Compaq Presario CQ60-410US 15.6-Inch Laptop

I've been on the lookout for an inexpensive notebook for my niece and I took a good look at the Compaq CQ60. While this one didn't turn out to be the right choice for me it would be a good fit for someone looking for a low cost notebook for web browsing or light use around the home but doesn't like the small screens and keyboards found on netbooks. Because the build quality suffers somewhat to keep the material cost down this is not a good choice for anyone who would be taking it outside the home a lot (students, business travelers) where it's more likely to be dropped, bumped, or scratched. It's also not a good choice for anyone who might need to multi-task (say burn a CD while web browsing).

Let's take a quick look at the specs:

CPU The 2.2GHz Intel Celeron 900 is based off the same basic core as the Core2 Duo, except there is just one core and some features are not enabled (such as "SpeedStep" which is a power saving feature that slows your clock speed down when you unplug). The Celeron sits just below the "Pentium" line in terms of performance in most but not all instances. The dual-core Pentium typically has two slower cores so anytime you multi-task your real world experience is better (i.e. your web browser doesn't slow down when the anti-virus scan kicks in), however if you are just doing one thing (like playing a game) the higher clock speed of the 2.2GHz Celeron 900 will help. Because it doesn't have SpeedStep it will drain your battery faster when not plugged in. Home users who will have it plugged in most of the time probably won't care about this. I should note it is much more powerful than the "Atom" processor found in smaller netbooks (easily twice the performance) but much more power hungry.

Display This 15.6" display has the same resolution as more expensive notebooks (1366x768) but it's not quite as bright. Unless you need to use it outdoors the difference isn't a big deal. It's a good display for this price.

RAM 2GB is enough for light home use. Don't expect to do heavy gaming but light gaming will be fine.

HDD 160GB seems small now days but most home users use less 50GB. As long as you are not a heavy gamer or expect to edit a lot of video this is plenty.

Graphics The Intel 4500M graphics CPU is the newest from Intel and is a big improvement over their previous graphics parts. This is the same graphics chip you will find in most $1000 notebooks. Once again it's not for the heavy gamer but it perfect for most home users and better than most entry level notebooks.

Wireless This supports the most common standards "B" and "G" but doesn't support the newest "N". You can still connect to "N" wireless networks but you will run at the slower "G" speed. Most users won't notice the difference.

Battery The six cell Lithium Ion is a decent battery for this price (and the same battery you find in more expensive notebooks). You will get about 2 hours of battery life 3 if you turn off the wireless. This is much better than the 4 cell that is still offered in some entry level notebooks.

Build quality As mentioned earlier in order to hit a low price point the material quality is lower than more expensive notebooks. The hinges on these low cost notebooks are notorious failure points. Don't pick this up by the screen or your notebook will break within a year or two. However Compaqs overall are well designed and are generally better entry level computers than Gateways or Dells.

So if you are planning on using this mostly around the house and expect you will be plugged in most of the time this laptop will do everything you need and won't break the bank. As long as you aren't too rough with it you shouldn't have any problems. If your twin thirteen year old boys are going to use it, you might be in trouble. If you need to multitask (or just hate it when your computer slows down for a virus scan) look for a dual core CPU notebook.

I found this laptop on sale at Office Depot on 15 August 2009 with a base price of $ minus $ instant rebate minus $ by mail. Final price of $ is a pretty good deal for this machine. This is my first Compaq/HP laptop, so I can't speak to longevity but after a week so far, so good. A couple of observations:

* Like most laptops (at least on the budget end) there is a fair amount of bloatware that should be removed for best performance and to free disk space.

* This is my first laptop that features a numeric keypad, very convenient!

* I haven't used the LiteScribe drive, but was surprised to find it on this value priced machine.

Performance is as expected with 2gb of RAM and a 2.2 ghz processor. Very adequate for web, MS Office and typical functions. Runs EVE Online satisfactorily.

Buy Compaq Presario CQ60-410US 15.6-Inch Laptop Now

I purchased this laptop for my parents who use it for online bill pay, surfing the web, Facebook and the like. We got a great price here at Amazon.com and couldn't be happier with the laptop. I purchased based on cost and was a little nervous based on the mixed reviews, but the laptop has exceeded my expectations. I especially like the extended keyboard with full numeric key pad -a nice feature that I have not seen on any other laptop.

This is not a top-of-the line tricked out computer, but if you're looking for an internet surfing/bill pay device you should be very pleased.

Read Best Reviews of Compaq Presario CQ60-410US 15.6-Inch Laptop Here

I bought this laptop because it was cheap($350) and I figured the quality would be decent because it was an HP/Compaq. My poor rating is based on several factors 1. The initial quality of the laptop, and 2. Dealing with HP's tech support. Within the 1st 6 months of owning this pc, I began having problems with my power adaptor. The cable wasn't fitting snugly into the side port, so the battery wasn't charging. I called HP and they gave me instructions on sending the laptop to their repair facility. They informed me that the process would take more than a week, so I wasn't too happy about that, but it had to be done. I sent off the laptop, they "fixed" it and sent it back.

Upon powering up my laptop, I quickly realized that they did not fix the problem. I still had the same issue, and they must have either not fixed it and sent it back, or did not test their repair. So, I called again, went through the same process and sent it back. On the 2nd attempt, the issue was "fixed", but I am still having intermittent problems. HP had my laptop for almost 3 weeks, and I am still not happy with their results. I use this computer for work and can no longer afford to keep sending it off and waiting for 7-10 for them to try and fix the issue.

I called a friend who works for HP and she told me that the "Compaq" label is used on cheap computers that are usually sold to Asian markets. The only thing I was happy with regarding this laptop is the price, but in retrospect, I would have rather paid a little more and bought a different brand. I will never buy anything from HP again!

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As everyone else says, it was a good price, I bought this laptop from Office Depot online, they only give you 14 days to return it, and after 18 days of light use..BAM!! the hard drive went!!! I called HP and they were a great help, very good, fast and friendly service , the next day I received a new hard drive in the mail and a set of new recovery cd's. They sent me instructions on how to install it myself and it was very easy. The wireless conection is very fast. I am happy with it (considering...)