Testing a Compaq Armada 7710MT from 1997

Picked up this lovely-looking 90s laptop computer recently since it appeared to be in great shape cosmetically. It was sold as untested with unknown functionality, so let's see how it goes!

[@djfanboyLIVE]

This would be like buying an $8k+ computer today. That's wild.

[@HarukaJad3]

So a MacBook Pro? :P Still crazy that a machine like this would've cost that much back then. Its really impressive, tbh. Outside of Apple, I doubt others could get away with charging that much anymore.

[@benanderson89]

@@HarukaJad3 You can very easilly charge this much for a computer these days. Apple MacBook Pros are entry/mid range workstation machines. High end workstations can cost a crazy amount of money.

[@juanbrits3002]

Can people stop making such comparisons, salaries in relation to cost of living and goods was extremely different than today. People could afford these luxuries on top of buying a house and multiple cars, have multiple children in their 20s-30s, now our generation struggles to afford half of this with way more qualifications...

[@benanderson89]

@@juanbrits3002 mate, these kinds of laptops were always sold to business and still are. They aren't home computers. That little rant of yours was pointless.

[@Sneakyboson]

@@juanbrits3002 not really, relative to the average salary back in the mid 90s which was about $37000...$4000 was a crazy amount of money.

[@HeadsetGuy]

The eBay seller travelled back in time to retrieve it. That's the only explanation I can think of. My God, that's incredible that this thing works so well.

[@LOVE-jq9fr]

*_>Great Scott!_*

[@DrunkenYodaUnplugged]

I used to service those. In fact a lot of what you bring in I worked on in their prime. Gawd I'm old.

[@LMacNeill]

I feel the same way -- I used to repair computers from about '92/'93 until '05/'06, and everything I see on this channel is from that period. And now it's considered "retro." LOL. I wish I'd known retro computing was going to be a thing -- I would've kept all that old stuff that I threw out as junk back in the day. ;-)

[@swedebug2889]

You are not old, you are retro and therefore cool! :)

[@novo6462]

I BOW TO YOU, SENPAI 😆

[@joegee2815]

Some of us are even older than the Internet.

[@BilisNegra]

@@LMacNeill I have tons of mid 2000's stuff, exactly what would be regarded as junk today. Maybe I should keep it all?

[@TheLionheartcartoon]

The screen barely looks used as well, it's bright and barely has any dim spots too!

[@johntrussell7228]

I'm always amazed when stuff this old still actually functions.

[@garthhowe297]

Must have belonged to a high up executive...they always get the best laptop, and rarely use it.

[@zaf2774]

Yeah

[@scruffythejanitor1969]

Having supplied laptops for executives, there is about a 75% chance they never used it because it was "too heavy."

[@lwvmobile]

The ones I've worked with have that ONE laptop with the ONE setup that they will not let go of because its setup exactly the way the want it and they have to suffer catastrophic failure before they'll take a new upgrade.

[@brandonupchurch7628]

A member of executive management at my old job one time called IT because his Surface wasn't working... Turns out the battery was dead and it just needed charged. So half of them are like your clueless grandparents so they don't use it cause they don't know how..

[@craiglautenslager]

I have a Toshiba laptop from ~1999 with a 1050p screen I found at Computer Reset that belonged to a TGI Fridays executive.

[@sammaster999]

Yeah we're gonna bump this bad boy up to 1440p 60fps

[@RisingRevengeance]

4k60 here, gotta see that late 90s dust

[@FlyboyHelosim]

@@RisingRevengeance It's not even shot in 4K so no point.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@FlyboyHelosim still get more bandwidth over the 1440 option

[@LGRBlerbs]

It is indeed shot and edited in 4K 60. All my videos have been for years now.

[@WatanabeNoTsuna.]

@@FlyboyHelosim ROASTEEEEDD! 😂

[@dumitruciupu279]

Dude my gf knew nothing about computers and stuff (especially old ones) and now we're binging together on LGR. I call this a success sir!

[@russianbot8576]

i know nothing either but lgr is such a gem of a video maker

[@dumitruciupu279]

@@russianbot8576 that's true! Been following him since 2011 I think and he's been just improving constantly!

[@jeremysart]

The fact that the batter held a charge, the cmos battery was still holding the date, and the hard disc booted up without fail.. after sitting for 23+ years.. that's incredible

[@KTDFox]

I still have one of these things buried in a cabinet here, was my first laptop about 20 years ago. I still remember playing Ultima Online on it and encoding / watching VCDs with it. Great machine.

[@DamfinoMR2]

LGR is the f***ing PEAK of computer and gaming nostalgia. Thank you for all that you do my man.

[@Randoplants]

I love how it’s chunky and has rounded corners. And with how bright white it is, it looks like a laptop made of cake!

[@nightfallgloam]

Caketop

[@karenelizabeth1590]

This machine is taking me back to my 1995 Compaq Presario. Same wallpaper, same sound. I'd be so happy to own this laptop.

[@TechTimeTraveller]

I accidentally bought a French keyboard version of these around 1997 for one of our sales reps. Saw a $500 discount, didn't catch the why. Poor guy had to set Windows to the US English layout and then mentally imagine where the English symbols were. Other than that little SNAFU it was absolutely bulletproof. Never mind it was DSTN we were amazed it was *colour*. Lasted years after my Sager bit the bullet.

[@happyguy5025]

Honestly if someone offered me a free RTX 3070 but I had to use a French keyboard layout I'd take it!

[@stevethepocket]

@@happyguy5025 Yeah, just get some of those little round stickers and a permanent marker, and make your own key labels. Of course, these days, you could probably go online and find a set of replacement keys from when an internal shipment fell off a truck back in China.

[@randomdouchebag]

Azerty ftw!

[@jterry211]

I started in the IT field in 96 and these were my favorite machines ever. Total Nerdgasm Thanks Blerbs!!!

[@starpoint2112]

I did the modem testing on that unit when I worked at Compaq - This brings back MEMORIES!

[@RetailArchaeology]

Mall retailers you say?

[@LGRBlerbs]

Oh yes. Lots of recognizable names from the late 90s. Gave me quite the craving for warm, steamy mall pretzels.

[@Logan-zp8bi]

I have a theory this was used mostly for checking the Network and security, everything screams IT department.

[@incumbentvinyl9291]

@@Logan-zp8bi Good call.

[@manuel0578]

I’m glad malls are dying.

[@jimjones994]

That computer looks so clean, nice find!

[@FlyboyHelosim]

Jim Jones in the flesh, or rather, the hazard suit.

[@Toble_Miner]

Oh yes, this was my very first laptop! Haven't seen this model in decades but had an instant throwback to my childhood looking at that thumbnail. Ah, happy memories :)

[@TheFlyingScotsman]

Congratulations on such purchasing such a stoater of a machine. The 7700 series to me is the hallmark of what an MMX Era DOS gaming machine should be, especially with that Compaq crafted Real Mode environment.

[@nitrax8629]

Agreed on this - the fact the overlays for adjusting screen brightness and power settings / battery checking work under MS-DOS too make it even better!

[@nitrax8629]

Neat computers! Couple of things: the things on the side above the PC card slots are for connecting a mobile phone or an adapter to use the modem in other countries (outside the US, this is the ONLY way to use the built-in modem). The sound hardware also features hardware wavetable too! Also, you should probably check the internal suspend battery for leaks - had one go bad on an Armada 7800 and it destroyed the keyboard controller sadly. If the clock battery does go bad, it's a smaller size but otherwise standard 3V coin cell.

[@CyclingSteve]

I still have my Armada 7800, the CMOS battery is dead and it refuses to boot, just asks for a password (there was never a bios password set). I had a go at disassembling it some years back but gave up. It's good to know that it's a standard battery, I should try again.

[@drygnfyre]

I remember the Armada line. It was always crazy expensive. But they were pretty great laptops for the time. Generally competed with ThinkPads, as they mainly targeted the business market.

[@gamingchinchilla7323]

man I miss the late 90s. Such a simpler time. My dopamine hits were all videogames and movies and social media wasn't around to taint my life with needless politics and the like. Take me back please. I miss my old happiness.

[@PXAbstraction]

Man, that is a DEAL you got there man! What a gem of a machine.

[@TheNiteNinja19]

Damn that's a good find. Be an awesome retro gaming box. I like how modular those old computers were as well.

[@presidentkiller]

That thing is in better shape than most people's computers TODAY. Excellent find!

[@ms-dosman7722]

Fantastic laptop! The shape, the colour.. just awesome 90's design there.

[@jaredwright5917]

Those old Compaq Armada laptops were pretty tough. I have one of the models that had a trackball. I got it for $4 as junk and used it for years with Windows 98 and 16mb of onboard RAM.

[@cjsebes]

80 bucks for a fully working piece of tech that old is a pretty nice score. Considering that plastic that old tends to become so brittle after 20 years, you found a gem. Enjoy it!

[@chrisdigitalartist]

Wow! What a find! Awesome! After all the Windows 11 hype...I sure miss these days of computing...Windows 11 doesn't even seem like Windows anymore...

[@BilisNegra]

A definitely sweet deal! I'm not actively collecting old computers at present, but I'd take this for 70 bucks any day. At 100-ish it would still be a no brainer!

[@retrotech.oldschool]

I still have my compaq armada from the 90's its a 166mmx machine and pure awesome... the hard drive still works and I am in the process of putting in a compact flash ide adapter...

[@signbear999]

Lol I bet the mailman always wonders what the heck you are even doing... he probably has to deliver 5 packages a day

[@LGRBlerbs]

Pretty sure they all know what I do at this point. There's one delivery guy that always lets me know what he thought of my latest video, heh.

[@RisingRevengeance]

@@LGRBlerbs Heh thats awesome

[@ProSimex84]

@@LGRBlerbs I work at the (canadian) post office and we have one customer that gets several packages a day, whenever a clerk finds one while sorting in the am they shout out her name. I'm sure your local sorting center does something similar. "Got another LGR, what a guy!".

[@daniloivensmina]

@@LGRBlerbs that is cool.

[@RobertSpringall]

Truly happy for your find Clint!

[@pazzieanneknexx809]

Congratulations on finding such a gem! I look forward to seeing your adventures with this piece of incredible technology. I'm not a technology preservationalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I wanted to thank you for documenting and keeping alive the oddest or most incredible technology you find. Keep being amazing!

[@th3cub350]

what a find, so rare these days to have everything working as intended ! thanks for sharing !

[@ThePsychoticWombat]

My Compaq armada also still holds a charge, 24 years later :D

[@PeTTs0n88]

Wow, you struck gold with this one! Dad had pretty much the exact same model at work in the mid '90s, real happy to see one in this great condition!

[@JamesKuffner]

As soon as you pointed out the dead pixel, it stood out to me for the rest of the video. Very cool find.

[@krux02]

From my retro collection, the conpaq laptops are really on the top list

[@LMacNeill]

What an amazing time machine that thing is!! It's like it was transported from 1998 to today. You got SO lucky finding that! Wow!

[@pc-sound-legacy]

I used to work on such a machine back in the days. Back then it was an unwritten rule that compaqs were white, IBMs were black and Toshibas were grey, fujitsu-siemens chose green. Quality was great on all of them, but the prices, wheew...😄

[@stridermt2k]

Woah this is so cool! I'm so glad I can live through vicariously you!

[@TheDeadUnlucky]

Holy it looks like you managed to score a unicorn and for a good price too. The case and screen being in good condition is one thing but the battery still holding a charge. Someone made a deal with the devil for a battery of the gods.

[@RetroTechChris]

Oh yeah, that's a beautiful machine!! Always loved the Armada 7000 series, they were my favorite Armada laptops.

[@fd5927]

Yeah awesome... what a great find. Ahhhh Windows 95 startup jingle still gives me goosebumps after all these years and years... GREAT vid...

[@theannoyedmrfloyd3998]

Congrats on the purchase!

[@sambrown9494]

They were always lovely laptops! Mine was an Armada 4131t, also a very sleek design and with those programmable buttons. Very thin screen for the time. Imagine spending the best part of $5000 and finding a dead pixel though! Hardly ever happens these days. Congrats on finding such a good machine!

[@BreakingPintMedia]

I have 2 in these series I've picked up over the years on eBay and both have been in surprisingly nice condition. Aside from being owned by folks that took care of them, they must've been retired to electronics recyclers that care.

[@quantumtheo]

Can't wait to see you refurb this. I used to refurb these for sale when I worked at a small mom and pop computer store from 99 to 04... laptops were GOLD back then. We would have them sold as soon as we got them in the store to refurb them.

[@foxyloon]

What a smoking deal for $70! I'd have rolled the dice on this one, too.

[@DJSvenNo1]

Great video, love the look of the machine!

[@fede81s]

I can't believe that battery still works, that is amazing!

[@angieandretti]

What a beautiful retro laptop! I love the white color too; Congrats!!

[@mikekz4489]

A gem of a find.

[@IRWPD]

Very cool looking laptop. Am impressed that the battery still works.

[@phantom2012]

Yes! A color checker for accurate color on video. Good job sir, I salute you, as an old video tech.

[@SnipE_mS]

That’s a rare gem there Clint. Very nice!

[@Legen007]

this brings back memories, this was my first laptop back in my HS days.

[@darkinversion]

Wow I had one of these back in the day. The extra battery pack was awesome for school. Wow the memories. Nice.

[@sithnamqus]

Instant like! I had one of those, years ago. Mine was 166 Mhz, 32 MB Ram, and a 4GB hard drive I believe. I had the Floppy Drive and the CD Rom. Great machine. Too bad that I bought it somewhat faulty. Problems with fan blower and screen. But when it worked, it was awesome.

[@icakinser]

Beautiful design!! Love it

[@8bitnitwit]

I used Netcom in the late 90s, never expected I'd ever see that Netcomplete software again.

[@StereoBucket]

I picked up a few armadas myself recently. 1573D and 3500. I love that 2nd one. The lcd surprised me and it also had like a detachable half that holds the charger, floppy and CD drives and a set of speakers. Both turned on on battery alone. Amazing! What I didn't love was when I replaced the harddrive with a CF card the thing smoked. As it turns out, the plastic around the harddrive is conductive and grounded, so the 5V on the CF adapter shorted to ground. Nothing died thankfully, just lots of burnt plastic smell.

[@MikeyMystery45]

I had flashbacks of nostalgia by watching that video. So awesome.

[@anew742]

What an incredible find!

[@MrJeanMaker]

You are so lucky! Wow, that's a beautiful laptop. I live in Brazil, and unfortunately here is really hard to find old computers like this.

[@xanshark]

Thank you for mentioning the dead pixel in the end or I would be looking at it the whole time

[@abarahona]

Compaq laptops from this era are known for having great battery life. I own a Compaq Evo 620 from 2004, still in near mint condition and, the battery still holds a very strong charge; after 20+ years I still get 5 hours out of one single charge.

[@Darkwave10]

Oh wow this one takes me back! My granddad had one of these for work. I remember using Encarta 97(?) And playing Mindmaze. Incredible find!

[@adnoctvn]

This makes me feel so old. I remember looking at one if these secondhand back in the day and ended up buying a cf41 toughbook (the weird cd rom under the keyboard swung it) bulletproof though.

[@Auraxium]

Those screen bezels are really impressive for a computer of such vintage.

[@BilisNegra]

I don't quite get what you mean.

[@whyme3772]

@@BilisNegra The area around the screen is in good shape for it's age. This thing is over 25 years old, and you'd expect it to be in bad shape.

[@BilisNegra]

@@whyme3772 Well... Yes, but then all of the machine is in pristine condition, so why that in particular? Oh, maybe because it's what is in frame during most of the video, it makes sense. I'd add that it's also admirable that the screen hinges are in perfect condition and the plastic around them hasn't cracked. Plastics in old laptops can become really brittle.

[@arjanvuik2004]

Ah the Compaq Armada series. I bought the 7730MT on sale in 99. The 7730 had the 166MHZ processor, compared to the 150 that the 7710 had. If memory serves, there was also a 7750 with a 200MHZ and a 7770 with a 233MHZ CPU. I had the 32mb base model, but, because it was used as a display model, it had the floppy and the CD-ROM drive with it! So, there was me, 19 year old nerd, craving a laptop and this was on sale. I bought it so I could play Command and Conquer en Starcraft on the go dang it! ;) I think the memory access underneith was for expansion and that it had 32MB on the motherboard. Because I know for a fact that I upgraded it to 64MB so I could install windows 98 SE on it... Anyway, thanks again for yet another trip down memory lane!

[@qdmc12]

I have a Compaq Armada 7770 that was donated to my computer shop about 3 years ago. Good luck finding that optional CD drive!

[@agenttexx]

I found an old Compaq a few years ago at a previous job. It turned out to be the first office computer the company had bought. It was a Presario with a Pentium II, running Windows 98SE. It was interesting to play around with. It had been a construction guy's notes on building one of the warehouses and the systems they were wanting to buy. It also had letters to the guy's kids back on the East Coast. The guy had been laid off and they put his laptop into an aluminum equipment case and stuck it in a storage room. The computer was in great shape. The docking station for it weighed a ton, though. I originally planned to keep it and toss it on eBay, but I forgot about it and left it behind when I left the job.

[@bulletgaming5712]

Love your videos

[@linoxyard]

Beautiful! My father had one just like this one, sadly he threw it away many years ago

[@haerfgvbag7050]

love these types of vids, just LGR looking at some pc/laptop/palmtop/PDA thing

[@RandomInsano2]

I’ve been half-heartedly looking for one of these for awhile, so while I’m happy Clint found it I’m also a little sour about it. 😆

[@Bert1268]

My dad used to work for netcom back in the day. Funny seeing it popup in one of your videos'.

[@HiddenRefuge]

Amazing find!

[@CommodoreFan64]

Awesome find!!

[@zsombor_99]

Congratulations! You just made one of your luckiest deals of your life, dude! 👍 Awesome! 😉

[@Rabbit_AF]

Man, this makes me miss my old Compaq LTE Elite 4/75. Amazingly, they still go for what I sold it for in 2001.

[@cristianciarlo1571]

Nice notebook. I really like Compaq. By the way, that music you played, made me move my foot. I like it !!

[@ScanLinesAU]

What an awesome laptop. Great blerb too!

[@bandie9101]

i used this model for years! good old days of computing optimalization…

[@ksp1278]

Excellent find. I have managed to find a number of Toshiba laptops from the late 90s for similar money. Great thing about those is that they have soundblaster pro compatible soundcard. Even has a gameport if you get the compatible dock.

[@frankowalker4662]

What a find. Awesome.

[@TielSong0509]

I used an Armada 7800 (pentium II 266) in 2010-2014 as a trip laptop. It had 1,5-2 hours of battery time.There was a Windows XP installed to it. Unfortunatly it died. First the keyboard started dieing more and more buttons refused to work and after some time it didn't turned on. I think that was a motherboard faulty. But hey it was a laptop from 98 and it served well. RIP.

[@nitrax8629]

My 7800 had the same issue, turns out the suspend battery leaked over the keyboard/floppy controller chip's connections... Loved it so much I bought another and removed the problem before it could wreck havoc!

[@jerrymartinez1208]

4:47 this is why it's special because of it's color. Very retro and old school.

[@tsunamirider9895]

Great find. I never get that lucky!

[@Mini-z1994]

Surprised the battery sputtered too life & actually held charge, i mean the computer hasn't been used in at least 21 years, that's some quality battery lol.

[@BilisNegra]

Maybe it only powers the computer for like 10 minutes, but it's no small feat that the laptop can boot on battery at all.

[@NickDalzell]

It's no surprise to me. That Armada has a Li-Ion battery--it can last decades if taken care of. Can't say the same about NiMH or Nickel Cadmium. Those would be lucky to last 5 years or less, or 1-2 tops on a laptop.

[@72polara]

I have an old Toshiba with factory installed Windows 95 that will still hold a decent charge. I still use it to program older two way radios in vehicles that will not work with newer computers.

[@mikefellhauer3350]

Talk about timing, I was just about to toss mine (it was my first laptop)...I loved how everything could be swapped easily, and you could have two batteries on it! Also loved the built-in keyboard risers it had! I'd send you the CD, but I had to use the paperclip to make sure there was no CD in it (unless it requires power to lock again).

[@ebonynight9924]

I got a ast m series one day ago is cool that you got one like it love the video

[@davidinark]

Man you got a deal on that bad boy!! Kudos!

[@AntonyTCurtis]

Had a work Compaq back in 1999 ... the built in tilt stand legs at the back makes them nicer to use than most others of that era.

[@DrakorthaProductions]

Windows 95 looks sooo good. Simple yet functional design unlike the operating system of today.

[@KingLich451]

Blerby greetings right back at ya!

[@SullySadface]

Wow, what a find!