Great Value Solid Machine | Compaq Presario R3340US Laptop (AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3200+ with PowerNow!...

Why is it such a bargain...? | Compaq Presario R3340US Laptop (AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3200+ with PowerNow! Technology, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB ...

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	• Compaq Presario R3340US Laptop (AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3200+ with PowerNow! Technology, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB ... Hewlett Packard Hewlett Packard average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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Good value...

My system is configured slightly different; I have a 60 GB hard drive. I like the system very much. It has great performance. When I bought the laptop, I was not sure if I would like having the widescreen. It's heavier and doesn't fit in a normal-size laptop carrying case. But I love the wider screen. I can keep the Favorites explorer bar displayed all the time when using Internet Explorer. And the display quality when playing DVD movies is awesome.

Despite my love affair with this machine, there are some concerns. My first concern is the durability. This unit is made in China (that's why the price is so good). The plastic seems a bit thin. You can see this when you remove the battery and look at the plastic on the battery. Also, the button for the PCMCIA slot has fallen off. The rubber feet are always coming off as well (they are just glued on). Finally, the power cord keeps falling out. A few times, I didn't notice and the computer went into hibernation mode when the battery is used up. But it always comes back up right where I left off.

Speaking of battery, I seem to get 2 to 3 hours of battery life. Unfortunately, this unit does not accept a second battery. So keeping a spare battery will only make sense if there is an external charger.

I would recommend buying this unit, but treat it with care.

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Great Value Solid Machine

My kids use it as a gamer, My wife and I for home office. Machine is always on just about replacing our desktop. Tied in nicely to our wireless network with ease. Widescreen with brightscreen is great for dvds in the suv. So far no problems. Going to try converting some home vhs to dvd next will let you know.

Why is it such a bargain...?

I am mostly satisfied with this computer. My issues are that after 6 months my battery has died. The screen is plastic and I don't feel safe carrying it around from place to place out of fear it will break. Then again this is NOT a computer that you would "work on the go" with. This is definitely a desktop replacement. Also I don't know if it's Windows or the AMD 64 3200+ processor, but this computer does not run smoothly at all. I routinely have to power down (which means unplugging it and taking out the battery that stopped working) because the computer refuses to do anything. I'll click on an icon, the hourglass appears, then the arrow comes back... and all I see is my screen saver. When I press C-A-D, the task manager doesn't indicate anything, and the system will not allow me to restart or power down. I also routinely have to shutdown explorer because it locks up. I have never used the combo drive for burning DVD's, so I have no comment there. Personally I am not a gamer, but I don't think I would trust this computer to hang with intense graphics and sound. It doesn't handle DVD's as well as I had hoped, but it does play DVD's well enough. Also you can only upgrade one stick of RAM. You start out with two 256mb sticks. I got this computer for a decent price, but in the end I realize that I got what I paid for.
Overall I guess I would suggest this computer... nine months ago. It has become clear to me, that while windows based systems continue to dazzle the buyers with large numbers, Apple has been developing very efficient and practical computers. My sister just bought an apple and it is a lot better than my Compaq. She paid about the same price and if she ever has a problem with it she can take it to the local apple store/coffee shop/hippy hangout so some courteous, nerdy, computer type can take a look at it. The Compaq support people have hung up on me and they tend to sound like you are bothering them when you call for support. Plus you have to use your credit card over the phone and pay for whatever info they give you to fix your computer, no matter how elementary.
I gave this computer a 3 because for the un-intense applications that I use (mmicrosoft office) it gets the job done. Plus the widescreen is kind of nice. It is the first computer that I have personally owned; although I have used computers daily for the last eight years, I was always very skeptical about buying my own. Nothing too great, but, (knock on wood) no MAJOR problems; just a lot of little annoyances. I'm the kind of person that if I buy something for $1500, even if that's a good price, I expect it to be perfect.

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This model scores high on the two notebook must-haves: performance and mobility. What are its best "extras"? The cool widescreen, 24x DVD/CD-RW drive, and wireless connectivity.