A couple years ago, the E-machine computer I had owned for about 7 or 8 years stopped working. Since it was pretty obsolete by that point, I decided not to bother trying to fix it and, instead, went to Wal-mart to buy a replacement. That ended up being the SR5703WM-B Compaq Presario.
When I first bought this computer, I loved it. As I mentioned before, the one I was replacing was pretty old and, compared to that, this was the best computer ever. It was faster, had more memory and I could do things (like watch movies) that I couldn’t do before. Not to mention it came with a flat screen monitor that didn’t take up our entire desk (like the one that came with our previous computer).
However, as is usually the case, once that honeymoon phase was over, the computer lost some of its luster and, in hindsight, if I knew as much about it then as I do now, I probably wouldn’t have purchased it.
First of all, even though I thought it was kind of cool at first, I wasn’t a big fan of the Windows Vista program that came with it. That program had way too many flaws with it and I spent as much time updating my computer as I did using it. Also, as I began loading my usual programs, I discovered the computer didn’t run nearly as fast as when it was first out of the box. While this wasn’t a big deal, the fact it started running as slow as the much older model I had before it was.
My biggest problem with this computer, however, was the durability. As I mentioned before, I had my previous desktop computer for nearly a decade before I experienced any problems with it. I had the Compaq Presario computer for just a little after the warranty ran out before I started having problems with that.
At first, it was somewhat minor issues; such as the CD-ROM drawer sticking and the computer making quite a bit of noise when it was turned on (which didn’t quiet down even after we took the time to clean out any dust). But, gradually, things got worse.
The first issue we started having (about 2-3 months ago) were related to the video card. Our monitor wouldn’t detect the CPU. I was able to avoid replacing this for a while because my wife and I found it would re-set itself and work for another couple weeks if we just unplugged the computer for a short while.
However, more recently, the video card crashed and, right about the same time, the power supply died too. And, based on what we learned when diagnosing these, there’s a good chance some other parts might not be working as well.
I do think we take decent care of our expensive electronic equipment so the fact this computer lasted me just a little over two years when a much older model from a less reputable brand lasted me so much longer does make me feel as though I wasted my hard-earned money. Since I don’t want to spend the money on repairs, for the second time in less than three years, we will be computer shopping. I can guarantee you, this time, we will think twice about buying a computer from the Compaq Presario brand.