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SAN FRANCISCO -- Although Microsoft will not officially release the Windows XP operating system until October 25, it has allowed PC makers to begin shipping machines loaded with the new OS as of Monday--and Sony, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard are among the first out of the chute.

Compaq is rolling out three new PCs, as well as enhancing the existing Presario 5000 with a new processor and the Windows XP operating system, the company says. The new Presario 700 notebook features a 900-MHz mobile Duron processor from Advanced Micro Devices, 256MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive, and Windows XP. The 6.4-pound notebook, which has a 14.1-inch TFT display, is available now priced at $1299 directly from Compaq.

The Compaq Presario 2700, also announced on Monday, features Intel's 1-GHz mobile Pentium III Processor-M (formerly known as Tualatin). The 2700 has 256MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive, a DVD drive, and a 15-inch TFT display. The notebook, which weighs 7.9 pounds, is available now for $1799 from the company's Web site.

Compaq also plans to launch a new desktop, the Presario 8000, the company says. The desktop, which will be based on processors running at up to 2 GHz, will have a starting price of $1199.

HP Pavilions Debut

HP also announced four new systems shipping with Windows XP on Monday. The HP Pavilion 7955 desktop uses Intel's 1.5-GHz Pentium 4 processor, has 256MB of memory, a 40GB hard drive, a CD-RW drive, and a DVD drive. It is available priced at $949 from HP.

The HP Pavilion 7935, using AMD's 1.3-GHz Athlon processor, includes 128MB of memory, a 40GB hard drive, a CD-RW drive, and a DVD drive, is also available for $749. Monitors are not included in the price of either Pavilion.

HP also launched the Pavilion N5425 notebook, powered by AMD's 900-MHz Athlon 4 processor. The N5425 has 256MB of RAM, a 20GB hard drive and a DVD/CD-RW combination drive. The notebook features a 14.1-inch TFT display, and weighs 7.5 pounds. The N5425 is available from HP for $1499 after a $100 rebate, the company said in a statement.

HP also launched the Pavilion N5415 notebook, which uses AMD's 900-MHz Duron processor, and includes 256MB of memory, a 10GB hard drive, and a DVD drive. The Pavilion N5415, which also has a 14.10-inch display and weighs 7.5 pounds, is available for $1199 after a rebate, the company says.

Vaio Line Splits

Sony announced on Monday that its fall lineup of Vaio notebook computers will have faster microprocessors and larger displays than previous models, as well as being the first Sony mobile computers to come with Windows XP.

Sony has divided its Vaio notebook line into two subgroups, by processor manufacturer. The FXA series uses AMD processors, while the FX series uses Intel chips.

Notebooks in both lines have two USB ports, an iLink optical networking port using the IEEE 1394 standard, an RJ-45 10Base-T/100Base-TX Ethernet port, a lithium-ion battery with one to two hours of power, double battery capacity, NTSC video out, an 8MB video card, and an integrated V.90 modem.

All FXA notebooks have a 15-inch XGA screen with 1024 by 768 resolution and come with Windows XP Home Edition, Sony's MovieShaker movie-making software, and PictureGear digital content management software.

Sony equipped the FXA36 with a 1-GHz AMD Athlon 4, 256MB of SDRAM expandable to 512MB, a 20GB hard drive, and a CD-RW/DVD combo drive. Sony expects the FXA36 to sell for about $1700 after a $100 mail-in rebate.

The FXA33 uses an AMD Duron 900-MHz processor and carries a smaller 15GB hard drive, for about $1500 after a $50 mail-in rebate. The $1400 FXA32 also uses a 900-MHz Duron but replaces the CD-RW/DVD drive with a DVD drive.

OS Options

Sony's FX line of Vaios uses Intel Pentium III mobile processors with SpeedStep power saving technology. Unlike the FXA line, the FX Vaios can come with Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional operating systems as well as Windows XP Home Edition. Each is equipped with a CD-RW/DVD combo drive, as well as having the standard features of the new Vaio notebook line.

The FX390 comes with a 1-GHz Pentium III processor, a 30GB hard drive, 256MB of SDRAM, and a 15-inch display. Sony expects it to sell for about $2100 after a $100 mail-in rebate. The FX370 has a 20GB hard drive instead, and is expected to sell for $1900 after $100 rebate. The FX340 uses a smaller 14-inch screen, 128MB of SDRAM, and a 15GB drive, at about $1500 after a $50 mail-in rebate.

George A. Chidi Jr. of the IDG News Service contributed to this report.

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