August 29th, 2008

The HP Compaq Presario SR5610F is part of the HP’s Compaq Presario SR line of budget-price PCs. Like most SR models, the SR5610F is a no-frills model that costs less than $500. Its capable handling of basic daily computing tasks (Web browsing, archiving CDs, e-mailing, standard office productivity) can make for a decent student PC or second home computer. But at this low price point, where bang-for-the-buck is king and competition is fierce, HP doesn’t give you quite enough—or at least not as much as similarly priced offerings from Lenovo, Dell, and eMachines.Aesthetically, the Presario SR5610F remains unchanged from last year’s SR5130NX model. The brushed silver case with black trimming bears the traditional Compaq branding, as do the mouse and keyboard. The black keyboard bundled with the system is standard fare, but the included ball mouse is dated. It baffles me as to why HP would insist on placing such ancient technology in even a budget PC; an optical mouse costs just a few extra bucks. (To be fair, a recent budget eMachines PC that made its way to the Labs came with the dreaded ball mouse, too.)

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