PCIE-x16
2 PCIE
1 PCI

PCIE-x16 may be used to install a video card.
1 of the PCIE is occupied by a modem (?!?)

USB ports: 2 front, 4 back and 2 internal.
The two internal ports may be connected to the front or the back, if needed.

No IDE 40 pin controllers. No 34-pin floppy controller either.
A RAID controller may be installed on the empty PCI slot to connect older HD.

Total of 4 SATA connectors, 2 are already serving the 500 GB HD and the DVD.

No serial ports, no parallel ports. If you need to connect an instrument,
you may need a PCI GPIB, and there is a PCI slot for this. If the instrument requires a
serial port, than a PCI-serial or PCIE-serial port card will be required. Many new instruments are connected via USB and RJ45.

Power supply is 250 W and was designed for Pentium 4 generation computers.
The ETX connection has 20 pins instead the 24 pins, which became a standard 2-3 years ago.
The power supply does not have the right connections for the SATA devices, they use a small adapter to connect the power to the HD and DVD.

With all this aid, the PC may well serve in the next 3-10 years, unless the user wants more applications, or graphics etc. The power supply is small and may not support the extra electricity for a new video card.

I bought 1 for my friend, who will use it for browsing the net and to make MS documents on it,
and recommended it to another friend for running scientific instruments.
Certainly no good for hi-tech games, because the max memory is capped at 4 GB.

I upgraded from an older HP pc. The speed increase in processes and internet browsing is mind boggling. I'm not a techie, just a home user and I'd recommend this product whole heartedly.

I have owned a Compaq prior. One thing I do not like is the DVD tray. When it opens, you have trouble pushing the button to get the thing to close again. In the open position, the button is blocked by the tilting tray. I have to use a letter opened to push the button. I also had some problems getting my HP printer to interface with this HP machine. But I went to the HP website and was able to download the patch after a few tries. Other than that, I am happy with the machine and would recommend it to others.