Compaq Presario CQ5500F Desktop PC - Black

by Compaq

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 16.9 x 6.5 x 15.1 inches ; 11 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 21.8 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003L0OQ24
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: BQ471AA#ABA
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,191 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 20, 2010

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

IDEAL FOR

Everyday value. Get all the essentials with the easy-to-use, affordable Compaq Presario CQ5500F PC. Use this desktop PC to email, browse the Web, manage calendars and household finances, plus burn your favorite songs and photos onto CDs and DVDs.

SPECIFICATIONS

Processor AMD Sempron™ 140 Processor Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit Memory (RAM) 2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 Hard Drive 500GB 7200RPM SATA Optical Drive SuperMulti DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology Video Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE integrated graphics

Monitor sold separately Enlarge

FEATURES

Front-access USB 2.0 Ports Connect peripherals to your Compaq Presario CQ5500F PC with ease LightScribe Technology Burn labels directly onto CDs and DVDs using your desktop PC INCLUDED

LightScribe Technology

MORE INFORMATION

Datasheet (PDF)

Product Description

Get style and quality for an affordable price. Count on the Compaq Presario CQ5500F PC for everything you do. The power button is conveniently located on top of the computer, so it’s easy to get started. Email, browse the Web and manage your calendar and daily finances effortlessly with this Compaq desktop. Burn your favorite songs and photos onto CDs and DVDs, create custom disc labels with text and images, and burn the labels directly onto the discs using LightScribe Technology. Enjoy all the essentials. Play music, share photos and watch DVDs using the Compaq Presario CQ5500F PC. Store thousands of songs and photos right on the hard drive and easily connect this desktop computer to a monitor, printer and MP3 player using the VGA and USB ports. Count on great service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a desktop icon that provides one-click access to online technical support and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent and Totally Serviceable, July 10, 2010

By 

I. J. Barker "absent-minded consumer" (Poughkeepsie, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Compaq Presario CQ5500F Desktop PC - Black (Personal Computers)

Well I just received this computer about two days ago, but despite this, I think I can make a pretty good assessment about its pros and cons thus far. I'll begin by saying that from an aesthetic viewpoint, this computer looks very nice. The case itself is matte, but the front bezel itself is a nice, glossy finish that really does look nice, all things considered. It has two USB 2.0 ports on the front as well as jacks for both headphones and a microphone, so no need to reach around to the back of the unit if you don't feel like it. Oh yes, just so you're not as confused as I was at first, the power button is technically located on what would be your right hand side if the computer's front is facing you, situated near the top of the case. The button is illuminated by a somewhat irritating bright blue LED, a lighting choice that seems to have become popular in the computer market these days, so it's kind of a take it or leave it thing depending on how you feel about such. The only ridiculous part of the external design is, in my opinion, the terribly designed bay for the DVD reader. A plastic flap obscures the drive itself, and to open it, one presses a silver button directly underneath this flap. Now this is all fine and dandy until you try to use it: would a nuclear power plant have a computer monitoring the reactor that is rendered inoperable after turning it on? The same issue takes place here--the plastic flap actually flips over the button itself after opening, making it a totally unnecessary fiasco to press the button again to let the drive read a placed disc. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that after a few uses the flap becomes a little stiff; it will show some difficulty closing after the drive door recedes. This is not anything severe, but you will probably have to push it closed manually. There's one more big issue that came up, actually: NO CASE FAN. I'm surprised this evaded my notice for so long. This computer should run pretty cool, and a case fan can run anywhere from $5-20, but the fact that they didn't include this is actually really underhanded if this is HP's idea of "cutting costs." Still, it hasn't blown up on me yet, and a fan is shipping in the mail. 1/2 point off.

The hardware itself is decent; nothing mindblowing in this box to be sure. Two gigs' worth of DDR3 memory should give this computer some decent punch, but why not upgrade to four and max out its potential?***NOTE*** Apparently Amazon was wrong about the memory type. Another reviewer found it to be DDR2 memory instead of DDR3, so plan accordingly before purchasing!***NOTE*** The PSU is 250 watts, I believe. This should be enough to power everything on board adequately, but in case you were intending to add a second hard drive or add a graphics card, upgrading the power supply may be wise. In any case, it only comes with two power couplings for SATA-type devices, both of which are already in use by the hard drive and DVD drive. It does have some older MOLEX-type adaptors, however, and the motherboard hosts one IDE slot. I do have to mention that the power supply is kind of a pain in the rear to remove, though. The box also hosts one PCI slot, two PCI-e and one PCI-e16, I think. I'll verify this later. Graphics are integrated--not what you would want for gaming, but I find they're adequate enough to play PoxNora online with minimal hiccups, so it can carry you through in many cases. Processor is an AMD Sempron, which is a lower level unit, although it's definitely strong enough to run Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit without any issue. I'm having the hardest time finding out what's the biggest processor the motherboard will take, however; even the HP website and several manuals I've read thus far seem not to be willing to divulge this useful bit of knowledge. Overall, though, I think I can recommend this one as a purchase, especially for this ridiculously low price.

***EDIT*** They (Amazon) just lowered this PC's price to under $300 for a few days. It has since went back up to the default price, sadly. I'm not sure if that means I bought a lemon, but this is a definite must buy if you need decent computing power and the latest Windows OS at a price so low it could be called criminal. Just remember that Windows7 Home Premium does have some compatibility problems with older programs...to remedy this, you will need to change to either Professional or Ultimate.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great buy, August 23, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Compaq Presario CQ5500F Desktop PC - Black (Personal Computers)

Trust me, this computer is worth the money. It's very quick and stylish, perfect for a modern computer room. It has 3 or so USB docks, convenient for if you have a mouse, a p-drive, a camera, a phone... All that other junk that you need to strap up to your computer, you can do it all at once.

I've had it for a few months, and it's still as fast as it was when I got it. Now, I'm no computer tech, I really don't understand the details, but let me tell you, it almost overwhelmed me, all of the programs and upgrades and services this computer comes with, not to mention the cool backgrounds and designs you can customize your desktop with.

A great buy, you won't be disappointed!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars better buy elsewhere, September 11, 2010

By 

Paul Dziwulski (Bel Air, Md.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Compaq Presario CQ5500F Desktop PC - Black (Personal Computers)

I was able to get this computer for 279.99 over Labor Day weekend at Office Max.
It had what I needed, just a basic,fast computer. Had it up and running in 30 minutes! plus free shipping!!!!