The Bottom Line
Compaq's Presario 2172us laptop is the most powerful notebook computer currently available for under $1000.
Pros
- Powerful AMD Processor
- High Capcity Hard Drive
Cons
- Limited Battery Life
Description
- AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+ Processor
- 256 MB PC2100 DDR Memory
- 40 Gigabyte Hard Drive
- 24x CD-RW Combo Optical Drive
- 15" XGA (1024x768) LCD and ATI Mobility Radeon Graphics with 64MB Shared Memory
- AC'97 Audio
- v.92 56Kbps Modem and 10/100 Ethernet
- Two USB 2.0 Ports and One Type III PC Card Slot
- 13" x 10.7" x 1.6" @ 7.25 lbs.
- Windows XP Home Operating System
Guide Review - Compaq Presario 2172us
10/7/03 - The budget laptop market is very tough for manufacturers due to the restrictions on available components. Compaq chose to use an AMD based platform to help reduce costs which helps this system excell in performance. Its AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+ processor is a most powerful available in a sub $1000 notebook. It also has a lot to offer in the storage side with a CD-RW combo optical drive and a large 40 gigabyte hard drive. For graphics, it matches a 15" LCD screen with an ATI Mobility Radeon graphics that uses a shared memory architecture. The only real drawback to this systems is its limited battery life. AMD's CPU solution doesn't have as much power optimization compared to the Intel solutions.
