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Compaq Armada 1750

  

Compaq Armada 1750


SUMMARY



PRO: Fast performance, convenient all-in-one design, versatile modular bay, fantastic sound.
CON: Big and heavy, ho-hum battery life, Compaq's service and reliability rated only fair.
$3299; PC WorldBench score of 184, Pentium II-366 CPU, 64MB of RAM, 512KB of level 2 cache, 6.4GB hard drive, 12X-24X CD-ROM drive, 14.1-inch active-matrix screen, touchpad pointing device, internal V.90 56-kbps modem, 8.8-pound traveling weight, battery life of 2 hours and 18 minutes.

Compaq
800/345-1518
www.compaq.com

This AGP-equipped Cadillac of corporate notebooks comes with all the toys--including Intel's fastest mobile processor to date--needed for making splashy presentations and to allow it to serve as a comfortable desktop replacement. Unfortunately, Compaq's lackluster service and reliability score sinks the Armada 1750's chance of making our Top 10 list.

With a 2.4-inch-thick case and a weight of almost 9 pounds (including the power cord), the charcoal-colored Armada 1750 won't leave your desktop very often. The rich, booming sound produced by its stereo speakers is the best we've heard on a notebook, bar none. (Compaq credits components it calls "acoustic bass reflex enclosures," which reside under the palm rest.) Add the panoramic screen and an option to upgrade to a fixed DVD-ROM drive ($418), and this notebook offers serious entertainment possibilities. The modular floppy drive can also accommodate an LS-120 removable-media drive ($219), a second battery ($191), a second hard drive ($1260 for 6.4GB), or an Iomega Zip drive ($274).

The Armada 1750 is almost identical to Compaq's Prosignia 140, which we also reviewed this month. According to Compaq, the Armada will be available longer than the Prosignia, giving it a longer life cycle.

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