Compaq Evo N800v (Pentium 4-M, 1.7GHz, 256MB, 30GB)

CNET editors' review

• Reviewed by: Dan Littman
• Reviewed on: 05/07/2002
• Updated on:12/03/2002

Small-business users need computers that will age gracefully so that they don't have to purchase a new one every year. Compaq's Evo N800v is built to suit that maxim, with a versatile design and a comfortable, midrange price. Versatility can be found in many places here, such as the hot-swappable MultiBay, which accepts a long list of options: a floppy drive, a second hard drive, a battery, or various optical drives. The silver bulge on the lid, called the MultiPort, is also useful, as it that takes either a Bluetooth or a Wi-Fi module. Add to the mix its fast processor and big, beautiful display, and you have a capable, comfortable traveling companion. Small-business users need computers that will age gracefully so that they don't have to purchase a new one every year. Compaq's new Evo N800v is built to suit, with a versatile design and a comfortable, midrange price. Add to that its cutting-edge processor and big, beautiful display, and you have a capable, comfortable traveling companion. (Editor's note: Although Compaq announced the Evo N800v on April 23, the notebook will not be available until later this month.)

Clever design but some flaws
The Evo N800v is designed to be versatile. That silver bulge on the lid's right edge is the MultiPort, a slot that takes either a Bluetooth or a Wi-Fi module. The notebook's left edge has a hot-swappable MultiBay, which accepts a long list of options, such as a floppy drive, a second hard drive, a battery, or various optical drives. Our unit came with an 8X DVD-ROM drive (which contributed $189 to the notebook's total price of $2,524), but we would have preferred a rewritable option for backups, such as a floppy or a CD-RW drive.

With a reasonable 6.6-pound weight (7.4 with AC power supply) but somewhat bulky size (12.75 inches wide by 10.5 inches deep by 1.4 inches thick), the Evo N800v has room for a host of useful features. The 15-inch LCD shows a dense but very crisp, native resolution of 1,400x1,050; even brightness; and highly saturated colors. A 64MB ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics controller drives the display. Watching DVD movies, with big JBL Pro speakers in the notebook's front edge providing good sound, was a pleasure. The solid connectivity collection includes Ethernet, modem, and infrared ports along with two of the new, faster USB 2.0 ports. You also get one Type II PC Card slot.

However, Compaq made some awkward design decisions on the Evo N800v. When you flip over the notebook to change the battery, the MultiPort's bulge causes the Compaq to rock back and forth. The keyboard, while generally good, has an unusually short spacebar; if you miss it, you could hit the Insert key that abuts it and inadvertently begin overwriting text. The parallel, monitor, S-Video, and USB ports hide beneath a flimsy plastic flap that's sure to break off.

To the racetrack
The Evo N800v we tested had a good performance pedigree, with a 1.7GHz mobile Pentium 4-M and 256MB of DDR SDRAM. But it also had one disadvantage over similarly configured notebooks such as IBM's ThinkPad A31p and Toshiba's Tecra 9100: its 30GB drive spins at a slower 4,200rpm compared to the others' 5,400rpm models. While its performance was strong overall, it fell 7 to 10 percent behind its competitors in the disk-intensive office-productivity test. The Evo N800v's battery lasted for 155 minutes, which was 5 minutes longer than the Tecra 9100 and 34 minutes longer than the less efficient ThinkPad A31p.

Adequate support
Compaq's standard warranty and support policies for the Evo N800v aren't as good as the cradle-to-grave care you'd get with a corporate-aimed Evo C-series notebook, but it's adequate. The warranty (which includes free pickup and delivery for repairs) and free, 24/7 toll-free tech support last one year; extensions are available. Postwarranty tech-support calls will run a steep $40 per incident. Compaq's documentation and Web-site support for this unit were not yet ready for CNET to evaluate.

WIth its slower hard drive and a few quirks in its layout, the Evo N800v has a few shortcomings, but it's still a good buy. It addresses the needs of small business with its affordable pricing, versatile design, and forward-looking feature set. You can purchase this notebook today and still feel good about it--especially its lovely display--after a year or two or even more.

User opinions

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Compaq Evo N800v (Pentium 4-M, 1.7GHz, 256MB, 30GB)

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