Compaq Armarda 1592DT

The first ever laptop I bought myself. While propably not significant in computer history, it is an example for a solid and rigid business notebook, which served me well during my education.

Quick Links:

Historic Overview

While Compaq Computer Corporation has been defunct since 2002, when it was acquired by HP, and the brand itself hasn’t been used since around 2013 as well, Compaq did originally play a significant role in the computer industry, being amongst the first to manufacture IBM PC clones.

In it’s long line of portable computers, the Armada series might not have played an important role. During it’s time around 1996 to 1997, the Armada lineup was intended for small business users, delivering a powerful and rigid notebook for everyday use.

Compaq Armada 1592DT

The Armada 15xx series came equiped with both Intel Pentium MMX and later also Intel Celeron CPUs. By default it came with 32 MiB of RAM and a 2.4 or 3.2 GiB hard drive, a CD-ROM drive and built-in audio. As typical for its time, it came with  either Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0.

For the fun part, while clearly a notebook of the Windows 95/NT 4.0 era, it’s interesting to note that the keyboard lacked the typical “Windows” keys, although there was an empty spot just beneath both Control keys, which could easily be fitted with those missing keys. Instead, the Armada provided you with 4 programmable hotkeys sitting just above the function keys. And guess it or not, using the hotkey utility the missing Windows keys could be assigned to those hotkeys. Does it make sense? No. Didn’t back then, doesn’t today.

The Armada is a typical example of business notebooks of the time, not too many bells and whistles, no innovative features, but sturdy and proven technology nevertheless. Still functional by today, my original notebook is part of the collection for nostalgic reasons.

Specs

The PHINTAGE Collection currently holds a Compaq Armada 1592DT.

VendorCompaq Computer Corporation
ModelArmada 1592DT
Released1996
Original Streetprice5000 US$, 4800 CHF
Weight3.6 KG
Dimensions31cm x 24.4cm x 5.3cm
Builtin Displayyes, 12.1″ TFT
Builtin Batteryyes, removable, 2.7 Ah
CPUIntel Pentium MMX @233 MHz
RAM96 MiB (upgraded from 32 MiB)
Storage
  • 8 GiB CF (2.5″ PATA to CF adapter), replacement for broken 3.2 GiB PATA HDD
  • 20x CD-ROM drive
  • 1.44 MiB Floppy Drive
Network Supportoptional, via PCMCIA FastEthernet Adapter
USB1 USB 1.1
Video Output1 VGA
OtherDocking Connector, 1 PS/2, 1 RS232, 1 Parallel Port, 1 Serial Infrared, 2 PCMCIA Type 2
Operating SystemWindows 98 SE
Overall Condition
  • Like New
  • Battery worn down
  • CD-ROM drive broken
Restoration Parts needed
  • Replacement battery
  • Replacement CD-ROM drive
Benchmark ResultsSiSoft Sandra 99, CPU benchmark:
CPU Dhrystone: 506 MIPS
CPU Whetstone: 257 MFLOPS

SiSoft Sandra 99, Multimedia benchmark:
Integer ALU: 525 it/s
Floating Point FPU: 179 it/s

Norton Utilities 3.1:
Computing Index, relative to IBM/PC: N/A

Norton Utilities 4.5:
Computing Index, relative to IBM/XT: 473.2

Norton Utilies 8.0:
CPU Speed: 794

Gallery

Coming soon.

Downloads

Drivers & Tools Collection (on archive.org)

6 Comments on “Compaq Armarda 1592DT

  1. what is the absolute maximum amount of hdd storage can be put in this machine?

    • Hello George,
      I’ve uploaded the service manual.
      I’ve misread your question first, sorry. The max for HDD recognized natively with the BIOS is 8 GiB. For a bigger drive, a real mode BIOS extender ist required.
      Cheers, GP

  2. Hi, I’m struggling to get mine to boot a fresh install of Windows 98, it’ll only boot in to safe mode.
    Were you able to get yours working properly and if so can you advise whether you used any specific drivers or software versions?

  3. Have you got drivers for NT? I have only got 16 colours and just beeps from the speaker.

      • Thank you, it is lovely. I have installed it with NT 3.51 from WinWorld. I have also found the video driver for Windows 3.1, so I can now use the whole screen. The SVGA driver with Windows 3.1 didn’t work, so I was limited to a 640×480 screen.

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