HP Compaq Presario 2100

Mobile application performance
The Compaq Presario 2100 performed below average compared to previous 2.4GHz Pentium 4-M systems that we've tested. This performance deficiency can be attributed to its ATI Radeon 340M graphics adapter, which borrows 64MB of main memory and cripples the system's performance. The Presario 2100 scored even lower than the 2.2GHz desktop Pentium 4 Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100. The system, however, ranked significantly higher than the Fujitsu LifeBook E series, which has the same processor and uses a similar graphics adapter. The bottom line is that the Presario 2100Â's greedy graphics adapter prevents the system from achieving its full potential. If youÂ're looking to buy a system for mobile performance, you should look elsewhere.

Mobile application performance  (Longer bars indicate better performance) BAPCo MobileMark2002 performance rating

Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 143  Compaq Presario 2100 series 137  Fujitsu LifeBook E series 119

To measure mobile application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark2002. MobileMark measures both application performance and battery life concurrently using a number of popular applications (Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Netscape Communicator 6.0, WinZip Computing WinZip 8.0, McAfee VirusScan 5.13, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, and Macromedia Flash 5.0).

SysMark2002 performance
The Presario 2100 tied the LifeBook E series for a disappointing second place in maximum performance tests. The Satellite Pro 6100 with its slower Pentium 4 processor beat both machines by 16 points overall. Once again, this lack of performance is due the ATI graphics adapter found on the Presario 2100 and the LifeBook E series.

Maximum application performance  (Longer bars indicate better performance) BAPCo SysMark2002 rating    SysMark2002 Internet content creation    SysMark2002 office productivity

Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 188  283  125  Fujitsu LifeBook E series 172  259  114  Compaq Presario 2100 series 172  259  114

To measure maximum notebook application performance, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's SysMark2002, an industry-standard benchmark. Using off-the-shelf applications, SysMark measures a desktop's performance using office-productivity applications (such as Microsoft Office and McAfee VirusScan) and Internet-content-creation applications (such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Dreamweaver).

3D graphics performance
Because its graphics adapter borrows 64MB from system memory, the Presario 2100 scored very low in 3D performance tests. By comparison, the Satellite Pro 6100 scored comfortably above average for a 2.2GHz Pentium 4 system, thanks to its Nvidia GeForce4 420 Go with 32MB of its own memory. If you plan to spend most of your downtime gaming, we recommend that you skip the Presario 2100.

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