Rating: 
Summary: Nice laptop, but screen specs are in error
Review: For those shopping by spec, for some reason the LCD specs are messed up in many sources, including Amazon currently. Just looked at models in a store, and neither the 2710 nor the 2715 have "native" 1600x1200 LCDs. The screens are 1400 x 1050. There is indeed a setting for 1600x1200, but this merely allows the 1400x1050 screen to pan across the larger area.
You may also want to know that the 2715 has 16M video RAM vs the 2710's 8M, which woudl be important if you are expecting to use dual-monitor desktop mode.
Rating: 
Summary: Good value, good laptop
Review: Having always built my own machine I'm used to getting exactly what I want, the best stuff, and at the best price. So when I decided to add a laptop to my rather large collection of PC's it was not easy to find exactly what I wanted. I wanted something that:
1. Had at least 1ghz and 256meg or ram
2. A hard drive with at least 20gb
3. A high resolution 15" display
4. DVD and TV output
5. Something you can find drivers for and supports other OS'sI was not interested in:
1. A CD-RW (have a 24x in my primary desktop)
2. Tech Support (Tech support never knows anything, if they did they wouldn't work in tech support)
3. Light weight (if 7.9 pounds is too much you need to go to the gym, not a lighter laptop)
4. The OS or software it came with
5. Firewire The first thing I did after receiving my laptop was to wipe Windows XP home off and install Windows XP Pro and Linux. Both OS's installed without any problems and found most of my hardware. Whomever said "there are special drivers, found only on the CD" obviously have never looked at the website. All the drivers are there and easy to find. Getting X to run under Linux was a challenge to say the least, but the newer software required to get it running will be in the next round of distro releases so this shouldn't be a problem for long. So far my likes about this laptop are: 1. Solid, quality, and attractive construction.
2. Excellent performance for a laptop
3. Long battery life (actually get 4 hours)
4. Extra buttons are nice
5. Very nice display quality
6. very good sound quality
7. price was great compared to the other options out there
8. DVD's play flawlessly Dislikes:
1. Hard drive could be bigger and the 8meg for the video card is about the least you can get away with. The only difference between the 2710 and 2715 is that the 2715 is better in these two areas; 30gb and 16meg on VC. The reason I didn't just get the 2715 instead was that is costs...more! There's no reason for this when the difference between a 20gb and 30gb laptop drive is only $30-40! Video memory price is only around $20 more! For the difference in price I could buy a 2nd 30gb drive and more video memory if I needed it!
2. Viewing angle on the display could be better
3. No IR
4. Door covering the ports seems like it would be easy to break.
Rating:
Summary: VERY TIGHT
Review: I bought this laptop computer in January (2002). It is the greatest. Its screen is crystal clear, its speed is enough for anyone, and so are the drives. A lot of people don't like the swappable floppy drive but I think its better. But I must WARN you future purchasers of this computer to either get the 2715US model because it has 16MB of video ram, which will come in handy for like Microsoft Plus! For Windows XP. Or just wait a couple of monthes and get the new Compaq laptop with 64MB of video ram and the new mobile Pentium 4. But if you R A computer Freak like me, than just go ahead and get this cool one and don't wait!!!
Rating:
Summary: The BEST DEAL for this price.
Review: I have owned a Dell Latitude, an IBM Thinkpad and a Toshiba Satellite and this one beats all of them to dust. The display is awesome and the PIII rocks at 1.13 Gz. This laptop also has the most robust build among notebooks in this range. Every laptop has some issues, though this one is the best deal, there are a few issues with this one too, though minor. 1. The Floppy drive that comes with the 2710 cannot be used Externally. You have to swap it with something else. Most other laptops let you use the FDD externally. 2. The recovery disk works only when you boot with the disk on the DVD drive ! does not work when u use it from the CD-RW drive. Took me two hours to figure this out, the customer support was totally clueless. 3. Almost all hardware need specific drivers, including the display. The display[...]when you use standard drivers, so DONT LOSE the recover disk at any cost, its the only place to get all the drivers (unless you want to spend hours searching websites). But yet, this is the best laptop out there for under 2K
Rating:
Summary: Compaq 2710US - A great laptop at an equally good price
Review: I shopped for laptops recently and had quite a bit of bad luck. The first machine I bought was an HP1170 whose sound car died a week after I purchased. I returned the HP for a compaq 2700 which had an overheating problem. I then got a toshiba 5005-S504 which was a nice machine but, it didn't have a mobile pentium so its battery lasted about 1.5 hours only. Finally I got the Compaq 2710 and I have been thrilled with it. The build quality of this machine is superb and with 512mb of ram and screaming mobile pentium III running 1.13 GHz, this bad boy can easily replace my desktop. The only negatives are the screen which is a little grainy but, not more than any other laptop I tried out. Also, Compaq service is the pits. It seems that Compaq engineers are very responsive when comes to getting patches out on the web site. Unfortunately, Compaq support seems to be completely unaware of these patches. The support organization gives advice designed to waste the maximum amount of your time and yield no results. If you have a problem, read the user forums. Chances are that someone has already had the problem you're experiencing and a patch already exists. That was my experience with a minor problem I was having. If you're buying any laptop these days, you're bound to run into minor problems that you'll realize soon after getting it. Generally speaking, these problems are minor and I would say that this machine has fewer of them than most machines I've seen. I heartily recommend this machine. It's built like a tank and runs like a top. Everything about this machine is quality. Great keyboard feel
trackpad with easy scroll button (very convenient)
All the ports you need
15" screen
Great sound for a laptop
Good battery life about 3.5 hours with power management A Smart Purchase
Rating: 
Summary: Very Monopolistic
Review: I wrote a review just a couple of weeks ago on this same laptop. I wish I had waited some more time before singing its praise... There are a few very annoying issues and the customer support is trained to give you just standard answers. Nobody really cares what your real problem is and how to solve it. Here is the latest email I have sent them. If anyone knows of a good way to file a case against compaq, let me know please... 1. The recovery disk that came with my laptop WIPES OUT EVERYTHING IN ALL PARTITIONS ON MY HDD, INCLUDING PRIMARY PARTITIONS. It also resizes and merges all partitions. This is not just unecessary but also plainly unfair. XP does not have a requirement that there be NO other partitions on the HDD. 2. The recovery disk uses ALL the space, it does not leave ANY unallocated space on the HDD. So, i cannot create partitions using Diskpart either. I now have to insvest in some thirdparty tools to just create some partitions on my HDD. 3. So, everytime I use the recovery disk to re-install the XP system, I am going to lose ALL data, even any other OS i have on the HDD. WHY ? 4. The compaq presario 2710 was advertised as being a "Desktop replacement". is this how a Desktop Replacement is supposed to work ? I am a software developer and my HDD always has atleast two OSs to do cross platform testing/development. 5. Also, You cannot simply install another copy of OS on your machine. All the hardware needs very specific drivers that come ONLY with their recovery disk. I have never felt so frustrated with any other laptop I ever owned. Hoping to get some useful solution from you this time. Do I have to take this case with someone else ?
Rating:
Summary: Best Laptop...
Review: I've had 4 laptops in recent months and this is the one that blows them all away. It also has everything. Unlike most other 15" laptops available this one comes with hot swappable CDrom Burner and floppy drives. It also has a fixed DVD drive that you can use to copy cds from. The machine also has all the power and memory you'll probably need for a while, plus it's expandable to 1GB. Unlike many machines that cost a lot more, the 2710 has impeccable build quality. Compaq really built this one right. The only coimplaint I have is Compaq support. Their support is no worse or better than any other manufacturers which is not saying much.
Rating:
Summary: Good value, good laptop
Review: overall it is a nice laptop, from the clear screen to the speed.
The full keypad is great and the screen is so clear when I'm playing a dvd but, the speakers doesn't have enough base. I play
cd's on my desktop all the time and it sounds great but it doesn't sound so good on the laptop. I didn't know I can't use
external speakers. I like the fact that the dvd has a drive to
itself but, I thought the floppy drive wasn't swappable. As with any product it will have its ups and downs. But I love my laptop and I think I made a wise purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been a little more better
Review: overall it is a nice laptop, from the clear screen to the speed.
The full keypad is great and the screen is so clear when I'm playing a dvd but, the speakers doesn't have enough base. I play
cd's on my desktop all the time and it sounds great but it doesn't sound so good on the laptop. I didn't know I can't use
external speakers. I like the fact that the dvd has a drive to
itself but, I thought the floppy drive wasn't swappable. As with any product it will have its ups and downs. But I love my laptop and I think I made a wise purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Good laptop, but needs better sound
Review: This laptop is one the the better out there. Alittle over priced, but it has enough speed to handle much of any kind of user. The sound on the other hand is another factor. Only two speakers in front take only limited amount of sound. The Toshiba laptops are alot better is you are looking to play music and movies on the laptop.
I love everything else on my laptop. It is worth the price.
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