Description:
As Compaq's most affordable lineup of notebook computers, the Presario 700 series delivers more bang for the buck than you might expect. At the high end of the 700 series is the Presario 715US, a capable notebook that lacks some of the perks of costlier models such as the business-class Armada but nonetheless delivers solid performance and desktop-level speed. Featuring the same sleek design and two-tone color scheme seen throughout the 700 series, the Presario 715US looks substantially sportier than many of its notebook peers. It tips the scales at a comfortable 6.4 pounds and measures in with a slightly larger than average 10.6-by-12.4-by-1.64-inch profile. Powered by a 16 MB Via ProSavage graphics card that supports resolutions up to 1,024 x 768, its moderately sized 14.1-inch TFT XGA display is ready to handle all the movies you'll play on the system's integrated 8x DVD-ROM drive. A 20 GB hard drive offers plenty of storage space for all the MP3 files you may want to collect and broadcast through the unit's proficient JBL Audio bass reflex speaker system. Its keyboard section offers 88 full-size keys, a separate cursor and touch pad, and a half dozen one-touch buttons for instant access to everyday functions such as speaker volume, e-mail, and the Internet. A 3.5-inch floppy disk drive ensures support for programs that have yet to find their way to disc, and a 56K modem delivers adequate on-the-run Internet access speeds. Identical in most respects to the bestselling Presario 710US, the 715US is distinguished only by its slightly higher price and superior processor. Compaq has fitted the unit with a 1.2 GHz AMD Mobile Athlon 4 CPU as opposed to the 1 GHz AMD Duron in the 710US, an upgrade that should move most applications at a marginally faster clip. Of even more significance to power users and hard-core gamers is the larger Level 2 cache. With a total of 512K of L2 cache (vs. 64K for the Duron-equipped 710US), the unit's Athlon processor offers far more instantly accessible data-memory storage space and therefore an improved level of performance during particularly complex computing situations. Although some may not fully benefit from the extra punch, hard-core users will quite likely benefit from dropping a little extra cash for a lot more cache. The unit's roster of ports includes two USB jacks for plug-and-play peripherals such as joysticks, a single parallel port for printers, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet network connection, an NTSC/PAL port for various video devices, a multipurpose PC Card slot, an S-video TV-out for television output, jacks for an external keyboard and desktop monitor, and speaker-out and microphone-in ports. Users will operate their system with the Home Edition of Windows XP, arguably Microsoft's most stable OS since Windows 98. Other pre-installed software includes useful utilities such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, Microsoft Works 6.0, Microsoft Money 2001, Norton AntiVirus, Roxio's nifty Easy CD Creator 5.01, InterVideo WinDVD 3.0 DVD player, and a one-year subscription to Microsoft's Encarta Online Deluxe Encyclopedia.
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