Compaq Presario 4400US Desktop (1.3-GHz Celeron, 128 MB RAM, 40 GB hard drive)

Rating:
Summary: good value!
Review: Its pretty sweet. I thought all i would do with it was surf the web. But now i have a DVD ROM installed and put in an additional 256 MB of memory. the memory upgrade is necessary as Windows XP uses a lot of RAM. An additional 256MB should suffice.
i have an internet cable connection and downloads are a snap. the cd burner works well and viewing dvds with the graphic card provided is very good.
all in all i think this is a very good machine if u dont want extreme performance.
I would reccomend this machine as there is a lot of room for upgrades and the processor provides more than adequate performance.

Rating:
Summary: A good, inexpensive family machine
Review: Notice to hard-core gamers or bleeding-edge types: this isn't the computer for you!

But for anyone who wants solid performance at a reasonable price, I highly recommend this machine. Compaq's quality is well-known, and this package includes some nice features for a family computer. The 1.3GHz Intel Celeron provides speedy graphics rendering (though gamers would no doubt disagree!) for most home applications and kids' games, and 128MB RAM is a good start for most people. The 40GB hard drive should provide more than enough room to hold even the most bloated new applications (of course, I remember the days when I thought I could *never* fill up a 400MB drive!). A pre-installed V.90 modem and 10/100 network card make Internet connectivity a snap, as does the Windows XP network setup wizard (though, again, I did it manually as I was adding this machine to an existing network). By the way, for those running Win 98 or Me, XP is a great leap forward in operating system stability and speed. No more "blue screen of death" or inexplicable system lock-ups!

I did drop in more memory (512MB), which improved processing speed noticably, and also installed a GeForce AGP video card with 64MB VRAM. Most run-of-the-mill users probably wouldn't need to do that, but I run a few graphics-intensive applications and it helped them quite a bit. The cost of these additions was minimal.

There's no monitor included in the package, but quality 17- and 19-inch monitors are available very inexpensively these days. I completed my setup with a 19-inch ViewSonic, and it "gilded the lily" of this system.

If you're looking to upgrade from your older Pentium-based system, or want a second computer for the kids, I would recommend this package without reservation.