Joel Strauch

Compaq Deskpro EXS

The S in EXS stands for small business and marks this Deskpro as one of the successors to Compaq's now-defunct Prosignia line. To enhance the small business feel, the system comes with Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business edition. You also get a large, 19-inch Compaq P900 monitor, which delivered brilliant colors in our test images and sharp text even at the monstrously high resolution of 1920 by 1200. The monitor's on-screen display buttons let you adjust images easily, especially from the handy auto-centering button, which automatically repositions the screen after switching to a new resolution. Models with a 17-inch monitor are available for $186 less.
Some design flaws mar the outside of the system. For one thing, sizable gaps show above and below the CD-ROM drive; we've seen similar spaces in other Compaq systems. At 15GB, the hard drive is relatively small, and the NVidia M64 graphics card, while fine for general use, is somewhat slower than more modern cards. Compaq earned only an overall score of "Fair" in PC World's latest Reliability and Service survey.
This Pentium III-800EB system earned a PC WorldBench 2000 score of 165--five points below the average for similarly configured systems running Windows 2000, but not slow by any means. After you unscrew two rear thumbscrews, the sturdy side panel slides off with little effort. Inside, the neat, smallish interior boasts two open PCI slots and two open drive bays equipped with tool-less release mechanisms. Documentation includes several manuals: a getting started guide, a safety and comfort guide, and a troubleshooting guide, with lots of setup and support information. The well-constructed Compaq keyboard permits smooth, nearly silent typing, with eight hot keys for multimedia and Internet shortcuts. A network adapter makes this Deskpro ready for hookup to a network or a broadband modem.
Small-office users will like the excellent display and tool-less bays, but otherwise, this is an average system.

Buying Information

Compaq Deskpro EXS PC WorldBench 2000 score of 165, Pentium III-800EB CPU, 128MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, 15GB hard drive, 20X-48X CD-ROM drive, integrated speakers, Compaq NVidia M64 graphics card with 16MB of SDRAM, Compaq P900 19-inch monitor, integrated SoundMax Digital Audio sound card, Altec Lansing ACS21W speakers, network adapter, V.90 modem, midsize tower case. Three-year parts warranty, one-year labor warranty; free, unlimited, 24-hour toll-free tech support daily. $ 1628 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 165, Pentium III-800EB CPU, 128MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, 15GB hard drive, 20X-48X CD-ROM drive, integrated speakers, Compaq NVidia M64 graphics card with 16MB of SDRAM, Compaq P900 19-inch monitor, integrated SoundMax Digital Audio sound card, Altec Lansing ACS21W speakers, network adapter, V.90 modem, midsize tower case. Three-year parts warranty, one-year labor warranty; free, unlimited, 24-hour toll-free tech support daily. http://www.compaq.com 800/345-1518