Home > Consumer Reviews > Compaq Presario SR5410F Desktop PC (1.8 GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 320 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)

I recently purchased this machine as I am a desktop person and not a laptop person. Desktops always function better than laptops, are faster, cooler, and never have batteries that die. Besides, I go to Starbucks for coffee, not to sit there trying to impress people with my expensive toy. If I have a thought, want to send an email, or suddenly feel inspired to write the great American novel, I can wait until I get home to do so.

I am not disappointed with my purchase. I read excellent reviews on Best Buys' website about this Compaq and they are correct. You can save on the tax of course if you purchase here as the price is the same as at BB. I was replacing a seven year old Emachine computer.

Times have changed, this Compaq (HP) is so quiet and runs so smoothly it's not even comparable to my old Pentium 4 machine. I had some initial concerns about Vista as it's such a RAM hog but the two megs that come with the machine keep it running fairly quickly. Vista is very smooth and slick and I actually like it. The dual processor is excellent and I always prefer Intel over AMD as I've had better durability over the years with Intel processors. They also use less energy. This machine happens to be the exact same as the HP A6300F and that machine costs about $700 to give you some idea of how fast computer prices fall. Read the reviews for that machine here on Amazon, they're all good.

The only change I made was adding an ergo keyboard and I'll probably add memory later. The power supply seems adequate though I may upgrade later as this is usually the thing that manufacturers skimp on. Overall, A great machine for a great price.

Great price for an easy to set up and easy to use system. I use the system mainly for my Ebay account and email. Lots of memory and disc space for such a low price. Keyboard is the standard blah keyboard but I simply plugged my logitech keyboard into the system and was back to a comfortable system. Highly recommend, would buy again.

This a very good computer at an affordable price. I am
bothered by some of the reviewers that give this a low
score. Right out of the box it is easy to setup. Burning CD's and DVD's are a synch. There is a media center that allows you to watch tv/movies/listen to music/ and more. This thing is fast and quiet.I added a 19" Acer wide screen monitor and a Bose Companion 2 multimedia speaker system. I have recommended the SR55450F to friends and family and I recommend it to you.

Background info: This is the first computer I've ever purchased; owned it 5 months. I consider myself a casual, novice user. Wanted a computer (pc or mac) with new OS and suitable for long-term use.
The dual-core e2160 processor seems efficient. Even with Opera, Media Player and my emulator running, cpu usage remains around 6 percent. The tower is very quiet and doesn't overheat. The mouse feels "right" in the hand; keyboard isn't too clicky.
The preloaded software chews through 1GB of RAM! Vista Premium is beautiful, though the memory usage is a bit shocking. But it's not ALL Vista's fault. Norton Internet Security and HP software REALLY slow it down. I turned off Aero, set display to "classic mode," streamlined the startup menu, uninstalled Norton, and downloaded security software with a smaller footprint. Now it boots quickly, runs faster, and *rarely* freezes.
Ripping DVDs and CDs is a total joy with SO much available space. There's lots of room to experiment with open source software. I now use Firefox and OpenOffice.org. I will try partitioning the HDD to dual-boot Linux (never would have tried this without system restore!)
I chose this computer because it has lots of storage, features, and a good price. Please shop around; as other reviewers mentioned, it's probably cheaper at a brick-and-mortar store. I paid $560 for pc, 17-inch lcd monitor,
2-year extended warranty, AND tax.
Overall, I'm very happy with this pc; I'd recommend it to anyone. It was an excellent way to adopt Vista without the fuss. But those who want the full Vista experience ought to buy more RAM.

I have this PC and I tell it's great, but why does Amazon sell it with out a monitor? I bought mine at walmart, same serial no., same specs and every thing. But mine came with a 20 in. LCD, and this only cost me $520