compaq presario v2000 review

Presario V2000 notebook

If you're considering a wide-screen laptop for travel, the Compaq Presario V2000 belongs at the top of your list. At just 6.1 pounds (not including the AC adapter), this compact unit is easier to carry than many competing wide-screen notebooks. Its 14.1-inch BrightView screen, an inch shorter than a standard 14.1-inch screen, should clear an airline seat back much more easily.

Be sure to shell out the extra $25 for the ，Presario V2000 battery. It lasted 5.8 hours in our tests--long enough to see you through a coast-to-coast flight, a short layover, and maybe even the taxi ride to the hotel. (We didn't test the standard 6-cell battery.)

The V2000's bright WXGA screen is top-of-the-line. With a native resolution of 1280 by 768 pixels, it displays icons that are big enough to read easily while giving you an extra inch of width (it's as wide as a standard 15-inch screen). You'll still have to do some adjusting and scrolling in order to view two detailed windows side-by-side, but you'll see considerably more of your

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spreadsheets or graphics applications and their palettes on this relatively small laptop.

In CNET Labs' mobile benchmarks, the Presario V2000Z lagged 14 percent behind the Dell Latitude D510 and ran on par with the Celeron-powered Satellite M45, making it adequate for basic computing work such as Web surfing, e-mail, and other productivity tasks; gamers and those with multimedia aspirations will need a more powerful system. The Presario V2000Z delivered slightly subpar Presario V2000 battery life, however, lasting only 2 hours and 50 minutes; we consider 3 hours to be average for this class of laptop.

HP bundles a typical one-year warranty with the Presario V2000Z; however, for a reasonable fee, you can extend the term to three years. HP will also cover the cost of returning the system for repairs throughout your warranty. The company's toll-free telephone-support lines are open 24/7 and offer free help during your warranty period. The HP support Web site includes one of our favorite support features--real-time chat with a tech rep--though the company limits your free chat time to just one hour. After that, you can try to troubleshoot problems yourself by searching through the site's FAQ database.

HP Presario V2000 physical info:

• OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows XP Home
• PROCESSOR: Intel Pentium M 710 -- 1.4 GHz
• SCREEN: 14.0" WXGA Widescreen (not the BrightView)
• MEMORY: 256 MB SDRAM (1x256)
• HARD DRIVE: 40 GB 4200 rpm
• CD DRIVE: DVD/CD-RW combo drive
• Presario V2000 BATTERY: 6-cell lithium ion, OEM CODE is : 367759-001
• WIRELESS: Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG WLAN (without Bluetooth).