Compaq Presario CQ61-401SA is a notebook PC designed in a very neat way by the once US based company Compaq and now taken over by HP. “Compatibility and Quality” are the two words from which the name “Compaq” was formed. This company has been producing a good number of products and the Presario series found their birth some time back. The Compaq Presario notebooks are known for their simplicity blended with the modern trend design and also for giving laudable quality!

The CQ61-401SA is a 15.6″ notebook PC designed mainly for the home users. This notebook takes an affordable price and gives the buyers in turn, a good number of ports and features to make the product a success. Here comes the detailed description of the Compaq Presario CQ61-401SA.

Compaq Presario CQ61-401SA Notebook

Design:

Simply Black! This CQ61-401SA notebook is fully black with a neat silver colour Compaq icon imprinted on the back side of the notebook. The notebook carries its own look of simplicity as well as richness, a look that implies that it is worth the cost. One big disadvantage that goes along with most of the black notebooks is the glossiness. Being sensitive to light and also to the finger prints, extra care must be taken to keep the notebook clean. But the blend of the black colour topped with a glossy finish gives an amazing look.

Great news for the small screen watchers is that the screen size of this notebook is about 15.6 inch. This means that the users can sit back and watch videos or movies in a bigger screen with good clarity. The screen is of the type TFT Bright View Display which means that the pictures and videos will be almost equal to the HD scale. The resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels, the one that goes with most of the 16” notebook PCs and the aspect ratio is the normal 16:9. The users can burn away all their fears of the notebook being heavy or thick because weighing a mere 2.68 kg, this machine has a length of 37.8 cm. width of 25.2 cm and height varying from 3.51 cm to 4.12 cm.

Keyboard:

The keyboard of this Presario CQ61-401SA 15.6″ Notebook Computer is very neat, wide and full sized. The keys are quite big and so typing would not be an issue. All the keys, from alphabets to the shift and enter keys are neatly placed in order and are convenient to work with. The large area taken up by the keyboard facilitates quick working. More over, the numeric keypad is integrated. The keyboard is black in colour with a neat finish and the keys are soft.

LED:

The 401SA has three LEDs on the left front side of the notebook. These LEDs are used to indicate the Power, charging and optical drive usage respectively. Whenever the notebook power is on or it is charged or when the disk drive is being used, these LEDs would glow. Also, these indicator lights can be detected even when the notebook is kept closed thus eliminating the necessity of opening up the notebook.

On opening the notebook the users can find more LEDs and control buttons. On the right corner above the keyboard, there is an LED for indicating the status of the numeric keypad. Similarly, there is one on the left side to indicate the usage of caps lock. Above the keyboard in the centre of the bezel are two indicator buttons, one for switching on the power and the other for getting wireless access to the Internet.

The Smooth Touch Pad:

The touch pad of the CQ61-401SA is a grayish smooth pad which is deepened a little than the rest of the area and has a simple yet attractive look. The left and right mouse buttons are present and they are pretty big. There is a scroll pad on the right side which can be used to scroll through the web pages or any documents. The touch pad can be enabled or disabled with the help of an indicator LED present above the touch pad. This secures safety while operating because by switching off the touchpad, the users can avoid the risk of pressing the touch pad unknowingly.

Camera, Headphone and Microphone:

The Camera is integrated and is positioned on the top bezel of the Compaq Presario CQ61-401SA’s screen and the presence of this web camera means that video chatting is possible and the users no longer need to worry when they are miles away from their dear ones. A headphone and Microphone jack are available on the front side base of the notebook. The clarity of speech as well as audio are good and so the users can talk as well as listen to songs or chat online at ease.

Speaker:

“Altec Lansing Speakers”, the speakers that are used in almost all of the notebooks and laptops these days and Compaq too has placed these stereo speakers for its product, the CQ61-401SA. The speakers produce good quality and clear audio output.

Available Ports:

The Compaq CQ61-401SA has an appreciable number of ports distributed on the left and right sides of the notebook. On the left side, there is a 5-in-1 card reader, for reading the data from the cards like the Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, SD, XD or MMC type. Next follows the USB 2.0 port for plugging in the external hard disk drives and then come the Ethernet port, VGA and Fan Vent. The ethernet port is used for plugging in the wire to get the wired connection to the Internet and the VGA is used for connecting to the external monitor. The fan vent is used for removing away the heat produced in the notebook due to the work it does. Turning to the right side of the notebook, the users can find disk drive, 2 USB 2.0 ports and a charging port. The total number of USB 2.0 Ports is 3, which is pretty good and essential for a 15.6” notebook. Also, the optical drive is Light Scribe enabled.

Connectivity:

Internet has got deep routed in the human life! Both wired and wireless modes of connection to the internet are available. For wired connection, there is the RJ45 ethernet plug and wireless connection can be availed in an instant by just clicking the button as said earlier and the protocol is 802.11 b/g/n. Thus, surfing the net, social networking, downloading the latest songs or videos or movies can be done very easily and comfortably.

Processor and Memory:

The Processor that works for this CQ61-401SA is Intel Pentium Dual Core T4400 with a processor speed of 2.2 GHz. Since the processor used is a product of the Intel, there should naturally be no doubt on the quality and speed. Regarding the memory of this notebook, it is inbuilt with 4GB of DDR2 RAM. This RAM is of course, extendable up to a maximum of 8 GB. The hard drive memory is about 320 GB. Thus the processor and memory give a good performance worth the spent pounds.

Presario CQ61-401SA 15.6 inch Notebook PC

Battery:

The Presario CQ61-401SA15.6 inch Laptop Notebook runs on 6 cell Lithium-ion battery. The battery is of external type and is rechargeable. The battery life is not excellent or outstanding but definitely matters a lot when you have to travel for few hours. The battery lasts for a good 5 to 6 hours.

Energy Star:

When a product is “Energy Star” qualified, it means that the product has been designed in such a way that it brings no harm to the environment. Yes, since this CQ61-401SA is eco-friendly, it does not consume extra energy and also there would be no green house gas emissions.

Performance:

When we move on to the performance field, the Compaq Presario definitely achieves “Compatibility and Quality”. The audio and video performances are pretty good. What with the 15.6” big screen? Watching movies will be a great delight. Moreover, the photos are crystal clear when viewed on this big screen and the battery life is also good.

Warranty:

The warranty coverage for this product is a decent 1 year. The services for the parts and labour are included in this 1 year warranty time.

Verdict:

The Compaq Presario CQ61-401SA has all the features that the normal users are looking for. With a pretty look and good features, it is offered at a nominal price. So readers, if you want a good notebook that would fulfill expectable expectations, then check this out.

Technical Specification Details of Compaq Presario CQ61-401SA

Manufacturer Compaq
Model Name Compaq Presario CQ61-401SA
Dimensions: (L x W x H) 37.8 x 25.2 x 3.51 (min H) / 4.12 (max H )in cm
Weight 2.68 Kg
Type Notebook PC
Display
Screen Size 15.6 inch
Screen Type TFT BrightView Display
Screen Resolution 1366 x 768
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Internal Components
Processor Intel Pentium T4400 / 2.2 GHz ( Dual-Core )
RAM 4GB DDR2 (Extendable up to 8 GB)
Hard drive 320GB SATA Hard drive
Keypad Easy to work and full size
Touchpad Yes
Multimedia
Graphics Intel GMA 4500M Dynamic Video Memory Technology 5.0
Speakers Built-in Altec Lansing speakers – SRS Premium Sound
Communication Setup
Wireless support WLAN 802.11 BGN
Memory card slot SD card reader built-in
Connectivity 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 HDMI Port, 5-in-1 integrated
Digital Media Reader for SD cards, MultiMedia cards,
Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro or xD Picture cards
Warranty 1 Year complete warranty

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