Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 24, 2026

Compaq Evo

The Compaq Evo is a series of business PCs and thin clients made by Compaq and then Hewlett-Packard following the 2002 merger. The Evo brand was introduced by Compaq in May 2001 as a business-oriented brand. Considered as Compaq's final flagship family prior to the 2002 merger, it replaced the Deskpro brand of desktops, the Armada brand of notebooks and the Professional Workstation line of workstations. It also replaced the HP OmniBook line of notebooks, the HP Vectra line of desktops and the HP Kayak brand of workstations following the 2002 merger, and in 2003, Evo was discontinued and rebranded as HP Compaq which was used until 2008 for laptops and 2012 for desktops and workstations. It is not to be confused with the later Intel Evo branding for performant laptops.

Last revised
Jun 24, 2026
Read time
≈ 4 min
Length
1,024 w
Citations
24
Source
Compaq Evo
A Compaq Evo D510 desktop computer
DeveloperCompaq
Hewlett-Packard
ManufacturerCompaq
Hewlett-Packard
TypeLaptop / Desktop / thin client
Released2001–2003
Discontinued2003
CPUIntel Pentium III, Intel Pentium 4, Intel Pentium M, Intel Xeon
Predecessor2001 (Compaq):
Compaq Armada (notebooks)
Compaq Deskpro (desktops)
Compaq Professional Workstation (workstations)
2002 (HP acquisition):
HP OmniBook (notebooks)
HP Vectra (desktops)
HP Kayak (workstations)
SuccessorHP Compaq

The Compaq Evo is a series of business PCs (desktop and laptop) and thin clients made by Compaq and then Hewlett-Packard following the 2002 merger. The Evo brand was introduced by Compaq in May 2001 as a business-oriented brand. Considered as Compaq's final flagship family prior to the 2002 merger, it replaced the Deskpro brand of desktops, the Armada brand of notebooks and the Professional Workstation line of workstations.1 It also replaced the HP OmniBook line of notebooks, the HP Vectra line of desktops and the HP Kayak brand of workstations following the 2002 merger, and in 2003, Evo was discontinued and rebranded as HP Compaq which was used until 2008 for laptops and 2012 for desktops and workstations. It is not to be confused with the later Intel Evo branding for performant laptops.

Design

Compaq Evo N800v source ↗

The Desktops were small and made to be positioned horizontally instead of vertically so that the monitor could be placed on top to save space. Most featured a sleek silver and black compact design. The early models were shipped with CD-ROM drives but Compaq shipped Evos with CD-RW drives and DVD-ROM drives. The design of some models were only allowed for one CD or DVD drive, but some models had bigger designs for 2 CD or DVD drives. Some models also shipped with a 3½ floppy drive, positioned below the CD or DVD drive. Most models also had 2 USB 2.0 ports in the front for convenience as well as having two in the back for human interface devices and external volumes. Most also had a headphone and microphone jack in the front with a line in and line out in the back.

The laptops were a conservative design, described by one reviewer2 as "The old-school black, squared-off-corner business notebook". Most models had a tough black case reminiscent of IBM's ThinkPad, a midsize 14" or 15" screen and good multimedia capability.

Most desktops and some laptops34 were shipped with Pentium 4 processors and some Laptops were shipped with Centrino platforms. The thin clients were based on the Geode processor family.

Distribution

The Compaq Evo was a great option for businesses and schools because of its compact and cheap design,5 as well as having specs suitable for these specific markets. All Compaq Evo computers came shipped with either Windows 2000 or Windows XP preinstalled which can be upgraded to Windows Vista and later to Windows 7.

The last Evo-branded models were released in 2003,6 and later replaced by re-branded (like other Compaq-branded products) HP Compaq products.7

Models

Compaq Evo D510 e-PC with Samsung monitor source ↗

Desktop models (D and W series)

  • Compaq Evo D300 series
  • Compaq Evo D310 series
  • Compaq Evo D311 series
  • Compaq Evo D320 series
  • Compaq Evo D380 series
  • Compaq Evo D381 series
  • Compaq Evo D500 series
  • Compaq Evo D510 series
  • Compaq Evo D520 series
  • Compaq Evo W4000 series
  • Compaq Evo W6000 series
  • Compaq Evo W8000 series
Compaq Evo N610c source ↗

Notebook models (N series)

Compaq Evo laptops
2001 2002 2003
Main 14" Intel-based
(Pentium III/M)
N600c N610(c/v) N620c
12" N400c89 N410c
10" N20010
Entry 15" Intel-based
(Pentium 4)
N1000(c/v) N1020v
AMD-based N1005v11 N1015v
Intel-based
(Pentium 4)
N800(c/v/w)1213
Intel-based
(Pentium III/M)
N18014
14" N16015
N15016
N110
"V" - Value version, "W" - workstation.

The Presario-based series laptop (N800 and N1000) uses a desktop-based Pentium 4 CPU.17

Known near-clone laptop models:

  • Evo N110 - Armada 11018
  • Evo N400c - Armada M300
  • Evo N800 series - Presario 280012
  • Evo N1000/N1020 - Presario 150019
  • Evo N1005 - Presario 90020

The final model to carry the Compaq Evo name was the 14.1" N620c notebook. It was an early Pentium M system which featured up to a 1.6GHz processor, it offered 256 MB RAM as standard but that amount can be easily upgraded to 512 MB or even 1 GB. The N620c was not Intel Centrino-based2 but instead used a Compaq wireless module that snapped onto the Multiport slot on the lid of the notebook.

Thin clients (T series)

Evo T20 source ↗

Thin Clients are corporate client devices that allows a user to access a network account located on a server. The vertical orientation enhanced air flow without the need for a fan. Despite its small size, the design provides a distinctive appearance with a high degree of visual impact. They come in two different series.

  • Compaq Evo T20 series21
  • Compaq Evo T30 series22
External links
References

References

  1. "HP puts Evo name out to pasture - CNET News". archive.is. 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2020-12-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. Hutchins, Eric (2003-11-11). "The Compaq Evo N620c". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  3. "Compaq Evo Notebook N1000v QuickSpecs" (PDF). nts.nl. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2005-03-15.
  4. "Review: Compaq evo n1020v laptop (Photos included) - Ars Technica OpenForum". arstechnica.com. 5 April 2003. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  5. "HP Compaq EVO D51S SFF P4 2.0Ghz 512MB 40GB Win XP Pro". Morgan Computers. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  6. "History of Computers | Definition & Types". study.com. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  7. Service, Tom Krazit, IDG News (2002-05-28). "HP rebrands Compaq server, desktop products". Computerworld. Retrieved 2023-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. COMPAQ EVO NOTEBOOK N400C SPECIFICATION
  9. "Compaq Evo N400C Review". ZDNet. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  10. COMPAQ N200 QUICKSPECS
  11. COMPAQ EVO NOTEBOOK N1005V SPECIFICATION
  12. Features - Compaq Evo N800c Series Maintenance And Service Manual, p. 7
  13. "Compaq Evo N800". PCMag India. 2004-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  14. COMPAQ EVO N180 QUICK SPECIFICATION
  15. "Compaq Evo N160 Review". ZDNet. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  16. COMPAQ DA-10837 QUICKSPECS
  17. "Compaq Evo N800w Review". ZDNet. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  18. COMPAQ ARMADA 110 MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE MANUAL
  19. COMPAQ 1500 MAINTENANCE AND SERVICE MANUAL
  20. Compaq-Evo-Notebook-N1005-Series
  21. "Compaq Evo Thin Client T20 - World Wide QuickSpecs". 2011-06-14. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  22. "Compaq Evo Thin Client T30 - World Wide QuickSpecs". 2011-06-14. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2020-12-03.