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Acer Aspire vs Compaq Presario Here we take a look at the Acer Aspire Ast180-UD400B and the comparatively priced Compaq Presario sr5030nx. Both computer brands have been around for awhile, and both models have similar features.
Acer tends to focus on catalog and online sales and mostly to businesses, only recently has Acer taken to more traditional storefront sales. Compaq on the other hand is a quite a well known, and while it was acquired by Hewlett-Packard, Compaq still remains competitive. Both of these companies are used to selling workstations to businesses so their build quality is solid. Both of these units weigh in at just under $500, and are sold without monitors. 
Acer Aspire ComputerEntry Level DesktopAMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor4000; 512MB DDR2 SDRAMDL DVD‚±RW/CD-RW drive250GB hard driveWindows Vista Home Basic Avg. Price: Starting at $489 Learn More: Available at Office Depot 
Compaq - Presario 641 DesktopModel: SR5030NXIntel Pentium 4 processor 641 with HT Technology1GB DDR2 SDRAMDL DVD RW/CD-RW driveLightScribe labeling160GB hard driveWindows Vista Home Basic Avg. Price: Starting at $479 Learn More: Free Shipping from Tiger Direct
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What research says The build quality of the Acer is slightly better than the Compaq but when we compare design, style and finish, the Compaq is the clear winner.
The Acer looks "barebones" on the outside with only one optical drive and its boring black and silver case. Where the Acer takes off is in the processing power under the hood. The Acer uses an Athlon 64-bit dual core processor and has a nice big 250GB drive. Instead of spending money on processing speed, Compaq chose to use a late day Pentium 4 which is noticeably slower and so the Compaq system uses 1GB of memory, which is twice what the Acer has. Compaq takes a hit in this comparison because of the smaller hard drive as well, which is only 160GB, Lack of a multi-media card reader drive, and no speakers are included. But the Compaq has a few redeeming qualities such as front access audio/video jacks so that this unit might one day grow up to be a Media Center PC. Acer versus Compaq is a tie here because both systems come with Windows Vista Basic, no monitor, and are price within $10 of each other. The deciding factor is that one system is attractive and convenient; the Compaq. The other system is super swift and has room for growth. If your workload is light go for the Compaq, but if your even thinking of working on that soundtrack or DVD edit you better buy the Acer.
Everett said:Both the Aspire and Presario desktop computers are good for the stay-at-home mom or as a general family computer. You will need something a lot more robust if you run a business or plan on doing any gaming, graphic design, etc. But as a general word processing, internet, email machine - they are both great deals for the price. Other Resources and Reviews |
