Priced at just $529.98 (list), the Compaq Presario CQ60 (420us) is easily one of the most affordable 15-inch notebooks around. This no-frills system won't wow you with multimedia features (it lacks an HDMI port and a webcam, among other things), and its performance is mostly underwhelming. However, it delivers adequate horsepower for typical home productivity use, features a bright 15.6-inch widescreen display, and is light enough for short hops.
Design
It's no coincidence that the Presario CQ60 is nearly indistinguishable from the HP G60-441US in terms of design and build quality—they use the same chassis assembly and sport the same glossy piano-black finish. The biggest differentiator is the silver "Q" logo positioned in the center of the CQ60's lid, identifying the Compaq brand (the G60 sport the HP badge). Under the lid, the similarities continue; both models use the same black keyboard and silver plastic palm rest with matching touchpad and mouse buttons, and both come with a tiny switch that disables the touchpad. Only the upper keyboard bezel is different; the CQ60 has a black grill-type bezel while the G60's is silver. The full-size keyboard is comfortable and easy to type on and features a dedicated number pad, but there are no media player and volume controls such those found on the HP dv4-1430US. Only the power switch and a Wi-Fi button can be found at the top of the keyboard deck, sandwiched between a pair of small, but loud, Altec Lansing speakers. A headphone jack and microphone port are mounted on the front of the chassis.
Features
The 15.6-inch display has a 1,366 by 768 resolution and features HP's BrightView technology, which gives it that glossy, and somewhat reflective, finish. The screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio so it can display (720p) HD content in its native format without stretching or resizing the image. Color quality is quite good and viewing angles are wide enough to watch movies with a friend without experiencing color shifting or a darkened screen. If you're looking for a screen that does 1080p, you'll have to move up to a slightly larger 16-inch notebook with a 1,920 by 1,080 resolution panel such as the one used on the Dell Studio XPS 16.
The CQ60's low price comes at the expense of certain features; it's missing an HDMI port, lacks PC Card and ExpressCard slots, and does not support 80211 draft-n wireless networking (it has an Atheros 80211.b/g Wi-Fi adapter). While still sizeable, the hard drive maxes out at 250GB. On the other hand, the G60 comes with a 320GB drive and is equipped with an HDMI port and a draft-n WiFi radio, and it only costs $50 more than the CQ60. What you do get with the CQ60 is a 5-in-1 card reader, three USB ports, a DVD multi-drive with LightScribe label etching, and a VGA output. A 10/100 Ethernet jack and modem jack are also standard issue.
Peformence
Bargain-basement notebooks are typically not your best performers, and the CQ60 is no exception. Powered by Intel's Pentium Dual Core T4200 processor (which runs at 2.0GHz and has 1MB of L2 cache) and 3GB of DDR2 memory, its PCMark Vantage score of 2,702 lagged the G60 (which also uses a T4200 CPU) by 142 points and the HP Pavilion dv6t-1030US (which uses a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo CPU with 2MB of L2 cache) by 222 points. Its time of 1 minute 21 seconds on the Windows Media Encoder test was nearly identical to that of the Pavilion (1:21), but was 16 seconds slower than the Lenovo IdeaPad Y650's time. The CQ60's Cinebench 10 (3,707) and Photoshop CS3 (41 seconds) scores trumped the Gateway MC7803u but were significantly lower than the scores put out by the IdeaPad and the Studio XPS 16.
On the plus side, its MobileMark 2007 battery life score of 3 hours and 10 minutes was second only to the Studio XPS 16, which lasted a healthy 4 hours 20 minutes before needing a charge.
The Compaq Presario CQ60 (420us) is a good choice for frugal consumers seeking a general purpose notebook for Web surfing, light photo editing, basic home productivity tasks, and watching DVD movies on the go. If features such as draft-n Wi-Fi and HDMI connectivity are a deal breaker, considering spending the extra $50 for the HP G60 (441us).
This Review was gotten from PC Magazine
Design
It's no coincidence that the Presario CQ60 is nearly indistinguishable from the HP G60-441US in terms of design and build quality—they use the same chassis assembly and sport the same glossy piano-black finish. The biggest differentiator is the silver "Q" logo positioned in the center of the CQ60's lid, identifying the Compaq brand (the G60 sport the HP badge). Under the lid, the similarities continue; both models use the same black keyboard and silver plastic palm rest with matching touchpad and mouse buttons, and both come with a tiny switch that disables the touchpad. Only the upper keyboard bezel is different; the CQ60 has a black grill-type bezel while the G60's is silver. The full-size keyboard is comfortable and easy to type on and features a dedicated number pad, but there are no media player and volume controls such those found on the HP dv4-1430US. Only the power switch and a Wi-Fi button can be found at the top of the keyboard deck, sandwiched between a pair of small, but loud, Altec Lansing speakers. A headphone jack and microphone port are mounted on the front of the chassis.
Features
The 15.6-inch display has a 1,366 by 768 resolution and features HP's BrightView technology, which gives it that glossy, and somewhat reflective, finish. The screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio so it can display (720p) HD content in its native format without stretching or resizing the image. Color quality is quite good and viewing angles are wide enough to watch movies with a friend without experiencing color shifting or a darkened screen. If you're looking for a screen that does 1080p, you'll have to move up to a slightly larger 16-inch notebook with a 1,920 by 1,080 resolution panel such as the one used on the Dell Studio XPS 16.
The CQ60's low price comes at the expense of certain features; it's missing an HDMI port, lacks PC Card and ExpressCard slots, and does not support 80211 draft-n wireless networking (it has an Atheros 80211.b/g Wi-Fi adapter). While still sizeable, the hard drive maxes out at 250GB. On the other hand, the G60 comes with a 320GB drive and is equipped with an HDMI port and a draft-n WiFi radio, and it only costs $50 more than the CQ60. What you do get with the CQ60 is a 5-in-1 card reader, three USB ports, a DVD multi-drive with LightScribe label etching, and a VGA output. A 10/100 Ethernet jack and modem jack are also standard issue.
Peformence
Bargain-basement notebooks are typically not your best performers, and the CQ60 is no exception. Powered by Intel's Pentium Dual Core T4200 processor (which runs at 2.0GHz and has 1MB of L2 cache) and 3GB of DDR2 memory, its PCMark Vantage score of 2,702 lagged the G60 (which also uses a T4200 CPU) by 142 points and the HP Pavilion dv6t-1030US (which uses a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo CPU with 2MB of L2 cache) by 222 points. Its time of 1 minute 21 seconds on the Windows Media Encoder test was nearly identical to that of the Pavilion (1:21), but was 16 seconds slower than the Lenovo IdeaPad Y650's time. The CQ60's Cinebench 10 (3,707) and Photoshop CS3 (41 seconds) scores trumped the Gateway MC7803u but were significantly lower than the scores put out by the IdeaPad and the Studio XPS 16.
On the plus side, its MobileMark 2007 battery life score of 3 hours and 10 minutes was second only to the Studio XPS 16, which lasted a healthy 4 hours 20 minutes before needing a charge.
The Compaq Presario CQ60 (420us) is a good choice for frugal consumers seeking a general purpose notebook for Web surfing, light photo editing, basic home productivity tasks, and watching DVD movies on the go. If features such as draft-n Wi-Fi and HDMI connectivity are a deal breaker, considering spending the extra $50 for the HP G60 (441us).
This Review was gotten from PC Magazine
My opinion
If you will get Compaq Presario CQ60 (420us), you must look these price and think your requirment. This notebook can ease your job and your accesibility. So, think before buy
