* Like most laptops (at least on the budget end) there is a fair amount of bloatware that should be removed for best performance and to free disk space.

* This is my first laptop that features a numeric keypad, very convenient!

* I haven’t used the LiteScribe drive, but was surprised to find it on this value priced machine.

Performance is as expected with 2gb of RAM and a 2.2 ghz processor. Very adequate for web, MS Office and typical functions. Runs EVE Online satisfactorily.

Let’s take a quick look at the specs:

CPU – The 2.2GHz Intel Celeron 900 is based off the same basic core as the Core2 Duo, except there is just one core and some features are not enabled (such as “SpeedStep” which is a power saving feature that slows your clock speed down when you unplug). The Celeron sits just below the “Pentium” line in terms of performance in most but not all instances. The dual-core Pentium typically has two slower cores so anytime you multi-task your real world experience is better (i.e. your web browser doesn’t slow down when the anti-virus scan kicks in), however if you are just doing one thing (like playing a game) the higher clock speed of the 2.2GHz Celeron 900 will help. Because it doesn’t have SpeedStep it will drain your battery faster when not plugged in. Home users who will have it plugged in most of the time probably won’t care about this. I should note it is much more powerful than the “Atom” processor found in smaller netbooks (easily twice the performance) but much more power hungry.

Display – This 15.6″ display has the same resolution as more expensive notebooks (1366×768) but it’s not quite as bright. Unless you need to use it outdoors the difference isn’t a big deal. It’s a good display for this price.

RAM – 2GB is enough for light home use. Don’t expect to do heavy gaming but light gaming will be fine.

HDD – 160GB seems small now days but most home users use less 50GB. As long as you are not a heavy gamer or expect to edit a lot of video this is plenty.

Graphics – The Intel 4500M graphics CPU is the newest from Intel and is a big improvement over their previous graphics parts. This is the same graphics chip you will find in most $1000 notebooks. Once again it’s not for the heavy gamer but it perfect for most home users and better than most entry level notebooks.

Wireless – This supports the most common standards “B” and “G” but doesn’t support the newest “N”. You can still connect to “N” wireless networks but you will run at the slower “G” speed. Most users won’t notice the difference.

Battery – The six cell Lithium Ion is a decent battery for this price (and the same battery you find in more expensive notebooks). You will get about 2 hours of battery life – 3 if you turn off the wireless. This is much better than the 4 cell that is still offered in some entry level notebooks.

Build quality – As mentioned earlier in order to hit a low price point the material quality is lower than more expensive notebooks. The hinges on these low cost notebooks are notorious failure points. Don’t pick this up by the screen or your notebook will break within a year or two. However Compaqs overall are well designed and are generally better entry level computers than Gateways or Dells.

So if you are planning on using this mostly around the house and expect you will be plugged in most of the time this laptop will do everything you need and won’t break the bank. As long as you aren’t too rough with it you shouldn’t have any problems. If your twin thirteen year old boys are going to use it, you might be in trouble. If you need to multitask (or just hate it when your computer slows down for a virus scan) look for a dual core CPU notebook.

This is not a top-of-the line tricked out computer, but if you’re looking for an internet surfing/bill pay device you should be very pleased.