Customer Reviews

Compaq Presario 5300US Desktop (1.1-GHz Celeron, 256 MB RAM, 20 GB hard drive)

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The Compaq 5300US is an easy top pick for a pre-installed, affordable Windows XP Home Edition PC. I've been using XP at work since the beginning of the year, and have nothing to say about it here except it's very, very good. (NTFS on a home PC! ClearType on an LCD panel is incredible!)

The 5300US doesn't include a monitor or speakers, but I already have them. I yanked the modem and replaced it with an ethernet card (SMC EZ) before powering up the 5300US. The case is really easy to work with, but a Phillips head screwdriver is needed to remove one screw. A tool-free screw would have been nicer.

After defining the users, setting the time zone, etc., and logging on, I checked the Device Manager, and everything was in order, including the network adapter.

Attaching a USB printer (Lexmark Z22) went flawlessly, with the driver loading from within XP - including the cartridge installation and alignment steps, without need for Lexmark's installation CD.

The printer uses the second USB port in the back. The other one is needed by the keyboard. The mouse is old-fashioned PS/2 style. There's a DIN connector for the keyboard, but it's not used.

What's REALLY nice is the flip-open panel next to the floppy drive. Instead of being "dead space" it has two more USB ports, ready for a Web Cam or whatever.

Of less obvious value is the 5-disc CD holder in a click-open panel. Too much trouble to use for frequently swapped discs. The only disc of interest that comes with the 5300US is the Recovery CD. I'll stick that in the cubby, along with the Lexmark disc I didn't need.

The Compaq 5300US runs very fast and smooth, with a 1.1 GHz Celeron and 256MB of PC100 memory (it might be 133 memory, but the bus is 100). Not scrimping on memory is what raises the Compaq above other products in this price range (a single 256 MB DIMM and one open slot). The hard drive is "only" 20GB, but that's plenty. More memory is what makes XP sing.

Anyway, from the moment this machine first booted, it was obvious it's a real winner. For super-fast 3D video, DVD-ROM and CD-RW I have my primary machine, a Dell 4100. What the 5300US needs to be is a really fast Web browser for broadband, a general-purpose family PC, etc., and for that it's absolutely perfect -- after you install an ethernet card, that is.

The Compaq 5300US is a deal, if not a steal. I'm a happy Dell customer, but at the moment Dell just doesn't have a package that comes close to this one from Compaq. For me, it really hits the sweet spot.

January 2010: This computer is still in use. The 20GB drive died a few years ago. I replaced it, ran the system disc, then downloaded many, many Windows updates from Microsoft. It's now in service as a Logitech Squeezebox music server in my basement:

[...]

I bought this PC in November 2001, and this one just worked efficiently and normally 12 months beyond the warranty.
since then the harddrive failed to boot and i lost tons of valuable data.
i also replaced the pd card because the software broke and not available from the manufacturer anymore. the floppy drive broke later.
right now the power switch failed so that i have let power the computer on in case i will not turn on.

what a saving pc i have. great price great computer.