Home > Consumer Reviews > Compaq Presario X1010US Laptop (1.30-GHz Pentium-M (Centrino), 512 MG RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

I had this laptop for a year now with no problems. A ton of used parts are available for very cheap. For example I do not have a bluetooth adapter but if I wanted I could buy one for ~$20! Replacement LCD's, Motherboards even cases are available. An amazin support forum is available over at x1000forums everyone is friendly and willing to help you with any problems you may run into. Compaq X1000's also have their own linux distro, X1000linux.

I just got my x1010 in the mail today. It is a referb unit but everything seems to work just find. I am sitting in the living room writing this review online via the Wi-Fi network connection. Speed seems to be very good. I like the keyboard very much and the screen is bright and clear. It will take some time getting use to the size of the screen but I think I can live with it ;-) Overall the first day out of the box impression is very good. If any of this changes I'll try to be sure to give an update. You don't really think how big the 15.4 screen is until you start walking around with it. Wow this thing is big!

I bought our x1010 last month and I am still absolutely thrilled with it. Its very fast despite having a slow (4200 rpm) HDD. I have had zero problems with the wireless - in fact the wireless will be a no-brainer if your other wireless devices can "see" your network. I am very happy with the 32mb (dedicated) Radeon graphics. This machine will play Rainbow Six Raven Shield with no problems at all - try that on one of the Toshiba's or lower end Compaq's with shared-memory graphics!! The display is fantastic - bright and not at all "grainy" like the Toshiba's and low-end Compaq's and HP's. (Ok - the WSXGA+ would probably look even sharper). I don't know this for sure - but I think the dot-pitch on the x1000 series is .26 versus .29/.30 (mm) on the cheapie machines. Great display, great graphics power, very stable, super build quality, etc. Only a couple of potential downsides - one, its a little big to tote around the house and two, the DVD/CDRW isn't modular so you're up the creek (have to send it to Compaq) if your drive is damaged. Oh one last positive - the lid is made out of metal (aluminum I assume) so it isn't flimsy.

Got this computer 3 days ago and can't praise it enough. I'd had a host of horrible experiences with older Compaq laptops at work and was more than a little nervous about this one...but I needn't have worried. Everything worked right out of the box. Battery life is exactly as other reviews depict it....3-4 hours, though I haven't watched an entire DVD on battery. CDs burn fast and reliably. DVDs look wonderful. Wireless connection is flawless from 20 feet and from 100 feet; I haven't tried from further away. The keyboard feels nice and solid. The touchpad scroller is an excellent feature. The display is outstanding. And while I wouldn't call the thing blazingly fast, it's more than satisfactory (and I'm pretty picky). I suppose the sound is okay, at least compared with other laptops I've heard, but face it...until they figure out a way to flatten out and miniaturize a subwoofer, a good set of headphones is a good investment.

Okay, nothing is perfect, so here are the few little things that rattle my type-A: the indicator lights, in their plastic housing on the front of the machine, seem kind of kitschy, bordering on "too much". Read the one-page inserts in the box and then scratch your head trying to figure out what's up with the software that isn't quite as installed as HP says it is (example: the utility for the Intel wireless card). The latch feels chincy and the seal between upper and lower halves is tighter on one side than the other on my machine....but not glaringly so.

I haven't had the chance to evaluate tech support and sincerely hope I don't have to. I also can't address the issue of games. I got out of that world a long time ago.

All in all, I would give it 4.5 stars....but they won't let me do that here and only God bats 1.000! Still, I recommend it wholeheartedly. Compaq has a winner with this line.

I've had this laptop for two weeks now and I'm absolutely thrilled with it. It has everything I want: a large HD, plenty of memory, wireless connectivity, a BEAUTIFUL widescreen, a scrolling trackpad, good speakers for a notebook, no heat issues, and a decent battery life (approx. 3.5 hrs.). I've had no hardware or software issues so I've yet to experience the Compaq/HP customer service.

I haven't had any problems using Photoshop or my VPN and client, but this notebook probably isn't a good fit for more intensive applications or high-end games. Then again, I find that a lot of people think they need a more powerful configuration than what they really need. 1.3GHz with 512MB will get you pretty far.

The only complaint I have so far is that the the construction isn't the highest quality. One of the speaker grilles buzzes at higher volumes (though it doesn't bother me too much since other notebooks can't even get as loud). You get what you pay for -- if you're looking for solid construction, you're gonna have to spend much more (i.e. VAIO or Powerbook).

Overall, I think this notebook is one of the best deals you can get. And with $200 in rebates, it's a steal! Get this notebook if you're gonna use it for: surfing the web, watching widescreen movies, and/or using non-performance critical apps.