Compaq Presario R3000 Notebook Review

The Compaq Presario R3000 is the best multimedia laptop computer for the money. At $1,000.00 you get a lot of features like a Pentium 4 3 GHZ processor, 512 MB of RAM, an ATI 128 MB integrated Video Card, and a mother load of more features that will make you drool. The design of the laptop also scores it major points. Compaq and HP combined and work together to bring entertainment to everyone for a good amount of money. Many Compaq machines aren't that expensive, and many people choose Compaq over other brands. See why this machine is comfortable in many people's homes.

The Compaq Presario R3000 features a widescreen 15.4 inch screen at 1280 x 800 top resolution. Not only does the ATI Card play many of today's games, but the processor and RAM back it up to make it very powerful. Not only does the graphics look nice on the R3000, but the sound is very crisp and clear. UBL Pro Speakers are just one of the main focuses on the R3000 as there really is no distortion or bass loss, due to high pitch noises. Remember this machine is priced between $1,000.00 and $1,500.00, which is very good for what you get in the R3000.

Inside is a 54 G wireless Broadcom 802.11 b\g mini PCI-Card, which saves you the time and money of purchasing a wireless card for your laptop. Two different hard drives are included with whichever model you decide to get, a 40 or 60 GB hard drive. Normally it is 40 which is plenty, but 60 can be purchased too. Also with a Flash Card Reader, three USB ports, and many more ports to fit your needs. Ethernet capabilities are not a problem either while a 10\100 Ethernet Port is installed on the R3000 as also a IEEE 1394/Firewire port on the back on the machine. A good feature from the R3000 is the ability to turn on and off the wireless function which can be of help when booting up the computer. If it is not needed, than turn it off. A pain on the keyboard is the Function Key that must be pressed to access certain buttons on the computer. I don't find it that much of a hassle, but any new comer to the machine might. Overall the keyboard is really nice and big, so any hands can feel the ease of comfort when typing on it.

The R3000 weighs a monstrous eight pounds, which is a lot of weight to be lugging around in your hands, or on your shoulders from a case, so I wouldn't recommend carrying this laptop around if walking around college, or working, as it might give you back problems, haha. Also what I have found out about the R3000 is the shut down automatically problem on this machine. Make sure you don't place this machine for sure on any bed surface or padded surface where it covers the vents at the bottom. Now I don't know why Compaq put two vents at the bottom of the laptop, but whatever they did surely made it much more complicating to use. Heat sensors will shut the computer off suddenly if the hardware gets too hot, and while this might be the factor for most computers now a days, there is no warning on the R3000. It just shuts right down until you turn it back on, so make sure the computer is on a harder surface where the bottom can breath.

Image Editing, and DVD capabilities are very good on the R3000 machine. While it might not come with much editing software, the computer has enough power to handle multitasking so any image editing would be with ease on this Compaq Laptop. DVD's can be watched in high quality widescreen luxury, as the UBL Pro Sound Speakers kick in with a surround sound feel to the movie, or whatever you are watching. Turn the volume all the way up, and find that there is no distortion or problems with the sound.

Compaq's Support is not too bad either. While it is not the best, I haven't had any problems with there support center. Sometimes they can be a little sloppy, and leave you hanging until you call them back, but all in all they get to the point and help you out when you most need it. Also if a part is needed make sure you get the warranty, because they will get right down to business and send you the part you need right away. They are also very fast about it, so there is no delay. I rate them a 3.5 out of 5 for support.

Overall if you are looking for a high end gaming laptop, this would be a minor choice for that, but wouldn't be able to top games like Doom 3, unless you placed the settings all the way to the bottom, as that might not even work, but it worked for me with nothing running. For the high classed average gamer this would be perfect, as games like Call of Duty ran perfect on it with the graphics settings turned all the way up, and with support quite sure of themselves makes this notebook very comforting. The only bad thing about the machine is the two vents at the bottom if not properly aired could cause quite of a overheating problem, so make sure the laptop is on a hard surface where it is breathing. I give this an 8 out of 10, for a great effort to making a great Desktop Replacement Machine at a very affordable price.