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Maybe a little too cheap: Compaq Presario CQ60-215DX

Barely more expensive than a decently configured Netbook, the $449 Compaq Presario CQ60-215DX looks like a good bargain at first.

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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Dan Ackerman

Barely more expensive than a decently configured Netbook, the $449 Compaq Presario CQ60-215DX looks like a good bargain at first, with its 16:9 screen and separate number pad, but this is a case where spending a little more can pay big dividends.

The AMD CPU gave us the overall slowest performance in the entry-level category of our current retail laptop roundup, and the battery lasted for less than two hours. Interestingly, this laptop is built into the exact same chassis as the HP G60-235dx, our favorite current entry-level retail laptop. For $599, that system gives you a faster Intel Dual-Core CPU, a bigger hard drive, more RAM, and even an HDMI output.

Then again, for $450, you should be happy this model comes with both mouse buttons.

Read the full review of the Compaq Presario CQ60-215DX.

Maybe a little too cheap: the Compaq Presario CQ60-215DX

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