Authored by Kumara Velu in Computer Hardware
Published on 02-03-2009
Are you looking for a computer for some short-term work like preparing documents or faxing or just to log on to your dial-up Internet connection to send and reply emails? You may want to pick up a used unit in your neighborhood computer store. What’s more, if you pick up the right model, you’ll even save on software spending during these trying economic times.
A unit you may want to consider is Compaq Presario 3550. When it was popular back round 2000, it was described as a machine that “packs in plenty of components at a competitive price of $1,999.” You would of course get it for a minute fraction of the price today.
Let’s take a look at the configuration of the slimtower (occupies less desk space) system that generated plenty of interest back then.
A 500MHz Intel Celeron Processor powers the system with a bus speed of 66MHz. The system comes with a 64MB SDRAM. However, if you’re lucky you may land a system with a 256MB RAM if the previous user had upgraded to the maximum capacity.
The system comes with a hard disk capacity of 8GB. That’s meager by today’s standards, but if you just want to store text documents, the space can last you for years.
There’s also a CD-RW drive which reads at 24x and writes at 4x. The writer will come useful especially if you want to back up your documents or burn MP3 files to disc.
Let’s come to the saving on software spending part. Presario 3550 comes with Windows 98, Microsoft Word 2000 and RingCentral Fax (to send fax via your modem). Oh yes, you don’t have to buy a modem because there’s a built-in 56Kbps unit.You can’t use it to watch YouTube videos but you can surf the Net and search for information and handle email messages.
The multimedia keyboard that comes with the system will aid you in that. It comes with shortcut buttons that launches your browser, helps you conduct searches and send emails.
Tired of working on your projects? Take a breather and maybe watch a funny movie or listen to your favourite music with Presario 3550.
The integrated graphics card with 8MB video RAM is sufficient to watch movie clips and it would be a wonderful visual experience with the 15-inch flat panel monitor which used to cost around $1000 in those days. The beauty of it is its viewable area nears that of a 17-inch CRT monitor and you can enjoy a resolution of up to 1024 x 768.
For your listening pleasure there’s an integrated sound card to play your music CDs through a pair of Monsoon speakers complete with a subwoofer.
Compaq Presario 3550 may be a dinosaur by today’s standards. However, if you’re a budget-conscious user looking for a unit that performs basic computing tasks it will not fail to deliver.
