Compaq Desktop Computers

Compaq was a force to be reckoned with long before they were acquired by HP.  The Compaq name was retained, probably as a marketing tool, after the acquisition as they had a complete line of desktop computers, laptops and servers.

The Compaq/HP's D325 is available in a handsome black-and-silver "slim tower" or the "microtower" chassis. The microtower is larger and has twice as many drive bays. Despite the smaller than average minitower case, the D325 Microtower can grow as your business grows. There are three open PCI slots, three available drive bays (one of which is a 3.5-inch bay; two externally accessible 5.25-inch bays), plus an additional slot for 256MB of extra memory.

Many of them have built-in support for two standard VGA inputs, so you can run two displays simultaneously--a nice extra if, you like to monitor e-mail and work on a spreadsheet without toggling between screens. In graphics tests, the system's NVidia GeForce4 chip set earns fantastic frame rates--some of the highest I have seen recorded for integrated graphics.

Like other Compaq/HP minitowers, the D325's chassis requires no tools for servicing and upgrading the system. After removing the side panel, you simply depress metal tabs located on the side of the case, which help you snap off the front panel. You have front and side access to drive bay cages with side tabs that lock drives in place. Once the tabs are lifted up, optical and hard drives slip easily in or out of the bays.