compaq presario 1993 tft display pricelist

Simply Office. Simple mainstream notebooks with a 15.6 inch display and low entry prices are very popular. Plain design, glossy display and AMD hardware promise a good value for money ratio. Convincing office device or second choice?

Hewlett Packard (HP) releases a simple mainstream notebook without many frills onto the market with its Compaq Presario CQ62. The test device is equipped with a 15.6 inch display, which has a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels and a high-gloss surface. A simple, but usually sufficient, standard is also given in case and connectivity. It"s aligned for simple office work, whereby ambitions for multimedia and gaming are covered to a small extent.

We"ve taken a closer look at the HP Compaq Presario CQ62-A04sg, a low price entry model with AMD Athlon II P320 (dual core, 2.1 GHz) and ATI Radeon HD 4250. A fast 2.5 inch, 320 GB hard disk, 3 GB of DDR3 RAM, WLAN standard 802.11 b/g/n and Windows 7 Home Premium as the 64 bit version also belongs to the specs. Our test device is available for 499 euro (RRP). Are workmanship, battery life and processing performance convincing? We"ve checked the CQ62"s qualities in our detailed review.

The Compaq Presario"s case strikes with a plain design and proves to be an unobtrusive eye-catcher. The device is both suitable for the office as well as for the lecture theater in university or college. The prism texture on the display lid and inside area provides a pleasant feel. Overall, a plain design in matt black. Nevertheless, we ask ourselves why the inside display bezel have been given a high-gloss finish. It doesn"t fit into the concept and is susceptible for dust and scratches. The color options are limited and HP doesn"t offer other color alternatives.

The display hinges hold the desired position well, whereby it teeters evidently. A protective cover isn"t mandatory, even if recommendable, due to the matt and very solid exterior. The notebook weighs 2.6 kilograms with the 6 cell battery at a size of 37.4 x 24.6 x 3.2 - 3.7 centimeters (w x d x h). This weight and dimensions are acceptable for this configuration and construction size.

The given mobile technologies are quite extensive, whereas the latest standards aren"t quite met. The notebook has an RJ45 network socket and 10/100 Mbit LAN via a Realtek controller for cabled communication. The Presario bids a cutting edge Broadcom BCM 4313 controller for mobile data transfer. It supports WLAN standard 802.11 b/g/n and is thus up-to-date. Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR is also part of the alignment, however it lags a bit behind the latest Bluetooth 3.0 +HS. A model with UMTS module isn"t intended for this device category and there is no dummy slot in the case.

HP uses a 15.6 inch screen with a high-gloss surface for the display. It has a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels in a 16:9 format. Higher resolutions (interpolated) can"t be selected. A glare-type screen isn"t the best requisite for outdoor use. The display"s good rates might compensate this flaw.

The entire display surface is illuminated by small LEDs. They allegedly supply an even and bright illumination. The screen is in the wide midfield with a maximum rate of 198 cd/m2. The average of 188.2 cd/m2 is also average and higher quality devices, such as the Apple MacBook Pro (13 inch, glare-type), stand out clearly with over 270 cd/m2. Beside the reflective surface, the low brightness is another point that speaks against outdoor use.

The intense brightness decrease on the display"s left is striking. It has a difference of about 30 cd/m2 to the brighter area. Thus, the illumination sinks to only 83 cd/m2. Fortunately, this fluctuation isn"t visible during use. Another negative point of this screen is the increased black value of 1.23 cd/m2, which prevents a saturated black. It looks more like gray and lets the contrast decreases to weak 155:1. Subjectively, the reproduced colors and focus are convincing.

In order to assess the screen accurately, we checked the reproducible color spectrum with X-Rite i1Display 2 (hardware + software). HP"s Presario, colored in the comparison, can only convince to a part. This notebook isn"t suitable for professional users because the sRGB color space can"t be reproduced completely. In comparison to the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15, Hewlett Packard"s device is impressive though.

Outdoor use is very restricted because of the display"s glossy surface and the average up to poor assessed rates. Use in direct light incidence is hardly possible because intense reflections develop. Working in indirect light is possible with restrictions. Reflections can"t be avoided, however they can be partly intercepted by the display"s light.

The viewing angle stability is only convincing in horizontal rendering. The image remains stable in flat angles during this movement and color rendering is valid. The display hardly allows a deviation on the vertical plane. The slightest change causes the image to invert and colors falsify, respectively bleach intensely.

3 GB of DDR3 RAM from Elpida (2 GB) and Samsung (1 GB) (1066 MHz, DDR3-10600S) and a 2.5 inch hard disk with 320 GB also belong to the HP Compaq Presario CQ62-A04sg"s configuration. Replacing these components is made easy by two large maintenance covers. The RAM is limited to a maximum of 8 GB on two banks. All standard 2.5 inch drives (hard disk or solid state drive) with a construction height of 9.5 millimeters can be used for the hard disk. You can"t access the other components directly.

As expected, the installed graphics chip set in the Presario isn"t astronomically strong and places itself in the entry division. An acceptable 1435 points (3DMarks) are achieved in 3DMark06 in a resolution of 1280x1024 pixels. HP"s EliteBook 2740p with an Intel Core i5-540M and Intel GMA HD or Asus" U50VG with an older Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 and Nvidia GeForce G105M is on a similar level.

HD videos on the internet or stored locally, on the computer, are becoming more and more popular. The Presario CQ62 doesn"t have any problems rendering smoothly in 480, 720 and 1080p due to the ATI graphics unit. We looked at a current HD cinema trailer and a locally stored H.264 video in the three resolutions for a quick check.

When all system reserves are used for computing intensive applications, the battery is put under high demand. This situation can be simulated by "Classic Test" in the BatteryEater tool. An OpenGL calculation with maximum display brightness is executed for this. The mobile technologies and Windows 7"s high performance profile are selected as additional consumers. The battery is drained after poor 84 minutes (1 hour and 24 minutes) and an electrical outlet has to be targeted. You have an acceptable 3 hours and 24 minutes for checking your emails and surfing on the internet.

CQ62"s charged battery is sufficient for two movies without extra length. In opposition to the "Classic Test", the Reader"s Test determines the maximum possible battery life. For this, all mobile technologies are disabled, Windows 7"s energy savings options are enabled and the display"s minimum brightness is selected. The battery is also drained fairly fast with 4 hours and 5 minutes in this situation. Unfortunately, it"s not possible to use a battery with 8 or 9 cells because they aren"t available. They wouldn"t fit in the intended compartment on the bottom either.

HP"s Compaq Presario CQ62-A04sg is a simple office notebook without reserves for complex applications. The AMD Athlon II P320 (2x1.10 GHz) and the ATI Radeon HD 4250 do a good job for the entry level, whereby current 3D games can only be presented smoothly in minimum settings. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 or the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M is recommendable for higher demands.

The 15.6 inch display is a big disadvantage of this device. The glossy surface and average to poor display rates aren"t convincing and outdoor use is hardly possible. A good and especially matt display would definitely have been a better solution. The "little" 6 cell battery seems to beoverburdened by the installed components" requirements and the battery life is restricted. The Compaq Presario from Hewlett Packard hasn"t earned any kudos with 2 hours and 30 minutes in realistic use.

You"ll get a simple office notebook with a 15.6 inch screen for 499 euro including value added tax (RRP). However, you have to compromise on gaming performance and a superior mobility. Due to this requisite, the HP Compaq Presario CQ62-A04sg is rewarded with a round 80 percent in the overall rating.

Presario is a discontinued line of consumer desktop computers and notebooks originally produced by Compaq. The Presario family of computers was introduced in September 1993.

In the mid-1990s, Compaq began manufacturing PC monitors as part of the Presario brand. A series of all-in-one units, containing both the PC and the monitor in the same case, were also released.

After Compaq merged with HP in 2002, the Presario line of desktops and laptops were sold concurrently with HP’s other products, such as the HP Pavilion. The Presario laptops subsequently replaced the then-discontinued HP OmniBook line of notebooks around that same year.

The Presario brand name would continue to be used for low-end home desktops and laptops from 2002 until the Compaq brand name was discontinued by HP in 2013.

The 1X25 monitors were paired with the Compaq Presario 4500, 4600, 4800 and a few other Series 2 designed Presarios, which featured a spaceship or rocket ship design on the front casing of the towers. The towers also had smoked-black CD bezel covers. These monitors all shared the same design cues from the towers they were meant to match: all of them had a split lower bezel which ran down the middle. The monitors had dials for brightness and contrast, plus a volume dial for speakers, which also acts as a power button when pressed. It also has a mute button for the volume on the left side of the monitor, and featured a few digital controls located behind the bottom panel. The monitor also has a built-in microphone, located on the top of the monitor.

There is also a very rare set of monitors (the FX series) which have built-in speakers and a subwoofer, plus three extra USB ports. These are designed to go with the 4800 series Presario multimedia towers (specifically the 4830 to 4882), as they were all black like the FX monitor.

The MVX00 and FPX00 monitors were designed to be sold with the Series 3 designed Compaq towers. They retained the original spaceship design of the second generation Presario towers, except most had smoked-black plastic "easy access" flip-up doors on the bottom containing USB and audio ports behind it, and a slightly squatter design that was more rounded. Like the previous monitors before it, these monitors were designed to match the design cues of the Series 3 Presarios. These monitors had their brightness and contrast dials of the previous monitors removed in favor of digital controls accessible by a button on the monitor. The volume dial (which acted as a power button) and mute buttons were also removed, with a standard power button in place of the volume dial.

The MVX20 monitors were designed for use with Series 4 designed Presarios. They retained the spaceship form factor of previous generation Presarios but in a more curvature shape, and most of them had translucent purple plastic flip-up doors that provided access to USB and/or FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports. Like previous Presario monitors, these were designed to match with the Series 4 Presarios as they shared the same design cues. The monitors featured on-screen display digital controls instead of six LED lights on previous monitors that indicated the type of control being used.

The MVX40 and FSX40 monitors were used with the Compaq Presario 5000 and 7000 series, as well as some Series 5 designed Presarios. Both the 5000 and 7000 series of towers had a brand new front case design that moved away from the spaceship-derived design of previous generation Presarios in favor of a more sleek and stylish design that featured removable translucent colored plastic faceplates, which were offered in five colors. These monitors were mostly similar in design with the previous MVX20 monitors, but with a refreshed design that featured a more curvature exterior instead of the boxy-styled angular design of previous monitors, fitting in with the design cues of the 5000 and 7000 series.

Flat-screen CRT displays were introduced alongside the MVX40 monitors and are designated with the letters FS. Flat panel LCD displays were also available, designated with the letters FP.

Compaq was one of the first companies to successfully reverse engineer IBM technology and market it to the masses. The August 1993 release of the Presario family of PCs is an excellent case study.

At the time, manufacturers were eyeing home users as the fastest growing segment in the industry. The Presario made PCs easy for computer novices and did so at an affordable price (approximately $1,400). The all-in-one machine featured a 14-inch monitor, an Intel 486 25-megahertz microprocessor and a 200-megabyte hard disk, and it was bundled with a variety of consumer-friendly software, including games for all ages and the ubiquitous America Online startup CD.

Compaq was founded by a group of former Texas Instruments employees. The company was first publicly traded in 1983, the same year it shipped more than $111 million in portable PCs — surpassing any other first-year company to date. Compaq made the Fortune 500 in only four years. In 1987, it became the youngest company to achieve $1 billion in annual sales.

So, what happened to Compaq? Competitor HP acquired the company in 2002, and the brand was gradually discontinued, resulting in a 404 page when you visit Compaq.com — a bleak end to one of the industry’s former heavy hitters.