Mick Lockey

Compaq Presario 6470NX

This updated Presario retains the sharp-looking black-and-silver design of previous Presario systems, but it also introduces a number of improvements, including a good-size 120GB hard drive and an ATI Radeon 9000 graphics board with 64MB of RAM. You also get plenty of USB 2.0 (two up front, four in back) and FireWire ports (one up front, one in back) for connecting external hard drives, printers, and other peripherals.
With a 2.67-GHz Pentium 4 processor and 512MB of DDR266 SDRAM, the 6470NX earned a 111 score on PC WorldBench 4 tests--five points slower than the similarly configured Dell Dimension 4550, but more then adequate for general use. Our system's interior was messier than the insides of other desktops we've seen. Twisted cabling blocked access to drive bay cages; to add or swap out a hard drive, you'll have to push them aside. The two open PCI slots are located between the preinstalled graphics and ethernet cards, so reaching them is a tight squeeze. The two tall JBL satellite speakers (without subwoofer) stand half as high as the system case itself. Paired with integrated audio, they produced middling sound quality when we listened to vocal music and a movie on DVD. Bass tones came through but lacked oomph. Treble notes sounded a bit flat.
At $1298 (including the monitor, which you must purchase separately on Compaq's site), this system is very reasonably priced for a 2.67-GHz Pentium 4 system. Though the speakers were a bit disappointing, the monitor supplied with our test system impressed us: The 17-inch Compaq 7550 CRT displayed sharp, easily readable text at a resolution of 1024 by 768. Photo screens fared well, too, showing vivid colors and natural-looking flesh tones. The ATI Radeon 9000 graphics board is a couple of generations behind the cutting edge, but it produced above-average frame rates and good image quality. Serious gamers will probably want faster performance, however. Compaq's Presario 6000 line (of which this model is part) is not customizable, though PCs in other Presario lines can be built to order. The keyboard accompanying the 6470NX felt solid. Typing on it was quiet and sure, and it has several hot-keys for launching Web sites and e-mail programs. Compaq's documentation includes a general-purpose user's guide that covers both the Presario 6000 and 8000 lines, plus a setup poster. The manual covers troubleshooting and component upgrades. An additional manual offers ergonomic recommendations.
This sharp-looking system has the wherewithal for supporting general computing tasks at a reasonable price.

Buying Information

Compaq Presario 6470NX $ http://