I have bought my HCL beanstalk in 2002. Initially the reason to purchase the machine is to run just c or c++. Later requirements move on to Oracle 9i, java and now MVS 2005. As requirements change I have also updated the machine. Initially the configuration was p4-128 mb sdram, 40 GB 5400 RPM HDD, 56.6 KBPS modem. I have upgraded ram from 128 MB to 512 mb and attach a Seagate barracuda hard disk as slave to primary hdd provided by hcl. In these 5 years I have never experienced any serious trouble that hv taken me to the workshop (except for the failure of mouse). when I bought this machine my options for purchase were HP PAVILION, COMPAQ PRESARIO, HCL EZEEBEE and HCL Beanstalk. I prefer choosing HCL because along with the quality HCL was providing me a great bundle of offers including an hp printer, 1 year unlimited hcl infinet connection, and much more software stuff including the original windows XP home edition cd. I have tried many combination of hardware with this machine and I seriously felt that some particular brand products don’t work well with HCL say, LG CD WRITER and LG’s CDROM damaged within a year with the pc. But when I go for samsung its accessories work fine with the machine. The only drawback that I have seen in this machine is the upgrade option for RAM. It’s motherboard is having only 2 slots for RAM. a ram slot comes with a maximum capacity of 1 GB but it is rarely available; most commonly used version is 256 mb. So, at one time you can go for just 512 mb. As far as VSE 2005 and Oracle 9i is concerned the system works faster but with the new games like prince 4: the two thrones it becomes very sluggish.
Techincal Information- Check out https://hclstore.com for the latest configuration
the configuration of machine being reviewed ( ORIGINAL ) :
Processor - Intel Pentium 4 400 MHz FSB
Level 2 Cache - In CPU
Memeory - Max. 2GB PC133 SDRAM
Expansion slots - 3PCI, 1AGP, 1*CNR
Rear I/O Ports - 1 Ps/2 KBD, 1 PS/2 MOUSE, 2 USB, 2 COM, 1LPT
IDE - PCI IDE Max. 4
FDD - 1.44 MB
CD ROM - 1
Video subsystem - 4*AGP Slot
Audio Subsystem - 1 LINE-In, 1 LINE-Out, 1 MIC and 1 GAME/MIDI
Network Interface - LAN CARD
Motherboard form factor-Micro ATX
Security Feature-2 level user
green feature - ACPI Power Management
Serviceability- FLASH BIOS
SOMETHING ABOUT MONITOR- HCM 580M
The monitor has a screensaver function that conforms to the vesa standard. This feature will only work if your pc supports power management. This feature is similar to a screen saver, except that ur monitor will turn it off instead of activating the screen saver.
Company default settings - to ensure a long life to ur HCL monitor make sure to not set it on factory’s default settings. a brightness level of 85 and sharpness of 80 will work fine with most of the work environments.
Upgradations-
80 gb 7200 rpm baracuda hard disk
samsung cd writer
512 mb kingston sdram
Logitech optical white mouse
intex sound blaster.
Improving Performance- To improve the performance and speed of your HCL pc u can use software such as NORTON SYSTEMWORKS 2006, SYSTEM MECHANIC 6, FREE RAM XP PRO which will automatically manage the overall speed of the pc.
My Opinion- if u are a new user and dont know about the techie details then u must go for HCL. the quality that HCL provide is unmatched. Althought other brands are expending on ads but HCL is HCL.in addition, u can also go for HP or LENOVO.