Compaq Presario 7000

This

is the latest desktop PC from Compaq aimed at the desktop home user and comes in

an attractive cabinet with colorful snap-on covers for the front panel, Internet

keyboard button palate, and two speakers. Compaq calls it ‘My Style Color Kit’

and gives you six different colors to choose from. These range from ruby red,

amber orange, emerald green, sapphire blue, and amethyst purple.

The configuration of the machine includes a PIII/733 MHz, Via

Apollo Chipset, 133 MHz FSB, 30 GB HDD, 128 MB RAM, nVIDIA RIVA TNT2 AGP

graphics card with 16 MB VRAM, Creative sound card, JBL Platinum speakers,

17" color monitor, 56 kbps built-in data-fax modem, 16x DVD-ROM drive and a

floppy drive. The machine has enough room for expansion. It has two additional

slots for adding more RAM later, two free bays on the front panel, five PCI, one

AGP slot, plus lots of ports for connecting additional devices.

Apart from the regular ones, the machine has four USB ports,

two FireWire, and one TV Out port. You can use the FireWire port for video

capturing, and the TV Out port for connecting your PC to a TV screen.

The Presario also has a USB Internet-ready keyboard and a

Compaq scroll mouse. The keyboard has six one-touch keys for launching

applications like your e-mail client and browser. The machine’s front panel

also has storage space for keeping your frequently used CDs with the PC itself.

The PC ships with Win 98 and lots of software, which includes

McAfee Virus Scan, DVD Express, Ring Central Fax, Video Wave III, RioPort Audio

Manager, and Adobe Acrobat 4. You also get a Web camera free with the PC. On the

performance front, the PC performed well in games, 3D and productivity

applications.

Overall, a good buy provided you are willing to spend Rs

90,000 on a desktop PC. RQS# E11

Neelima Vaid in New Delhi