Compaq Presario 4540 First look

In this first part we're going to go over the hardware real quick and in the next video we're going to compare it with some other system and see how it performs in the windows and gaming department

0:00 - Introduction
1:16 - Super Socket 7 systems
1:47 - 2 little Compaq Presario computers
3:10 - 2 other little systes
3:34 - Looking inside
4:22 - First start
5:43 - Disassembling
6:37 - First look at the CPU
7:26 - More disassembly
10:39 - The Quantum BIGFoot
11:31 - 3COM Networking card
11:42 - Diskdrive
11:52 - CDROM-Drive
12:08 - Motherboard
14:07 - AMD K6 CPU
17:38 - Outro

#Compaq #Retro #AMD

[ainilome]

I've been trying to piece together fragments of memories and figure out my exact first PC. I knew it was a Compaq but as soon as I saw the thumbnail I instantly recognized it - I remember the big moon button on the top.

We were very poor in the late 90s, trailer folk in the middle of nowhere poor. But in 1997 my dad finally got a workman's comp settlement and, irresponsibly honestly, spent part of it on this beauty. I remember he was so proud because he talked the sales guy into giving him the last floor model of that monitor - he really wanted those fancy speakers. Irresponsible, yes. But this little beige space rocket and our local 26.6k ISP changed my country girl life, irrevocably. Thanks, dad.

[mynameisAirport]

That’s the computer of my childhood. I had that exact model growing up. My parents bought it at Sears for close to $2k with a copy of windows 95 installed and an optional Zip drive. The Zip drive was neat but I only ever used it to download game demos from CNET at the local library since they had t1 and we were using 28.8k dial up. Thank you for the nostalgia, I wish I still had this machine.

[chipsanddipswitches]

"Really nice looking computer (according to me!)" - Best review ever.

[shouptech]

Thank you so much for this video. Growing up I had a Compaq Presario 4505. Nearly identical to this PC you have here. The only real difference I remember is it had a Pentium-MMX 166 in it instead of this K6. I have a lot of fond memories tearing that thing apart and tinkering around inside. Good work.

[Artictoc]

This was the first computer my family owned when I was a kid, and I still have it sitting in my closet, almost 25 years later. I believe we bought it in 1997, it came with Windows 95 and a full copy of Moto Racer. I haven't booted it up in 2-3 years but I think it should still work. I haven't ever bothered opening it up though so I can't compare the detailed specs to the machine in this video.

[tinfoilcat]

The first PC my family bought! Our 4540 came without the networking card but included a 28.8K modem which was underpowered by the time we bought it (early 1998). In hindsight it was a bad time to pay around $2600 (adjusted for inflation) for a new PC with fairly limited expansion potential when Pentium II and Windows 98 was being around the corner. But hey! My first computer!! We used it as our only PC until the PSU died in 2003. It served us well for exploring the internet, gaming (somewhat older things like GTA, SC2000, Monkey Island III, Red alert, etc), me learning to do web pages, doing tons of school work, using Napster (boy that was slow), and just appreciating computers. It almost got converted to running Red Hat in the late 90's after a lot of convincing my dad that the entire family would be able to understand Linux and me backing up everything to a ton of floppies. I owe a lot to that humble Presario!

[MalshanPeiris]

This was my machine in 1998. Very thanks for this ❤

[JonGallon]

Those JBL speakers sounds really good. A friend of mine keeps them from it's Compaq pc of that era in use on his current pc today. It really sounds very good.

[Jonenti]

My grandpa had a presario 5030. I have a certain fondness of that iconic presario case design from that era. I even took a Presario 5686 and turned it into a sleeper pc a few years ago

[Royaleoake]

This was actual first PC I could call my own. I installed my first graphics card on it, a Voodoo3 2000 PCI. It ran Rainbow Six faster than I had ever seen it. Will never forget that first day.

[KOFDATA]

Back then I would have probably loved the weird shape and accents of the case... now the more rectangular the case, the more calm my brain is.

[MegaManNeo]

Omg, you really showcase this machine.
Thanks a million! This PC was my childhood and early teenage.
I played so many games on it that I still enjoy and now I finally understand why it has 48MB of RAM.
The differences with my system were however that I had a MMX200 as CPU, a 10X CD-ROM drive, a regular 3.5" Seagate harddrive and another 3com network card which my teacher gave me at some point.

Can't wait for the next video regarding this machine, now that I know the exact model number again, I might as well hunt down eBay for one.

[MrTJG]

We still have one of those old mechanical Compaq keyboards hooked up to a modern PC at work. They’re a dream to type on!

[-w]

i love that this is “first look”! would be interesting to see how it performs with and without cache

[Shoxpyre]

Had this also with 98, it was the full set made by a family friend that built pcs in a shop for my 11th birthday to play PC games on. I was so lucky man. I'm ashamed of myself for getting rid of it when I was a teenager, I would have loved to open it up and see what custom things he had in it. He had installed a couple cool demos to show off the 3d capabilities, that sound is exactly how I remember what a blast back into my childhood

[christhompson]

The 4550 was sold as a unit that came with monitor and speakers as part of an all in one. Fist PC Bought for work in 97 right as dial up internet was becoming available for consumers. Server companies like Compaq, and Dell were making the big push into the consumer market. CD rom was the latest tech and the time.

[claudelorey]

This was *my* first computer!
My parents had an older one that ran windows 3.1 but this one was specifically mine!

[eddiehimself]

This is another interesting example you've shown us of implementing the types of things we see in ATX motherboards, but still using the older AT-style power connector. It would be interesting to have a closer look at that PCB with the buttons on it and how it manages to implement standby power.

[fhwolthuis]

A family member bought a similar Compaq back then, nice computer, I hope you can also show some details about the monitor and its buttons and speakers 👍

[robd]

I love that monitor and speakers. I had them when I was in high school.