The mid-tier Presario V4000 notebook from HP/Compaq hits a nice sweet spot in terms of both price and performance. Starting out at $749 after rebate, this laptop line offers good speed and a solid list of components without needing too many upgrades.

That starting price gives you a 1.3GHz Intel Celeron M processor and 256MB of DDR memory, so you might want to spend a little to upgrade the power core. You can jump to 512MB of memory for $50 and step up to a 1.5GHz Pentium M processor for $125, both manageable upgrades that will really boost performance.

The large 15.4-inch widescreen display is great for watching DVDs or just making sure you can get all of your application or document on screen at once. If you?re doing a lot of graphics work, you may want to opt for the $25 upgrade to a Brightview screen--it?s the same size, but gives you sharper contrast and brighter colors. Speaking of graphics, the V4000 relies on an integrated processor which shares video memory with the system, so it's not a great gaming machine.

Storage space starts at 40GB, a good amount of room for a laptop. For users needing more storage for large installs or multimedia files, a 60GB drive is available for $25. These starting drives are only 4,200 rpm, so if you need a faster drive, you can opt for a 60GB 5,400 rpm drive for $50 over baseline.

That baseline price includes a combination DVD-ROM and CD-RW drive, letting you watch DVD movies as well as burn audio and data CDs from the same optical drive. For $50, you have the option of an 8X DVD+/-RW and CD-RW combo drive that lets you create your own DVDs.

The V4000 features two USB 2.0 ports for hooking up peripherals such as digital cameras and camcorders and both modem and network interface for connecting to the Internet. Wireless access isn?t built in, but you can add a wireless card for $24.

The notebook weighs in around 6.5 pounds, not a thin-and-light but still not too burdensome to carry around. The full-sized keyboard is comfortable to type on, and HP includes Microsoft Works with the V4000.

The HP Compaq Presario V4000 starts out fairly well equipped at $849. With a couple of key upgrades, you can make it an excellent performance machine to take on the road.

Pro: Good starting components, reasonably priced upgrades.
Con: Integrated graphics.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Hewlett-Packard/Compaq
3000 Hanover Street
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1185
800-888-9909
http://www.hp.com

Ratings:
Overall Value: 8
Performance: 7
Ease of Use: 7

Warranty
1-year limited